Life Goes On

Talk about wild! In our room, while I was doing naughty things to Keith's feet and he was laughing hysterically, we soon heard loud giggling from Drew's room. Within two minutes, Keith had a pillow over his face to mute his laughter, occasionally pushing the pillow aside to grab breaths. Then I heard Drew laugh, "Corey? Please, no, don't." More laughter erupted from two brothers' voices in two different rooms as their feet were being licked, nibbled and sucked.

Switching to Keith's left foot and continuing on my mission, I only briefly thought, "Go get him, Corey," and then considered telling Drew that he needed to think about using a pillow to mute himself.

About twenty minutes later, there was virtual silence from both rooms. I was on cloud-nine, with Keith inside me and listening to him telling me how I had managed a great evening with my Aunt and her family. As far as Keith was concerned, I was the center of everyone's attention. Naturally, from my perspective, everyone else enjoying dinner was my primary goal. I couldn't and wouldn't say that to Keith while he was making me float though. Thankfully, it was a fantastic night for everyone. At one in the morning, Keith set the clock for a nine o'clock alarm. We had to wake and get to Agoura Hills for band practice.

Everyone, except John, was in the kitchen and dining room around nine that Saturday morning. With a large mug of coffee before him on the table, Dad was reading the morning paper. Mom was on the phone. Drew and Corey were sitting side-by-side, glancing through furniture store sales fliers while they had breakfast. When Keith wondered what was going on, Drew reminded, "It's time for a bigger bed." He didn't even blush! Keith and I had more than our usual light breakfasts, choosing cereals, juice and granola bars. We had to hurry through breakfasts, showers, grab our work clothes and race out the door to get to Agoura Hills by ten.

At Doug and Brian's place, Shaun, Gil and Jessy were already with Derrick and Mike at the table reviewing the set list. A bunch of songs needed to be added to our existing list to fill an hour and twenty minutes. Twenty-two songs were selected. Eight of the twenty-two were considered ballads. Our preparation plan included five weekends of insuring we had all the songs rehearsed. We would choose the four songs for the audition as time progressed. The weekend before the audition, each day, we would run through the entire performance from start to end and then play our four audition songs. Doug and Brian's assistance would be required. Drew and Corey would also need to be available for a few rehearsal sessions so they would be prepared to run the sound board and the lights. That meant at least two weekend's rehearsals would be in Mike's garage using our own gear.

A little after eleven o'clock, we went to the studio and got to work. Scuttle Buttin' would be our opening number followed by The Road, Sister Golden Hair, Hold My Hand, Give Me One Reason and Stone In Love. Each of the five of us had opportunities to sing lead vocals. That short list kept us busy until one o'clock, at which time we took a break for lunch. Derrick and Mike put burgers and hot dogs on the grill that day. We planned to share future food expenses, either by bringing lunches or pooling bucks so Mike and Derrick didn't go broke. An hour had passed by the time we cooked, ate, cleaned up and returned to the studio. Since Keith had to leave for work first, we started with Stone In Love and worked through the short list in reverse. In the middle of playing Give Me One Reason, Keith gave me a kiss before he left. Jessy was next to leave at three. Shaun and Gil had the weekend off and didn't need to hurry to be anywhere. They left with Derrick, Mike and I when we left for work at three-thirty.

Once the three of us were alone in my 4Runner, I asked, "Did Gil seem a lot more confident or was it my imagination?"

Derrick chuckled, "He's got Shaun's attention, that's for sure."

Mike wondered, "Did today's jams sound alright to you, Prez?"

I nodded, "Hell yeah! Shaun's the only one of us not actively playing. Still, his rhythm guitar part and vocals sounded pretty good." Glancing in the rear-view mirror, I asked, "You're wishing he was available more?"

Derrick and Mike reluctantly answered, "Yeah."

Mike sighed, "Am I the only one that wants to be more than 'pretty good'?"

Derrick said, "No, dude. I'm there with ya."

"So am I," I replied. "Remember though, Shaun and Gil are only just getting their relationship together. Let's invite them over for less structured jams, Tuesday and Wednesday."

Derrick said, "Ya know what it is, Prez?" I shook my head and Derrick said, "We're jammin' four or five days a week. The three of us and Keith are getting really good sounds, our rhythm section is right on. Jess isn't having any problems either."

"Shaun's a little behind or ahead of the beat," Mike sadly remarked.

"Let's capitalize on Gil's confidence then," I offered. "He's gotta know by now that Shaun's not wanting you, Mike. Any jealousy that existed last month needs to be wiped away, once and for all. That way, our band gets to keep a perfectly good guitarist and vocalist."

Mike sighed, "I don't know who I should talk with, Shaun or Gil. Something's gotta give though. We're a month into our vacation. This is the first time we've seen Shaun since yours and Keith's anniversary, Prez."

Derrick offered, "I can talk with Gil if you'll talk with Shaun?" Mike shrugged.

"The three of us are on the same page," I began. "We've talked about Musician's Institute and continuing on together after high school. Shaun needs to be included in that kind of conversation. If he's already making other plans, then we can't look forward to him as part of our band. For the short term, we can get Shaun more involved though. I like Shaun and Gil too. We've got to be careful how we approach this chat, so they don't believe we're forcing anything or pushing them away either."

Mike hummed then said, "I have no idea what Shaun's planning. Gil's not said anything either."

Derrick suggested, "Maybe we should call Jerry? We met Shaun through him."

I droned, "That may or may not work out in our favor. It's not like Shaun's unapproachable. Getting a third party involved could create inaccurate assumptions and gossip."

Derrick nodded, "That's true. Let's just invite Shaun and Gil over. We'll make our plans known and tell Shaun what we're hoping for, just like we did with Keith and Prez."

Mike growled, "I hate uncertainty! We want Shaun in our band. Gil wants Shaun to keep his distance, primarily from me! I don't want either of them pissed off or feeling unwanted. All Shaun needs to do is participate a little more. Two guitars, bass, keys and drums in perfect sync; all of us able to read each other and make music, with crisp beginnings and sharper endings. Like last Tuesday night, our first run through The Rover, as a three piece group, kicked ass! Imagine if Jess and Shaun were available more. When Keith's got a prepared band playing together, as one, he forgets that he's singing with us, not a radio or CD."

Derrick pulled Mike to him and softly chuckled, "You're ranting, Lick."

Leaning against Derrick, Mike moaned, "I know it. All I want is what's already there, just in pieces that need a little glue and tape. What would be perfect is already there; three gay couples and one very cool straight girl making one hell of a group. Is it too much to ask to keep things the same, just for a little while?"

I smiled, "We're getting a long while, Mike. What we've got will last through high school, another year. Two of those three couples mentioned will be sticking together for at least another eighteen months after high school. How far we go after that depends on each of us. Old Habits is a cover band. We've got to write our own original material. Will that material be good enough to draw crowds? Assuming just those last two items actually happen, then what?"

"We record," Mike replied. "We get the recordings mixed, mastered and distribute them, as in sales, as in incoming bucks."

Derrick gently brought Mike back to reality by saying, "One step at a time. You can create original stuff and so can Prez. We're all learning what we need to learn. The immediate concern is keeping Shaun interested and keeping Gil assured that none of us are looking to steal his boyfriend away."

"Let's not be so focused on the future that we forget to live now," I reminded. "Keith and I are going to Yosemite with Brian and Pete in about two weeks. At some point, all four couples from our band need to do something besides rehearse, in August, I'm thinking."

"Like what?" Derrick and Mike chimed.

I shrugged, "Any day trip together; Magic Mountain, Knott's Berry Farm, whatever."

Derrick softly told Mike, "That's not a bad idea."

Mike reminded, "We can only afford it once."

I interjected, "Don't worry about the P.A. system, Mike. Keith and I have already talked. I've got that covered. What's most important is this summer; the four of us, having good times whenever we can manage it."

Derrick chuckled, "We've had good times already. Or doesn't last Monday through Wednesday count?"

"They count," I laughed. "Bangin' our brains out until four in the morning followed by shower blowjobs definitely count!"

Mike evilly snickered, "Wait until this week, Prez."

Shaking his head, Derrick sneered, "Now that we're almost at work, the conversation takes a gutter dive?"

"Speaking of dives," Mike chuckled, "How about we invade my mom and sister for a late night dip in the pool?"

"We could do that," Derrick enthusiastically nodded.

Pulling into the Black Angus parking lot, I laughed, "What about tomorrow's rehearsal?"

"We're in bed by two," Mike offered.

Almost simultaneously, the three of us chorused, "And asleep by three."

With all of us chortling, I pulled into a parking space at the edge of the parking lot. The place was already packed. There was a line at the door and even the outdoor dining area seemed full. "Here we go, dudes," Derrick smiled, and passed me the windshield sunscreen. "A night of big tips."

Sliding over and opening the back door, Mike joked, "I thought the big tips were between two and three?" Putting the windshield sunscreen in place, I groaned through my giggles. Derrick goosed Mike's ass and slid across the back seat, following Mike out of the car.

As usual, we entered through the kitchen and clocked in. Some of the waiters and waitresses saw us. Thankful we were there, they shared that there had been no slow period that Saturday afternoon. Out in the dining room, full bus buckets were everywhere. There were four full trays of dirty glassware at the bar. The three of us started racing around to get the place organized and clean. Randy showed up and helped. About four-thirty, Randy, Derrick, Mike and I were gathered at the dishwasher and wondering where Terry was, the older busboy that was supposed to work that night.

Randy shook his head sadly and sighed, "He's gonna get his ass fired." We all agreed and then planned to share the bar cleanup.

The whole night remained busy. There was a two hour wait for a table by five-thirty and it remained that way until almost nine o'clock. Tasks that were usually done separately, like returning glasses to the bar or silverware to the dining room, were multi-tasked whenever we returned from the kitchen. I called Keith at home, around ten o'clock, to have him meet us at Mike's around eleven-thirty. Mike called his mom and warned her of our invasion. Being short one busboy, we made big bucks. Each of us cleared ninety dollars. Out in the parking lot, Randy was invited to come swim and hang out with us.

Uncertainly humming, Randy then grinned, "I don't know. I could get in big trouble."

Derrick, Mike and I were confused. "How could you get in trouble?" Mike wondered.

Randy leered, "Three hot gay dudes, under eighteen, and one over eighteen straight dude. I see child molestation charges and one extremely annoyed girlfriend." We all groaned and chuckled then surrounded Randy, backing him against my 4Runner's tailgate. Randy laughed, "Straight does not mean stupid!"

We played along and spent at least another minute, checking our fellow busboy out, passing various comments about his bedroom eyes, muscular arms, buff chest and round ass. By the parking lot lights, we had Randy trapped, blushing and giggling. Randy joked, "See how you dudes are? And somewhere is Prez's boyfriend, making it four against one. Honestly officer, they stripped and seduced me! I couldn't stop it, really!"

I suspiciously squinted, "How do you know I have a boyfriend?"

"Come on, dude," Randy chuckled. "No one could pull off a shy gay boy act better than a shy gay boy." Derrick and Mike roared laughing.

"I am not shy!" I loudly laughed. "Just ask Keith!"

Randy chuckled, "I should say yes, just to meet Keith. But no, not this time. I really do have stuff to do tomorrow, early too."

Stepping back and providing Randy an escape, Mike grinned, "I will ask again."

Derrick teased, "You've instigated the wrong group. We'll get ya."

I nodded, "And you'll get to meet Keith."

Randy nodded and smiled. Then he placed one arm over his crotch and the other behind his back, covering his ass as he side stepped away from the 4Runner. "You're not acting shy enough!" I laughed.

Derrick giggled, "He's acting straight."

Mike nodded, "Straight but unwillingly curious."

Randy shrugged and laughed, "Good night, dudes," then raced to his car, as if we were chasing him.

Shaking my head and grinning, I unlocked the 4Runner. Pulling out of the parking lot, Randy tooted his car's horn. Mike jumped and squealed, as if he had been goosed. We could hear Randy laughing as he drove by. I started the engine then backed out. Behind me, Derrick and Mike were still wondering about Randy. How much of what he said was over-tired playfulness? Was he really straight or was he bisexual? There was no doubt about it, we all agreed that Randy was very cute and a hell of nice guy. I already knew that and told Derrick and Mike about the gay dude at Black Angus who had been checking me out weeks earlier. That was the last time I recalled getting over ninety bucks in tips.

Keith was waiting in his Camry for us when I pulled in front of Mike's house. He got out of his car wearing only boardies and sandals. He asked, "We're driving back to Agoura Hills too?"

Approaching my lover, I nodded, "Just to drop Derrick and Mike off." We hugged and kissed in the street.

Mike asked, "Does anyone really need to change?"

Pointing at the house, Derrick said, "All the lights are off. If we can be quiet, there's no need to go inside or wake anybody up."

Keith smirked at Mike then turned to me and prompted, "It's up to you, baby."

I grinned at Keith then my two friends saying, "I don't care. All lingering questions have already been answered anyway."

"Cool, bro," Derrick smiled.

Leading the way to his backyard, Mike nodded, "Let's just be very quiet, no diving and no interruptions from my mom or sister."

I took Keith's hand in mine then joked, "It's too bad Randy turned us down."

Derrick and Mike began sniggering. Keith wondered, "Randy, the busboy you told me about? I thought you said he was straight?"

Mike chuckled, "We thought he was too. Now we're wondering."

Derrick offered, "He was invited, but he got cold feet thinking about child molestation charges."

Seeing the light, Keith grinned, "So you ganged up on him?"

Closely watching Keith's expression, I nodded and smiled, "My shy gay boy act a few weeks ago was little too good. Randy figured me out."

Keith softly chortled, "You're all very bad. First we corrupt Drew and Corey and now we're seducing straight dudes?"

Opening the gate, Mike grinned, "Not tonight, obviously. Four on one could turn him."

"Or scare him to death," Derrick giggled.

All the backyard lights and the pool light were off. We began quietly stripping. Wearing the least clothes, Keith took my shirt and neatly laid it on a lawn chair, softly offering, "It's covered with steak and fish smells again. That's the worst part of that job, baby."

Pulling my black pants off, I smirked, "Another ninety bucks each tonight though, babe."

Keith took my pants and shared, "For that kind of money, I'll deal." He folded my pants and laid them with my shirt on the chair.

Pushing his boxers down, Derrick said, "We'll get you there soon too, Keith. One of the busboys never showed tonight. It's only a matter of time.

My lover watched me push my C.K.'s down then took them from me. Foolishly, I expected them to be folded and put with my other clothes. But first, Keith brought them to his face and inhaled deeply. Leering at me, his eyes glazed over.

Mike nudged Keith and softly chortled, "Don't cum in the pool, fool!"

Keith chuckled, "His underwear smells way better than his shirt, that's for sure."

"Yeah?" Derrick chirped. He then picked up Mike's boxers and gave them a deep sniff. Derrick provocatively hummed and glared at Mike. Keith folded my drawers, but then snapped them open again and stuffed white cotton in his mouth.

Barely controlling the volume of his voice, Mike laughed, "I'm gonna have to turn the pool filter on, I can see it all now." He took his undies from Derrick and dropped them. Mike led Derrick to the pool and they quietly got in.

I carefully pulled my C.K.'s from Keith's mouth, tossed them on the chair with the rest of my duds then led him to the pool. The four of us swam around for many minutes then returned to the shallow end of the pool where couples paired off. I relaxed in Keith's embrace. Our dicks were hard and we fought the urge to grind against each other. Then I noticed Derrick waving his hand to get my attention. He pointed at the edge of the pool then opened his mouth wide. I grinned and nodded my head only once. With his legs, Mike had already attached himself to Derrick's hips. While Derrick slowly moved to the side of the pool with Mike, I kissed Keith hard and turned him around then guided my love to the edge of the pool. Mike began giggling when Derrick lifted his ass and set him down on the concrete.

Keith suspiciously smirked, "What are you doin', Prez?"

Bouncing my eyebrows, I then leaned closer and whispered, "Pay back time. They don't think I can fit your fat bone in my mouth. I'm gonna prove it, right now."

Keith uncertainly whimpered. More clearly, so Derrick and Mike could hear, he confessed, "I love you, Prez," then scooted up onto the pool's edge.

Pointing across the yard and over the fence, Mike softly giggled, "Dee, what if your parents see us?"

Derrick shrugged, "I hope my dad does."

With the last of the arguments out of the way, Derrick went down on Mike and I greedily swallowed Keith's manhood.

Mike sighed, "We started it."

Running his right hand through my damp hair while leaning back on his left, Keith replied, "This is important for, Prez."

Yes, it was always very important for me to show Keith my love. Showing Mike and Derrick that I was confident enough to do it in front of them was slightly important too. I reminded all three where my priorities were when I backed off Keith's erection with a loud pop. Scooping up a handful of pool water to cool him off, I then lapped up the droplets.

"Omigod!" Mike gasped.

Derrick giggled then dumped some water on Mike's hard-on and lapped it up. In one well practiced move, I opened up wide and took all of Keith in my mouth, stopping when my nose was buried in his pubes and remaining there for about ten or fifteen seconds.

Keith sighed then whispered my full first name.

Derrick softly said, "If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I'd never believe it."

Backing off Keith, I stroked my lover and proudly said, "It's a matter of wanting to do it."

Keith grinned, "The very first time, Prez did great. Momentary thrills like that can last as long as he wants now. If I seem to act stupid from time-to-time, this is only one reason why."

Derrick locked eyes with Keith and smiled, "We all get stupid on occasion."

Mike nodded and cackled, "It's just fun teasing you about it, bro. You're my best friend again, thanks to Prez." Mike then lay back on the concrete and offered Keith his hand. Keith lay back too and took Mike's hand. Derrick and I went back to work on our partners. Under water, I reached for Derrick's hand and he took it. After about two minutes, I gave my jaw a rest and looked up. Derrick was hungrily mouthing Mike's scrotum and jacking his cock.

Noticing me, Derrick winked then stood upright. He softly asked, "Wanna swap for a minute?"

I grinned, "I got your curiosity goin'?"

Derrick nodded and smiled, "Mike's mine to finish off and Keith's yours."

I nodded agreement and we swapped partners. Almost simultaneously, before Derrick or I touched Mike or Keith, they gasped, "Omigod!"

Derrick and I began laughing, barely controlling our voices. The first thing Derrick did was dump water on Keith's crotch. I did the same for Mike and giggled, "Coolin' off now, bud?"

Lifting his head off the concrete, Mike softly begged, "Go easy, Prez. I ain't as fat as you or Keith, but have about an inch more in length."

"You too, Dee," Keith whispered, "Don't hurt yourself and have Mike bitchin' at me tomorrow."

Derrick and I smirked at each other. Their bitchy queen games with each other were only covering up how sweet they really were. I ran my hands up Mike's thighs then wrapped my hand around his twitching eight inch rod. Mike had less in circumference than me and Keith, but I estimated it was still a good five inches around. I looked over at Derrick holding Keith's fat bone. Appearing uncertain, he reached for my left hand and I took it. Then we both bent over for the first tentative kisses and licks, examining with our mouths what we had only seen previously. Mike's crotch was hairier than Keith's or mine. He smelled good too, slightly different than Keith, but still that sexy, musky scent that prompted me to take the head of his cock into my mouth. I didn't want Mike to think this was a half-hearted attempt. He was a good friend that I truly cared about. I let my tongue travel around his circumcised glans, earning a groan and shiver.

Keith dreamily hummed then whispered, "Slow and easy, dude." Glancing over, I noticed Derrick paused about a third of the way down Keith's erection. He backed off Keith and I backed off Mike.

Derrick huffed then stretched his jaw and tried again. I took more of Mike in my mouth, but had to back off before he caused me to gag. Keith's cock went to the back of my throat but Mike's extra inch cut off my ability to breathe. Now more prepared, I took a deep breath then took Mike's full bone until his bush was tickling my nose. I couldn't stay that way more than a few seconds though; it felt like I might vomit, he was so deep inside me.

Raising his head, Mike softly asked, "You okay?"

Still stroking his bone, I nodded, "An inch might as well be a yard."

Mike held my stroking hand still and sat up. More tenderly than I ever expected, Mike wrapped his other hand around my neck to guide me closer. He whispered, "Thanks, Prez," then kissed me. His tongue teased mine then pulled back into his mouth. Naturally, my tongue chased the invader and tickled it.

Keith whispered his thanks to Derrick then they kissed. They broke the kiss then turned to us.

"Well?" I softly wondered.

Derrick grinned, "The answer to the sixty-five-million dollar question is... you're mouth is bigger than Keith's cock!" All four of us began laughing.

I countered, "And your throat is deeper than Mike's beast!"

Moving around me to Mike, Derrick giggled and nodded, "Not a problem for me."

Before we could finish what we had started, Mike and Keith hopped into the pool. Keith kissed me hard and held me firmly like I might run away. Barely a foot beside us, Derrick and Mike were kissing.

When they broke their kiss, they turned to Keith and I. Mike sweetly asked, "Stay at Agoura Hills with us tonight?"

Derrick nodded and added, "Let's sleep in that king sized bed together."

"I've gotta finish Keith off before he bursts," I smiled.

Derrick assured, "No switching partners again tonight. I'll finish with Mike, you finish with Keith."

Mike explained, "After what just happened, I'll feel very strange if we're not together."

Keith hummed, "Yeah, so will I."

Giving in, I reminded, "Laundry will have to be started tonight so we have clean work clothes tomorrow."

"No problem," Derrick chirped.

Taking Derrick's hand, Mike started for the steps and prompted, "Let's go."

We got out of the pool. While we dressed, Mike offered to drive with Keith and Derrick would ride shotgun with me in the 4Runner. Derrick and I suspiciously smirked. He and I shook our heads, knowing better than to leave Keith and Mike alone to plot for ten minutes. Mike would go with me and Derrick would go with Keith.

Soon, we were back in our vehicles and pulling away. Mike didn't wait another second. He said, "Prez, don't think for a second that I don't love you. I love Derrick more, that's all."

I sighed, "Excuses aren't necessary, Mike. I love Keith more than you and Derrick. Keith has to know that. I remind him all the time. The only excuse I can offer you, Derrick or Keith is, we were curious to try. I won't try intercourse with you or Derrick. That's my line. If I cross that then I've disappointed myself and everyone will know it."

Mike pulled my hand off the gear shifter and squeezed it tightly saying, "Me and Derrick are there too, Prez. Any other game or experiment is fine, just no butt play."

Squeezing his hand, I smiled, "We're cool, Mike. Just for you, I'll make Keith squirt across the bed."

Mike howled laughing. "I've seen him shoot. The question now is between you and Derrick. I cum in gobs, barely blowing more than two or three inches."

I sniggered, "All that matters is how good Derrick makes you feel and how awesome Keith makes me feel." Coming to the intersection for the 101 on-ramp, I glanced his way saying, "I need my hand back, bud. You can rest your hand on mine, if you want."

Mike released my hand then placed his hand over mine. Mike then asked what I truthfully thought while I was blowing him. I told him the truth too; about his big bush and hairy crotch, his musky scent being different than Keith's, but still attractive enough to make me want him my mouth, and how once I had him, I wasn't gonna do a bad job simply because I cared enough to make it worthwhile.

When I finished speaking, Mike wondered, "Do you think Derrick and Keith are having the same talk?"

"I really hope so," I replied. "We'll make sure once we're in the house together. There will be no bad feelings tonight. If we have to, we'll stay awake all friggin' night setting it right again." After a brief pause, I asked, "Would you like to know why tonight and not before?"

Mike nodded, "Yeah, actually I would."

I began, "It's a cluster-fuck of messed up thoughts, Mike. My dad is an asshole. He emotionally abused me, making me believe I couldn't do anything right. The result of living that life made me think I had less between my legs than other dudes."

"Oh fuck, dude!" Mike angrily shouted. He turned to me saying, "Flaccid, you and me are the same, Prez. If there's a quarter of an inch difference, it's a lot. I showered next to you all school year, I know you cold and hot, happy or angry or sad."

I nodded, "Keith has been building my confidence for a year. Last week's shower blowjobs were Keith's way of propping me up and building more confidence. Last summer, in the pool house, we couldn't see each other. Last week, in the shower, we could easily see. Now I know a dick is just flesh hanging until it's used to make a partner feel good. Anybody that accomplishes that, has accomplished a lot.

"As much as I disliked my dad while I lived with him, I can honestly say that I hate him now. I had to relearn stuff that I should've known a long time ago. I care about you and Derrick. At some level, I can now say that I do love both of you. Keith on the other hand, he's everything my dad and other friends in Texas should have been. If you liked tonight's trip to the wild side, thank Keith. I made love to him for two months before I could squeeze his fat bone in my ass. Does he care or hold it against me in any way? Nope, not in the slightest. Do I constantly give myself to him? You bet I do. He's made me shoot without touching myself."

Mike giggled, "Isn't that wild? Derrick's done me that way too, a few times. I only managed the same for him once, but that's enough for me to know I can do it again." I pulled off the freeway and Mike sighed, "Thanks again, Prez. This time for this chat. I feel funny saying it and please don't take it wrong, but this chat means more than a blowjob."

I giggled, "What you didn't know before, you now know. I trust you, Mike. I felt your cock throbbing in my mouth. You held my hand still rather than lose it and upset our partners."

Mike laughed, "I was damn close."

Stopping in front of Doug and Brian's house, behind Keith's Camry, I looked into Mike's eyes and smiled, "We're close now. My heart would be ripped to shreds if anything happened to change it."

"I know it," Mike sighed. "All I can say is; I'm so sorry that your dad fucked with you so badly. My dad was the core of our family. The birthday hats were just one of the great things he did. Sons need good fathers. From you and Derrick, I've learned how lucky I was. I'll never betray the trust you placed in me tonight."

I whispered "Thanks," then moved to get out of the car. Mike held me back though and pointed at Keith's car. Derrick and Keith kissed. They had talked! Again, Mike gently guided me close for a tender kiss. We pulled away and smiled at each other then got out of the car.

Like our buns were on fire, Keith hurried to me and I raced to him. On the other side of the cars, Mike had lifted Derrick then set him down and swallowed his face. Four very happy guys walked into Doug and Brian's house. The first order of business was getting clothes washes started. Three white shirts and my C.K.'s went into the machine for the first load. Since Keith was the only one wearing clean clothes and we were all naked, he stripped too. We all went to the master bedroom and finished what we started, with Keith and Mike sitting on the edge of the bed while me and Derrick were on our knees. Once that necessary task was complete, we went to the kitchen. The chocolate ice cream purchased Tuesday afternoon was opened and emptied. Still naked, we covered the sofa with a sheet and ate in the living room. We chatted about our conversations while we ate and shared spoonfuls with our lovers. Nothing exciting or upsetting was shared. The most shocking thing said was by Keith. He revealed that he had told Drew how close we were and that having sex around each other wasn't a big deal.

Mike smiled, "We were close yesterday. Today, we're inseparable." We all nodded agreement. Concentrating on spoon feeding Keith, I'm not sure exactly what happened next. Derrick squealed then gasped, "Fucker!" Keith and I looked over to find a glob of melting chocolate ice cream on Derrick's blond pubes and dripping down his uncut dick.

Mike laughed, "It was an accident, really!"

Derrick sighed then laughed, "Now clean it up!" Keith and I roared. Mike happily did as he was told. He got down on his knees between his lover's spread legs and licked the ice cream up. He didn't stop when the task was complete either.

Keith's eyes flashed mischievously. I cackled uncontrollably when Keith warned me things were about to get very cold before getting very hot. Keith was cleaning me up and I was warming up nicely when Derrick gasped again. Mike had poured a lot of melted ice cream from his bowl onto Derrick, from his navel to his scrotum.

I howled, "It's a good thing we put the sheet down!"

Holding Derrick's erection, Mike nodded then giggled, "Keith? Ya want some chocolate covered sausage?"

Keith cracked up laughing, but checked with me. When I nodded, Keith giggled, "Kosher?"

All four of us cracked up. Derrick soon sniggered, "You three have kosher sausages! Now hurry up before I freeze!"

Mike and Keith got up and raced around the coffee table. Since I was mostly clean, Mike picked up Keith's bowl then dribbled cold ice cream over my belly and crotch. Flinching, I screamed, "Shrinkage!" causing the other three to crack up again. Mike then leaned over and kissed me before kneeling down and cleaning me up. This insanity went on for at least a half an hour, with Mike and Keith periodically swapping between Derrick and me, until there was no more ice cream. They said that we tasted different and had to confirm it. Derrick and I giggled at the poor excuse. Soon, I had to softly warn Mike that I was getting very close.

Clearly, so Keith and Derrick could hear it, Mike said, "I'm willing unless someone says no."

Four sets of eyes searched for a reply. I offered, "If Keith's sure, its fine, but it's Keith's to give away."

Mike asked Keith and Derrick, "This time?"

Derrick nodded, "When you’re done, kiss me, Mike." He then turned to Keith and said, "When you’re done, kiss Prez."

Mike and Keith nodded then went back to work. This was too good to be true. Derrick's idea allowed us to share the taste of each other, answering another lingering question about semen. Derrick and I clasped hands, dreamily looking into one another's eyes for a few moments; silently confirming we both knew our partners were insane. I looked down at the top of Mike's light brown mop of long hair. My leg muscles began to stiffen, forcing me to extend them. Derrick was only seconds behind me, laying one leg on the coffee table and extending the other. Climaxing within seconds of each other, Derrick and I crushed our clasped hands. Moments later, when the deed was done, Mike stood with his mouth open, showing me that he hadn't swallowed much. Keith did the same for Derrick. Once more, Mike and Keith raced around the coffee table. Keith kissed me while Mike kissed Derrick. I held my lover like he had given me the gift of a lifetime and didn't allow the kiss to break for a long minute.

Derrick spoke first. "Semen is semen. Prez tastes exactly like Mike."

Keith nodded and confirmed, "You taste exactly like Prez."

I followed with my own similar assessment then so did Mike. Mike added, "You'd think diet would cause a little difference, but it honestly didn't." He then snuggled closer to Derrick and offered, "Prez is definitely a power shooter like you, Dee." We all began softly chuckling and promised a shoot off was going to happen some other night. It was after two in the morning though. We had to move laundry around and get to bed. While we were in the garage at the washer and dryer, Derrick and I noticed that Keith and Mike were still hard as rocks; the heads of their cocks shiny with leaked pre-cum. The final act of the night was to get them into bed, Derrick and I agreed. With almost all barriers completely destroyed, I mounted Keith and Derrick squatted over Mike. After a many minutes of wonderful intercourse, Derrick and I climbed off our lovers then knelt on the bed, shoulder-to-shoulder, with our asses in the air. That's what Keith and Mike needed; to burn off excess energy. Derrick and I decided to not hold hands, figuring if blowjobs were crushing then intercourse had the potential of breaking bones. I expected to be the first to climax, but Derrick lost it first. I followed then Mike and Keith grunted within a second of each other. Many minutes of cuddling ensued, with Derrick and I back-to-back in the center of the huge bed. Mike reached over to set the alarm for nine o'clock then turned off the light. Mike softly said, "G'night dudes." He then whispered, "You rock, Dee."

Derrick purred, "I've got ya, Lick."

Snuggling against me, Keith sighed, "Love you so much, baby."

Holding Keith and whispering, "I love you too, babe," I soon drifted off.

There were no interruptions or problems for six full hours. I know I was exhausted, but any of the four of us might've had to piss or had a nightmare. When the alarm went off, four groggy asses crawled out of bed. Having been at the edges of the bed, Mike and Keith stood before the almighty porcelain thrown. Forcing their morning wood down, they made their offerings then shuffled into the shower. Derrick and I pissed then joined them.

With Derrick in his arms, Mike asked, "Everybody's good? No hurt feelings to fix?"

Already soaping up Keith, I shook my head and grinned, "I'm good."

Keith searched my eyes then warmly smiled, "You surprised me, baby." He fondled my goods then whispered, "All mine, sex-machine."

Mike and Derrick began sniggering. I chuckled, "No more chocolate ice cream for Mike!" We all roared laughing.

Mike loudly suggested, "Vanilla? Strawberry? Cookies and cream? We'll do it here, in the shower next time."

Derrick shook his head and giggled, "Stay here tonight dudes."

Mike nodded, "Please? Grab whatever you need for a few days."

Keith softly wondered, "Are you afraid I might get bitchy alone with Prez?"

Derrick shook his head then glared at Mike.

Mike assured, "No, that's not it." He went to Keith and kissed him then he kissed me the exact same way. Glancing at all three of us, he said, "I slept like a baby last night. Not only because of one of the best sexual experiences of my life, but because I felt so safe and secure." He pointed at Derrick, Keith and I then explained, "I love all three of you and Derrick most. I've had to be the man of the family for four years. In the cars, Prez and I shared, Derrick and Keith shared, everything's out in the open now. For the first time in years, my guard was down all night."

Derrick nodded, "He wanders around double checking doors and windows at the slightest sound. We want you both here, for that reason and for our future lives together."

"You can sleep with us in the king bed or in the guest room," Mike suggested. "Where ever you choose will be totally cool with us.

"We'll play it by ear," I smiled.

Keith teased, "I hope you're ready. You've got us here for most of the next week."

I nodded and reminded, "Rush too."

"Awesome," Derrick and Mike chanted. During the remaining few minutes of our shower, we told Derrick and Mike about Drew's and John's new bedrooms. I also told them how I taught Corey to offer Drew his very best by licking, nibbling and sucking on Drew's feet. Keith got hard hearing that. Surprisingly, Mike and Derrick were both raging too. I grunted, "Uh-oh!" then cracked up laughing. Silencing me, Keith hugged and kissed me.

Derrick asked Mike, "You wanna try it?"

Mike replied, "Yeah, you do too, obviously."

Keith turned to them and giggled, "We don't have time right now."

Derrick shrugged and slyly smirked, "Later tonight, we get more than verbal instruction from Prez."

Stepping back from me, Keith gestured at my entire body giggling, "Meet my sex-machine. He's so friggin' hot, his hair is red."

Mike grinned and nodded agreement. Derrick, my best friend, cackled at my pet-name and also nodded. The shower water was turned off by me and Derrick. Stepping out of the shower, Derrick admitted, "I'm starving."

Mike goosed his ass and wondered, "For real food or more sausage?"

Grabbing a towel, Derrick smirked, "Real food," then tossed the towel over Mike's head. He handed me a towel, which I passed to Keith, and then got another towel from Derrick.

Glancing out of the bathroom and into the bedroom, Mike grumbled, "Fuck! It's almost nine-thirty! We've gotta get motivated, dudes."

The four of us went into over-drive, toweling off, rinsing our mouths with mouthwash, then getting dressed. Keith had his own relatively clean boardies to wear, but I had to borrow another pair of Derrick's boardies. Mike and Keith hurried to the garage to move clothes from the washer to the dryer. Derrick and I got cereals, juices, bowls, glasses and silverware on the table. Keith returned with Mike and a laundry basket of clean white shirts and my C.K.'s. Twenty minutes flew by while we ate breakfast. We had barely finished when the first knock on the front door was heard. Since Jessy was playing at church services, we knew who was at the door. Derrick went to answer it. Mike and I cleaned up the breakfast mess. Keith called his parents to explain that it was almost one when we decided to spend the night in Agoura Hills. He also said that we would be home that night, but only long enough to grab stuff for a week with Mike and Derrick.

We greeted Shaun and Gil warmly, with only hugs. They were both surprised to get more than handshakes.

Seeing all four of us similarly dressed, barefoot, shirtless and in board shorts, Shaun grinned at me and asked, "You and Keith spent the night here?"

I nodded and briefly explained, "Black Angus was a nut house last night. We went swimming at Mike's then decided to drive here." Gesturing at Keith, I added, "Keith's talking to his dad now. We'll be here most of the week." Since I had the opportunity, I said, "We'd really like it if you and Gil would come over a few nights, for dinner and late night jams."

Mike's eyes briefly locked with mine, obviously thankful that I had made the invitation. He then enthusiastically chirped, "Yeah, that would be very cool, dudes."

Derrick nodded and explained, "The four of us are planning on attending Musician's Institute after high school. Our time together here is to learn if we can share expenses and live together, without major drama."

Gil smiled and wondered, "How's that going so far?" Simultaneously, and probably a bit too enthusiastically, all four of us began loudly assuring them that everything was good, great, perfect or awesome. Raising his eyebrows and smiling widely, Gil turned to Shaun. They both hummed suspiciously then began giggling at us. Snickering insanely, Keith went to Shaun then Gil, giving them welcoming hugs.

"Alright!" Shaun chuckled. "Something's going on."

Gil stepped away from Shaun and glanced in the two bedrooms. Humming and giggling as he returned, Gil blushed and told Shaun, "One bed unmade, the king size master bed is a wreck."

Shaking his head, but smiling widely, Shaun wondered, "You're not hoping or thinking we..."

"No!" four voices firmly interrupted.

Mike went to Shaun and Gil. He tapped Gil on the shoulder. When Gil turned slightly, Mike wrapped him in a tight embrace. Mike sighed, "I never meant to threaten you, dude. What I want, what we all want is Shaun's voice and guitar playing. What's in Shaun's pants is yours."

Keith nodded and softly assured, "Shaun's heart is yours, Gil. We see it and won't interfere or muddy the waters." I went to Keith and wrapped my arms around him.

Derrick gently took Mike from Gil and spoke for Mike. "This is what is, dudes. Yeah, we slept in the same bed. Yeah, Mike and I made love while Keith and Prez made love. Then we slept. Our band has three gay couples with one cool and very talented straight girl. There's the end of summer concert and a school year worth of dances on the horizon. We want to kick ass at each of those performances. To do that, we need Shaun more than once in a while."

Gil nodded and shared, "I'm not stopping Shaun; never have, never will."

"I'm being single minded," Shaun admitted, and then took Gil in his arms. "I'm addicted," Shaun explained. "We've got a cool place where we can be together now; at my house. Every Saturday and Sunday night, we're together in my bed. The rest of the week, we make love whenever we can. I'm a bottom and I know it. Gil happily tops for me, but also wants me to top for him now and then. I've got more than I need or ever wanted, right here in front of me."

Keith smiled, "It's called versatility. Me and Prez are; we switch off all the time."

"So are me and Mike," Derrick added.

Mike glanced at Gil then Shaun admitting, "I'd be perfectly happy with my legs in the air and looking into Derrick's eyes every night. Even though I'm bottom at least two-thirds of the time, it's my job to keep him happy. Rather than chance losing this gorgeous hunk of a drummer, I give him what he wants, when he wants it." Keith's head dropped onto my shoulder. Derrick smiled at Mike, seemingly prepared to rip his boardies off and take him at that very moment.

At a pause in the outpouring of truths, I asked, "Where's the problem then? Am I not seeing a personality conflict somewhere?"

Shaun smiled, "No, that's not it at all. It's only scheduling and the minor misunderstanding, which we've just resolved. Now for scheduling; Gil and I work Tuesday through Friday, ten in the morning until six. The earliest we could be here is between six thirty and seven, assuming I'm not burning up, horny as hell." All six of us began laughing.

Mike chuckled, "I've gone for it in the bathroom with Derrick while Doug and Brian were sitting out here in the living room. Keith and Prez use the bathroom, the spare bedroom and the living room too."

With Shaun and Gil softly chortling, I squealed, "You knew about that?"

Derrick cracked up. Mike giggled, "Be more quiet. If I had a dollar for every 'Oh God Keith,' I heard, we'd already have a P.A." Shaun and Gil howled laughing.

Blushing fiercely, I grinned, "Yes, I'm a slut and I know it." Keith wrapped me in his arms, softly sniggering.

Shaking his head, Mike chuckled. He focused on Shaun and Gil saying, "Please come here whenever you can for the rest of this month. We all take the time to keep our lusts under control then we make music. Both are important."

Recovering from my embarrassment, I offered, "Only when Jess is here are we slightly limited. She has no problem with us showing affection. Moaning and slurping sounds from another room might be pushing it."

Gil asked, "When do you dudes work?"

I answered, "Saturday through Monday, four until eleven."

Keith said, "Saturday through Tuesday, three until nine."

Derrick added, "Me and Mike are Thursday through Sunday, four 'til eleven-ish."

Mike said, "Monday through Wednesday nights would be cool, dudes." I could tell Mike edited himself and chose not to mention the remaining four nights Shaun and Gil could be alone.

Gil told Shaun, "Being here isn't a problem. You play and sing for me almost nightly. I know you want to, hon."

Watching Gil carefully, Shaun insured, "We could make love here when we need to?"

Gill nodded then suspiciously grinned at the four of us. "Alone," he chuckled.

Wordlessly, Keith and I checked with each other then checked with Derrick and Mike. Getting nods all around, I said, "The guest room is yours whenever ya need it then."

Completely relieved, Mike hung off Derrick and began nibbling his shoulder. Derrick cringed and giggled, "Mike? Are we a little happy?" Not stopping his mid-morning snack, Mike hummed affirmatively.

Keith loudly laughed, "Studio now, before Jessy knocks at the door and finds three couples banging their brains out."

Shaun challenged, "And this is a bad thing how?" Gil snickered evilly.

The six of us walked back to the studio and began powering up the gear. The Mike that I knew would've easily begun chanting praises about sex alone with Derrick, and with Keith and I nearby, similarly involved. Not this day though. Mike picked up his Carvin electric guitar and didn't say anything remotely sexual, but only spoke of the songs in our set list. With a Rickenbacker bass hanging off my shoulders, I soon got the chance to tease him though. "The chocolate ice cream wore you out?" I whispered in Mike's ear.

He loudly laughed, "Not hardly! While you and Keith are getting your stuff, wait till you see what I bring home from the store!" Uncertain what was going on, Gil and Shaun grinned.

"Prez!" Keith shouted, startling me. "Get your bubble butt over here by me, you sex-machine." Painting on my purest, most innocent expression, I hurried over to my lover and planted a quick kiss.

Gil lost it and howled. Shaun laughed, "Keith, is that your pet-name for Prez?"

Keith nodded and smiled, "Don't let his southern hospitality fool you." Saving me from further embarrassment, there was a knock at the door. Keith offered, "I'll get it," then he suspiciously glared at me. He chuckled, "You be good." Forming a circle out of my thumbs and forefingers, I raised both hands over my head and bared a toothy grin. Keith silently mouthed "I love you," and then went to greet Jessy at the door. Thankfully, Derrick and Mike were mutely shaking their heads and smiling.

Returning to the room with Jessy, Keith proudly announced, "Our sister brought food for lunch."

Walking across the room towards her keyboards, "Mom made a Bundt cake last night so we've got lunch and dessert."

Derrick wondered, "What kind of cake, Jess?"

She replied, "It's one of those marble cakes, chocolate and vanilla... swirled..." but then paused, glancing suspiciously around the room at four grinning faces, all suddenly turning away. "Right," she softly giggled. "I'll nonchalantly change the subject now, I think. Which tunes are we working on?"

Derrick suggested, "Mary Jane's Last Dance? I've got lead vocals."

Our band got to work. Shaun needed to play electric guitar on the tune. He picked up a Stratocaster that Mike already had out. More familiar with acoustic guitar playing, Shaun needed a little instruction from Mike. Shaun caught on quickly to the two primary sections. The first run through was slightly slower than the original recording. Jessy played the harmonica part on her synthesizer, since Shaun was fully involved playing rhythm guitar. We ran through that song four times before moving on.

The No No Songwas next on the list, with me singing lead. During the choruses, everybody sang. Jess handled the horn section parts on her synthesizer. Shaun returned to acoustic guitar. Mike got to play some slide guitar. We played that three times, simply because it was fun. Keith was warmed up and ready to sing lead vocals on Don't Stop Believin'. Shaun switched back to the Stratocaster. Again, Shaun needed to learn on the fly. The reason we wanted him was because he could learn quickly and he didn't disappoint this time either. Even though our amplifier volume controls were turned down, the sound in the room was overwhelming from two electric guitars, bass guitar, keyboards and drums. Keith had the Journey Steve Perry sound perfect. For that very reason, four Journey songs were selected for the concert; Stone In Love, Don't Stop Believin', Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) and Open Arms.

We played It's Only Natural next. That tune had Keith and I singing a duet, most of the time. We had begun singing it together over the Christmas holiday. I learned from Keith when and how to breathe while singing. We only ran through that song twice before checking our list. Bringin' On The Heartbreakwas next. For this tune, Jessy, Mike and Shaun had to play the opening sequence in perfect sync. While they worked together and Derrick provided a tempo, Gil, Keith and I went to the kitchen to grab soft drinks for everyone. With that task complete and drinks passed around, they were ready for me to play again. The first time through, we concentrated on providing Keith a tight, synchronized background to sing along with. Keith only sang the first line of the verses and choruses for us. He said that run through was okay, but then explained how the song's lyrics were dramatic and leading to explosively powerful choruses. The great thing was, none of us felt singled out at all because Keith was speaking to each of us. The second time around playing the full song, Keith used his hands to signify levels of volume and drama.

At the end of the song, he spun around and cheered, "Yeah! Let's do it one more time, just like that, but without my hand signals and with backup vocals." So we played it a third time. My deep voice wasn't required, but everyone else sang backup vocals during the choruses. Keith was happy with that run through. It was a little after noon, so we took a break for lunch.

Jessy had brought four full Subway sandwiches and a variety of chips, from the store where Nelson was working that morning. She got to see him and got a break on the cost of the food too. While we ate, Mike, Jessy and I wrote down chord progressions for Shaun to take home and practice. Shaun was confused by my shorthand symbols, little triangles for major chords and dashes for minor chords, but that was quickly explained away. As our audience, Gil was asked if any songs covered thus far were front runners for the auditions.

Gil hummed in thought for a few seconds then said, "Twenty minutes for only four songs sucks. There are five vocalists in this band. Each of you should have a song to sing." We all voiced our agreement, but the rules had to be followed.

Derrick asked, "What if we did a medley, split two songs and splice 'em together?" That idea had each of us humming and wondering which two songs might work together. It was a matter of matching key signatures and tempos to create a smooth transition, but it could work.

After lunch, we ran through the same five songs again. We considered Gil's opinion important and verified with him if songs needed to be repeated or if specific sections needed work. Bringin' On the Heartbreak, It's Only Natural and Don't Stop Believin' were all good, in Gil's opinion. Our remaining time together was spent on Mary Jane's Last Dance and The No No Song, both of which had music and vocal sections that needed work. At two-thirty, Keith kissed me goodbye and left for Blockbuster. At three, Jessy had to leave. The remaining four of us worked on the intro to Bringin' On The Heartbreak for twenty more minutes. Derrick, Mike and I flew into our clothes. The chocolate stained white sheet from the previous night was put in the washing machine. The kitchen and dining room were cleaned. Garbage had to be taken out too. We said goodbye to Gil and Shaun then left for work in Derrick's 442.

Black Angus was fairly busy for a Sunday afternoon. Around dinner time, the wait for a table was up to two hours, but it didn't remain that way for very long. With five busboys, we barely cleared sixty bucks each in tips and were out of there a little before eleven.

Arriving at the Hundser's, we found only Keith in the living room. Rush bounced around, demanding attention from me because I hadn't come home Saturday night. Keith already had our backpacks loaded, waiting in the foyer, ready to go.

Grabbing Rush's bag of kibble, I wondered, "Are Drew and Corey here?"

Keith answered, "Corey's got a doctor appointment in the morning. It's in downtown L.A. They need to be up early and back here by noon." With Rush's dishes in hand, he grinned, "Drew's new bed is supposed to be delivered between noon and five. The old bed is already out in the garage."

I chuckled, "It's good we're not gonna be here then."

Mike prompted, "Let's go, bro. We've gotta stop at the supermarket for soda."

"And more ice cream!" Derrick, Keith and I sang. On the way out of the house, we bantered to and fro over which flavor of ice cream we would get. We had to cut the foolishness short though. Keith needed to drive his car for work the next afternoon. My 4Runner was still in Agoura Hills. I went with Keith, riding shotgun in his car. Rush was in the backseat. It was our first chance to talk alone in more than a day.

I asked, "How was work, babe?"

He grimaced, "A little excitement tonight. Some drunken assholes came in. One of them puked on the carpet. Then they had the balls to get pissed when we told them to leave. We called the cops and they were both arrested." He paused then growled, "I got to clean up the mess! Revolting! I almost puked too." I groaned and reached for his hand. He said, "For my effort, I got two used DVD's for free. I checked them out already, at the store and on our player. They work fine, audio and video."

"Yeah? Which flicks?"

"The Godfather and The Saint. Val Kilmer stars in The Saint. We missed that one last summer."

"Sweet! And The Godfather is a classic; a nice addition to our collection. The gross price you paid was too high though."

He nodded, "I took a shower as soon as I got home." Keith then asked, "How was your night?"

"Not bad at all," I answered. "It started busy, but slowed relatively early. I made only sixty two bucks and change."

"That's still great though, Prez. A hundred and fifty bucks in two nights? That's what I'll clear after four nights."

"Soon, babe. Terry was at work tonight, but obviously on the shit list. He actually complained to the waitresses and bartenders about tonight's tips. I don't know what he thinks complaining might accomplish. Did you know that I don't even count my tips until after I've left?"

Keith nodded, "You know how to be nice. Some people just don't get it. It's their way or the highway."

I softly asked, "Was I too nice or too silly last night?"

Glancing my way quickly, Keith raised our clasped hands and kissed mine. He then said, "No, baby. Do you think I went too far?"

"No," I quickly and firmly assured. "Watching you and Mike race back and forth around the coffee table was hysterical." I chuckled, "And Mike, saying I tasted like cinnamon, the nutcase!"

Keith smiled, "I'd be less silly blowing Mike. We're just too close. It would be like blowing Drew or John."

"If we go there again tonight, and if it works out so that you and I are blowing Mike and Derrick, I'd prob'ly feel the same way finishing Derrick off. What I want is you though, Keith. Don't ever doubt that. Making love with you after the games were done, was just what I needed and wanted."

"I know, baby. You obviously feel much better about yourself and about us."

I pleaded, "Always, always tell me the truth, Keith. If you don't want Mike or Derrick to finish a blowjob, because your semen is for me or you want mine, say so. I'm more certain now than ever that neither Mike nor Derrick will care."

"Derrick said that anal sex is out of the question now. The only thing he'd be okay with is using a dildo on you or me."

I nodded, "Mike and I crossed intercourse off the list too. Neither of us mentioned dildos though."

"Would you allow that or is it too far?"

"A dildo is not a problem."

Keith widely smiled, "I've got ours and theirs packed."

I chuckled, "You're ready to give them theirs back?"

He sighed, "I guess," but then grinned, "It's been over a week."

We pulled off the 101 onto Kanan Road and followed the 442 to the market. "I have other questions to ask." I confessed.

"What's that, baby?"

"Now that you've had some uncut dick, what's the verdict?"

Keith giggled, "It's not all that different. He tasted the same as you, other than the chocolate, that is. Foreskin to play with wasn't that much of a change. I just did what I saw Mike was doing." Once he parked and turned off the engine, Keith pulled me closer and softly said, "I want you're dick, baby. I want you in my mouth and in my ass. You fill me up so nice."

I smiled, "Mike's cock going deeper into my throat was scary; I couldn't breathe and had to hold my breath. I'd rather have you stuffing my mouth."

"We'll get them sometime, Prez. Only to say it was done and the pesky lurking questions answered." Keith then kissed me.

When we pulled back from each other, I noticed Derrick and Mike heading into Safeway. I groaned, "Damn! I don't like pistachio ice cream."

Keith laughed, "Let's catch up with them." We got out of the car and hurried across the parking lot. In the mostly deserted store, we found them in the soda isle. Seeing only two liter bottles of cola in the cart, Keith asked, "Don't you dudes like 7-Up or Sprite?"

Mike shrugged, "We prefer Coke, but Sprite's cool too."

"And with Jess, Gil and Shaun coming over, a variety is a good idea," Derrick suggested. He then grabbed two bottles of Sprite, a bottle of ginger ale and a bottle of root beer. We then went to the meat department for hot dogs and hamburgers.

Mike said, "If you two will get hamburger and hot dog buns, we'll get the ice cream and get out of here."

I begged, "Please, not pistachio."

Keith softly chortled, "There's somethin' not right about lickin' a green dick." Derrick, Mike and I groaned then busted up laughing.

"Go!" Mike giggled. "No pistachio."

Keith and I hurried to the breads isle, softly joking about green zombie dicks and previously unknown venereal diseases. With the buns in hand, we headed for the checkout lanes. Keith suggested getting some green ladies make-up so we could color our dicks and watch their reactions. He's so twisted! We were still chuckling when we caught up with Derrick and Mike.

Derrick grinned and shook his head. Mike smirked, "We don't want to know."

I asked, "You're set here?" When Mike and Derrick nodded, I reminded, "Rush is in Keith's car."

Keith said, "We'll meet you at the house, dudes." He took my hand and we started for the exit. Crossing the parking lot, we saw Rush standing on the passenger seat, looking for us, with his nose stuck out the window.

Approaching the car, I laughed, "You're in my spot, Rush! Get in the back." Rush turned and seemed to get stuck for a moment. We heard him groan. He then jumped into the backseat again. Keith and I got in and Rush gave each of us sloppy wet hound dog kisses. A short while later, we were parked in front of Doug and Brian's house. I had Rush stay until I could get his leash and collar on then walked him across the street into Chumash Park.

Keith pointed down the street saying, "Lights are on at Ben's house. I wonder if his mom is home and doin' okay."

"She was only supposed to be in the hospital three days," I reminded, "she's gotta be home by now. Ben's probably noticed other cars and hasn't come over."

"Or his mom needs him there," Keith softly offered.

"We've got to go there soon, but it's too late now," I said, and then saw the 442 rounding the corner. We walked across the street and helped get the sacks of groceries from the trunk of the 442. Behind Mike, Derrick and Keith, and heading toward the door, I asked, "Has Ben stopped by at all?"

Unlocking the door, Derrick nodded, "Friday night. We met his mom."

As we stepped indoors, Mike added, "It was only for a few minutes. Her leg is completely wrapped from below the knee up."

Keith asked, "She's okay then?"

Concentrating on stowing away the bottles of soda, Derrick said, "Limited movement, they said. She'll be fine." Looking up from his task at me, he smiled, "She wants to meet you, bro."

I laughed, "I didn't help him all by my lonesome. We all did."

Mike giggled, "But Ben likes you, Prez." He held up a half-gallon tub of "all natural" strawberry ice cream then stuffed it in the freezer.

Derrick grinned, "If we could find another tall, lanky, red-headed Texan for Ben, he'd be set for life."

I impatiently huffed. Keith roughly wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer. He whispered, "My sex-machine."

Once all the groceries were put away, Mike began unbuttoning his white shirt and said, "I'm taking a shower. Gotta get the stink of that place off me."

Derrick followed Mike, pulling his shirt up out of his black pants. Glancing at us, he prompted, "Come on."

Keith grinned, "I've already showered twice today."

I dramatically frowned, "You'll let me shower alone with them? I want you though."

Keith planted a quick kiss then said, "That's all I wanted to hear, baby." A remarkably quiet, peaceful shower was taken. Keith washed me while Derrick and Mike washed each other. We all got hard from the contact, but I guess we were tired and less playful. Once we had dried off, Mike wanted to jam for a while.

Still naked, we padded down the hall. We spent over an hour in the studio. Part of that time, Mike showed me more guitar chords. With Mike and me playing acoustic guitars, we ran through Seven Bridges Road and Best Of My Love. Both tunes allowed us to work on our harmony vocals. Mike, Derrick and Keith all complemented my playing. "It's really not that different from the bass," I smiled. "My fingers are burning from the strings though."

Mike offered, "Try the Strat, Prez. I'll show you the riff for Life In The Fast Lane."

"Oh man," I groaned, "Could you choose a faster, more difficult song?"

"Just try, Prez," Derrick prompted.

Mike smiled, "You can only learn; no harm, no foul."

I returned the Gibson acoustic to its case then picked up the Stratocaster from its stand. Mike already had a Les Paul in his hands. He played the riff very slowly then tore it into pieces to show me how to play it. By the fourth attempt, I had the notes and the rhythm. Mike played it slightly faster, but still not as fast as the recording. Then I played it. Mike sped up the tempo again and I matched him. He then played at tempo and Derrick added the drum part. I managed it at tempo three times before my fingers twisted and fumbled. We all cracked up laughing. I took the guitar off and giggled, "That's enough for tonight. I've got plenty to work on and remember."

Putting his drumsticks down, Derrick smiled, "That was good, bro." Walking around the drum kit he said, "You're gettin' it."

Keith wrapped me in his arms and chuckled, "He's getting it, alright. Very soon."

Throwing his head back as Derrick attacked him, Mike laughed, "Bottom tonight, bro?"

"Definitely!" Keith chuckled, and then started for the door. Mike hurried to catch up with Keith, and the two of them struggled to get out of the studio first. At the sight of two seven-year-old friends in teenage bodies, Derrick and I howled. Keith and Mike barged through the door and raced each other to the master bedroom.

Derrick turned to me, offered his hand and giggled, "Best friends for life?"

Nodding, I shook my friend's hand and assured, "For this life and the next, bro." We turned the gear off then went to our lovers.

Only the two small guitar-shaped night table lamps were on in the master bedroom. Each were on opposite sides of the king size bed. I'd bet big money they were only fifteen watt bulbs. Both Keith and Mike were on their backs, with their legs held by the ankles, high in the air. They both half-giggled and half-sang, "We're waiting!"

Derrick and I glanced at each other and cracked up. Shaking his head as he walked to Mike, Derrick chuckled, "That was rehearsed!"

Keith and Mike innocently smiled at each other then chanted, "We want big dick, now!"

The image and sound was forever seared into my brain. They were being too cute. I helplessly chortled, "Say please?"

Slightly out of sync, they again chanted, "We want big dick now, ple-ee-ease!"

Derrick and I dove onto the bed and between our lover's legs. After a long while of making out, Mike softly giggled, "Pretty please with sugar on it?"

Not to be out done, Keith chortled, "Pretty please with cinnamon on it?" Derrick and Mike began laughing. While I was still on top of Keith and tasting his sweet mouth, I was tapped on the butt.

"Lube, bro?" Derrick softly offered. I pushed up off Keith then took the bottle from Derrick and thanked him.

What Mike had said about being a squirming, gasping fool was no lie. Derrick was still getting Mike lubed up, but Mike writhed around in ecstasy. Keith grabbed his ankles and softly called my name, as was often the case when I lubed his ass and probed with my fingers. Since I had the opportunity, I took one of Keith's legs then sucked on his big toe, earning shrill laughter. Derrick copied me and soon had Mike in hysterics. I showed Derrick all my tricks, including gentle nibbles that had our lovers howling. Soon, Derrick was hovering over Mike and I was buried deep inside Keith.

All I could concentrate on was Keith's eyes and expressions. It made little difference that we were only a foot or so away from our friends. It obviously made no difference to Keith either because he wanted it to last. He also wanted to show our friends why he got stupid and silly on occasion, prompting me to ride him crab style. I slid out of Keith then stood up on the bed and turned towards Keith's feet. I lowered myself down onto Keith's cock, holding myself off him with both arms and both legs, and then went to town. For me, it was so close to my first time with Keith and created the very best feelings. Keith caressed my back and buns while I drove myself into a frenzy.

Derrick hummed then remarked, "We'll have to try that."

Mike asked, "Wanna show 'em what you can do, Dee?"

I slowed down and gently lay down on Keith. By the time I could focus again, Mike was hovering over Derrick. Keith whispered, "Jeez! Check it out, baby." Looking over, I noticed that Derrick's feet were behind his head.

I gasped, "Oh man! Doesn't that hurt at all?"

Derrick shook his head and said, "Yoga stretches, bro."

Keith thrust up into me and helped me back into position so we could continue. A few minutes later, we returned to our previous missionary position. Mike soon let Derrick out of the pretzel he was contorted into and lay on his back, seductively calling, "Come on, you sexy blond hunk. Gimme."

It wasn't long before the desperate chanting of "Yeah!" began. Mike lost it first. I know because Derrick paused to lick Mike's belly clean. As Derrick was getting going inside Mike again, Keith released me and reached for his cock groaning, "Fill me up, Prez," and then he drenched his chest and belly.

All I ever needed was to bring Keith to orgasm. I quaked so hard that I thought I might be shooting my nuts out my dickhead and into Keith. Recovering, but still delirious, I moved to clean up Keith's load with my tongue. With the task complete, I rested on my sexy lover. Then Derrick's legs began thumping. What began as a low pitch hum from my best friend turned into a high pitched yell of "MIKE!" Mike only purred contentedly and helped Derrick down to hold him close. We fell asleep that way, holding our partners in our arms.

When the alarm went off at nine in the morning, the night table lamps were still on. Mike yawned loudly then slapped off the alarm. Keith groaned, "We need more than six hours sleep."

Mike agreed then suggested, "Tonight's the big shoot off. We help our lovers get off."

Derrick and I began chuckling. Derrick's head popped up off of Mike and he grinned, "What's the winner get?"

Mike smiled, "Whatever the winner wants."

Looking into Keith's groggy morning eyes, I asked, "You're not gonna try?"

Keith grunted negatively then said, "You've got me beat, baby. My best hits my chest or maybe my shoulder. Your best flies to the wall and pillow."

Mike said, "This is gonna be a close call."

Pushing up off Mike, Derrick reminded, "They're working tonight and we're not. No play time until they get here and are ready." Mike whined. Derrick giggled, "How can I have a chance if you've emptied me?" Mike pouted. Derrick dove for Mike's neck and flipped that frown around.

Keith asked, "What would you like if you win?"

Humming uncertainly, I teased, "I'll check with Derrick."

Simultaneously, Keith and Mike laughed, "What?"

Quickly getting out of bed before getting attacked, I grinned, "Me and Derrick will be pretty spent."

"Yeah, right," Keith smirked, "that must've been some other sexy red-head cumming six times in two hours." Acting very suspiciously, Derrick and I went to make our morning deposits at the porcelain bank.

We forced our erections down and started to leak. Derrick grinned, "You're being bad, Prez."

Checking over my shoulder to be sure Keith and Mike weren't close enough to hear, I whispered, "And what they did wasn't teasing or bad? I'll never forget that."

Derrick nodded, "I know. Two exposed hairy asses with two very boyish demands for dick. I went from chubby and expecting to completely hard in seconds."

From the bedroom, two voices hollered, "Stop whispering in there!"

Turning my head to the bedroom, I laughed, "We're friends plotting. Sound familiar?"

We heard mooing and shuffling sounds from the bedroom. Chuckling insanely, Derrick and I finished pissing just in the nick of time. Mike tackled Derrick and Keith grabbed for me then squeezed my ass cheeks. Knowing our boyfriends needed to leak, Derrick moved behind Mike and I slid around Keith. We pushed their erections down at the toilet and confessed; telling them what we were talking about. They honestly didn't think what they had done was too erotic. It was just fun and silliness for them.

In the shower, Derrick asked Mike, "Do you think I came hard last night."

Mike nodded, "About as hard as ya ever have."

Derrick pointed at Keith and me saying, "It wasn't them being there, dude. It was you. I saw stars, I came so hard." They hugged tightly and kissed passionately.

I told Keith, "You stopped me to switch positions just in time. Did I seem a little extra exhilarated riding your cock?"

Keith smiled and nodded, "A lot more so."

I confessed, "It wasn't them, Keith; it was you. I want to hear your voice telling me your secrets. I want you listening to my secrets. I want your ass and your dick, all the time, babe. It's fun with Derrick and Mike, but it wouldn't mean shit without you having fun too."

Looking like he might cry, Keith kissed me tenderly. Wanting passion from him, I instigated and got all I wanted. Under shower sprays on both ends of the huge shower, a slippery grind-fest began and ended only minutes later.

Still holding our partners firmly in place, Derrick softly told Mike, "Imagine me and Prez doing and saying what you and Keith did." Mike whimpered and ground himself against Derrick harder. Massaging Keith's cock and balls, I prompted Derrick to repeat what our lovers said. Together, we repeated the short phrase several times. In less than a minute, Mike went limp in Derrick's arms. Soon thereafter, Keith shuddered and sprayed his juices over my hand and arm.

I love kissing Keith when he's panting after an orgasm and quickly did so. This particular shower accomplished very little in the way of bathing, however all four of us did learn a lot about each other. The water began running cold. We had spent too much time in there. There was a knock at the door while we were toweling off. Wrapping a towel around himself, Mike ran to the door. We heard it open and Mike say, "Come on in, Ben. We're just finishing up in the shower. Make yourself at home and give us a few minutes."

As soon as Mike returned, I gestured him, Derrick and Keith closer. "We have to keep him here through our rehearsal," I softly said. "He's an extra pair of ears and an opinion. Also, he needs to see Shaun and Gil together. Three gay couples will hopefully prove something."

Derrick nodded and whispered, "Ben's not too different than Gil was a month ago."

Mike softly agreed, "Shaun and Gil would be at the party anyway."

Smiling widely at me, Keith gushed, "You're incredible. When do you think of yourself, Prez?"

I shrugged then giggled, "I was mostly thinking of myself bouncing up and down on your cock. They weren't very intelligent thoughts either; only 'yeah, oh fuck, yeah,' over and over again." Derrick, Mike and Keith roared laughing. I suddenly found myself in a three way hug and getting kissed from each of them. Still laughing and chuckling, we got dressed then went out to the living room to greet Ben. I let Rush out back for his morning toidy.

Blushing intensely, probably because it was obvious we had showered and dressed together, Ben smiled at Keith and I saying, "My mom wants to meet you two. Especially you, Prez."

Heading to the kitchen for some sort of breakfast, Derrick and Mike loudly laughed, "Oh hell, yeah!"

Sputtering back a laugh, Keith nodded. Realizing that what he had said came out sounding a little wrong, Ben began stammering, "I'm sorry... that... it didn't... I meant..."

Getting Ben off the hook, I said, "It's okay. We can do that now, Ben."

Mike firmly insisted, "You come back here with them too, Ben."

"We're rehearsing for a concert, across the street in the park," Derrick explained. "We'd like your opinions on the tunes we're playing."

Ben got up from the sofa. Keith and I clasped hands and headed for the door. Keith said, "We'll be back in a few minutes."

Mike teased, "I'll lock the door."

Keith smirked and shook his head. With Ben tagging along, we stepped outside to find Gil and Shaun getting out of Shaun's car. Across the street, Jessy was just pulling up to the curb. Keith turned and hollered into the house, "Gil, Shaun and Jessy are here." He turned to me and added, "We took way too long this morning."

I shrugged, "It was required, for me and Derrick and for you and Mike." As Gil and Shaun approached, I introduced Ben to Gil and Shaun then explained we were only going down the block to meet Ben's mom. "We'll be right back. Go ahead in, dudes." When Jessy crossed the street, Keith repeated basically the same for her.

On our way down the street, Ben said, "My mom's been told to keep her leg elevated. She needs to remain still as much as possible for the next few days. I'll get her whatever she needs before leaving again, but I'll have to check on her now and then."

I nodded, "Do what ya need to do, Ben."

Keith added, "Just come back again when your mom's set, okay?"

Ben wondered, "I saw Shaun and Gil holding hands. They're gay too?"

Keith smiled, "Yup. Jessy's straight, but very cool. She plays keyboards."

Ben nodded, "I met her... no, more like I saw her and she saw me before, at Doug and Brian's."

"Now you can get to know her," I quickly said, barely a second before Ben opened his front door.

We followed Ben into his house. Ben didn't say a word upon entering. He saw his mom on the couch, struggling to adjust a pillow on the coffee table, under her wounded leg and went directly there to help her. While he did so, Ben said, "Mom, these are the other two dudes that helped me the other night. Keith's got brown hair and Prez is the red-head." Finished with the pillow, Ben looked up and smiled, "This is my mom, Mrs. Margret Healy."

Since Mrs. Healy hadn't said a word, I immediately realized where Ben got his soft spoken trait from. She also had the same first name as my mother. Stepping closer, I extended my hand saying, "My pleasure, Mrs. Healy. I hope you're feeling better."

She shook my hand and grinned, "Out of the hospital makes it better automatically." Keith greeted Mrs. Healy and she warmly thanked both of us for helping her son.

Keith nodded and softly said, "We wish it had turned out better for the entire family."

She sighed, "Sadly, that wouldn't have been possible. Ben's father couldn't accept many things as they are."

Ben nodded, "He didn't like his work, didn't like being here with us. He made me not like a lot of things about myself."

Mrs. Healy agreed then added, "Things are different now, Ben. We'll survive."

I began telling Ben and Mrs. Healy about my parents and our life in Texas then moved on to the divorce. "When we crossed the border into California, my mom said, 'This day and all the days ahead will be better, for both of us.' It was too. I learned to cook and shared the housekeeping chores. When I met Keith, she was happy because I was happy. She met Keith's parents and liked them. I'd doubt my father would've even bothered to meet them. If he had, I'd doubt he'd like them."

Keith picked up the story for me from there, telling Ben and Mrs. Healy about our birthday party and then my mom's birthday. "About a week later, we got our first rain of the season, on October seventeenth. Mrs. O'Brian was in an accident with a truck. It was very bad. She never regained consciousness and passed two days later."

Keeping myself composed, I explained, "Keith took me in. The Hundsers made me their foster son. I now have a full time partner that I can't live without, two younger brothers and two great parents who are also my in-laws."

Mrs. Healy wondered, "How did you manage to help Ben? Mike and Derrick couldn't really say."

Ben and Keith began giggling. I smiled, "That's a little more difficult to explain. I guess the best, brief answer is; we ganged up on him for positive peer pressure. Derrick's dad threw him out of the house. Mike's dad was a good man that died too young. My dad's something like Ben's and Derrick's, but my mom was like Mike's dad. We gave Ben some of our confidence and released some of his fears. It worked better than any of us imagined."

Keith chuckled, "The turnaround was immediate and shocking." Laughing at himself, Ben turned ten shades of red. "All we've said is what we've learned, the hard way," Keith offered. "Love matters. It seems to matter to everyone except those who hate. We're only teenagers, but we've seen the hate of gays, of people of color, of liberals against conservatives and conservatives against liberals. My parents believe the bigger pictures start in homes of families. Given just what's happened in the last week at our home, I have to agree. My younger brother just turned a friendship into a partnership. Everyone is proud of Drew. My youngest brother, John, is straight and he's proud of Drew. He's thirteen though and still not getting the idea of gay love."

Mrs. Healy asked, "What is the concept? Even though I support Ben, I'll admit that I don't understand."

I answered, "It's looking beneath the skin to the heart. In fifteen years of life, I never met anyone like Keith. This 'stranger' found me lost and showed me the way home. I showed my appreciation by asking him to stay for dinner. The next day, Keith and I explored most of the San Fernando Valley. That night, he introduced me to his friends, Derrick and Mike."

Holding a finger up to signal a pause, Mrs. Healy said, "You haven't mentioned sex."

"Because that's the easiest part," Keith smiled. "It's all the other times I showed Prez that I cared, and he showed me how much he cared, that matter most. That's where the genuine efforts are made. Making each other feel good in bed is a breeze in comparison."

Mrs. Healy's eyebrows raised and she turned to her son. Ben giggled, "That's why I came bouncing in the house Tuesday night. That's why I like all of them; they treat me like a person, not a hunk of spare flesh, rotting in the sun. They want me to go back and listen to their band rehearse. Me, mom; like anything I say matters."

Suspiciously, I glared at Ben and asked, "Why wouldn't your opinion matter?"

Keith nodded, "It does matter. We can't be performers and audience at the same time."

"SEE!" Ben loudly laughed.

Keith prompted, "Take care of your mom, Ben. We've gotta get back before they come looking for us."

I said, "We'll leave the door unlocked for you, Ben," and then turned to Mrs. Healy saying, "It was good to meet you ma'am."

She smiled, "It was very nice meeting you two. I'll chase Ben out in a few minutes." She then picked up a nearby crutch, displaying her weapon of choice.

Keith and I smiled at her. Ben giggled, "No lie! She has and will again."

Keith sniggered, "We'll show ourselves out." We turned and walked out of the house. Keith sighed, "She's a nice lady. It's too bad her husband turned out to be a creep."

I wondered, "Keith, would your dad's firm take the case?"

Keith shrugged, "I don't see why not. That's not our decision though, baby."

I nodded, "I just want that bastard locked away."

"Make the offer to Ben," Keith suggested.

Approaching Doug and Brian's house, we could hear muffled drums and singing, but not much else. Not until Keith opened the front door did we recognize Every Breath You Take. First, I got food and water for Rush then we went out to the backyard. With the hound fed and happy, we went back to the studio. Keith went to sit with Gil and I went directly to the Rickenbacker bass. I started playing during the third verse. Mike was turned towards Shaun calling out the chord changes and Shaun was imitating Mike's playing. Before us, Gil and Keith were having a conversation, or trying to, over the loud music. When we finished the song, Derrick asked Keith for help singing the two high sections. With only soft piano chords and guitar in the background, Keith and Derrick reviewed the parts. We then played the whole song again; the first time with Keith and Derrick singing the lead vocals together and the second time with only Derrick's lead vocals. Ben walked in halfway through the second run through.

At the song's end, Ben, Gil and Keith clapped. We asked for opinions. Ben and Keith said it was perfect, from the strong beginning to the synchronized end. Gil added, "In my opinion, there's two sections that sounded better with two vocalists. Where you sing, 'Oh can't you see, you belong to me', and again, when you sing, 'Since you've gone I've been lost without a trace'." Gil then turned to Keith and prompted, "Sing those sections with Derrick."

So we ran through the entire song a third time. Keith picked up a tambourine and slapped it against his thigh on every other beat, basically following the snare drum. Gil was right, with doubled lead vocals during those sections, the song sounded even better. Almost as important as the song, Gil started talking with Ben and Ben was talking back to Gil. Small wonders never cease!

We played La Grange next, with my comically mumbled lead vocals. With Shaun's second electric guitar part and Jessy doubling my bass part, the sound was huge. We ran though it a second time because Shaun wanted to be sure that he remembered his part. Separate Ways (Worlds Apart) was next on the list. Shaun took a break and listened with Gil and Ben. At the end of the song, they all jumped up clapping and cheering. We started laughing and Shaun prompted, "Next!"

Gil nodded, "It's so Journey that it's scary."

So, we moved on to Open Arms. Shaun played acoustic rhythm guitar chords. Ben and Gil again jumped up clapping. It was getting close to lunch time. Shaun offered, "Gil and I have lunch covered today. We were thinking Burger King, but if anyone has a better idea?"

We all agreed Burger King was cool. Mike told them we had plenty of sodas in the house and not to bother getting drinks. Gil had a small pad of paper and a pen in his back pocket and took our orders. Shaun was ready to go with Gil, but Mike stopped him, saying Wonderful Tonight was next on our list and we needed his guitar part. Gil, Ben and Keith left to go get food while the five of us continued rehearsing. Shaun had a much more difficult guitar part to learn that didn't follow Mike at all. For the next half hour or so, we worked on that one song. I fed Shaun the chord names since Mike and Jessy had lead vocal duties.

The studio door opened and Keith announced, "Chow's here." Having had no breakfast, Derrick, Mike and I practically ran for the food.

Jessy loudly laughed, "Boys! You don't have to catch and kill it!"

Shoving Keith to move down the hall faster, Mike said, "We're starving. It's all Prez's fault too!"

"I had nothing to do with it!" I loudly laughed. "Point 'A' led to point 'B', action to reaction, like that thar!"

Shaun giggled, "Drop it there, Jess. I'm sure we don't want the details."

---

Thanks to L.A. traffic, Drew and Corey didn't arrive at the Hundsers' house until after noon. It was only twelve minutes after, but that was enough for them to worry. There was supposed to be a phone call made before the bed delivery, however no message was waiting on the machine. Flopping onto the sofa and turning on the television, Drew reminded, "If we missed the delivery, we'll just stay at your house tonight, Cor."

"I know," Corey whined, "it's just new and for us, Drew. Your folks got new sheets, pillows and a summer blanket." He sighed, "I'm just disappointed and pissed at that witch doctor." On TV, Drew found 'Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark' and settled there.

Gesturing for Corey to come sit beside him, Drew smiled, "I'm really not disappointed at all."

Sitting close to Drew, Corey leaned against him and asked, "Why not?"

Drew shrugged, "Your psychologist told us the truth. My being a prick last week could've easily made no difference or matters worse. I'm happy about that, that you're doing great anyway, and that you stuck up for me."

Corey angrily growled, "He's an asshole! He tells me that he wants to meet you so he can put you down? I've been seeing him since the end of April. Did he make a difference? Fuck no! You did it, Drew, not him."

Pulling Corey closer, Drew grinned, "You chose me over the demon, Cor. You stormed out of the office and called your mom in. You told her and the doctor, no more wasted time or money on his therapy."

Still fuming, Corey corrected, "His bullshit therapy."

Planting a kiss on Corey's forehead, Drew giggled, "Right. Come on, now. It's over, Cor. Only one doctor a week from now on. Doc Folsom's cool. I'll be there every Friday with you. It takes longer to drive there and back then it does for you to strip and get weighed. Twice a month, you'll get blood tests. You and me gotta make this count, Corey. If your folks start worrying because of any setback, mom already said, she'd find you a different shrink."

Corey groaned and nodded. A few moments later, he whispered, "Hold me, Drew."

Drew nodded and softly said, "Let me get adjusted." Corey stood and watched Drew lay on the couch. Corey carefully lay down on Drew and groaned again. Wrapping his boyfriend up, Drew whispered, "What's wrong?"

"Just angry and scared," Corey admitted.

"Of?"

"No new bed, not today anyway; of being a selfish prick, like I've been today..."

"Whoa, hold it right there," Drew softly yet firmly said. "That doctor tried turning a good week into a bad one. You've been awesome, dude. Here it is, lunch time, but am I pushing? No, because I know you're angry. You're lying against me and I can feel you, Cor. I'm helping, just like I said I would."

Corey nodded and sighed, "I need help."

"Why?"

Believing Drew needed to hear him admit it again, Corey answered, "I can't tell if I'm too fat or too skinny. I should be loving you back; kissing you, humping your leg or something, but I'm too pissed."

"I understand both those things. I still love you, Corey Seaver."

For the next hour and a half, they watched Raiders on AMC. All Drew cared about during that time was relaxing with Corey. Waking at seven and running out of the Seaver's house at seven-thirty, to get stuck in a traffic jam, for a nine o'clock, hour long appointment, was not fun. Other than the occasional remark about edited scenes, they didn't move. Corey complained about being selfish and ruining days of progress. Patiently, Drew reaffirmed what Corey had already done all week, what they had accomplished together as a team, what they had accomplished privately together and that nothing had been ruined. At the end of the movie, they went to the bathroom. Pissing at the same time, Corey briefly looked over at Drew's face. Drew innocently smiled. Already knowing the answer, Corey giggled, "Are you getting hard?"

Drew laughed and nodded, "Can't help myself. That same cute dick you're holding gets hard and makes me feel so good."

Corey hummed thoughtfully then said, "Seems to happen a lot this last week."

Drew reminded, "I love you, Cor. It's not messin' around or trying new stuff anymore. It's me and you, together, everyday and every night. There's nothing better than this. No jack-off witch doctor or bed delivery counts as much, not to me anyway."

They finished and Drew flushed then they went to the sink and washed their hands. The whole time, Corey thought, Drew has gone completely bonkers. I got bitchy with the shrink, Drew loved it. My mom warned us of setbacks on the way home, Drew actively participated in the conversation. We watched a movie we'd seen a dozen times before, Drew loved it. We pissed in the same toilet at the same time, also done at least a hundred times before, and Drew got a chubby without me saying or doing anything.

Finished drying their hands, Corey followed Drew towards the living room and asked, "Why do you love me, Drew?"

Drew giggled, "Where should I start?"

"Really," Corey squeaked. He explained, "I was bitchy with the doctor. I was quiet most of the way home. I've done nothing except be a selfish prick for the last few hours."

Drew stopped in the kitchen, leaned against a counter and took Corey's hand. He said, "You've listened to me cry over Aldo and Mrs. O'Brian and Keith and Prez. Today's your turn, and for good reasons. That doctor was a dick. If my bed doesn't show up today, we break it in another day, no biggie. Do you want what my folks call 'a fair weather only' boyfriend? You've never been that and I don't want that from you. I'm not going to ask you to go home, not because you're a little pissy. Do you know why?"

Shaking his head, Corey wondered, "Why?"

Pointing at the phone on the kitchen wall, Drew smiled, "Because if that phone rings, I'm pretty sure you'll suddenly be all better, because the bed is being delivered. You'll be hungrier and you'll be hornier. I'll be fighting to contain my happy boyfriend. Right?" Corey nodded and giggled. Pulling Corey against him and wrapping his boyfriend in his arms, Drew sighed, "It's all good, Cor. You can forget about me feeling anything but love for you. Now it's patient and hopeful love. Later, if the bed shows, the patience is gone, out the window. Then I get to lay in my new bed, with my boyfriend and watch TV in my room."

Corey incredulously laughed, "What?"

Drew giggled, "Okay, the TV will be on, but I'll be paying attention to you."

Corey suspiciously smirked, "That's better."

Pushing off the counter, Drew began swaying and dancing around the kitchen with Corey. After a minute or so, Drew whispered, "It's after two, Cor. How about some grilled cheese sandwiches? Mom got wheat bread and low-fat cheese for you, dude."

Corey nodded and asked, "More slow dancing after we eat?"

"I might even find some music too," Drew grinned, "ya never can tell."

Corey giggled, "You're awesome, Drew."

Drew responded with his usual tender kisses that led to a big passionate kiss, taking Corey's breath away and causing his knees to briefly buckle. Watching Corey's eyes open and insuring his boyfriend wouldn't tumble over, Drew then went to the refrigerator, with his shoulders bouncing from a held in belly laugh.

Coming to his senses and realizing that Drew's shoulders were bouncing while busily working on sandwiches, Corey mooed then giggled, "Oh, you wait! You're feet are mine!"

"I almost kicked you in the face last time!" Drew loudly laughed.

"Almost only counts with horseshoes and hand grenades. Did I stop? No. Did I make you hiccup? Yes."

Drew nodded and giggled, "It was great. I'm only afraid of hurting you, Cor. I can imagine your mom wondering how you got a fat lip. Then she'll think we're having kinky sex."

Wrapping his arms around Drew's waist from behind, Corey admitted, "I'll risk it." Noticing the ham slices Drew was putting on a sandwich, Corey made pig-like snorting noises.

Drew half-giggled and half-groaned, "Corey! Stop! I have to eat this!"

Corey said, "Beef, poultry and fish are fine." He then dramatically whined, "Poor little piggies." Stumbling across an idea, Corey warned, "Every time you eat piggies, I'm gobblin' up your piggies."

Placing the sandwiches in a frying pan, Drew giggled, "That's no threat. I might eat more piggies."

Corey smiled then confirmed, "You really liked it?"

Glancing over his shoulder, Drew flatly reminded, "I was naked with you. Everything we've ever done alone together has been awesome. Even that one time it wasn't, we made sure the next time was."

Firmly squeezing Drew, Corey whispered, "Anything for you, magic man." He then noticed only three sandwiches in the pan and asked, "Two for you and one for me?"

Shaking his head, Drew answered, "One ham and cheese for me; a cheese only for you; the other cheese only, we'll split. If you can't finish it, I will."

Corey nodded, "I'll try for you and me."

Drew checked the underside of the sandwiches then asked, "Do I need to curse out that demon again?"

"Nope, I already am. It's saying no lunch at all."

Drew reminded, "Any time you need me, I'm here."

The phone rang. Disengaging himself from Drew, Corey practically flew across the room to answer it. Corey said, "Hello?" After a pause, he said, "This is Drew Hundser. Yep, I'm waiting at home." Drew began giggling at Corey's bad imitation and sudden burst of energy. "Thirty-minutes? Awesome. I'll be here. Cool." Corey hung up the phone and raced back across the room, returning to his original position, holding Drew around the waist.

Drew chuckled, "Hey, Drew?"

Corey hummed then giggled, "Yes, Corey?"

"I'm not very hungry," Drew teased.

Corey laughed, "Hey! Anorexia demon, fuck off! Get out of my boyfriend and let him eat!"

Drew nodded and chortled, "Drew?"

Corey grinned, "Yeah, Cor?"

Drew lost it and howled, "What's that pokin' my butt?"

Corey giggled, "A reminder."

Flipping the sandwiches in the pan, Drew dead-panned, "Of?"

More carefully and a little reluctantly, Corey continued the role reversal and said, "How much I love your awesome blond bod."

That was all Drew needed to hear. As soon as he finished flipping the sandwiches, Drew spun around and picked Corey up. Thrilled that they hadn't missed the bed delivery, they laughed and kissed for several minutes. The sandwiches were cooked when Drew put Corey down again. Corey hurried to the fridge to get a soda for Drew and ice water for himself. Drew put all three sandwiches on a single dinner plate. Sitting down, Drew pulled Corey onto his lap. They ate together that way. The third shared grilled cheese sandwich wasn't even sliced; they fed each other, matching bite for bite.

Once the kitchen was cleaned, they hurried down the hall to Drew's room. After removing the twin size bed days earlier, they had done a little rearranging. The new bed would be put where John's bed once was, on the far outside wall, minimizing interruptions from Keith and Prez. The stand with the television and stereo, the dresser and the desk and chair, were moved from under the window to the wall shared with Keith's room. With this arrangement, they could watch TV from bed. The sofa-sleeper was moved under the window. The room seemed barren and huge, but it was theirs.

Corey pulled Drew onto the sofa for a short make-out session. Only after they were aroused and dry-humping did they realize a knock at the door could happen any time. Drew pushed off of Corey then turned on the stereo. It was still set to the soft jazz station, but it didn't stay there. Slow dancing together wouldn't change anything in their boardies and they weren't in that sort of mood anyway. Drew flipped the dial over to 103.1, the alternative station in Santa Monica that they both liked. Drew followed Corey's movements and they danced for almost ten minutes before the doorbell rang. Corey was out the door in a flash and Drew had to stop him.

Drew softly giggled, "Chill, dude. Let's not make it obvious to strangers."

Taking several deep breaths, Corey composed himself then softly warned, "As soon as their gone, Drew."

Rapidly nodding, Drew suggested, "Go watch TV in the living room, 'kay?"

Nodding, Corey agreed and walked across the room softly muttering, "I'm cool. I'm burning up inside, but I'm cool."

Laughing his ass off, Drew opened the door. The three delivery men already had the frame and the box-spring. Drew showed them down the hall and, when asked, he pointed and told them where to setup the bed. In the living room, Corey was so preoccupied that nothing on the TV interested him at all, so he flipped channels. When the frame and box-spring were set, Drew followed the three men back to the entryway. Blocked by three large men, Drew could only hear Corey saying, "No, no, oh hell no and fuck no," over and over again. Seeing what Corey was doing, Drew's head sagged and he covered his mouth in muffled hysterics. When the three men walked out of the house, Corey began excitedly moaning, "yeah, oh yeah, fuck yeah," but was still quickly flipping channels. Leaning against the entryway wall, Drew roared laughing. He was still laughing when the men carried the mattress inside. Corey returned to his previous negative chant.

One man remained with Drew in the entryway, looking in at Corey and uncertain what was so funny. The man showed Drew where to sign for each of the three delivered items then went through the usual required chat about damage needing to be reported within three days. By the time the man was finished, the other two had already come out of Drew's room and walked outside. Drew thanked the delivery man and closed the door behind him. Corey shut off the living room TV and walked to Drew, changing his previous excited rant to "Yeah, Drew. Oh yeah, you big stud!" and finished by laughing at the top of his lungs, "FUCK YEAH, DREW!" He then hurled himself at Drew.

Catching his boyfriend and staggering back against the entryway closet doors, Drew giggled, "See, I knew you'd suddenly get very happy."

In between kisses, Corey told Drew, "For being so awesome, I'm yours, anyway you want me."

Drew smiled, "Can we make the bed first?"

Corey nodded, "You put up with me so much."

Shaking his head, Drew smirked, "I can take it. Now I get to give back." Drew lifted Corey and quickly moved his arms under his boyfriend's ass. Drew carried Corey to his room and dumped him on the new bed. Crawling up and over Corey, he commented, "It seems way higher than I remember it in the store. We'll have to smash it down a few inches." After a few minutes of rolling across the mattress, they got up to make the bed. The new mattress pad, sheets, pillows and blanket were retrieved from the hallway linen closet and put on the sofa.

Overly excited, Corey rambled while they worked. "Your room is nicer than mine now. We can watch TV from the bed or the sofa. I'm so glad the sofa's in here. It'll always remind us how we started. You do know this nice clean mattress pad will be filthy by the morning?"

Nodding, Drew giggled, "It'll be well on its way by dinner."

Corey went to get the fitted bottom sheet and shook it open. Drew caught it and Corey smiled, "Why did you choose tan colored sheets?"

Drew devilishly grinned, "Cum stains show on white, like the sofa-sleeper's sheets, and light blue, like your bed sheets. It's something different that might hopefully work."

Fitting one corner of the sheet under the mattress, Corey giggled, "We wash our own sheets."

Drew nodded, "Most of the time. Both our mom's have stripped our beds when we weren't around though. I know they understand, but it's still extremely embarrassing."

With the bottom sheet finished, Corey spun around to get the top sheet then shook it open. Corey asked, "You like it when I throw myself at you?"

Drew smirked, "'Course I do. It's easy to catch you now. It won't be so easy in a few years. Then I get to throw myself at you." Seeing that the sheet was laying on the floor at the foot of the bed, Drew said, "Let's pull it up a little higher."

With that task done, Corey checked the level of the sheet on the side then confirmed, "Lookin' good here. It's just above the frame." Drew nodded and felt a shiver race down his spine. Corey knew how Drew liked to make a bed. Corey got the brown fleece summer blanket and met Drew at the foot of the bed to unfold it. They got it over the bed and lay it down. Corey hummed then said, "It's down to the floor on this side, Drew."

They picked the blanket up again to readjust it and Drew said, "It's the first time. We'll remember next time." They swapped sides of the bed and Drew confirmed, "That's good." They met at the foot of the bed, knelt down and stuffed the sheet and blanket under the mattress. Since they were so close, Drew gently guided Corey's face closer for a quick kiss. Then they stood. Corey worked on the pillows and pillowcases while Drew made hospital corners.

Drew folded the blanket down, which Corey had never seen him do before. He wondered, "What're ya doin'?"

"It's summer," Drew answered, "I've got you to keep me warm." Corey whimpered through a giggle. With the new bed completely made, they looked at it, around the room then at each other. Drew went to the door then closed and locked it saying, "It's after three. John will be home in about two hours."

Watching Drew approach, Corey smiled, "This is where he'll find us, today and from now on."

Drew lifted Corey's arms, whispering, "It's time," then slowly raised Corey's T-shirt, making certain that his hands brushed against his boyfriend's torso. They slowly undressed each other then dove onto the bed, laughing and rolling around.

Corey swung around. Drew gulped and prepared himself for a blowjob. Corey had other plans though. Shuffling further down, Corey licked and nibbled his way down Drew's legs. Realizing what was about to happen, Drew cackled, "Corey! No!"

"I warned you," Corey giggled. Before kissing and sucking each toe, Corey loudly giggled, "This little piggie went to market. This little piggie stayed home. This little piggie had roast beef. This little piggie had none. And this little piggie went..."

"COREE-HEE-HEEE!"

---

During lunch, Shaun and Gil began whispering. It turns out Shaun was a little disappointed in himself and his guitar playing. We all went off on him, assuring him he was just learning new songs and doing very well. Then we reminded him of Sister Golden Hair and Fire and Rain, both of which he taught us and were included in the set list.

Shaun griped, "It'll be another few weeks before I can afford my own electric guitar and amplifier. I'm practicing on an acoustic until then."

"A really good one though," I reminded.

Mike offered, "Later, I'll get my Ibanez. You can borrow that and my GT-3. Hook up a pair of headphones and rock without making the old folks cranky. You'll just need to bring the GT-3 back here for rehearsals. Is that cool?"

"Very!" Shaun enthusiastically cheered, and then thanked Mike.

Derrick asked, "Which guitar are you thinking of, Shaun?"

Shaun shrugged, "I like the Strat I'm playing today."

Giggling through his food, Mike mumbled, "It's about as old as we are. Brian gave a Doug a vintage '57 that's even cooler."

Shaun swallowed his food and what Mike said then wondered, "What's the deal on Strats though? Some are only three or four hundred bucks. Others are almost a grand."

Munching fries, Mike explained, "It's screwy. The less expensive ones are made in Mexico and have fair components, pickups, knobs and switches. But you might pay more for an American made Strat that isn't much better."

Derrick said, "That's why I got Mike a Carvin. I'm not a guitar player and only know what Mike's said. The Carvin that Mike plays has high quality components and sounds great."

Gil nodded, "It's real pretty too."

Shaun asked, "How much did it cost?" Mike perked up and made a show of eavesdropping.

Derrick giggled, "I'll tell you later exactly how much it cost."

Shaun nodded and grinned, "What about amps?"

Mike said, "Fender tube amps are my personal preference. I'd like a Marshall someday, but won't ever get rid of my Twin Reverb. Line 6 makes some awesome amps too."

Shaun admitted, "I like the Vox amp I'm playing through here."

Mike nodded, "Tubes and big bucks; about a grand for one of those."

Gil suggested to Shaun, "We should just bring Mike and Derrick with us before you drop the bucks."

I offered, "Use your ears when you shop, Shaun. What sounds good to you and feels good is probably a good bet."

Mike nodded, "Prez got a Carvin acoustic-electric bass and a Carvin bass amp. I wasn't there and Prez did great."

I added, "I got an acoustic guitar too."

"A Takamine acoustic-electric, classical," Mike told Shaun. "It plays and sounds nice."

Keith proudly said, "Prez is learning fast. With Mike's help and an instruction book with video."

Finished with her broiled chicken sandwich, Jessy wondered, "Three guitar players?"

Shaking my head, I said, "I'm sticking with bass. The guitar is for learning harmony. I'm considering an electric piano too. We saw a Yamaha model online; eighty-eight keys and different tones; piano, electric piano, organ, harpsichord and strings."

"For learning harmony and chords?" Jessy checked.

I nodded, "That's the primary goal. I'd probably use it at Musician's Institute too."

Jessy offered, "Consider a sixty-one key arranger workstation. It would cost less, do more and plug into your bass amp without frying it."

I asked, "What about the missing two and a half octaves?"

Jessy grinned, "The ranges are adjustable, lower or higher. The arranger function will let you do horn or string arrangements, anything like that you might need."

"Awesome!" Keith cheered.

I nodded and beamed, "Thanks, Jess."

"Anytime, Red," She giggled. "You never mentioned it before."

"It's in the future," I admitted. "My hands are full learning guitar. Now I'm beginning to actually build chords. On the bass, it's mostly fourth and fifth double-stops. A major third sounds bad. A minor third sounds awful."

"Think of the more advanced chords in layers." Jessy explained, "Like a C dominant seventh adds the B flat. A C ninth adds a D, an eleventh adds an F."

"Holy crap!" I gasped. "A C major with a B flat major on top."

"Exactly," Jessy smiled.

Mike turned to Shaun and softly said, "Jazz chords."

Shaun grinned, "Can we stick to rock and blues?"

Mike and I nodded, but Jessy reminded, "Jazz and rock came from the same place, the blues."

Mike smiled, "It's all the altered tones in jazz that throw me for a loop. D flat ninth flat five augmented eleventh blah-de-blah."

Jessy giggled, "A flat five and augmented eleventh are the same note, an octave apart. It's only the mechanics of a guitar making it difficult for you, Mike."

Shaun softly asked, "A flat five and augmented eleventh are the same?" Nearby that end of the table, Keith, Gil and Ben appeared half as confused as they probably were.

Jessy nodded, "Half step lower than a fifth is the same as half step higher than a fourth. The eleventh is an octave higher than the fourth."

While Shaun, Mike, Derrick and I were totally into the conversation, I gently tapped our sister then pointed at Keith, Gil and Ben, blinking fast with small puffs of smoke billowing from their ears. Jessy and I cracked up laughing.

Standing up and grabbing his trash, Mike huffed, "Thank goodness we can return to simple rock and roll."

Also standing and cleaning up after himself, Shaun told Gil, "Be ready for more mumbling to myself again tonight. Between new chord shapes from Mike and theory from Jessy and Prez, I might need sedation."

Gil smiled, "I know exactly how to sedate you." Shaun's and Gil's eyes locked briefly. When Shaun whimpered, we all began chuckling, even Ben and Jessy.

On our way back to the studio, Derrick said, "Fire and Rain first, just for you, Shaun."

Shaun began showing Mike the progression and while doing so, became completely flustered. "Shit!" Shaun laughed, "there's so much new stuff clogging my brain, I can barely remember what I knew before!"

Taking Gil by the shoulders, Keith got up and led Gil to Shaun. Keith giggled, "Just play to Gil, Shaun. Forget the theory mud, okay? It's just you and him."

"Right," Shaun giggled. He then shook his hands and tilted his head back and forth, as if dumping extraneous thoughts from his brain. He took a deep breath and got ready to play. Then Shaun began and sweetly sang;

"Just yesterday morning they let me know you were gone
Suzanne the plans they made put an end to you
I walked out this morning and I wrote down this song
I just can't remember who to send it to

"I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I'd see you again

"Won't you look down on me, Jesus
You've got to help me make a stand
You've just got to see me through another day
My body's aching and my time is at hand
And I won't make it any other way

"Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I'd see you again

"I’ve been walking my mind to an easy time
My back turned towards the sun
Lord knows when the cold wind blows it’ll turn your head around
Well, there’s hours of time on the telephone line
To talk about things to come
Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground.

"Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain
I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I'd see you, baby, one more time again, now

"Thought I'd see you one more time again
There's just a few things coming my way this time around, now
Thought I'd see you, thought I'd see you fire and rain, now
Thought I'd see you just one more time again."

Even though it was our first time playing the song, with only Derrick, Jessy and I joining in while Mike closely watched Shaun's guitar playing, Ben clapped and beamed, "Beautiful!" Noticing our uncertain expressions, Ben wondered, "What? It was great."

Sitting beside Ben, Keith nodded, "Ben's right. Mike, everyone else gets to take short breaks. Come sit and listen for yourself."

Mike shrugged then took his guitar off and went to sit down. Gil softly asked Shaun, "Do you want me here?"

Shaun smiled, "You can sit if you want. I can still see you." Gil landed a quick kiss then turned around and took a seat. Looking around and seeing that we were ready, Shaun started the song again. Mike closed his eyes and closely listened. Derrick and I came in at the second verse. Jessy provided synthesized string parts that sounded exactly like the recording. This time it sounded even better.

Mike opened his eyes and smiled, "You know what this means?" We all shook our heads. Mike smirked, "You'll be standing center stage, Shaun. Are you ready for that?"

Shaun shrugged, "I guess so," he then giggled, "just don't confuse me with theory."

Mike nodded and chuckled, "It's yours, dude. Now, what was that crap about not being good enough? I could swear that's what I heard a little while ago."

Shaun sighed then said, "I need extra practice on some of the songs, dude."

Mike nodded, "And you'll get it, every Tuesday and Wednesday night." He then turned to Gil and insisted, "If you see me doing something you don't like, just say so, dude. I don't want to cause any problems, but this is one example why we want Shaun. Finding another guitarist and singer is not an option."

Shaun wondered, "For how long, Mike?"

I answered, "We've already shared our plans with you and Gil. Jessy knows we're going to Musician's Institute; Keith and I mentioned it at her Fourth Of July party."

Jessy nodded, "I'll probably go to UCLA with Nelson. Our band could continue uninterrupted for another two years, depending on you and Gil."

Shaun hummed then said, "I'd just as soon stay close to L.A. Gil would like to get out of his parents' house, for reasons we already discussed."

"Which reasons are these?" Jessy wondered.

Gil said, "They're homophobic. They don't know about me and Shaun and may never know."

Jessy loudly shrieked, "That sucks!" She then shook her head and offered, "If they're so willing to drop you like a hot potato, then drop them, right on their bigoted heads, Gil."

Ben told Gil, "My dad's that way too. If I were you, I wouldn't even tell them about the concert. That way you can be with Shaun, who obviously wants you there."

Gil grinned and glanced around the room, giggling, "Don't hold back now. Tell me what you really feel." All us guys cracked up laughing.

Jessy ranted, "Two hundred years of slavery because they thought it was justified by the Bible. They're making the same excuses for gays and lesbians that they did fifty years ago about civil rights for African Americans. You think that you're pissed, try living as a female person of color in this country. The same excuses were made almost a hundred years ago, for woman's suffrage. And when gays and lesbians get rights, they'll find someone else to persecute. You don't have to say a word, Gil. Show them what they've done to you and reverse the tables. When they're old and gray and wondering where their son is, tell them you're living happily with your partner. Since January, I've seen couple 'A'," she pointed at Mike and Derrick, "and couple 'B'," she pointed at Keith and I. "I've seen them happy, sad, scared and angry. Now I see couple 'C' and expect more of the same; lovers and partners, working shit out together, just like everyone else." She then paused and scowled, "Where's your boyfriend, Ben?"

Ben blushed, "Workin' on it."

"Oh," Jessy softly said. "I didn't mean to embarrass you, dude."

Still glowing, Ben grinned, "A left-over side effect from my dad."

Jessy asked, "He's grown up and joined the twentieth century?"

Ben shook his head and answered, "He's in jail for attacking me and my mom." Jessy rolled her eyes then shook her head. "I've got to pull my own act together," Ben softly offered. "That's happening, with a lot of help, from the people right here, right now. A week ago, I wasn't here, but could've been. For poor reasons, I stayed home. That mistake won't be made again."

Almost at once, Derrick, Keith, Mike and I began playfully threatening Ben. He laughed and shook his head.

Keith reminded, "It's after two. Are we done for today?"

Shaking his head, Mike said, "Separate Ways, Open Arms and Wonderful Tonight again, before Keith, Prez and Jessy have to leave."

While we got organized again, Derrick asked, "Gil, are you and Shaun planning on returning after supper?"

Gil shrugged, "We've considered it."

Mike suggested, "You can stay here for dinner?"

I teased, "Don't do it dudes, they'll make you cook." Shaun and Gil sniggered.

Turning to me for a moment, Mike shook his head. Returning his attention to Gil and Shaun, Mike explained, "Prez suggested a great dinner last Tuesday. We all cooked and cleaned."

"Except Keith," Derrick quickly added, "he wasn't here to cook, but helped clean up."

Forcing a quick end to the conversation, Jessy began playing the intro to Separate Ways. Mike loudly said, "Offer's out there," and then began playing with Jessy. Derrick, Shaun and I joined in perfectly then Keith began singing. We played all three songs. Ben and Gil agreed that Separate Ways and Open Arms were great. Wonderful Tonight only needed Shaun's guitar part worked on.

Since Keith needed to leave, I followed him out of the studio, leaving the rest of the group to work with Shaun. I needed about eight hours worth of kisses to hold me until we met again later. After the fourth lingering kiss in as many minutes, Keith giggled, "What are you doin'?"

In between kisses, I explained, "Getting what I need to get me through."

Keith laughed, "You're givin' me major wood too, sex-machine!"

I groped his package through his clothes and provocatively leered, "You can be a few minutes late. Blame traffic."

Tempted, Keith giggled and groaned at the same time. Just as I was about to drop to my knees, Keith pulled me against him. Holding my ass in place, he whispered, "I want you so bad, baby. Tonight, I don't care who's here, I'm taking you howling over the edge."

Grinding against him, I giggled, "Now I've got a boner too."

He passionately kissed me then asked, "We've got a date?"

I nodded, "Be prepared for a few telepathic hugs."

"Cool," Keith smiled, "You be prepared for damp boxers."

Following him out to the car, I assured, "Can't wait for that intoxicating smell."

At his car door, Keith got his own quota of kisses in real quick, on both cheeks, both eyelids, my nose and finally, my mouth. He unlocked his door and said, "I love you, Prez. Have a good night," then got in the car.

I sighed, "You too, babe," and then got out of the street, but remained outside until his car was out of sight. I was so horny; I was beside myself, ready to climb the walls. Once again, I had to push my lusts aside and my stupid cock down then join the rehearsal for a little while longer. The entire time was spent on Wonderful Tonight, a love song from Eric Clapton to Patty Boyd Harrison. This did not alleviate my condition at all! Jessy left at three. Derrick and I walked her out to her car.

On the way back inside, Derrick wondered, "Did you get some before Keith left?"

I whined, "No. I wanted to and so did he."

"Aw shit! Sorry, bro. I could offer a hand, but I know you won't take it."

We stepped inside the house and I did take my best friends hand. He smiled. I kissed him and said, "Thanks for the offer, Dee. It would be like using you as a substitute and that is not cool at all. All four of us, playing together is fine. What I want now, I'll have to wait for."

He nodded then kissed me back. He said, "We're past the bullshit, bro. My job as your best friend is to make your life easier. You wouldn't be using me, but I can totally relate with how you feel. It's very cool of you to be honest about it." He paused and wondered, "Am I saying this right?"

I nodded and smiled, "Perfectly. I know I must seem distant. I don't mean to be, ya know?"

Shaking his head, Derrick corrected, "Not distant, just preoccupied. I'm there with ya, dude."

Since we were alone and I had the opportunity, I grinned, "How the hell do you get your feet behind your head?"

Derrick laughed, "I'll show you now, if ya want?"

Heading for the living room, I chuckled, "I've got twenty minutes before I have to leave. Getting caught doing yoga exercises is better than the alternative, my cock in your greasy hand? Oops! Sorry, Mike. I was horny and well..."

Derrick howled, "Double-bust!" and pulled me into a bear hug. He softly giggled, "This is why I love ya, dude. From the first time we jammed together, you cracked me up."

I hugged him back then said, "You held it in well."

Stepping back from me, Derrick said, "I didn't know you then. It was more like confusion, thinking you were too innocent to really know what you were saying." He backed against the wall then instructed, "Do this, Prez. It's the first step." Derrick then leaned forward and touched his toes. I moved beside him and touched my toes. Still bent over, Derrick asked, "Feel your back muscles stretching?"

I grunted, "Yeah, and like I could fall on my face."

Derrick then leaned forward more and put his hands flat on the floor. I tried, but couldn't do it. Easily speaking, as if his lungs didn't care that he was bent in half, Derrick said, "With me on bottom, like last night, I'll stay like this for Mike, several minutes at a time. Yeah, my back and buttocks are sore for a little while afterward, but I want him and he likes it. There's another extra advantage."

Still leaning forward and trying to make myself copy him, I gasped, "What's that?"

He grinned, "Stand up very slowly so you don't hurt your back." Together, we slowly stood up straight. Derrick checked down the hall then turned to me and said, "Because of the position I'm in, my asshole is extremely tight. Mike loves it and so do I. I've blown huge loads without touching my dick, surprising Mike and myself."

I chuckled, "Keith's done that for me a few times too."

"In that position, it's almost guaranteed," Derrick slyly shared. "His cock will be pressed against your prostate the whole time."

I asked, "Are there other stretches or exercises?"

He nodded, "Yup, but not until you've mastered this one. Don't bounce and don't ever stand quickly. You'll windup really hurting yourself, bro. Please don't do that, I'll feel like shit. When you're ready, I'll show you two other excellent yoga stretches, one leads to the other."

"I'll be careful," I promised. Widely smiling at Derrick, I considered asking questions, but decided against it and went to the master bedroom to get changed for work.

Following me, Derrick wondered, "What is it, Prez?"

I giggled, "Nothin'," then took my shirt off.

Leaning against the door jam, he smirked, "I'm not buyin' it, dude."

Stripping my boardies off, I warned, "First, a favor to ask."

"Anything, Prez."

"When I get home tonight, Keith's gonna already be here. I have every intention of seducing him."

Derrick giggled, "If he don't seduce you first."

Getting my socks and sitting on the edge of the bed to put them on, I nodded and giggled, "It's gonna get very loud."

He laughed and nodded, "Go for it, bro."

"I just don't want to freak out Ben, Gil or Shaun."

Derrick hummed then said, "Shaun and Gil, not too much of a problem. Ben will be. I'll work with Mike to get him to leave without feeling like there's a problem. We'll probably tell Ben the truth."

"Sweet!" I beamed.

"And what else?"

I asked, "You know I only had one other best friend in Texas?"

He answered, "Yup, Justin. He dropped you when he figured out you liked other dudes."

Sitting there on the bed in my white C.K.'s and black socks, I softly asked, "You really would've taken care of my problem?"

He nodded, "No sweat."

"Why?"

Standing up straight and moving towards me, Derrick said, "Because we're best friends, Prez." Squatting down before me, he continued, "You and I are so much alike, we're brothers underneath. Taking that already awesome relationship further, these last few days, we've blown our boyfriends. Then our nutty boyfriends returned the favor. I've already tasted your semen from Mike, and you've tasted mine from Keith."

I nodded, "It's all the same. You tasted like me and Keith."

"And you tasted like me and Mike. I'm your gay best friend, bro. I would jack you off or blow you without any hesitation. Of course, I would tell Mike what I'd done and I expect you would tell Keith. You know what other game I want to play?"

I grinned, "Mike's Russian Roulette?"

Derrick waved that idea off, saying, "Eventually. What I want to do is get Mike and Keith in a sixty-nine, showing each other, like they probably should've years ago, that they're brothers every bit as much as we are. Then, once they're happily goin' for it, I'll take your hand and lead you for some of the same action."

I couldn't help feeling warm and loved, but still asked, "Why, Dee?"

"Several reasons," He answered. "First, Mike and Keith have turned their bad times around without doing what they needed to do. That bitchy queen act they play is part of their way of ignoring it. I won't ignore it and sure don't want us to get like them. The next reason is even easier. You're as committed to Keith as I am to Mike. Whether it's two years from now or ten, I want no regrets, no lingering questions between me and Mike, or you and me, or you and Keith. It's all the same; kissing each other, blowing each other or jacking each other off, we're showing we care. Straight friends hug at a distance. We don't care about that shit. When I hug my friends, I want to feel them and them to feel me. It's sort of like Mike's power ball or my bending stuff or you telepathically talking to Keith. We feel stuff, bro; much more than other people. What we feel makes us who we already are, musicians that love the sound and the feel of the music. We love each other too.

"God forbid it should ever happen, but what if Mike needed to leave for two weeks? What if Keith needed to leave for two weeks? They've gone off to where-ever, apart from each other or at different times. That leaves me alone with you and Keith, or you alone with me and Mike. Our job, as friends, is to keep that odd man out from freaking out."

Beginning to see the light, I stood and put my white work shirt on, saying, "Minor infidelities with friends we're already intimate with, rather than risk a big mistake or becoming a total bitch."

Bouncing up from his squatting position, Derrick smiled, "That's it, bro. A three-way hug last week when you were feeling down was just one example. We've got a life time of little issues that may or may not come our way. You want a hug, come and get it. You need to talk, I'm here and Mike's here too. The same has to be in place for each of us, any time.

"Since we're talking already, I'll speak for me and Mike right now; if you and Keith move to the Bay Area, we're gonna search for a way to join you. The alternative to that is fucking frightening."

Now fully dressed, except for my shoes, I went to him to give a hug and a kiss. I then said, "That's years away, bro. By then, we might need a break from each other. Berkeley isn't China or Egypt; it's a day trip there and back, according to Keith, about six or seven hours by car. Long weekends or vacations together will still happen. Please don't fret and fuss over what's years away."

Still holding me, Derrick said, "Too many people lose touch after high school and college. Let's not be like that, Prez."

"We won't," I confidently assured. "For the very same reason you already mentioned; we feel." Stepping back to look in his eyes, I reminded, "We've got our senior year to look forward to, all four of us together, almost all day long. Imagine that, the four of us, changing for gym? And I get a wild hair up my butt, wanting Keith to replace the hair, during a shower?" Derrick began giggling. Putting my shoes on, I only instigated him further. "Hello-oo boner, hello-oo major embarrassment!"

Derrick laughed, "We'll run some interference for ya, bro."

"Thank you," I grinned. "Now replace me in your mind with Mike."

Derrick laughed harder. "He won't want interference, the show off."

"The fun's only beginning, Dee. This summer, senior year, next summer and two years at M.I.; it's gonna be great."

He nodded and smiled, "I can feel it too."

I started for the back door to let Rush inside and reminded, "Don't forget about Ben and my big mouth."

He grinned, "How could I forget? Did I even get half of Keith in my mouth?"

Heading to the front door, I nodded and suggested, "Before we go down on each other, we've got to get our boyfriends back. That may not be tonight, but it needs to happen."

I opened the door and Derrick said, "See ya later. We'll take care of Rush."

I said, "Thanks, bro, for everything," and then hurried out the door. On the way to Black Angus, I thought about what Derrick and I discussed. It made perfect sense in so many ways. I admitted that Keith and Mike needed to get past their bad time, once and for all. I also made it my goal to discover what Randy was talking about Saturday night. Was he fooling around or was he serious? It was after nine o'clock when I found myself alone with him, on the loading dock, to finally ask the question. What he said was nothing less than amazing to me. At first, Randy laughed. But then he became very serious. He asked, "Do you really think every straight dude is one hundred percent straight?"

I shrugged, "I can't put myself in a place that's totally foreign to me."

"When I was twelve, I messed around with a friend," Randy admitted. "He was moving to Colorado with his family right after school finished. It wasn't something he or I planned, but I guess the fear of being separated made it happen. As for you, Derrick and Mike, yeah, I was being goofy, but I was fishing for the truth and a little afraid too. I know and like other gay dudes; it's really no problem for me to have gay friends. I am straight and love sex with my girlfriend, but that twelve-year-old is still inside me too. You're three very cool dudes that I enjoy working with. You're also three extremely attractive dudes. Would I do anything? I have no friggin' idea! Part of me would want to leave in a hurry; the other part would watch the two couples and beat off. The rest would be up to you dudes."

Since Randy told the truth, so did I, telling him about Keith and Mike and how their experiment almost destroyed their friendship. "Fast forward a few years. I show up from Texas with my mom. I meet Keith. Keith introduces me to Derrick and Mike. Only then, our second night together, when I was falling for Keith, did Keith learn that Derrick and Mike were a couple, and had been for a few months. In days, I learned that Keith can sing like no one I've ever heard. Two couples of four friends start a band and the rest happens over time. If you had come swimming with us, and not run away Saturday night, you would've been spankin' it."

Randy chuckled, "Got a little sweaty?"

I grinned, "Not in the pool, but yeah, it got intimate."

Randy wondered, "Would I have been left to take care of myself?"

I laughed, "I don't really know. I can say that if one of us went over to you, all four of us would've surrounded you." Randy mooed and I continued, "What exactly might've happened next, probably depends on you."

He thought for a few moments then laughed, "I'd be in jail, just like I thought." He then turned and started for the kitchen.

I sniggered, "Unless you forced something, none of us would've filed charges." Randy grabbed two trays of glasses for the bar and I grabbed silverware for the dining room.

Randy asked, "You've never thought about it with a girl?"

I smiled, "Thought about it, but nothing and no one makes my heart race like Keith."

Later that night, when we were emptying the last bus buckets at the dishwasher, Randy wondered, "What's the plan for tonight?"

I grinned, "No pool time for me and Keith." He began loudly laughing. I offered, "When I left, Derrick and Mike were with other gay friends who are a couple. Whether they're still there or not, it's going to get very loud and very sweaty very quickly."

Hanging his head and softly chortling, Randy said, "My girlfriend's gonna wonder why I keep seducing her."

I smirked, "Mix the truth with little white lies."

He giggled, "I have been and I will again tonight."

Becoming more serious as we left the kitchen and headed towards the parking lot, I asked, "Do you love her?"

He nodded, "I think so. She's awesome in the sack and out of it."

I offered my hand and smiled, "That's all that matters."

Randy shook my hand, saying, "Have a good night, Prez."

I smiled, "You too. See ya next week, Randy." In my truck on the way to Agoura Hills, I was split between hoping Keith would meet me on the front lawn and wanting him naked on the guest room bed. Neither actually happened. Shaun's car was gone, I noticed. I was greeted in the entryway by Rush, then Derrick and Mike, and finally Keith. We kissed desperately. My lover was already raging in his shorts. While we were still attached to each other, Mike pushed me and Derrick pulled Keith directly into the master bedroom. Clothes flew in every direction. For an hour and a half two couples made love, almost oblivious to the fact the other couple was there. That night, while Keith and I were flip-flopping every couple of minutes, Mike proved he was more of a bottom.

We cuddled and chatted afterward. I told them about my talk with Randy. Mike had loaned Shaun his Ibanez electric guitar. I learned that Shaun and Gil stayed for dinner. Derrick barbequed mild Italian sausages while Mike sautéed peppers and onion. There were leftovers in the fridge waiting for me. Ben went home for dinner with his mom. He did return for a little while, but was already gone when Keith got back. Keith had eaten while watching the old porn tape Derrick and Mike found. Keith, Shaun and Gil thought it was just as ridiculous as Mike, Derrick and I had. Shaun and Gil left around ten-thirty because they had to work the next morning and wanted time alone before crashing. Keith, Derrick and Mike then searched the porn collection. They took all the Bel Ami tapes from the closet and brought them to the living room. Frisky Summer was just started a few minutes before I walked in.

I hummed thoughtfully then teased, "So that's why you were all horny and ready to play?"

Three sets of denials loudly burst forth and I helplessly giggled. Mike sat up, fondled Derrick's floppy uncut meat and assured, "I don't need more than what I've already got. This blond Adonis makes my blood boil."

Derrick asked Mike to stand and Mike did so, on the bed. Derrick sighed, "Check it out, dudes. That's the boxy football player's bod I've always wanted to crawl all over. He instigates me to do it too. He's my wild man."

Asking me to stand, Keith took a turn and described my legs, butt, developing four-pack abs, chest and buff arms, always mentioning the red hair he loved so much. Everything was fine until he drew attention to my pubes. Mike and Derrick looked closer. I began blushing and giggling as Keith raved, "Look how they fan out! I see three tangled bushes on this bed, but my sex machine has the most gorgeous pubes I've ever seen. Now that I've see him without, I'm so glad they grew back the same as before."

I stepped off the bed and had Keith stand on the bed. "Gentlemen," I formally began, "I love shoulders and chests. Before you stands the shoulders I lean on daily. If you'll look closely, there are hairs sprouting on his nips. Now, in this very room, we have four examples of the American teenager." I pointed at Keith and clearly proclaimed, "This one is mine, not only because of the incredibly edible bod before you, but because of the heart that beats within. Someday, when we're old and our hair turns gray, I'm going to still have him to talk with and listen too. This is our band's lead singer. He may choose to participate for a year or more, but I'll always have his voice singing in my heart."

While Derrick and Mike began applauding my performance, I looked up at Keith. He was blushing, chuckling and sadly shaking his head. I took Keith's hand and helped him down off the bed. He wrapped his arms around me and whispered, "Always and forever, Prez."

"I love you," I sighed.

He asked, "Are you hungry for real food, baby?" I nodded and he led me to the kitchen. Keith had just popped my dinner in the microwave when Derrick and Mike came out of the bedroom. They went directly to the TV. I only heard music coming from the living room. It wasn't bad; just very soothing, like new age stuff I'd heard on the radio. Keith grinned, "It's Frisky Summer, baby."

"Really?" I squealed.

Keith nodded, "Much better than the cheesy sound on the older porn tape, that's for sure."

I asked, "Is it really better?"

Keith shrugged, "The photography is much better. The two dudes just started sucking each other, the last I saw. Cute boys with big dicks isn't what got me goin', baby. You walked in and a chubby got real hard, real fast. I've wanted you, all night."

I kissed him then said, "Be right back," and hurried to the bedroom. On the floor, I found Keith's boxers and gave them a deep sniff. Keith was behind me giggling. I grinned, "How can you leak so much for so long and still cum so hard?"

Keith chuckled, "Maybe because I was so turned on, wanting you."

The microwave beeped. I pulled Keith's boxers over my head and stuck my nose out the fly. Keith howled laughing.

From the living room, Mike hollered, "What's goin' on in there?"

Keith giggled, "Stay like that, Prez," and then took my hands. He led me out of the bedroom. Derrick and Mike roared laughing at my plaid, cotton hat. Keith's hand fondled my goods. I hadn't even realized I was hard until that moment and pulled the boxers off my head. Keith giggled, "Do you want sausage and peppers or my sausage, sex-machine?"

Honestly, I was starving, but wondered what would happen if I dropped to my knees. Doing so, I took Keith's flaccid dick in my mouth and looked toward the living room. Derrick and Mike weren't interested in the porn flick anymore, but watching me and Keith. About the time Keith was hard in my mouth, I heard the TV turn off.

"Lost interest already?" Keith asked.

Derrick answered, "Porn is fake."

Mike shuffled closer to Derrick and they went for it on the sofa. I released Keith and smiled up, saying, "That's exactly what I hoped would happen. The real thing is better than any fantasy."

Keith guided me up and took me in his arms. He whispered, "More lovin' later. You need real food, baby." Keith led me to the kitchen. Standing at the counter, my lover fork-fed me. Now I knew what he felt like when I fed him while he recuperated from his hurt hip. I didn't argue though. I looked in Keith's eyes almost the whole time, studying his face like never before. The living room lights were turned off. Derrick and Mike walked by on their way to bed. Rush waited for Keith and I to clean up the kitchen then followed us to the bedroom. The night table lamps were still on. Mike was cuddled up in Derrick's arms. Their eyes were closed. Keith softly asked, "Are you still awake?" They both nodded and hummed affirmatively. Never releasing Keith's hand, I crawled onto the bed and waited for him to get comfy then took my place, cuddled up, with my head resting on Keith's chest. I fell asleep.

When I woke, I had Derrick on my left and Keith on my right. Mike was on the other side of Derrick at the far edge of the bed. The lamps were off. I groggily looked beyond Mike. The clock read ten-forty. Carefully maneuvering to not wake anyone, I crawled off the foot of the bed to feed Rush and let him out. As soon as I was standing, Derrick crawled off the bed too. He closed the bedroom door behind us. I asked, "How long have you been awake?"

"About half an hour," Derrick replied. "Just lying there, enjoying what won't be happening again once Doug and Brian return."

Dumping a cup of food into Rush's dish, I nodded, "It's real nice," then waited for my hound to sit for his breakfast.

Watching Rush and smiling, Derrick said, "I know it's stupid and unreasonable, but I almost wish we could have a king bed when we move in together."

I put Rush's dish down then grinned and nodded, "Long term, we'd need private rooms. That doesn't mean we can't squeeze into one bed on occasion."

Derrick smirked, "It wouldn't be quite as roomy as a king size, but we could probably manage."

I wondered, "What should we make our unconscious boyfriends for breakfast?"

Derrick hummed then said, "I got Hungry Jack pancake mix. We haven't touched it yet. Just add water, mix and pour."

I chuckled, "Awesome! Keith's mom uses Bisquik. It needs eggs and milk."

Derrick reached in the pantry for the box. I looked in the fridge and found Jimmy Dean sausage. I pulled it out then asked, "Where's the cutting board, bro?"

"The small cabinet beside the oven," he replied. Our rear ends bumped as he and I bent over at the same time. Standing, I giggled and watched Derrick pull a bowl out. He stood and chuckled, "Go ahead, bubble-butt."

I smirked, "I wish I could see what everybody keeps commenting on."

"It's yours so that automatically makes it real nice," Derrick smiled. I shrugged and found a knife to cut the sausage into patties. While he prepared the pancake batter and I got the sausage sliced, Derrick said, "You were awesome last night, Prez." Curiously, I glanced at him and he smiled, "What you said about Keith and then, only a few minutes later, with his boxers over your face."

I shrugged, "It started last summer when we swapped T-shirts. We drove home from Zuma that way. We couldn't get at each other fast enough."

There was a knock at the front door. We glanced at each other. He said, "It can only be Ben. If you don't care, I'll answer it."

I groaned, "He already likes me. It might push him over the limit."

Shaking his head, Derrick huffed, "He'll have to get over it or come back later." He then padded naked to the door and opened it.

I wish I had watched. Ben squealed, "Oh jeez!"

Derrick chuckled, "Get your butt in here before everyone gets an eye full." The door closed and Derrick came back to the kitchen saying, "We're just getting breakfast ready."

Glowing bright red, Ben walked around the entryway wall. I smiled, "Good morning, Ben."

Ben giggled, "Mornin'."

Derrick chuckled, "I had to pull him in before giving the entire neighborhood a show."

I smiled, "We'll get dressed in a few minutes, when breakfast is started and we wake up our boyfriends."

Ben gasped, "You slept together?"

Derrick grinned and nodded, "It's a huge bed."

I helplessly chortled, "Sleeping, Ben. No funny business." Derrick turned to me. We both shook our heads, wordlessly agreeing to not mention the 'funny business' we had been having.

Ben muttered, "Maybe I should leave and come back later."

Derrick frowned, "Don't you dare. You shower at school, right?" Ben nodded and Derrick said, "Add two more butts and dicks to the list."

Ben wondered, "Where are Keith and Mike?"

Placing the last sausage patty in the frying pan, I answered, "Still snoozin'." I then walked around the counter and took Ben by the arm to the bedroom door. I opened it and couldn't believe my eyes. Ben quickly covered his eyes. Searching for warmth, Keith and Mike were snuggled together in the center of the bed, Mike's back to Keith's front. I let Ben go and softly called, "Dee, you have to see this."

Ben hurried away and Derrick hurried over. Seeing our boyfriends together, Derrick softly giggled, "Aww."

I turned to Ben and whispered, "Stay here, dude."

Derrick and I walked into the room and stood at the foot of the bed. Derrick coughed. Nothing from either one of them. He then loudly exclaimed, "What is this?" Keith and Mike stirred and groggily glanced around.

Barely keeping myself from laughing, I loudly complained, "We make breakfast and you two make whoopee?"

Becoming aware of who was where, they both screamed and quickly rolled away from each other. Standing on either side of the bed, suspiciously staring at each other, they simultaneously shouted, "That was you?" Unable to hold back any longer, Derrick and I cracked up.

Mike hollered, "Aww shit! Dee, it wasn't... we didn't..."

Keith stormed past me and Derrick, profusely apologizing and ranted, "I need a shower!"

Behind us, we heard the front door open and close again.

His mouth agape, Mike then shouted, "Wrong shower, bitch!"

I turned to Derrick saying, "If you'll take care of Mike and turn the stove down, I'll meet you in the shower?"

He nodded, "Cool, bro."

I went into the master bathroom and found Keith in the shower scrubbing himself raw. I went in and closed the door. Looking like he might cry, Keith sincerely said, "I'm so sorry, Prez. I didn't know..."

Taking the soap from him, I hugged him tightly and gently assured, "It's alright, babe. I still love you and always will."

"Oh God, Prez!" Keith nervously quaked in my arms.

I softly shushed him and held on tighter, repeatedly confirming that I loved him. With Keith finally under control, I heard the shower door open.

Derrick firmly said, "Get in there." Grumbling and growling, I didn't have to turn to watch Mike step in the shower. Keith shoved his face in my neck. Derrick ordered, "Say good morning to your best friend."

Mike whimpered, "Dee, please?"

Derrick sighed, "Do it, Lick. He's been your best friend for almost ten years. I'll be damned if it's ending now."

I stepped back from Keith and gently lifted his chin. I said, "It's time, babe."

Searching my eyes, Keith wondered, "Time for what?"

"To finish what you two started years ago," Derrick offered. He then took my hand and I moved closer to Derrick. "You two are insane," Derrick smirked. "Look at yourselves, backed away in the corners, as far from each other as possible. Why not just screech, 'Cooties!'"

I nodded, "They'll play with us and instigate all kinds of sexual games. Will they ever openly admit how much they love each other?"

Derrick assured, "They will. I'd bet your bubble-butt on it, bro."

I grinned and followed my friend's lead saying, "I'd bet your uncut dick on it too. Now, we will demonstrate." I turned to Derrick and brightly cheered, "Good morning, bro."

Derrick smiled, "G'morning, bro. Did you sleep well?"

I nodded, "Great, I woke with my best bud on one side of me and my lover on the other side."

We turned back to our partners. Two developed teenagers couldn't act more boyish, tentatively glancing at each other. Standing near the shower doors and each other, Derrick and I watched them both for long minutes. It was so cute and so sad. Almost simultaneously, they said, "Good morning," then clammed up.

Derrick scowled, "Good morning to who?"

I warned, "We'll stand in here all day. Four frozen dicks and shriveled sacks."

Keith shyly offered, "Good morning, bro."

Mike looked up at Keith. He wiped his eyes and reminded, "I liked it, Keith. I wanted to say it, but I couldn't, not for a long time. All I would've needed to say is hello."

Keith finally looked up and shared, "It was too scary. I hadn't ever cum before. Suddenly, there it was, on your hand. And my hand was dripping with your load. It was like, what the fuck do I do now?"

Derrick and I swapped positions. He went to Keith and I went to Mike. We guided them out of the corners and Derrick said, "The right thing to do is kiss the person you love."

I told Mike, "You didn't know that then, but you do now. Kiss Keith, Mike. Kiss him tenderly then wait for a tender kiss back."

Once we had the two of them close, Derrick guided Keith's hand to Mike's face. Seeing them dripping wet and silently staring at each other, I knew what I had to say. "It's only too late when someone's gone, with no chance of being seen again in this life."

Derrick huffed, "Another demonstration? Fine."

I stood beside Mike. Derrick stood beside Keith. They watched as our hands raised and gently caressed each other’s faces. I leaned forward and gently kissed my best friend. When I leaned back, Derrick followed similarly. Almost struck dumb, Keith and Mike looked at our faces then glanced down to find two flaccid dicks.

Sounding like he might cry, Mike said, "I'm really sorry I hurt you, bro."

Keith gulped and offered, "Same here, bro." Finally, they grabbed hold of one another and kissed. It wasn't the playful kiss from months prior. Keith kissed Mike and I could feel that he meant it. Mike hugged the breath out of Keith and then returned the kiss. They turned to us, still holding each other. Derrick and I smiled then looked down. Keith and Mike chuckled then separated enough for us to see neither was hard or even chubby.

Derrick shook his head and grinned at Mike, "This was supposed to be fun."

I asked Keith, "Do you still feel like you need to wash?"

Shaking his head, Keith softly wondered, "Do we have a problem now?"

I replied, "No, babe. Derrick and I know what we feel for each other."

"Best friends for life," Derrick said, and firmly grasped my shoulder.

I nodded and smiled then reached for Derrick's dick telling Keith, "I can play with him. You can play with Mike. We can all play with each other and swap loads of semen and spit. When play time is over, it's time to make love." I stopped messing with my bud's floppy dick and pointed at Keith firmly assuring, "I want you, Keith. I need Derrick and Mike's friendship, but I want you. I always will."

Derrick told Mike, "Prez and me have it easier than you and Keith. We didn't jack each other off then hide from each other for months. Anything he and I do together counts just enough. Then I go back to you and he goes back to Keith."

Keith locked eyes with Mike and sincerely asked, "Was I there when you needed me?"

Mike nodded, "When my dad died, I had two awesome friends to keep me sane. Sometimes it was one, then the other, and on a few occasions, both. It bothers you?"

Keith nodded, "It took a tragedy for me to come to my senses." He looked at me and said, "The second tragedy made sure I wouldn't ever forget the first."

Derrick shivered and suggested, "Let's get out of here." He turned the water off and we filed out of the shower. Surprising me, Keith reached for Derrick's dick while Derrick was still drying his hair. Derrick slouched and giggled, "Happy now?"

Keith nodded, "Thanks, dude. Just had to do what Prez did."

Mike shouted, "But I'm not!"

I was innocently drying off. Seeing the playful fire in Mike's eyes, I pulled the towel away from myself and laughed, "Go ahead." Mike made my dick flop for a few seconds, during which time, I watched Derrick and Keith. I asked Mike, "Better?"

Mike rapidly nodded and giggled.

Hanging his towel to dry, Derrick said, "There's one more thing to do. The question is, before breakfast or soon thereafter?"

Sounding frightened, Mike whined, "What now?"

Derrick and I grinned devilishly at each other then at our lovers. Keith gasped, "Oh shit! Prez knows!"

Throwing his towel aside and dropping to his knees, Mike played with mine and Derrick's dicks, dramatically admitting, "We've been bad. I know it. Keith knows it. We'll be good from now on, I swear!"

Derrick brushed Mike's hand away and I did the same. Derrick took Mike's hand and helped him up. I went to Keith, taking his hand and leading him to the bedroom. Keith softly said, "You're scaring me, Prez."

Turning to him, I waited for Derrick and Mike. I said, "Tell me something, Keith, and say it quick, straight from the heart." He nodded. "Am I your only lover?"

"Yes! Absolutely!"

Derrick prompted Mike, "Same question, your answer?"

"Positively, yes! You make my blood boil with a look."

Derrick asked Mike, "Who's your best friend?"

"Keith."

I didn't have to wait for Keith to quickly answer, "Mike."

I nodded and said, "Show Mike that you love him, Keith. Show Mike that a part of you would die if he went away or died."

Keith and Mike hurried to each other and kissed passionately. They turned to us for approval. Derrick smiled and fought back a laugh, ordering, "On the bed, both you. Sixty-nine, and finish the job."

I told Keith, "Just like you two shared the other night; I want Mike's seed passed to me from your mouth."

Derrick nodded at Mike, "That's what I want too. Just as important though, is the act itself. You two needed to do this years ago."

Glancing between Mike and Keith, I explained, "If this isn't done, then there might always be lingering questions."

"Not acting now would create questions that would haunt all four of us," Derrick quickly added.

Glancing between me and Derrick, Keith asked, "What are you two gonna do?"

I answered, "Watch and wait for what we want."

Derrick nodded, "Then me and Prez will do the exact same thing and kiss our lovers, knowing that the partnerships and friendships are safe and sound."

Mike suddenly jumped back from Keith and suspiciously squinted. Keith was getting aroused and giggled at Mike, "What? They're making sense! If blowing you gets me Prez, forever, with no doubts or worries, hold on to your nuts, bro." Derrick and I cracked up.

Pointing at the bed, Mike ordered, "Get your hairy ass ready, bro. I can suck a tennis ball through a garden hose." Derrick and I bent in half and roared.

Stepping up onto the bed, Keith loudly laughed, "Takes one hairy ass to know another!"

Mike stepped on the bed. He chuckled, "I'd tell you to eat me, but since I know that's happening anyway, I have no other come back but this." Mike grabbed Keith's ass cheeks and leaned in for what appeared to be a knock-out, dizzying kiss.

There was no doubt about it; they were finally enjoying each other. Derrick and I sat on the other side of the bed watching. They lay down, side-by-side, face to hard cock and engulfed one another. It didn't disturb me or Derrick in the slightest. Our partners were hot to watch together. Their hands roamed all over. They contentedly hummed and purred as they licked and sucked their scrotums for a while. They rolled so that Keith was below Mike. Derrick reached for my cock and I reached for his. We carefully played with each other and enjoyed the show, but remained silent. I wish I had noticed the time they started. I gestured to an imaginary watch on my wrist for Derrick. He held up five fingers then three, signifying eight minutes had passed. They rolled onto their sides. We noticed Keith's hand sliding between Mike's ass cheeks. Derrick tapped my leg and silently mouthed, "Any minute now." Nasal breathing quickened. Mike began bucking his hips and so did Keith. Nasal breathing stopped for a few moments. Falling back from each other, they separated.

Keith crawled to me and Mike hurried to Derrick. Derrick and I got what we asked for. Still holding our kiss, Keith fondled my wet cock then giggled into the kiss. He leaned back and grinned, "Jeez dude!"

Mike said, "Same over here. We must've done alright."

I nodded and beamed, "I'm so proud... of both of you."

Derrick asked, "The bitchy queen games are over?"

Still on all fours before us, Keith and Mike smiled at each other then laughed, "No!"

Mike added, "The denial is the game, a never ending battle of wills."

Keith sat down and smiled, "Next!"

Derrick nodded, "A deal's a deal. After watching you two for ten minutes, this won't last very long."

Mike parked himself beside Keith and teased, "We might have to interrupt with periodic remarks."

I laughed, "I would expect no less from either of you."

Derrick and I crawled over to the other side of the bed. Keith slyly grinned, "Go get him, sex-machine!"

Derrick warned, "Don't you dare get jealous of me, Keith."

Keith smiled, "I already am, only because I want what you're about to get."

Derrick nodded, "Fair enough. I'll share, okay?"

Mike confirmed, "You're sharing too, right Prez?"

I chirped, "Course!" As if it were practiced, I asked Derrick, "Who's your best bud?"

Derrick smiled, "You are, Prez. I'm yours, right?"

I warmly confirmed, "For the rest of our days, bro. Bass and drums, playing as one."

Derrick obviously liked hearing that and passionately kissed me. Our two boyfriends giggled, "Aww!" They didn't last ten seconds before passing the first comment.

His hazel eyes flashing devilishly, Derrick got them back. He softly begged, "Gimme some big dick." Recognizing their own words, Keith and Mike mooed.

I fell back giggling. Derrick crawled over me and kissed me again. He straddled my legs and lined our two cocks up then pushed his foreskin over the head of my cock. All I could do was look in Derrick's eyes and pray the party would last a full minute. It probably wouldn't have if I didn't sit up and grab a kiss of my own. I took hold of Derrick and swung him flat onto the bed, much to his obvious surprise and delight.

Keith whispered, "Here we go, the sex-machine is racing now." Mike nodded and giggled.

Grabbing fists full of sheets, Derrick cracked up. I remained innocently smiling at Derrick, Keith and Mike. What our boyfriends weren't seeing is what my hand was doing between Derrick's legs. Derrick kept laughing and eventually wheezed, "Prez! You friggin' loon! Stop!"

Keith and Mike smirked at each other. Mike crawled over to see for himself. He found my hand tickling the back side of Derrick's hairy nut-sack. Mike went to Keith and grinned, "You're boyfriend is evil." I stopped torturing my friend and swung around so we could reach one another.

Keith nodded and smiled, "Had to be, didn't it?"

Mike hummed affirmatively then said, "Dee deserved it too, for the foreskin coupling."

Derrick caught his breath and smiled, "Awesome, bro. Did Mike tell you about that?"

I shook my head and replied, "I know you’re ticklish and made an educated guess." I then warned, "I have seen Mike do this though," and pulled his foreskin over his cock. Derrick hissed. I sucked all his tasty precum like sugar water through a straw. Derrick groaned and rolled to get at me. I had to make sure my best friend knew I wasn't reluctantly performing. If the truth be known, I was doing it for all four of us. Our friendships had lasted and become intimate. Derrick's cock didn't stuff my mouth, like Keith, or cut off my breathing, like Mike. Derrick seemed to have no problem with me either. We wouldn't cross the intercourse boundary, but everything else was fair game, now that Keith and Mike had passed their hurdle. I knew this for certain because I could see them together, leaning against the headboard, lazily stroking each other. Derrick and I didn't last long at all. I know my orgasm shocked him into a brief gag and sputter. Derrick's orgasm did the same to me. I went to Mike and kissed him deeply. Derrick shuffled to Keith and kissed him. Without planning to do so, we took pity on our partners. I lay down and took Mike's long bone into my mouth. Derrick went down on Keith. Mike and Keith kissed through most of the unexpected blowjobs. When Derrick and I finished them off, we kissed each other before returning to our favored partners.

Of course, we all confirmed that each of us was feeling completely fine. Keith and Mike admitted that they needed to complete their childhood sex-capades then fiddled with each other’s spent wieners and kissed again. Derrick and I confirmed what had previously been said, we were bass and drums, the fundamental core of our band. We worked together, played music together and lusted after the lovers we already had. Then Derrick and I explained that we had started breakfast about an hour earlier. The four of us left the bedroom. Keith and Mike sat at the counter watching while Derrick and I finished cooking.

Derrick grinned, "Ben was here."

Keith and Mike chuckled. Keith confirmed, "You were both naked?"

I nodded, "Dee answered the door."

Derrick smirked, "Ben kept a safe distance from the kitchen. Prez then went to show him, you two, still sleeping."

I offered, "That's when I saw you two cuddled together. Derrick and I thought it was cute. Ben ran back out the door when bedroom screaming started."

Derrick giggled, "Can't understand why."

Keith suggested, "After we eat, we'll have to go get him."

Mike nodded, "To prove everything's fine, except two perfectly evil boyfriends who plotted against us."

Holding his index finger up, Derrick reminded, "We plotted for you, for both of you and all of us."

I smiled and dared, "Prove that you don't feel better about each other and all four of us."

Keith sighed then told Mike, "This is what I wanted as much as anyone else. Prez and Dee just caught us asleep, innocently holding each other."

Mike smirked, "It wasn't that innocent. You were grinding against my butt and I was grinding back. We just fell back to sleep." Derrick and I roared laughing.

Keith giggled, "We both would've eventually noticed something was not quite right before it went any further."

I laughed, "Oh God! If I had opened that door and found you two, willingly having intercourse, I might've passed out from the shock."

Derrick howled, "And Ben would've dropped dead, on the spot."

That was too true. I hummed thoughtfully. Concern clearly written on their faces, Derrick, Mike and Keith waited with baited breath. I said, "Breakfast will be ready in less than ten minutes. Let's get dressed. Keith and Mike, go get Ben. I don't think we should wait until after breakfast. The longer we wait, the more likely he'll think we're arguing."

Everyone agreed and we flew into board shorts. Keith and Mike hurried out the door. Derrick and I finished the pancakes and sausages then got the table set for five. We had everything prepared just in time. The door opened and we heard Keith and Mike loudly laughing over Ben's soft giggles. They guided Ben, blinded by his own two hands, inside the house.

While we ate, we had the most insanely truthful conversation ever. Mike and Keith explained their sex-capades and the unfortunate results. Derrick and I explained our conversation and the plot to get our partners beyond their pasts, for their sake and all of our sakes. Finally, Ben had questions about our relationships. We answered them truthfully. Doug and Brian treated all their friends with the same warmth. That was something we all wanted to emulate. It lead to hugs then to kisses and to what we had together that moment. We were four friends and two couples. Each of us lusted after our partners. Everything was perfect and would remain so.

With that out of the way, Ben asked, "How did you know what to do to help me last week?"

I smiled, "Ben, we really did nothing more than show willingness to be friends. We want you included, whenever you want to be included. We sent you caring and consideration. The rest was you, dude."

Derrick added, "You've excluded yourself because your dad excluded you, making you believe that you're not worthy. Prez and I know that feeling, first hand."

Mike chuckled, "You almost caught fire when you saw me and Keith at your door."

Glowing red, Ben laughed, "Well, an hour or so earlier, I saw you both naked, in bed together!"

Keith grinned and nodded, "With only a little prompting, you came over anyway. Whether you know it or not, you basically told yourself, 'embarrassment be damned, let's see how they weasel their way out of this mess'."

Ben nodded and giggled, "So you're dressed for my benefit?"

All four of us nodded, "Yeah."

Mike smiled, "Derrick and I have been jamming late at night, alone, stark naked. We all did the same Sunday night. Nothing unexpectedly popped up then and nothing ever has. Afterward, however, we're always horny after jamming. I wanted Derrick. Keith wanted Prez. We made it clear who and what we wanted. The greatest part is, eyes aren't wandering. We're concentrating completely on our partners."

Ben wondered, "How can you do that?"

Mike offered, "Prez and I showered at school the whole last year. The differences there, amongst fifty dudes, and here, among the four of us, don't amount to much."

Derrick said, "Hair color mostly. In my gym class last year, two dudes were exceptionally well hung. I know one of them. His dick doesn’t change. He's admitted it. It goes from hangin' down to pointing up, no other change."

I asked, "Jerry?" and Derrick nodded.

Keith offered, "On the opposite side of the fence are dudes who grow. Some show, some grow; nothing's Earth shattering. Respect doesn't come from having a big cock. It comes from the heart, being someone worthy of caring for."

I said, "Around this table there are four growers, anywhere from double to triple their normal state."

Ben blushed, "Five."

We all congratulated Ben. He didn't think it was that worthy of praise, but we all knew it was a very important step for him to take.

Ben leaned back and smiled. He soon said, "More stuff to re-learn, for me. I couldn't do what you dudes do, walk around naked, make breakfast naked, sleep naked and only sleep. I'd pop serious wood and the damn thing would never go down."

We all chuckled and nodded, agreeing that we knew the feeling too well. Mike said, "The only experience that will make a difference is a successful, long term relationship. It changed me, anyway." Keith, Derrick and I agreed, our dicks did gain a bit of control from our relationships, but that didn't mean they were always tamed.

Keith softly said, "To each his own and in his own time. When Ben's ready, he'll be the first to know it."

Ben asked, "How will I know?"

Keith smiled, "You have to want a relationship first."

Mike nodded and took Derrick's hand then added, "Sometimes the right person is right in front of you. Then you only have to admit it."

Derrick offered, "Fear is a pain in the ass. It blocked me from telling Mike the truth. Just like you shrugged off embarrassment today, shove away fear. Speak from the heart, no matter how much it hurts or scares you." Locking eyes with Mike, Derrick shared, "If someone belittles your feelings, that's not the right guy. The right guy says the right things." Mike leaned over for a few tender kisses.

Ben turned to me. I shrugged, "There's not much I can add. I didn't know I was ready until I met Keith. Did I fear losing him? Of course; as much as he feared losing me. We overcame the fear at the same time and shed tears doing it. Keep your eyes, ears and heart open, Ben. We can introduce you to Howard, but he might not be right for you. Once you've got an open honest friendship that you're happy with, ask him, point blank – do you like me as much as I like you?"

"Remember fear is a pain in the ass," Derrick interjected. "There may very well be a bit of balking and stammering. Listen closely."

Mike grinned, "Confused yet?"

Ben giggled, "A little, but not too much."

Mike chuckled, "Wait, dude. You might get blindsided by someone saying they want to be with you. All four of us have been blindsided, some way or another."

Smiling widely at me, Keith teased, "As recently as this morning."

While I blushed and laughed, Mike leaned closer to Keith. Keith leaned closer to Mike and they tenderly kissed. Ben's head almost spun, glancing quickly around the table. Derrick explained, "They've been best friends for almost ten years. I hoped that they might do some catching up, after being bitchy for about three years. Prez is my best friend and I'm his. Hugs and kisses are simple affection."

I nodded and added, "It says, in no uncertain terms, I'd miss you if you went away. It can say way more too." I noticed Keith had that mischievous glint in his eyes and smirk spreading across his face.

Keith asked Ben, "You've never kissed anyone before?" Beginning to glow red again, Ben rapidly shook his head. Keith asked, "Would you like a quick lesson?" Not knowing how to answer, Ben mutely shrugged. Keith softly instructed, "Close your eyes and relax, Ben."

Closing his eyes and visibly stiffening, Ben reopened his eyes and giggled, "I'm trying. This time, instead of bouncing out of this house and into mine, I might float the whole way!"

I took Ben's hand in mine and glared into his eyes, softly repeating words from our visualization lessons. "Close your eyes. Take a deep breath in through your nose, and hold it for a few seconds, then release it slowly out your mouth. As you release each breath, consciously relax and let all tension drain away. Think of only relaxing places, like chirping birds in forest trees around a babbling brook. In your mind, make your own special place that's perfect for you. Always breathe in deep through your nose, hold it for a few seconds, and then release it out your mouth."

Seeing that I had relaxed Ben, Keith, Derrick and Mike stood. One at a time, they gently kissed Ben as he held each breath. My friends turned to me to finish. I released Ben's hand and stood then leaned over and kissed him. I whispered, "We all like you, Ben. You're a real sweetheart and we want you here as often as possible. Come back to us, Ben. On the count of five, open your eyes, feeling totally refreshed and content. One... two... three... feeling good now... four... refreshed and happy... five."

Smiling, Ben's eyes fluttered and opened. He sighed, "Did I say something about floating? I think I flew." We all began chuckling.

Mike giggled, "It's you, Prez. Your voice is mesmerizing."

Derrick nodded, "You almost put me out, bro."

Keith wrapped me in his arms and said, "See, it's not just me."

Ben smiled, "I think I know what I want." All four us wondered what it was. Ben chuckled, "Someone that's a little bit like each of you; Mike's height and playfulness, Derrick's blond hair and intensity, Keith's chest and abs..." He paused and looked up at me then giggled, "your deep, mystical voice and soft lips." We all busted up laughing then went off the deep end; promising Ben a 'Weird Science' experiment, where we all wore jockstraps on our heads, dumped magazine pictures of hot dudes in a box and waited for Ben's very own, scantily clad, stud of the millennium to walk into his life.