Educating Alex

DEAR READER

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Wow! I wrote the first episode of Educating Alex (if you haven't read it, some of this will make no sense at all) as a break from New to this State (high school) which was beginning to annoy me and I didn't anticipate the response it got. It has been the best received of all my stories, despite all the continuity errors that stemmed from writing it over three days. Oh well. It was always my plan to write only one part for the story, but the boys are back by popular demand. This one is dedicated to Dan, who has listened to all my rants and whines while I struggled with it. This has been slightly delayed as I have been working on my exciting new website (http://www.ardveche.com), where all my stories can be found.

DISCLAIMER

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This is a work of fiction; any resemblance to persons living or dead is entirely coincidental. The author asserts all legal and moral rights (copyright (c) 2001 - www.ardveche.com) to this work and you may not copy it or transmit it in any way except in its entirety and with this disclaimer. This story features descriptions of sex between adult males:

• if such material is prohibited in your jurisdiction, please DO NOT READ ON, - if you're under the legal age to read such material, please DO NOT READ ON, - if you don't like, or are offended by such material, please DO NOT READ ON.

Now, if everyone who is still here is meant to be here or at least aware they shouldn't be, let's get on with it. All comments are welcome and gratefully received (email them to ardveche@ardveche.com).

EDUCATING ALEX II

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The semester had worn on slowly. Alex and I had grown closer together so I now thought of him very much as my best friend as well as my lover. I had kept thinking about that first night together, when he had told me how confused he was and we had held one another. We had returned to that conversation, worrying at the edges of it, time and again over the weeks that followed. Often talking late into the night as he tried to explain what he was feeling, as much to himself as to me I sometimes suspected. I never pushed him, I knew how hard he was trying, and how difficult the whole thing was for him, so I gave him time, and little by little I pieced together the story of how we got to where we are now. He'd been so sure of himself, he told me, right up until he started college there had never been any doubt in his mind. He was straight as a die, always had been, and he was going to meet a nice girl, settle down and have kids. No doubt in his mind.

Then, and this is where things got difficult, he had met me. We had been in the same dorm together our first semester, and I was 'a revelation' to him - his words. I had been out for years by then, and was proud of and comfortable with who I was. He came from a tiny town in the south and had never so much as met a gay man, only ever heard about them talked about in hushed tones as though they were some kind of monster. 'I was amazed that you could be so normal', he told me, 'not all lispy and limp-wristed'. When I stopped laughing, I took it as a compliment. Obviously, since then, he had learned that not all gay men fit the appalling stereotype from TV, we're not all hairdressers or interior designers and I for one have never flounced or minced anywhere in my life!

We got to know each other in those first few weeks, at first he hadn't realized that I was gay, but I was open enough about it that the penny quickly dropped, but he never said a word to me at the time. Which is why, when he asked to move in with me, I had to ask if he was even aware of it. The Spanish class we took together threw us together some more and, again in his words, gave him time to 'study' me. All that time, I was utterly unaware that I was the subject of Alex's scrutiny. I already told you how much I had wanted to 'scrutinize' him, even though I was supposedly seeing John. Alex had always struck me as a man of few words, living with him I discovered that nothing could be further from the truth, apparently he had always found it hard to talk to me. He got tongue-tied. And the reason as he had told me was that he was in 'awe' of me. That was his word again, he was attracted to me, he later realized but had no frame of reference for what he was feeling and so tried to suppress it. Describing his feelings instead as 'awe', or 'respect' unable or unwilling to give them their real name. A common enough story, I guess.

He just needed time to figure things out, and his thought processes in this case were glacial. Then I had moved out of the dorm and pretty much dropped out of his life and given him an excuse to stop thinking about it at all. I became active in the campus gay and lesbian group, so he heard my name from time to time, mostly in the context of derogation from his jock buddies, but enough to bring me back to mind. He met Julie shortly before I moved out, and started to date her more or less regularly not long after that, their relationship rapidly developed to the point it was at when he had shown up at my door; the point where they were talking marriage.

Then fate stepped in to bring me forcibly back to mind. His buddies had been planning my downfall and humiliation, but he had stopped them with threats to turn them over to the Dean. They were not impressed and told him to find some place else to live in the coming year. And that's when he saw my ad. Having split up with John, I needed a body to fill the empty room and split the rent on my apartment. He later told me he'd thought he recognized the address, and had driven past three or four times, first to make sure it was my apartment and then to work up the courage to ring the bell. Even then, he wasn't sure what he was doing, he worried about how his friends would construe his living with me and he still looked at ads for accommodation during the first few weeks of his tenancy.

This is where things began to get really complicated! We were spending a lot more time together, living in the same apartment, eating together, drinking together. He freely admitted to me that had it been during the semester, he probably never would have split with Julie or talked to me about his feelings - there would have been distractions, he would have been at practice, he'd have been out with friends, he'd have spent far less time around me. But the town was empty, so we ended up socializing together as well as living together. He found himself liking me more and more, and wanting to spend more time with me. He was still reluctant to put a name on his feelings, thinking of it now as a 'really strong friendship'. He thought that Julie's return to town would take his mind off it: 'I was horny all the time, even you started to look good', he joked, 'I put it down to not getting laid in a while.' He tried to persuade himself that there was no causal link between me and his horniness, I just happened to be there at the time.

Then, be still my beating heart, he started to dream about me! He found himself waking up with 'well, you know' - as he coyly explained, bobbing his head towards his crotch - and images of me in his head. The final straw came when he found himself thinking about me while he was having sex with Julie. Which is ironic, as I was lying on the other side of the wall trying hard not to think about him while he was having sex with Julie. And that was when he told her, told her that their relationship couldn't go on until he was sure what was going on in his head. That dear, innocent, guy he stopped the relationship partly because he needed to get himself straightened (no pun intended) out, but mostly because he didn't want to hurt her later by leading her on. She had not taken the news at all well and had told him she never wanted to see him again; totally unable to see that what he was doing, he was doing to protect her from further hurt.

And then that weekend. He had broken down and confessed his feelings for me, told me how confused he was, I had tried to comfort him, to be his friend. Apparently, he later realized that my reaction to the news was exactly what he needed it to be. If I had tried to bed him then and there he would have known he was doing the wrong thing. Instead, I had told him to take his time, to make sure, and that I would never do anything to hurt him. Some test had been passed, a Rubicon crossed, as he came to me the following morning and moved our relationship to the next level. At first I was a little angry that he'd been testing me, until I realized even he hadn't known it was a test until I'd already passed. Then I just wanted to grab him and spin him round.

So there it was. We had lain in one another's arms for some time, my mind was reeling, trying to make myself believe that I was really awake and that the man in my arms was in fact Alex Hayes, who I had lusted over since we met. His mind too was reeling, from his first ever experience of intimacy with another man. But he didn't freak out or bolt, I knew guys who had taken straight boys home and had real problems with them as soon as the sex was over. Hell, I even knew guys whose partner had beaten them up after sex, unable to reconcile their desires with their macho self image. Alex became pensive. Which was probably as well, I knew from bitter experience that he had a mean left hook!

I was content to let him think quietly. I'm one of those guys who enjoys the quiet time (and I can never say that without thinking of 'Cruel Intentions') almost as much as the sex. For me, there are few things in the world to compare to the feeling of simply lying with, holding, touching, a man I care about. Or about whom I care, as my high school English teacher would no doubt insist. So I played with his hair and just savored the warmth, strength and closeness of him. He let me, seemed totally at ease lying naked with me. But why shouldn't he? He had a body that deserved to be photographed, or to be idolized and worshipped. And I was the man for that job!

"You know." He had finally said. "I could really get used to this."

Hardly profound, but music to my ears. I pressed my lips against his bare shoulder and made no response. We experimented some more that day, staying either naked or nearly so for the whole day, utterly unable to keep our hands off each other. We were two young guys in the first flush of a new love. When we got hungry we went through to the kitchen and sat on the floor, eating straight from the refrigerator, feeding one another, eating off each other's bodies and laughing like mental patients. Alex was so easy about his body it seemed the most natural thing in the world to be with him like that. He was wary of penetration, but we did everything else we could think of and eventually fell into the shower together before crawling back into bed, spent, and falling asleep in a tangle of limbs.

And so our relationship continued, getting stronger from day to day as Alex became used to me, and familiar with my body. Aside from the odd dopey remark about me being 'different to a girl' he adapted quickly and I found that his hands as well as being strong were also very sensual, and that a decade playing sports had allowed him to pick up a thing or two about massage. Still, the only people who knew about our relationship were the two of us. There were rumors of course, how could there not be, given my frankness about my sexuality? But he seemed inclined to ignore them, and as nobody ever said anything to me, I never had to lie. My friends treated the rumors with scorn, Alex was about the straightest guy they knew; but more than once I had to restrain a grin as they speculated about what he might be like in bed. We were never demonstrative in front of other people, and anyone visiting the apartment would never have known a thing. I was determined to give the boy space, he had only really admitted his feelings to himself a few weeks earlier, and I was willing to give him all the time he needed to admit them to the world. For now I was incomparably happy with him, he was mine exclusively and that suited me perfectly. But I knew the time would come.

A couple of weeks later I was working in the library one Thursday afternoon, restocking shelves when he showed up unexpectedly. A boring job by any standards, but it paid well and I could linger in the stacks and catch up on my reading while I was supposed to be pushing my little trolley around. I was in a reverie, quietly contemplating a volume of poetry when a familiar soft voice called me back to the here and the now.

"Hey there." I looked up from my book to see Alex standing there, his hands thrust into the pockets of his jacket.

"I didn't think you knew where this place was." I joked.

"Ha ha."

"What are you doing here?"

"Looking for my boyfriend. You might have seen him, about so tall?" He held up a hand about level with his eyes. "Brown hair, nice ass, smart mouth?"

"Yeah, okay, very funny." I grunted as he grinned at me, obviously feeling he had scored a point. "Nice ass, huh?" He blushed.

"What are you doing?"

"Reading. This is a li-bra-ry, Alex."

"Reading what, smartass?"

"Andrew Marvell."

"Who?"

"A seventeenth century poet: 'Fair quiet have I found thee here, and innocence thy sister dear! Mistaken long, I sought you then in busy companies of men.' I thought I HAD found 'fair quiet', but apparently not."

"Poetry, huh?" He looked at me quizzically, ignoring my complaint, an amused twinkle in those spaniel eyes and his head on one side.

"Yup."

"Fag." He grinned broadly at me, pleased with his own wit.

"Unlettered heathen." I muttered, sliding the book back into its place. "So what can I do for you? I assume you're not here for a book."

"Nah. I was passing, thought I'd come find you and steal you away for coffee. Or, maybe we could just make out right here?" He took a step closer and placed his hand on my waist, kissing me lightly on the lips. "What do you say?"

"I say we'd better not get caught in here! Let's go, I was done anyway, just killing time here for a while."

"Leaving me home alone, with only my good right hand for company? Heartless brute." He let go of me, ignoring my heavy sigh and sad shake of my head, and we wandered out from the stacks and made for the stairs. I ducked into the staff break room to grab my coat and we were on our way out into the cooling evening air.

"So where to?"

"Starbucks." He was emphatic about it.

"Sheesh! Okay, let's help them make some more money." We walked for a while in silence. "So, to what do I owe this little visit anyway? Not that it's not good to see you." I asked as we sat down with our coffees.

"Been doing some thinking."

"Oh?" I bit back a sarcastic remark, figuring it was best to hear him out rather than derail him before he even got started. We ordered coffee and took a seat.

"Yeah. I think we ought to do more, you know, couple things." He was staring into the depths of some well and truly over-stirred coffee as he said that. He kept stirring until eventually I reached out and stopped his hand, he looked up and grinned sheepishly at me.

"Like what?"

"I don't know. I've never done this. I was hoping you'd have some ideas."

"Hmm, gay couple things, huh? Well, we could get matching Prince Alberts." He stared at me with his mouth open and then it dawned on him that I wasn't serious and his familiar smile returned. "Exactly. What do you mean you've never done it? Gay couples do what straight ones do; eat out, go to movies, get a puppy, that kind of thing."

"Really? A puppy?"

"No. Absolutely not."

"You're no fun."

"It's enough work looking after you, without adding a puppy to the equation." He turned those big brown eyes on me again, and gave me his best dopey smile, but this time I was not going to give in, there was no way on earth I was adding a dog to our happy little family.

"Oh, go on."

"No."

"Oh, hey, I almost forgot." He looked away from me, forgetting the puppy thing completely, and rummaged through his pockets, finally producing a small paper bag from an inside pocket, with a flourish. "Got this for you." Alex had the attention span of a goldfish at times.

"What is it?"

"Duh. Open it and find out." I smiled at him, he was right of course. I tore open the bag and a blue and green friendship bracelet fell out onto the table. "I just saw it and thought it would go with your eyes." He explained, picking it up and proffering it to me. I was absurdly touched, as it was the first actual gift Alex had given me, and I knew that - silly thing though it was - I would treasure it long after it had ceased to be wearable. I stared in silence

"Alex, thanks." I wanted to kiss him and almost started forward to do so, when I remembered where we were and who I was with.

"It's okay. Go ahead." He said quietly. I leant across the table and kissed him lightly on the cheek. Suddenly deeply self-conscious myself, which was very unlike me, I sat back from the chaste little kiss, a huge smile on my face and looked surreptitiously round the room. Whether I was checking to see if anyone had seen us, or to make sure that people HAD seen us, I'm not quite sure. He was grinning at me when I looked back at him, enjoying my discomfort more than he was suffering from his own. "That was weird."

"Thanks."

"Not the kiss, the doing it right here thing. Where anyone could see." He shook his head in amazement. "I can't believe I just did that. Wow." He sat back in his chair and shook his head again.

"It's another landmark day for Thomson and Hayes."

"That it is, Ryan, that it is. Listen, I know it doesn't seem that much to you, but it's a helluva big step for me."

"I know that. Oddly enough, this time I wasn't being sarcastic. I'm happy that you feel able to do this now. Really I am." I took his hand across the table and held it lightly, which earned me another wide, bright smile.

"So I get some sort of reward, huh?"

"Like what?" I was instantly suspicious, though his face seemed open and disingenuous enough. I knew from past experience that this was a ruse.

"Oh I don't know, how about, um, I guess maybe a puppy?"

"Drop it. I am not going to bribe you with quadrupeds."

"Okay, let's head home and you can reward me in 'other ways.'" He raised one of his eyebrows at me and grinned even more broadly. Sometimes I wondered if I'd be able to see his wisdom teeth if I could make him smile enough. Something to try another day.

"You have a one track mind, Hayes."

"I know." He pushed back his chair and pulled me upright. "Now come on before I lose interest."

"You? That'll never happen." I snorted derisively, and so saying we headed out of Starbucks and began the walk home. It wasn't until we had walked a hundred yards or so that I became aware that he hadn't let go of my hand yet. I squeezed his hand tightly and smiled at him. He looked a little strained but smiled back and my heart lurched, filling with deep fondness for this wonderful man. There weren't many people around as we walked back to our apartment, and I don't know if we passed or were seen by anyone we knew. And I, at least, didn't care, in fact I almost hoped we did, but wouldn't have wanted to cause Alex any embarrassment if it could be avoided.

Back at the apartment, he lost no time at all in claiming his reward, which was fine by me - when it came to Alex, I was utterly insatiable. And when it came to sex, it seemed, that he was inexhaustible - the perfect match! As the door closed I found my back pressed against it, his mouth covering mine. God, he was so strong! I've never been really muscle-mad, but Alex's body turned me on like no man's I'd ever met. He was beautifully honed, that's the only word for it, like a sculpture. Tall, lean, powerful, every muscle beautifully defined, not too beefy, but not exactly slender either, just wonderfully smooth and solid. With most of my previous lovers, I had been the more aggressive partner, but the way Alex just naturally took control really pushed my buttons. Not that he pushed me about, don't misunderstand, it was just that all the confidence he lacked when talking about his sexuality returned tenfold when he was actually engaged in the act.

"Settle down, Tiger." I managed, pushing him away a little to ease the pain in my back. "I have a door handle sticking into me."

"Lucky door handle!" He said, grinning like an idiot as he pulled me away from the door and into a deliciously warm embrace.

"Mmm." Was the only, and totally inarticulate, response I was capable of as my stomach did a flip.

"Better?"

"Much."

"I aim to please." He began kissing my neck.

"And you always do."

"Yeah?" He seemed pleased.

"Well, mostly." I wriggled from his grasp taking his hand to lead him through to the bedroom. I answered the unspoken question on his face in my best 'barbarian invader' voice. "Come, I will ravage you."

"Sounds fun." He replied, a less than convincing 'helpless villager'.

"Oh, it will be." I kicked the door closed behind us. Don't ask me why. I reached for the buttons of my shirt, but was stopped by Alex taking hold of both my wrists.

"I want to do it." He informed me simply as he swiftly unfastened the buttons (a skill he had perfected rapidly!) and pushed the fabric back off my shoulders. I shrugged slightly and moved my arms to allow the shirt to fall to the floor and then pulled the bottom of my T-shirt out of my pants. Alex's hands returned to my waist, sliding gently up my sides to my ribcage as he lifted my shirt, I raised my arms allowing him to remove it completely. I shivered as he traced his fingers across my chest, which had developed considerably under Alex's guidance. I was increasingly proud of my body and was looking forward to the summer and an opportunity to acquire a tan to match my boyfriend's.

A gentle shove to my chest and I toppled backwards onto the bed, rather than following me though Alex began to treat me to a striptease. I lay back uncomplainingly and allowed him to take his time, propping myself on my elbows to enjoy the show. The shirt and T-shirt came off slowly and sexily revealing the gorgeous body beneath, he flexed his muscles and struck a few poses - which were actually more amusing than arousing as he accompanied them by making 'fierce', almost simian faces. As I laughed he shucked his jeans and joined me on the bed and resumed his earlier enthusiastic kissing, moving down from my face to my chest and making me squirm and giggle as he tickled me. He raised his head and looked into my eyes and I made use of the respite to kick off my shoes and savor the view.

Skilled fingers yanked at my belt and the zipper on my pants and after a little effort they quickly joined his on the floor. Lips and tongue traveled slowly, sensually down my body and I lay still, letting him do all the work. He pulled my shorts down and, apart from socks and the new friendship bracelet, I was lying naked beside him. He quickly slipped off the bed and his soft, warm lips traced delicate patterns from knee to thigh making me gasp aloud. There's nothing like the zeal of the converted; and Alex proved that with his willingness to try new things and his enthusiasm for them once he had tried. In the few short weeks Alex and I had been together he had discovered erogenous zones even I didn't know I had!

"Come here, you." I was able to murmur, and ever obedient to my wishes Alex was quickly back up beside me, and we resumed our kissing. This was another area for which he showed limitless enthusiasm and we nuzzled gently for a while, content just to be so close to one another, skin against skin. After a while, his strong hand drifted back down my chest and gently encircled me, a small thrill traveling through my body.

"You like that, huh?" He asked quietly.

"Don't ask stupid questions!" I replied as he applied a tantalizingly slow vertical motion. He chuckled and the movement was translated down his arm and into my body too.

"Okay." And as he uttered that one word, he made quite sure he wouldn't ask any questions, stupid or otherwise. His lips formed a deliciously tight seal as his head bobbed slowly up and down - and for a straight boy he was pretty good! He continued to work away for a while in silence before he suddenly raised his head and looked me right in the eye.

"What?" I asked, interested to know what had stopped him.

"We should go see a movie tonight."

"What?" I demanded with some incredulity.

"We should go see a movie, maybe go for dinner first."

"That sounds lovely." My voice heavy with sarcasm which, try as I might, I was having real difficulty in concealing. "But do we really have to discuss this right now?"

"I thought you'd be pleased." He looked confused.

"That you interrupt sex to discuss our dinner plans?"

"No, dummy. That I'm, thinking about this couple thing some more. And I didn't bring puppies into it at all." He explained, his irrepressible good nature returning immediately to the fore. "Yet."

"I think that's illegal, Alex. And of course I'm pleased! But is this the time?"

"You can think of a better one?"

"Yes!"

"Oh. Okay." He shrugged and grinned his trademark dopey grin. Apparently, he saw nothing odd in stopping like that to discuss something so utterly trivial and couldn't fully understand my reaction. "I just thought, you know, you said we should talk more during, well, you know, sex."

"I meant ABOUT sex, Alex."

"Oh!" The light of understanding dawned on his guileless face. "Oh, that makes a lot more sense." He pursed his lips and nodded a few times.

"Good. So where were we?" I smiled fondly at him, keen to show him I wasn't annoyed, I knew from past experience that Alex tended to brood if he thought he'd upset me. It was sort of flattering, but still best to avoid where possible.

"Um, I guess I was about to, well..." He began, but trailed off without completing the thought, flushing bright red and hanging his head. I could only laugh.

"One step at a time, handsome. Let's concentrate on doing and work on talking about at another time, yes?"

"Sounds good." He radiated relief and, fitting his actions to his words, resumed where he had left off. And it was fantastic, he'd come along way in the few weeks we'd been together! After a while, knowing that I was close, I tapped his shoulder and motioned for him to change position on the bed, so I could reciprocate. He rolled off me and swung round so he was stretched full length, the wrong way, with his feet by the pillows. He put his hands behind his head and grinned broadly at me, I knelt beside him for a moment or two, following the lines of his body with my eyes.

Alex was a real vision of masculine perfection; I could have stared at him forever, some nights I would lie awake for hours after he had dozed off (and he could fall asleep on a battlefield) and just watch him sleep. He looked so beautiful like that, so innocent and open, utterly at peace with himself and the world. I realized that I had been doing nothing but stare for some time and shook myself out of my trance. Alex had a half smirk on his face.

"Something amusing you?" I asked, placing my hand on his thigh.

"You, space boy. Where did you go?"

"I was captivated by your beauty." I tried to ladle sarcasm into my tone, unaccountably embarrassed to have been caught gawking at him, but it was the truth.

"Naturally."

"Oh, shut up." I leant over him and kissed him on the nose and then fully on the lips, his arms wrapped round me, pulling me down against him in a strong embrace. I broke it and began to kiss along his jawline to his ear and down his neck to his throat. He made a soft, happy noise as I traced the lines of his collarbone and swept hands and lips down his broad, beautiful chest to the undulating landscape of his abdomen. He squirmed as my hands slid down his ribs; Alex, like me, was very ticklish at times, and he grabbed my hands in his to stop me. Finally I reached my goal, to our mutual satisfaction, and showed him that he still had a lot to learn in that department! I heard him suck in his breath and felt his muscles tense beneath me as I swallowed him completely.

"Man, that's good." He grunted.

"Years of practice." I murmured, coming up for air.

"Time well spent!"

"Ha ha."

"And now you're all mine."

"Oh I am, am I?"

"Sure you are, my private property." He answered with a grin, rolling with surprising speed to pin me on my back with my hands above my head. Most of his weight was resting on me, his face inches from mine, but when I raised my head to attempt a kiss, he moved back out of my reach.

"Primitive." I responded, squirming in his grasp, struggling to free my wrists. "Let me go."

"Nope." He shifted his grip, so both of my wrists were pinned by one hand. "Say you're mine and I might let you go." He grinned down at me, drawing his now free hand slowly down my ribs, making me squirm even more vigorously.

"Never." I feigned defiance, knowing what was about to happen, and then shrieked with laughter as he dug his fingers into me, causing me to buck wildly. More wildly, apparently, than he had expected. I guess all the working out I had been doing paid off as Alex, a perplexed look on his face was bucked off me, rolled on to his back, clawed at the sheets and with a yelp crashed to the floor. "Oh, God! Alex are you all right?" I scooted to the edge of the bed and peeped over at him. He was lying on his back, both knees drawn up a little and one hand resting on his belly and the other thrown straight out over his head. He was shaking with silent laughter, his eyes screwed closed, my concern turned immediately to hilarity.

"I guess I just learnt a lesson." He finally managed to gasp, wiping the tears of laughter from his face with the back of his hand. "Help me up, champ." I grasped his hand as he pulled himself to his feet and flopped down on his back beside me his legs hanging over the edge, my head was by his knees and his by my feet. Which, as it turned out, was provident as when we rolled to face each other, we both had unrestricted access to the other. I reached for him, drawing him towards me, my hands on his powerful buttocks, and felt his warm mouth making a welcome return to my own member. This time, silent apart from the gentle moans emanating from each of us, we worked in earnest - using hands, tongues and lips to give one another as much pleasure as possible. It was ecstasy.

But all good things must come to an end, and soon I knew I was going to reach the crest of the wave of pleasure which was rushing through my body, and all the signs said Alex was too. Ever since that first time, he had stuck to his guns, insisting that we reached climax together almost every time. Not, you must understand, that I'm complaining about that! I slowed my motions slightly, keen to draw the experience out for as long as possible and felt a similar slowing from my lover, but we were both much too close to be able to put it off for long and minutes later my entire body stiffened as the sensations of orgasm coursed through me, and true to form Alex began to twitch and spasm in my grasp.

After a moment or two to get my breath back, I crawled along the bed to his face and bent to kiss him, he responded eagerly and we lay, limbs entwined, moving little and just kissed for what might have been ten minutes or an hour for all I knew or cared. He wrapped me in his arms and pulled me close, pressing his face into my shoulder and sighing deeply. One hand slid up my back and began to play with the hair at the nape of my neck. I was in heaven.

"Thanks." He murmured to me.

"You need to stop thanking me every time." I whispered back.

"Okay." He replied, agreeably, but I knew he would still thank me the next time. He sighed again, and with one swift movement he was on his feet, he looked down at me and then with a slap to my thigh, he sauntered towards the bedroom door. "Go shower, you stink, I'm going to get a drink of water." And with that romantic remark he slipped out the door, stark naked, and was gone. I shook my head and sighed at the empty air where he had been standing before pushing myself upright and heading for the shower.

The warm water was bliss as it splashed over me, and I stood still savoring it, letting all the stress of the day wash away. I felt thoroughly refreshed when I stepped out of the shower to find Alex sitting on the toilet seat waiting for me.

"Took your time!" He said, rising and stepping round me and thrusting a towel into my hand.

"You could have joined me!" I replied, trying and failing to snap him with the towel.

"Nah, you looked like you needed the space." Before I could answer, he had pulled the glass door closed and the sound of the water cascading down squashed any possibility of conversation. Normally we did shower together after sex, so I was a little puzzled by his behavior, but decided to give him 'space' too. I wandered back through to the bedroom and got dressed in a cream turtleneck and khakis and then went to the kitchen to make some coffee. After a while the shower shut off and I wandered back through to the bedroom where he was poking disconsolately around in my wardrobe, still wet from the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist.

"All clean?" I asked leaning in the door frame.

"Yup."

"Whatcha doing?" I asked after I had watched him for a while.

"Looking for a shirt."

"One of mine?"

"Yup. That dark reddish one. I was going to borrow it." He looked round and grinned at me. "Didn't I ask?"

"No."

"Oh. I meant to. So is that okay?"

"Of course. You won't find it there, though, it's in the other side." I walked past him, resting a hand on the small of his back and produced the shirt in question which, by the way, is maroon, not 'dark red'.

"Thanks, Ryan."

"No problem."

"Um, could you maybe go back to the living room?" He avoided looking at me.

"What's up?" I asked, even more puzzled by now. Alex had never had qualms about dressing in front of me before.

"Nothing, I just wanted to, you know, dress alone."

"Okay. If that's what you want." I left him alone, feeling a little rejected. I paced around the living room for a while and finally put on a CD and sat down to wait. After maybe twenty minutes the bedroom door opened and Alex stepped out. He was wearing a black suit with the shirt he had picked and he looked stunning. I gaped for a moment and a happy grin spread across his face at my reaction.

"You like?" He asked as he raised both arms horizontally and twirled once for me.

"You look wonderful!" I stood and walked over to him, putting my hands on his waist and leaning back slightly to look at him. "Good enough to eat."

"Maybe later."

"Quite. So why are you all dressed up?"

"I'm going on a date."

"What?" I let go of his waist abruptly.

"With my boyfriend, retard." He pressed his fist against my jaw and pushed my head lightly to the side. I blushed crimson at my idiocy, but was soon laughing again as he pulled a funny face at me.

"I have to change." I said looking at what I was wearing and comparing it to him. "I'll be right back." I ducked into the bedroom and rifled through my shirts, yanking a blue one out and shucking my turtleneck.

"You look good to me! Even better now." He added, following me into the room as I bared my chest. I pulled the shirt on with a shake of my head as I threw open the wardrobe door and reached for my black suit. Which wasn't there. I spun round, hands on hips to see him standing in a trademark Alex pose, arms folded across his chest, head on one side watching me with amusement. "Did I mention I was borrowing your suit too?"

"Guess I'm wearing something else then?" I asked.

"Looks like it. How about the gray one? It'll look better with that shirt anyway."

"I'm going to take fashion tips from you? Darling, I've been coordinating all my life, you can hardly manage to get two socks from the same pair!"

"Darling?"

"Darling." I pulled the gray suit from the wardrobe, embarrassed by how camp I had just sounded and unable to meet his amused gaze. I dressed rapidly, made sure my hair was okay in the mirror and checked that I had everything I'd need in my pockets.

"You look great, Ryan. Come on already. I booked for eight."

"When?"

"This morning."

"Oh." So it hadn't been an idle suggestion after all. "Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise, got your keys?" I nodded that I had, and he grabbed my hand leading me from the bedroom and out the apartment to my car. The second time we had touched in public. Only this time we were on our way out on a 'date'. Wow. I slipped my glasses on as I started the car (I'd been caught not wearing them once before) and followed his directions, still amazed that his 'couple thing' was starting so soon. He really had been thinking about it, and once Alex made up his mind about something it stayed made up. "Right here. About halfway up the street, see the blue sign?"

"Yes. La Puntamento. Are you serious?" It was one of the most expensive restaurants in town, and a surprising choice for Alex to have made.

"Always." He said grinning moronically at me again and making that 'always' seem deeply absurd. I pulled over and we got out the car and walked the few yards to the restaurant door. "I owe you for all the times you cooked for me this summer. And that's just for starters."

"You don't owe me for anything."

"Well I think I do. And I think we should stop talking about it and just enjoy our first date." I had to laugh. Wouldn't you? This was a man I had been sleeping with for weeks and now here we were on a first date. It was ridiculous. He held the door open and ushered me into the warm interior of the restaurant, giving his name to the maŒtre d'. We were shown to a fairly secluded table and our drinks order was taken. As soon as we were alone, I glanced up at Alex's face. He was slightly flushed, his eyes shining and it was clear he was nervous as hell. When the waitress brought us our drinks he took a large gulp from his and offered me a reassuring smile, I smiled back and reached across the table to squeeze his hand.

"Thanks, Ryan."

"I'm going to start kicking you every time you thank me unnecessarily." I chided and he grinned and seemed to relax a little, not much, but some. Dinner was, as expected, absolutely fantastic. We talked little, just smiling coyly at one another across the table and making the odd quiet comment. I was too happy just to be there to start up a conversation and he still seemed a little nervous. I tried to assure him this was no different to the earlier coffee, but we both knew I was wrong. That was two friends having coffee. This was a 'date', and a pretty romantic one at that.

By the time we were ordering dessert he had calmed down considerably and seemed his usual self again, completely at ease. I made a mental note to get more candles in the apartment as he looked even better by candlelight than he did at other times. Our conversation had not exactly ranged far and wide, we had talked about our respective days, about the food and the atmosphere in the restaurant - light and insubstantial.

"So what brought this on?" I finally had to ask.

"Why? Would you rather we didn't do this?"

"Don't get defensive, Alex. This has been lovely, wonderful. I just wondered what prompted you to do it today."

"I said we should be more like a couple. And, this is kind of an anniversary." He blushed and fiddled nervously with his napkin.

"It is?"

"Um. Yeah. It's a year, give or take, since we met." He still couldn't meet my gaze, which was just as well because if he had he'd have seen a tear forming there. "I don't remember the exact date." He mumbled glancing up shyly.

"I guess you're right. Did anyone ever tell you that you're a big softy, Mr. Hayes."

"Yeah. That asshole I live with."

"Touch‚. So, coffee?"

"Sounds like a plan. You still up for a movie afterwards?"

"Yeah, but no blood and guts, okay?" After such a lovely dinner I was eager to preserve the mood.

"Okay. Chick flick it is."

"How did a misogynist like you ever attract women?"

"Winning personality and rugged good looks." He beamed at me. I liked playing these little games with Alex, he was so pleased with himself whenever he scored a point it was impossible not to concede it and laugh along with him. "Oh, and I'm a sensational lay."

"Well that much, at least, is true." I let the matter drop. Truth was I didn't much care what we went to see, so long as I was with him. And I knew that Alex wasn't too particular either, as likely to enjoy a good romance as an action packed blockbuster. In fact, I had been discovering that his tastes were pretty varied in every area. "And it works just as well for attracting men."

"I noticed."

"Do you know how jealous my friends would be if they knew we were lovers? There's not one of them wouldn't give their right arm to be where I am now."

"Shame, your friend Ben is pretty cute, but I like my men to have all their limbs intact."

"Ben? You think Ben is cute?" I had to admit Ben was cute, and a really nice guy too, but the idea that Alex was noticing other guys was slightly scary.

"Not as cute as you, though. Or as smart." He reached for my hand. "And I'm not interested in any other guys, just you."

"Is it just me, or did the temperature in here just go way up?" I asked, trying to keep my voice from quavering. Alex let go of my hand immediately and withdrew to his side of the table, once again my tendency to be flippant had spoiled the moment.

"I'll get the check and then we can go catch that movie." Suddenly all businesslike, he looked round the restaurant and caught our waitress's eye. Once he had paid, and he wouldn't let me see how much it cost, we both rose and headed back out into the cool night air. I had had a wonderful time and was feeling slightly giddy, I was no stranger to this sort of thing but the fact that it was Alex I was having dinner with made it better than anything I could imagine. "Wanna walk?"

"Sure. If you do." I gave him a little half smile and a shrug.

"Okay." He reached for my hand again, slipping the other into his pocket and we walked hand in hand along the street. Once again, my heart was pounding but Alex radiated casual ease as we strolled towards the theater. I knew him well enough to know that it was affected though.

"Alex, we don't have to do this all the time, you know."

"I know. I'm not doing it because we HAVE to, I'm doing it because I want to." He squeezed my hand tightly. We walked in silence the rest of the way, and Alex kept my hand clutched in his until we reached the door and then he only let go so he could open it for me, sketching a mock bow and indicating that I should enter first. "Okay, division of labor, you're on snacks and drinks, I'm on tickets. Large, salted. Oh, and a coke."

"Okay." I trotted obediently off in pursuit of junk food. I had gone about ten feet when it occurred to me that we had just eaten and I didn't want anything else. "Alex, you total pig. How can you even think about popcorn now?"

"It's a movie, Ryan. You gotta have popcorn."

"Why, pray?

"Tradition, now off you go." He shrugged and turned back to studying the list of what was playing.

"Freak." I muttered under my breath but, ever dutiful, I did as I was bade. I grabbed a drink for myself too and made my way back to where I had last seen him. He was talking to someone in the queue, but the other person's back was to me so I couldn't tell who it was. I wandered across the foyer in their direction, but stopped in my tracks as I drew close. Derek. He was talking to Derek. Derek his former, and insanely homophobic, roommate. Derek the football asshole. Derek the guy who wanted to bring me down and who Alex had stopped. Derek who refused to share an apartment because of that. Derek who had inadvertently pushed us together (good old Derek). Why was he talking to Derek?

"So I haven't seen you about so much, Hayes." Derek said.

"I've been busy."

"Yeah? Doing what? Or should I say 'who'?" The mockery in Derek's tone was unmistakable, as was the contempt.

"You should say 'whom', moron." Alex rejoined quietly but clearly and distinctly, deep inside myself I cheered (and wondered that Alex knew that!). I remained rooted to the spot, listening to the conversation, neither of them had noticed me so far.

"So, Brian saw you and that faggot Thomson in the grocery store together."

"So? He's my roommate. We eat together." My stomach turned over, I could understand why Alex was unwilling to confront Derek with our relationship here and now but it still hurt to hear him dismiss it so casually.

"Brian thought it looked like more than that."

"Brian thought? That's a first." I knew that look, Alex was trying to stay calm, to keep his anger in check. If Derek kept pushing this there was no telling where it could go. I had only seen Alex lose control once and I ended up flat on my back with a blinding pain down one side of my head.

"What's happened to you, man? You used to be okay, before you got mixed up with that queer." In my book he was still okay, and then some, but I guess I was thinking of a side of Alex Derek had never seen.

"No, I used to be an asshole. But I guess by your standards, that made me all right." Oh, be fair now, I protested internally, you were never an asshole, just a bit misguided. I willed myself into motion, this little confrontation had to be stopped.

"Derek." I said, by way of greeting as I approached the pair. The look of relief on Alex's face was almost frightening. Derek didn't answer. "Not interrupting anything am I?"

"This is cozy, what are you guys on a date or something?" He laughed harshly.

"Just taking in a movie." I replied.

"No." Alex butted in. "That is, yes. Yes, we are on a date." He was flushed and obviously deeply uncomfortable. Nevertheless, he refused to lower his gaze, continuing to look straight at Derek, defying him to make an issue of it.

"Well you worked fast." Derek spat the words at me, his face almost as red as Alex's.

"What?" I demanded.

"Perverting him, you piece of shit." Before I could respond, Derek's head snapped back sharply as Alex's fist connected squarely with the bridge of his nose, blood poured down the front of his shirt. His mouth worked for a few seconds and he cupped his hand beneath his face catching the blood. Time stood still. Then suddenly he let go the blood that had pooled in his hands and it splashed to the floor forming a puddle of darker red on the plush carpeting. I felt unwell.

"You broge by dose!" He gasped, his voice made indistinct by the blood. The few other people in the foyer were all staring at us.

"And I'll break more than that if you ever speak to him like that again." Alex said evenly, shaking his hand back and forth and flexing his fingers.

"Bastard." Derek murmured, or something that sounded like it. A couple of his buddies had arrived on the scene and were trying to steer him towards the bathroom.

"And in case anyone else wants to know what's going on, well you can tell them this is." And so saying, Alex grabbed me and kissed me full on the lips, my arms went limp and the popcorn and coke crashed to the ground to mingle with Derek's blood. I wrapped my arms around his back and returned the kiss, my entire body felt like it was pulsing with electricity and my heart felt like it might just explode then and there. He held the kiss for what seemed like hours, but I guess the whole episode with Derek can't have lasted more than a minute or two. Finally, Alex came up for air, a wild look in his eyes and a shocked look on his face.

"Maybe we should forget the movie." I gasped.

"Maybe." He grinned broadly at me. "I can't believe I did that. Let's go!" He grabbed my hand and pulled me through the crowd and out of the theater, back home. Together.

Continued in Educating Alex 3