“To thy own self be true” I have always taken this to mean, you don’t owe anyone else an explanation for how you live your life. My dad also taught me not to worry about what others think about you.
***
Uncle Al and Aunt Sarah returned home from their night out with their friends. I came out of my room and sat and had a nice talk with them before we went to bed. They had always had a good relationship with me and dad, and I realized how much I missed them, and my two cousins, Holly and Tim. Holly was my age and Tim was the same age that my sister would have been. Aunt Sarah was a great help to me and dad as I grew up and Holly and Tim were like siblings. They are both married and have teenage kids now, the last time I saw them, the kids were in grade school. I made the decision that night, as soon as dad was up to it, we were going to take a week and go visit them in Phoenix, the kids all lived within two hours of Al and Sarah, that was the main reason they had moved there when they retired.
The next morning, we all went to visit dad. The cardiologist came by while we were there, he told us dad was good to go home the next day. It was clear dad was happy and that he was definitely feeling better. After we stopped to get lunch, Aunt Sarah helped me do a deep clean of the house in preparation for dad’s return tomorrow. Dad wasn’t a bad housekeeper, but it was clear that he hadn’t pulled the couch out in a few years and that dusting was not his top priority.
We got to the hospital by nine the next day, of course the doctor was running late. Dad had already changed into his clothes before we got there, Maggie laughed, “he’s been dressed for an hour already.”
I rolled my eyes, “that doesn’t surprise me one bit.”
She said, “as soon as the doctor signs the discharge papers, we’ll get you on your way.”
I smiled, “thank you, you and the rest of the staff have been wonderful. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I hope I never see any of you again, I mean in a hospital. I would be happy to see you and have a drink or cup of coffee with any of you.”
She chuckled, “we get that a lot from our patients, I totally get it.”
Dad was constantly standing and walking to the door to see if the doctor was coming down the hall.
I said, “dad, relax. The doctor will be here as soon as he can, checking the hall every five minute isn’t going help.”
He sighed, “I know, but he knows I’m ready to go, can’t he just call the nurse.”
Al laughed, “you are on their schedule Dave, he will be here when he gets here, he may have had an emergency.”
Dad nodded, “yeah, I guess.”
About an hour later dad was being wheeled out to my car, of course he was telling anyone that would listen that he was perfectly capable of walking out on his own. I helped Aunt Sarah make lunch as dad commented on the repairs and cleaning that we had done while he was in the hospital. I was pleased that he thanked us and told us how much he appreciated all the help, maybe the old man was mellowing in his old age. He also shocked me when he agreed to the trip to Phoenix after he had his strength back.
Al and Sarah got a flight for the next day. Once I had their luggage loaded in my car, I asked them if they were ready to go. Dad insisted on riding along, he said he had been cooped up inside for over a week and wanted to get out and get some fresh air. It wasn’t worth the argument, so I agreed, it was just a ride in the car. We said our goodbyes as we dropped them off at the airport.
As we pulled out of the airport, dad said, “I want to stop by the shop on our way home, I should get my lunch box out of my locker, it’s probably already moldy. I want to talk to Fred too.”
He was at work when he had his heart attack, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to stop by for a few minutes, it might even help dad put the fear of losing his job to rest.
We walked into the office of the machine shop and Fred looked from his desk and said, “holy shit Dave, you look a lot better than the last time I saw you.”
Dad shook his hand, “I feel better too, but it’s going to be a couple weeks before I come back though.”
I shook my head, “at least a month dad, probably six weeks.”
Fred laughed, “glad to see you haven’t changed Dave, don’t worry, your job will be waiting for you whether it’s a couple weeks or a month.”
Thankfully, Fred’s comment relaxed dad.
Fred asked, “is that why you stopped, to make sure you still had a job.”
Dad said, “no, I wanted to pick up my lunch box and my jacket from my locker.”
Fred smiled, “sure, no problem. It’s break time, all the guys would love to see you.”
I watched as dad chatted with his coworkers for over a half hour, it was better than any therapy for him. I was glad we stopped, it really did do dad a lot of good. We finally headed home, on our way we drove by my old high school.
Dad chuckled, “have you been back there since that “day”.”
I laughed, “nope, I told Prescott I would never set foot in that place ever again, and I haven’t.”
Dad said, “I hope you know how proud I was of you that day.”
I smiled, “and I hope you know how much I appreciated your support, you have always had my back.”
He smiled back at me, “that’s my job.”
My thoughts went back to the day I was thrown out of school when those pictures of me and Mike surfaced. That day, dad was the one driving me home.
He said, “tell me honestly Devin, did you know those pictures were being taken?”
I answered, “no dad, I had no idea anyone else was in the room.”
He asked, “do you think Mike knew?”
I shrugged, “I don’t know, if you would have asked me that yesterday, I would have said no, but today, I’m not sure.”
Dad looked at me, “why do you say that?”
I said, “Mike had earned my trust these last few weeks, after over ten years of being a bully. He had me convinced that he and Conrad Brooks were no longer friends. Today I saw them all chummy again, I think Conrad is behind this.”
He said, “Conrad is a weasel, just like his old man, but why would he do this to you?”
I sighed, “because I laid him out last year.”
Dad laughed, “what?”
I told dad the whole story as he continued to chuckle, he said, “I will never condone fighting, but I can forgive you for sticking up for your friend. Now we need to figure how the get Prescott let you graduate.”
I said, “technically, I have done nothing wrong, nothing against the school’s rules anyway. I mean Mike and I are both over 18, so we are not underage. We were not on school grounds and neither one of us are on the annual staff, so we don’t have access to the school’s dark room.”
Dad thought for a minute, “you’re right, Prescott doesn’t have a leg to stand on. I am going to call him as soon as we get home and set up a meeting first thing in the morning.”
Dad made the phone call and had a longer talk with Prescott than I expected. Dad hung up and said, “we have our meeting, but the agenda has changed.”
I asked, “what do you mean?”
Dad said, "Prescott got a call from the school’s lawyer, he was told the same thing you said about you and Mike not really doing anything against school policy. The bigger issue was the person developing those pictures. Prescott said the school board was meeting tonight to discuss it, you will probably be allowed to graduate.”
We arrived at Prescott’s office the next morning, he greeted us with a smile, “I have good news, the school board has agreed to let you participate in the graduation ceremony. They originally wanted to not allow you to walk, but after hearing from another parent, agreed to letting you join your class.”
Dad asked, “what other parent?”
Prescott said, “it’s not important Dave, we all just want to put this whole incident behind us.”
Dad said, “well that’s just dandy, isn’t Bob, sweep everything under the rug and we’re all happy. I still want to know who took those pictures.”
Prescott said, “I told you it wasn’t important Dave, we are done with…”
I interrupted, “it was Conrad Brooks, wasn’t it?”
Prescott asked, “what?”
I said, “Conrad Brooks, he was the parent that stepped in, right?”
He stuttered, “well it’s not that…”
Dad said, “it all makes sense now, the kid gets his buddy to let him take pictures with Devin, he gets caught developing the pictures and when the shit hits the fan, the old man steps in and puts a stop to everything. What are you getting Bob, a new score board for the football field, new equipment for the weight room?”
Prescott was still stuttering, “just let it go Dave, we won’t put anything on Devin’s record, and he gets to graduate.”
I stood up and turned to Prescott, “I don’t give a damn about a stupid graduation ceremony, I have enough credits to get my diploma. I know Conrad Brooks took those pictures to get back at me for kicking his ass last year, I don’t need his old man doing me any favors. You can just mail me my fucking diploma because I will never step a foot in this hell hole again, as long as I live. Especially if it is being run by a spineless kiss ass like you.”
Prescott was seething, he said, “you need to teach your son some resect Dave.”
Dad laughed, “I did teach him to respect people, I also taught him to only give that respect to people who earned it.”
I threw the door to his office open and stormed out as he said, “Dave, you had better…”
Dad yelled, “you heard him, mail his diploma.”
Dad slammed the door behind him as we walked out.
I saw Mike sitting in the outer office as we walked out. He stood and said, “Devin, I’m sorry, will you let me explain…”
I waved my hand, “fuck off Mike, shouldn’t you be kissing Connie’s ass right now.”
He hung his head as we left the school building for the last time.
It was that day that I decided I would never move back to McAlester. Once I left for Houston in August, the only time I would come back, was to visit dad.
Trever, Josh, Joey, Blake, Cole and I got together one last time before we all headed in different directions to start our lives. Trever had joined the Marines and was leaving for boot camp. Joey was going to Oklahoma State on a baseball scholarship. Josh was headed to New York to attend Columbia University. Blake was already working for a local HVAC company, as an apprentice while he attended the local community college. Cole was staying in McAlester and attending Eastern Oklahoma State College. That was the last time I talked to any of them, except for Cole. Cole and I still call or email each other at least monthly.
Dad rode with me to Houston and helped me get settled into my dorm room. I dropped him off at the airport to fly home, it was my fresh start. I could be myself, there was no Conrad Brooks, no Mike Palmer and no one here knew or cared that I was gay or about those damn pictures.
I was back in my dorm room putting my things away, waiting for my roommate to arrive. Just as I finished making my bed, he walked in.
He had a wide smile, “howdy, I’m Walker Higgens, it’s nice to meet you.”
I shook his outstretched hand, “I’m Devin Taylor, it’s nice to meet you too.”
He took off his cowboy hat, and threw his bag on his bed, “so Devin Taylor, tell me your life story.”
He had an infectious smile and personality, it was hard not to like him as soon as you met him. I chuckled, “well, it’s a pretty boring story, but I’m from McAlester Oklahoma, I was raised by a single dad, and I am here to study journalism.”
Walker started to put his clothes away, he said, “I guess we will have plenty of time to fill the details, but no one’s story is boring.”
I laughed, “ok, so tell me your life story?”
He sat on his bed, “I’m from Dallas, I have an older sister and a younger brother, I was raised by both my parents, and I am a music major.”
The music major news sort of surprised me, Walker looked more like a cowboy than a musician. He stood about six foot tall, had a muscular build, he was wearing a button-down western shirt, and his ass filled out his tight wranglers perfectly.
I asked, “a music major?”
He laughed, “yeah, I am just humoring my folks, I want to be a country singer. They insist I get an education, just in case this “singing thing” doesn’t work out. I already have a band, and we have a small following in the Dallas/Ft worth area. We are all attending college here and I have our first gig lined up for this weekend.”
I said, “good for you Walker, I admire you for following your dreams.”
He said, “what about you, aren’t you following your dreams too?”
I nodded, “yes, I guess I am.”
He flashed that big smile again, he was really very handsome, and that sexy Texan accent was just the icing on the cake. I helped Walker carry the rest of his things up from his truck as we continued to get to know each other.
I said, “I’ll be at your show this weekend, I can’t wait to hear you and your band. Do you sing any old country songs?”
He said, “sure, we do some old classics, did you have a specific artist in mind?”
I grinned, “do you know any Conway Twitty songs?”
He nodded, “classic Conway, he’s one my favorites too. We do “Tight Fittin’ Jeans” and “I Love to Lay You Down”.” (Again, check them out on YouTube, they really are great classics)
I smiled, “those are great, I can’t wait to hear you sing them.”
He asked, “do you like any other Conway songs?”
I filled him on “That’s My Job” and its significance to me and my dad as I told him about losing my mom and sister when I was a kid. We went to eat dinner after we had the room set up.
Walker said, “so tell me about Devin Taylor’s love life, anyone special in your life?”
I shook my head, “nope.” I had made my mind up that I was going to tell my roommate that I was gay at the first chance I got, I guess it was time.
I said, “I dated a guy in high school, but he left for college a year before I graduated. I was with another guy for a short time, but that sort of ended badly.” I waited to see his reaction.
He took a drink of his Mt. Dew, “so you date guys?”
I took a deep breath, “yes, is that a problem?”
That wide grin returned, “not at all partner, I have some gay friends. Just to be clear though, when we strip to our Fruit of The Looms tonight to go to bed, you can look, but you can’t touch.”
I laughed, “understood. So, what about you, do you have a girlfriend?”
He smiled, “sure do, a cute little blonde named Jenna, we’ve been together since the 10th grade. She is going to college at Baylor, she will probably come here this weekend to watch my show. You’ll get to meet her then.”
I said, “looking forward to it, and if she wants to stay in the room with you, I’m sure I can find someplace else to stay.”
Walker raised an eyebrow, “that’s mighty kind of you, but we already have a hotel room booked. I appreciate you being willing to give us some alone time, I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”
I was relieved that things went so well and was glad that I was honest with Walker. When we got ready for bed that first night, I was glad that he had given me permission to look. I was thrilled that I was able to look at that ass every night for the entire school year, even if it was covered by his underwear. The bulge in the front of his Fruit of The Looms would also give me some fantasy material to pleasure myself to when I had the room to myself.
As we got through our first week of classes, I was excited to go to the bar that Walker would be performing at. His girlfriend Jenna arrived, and he was right, she was a cutie and very sweet. I met the rest of Walker’s band, they were just as nice. Tommy played the drums, James played the bass guitar and Nate played the keyboard. Damn, they were all just as hot as Walker, I knew I would be attending a lot of their shows, just to get a look at them in their tight jeans.
I sat at the end of the bar drinking Dr. Pepper, I was only 18 and not old enough to drink beer. They put on a great show and Walker did Conway justice when he sang “Tight Fittin’ Jeans”. They joined me at the bar after their set and we listened to the main act for a while. We decided to call it a night and Walker and Jenna headed for their hotel, the rest of us went back to our dorm rooms. The thought of me letting the four of them use me for their pleasure was all the motivation I needed for a quick jack off session before I fell to sleep.
Being Sunday, I slept in the next morning. I was killing time before I went to get some lunch, I was planning on spending the afternoon doing some homework. I had also decided to keep a journal of my college years, and I wanted to write about my first week of school.
I took a shower and was getting ready to go to the student union when there was a knock on my door. I pulled my shirt on and opened the door, surprised to see Nate standing there.
I said, “hey Nate, what’s up?”
He asked, “is Walker home yet?”
I said, “sorry, no, he’s not back yet.”
He rubbed the back of his neck, “oh, sorry to bother you.”
I smiled, “it’s no bother, you are welcome to come in and wait if you want. I’m not sure what time he was planning on coming home, do you want to join me for lunch. I was just going to the union.”
He returned my smile, “sure, I could use some lunch.”
We had a nice talk getting acquainted and after we ate, we went back to my room to wait for Walker. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him, he had the sexiest dark eyes that sparkled when he smiled. Nate was a little shorter than Walker but from what I could tell, had a nice body. He was wearing a pair of basketball shorts and a tight t-shirt, showing off his hairy legs and perfect biceps. We continued our talk as we sat in my room.
He said, “so, Walker told me that you don’t have a girlfriend.”
I panicked, not sure where this was going, I said, “that’s true, what about you?”
Nate shrugged, “no, me neither, I’m the only one in the band that doesn’t.”
I nodded, “well, that’s what college is for, to maybe find someone.”
He took a deep breath, “yeah, I guess. It’s only been a week, I shouldn’t rush things.” He cleared his throat and said, “I have seen someone that I might be interested though.”
I said, “that’s great, why don’t you ask them out?”
Nate paused as he kept his gaze on the floor, he glanced up at me, “do you want to go out with me?”
I felt my heart race, I didn’t see this coming, I said, “you want to go out with me?”
He sighed, “I’m sorry, I’m not very good at this stuff. You don’t have to answer, I’ll leave now.”
I grabbed his hand as he stood to leave, “no, Nate, it’s fine, you don’t have to leave. I would love to go out with you.” He looked up at me, a half-smile formed on his face, and I saw that sparkle in his eyes. I said, “or we can stay in.”
We kept our eyes locked on each other as I moved closer until our lips met. I wrapped my arms around him as we started to kiss, he grabbed my waist. Nate began to run his hands up my chest, raising my shirt up. He moved his hands under my shirt and found my erect nipples, giving them a slight squeeze. I minute later, we were both naked, I ran my hands through the fur that covered his well-defined chest. We resumed our kissing as we both reached down to stroke the two hard as rock cocks that pointed at each other. Nate was uncut, but other than that, we were similar in length and girth and were both leaking precum by the gallon. I pulled him to my bed and laid on top of him, we still had not broken our kiss. I moved down, kissing my way down his chest and stomach, Nate gasped when I ran my tongue across the head of his cock, licking the precum clean. Once I had a taste of his sweet nectar, I took him as deep as I could. His hands went to the back of my head causing me to gag slightly. He let go and in that sexy southern drawl said, “sorry Dev, but that felt so good.” I smiled, “it’s ok.” I went back to work on that sweet cock, this time without gagging. I moved around so that Nate had access to my aching manhood, he took the hint, and we began a long 69 session. As I ran a finger along Nate’s taint, it was like I pushed a button to spread his legs. I moved my fingers further and found his pucker, his legs automatically spread further. I kept sucking him as I pushed a finger in causing Nate to increase his suction on my cock. Nate moaned and released my dick and panted, “I need you to fuck me Dev.”
I quickly rolled him on his back and pushed his legs up and began to rim Nate, getting his hole good and wet. I positioned myself and slowly pushed in as I kissed Nate. He wrapped his arms around my neck and his legs around my waist as I began to pound him. His ass felt so good, he was so tight and warm, and I knew I wasn’t going to last much longer. Nate broke our kiss just long enough to say, “give me your seed.” As we began to kiss again, he shot his load all over our stomachs and chests. The spasms caused his ass muscles to contract, sending me over the edge. I filled his love canal with my love juices.
We continued to kiss as we came down from our orgasmic high. I rolled beside Nate as we caught our breath, I said, “thanks for asking me out.”
He chuckled, “maybe next time we can actually go out.”
We took a quick shower, and Nate went back to his room. I sat down to make a few notes in my journal about the day’s events, smiling the entire time. I heard the door rattle as Walker walked in.
He flashed that killer smile, “hey roomie, how was your day?”
I returned his smile, “it was good, is Jenna on her way back to Waco?”
He nodded, “sure is. So, did you and Nate get to know each other.”
I couldn’t help but grin, “yep.” How did he know Nate and I had been together?
He chuckled, “I knew you two would get along.”
To be continued…
