A New Life

The remainder of the morning was spent unpacking boxes and organizing my room. I got my dad's old PC, hooked it all up and hit the power button. I had become addicted to the Civilization 2 video game, more so than any of the sports or racing games I had on my Super NES. I was just getting the game started when the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"G'morning, Prez. Wassup dude?"

"Nothing much Keith. I just got my PC all put together and working again. I was just about to start a game when you called."

"Excellent. We can meet on Yahoo chat sometime. I have my own chat room there."

"Well, I need to get a new Internet connection first. I used to use my dad's account. I was thinking of AOL."

"Don't use them dude, they're bogus. I have NetCom. If you use them, I get a free month!"

"Cool, I'll check with my mom later."

Keith asked, "So are you ready for a day long ride around town?"

"I've been looking forward to it. When will you be ready?"

"I just got out of the shower. Can you meet me here at my house?"

"I guess so, where do you live?"

Keith gave me directions to his house and I was on the road in no time. His house is a big four-bedroom place in a real nice neighborhood but on a typical southern California postage stamp lot. I double-checked the address and walked up to the front door when a small boy asked, "Who are you?"

"Umm... I'm Preston, Keith's friend. He asked me to come over. Who are you?"

"Preston? What kind of sissy name is that? Oops, sorry. I'm John, Keith's brother," he said, then snickered, "Mr. Wonderful is inside."

I turned around again, thoroughly confused and rang the doorbell. In a flash Keith opened the door. He was wearing baggy denim shorts, socks and sneakers but no shirt. My jaw must've hit the ground and bounced twice. He's wasn't even sixteen yet and had a great upper body - not an ounce of extra flesh and a six pack abdomen to be envied. He invited me in and I followed him to his room where he tossed T-shirts around the dresser drawer looking for the right one to wear. Finally settling on one, he raised his arms and slid it over his head. What I saw was a nice "V" shaped back that nearly took my breath away. I followed Keith to the backyard where he got his bike then we walked around front to get mine. As we got on our bikes and started to peddle off, John melodically snickered, "Have a nice time boys!" Keith just stared him down, obviously putting the fear of retribution into him.

"What's with your brother, dude?" I said, noticing that in just over a week's time my vocabulary now included the word "dude". It still sounded weird, too Texas ranch hand.

Keith snickered, "He's flipped, dude. When he least expects it, he'll get his."

But my wheels were already spinning and grinding. Those comments John made were kind of gay sounding. Was Keith gay? Nah! Was I by association also considered gay? This thought sequence brought me within inches of riding right into the back of Keith and his bike.

"Whoa! Man that was close! Are you okay, Prez?" Keith exclaimed.

"Yeah, man. I'm really sorry. I was paying attention to one too many things."

As we waited for the light to change, he said, "Just be extra careful on main streets like this, Prez. Half the city is on Prozac or some shit. They wouldn't even see us to avoid us, I think. We're just going over to the Promenade Mall. I want to show you a Thomas Guide map at B. Dalton's. Once you get a general idea of the main street layout you'll be set."

We got to the mall, locked up our bikes then went to "The Warehouse" and dreamt about buying dozens of CD's. I could swear that I caught Keith's wandering eyes checking out two guys as they came in the store. They were real cute and caught my attention too! This was not my imagination. I needed to ask him if he was gay, but how? He needed to know that I was cool with it. I wanted to tell him that I had been checking him out earlier at the house. But what if I was wrong? How could I tell him these things without risking the chance of having a good summer for the first time since I was twelve go down the tubes?

Then we went over to "B. Dalton's" and Keith showed me a Thomas guide map. Huddled close together, Keith's finger traced out the 101 and 118 freeways, the LA county coastline and then pointed north. No wonder I was messed up! Through most of the valley, Highway 101 north runs east-to-west! I wondered - who's the rocket scientist that thought this up? We left the mall and headed out around the north side of highway 101, up and around all the major streets in a widening circle up to highway 118. Eventually we made our way south of 101, around three big parks, past Mike's house, then Derrick's house and up to Ventura Boulevard and 101 again. We stopped and rested back at the park we were at the previous night. I noticed that during the day it was real busy around this park. I glanced at my watch. Oh my gawsh! It's 5:30PM again!

"Keith, we've been out for over four hours, man. I gotta call my mom."

Dropping coins into a soda machine, he said, "Cool, tell her you're having dinner at my house tonight."

"Are you sure, man? Don't you want to check with your mom first?"

"I asked this morning. It's set dude. Dinner's at seven."

"Thanks, bud. I'll ask."

Finished with my phone call and with permission to have dinner at Keith's place, I got my own soda from the vending machine then sat down next to him. I was really thirsty and gulped down half the can at once. Then, within a second of each other we both belched out loud and long, causing one old lady to look at us in disgust. We laughed hard about our timing and the old lady's shattered sense of polite public activity. Then we finished up our drinks and headed to his house. On the way there, I realized that I didn't even know his last name. Keith told me it was Hundser. There was no weird little brother in the front yard this time but there was a cute thirteen-year-old looking boy in the back yard. Keith introduced his brother, Drew. A slightly shorter, stockier version of Keith. We politely waved to each other and said "Hi". Then I followed Keith in through the sliding back door and led me to his room.

His bedroom is really pretty large, has to be almost 15 foot square. There's a double bed and oak dresser and mirror. The entertainment center in his bedroom was as good as my mom's, with a 25-inch TV, VCR, stereo receiver and CD player. I assumed from what I saw that the family was not struggling to make ends meet. Later, I found out from Keith that he was simply good at saving his money and purchased all but the TV himself using allowance and paper route money. The TV was the old family room set.

I leaned against his desk and watched him move confidently around his room, flipping on the stereo then removing his shirt.

"Oh man, I reek something foul," he softly commented. Then he said, "My dad's gonna have a fit if we sit down to eat like this. I need to have a shower before dinner. It would be great if you would too, Prez. It would save me from my dad's commentaries later. Do you mind?"

Shrugging my shoulders indifferently, I answered; "I guess not. I haven't got a change of clothes though."

"Not a problem," he said. Stepping behind me and putting a hand over our heads, he said, "We're about the same size. Lets see what I've got for you to wear."

We rummaged around the dresser and found a T-shirt, shorts and a pair of boxer shorts. That was the first time in my life I'd ever worn boxers. I've just always worn briefs, never even considering the idea of switching. I was starting to feel nervous, like the first time I ever changed in the locker room for gym class.

Keith showed me to the bathroom and handed me a clean towel. "You go ahead and hit the shower. I'm gonna go talk with my folks," he said. Then he grinned, "Don't take too long in there, I'll be right behind you," and playfully nudged my arm then winked.

Damn these crazed hormones! I couldn't be certain if Keith was gay even with the signs all around me. I quickly showered, grabbed the towel and started drying my hair. Keith knocked on the door and stepped in the bathroom saying, "It's just me dude."

As if I wasn't caught off guard already, Keith dropped his shorts and boxers then stepped behind me into the shower. Well, now we both had the whole picture! I finished drying off while Keith was chatting with me in the shower about what was for dinner. Pulling up the boxers, then the shorts, I noticed some extra shifting of my goods. A weird sensation to say the least, moving from the snug, secure fit of briefs to boxers, but I kind of liked it. I was somewhat embarrassed, but I had to ask Keith where his deodorant was before I would put the T-shirt on. There were three different brands on the sink vanity, one for each of the brothers. He asked me to use his Mennen Speed Stick. It was the same brand that I used only I used the regular fragrance; he used the ocean surf one. Pulling the shirt over my head, I heard the shower turn off and the sliding door open.

Forcing myself to turn away, I said, "I'll wait for you in your room while you finish up in here, okay man?"

Toweling off, he said, "Prez, what's the matter dude? I mean, we shower at school all the time in front of dozens of guys."

"Yeah, I know but… umm… Keith? I gotta ask man, are you gay?"

Shocked, he looked at me with tears welling up in his eyes. "I hoped I wasn't obvious. Yeah, I am Prez. I mean, well, I've never had sex with anyone. I just find guys more attractive is all." He wrapped the towel around himself and leaned back against the wall and started to softly cry.

I didn't move, just leaned there against the door looking at the floor.

"I'm sorry dude. I'm really very sorry," he sobbed, "I wouldn't blame you if you just left now."

Realizing how much I had upset him, I started to shed tears myself. I looked up at him and he looked away, down to the floor, hiding his face. "Keith, its okay man." I said. Stepping towards him, I then put my hand under his chin to lift his face up. "It's okay man. You're not obvious. I had hints and I guess I was looking for them." Suddenly, I was weeping as hard as I ever had since fracturing my ankle at seven years old. Finally, I forced it out. "I guess, I think I am too."

It took him maybe ten seconds to grasp what I had said. Then he put his arms around me and hugged me while we both tried to stop the water works. What little we said basically confirmed to the other just how much we needed to meet, how much we enjoyed each other's company and how we wanted to continue our friendship. In a few minutes, as the tears dried and the laughs started there was a light tapping on the door.

From beyond the closed door, Drew said, "Umm… guys? Dinner in ten minutes, okay?"

"We'll be there." Keith replied, breaking our embrace.

"Is Drew cool with this?"

"Yeah," Keith nodded, "we've talked and he's cool. He's still figuring it all out about his own wants and stuff." Then he reached to pick up his boxer shorts. Just watching him was making me sweaty again!

"Well, I guess I might stay then." I said, admiring the view.

"You might?" he giggled, "Hell, you better!"

I laughed again, leaned back against the door and watched my new best friend dress himself for dinner. We both checked ourselves in the mirror for puffy, cried out eyes then joined John and Drew at the table. They were on the opposite side of the table trying to give each other charley horses. Just as John was ready to give Drew his best shot, Mr. Hundser walked into the room.

Calmly, without any hint of anger in his voice, he said, "John, not at the table. There's one extra here. Who's this Keith?"

"Dad, this is my friend Prez… Preston."

I stood up and shook his hand. "My pleasure, Sir."

"Hi, Preston. You're not from around here; you're from… Oklahoma, right?"

"Originally from Texas, Sir. North of Dallas, by the Red River and Oklahoma border."

"I should've known. I've never met a Texan that didn't offer his hand. What brings you to California?"

From the kitchen, Mrs. Hundser said, "Drew, give me a hand with serving dinner please."

I started to tell Mr. Hundser about my parents splitting up, and the move. Drew carried in a large plate of barbecued chicken, Mrs. Hundser brought in a giant bowl of salad then returned to the kitchen for a plate of foil wrapped baked potatoes. Drew and John dug right in for the same chicken breast as soon as Keith's mom sat down. I couldn't help but giggle as they both caught evil glances from their parents then settled down. During the dinner conversation, both Mr. and Mrs. Hundser showed a great deal of interest in me and my mom, the breakup and the move. Eventually the conversation moved to what had been done with the day and what the plans were for the evening. Keith had said we would be just hanging out tonight. Then, Mr. Hundser reminded his son's of a few household chores that needed to be done before the weekend trip up to Big Bear.

As the table was being cleared, the phone rang. John answered it and returned to the table saying it was for Keith. I overheard a little of what was said. Keith forgot something, he wanted to go and bring me along.

Facing his father, Keith said, "Dad, can I stay out a little later tonight? There's a party down at the beach and Derrick's on his way to pick Prez and me up."

Mr. Hundser said, "You're home and in bed by 1AM the latest Keith. And no booze! Understood?"

Keith said, "Yeah dad, no sweat. Thanks," and then finished up on the phone.

Then Keith turned to me saying, "Prez, give your mom a call and ask if you can spend the night here dude. We've got a party to go to!"

I called my mom, she and Mrs. Hundser talked for a bit and I got permission to stay the night. I thanked the Hundser's for dinner then followed Keith to his bedroom. He and I put our shoes on then we heard a car horn beep out front. We said our good-byes, Keith grabbed an electric lantern from the hall closet and we stepped outside.

I could not believe my eyes when I stepped outside. In front of the house, with two cute guys sitting in the front seat, was an emerald green, 1971 Oldsmobile 442 convertible. It looked to be all original equipment too. This car looked like it was right out of showroom.

As Mike swiveled the seat and stepped out of the car, Keith said, "Mike this is Prez - Preston O'Brian. Prez, this is 'the soon to be famous' Mike Gibbons, Hahaa!"

I extended my hand to greet Mike. "Hi Ya, Mike. Glad to meet ya man."

Mike shook my hand. "Cool, same here! Climb on in back and shuffle yer buns over. That's Derrick in the drivers seat."

Keith climbed in the back seat behind me and introduced me to Derrick. We said our hellos, Mike got back in the car and we headed down Topanga Canyon to the Pacific Coast Highway. Mike bitched out Keith for not calling earlier like he was supposed to. So Keith told them about how we met and me being a lost puppy. I chimed in saying something about a mental midget that made highway 101 run east to west. Smiling insanely, Keith looked at me. Mike also turned around and Derrick glanced wide-eyed at me from the rear view mirror. All three of them cracked up laughing simultaneously, believing that "mental midget" was just about the funniest thing they'd ever heard, then realizing just how lost a guy could get under my circumstances. My tension was relieved and the ice was broken. This was gonna be a good night.

We got to Zuma Beach and parked the car. When Derrick stepped out, I followed on his side of the car and we shook hands before walking around to the trunk. Mike grabbed a guitar case and cooler from the trunk and Derrick got a radio, blanket and another lantern.

Back then, and still now Derrick is just about the most handsome guy I've ever seen. Honestly, he puts all the teen idols to shame in my opinion. Back then he was real cute. Now, at 18, Derrick is about 5 feet 9 inches tall and 150 pounds. He has dirty blond hair and hazel eyes. Derrick is the oldest of the four of us.

Mike looked pretty much the same then as he does now. The shortest of the four of us, I guess he's about an inch shorter than Derrick and about the same weight. My first impression was - the guy looks like a linebacker. He has sun-bleached brown hair and brown eyes.

We found a place on the beach and got settled. Each of us took a corner of the blanket and got a soda from the cooler. Mike got his acoustic guitar out and started strumming softy, playing an occasional line or lick. I was pretty impressed with his playing and told him so, also mentioning that I played bass guitar. During the course of the conversation, I learned that Mike's birthday was the first of June and the guitar had been a gift. Derrick started saying how much fun they had that night having a few beers and sharing a few joints after the rest of the party broke up. Suddenly, Mike stopped strumming and it got very quiet, too quiet in fact.

Derrick was the first to speak. "Umm… I don't regret that night, none of it."

Keith looked up at him and replied "Neither do I."

Then Mike softly said, "Me neither."

Then Keith said in a low quivering voice, "Listen guys, I'm sorry I left so suddenly yesterday. I know I've been acting fucked up lately. It's just that well, you guys live close by each other, and you have the music you play together and umm… lately you guys say stuff that seems to be some kind of inside joke that I'm not included in. I dunno, I guess I feel left out."

Mike moved over by Keith and put his arm around him saying, "Dude, we've had our rough times over this very same stuff. Let's not go there again, ok? I never meant to make you feel left out in any way."

"No way buddy. I honestly didn't mean any harm." Derrick chimed in.

Mike whispered, "You're right, Keith. Since Derrick got his drums last December, we have been spending a lot of time together. Now that school's out, we see each other almost every day, lots of nights too."

Keith sat up straight and looked at Mike, then Derrick in amazement. "You two? Christ, just a few months ago I saw you two nearly come to blows."

"Well that was at Christmas break," Derrick said, "We had been having other talks that led to some tension, I guess. Stupid shit, ya know? You just happened to be there when things got nasty. Mike and I, we're alike in lots of ways, and just different enough to keep things interesting."

"Let's just say the last two months, we've been sort of a couple." Mike said with a Cheshire cat grin.

The three of them each started laughing one after the other and, as infectious as laughter is, I laughed along. After a moments calm, Keith told Derrick and Mike of our little shower encounter, then looked over at me and grinned, "I saw you checking me out from the dresser mirror this morning."

Amid much cackling, I admitted that I had. I also reminded Keith of the two guys in The Warehouse that he was checking out! Mike and Derrick cracked up and had to give him a bit of jabbing about that for a while. Before I knew it or could think of containing it, I said to Keith, "I've been checking you out in the bathroom, and on your bike and every minute I've been with you. When I'm around you, sometimes I feel like I can move mountains, sometimes more like a wet noodle."

The laughing and jabbing stopped but Mike and Derrick began softly mooing, as if I had opened Pandora's box!

Keith moved closer, leaned in front of me and asked, "Well which do you feel like now?"

Swallowing hard, I looked in his eyes and said, "Like moving mountains, until this very second."

Keith leaned forward, tilted his head and kissed me softly. Breaking away for a second, he then kissed me again, his tongue gliding over my lips until I opened my mouth to accept him. Another first time experience for me. After a few seconds, I started to hear Mike and Derrick whispering. Then together they chanted "Awwww, ain't that nice?" and we pulled apart with our combined laughter.

Settling back down we paired up on opposite sides of the blanket. We talked about lots of stuff that night. My tired old moving story, summer plans, who worked where and when, how I'd like to learn to surf and jam with Mike and Derrick. Mike played guitar for a while and when he was tired he let me play it. Then Mike and Derrick went off for a walk together, leaving Keith and me alone.

We talked about the suddenness of our feelings for each other and the things we saw ourselves doing together. Of course we talked about when we might have sex and what we had heard about various experiences. We agreed that we wouldn't necessarily rush into any thing together but when the time was right, we would both know it. Around midnight we packed up our gear and headed for home. Derrick and Mike got overly enthusiastic to learn that I would be spending the night at Keith's place! We played along with their talk for awhile, just for fun.

We pulled in front of the house and noticed the light on in the living room. Keith's mom was up and in the kitchen when we walked in the house. We stopped in to say good night. Keith got two sodas from the fridge then we retreated to Keith's room.

"Make yourself comfortable, Prez," he said, and turned on the TV. "I sleep in my boxers usually. Is that okay with you?"

I sat on the edge of the bed and took off my shirt. "Yeah it's cool man. I sleep in my underwear too. I'm pretty tired. Are you?"

"Yeah, riding all around, that talk with you earlier and then with Mike and Derrick. I'm wiped out."

"This day has been full of firsts for me." I said, and unbuttoned my shorts, letting them drop to the floor. I had to ask, "Where am I sleeping?"

Dropping his shorts he answered, "On the bed with me if your okay with it. Or I could get the spare blanket…"

Waving the idea away, I smiled, "Don't go to any trouble, the bed is fine, man."

Keith turned off the light, leaving the room lit only by the TV. I waited by the bed for him to walk past me again and, when he did, I held him by the waist there in front of me.

He laughed, "Haahaa! What are you doing?"

I sighed, "Just what feels right."

He wrapped his arms around me and we just swayed gently for a few minutes. In seconds, we both felt so relaxed and at peace. For me, those few moments felt like the first and only time that I had ever felt truly secure. My thoughts drifted briefly.

I recalled a time when I was very young and had the flu. My mom had just taken my temperature and was holding me, reassuring me that I was getting better. She held me until I fell asleep. Holding and being held by Keith felt the very same way.

I whispered, "I've never had a boyfriend before. I like this feeling."

"Neither have I, really. Mike and I did some stuff when we were thirteen but we weren't emotionally ready for it. I like the feeling too. I feel comfortable with you, Prez."

When he admitted his past relationship with Mike, I could feel his heartbeat briefly speed up. But it slowed again when he said that he felt at ease with me. I looked in his eyes, tilted my head and mimicked his kiss from earlier. We eventually broke our embrace and got into the bed. Keith reached for the remote control and turned off the TV.

After a few minutes of lying there, Keith asked, "Are you asleep?"

"Nope."

We turned and looked at each other. The answer was obvious. We both slid closer and held each other in the center of the bed. That's what we both needed. Sleep came soon thereafter.

Around seven the next morning, we heard the sounds of his parents getting ready for work. Groggily, Keith got up and locked his bedroom door then returned to bed, snuggling up close to me. But I had noticed his morning erection tenting his boxers. There was a storm of emotions building up in me all at once. I rolled over to face him.

I said, "Good morning."

"Mornin' bud. Go back to sleep."

"I wish I could. I've been thinking… and dreaming… of you… about us."

"Yeah, me too. Good dreams."

"Yeah. I'm falling in love with you, Keith."

Looking in my eyes and pulling me closer he kissed my cheek. "I love you too Preston."

I kissed his sweet lips and let my hand slowly trace its way around his chest, memorizing each square inch. Breaking our kiss, he giggled at my touch and started his own exploration of my chest then moved down to my stomach. I felt the firmness of his abdomen and my heart raced. Our breathing quickened and our smiles faded. With our eyes we communicated our fears of being hurt and left alone, our desire to be with each other not just once, or today, but forever. Our hands slid down slowly into each other's boxers. We each felt the other's erection then began removing the boxers and kicked them off under the covers. Keith moved over and lay on top of me causing me to softly moan my approval. My arms slid down his back and my hands cupped his ass, pulling him into me. He started nibbling and sucking my earlobes, nearly driving me insane with passion. I tried to roll us over but he would only let me go as far as our sides. Kissing my lips, my neck and down my shoulder and arm, he crawled into a sixty-nine position.

He took hold of my pulsing cock and licked once completely around my circumcised glans. I shivered and groaned. He looked up at me with those mischievous eyes and waited for me to repeat the process for him. I did and he bucked involuntarily, forcing the head of his cock into my mouth. We swallowed each other in gradual increments. Lovingly, we sucked and licked each other to the brink of climax then backed off only to repeat the process again. The second time around though, we couldn't hold it back any longer. I grunted a few times to warn him I was close. He hummed his warning, sending vibrations throughout my body. My twirling tongue blocked his first shot and it splashed around my mouth. He hummed in appreciation and I let my orgasm over take me. We swallowed every drop and licked each other clean. We were totally satisfied but our cocks never really lost their erections. Keith crawled around again to kiss me. We held each other close and drifted back off to the world of dreams.

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