Kyle's play, and then the State Science Fair, had us a little breathless on North Lagoon Drive. The kids took it all in stride, of course, but Rick and I felt as though things were spiraling out of control. There was so much going on, we barely had time to keep up with all the activity, much less participate in everything. "We need some kind of central calendar in this house where we can post all the stuff that's going on all the time," Rick said. We were in bed, having just made love, and we were talking about how busy everybody was. "That's a great idea," I said. "We can hang it up in the breakfast room, and each of us can write in the events and activities. For instance, I feel terrible that we haven't been to more of Ron's baseball games than we have, but I have trouble even keeping up with when they take place." "I know," he said. "I'll buy a white board and some markers tomorrow." The next evening everybody was gathered in the den. It seemed like it had been a long time since we had had everybody there in the evening, but even Jeff and Ty were on hand. "Guys, Rick and I have been talking about all the activities that we all have going on all the time, and we decided to start using a calendar to keep up with who's doing what, when," I said. Rick had put the calendar board in the study, and he went and got it. It had space for three months at a time, and of course, we'd have to write in the names of the months and the dates. "We were thinking we'd each use a different color marker to write in our events. That way we can tell at a glance who's got stuff going on on a particular day," Rick said. "That's cool. I want blue," Kyle said. "I thought pink was your color, Kyle," Justin said. "Very funny," Kyle said. "I want blue, unless they have lavender." That made us all laugh. "Since there are eleven of us and only seven colors, why don't we let each couple have a color," Brian said. He was more and more turning out to be the most sensible one of the crowd, and that was just one more example of that. "That's a good solution," I said. "Okay, Kyle and Tim get blue. What color do y'all want, Jus and Brian?" "Red?" Justin said. Brian nodded. "Rick and I will take black," I said. "Jeff and Ty? Is green okay?" They said it was. That left orange, brown, and purple. Denny wanted purple, so Ron got orange and Chuck got brown. "Let's go ahead and fill it out right now, and then we'll hang it up in the breakfast room. Don't write too big in case somebody else has something the same day you do," I said. We spent about thirty minutes working on that thing. Brian suggested that we use the initial of our first name to identify which one of each couple was involved, and that worked just fine. By the time we were finished, it looked like a distorted version of the gay rainbow flag, and there were only a few days that were blank. Kyle had gotten six "packages" of tickets and hotel vouchers for Gay Days at Disney World. At the time, the plan was for Rick and I and the Big Four to go. I didn't know what we were thinking, because Denny was already very much a part of the family when Kyle had his birthday. Rick and I had gone ahead and bought two more packages, one for Denny and one for Ron. Jeff and Tyler were also going, and they had purchased packages on their own. I had asked Chuck if he wanted to go, but he said he and his boyfriend Tony were talking about going to see his Tony's parents that weekend. That was beginning to sound pretty serious, to me. "We have to write in Gay Days," I said. "We're all going. We'll leave on Thursday and come home on Monday. It's the first weekend in June." "I forgot about that," Kyle said. "We only have six tickets, don't we?" "We bought two more, and Jeff and Ty bought their own," I said. "Chuck has other plans." "Cool," Kyle said. "We need to plan what we're going to wear," Jeff said. "I've been looking at some sites on the Web, and we have to wear red tee shirts or tank tops. Some groups dress alike, too, in case we might want to do that." "It's going to be hot. I'll probably just go without a shirt," Kyle said. "No, Kyle. Shirts and shoes are required at all times," Jeff said. "That's a rule, and they enforce it, too." "Kyle, if you take your shirt off, you'll stir up a riot when all those guys get a look at you," Justin said. "I definitely don't want a mass rape," Kyle said. "No, I was thinking more like a stampede to get out of there," Justin said. We all laughed. "Go ahead and say it, Kyle," Jus said. "All right. You got me last," Kyle said. "Big deal." "We need to invent some kind of code to use on the calendar to keep up with how many times I get Kyle last every day," Jus said. "Oh, yeah? Code this, Bubba," Kyle said, grabbing his own crotch. "Minus one," Justin said, and we all cracked up. "Damn, Justin! What'd you do? Take a clever pill or something?" Rick asked. "I reckon," Justin said, grinning big. "I'm keeping my mouth shut," Kyle said. "Every time I open it, I put my foot in it." "No comment," Justin said, and again we all laughed, as much at the way he said it as at what he said. "So where do we get these red shirts?" Kyle asked. "Off the Internet?" "Yeah, you can, or you can just wear any red shirt," Jeff said. "Don't you have any red shirts?" "Oh, so it's not like a special uniform or something?" Kyle asked. "You can buy the ones with a logo on them, but you're probably going to need four or five red shirts while you're there," Jeff said. "I ordered one for Tyler and one for me, but we're just going to wear ones we already have most of the time. The logo shirts are twenty dollars each, plus tax and shipping. It's worth it to have one as a souvenir, but where else would you wear them if you had a bunch?" "Good point," I said. "I'll order one for each of the eight of us. Babe, can you order red tee shirts and tank tops through the business?" "Yeah, in fact I'll do that tomorrow. Do y'all want large or extra-large?" Rick said. "I can wear a large, but I think I'd prefer an extra-large," Brian said. "Extra-large? What the hell are you thinking? That you're a man or something?" Justin said, teasing his boy. "I hate to tell you this, Buddy, but I'm as big as you. Bigger, in some departments," Brian said. "Uwwww! Somebody got somebody last," Kyle said with delight. "Come here. Let me see," Justin said. "I'm not showing it here," Brian said. We all laughed. "Not that. I know that's bigger. I meant, stand up next to me so we can compare." Justin was giggling with delight. Back to back, Brian might have even been a fraction of an inch taller than Justin. The weightlifting they had been doing had made Brian fill out in his shoulders and chest, too, but he wasn't yet a match for Justin in those parts. "He's bigger than you. You hadn't noticed that?" Kyle said in disbelief. "Well, I knew he was growing, but I didn't think it was that much," Justin said. "All four of you stand side by side," Rick said. They did, and in that configuration they all looked exactly the same size. The two dark-haired ones, Kyle and Brian, were perfectly matched with their lighter-haired partners. Those were four of the best looking boys I had ever seen, too. I saw them all the time, of course, but I guess I didn't make the effort to really notice them all that often. "You guys ought to start a modeling agency," Tyler said. "You've got the cast for it, that's for sure." "Aw, gee," Kyle said. "Not you. You're going to be the photographer," Justin said. "Back to Disney," Jeff said. "Kyle does your school sponsor a Grad Night trip?" "Gosh, I had forgotten about that," Rick said. "I went to Grad Night at Disney when I was a senior." "Did you have a good time?" Kyle asked. "Not really," Rick said. "That's what everybody says. That's why I'm not going. They leave at 4:30 in the morning, ride down there on buses, spend the whole night in the park, and then get back on the buses and come straight home. That's too much time on a bus for me," Kyle said. "Is anybody from your school going this year?" Rick asked. "They have two buses, so that's probably about eighty kids and twenty chaperones. Miss Sally told me she goes every year because she thinks she has to and hates every minute of it," Kyle said. "So why are we going, if it ain't fun?" Justin asked. "Oh, the park and the attractions are about the most fun there is," Kyle said. "It's the whole Grad Night thing that ain't fun. We'll have a great time. I know that. It'll be hot as hell, but not as bad as later in the summer. Plus, it's hot here. No, Jus, it's fun." "They have a photography contest, Kyle," Jeff said. "For real?" Kyle asked. "Yeah. You need to check out gaydays dot com on the Web. That's where the pictures from the contest are. That's also where I found out about groups dressing alike and everybody wearing red," Jeff said. "Back to that. How many shirts do I need to order?" Rick asked. "We'll be gone five days, but we wouldn't necessarily have to wear them going and coming," I said. "Yeah, we do," Rick said. "I'll order four for each of us. Tees or tanks?" "How about two and two?" Kyle said. "We've got all this muscle we need to show off for our pansy-ass bubbas down there." "You're excited about this, aren't you?" I asked. "I'm very excited, Kevin. You hear about and read about all the Gay Pride stuff, and we don't have anything like that here. I'm ready to rub elbows with my gay brothers," Kyle said. "And sisters," Jeff said. "Oh, yeah," Kyle said. "Them, too." "That better be all you're rubbing, too," Tim said. "What?" Kyle asked. "Elbows. Rub elbows, but don't rub anything else," Tim said. When Kyle finally got it, he laughed hard. "That assumes Kyle knows an ass from an elbow," Justin said. Again, more laughter. "He got you last again, Kyle," Rick said. "Thanks for pointing that out to me, Rick. That would have been right over my head, if you hadn't said something," Kyle said. We all laughed some more. "I'm out of this," Rick said. He took out his phone and called his office to leave a message for himself to remember to order the shirts. He also said, "Oh, and get four extra-smalls for Kyle," he said. "Very funny," Kyle said. "I always have a good time when we play around like this," Ron said. "That's why they call us 'gay,'" Justin said. * * * The next weekend was the Prom, and Kyle and Tim were both going. They were going to do the same thing for Prom that they had done for the Homecoming Dance--go in a group. Kyle wanted to host a sleepover at the condo for their friends, and I had some reservations about that. "I don't know about this sleepover," I said. It was Rick, Kyle, Tim, and I discussing it one afternoon. The rest of the guys weren't home yet or were off doing something by themselves. "You don't trust us, Kevin?" Kyle had a slight "hurt" tone in his voice when he said that. "Kyle, think it through logically, son. Have we trusted you all to go on trips without us?" "Yes, sir, I know, but this isn't even a trip. It's not like we're going to be out driving around," he said. "Speaking of that, are you all going to have a limo this time?" I asked. "No. That damn Philip waited too late, and they're all booked up. Everybody heard about us doing that for Homecoming, and they thought it was a great idea. Now they have 'em for Prom, and we don't," he said. "Tell us exactly what your plans are, and then we'll negotiate," I said. "All right. First, dinner at the Boardwalk. I already talked to the man, and he's ready to seat us at 5:30. We hang out there until around seven, maybe a little later. Then Philip's mama and daddy are having what they're calling a Picture Party. We're going to go to his house for a little while and let whoever wants to, take pictures," Kyle said. "No refreshments?" "Yeah. They're going to have dessert and coffee and punch. No alcohol. Last year they had a breakfast for all of his friends after the dance, but he didn't want to do that again this year." "Then what?" I asked. "Then we go to the dance, which is in the Grand Ballroom of the Laguna. Not the gym, like Homecoming," Kyle said. "Okay, keep on," I said. "Then, we go to the condo and spend the night. That's it," he said. "Boys and girls at the condo?" "No, just guys, and a good many of them gay, too," he said. "How many?" He cringed a little bit when I asked that. "Fifteen," he said. "But that's how many I have to invite, Kevin. Those are guys I've known all my life. We've been in school together since kindergarten. I invited Justin, Brian, Denny, and Ron, too, but they said they didn't feel right horning in. They wouldn't be horning in, though." "I can understand why they would feel out of place, though," Tim said. "What about your neighbors?" "My neighbors? You mean the people in the other apartment on that floor?" "Yeah," I said. "I ain't inviting them," he said. "I'm talking about the noise, Kyle," I said. "Oh, they're back in Canada. Those people are snow birds," he said. "I didn't realize that," I said. "What are y'all going to do?" Rick asked. "What do you mean?" "What kinds of activities do you have planned? Like, are you having a stripper?" Rick asked. We all laughed. "Yeah, Gage is going to strip," Kyle said. "I'd like to see that," Rick said. "We're not having a stripper. I'm going to rent some DVD's, maybe a few games for the Play Station. We've got pool, and there's the hot tub on the balcony. We'll probably just talk, most of the time," Kyle said. "And drink," Rick said. "Is that what you're worried about, Kevin? Us drinking? Because I won't lie to you and tell you there won't be any drinking. I know my friends too well," Kyle said. "Well, if you're going to be drinking, I'd rather you be there than riding around the beach, that's for sure," Kevin said. "Babe, can I talk to you in private?" Rick asked. The boys got up and left the room. "Kev, I think they've been as forthcoming as they can," Rick said. "The bottom line, though, is we're not their parents." "I know, but he said he wasn't going to do it unless it was okay with us. Gene, Rita, George, and Sonya all said it was okay with them," I said. "I think he's got it planned out about as well as he can plan it. I'm inclined to say 'yes.'" "But you're still uncomfortable with this, aren't you?" "Babe, it's unsupervised. Did you ever do anything like this when you were a kid?" I asked. "My friends and I went camping all the time without adult supervision. We slept on the beach a bunch, too, with no adults around," he said. "Was there ever any drinking involved?" I asked. "Of course there was," he said. "Didn't you and your friends do stuff like that?" "Yeah, we did, and it was always fine," I said. "I guess I'm just a worry wart." The boys came back in when Rick and I were finished. "Kyle, we're going to say 'yes,' but I want a couple of promises. Okay?" They looked excited. "Okay," they both said. "First, I want a list of who's invited. If anybody shows up who isn't on the list, you call us right away. Okay?" "That is not a problem," Kyle said. "I know about crashin' and trashin', and that won't happen at that condo. What else?" "Second, if anybody gets really drunk . . . " "Take care of 'em," Kyle said. "Yeah, that, but that's not what I was going to say. What I was going to say is, don't let them out on the balcony if they're drunk. Every year four or five drunk kids are killed flying off balconies during Spring Break or the regular season. We want this to be safe. You've already planned it to be safer than most after-Prom parties by eliminating the driving, and you're to be commended for that. Just keep the drunks off the balcony," I said. "I won't be drinking," Tim said. "I'll keep an eye on that situation. In fact, when I notice people getting buzzed, I'll lock the doors and keep the key in my pocket." "Yes! Great idea, Tim," I said. "What other promises, Kevin?" Kyle asked. "That's it. You all are going to have a great time. And a safe time," I said. "And we're going to do some eating, too," Kyle said. "Oh, I figured that," Rick said. "You know the thing about this?" Rick said, after they had gone about their business. "What?" "They're growing up, and it's damn hard, isn't it?" I could see moisture beginning to form in his eyes. "Yeah, it is. You know, it's one thing to be eighteen, but it's a whole other thing to be eighteen and a high school graduate. That's the beginning of adulthood, for real. There's no getting around that, is there?" "Especially when you've got the kind of money that boy has," Rick said. "I think we're damn lucky that he wants our approval like he does. We've got us a gem, don't we?" "We've got us a bunch of gems," I said.
Getting out of high school was mighty hard work. I didn't mean the school work, because I had very little of that to do. I mean all the events that went on in connection with graduation. Once the play was over, I felt like I got my life back. We had that one little trip to Gainesville for the State Science Fair, and then after that it was bam, bam, bam, all graduation-related stuff. Justin and I had the final exam for the English course we were taking at the college on Monday night, May 4th. "How'd you do?" he asked. "I think I did pretty good," I said. "I answered all of them, anyway. Some of it was B.S., I know, but she might give me some credit on those." "I did 'em all, too," he said. "Do you think you're going to get an A?" "I don't know. I hope so," I said. It turned out I did get an A, and Justin got one, too. In fact, that rascal ended up getting an A in every stinking course he was taking. We were all real happy about that the night we checked our grades on the computer. "I don't ever again want to hear you talk about how ignorant you are, you hear me?" I said to Justin, just playing with him. "Yes, sir, Mister Goodson. Any other orders?" Jus asked. "Not at this time. That's it for now. If I think of some more, I'll tell you, though," I said. "I'm sure you will," he said. We loved doing that kind of stuff to each other, and we were both grinning. "Our AP exams are starting," Brian said. "I decided to take the junior English exam, even though I didn't take the course. Tim and I have talked about it, and he and I have been taking the practice tests. I've been doing pretty well on them." "Do you think they'll give you credit in the course, if you pass the exam?" I asked. "What is that?" Justin asked. "I don't think so, Kyle. Maybe if I get a 5 they will. Jus, AP stands for Advanced Placement. You take a college course in high school, and at the end you take this big exam. If you pass the exam, a lot of colleges give you credit for it," Brian said. "The exams are pretty hard, though." "How would they know?" he asked. "Know what?" "Know if they need to give you credit," he said. "Does every college in the country get a list of the names of the ones who pass the exam?" "Oh, I see what you mean. You don't get the credit until you go to the college," Brian said. "For example, FSU won't give me credit unless I go there." "Well, good luck, Little Buddy. I sure hope you pass it," Jus said. The same week as the English exam was Prom. Tim and I picked up our tuxes on Friday afternoon. We tried them on for everybody, and we looked good. Some guys had rented walking sticks and top hats, but that was just more crap to have to keep up with. We just got your plain, simple black tux. 10-4. Over and out. Saturday afternoon, we started getting ready around four o'clock. It was a good thing we went ahead and did it that early, too, because it turned out my little sex monkey was just exactly that that afternoon. We took a shower together, and I knew just as soon as we stepped into that bathroom that we were going to be in there a while. "You're supposed to get laid on Prom night," he said. "I know, but most of the time it's afterward, isn't it? Of course, any time is the right time for me," I said. We were both giggling. "We won't be able to afterward," he said. "True. Although we could probably work something out," I said. "With fifteen other guys there? No, way, Kyle," he said. "You're right. Let's stop bumping our gums and start humping our hons," I said. And he laughed. Dinner was good. I got the shrimp remoulade, which is always very good there, and my main dish was roasted lamb, with new potatoes and asparagus. There were some carrots, too, but I don't eat those nasty things. Tim got lobster bisque as his first course. "Take a taste of this," he said. He passed me a spoonful. "How gay is that?" Philip said. "Shut up, Philip, before you taste it through your lap," I said. We all laughed. "Why is it gay to give him a taste of my soup?" Tim asked. "I see people doing that all the time." "You see men and women doing it, or maybe two women. You don't see two men doing it," Philip said. I was beginning not to care too much for his attitude. "Kevin and Rick do it all the time," Tim said. "Oh, and those two would never do anything that's the least bit gay, now would they?" Philip said. "Philip, what is your problem?" I asked. "He's pissed off at his parents," Ryan said. "What happened?" "It's nothing," Philip said. "Forget about it and taste some more of his soup." I laughed. I couldn't stay mad at him, even if I tried. "Did you have a fight with your parents?" I asked. "Not exactly, but it was all I could do to keep from screaming at 'em," he said. "So what the hell happened, man?" I said. "Do you know what Memorial Day Weekend is in Pensacola?" he asked. "Ain't it the same everywhere?" I asked. "No, it's not, Kyle. Memorial Day Weekend in Pensacola is a huge gay event. They're expecting a hundred thousand people for it, every one of them gay. I want to go, but they won't let me," he said. "Let's hear more about this," Gage said. Chad was only a sophomore, but Gage had talked him into going to Prom as his date. That was the only way Chad could get in. That meant the people at the table were six gay guys, and that's all. "They say I'm too young to go off to something like that by myself. Actually, me and Ryan would go together," he said. "They won't go, and they don't want us to go." "I don't mean that kind of stuff. I want more information about this event," Gage said. "Evidently it's been going on for a while. Do you know what a circuit party is?" he asked. "No," we all said, more or less together. "A circuit party is a big gay party. It's music and dancing, and they call it 'circuit' because some people get on the circuit of those parties and go to them all over the place," he said. "They have them in different places on set days of the year, and going to several of them is like 'being on the circuit.' There's a group in New Orleans, associated with a gay club called Oz, that puts this on in Pensacola every year on Memorial Day Weekend." "We've been to that club, haven't we?" Tim asked. "You've been to Oz?" Philip asked. "Yeah. That's one of the ones we went to," I said. "It's a big dance club. Gay. Very loud music. It was hot as hell in there, too, as I remember. I had to take my shirt off to dance." "Are you kidding me, Goodson? You've done all that, and you haven't told me about it?" Philip asked. "Kyle, Oz was the place that guy tried to pick you up, remember? He wanted you to go outside with him," Tim said. "You got picked up in a gay club? What did you do?" Philip seemed eager for information. "Nothing. I told him to get lost. I was with Tim. I wasn't interested in him." Then I got softer in my voice. "He did rub my dick on the dance floor, though." "No way, man," Philip said. I was glad there weren't any girls or straight guys at our table. Of course, if there had been, I guess we probably wouldn't have been talking about that stuff. It was just the six of us. We would meet up with the rest of our group at Philip's house. "Were you hard?" he asked. "Yeah, I was hard. I had been slow dancing with Tim," I said. "So, tell us more about Pensacola," Gage said. "They're expecting a hundred thousand people?" "That's what it says on the Web site," Philip said. "Did you know there's a gay beach over there? They have a map of how to get to it, and everything. The parties are all at night, but there are tons of people on the beach all day long. Man, I really want to go." "Do you think your parents would let you go if Kevin and Rick went?" I asked. "Yeah, they even said that," he said. "Do you think they would go?" "I don't know. We can ask. Would you like to go?" I asked Tim. "Sure," he said. "Philip, we're going to Gay Days at Disney next month." "I know. I remember from Kyle's party. Y'all are so lucky. There are circuit parties in connection with Gay Days, too. Very big ones, in fact. One is a beach party in that big waterslide place they have," he said. "Philip, I never knew you were into all of this shit," I said. "I'm just starting. I'm starting to get me some gay pride, and I want to be with other gay guys sometimes," he said. "That's all." "Like, say, in a restaurant? on Prom night?" Gage said. We all laughed. "I want to see some of the freaky ones, though. Not normal ones like you guys. Well, maybe not you, Gage." Philip teased him a lot, but Gage teased him a whole lot more. They were very good friends. "Where's my purse?" Gage said. That really made us laugh. He was always talking about hitting people with his purse, but I never once saw him with anything that even looked like a purse. Dessert at Philip's house was outstanding. I don't usually order dessert because I'm not really that crazy about sweet stuff when I'm eating a meal. But you put me in front of a dessert table like Mrs. Andrews had set up that night a little while after I've eaten my dinner, and there's no stopping me. There were probably forty people there, but there was still way more dessert than we needed. She made up three platters of stuff for us to take to the condo, and I really appreciated that. Everybody got their picture taken at least once. I had my trusty digital with me, and I snapped off quite a few. Several people asked me if there was any way they could get a copy of some of those. One of the guys at the party worked on the school Web page, and he said he'd have them on there first thing Monday morning. There wouldn't be a link from the school page, but he said just go to the school site and type /kyle in the address, and that would open them up. I thought that was pretty cool. The dance itself was very nice. They had a DJ, and the guy seemed to know what he was doing. They were having pictures, of course, and it was the same photographer I had hired for Homecoming. I didn't go to Sadie Hawkins, but he was there for that one, too. They must have liked him. Tim and I got our picture taken together. Philip and Ryan did, too, and so did Gage and Chad. The difference is, Gage and Chad were holding hands. The rest of us weren't. Once it was done, I was kind of sorry we hadn't held hands. I mean, it wasn't like everybody didn't know we were a couple, and all. It just didn't cross my mind until I saw Gage and Chad do it. The highlight of the evening was the party at the condo, though. I had ordered trays of cold cuts from the Publix deli, and I had some fried chicken, different salads, and other stuff, too. Everybody was supposed to bring whatever they wanted to drink, but I had bought four cases of beer for those who "forgot." Or for those who didn't have a way to get anything. The first thing we did was to change into regular clothes. At around one o'clock in the morning, Jeff, Tyler, Justin, and Chuck came over. I had promised Kevin I would call him if anybody uninvited showed up, but I knew he didn't mean my brothers. They had, like, one beer each and some eats, and they were gone. "Do you think Kevin sent them over here to check up on things?" Philip asked. "I don't know. I hadn't thought of that. They said they had been to a movie. I wonder where Brian was," I said. "Do he and Justin ever go out without the other one?" he asked. "Yeah, they do. Now I remember. He was spending the night tonight at a friend's house. I forgot about that," I said. We had a great time. Somebody knew some drinking games, so we did that for a while. Then we put a DVD in the player and all got on the floor in the living room to watch the movie. I don't know if anybody actually saw the end of that thing or not. I know I didn't. When I finally woke up, the sun was high in the sky. And nobody had flown off the balcony. |