This is a story of love between two young men. If you are under age, or live in an area where reading stories that include sex between males is illegal, or if you're not into this type of story, please leave. The story begins in 1969. While the characters and their story are completely fictional, it is set at places that are real and is told against a backdrop of some real events. This was a time when all sex was safe. It isn't now, so please respect yourself and others enough to always play safe.
I would like to thank all of those who have written to me with comments, suggestions and encouragement, especially my fellow writers in the Nifty Six. The author retains all rights. No reproductions or links to other sites are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at NJMcMick@yahoo.com.
September 1970
Danny
The day after Labor Day we drove down to Rutgers. We'd driven the new car into the city for work a couple of times but this was our first trip to New Brunswick. I offered to let Billy drive part way but he preferred to be the navigator. We hadn't been on campus since May and it felt a little like coming home except that there were new freshman all over the place, looking like lost little kids. I guess that's what we looked like a year ago. Now we were seasoned veterans, sophomores, old pros. Classes didn't start until Thursday but we wanted to get our books in advance. Unlike last semester we had enough money for all of them and we could buy new instead of used.
But before the trip to the bookstore I had to see about making a change in my schedule. While I was recuperating from my surgery I'd read a couple of Billy's books and I decided I wanted to try to get into the Black Literature class he was taking. The professor was his faculty advisor so he took me over to the English department to introduce us.
I thought Dr. Griffin was pretty young to be a professor, maybe only about thirty. He looked more like a student than a professor and was wearing jeans and had his long hair in a bushy Afro.
"So what makes you want to take this class, Dan? You're not an English major and you're obviously not black."
"No, I've decided to major in American History. But this summer I read a couple of books by James Baldwin and really liked them. Even though Go Tell It On The Mountain was a novel it was about him growing up in Harlem in the 1930s and I realized that reading books like that could be a help to me in studying history. It's a very personal view of a side of American history that most people never learn anything about. And I was completely blown away by Giovanni's Room. I couldn't believe anyone was writing about an interracial gay relationship back in the 1950s, although it was set in Europe where maybe it wouldn't have been so scandalous."
"Oh, I'm sure a relationship like that was as scandalous there as here, though maybe not as much for racial reasons. It sounds to me like you're a Baldwin fan. I think it will be a pleasure to have someone like you in the class. But I have to warn you the other students might not be as welcoming."
"Why should kids care who's in the class?"
"This is only the second year we're offering the course and all of the students who took it last year were black. Many of them viewed this as 'their' course so you might run into some students who don't think a white student should be taking it."
I didn't think Dr. Griffin was serious but he turned out to be right. I was the only white kid in the class. Most of the other kids just ignored me but a few seemed really put out by my presence. The second class turned into a heated discussion on why I shouldn't be there. It started out kind of slow with two guys insisting I should drop the course and me defending myself. Billy surprised me by keeping out of it at first, but when they got nasty and personal he spoke up in my defense. About the only thing these guys thought was worse than a white student taking 'their' course was a black student defending him and the whole class seemed to gang up on Billy for betraying his race. I knew it must have been hard for him as he stood up to them and I saw the hurt in his eyes when one of the guys called him an Oreo. Dr. Griffin let the argument go on for a while until we started repeating ourselves and then put an end to it by making it clear that he felt all students had the right to take the course.
After the class Billy was pretty quiet as we started for home.
"I'm sorry, Billy."
"What are you sorry for? You didn't do anything wrong."
"I shouldn't have taken the course. I just didn't think of the position it would put you in. You're the English major. This course means a lot more to you. You should be able to enjoy it, to discuss it with the other kids in the class. Maybe you would have made some friends if it wasn't for me."
"Danny, I was really pleased when you decided to take the course. It's one more way you've shown me that you're interested in my life, my culture. I know that's not the reason you did it but I'm glad you did. Yet I can understand where those guys were coming from."
"You mean you think they were right? But weren't they acting prejudiced, wanting to keep me out of the class because I'm white?"
"I guess that is prejudice and I don't condone it but I understand it. Let me put it this way. The Restaurant is a gay place, right? But we do get a few straight customers. Remember right after we opened last Spring when you had that table with two straight couples, what you said on the way home?"
I knew exactly the night he was talking about. Even though the couples knew it was a gay restaurant and were completely at ease with it they made me a little uncomfortable. I thought about our conversation on the train afterwards. At the time I didn't think what I'd said was prejudiced but maybe it was.
"Yeah, now that you bring it up I guess maybe I sounded a little bit like those guys in class this afternoon. I was a little put out that those straights were in a gay place when they have so many of their own places to go. And I was afraid that some of our gay customers wouldn't feel like they could relax and be themselves with straight people around."
"It's the same kind of thing in this class, Danny. Those brothers have spent their whole lives studying courses put together by white people. This course is a new direction for them and it's very personal. That's why they're so possessive of it."
"So you think maybe I was wrong to take it, maybe I should drop it?"
"No. I just want you to understand where they're coming from and know what you're facing. I actually think it might be a good thing for the class to have one white kid adding a different point of view. It's not like you're gonna be taking over or anything."
"So do you think discrimination different when it's a minority doing it, Billy?"
"It's still discrimination. I think most people naturally gravitate toward people like themselves to feel more comfortable. Maybe people in a minority have more need for that to build a stronger feeling of identity. But one thing I've learned in the past year is that when you exclude people and ideas that are different you end up living in a pretty sterile boring world. You miss out on what other kinds of people have to offer. There is so much to experience in this world that it's silly to deprive yourself of the chance."
"I still feel bad about this class though, Billy. I feel guilty sometimes because ever since you met me you've been so immersed in the white community. It's like you've given up your past for me and you shouldn't have to do that."
"I haven't given up anything I didn't want to, Danny, except maybe my family and that wasn't your fault. I'll admit there are some things I miss but if I hadn't met you I'd still be in the closet and single. I'd definitely be hanging out with more black kids on campus, but deep inside I'd be alone and miserable. And if you hadn't met me, you'd have different friends and a different life but I'm sure you don't think that you've given up that for me."
"No, but this life is still more like what I'm used to than what you are."
"A male lover, no family, an apartment over a garage and waiting tables in a gay restaurant isn't what either one of us is used to, baby. This is brand new territory for both of us. I think we should concentrate on what we've got and build on that to make our lives what we want. There's no point in dwelling on what's changed, or what we've lost or what we don't have. Just look at all we have."
"Hey, I thought I was the optimist and you were the cynic."
"Switching around can be good outside the bedroom now and then too, white boy."
Billy
Danny and I have been trying really hard to make this semester as much like last year as possible but it isn't easy. Commuting is a totally different life. When you live on campus, your whole world is practically within arm's reach. You can stop in the dorm between classes, take a nap, study, have a quickie if you have the time or just hang out. You see your friends all the time because you live with them. When you commute, most of your life is far from campus. And the only place you have to call your own at school is your car. Yeah, you can store stuff in it and stop there between classes, but it isn't home and hanging out in the library or student center doesn't give you any privacy.
So we've been trying to spend as much time on campus as we can and hang out with the few friends we made last year. During long breaks between classes, we usually go to the Student Center. They have a few pool tables and some bowling lanes downstairs. The tables are good ones and since they don't have a warp like the one Danny learned on at home I can often beat him. But he kills me at bowling. I never bowled before and he was in a league in high school so he wins nearly every game. But I'm getting better and only get a gutter ball now and then. Sometimes when we feel lazy we just crash in the music lounge.
Tuesday nights we go to the Homophile League meeting so we have lots of time to kill after class. We usually go to the library to get some studying done. Wednesdays they show recent movies at Records Hall so Lucy comes over from Douglass and we go out to eat, then the three of us take in the movie. Of course, Thursday is poker night so we do a little studying at the library again, then grab something to eat before driving to Plainfield.
This schedule keeps us involved on campus, in touch with our friends and caught up with our studies but it doesn't do anything for our love life. When we lived in the dorm last year we'd have a little mid-day fun most days in addition to making love at night. And during the summer, once Danny had pretty much recovered from his surgery, we were going at it all the time. So not having access to a place during the day was a drag. Reggie offered to let us use his room now and then but it would have felt too weird doing it in someone else's bed. We had no choice but to be chaste all day, not that we didn't tease each other constantly. One Tuesday afternoon we were sitting at a table on the third floor of the library working on assignments. Danny stopped working, put his pen down and sat back in his chair.
"What's wrong, babe?"
"I'm horny."
"No shit. For a sweet boy everyone thinks is so innocent you're always horny. Get over it."
"But I'm horny, Billy. Do something." He could be so childish when he was frustrated.
"We'll be home in a little over four hours. I promise I'll fuck you silly. Just hang on a little while."
"I want it now." He was putting on his 'little kid about to throw a tantrum' act.
"I'm just as horny as you, but get real. We don't have any place to go."
"I seem to recall a glory hole in the men's room in the basement. Want to take a break from studying and go downstairs for a few minutes?"
We had been spending so much time studying at the library that I'd almost forgotten what went on in the basement. That glory hole was obviously meant for quick anonymous encounters and it seemed inappropriate for two guys who had been living together for over a year to use it, but as they say, any port in a storm. I was as horny as Danny and it wasn't a bad idea.
"Okay, Danny, but who is gonna do who?"
"I did you the other time so it's your turn. Besides, it was my idea."
We left our stuff at the table and took the elevator down. No one was in the men's room when we got there so we went straight to the booths on either side of the glory hole. I squatted down and put one eye up to the hole. Even though no one was around, it seemed like we should whisper.
"Okay, sexy, whip it out. Let's see what you've got."
"I've got a lot, baby. I hope you can handle it."
"Oh, don't worry about that. I'm used to sucking a pretty big one."
Danny must have seen my eye at the hole so he put on a little show for me, unbuttoning his jeans and then very slowly unzipping them. He hooked his thumbs in the waistband on either side, catching his briefs as well, and began to pull them down. As he exposed the top of his pubic hair, he turned around. Slowly he pulled the jeans down over that beautiful little white ass, bending over slightly as he did, practically shoving his butt up against the glory hole. He made me wish I had a very long, very thin tongue. It was so near, yet so far. He turned back around and faced me, sliding his pants down to mid-thigh, letting his nearly erect dick pop up.
He put his right hand around the base and waved it at me.
"You want it?"
"Let me have it. Stick it through the hole."
He moved closer, pointing his dick at me. I moved back away from the hole a bit so he wouldn't poke my eye out. He slowly pushed his cock through the hole.
"Go ahead, black boy. Suck that white dick. You know that's what you want."
I flicked my tongue at his head and ran it around the underside of the edge. I put my mouth over the entire head and sucked on it a little, running my tongue all over it, trying to get into his piss slit. Very slowly I began bobbing on his rod, each time taking a little more into my mouth. Soon I was taking his entire length down my throat as he kept up a whispered commentary. He really seemed to be getting into the atmosphere of the place,
"Oh yeah, suck my cock. Work it, baby. You know you want my load. Suck it out of me. I'm gonna shoot my juice down your throat, make you swallow it all. Suck it. Eat me, take it all. You're gonna get a load of my seed in your belly. Keep sucking that tool, black boy."
Considering I had to teach him to cuss only a year ago, Danny could on occasion get pretty crude during sex. Sometimes when I'm plowing that white ass hard, my balls slapping against his butt, he just goes wild. I love being able to bring out the beast in my baby. But at that moment I was more into bringing out his cum. I kept sucking and he kept whispering his encouragement. He was pumping his dick though the hole into me in rhythm with my sucking. All of a sudden, he froze and I felt his cock swell, then a hot spurt hit the back of my throat. I pulled back, leaving only the head in my mouth and sucked. At the same time I wrapped my hand around the base of his shaft and squeezed, milking every drop out of him. After he shot six or seven times I kept up the suction for a few seconds making sure I got it all. He slowly pulled out and I watched his dick as it disappeared back though the hole.
"Feel better now, white boy?"
"Oh yeah. Thanks, I needed that."
"Anytime, baby. I needed it too."
We each opened the doors to our stalls at the same time and were greeted with the sound of applause. There stood Reggie, leaning against the wall between the urinals and the sinks, a large bulge very obvious in his tight jeans.
"I thought I recognized your voice, Danny. For an old married couple you guys are really hot. I almost came in my pants just listening to you. Wait until I tell the guys at the League tonight."
A look of panic appeared on Danny's face.
"Just kidding, guys. I'll keep your little secret. But it's nice to know you're just as perverted as the rest of us."
Lucy
Leaving for school this year was a very strange experience. By now I was getting pretty good at packing all of my stuff to move to the dorm. Billy and Danny helped me load everything into my car. The surreal part was pulling out of the driveway and seeing Billy, Danny and Aunt Connie standing in the front yard of MY house waving goodbye to me. I knew that now it was the boys' home too and, given the opportunity, they would have liked to be moving back onto campus but it still felt weird; me leaving and them staying behind.
I'd started missing Brad when we said goodbye the night before and I was missing the boys before I even got to Douglass. I could tell this was going to be a lonely year.
By the end of September we'd fallen into a routine. Dinner and a movie on campus on Wednesdays and hanging out together during the day on Saturday when I came home on the weekend. That was it. After seeing them on campus all last year and living within fifty feet of them all summer it just wasn't enough. I really came to treasure those two times a week with my boys.
About a month into the semester we were eating at Patty's before going to the movie when I noticed Billy and Danny were wearing matching gold ID bracelets.
"So what's with the new jewelry, boys? I never saw you wearing those bracelets before."
"Danny and I bought them as our anniversary present."
"Another anniversary? I thought that was at the end of the summer when we had our little party."
"That was the anniversary of the day we met. But we decided that the day we'll celebrate is the day Billy first told me he loved me and I realized I was in love with him too. That was last Friday. We had to work so we decided to buy something to celebrate."
"They're beautiful. Let me get a closer look."
Danny held his wrist in front of me. The gold chain was pretty heavy. On the flat nameplate was engraved the words 'Black Boy'. I grabbed Billy's wrist. Sure enough, 'White Boy'. I just looked at the two of them and shook my head.
"We figured anyone could have their names on an ID bracelet. This makes them more special. I can be in class and look at my wrist and Billy's right there with me."
"You two certainly are unique. I'll bet you have a lot of explaining to do when people see them."
"No, I think people are too polite to ask, Luce. They just look a little puzzled, then say, 'Very nice', and change the subject."
"Well, I think they're much better than nice, Billy. And they must have cost a pretty penny, too. I guess you guys are doing okay now."
"Actually, we're making really good money but we seem to be spending it as fast as we take it in. The car wiped us out and then we had to get our books. Billy practically forced Aunt Connie to accept rent from us and we have my medical bills to pay for but we really wanted these bracelets. You only have one first anniversary."
"Yeah, Danny and I picked out matching neck chains for our Christmas presents. They're holding them on lay-a-way until we have the money. Now that the big expenses are out of the way we should be able to start saving money so we decided we could afford to treat ourselves to something nice. We've been working hard and business is really good at The Restaurant."
"You guys have been through some very rough times and have worked so hard you deserve something nice. You've had to be a lot more responsible than most kids our age so I'm glad to see you're having some fun, too."
"Oh, we have lots of fun. Sometimes it doesn't even cost anything."
"I don't think I want to hear about that right now, Billy. Remember, you're talking to someone whose man has been away for several weeks. I don't need to be reminded of what I'm missing."
"How is Brad? Have you heard from him lately?"
"The usual. I get a couple of letters a week and talk to him on the phone when I go home on the weekend. He's doing well. Misses me like crazy, of course, but he's enjoying his last year of school. I'm going up to Cornell to see him the weekend after next."
"I'm sure that will make the rest of the semester easier to get through for both of you, Luce."
"Yes, Billy, it certainly will."
Mark
I was looking forward to this semester with a mixture of excitement and dread. I was excited because I felt I was finally ready to get out on my own and start a gay life at school in Boston. After Spring Break I wasn't quite ready. I'd just gone through my dramatic and bloody coming out and had only known Billy and Danny a week. I went to the gay group at Harvard but wasn't very comfortable, kept pretty much to myself and didn't meet anyone except Linda. But after a few months of hanging out with the guys and all of the time I spent in the Village with Joe I felt like I'd been out forever and was ready for anything. Of course, the flip side was that I was leaving all of my friends behind. If only just one of them was coming with me. But I guess we all have to go out on our own sometime.
While I was still working in the Village I'd managed to find a gay guide for places to go in Boston but since I wasn't going to be twenty-one until Spring I wouldn't be able to go to any bars for a while. So it looked like my best chance to make friends was the group at Harvard. I started going every week and usually sat with Linda. Last Spring I checked out the guys but I didn't make any attempt to meet any of them. This semester started out the same.
There was one guy who intrigued me right from the start, though. He got up to speak at the first couple of meetings and I couldn't take my eyes off him. He was nice looking but not gorgeous. I don't know what I found so attractive in him. He was about six feet tall, broad shoulders and slim waist and hips, a very sexy body. His long black hair was pulled back in a ponytail and he had deep blue eyes. But it was when he starting speaking that he really got my attention and held it. He spoke well and had a kind of charisma that made everyone take notice. A couple of times he looked my way and seemed to stare right through my eyes into my brain. I was hoping to get a chance to talk to him after the meeting but he seemed to know everyone and I couldn't get close enough to him to introduce myself. After a couple of weeks of being fascinated with him and not being able to meet him I dragged Linda up to sit near the front. I wanted to start out closer.
Once again I stared like a star struck kid when he got up to speak. He looked at me a couple of times and smiled once, a strange kind of smile, like we were sharing some kind of secret. It kind of unnerved me but I liked it at the same time. When the meeting broke up Linda went to talk to one of her girlfriends and I quickly went up to the guy before anyone else had a chance to waylay him. I put out my hand and introduced myself.
"Hi, I'm Mark Spencer. I'm sort of new here."
He ignored my hand, leaned toward me and gave me a quick but firm kiss on the mouth.
"Nice lips. I'm Peter Haines. You don't look like a freshman. Didn't I see you here last Spring?"
"Yeah, I came to a few meetings at the end of the year. I'm a junior at BC. What I meant was that I've just recently come out and am not too familiar with the organization."
"I thought that's what you meant, but actually, since the group is less than a year old, we're all pretty new to it. I'm the vice-president."
"Are you a senior? You look a little older."
"Hey, never tell a gay guy he looks old. But I am a few years older than you. I'm in my second year of law school."
Just then two other guys came up to him and started talking. He glanced at me.
"How about coffee later? Meet you outside in ten minutes?"
"Sure."
He had turned and was talking to the others before I had even answered. I wasn't sure he had heard me but he was waiting outside. We walked to a café, got some coffee and settled at a table. I don't know what came over me but I just talked and talked. I knew I was doing it but I couldn't help myself. I told him about Billy and Danny, Brad and Lucy, Joe, The Restaurant, Jamie, you name it. He was so easy to talk to but I was afraid I was turning him off by babbling on so. He didn't seem to mind and just sat there, sipping his coffee, smiling that knowing smile.
Before I knew it I had to leave to catch a bus back to Boston. Peter walked me out to the bus stop.
"I'm sorry I talked your ear off. I'm not usually like that."
"I enjoyed listening to you. It sounds like you've got a pretty good start on a nice life back home."
"Yeah, I do. I've been lucky."
I could see the bus coming so we quickly exchanged phone numbers. As the bus was slowing to a stop Peter grabbed me and gave me a deep kiss. We parted and he reached down and squeezed my hardon through my jeans.
"Very nice. Call me, we'll do something about that."