Welcome Guest, Not a member yet? Create Account  


Forum Statistics

14 Members,   3,536 Topics,   10,207 Replies,   Latest Member is Stanley


Information And when I grow up...
Posted by: Frenuyum - 11-15-2025, 06:24 PM - Replies (3)

   



And when I grow up, I want to be gay. Yes, I think that sentence hits the nail on the head, or rather, the sentence has already hit home. Or even better, it hit home when I didn't just think it, as I actually meant it, but actually said it.

I think that was the first time in my life that I was truly noticed. No, I wasn't invisible until then, but I was one of those people who simply belong to the great gray mass, who merge into it, submerge themselves in it, and ultimately are swallowed up by it. Actually, that's no surprise, because that saying doesn't come from nowhere; it actually has a kernel of truth.

And why shouldn't you be one of those people? It's simply easier to blend in, to blend in, and thus not stand out in either way. Of course, you take the risk, or rather, you accept the fact that you won't really be discovered as a person, but rather appear interchangeable, but it costs less. Less effort, less time, simply less of everything.

Everyone has probably encountered a follower at some point in their life, condemned them for their meaningless ways, or mildly smiled at them, perhaps even pitied them. Or, ultimately, have once been just such a person themselves, and perhaps still are.

Yes, I was exactly like that, too, and every now and then I find myself struggling with myself for pushing this gift away and more or less stepping into the spotlight of social interaction. It's simply easier, albeit very exhausting, to be that kind of person.

Easier? Yes, exactly. Because you're just there. You don't have to do anything and can simply enjoy it. Everything happens around you, and you can simply participate. Be there without giving anything yourself. Take without making any sacrifices yourself. And yet that, too, is a curse. Cursed to be inactive, not expected for its own sake, but ultimately tolerated only out of habit.

Although one is initially rewarded with recognition for one's own rare contributions, one is ultimately met with mild ridicule, as the question always remains as to whose words one has just reproduced in great detail and without any thought.

And no one realizes that even those who never actually say anything or only rarely raise their voice ultimately have so much to give, so much to say. Perhaps it's because they simply don't have the courage, or because they're simply incapable of doing so, because they're not self-aware. Or perhaps they've finally given up, withdrawn into themselves, and accepted and internalized the position of the lethargic, listless spectator. Ultimately, for these or other reasons, they won't express their desires and will admit to themselves that they will never be respected, or at least noticed, for their own sake.

These people, like variables, different at first glance, yet the same at second, seventh, and tenth glance, are the ones everyone tries to overlook. Because only when you take a little time and observe them calmly can you see that they are fundamentally different from one another and, above all, independently thinking people.

Of course, it's easy, and often necessary, to categorize people and treat them accordingly. This is necessary simply because even one's own self, the individual, can only muster a limited amount of energy to engage with others. To get to know them, perhaps even to love or hate them, and thus, in one way or another, to make room for another person in one's own life and thoughts. Because ultimately, even a heart, however big and infinitely kind it may seem, has only so much room for people with whom one can rejoice or whose suffering one can share.

And perhaps even for that one person to whom you want to reveal your innermost self, unprotected by walls, ramparts, and other protective mechanisms. To whom you want to give what is neither expected nor demanded, and from whom you hope for the same, even if you don't demand it.

Well, I belonged to that very large, gray mass, with the emphasis on "belonged." Because things are a little different now. It never really bothered me to be seen as just one of many. There wasn't really anything that distinguished me in any way, anything that made me stand out, anything that set me apart from others.

And yet, something was always missing. I could never really describe it, but I just knew something wasn't quite perfect. Although, talking about perfection is pretty bold for someone like me, but I'm getting off track.

Deep down, I don't know whether I should be happy to have stepped out of the vast, gray mass and given the unknown a name, or whether I should hate myself for having taken this step. Especially since it's frightening what a moment of loss of control can lead to. A moment in which you don't consider the consequences of your actions. A moment in which you simply do what feels right.

The motives may have been good and formative at that moment, but ultimately it is your environment that decides whether and to what extent your action, your deed, that one thoughtlessly spoken sentence is accepted as acceptable or labelled or condemned as incomprehensible, perhaps even reprehensible.

I should have known beforehand that the people around me would react this way. My goodness, people don't really know me, or to be more precise, they only know the role I've always played. But on the other hand, I've always considered myself a pretty good observer, someone who always listens to the person they're talking to, and that's why I should have known beforehand. Maybe I did know beforehand, well, actually I'm pretty sure. But it's always a matter of trusting your own observations or trusting other people. After all, I'm sure I'm not the only one who's just playing a role, fulfilling some cliché, because lots of people do that too, in order to... well, why exactly?

Well, perhaps in order to satisfy those around them, to live up to the demands placed on them, or perhaps simply in order not to offend them even more than they already do and, ultimately, perhaps be completely excluded.

But maybe I should just tell you how it all happened.

There are days, days when it's actually better to stay in bed. When you wake up in the morning, before you've even thought about lifting your leg out of bed and somehow struggling through the darkened, cold room to quickly close the window, you know that the day just beginning won't bring anything particularly good. Why? Good question. Maybe it's intuition, maybe inspiration, or perhaps it's just disillusionment, because what's supposed to distinguish this new day from the many days that have come before? It doesn't matter.

It was just such a morning, and against my better judgment, I got up and headed towards the window as quickly as possible. If I weren't such a cold person, I would have certainly been pleased by the gentle breeze in my room and, mentally refreshed, would have started the day with some exercise. However, since I am an incredible cold person, all I could do, as so often, was utter a few quiet curses and quickly shuffle towards the bathroom. It's the same every morning; well, there is a difference. Unless it's arctic cold outside, I usually wake up drenched in sweat because I'm hopelessly tangled up in my duvet again. But at least my morning hygiene is the same every day.

Fifteen minutes later, I was back in my room. The first torture, getting up, was behind me, but the next horror, my closet, awaited me. I should probably mention that clothes have never really been that important to me. The criterion they absolutely had to meet was that they were at least one, or better yet, two sizes too big. Well, I liked it that way. The clothes are simply more comfortable, and you can hide more. The problem with that, however, is this: I've changed a little lately. Maybe not outwardly, but definitely inwardly, but I might say more about that later. In any case, like every morning for the past few weeks, I stood in front of my closet and cursed myself for my taste in clothes. I would have loved to immediately offer half of my clothes to the fire as an offering and use the other half only for work in the basement, garden, or walks in the woods. But where can I get new clothes if not by stealing them. And how can I explain why, for me, who actually never cared what I wore my whole life, whose only innate guideline was to present myself in a halfway decent way, it suddenly became important to me what clothes were hanging in my closet.

Yes, you definitely don't look very good in clothes that are too big, especially if you're a bit of a wreck like me. But hey, there was nothing I could do about the situation at that moment anyway, so I grabbed what appealed to me most. After gathering my school supplies, which were scattered all over the room as usual, and stuffing them into my backpack, I found myself in the kitchen.

We rarely spoke a word in the early morning, which I was quite grateful to my mother for. It was bad enough that I had to drag myself through the cold in the middle of the night to a place I didn't really want to be. But I actually wanted to say something about my mother. Well, basically, like every mother, she is simply motherly. There's not really anything else to say about that, but it's somehow important to me to mention that she is the only person in my life I want to please. Why is that? To be honest, I don't know. Maybe it's simply because she's my mother, or maybe because she always puts herself last and never expects anything in return. Ultimately, it doesn't matter, because it is just the way it is.

It was standing in our kitchen this morning, as always. My breakfast was ready, as always, and while I briefly curled up in front of the television, I quickly put it to its intended use. Right after that, I had to leave, because somehow the clocks seemed to tick faster in the morning before classes started than after the first bell rang. From then on, time usually dragged on like chewing gum, making the eagerly anticipated afternoon seem almost unattainable.

As always, I was in the classroom when the bell rang, luckily before my biology teacher. Because if there was one thing she hated, besides students who were loud, students who talked in class, inattentive students, or students who, unbelievably, just acted like children outside of class, it was students who were late to class.

She entered the room shortly after me, and not even a minute after greeting the class and starting her lesson, the first reprimand came raining down on me. Of course, it wasn't directed at me, since I had my desk to myself, but rather at the two students behind me. It's pretty amazing how the two of them managed to incur their displeasure with such regularity and still maintain their good grades, but that would probably always remain their secret, because it never occurred to me to ask. Apart from this and a few other reprimands to one or two other students, not much earth-shattering happened in this lesson.

The second biology lesson didn't bring much new either, apart from a few notes in my notebook and a few short presentations from our dedicated biology teacher. After that, I had to change rooms, because English was next on my schedule.

These lessons provided a very nice change of pace, as there was always something interesting going on. Partly, this was due to our diverse English class, and partly also probably to our teacher. She had been my class teacher before we moved on to secondary school and, of course, had only gotten to know me at my best. The last few weeks must have been quite shocking for her, because at the start of year 11, I had a new desk neighbor, which was quite unusual for me, as I usually had either a male desk neighbor or no desk neighbor at all. On top of that, my desk neighbor was, at least in my opinion, one of the really good-looking women in our year.

The final, but crucial, point was our good relationship. Although we had already been in school together for two years, we hadn't really had much to do with each other. It was all the more surprising that we got along so well right away. Maybe it was simply because we were the only ones from our old class in this class, or maybe it was just because I never made any hints or advances.

This reminds me that the last time I obviously approached a girl was in elementary school, and on the other hand, the last time I was asked if I wanted to go out with a girl was in seventh grade. After that, the topic at school was kind of over for me; after all, I had enough other things to worry about. But that's not really what's going on here either.

The possible reasons and causes are as diverse as the blades of grass in a meadow. Ultimately, the only thing that matters is that we got along well without any problems and, much to the chagrin of our English teacher, who eventually cost me my good manners bonus, we were only focused half the time, while we spent the other half talking about all sorts of things.

Our breakfast break, which I had regularly spent with my friends in the schoolyard since the beginning of eleventh grade, fell exactly between these two hours. The reason we forced ourselves outside even in winter was simply because, on the one hand, we had two smokers in our class who wanted to indulge their addiction, and, on the other hand, because, with the exception of a few classes, we had fairly different schedules, so we could at least see each other regularly and exchange news.

That was also the case this morning. We arrived at the farm relatively early, as our English room was conveniently located and the walk was short. The two smokers, who had also been attending English class in the next room, immediately began indulging their habit, while the rest gradually arrived. In total, there were eight of us, half of whom were couples, while the rest were either single or dating outside of school. Our topics were mostly similar. It was either about the previous night's results, the next date on the pitch, or just the everyday grind of school. Every now and then, the topic was broken up and expanded by an upcoming or currently taking place birthday or the associated celebration.

At some point within the first five minutes of this morning, I lost track and only vaguely understood what the rest of the conversation was about. As so often in the last few days, this thought had crept into my head again.

It started ages ago. I can't remember exactly. But it was in fifth grade and it was just interesting, exciting, all of the above. Back then I didn't worry about it, I didn't really give it a single thought. It was just the way it was and I liked it. I don't remember exactly when I started to worry about it. The thought was still there, but somehow I, or rather my head, had decided that it just couldn't be happening. So the thought was limited to the few minutes before I fell asleep and was later followed by other thoughts that passed judgment on the whole thing.

This certainly helped me never stand out. I couldn't even remember the usual remarks everyone was told, because as far as I knew, I was never the target of such comments. And that's probably both the blessing and the curse of those who blend into the gray mass and never really stand out. No one noticed, because before anyone noticed, I was always busy with something else. And yet this inner conflict was tearing me apart more and more. Somehow, it was no longer enough for me to just be there, never risk anything, never stand out.

Suddenly I was back in the conversation and as I looked at the faces around me, I realized that each of them was someone, embodied an image, that they had all taken a risk at some point, except for me. Everything was represented: the music lover, the athlete, the practical person, the clown, the clever one, the one with her own mind, the one who would always strive for what she probably couldn't achieve, and me. That was it, in that exact moment I noticed the difference. I could describe each of them with one word, or depending on my mood, with several words. But I couldn't do that for myself. The only thing I could have mentioned would have been my constant presence, or the quiet one, the reserved one, the one you quickly lost sight of after school.

As I realized this, I overheard what my friends were talking about. To be more precise, I heard just one word and immediately became alert.

For some time, a rumor had been circulating at our school. He had landed one of those dream women you find in every school. But it hadn't stuck. At some point, someone had started the ball rolling. Maybe he had been seen with another boy. Ultimately, the how and why didn't matter. The rumor persisted, and as is often the case with unsubstantiated, superficial knowledge, it spread across an entire schoolyard within a twenty-minute recess and through an entire year, if not half the school, within two lessons. This topic had just reached us, or rather, one of our two smokers had brought it up, even though I had rarely seen such topics discussed in our circle. Accordingly, the response to her no longer-newsworthy news and the question it posed was muted. My mind chose precisely this moment to assert its own will.

I was just imagining how they would look at me, what their words would be if I were to say it right there to their faces, when I noticed that everything around me had gone silent. Only slowly did I realize that I hadn't just been thinking, but had also answered the question while my mind distracted me with a pleasant carousel of thoughts.

“I think that’s good.”

“What do you like?”

“That he’s gay too, if he really is.”

“What, you like that?”

"Also?"

“Well, I am anyway.”

I had actually said it, and seven pairs of eyes were staring at me. So I did what seemed like the only right thing to do in the situation. I walked back to school as calmly as I could, ignoring everything else that happened along the way.

That's basically it. The next clear thought I had was ten minutes ago. At least I was smart enough to bring my backpack, so I can at least eat something while I sit here in the park, racking my brains to figure out what exactly possessed me to get up this morning. Their reactions were clear. I could read it in their eyes. It was as if I'd thrown off my coat and they'd really spotted me for the first time. And they hadn't liked what they'd seen.

It'll be difficult, and I don't know if I even want to tackle it. But I have to tackle it somehow if I don't want to give up. I can't go back to the gray mass, and I don't really want to anymore. When I think about it, it was and still is a good thing. And since I've started down this path, I should probably continue along it a bit further.

Do you know them? Do you know those days when it's best to stay in bed? Those days when even waking up is torture because the room is so cold? I've had those days too. Last week was one of those days.

Today is somehow different. The window was open again overnight, but somehow the cold doesn't bother me as much today. Of course, it could be because I got up voluntarily. Well, maybe voluntarily is the wrong word. I was forced to get up a little earlier; after all, mornings take a while, and a nice warm shower early in the morning is kind of a must. On the other hand, the rest goes pretty quickly, since I've already thought everything through.

We had arranged to meet on Saturday, but by the time I went home on Friday, I already knew I wasn't going. I had enough to do anyway. My mother would probably be scratching her head and wondering what the hell was going on with me, but there was nothing I could do about it. I knew what I wanted. Although, I'd actually known that for a while. What I knew was that I finally had to do it. The first step was quickly taken, and by dinner my new hairstyle was met with surprise, as I had always avoided going to the hairdresser before.

My mother was also more than surprised by my second idea, but luckily I was able to convince her, and so the next morning we were on the train, heading for the big city. A few hours and many astonished glances later, we were back, and I immediately started cleaning out my closet. I spent the evening alone, thinking, even going through all sorts of terrible scenarios. I played the same game on Sunday until I finally fell asleep sometime after midnight.

Now I'm standing in front of my school. It's been completely overhauled inside and out, so to speak, and I'd love to turn around immediately or hide in some hole. It feels good to be myself; it's truly liberating. Still, I'm not alone in this world. One way or another, my environment influences me, reacts to me, my words, my actions, and that's precisely the reaction I'm afraid of right now.

It would have been nice if they had reacted differently, supported me in some way, told me that we're friends either way. Regardless, as soon as I graduate from high school, I'll be out of here, and until then, I'll somehow survive all of this. You can also look at the positive side of things. At least now everyone knows my name, even if I probably got a nickname to go with it. If that's what they want, there's nothing I can do about it. They should conform to the norm and merge into a gray mass, deny their individuality, and stop thinking things through and immediately judging.

Well, and today I'm sitting here. There are a few less of us now. I've become true friends with some of them, but I've also excluded some of them from my life, and with some of them I've kept the relationship the way it was before. The music lover, for example. We never talked much, but I think, today as before, that I can rely on him. None of our original pairs are intact anymore. The sportsman isn't as athletic anymore, but he's already in a relationship, so we can be a bit more relaxed with a clear conscience. The one with her own mind is still there too. There were a few moments when we would have liked to bashed each other's heads in with a smile on our faces, but we've become good friends, and we can't get rid of her. The clown and the practical person are still around too. We see each other rarely, but we always find something to talk about. They're still good friends, just like they were in school, and if I'm not mistaken, they've committed themselves to each other for the rest of their lives. The other two, and many other familiar faces from back then, have vanished into the fog, which I only regret on rare occasions. But new faces have joined them, and to be honest, I wouldn't want to miss them. There could be more, but then I probably wouldn't have the time to recognize their peculiarities, to discover the people behind the facade, because even if there are only a few, it's still difficult to see through them.

It still exists today, the vast, gray mass, and there are moments when I am a part of it. Sometimes intentionally, sometimes unintentionally, but at the very latest when I become aware of my surroundings, I am no longer part of the mass, and when my thoughts follow the flow through the tram window, I let myself be carried along by it, for it will guide me to some destination.

Continue reading..

  Alex at 15
Posted by: Frenuyum - 11-15-2025, 06:20 PM - Replies (1)

   

Chapter 1

Alex and I were the only sophomores on the varsity soccer team. I guess that helped form a bond between us, but other than that we didn't have much in common. Alex was everything I wanted to be. Confident, outgoing, attractive. At 15, as I look back, I guess I was a pretty good looking kid, but at the time, like many other teenagers, I was insecure about every part of me: my hair, my body, my clothes. Alex was never like that, or at least he never showed it. Before the coach even told us we had made the varsity, Alex was mixing as well with the seniors as the freshman. He always had a smile, a laugh, or just a look for everyone. Whenever he seemed in over is head, he'd just cock his head, grin, and shrug, moving on like he never had a problem in the world.

Continue reading..

Information The Diary of Alex the Great
Posted by: Frenuyum - 11-15-2025, 06:06 PM - Replies (2)

Blog excerpt number one

There's nothing better than fucking a straight guy, making him like it, and then leaving him while he's still cooling your load in his ass. I should know, I've done it seventeen times since school started, and it's only November. Over summer break, at the country club and camp, there must have been at least seven "converts." Hell, I even secretly webcammed four of them, which are all online now, of course.
Yep, pump up and unload, that's my motto.
Take Jordan, for example. I just did it! I left him half-drunk and completely wasted in his family's basement. Hopefully, he'll remember to pull up his pants before his dad gets home. It only took me four days to fit into those pants. Four days, a new personal record! A little vodka, a little ego-boosting, a few sweet words at the right time, a little playing with his insecurities and curiosity, and BAM! There he is!
What worked with Jordan, though—the key to his back door, so to speak—was simply cuddling. Oh, I was just starting out. I caught him looking at me in the cafeteria in that way that's hard to miss if you know what to look for. I was already close to getting Marty anyway, so I was looking for a new target. Like the song says, "Done! Done! On to the next one!" Jordan was also a few notches cuter than Marty, which didn't hurt my resolve to pursue him at all. I could have just targeted Jordan without going after Marty in the first place, but I didn't. I never give up on a target once I've got it in my sights. My heat-seeking pocket rocket has to go where the target is most vulnerable and pierce deep.
Furthermore, and I can't stress this enough, Marty was such a closed-off guy that I was practically doing him a favor by giving him a handjob. It must have been as if all his most secret, deepest, and dirtiest erotic fantasies suddenly came to life. He needed me for that, and for me to fuck him. He moaned like a fury that day after school, completely absorbed in it. Yes, I was doing him a favor. He understood what I meant, and then he also understood that I was just dumping him. They always did.
But back to the point. The day after I took Marty's virginity, I went to see Jordan, who was sitting alone at a side table against the wall. He's about 5'8", a bit of a nerd, but almost a carbon copy of the boy who plays Harry Potter in the movies. Passively cute, I call it. He has no idea how hot he can be, so of course nobody else did either. There's a lot of potential there.
Luckily, my gaydar is so incredibly focused that I could feel his gaze as soon as I entered the cafeteria. So I gave him a quick smile. And when I sat down next to him that Wednesday after getting my tray, he looked up from his food like a startled rabbit.
Good, I thought, just the way I like them.
I chatted with him for a bit and noticed he was engrossed in his book, "New Olympians." I'd already read it, so it was a good conversation starter. While we talked and ate, two significant events occurred, both perfectly orchestrated. The timing couldn't have been better if I'd incorporated them into a school play and planned everything in advance.
Marty came by first, his face aching with pain when he saw how much attention I was giving Jordan and how casually I was ignoring him. It was the perfect contrast to having him all to myself yesterday, and now simply ignoring him in public. His expression of wounded pride and utter misery was just like in a credit card commercial—priceless. He stormed out, too proud to make a scene and too scared to risk revealing his secret.
Jordan noticed it. The quiet ones always notice everything. Then again, how could he not, when Marty stood there one minute like a remorseful criminal and stomped off the next like a spurned slut?
"I think your boyfriend is mad at you," Jordan whispered, his voice tinged with that socially awkward hesitation. And then the second bombshell dropped, perfectly timed.
“No. He’s not mad,” I said, letting the next subtle step of my seduction unfold in that whispery tone best reserved for spy movies and cheesy cable romances. “He’s just jealous,” I smiled, lightly resting my leg against his under the table. It’s a very, very carefully timed move, but you’d be surprised how effective it is. Most of the guys I sleep with just want to be touched a little. Give them a little bit of skin, and you can tie them to you!
You see, my entire arsenal of seduction techniques and my plan to infiltrate Jordan are based on two simple principles: need and shame. Add to that every man's need for secrecy and maintaining appearances, and every man is available. It's that simple. Still don't get it? Soon you will.
By the end of the lunch break, I had his landline and mobile numbers, his addresses—both postal and email—and all his social media profiles. Small towns like Canterbury have a limited number of streets, and almost everywhere is within walking distance. We talked on the phone until late into the night, and I almost came several times while we chatted about everything under the sun. Sex wasn't on the agenda, mind you. I'd just become so engrossed in him and relaxed so much while talking that I couldn't wait to be inside him, slowly masturbating at the same time. I held back, though, at least until we hung up. Afterward, I ejaculated on my chest to release the tension, even shooting my penis beyond the head. Being inside him was going to be insane!
Jordan invited me to his house after school, and we chatted over lunch the next day. We talked like we'd been friends since elementary school. Marty continued to greatly support my battle plan by acting like a sulking little beast. He walked past the table just as I was telling Jordan a dirty joke. I glanced at Marty, remained completely calm, gave him a quick nod, then turned back to Jordan and delivered the punchline, giving Marty the cold shoulder. Marty shook his head and walked away, muttering a string of choice curses, and slunk off with a smug look on his face. This only fueled my fire. If I hadn't been so hard on Jordan, I might have taken the time to stare after Marty and laugh at him. It took some willpower, but I controlled myself.
Jordan noticed the whole thing again, and Marty's reaction. I don't think anyone ever abandoned anyone else for Jordan. I don't think anyone ever gave him much attention, and he practically inhaled all the time I gave him. It was like a drug for him, one he was instantly hooked on and would never get off. And it brought him one step closer to becoming another notch on my bedpost.
Jordan's room looked pretty much as I'd imagined. It still looked like a thirteen-year-old lived there, not a sixteen-year-old. He was definitely a candidate for trading spaces. Like I said, quiet types. He had curtains with little sailboats, spinning tops, and beach balls on them, and a little red cart full of—I swear—Beanie Babies and teddy bears. I reckon rare coins and stamps were under a plastic sheet on his desk, as a writing surface. Even his PC was decorated with Power Rangers stickers, and his computer wallpaper was covered in X-Men stuff. His unmade bed was covered with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sheets.
Everything about Jordan needed a makeover. His room, his clothes, his haircut—everything looked like he was in middle school. Apparently, the last time he had any sense of taste or style, if ever, had surfaced, it had only been until fifth grade. But I didn't have the time, the willpower, or the desire to bring him into this millennium. I just wanted him to make my cock climax in his ass. And I knew I was going to get him. Once I set my mind on something, it's pretty much done. Trust me!
One of them almost got away from me. Hank. He was a big guy, but in the right way. Broad shoulders, big muscles, big hands, big feet, and, oh yeah, a very big cock. He had this strong, attractive look, classic and rugged. It took me almost two weeks and nearly a whole bottle of vodka to get him alone and willing. I should have known Hank would be a much bigger challenge than the others. The popular athletic types, like Hank, always have a following, and many of them are female. I finally got him properly drunk that night and convinced him that I would never tell if we gave each other head. No man ever admits it, at least not if he's almost done it, but they all have the fantasy of getting a blowjob from a friend. I've never seen it fail.
All else being equal, Hank was a pretty lame bastard. Not that I minded much in the end. I didn't care whether I came in his mouth or not; I was after his ass. My main goal was to fuck him good. So, while I did my part of the 69 action, I slid my thumb into his hole. He came so hard in my mouth that my tonsils rang like church bells on Sunday. But I kept fingering him and sucking him until he was hard again. I had to take a second load down his throat and slurp his cock before I could turn him around. When I finally came in his throat, he was so excited that he came again while I was still egging him on. I didn't care if he liked it or not. I had just turned the school's star tight end into a wide receiver!
Touchdown! The crowd goes wild!
Hank called me several times a day on my cell phone for about a week. Of course, I ignored him, both on the phone and in the hallway. It didn't take him long to understand what was going on. He understood loud and clear. He doesn't bother me anymore. I'm sure he's suffering from secret feelings of guilt and shame; maybe he's even a little unsure of what he felt back then and how much he enjoyed being fucked by another boy. He even avoids simple eye contact in the hallway now.
Not that I would ever do that. I just don't make it seem like I'm ashamed of anything or like I'm worried about embarrassing him or anyone else.
And I have to admit, it's the biggest thrill in the world to dump really hot straight guys after playing them like a cheap toy. You see? Desire plus shame, sometimes more, sometimes less secrecy, equals power. My power. And I get to sleep with some of the hottest guys in school without having to deal with all the emotional baggage and all the awful relationship and lovey-dovey crap that comes with it. It's simply beautiful.
Hank got it, though. He'd run off and been dumped without a goodbye kiss. He was back hanging out with cheerleaders and band girls, trying to fool himself and forget that he'd been fucked by a gay guy and enjoyed every second of it. That's what it's all about for me afterward. Sure, fucking Hank was a lot of fun, but making him still want me is the best part. It's not just sex, it's power.
To get back to Jordan: Another reason for his easygoing nature is his ego problem: isolation. In public, at school and such, he's a straight-A student, a heterosexual but quiet loner. No friends weighing on him. No serious cliques, not even with other loners he spends time with. His bedroom is practically a library full of young adult fiction and toys. He has piles of fantasy novels and even Dungeons & Dragons books on his shelves. He's incredibly smart, but about as socially aware as a seaweed. He simply exists without any real sense of orientation, purpose, or belonging. That said, he has a weakness for sentimentality and the intimacy of unvarnished truth—forgive the pun.
The second day of my conquest mission was a masterful display of boldness and subtlety. I essentially read his mind. I read his thoughts, explored his secrets through what he said and didn't say, and got him to open up to me about little things right from the start. I simply built that false trust that develops in so many relationships and that I was able to fake long enough to get my penis wet. That's a crucial part of the game because it shows me how to proceed, how to break down his homophobic walls, and how to find out what's on his secret fantasy list.
And just so you know: all guys have a secret fantasy list, which is usually way wilder than what they brag about to their friends in gym class. I have to admit, I've rarely been wrong or surprised by the things in their deepest, darkest, and dirtiest fantasies. A lot of them are strikingly similar. I guess it's something genetic or generational or something. If I ever end up sleeping with an older guy, I'm sure I'll find out. We just compare our notes while I leave him bewildered and exhausted.
Most men want to do something sexual with another man at some point, usually a close friend. It's this whole "just experimenting" thing. They just want to see what it's all about, but only with someone they trust not to spill the beans. It's mostly about comparison. Men place a lot of importance on what's "normal" in sex. It's not so much about comparing bodies or penis sizes, although that's part of it too. Don't forget that truth! It's more about figuring out what's normal in sex and in being a man. Women have sooooooo much media stuff telling them how they should behave as women. Men usually aren't interested in much more than sports, cars, or movies, so they don't know, and I think they all crave someone to just tell them if everything's okay. So when men have sex with each other, it's primarily about making sure they're doing everything right and feeling the same way. I guess it's not considered masculine to moan a lot during sex, or that you should be quiet when you masturbate in the bathroom and don't want your mom to hear you hitting. This ideal moment of bliss. And it has nothing to do with emotions or anything "gay" like that. They simply want to know if other guys feel the same way at that moment. They just want to make sure they're not wrong. Some have to fake it, probably to find out if the other person is faking it or if they themselves need to try and catch up.
Crazy, right? But it's all those dirty little things you can't tell Mom, and if you ask Dad, you usually just get a worried look. Besides, it's just embarrassing and gross to ask your parents about sex. I don't even like the idea that my parents might still be having sex. It's just too creepy.
But here, too, the male need for privacy clashes with the need for intimacy and a low expectation of interpersonal care. And that's so damn easy to exploit! Maybe the straight men I'm with still remember their youth, when they experimented, got erections on their own, and talked about it with their best friends. The things they did with their friends when they still went to the playground to socialize, those gentle, tender touches and cautious moments of discovery. Yes, I bet that's why it's sometimes so easy: they want to preserve that feeling of wonder, power, and joy in their bodies and like the attention I give them.
Well, it's a shame that all I really wanted to do was loosen a warm spot between her gluteal muscles, in the old-fashioned, time-honored Greek way. Too bad for her.
So, here we are on day two, and he's practically an open book. I can choose what I want to read from him; it's that simple. For him, we're just hanging out at his place, getting to know each other. Which leads to a lot of those weird, awkward pauses in the conversation. You know, those moments when excitement overwhelms the vocal part of your brain and your speech falters. During one of these pauses, I notice the Xbox on the floor next to his TV. He notices it, like quiet people always do. He asks if I want to play, which is such a delicate question. I mean, my God, do I even want to play, but with anything more than just the racing game he's loading?
But everything's fine. There we are, all huddled together on the floor, our backs against his bed rails, chasing our digital cars down an electronic banked track that any NASCAR fan could probably quote statistics on. And while we're racing around in split-screen mode at a virtual 320 km/h, legs stretched out in front of us, controllers practically in our laps, teasing each other, I decide to spice things up a bit. He's so engrossed in the game that I can use one of my best weapons: accidental contact. And it's not as accidental as it sounds.
Confused? Let me explain. Men like to touch and be touched, it's that simple. But our so-called "masculine cultural identity" tells us we shouldn't. There are so many taboos surrounding touch, even today, expressing feelings toward other men, and simply maintaining the macho image in general, that it's no wonder so many men grow up messed up. Or no wonder we masturbate so much. Don't deny it, you all do it.
Thank you, modern culture! You sometimes make it soooooo easy, I should be ashamed, but I prefer to just take advantage of it.
Anyway! Chance contact. Like I said, it's not so chance, and it's not easy to arrange. The selling point of such casual physical contact is to make it seem completely innocent and meaningless, even if you really intended it.
When Jordan and I were standing there on the court, I had to stay focused on the game while I was flirting with him. In a video game, you have to be competitive, or you get nervous. It just seems too obvious unless you're serious about winning both the game on the screen and the more subtle game you're actually playing. In that moment, it's important to maintain an innocent facade. That way, if the contact is "discovered," you just don't make a big deal out of it. That keeps suspicion low. And early suspicion can mean extra days trying to score.
By the time Jordan finally noticed my leg was on top of his, we'd already been in contact for about ten minutes straight. Mind you, I was still wearing my baggy JNCO and Jordan his khaki Dockers, but don't worry, for Jordan it was like skin on skin, that pleasant, silky warmth of one body part pressing against another. Whether clothed or not, the sensation was what mattered, and I could feel it suddenly and revealingly arousing him. He actually had to adjust his pack during the race, cover himself with the controller, and quickly shift things around so I wouldn't notice. But I did notice. And I was suitably impressed. Not that I'm that into size, but he wasn't a coward when it mattered.
I let him beat me about three times to make sure the final race was close. Hey, some things are still a matter of pride, and I'm a real whiz at video games. I'd give him my elbow every now and then to simulate swapping virtual paint with our virtual race cars. He'd playfully return the elbow. A sort of friendship developed, but it served my purposes just as well. And I have to admit, it was fun being like that with Jordan. We'd both giggle as we tried to push each other around, on the track and on the ground, bragging and teasing. So what? I enjoyed it, and so did he. There's nothing wrong with that. Like so many things in life, the Xbox is so much better when you're not alone. And, by the way, Jordan is a compulsive giggler, almost nervous.
We played another game, but this time it wasn't so serious. Mostly it was a rough-and-tumble competition with clapping and giggling. Eventually, it turned into a "push-break" wrestling match, which was actually my intention. That's the next step in the plan; I call it the "awkward break."
This time with Jordan was almost the textbook example of how to take the "awkward pause" and how it affects both the human mind and body, often in contradictory ways. And believe me, it works... every time. Let me explain. While wrestling, I felt his erection against mine. Nothing accidental, you know. Nothing overtly sexual. Maybe I should say, nothing obviously sexual. Just a man's natural need and desire for skin contact, any skin. And, yeah, just so you know, my erection was pretty hard too. Hey, I was on the prowl, of course I had a semi-hard erection! At least a semi-hard erection, more like three-quarters hard at that point.
His body brushes against mine as we wrestle, of course! That's what wrestling is all about! Just his body struggling and pushing against mine. Occasionally, we both feel a hip or thigh move dangerously close to hard, sensitive body parts, and we dodge it or shift our weight slightly upwards. Every now and then, I feel his thumping brush against mine, only for him to then apply pressure higher up on my stomach, giving me a slight advantage. Right where I want it. Time for my big move. That's what I learned at summer camp. Observe closely and learn.
I maneuver him almost into a pinned position; we both growl and giggle. We're competing, but having fun at the same time. I realize I'm much stronger than Jordan, but that's perfectly natural. I'm an athlete, and he's a nerd. Which means I'm not using my full strength. Hey, I was successful in four sports last year: skiing, diving, cross-country skiing, and swimming. I should be successful in all four again this year, and maybe I'll add tennis to the mix. Jordan is, well, a nerd, just not the gross, pale, computer-obsessed type with pimples. He has a certain sense of hygiene.
So I use just enough force to dominate him, to make him feel like he has a chance, but at the same time, I let him keep fighting. For this to work, I have to make him believe that everything is happening spontaneously and naturally. I deliberately make a "mistake." Just big enough for his body to instinctively recognize a weakness and a chance to win. I make the mistake again and give him enough force to be vulnerable. Instinct, a long-dormant fighting spirit, and the heat of the moment do the rest. I give him just enough room to maneuver on my left side, and he bites. He suddenly turns and tries like crazy to hold me down, partially rolling me onto my right side and back. That's the crucial point. When I did this with Hank, I HAD to dominate him. With Marty and Jordan, I had to let them dominate me. It's an ego thing. You'll understand in a minute.
Jordan pushes me flat on my back so his cock is pressed against my hip and his thigh covers my crotch. His face is about half a foot above mine, we're both smiling, sweaty, still moaning and struggling, and then…
I give up resistance. Every movement between us, except for our breathing, ceases. Our eyes meet. Sometimes I giggle a little at this point, or lick my lips a bit too quickly, so that my stomach jerks against his now heavy, but not yet fully erect, cock.
Our eyes meet. My breath catches. I consciously tense my pelvic floor muscles slightly, making my penis feel like a pulse against his leg. His arms are visibly tense, and I feel his weight above me, trembling. I feel his penis harden even more, pressing against the spot where my abdominal muscles and hip meet.
This is the moment I've been waiting for, the one I've been preparing for. More like, preparing for. This one perfect moment. In this brief span of time, Jordan feels happy, powerful, excited, relaxed, and in complete control—probably the first time in his life he's felt all of that at once. It's addictive. Almost euphoric.
And the next moment he realizes how good his body feels, how good my body feels when he touches his, beneath him. He realizes that it feels pretty good for me too. In the heat of the moment, he smiles.
And in the next moment, just three short heartbeats later, he pauses, reflects on what has happened, and questions everything.
As expected, this is an awkward moment for most straight people. Marty actually said, "Uh, this is really weird," as he rolled off me. Hank, who was stuck underneath me, got really nervous and looked away. Blushing, he pushed me aside and sat up. Jordan froze. It was like he couldn't make up his mind. And that's exactly what I wanted in his case. That way, I could make decisions for him much more easily when it came time to score.
Seduction is pure psychology. It's like poker. You can read a lot in their eyes, but even more in what you see behind them. Jordan was exactly where I wanted him at that moment—physically, mentally, and emotionally. Perfectly trapped, and the best part is, he didn't even realize he was the mouse or that there was a trap at all. He had no idea what was really going on.
You'd think I could just kiss him, get him thinking with his little head, get him wet right away, and that would be that. But it doesn't quite work that way. Or that quickly. He has to think about it and want something to happen more. And he always does.
"Uh, okay, you win there, champ," I say, smiling and keeping the mood at bay. "Will you let me up?"
Jordan rolls off awkwardly, and we stumble through another race to "normalize" things a little. His mother is calling him down for dinner as we start the second round, which is reason enough for me to go home. But the feeling of him on my body, the way he touched me, was clearly in his head now. He probably had to jerk off three times that night just to be able to fall asleep. My own limit was only two, but the second time was long, and I was teasing the whole time, you know, pushing myself to the limit.
Day three flew by, and I began a phase I call "Waiting for the Party." You see, I don't really hide my homosexuality. Nor do I flaunt it. Ambiguity is just another weapon in my arsenal. Besides, I know what happens to guys who act like gays. Apart from it not being my style, I don't feel the need to draw so much attention to myself that I get beat up every two weeks because some straight jerk caught me staring at him for too long. This ambiguity is just another tool I've developed to trap other guys.
They have no proof that I am who I am, so it's in everyone's best interest if I keep quiet about when I'm dating. Oh, there are questions about my sexuality, mainly because I don't hang out with girls much. There's a reason for that, besides the fact that they don't give me anything. They're my sexual competition, after all, and I'm not one for fraternizing with the enemy. Anyway, there are rumors about a lot of people, most of which simply aren't true. Hank is definitely not gay. I think Marty might dance on both sides of the street, but in my humble opinion, he's mostly gay. Jordan doesn't know what he is, which is just another point in my favor.
So, waiting for the party. I call this step that because that's exactly how it works. Seduction isn't about punching someone over the head and dragging them into the bushes, no matter what Hank and his buddies think. Don't be so arrogant, those people! No, seduction is the art of convincing someone they want exactly what you want, so you get what you want because they give it to you willingly, or something like that. What matters is the end result, and since I'm the one who decides when it's over, all this emotional talk is just decoration for the party. I just have to wait for the invitation, then decide when to show up and throw the party. And then leave before I have to help clean up. It's a beautiful thing, I tell you.
For anyone taking notes at home: Here's how it works: the deep, subliminal psychological crap that makes it so easy for me. Up until this point, Jordan thought he knew himself pretty well. However, the last two days have been an emotional, social, and mental rollercoaster for him. His body is speaking a language he doesn't understand. His moral upbringing compels him to hide his physical and emotional feelings, as befits a good American teenager. But the feelings coursing through him feel right, even if he can't explain how or why.
Friendship is probably something he hasn't been used to since elementary school, when his overachieving tendencies took over, despite everything nature and puberty had to do to him. He simply doesn't know what close friendships, the kind that allow for something like trust, are like, since his room was actually age-appropriate. He now questions every little movement and thought in his body and mind, and because he's introverted, like Marty, I had to be the shy, reserved type when we finally wrestled on his bedroom floor. In Hank's case, I had to dominate him so he could finally allow himself to be a little weak. It was part of his secret fantasy anyway.
You see, based on the way his body reacted, how I acted, and how he felt internally, Jordan thinks that the things that fluctuate between his physical urges, his emotional needs, and his mental confusion might all be things that actually come from his own mind.
In short: He's wondering if he really wants what he suddenly thinks he wants. And I have to maintain this illusion until I put my stuff in his trunk.
At lunch on the third day, I'm sitting with Jordan again, and I give him a "manly" slap on the arm while sitting across the table from him. It's typical guy stuff and adds a touch of normalcy. More confusion. Marty comes by again, looking positively pathetic. He seems so hurt when he walks by that he doesn't even have the strength to eat his lunch. He finds a spot where he can watch Jordan and me, and after only a few minutes, he gets up a little too quickly, on the verge of tears, and throws down his lunch without taking a bite. I guess he's still clinging to what he thought we had. Whatever that is. But he's a lot smarter than Hank, so he'll figure it out soon enough. He's probably already realized he got laid and then dumped. You see, the emotional side of sex can be awful if you let it control you. He's learned that lesson. Soon he wouldn't care anymore, and he'd evolve, becoming a little wiser and more careful about who he lets into his world and his pants. So I just happily ignore him. Oh yeah, power!
Jordan looked up at me as I sat down. I offered him the cake with the green icing from my tray. He took it without looking at me, but I could tell he had a lot of questions on his mind, and my presence only made them more pressing. And that was to my advantage. The party was about to start.
"Hey, what's wrong, Jordan?" I asked, trying to sound neutral yet concerned. "You look like your dog died or something." And that was true. Almost. His expression was sweet. I had a mental image of my semen running down his face and that look turning into a smile.
"I'm just thinking."
"About what?"
“Nothing. Homework stuff,” he replied, and lied. Which, in this case, is a good sign. It means he’s being cautious because he doesn’t yet understand himself and his feelings. And, being an introvert, he’s wondering if his feelings are just all over the place or if I had a “moment” with him yesterday. Are you starting to get how this works?
At this stage, I have several options. If I notice he's not responding well, I can ease up on the tougher tactics and ease his anxiety a bit. You can wait a long time, of course. Sure, that means it takes longer to determine the final score, but sometimes the game is better in overtime. That doesn't mean I have to give up, though. I don't let my opponent off the hook until he's had at least one attempt.
Conversely, I could also bring out the big guns and completely turn someone's life upside down. Sympathy, trust, understanding, dreams, fears, sharing "masculine feelings"—oh God, the list of things that heterosexual or almost heterosexual men believe when they feel even a little bit gay is simply unbelievable. And they always fall for it because, deep down, that's what they want. They want reality to penetrate them and replace their own. They let their cool facade slip a little, act a little uncomfortable, a little emotionally insecure and uncertain, and then reveal something, anything that sounds like a hard-hitting grain of truth, seasoned with emotions like fear or longing, and he opens up like it's Christmas morning.
Sure, I have to listen to all her hidden emotional baggage and psychological baggage, pretend to be friendly and deeply moved, swear to secrecy and all that crap, but I don't care. Let her have her Hallmark moments and Nickelback "photo" memories. It's all just part of the seduction. Steps in the master plan.
So we chat over lunch, Marty has his very satisfying little tantrum, and all the while I'm scanning faces. Jordan is too preoccupied to notice I'm looking for my next "good friend." I deliberately keep our conversation lighthearted. My goal is to keep him on edge, to make him think, to make him doubt himself. To that end, I employ another of my sneaky and sophisticated techniques. I constantly shift my feet back and forth, creating fleeting, "casual" touches under the table. This makes him savor my touch and question everything about himself, his feelings for me, and everything around him in general. Just gentle nudges and moments when he notices my knee resting sideways on his. It's such a subtle form of low-level manipulation, but hey, it works.
Meanwhile, my gaydar is on autopilot. I hear the occasional faint ping and ping, but no one's actively responding to my curiosity. I'm patient, though. There are plenty of boys of all ages around. It's kind of odd about this area that Canterbury is still a combined middle and high school, even though the switch to the middle school system happened long before I was born. To me, it just means I have more options. Hank's a final year, Marty's the epitome of the uptight tenth grader. Jordan's a junior, like me. Maybe it's time to try something from the first year, maybe a nice, ripped eighth or ninth. Maxy Perault's really cute and a star on the football team, so he's probably fit and well-built. Could be fun, digging around in his backyard like a farmer behind a mule. And this Simon Grafton might be a little chubby, apparently going through a growth spurt, but his older brother Arthur was cute and firm and totally awesome! I actually came inside Arthur three times that night, twice in front of the webcam. The summer has been, as they say, very productive. I can tell Jordan's about to give up, so I'm back to multitasking and looking for the next sex, the next point on my belt.
"Oh, homework crap," I say casually, but my tone of voice and timing suggest I'm more interested than I actually am. "Lots of homework tonight?"
"Huh?", he replied, absentmindedly chewing some fries.
"I said: Do you have a lot of homework tonight?"
"Oh, uh, yeah. Trigonometry and a term paper for the AP English Comp, and I have to study for a physics exam tomorrow." See, total overachiever. Even his classes are overachievers.
"Ah," I say casually. "Then I guess we'll just have to hang out together tomorrow. Oh well."
"Tomorrow?" he asks, almost squealing.
"Yes, you know, so that you can learn."
"Uh, no, never mind. You can come over... if you want." He has no idea what I really want, but I can see him struggling with himself. I hide my smile so as not to disturb him or upset him. But it's fun to watch him when you know what to look for. It's kind of cute to watch him fidgeting inside. Just a little bit of fun for me.
"Are you sure?" I ask. It's just a little nudge to get him to decide the way I want. But be careful, he'll do exactly what I want without even realizing it.
“Yes. I can do my trigonometry problems while you play Xbox. That shouldn’t take too long. I can write an English paper in my last study session and then read for my physics paper before bed. It’s more of a quiz than a real exam anyway.” He stabbed the cake I handed him with his fork and actually stretched out his leg to meet me. A moment later, he pulled it back and mumbled an apology, but this time it was his move, not mine. He probably hadn’t intended to, but don’t forget, I wasn’t keeping his mind and body in check. Conflicting signals.
"Cool," I smile. Almost party time!
Do you notice what happened when I asked him if he was sure? He immediately re-prioritized his priorities for me, created a plan, and even spoke it aloud to convince himself and me of the idea. That's an indicator of how he thinks.
The next step is waiting for the party. We've arranged to do something together after school, so this time is really important to him right now. He's not even used to casual friendships. Maybe he already thinks I'm his best friend, which, in my experience, isn't the case. Best friends always let you down, and at the crucial moment. Who needs that kind of pain? Still, overachievers don't usually get the attention of popular kids like me. So, in his fantasy world, this is incredibly important to him, and he believes it's incredibly important to me. So, I have to reinforce that belief. Just a little meddling in the insurance world, mind you. Observing and learning—it's masterful.
I pretend I get a call on my cell phone. We're not actually allowed to use cell phones at school, but everyone does anyway. Just put it on vibrate or silent, and everything's fine. Honestly, nobody's actually there when I open the phone and start talking. Jordan only hears what he thinks is my half of the conversation, but it's all just a carefully crafted script. All an act to make him, or the next person, think exactly what I want him to.
"Hello? Oh, hey, Mom... Not really, I was just planning to hang out with Jordan today... Nah, he's cool. A little nerdy, but cool." I wink and smile across the table as I say this, and he growls and shakes his head, digging deeper into his lunch. "Uh, on Lowell Avenue... Yeah, near Fox School..." With that, I'm just answering one of those awkward "Mom" questions. The one that goes something like, "So, where does your mysterious friend Jordan live, Alex?" Next, I bring out my mildly annoyed expression and let it flicker across my face as naturally as possible. I can see Jordan watching me twirl in my chair, staring into space. I can feel his gaze on me as I let my expression shift from mildly annoyed to disturbed and disturbed. "Today? So, what about Angie? I thought she was going to… Really? Is she okay? Oh, good… Yeah, no big deal, Mom. I'll do it… Okay… How long do you think… oh… okay, yeah, no problem, Mom… Yeah, see you tonight… Love you… bye," and I slam the phone shut, furious.
Jordan looked up from his full mouth, hesitant to meet my eyes. Cell phone etiquette dictates politely respecting the privacy of strangers on the other end of a call. But we all know the reality: we can't help but listen in. Curiosity is the most reliable human trait. It's a flaw and an innate survival instinct. Jordan had conveniently overheard every word of my conversation with "Mom," and anyone would interpret the little tap he gave his flip phone as a subtle gesture of transferred aggression.
I know it seems like a minor flaw in an already over-the-top game, but it's so important to sell every detail as if it weren't just an elaborate mousetrap. And it's such a powerful selling point. Stay tuned.
"Uh, what's going on?" Jordan asks.
"Ah! My stupid sister's car broke down in Watertown. Mom needs me to take Grandma to the hairdresser and to Market Basket and CVS so she can do her weekly shopping. Looks like we'll have to hang out together tomorrow after all. Driving Grandma around will take until after dinner." I glance over, then deliberately look away to focus on my tray. "Sorry, man." Then I glance up briefly, then down again, feeling guilty. That was enough, and he's done everything for me!
“Oh,” he says, looking down at his tray, but his expression clearly shows he’s not thinking with his stomach. “Well, how long is this going to take? Seriously?”
“At least a few hours,” I replied, my voice betraying my disappointment. I picked up my small half-liter of 2% milk to drink some while he thought about it. “She’s really old and doesn’t get around so well anymore, you know?”
"Oh yes, I think so."
We're silent for a moment. As I finish my milk, I catch a glimpse of the aforementioned Max Perault entering the café. He looks like he's been dragged twelve miles down a bad road, completely battered. I guess freshmen still fight. I resolve to visit him after Thanksgiving, give him a chance to recover and not look like a broken man before I kick his ass.
"Uh, you could come by later, like after dinner or something. I mean, if you want."
I look up at Jordan and smile. The party's on! I just love these introverts. Their thought patterns are so predictable, constantly revolving around themselves. It's almost pathetic. He knows, or thinks he knows, that the thought of me not spending time with him bothers me. He wants to spend that time with me too and is constantly trying to force it. And that's exactly what I wanted from him.
See? Seduction. Waiting for the party. Sometimes it's so easy I'm almost ashamed.
Almost, but not quite.
But you know, I'm very picky about my victim. I'm not a big fan, but if he's well-built, I don't mind. He just gives me something to play with while I'm inside him. No, what I'm looking for can be summed up very quickly: sweet, intelligent, and genuine.
The cute part speaks for itself. When fucking a guy, the fantasy is mostly about sex. A cute face grunting in pain and pleasure, just inches from mine as I cum, just makes it even better for me. I've fucked a few unassuming guys, and they were really wild and fucked me exceptionally well, but they kind of break the illusion. If I just wanted to close my eyes and pretend I was inside some cute guy, well, I could do that by myself and jerk off. But it's not nearly as much fun. Just check out my webcam files on my website. This summer's highlights are marked in red.
There's a reason for cleverness that you might not imagine. I like smart guys because they're easily fooled, fall for precise flattery, and always think there's more to it than meets the eye. Besides, it's no fun or challenge to talk a dumb guy into your pants. No sport. The chase is sweeter, and the conquest all the more rewarding, with a smart guy. And that look of painful recognition and resignation, like Marty's, is all the more delicious coming from a smart guy. A dumb guy might do something stupid, like spill the beans about what happened between us, ruining our reputations and blowing any chance I have of continuing my winning streak. The smart ones know they've been duped and stay silent to save face and hide their own shame. Think of the equation: need plus shame equals power.
And as for "pure"... well, that should be self-explanatory. You can't catch sexually transmitted diseases from a virgin. Enough said!
Jordan fulfilled all my primary criteria, simply amazing. Everything went perfectly. I could almost feel the pressure on my shoulders as he endured the initial pain of my first penetration. It all went soooo well.
Okay, so he invited me, made special plans that change his personal plans for me, and is basically putty in my hands. I'm pretty sure I'll get in there tonight, right?
Not even close. He has a desire for me. Now I have to transform that desire into an irresistible craving. Into a hunger.
"Sure, I'll call you before I come over." I smile. He's definitely found good taste. Oh yeah, it's almost party time!
Of course, I won't show up that evening, I won't call, and I usually leave him stewing in anticipation for the time it would have taken me to call and come by. But not without fueling his imagination. Just because the invitation has been sent doesn't mean you should be rude and not reply, even if you plan to be politely late.
Much later than planned that evening, I smash a pebble against his bedroom window. It's time for my usual night run, so his parents aren't the least bit suspicious that I'm out so late in sweatpants and a light jacket. It's not far to Jordan's house, so everything is easily accessible. After a few more pebbles, he comes to the window, shirtless, with half-dried hair, as if he'd just stepped out of the shower. Not that it matters much, but for a nerd, he's in pretty good shape. Oh, he's not as ripped as, say, Hank, but he's not bad at showing off his bare chest.
Quiet ones. They always have such interesting... surprises.
"Hey!" I whisper as he opens the window. It's early November, he's just gotten out of the shower and is now sticking his wet head out the window because he recognizes me. If that isn't confirmation of how well I have him wrapped around my little finger, then I don't know what is.
"Alex?" he whispers back. "It's late. I thought you'd call?"
The real answer to that question is that I chatted online with a few people, swapped my personal favorite moments for theirs, updated my website, and just had fun because I'm keeping Jordan so busy that he doesn't even have to comb his Sketchers or tie his hair back. Oh, and I snapped two quick photos, one for the camera and one of me watching someone else be solo.
"After I brought Grandma home, something came up. And my phone was dead, so I couldn't call. Sorry, man." My breath came in gasps in the cold night air, making my apology not only audible but also visible.
"So you came out into the cold to tell me?" he shouted down.
“Well,” I replied, a little louder than someone should be throwing stones at someone else’s window at almost 8:30 in the evening. That, and a quick sideways glance to see if anyone was watching from the street, lent the whole thing an extra air of honesty, which underscored the point.
Jordan stood at the window, his breath catching, one hand holding back his sailboat and beach ball curtains, looking down at me. He wasn't quite sure what to make of my presence, just to show him that I hadn't forgotten him today. It was a moment he couldn't recall. Nothing immediately came to mind.
"I just got out of the shower," he said haltingly after a while. "I should close the window and study for tomorrow."
"Alright, the physics quiz. Okay. See you tomorrow at lunch?"
“I’d like that,” he said, probably without realizing he’d said it out loud, or with that particular tone of voice that told me I was the only thing he’d be thinking about all day until lunchtime. I didn’t feel bad about it. I wanted him to think that way. Besides, he was blowing the bell curve out of all of us, so he could use a few days as a space cadet. Give the rest of us a chance to keep up with his enormous brain.
"I have to go," he said. "See you tomorrow."
“Yes,” I smiled. “Tomorrow.” I waved, turned, and jogged off at a light pace. But I could feel his gaze on me as I trudged home. I risked a glance over my shoulder as I walked beneath an elm tree that was still shedding its leaves. Through the bare branches, I could see him still staring out the window at me. The window was still open, he was still half out, the curtain pulled to the side. He was sooooooo addicted.
Day four, the ultimate test of my skills, began perfectly, as only a beautiful autumn morning can. I already knew the night before that he was ready. I think I knew as early as lunch on day two that he was practically naked, waiting for me every night. But today, on day four, I wanted to unleash all my endgame moves. And I also wanted to tackle my next conquest after Jordan before the weekend. After catching Jordan, I wanted to take the weekend off from the hunt, relax, do the necessary computer work to cover my tracks, and prepare for the next adventure.
As Darth Vader said: "It's all too easy."
To make a long story short: Day four began with a powerful gaydar ping in gym class. And in the shower, of all places! A cute tenth grader with bright green eyes. I think his name is Dylan. I remembered his locker and could see part of him getting dressed. I couldn't really see his whole package, but he definitely filled out his boxers. He also carefully avoided me. A little shyness was perfectly fine with me.
Lunch was another one of those awkward situations where we didn't quite say what was bothering us. Marty came by, lingered long enough to give me a nasty, offended look, and then simply left the café without even bothering to get a tray. Brilliant! He should get a T-shirt made that says "Whine Bastard" with a big arrow pointing upwards.
Jordan was positively bubbly. He smiled a lot, even after being transferred. I guess he did a lot of thinking last night. And probably a lot of cuddling, too. His leg often touched mine under the table; he was practically always leaning against mine, knee to knee. I saw the cute, green-eyed second-year walk past from the gym showers and give me a certain look. That look that starts out deliberate and then veers into an almost too casual randomness to hide it. I made sure he figured out which table he was sitting at for lunch, halfway across the cafe. Oh yeah, target acquired!
"Can you come by after school?"
"Yes. Provided my parents don't make me do anything stupid, like wash cars or clean out the garage or something." Always think of a plausible excuse for why you need to go home. That way, it's easier to just unload and drop everything off, and they'll wonder what happened while you're putting your pants back on. If they know beforehand that there might be a reason you need to be somewhere else, it's much easier to pack up and leave. Not to mention, it adds a sense of urgency to their need.
“You know,” he began cautiously, “I was really quite impressed that you came here last night just to apologize.”
"And?"
"Yes. I've never had a boyfriend who cared enough about that. Last night it was definitely below zero. And there you were."
"I had to do my night run anyway. Running past you wasn't a problem."
"I thought you lived over on Salem Street. My house is miles away from yours. Over the stone bridge and all."
"It's not that far at all. At least it didn't seem that far to me," I smile. In his mind, he's making it out to be more than it is. He doesn't know that I'm an athlete and regularly jog that far. Even further. Sometimes I jog from school to home, and that's farther than from my house to his.
After school, we played that lame game of chase again, this time with his leg pressed firmly against mine the whole time. And that was his decision, not mine. I would have been a bit more subtle, but this time he took the initiative, which is also part of my plan. He wants my attention now, my touch, just as much or even more than my friendship. He's hungry. It's no longer just a desire in him: it's a need.
So there we were, sitting on the floor with our backs against his bed frame, giving each other little elbow bumps and kicks, trying to make each other mess up the game. His parents were both at work. His older sister was out, doing what girls do when they get together in groups and go to the shopping center in Rockingham Park. We were completely alone and would remain so for hours. But I was starting to get a little uneasy. I'd been preparing for this for a long time. Even for this short time, I'd invested a lot of excitement and anticipation into this game.
"Hey, do you want something to drink?" he asks and presses pause.
“Sounds good,” I reply, stretching slightly and tossing my controller into his lap. It bounces off something solid. Grinning, I stand up, turn away from him, unsure if I've really composed myself. As he gets up, I reach into my backpack and take the small bottle out of the pen holder. Something I brought along especially for this occasion.
We go downstairs to the kitchen, where he tosses me a cold Dew from the fridge, but still gets glasses. I smell sawdust in the kitchen and discreetly ask him what that strange smell in the air is.
"Oh, right," he says, turning towards the cellar door. "Dad's renovating the hobby room down there. He's only half finished." And in the brief moment he turns around, I take out the bottle and get "caught" pouring something into my drink. "What's that?" he asks, completely innocent. You see, quiet creatures.
"A little antifreeze for the radiator," I reply, grinning wickedly. He grins a little too; he almost gets the joke. "Do you want something?"
"What is that?"
"Vodka."
"How is it?"
"Try it. It doesn't taste so bad with tonic. It kind of masks the bitter taste. Makes it," I shrug before I say, "more refined."
He nods. I pour half the bottle into his drink. Only a drop ended up in mine, but he doesn't know that. His eyes widen.
"I have never drunk alcohol," he admits.
"It's not that bad. But don't tell anyone. Dad would freak out if he knew I'd taken away his supplies."
“It’s our secret,” he said, clinking glasses with mine. He took a deep swig without choking or trying to spit out the glass. I followed suit until we were both empty.
"Do you want to see the basement? It's going to be really cool when my dad's finished. Big screen TV, surround sound, the whole shebang!"
“Sure,” I say, following him as he enthusiastically leads me to the cellar door. He pauses and glances over his shoulder at me. The door opens, and the darkness disappears.
"Um, the stairs are a bit tricky and the light hasn't worked for years, so stay close, okay?"
"How about I do it?" I reply, placing my hands on his shoulders. He practically shudders at my touch. He's so ready, I practically didn't need to give him any vodka. But whatever, it usually helps them relax.
“Yes, that’s good,” Jordan replied, his voice a little subdued. “Okay, let’s go. Down into the darkness of the fortress!” Okay, he was being a bit cheesy. But at that point, I didn’t care. My target was within range and about to unleash a volley from my main cannon.
At the bottom of the stairs, he pulls a cord, and a bare lightbulb lights up. I pause briefly against Jordan's back, his hips against the arm of a sofa that had seen better days, back when it still roamed the levels. Whoever shot that sofa should be shot. Jordan's lack of fashion sense was probably genetic.
"Um, oops," he says uncomfortably, but excitedly. I can tell he's a little embarrassed. And a little turned on. Instead of simply taking my hands off his shoulders, I stretch my hands across his chest, practically holding him in place. He sighs, stiffens briefly, and then relaxes a little against me again.
“Alex, what are you doing…”
"Shhh. It's okay, Jordy," I coo, feeling his chest and stomach through his shirt. His heart is racing like a freight train, and he's radiating heat like a furnace. His breathing is irregular and shallow. I feel it all through his skin as I hug him from behind. "I've been thinking about this for days. I've seen you watching me. I know..." And I lean my head slightly over his shoulder, bringing my chin closer to his ear. "I know you want this as much as I do," I finish, just holding onto him, barely touching him, while my fingers glide over his body like electric arcs.
Okay, maybe I'll embellish the story a little. It didn't happen quite like that, and it didn't happen that fast, but it went something like this. I got him a little drunk, aroused him a bit, let him try and touch everything I wanted, penetrated his asshole, fucked him really well, and then left him, still a little disoriented but happy, in his family's half-finished basement workshop.
And since this is my blog, I suppose I should say a lot. Jordan was a real ace in bed. The best ever. He enjoyed it so much that I just had to cum! I came inside him twice, once in his mouth and once in the spot I really wanted. Being inside him was like a religious experience. He was like a kid with a new toy, and we both got to play with it. I just wish I had it on video; it was just so damn good. Almost good enough to make me forget about the rest of the chase.
Almost, but not quite.
So I left him, headed home, took a long shower, and updated my blog here with plans for the weekend and the coming week. I wonder if I can catch that cute, green-eyed boy in just three days? Sounds like a challenge. Well, drop by next week if you dare.

Continue reading..

Information Shame and Consciences
Posted by: Frenuyum - 11-15-2025, 06:00 PM - Replies (4)

Preface

My three-part Scholar’s Tale and A Time were set at Yarborough School in my own day, which was long enough ago. This is another story about Yarborough, but set in the even more distant past, far beyond living memory. It is not really my own work, and what lies behind it demands a deplorably but necessarily long explanation.
Ernest William Hornung (1866-1921), the son of an émigré from Transylvania, was a prolific British novelist, befriended by Rudyard Kipling and H. G. Wells and married to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s sister. While he never quite matched his brother-in-law’s success with Sherlock Holmes, he did create the equally memorable figure of Raffles the gentleman crook; who has proved equally long-lived, for almost all the Raffles books are still in print. Here, however, we are concerned not with them but with one of Hornung’s later novels, Fathers of Men, published in 1912, reprinted only once in 1919, and now virtually forgotten (but available online at
 Its setting is the Yarborough School of 1880 to 1884, when Hornung himself was there as a boy.
Victorian school stories were almost two a penny, but few are memorable. Tom Brown’s Schooldays (1857), the best known, sets out to preach a very deliberate sermon and is populated by rather cardboard characters. Kipling’s Stalky & Co (1899), arguably the best written and full of lively portraits, is a very deliberate satire. Fathers of Men, it seems to me, has much deeper insights than either. Nor am I alone in this view. Hornung himself felt it the best of all his works. His biographer Peter Rowland (Raffles and his Creator, 1999) tends to agree. Reviewers praised it highly: to quote two verdicts, it is ‘a fresh and penetrating study of that eternal problem — the human boy,’ and it is ‘serious, compassionate, absorbing, and deeply intelligent.’ It seems well worth resurrecting.
Nonetheless there are difficulties. The first half, with its leisurely setting of the scene, is undeniably slow. The second half, where the real action lies, does in places resort to over-worn conventions and stock figures such as the untutored prodigy of a cricketer. On top of that, the style can be horribly convoluted and wordy; to quote a not untypical sample, ‘The anxious submissiveness of the really good boy, with the subtle flattery conveyed by implicit obedience to an overbearing demand, had so far mollified the master; but Jan did not avail himself of the clemency extended.’ Language of this kind hardly makes for easy reading.
But perhaps the biggest problem is that, in Victorian times as for long after, school stories, almost by definition, had to be wholesome and uplifting. Orthodoxy and prudery forbade any serious challenge to convention. Individual boys, then as now, undoubtedly questioned the accepted religious and moral code, but few dared question it in public. No more could novelists allow them to question it in print. And however well-observed their characters, whatever other complications might tangle their heroes’ lives, these authors invariably left one unmentionable element unmentioned. They could not admit that boys were aware of, let alone preoccupied with, anything so sordid as sexuality. In that sense if in no other, their tales are neither whole nor real.
Why, then, resurrect this story on a gay site? The answer is intriguing. Hornung, though placidly married, was gay. There can be little doubt about it. As a grown man he befriended boys. The relationship between Raffles and his sidekick Bunny is latently homosexual. And Hornung deeply admired Oscar Wilde. Indeed when he christened his only son, at the very moment of Wilde’s downfall and disgrace, he gave him the name of Oscar. This was as clear a sign of his sympathies, and at the time almost as scandalous, as a father in 1945 naming his child Adolf.
What is more, it seems that Fathers of Men was originally neither orthodox nor ‘wholesome.’ Hornung sent an early draft for criticism to a close friend, who pounced on unspecified episodes and dialogue ‘which seemed likely to spoil the book.’ Hornung’s arm was twisted, and he spent wretched months making the necessary changes. Many years later this same critic was praised by a third party for saving Hornung’s reputation. The very guarded language in which all this is recorded strongly suggests that the offending passages were not only sexual in nature but, given the context, homosexual.
We will never know exactly how that early draft ran. But a few hints have survived the alterations; possibly, indeed, they were deliberately allowed to survive. These I have developed into a new thread, matched as best I can to the texture of the original and woven into the fabric of the tale at places where there seem to be obvious gaps. Because the topic, so revolutionary for those days, would hardly be picked out in too garish a shade, Hornung’s expurgated thread was surely subdued in colour. So too, therefore, is my replacement thread. It is too much to expect it to follow the original pattern, but I hope that it may restore a touch of reality and wholeness to what is both a good story and an instructive social commentary on its period.
I have also done a great deal of tinkering. Two complete chapters, which contribute nothing to the development of the plot or of the characters, have gone by the board. Throughout, short passages have been added here and subtracted there. In particular, I have adjusted almost every sentence to make the style more simple and succinct. As a result the overall length has shrunk by a quarter, with the loss of no substance and, I hope, a gain in readability. But I have hardly touched the words which Hornung puts into the mouths of his characters. Such parlance as ‘I say, chaps, I had a jolly ripping time in the hols’ may make present-day toes curl. But in it we hear the authentic voice of the Victorian public-school boy. A critic of the day, a teacher by trade, castigated standard school stories — Tom Brown included — because ‘no boys ever talked as their boys did,’ but he heaped praise on Hornung for ‘reproducing boys’ talk as it actually is.’
On the subject of boys’ talk: then as now, it surely included swear-words, and Hornung, in his quest for authenticity, would surely have liked to include them. But while this would raise few eyebrows today, his publisher could hardly have allowed it then. In line, therefore, with what was the utmost permissible a century ago, I have toned down with asterisks the few swear-words that I have ventured to introduce.
In short, I have tried to retain not only the essence of the story but its period flavour too; for it is very much a period piece, and so it ought to remain. This raises minor problems. Because education at places like Yarborough was dominated by the classics, there are constant references to Greek and Latin. There are snippets from current Gilbert and Sullivan songs. There is period slang and school slang which (except where it is too obscure) I have retained and sometimes explained. But such details are fine brush-strokes which hardly affect the overall painting: if they escape the reader who does not know Patience from Pinafore or a dactyl from a spondee, it does not matter a hoot. What is much more important is to steer clear of reading modern nuances into period language. The present-day connotations of ‘queer’ and ‘gay’ lay, at that date, far in the future. When a boy called someone ‘straight,’ he meant honest and honourable. A fag was no more than a junior boy doing menial jobs for a prefect. If, to the house-master, ‘boys are dearer than men or women,’ that does not make him a paedophile.
A greater difficulty for some non-British readers may be the cricket which looms large in the second half of the tale. Passing mentions of the long-departed Lillywhite’s Cricketers’ Annual and the still-surviving Wisden’s Cricketers’ Almanack can be taken in their stride. But there are whole pages of ball-by-ball commentary. Drastic pruning here would not only destroy a fascinating insight into the game at a time when there were only four balls to the over and serious bowlers could still bowl underarm, but it would also spoil the story. I have therefore retained these passages. Here too a knowledge of the rules is not essential, but to those who wish to know more I once again commend the excellent website of the Seattle Cricket Club and especially its page on Explaining Cricket to Americans. And, after all, is not baseball a cousin — some would say a descendant — of cricket?
The school’s organisation, which may be another puzzle to non-Britons, deserves explanation. It comprised three distinct groupings, by house, by form, and by games. Every boy belonged to a house — there were twelve of them scattered around the town — where he lived and ate and which claimed his loyalty. He joined the school at, usually, thirteen or fourteen, and was graded academically by ability alone. A form might therefore contain boys of very different ages. The sequence of forms, as far as it concerns us, is laid out in Chapter 2. It is important to remember that, as is still general in Britain, the Sixth Form, and specifically the Upper Sixth, was the highest, corresponding in level to the American Twelfth Grade. Prefects (known officially as praepostors, unofficially as pollies) were drawn from the Upper Sixth, and boys left at eighteen if they had not left before. There were three terms in a year (Winter, Easter and Summer). The normal weekday timetable ran thus: school prayers, first school (that is, lessons), breakfast, second school, dinner, games, third school (except on half holidays), tea, private work, house prayers.
Games (fives, athletics, and above all football and cricket) were organised partly on a house and partly on a school basis. For each game, every house had its own two teams — All Ages and Under Sixteen (or sometimes Under Fifteen) — which competed for the inter-house challenge cups. Football and cricket were played on three grounds, the Lower, the Middle and the Upper. New boys would be placed in teams on the Lower or Middle and progress, if they were good enough, to the Upper. The pinnacles of achievement were the Fifteen and the Eleven (graced with capital letters), which were the school’s first teams at football and cricket respectively. With football, however, Yarborough had not yet adopted the Rugby rules and still played its own version of the game.
The novel’s original title was based, of course, on the proverb that the child is father of the man. The new slant to the story suggests a new title, drawn from George Herbert’s poem which I have woven into the fabric in Chapter 31.
A word too on the Headmaster’s sermons. Hornung’s apparent quotation from one in Chapter 30 is in fact of his own composition, but the extracts I have inserted into four other chapters are the genuine article, drawn from the old man’s published works.
As we look back from the relatively liberated and egalitarian present (the emphasis being on relatively), we must allow for much social change. Yarborough has long been a pioneering and liberal school. Not perhaps when it was founded in 1584; but it is pioneering today, it was so sixty years ago in my own time, and it was so — markedly more than the Rugby of Tom Brown — at the date of this story. But even the most liberal public school of a hundred and thirty years ago preached what seems to us a very stern morality and tolerated what seems to us a great deal of injustice. Four historical facts should above all be borne in mind:

  • Society was stratified by class and caste — contempt for him who ventured above his station.

  • School life was regulated by harsh discipline — the cane for the rule-breaker and the slacker.

  • Education was permeated by religion — a foretaste of hell-fire for him who, in the Headmaster’s eyes, transgressed.

  • The gravest transgression of all was sexual activity between males — unmitigated shame, the full stigma of the moral leper, upon him whose conscience surrendered to such lust. Lust it was invariably taken to be, for same-sex love lay beyond the comprehension of Victorian authority.

One final factor touches me personally: that the story’s superstructure is built upon a tangibly solid foundation of reality. The school is so meticulously described that, although it remains anonymous throughout, it is instantly identifiable to anyone who knows Yarborough (which is but my own disguise for its real name). Many, maybe most, of Hornung’s characters were likewise based on actual people, although naturally he changed their names. Bob Heriot and Jerry Thrale, so sympathetically portrayed, were real men and his real mentors. So too, the other side of the coin, was the unspeakable Haigh, who is never favoured with a first name. Chips Carpenter with his bronchial problems, his poor eyesight, and his passion for cricket, was Hornung himself, who in real life left Yarborough early because of his asthma.
Above all, some aspects of Jan Rutter, the hero of the tale, were borrowed from a boy who was a contemporary of Hornung’s and in the same house. I could name him, but will not. In due course this boy’s son also went to Yarborough and ultimately became a master there. He was still a master in my own day, and a most endearing and memorable one. It was only recently that I learned of this connection; too late, sadly, to discuss it with him before he died. But, now that I do know, I count it a privilege to have sat at the feet of Jan’s son.

Continue reading..

Information A Time
Posted by: Frenuyum - 11-15-2025, 05:53 PM - Replies (12)

To every thing there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
a time of war, and a time of peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
1. Recognition
On 7 December 1941, as everyone knows, the Japanese attacked the American fleet at Pearl Harbor. It is less well known that eight hours later they invaded the British crown colony of Hong Kong. They rapidly overran the New Territories and Kowloon. Hong Kong Island held out until Christmas Day, when it surrendered. Hundreds were massacred and an estimated ten thousand raped. The survivors of the defending garrison became prisoners of war and the 2,400 non-Chinese civilians were herded into internment camps. During the Japanese occupation, which lasted for three years and eight months, mass deportations and deaths from malnutrition and disease reduced Hong Kong’s vast population to little more than a third of its former level.
His memories of that harsh time were, for a youngster, unusually sharp and complete. But from his earlier years his mind retained nothing: nothing to comfort him, nothing to pain him, nothing but a blank. An impenetrable curtain had closed, that dark Christmas, to shut off his past.
*
It was the peaceful hour before lunch when staff and boys alike recovered from the rigours of the morning’s classes. For mid-October the air was mild, and in a corner of the Yarborough School quad the Headmaster and Wally MacNair stood in comradely togetherness. To all appearances they were discussing some knotty academic business, but in reality they were unobtrusively watching Adrian Longley as he leant against a pillar in the colonnade. They knew that, while he was under no obligation to be there, he felt it his duty as captain of the school to make himself accessible to his flock. And, short though he was in stature and youthful in appearance, there was no mistaking the air of authority that he wore.
They watched him in conference with the director of music, who left with a satisfied nod. They watched him admonish a boy for sloppy dressing, at which the youngster grinned as he tightened his tie. They watched him check something on a list with the school porter. They watched him throw a cheery greeting to the uniformed and limping NCO in charge of the school armoury, who replied with a broad smile and a mock-salute.
“Now there,” the Headmaster observed, “is a reassuring sight — a smile on Sergeant Standedge’s face.”
They watched Adrian discuss some technical matter with a member of the maintenance staff, which involved much gesticulation. They watched him commiserate with a large member of the rugby team whose arm was in plaster. They watched as he mended the broken strap around a bundle of books over which a small boy was losing control.
“What a marvel!” the Headmaster declared. “Dedicated, efficient, considerate, genial. He brings out the best in everybody. Under his captaincy the school runs more smoothly than it ever has. Is there nothing on which he can be faulted?”
“Nothing,” replied Wally, who was Adrian’s housemaster, “that I’ve ever spotted.”
“Heaven knows, we have competent boys aplenty. But how often do we get an out-and-out paragon? He seems too good to be true. So good that it makes me uneasy.”
Wally understood him perfectly. He often felt the same. “I know. I wish I knew what makes him tick. His career here has been impeccable. He was captain of his prep school too, and his career there was impeccable. More than impeccable — think of that episode which he doesn’t allow us to mention.”
“Ah, yes.”
“I don’t know about his earlier years. He never talks of them. But deep inside him there’s something dark … a solitude … demons, almost. His mother died, I gather, a long time ago. As for his father, well … if Adrian’s a paragon, it’s in spite of him, not because of him. I’ve met him only once — he’s in the colonial service in British Honduras and comes home once in a blue moon — but he’s an undeniable oddity. Socially inept. Painfully stand-offish. Brusque and ungracious, even to his son. Adrian’s the only child, and as you’d expect he’s a dutiful one. But in that department I can’t help feeling he’s had a rough ride.”
“Yet he himself is so outgoing,” the Headmaster remarked. “So immensely generous. So composed. So … what can one call it? … such a fountain of goodness.”
“But not, thank heaven, one of those offensively prissy do-gooders. He simply loves everybody, and everybody loves him. I’d dearly like to know where it all comes from.”
“But if it is a choice between nature and nurture, you would plump, I take it, for nature?”
“Yes. Oh yes, I most definitely would.”
Adrian, unaware of the watchers and their speculations, finished mending the book-strap and sent its owner on his way with a clap on the shoulder. The quad was by now almost empty, and he wandered over to join Tom Wardle, a new boy in his own house, who was leaning on the low wall around the lawn. Tom looked up with a smile, and for a minute they chatted, apparently discussing a seagull which was eying them beadily from the grass. Then Adrian jerked abruptly upright, and Tom followed suit. A few urgent sentences, and they were in each other’s arms.
It was an unprecedented sight. At Yarborough, boys simply did not hug one another. Wally and the Headmaster trusted Adrian too deeply to suspect anything in the least reprehensible; but even broad-minded schoolmasters, even those who do not snoop officiously into their pupils’ private lives, are prey to everyday human curiosity. Exchanging a look of amused puzzlement, they strolled across.
*
Adrian Longley and Tom Wardle, having known each other for barely a month, did not know each other well. Ordinarily they would hardly have known each other at all, for prefects do not ordinarily fraternise with boys four years their junior. But ordinary was the last thing that Adrian was. Tom, who as a new boy had expected to be ignored if not tyrannised, found to his astonishment that the godlike captain of his house and of the school was actually the friendliest of human beings and the complete opposite of a tyrant. He felt an immediate affinity with him, as if he had known him for years; and being a perceptive lad he sensed that Adrian, while showing no favouritism whatever, felt the same in return.
Tom might be young. But he knew what was what, or thought he did. Behind this mutual affinity, he reckoned, lay a mutual physical desire. In his own case he suspected that the urgent lusts of his new-found puberty had something to do with it. Yet it was more than that, he told himself firmly, more than just hero-worship or a passing adolescent crush. It was a considered love. But while he could hardly mistake his own feelings, he was not so sure of Adrian’s. If there was a lead to be taken, he could not take it himself. And so, when Adrian appeared beside him and leant on the wall overlooking the lawn, he looked up with a welcoming smile.
“You don’t often see them this far inland,” Adrian remarked, nodding at the seagull. “Are you into birds, then? Sorry, not very well phrased. But you know what I mean.”
Could this be an overture? Tom answered readily and honestly.
“Oh, I’m not into birds, Longley. Of either sort.”
Adrian ignored the unsafe half of the answer.
“So why are you communing with this gull?”
“Well, it sounds silly, but I was wondering if it tasted as bad as they used to.”
“Tasted? You’ve eaten seagulls, then?”
“Oh yes. During the war. And rats too.”
Most boys would have replied with a yuk! and pulled a disgusted face. But Adrian looked at Tom with interest.
“Where?”
“Hong Kong.” Tom had not so far mentioned this phase of his life to anyone at Yarborough, but he had no hesitation now. “We weren’t well fed. We were, um, guests of the Japanese.”
Adrian was staring at him open-mouthed, as if glimpsing a revelation beyond belief. “At Stanley?” he asked tentatively.
“No. A smaller camp in the New Territories, called Tai Po. But how do … ?”
He broke off, astonished. Adrian had jerked upright and grabbed him by the arm. The gull, startled, flapped away.
“Tom!” Adrian was losing control of his voice. “Oh, Christ almighty! … So was I!”
Tom was bewildered. “But you can’t have been. It was all old fogeys at Tai Po, apart from Mum and Dad and me. And Kim.”
“But that’s me!” Adrian was now openly sobbing “I’m Kim!”
“You’re Kim?” Tom gaped in turn. “Oh my God!”
Spontaneously they hugged, Adrian’s tears dripping on to Tom’s hair. It was a while before they pulled themselves together enough to break their hug and search each other’s face. Tom was now grinning and almost bouncing with excitement; and so intent were they that neither noticed the Headmaster and Wally approach.
“I’ve always thought there was something about you,” said Adrian in a high and strangled voice, still holding Tom by the shoulders. “Not your name — I’d never heard your surname, and Tom’s as common as mud. Yet somehow you rang a bell. But it never crossed my mind it was you.” He forced himself to calm down, and his voice dropped to its usual deep level. “Not surprising, I suppose. I’ve often thought of you, but it’s eight years ago, and my memory of your face was blurred. Anyway, one changes out of all recognition between — what? — five and thirteen.”
“Same here! I felt I ought to know you, but I never recognised you either. And one changes just as much between, um, nine and seventeen. Though your eyebrows — come to think of it, there is something familiar about them.”
“One’s higher than the other. But how much do you remember of Tai Po?”
“Quite a lot, actually.” Tom was still grinning. “Not so much about the old bods and biddies. But lots about you. How you killed Major Hashimoto …”
“He blew himself up.”
“But only because you stabbed him in the arse.”
“Well, all right.”
Wally and the Headmaster, still unseen, were agape.
“… and how you saved all our lives when we had dysentery. How you were always nicking things. How you caught gulls and rats. And specially how you played with me — remember how you used to hug and tickle me? Remember telling me stories? Teaching me noughts and crosses? Kicking a football around? You were the only other kid there. My only real friend. Apart from Mum and Dad, of course.”
“And they were my Mum and Dad too, for all practical purposes. I loved them far more than I’ve ever loved my real father.” Adrian was still too emotional to be discreet. “Are they all right?”
“Oh yes, they’re fine.”
“Oh God, I feel guilty about them. That I never had a chance to thank them. Or say goodbye. Or find them since.”
“They searched high and low for you, you know. And they’re always talking about you.”
“Are they really?” Adrian was red in the face. “I’ve got to meet them. Where do you live? London, isn’t it?”
“Yes. But they’re coming up to see me at the weekend. The day after tomorrow. They’re staying with Wally.”
“Good God!” Adrian, having absorbed this news, became almost formal. “Look, Tom … the last thing I want to do is butt in on your family gathering … but could I have a word with them some time?”
“Course you can! More than a word. They’ll be furious if you don’t. They’ll be all over you. You’re part of the family too. After all, you’re their foster son. Sort of.”
“And you don’t mind if I steal your time with them?”
“Course I don’t! Anyway, you’re not stealing it. You’re my big brother, aren’t you? Sort of. And I can call you Kim now, can’t I? When we’re by ourselves?”
Junior boys were expected to address older ones by their surname, but this was different. And it was already dawning on Tom, now the first shockwave of recognition had passed, that things might be different in that other sphere too. The boy who had once been at the core of his life, the boy he had once loved as a best friend, turned out to be the boy he now loved in another sense. He wished he knew about Kim’s desires. His own were stronger than ever. He felt himself going hard.
“Of course you can.” Adrian relaxed at last and grinned. “God, it’s good to find you again, brother!” He hugged Tom once more. “We really were brothers, weren’t we? As close as brothers, anyway. You won’t remember, but I helped teach you to walk and read and write. And I don’t know how many times I changed your nappies …”
Tom found that a titillating thought, which only added to his hardness.
“… and what were you saying about tickling?”
Without warning, Adrian’s fingers got busy on Tom’s ribs and Tom collapsed, squealing like a five-year-old yet desperate to conceal his thirteen-year-old response to physical contact with someone he lusted for. Both were rolling on the ground and hooting with laughter when they became aware that they had an audience.
“Sorry, sir,” said Adrian, climbing to his feet and effortlessly retrieving his dignity, while Tom took his time. “I didn’t see you were here. Excuse our antics.”
“Not at all.” The Headmaster was both amused and gracious. “Excuse us for intruding. We could not help hearing much of what you said. And we congratulate you upon your reunion.”
“And as for meeting Tom’s parents on Saturday,” Wally added, “there’s no problem. They’re arriving about two. Come round to the private side then, both of you, and talk to your heart’s content. If you want me out of the way, I’ll make myself scarce.”
“No need for that, sir,” said Adrian. “After all, you’re their host.”
“Well, thank you. If you get down to reminiscing, I confess I’ll be intrigued to hear of your wartime escapades. I do admit to my fair share of curiosity.”
“And so do I,” the Headmaster added. “Maybe more than my fair share. Would it be too much to ask if I might sit in too? I would dearly love to know more about my captain’s noble history of saving lives, and his possibly more dubious history of stealing and of stabbing Japanese officers in the, ah, posterior.”
Adrian grinned. “By all means, sir. If it’s all right by Doctor John and Sister Mary … I mean Tom’s parents … then it’s all right by me. And don’t worry, sir. Your captain isn’t an inveterate thief. Only at Tai Po, for the common good. And he isn’t a serial killer either.” His eyes clouded. “Once was more than enough for a lifetime.”
“That I can well believe. But, for the present, do you know that it is nearly time for lunch?”
He headed for School House, and the other three for MacNair’s. Tom was enthusiastically bringing Adrian up to date about his parents: how his father was now a consultant at St Thomas’s and his mother a senior nurse there, and how they lived in a spiffing house in Blackheath. Wally took the opportunity to study the boys, covertly, in the light of his new understanding.
Tom Wardle, small for thirteen but with an air of thoughtfulness and worldly wisdom unexpected at his age; the product, no doubt, of early years of hardship and of support from strong parents. He was maturing fast, and in the throes of becoming a strong character himself. His face, with its firm mouth and nose and brow capped by fair curls, was already part-way to strength. Wally sensed hidden depths in him.
Adrian Longley, four years older but, now that Wally had a few clues to work on, in many respects similar. Also short in stature, and worldly wise with a vengeance. Enigmatic, but endowed with the strongest character Wally had ever encountered in a boy. A face, too, under that straight dark hair, of emphatic strength, enlivened by a mobile mouth and those quirky eyebrows. And the sombreness which had lurked behind the apparently all-seeing eyes seemed lighter now. The face could only be inherited, but the character might have been instilled by the Wardles. Perhaps, after all, it was nurture rather than nature. Wally looked forward to observing the three of them — the four of them — together.
This morning’s episode had been an eye-opener; not only to something of Adrian’s past but — witness the tickling — to his capacity for horseplay, which was the last thing he would have expected in so sober a soul. But it was clearly there, and he was glad of it. Glad too to know of it; for while many boys were transparent, some revealed themselves only by reluctant dribs and drabs, if at all.
They reached MacNair’s. As the boys turned in to their entrance and Wally continued towards his front door he heard Adrian say, “Please don’t broadcast this round the school, Tom. Not yet, anyway.”
“All right. So long as you keep quiet about changing my nappies!”
Wally smiled widely to himself. Unlike many of his calling, he remembered that he too had once been young.
*
The next two days dragged by. Outwardly, Adrian remained as composed as ever, but Tom was visibly excited. That evening he was in his study, pretending to read but fidgeting restlessly and casting frequent glances outside. He had moved his desk, a week or two before, so that from it he could see across the yard to Kim’s study; and now he was intermittently watching him as he sat framed in his window, chin on hand and staring, it seemed, into infinity. Tom would have given a month’s pocket money to know what was in his thoughts. Tai Po? Mum and Dad? Or me? Kim suddenly lifted his head and looked straight at him. Tom turned hastily away.
“For Christ’s sake, Tom!” squeaked Graham Holmfirth, who shared his study. “What’s up with you? Got ants in your pants? And what’s so interesting out there?”
He tilted his chair dangerously far back to follow Tom’s line of sight.
“Longley? You’re gawping at Longley? Got a crush on him, then? Oh, of course!” Tom could almost hear the penny drop in what Graham was pleased to call his mind. “That’s why you shifted your desk! So you can gawp at him! I get it now. But why Longley, of all people? Great bloke, but far too virtuous. Fat chance of him sucking you off or shoving his prick up your arse, if that’s what you’re after.”
Tom winced and did not deign to reply. He was annoyed that Graham had seen through him, and offended by his language. Graham wasn’t a bad chap. But although his body was still a child’s, without a single pubic hair to its credit, his mind was precociously one-tracked and his vocabulary coarse. He was too young and too uncouth to understand what love meant. Tom was not a complete innocent nor in any way a prude, and in the ordinary course of events he had no objection whatever to calling a spade a spade. Nor could he deny, especially to himself, that his hopes did include blowjobs and buggery. But it needn’t be put quite so demeaningly, need it? His love was on an altogether higher plane.
In any event, Tom was in no mood to chatter. A new responsibility had come his way. His head was seething with the day’s revelation and he felt he was in a position of importance; but he knew it was a private importance, not a public one. It was partly a family thing and partly a personal thing. He had nobly refrained from pestering Kim, but he had already asked Wally not to spill the beans to his parents in advance. He wanted to spring Kim on them out of the blue, just as Kim had come back to him out of the blue. And their response, he was sure, would be the same as his own.
He tried to visualise them as Kim would see them. Eight years older now, of course, forty-one but hardly looking it, Mum a brown-eyed dark-haired beauty, Dad blue-eyed and curly-fair, a larger and older version of Tom himself. Both of them wore that indefinable air of competence so often borne by doctors and nurses and tempered, in their case, by a profound humanity. It was going to be a reunion of love. Because Tom loved them deeply, he well understood why Kim had loved them as surrogate parents. They too, he knew, loved Kim as a surrogate son. He himself loved Kim, not only as a surrogate brother but as something as yet unmentionable.
As yet unmentionable … Even if, some time in the unpredictable future, his hopes were fulfilled, at school it would remain unmentionable for ever. Here, while dirty-minded Grahams might talk lightly of the theory, he had heard of no cases of the practice. But mentioning it to Mum and Dad … that was a different matter.
Saturday finally arrived. Adrian ate his lunch mechanically and silently. Tom was on mental tiptoe, his ear open for the crunch of gravel on the drive which would announce his parents’ arrival. When it came, he forced himself to leave a decent interval for Wally’s welcome and the inevitable small-talk. Then he collected Adrian from his study and almost dragged him to the private side. For once he was in the lead. He could now say things to his house captain which a few days ago he would not have dreamed of saying; and, having more than an inkling of what was at stake, he said them with sympathy and, though he hardly recognised it, with a new authority.
“If you burst into floods of tears, Kim, it doesn’t matter. What does matter is making contact again. I know what you’re feeling. Or I think I do. And I know what they’ll be feeling too.”
He left him in the hall.
“Wait here. I’ll only be a minute.”
He knocked at Wally’s sitting room door and went in, leaving it ajar. Joyful cries of welcome emerged, muffled by hugs. Enquiries about how he was. The deep tones of Wally and the Headmaster. Then Tom’s voice, broken but still light.
“Mum, Dad. I’ve got a surprise for you. Hang on a moment.”
He poked his head out and beckoned Adrian in.
“Mum, Dad. This is Adrian Longley, the captain of the school.”
Adrian came through the doorway, and stopped, and gazed. His mouth was quivering, his whole frame atremble, and he uttered not a word.
Tom hovered in expectation. “You’ve met him before,” he added helpfully.
“Have we?” asked John Wardle, puzzled but polite, stepping forward with arm outstretched. “Forgive me, but I’m afraid I don’t remember where.”
But his wife’s hands had flown to her mouth, and her eyes were wide.
“John! Wait!”
She stepped past him to search Adrian’s face more closely.
“Are you Kim?” she whispered.
He still uttered not a word, but he flung his arms around her, and he wept.
“Oh, my dear!” she cried, hugging him back, in tears herself.
“Kim!” John gasped. “Is it really Kim?” He glanced at Tom, who nodded, beaming. “Oh, thank God! At last! And here, of all places!”
He breathed several deep breaths, inspecting Adrian’s crumpled face which rested on Mary’s shoulder. Then he clapped his son on the back.
“You called it a surprise, Tom, and you couldn’t have surprised us more! When did you find out? And how?”
“Two days ago.” Tom was on top of the world. “By pure chance. We were talking about eating seagulls, and suddenly everything fell into place.”
“Everything?”
“Well, who we were. And memories of how we used to play. But we haven’t gone into detail yet. Anyway, you’ll remember far more than I do.”
“Yes. There’s any amount to talk about …”
But Mary was disengaging herself. Adrian, still sobbing, ignored John’s hand which was outstretched again, and flung his arms around him too.
“Oh, goodness!” said Mary, mopping her face and hugging Tom instead. “Oh, Tom! After eight years!”
Remembering the Headmaster and Wally, she turned to them.
“Sorry about this display. But Kim … Adrian … was with us throughout the war, in Hong Kong. He was effectively our son, effectively Tom’s brother. And at liberation he vanished, and we couldn’t find hide nor hair of him. We were in despair … But,” she added, seeing their expressions, “you know all about this, don’t you? You’re in on this too!”
“We are,” Wally admitted cheerfully. “We happened to be present when Adrian and Tom discovered each other. But we don’t know all about it. No more than the barest outline, and we’re agog to hear more. Yet we don’t want to intrude. If you’d rather be alone, you must say so.”
“Oh, please stay. You’re in loco parentis, after all. You’ve an interest too. He’s doing all right here, then? Oh, silly of me. Of course he is, if he’s captain of the school.”
“He is the most extraordinary boy we have ever had,” said the Headmaster simply.
“That fits. Yes, that fits.” Mary looked across at Adrian. “You know, this is the first time I’ve ever seen him in tears. All the way through the war, whatever was thrown at him — and a lot of it was very nasty — he never cried once. Not that we saw. Young though he was, he never gave in. He had an incredible strength. I often thought it was unnatural. Even unhealthy.”
But Adrian was through with his huggings. With a visible effort he pulled himself together and wiped his face. Taking both Wardles by the hand, he spoke to them for the first time, although his voice was thick.
“Sister Mary, Doctor John …”
“Oh, Kim! Call us John and Mary now!”
“Well, all right … but that’s how I think of you … The first thing I want to say is how sorry I am that I left you so suddenly, without any goodbye or thank you …”
“But what did happen? We were sure it must have been something dreadful.”
“Dreadful? Well … I don’t know. It’s a long story …”
“Then let’s all sit down and hear it.”
The three Wardles commandeered the big sofa. Wally drew up three chairs: two, a tactful distance away, for himself and the Headmaster, and one central for Adrian.
“Thank you, sir,” said Adrian, “but I’d rather be informal, if you don’t mind.”
He methodically took off his jacket and shoes, and sat himself cross-legged on the carpet facing the sofa.
“Kim! That’s just how you used to sit at Tai Po!” cried Mary, delighted. “Except that you were in shorts, and barefoot.”
“And it’s how I’m comfortable.” Adrian smiled at them at last, a wondering smile as if he hardly trusted his eyes.
“Oh Lord, where do we begin?” he asked. “One thing flowed on from another. Things, towards the end, that you didn’t always know about.”
“Then why don’t we begin at the beginning?” she suggested. “From when we first encountered each other. And follow the story through from there, each telling our own bit. That’ll put Mr MacNair and the Headmaster in the picture. Shall we set the ball rolling with the background?”

Continue reading..

Online Users
There is currently 1 user online 0 Member(s) | 1 Guest(s)

Welcome, Guest
You have to register before you can post on our site.

Username
  

Password
  





Search Forums

(Advanced Search)