Becoming part of the Brotherhood
A short tale by David Lee © 2018
In mentoring a new pledge to their quasi-fraternity, a young man discovers a new path in his life-journey.
Kyle thought his life was about as good as it could get. He was starting his junior year in college and already had job prospects in the offing when he finished his senior year at the well-respected college he'd chosen. It was rather conservative but was highly regarded in the field of computer technology.
He was dating a sweet girl, Corrie, who had made a good impression on his family. She might be marriage material a few years down the road.
Everything was perfectly normal until Aaron came into his life. Aaron was a transfer from a junior college who had pledged to his social group.
Bennington College had been dead-set against fraternities and sororities for generations, but it had loosened up in recent years. The school still refused to allow any Greek houses on its campus. However, students could form groups of same-sex members that resembled those secular organizations in several ways.
There were important differences. No alcohol was allowed, since this was in violation of the school's "morality" code. Also, there could be no wild parties, and each "house" would be named something that reflected the Christian religion.
The title for Kyle's "frat," housed in a former faculty home, had gone through a couple of revisions before members had come up with a solution which both pleased the members and passed the dean's review board. It started with the name, "Assembly of Christian Brothers." The administration was okay with it, but some members thought it sounded too much like a church denomination. Removing "Assembly from the name left it as "Christian Brothers" which sounded like a brand of alcoholic beverage to school officials. The more left-leaning members figured they could solve the problem with just the word, "Brotherhood." It reflected a Christian value without rubbing it into the face of a non-believer. One might lose a job opportunity in the secular world if "Christian" was attached to an organization on one's résumé.
Kyle had joined when he was a freshman, which was customary. Now, as a junior, he was proud to have been selected to be the big brother to a transfer. Formerly, he'd been passed over as a mentor for some younger pledge for one reason or other, mainly because there had been others with his major and interests who had more seniority. However, by some stroke of fate, the senior who had been in line to take Aaron under his wing had transferred to a state university shortly before the start of fall term.
Aaron was a good student, but not unusually handsome or gifted in sports. He wasn't poor, nor had he been born with a silver spoon in his mouth. He was an ordinary kid in a lot of ways. That was fine with Kyle because he too was ordinary. They shared several characteristics.
Both of them stood about 5'10" and weighed between 165 to 175. Both had light brown hair that developed highlights when exposed to the summer sun, and they had similar eye color, in the hazel range. If they were to wear the same hair style, people could have possibly mistaken them for brothers - cousins at the very least.
With so many things in common, they were the perfect match. That had led to problems with Kyle's girlfriend almost immediately. Kyle felt he should do his best to help Aaron fit in. Therefore, they spent a lot of time together. Corrie was jealous. Although she had eschewed the term "going-steady," she had it in her mind that he'd be proposing to her before the year was over. How could that happen when he was so devoted to his "brother?"
Corrie pushed her point the third week of the term when Kyle informed her Aaron and he were attending a football game together with members of the Brotherhood on Saturday night. She had assumed they'd be going to the concert she wanted to hear. In fact, she'd even purchased a pair of tickets on that supposition.
"I guess men only want women around when they need them to clean, cook, and take care of the kids," she huffed. "I'd planned a romantic evening."
"Hmm, when did you start keeping house for me, and where did the kids come from. We haven't even done the deed that causes them."
"Don't be crude! You know what I mean."
"Yes, I think I DO know. You seem to feel I'm your property. If I can't have a life of my own, we'll certainly never have a life together."
"A man is supposed to forsake his father and mother and cleave to his wife. Fathers and mothers are more important than frat brothers."
"Okay, where is this cleaving crap' coming from? Yes, I'm as familiar with the verse as you are, but I don't recall hearing about the wife' bit in our relationship. Just because my family likes you doesn't mean we've been to the altar already. If we have, you should be submitting to me in our marriage bed."
"There you go talking nasty again! I'm not speaking to you until you apologize!"
Corrie had expected an immediate show of contrition from Kyle. She wouldn't make him get on his knees and beg, but he should at least shed a tear of remorse. When none was forthcoming, she stuck her nose in the air and flounced away.
Kyle stood there a few seconds wondering how their differences over attending events had escalated into something that resembled a major breakup so quickly. He also pondered why he didn't feel particularly concerned about it.
The Brothers had great fun cheering at the game. Their team won by seven points, and everyone wanted to celebrate. Since they didn't drink, it was pizza and pitchers of cola at Sam's. Most could tolerate the calories and the carbonation, but a few would have to get up to pee in the night.
The guys who were dating took some ribbing about being having to get "permission" to be out with the boys. Most of them, including Kyle, took it in the spirit it was intended. But in his mind, he was doing some serious thinking about how controlling Corrie had tried to be. Maybe their apparent breakup was for the best.
On Sunday morning, Kyle and Aaron attended church together. Corrie was at the same service, wishing she were by Kyle's side. In their social circle, if a boy and girl came to a service as a couple, it was assumed that they were headed for the altar. So far, Kyle had never asked her to go with him, even when she'd hinted about it. After last night, she was losing hope that he would ever invite her. How had things gone so terribly wrong?
One of the other house-brothers noticed that Kyle and Corrie didn't seek each other out in the social hour that followed the service. He immediately sensed that something was amiss.
"Dude, what gives?" Alan asked. "If you'd set a tray of water in front of her, we'd have ice cubes in a minute. She looks like she could freeze you with her gaze!"
"Whatever," Kyle replied. "We had a difference of opinion, and she wants ME to apologize for HER attitude. That just ain't gonna happen."
"Good for you. I've always thought what she really wants is a lap-dog."
"Am I responsible for messing up your relationship?" Aaron asked on the way back to their house in Kyle's car.
"Not really. She's been complaining about all the time I've been spending with the Brotherhood, and that does include you, but it's more than that. She doesn't seem to want me to have a life of my own. It's suffocating and I'm not going to compromise. She's attractive enough, and my family likes her, but I can't breathe! So, if you had something to do with it, I should be thanking you, I think. The more I've mulled it over, the more I like being a free-agent."
"Okay. Then I won't feel too guilty."
"Please don't!"
The first weekend in October meant the initiation for the newbies of the Brotherhood. There were only three of them this fall, and each would be given a task which they would have to rely on their mentor to help them resolve. The purpose was supposed to make the pledges dependent on their roommates, and thus bond with them.
Their assignments ranged from something akin to a scavenger hunt, to scary situations that could put someone in jeopardy. The committee of three, Alan, Ben, and Jake, who planned and oversaw the initiation thought it was all fun and didn't realize how some of the tasks bordered on hazing.
Each pledge had been given a biblical house-name and the committee tried to tailor their quests to fit those names. David's name was "Daniel," Joe was called, "John," and Aaron was dubbed, "Adam."
"Daniel," being associated with the lion's den had to send a picture to his mentor of him standing in front of a caged lion at the zoo. That would have been an easy task except that he couldn't take his cell phone or any money. He was dressed in a costume which would have been appropriate for an extra in The Lion King. The committee members dropped him off at the gate, but his mentor, Tom, had no idea of where he was or how to help him.
"John" was dressed in running shorts and a tank-top and was allowed to keep his phone. He was blindfolded while he was taken to a place near a road construction site where he was locked in a port-a-potty and told not to remove the blindfold until he was alone. His task was to try to direct his roommate, who had a key to the padlock, to his location to let him out. It needed to be accomplished by using his ears and whatever he could see through the vent to determine where he was.
"Adam" drew the worst of the lot. The committee felt it would be appropriate to leave him with no phone and no money in the area near a city park where people leased land for gardens.
He struggled, to no avail, as the three seniors stripped him naked and clothed him in a thong which had a big fig leaf sewn on the front. Unbeknown to some of the naïve committee members, the nearby park was a cruising place. There was a definite possibility that he'd be hit on by someone, or that the police might make a raid on the area and pick him up as a sex offender.
In his case, his roommate was given a series of riddles that would lead to his whereabouts if he could solve them.
There was a time-limit on the whole initiation process. If the guys weren't back to the house within four hours, their roommates would be given the GPS coordinates to find them.
Hopefully, everyone would be finished before a predicted storm came through.
"Daniel" had the easiest mission and the best luck of the three. A family with two small children came up to him almost immediately at the front gate of the zoo. The children were fascinated with his costume. On hearing his story, the parents paid his admission and took his picture by the lions' cage. They uploaded it and sent it to Tom. Since the photo was stamped with the date and location, it was easy for Tom to find him. He was back at the house in less than an hour.
Poor "John" wasn't so fortunate. The smell of the outhouse made him queasy and he had no idea where he was. Finally, he figured he'd have to resist the urge to throw up and get with it if he didn't want to spend a big chunk of his day there. He stood up on the seat and peered through a vent. He could see road construction machinery and hear a train passing by behind him. He quickly relayed that info to Mark.
Mark spent quite a bit of time looking for streets where construction was underway. He couldn't find any near a railroad track.
"John" was feeling quite frustrated when he spotted a workman coming his way, evidently to use one of the facilities. He yelled and hammered on the fiberglass shell of the toilet to get the man's attention.
"What's going on?" the man asked. "Are you trapped?"
"I'm locked in here until I can get my roommate to let me out," "John" answered. "I need to know where I am, so I can give him directions."
"You're on highway 151 at the edge of town. Will he be able to get you, or should I try to find a bolt-cutter to take off the padlock?"
"I have him on the phone. It's for an initiation, and if you cut me out, it might not be considered fair and I might have to do something else."
"Okay, I'll hold off. But if I don't see someone to rescue you soon, I'll get you out. If we get a severe storm, you'd be a sitting duck."
"Thanks!"
With the construction worker's details, Mark was there in 10 minute's time to free "John" who hugged him tightly once he was out. He made sure to have Mark drive near enough to the jobsite to wave to his benefactor.
"Adam" felt very vulnerable. He could think of no way to use a phone. There were houses not more than two blocks away, but he'd likely be picked up for indecent exposure if he went to one of them. Who in their right mind would let a nearly naked 20-year-old into their home, or even place a call for him without contacting the police first?
If he went to the park, he might find other people, but there was no telling his fate. He did know what went on there because he'd been on an Internet site which listed it as a place where one might score a quickie. He hadn't had the nerve to visit it, but it had fascinated him. God! If he got picked up there, his family might figure him out for sure and send him to a reparative therapy program. Of course, he could refuse to go, but he might end up like that kid, Seth Owen who got his tuition paid to Georgetown after his parents rejected him. The big difference was that Aaron would have no one to go to bat for him with a Go-Fund-Me page.
Looking around the garden for something useful, he spied a pumpkin patch. Some of the leaves were rather large. If he picked a couple of big ones, he could slip them under the waistband of the thong to cover his butt. He'd be less likely to get arrested if he had a least tried to hide his nakedness.
His idea worked, but the leaves irritated his tender skin. He'd have to put up with it until he could find a more comfortable solution.
Meanwhile, Kyle was wracking his brain trying to figure out "Adam's" location. He reviewed the Genesis story in his mind. The Old Testament Adam was in the Garden of Eden when he was tempted to eat the forbidden fruit. There was no botanical garden within a hundred miles. Perhaps there was an apple orchard in the vicinity. He remembered hearing about one 20 miles away where they had a cider festival. That seemed too far.
He finally decided to Google "gardens" and see what came up. When he saw a site promoting city gardens on "Edens" Road, he thought he might be in luck. It was the best lead, and he drove there as fast as he could without getting picked up for speeding.
He slowly cruised the road along the edge of the patches, tooting his horn occasionally. Out from behind a row of dried cornstalks, Aaron emerged, running for his car.
Kyle stopped and ran to embrace his sobbing friend.
"I prayed so hard, but I was afraid you wouldn't find me! The temperature's dropped suddenly and it looks like it's gonna rain any minute."
"I'm here now; it's gonna be okay. If I'd known what they were doing to you I'd have threatened them with a call to the dean. I read on the `net there are men who come here for sex who might have accosted you. I have a beach towel in the trunk. We'll cover you up properly and get you back to the house. I'm gonna read the riot act when we get there!"
"If you do that, they may reject me."
"They'd better not even think it, or I'll go to the administration and get the house shut down!"
Just before Aaron and Kyle could get in the car, the sky opened up.
When Kyle and Aaron came into the house, dripping wet, several of the brothers were there to meet them, laughing. That wasn't their smartest move, considering how Kyle felt. It was like pouring gas on a fire. Kyle was pissed to the max.
"You'd better shut up, you miserable assholes!"
"Hey, it was all in fun," Jake snickered.
"I'll show you fun when I see the dean on Monday morning. Not only was Aaron traumatized but now he has a rash on his butt from the leaves he used to cover up with. He could have been molested by some dirty old man in the park."
"What?" Ben asked in disbelief.
"That's what's known as a `cruising' area. Surely you're not so naive that you don't know what that means."
"Um, I didn't know that," Alan claimed.
"I don't give a rat's ass! Ignorance is no defense!"
"We're all Christians on this campus and we don't like your dirty language and name-calling," Ben insisted. "We can vote you both out."
"You know, I don't give a shit what you like or don't like. I WILL go to the dean and I'll give him the names of you three who hatched this up. After what you did to Aaron, I really don't care whether I'm in this group or not. I imagine when the dean hears the whole story, it's the committee who will get booted, and anyone else who aided and abetted them. They might disband the whole organization!
"Come on, Aaron, you need to shower off the plant irritant and I'll see if I have some hydrocortisone to put on your rash."
Jake and Ben started to protest about Kyle's assessment of their behavior, but Alan kept his mouth shut. He realized they had gone too far. He just hoped their house could be salvaged.
The rest of the brothers stood in stunned silence for a few minutes after the two had left the sitting room.
"Um, we'd better apologize to Aaron after Kyle cools down," Alan ventured.
"I don't think it will do any good," Ben shook his head.
"Well, you didn't help by bringing up his language," Jake accused. I'm sure most of us would have cussed if the situation were reversed."
"Not I," Ben bragged. "No words like that have ever crossed my lips."
"I'll bet some other things have crossed your lips," Mark grinned.
"What are you implying?" Ben demanded.
"I put my ear to your door when your old buddy from high school visited you last year. `Oh Ben, don't stop what you're doing, I'm almost there!' he moaned. Maybe it was only a hand-job, but it must have been good."
"Why you nasty son-of-a-bitch! You had no right to spy on me! Besides, we were only goofing around."
"Um, what were you saying about inappropriate language?" Mark giggled. "It seems we're all human, even you!"
"Okay, drop the towel and let me apply this to your butt," Kyle said. As they returned from their showers.
"It's kinda embarrassing," Aaron blushed.
"Get over it, I've already seen everything. Now hold still while I rub it in."
Aaron bent over his bed and did what Kyle asked. It did make him self-conscious, but it felt good at the same time - really good! He couldn't remember a time when someone else had gently rubbed his bare bottom. No doubt his mother had when he was a baby, but no one had since. His dick started responding. At first, it was only semi-hard but soon it was like a piece of steel and throbbing with every heartbeat.
"There, that wasn't so bad, was it?"
"Now I'm really guilty of indecent exposure," Aaron said as he stood up, not trying to hide his condition any longer.
Kyle smiled at him. "I'm gonna quote something I overheard my grandpa say when he didn't know I was around. He said, `Indecent exposure is a concept created by people who have nothing decent to expose!' I was too young to know what it meant, but I'm not now, and I think it's quite appropriate."
"Thanks! You're the kindest person I've met on campus," Aaron blushed.
Around 2:30 AM, Kyle was awaked by a cry of anguish. He sprang from his warm bed to see what was going on. Aaron was thrashing around as if he were trying to escape some unseen foe.
"It's okay, Aaron. I'm here," Kyle soothed, as he knelt by the bed caressing his roommate's shoulder. "Scooch over and let me hold you. It's cold in here!"
Aaron slept the rest of the night, peacefully, wrapped in Kyle's embrace.
Aaron woke up with a start on Sunday morning. It was still raining outside, and the room was chilly as a result. (Heat in the houses wouldn't be turned on for another week or so.) For a moment, he was overcome with fear. He couldn't remember everything from the night before, but he realized he was snuggled in bed with Kyle, and he hoped he hadn't done something to embarrass himself.
He was able to breathe normally when he saw the smile on Kyle's lips.
"Hey, are you okay this morning."
"Yeah, I feel good. Um, sorry about last night."
"What are you sorry about?"
"Whatever I did to make you feel you had to sleep with me."
"It's your bed, but it was my choice to join you, so if there's an apology to be made, it should come from me."
"No, you were great! I'm beginning to remember my dream. Uncle John had me by the neck and he was going to rape me."
"Was that just a nightmare or did yesterday's trauma awaken an old memory from the past? Did your uncle abuse you?"
"It did bring back something I'd suppressed for many years. My uncle took me camping for my 13th birthday – just him and me. It started out as a great time in the forest. He taught me to fish, and I had good luck. When he cooked our catch for dinner that night, the fresh trout tasted amazing.
"The night turned quite chilly, like yesterday, so it seemed natural when we nestled together in the tent to keep warm, like we did in the middle of the night. It all felt good to me. I felt loved. But things turned ugly the next day - like he had changed.
"I was still in nothing but my underwear and my boots, which I'd slipped into because the twigs hurt my feet. He was dressed the same way. With no warning, he pulled my briefs down and said he was going to teach me `man' stuff. He had me by the neck and forced my face toward his crotch. I don't know how I had the guts to do what I did, but I bit him, which naturally made him lose his grip. I ran, and he followed. Finally, I reached the road and flagged down a ranger who happened to be making his rounds at the time.
"Uncle John told him that he was my father and I was running away because I'd been bad and needed punishment. Somehow, the ranger believed my version of the story. I gave him our home phone number and he called my parents. Needless to say, they were shocked and said they'd come to get me immediately.
"John ran back to his pickup and took off. No one knows if he lost control on the winding road or if he chose to plunge into the canyon to end his life. Whatever it was, he died in a ball of fire."
"Wow! It's no wonder you were upset by feeling almost naked and defenseless. The committee needs to know exactly how their hazing messed you up."
"The whole thing embarrasses me; I don't want to give them all the details."
"You shouldn't have to. It's enough for them to know someone tried to molest you.
"Let's put on sweats and go make our breakfast. I'm not in the mood for church today, and you have a good excuse not to go."
Of the Brotherhood, only Alan, Ben, and Jake were in the house when Kyle and Aaron ate their breakfast. The rest had presumably gone to church, as the college expected them to do. The three had waited around nervously for the guys to come out of their room. Kyle started the conversation the minute the committee members came into the kitchen.
"Your actions yesterday set off very bad memories for Aaron, and I feel sincere apologies are in order. I'll start by saying I'm sorry for the language I used yesterday. I was very upset. That's the reason but it's not an excuse."
"Your apology is accepted, Kyle, Ben answered. "We're 10 times guiltier than you.
"Aaron, I'm the one who thought up the nearly-naked part of your task. I'll admit that I wanted to humiliate you, and this was my opportunity to do it without looking like I was a pervert. Please forgive me, if you can. At this point, I won't ask you not to go to the dean. I'm sure I deserve whatever punishment is coming my way."
"I'm sorry too," Jake said. "Alan had a serious talk with us until after midnight. We agreed that if the tables were turned, and we were being initiated like you were, we'd have been upset."
"We all got carried away," Alan agreed. "Poor Joe still has a queasy stomach from being locked in a smelly toilet. I hate to see the Brotherhood dissolved over our foolish actions. Therefore, the three of us have decided to withdraw from the house and tell the dean exactly why."
"I forgive you," Aaron said. "I don't want you to leave the Brotherhood. We're family; our differences don't need to go beyond these walls! Brothers fight with each other, but in the end, they have their sibling's backs. At times, their teasing hurts others because of their thoughtlessness. That's all this was. What you did may have been immature, but you didn't intend to mess anyone up. There was no malice aforethought. I think that's the term they use in court. Please, let's preserve this family."
By the time Aaron was through, there wasn't a dry eye in the room. Kyle loved him for his forgiving attitude. The committee members couldn't believe how compassionate he was. Each hugged him in turn.
"One positive thing came out of this initiation ritual," Kyle grinned, as their day was winding down. "We've bonded faster than we might have otherwise. That's supposed to be the purpose of the whole thing."
"I'm not sure that being close to me is a good thing, in this case. I think I'm gay. I may have resisted my uncle's advances, but I'm not sure that I wasn't guilty of enticing him. I know I got hard when we snuggled in the tent. That's part of why I felt so upset."
"All young teens are horny! He was the adult; it was his responsibility to act like one. If he had gently felt you up and made you cum, it might not have been traumatic. I'm not saying I approve of men playing with boys under 16. Certainly not if there isn't mutual consent."
"So, you don't think it's the unforgiveable sin for two guys to be intimate?"
"Nope. I'm beginning to question where I fit on the Kinsey Scale. I know I'm not all that upset over breaking up with Corrie. I've never kissed another guy, so I can't say from experience exactly what I am."
"I haven't either, but kissing a girl didn't do anything for me."
"Um, we're both caught up on our homework, there's nothing on TV, and it's colder than a witch's tit in this house. Why don't we crawl in my bed and continue our discussion?" Kyle suggested.
"Is that a good idea, considering that I've more or less come out of my closet?"
"I think it's a great plan! Maybe you can help me find the door to mine."
With their first tentative kiss, Kyle knew he'd found what he was seeking.
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Thanks to David and Tom for editing. Thanks to Nifty for making this free site available.
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David