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Brian's Perspective

We didn't go to work right away when we got home from Europe, and I was glad. I didn't think I was all that tired, but then it hit me. Bam! I slept for twenty hours straight, and I think the others did, too. By Sunday, we were all back to normal, though, and, as usual in the summer, we had a bunch of people over to play.

I really missed Trixie and Krewe while we were on our trip, and I think they missed me, too. Most of the time they come up to me to say hello and to get some attention, and then they go on about their business. That weekend, though, they wouldn't leave my side. That's what makes me think they missed me.

I was playing around with them in the clubhouse, going through all the tricks and things that I've taught them. They remembered them well, although I had to work with Krewe a little more than I did with Trixie. Krewe is adult size now, but she's still got a lot of puppy in her. Plus, I don't think she's as smart as Trixie.

One of the guys who was in the clubhouse was our new friend, Jared Long. He had been Sean's friend in Virginia, and he moved to Emerald Beach to take a job as the recreation director at a prison. I think that's kind of a strange profession, but he evidently likes it.

"Did you teach them to do all of that?" he asked me.

"Yeah," I said, sort of chuckling.

"This is a natural-born dog man right here," Justin said.

He ran his hand through my hair as a sign of affection, which is something I like. I have pretty much stopped using gel in it like I used to.

"What does that mean?" Jared asked.

"It means he knows how to train dogs, and he's good at it," Jus said. "Are you going to be working with Mr. Mack this summer?"

"Probably not. He said it's too hot to work the dogs outside, and there's no place big enough that's air conditioned," I said.

"Y'all did it last summer," Justin said.

"I know, but that's what the man said," I said. "I hate it, too, because I won't make as much money."

"So you're going to be a bellhop full time?" Justin asked.

"Yeah. I guess so. If they need me," I said. "I don't know if I'll get forty hours a week, though."

"Does Kevin know about this?" Jus asked.

"Yeah. None of us get forty hours, Buddy. Not even Kyle. It's better to have everybody working some than just one or two working full time, don't you think? You're not going to work forty hours, are you?" I asked.

"No. Now that you mention it. That's okay, though. They paid me for a lot more than I worked during school," he said.

"I'm interested in the dog training. You worked for somebody doing that?" Jared asked.

"Yeah. Mr. Mack Mixon. He has a regular job and just works with the dogs on the side," I said. "He might still do some of that on the weekends or after work, when it cools down some. I haven't seen him in a few weeks, so I don't know what's going on with him."

"We got a grant a few months ago, in partnership with the county humane society, to set up a program called Pen Pals where I work. Have you ever heard of it?" Jared asked.

"No. What does it do?" I asked.

"We get dogs from the humane society and train them so they can be adopted. The inmates do the training," he said.

"Cool," I said.

"Yeah, it is cool. The inmates learn a skill and have some purpose for being there, and the community gets some well-trained dogs that people can adopt. It's new here, but they've been doing it in Virginia for a while. That's where I first had contact with the program," he said. "The trouble is, none of the inmates know how to train dogs."

"That's what you need to do. Commit a crime so you can go in and train the dogs," Justin said.

"Yeah, right," I said. "Lots of good sex, too, probably."

"Oh, I forgot about that. Never mind. You keep your ass right here where it belongs," Jus said.

"So you really don't want me to get arrested?" I asked.

"We've got money in the grant to hire a trainer, but it's not a permanent position. The idea is that the trainer will teach a cadre of prisoners how to train the dogs, and then they will pass along their knowledge once the trainer position expires. I wonder if they'd let me hire you. Would you be interested, Brian?" Jared asked.

"Is it safe to work there?" Justin asked.

"Of course it's safe. I work there," Jared said. "One of the guards would be with him at all times. We have lots of employees who aren't guards, and nothing bad ever happens."

"That might be kind of fun. How long would it be?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, it's just for six weeks. That's all the money we have," Jared said. "Technically, you'd be working for the humane society, not Corrections Corporation of America. Since we're a private company, we can't get government grants, like the humane society can."

"I'd do it," I said.

"Okay. Let me talk to the guy at the humane society tomorrow. You could actually be an answer to a prayer," Jared said.

* * *

Later that afternoon I found Kevin. I told him what Jared had said.

"Do you really want to do that?" Kevin asked.

"Yes, sir. Kevin, you know I don't plan to go into the hotel business like some of them do," I said.

"I know, and your not working would give us a chance to increase the hours of some of the others. Philip and Ryan, for instance. Or Wade and Reid. I don't have a problem with your working for Jared, if that's what you want to do. If it turns out you hate it, we'll take you back, Bubba. You'll always have work. Don't worry about that," Kevin said.

"Well, he doesn't even know if he can hire me, yet," I said. "It's funny, don't you think? How the dogs have helped me make money?"

"You have a natural talent, and you've earned the money you've made. Speaking of that, Brian, what are your resources at the moment?" Kevin asked.

"I have money," I said.

"I know you do. How much?" he asked.

"I don't know exactly, but it's probably somewhere around forty thousand dollars," I said. "I can find out for you, though."

"That's okay. I don't need an exact amount. I just want to make sure you're taken care of. You're still my son, you know," he said.

"I know I am, Big Daddy," I said, and Kevin laughed.

"Next year, and presumably after that, as well, Gene plans to have all four of you on his payroll. Actually, probably not Kyle, but you, Tim, and Justin. You guys are going to have expenses that you don't have right now," he said.

"Like what?" I asked.

"Well, food, for one thing. Utilities. Telephone. Insurance. You're already paying for your gas, and you pay for your entertainment, too. You won't have rent to pay, and, now that I think about it, they won't make y'all pay for the utilities. That's all on one bill for the whole house. You'll be able to make it just fine," he said.

"Kevin, I know Justin and I are pretty lucky, and don't think we don't appreciate everything this family does for us," I said.

"I know you appreciate it, Son. You and Justin have also made us very, very proud, you know. I think Rick and I are the lucky ones," Kevin said. "We'll miss you guys."

When he said that, tears came to my eyes.

"I know. Let's don't talk about it," Kevin said, and he was misting up, too.

* * *

I went into work the next morning with the rest of them. They had to teach me about being a bellhop because I had never done that before. It was pretty easy, actually, and it was fun meeting the people. I didn't realize there's as much room service as there is in that hotel, but that kept us busy, more than helping with luggage did.

About ten o'clock I was taking a break. I had been declared "trained" by my crack supervisor, Kyle Goodson. I had given Jared my cell number, and the phone rang while we were on break.

"The guy at the humane society wants to meet you this afternoon. Can you make it?" Jared asked.

"Sure. Where and what time?" I asked.

He gave me an address and said that they'd be there until five o'clock. I could go whenever I wanted to.

"Are you going to train the puppies?" Kyle asked.

"I hope so. The people at the humane society want to talk to me this afternoon. You're not going to be mad at me, are you?" I asked.

"Why the hell would I be mad at you?" he asked.

"Well, you trained me, and all," I said.

"Let me tell you something, Brian. Except for Tim, you and Justin are the most important people in my life. I can't even imagine you doing something to make me really mad at you, and I mean that," Kyle said.

"I know that, and I can say the same about you and Tim," I said. "Yesterday Kevin and I were talking about how lucky Justin and I are, and we both almost started crying."

"Love is kind of weird, isn't it? I can't really pinpoint what it is, but I know what it is, at the same time. Does that make sense?" Kyle asked.

Kyle and I had never had this kind of conversation before. I know he's a lot deeper person than he pretends to be, and that he feels some things very strongly, such as loyalty to his friends.

"No, it doesn't make sense, but I know exactly what you mean. I didn't find out what love is until I came here. You always knew, though, from your parents and all," I said.

"Yeah, but it's not the same thing, I don't think. I think I learned what real love is when I fell in love with Tim. I mean, I always loved my parents, but it's just different. Well, we better get back to work," he said.

Jeff was at the front desk when I went out to the lobby.

"How's it going, Brian?" he asked.

"I just had the most serious conversation with Kyle," I said.

"Oh, yeah? About what?" Jeff asked.

"About love and friendship, actually," I said.

"People don't give Kyle enough credit. He's a much more serious person than most of us think he is," Jeff said.

"I know that. Everybody thinks Kyle is all about fun and playing, and he is. But I don't think he could be the kind of artist he is if there weren't depth there," I said. "He's a pretty amazing guy."

Kyle saw us talking and walked over.

"What are y'all talking about?" he asked.

"Nothing," I said.

"Come on. Tell me," he demanded.

"Kyle, you're not going to like it," Jeff said.

"Well, what is it? Why won't I like it?" he demanded again.

"We were talking about you, Kyle, and about the fact that you have depth. And that you're an amazing guy," Jeff said.

"You're right. I don't like it. I don't want y'all talking about me," he said.

What he said wasn't funny, but the way he said it was hilarious. Jeff and I cracked up.

"Y'all are going to piss me off," he said.

"A little while ago you said you can't imagine me doing anything to really make you mad," I said.

"I didn't say I was mad at you. I said y'all are going to piss me off. Being mad and being pissed off are two different things. That's why they have separate words for them," he said. "Besides, I'm not really pissed off."

"We know," Jeff said, and all three of us laughed.

I went for my interview at the humane society when I got off at three. The man's name was Randy Hammer, and he seemed really nice. We talked for awhile, and I told him about working with Mr. Mack.

"I know Mack Mixon. Was he your teacher?" he asked.

"Yes, sir. I've been working for him for over a year," I said.

"Well, if Mack Mixon lets you work for him, then you've got the job, son. Let's go play with some puppies," he said.

I spent the next hour or so working with one of the dogs, while Randy watched me.

"You're good, Brian. Very good. You could make very good money as a dog trainer, son," he said.

"Yes, sir. I know. I made good money with Mr. Mack," I said.

"Are you still in high school?" he asked.

"No, sir. I just graduated. I graduated a year early," I said. "I'm going to Tulane University this year."

"Well, good for you, but don't ever forget there's a living in dog training," he said. "I can tell you love the dogs, and they take to you easy, too."

"Yes, sir," I said.

"And you're polite, too. That's important. You've said the word 'sir' more times this afternoon than my son has in a year," he said.

Make him say it, I thought, but I didn't say anything.

I had to fill out some paperwork, and he told me to report there in the morning. He and I would take some dogs out to the work camp, and he would make sure everything was all set at that end.

"Now remember. You work for the humane society. You don't work for CCA," he said. "By the way. Do you ever do any private training? I get requests for trainer referrals all the time. Mack told me he's taking the summer off, and people are going to be wanting help with their dogs."

"I think I'm just going to enjoy the summer and not work all the time," I said. "I have a kind of involved home life, and it takes up a lot of time."

"Not trouble, I hope," he said.

"Oh, no, sir. It's very happy, in fact, but my parents and my brothers expect me to take part in family life. They don't want me working all the time," I said.

"Okay. Well, if you change your mind, let me know," he said.

"I will."

* * *

"Did you get the job?" Kyle asked, the second I joined the family in the den.

"Yep," I said.

"I'm so mad at you, I could wring your damn neck. After all the time I spent training you today," Kyle said.

He's a great actor. I knew he wasn't one bit mad at me, but he and I were the only ones who knew it. I decided to play along.

"Fuck you, Kyle. I'm so goddamn tired of your shit, I could puke," I said.

His face lit up, but he didn't grin. He knew what I was doing.

"Yeah? Well, fuck you, Brian. You and the goddamn dogs!" Kyle said.

"Whoa!! What the fuck's going on here?" Justin asked, all agitated.

"This is between us, Buddy," I said.

"Brian, I don't know what happened, Son, but this isn't you," Kevin said.

"It's more me than you know, Kevin. I'm so sick of this asshole, I could scream. Let's go, Kyle. Outside. You and me. Right now," I said.

"Let's go. I've been waiting for a chance to stomp your ass, motherfucker," Kyle said.

We started toward the door. Rick jumped up and blocked the way. I don't know which one of us gave it away. Maybe we both did.

"Oh, shit! I ain't fucking believing this," Rick said. "Y'all are grounded. Both of you. Go to your rooms right now."

Kyle and I were laughing our heads off.

"Is this a Got You Last?" Kevin asked.

"Yes. You two pricks. I ought to really ground you," Rick said. "No. What I really ought to do is pull both of you over my knee and spank the shit out of you."

"When?" Kyle asked eagerly, and that made everybody laugh, including Rick.

"Y'all sit down," Rick said. "Brian, where did that come from? You scared me to death, Bubba."

"I'm sorry, Rick. I guess we got a little carried away," I said.

"Brian, you're as good an actor as Kyle is," Rick said. "Did you guys rehearse this or something?"

"No. It was off the cuff," Kyle said.

He told them about our conversation of earlier in the day.

"Guys, Brian inadvertently made a very good point. I don't know if any of you got it, so I'll explain," Kevin said.

"Somehow I knew you would," Justin said in his deadpan way. That made us laugh.

"Seriously, think about what happened. Okay? The first words out of Brian's mouth were, 'Fuck you, Kyle.' How many times have you heard Brian say that word?" Kevin asked.

"He says 'Kyle' all the time," Jus said.

"Son, I'm trying to make a point, okay?" Kevin said.

"Sorry," Justin said.

"See, that's the thing. Brian almost never uses profanity, so when he does, it has a serious and major impact. I'm as guilty as anybody in this room of using the F word, and I'm not putting anybody down for using it. But I want to make the point that profanity loses some of its punch if it's overused," Kevin said.

"Good fucking point," Justin, Kyle, and Rick said in unison. Well, that cracked everybody up, including Kevin.

"Shit," Kevin said, and that made us laugh even more.

"Back to my original question. Did you get the fucking job?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah, I nailed the fucking job," I said. Fun with the F word!

"So when do you fucking start?" Justin asked in all seriousness.

Denny and Murray knew what was going on, and they were close to hysterical, they were laughing so hard.

"I start the fucker tomorrow. We're taking some fucking dogs from the pound up there first thing in the fucking morning," I said.

"All right. Enough! You've made your point," Kevin said.

"And what kind of point might that be?" Justin asked, deadpan, of course.

Kevin laughed.

"Okay. You've made your fucking point," he said, and we all laughed.

"You guys are incredible," Murray said.

He's another one who rarely uses profanity.

"Say what?" Justin asked.

"Sorry. You guys are fucking incredible," Murray said, and we all laughed.

I told them about working with a dog at the animal shelter and about Randy asking if I wanted to do some private training.

"What'd you tell him?" Justin asked.

"I told him no, and I sort of blamed it on you guys. I said my parents and my brothers don't want me working all the time. I said that family time is important," I said.

"I don't know that we've ever said it in so many words, but that's absolutely true, Brian. We don't want you working all the time," Rick said. "You're a major ingredient in this family, Son, and we don't have all that much more time together."

"You could have gone all day without bringing that up," Justin said.

"Who's ready for some eats?" Kyle asked.

* * *

The next day was really quite interesting. I went to the animal shelter and got there about 7:30. They don't open until nine. Randy and I hadn't talked about a time to meet, and I really didn't know what to do. I decided to leave a note for Randy. I gave him my cell phone number and told him I would be there as soon as he needed me.

The shelter is in Lynnville, which is about thirty minutes from our house. I didn't think that going home, and then coming back, made much sense. There is a shopping center near the shelter, and the shopping center has a coffee shop. I went in there. There were ten computers, and you could use one for ten bucks an hour. I ordered a fruit drink, paid for an hour's worth of time, and settled in.

My first move was to check Jeff's blog. He had made a really funny entry the night before about the conversation he and I had had with and about Kyle. The thing about Jeff is, he really isn't all that funny in person. In his writing, though, he's hilarious. I wrote a detailed comment about the scene between Kyle and me the night before, and about Kevin's pronouncements about the F word. I tried to capture how funny it all was, and I think I did a pretty good job of that.

Next, I went to email. At Jeff's urging, we have all gotten Web-based email accounts so we can use them no matter where we are. We did, in fact, send email to everybody three or four times on our trip, and I saw the wisdom of Jeff's advice. Email accounts have passwords, of course, which are supposed to make them private and secret. Well, we all use the same password, and we all read each other's email routinely. A lot of times we all have the same letters as carbon copies, but, if I don't recognize who sent it, I don't read it on somebody else's account.

That day we had email from Cherie, from Craig, from Chris Uhle, and from Arnie Jacobs, Rick's stepdad, of all people.

Cherie's email was really intended for everybody. Little Rob had said his first word, and it was Da-da. How cute is that? She gave us other news about the family, including the fact that Grandma and Grandpa have new back-door neighbors who are - gasp -- gay. Oh, no! Homosexuals in the neighborhood.

Craig's email was really more intended for Rick and Kyle than for the rest of us. It was all about Rob's first word, of course.

"Kyle, I can't wait for y'all to get here. That baby's going to have you in a puddle on the floor, Bubba. You mark my words. He looked right at me and said, 'Da-da.' My spine turned to protoplasm, and I started crying. Very happy tears, though. Very happy."

I got a little misty-eyed when I read that.

Chris's letter was really to Kyle and Justin. It seems that Mr. Uhle was under the mistaken impression that he is sterile. Turns out, though, he's not. But there was a happy ending, sort of. The girlfriend had a miscarriage.

"My God, guys. Can you believe what I've turned into?"

Well, yeah. I can believe it. He has turned into a healthy, horny guy who had better investigate condoms. Or something.

Arnie's letter was all about what a fabulous time he and Sarah had with Kevin, Rick, and Pete at Disney World.

"I don't know where you guys get them, but your boys are the best. By the way, as Superintendent of Schools, I've mandated that every middle school and every high school in the district will have a Gay-Straight Alliance. I've also mandated that an administrator, either the principal or an assistant principal, will be the GSA sponsor. This organization will be taken seriously on our campuses. Am I doing my part?"

Yes, Arnie. You're doing your part, I thought.

I wrote one letter to all of them. I said a word or two about the contents of each of theirs, although I didn't mention Chris's knocked-up girlfriend, and then I copied and pasted my comment to Jeff's blog into the email. Immediately after I sent it off, I realized they probably read Jeff's blog, too. Oh, well.

By 8:45 I was on my second juice, and my phone rang. It was Randy. He was at the shelter waiting for me. I shut down the browser, after clearing the cache, the history, and the start menu, and I was out of there with my drink in hand.

"I'm sorry we didn't coordinate this better," Randy said when I got there.

"No problem. I spent my time on the Internet," I said.

There are eight kennels at the work camp, which were built with grant funds, so we took eight dogs. The plan was that two groups of prisoners, a primary handler and at least one secondary handler for each dog, would work in two three-hour periods. One period would be in the morning, and the second period would be in the afternoon. Altogether, I would be working with about thirty-two men each week.

Jared was there to greet us when we arrived.

"Hey, Brian," Jared said, as we shook hands. "I read your comment to Jeff's blog, and it's hilarious. Did that really happen?"

"It happened exactly the way I described it, and it was funny. I wish you could have seen the look on Rick's face when he was trying to stop Kyle and me from going outside. It was really too much. I wish Kyle had been able to get a picture of that," I said.

"You guys must know each other," one of the guards said, in the Emerald Beach grumble.

No, we just met. Sheesh! How dumb are you? I thought.

"Yeah. We're friends," Jared said.

I thought the training went well. I was a little bit distracted by some of the prisoners. I'll never be unfaithful to Justin, but I've got eyes, just like the next guy. Not every criminal is ugly. Let's just leave it at that.

Kyle's Perspective

Well, summer is rocking on, as summers do. When I was a little boy, I used to think the summer was the longest time of the year. I thought it would never end. Me and Clay used to sit on the back porch for hours every afternoon, it seemed like. He would read a book, and I would color. Color? I guess I was about five or six years old, so I guess that was the reason, but back then the summer seemed so long. The older I've gotten, the shorter the summers have gotten.

"It's almost the Fourth of July. What are we going to do?" I asked. "Go to New Orleans?"

"No. They're coming here," Kevin said.

"So when were you going to tell us this? After they got here?" I asked.

"It slipped my mind, okay? Now you know," Kevin said.

"That's a very big day, Kevin. That's numero uno. That's Rob's first birthday," I said.

"I think we need to hire some dancing girls for him," Justin said.

We all laughed.

"Oh, yeah? How about some dancing boys?" I asked.

"That's true. But you know what? At his age, I don't think he's ready to come out yet," Justin said. "That's a little young. Give him another year."

Kevin and Rick were grinning their butts off at us, and I knew we were playing the fool. But that's what me and Justin do. Play the fool.

"We need to come up with a good idea for a present," I said. "Something he can enjoy now and for years to come."

"How about a puppy?" Brian asked.

Everybody was thinking.

"Before you give him a puppy, you need to make sure it's okay with his parents," Kevin said.

"I know one that would be perfect for him," Brian said. "She's a black Lab, and she's about eight months old. We don't have the papers on her, but I'm sure she has a pedigree. I've been working with her. She's fully house trained, and she knows the basic commands and hand signals. She's a dream. In fact . . . "

"No, Brian. One's enough. Trixie's your dog, and we love her to death, but no more," Justin said.

"Okay," Brian said.

"Let's call 'em," I said.

They loved the idea of a black Lab puppy, especially one that Brian had already trained. Cherie and Craig said 'yes' to the puppy. Brian called somebody and said he wanted to adopt the puppy. The man he called is his boss, so the guy agreed to meet us at the pound to get the dog right then.

I wish you could have seen Brian with those dogs. They were all over him. The ones who had been trained at the prison were in a separate pen from the ones who hadn't been, and, of course, the puppy was in the "trained" cage. She wiggled her ass so hard I thought she was going to break it off. She was so happy to see him.

We had to do some paperwork, and we had to pay some money, too. The puppy had been spayed and given its shots, and you have to pay for that. Brian paid it with a check, but I didn't think that was fair. That was going to be a gift from all of us, and I thought we should all have to pay some toward it. He said we'd work it out later. I'll have to stay on top of that because I don't trust him to make us pay.

When we got the puppy home, Trixie and Krewe were so cute. At first, they just wanted to smell the puppy. Why dogs' asses smell good to other dogs, I don't know. But they must. And the puppy must have known what was going on. She stood stock still while Trixie and Krewe checked her out. Then she checked them out. Okay. Everybody's got an asshole. That's good. Let's play. And that's what they did.

We didn't give the new one a name because we thought that was something Craig and Cherie would want to do, but we sure had fun with her. When Trixie and Krewe went in the pool, she was right behind them. She was fun. She's older than Krewe had been when we got her, so Trixie didn't mother her like she had done Krewe. Plus, Brian and the prisoners had worked with her, so she already had pretty good social skills. God Almighty, that little boy is going to love that puppy because she's a totally loveable dog. I'm just so happy we can give her to him, even if he won't know she's from us, yet. In time he'll know, though. His parents will make sure of that.

Pete's Perspective

They took me to Disney World. Just me. By myself. I couldn't believe it. Kevin had a kidney stone attack, or something like that, the morning Rick told me about the trip, but that didn't stop us.

The week of my trip, Murray and Denny went to Washington on Sunday. They were really excited about going, and I couldn't blame them. I was excited for them, but I was more excited for myself. I was going on a trip with just Kevin and Rick. I know they don't do sex with anybody but each other, but I'd let them do anything they wanted to with me. They're my idols.

"The Magic Kingdom this afternoon and tonight, all day tomorrow. Then Sea World on Friday. What do you think?" Rick said, once we were in the car driving south.

"That sounds good," Kevin said.

"Pete, my mom and stepdad are going to meet us there," Rick said. "You'll like them. They're both real nice."

"Cool," I said.

I was just enjoying the trip, looking at the scenery and whatnot. They had decided not to take the Interstate, so we were passing farms and ranches and stuff. We passed orange groves, and there were row after row of trees, just covered with fruit.

"Are those oranges?" I asked when we came to the first grove.

"Yeah. Do you see them on the trees? They're loaded," Rick said.

"Why are they green?" I asked.

"That's the way they start. They'll turn orange when they mature," Rick said.

"Pete, when you drive through here in the spring, when the groves are in bloom, the scent is out of this world," Kevin said. "That's reason enough to come to Florida."

"In south Florida a lot of people plant citrus trees right outside windows of the house for that very reason. It's cool enough for about two weeks to have the windows open, and that's usually when the citrus is in bloom," Rick said. "I think I'll see about planting some orange trees and a lemon or two in our yard. Or maybe in containers so we can bring them in when it freezes."

"Does it ever freeze down here?" Pete asked.

"Yes, it does, in this part of the state. When it's going to freeze hard enough to kill the trees, they put out huge pots of fire to warm it up enough so the trees don't freeze," Rick said. "Every once in awhile even that doesn't do any good, and the growers lose their trees. That happened a few years ago, and it was a disaster."

Rick's parents are Sarah and Arnie Jacobs, and they really are just as nice as Rick had said. They're both school teachers or something, and you can tell how much they really like kids. I noticed Kevin didn't smoke around them, so I didn't either. A lot of grown-ups have problems with kids smoking, and I knew that. Besides, I've cut way down since I've been in Emerald Beach.

Disney World was every bit as fun as I thought it would be, and Sea World was a lot of fun, too. The best thing, though, was I had Kevin and Rick all to myself. Don't get me wrong. I love being around the other guys, especially Kyle and Justin, but they sort of take over when the family is together. I'm kind of on the quiet side anyway, and it's hard to get noticed when those guys start. I know they like me, or at least I think they do, but they're just so strong.

Much later in the summer, Kevin and Rick took just me shopping for new school clothes. I had been growing, and I needed new jeans and shirts, and, especially, shoes.

On the way home, Rick said, "You've been dating some, haven't you, Pete?"

"Yeah. In fact, I guess we're boyfriends," I said.

"What's his name?" Rick asked.

"Mario. Mario Gomez," I said.

"Is he Cuban?" Rick asked.

"He's Mexican. He's not really white, but he's not black, either," I said.

"That doesn't matter to you, does it?" Kevin asked.

"No. Not at all," I said.

"How old is he?" Kevin asked.

"He just turned nineteen," I said. "Is that too old?"

"You're going to be seventeen soon, aren't you?" Kevin asked.

"Yeah. Later this month. August 17th," I said.

"No. He's not too much older than you," Rick said. "If he was three years or more older, we might have a problem, but that's okay, Bubba. So, when are you going to bring him around?"

"Murray and Denny know him," I said.

"Yeah, but we don't, and we're your parents. Bring him around, okay? We want to meet him," Rick said. "Is he a good boy?"

"Yes, sir, he's a very good boy," I said. "He treats me real nice. He's very kind, and he's pretty funny, too. You'll like him."

"Where did you meet him?" Kevin asked.

"At work. He's a bellhop at the Boardwalk," I said. The Boardwalk is the hotel I work at.

"Invite him over tomorrow afternoon, okay, Bubba?" Rick said.

"Okay," I said.

* * *

The first thing I did when we got home was call Mario.

"Did they buy you some cool clothes?" he asked.

"Yeah, I got some real nice stuff," I said.

"That's good. I'm glad. When can I see you?" he asked.

"I don't think tonight. We always go to church on Saturday night, and then we go out to eat," I said.

"What church do you go to?" he asked.

"St. Joseph's. It's a Catholic church," I said.

"I didn't know you're Catholic. That's what I am, too," he said.

"I'm not, but everybody else is. Well, not everybody, but most of them," I said.

"What would you do if I showed up at Mass tonight at St. Joseph's?" he asked.

"I'd be happy to see you. That's what I would do," I said.

"Would you give me the Kiss of Peace?" he asked.

I wasn't sure what he was talking about.

"Well, not in public. I'm really not that out yet," I said.

"That's part of the Mass, Pedro. At that church they just shake hands, but in a lot of places they really kiss," he said.

Now I knew what he was talking about, and I had seen straight couples kiss at that part of the service.

"We'll see," I said.

That tickled him, and his laughter made me laugh, too.

Mario did show up at Mass that night. He's really a very good looking boy, and he was all scrubbed and dressed real nice. The rest of us were in shorts and tee shirts, but he had on long khaki pants and a button-up shirt. He grinned when he saw me.

"Push down," I said to Rick. I was at the end of the bench, and he was to my left.

He and Kevin pushed down. Kyle, Tim, Justin, and Brian were at Kyle's parents' house, and I don't know where Murray and Denny are. Maybe in Pensacola.

"Kevin and Rick, this is Mario. My boyfriend I told you about," I whispered.

Their faces brightened up, and I could tell Mario was making a good impression. They shook hands with him and said they were pleased to meet him. He and I didn't really kiss at the Kiss of Peace time, but I sure wanted to kiss him.

After Mass, Kevin said, "Mario, we're going to get something to eat. Will you please join us?"

"Yes, sir. I would like that," Mario said.

"The usual place?" I asked.

"Yeah. Are you riding with Mario?" Rick asked.

"If that's okay," I said.

"Come here, you," Rick said, and he grabbed me in a kind of headlock hug. "Of course it's okay, Bubba. He's your boyfriend. You're supposed to ride with him. No making out in the restaurant, though, you hear me?"

I probably turned beet red when he said that. Mario said, "Oh, shucks," and Kevin and Rick laughed hard.

We had a great time at the restaurant. It was just the four of us at a table, which was totally different from when the whole family was there, and Mario was wonderful. He told stories about moving to the United States from Mexico, first to Austin, Texas, where his daddy went to graduate school, as a very little boy, and then to Florida. The rest of his family lives in Jacksonville, which I hadn't known before that night, and he has two older brothers and an older sister. They all are students at Florida State University in Tallahassee. His oldest brother is married, and he's in medical school at FSU. His parents are educated people, and his dad teaches economics at Jacksonville University. All of that was news to me.

"What about you, Mario? Are you in college?" Kevin asked.

"No. I'm sort of the brown sheep of the family," he said.

"You mean the black sheep?" Rick asked.

"Well, look at me. Do I look black to you?" he asked.

Kevin and Rick just about fell off their chairs, they were laughing so hard. I knew they liked him, and that was just fine with me.

Mario came back to the house with us that night, and the four of us did some swimming. Wade and Reid from next door came over, too, so it was a nice little group. I saw Mario naked for the first time that night, and he is definitely a boy. A big boy, at that. He has a foreskin, like Kevin and Tim, and, I have to admit, seeing him got me a little hard.

"Can Mario spend the night, Kevin?" I asked.

"Sure, if you want him to. Which I guess you do, since you're asking. He's a very nice boy, Pete. I think you've done well," Kevin said.

I grinned.

Mario has two roommates, who are both girls. One is his cousin, and the other one is -- what? His cousin's girlfriend? Anyway, he didn't have to call anybody or anything to get permission to spend the night.

"I'm not a virgin, you know," he said, as we were getting into bed.

"I never thought you were. I'm not, either," I said. "But I want you bad, Mario."

"I've wanted you for weeks," he said, and that night he got me. And I got him.