Jumping Over My Mountain - 16. Chapter 16

Jumping Over My Mountain
by Tiffani Chin

Chapter 16

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***********ZEKE************

"Okay, cooking is mad hard," Skyler said as he stared at the ingredient list and directions, a frown marring his features, "Shit, this is harder than that calculus class I took senior year in high school," he muttered, running his fingers through his short, black, choppy hair.

I eyed his hair. After he finished fussing it, the longer top piece was sticking up messily, like a fake Mohawk. I liked the look on him. It was different. Not many Asian guys had that hairstyle or could pull it off.

My eyes continued down his body and loved how his European style jeans fit his narrow waist and lean body perfectly. He looked really good.

God, Skyler was fucking hot-especially when he was frowning in deep concentration and biting his lip. And even more when he was concentrating so hard on a cooking recipe. He just looked so much sweeter in my mind.

Skyler looked up at me, lifting his eyes slowly from the page, his lashes fluttering seductively as he did so. I swallowed and felt my cock twitch slightly in my pants.

"What?" Skyler asked.

I shook my head and smiled at him. "Hey, you're the one who wanted to take this cooking class, remember?"

He sighed, "Yeah, but this is really hard."

I chuckled, "It's not so bad," I said, taking my own copy of the recipe.

Today was our first day off from work. We were at Shoprite, where they offered cooking classes. We were making some chicken-pasta-pesto sauce dish. Skyler looked genuinely frustrated.

I looked at the other people taking the class. There were some couples, a mother and a young son, and two sisters. The room was filled with noise as people bustled around getting ingredients and occasionally arguing.

The pasta part was easy. Boil the water and dump the pasta in and time it. Sky managed that ok, but he was eyeing the chicken with disgust.

"I don't want to touch raw chicken," he said.

I laughed, "Oh! Don't be such a baby."

Skyler pouted, "It looks slimy and gross with all those globs of yellow fat," he whined.

"But you love eating chicken," I reminded.

"But cooking it is different," he said, "Would you please cut it or something?" he pleaded turning his brown eyes on me.

I loved his eyes. They were pretty eyes, feminine. They were so round and surrounded by dark black lashes. They stuck out on his pale face and contrasted with his defined jaw and straight, pointed nose. Those eyes were the death of me.

"Fine," I said sighing, although I really didn't mind doing it for him.

"Really?" Skyler asked with delight.

I grinned at him. "Skyler, I'll cut gross, raw chicken for you. I'll cook for you. I'll do anything for you."

He smiled at me and ran his hand along my ass, squeezing it briefly. I jumped a little. I wasn't in the closet or anything, but I wasn't into being a gay touchy-feely couple in public. I'd rather leave that to the straight folks. But Skyler never seemed to mind anything.

"Skyler," I hissed as he came closer.

"I love you," he murmured. As soon as he said those words, I had no resistance left. I sighed as his hand moved up my lower back and then to my side where he rubbed my hip. "Mmm, I love you Zeke," he whispered in my ear. I felt myself getting hard. I really wanted to ditch this cooking class and go to the men's room right now.

"You know Zeke, if this dish turns out well, I'll give you the best sex of your life tonight," Skyler said, turning back to his funny self.

"Oh, really?" I asked playing along.

Skyler nodded. "Oh yeah," he said licking his lips.

I blushed, "Okay, stop doing that or I'm gonna blow in my pants."

Skyler laughed, "Well, focus on cooking! I'm hungry!" he said, swatting my arm.

I grinned, "Fine, but I'm gonna hold you to your deal."

"You got it, baby," Skyler said winking. "Now get cooking."

*************HIRO*************

I reached into a drawer in Crew's kitchen for a spoon to get rid of some of the clumps in the cake batter.

I had stopped by Crew's house to just hang out with him and do our little tradition of baking cakes. I was heading back towards the bowl but Crew suddenly jumped right in front of me, stopping me. He backed me against the kitchen table and leaned into me, smiling. He started kissing me right away. I dropped the spoon so I could wrap my arms around him.

Crew leaned further and further into me, simultaneously deepening the kiss. To compensate, I slowly rolled myself backwards onto the table. Crew climbed on top of me, straddling me, never breaking the kiss once. Crew's full lips felt so warm and soft on top of mine. I held his neck gently, keeping his face close to mine. The fingers on my other hand caressed his short hair.

Crew pulled away from me and lifted my shirt up, kissing my stomach and up my chest, sucking on my nipples. I felt a tingle go to my cock. I arched my back, squeezing my eyes shut.

"Mmm, Crew," I mumbled, resting my head on the table, trying to cool my rapidly heating body. "Feels so good," I murmured, my eyelids fluttering.

This seemed to encourage Crew even more. I felt him pull down my cargo shorts and tug at my briefs, letting my hard-on slap up towards my abdomen. I lifted my head and saw Crew's pink tongue lick the tip of my cock. The combination of feeling his warm wet tongue stimulating me and seeing it with my own eyes, made me fall back against the table. My head hit it with a thud.

I moaned as Crew applied more pressure to my piss slit and then slipped my entire length deep inside his mouth. Crew was really good. He slid up and down me quickly, sliding his tongue up and down at the same time. Every time he reached my head, he would flicker his tongue inside my piss slit, twirl the flat of his tongue over my head and repeat the whole process.

I shook and tried to reach for something to grip since the feelings were so powerful, but there was nothing for me to hold, so I curled my hands into a fist and moaned loudly.

It seemed the pleasure was too overwhelming. I couldn't even warn Crew that I was going to cum. Lifting my hips, I shot spurt after spurt of semen into his mouth. I groaned loudly as I pumped my hips.

I sat up quickly, still breathing heavily, and reached inside Crew's shorts, stroking him rapidly. Crew's knees buckled and he fell onto me. I had to brace myself with one hand on the table since I was still feeling tired from cumming only moments before.

Crew pumped his hips in time to my stroking and his face was resting on my chest.

"Hiro," he whimpered burying his face in my neck.

I felt his lips and some teeth on my neck when he came, his hot cum spilling onto my thighs and hand. Crew panted and laid his head on my chest, me completely naked, and him naked from the waist down, sitting in his kitchen with some cake batter sitting a few feet from us. I'm glad Crew's neighbors didn't have a habit of walking directly in front of his windows. Otherwise, they would be severely flashed by us.

I rested my chin on his head. "I'm sorry I didn't warn you I was going to cum."

Crew looked at me and smiled brightly. "It's ok, Hiro. I wanted to swallow you," he said kissing me. I cupped his head and kissed him back, nibbling on his lips every time I pulled back. I enjoyed how Crew would lean forward constantly to re-slip his tongue inside my mouth.

I smiled at him. "What brought this on?" I asked. "Not that I'm complaining, by the way!" I added.

Crew looked straight at me and didn't blush like he normally did. "When you bake for me, I don't know, it gets me really hot."

"So all I have to do is whip up some batter and you'll be on me ‘like a cat in heat’?" I teased.

Crew blushed and I laughed. "I just had to say that. You're even more beautiful when you blush," I told him, still not moving from where I was sitting naked.

Crew pouted. "Fine, no more sex for you," he said, but his eyes were twinkling.

I hugged him to me tightly. "I love you."

"I love you, Hiro," he said, rubbing his nose against mine before kissing me again.

I smiled at him as he grabbed my hand and led me towards his bedroom.

*************SKYLER*************

Instead of going after the soccer ball, I chased after Zeke. I was better than Zeke when it came to hockey, snowboarding, skateboarding, and those types of sports, but Zeke owned soccer. I could play well enough but he was really good, doing fancy footwork to fake me out and he ran fast. Hell, I would have enjoyed just watching his cute little ass running around the soccer field, his bare chest glistening with sweat.

I was a fast runner though and I was able to keep up with him. I sprinted towards Zeke in order to take a flying leap at him. I wrapped my arms around him and fell sideways so I wouldn't fall directly on top of him. I didn't want to hurt him.

"Oomph," Zeke uttered as we both crashed to the ground. "Skyler!" he cried out, wiggling around. I tightened my arms and wrapped my legs around him, effectively immobilizing him.

"You're really good, baby," I said, my bare chest feeling the heat rolling off his back.

"Mmm, Skyler," Zeke said, as he rubbed his ass against my crotch.

I panted. "Let's go home and get cleaned up. If you don't stop that," I said, referring to his hip gyrations, "I'm gonna have to take you right here in this field and I am so not in the mood to be arrested today for public indecency." I paused, "Not again."

Zeke’s eyebrows shot up, "AGAIN?"

I chuckled, "Well, when I was sixteen, it was ridiculously hot outside, like 105 or something. I didn't have my license yet and I was close to home. I was walking and I figured, why not start stripping, since my house was, like, right there and Mom was at work. The bad part was that at that moment, a patrol car passed by."

Zeke smirked, "What did he do? Check out the goods?"

I laughed, "Maybe a little, but he let me go once I explained how hot I was, that I was pretty much in front of my house, and not some delinquent who randomly stripped. Plus, I think he just figured I was some dumb kid. I wasn't as tall and strapping back then. I was a bit on the scrawny, skinny side," I added.

Zeke laughed but stopped moving once I released him and I helped him stand up. He grabbed the soccer ball and we walked to my car. We would shower at my place.

The air conditioning inside my apartment felt really nice. I stripped off my shorts before I even made it inside my apartment. It was the beginning of June. It was already getting really hot, reaching the high 90's. I loved warm weather and all, but I didn't like extreme hot or cold. I needed to be in a place with consistent temperatures.

I dragged Zeke to the shower and adjusted the water to the cool side. I shuffled him inside, before stepping in myself. I sighed in relief when the water hit me, then I stepped out of the way allowing the water to hit Zeke. I felt the sweat and grime wash off me and instantly felt refreshed.

I backed Zeke against the shower wall and leaned against him, enjoying the feel of his body. I closed my eyes in satisfaction.

"This feels great," I said sighing in content.

"Mmm," Zeke agreed, his eyes closed, "Perfect."

I leaned my forehead against his and my hands drifted to his hips.

"Zeke?"

"Yeah baby?"

"You still want to move in together after we graduate right?"

"Of course I do Sky. I look forward to it. Every time I have to leave you, it kills me," he said licking my lip playfully.

"Good," I said, opening my eyes and pulling my head back. "I’ve been thinking of where we could go."

Zeke looked at me and smiled. "You've thought about it already?"

I nodded. "It's always on my mind, I guess, but the place I want to go to didn't occur to me until just now."

Zeke smiled. "Ok, where do you want to move to?"

"San Francisco!" I said grinning.

"Why there?"

"Think about it. It has perfect weather. It's never too hot or too cold. People there are just cool. And they have a gay-friendly atmosphere," I listed off proudly. "Are you ok with that?"

Zeke looked at me and kissed me. "Skyler, I'll go anywhere with you. And everything you just said sounds great."

"Do you want to rent a place or buy a place?" I continued really getting into the idea.

"I don't know, rent," Zeke said. He reached behind me and made the water a little warmer and I felt a little steam start to surround us.

"I think it's better to buy something. I think we would really like it there, Zeke. Maybe we can get my Mom and Dad to help us buy the property and then we can pay them back once we get some kind of job out there," I said enthusiastically.

Zeke just looked at me in awe.

"My Mom loves you, she'll definitely help us out. I was thinking over winter break, maybe we could go out there with my Mom and look at houses? What do you think of that? It may suck a bit, unless we get separate rooms, but whatever. That way we can go there in May and move in and start our life!" I said excitedly.

Zeke didn't say anything and just hugged me tightly.

"Zeke, what do you think of that?" I asked hugging him back. He still didn't answer me.

"Are you ok?" I asked pulling back to look at him. He looked, I don't know, sad or serious.

"What's wrong?"

"I just can't believe you thought of all that," Zeke said looking at me, "I'm just amazed how all our plans will become a reality."

"Why are you amazed?" I asked confused, "I love you. I want us to live together."

"I love you too Sky," Zeke paused, "But, I don't know, I love being with you but every time I leave you I feel so sad and then I think, what if you find someone else while I'm gone."

I looked at him. "That's what you think about when you go back to Boston? That I might find someone else to be with?"

Zeke nodded looking slightly ashamed.

"Why would you think that? Don't you know I love only you?" I asked genuinely perplexed.

He shrugged. "I can't help it Skyler," he said defensively, "God, do you even know yourself? Everyone loves you-guys and girls! It's hard for me to compete with that. I mean, take work for example. I swear, Clint never outright said he's gay, but with all his surfing talk, I mean, he rambles on and on with you, I'm thinking he's secretly lusting after you!"

I took a step back. "You're crazy!"

"I am not!" Zeke said folding his arms.

"Do you even hear what you're saying?" I scoffed backing away from him. "I'm a social person. That's what you like about me! I can't change who I am and how I act. I don't think I ever gave Clint or anybody else any indication that I wanted to start something with them," I said. "What competition is there? There is no competition for you! There's only you and you already have me!" I exclaimed heatedly.

Zeke rubbed his head with his hand. His eyes were closed and he was looking stressed out.

"Do you think I flirt too much?" I demanded.

"No," he sighed in annoyance, "You don't. You're just being you. I'm just telling you how I feel, ok? I can't help how I feel."

"No, you can't," I agreed, "But I don't know how to reassure you, Zeke. I mean, I don't go to parties anymore and the only interactions I have with people are in my classes. I'm completely committed and faithful to you. Why can't you see that?" I asked.

Zeke bowed his head. "I don't know. Something is wrong with me," he groaned.

I smiled and pulled him into a hug. "Nothing is wrong with you. You're absolutely perfect, Zeke. You just have to have faith in me and in our relationship and our future. I believe in us totally, Zeke. I've been thinking about our future together. Living together, coming home from work and seeing your face, making love all night long," I said as I rocked him from side to side with me.

"On weekends we’ll wake up late, go for walks on those stupid hills, the only bad part about San Francisco, by the way. Maybe we could get a dog. We'll have guest rooms for Crew and Hiro and Storm and other friends that will visit. When we have time off from our super cool jobs, we can take mini trips to LA to shop and eat or hang out at the beach," I continued, my voice taking on a dreamy quality.

Zeke was full blown smiling by now.

"You have everything all planned out don't you?"

"Nah, not that much," I said casually, snapping out of my daydream.

"I really do love you Skyler," Zeke said, "I hate thinking those thoughts. You're just so amazing and I don't ever want to lose you or be without you," he said hugging me tightly again.

"Zeke, you can't worry about losing me; otherwise, you'll never enjoy the time you have with me now," I said softly. "Don't do that. Don't worry about our relationship ending. Don't make our relationship end, ok. Just be here with me right now," I said, rubbing his back soothingly. "I'm happy because I have you and you should be happy because you have me."

"Did you know I never felt anything like this before, towards anyone? I used to think I would never get married. I never had strong enough feelings towards any of the girls I used to date. I used to panic that I would get old and be all alone. I figured I’d have to live next door to Storm and mooch off him and his future wife. It was scary thinking I would be alone for the rest of my life, how unfulfilling my life would have been, but then you came along and changed everything."

Zeke looked up at me and stared into my eyes.

"You came by and I liked you instantly. I thought we would just be really good friends. But I liked you more than a friend, I knew that right away. I admit I was slightly confused with what I was feeling. But then, I figured I felt happy with you and if it felt right, I should just go with it. I'm glad I did because now I feel like I have a home with you, wherever we end up. We'll have each other. I’m looking forward to having tons of happy years with you."

Zeke smiled. His eyes looked watery and not from the shower water since I was standing in front of the spray.

"You're so cheesy. I never knew you were so sappy," he said, his voice thick.

I smiled. "I'm only cheesy for you, baby," I said biting his earlobe, "Don't tell anyone, ok?"

"Your secret is safe with me," Zeke answered.

"I'm going to talk to my Mom about our plans soon. Maybe later in the summer before you head back to school. We're going to make our plans happen," I said firmly, squeezing Zeke to me. "You're going to end up with me whether you like it or not," I whispered into his ear and Zeke giggled, "even if I have to tie you up and stick you in my trunk."

Zeke laughed. "Sounds kinky."

"Hey! I can be kinky as long as you'll stay with me," I teased.

"I'll stay with you no matter what," Zeke said seriously.

************CREW***********

I had a problem. A very hard problem.

Hiro and I were in the Olympic-sized pool at the campus gym. Hiro was doing laps. I was watching him. That's where my problem came in.

Hiro looked so good and graceful as his body sharply cut the water. His long, lean limbs pulled him through the water. I saw his muscles rippling under his skin and I was getting seriously turned on. I even noticed some other guys looking at him as he sliced the water with his tight body but that may have been because they were swimmers and liked to check out the competition.

I was having trouble hiding my hard-on through my swimming shorts. Currently I was hiding in the deep end, with my hands over my crotch. Hiro finished his lap and swam over to me.

"What's wrong?" he asked taking notice of my red face.

"Um, I have a problem," I muttered. Hiro looked at me curiously.

Then I saw a small smile form on his face. I blushed further when he looked down in the water and saw the strategic placement of my hands.

"It's not funny," I said. Hiro laughed.

"I hope that's because of me and not some other guy," he teased, wading closer to me.

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, it's for you. Why do you have to be so damned hot all the time?"

Hiro smiled, "I'll try to work on it and ugly myself up a bit."

I nodded, annoyed that my hard-on still hadn't subsided.

"Just keep talking," Hiro advised, "Get your mind off of me."

"You're not helping by being so close to me," I said edging into a corner.

"Want me to swim another lap?" he offered.

"No, that will only make it worse!" I groaned. Hiro chuckled.

"What do you want me to do baby?" he asked me.

"I dunno," I said mentally willing my erection to go away. I certainly didn't want to jerk off in a public pool. The thought made me feel like some gross pervert, especially when there were young kids around.

"Think of something gross or unpleasant," Hiro suggested.

"I can't think of anything right now," I said flushing.

"Well you have to, we can't stay in the pool all day," Hiro said in amusement.

I glared at his lack of helpfulness and Hiro only laughed in reply.

"Ok, let me think of something to tell you," Hiro said. I looked at him expectantly.

It appeared as if Hiro was having trouble coming up with something to tell me. Luckily he was saved as two loud splashes interrupted our thoughts. The sudden shock and interruption helped my situation slightly. At least it took my mind off of it.

Zeke and Skyler broke the surface and grinned at each other.

"Hey guys," I said, looking around, "Where's Storm?"

"He's still in the gym, lifting some weights," Skyler said, "I got tired of working out so I decided to go swimming."

"Working out?" Zeke asked, with amusement written all over his face, "I wouldn't call talking with your friends at the front desk or counting Storm’s pushups as "working out."

I laughed. Even Hiro was smiling.

Skyler snorted, "Whatever! I don't need to work out. I'm hot enough as it is. I have to give the less good looking people a chance, you know! Besides, look at Storm, he's a work-out Nazi and our bodies are still exactly the same," Skyler finished.

I nodded. That was true. I didn't know if Storm worked out to change his body, but even though he did a lot of weights and boxing, his body stayed the same. Though, I think that Storm was more concerned about the health benefits of exercise.

"Anyhow, I do too work out," Skyler added, "I snowboard and play hockey and the other day, Zeke and I played soccer."

"Ooh, soccer!" my eyes lit up with excitement, "Why didn't you call me? I would have played!"

Hiro laughed at my childish whine, but I couldn't help it. I really loved soccer. Zeke and I always had so much fun playing together because we were really well matched when it came to our skill level.

Zeke smiled at me. "Don't worry. We'll play again some time before I leave. No holding back either," he pointed his thumb at Skyler, "I had to go easy on him."

Skyler just grinned, "Yeah, this little demon is pretty good."

"Pretty good?" Zeke asked in mock outrage, "I'm fucking awesome!"

"Hiro, you wanna play sometime with the soccer blonds?" Skyler asked, "It can be the Hot Asians versus the Blond studs."

Zeke and I grinned at the nicknames.

Hiro shrugged, "I never really played soccer before," he replied honestly.

My eyes widened, "Ooh, you should give it a try. It's fun!"

Hiro smiled at me. "Ok! I will."

"Were you swimming laps?" Skyler asked us.

"I was, but then I stopped," Hiro said. Skyler shot me a smile.

"Want to swim a few before leaving?" Zeke asked.

I shrugged. May as well. We all took off towards the opposite end of the pool at full speed. The only one who made it to the opposite wall was Hiro; somehow Zeke, Skyler, and I got caught in a water fight until a lifeguard blew the whistle at us.

*************HELAKU*************

"Hey guys!" I called out to the twins as they approached us at the basketball court in Roosevelt Park.

"Sup?" Skyler said as he got closer. He slapped hands with Bryce and me.

I had called up Storm to see if he wanted to play basketball. Storm suggested bringing Bryce and he would drag along Skyler.

"I want to see how good this Bryce is," Storm scoffed when I had called him the night before. I smiled at his competitiveness.

And here we were. I eyed the twins. It was kind of cute how they almost matched. Skyler wore a black wife-beater while Storm wore white; they both wore gray gym shorts and white sneakers. Since they both had short hair now, it was kind of hard to tell them apart. They were really identical. Like, really, really identical.

"Where's Zeke?" I asked, surprised that Zeke didn't tag along. He and Skyler were seriously a ‘two for one’ special. Not that I minded. I didn’t know Zeke all that well, but the both of them were cool to chill with.

"He's just sleeping. He's tired."

"Tired from what?" Bryce asked.

Skyler grinned and winked, "Oh, he had a long and strenuous night. He needs to rest. Let's just say his poor body needs to recover."

"Ugh! TMI" Bryce remarked. We all laughed.

Skyler shrugged. "Hey we're young. We're making the most of our time together."

I shook my head.

"So let's make this game more interesting?" Bryce suggested.

"Yeah?" Skyler challenged, arching his brow.

"Nothing big. Loser buys lunch?"

"You're on," Skyler said.

I wondered if Skyler was a good basketball player. I had never known Skyler to play and Storm never mentioned anything about Skyler playing either. I knew Storm was on his high school team but I knew that Skyler didn't join any team sports in high school. Instead, he did his own thing.

We started the game. I realized immediately how good Skyler was when he ran up to Bryce and stole the ball. He did it so fast I had trouble noticing it at first. Bryce looked stunned for a few seconds and wasn’t able to react right away.

Skyler was also remarkably good at blocking. He somehow managed to imitate Bryce's moves and anticipate his next one, stealing the ball swiftly with one deft swipe of his arm. Then he would either spin around really fast or do some fancy thing under his leg and make a basket. Somehow he always knew where Storm was and could pass without looking in his brother's direction. It must have been some sort of ‘twin thing’ where one always knew the location of the other. That's the only way I could explain it.

Skyler reacted fast too. If I passed the ball to Bryce or vice versa, Skyler was able to switch gears and change directions just like that! Then he would be on us like flies on shit.

I could tell Bryce was getting frustrated. He really hated to lose.

Bryce groaned when Storm made a clean shot.

"You guys are done for," Skyler said grinning, "There's no way you can catch up now. All we need is one more and we win."

Bryce glared at Skyler.

Skyler smiled innocently, "That's right; you guys might as well just give it up. We're young and fit. You two are a couple of old guys!" he teased. He turned to Storm and pretended to limp. "I broke my hip!" he cried out mockingly.

"Stupid punks," Bryce muttered to me. I just smiled at him.

"Come on, let's just finish this," I said to the twins.

As Skyler predicted, they won easily. After all, it only took about five seconds for them to make their next basket. Even then, Skyler was showing off, bouncing the ball under his legs, and doing creative turns. I swear Skyler was secretly a black basketball player under his Asian exterior. What the fuck?

Storm and Skyler jumped around, whooping their victory and I couldn't help smiling. Storm was usually serious but whenever he was with Skyler he was either immature or more of an asshole, but in a good way. It was like being with his twin made him more childish. I appreciated that kind of closeness and bond since I was an only child myself. Well, at least for now.

Bryce ran his hand through his hair looking annoyed.

"Where did you learn to play basketball like that?" I asked Skyler.

"Shit, you're like a much shorter version of Yao Ming," Bryce added, wiping the sweat off his brow.

Storm chuckled at the comment.

"Hey, I just got skills," Skyler said smugly.

"Yeah, Sky is really good. I remember our high school coach used to beg Skyler to play, but he always refused," Storm said.

"Why?" Bryce asked.

Skyler shrugged, "I didn't care much for team sports. I mean, I was good enough to play, but my heart really wasn't in it. I'd rather be off snowboarding or skating or something."

"Yeah, no shit," Storm said, shooting his twin a look, "Remember sophomore year you took Mom's car and drove all the way to Pennsylvania to go snowboarding?"

Skyler laughed at the memory, "Oh yeah, and that was before I got my license. She was mad pissed," he shook his head, "Good times."

"Bryce did you play in high school?" Storm asked, "You're pretty good."

Bryce nodded, "Yeah I did. It's one of my favorite sports."

Storm nodded, "I hear ya."

"Alright guys, enough chatting, let's go eat," Skyler announced, "Let's go to White Castle since it's so close and it's cheap enough where I can get a lot of food. Don't wanna run you guys broke, LOSERS!" and then he ran off to his car.

Storm looked after his brother and then back at me and smiled. "Meet you guys there?" he asked as he started to head to Skyler's car.

"Yeah," I said nodding and Storm went after his twin.

I turned to Bryce who was pouting at his loss.

"Come on baby, don't be a baby," I teased squeezing his hand.

"I hate losing," Bryce whined.

I laughed, "Well I had fun. Did you have fun?"

He nodded.

"Well then, that's all that matters, especially in our old age," I mocked.

Bryce rolled his eyes, "I'm not that old."

I smiled, "It doesn't matter how old you are, as long as you stay hot," I said pecking him on the lips.

He pushed me away. "Oh yeah, so if I get old and ugly, you won't be with me?"

I reached for him and pulled him close, "I love you Bryce. God, I love you so much. I don't care about anything, age or looks, as long as I have you and you love me back," I said nibbling on his ear. I felt Bryce relax against me and wrap his arms around my lower back.

"Hela, I love you too," he whispered. I had to force myself to pull away.

"Come on, let’s meet the twins. You know how Skyler gets when he's hungry. Plus, the sooner we eat, the sooner we can go home and have our own fun," I said suggestively. Bryce grinned.

I tugged him towards my car. Once inside my car, away from people watching, I kissed him, immediately slipping my tongue inside his mouth. It was easy since he wasn't expecting my kiss.

Our tongues wrapped around each other's for awhile. I kept leaning forward to deepen the kiss. We broke apart when my elbow accidentally knocked into the horn and a loud blast followed. We looked at one another and burst out laughing.

"Drive," Bryce said as we continued to laugh.

************CREW************

It was amazing how fast this summer was being eaten up and it made me sad. I loved summer and wanted it to last as long as possible. At the same time I was excited for senior year and looking forward to being finished with reading endless history books and going to a bunch of science classes. However, at the same time, I didn't want school to end because I knew that all my friends would be going in different directions and I wasn't ready to be parted from my second family. I needed them.

I was constantly feeling either extremely elated or thoughtfully melancholy. Yeah I was a big contradiction. Thinking of contradictions got me mulling over a song by Green Day, A Walking Contradiction.

Hiro squeezed my side and I looked up at him.

"What are you thinking about?"

I smiled, "A Green Day song."

He looked at me with amusement. "That's kind of a random thought when you're at a party."

I nodded in agreement. "My mind is all over the place."

I looked around the twins’ apartment. Even though they claimed there weren’t going to be very many people, the twins were popular. It seemed as if more and more people were showing up to celebrate their 21st.

This party was like all of their parties- loud and lively, except there was less alcohol and absolutely no pot around-which was odd for the twins. Skyler wasn't his usual party animal self either. He was talking and laughing with a large group, which was normal for him, but he was holding Zeke to him and completely sober, not knocking back shots or whole bottles of hard liquor.

I guess he really was growing up. Or Mrs. Chin had been right and Zeke just had this amazing influence over him. It seemed like Skyler didn't want to let Zeke out of his sight and the same went for Zeke.

Suddenly some guy with spiked, bleached blond hair, really tight jeans and shirt stumbled up to me and Hiro, obviously drunk.

"Hey you," he slurred to me, practically falling over his own feet. He held out a cup to me. "Want to have a drink with me, beautiful?" he asked, his eyes looking bleary and red. He blinked at me a few times and tried to lean in close.

Hiro put a hand on his chest, nudging him away from me and took the cup from his hands.

"No, he doesn't want a drink and it looks like you've had enough," Hiro said calmly.

"Why don't you let him answer for himself?" the guy asked giggling, trying to get to me again.

This time Hiro stepped in front of me, blocking any possible contact. Hiro just shook his head and handed the guy his cup. The guy snatched it and stumbled away uncoordinatedly.

I rubbed my face into Hiro's back. He turned around, wrapping an arm around me.

I grinned up at him. "Wow, Hiro, I should keep you around me all the time. You're like my personal bodyguard."

Hiro looked at me and kissed my nose. "Just looking out for you, baby," he replied, "Who knows what that guy put in that drink?"

I rested my head against his chest and looked around the room at the masses of people talking, dancing, some drinking.

Hiro and I had only been here for a short while and we did little more than greet the twins and wish them a happy birthday. I didn't drink and neither did Hiro so we just walked around, chatting a little. Eventually, we claimed a spot near the wall. We weren't exactly party people.

I tugged on his shirt and he looked down at me.

"Want to get out of here?" I asked.

"Bored?"

"No, well… a little. I'm not much of a party person and I really don't know a lot of people here," I admitted.

Hiro smiled. "Sure, we can leave."

We walked over to the twins and said our goodbyes. They were engrossed in conversations and sort of waved us off.

"Where do you want to go?" he asked, since it was only 11:30.

"Want to go to the diner with me?" I asked him, "I'm not ready to go home and I'm kind of hungry."

"Sure."

***************

It turns out I was hungrier than I thought. Once we got to the diner and were seated, I ordered a bacon cheeseburger deluxe with curly fries and a side of onion rings. I was feeling sort of like Skyler when, while I was eating my food, I was already contemplating a dessert.

Currently that large chocolate cake was calling out to me. I had trouble tearing my eyes away from it. Mmm, chocolate.

Hiro got a salad so I wouldn't have to eat alone.

I popped a fry into my mouth and looked at him. "So what are your plans after we graduate?" I asked.

He looked at me. "Probably look for a job or maybe Grad school. I haven't made up my mind yet."

"Grad school?"

"Yeah, maybe I could get a Masters in education and teach German in high school. I like kids and helping people learn."

I nodded. "You would be a great teacher."

"Thanks."

I looked down at my plate. "Well, if you do decide to go to grad school, where will you apply to?"

Hiro carefully looked at me. "Well, originally I was researching schools in Colorado, but now I'm thinking of staying a little closer," he replied, staring me intently in the eye.

I smiled and looked away.

"Then you'll still be living with your grandma?"

"Absolutely, I couldn't leave the two people I love most," he said.

I blushed. "Good," I murmured. Hiro grabbed my hand and rubbed it gently.

"What are your plans?"

"Well, I double majored. I could get my Masters to be a history teacher. First though, I want to see what else is out there. I'm thinking of working with the twins’ mom at one of her gyms as a trainer or something," I said staring into space. "Or I could just apply around randomly and work my way up from something entry level."

Hiro nodded. "Sounds like a good plan."

"I plan for us to still be together," I said quietly, glancing at him.

Hiro smiled and tightened his hand on mine. "I love you Crew. We will always be together. I promise you that."

*************BRYCE***********

I glanced around the large room that Mr. McAdams had rented out for the rehearsal dinner. It was large, decorated nicely, and full of nicely dressed people. All my attention however, was focused on Helaku.

Helaku always looked so stunning and although I was a little biased, ok maybe a lot biased, I'm sure others in this room would agree with me on how hot my boyfriend looked. His dark brown hair had been cut recently and it was a medium length. The dark color really brought out his green eyes. I could see them from across the room where he was talking with his father.

He noticed my stare and smiled at me widely, showing his teeth and that adorable gap I liked so much.

Ever since that first dinner with Helaku's Dad and future step mother, he and I had gotten together with them on numerous occasions. Sometimes it was for meals. Other times it was to accompany them during wedding planning or whatever. It was fun, and slowly Helaku was growing to like Sheryl more and more. She was really funny and loved to talk. And she had this commanding mother-like presence. She was going to make a wonderful mother.

I found out when we were looking at wedding cakes with Sheryl that she was half Portuguese and half Spanish. She had grown up in Spain until she came to the States for college. That would explain her exotic beauty.

She had a huge family. They occupied practically one side of the room. I noticed a lot of the men were really good looking. The hot Latin thing. I know I was taken, but hey, I still had eyes!

As my eyes were scanning her family, I noticed one of Sheryl's relatives. He was young, maybe a nephew or a cousin. This guy was staring at something intently. Then I watched as his eyes followed that something until his gaze finally rested on me.

I felt a tap on my arm and stared into very beautiful and familiar green eyes.

"Hey baby," he greeted, taking a seat and pulling me towards him.

I glanced over at the young guy and saw him staring at the both of us.

"What are you looking at?" Helaku asked, turning around and following my gaze. He waved to the young guy.

"You know him?" I asked frowning.

Helaku turned back to me smiling, "Yeah, Sheryl introduced me to her entire family. He’s her cousin. His name is Diego and he's into art. He said he wanted to show me some of his pieces. Nice kid. Yo, Sheryl, she has a huge family!" he said laughing.

"He can't take his eyes off of you," I said, my frown deepening. Helaku turned to me smiling.

"Well, can you blame him?" he asked me, grinning smugly.

When I didn't say anything, Helaku pulled me into a chair beside him and took my hand, massaging it under the table.

"Don't be jealous, Bryce," he murmured near my ear, causing me to shudder, "He can look at me all he wants, but I'll be going home with you tonight. I'll be sleeping in your bed tonight, and every night for that matter."

I smiled at him gratefully, but then shot a dirty look at Diego.

"Well, I still can't help being jealous," I muttered childishly and Helaku laughed.

"Well, I guess I would be jealous too if some hot guy was eyeing you," he said.

I raised my brow. "Hot guy?"

"Ugly guy," he corrected, smiling charmingly at me. I just stared at him.

I couldn't stay annoyed for too long though, especially when he brought my hand on top of the table and kissed it.

Helaku stared into my eyes. "You're the hottest guy in this room," he whispered, winking. "I can't wait to go home," he said, smiling suggestively and licking his lips.

I blushed. I felt his hand slowly slide up my thigh and I began to sweat. Thankfully, Helaku's dad walked up to us and my boyfriend stopped groping me in front of his future relatives.

"Hey guys," Mr. McAdams said, smiling broadly at the two of us.

"Hey Dad."

"Did you have a chance to meet Sheryl's family?" he asked.

We both nodded. Moments later, Sheryl came up to our table and clutched Mr. McAdams’ arm.

"Hey boys," she said smiling at us, showing her white teeth.

"You look beautiful," I commented to her. She cocked her head in thanks.

Sheryl was also growing, her bump more pronounced, but not overly big. She wasn't one of those women to get large during pregnancy. Instead, she was one of those cute ladies who had a large bump and a glowing face.

After chatting for a bit, they both took off.

I glanced over at Diego, who was still eyeing Helaku. I took Helaku's hand and clasped it possessively in both of mine, staring hard at Diego. Helaku knew that I was feeling miffed by Diego's blatant staring. He nudged his chair closer to mine and looked directly at me, kissing my cheek.

"I love you," he said, caressing my neck. "Stop staring at him. You're letting him get to you, baby. Let him look, it's all he's gonna get. May as well let him enjoy it."

I laughed and decided to go with Helaku's advice. I looked back at Diego and smiled and waved at him. Finally, he looked away as if he had been caught.

"I love you, too," I said turning back to Helaku, kissing him gently.

*************CREW*************

"I love the beach," Zeke said sighing as he rested on his towel next to me.

"I know," I said, "How come you guys don't wanna move to Santa Barbara after graduation? That's closer to the beach than San Francisco."

"Yeah, but we need to be in an area where we can have a job and stuff," Zeke reminded.

"Oh, true," I said.

We were silent for a bit.

"I don't want summer to end," Zeke said quietly.

"I know Z," I replied, "Me neither. Things are just so perfect now. I don't want them to change."

"Exactly."

I knew why Zeke was slightly bummed. It was the middle of August and we both knew how fast the rest of the month would pass. Then in September, we would all head back to school. I knew it was especially hard for him because unlike the rest of us, he had to go to Boston and be away from Skyler.

"Zeke, just don't think about it and have fun now, ok?" I tried to cheer up my friend.

Zeke sighed deeply in response.

Suddenly, I heard loud laughter and knew that the twins were approaching.

"Zeke, come in the water," Skyler insisted. I opened my eyes to see Skyler physically pulling on Zeke's arm like a child.

"Okay, I will, but first you need more sun block," Zeke said smiling.

Skyler looked at himself. "Why? Am I turning red already?" he asked worriedly, "Shit, we've only been here for about two hours."

Storm just chucked a bottle of sun block at his brother after slathering some on himself.

"I hate being so pale. I have to apply so much every hour," Skyler grumbled, "And I still end up getting burnt. What is up with my skin?"

Zeke laughed and poured some sun block onto his own hands. He then proceeded to do Skyler's back.

"Well, as long as Zeke's doing my backside, I'm good," Skyler said grinning.

I rolled my eyes while the others laughed. Suddenly, I felt cold arms wrap around me and I looked up to see Hiro. He kissed my nose and I tasted the salt water that dripped down onto my lips.

"Hey Hiro? You're just as pale, if not paler than us, how come you never burn?" Storm asked.

Hiro shrugged, "I don't know. I use sun block also, but I never burn. Sometimes I get a light tan but never a burn."

"Lucky bastard," Skyler said as he turned even whiter from all the sun block being applied to his body.

"Every summer we turn into lobsters," Storm said. I laughed.

"The lobster twins," I teased, making claw movements with my hands. Storm slapped my hand jokingly.

"Shut up," Skyler said, "Do you know how ugly I get with sunburn? It just messes up my entire look."

Storm rolled his eyes at his twin's vanity.

"Ok, all done," Zeke said, standing up and throwing the bottle into Storm's bag.

We were about to head towards the water when a group of girls walked by. I was surprised to see anyone; we were in a pretty secluded area. They must have walked quite a distance to reach us.

They were an attractive bunch, around our age, maybe a little younger. There were three blonds and one brunette. They looked in our direction as they passed. The two blonds waved at Skyler and Storm, flashing me and Zeke smiles as well, while the brunette girl smiled at Hiro. Skyler waved back, grinning widely and the girls giggled. I saw Hiro lift his hand and wave in a friendly manner and the brunette smiled flirtatiously in return.

I admit I felt a small tinge of jealously. Even though I had nothing to worry about, I still didn't like people ogling Hiro. Stupid girl! I acted impulsively before the girls got any closer.

I grabbed Hiro's face and kissed him on the mouth. I heard all the girls gasp in shock. Regardless, I still felt Hiro circle his arms around me, opening his mouth to my tongue.

I pulled away from him. For once he didn't look so composed. His eyes had a dazed look and he was staring at me.

"I like how you're thinking, Crew," I heard Zeke say. I turned around just as Zeke grabbed Skyler by the waist and kissed him. He kissed him so hard and so deeply that Skyler lost his balance and fell backwards into the sand, taking Zeke with him. They fell and sand flew up slightly, but they didn't break the kiss. Skyler really got into the kiss, rubbing his hands up and down Zeke's back and then rolling over so he was on top doing the kissing.

"Oh man," Storm groaned, turning away.

I looked at the group of girls and noticed how shocked they were-too frozen to even move. They just gawked at us.

"Oh-my-god!" one of them whispered.

I smiled at her and hugged Hiro to me. I felt Hiro’s lips on my neck and sighed.

Skyler and Zeke were still going at it. Finally the girls nudged one another and left, still turning to look at us every once in awhile.

"Wow," Skyler breathed out. Zeke just looked flushed.

"Nice!" I told Zeke.

"Stupid girls," Zeke muttered, possessively taking Skyler's hand. Skyler suddenly stood up and pulled Zeke to his feet, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

"Yeah, stupid girls," I said. Hiro kissed me. I looked at him and he was smiling.

"I love you, Crew," he said, "I don't care for girls. Or anyone else for that matter. There’s only you."

I blushed, knowing he had caught me in my jealously.

"Still…" I pouted childishly.

Hiro laughed softly. "It's ok, baby. You did me a favor. I wouldn't have known what to do if she started hitting on me. And I enjoyed your kiss very much."

"Let's go swimming," Skyler said, kissing Zeke's cheek and tugging him along. "We can have some naughty fun in the ocean," he teased.

"I don't want to go swimming anymore," Storm announced. We laughed.

Storm stood up. "I'm gonna get some donuts and maybe a Slurpee. And find those girls. They were hot! Too bad they probably think I'm gay.”

I smiled at him, "Sorry man."

Storm shrugged, "No worries! I'll find more girls," he said confidently. I laughed as he walked towards the boardwalk.

I felt Hiro pull me into his body for a hug and then he laid himself on top of me as he kissed me. He urged my mouth open and we kissed deeply, our tongues fighting their way into one another's mouths. Our kisses were more erotic and intense than usual. Maybe it was being in public that was doing it for us, but I was getting really worked up and I could tell Hiro was as well.

His fingers were sliding up and down my stomach and I couldn't help moving my hands into his trunks. Hiro moaned and ground his hips into mine, our cocks grinding.

I broke away and panted while Hiro kissed my neck.

"Oh shit," I muttered, "I was never keen on having sex in public, but I don't know if I can stop."

I felt Hiro sit up and he was breathing hard and his cheeks were red, but not from the sun. He pulled me into a sitting position so our hardness wouldn’t be so obvious in case anyone walked by.

I saw Skyler and Zeke splashing in the water and ducking under the waves, washing up on the shore laughing wildly.

"I wanna go home," I said, looking at Hiro meaningfully.

He glanced at me. "Oh man, Crew, me too. You have no idea!"

"I think we should go into the water," I suggested. “To cool off.”

Hiro nodded. "Good idea." He took my hand and we ran into the water and jumped head first into a large wave.

I felt my body being thrown backwards and some scraping on my back from the shells.

I sputtered when I resurfaced and wiped my face. Then I ran back into the water as I saw another wave approaching. I felt a hand close over mine and I looked at Hiro as he edged closer to me.

I saw Skyler holding Zeke on his shoulders as a wave came. As the wave hit, Zeke toppled over. I didn't have much time to observe them because Hiro and I both ducked under the water as the large wave hit us.

Along the way, Hiro had hugged me to his body. When the wave passed, we were bobbing in the water, our bodies melded together. I felt our bodies floating in unison as Hiro held me, looking directly into my eyes. We were in one of our moments.

Hiro pulled me under just as another wave came and we went down together.