All rights reserved. Copyright held by the author. If you are underage or are offended by gay fiction, containing graphic sex and explicit language, please exit now.
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Hawthorne Awakening
A complete short story
by
Ritch Christopher
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Why couldn't he sleep? Steve lay in his bed, tossing restlessly. He glanced at the bedside clock. Ten before 4 AM, and little rest. He was still disturbed by Noah's taunting behavior at the movies, but worse, he was unable to understand his reaction to them as he found himself sexually stimulated, masturbating as he relived Noah's leg touches and Noah's revelation that he was gay.
Noah,in his own bed, was remembering his exhilaration at causing Steve's uncontrolled erections. Noah giggled, then stopped, surprised at the depth of his feelings. Why had he deliberately tried to put the make on his brother's best friend? The most obvious conclusion was that Steve was highly attractive and extremely good-looking. Plus, Noah knew he was safe-- Steve would never have the guts to tell Hal what had gone on between them in the darkened theatre and, afterwards, in the car.
Noah would have laughed even harder had he known that he had ruined Steve's sleep by making Steve question his manhood, fantasizing about the night's activities. Noah could never dream that Steve was in his bed thinking about Noah, his own aroused cock in his hand. Noah, as it happened, was busy jerking off with the same fantasy. He had almost reached the point of no return when he heard Hal enter the bedroom which the two of them shared. Noah was only able to curtail half an ejaculation as some of his semen did dribble and wet the underneath side of his sheet and blanket.
The bedroom was dark when Hal entered. Noah lay very still and pretended to be asleep as he peeked at his brother undressing by the light of the moon, spilling in from the window that separated their two beds. Once he was naked, Hal stumbled in the dark to the bathroom for his final night's pee. This short period of time, gave Noah the chance to reach under his bed for a towelan to wipe off some of the seminal residue. His testicles ached from reaching only half an orgasm. He grabbed the shaft of his penis and tried to milk it like a cow's udder to clear his urethral track as best he could.
Hal had turned on the bathroom light to urinate and almost walked back through the doorway before turning the light out. This let him see that Noah was not asleep and Hal had a pretty good idea what Noah was doing. Neither of the brothers had ever shared a masturbation session. Both knew that the other did it, but neither of them ever discussed it.
"Why should we?" Hal thought. "We're brothers and as long as we respect each other's privacy and keep our own secrets, why create an issue that might create a wedge between their brotherly bonds?"
Realizing that he might have been caught with the clean-up, Noah spoke, "Hey, Hal, you just getting in?"
"A few minutes ago," Hal replied. "How was the movie?"
"Long. Triple feature."
"Damn! You're ass must be sore," Hal said, but quickly added before his response was taken the wrong way, "from sitting. I don't know if I could sit through six or seven hours of non-stop movies."
"That's because I'm younger than you and my ass hasn't had as much wear," Noah joked. "How was your date?"
"I was with Carolyn, if that answers your question."
"Pretty hot, huh?"
"A date with Carolyn is not always hot...maybe the first couple of times were mildly warm, but she's nothing I'd like to settle for, at least,not for the rest of my life."
Noah didn't respond.
"How did Steve like the evening? I'll bet HIS butt is sore...I mean, him and me's the same age."
"Oh, he got up a couple of times to go to the men's room...to smoke a cigarette, I guess. He didn't sit through all three features at one sitting like I did."
"Did...did you go anywhere after the movie?" Hal asked, cautiously. "I mean, to get a bite to eat?"
"Just the Dairy Queen. We had some burgers, fries, and shakes."
"Did you go shoot pool after that?"
"Ah, no, we...we just came straight home."
Feeling that Noah had relayed the whole truth, Hal was relieved and that lessened the blow of his not being invited.
"You shoulda come with us," Noah added. "But just as Steve said, you had bigger and better things to do with Carolyn."
"Hey, you went out with Steve, how about going on a double date with me and Carolyn some time? I mean she knows lots of girls who might like to go out with you...especially now that you've come home lookin' like the Incredible Hulk."
"Aw, I haven't built myself up that much!"
"Your chest looks bigger than mine or Steve's or anybody else's, for that matter."
Noah dropped his head, a bit embarrassed but didn't respond verbally.
"So, how's about it?"
"How's about what?"
"A double date?"
"I...well, maybe. It's just I'm not all that experienced with dating and I'd rather know something about the person I'm going out with."
"What difference does it make? All of 'em have holes! Ask Steve. He and I feel almost the same way when it comes to pussy."
This remark upset Noah, twofold. First he didn't wish to double date some floozy with his brother, especially when his brother might see that girls didn't appeal to him. Second...what Hal said about Steve--Noah knew that Steve had always had a reputation of being a "cunt hound" and he knew he might never stand a chance of getting to second base with him.
"Let me open a window so I can smoke a cigarette. I don't want Momma to wake up and call the volunteer brigade," Hal said, raising the window between their beds about three inches. He sat on the side of his bed, pulled out a Marlboro and lit up. He was enjoying his conversation with Noah and wanted to prolong it, as he felt somewhat ashamed that his best friend, Steve, had taken a whole evening to get to know Noah and he hadn't made the same gesture toward his own brother. "You know, we've never really talked...you know, the way grown-ups do. Hell, when you left for school, you were just like a snot-nosed brat kid brother...but you come back all muscled up and lookin' much older, I feel I don't know you the way I should."
Hal's remark pleased Noah, as he was being treated as an equal for the first time.
"Heck, we've only got a couple of years separating us. I just lifted a few weights and got my body in shape, that's all."
"Yeah, but we can talk about older things now. Hell, you're big enough to look like MY older brother now. Would you like a cigarette?"
The offer astounded Noah and he took a Marlboro from Hal's pack.
"Yes, thanks. I don't smoke much. I just started a couple of months ago."
"I saw you drinkin' beer at the pool hall."
"Rite of passage, I guess. I don't really like the taste of the stuff."
"Oh, you will. There's lots of things you acquire a taste for, as you get older. How about hard liquor?"
"Not yet. Baylor will overlook an occasional beer, but hard booze? That would be a major infraction and I could get expelled."
"You...you, uh, how about girls? You seein' anyone special?"
"Not really."
"Hell, it's nothin' for any girl to put out on the first date. You gettin' any action?"
"No."
"Not even a 'bj' or a hand job?"
"Nope!"
"Christ! You must get horny as a toad!" The cigarettes were relaxing the conversation and Hal began to probe in unexplored territory about his brother's traits. "I...I suppose you're beating off by now."
"Masturbating?"
"Yeah."
"Occasionally?"
"Do you mind my askin' who taught you? I always thought it was the older brother's job to teach his kid brother about such things?"
"Who taught you? You don't have an older brother?"
"It was just somethin' that came natural to me, I guess. When I was fifteen or so, Steve and me would go down by Logan's creek and jerk off."
Noah was glad that the bedroom lights were off so that Hal couldn't observe the rush of jealousy that suddenly surged in his face.
"You and Steve used to...jer...masturbate together?"
"Hell, yes...me, Steve, then later Randy, Tyler, and Wade came around to learnin' and soon, we'se all doin' it?"
"All five of you? Together?"
"Don't get the wrong idea, none of us ever did it to each other. Hell, that'd've been queerer than old man Taylor's three-balled bull."
This eased Noah's mind a bit.
"But you DID see one another while you were doing it, didn't you?"
"Sure, we all skinny dipped together. We had nothin' to hide. It was just like we was sittin' around drinkin' a beer together, only we sat around and told stories about the girls that turned us on, and jerked away," Dan explained, as if his and the guys actions were perfectly normal. "Don't tell me you never jerked off with some of the guys in the shower at Baylor."
"No, never!" Noah replied, somewhat too strongly.
"Well, maybe they don't get around to doin' things in military school, the things us guys did at regular high school. Would it embarrass you if I asked if you've ever 'gotten any'?"
"You mean sex? With a girl?"
"Hell, yes! I didn't expect you to say you'd had sex with another guy."
"Well, actually, no."
"That means I gotta git Carolyn to find you a girl real soon. You're old enough now. Hell, when I was your age, I'd fucked forty or fifty different girls...Steve? Well, he'd fucked more than I had...more than any of us had."
The rush of jealousy came back to Noah.
"Hal, I don't want to hurt your feelings and I do appreciate your offer, but my first time...? Well, I'd rather pick out the person I want. I want it to be special."
"You're still a virgin? Got your cherry? Man, I can see I've really let you down. I almost feel kinda guilty."
"Don't!--please don't. I just want it to be with the 'right' person, that's all."
"How you gonna meet the right girl if you don't go out on dates?"
'I was just out on a date with the RIGHT person', Noah thought to himself, 'but I didn't know what to do even if it had been with a girl.' Then he said to Hal, "Oh, I'll know the person when the time is right!"
"Well, just remember, my offer still stands. Anytime you feel like you're ready for your first piece of cunt, let me know. Hell, let Steve know! Steve can fix you up with gash-- almost better than I can."
"Maybe I'll ask him, the next time Steve and I go out together."
"You mean that the two of you have already made plans to go somewhere's else? Hell, I'm going with the two of you next time. I don't want people talkin' that you and Steve have gone queer for each other. Where you goin' next time, anyways?"
"Oh, we haven't made any plans. I was just saying that if there was a next time...."
"Well, if there IS a next time and I'm busy with Carolyn and can't go with you, just make sure that Steve brings two girls along with you. That way, everything'll look normal if anyone sees you."
"I'll tell Steve, Hal."
"Hell, I'll tell him myself! You won't get mad if I kid him a little bit about the two of you goin' off to the movies together, will you?"
"I'd rather you didn't. I just wanted to be like you and go out with your best friend, as if you and I were the same age and shared the same things and the same friends."
"Buddy, boy! Before this summer is over, Steve and I are gonna teach you plenty! I wanna be there to see the smile on your face when you get your first ooze of cooze."
Noah was sure that his face was redder than a fire engine at a barn burning. He quietly put out his cigarette in the tin can on the nightstand and lay down. Hal thought maybe he had gone too far with their first brotherly talk and dowsed his cigarette and lay on his bed. The room was dark and neither of them could see the other's face to read the expressions. Noah stared at the ceiling while Hal pulled up his cover and rolled over to face the wall. Both were silent for a couple of minutes. Hal was sure he must have embarrassed Noah. He could feel a slight friction of tension between the two of them.
To ease the possibility of latent hostility, Hal finally spoke. "Noah, I'm sorry if I said anything out of turn."
"That's okay, you didn't."
"I...I'm also, sorry if I interrupted anything when I came in."
"Pardon?"
"I saw you with the towel when I came from the bathroom. I assumed you had been havin' a private moment."
"Oh, that."
"Did you...did you finish? I mean did you get off before I came into the bedroom?"
"Enough," Noah replied.
"Cause if you didn't, I have no objections if you wanna do it again. Hell, do it any time you wanna. I won't say anything. What you do is none of my business."
"What would you have said if I had caught you?"
"Probably nothin'...but I would've finished! Shit! Half-cummin' hurts like hell."
"Thanks, Hal, but I'm all right."
"Okay, then. Good night."
"Good night."
Hal soon drifted off into a deep sleep, having been sexually gratified with Carolyn's best. Noah stayed awake for quite a while, touching himself in the dark, while he thought about all the girls that had done many things with Steve, wishing he had been one of them.
Later Saturday morning, Noah found he had slept until noon. He would've slept longer had it not been for Hal shaking him and shouting, "Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! Wake Up! Wake up, Superman! You gonna stay in bed all day?"
"Huh?" Noah grunted as he tried to open his eyes. "Heck, Hal, what time is it?"
"Noon! Momma and Dad have gone grocery shoppin' and I called Randy, Wade, and Tyler and they're gonna meet us at Smiley's and we're gonna shoot some pool."
"Hal, I'm not awake. I haven't cleaned up, showered, shaved, eaten breakfast and you want me to go shoot pool? I think I'll pass."
"Oh, no, you won't! The guys want some equal time with you, seein's that you and Steve spent last night all to yourselves. Besides, there might be someone else I want you to meet."
"Who?"
"My surprise! Now forget about that showerin' 'n stuff and put on a pair of real jeans...none of those military school khakis! I'll go fix you some cereal or somethin'." Hal ran out of the room then came back, "Hey, what kind of underwear do you cadets wear?"
"There's no regulation. We can wear boxers or briefs."
"What do you wear?
"Usually briefs."
"Do yourself a favor and don't wear any underwear under your jeans today, OK?"
"Why, for God's sake?"
"Let your meat dangle! That'll make it grow longer."
"Where did you learn that, Hal?"
"Just simple physics, like I learned in high school. It's just a matter of gravity. As long as your dick is hanging loose, it's bound to grow. You can't keep it pinned up in a pair of tight briefs. That's like those Chinese women who bind their feet when they're kids so their feet won't grow and they can always wear the same size shoe their whole life."
"Hal, I think you need to go back to school. From the way you talk, you needed one more lesson."
"All right, I'll show you soon how much bigger mine is than yours. It's because I NEVER wear underwear. Come on, Noah, let it show. Let the women see what you got to offer 'em. You won't stay a virgin very long if you developed your dick the way you did your chest and arms!"
Almost afraid to ask, but Noah did, "Is Steve coming, too?"
"I didn't call him yet, so I guess he's not. Besides, I figgered you'd spent enough time with him last night."
Noah couldn't come to a conclusion, but it would appear that Hal was jealous of his best friend being chummy with his kid brother, or was it the other way around? Either way, there was an element of envy in Hal's demeanor. It only upset Noah slightly. Frankly, he was amused and somewhat flattered at being the center of so much interest ...and competition?...between Hal and Steve.
Noah did get dressed, but with a pair of Jockey briefs to keep his genitals in their proper place. He used the toilet and went down the hall toward the kitchen. The phone in the hallway rang just as he passed it.
"Hello?" Noah answered.
"Mornin'...or rather, 'afternoon'," said the voice.
"Steve?"
"Who else were you expectin' to call?"
"Well, certainly not you," replied Noah.
"Whaccha doin?"
"I...I'm trying to find some way of getting out of going down to Smiley's to play pool with Wade, Tyler, and Randy. It seems Hal planned a big Saturday afternoon pool shoot before I woke up."
"Oh? He didn't call me."
"Maybe he did and you were asleep when the phone rang."
"Oh no, I've been up since seven."
"Why so early?"
"I...uh, had a little trouble going to sleep, so I finally just got up."
"Your butt probably kept you awake from sitting through a triple feature."
"Yeah, I guess that was it."
"So, do you want to speak to Hal?"
"No, not really. I called to talk with you. I wanted to see if you wanted to go drivin' or something this afternoon."
"You mean, Hal and me?"
"Nope. Just you."
"Why?"
"I thought you might have more things to talk about...things you didn't finish sayin' last night. You know, things that you don't want Hal to hear."
"Steve, I'd like to, but I'm afraid it might be a little difficult."
"Why, for fuck's sake?"
"Oh, Hal said that the next time you and I made plans, he wanted to come along."
"My God! Is he gettin' jealous about last night...about the time we spent to ourselves?"
"I'm not sure, but he wants to be with us, just the same."
"Well, why don't I come down to Smiley's and meet you, shoot a few games, and we'll see what everyone wants to do tonight."
"Don't you have a Saturday date with some of your Saturday night steady women?"
"They can get by without my stickin' it to 'em one weekend."
"Okay, then, I'll see you at Smiley's in about an hour. I'll tell Hal you're coming."
"DON'T! Just let me drop by and see the look on their faces when they see me show up...when I wasn't invited."
"Okay. See ya!"
"See ya, little buddy!"
'Little buddy' was not exactly a term of endearment, but Noah smiled and pretended it to be one. SO! Steve called to talk with him, NOT Hal! If Noah had let his imagination go wild, he could read all kinds of things in Steve's phone call. Interested maybe? This was going to be a fun summer for Noah, after all. He just might meet that "right" person to give himself to. That was too much to wish for, but he could wish, just the same.
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Steve and Hal had met for breakfast every Sunday at Katie's diner ever since both of them had been old enough to drive a car. Neither set of parents was particularly religious, only attending services at Bethel Baptist Church, very emphatically, on Easter Sunday and Christmas. The rest of the year was hit and miss. It wasn't that the Carter and Jarvis moms didn't fix breakfast for their sons on Sunday; it was just a ritual for the two boys and their friends to congregate and brag or discuss their sexual conquests with their Saturday night fucks, and in livid detail!
Usually Randy, Tyler, and Wade joined them at Katie's, although Wade never had a story to relate. That was okay because the rest of the guys knew that Wade was still a virgin and he made an extra special audience to whom they could describe their pussy passions from the night before. Sometimes, when their girls were having their periods and sex was not all that possible, the guys made up stories just to see Wade's eyes widen and watch his crotch rise as they inventively bragged, watching his crotch from the corner of their eyes. It was all in fun. Randy and Tyler got laid occasionally, usually by girls no one else wanted to fuck...and since Randy and Tyler were eager and willing to ask them out for a Saturday night date, the girls overcompensated the two with extra special favors in appreciation. Whereas Hal might get his usual quick lay with Carolyn, Randy and Tyler were lucky if they got a handjob, a blowjob, or maybe even a fuck, sometimes reaching several orgasms.
It wasn't as if Wade didn't get the chance to get laid, as any of his four friends were more than willing to fix him up, once and for all. There was just something that kept Wade from imbibing in the fruits of female flesh. He'd never offered an explanation, any more than his friends had demanded one from him. They just assumed that with Wade, it might be a religious principle or something to do with the closeness Wade had with his mother.
But this Sunday morning was unlike any of the others. Hal knew exactly where to find Steve. Hal's mind was still reeling from hearing his brother's early morning declaration of love in his sleep. Hal knew that Steve was not queer, nor would he ever think of having queer sex with another guy, but Hal's head was about to explode with curiosity as to where Steve and Noah had gone the night before--and what they had done!
In all the years that Steve and Hal had been best friends, neither of them had ever excluded the other from any social event, but then, yesterday, Hal had purposely not called Steve to play pool with him and the guys and, in like manner, Steve knew that Hal didn't have a date planned with Carolyn, so why hadn't Hal been invited to go 'God know where' with him and his kid brother, Noah?
When Hal arrived at Katie's, Steve was already sitting in their favorite red vinyl booth, which could seat eight on date night. Neither Randy, Wade, nor Tyler was there yet. "Good," Hal thought. This would give him a chance to quiz his best friend and cautiously try to find out what had happened on Steve's second date in a row with Noah.
"Hey, there!" Hal said, as he approached Steve.
Both of them looked bleary-eyed, as if neither of them had slept much for the same, and yet different, reason...NOAH!
"Hey!" Steve answered. "We still talkin'?"
"Whaccha mean?"
"I mean that little tiff between you and me at Smiley's yesterday, when you so carefully chose NOT to invite me."
"Hell, Steve, I was gonna call. I just assumed you knew where I'd be."
"Seems you called everyone else to meet you...all except me."
"Steve, you and me are like brothers...we always have been! We read each other's thoughts and know each other's moves. We don't have to call one another."
"Maybe not---unless you didn't want me to show up."
"Why would I do that?"
"I don't know," Steve said with a quiet edge. "Just skip it!"
"Uh, where did you and Noah wind up goin'?"
"Just drivin'. No where in particular."
"But you told Noah at Smiley's that you and him had somethin' special planned."
"Ah, shit, Hal! That was just my way of gettin' Noah away from those two cunts you were tryin' to set him up with."
"Hell, I WANTED him to go. Noah's old enough to get his first piece! Shit! You and me was a lot younger'n him."
"Noah isn't ready. He told me so!"
"He told you...and not me, his brother?"
"Sure, you were makin' such a big fuckin' deal out of it. I didn't want to force him to give up his cherry to the likes of those two whores."
"What did Noah tell you--that is, unless you don't trust me enough to tell me?"
"Hal, Noah ain't like us. Sex is special to Noah. He wants his first time to be with someone he cares about, so that he'll always remember it."
"Steve, pussy is pussy! There's nothin' special about it! Good Lord, I can't think of a girl in this county that one of us hasn't had. Well, maybe I haven't had as many as you, but there are a few like Carolyn that I've had and you haven't!"
"Did Carolyn tell you that I hadn't fucked her?"
"No, and she'd better not tell me that you have!"
"Well, relax your sphincter before you give yourself a hernia. I HAVEN'T fucked her."
"So, where did you and Noah go drivin'? Did you stop and get some beer?"
"I offered, but Noah refused."
Hal was ready to hint at a taboo subject.
"Steve, let me ask you somethin'."
"Shoot!"
"You've seen how much Noah has grown up. You've seen his big muscles and his new good looks."
"I'm not blind, Hal,"
"Well, don't it seem strange that he's not using his stamina to WANT to date a girl?"
"What are you gettin' at, Hal?"
"Shit! It's just all those stories I've heard...about things that happen between boy cadets at military school when a guy's away from home and his family."
"Hey! You accusing your own brother of turning queer?"
"If I hadn't known you all my life and if I didn't know about how much you liked fuckin' every girl in Hawthorne, I'd say you were turnin' queer for my kid brother!"
"Hal, you been smokin' weed or sniffin' white powder?"
"Shit, Steve, it's Sunday morning. You know I don't do drugs before breakfast,"
"Then why are you sayin' all those crazy things?"
"It's just I think Noah's got some kind of crush on you and I'm wonderin' if maybe you don't feel the same way about him?"
"Jesus Christ, Hal!" Steve replied, getting angry. "Do you think that if dick interested me, I wouldn't tried somethin' with you when we first began jerkin' off together. I never touched you, and never wanted to."
"Well, since Noah came home all muscled up, I thought maybe you might've been attracted to him."
"It seems that you're the one who's turned on by Noah's muscles. I could accuse you of wantin' to do somethin' sexual with him."
"You're full of shit! Dick doesn't do a thing for me...especially my own brother's dick. Shit! That's incest!"
"Then why are you insinuating that I have a hankerin' for Noah?"
"I just wondered about what you two was doin' the past two nights, ridin' around to secret places!"
"Hal, the fuckin' Dairy Queen is no secret place, not unless it changed locations in the past twenty-four hours! If I didn't know better, I'd swear you're actin' suspiciously jealous! What the fuck's goin' on in your head?"
"I don't know. I...just...I got a big problem, Steve.
"Since when have your problems not been my problems? So whatever it is, spill it and let's get it out in the open."
"It's just that...Friday night, Carolyn told me she's pregnant!"
"Holy shit! You and I both know how to be careful, so how the fuck did you slip up?"
"I don't know. Maybe one night I was drinkin' too much. Maybe when I went back for seconds, maybe I used the same rubber and some of my spunk oozed out. Maybe I put it on wrong side out and she got a full dose."
"What the fuck are you gonna do? You got the money to get her an abortion?"
"Yeah, I got the money," Hal replied, but his voice became softer and more serious. "It's just that I've been thinkin', and maybe I want this baby."
"Now I'm certain you've flipped out! You want to spend the rest of your life with Carolyn and some snot-nosed brat?"
"Not really, but the snot-nosed brat is my kid...and I want my kid...and if I have to take Carolyn along with the package, well, then..."
"God damn, Hal!"
"I know. It doesn't sound like me talkin', does it?"
"It sure as shit doesn't. What does Carolyn want?"
"That's where the irony lies. I don't think SHE wants ME!"
"What?"
"'s funny as hell. It's okay if we date steady and she lets me fuck her brains out every time I feel like it, but she don't love me enough to raise our kid together."
"WOULD you marry her, Hal?"
"I think so...I don't know. It's just that Hawthorne is so goddamned small and everybody knows everybody else's business, I don't want the people to brand my kid as bein' a bastard."
"Christ! You've been carryin' this load on your shoulders all weekend and you come in here and accuse me of queerin' your brother?"
"I'm sorry, bro. I don't know why I said all them things," Hal said, then suddenly stopped himself with, "Yes, I DO know! It was somethin' that Noah said in his sleep after he came home last night."
"What did he say?"
"Oh, he was mumblin...somethin' about 'hold me, Steve,' and then he said, 'I love you, Steve!"
"You're bullshitting me!"
"No, I'm not!"
"Well, you said he was asleep. Maybe he was havin' a stupid dream and didn't mean what he was saying!"
"What kind of dream would make him say, 'I love you, Steve'? That ain't normal for a kid to say."
"Well, rest your mind. Noah and I did NOT engage ourselves in ANY kind of sexual activity whatsoever! Even if I WAS queer, I sure as hell wouldn't try anything with my best friend's brother. I love you like my own brother too much. We're too close! Hell, I wouldn't do anything to your sister if you had one!"
"I know and I know I'd never fuck around with your sister if you had one."
"Let's get back to the REAL subject...you and Carolyn. What you gonna do? Does she want an abortion?"
"No, she talked like she wanted the kid, too."
"Then you two had better get your shit together and come to some kind of understanding. If you both want the kid and you don't want the kid to be born a bastard, you'd better get together and start deciding something."
"I know."
Just then, Tyler and Randy enter Katie's and came toward the favorite booth.
"Don't say a word to them about Carolyn and me," Hal said in a whisper.
"You know I won't. Just don't go off on a wild tangent and accuse me and Noah of-- well, whatever you were accusing me of."
"God! That's the last thing I'd do...even if was true."
"Mornin', gentlemen," Steve said, greeting Randy and Tyler. "Where's the monk?"
"I think Wade went to church with his mom," Tyler said, "I sometimes wonder how he became one of us?"
"Who else has he got to chum around with?" Steve replied. "Let's face it! None of us has ever said it out loud, but all four of us feel kinda sorry for Wade, and he sorta serves a purpose for us."
"A purpose?" Randy smirked, "What kind of purpose does a momma's boy serve for us?"
"You just said it, Randy," Steve replied. "The fact that he IS a momma's boy, there's lots of things we'd do, if he wasn't around...like getting into trouble...and Wade makes us stop and think before we go too far. Did you ever think about that?"
"No," Randy replied wonderingly.
"Well, THINK about it, asshole!"
Randy and Tyler ignored Steve's last remark and sat down in the booth. "You two ordered breakfast yet?"
"Nope."
"What are you havin'?" Randy asked.
"That's a dumbass question. We order the same thing we've been orderin' every Sunday at Katie's for years!"
"Well, today I might order somethin' different."
"You mean seven biscuits and gravy instead of your usual six?"
The four of them acknowledged the humor and laughed at themselves as Katie strode over, ostensibly to take their order. She didn't bother with a pad or pencil because she'd turned in their usual order as soon as Randy and Tyler came in the door.
After breakfast, Wade still hadn't shown up, and the four musketeers departed, each to his own way...Tyler and Randy to Randy's house to watch Sunday afternoon sports on TV, Hal to go see Carolyn. Steve drove home, thinking about what Hal has said about Noah's declaration in his sleep. Steve DID have feelings for Noah, but there was no one in Hawthorne with whom he could discuss them. The only gay person Steve had ever known was his cousin, Johnny Kane. Johnny had moved to Briarwood and later to Mackintosh, New Hampshire. Johnny used to run a crisis center in Summerville, where he discussed gay matters with kids who were confused about their sexuality. There were several things Steve would like to ask Johnny without incriminating himself. But then, even cousin Johnny knew about Steve's reputation with women and would never believe that Steve was asking about queer things that concerned himself.
Steve went home to an empty house, as his folks were having Sunday dinner with his dad's sister's family. Steve took a chance and dialed New Hampshire long distance to see if Johnny was listed in the Mackintosh phone directory. He was astonished when the operator gave him Johnny's home phone number. He dialed the area code and the first four digits before he hung up the receiver. He had lost his nerve. He took the piece of paper containing Johnny's number, folded it, and put it in his billfold. Maybe he would call Johnny later in the week...AFTER he had seen Noah one more time.
<><><><><><><><><> (To be continued in Part Three)