Commencement - 15. The April Fool

As March turned into April, the light at the end of the tunnel was getting closer. Only two more months and school would be behind me. I decided on a college. I was going to go to the University of Pittsburgh. I hadn’t decided what to study yet. It didn’t matter at that point. It was nice to know that my education was going to be paid for by Brett’s parents. I felt guilty about it at first, but after a while, I didn’t feel so bad. After all, they had been lying to Brett for years. They deserved to pay for that somehow. I was excited about getting out of school and determined to win at least a share of valedictorian, to prove to all those people that they couldn’t always win. I saw my victory as a victory for every kid who was told they couldn’t fight the system. It would be a victory for my dad, who never had the chance to win valedictorian himself because of his father driving him out of his house and out of school. Someone had to defeat the Sarah Taylors of the world.

 

Brett was still a few weeks from returning to school, but he was almost to the point when he could get upright and out of bed again. The massive cast would be coming off and he’d be able to flex his knee again. Once that happened, he’d be able to be on crutches. If his healing went as expected, we would be able to go to the prom together in May.

 

Dustin turned eighteen on April Fools Day and was planning to apply for his driver’s permit that very day right after school. Things were going great for him. He won the school’s annual chess tournament and was going to represent the school at a state tournament. He was destroying the league in baseball, picking up right where he left off when his troubles overwhelmed him during our sophomore year. He was on pace to become the first kid in league history to win the batting title in his freshman and senior years without playing in the years in between. It wasn’t even close, he was batting well over six hundred. His combination of brawn and brains made him a formidable player at the plate and in the field. There were rumors that some major league scouts had been at some of our games. Brett had been right about him. His natural talent was unbelievable. When he wasn’t playing, he spent most of his time with Emily. She was even coming to the games to cheer him on. They had become the ‘it couple’ at school. Amazing how being good at smacking a ball with a stick could make somebody so popular. I was just glad that they still sat with me at lunch, since I didn’t want to eat alone. At least they weren’t one of those couples who had to spend every waking minute with their lips attached to each other. I was really happy for both of them even if I was slightly jealous that Em was monopolizing all of my best friend’s time.

 

“You going to go out with Em tonight for your birthday?” I asked Dustin as we walked toward advanced biology together.

 

“Yeah. Mom’s going to pick me up after school and take me to do the permit test and then I’ll meet Em later on,” Dustin said. “But if you want to come over later that’d be cool. You could stay over night and we could do something fun tomorrow.”

 

“That sounds cool. Wow, I can’t remember the last time I stayed overnight at your place. I’ll be there about eight o’clock.”

 

We noticed a crowd of students gathered around the bulletin board.

 

“Wonder what it is this time?” I asked.

 

“I don’t know, let’s check it out,” Dustin replied.

 

As we got closer, we heard the various reactions from our classmates.

 

“They can’t do that, can they?” a girl in front of us asked. “It’s got to be an April Fool’s Day joke.”

 

“It’s about time they did something,” said a boy.

 

Being two six foot tall seniors, Dustin and I intimidated our way through the crowd to see what all the fuss was about. There was a new sign on the bulletin board:

 

Attention all students and staff:

 

It has come to the attention of the administration and the board that there are students who are planning to sabotage this year’s senior prom with activities which are prohibited by our student code of conduct. Therefore, let it be known that any couple wishing to attend any school dance/activity must be a male/female couple. Same sex couples are not permitted to attend school events. Any person who is found in violation of this policy will be subject to appropriate disciplinary measures, including forfeiture of class rank, suspension from all school activities, or possible expulsion from school.

 

John Taylor, President, MVSD

 

I stared at that paper for a long time. The buzzing of the crowd around me faded away into the background. Those sons of bitches! Everything that Miss Winston had said would happen was coming true. I scowled at the bottom of the page. John Taylor – Sarah’s father. It was clear what was happening, I mean why even include the comment about class rank? This was a deliberate attempt to get to me. But it wasn’t just me they were hurting. Every gay student in our school was being punished for my daring to challenge the inevitability of Sarah’s reign as valedictorian.

 

Filled with seething white-hot rage, I ripped the announcement off the bulletin board and stuffed it into my pocket.

 

“Dustin, you said your mom is going to pick you up?” I asked.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Good. Tell Mr. Shit for Brains I had to go meet with Coach about something for baseball. This school cares more about sports than academics anyway.”

 

“Where are you going?” he asked.

 

“I’ve got something I need to do,” I replied. “I’ll see you tonight.”

 

I slipped out of a side entrance of the school and escaped to Brett’s car. I couldn’t be in that place another second. I drove down the street away from school with a renewed sense of purpose. I never really knew what I was supposed to do with my life until that moment as I drove down the street. I was going to fight those assholes. I was going to make sure that no kid would ever have to live in fear because of who he loved. I was going to learn everything I could about the laws those people used to persecute people like me, and then I was going to do everything in my power to destroy those laws. I was going to fight to make sure people like me could love and marry who we wanted, and then throw it in their fucking faces.

 

I’d never been so pissed in my life, and that was saying something because rage was kind of my thing. I was totally filled with hatred. That was kind of the reason I didn’t go to class, because I would probably have gotten suspended or worse for the things I was thinking about doing to Sarah Taylor.

 

 

I drove to Brett’s house. I walked in the door and went to the living room, prepared to share the news with him, but to my absolute shock he was not in the living room! I wondered if something had happened to him or if his mom had taken him somewhere. My dad’s coin collection was sitting by the couch and his computer was still on, the screen displaying a map of Buffalo. I looked closer to see he’d highlighted a place called Foster & Bryant. Before I could investigate further, I heard the sound of a toilet flushing in the downstairs bathroom and then the sound of a chair being pushed along the floor. A few minutes later Brett hobbled into the living room using a chair as a crutch, trying to walk using only his left leg.

 

“You’re not supposed to be putting weight on that leg yet,” I said.

 

Brett jumped from surprise. “Jesus Christ! Give me a fucking heart attack! What the fuck are you doing here? It’s not time for school to let out yet.” Brett worked his way back to the couch. Before he sat down, he turned off his computer monitor and looked at me suspiciously.

 

“What were you doing?” I asked.

 

“I was taking a shit if you must know,” Brett said shortly. “I’m tired of taking a fucking crap in the fucking living room. This stupid cast is coming off next week, so it’s not like one fucking trip to a real toilet is going to fucking kill me.”

 

“Your mom home?” I asked.

 

“No she’s at work.”

 

“Good,” I said. I pulled my shirt off up over my head and unbuckled my belt, and then yanked down my pants and underwear. My shoes, socks, and insulin pump all ended up in a pile with my clothes. Without saying a word, I grabbed hold of Brett’s boxers and yanked them off him. I grabbed the nearby hand lotion and put a gob of it up into my ass and then slathered it all over Brett’s dick.

 

“Fuck me,” I insisted. I pushed Brett onto his back and turned around to face his legs. Then I sat on his stiffening cock, driving myself down on it all the way to the hilt.

 

“Jesus!” Brett cried.

 

“Jesus has got nothing to do with what I want to do to you,” I said. I started raising and lowering myself onto him, driving his dick in and out of my ass like a piston. All I wanted was to fuck. I wanted to do something dirty and gay and I didn’t give a shit who that fucking offended. I wished I could ride Brett’s fucking cock right in the middle of Pastor Carl’s stupid church. I understood why his son had desecrated his father’s office with his sick gay sex.

 

Brett never knew what hit him. I rode him like a cowboy in a rodeo. I felt Brett’s hands on my ass, kneading my cheeks as I continued my relentless onslaught.

 

“I’m gonna cum! Fuck I’m gonna cum!” Brett cried. That just made me pound my ass into his hips even harder. “Ohhhhhhh fuck!” Brett screamed in ecstasy.

 

“Yeah baby!” I shouted. “Give me that fucking nut, dude!”

 

“Sweet lord!” Brett exclaimed.

 

I pulled off him. Brett’s dick plopped onto his lower belly with a heavy thump, his cum still oozing out of him. I stood up and turned around. I grabbed Brett’s dick and then repositioned myself on top of him, this time facing his chest and then lowered myself onto his dick yet again. It didn’t take long for Brett’s cock to stiffen again. Brett’s first load drooled out of me and onto his dick and balls. I pumped myself even more firmly and rapidly than before. Brett didn’t know what to do with himself. He just ended up laying there with his hands clasped behind his head. I put both my hands on his chest and fucked him like there was no tomorrow. Brett was almost in tears.

 

“I’m gonna cum again!” Brett whined. “Oh sweet fucking Jesus! You’re gonna make me cum again!”

 

This time, as I felt Brett reach the point of no return I pulled off of him and caught his load in my hand as he came. I took his cum and smeared it all over my dick. I moved forward so that I was straddling his chest and jerked myself off using his cum for my lube. Some of his seed dripped down onto his chest as I beat my meat with the same forcefulness that I’d just used to fuck that load out of Brett. I grunted and snorted like a wild beast, totally out of my mind and out of control. I felt my animal lust overwhelm my body. Brett realized too late what was going to happen.

 

“Billy, don’t cum in my face.”

 

But it was too late. I screamed in that wonderful mix of ecstasy and agony as my whole body convulsed. My dick throbbed in my hand and unleashed a blast of sexual power that sent my seed flying over Brett’s head that landed somewhere on the floor with an audible heavy splat.

 

“No, no!” Brett cried as the second blast shot him right in his face. The third blast was just as strong, landing on his face and in his right eye. The fourth shot went up his nose and the fifth splashed on his lips. Not content to have blown my load in my boyfriend’s face, I moved myself forward so that my dick was directly over his face and let even more of my semen ooze from my dick and onto his handsome features. Then, having exhausted every ounce of sexual energy, I took my dick and smacked Brett in the face with it, smearing my cum over his cheeks and lips.

 

I shuddered. I lifted myself up off of the couch and plopped onto the nearby chair. I was totally exhausted. Brett just lay there for a minute with his eyes closed. He reached around on the floor until he found his box of tissues, then he wiped off his face. He pulled himself up to a seated position and glared at me.

 

“What the fuck, dude?” Brett snarled.

 

“What?” I asked.

 

“What do you mean, ‘what?’ What did you go and do that for?”

 

“Do what?” I asked.

 

“Dude, I’ve fucking told you before not to fucking cum in my fucking face! I’ve told you it’s fucking humiliating and it burns like a fucking bitch! I don’t even like it when you do it by accident and you just fucking did it on purpose!”

 

“So you got a little spooge in your eyes,” I replied. “Big deal! I could have sworn I just made you cum twice.”

 

“Yeah, and what the fuck was that about? What the fuck got into you? You were fucking out of control, dude.”

 

“What? You didn’t like it? I just wanted to try something new. There’s only so much we can do since you’ve got that big old cast on your fucking leg! I was trying to be spontaneous and fun and all you’re doing is fucking complaining about it! I don’t get it! I’d kill for someone to fuck me as good as I just did you!”

 

“Okay, what’s really going on, Billy? What’s set you off. I don’t know what made you think shooting your fucking load up my nose was going to make you feel better but something definitely happened. You’re mad at something.”

 

“Okay, you want to know what’s got me pissed off? Here.”

 

I found my pants on the floor and pulled the crumbled up paper out of my pocket and gave it to Brett. As he read it, I could see he was slowly getting more and more pissed off.

 

“What’s this word? Fortified?” he asked, pointing to a word on the page. I looked at it.

 

“Forfeiture,” I said. “It means if we go to that dance together I would lose my valedictorian status.”

 

“So that’s what you’re so angry about? I still don’t see why you had to try to shoot me in the face with your spooge. Anyway, this has to be fucking bullshit. They can’t legally do this.”

 

“Sure they can,” I replied. “The law is on their side, not ours. I mean, we could fight them, but by the time we even got a hearing on this it would be summer and it would be irrelevant at that point and I’d lose valedictorian. And the hearing would just confirm their authority to do this shit. We have to take out the discriminatory laws that underpin this kind of bullshit ruling, turn it around so that it’s the persecutors who are punished, not the victims.”

 

“That sounds like a lot of work,” Brett said.

 

“That’s because it is,” I replied. “That’s what I want to do, Brett. I want to fight these assholes. What they’re doing is wrong. Justice has to be restored!”

 

“And the best way to do that is to take an internship in the office of the guy who probably wrote this piece of shit for them? No, you don’t care about justice. You’re just mad because you’re not getting your way.”

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.

 

“Dude, you’ve had years to join the fight and you’ve sat on your fucking ass. You wouldn’t even acknowledge that we were together until you were forced to. I’m sick of your fucking bullshit. The only reason you care about it now is because they’re threatening to take your precious valedictorian from you. You don’t care about the other kids. You only care about how this affects you.”

 

“Brett, I don’t care about the stupid vale…”

 

“You’re such a fucking liar! You always say you don’t care, but I know you do. I mean, honestly, you’re telling me you weren’t just a little bit happy that Joey got taken out?”

 

“Joey took himself out, just like Miss Winston said. Miss Winston had to leave our school because she stood up for what’s right! That’s what I’m trying to do, Brett. I can’t let assholes like Sarah Taylor win!”

 

“Sure you can,” Brett replied. “What we’re fighting for is something so much more important than some stupid meaningless title. We’re not fighting against people who are mean out of ignorance! We’re fighting so that kids like us can grow up in a society where they’re not tormented and made to feel like bastards for who they love! But you’re so selfish that you would gladly throw all of that away so you could spite some stupid bitch who doesn’t deserve a minute’s worth of thought! You just want to shoot your load all over their faces and humiliate them so you can lord it over them how fucking smart you are.”

 

“Fuck! I’m sorry I came in your fucking face! Okay? Sorry! I thought we were having a good time. I thought you might be grateful!”

 

“Yeah, I’m really grateful that my eye is on fire and you shot your load up my nose. Thanks for that! I really appreciate how thoughtful and considerate you are of my goddamn feelings.”

 

“I…” I began. But then I realized that I was just stoking the fire when I didn’t really want to fight with Brett. “Look, I’m sorry I got carried away. I didn’t mean to treat you like that. I know I can be a douchebag sometimes. Okay, most of the time. It’s just… You know I skipped class to come over here and do this with you and I really wanted to have sex with you after I read that stupid announcement. I wanted to prove to myself that those people could never defeat our love. I’m sorry you felt disrespected. I’m sorry I didn’t think about your feelings.”

 

Brett sighed. “Okay. I forgive you. I’m sorry that I’m being such a bitch about everything. I’ve been trapped in this place for too long. I feel like a rat in a cage. I know I’m being a big jerk and over-reacting to everything. I’m sorry too. I didn’t appreciate what you did, but I didn’t have to be an asshole about it. You forgive me?”

 

“Sure,” I replied. “So what’s in Buffalo?”

 

“Buffalo? Oh… You saw my screen. I’m just doing a little research.”

 

“Research on Buffalo?”

 

“Sort of. I’m not quite finished yet, but when I am, I’ll fill you in on what I’m doing. Okay?”

 

“Sure,” I replied.

 

I stayed with Brett until about six o’clock. The rest of our time went smoothly without incident. I guess we were just due for a good fight that afternoon. It had been awhile. I knew Brett was right. I knew he didn’t enjoy being shot in the face with my load, but I’d done it on purpose anyway. I don’t even know why I did it! I just did.

 

I went home and took a shower, had dinner with mom and David, and then packed a few things to go hang out with Dustin. I was excited about spending the night at his house and hanging out with him. It had been a while. Both of our lives had gotten busy with school, baseball, and relationships. When I pulled into the driveway, I was disappointed to see Emily’s car parked at the house. What I had hoped to be an evening with just me and Dustin was going to end up being me as the third wheel.

 

Don’t get me wrong, I liked Em, and I was thrilled that Dustin seemed to have finally found love. But I wanted to hang out with my best friend, not my best friend and his girlfriend, even though she was one of my best friends. We did have a good time though. We watched a movie together. The three of us sat on the couch together, with Dustin in the middle of us holding a big bowl of popcorn in his lap. After the movie, Em needed to go home. She shared a long kiss with Dustin at the door before she left, and Dustin watched from the doorway as she got into her car.

 

“That was fun,” I said.

 

“Yeah I guess,” Dustin replied. “You want to head up to my room? Mom won’t be home tonight. She’s working the night shift.”

 

I followed Dustin up to his room. He always kept his room neat and clean. He’d been beaten too many times for having anything out of place.

 

“Make yourself comfortable,” Dustin said. He pulled his shirt up over his head and tossed it aside. His slight frame would never be able to add the muscle he wanted, no matter how hard he tried. He’d been too malnourished as a kid. I mean, he was still built pretty solid, and he was strong and athletic. But he was always thinner than he should have been.

 

Dustin dropped his pants and underwear and found a pair of gym shorts and pulled them on. I took my clothes off too and dug through my overnight bag to find the shorts I was going to sleep in. We’d seen each other in the locker room enough times that seeing each other undressing wasn’t a huge deal, but it was still a thrill to see him naked, even if it was a brief moment. Dustin smiled as his eyes took in my body. I found my shorts and pulled them on. He flipped through his cd’s and put one into his stereo. Country… Ugh…

 

“Who is this supposed to be?” I asked.

 

“You don’t know who Kenny Chesney is?” Dustin asked in disbelief.

 

“Dude, I listen to country music about as much as you listen to heavy metal.”

 

“Oh, so never then,” Dustin replied. He handed me a deck of cards. “Just deal.”

 

“Looks like you and Em are really hitting it off,” I said as I shuffled.

 

“I guess so,” he replied.

 

“You guess so? Dude, did you see the way she was looking at you tonight?”

 

“It was hard to miss.”

 

“I’ve seen that look on Brett’s face before. She’s really into you, Dusty. Bud, if I hadn’t come over tonight she probably would have given it up for you.”

 

Dustin sighed. “I… Look, can we just not do this?”

 

“Do what?”

 

“Look Billy, I get that Em is hot for me. And it’s not like I don’t want to fuck her. I’d like to. I mean, I do think she’s hot and everything. But it’s just not that simple for me. It’s not like we haven’t tried.”

 

“You did?”

 

“Well, we got a bit handsy and… Okay, you’ve got to keep this a secret. You hear me?”

 

“Of course!”

 

“Okay… Well, we kind of got really into it. You know, she let me feel her tits and stuff. She’s got great tits, by the way. Anyway, she slipped her hand into my pants and pulled my cock out and wanted to give me a blow job.”

 

“Holy shit! Em sucked your dick?”

 

Dustin turned beet red. Even his chest turned red. “She would have, except…”

 

“Except what?”

 

“Except I couldn’t get hard,” Dustin admitted.

 

“No!”

 

“Oh yeah. And not for lack of trying either. She worked on my poor thing for like ten minutes before we just gave up in frustration.”

 

“Oh no!” I said.

 

“Afraid so. The mighty Dustin Smith struck out when it mattered most. Struck out? Hell! I didn’t even bring my bat with me to the plate!”

 

“Aw man, I’m sorry Dusty!”

 

“You or Brett ever bomb out and not be able to get it up?”

 

“I… I guess there was the time when we’d already done it a few times. Oh god, that sounds so fucking conceited. I didn’t mean to be. I guess you could say we’ve never had a problem.”

 

“Figures. It’s just, I have had so much meaningless sex with guys in my life and I never had a problem getting it up when I needed to perform. But then I finally find a girl worth getting hard for and I’m limp as can be. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’m so screwed up! I was too ashamed to even tell my therapist. I mean, I fucked Mike senseless so many times and I didn’t even love him.”

 

“So you say,” I said.

 

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

 

“I mean, I know you say you never loved Mike. But maybe deep down inside you really did have feelings for him? Maybe you’ve just been afraid to admit it.”

 

“So you’re saying you think I’m queer?”

 

“Well, you have fucked a lot of guys.”

 

“That was just sex, Billy. It wasn’t love. It was only meaningless fucking. It was just business.”

 

“How much did Mike pay you to fuck him?” I asked.

 

“Nothing.”

 

“So how was that business?”

 

Dustin shrugged. “He paid in other ways. He bought me stuff, let me hang out with him and things like that.”

 

“That sounds like a relationship to me,” I said. “If anything, I know Mike loved you. I’ll bet he still does.”

 

“Look Billy, you just don’t understand. For so long I was a piece of meat for any guy who wanted some of me. To do that, I had to shut off some part of myself to survive, or I would’ve lost my soul to that fucking park. I had to bury my heart deep within myself so no one could hurt me. Now that I want it back, I can’t find the stupid thing. I think I’ve lost the ability to love. Just look at my stupid parents. You’re supposed to love your kids, right? But all they ever gave me was abuse and beatings. That was how I learned about love. ‘My dad didn’t beat the shit out of me tonight! I guess he loves me!’ Love is a fucking joke.”

 

“Come on now…”

 

“It’s true! The only person in my whole life I’ve ever really loved is you. And I know, you’re in love with Brett. I get it. He’s a good kid. But I’m a good kid too! Why’d you have to pick him instead of me?”

 

“I didn’t pick. It just happened that way.”

 

“So the reason you’re with him and not me is just a stupid cosmic joke life has played on me. A random act of chance! I’ve fucked so many guys, but the one person who I truly love is the one person who I can never be with!”

 

“It wasn’t really random, Dustin. Brett and I were meant to be together.”

 

“How do you know? He moved here from out of town. If not for a freak accident he never would have been here and you two would have never met. Maybe you were never even supposed to meet? Maybe you were always meant to be with me?

 

“Dustin, I don’t love you the way I love Brett. I mean, yeah, you’re attractive but I love you like a brother. I love you like I love Emily, even more. You’re my best friend.”

 

Dustin moved closer to me. He put his hand on my shoulder.

 

“No. It’s more than that. Billy, I need you to understand how I feel about you. I’ve been telling myself for years that it never could have worked between us. The day you told me that you were with him, it broke my heart. I let you get too close and when you rejected me it killed me. You remember? I didn’t know how to process it and I ended up kicking your broken hand. I ended up in a very dark place after that. I’d already fooled around with Mike, but the one who I really wanted was you. I’ve always wanted to be with you. And to be honest, I always wanted Brett to just go away so I could have you to myself. I was convinced that if he went away that you would love me. But I’ve realized that you never would have been happy with me. And I would never have been happy with you either – I always would have been your second choice.”

 

“Look Dustin, I’ve always known you loved me. I guess for the last couple years I even knew you were attracted to me sexually. But I feel like it’s more that you only felt that way because you could never have me. I was the one guy you could never fuck, and so that just made me more attractive to you. Brett always saw it better than me. That’s why he was so mean to you. He knew you wanted what he had.”

 

“I almost did have you once right here in this room, remember? I think that was the cruelest joke. I literally had you in my hands, and you rejected me for him. I wanted to hurt him. For a long time I just wanted to punch him in the face. I really wanted to break you two up. I wanted to scoop up what was left and be that person who you were willing to give up everything for. But I know that I can never be that person for you. Then I did punch him in the face, repeatedly, and it just made me feel even worse. Then you whacked me in the head with a frying pan and I knew you would always choose him over me. The way you looked at me that day… You looked like you wanted to kill me, like you would have done literally anything to protect Brett. I just want to be that person for somebody. I thought that I could be the one for Emily. But I can’t even get a stiffy for her. I’m not going to lie, seeing you here again, seeing your body again, it’s intoxicating. I’m really hard right now, and judging from the tent you’ve got going there, you’re hard too.”

 

“I am. But it’s just us being aroused by the conversation. I’ll be honest, the thought of having sex with you really turns me on. I can admit that. I’m gay and you’re super hot, and I know what we could do to each other would make us feel really good. But it would only last for a moment, and then we’d regret it forever. I could never face Brett again.”

 

“Yeah. And I’ll be honest too, since we’re doing that with each other. By the way, you say that all the time and it’s super-annoying.”

 

“I do?” I asked.

 

“Yeah, constantly. Anyway though, as much as I’d love to take this further and experience what it’s like to truly make love with someone who I truly love, I couldn’t do that to you. I know how much Brett means to you. I know that his rejection of you would destroy you. Even if it meant that I could have you, you would always kind of hate me for breaking the two of you up. And besides that, I actually like the kid now. He’s like a little brother to me. Kicking his ass actually improved our relationship. Or maybe it was that he took it like a man and stood back up. I really started to respect him after that. I wish I’d have felt this way about him all along, instead of hating him for loving you. And so…” Dustin’s beautiful steel blue eyes became watery. “So I just want to thank you for helping me discover who I am. It’s never been so clear to me as it is right now. I feel like after tonight I can finally admit what I’ve been too afraid to say. I’m gay.”

 

I smiled. “I know you are. Welcome to the club.”

 

“Yeah… It felt really good to say that, and for you to be the first one I said it to. It just feels right. I am gay.”

 

“So what are you going to do about Emily?”

 

“I’m going to tell her the truth. Just like you should do with Brett. Billy, it’s been months since you told me you know the truth about his dad. Brett deserves to know. Since you told me, I’ve narrowed it down to a couple of guys. If you don’t tell him, I will. He’s too good of a guy to be lied to all his life. He doesn’t deserve it.”

 

“Who do you think it is?”

 

“I don’t know. He does kind of look like Joey. Maybe it’s Mr. McKenzie.”

 

“Dude, you are so far off,” I lied. “So, since you came out to me, does that mean I get like a toaster or something?”

 

“How about I give you this?” Dustin said, then he leaned in toward me and kissed me right on the lips. Neither one of us was in too much of a hurry to end it either. “That felt good,” Dustin admitted.

 

“It’ll feel even better when you find the right guy,” I replied.

 

We played cards long into the night. Eventually, we got ready for bed. As we lay in bed together, Dustin snuggled up behind me as I lay on my side facing away from him. As he pressed against me, I leaned back into him. He put an arm over my chest and held me close as we drifted off to sleep.