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Jeff was the first to awaken again on Sunday Morning. He rolled to his side and watched his lover sleep. Even in this state Damon had a beautiful smile. Jeff wondered what Damon was dreaming about to cause such a grin. He thought about how gorgeous Damon was, and how blessed he was to be falling in love with such an angel. Skittles noticed he was conscious and made her way from the base of the bed purring loudly. She turned a couple times before plopping down between the two young men. She crooked her head and gave him a look that clearly said "pet me, now will be fine" as her tail started wagging across Damon's face. Jeff smiled at his pet as he started petting the feline. He knew the decision concerning how to deal with his sister needed to be made. If this situation was not handled properly it will come back to bite them all in the future. Something that troubled him is how close he and his sister had always been growing up. And wondering how it was that she now seemed like an entirely different individual, why? But at this particular moment what he cared about most was the man who spent the night in his bed. A man he made love to last night even though his own parents were sound asleep in the same dwelling. The man he couldn't wait to make love to again and again and again. The man he knew he must figure out a way to see more, to be able to get to know better, and to hopefully be able to spend the rest of his life with.

He was broke from his contemplation by knocking, then the door opening moments later without waiting for a reply.

"You boys up?" Wayne Schultz asked poking his head into his son's room.

"Yeah Dad."

"Let's be getting up I need you to help me get ready for the cookout before breakfast."

"I'll be right down," Jeff responded. His Dad was backing out, but just as he was about to shut the door he noticed that Damon was in the bed with his son instead of in the cot. He started to question this, but decided that Jeff's queen size bed was much more then large enough for the two men. He remembered the cot from his army days and just how uncomfortable it was. He wouldn't want to sleep on it any more then he had to and didn't blame Damon for not wanting to either. He promptly dismissed the idea of asking any questions.

"What's up?" The intrusion had awakened Damon who was rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Skittles, realizing he was now stirring turned and with a rather loud meow let Damon know it was his turn to show her some attention.

"Dad needs help, you sleep good?" Jeff asked as he reached over and ran his fingers through Damon's chest hairs.

"Must have, last thing I remember is giving you a present."

"Hmm, and I can still taste it, wanna see?" Jeff said as he leaned over and kissed Damon before he had a chance to respond chasing Skittles from the bed.

"You taste wonderful!" Damon said as he started to press into his lover.

"So, DJ, as much as I would like a recap we'd better get down there, my Dad is not a pleasant person if he has to come back to get me out of bed."

"Oh God I hate that."

"Sorry, that's how he is."

"No, not him, that DJ thing."

"Oh, sorry," Jeff responded. "I actually like Damon so much better myself."

"Like?" Damon responded raising one eyebrow, "Cuz I think I'm falling in love with Jeff." With that Jeff gave his lover a full kiss which was broke when Wayne could be heard yelling from the foot of the stairs.

"JEFF."

"Be right there Dad." Jeff said as he jumped from the bed and quickly threw on shorts and shoes, but forgetting a shirt. Damon followed suit and is at Jeff's back as they both exit the room followed by Skittles.

Jeff gave his mother a good morning kiss as he ran through the kitchen; she does a double take as she sees Damon with her son. She smiled thinking how great the boys seem to be getting along considering the cold treatment Jeff had given DJ when they first met. The boys found Mr. Schultz in the barn wrestling with some equipment and assist him in moving a few pieces of what Damon could only refer to as 'farm thingies' to get to what they were after. They wheeled out what to Damon looked like a fifty-five gallon drum, on its side, mounted on wheels. Damon pushed while Jeff pulled leading the contraption close to a water spigot. Once the cob webs and dust was removed Damon discovers the contraption is a home made grill. It is brought out for large cook-outs and because of its design can hold more meat then a couple regular grills. One of the many contraptions Wayne Schultz had made over the years with spare parts and a welder. Jeff and Damon were instructed to look in the barn for the folding tables and lawn chairs which were equally as dusty as the grill had been. Jeff also found the volleyball net, yard darts and an old croquet set. He knew they all would probably not be used but brought them out anyhow. Damon was surprised at the collection and couldn't recall his family every being so active.

After retrieving everything they was asked to they returned to the house for breakfast which Mrs. Schultz was just then finishing. Jennifer was sitting at the table, her head resting on her clasped hands, elbows on the table, apparently feeling the consequences of the preceding evening's alcohol. When she noticed her brother and her boyfriend entering the back door she instantly woke. Jeff noticed her staring at Damon's body and couldn't believe that he was actually jealous! He knew from both sides that their relationship was strictly convenience. But he also knew that he wanted his new boyfriend all to himself. Mrs. Schultz notices the two boys as she is putting fresh biscuits in the oven and tells them they will be putting on shirts before they sit at her table. They return minutes later with clean t-shirts and take their seats. Breakfast is rather hushed as they have already been informed that they must hurry to get ready for church.

Jen tried to get out of mass, but her mother would have nothing of it, "You, young lady." She said giving her daughter an evil eye, "Have a lot you need praying for."

When Jen claimed the shower first, Jeff, knowing his sister's reputation for monopolizing the bathroom suggested that he and Damon use the one in the barn. Damon had only seen the older, unfinished part. He was amazed when Jeff opened the door to a fairly modern bathroom. Modern in that it had all the fixtures, but all looked like they came from a salvage job. At one end was a large shower, not a tub and shower, just a shower. More then large enough for both young men to bath under the streams of warm water. Jeff explained that his grandfather had built it when his father was young. His grandmother was a neat freak and didn't like the men coming into the house grubby after working in the barn or in the fields. The shower was still fed from the original well that was once used to supply the house. But since city water was piped in the 70's the well was only used for the barn and outdoor spigots. So you could use the shower out here and not affect the water pressure in the house. Jeff went on to say that since his grandmother had passed away it wasn't used nearly as much. And that he had to get the pump working when he got home from the Marines because it hadn't been used in over a year before that.

They quickly showered, as much as they wanted to fool around they knew they were expected to return quickly and to be ready for church. Damon had not expected on attending church, and had not brought dress cloths other then the suit he wore to the wedding that was now wrinkled. So he was able to get away with jeans. But he did 'borrow' a dress shirt from Jeff rather then wear one of his t-shirts. About the time that the boys were making their way down the stairs, fully dressed, Jen was finally emerging from the bathroom. She was not happy however when she was rushed to finish getting ready.

The whole family crowded into the aging Crown Victoria and headed off. Mrs. Schultz asked several question such as was Damon Catholic, then gasped when she found out he wasn't. Then what was his religion? Did he go to church regularly? He answered that his family was Presbyterian and that he did go regularly. It wasn't a total lie, they regularly went on Christmas and Easter but his family had never been church goers. He really didn't want to start a debate over how most major religions were bigoted against gays at this time. Mom Schultz noticed that her children was snapping at each other and commented on how close that had always been and what was up. Who ever would have imagined that a boy would come between brother and sister?

They arrived at the same Catholic Church where the wedding ceremony had been held the day before. The family made their way in and had sat in a pew about halfway up. Damon noticed Cousin Ryan with his mother a few rows up. There was also a woman who kept turning and looking at Jeff giving him a smile. The ceremonial mass was longer then Damon anticipated. But he did enjoy looking around the house of worship taking in and appreciating the architecture and symbolism. He sincerely wanted to know more about the icons that adorned the walls and alter area. What was their origin? What was their meaning? These were things that fascinated Damon, history and culture.

After service they slowly made their way towards the exit. The priest was by the door greeting the parishioners as they emerged. Damon was uncomfortable when Mrs. Schultz grabbed then introduced him to the pastor as "Jennifer's boyfriend." He just smiled and shook hands. Then it was out of the frying pan and into the fire so to say. The entire congregation must have gathered on the front lawn of the church. It seemed as if nearly every one of them was either related to or friends of the Schultz family. Damon's arms were sore from all the shaking as Mrs. Schultz introduced him around. Many of the people had been at the wedding, though a whole new batch was there for him to meet. From the look on Jennifer's face he wasn't sure who was more embarrassed, him or her. He lost track of Jeff and began scanning the crowd looking for his new lover. He finally spotted Jeff chatting with a pregnant girl, Damon recognized her as being the one who had been turning around during the service. Damon was finally able to break away and catch up with Jeff who had joined with Ryan and a couple other guys near the edge of the parking lot. After a while the crowd began to thin Mrs. Schultz finally made their way over to the car that Mr. Schultz had already started and was sitting in patiently waiting.

"Damon," Jeff said running over, "wanna meet some of the guys and play some ball?"

"Now now now Bubby," his mother said, "You got to hang out with your sister's boyfriend all afternoon yesterday. I think he needs to spend some time with the family. Besides, we're having a few people over for a cookout and I want you at home."

"Damon?" Jen gave a questioning look back and forth to her brother and her boyfriend as the car started moving.

"Yeah, that's his name isn't it?" Jeff said, still not realizing what he had said.

"I thought it was DJ," Mrs. Schultz said turning and looking to the back seat.

'Oops,' Jeff thought.

"That's just a nickname my frat brothers gave me, my name is Damon." He said.

"Oh," Mrs. Schultz said as she turned back around to face front. Jen just gave a questioning look to the two. In the months they had been dating she had never heard his real name. Or perhaps she had and just didn't listen.

As soon as they arrived home they all changed into more comfortable clothes. Damon removed the borrowed shirt and returned it Jeff who smiled, then sniffed the used garment then placed a quick kiss on Damon's cheek.

"You know I'll never be able to wash this shirt again." He said with a smile.

"I don't know whether to be flattered or disgusted," Damon responded.

"I think I'll cuddle up with it every night to have something to remember you by."

"Wouldn't you rather have the real thing?"

"I sure would, but don't know how possible that is." He wraps his arms around Damon and gives him a quick kiss. They momentarily stare into each other's eyes; each feeling the concern of the other because it is the same concern he had himself. It was then that both of them realized that in a few hours Damon would be leaving, along with Jen and there was no guarantee when and if they would see each other again and under what circumstances. But it was something neither wanted to deal with at that moment. They broke their embrace and dressed. Jeff noticed Damon putting on a polo shirt and thought that was a bit overdressed for a cookout. "Wait" he says, then pulls a tank top out of his dresser and throws it to Damon. "You'll be more comfortable in this."

"Thanks," Damon says taking the garment. "Had I known we were going to be doing all this I would have brought different clothes. Much better." He said sliding the blue tank top over his head.

"No doubt," Jeff said checking him out.

"Ah, you just wanted me to wear this so you could check out my hot bod didn't you?"

"Maybe, but it does make it easier to do this." Jeff said as he pulled on Damon's chest hairs that were peeping out from

"Ouch, ouch! those are attached you know."

"Aww, maybe I was a souvenir?" Another quick kiss and the boys join the rest of the family downstairs.

Jeff helped his dad get the grill fired up while Damon did the boy-friendly thing and sat at the kitchen table helping Jen and her mother prepare food. Mrs. Schultz had a million and one questions for the two, she obviously was under the impression that there was more between Damon and Jen then there really was. She was all but planning their wedding. Jen did most of the talking as she knew the right things to say, that is what her mother wanted to hear. Jen noticed that Damon's attention was more looking out the back door watching Jeff and their father then it was shucking corn and breaking beans. As other guests started arriving and the kitchen began filling up it was Jen who suggested he go outside with the men folk. He didn't waste any time as he grabbed a couple cold Dr. Peppers and headed out the door.

Jeff's eyes lit up and a smile came to his face as Damon walked out the door, something that didn't go completely unnoticed by his father. The charcoal was lit and a steady flame burning when Ryan showed up with Denise and his mother. They didn't expect Angie or her new husband on the day after their wedding knowing they got a trip to Jamaica for a wedding present from the parents of the groom and should already be on their way to the airport in St. Louis. Jeff began introducing him as "My buddy Damon," which made both of them feel good.

Several of the guys were getting into a discussion about their farms, and the troubles they was having this year. Jeff noticed that Damon was obviously bored to death, and he wasn't far from it. After being gone for four years, and his immediate family not being involved with farming for several years before that other then the few crops his dad put out for family use. Jeff could care less hearing about bugs, weeds and rain. When he noticed that Damon was looking right at him he motioned with his eyes and the two snuck off.

So far Damon had only really seen the house, barn and the yard area directly behind the house. So Jeff gave him the 'grand tour' of the 'Schultz Estate.' Which other then the yard and barn weren't much. They were joined by Butch who was meowing at Damon's feet. Jeff pointed out the edge of their property which had corn from the neighboring farm planted pretty much right to the property line to the East and South. Jeff said that the creek was the northern property line. That the land the mini-mart was on was originally part of their property but his grandfather sold it years ago.

Jeff explained that his great, great grandfather had originally bought about a thousand acres back in the late 1800's and carved out a major farm. It was such a good producer that it weathered the great depression relatively unscathed. But then his grandfather was one of eight boys, and where his father had left him the farm because he was the oldest son. He had the farm split into eight, with his grandfather getting the farmhouse in his 130 acre allotment. At first things went well in that the eight brothers cooperated, sharing equipment and labor. But, his grandfather was the third son, and the oldest was pissed because he thought the farmhouse should have been his. That brother drove a wedge between his grandfather and the others, where they all had to take sides against each other. The oldest brother had four others on his side, and they were the ones that controlled most of the heavy equipment, as well as the grainery, which were the silos where the harvested crops were stored until sold at market. His grandfather and the two brothers he was friendly with had a hard time making ends meet since their overhead was higher, what with needing to rent equipment and storage. Eventually, his grandfather, who was in his sixties at the time conceded defeat and decided to sell off. So, he made arrangements, not with one of his brothers, but with another area farmer, and sold off all the property with the exception of what is left, about fifteen acres total with the barn and house. His grandfather was able to invest the money made from the sell and retire comfortably. But unfortunately, his father was the first generation that had to leave the farm and get a real job. Not an easy task in this area of the country.

They arrived back at the house just as Mrs. Schultz was bringing out trays of burgers and franks. It was then that Jeff noticed that Steve had shown up and was with Jen. He had mixed emotions about this, but figured if Steve kept her occupied then it gave him more time with Damon. He just hoped for her sake their parents didn't notice or there would be hell to pay. The boys stood around a group of guys 'chewing the fat' drinking home brew while watching Wayne Schultz expertly handle grilling duty. Before the burgers were done cooking the ladies brought out several more trays with lots of food including baked beans, corn-on-the-cob and several types of salads. Damon couldn't believe the amount of food that was being prepared and hoped this wasn't costing Jeff's family too much. When the food was finished the group began filling paper plates and finding places to plop down. Jeff motioned for Damon to follow him to the barn where they took stairs to the second level, and then a ladder up another level to the loft area.

"What's this place?" Damon asked looking around at what looked like a makeshift room.

"My hideout."

"O-K" Damon looked around and took in the décor of what had obviously been set up by a hormone driven teenage boy.

"This loft hasn't been officially used in years, since it was a working farm. I doubt my dad has been up here in years, he hates climbing the ladder. When I was younger I started sneaking things up here, and used it as my hideout, a way to get away from things."

"Sounds interesting."

"Yeah," Jeff said sitting on a mattress and motioning Damon to join him. "This is my couch" Damon joined him on the makeshift couch made of an old twin size mattress up on crates.

"So what did you do up here in your, uh, hideout?" Damon asked as he bit into his burger.

"Me and buddies would come up here and goof off. Drink beer that we snuck out, smoke cigarettes and look through dirty magazines mainly. You know, teenage boy things." He saw the look Damon was giving him. "NO, my friend you can clear your dirty mind. I didn't start messing around with guys until I was in the Marines."

"I thought they were supposed to make a man out of you?"

"Depends on your definition of a man."

"What's yours?"

"I'm looking at it." Jeff had a devilish smirk on his face.

"Flattery will get you everywhere."

"That's what I'm hoping."

"Be careful what you wish for."

"Always."

"So if you didn't mess around up here what did you do?" Damon asked.

"I never said I didn't mess around, I didn't mess around with my friends."

Damon stopped in his tracks, realizing the meaning of Jeff's comment. "You mean?"

"Uh, yes." Jeff wished he could take back his last revelation.

"You brought me up to a bed that you messed around with girls on? Talk about gross!"

"You brought it up, be careful what YOU ask for."

Damon eats a few forkfuls of potato salad before continuing. "So since we've opened the subject just how many conquests have been won on this so called couch we're sitting on?"

"Honestly, just one." Jeff answered with his mouth full and chewing on a hot dog. Not sure whether to be embarrassed by his admission and hope it doesn't make him less of a man. Or relieved that he didn't have to give Damon some large number.

"Oh, do tell mein freund."

"There's not much to tell. She was my girlfriend in high school and we snuck up here a few times. And yes, I lost my virginity right about where you're sitting."

"Please, I'm still eating."

"Don't worry, that part of my life is over."

"So have I met her yet?"

"I don't think you've actually met her, but I'm sure you saw her at church this morning. Did you see me talking to a pregnant woman?"

Damon's eyes opened wide remembering seeing her. "It's not yours is it?"

"No no no!" Jeff said laughing. Jeff sat his now empty plate on the floor beside the bed. While Damon was still seated at the edge Jeff lay down so he is behind him and able to rub his back. "We dated off and on through high school, actually starting in junior high. We first messed around while we were sophomores, and then, well, let's just say this mattress was used quite a bit. I thought she was the love of my life and honestly planned on getting married. I was going to pop the question before I went into the Marines, but chickened out. She was all I talked about there. I bored my buddies to death and had pictures of her hanging all over my locker."

"What happened?" Damon asked laying back and lying on his side then propping himself up on his elbow and rubbing Jeff's chest with his free hand.

"I had been gone about six months. I had decided that when I was able to get a leave and be able to come home I was going to pop the question. Patrick, my best friend in the Corp told me I should propose. Then plan on getting married when I went home. But I wanted to propose the fashioned way. You know, on my knees in front of her with her family and mine all present. My mother would have been so happy and would have spent every available minute planning the wedding down to the last detail. And my dad would have been so proud. But before I got the leave, I got a letter."

"Oh, no!" Damon had a feeling he knew what was next.

"Yeah, you got it. She said she couldn't stand to be away from me and that she had started dating Joe Thompson. He was a jock, captain of the football team. She said in the letter it wasn't fair to either of us to not date others. So, I called her that night, told her she was a fucking slut and I didn't want to see or hear from her again. And I didn't, until today. She and Joe had only been dating a couple months when she found out she was pregnant. They got married and have been ever since. This is actually going to be their third kid."

"For some reason I can't see you dating her, I mean I would think even for girls you would have better taste."

"I did!" Jeff said getting up. He went to a box and took out a photo album. He opened it and a few photos fell out. He found the photo he was looking for and handed it to Damon as he let himself fall back onto the bed. "Excuse me for saying this, but she was hot back then. Me dating her made plenty of guys envious."

"Damn!" Damon said looking at the picture of a younger Jeff and a rather attractive girl. Damn he looked good in the tux! Probably his prom picture Damon guessed.

"No doubt. I haven't heard from her. But in letters I got from Ryan I found out that not only did she plump up while she was pregnant and didn't lose it. And that Joe, star football player never amounted to anything. While he was good athletically, he sucked academically. We're talking if he made a B he was written up in the school paper. So even though he could have won several athletic scholarships, he never qualified for any due to his grades. He tried to join the Marines the same time I did. But you've heard the slogan about the few and the proud. Well, they turned him down too. He is now working at the same plant I am. But instead of being this really in-shape jock he now has this really huge beer gut. All the muscles he used to have are now flab."

"I guess you could consider it poetic justice!" Damon said he was now allowing his hand to move from just above Jeff's crotch to his chest and back.

"Yeah," Jeff said with a chuckle, "you can at that."

"I've got to ask, what's with Ryan. I know he's your cousin and all but there's just something about him."

"He's harmless. His dad died in an accident up at the refinery when he was young. After that he started wanting to hang out with me. But he's like seven years younger then I am so of course at the time I thought he was a pest. Always wanting to do what I did, dress like me, act like me."

"Sounds like a case of hero worship." Damon said.

"Exactly, but he's turned out pretty cool, I mean when I was gone he wrote me letters all the time. More then even my mother. Now he's the one who's popular, involved in several sports and you saw his girlfriend."

"Let's not talk about girlfriends again."

"What do you want to talk about?"

"Hero worship."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, me worshiping you!"

"I can get into that kind of discussion." Jeff took the offensive and pushed Damon onto his back then rolled himself over on top of his lover. "No, I'm wrong. I don't want to discuss anything," as his lips joined Damon's. Within seconds their lips had parted allowing their tongues to dance while their hands explored the other's body. Jeff's wandering hand finally stopped at Damon's very hard crotch where he began massaging the organ through the denim which sent Damon into overdrive. Damon released the kiss and let his head fall back Jeff took the opportunity to devour his neck. Jeff didn't waste any time unzipping the jeans and inserting his hand into the opening and teased Damon through his underwear for only moments before he removed his hand and unbuttoned the jeans. Stopping attention on the next long enough to push Damon's jeans low enough to expose his now very hard penis. Jeff grabbed Damon's stiff organ and returned attention to Damon's neck. Kissing his way up to Damon's left earlobe which ha had discovered two weeks prior was a serious erogenous zone. Just as Damon let out a couple moans Jeff stopped dead in his track, he heard voices in the barn below.

Quickly both men composed themselves, gathered their dirty dishes and headed back down the stairs. They both realized it would not be a good idea to be caught in this position. As they were descending the stairs to the ground level the bathroom door opened and Ryan emerged. Ryan stopped momentarily as he saw movement in his peripheral vision and directed his attention to the stairs. Damon and Jeff also stopped in their tracks trying not to act nervous. Luckily Jeff's younger cousin just gave them a smile and left the barn.

Over the next couple hours the guys stayed in public view yet close to one another. Jen occasionally came out of the house to make her rounds with the guests but seldom said more then a sentence or two to her brother or her boyfriend. However Jeff noticed that Steve was never far from her. Damon was introduced to several others then joined Jeff and a few others for an impromptu game of touch football before Jen announced that they should think about leaving.

Jeff followed Damon to his bedroom to assist him in collecting what few items needed to packed in his duffel bag. The mood was somber as both men knew this was it and neither had any idea as to when they would see each other again. They exchanged phone numbers, again. Only this time Damon made sure he immediately slid the slip of paper into his billfold. He gave Jeff not only the frat house number but the number to his parent's house as well. Summer break was only two weeks away and there was no guarantee they would be able to see each other before then. As far as what remained afterwards, neither had a clue. Jeff would be returning in the fall for his senior year in college. Jeff was going to be busy working over the summer but hoped to be able to attend college somewhere in the fall.

The trip home was pretty much like the trip there. Jen fell asleep before they hit the town square and didn't budge from her slumber until Damon stopped at her sorority house. He offered to carry her luggage in, but she declined and simply said she would talk to him sometime that week.