Mike Finds Himself - 23. Pete’s Cumming of Age – Finding Love

Come kick off the school year at the LGBTQ Welcome Back Mixer! This event is for all LGBTQ first year, transfer, and returning students! Here you will have the chance to learn about the LGBTQ resources on campus and in the community. Whether you're looking for a student organization to get involved in, want to meet new people or need help navigating the campus or city, this fun event will provide the resources you need!

A mailing to new students and parents included material about University academic and social information. Pete found the information about gay activities especially interesting. He signed up for the LGBTQ mailing list by sending in his email address.

When Mike reviewed the information sent to new students and their parents he was both surprised and pleased that universities supported gay rights. That was not the situation when he was a student. Or if it was, he was not aware of gay organizations or activity as he was suppressing such thoughts when in college.

Two days after moving into his dorm, Pete walked to the Student Union where the LGBTQ mixer was being held. He entered the event with a combination of fear and eagerness. The information table at the entrance was hosted by an attractive black male student and blond girl. The guy stood and held his hand out, “Hi, I’m Tyler. Welcome to our Mixer. If you have any questions about gay life on campus or in the city do not hesitate to ask me or any of the students wearing a pink name tag. They are upper class students. If you have questions later, send an email to the address listed in this brochure or check out our face book page.” During this short introduction Tyler did not let go of Pete’s hand as he eye fucked him. Pete felt a twinge in his crotch as his left brain said, ‘take it easy young man’ and the right brain pushed erotic thoughts through his body.

An hour later, as Pete said good bye to Tyler, he felt very much at ease. A couple of guys had suggested they get to know each other better. Pete had decided he was just going to check out the party and avoid complicating his life, at least as for now. There would be some type of LGBTQ event at least monthly, so he would have plenty of opportunities to make friends. At this time we was forcing himself to be more concerned about course work than guys.

He found classes challenging. However, in talking to his classmates he discovered he was not the only one struggling. By the end of the third week he felt positive about every class except English composition. Needing a quiet place to work on a paper for the English class, he found a secluded spot in the library. As he struggled writing the assigned composition, someone sat at the opposite end of the table. He looked up and met the eyes of the handsome Tyler, the first person he met at the LGBTQ mixer. He was surprised Tyler remembered his name as he said, “Hi Pete. You look like you are doing some serious work.” They chatted briefly and then each concentrated on their own assignments.

About fifteen minutes later, Tyler quietly announced, “I need to take a piss.” He got up and walked away. As Pete watched him, Tyler turned around and smiled. He gave Pete a nod that was obviously an invitation to join him. Tyler then turned around and Pete enjoyed watching the ass as it walked away. Pete was totally conflicted. After a minute of tormenting himself about the evils of following his desires and of what might happen, he stood and walked in the direction Tyler had gone. When he entered the men’s room, he saw Tyler standing at one of two urinals. Pete, shaking with a combination of fear and anticipation, stepped to the adjoining urinal. As Pete stepped forward, Tyler moved back. He had his hand wrapped around his hard, black, cut dick. He removed his hand so Pete could see it and the balls that were protruding from his opened pants. Tyler then said, “You’ve seen mine, now show me yours.” Without considering the consequences, Pete unzipped his jeans and with some difficulty untangled his now hard dick. Pete secretly was proud that his was a little longer and rounder than the upper classman’s. Tyler reached for it and wrapped his hand around it - “Nice piece of equipment!.” - Then Tyler took Pete’s hand and directed it to his hard dick. As Pete wrapped his hand around the dick, Tyler moaned, “Feels oh so good.” Tyler than suggested, “I would like to finish this party someplace private. Come to my dorm room. OK?”

In a trance, Pete replied, “OK,” as he let go of the only dick he had ever touched other than his own.

Tyler zipped up and left the bathroom. As he walked out another student entered. Pete moved close into the urinal as the other guy stood next to him. Luckily, the thought of almost being caught caused a rapid deflation of his dick. Pete walked back to the study table where Tyler, while making a phone call, waited. Their walk to Tyler’s dorm room was surreal as they discussed Pete’s English composition assignment. Pete mentally had an argument with himself. While his brain told him to just tell Tyler that he was not ready to mess around, the dick pleaded to go for it. The dick won.

When Tyler opened the door to his room, Pete was shocked to see the girl who had been sitting at the host table with Tyler at the LGBTQ Mixer. The girl was pretty and sexy appearing. She wore a pink see through, baby-doll negligee that did not hide the lacy bra holding big tits and frilly panties. Her pink spike heeled shoes matched the outfit.

Pete was in a state of total shock. If Tyler had not closed the door and was now standing behind him blocking the door, he might have attempted to run. “Meet my friend Rhonda, or as her friends call her, Ronnie.” As Tyler wrapped his arms around Pete, the girl stood and approached him. As Tyler caressed him, she placed her hands on Pee’s chest and massaged his nipples. She then moved them down patting his abs and then crotch. She knelt and leaned forward kissing the front of his pants. After unbuckling his belt she unzipped the jeans and pulled them down along with his boxer shorts. As she was doing this, Tyler from behind, unbuttoned and then removed his shirt. She leaned in and examined Pete’s rock hard, dripping dick. She squeezed it and as precum dribbled out, she licked it off the dick head. Meanwhile, Tyler had stripped naked and was now standing next to Pete. She squeezed precum out of Tyler and licked his dickhead clean. As she leaned in to swallow Tyler, he grabbed her head and thrust himself deep down her throat. When he released her, she turned her head and swallowed Pete. She must have realized Pete was near the point of no return as she quickly backed out.

Except for jerking off with buddies, all straight guys, looking at porn, or using his fist for pleasure, Pete was a virgin to sex. He was in a trance, intoxicated by the sensual atmosphere with no control over his actions.

She then stood and laid on the bed. “Now it is time for the men to take care of the lady. Pete, as if in a dream, stepped out of his pants that were around his ankles and followed Tyler to the bed. While Tyler played with the bra covering her tits, she took Pete’s hand and led it down her body. While Pete had never actually touched a lady, he had seen enough porn to know what to expect. As she guided Pete’s trembling hand under her lacy, pink panties his fingers explored. The first area was totally smooth. He had seen both hairy and shaved pussies, so was not surprised at the smoothness. Then his hand encountered something that was definitely not the lady parts he had seen, some very close-up, in porn videos. While he expected his probing fingers to fall into a hole, he felt something soft, long and round. As his fingers touched this piece of flesh, Pete suddenly realized he was holding a rising dick. As it grew, she moaned with pleasure. The dick was now rock hard. There was skin covering the head and he realized he was touching his first uncut dick. She smiled at him, “Surprise. Like what you found?”

As she wiggled out of her panties, Tyler removed the bra. Suddenly Pete realized, this was no lady. He had his hand wrapped around the dick of a young man who was most likely wearing a wig. She, no he, reached for Tyler’s and Pete’s dicks. As she stroked them both, Pete stroked her. Then in a very masculine voice, not the feminine voice she had used, she/he asked Tyler, “Does your friend know what I want?”

“Not yet.” Then turning to Pete he said, referring to him as a she, “My lady wants to be fucked. She hopes you will please her. If you don’t mind, I will start the action and you can finish her off.”

As Tyler said this he mounted the bed kneeling between the spread legs. He reached for a tube and squeezed clear stuff on his fingers. After lubing his dick he lifted Ron’s legs and rubbed lube around and then in the hole. Tyler then moved his legs back, leaned forward and then placed Ron’s legs on his shoulders. The ass was totally exposed. As Tyler leaned forward his dick slid into the waiting hole. He fucked a couple of minutes and pulled out. Then untangling himself from Ron’s legs he moved to the far side of the bed. He took a packet off the night stand, opened it and handed Ron a condom. She said, “Only my Tyler fucks me bareback. Let me roll this on you.” As ordered, Pete stepped forward and Ron expertly rolled the condom onto his throbbing hard dick. Not wanting these people to know he was a virgin to fucking, Pete moved into the same position Tyler had used and placed his dick against the waiting hole. Expecting resistance, he was surprised when his dick just fell in. He pushed in and pulled back. Then again. On his third push in he felt his dick responding to this amazing feeling. The orgasm was so intense that he felt dizzy and almost collapsed onto Ron. As Pete staggered out and back, Tyler moved in. Tyler pulled out and leaned forward to suck his friend. He then moved back in place and continued the fuck. He seemed to be pacing the action. Suddenly, as Ron erupted, Tyler called out in pleasure as he filled his friend. The two kissed.

After wiping themselves clean, they dressed, Ron into male clothes. Tyler announced, “I’m starved, let’s go to the dining hall for dinner.”

As the three college men walked to the dining hall Pete had a difficult time following the conversation as he thought to himself, ‘This is amazing. In the past hour I have touched my first cock, had someone touch me, saw and played with an uncut dick up close, got sucked and then did my first fuck’.

Over dinner the three discussed normal college stuff. Pete learned that Tyler and Ron were both accounting majors in their senior year. Tyler’s father was a partner in an accounting firm and he would work for his father’s firm after graduation. Ron planned to continue his education by entering an M.B.A. (Master of Business Administration) at a university in Tyler’s home town. The two would continue to live together.

Following dinner, Pete was invited back to Tyler’s and Rhonda’s room. The now experienced fucker lasted longer during his second fuck, to the pleasure of Rhonda.

As the semester continued, occasionally Pete would receive a text from Tyler suggesting a visit. Pete never replied ‘no’.

Except for his occasional visits with Tyler and Rhonda, Pete’s fist was his only love partner. The Saturday prior to the Thanksgiving (third Thursday in November) break, Pete attended a LGBTQ mixer. At previous events he had been afraid to get involved with anyone, so did not take up the numerous offers of coffee dates with unspoken suggestions for more. He was afraid to get emotionally attached to some guy. With Tyler and Rhonda, he could just have great sexual experiences with no other expectations.

Pete found himself standing next to Aiden, a fellow business major he had met at the mixer at the beginning of the semester. They had never had a serious conversation although they were in the same Accounting 101 class. Their lives were very different as Pete played intramural soccer and Aiden was interested in theater and did set designs for college theater productions. During this casual conversation, Pete mentioned that he was eager to visit his home for the first time since classes began. He told Aiden that his Wednesday classes had been cancelled and he would take a bus to Springfield Tuesday evening and have an extra day with his parents.

Aiden replied, “I am also planning to leave for home Tuesday. I have a car on campus and will drive through your hometown. You are welcome to ride with me. It will be nice to have someone help with the three hour drive to Springfield. I then have another hour to my home.

They were on the road by 4:00 Tuesday afternoon. Pete at first had been hesitant to accept the ride as he did not know what these two very different guys would talk about for three hours. He was surprised that the conversation flowed so easy. First they discussed their classes. Then Aiden told Pete about the complications of building sets for the current theater production. As they got to know each other better, the conversation got more personal. Aiden told about his family life. Aiden had been brought up in a strict conservative Christian community. Basically, everything he and his family did was church-related, including attending service every Sunday morning, Christian Fellowship Sunday evening and Bible Study on Thursday evening. Every dinner started with a Bible reading and a prayer. Every time he left the house, he was expected to give a detailed explanation of his plans and then explain his activities when he returned. He had no privacy. His bedroom door was not permitted to be closed. Then Aiden confessed, “I began to hate being in that house. My parents had decided that I would attend a Christian college. We had a long battle. They were not happy when I told them I wanted to study business at a large university. They had decided I should attend a college with a strong Bible program. Finally, I told them that it would be a waste for me to go to a Christian college or university to study business if the program did not have national recognition and accreditation. None of their suggested schools had such national business study accreditation. Finally, I told them that if I could not attend the school of my choice, I would not go to college. Instead of college, I would get a job and when I had saved enough money for furniture, find my own place to live. I had back up statements in case my dad lectured more. If he threatened by telling me I was not allowed to live in his house if I did not follow his rules, I had a reply ready. I would tell him that I planned to move in with Uncle Joe and Aunt Sue. My dad hated his brother. He called him a communist and had not spoken to him since he saw a Bernie Sanders for President sign in his yard. Luckily, I did not need to make that threat as it would have led to an unpleasant encounter with my father.”

(For those of you not familiar with USA politics – Bernie Sanders was a serious contender for the Democratic Party, Political party of Obama, nomination for President. Sanders proposed medical care for everyone and free university education. While universal medical care is normal in the rest of the world, the USA requires private insurance for care of all except the elderly and those at the poverty level. Those who do not have employer provided insurance and cannot afford insurance have the choice of going personally bankrupt or dying, should they have a serious medical condition. Many conservative Christians, such as Aiden’s family, do not believe there should be government sponsored medical care. That is a total contradiction to the message of Jesus, especially as noted in the parable of The Good Samaritan.)

Aiden continued, “My uncle has a son and daughter, both university graduates. When in high school, the son had long hair and an earring and the daughter, a small nose ring and rose tattoo on her shoulder. I was not permitted to have any contact with them. Today the son is in law school hoping to use his legal skills to save the planet. He has an undergraduate degree in environmental science. The daughter obtained a university degree with a major in social work. Now she works as a counselor for a State-funded organization that works with victims of sex trafficking. My father does not consider them to be a Christian family as they do not attend church on a regular basis. I am positive my uncle and aunt would let me stay there if my parents threw me out.”

“I pointed out to my parents that State University was the least expensive school with a nationally recognized School of Business in the area. In fact, it was less expensive than any of the small Christian colleges they wanted me to attend. Finally, with great reluctance, they permitted me to apply to State U. I was given a car to have on campus so I could visit home on a regular basis. Much to their unhappiness, I visit no more than once a month. This will be my third trip home since our classes started. I know that as soon as I enter the house, they will begin an interrogation about my activities. None of their questions will be about my course work. It will center on my social life and what I do in my spare time. When they are not questioning me, they are lecturing me on the ‘good life’. That is ‘the good life’ as they see it, not as I see it. They actually believe me when I tell them I attend Church every Sunday and have found a campus Bible study group. My church, as well as my parents, consider homosexuality a grave sin. Luckily, they cannot even imagine that their son is queer. Although I attend church with my parents, I have stopped attending mentally. I sing the hymns loud and totally block out the often hateful sermons.”

Pete replied, “God, what a bummer. I have had total freedom while growing up. While my parents showed a lot of interest in my school activities, they were never overbearing. They always wanted to know where I was going and when I would be home, but never quizzed me on what I did with my friends. I always gave them a summary of my activities.” Then Pete suggested, “Since we are not going to get to my house until 7:00 or later and you have another hour to drive, why don’t you stay overnight and drive home in the morning. You can call your parents from my house and tell them we got a late start and that you were up until 3:00 this morning finishing an assignment.”

With a smile Aiden accepted the offer. “If I stay overnight at your house, I will have one less day of interrogations and lectures. Thanks for the offer.” During the rest of the drive their conversation covered many topics except one. Aiden did not bring up, and Pete did not want to push, any sex or gay issues.

Aiden felt very at ease with Pete’s parents. Maggie had prepared a beef stew that could be warmed up whenever the boys arrived. During dinner, Pete’s parents directed questions to both boys about their campus activities and classes. None of the questions were intrusive and Aiden took them as showing an interest in him, not interrogating this young man who was a friend of their son.

When Pete suggested Aiden could sleep in his room on an air mattress, the guest was not insulted that he was being given a second rate bed. Instead, he was thankful that sleeping on the floor would give him an extra night away from the scrutiny of his parents.

The boys were both tired and they went to the bedroom about an hour after dinner. Aiden went out to his car to get his toothbrush and he returned with a plastic bag with clean clothes. When it was time to get ready for bed, Aiden went to the bathroom to shower and returned wearing pajamas. Pete was surprised as he knew no one his age who wore pajamas. As far as he knew, guys in the dorm just wore underwear or sleep pants to bed. While Pete was not expecting a fuck, suck or jerkoff session with his friend, he felt that Aiden was being overly prudish. Normally Pete would have put on clean boxer shorts for sleeping. He had a feeling that Aiden was shy. Pete wanted his guest to feel comfortable so he did not change in front of him. Instead, he slept in the boxers he had worn all day. When it was time to actually get into bed, Pete insisted that he sleep on the floor and Aiden in his bed. Aiden protested. Finally, they flipped a coin. Pete won the toss and slept in his own bed. Thankfully, it was the decision of the coin and not Pete that his guest had the uncomfortable sleeping arrangement.

Soon after the boys fell asleep Pete’s dad, Mike, laid in bed scolding himself as he had very pleasant erotic thoughts about Pete’s friend, Aiden. The two boys were certainly a handsome pair. His muscular son, Pete, was 6’ 2” (1.88 m) with a strong face. The thin Aiden was slightly shorter. To Mike’s shame he found this boy with dirty blond hair and sky blue eyes very erotic. That was his last vision before falling asleep.

The following morning, Pete showered and changed into clean underwear in the bathroom. When he returned to the bedroom, Aiden was dressed. Pete wondered, ‘Was it coincidence or Aiden’s planning that resulted in their never seeing the other naked?’ Then Pete chided himself for being obsessed with checking out his friend.

When Pete and Aiden entered the kitchen, the parents were sitting at the table having coffee while reading the morning paper. Pete was surprised and somewhat put out that there was no indication that a breakfast was being prepared. Then to his pleasant surprise his father suggested, “I would like to take you two to the Town Diner for a hearty breakfast.” As he said this, Aiden thought to himself, my father would never do that. Instead, he would be sitting there with a Bible looking pious and begin the morning with a lecture or interrogation.

Pete was pleased that his father had offered this special treat of both food and comradeship to his friend. He was doubly pleased when, after breakfast, his father followed Aiden to a gas station and paid for a fill-up.

Back at school following the Thanksgiving break, Pete and Aiden began to sit next to each other in their accounting class and ate most meals together in the dining hall. They were soon constant companions, often studying together in the library. While Pete enjoyed being with his new friend, he felt it was strange that two gay guys would never discuss sex - casually, jokingly or explicitly. A couple of times, Pete had joked about gay porn and taking care of the sausage. Both times Aiden appeared uncomfortable and shut down the conversation.

Two weeks after Thanksgiving, Pete suggested, “Since my roommate is going home for the weekend, why don’t we hang out in my room Saturday night. We could watch something on Netflix. After picking up two large pizzas, two big bottles of coke, garlic bread twists and a cookie brownie at Domino’s, they had a gourmet dinner planned that was far different than dorm meals.

After eating all the food and watching two episodes of Riverdale (with scenes of the half-naked hunk, Archie) on Pete’s desk top computer, Pete initiated a discussion that he had carefully rehearsed. “You and I have been good friends for about a month. We discuss all kinds of stuff. One thing that we have never talked about is sex. As two gay boys, I assume we both have an interest in sex, especially as it relates to men. So, I have a few questions: What is your favorite porn to watch? How do you take care of your natural needs, the needs that every healthy boy has? What was the best sex experience you ever had?” Pete realized he might be putting their friendship in jeopardy by pursuing this, but he really liked Aiden and had fantasized doing stuff with him. Although he wanted more, at this time, he would be happy just watching porn and hopefully jerking off together.

Following a few moments of silence that seemed like an eternity to Pete, Aiden spoke. “I am going to tell you something that I have never shared with anyone. If after you hear my story, you don’t want to have anything to do with me, I will understand.”

“When I was fifteen years old, my life changed. Our family attended Bible Study every Thursday evening. I was in the teen study group. One day after the session, I saw my father talking to Deacon Jones who was the assistant pastor and business manager of the church. They looked my way and beckoned me over. I thought I had done something wrong. The Deacon spoke to me: ‘I just asked your father if it would be OK for you to go fishing with me on Saturday. Since I only have daughters and the oldest is only five, I have no family to fish with. Would you be willing to go with me? I have an extra fishing rod you may use.’ I was thrilled. My father never took me to fun places or showed any interest in me. I said ‘sure’.”

“Deacon Jones picked me up Saturday. We hiked to a secluded spot along the river. He told me it was best to go where there would be no one else so we would have the fish to ourselves. He helped me with the equipment and we fished for about thirty minutes with no bites. He suggested we take a break and go swimming. When I told him I couldn’t because I did not have a swimming suit he laughed, ‘No problem, it’s just us men. Besides, no one ever comes to this spot.’ He stripped naked and waded into the water. I did not look at him until his private place was under water. I knew you should not look at a naked person. Up to that time, I had never seen an adult man or woman naked. I removed my clothes and waded into the water holding my hand in front of me until ‘it’ was under water. I had taken swimming lessons at summer camp so was comfortable being in the water. I swam a little. Deacon Jones splashed me and laughed so I splashed him back. Once, when he swam under the water, he touched my penis. I assumed it was an accident. Then he floated on his back. When he did this I could see his penis and realized it was smaller than mine. He told me to float on my back. I replied that every time I tried to do it, I sank. He stood next to me and told me he would hold me up when I leaned back. When I tried it, he placed his hand under my back and I floated without sinking. It was a great feeling. He then placed his other hand under my rear end. Floating on the water was such a wonderful feeling. I suddenly realized he was rubbing my rear end. His touching me like that really felt good. I assumed it was an accident that he had his hand where it was. The calmness of the floating and the rubbing of my rear end relaxed all of me except my penis. To my horror, I realized I might get hard. I had learned to jack off at camp and knew it was something that one should not do, although all the boys did it. Doing that was my secret. Keeping one hand under my back so I would not sink, Deacon Jones moved the other hand to my chest. He rubbed my chest and then moved down touching my stomach and then my penis that was just starting to get hard. He wrapped his hand around it and began doing the same movement that I did in private. I wanted to tell him to stop, but since the Deacon was doing it, I told myself that it must be OK. Also, it really felt good. He continued until I ejaculated. He smiled at me and told me I was a very healthy young man. He took his hand from under my back. As I started to sink, he helped me stand up. We went to the riverbank and he spread out a blanket. Still naked, we sat on it. Then he told me what a handsome young man I was and that I had just proved that I would someday create wonderful children. He asked me if I knew about making babies. When I told him we had a sex education lecture at school, he replied that I had proved that I was a man. Then he told me that what we had done was our secret. He said this in a way that was a warning. He then laid back while I sat thinking about what had happened. His eyes were closed. I decided to sneak another look at his penis and was happy to confirm that his was smaller than my fifteen year old one.

He laid next to me for a while and then sat up. He asked me if I was rested. I said that I felt fine. He told me to lay back and enjoy the warmth of the sun. As I laid naked, he placed a hand on my leg. He rubbed my leg and moved his hand up and touched my balls. Then, he again wrapped his hand around my penis. I felt ashamed that what he was doing felt good. He very gently stroked me with one hand and rubbed his other hand over my body. He touched my nipples - it felt good. He pushed my legs apart and rubbed my rear end and pressed against my hole - it felt good. Then to my shock, he leaned forward and took my penis into his mouth. He sucked me until I ejaculated into his mouth. I think he swallowed most of it. He then spit onto his hand and masturbated himself using the combination of his spit and my juice as a lubrication. His ejaculation was less than what I usually shot.”

“The following Thursday evening, after Bible Study, he asked my father if it was OK for me to stay and help put away the chairs and study supplies. He told my father he would take me home. As soon as everyone else had left he told me, ‘You really are a healthy young man. I enjoyed what we did during our secret time. I would like to do it again.’ I did not resist. He knelt, unzipped my pants, pulled out my penis and sucked me until I ejaculated in his mouth. He again spit some into his hand and used it to lubricate his penis. He ejaculated onto the floor.”

“Our doing it continued for over a year. My parents were proud when I was chosen to help every Saturday when Deacon Jones set up for Sunday service.”

“Almost a year later, at the annual church picnic, I noticed Deacon Jones talking to Jason, a boy a year older than me. After their brief discussion, Jason walked off into the woods. I was not surprised to see the Deacon take the same path a few minutes later. I followed them. Walking down the path, I soon heard quiet talking. They were behind a clump of bushes. Hiding behind a tree, I watched Deacon Jones on his knees sucking Jason.”

“Two months later, my parents told me Thursday Bible Study had been cancelled. When I asked why, they just replied that Deacon Jones was no longer part of the church. When I rode my bike past his home the next day, I saw a ‘For Sale’ sign.”

“That evening my father came into my bedroom. He asked me, ‘Did Deacon Jones ever do any funny stuff with you? Did he ever touch you where he should not have?’ I knew if I said ‘yes’ I would get a lecture and probably a beating for letting him do it. So I said, ‘No, what do you mean?’ My father replied, ‘As long as there was no funny stuff, we do not need to discuss this further.’ I do not know if my father believed me. However, I definitely know he wanted me to say ‘No’.”

“The next day, Jason was not in school. When I asked where he went, I was told his parents decided he needed the structure of a private school. When Jason returned about three months later, he was a different person. Before, he was friendly and outgoing. Now he was quiet and sullen. Now, I realize he was sent to one of those conversion therapy programs. Thank God I lied to my father and told him I had never had an inappropriate moment with the Deacon when he interrogated me.”

To Pete, Aiden’s story was both sad and overwhelming. He was silent a few minutes while he processed what he had heard. Then, with carefully selected words, Pete commented, “It sounds like you were abused. Emotionally abused by your parents and sexually abused by Deacon Jones. In my opinion, you have been abused by your parents all your life. Although you willingly accepted the advances of the Deacon, it was both morally wrong and illegal for him to approach a minor. I can certainly tell you one thing, if an adult male had jerked and sucked me off when I was fifteen, I would have loved it. I would have done just as you did. You were smart to lie to your father. If you had not, it is likely you would have been blamed for leading on the religious, righteous Deacon. You probably would have been sent away and turned into a nonsexual zombie. You did nothing wrong. A lecherous adult took advantage of a naive boy who had been bullied by his parents. Knowing how your parents treated you, the Deacon saw you as an easy target. Stop blaming yourself.”

“What you need is a hug. My family is not big on hugging, but right now I want to hug you.” Pete stood and stretched out his arms. Aiden did not move. Pete felt deflated as his friend appeared to be rejecting him. Then, slowly, Aiden stood and melted into Pete’s extended arms.

As each embraced the other, Peter cautiously said, “Please stay with me tonight. I want to hold you as we fall asleep and see you next to me when I wake up.”

Aiden did not respond.