Secrets 2: Looking Through Different Eyes - 29. Chapter 29 S2

Chapter 29 – Checking in With Old Friends

After Devin and I woke up, we made a quick trip to get something to eat before going to the upperclassman sign in area. We had to do this every year so the college administrators would know we were there for the fall semester. It was also when we got our class schedules and had our photos taken for this year’s student IDs. After those things had been taken care of, Devin suggested we go over to where a guy was set up to take orders for class rings.

“But we don’t need to order our class rings until next year and we won’t get them until just before we graduate,” I reasoned.

“I know, but I thought it would be neat to know our ring sizes. And we might as well have the guy size the ring finger on each hand to see if they’re the same.”

“But we’ll just be wasting his time.”

“Nah, no one is over there and he’s not busy, so he’ll probably enjoy having something to do, rather than just sitting there and being bored.”

I finally relented, and after Devin explained our situation to the salesman, he agreed to do what we wanted. After he finished measuring the ring fingers on each of our hands, we thanked him and left that building so we could head over to sign up for a conference time with our academic advisors. As soon as we’d jotted our names down on a sign-up sheet, we met up again and walked around campus for a while to see who else had showed up. To our surprise, one of the first guys we ran into was Barry, one of the RAs from our freshman year.

“Devin, either you’re finally growing into your clothes or someone is buying you things that fit you a little better!” he said with a chuckle.

“Yeah, over the summer I had the growth spurt I’ve been waiting for and I’m now two inches (5 cm) taller and slightly heavier.”

“Damn, you look so much better and it no longer appears you are a homeless person. You probably don’t know this, but for the past two years some of the guys have been debating whether you got your clothes from Good Will or the Thrift Store.”

“And which side were you on, Good Will or the Thrift Store?” Devin challenged.

“Ok, I’ll admit that I thought you or your family used the Thrift Store.”

Devin chuckled. “When I was in high school, dressing like that got the bullies to lay off of me for the most part. They thought I was wearing hand-me-downs from an older brother, and judging from the size of the clothes they decided that they didn’t want to mess with me and then end up having to deal with him.”

“I can see how that might have worked for you.”

“And I was hoping that something similar would happen here. And since I was short and looked kinda young, I figured the other students might conclude that I was one of those child geniuses and that I was attending college on some sort of scholarship. If that was the case, then I was hoping they wouldn’t hassle me.”

“As long as it worked for you, but I have to admit that you look a thousand times better now.”

“Thank you, I appreciate that.”

“And we thought you had graduated,” I said when there was a lull in the conversation.

“I did, but now I’m back as a graduate student.”

“Ah, that would explain it.”

“Yeah, I figured I might as well do it now, seeing I’m used to hitting the books and studying.”

“Well good luck with that, because it will probably be a lot harder than what you did before.”

“Yes, I’m sure it will be, but you didn’t have to remind me of that fact,” he counted with a grimace.

“Sorry about that, but we just learned our workload is going to be more difficult as well.”

“Yes, once you become an upperclassman you end up taking the upper level courses, which are more demanding. That’s just the way it is.”

“Are you on scholarship?” Devin wondered.

“I wish.”

“Then how can you afford to be a grad student? Most people who aren’t on scholarship have to work for a while and save up some money before they’re able to go for their grad degree. Even then, most of them do it part-time at night and get the company they work for to help pick up some of the tab.”

“I know, but I’ve got something even better – a rich grandfather,” he announced with a sly grin. “He’s giving me an advance on my inheritance so I can use it for my education. I know it probably sounds crazy that I’m using my inheritance to pay for school, but I feel it will pay off in the long run. I’ll be able to start off in a much better job and with a larger salary after I get my degree. That means I’ll be able to make up for the money that I use from my inheritance and be better off in the long run.”

“You’re right about that and we’re happy for you, so good luck.”

“Thanks.”

After we left Barry, we didn’t run into very many others that we knew, but that’s probably because most of the upperclassmen won’t be arriving until tomorrow. For that reason, Devin wanted to go over and purchase the tickets for the football games that Gramps and Pops want to attend, in case the tickets for those games sell out later.

After doing that, we made a quick stop at the dining hall to sate our growling stomachs, and then we went back to the house to get the SUV. Devin then drove us over to the bookstore so we could buy the various items we needed, and once we had everything, we took it back to the house. After we carried those items inside, we headed over to the University Rec Center for a swim. Not only would we get to enjoy a workout in the pool, but we might also run into others that we knew.

As we suspected, there were plenty of other students at the pool, but most of them were members of the swim club. In case you didn’t know it, CSU only has a swim club, not an intercollegiate team, which keeps some students from attending CSU. The team competes all year long, so there were quite a few of the club members at the pool working out, and we enjoyed seeing those fit swimmer’s bodies in those tight Speedos. Even though we were enjoying the view, there was only one other person there that we knew, so after chatting with him for a couple of minutes, we got in the pool to swim.

We made sure to stay out of the way of the guys practicing their racing strokes and merely swam a few laps before going to the locker room to change. And as soon as we left the rec center, we returned to the house and spent a quiet evening chatting and enjoying each other’s company, but eventually we went upstairs to make love.

“Do you want me to transition into someone else this time, maybe one of the cute swim club members that I saw you staring at?” Devin asked before we got started.

“Hey, you were staring at them too.”

“I know, and some of them were good looking and in great shape.”

“Yes, they were, but I just want you to be yourself. You can be the larger version of yourself if you want, but I prefer making love with you.”

“Ok, I’m fine with doing it either way.”

He definitely was fine with doing it this way! I wasn’t sure if it was my reward for saying I wanted to make love with him and turning down his offer to become one of the guys from the swim club, but it was fantastic! And when we were done, we went to take a quick shower before turning in, and then I spooned behind him with my arm draped over his side as we dozed off.

We happened to sleep later than usual on Friday, and since we knew the dining hall would most likely have stopped serving breakfast by then, we ran out to grab a quick bite to eat. As soon as we finished our meals at the diner, we drove over to the grocery store to pick up a few supplies. Basically it was just some drinks and a few snacks for when we were at the house studying, and we also stocked up on Pop Tarts and frozen breakfast sandwiches. Those last items were in case we ever woke up too late to get breakfast at the dining hall again, because going out to eat took too long and was too expensive.

Once we had everything we needed, we went back to the house and carried everything inside so we could put it all away. Devin was just about to go back out to park the SUV in the garage when he stopped to ask me a question instead.

“Mac, do you think it would be safe to make a quick trip to the dog park?”

“Yeah, it’s later than we usually go, but I doubt anyone we know will be there. However, beginning tomorrow I think we should start making our trip there in the morning instead.”

“Ok, that sounds good to me.”

Since that had been agreed to, I grabbed a couple of items from the closet that was near the back door before we left, and then Devin tossed me the key so I could drive. He then hopped into the back seat and I drove over to the dog park.

I almost forgot and headed over to the abandoned gas station so Devin could transition, but he quickly reminded me that we didn’t have to do that any longer, seeing the windows were tinted. Since that was the case, I merely drove over to the dog park and pulled into the parking lot.

I then got out of the SU and opened the rear door so I could put a collar on Bear. It was one of the items that I’d picked up before we left the house, and then I hooked up the leash, which was the other item I’d retrieved. I knew it was necessary that we do this, since we were in a public place and I didn’t want a confrontation as we walked over to enter the dog park.

As I was opening the gate so we could go inside, I noticed there was only one other person there. It was a middle-aged man with his dog, a greyhound, and since his dog wasn’t acting aggressively, I quickly unhooked the leash from Bear’s collar. The guy had been walking over to speak with me while I was doing this.

“Hi, I’m Ralph Hornsby, and that’s my dog Anubis,” he said as he pointed at the greyhound beside him.

“It’s nice to meet you, but why did you name your dog after an Egyptian god?” He chuckled.

“I did it because the greyhound is thought to have originated in Ancient Egypt, and since Anubis was described as having a man’s body with a canine’s head, I thought it would be a fitting name for my dog.”

“Ok, I get it now.”

“Do you come to the park often?”

“Yes, but we usually come here in the morning. Since, I was busy doing other things earlier, we got a late start.”

“Oh, then I guess I won’t be seeing you around here again. I’m a self-employed accountant and I bring Anubis here every day on my lunch hour. I usually bring my lunch with me and eat it while he’s getting some exercise, but there weren’t any other dogs here for him to play with today, so I hurried and finished eating my lunch so I could play with him instead. But now that you’re here, we’ll let the dogs keep each other company while we talk.”

“I hope Anubis appreciates what you do for him,” I replied as I watched the two dogs as they sniffed each other.

“Yes, I think he does.”

Once Bear and Anubis seemed to be getting along, I continued my conversation with Ralph as the two dogs ran off to play.

“Do you work or are you a college student?”

“I go to CSU.”

“Ah, have you been going there long?”

“Yes, I’m in my third year.”

“Ok, so we’ve got this year and next to get to know each other, if you want to come at this time of day, rather than earlier.”

“Sorry, earlier always fits into my schedule better.”

“That’s a shame, because I believe we could become really good friends.”

We continued talking and I soon realized that Ralph meant that last statement as a come on and he was interested in more than just talking. Since I didn’t want this to go any further, I decided to make a move.

“If you’ll excuse me,” I said politely, “I want to spend a little time playing with my dog before we leave.”

As I walked toward Bear, I could see that he seemed to be enjoying hanging out with Anubis, but I whistled to get his attention. When he looked in my direction, I held up the tennis ball that I carried with me, because I knew it would get him to come over to see what I wanted. When he reached me, I bent down and cupped the sides of his head in my hands affectionately as I petted him and whispered in his ear.

“I’m not sure if that guy was just weirdly friendly or if he was hitting on me, so I’m using you to get away from him.” I could tell that he understood, so I stood up and spoke louder. “Do you want to play fetch, boy?”

Bear barked and started jumping for the ball as I held it in the air, and then I threw the ball as far as I could. He raced after it, with Anubis chasing after him, and we continued doing this until Ralph called Anubis so they could leave. I assumed his lunch hour was over, and as I turned to watch him leave, I could tell by the look on his face that he was upset that I hadn’t reacted to his not so subtle hints or taken him up on his unspoken offer.

I continued playing fetch with Bear for a little while longer, and when I asked if he was ready to leave. He barked and headed toward the gate, and after I hooked the leash to his collar, I walked him out to the SUV and opened the rear door before I unhooked the leash. Bear quickly jumped inside, so I closed the door and got in the driver’s seat so I could head back to the house.

After Devin had transitioned and got dressed again, I pulled over to the side of the road, hopped out of the SUV, and headed over to get in the passenger side so Devin could drive. When we reached the house, Devin parked the SUV in the garage and closed the door. I’m not sure if he hoped that by doing this it would keep the neighbor lady from finding out that we were back, although we knew she’d realize it fairly soon anyway.

After spending a little time at the house, Devin suggested we should walk to the campus. It was earlier than we usually left to eat supper at the dining hall, so it made me wonder if he was doing this so we wouldn’t be walking away from the house as the neighbor lady was returning home. If this was his reason for leaving so early, I thought he was becoming obsessed about avoiding her.

Once we got to the campus, we walked around for a brief time to see if we spotted anyone else we knew, and we hadn’t been doing it very long when we spotted Anna Franklin. She’s the girl who’d written the article about our Christmas visit to the local hospital for the campus newspaper the previous year. She saw us at nearly the same time and appeared to be walking toward us to chat.

“Hey, welcome back to campus. Did you have a nice summer?”

“Yes, we did,” I responded. “How about you? Did you have an enjoyable summer as well?”

“Yes, I did. So, are you guys going to do the same thing with the children at the hospital for Christmas this year?”

“Yep, it was a lot of fun doing it last year, and after seeing the expressions on the kids’ faces when we gave them the presents, we knew we were definitely going t be doing it again.”

“Great! I want to write the article about it, and ummm, do you think it would be ok if I met you guys at the hospital this time so I can see you in action?”

“Sure, as long as you don’t mind getting a late start heading home for Christmas.”

“No, that will be fine, because I don’t live very far away. Uhhh, if you want to walk over to the newspaper office with me, I’ll introduce you to the new editor-in-chief. The last one graduated.”

“Ok, that sounds like an excellent idea, but are you sure he or she will be there?”

“Yes, the editors and some of the staff are busy getting everything set up so we can publish the ‘Welcome Back’ edition of the paper. I’m just returning after I went over to sign up for a conference time with my faculty advisor.”

“Great, then lead the way.”

This year’s editor-in-chief was a female, unlike the previous one, and she seemed excited that we were going to do the same thing at the hospital again. She even asked us to remind her about what the prior editor-in-chief had done for us the previous year, and then she offered to do as much, or possibly even more, this year.

“Great! And even though we’re four months away from doing it, we definitely can use your help,” I replied. “The most important thing you can do for us is to place a large ad in the next couple of editions of the paper. We want you to use it to remind the student body that we’ll be playing Santa and his elves and passing out presents to the children at the hospital again.”

“We can definitely do that for you,” she confirmed.

“Remind them that we’ll be holding the Third Annual Toy Drive and we’ll be accepting both money and appropriate toy donations for this event. Let them know that they can drop those items off at your office, and make sure they know that any extra toys will be given to Toys for Tots and any extra money will be donated to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.”

“Ok, we can do that for you too,” she replied.

“Will it be ok if I write the ad for them, as well as the article when they visit the hospital?” Anna quickly asked. “They’ve already agreed that I can meet them at the hospital so I can watch them in action. I think it will help me write a better follow-up article.”

“Sure, I don’t have a problem with you doing both of those things,” the editor confirmed.

“Oh, and will you be able to temporarily hold and secure the monetary donations here, in a locked container when they come in? If you’ll do that for us, then we’ll drop by every Friday to see how much money was donated, and if there’s enough we’ll take it with us so we can buy toys over the weekend. And if you’re also willing to let us store the toys here until the day before we visit the hospital, then we’ll drop off the toys that we buy on Monday. Doing that for us will be greatly appreciated.”

“That won’t be a problem either, because I remember it’s what we did for you last year.”

“Super! Then I think we’ve covered all the bases for now,” Devin agreed.

After we left the newspaper office, Devin and I decided to head over to the dining hall to eat. When we finished, we walked back to the house, and Devin appeared to be looking for the neighbor lady the entire time. I don’t know why he’s so fixated on her, but he seems to have a phobia about running into her again, but she must’ve arrived home already. I just hope he keeps his cool when we finally run into her, because we’re going to be staying here for this academic year and the next, and I don’t want to give her any reason to create even more problems for us.

Seeing there wasn’t a lot for us to do, since we hadn’t started classes yet and we didn’t have a TV, we arranged some of the things we’d brought with us. We hadn’t unpacked those items yet, and after we finished taking care of some if those things, we got on our laptops and browsed the internet for a while.

When it started getting late, we headed up to the bedroom and made love. I’m not sure if Devin was revved up due to tomorrow’s football game or because he’d been worried about running into the neighbor lady, but he was an animal in bed. He was aggressive and extremely physical, yet he was still very tender. I’m not sure what motivated him tonight, but I think I can honestly say we both enjoyed it. When we were done, we showered and went to bed.

When we woke up in the morning, we hurried over to the dining hall for breakfast, and then Devin wanted to go to the dog park before we put on our CSU gear to go to the game. I didn’t have a problem with doing that, so we followed the same procedure as yesterday as we made our way there.

I was surprised that Preston and Bailey weren’t around when we got there, so maybe Preston was busy getting ready for his classes to begin, or possibly they’d been here already. Either way, there were three other people with their dogs, so I chatted with the other owners while our dogs raced around and played with each other.

I wasn’t worried about anyone hitting on me today, seeing Ralph wasn’t there and we were chatting as a group. The conversation basically revolved around the upcoming football season and if CSU was going to win today. I even learned a few things about some of the players, both those that were returning and those we’d see for the first time today. Eventually, we all agreed that we should leave so we’d have time to get ready for the game.

Each of us called our dogs, and after hooking their leashes to their collars, we headed out to our vehicles. Of course, I had to drive to while Devin transitioned and got dressed, and then I pulled over to the side of the road to change drivers. However, I did it at a different location today, because I didn’t want to draw too much attention to us by doing this at the same spot every time.

Devin and I started talking after he began driving, but it wasn’t about what happened at the dog park today. It was about the home opener against Washington State and we were both excited to see how it was going to turn out. .

“Do you think we’re going to win today?” he asked.

“I don’t know and the guys at the dog park were split on the idea when we were talking about it earlier. One of them kept insisting that Washington State is a really good team and the Rams don’t stand a chance.”

“Well I guess we’ll soon see if he’s right.”

When we reached the house, Devin pulled the SUV into the garage and locked it up, and then we went inside and changed quickly. When we were done, we walked over to the stadium and started looking around for Barry and his friends, but Barry spotted us first.

“Hey, I’m glad you guys are joining us, because I’ve got something to tell you. I don’t know why I didn’t think of this when we were chatting yesterday, but I’m having these guys over to my apartment next Saturday to watch the away game on my 60 inch (152.5 cm) TV. The game is against Colorado and I’d like you two to join us.”

“So you’re just inviting the guys that are here right now?” Devin asked.

“Yes. A couple of the guys that did it with us last year graduated, so it will just be the guys you see here and I hope you’ll join us.”

“Yeah, it sounds like fun,” we agreed.

“Just like last year, I’ve asked these guys to chip in so I can buy some snacks that we can eat during the game and at halftime. If you want beer again, then I’ll buy that for you too and all you’ll have to do is give me the money for it.”

“It sounds great, but we don’t have any extra money on us right now, unless you take debit cards, but I don’t suppose you can do that,” I joked.

“Of course I can. Just give me your debit cards and tell me your PINs and I’ll take care of that for you,” he replied with an evil laugh.

“In that case, we’ll give you the money the next time we see you.”

“Yeah, or you can even wait until game day, if you want. I trust you guys and know you won’t stiff me,” he said with a smile, and then he told us where he lived this year. “Just tell me how much beer you want and I’ll buy that for you too.”

“I think a six-pack will do fine and we’ll split it,” Devin replied.

“I’m glad to see that you’re still not heavy drinkers, because I don’t want anyone getting bombed and then trashing my apartment.”

“Nah, you don’t have to worry about us and this sounds great,” I stated, and then we got ready to watch the game.

It was a massacre, but it wasn’t good for us. We lost 50-24 and it wasn’t as close as the score might imply. The one guy at the dog park had been correct and Washington State was a very good team and they proved it.

As we were walking back to the house, Devin made a comment.

“We’ll have to make sure we go to the ATM and withdraw some cash so we can give it to Barry.”

“He said we could give it to him when we go to his apartment to watch the game, so we’ll just have to go to the ATM before then.”

“Yes, this is going to work out great, or else we’d have to make other arrangements to watch the game, since we don’t have cable TV.”

“We could’ve always asked one of our other friends to invite us to watch the game at their dorm, but that probably would’ve been pretty crowded if everyone on his floor wanted to watch the game too.”

“We could’ve always gone to a sport’s bar instead.”

“Yeah, but this will work out better than any of those other options,” I countered.

“I’m just surprised that Barry invited us, since we really haven’t been as close with him since we lived in the dorm.”

“Yeah, but he always seemed to like and trust us. He even said that when he asked us to help him keep an eye out for the rapist.”

“Yeah, but that was a year and a half ago.”

“I know, but he still goes out of his way to speak whenever he sees us, and he’s always liked to tease you about the way you dressed, at least until this year.”

“And he’s never been mean when he’s done that either. I could always tell he was only teasing, so maybe you’re right. He is a pretty nice guy and it’s never bothered him that we were gay either.”

“Yeah, and I’m glad his friends seem to feel the same way, at least the ones we’ve already met.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Shortly after we finished this conversation, Devin’s phone rang, so he glanced at it quickly to see who was calling.

“It’s Gramps. I wonder what he wants,” he said to no one in particular.

“Answer it and find out.”