Heartbeat

This is a work of fiction. Any similarities between the story and reality are purely coincidental. Please contact the author at doncornelius69 AT yahoo DOT com if you'd like to share your thoughts, feelings, or opinions.

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CHAPTER FOUR

Tate

I came twice with Zach our first time, something I'd never done before. The second orgasm was so intense that I couldn't do much of anything other than drop off him and fall asleep after it ripped through me. I remember dreaming that night about a guy I'd been friends with when I was much younger. He was two years older than me and he'd been the one to teach me boy things, like how to gleek on purpose and throw a tight spiral. He was someone who was nice to me, and in my dream, he now had Zach's face. I know it sounds weird, but this was someone I remember from childhood whom I trusted absolutely and who never betrayed that trust. Seeing Zach's face on him made me think my subconscious was trying to tell me Zach was for real.

What's weird was that I already knew that, which made figuring out the dream more of a priority for me. Trying to understand the inner workings of my brain aside, I also reveled in how I felt. My whole body tingled and I felt amazing. It wasn't just from the sex, it was also from the massage Zach had given me. His hands were strong as hell and every time he kneaded my ass or the muscles in my legs, they turned to jello. He'd ended up the best masseuse to ever work on me.

Our first time together had been truly mind blowing. The feeling of him moving beneath me, and watching his face, made clear to me he wasn't trying to just nut, he was working hard to make it amazing for me, and he succeeded. Even that first five minutes of him inside me was more pleasurable than every sexual encounter I'd ever had. What I'd known for weeks was now even clearer, that we were together in every conceivable way.

When I woke up, he had me locked down with his arm, but he was so out of it he didn't even stir when I lifted it up so I could move. When I came back to bed, I laid down facing him, watching his face as he slept. That amazing face, so masculine and chiseled, now relaxed and easy, was intensely attractive to me, more so than any other man I'd known.

I easily fell back to sleep and it was another hour before he woke and disturbed me enough to open my eyes again, only to see him smiling. I thought, for a second, that I should brush before he kissed me, but I realized this is an amazing moment and I should just enjoy it.

We made our way downstairs and cooked breakfast. At first, I offered yoghurt and berries again, but he made it very clear that wouldn't be enough. So, I cooked up a massive omelet and we sat down in the family room to eat. After we ate, as we sat watching TV, he opened a can of worms.

"When I told you about what I was thinking of doing to Tillet, you just assumed..."

"That you'd kill him?" I said, muting the TV. "Yes, I did."

He looked at me with the curious expression I'd come to love, the right eyebrow cocked just so, "Do you really think I could kill someone?"

I smiled, "I know you can. I know you would if you found a reason to."

That shocked him. He was silent and we went back to watching TV for a while until...

"You really think I'm some maniac?" he blurted out.

"Not at all. I think you're a man with a deeply evolved sense of justice and morality. I think that coupled with your physical capabilities leaves you with no real limits," I paused for a second, then continued, "You don't scare me, if that's what you're concerned about. And no, I don't think you'd just go around killing people. But, the right person for the right crime? Yeah, I think you'd do it without hesitating because you could and you'd see a need."

He sat in silence for another 10 minutes before finally reaching for the remote and turning off the TV.

"You really think so little of me?"

"No, I don't," I replied. "In fact, it's because I think so highly of you that I'm saying this."

He scoffed, "Highly of me? You're saying that I'm basically a murderer."

That irritated me, "No, I'm not and I didn't. I don't know why this has you so irritated."

He finally relented, "I don't either. I just..."

"Is it possibly that you know I'm right and you don't want me to see you that way?"

He smiled. It was only a little but it was there. Not a smirk, a smile that told me I was right.

"You don't?"

"No. You're actually a pretty kind and compassionate person. For all the muscles and enjoying the thrill of violence, you're really a very nice guy who just happens to think people should pay for their crimes, especially those who wrong someone you love. The only thing I got wrong was the intensity of your feeling and desire for justice. You want it to match the crime and that's, to me at least, admirable."

"Admirable?" he asked, smiling.

"Yeah. I don't know, it's easy enough for people to be dismissive in these situations, but for you it's just not possible. You couldn't let it go if you wanted to. I could make you, I'm pretty sure of that," to which he nodded, just slightly. "But in this instance, I'm not going to because I want to see him get a taste of what he did to me. I do think it's appropriate."

Now he smiled broadly, "OK."

I laughed, "OK is all I'm getting back?"

"Yep."

"I'll take it."

For the remainder of the day we hung out and talked. This wasn't the first Saturday we spent together but it was different. We knew each other more completely now and nothing was going to be the same.

About 5, he left to run home and change, then returned at 7 to pick me up. We went to dinner and then on to a party where `Was That You' kicked off about five minutes in.

Two weeks before, the Vogue September issue had arrived in mailboxes. I was in a Prada ad and a fall spread for the magazine itself. I'd known it was coming since before we moved, but I never said anything to anyone, not even my mother or Zach, because I completely glitched on it. No kidding, I heard it from Nina and completely dropped it in my head since there was so much else going on. By way of explanation, we moved half way across the country and I met this amazing guy who had my attention as we got to know one another. There wasn't much room in my head for `Oh, yeah, I'm going to be in another ad'.

Me being in a magazine just didn't matter. UNTIL I started getting the whispered questions from people earlier this week... PSSST was that you in that Prada ad?

I finally explained it to Zach after a girl walked up to me and asked me to autograph the ad in the magazine while we stood outside talking by his truck. He was really cute about it, but the look on his face when the girl walked up to us was priceless... "Why the fuck is this weirdo asking you to sign an ad in a maga..." and then he really looked at the ad.

Then it became Zach who wanted a copy and we did a hard target search of every bookstore on the peninsula, only to find them out. I tried explaining to him what the September issue of Vogue was, but he just didn't get it. Not wanting to make more pointless trips to yet more bookstores, I asked Nina to find me one and ship it to me.

"What do you need that for?" she asked, in her usually gruff tone. She had absolutely no filter with me and spoke to me like I too was a middle-aged chain smoker with two divorces under my belt and kids who I loved despite the fact that they were shiftless (I actually had to look that up).

"It's not for me, it's for my boyfriend."

"Ahhhh, he wants to show people his super hot model boyfriend is really a model. Alright, I'll see what I can do."

And that was the end of the conversation. Nina never signaled the end of a call with good bye', gotta hop', or anything else. She just talked and when she was done, she hung up.

The first person at the party to bother me about it was Sara Liang who'd actually brought the book with her to the party and asked me to sign it. And that led to questions and it became a thing for about 30 minutes, until Zach finally had enough and pulled me away from my adoring fans.

"Thank you," I told him as we walked away. "I'm sorry this keeps happening."

"Don't be. I think it's fire," he responded.

That surprised me, "Then why did you pull me away?"

He stopped and looked at me, "You needed me to. I could tell it was starting to get to you."

I smiled, "What gave it away?"

He responded in a serious tone, "Nothing physical, I can read your mind."

I laughed a little at his disclosure then noticed that the serious look on his face hadn't changed.

"Please tell me you don't think you're actually reading my mind."

"Like dialog in a movie? No. But I started picking up emotions from you weeks ago. I'm honestly surprised you haven't noticed."

I took a step back, completely involuntarily, and the look on this face changed immediately to a pained expression.

"Babe, please don't be upset. I didn't mean to shock you or anything, but I want to be honest with you."

I searched for words, but they weren't there. I finally a focused on one thing... that I loved him and almost immediately he relaxed. Clearly, I was far too open, even for an open book.

He leaned in, his mouth close to my year, "I love you, too."

I looked at him as he pulled away, "Zach, this is weird for me."

"I don't know why; you do it to me, too."

I scrunched up my face, "What are talking about?"

"You knew something was off with me the first week of school when I walked you to Calc the day you found out about my nickname."

"Yeah, but I didn't know what it was and I wasn't reading your mind."

He sighed, "OK, consider that a poor choice of words. I'm not reading your mind as much as the emotions you choose to show on your face. They tell me a lot about what you're thinking and feeling."

I really got upset at that disclosure, "Am I that obvious? I don't want everyone to know what I'm thinking. What if I need to lie?"

He moved in quickly, "No, no, no! You're not obvious to anyone but me. I just see these things; I can't help it."

"You know what, forget it," I said with a smile. "I'm being hypersensitive about something stupid. Your disclosure caught me a little off guard."

"It's OK, babe. You know you can trust me, right?"

I grabbed his hand, "Yeah, I do, but I also have a question?"

"What was I hiding from you that first week of school?"

My eyes went wide, "OK, I promise I'm going to get used to that, but DAMN. Cool it for a bit, will ya?"

Once he finished laughing, he said, "It's what I told you about Thursday night, what I want to do with Tillet."

That admission took care of two lingering issues for me. First, there was the thought he'd lied to me about telling me what was on his mind and two, that it was something far worse than I thought it would be. I'd been wrong on both counts and the realization washed over me.

He looked at me curiously, "You just relaxed like a 900 pound weight was removed from your shoulders."

I smiled, "Because it was." And I proceeded to tell him about what had been going on in my mind. Unsurprisingly, he was a little pissed that I assumed he'd cheated and felt the need to reiterate, one more time, that he never would.

I finally let it go and we went to get drinks, then settled into a group of people I only tangentially knew and who, thankfully, didn't have an issue of Vogue with them.

ZACH

My guy.

Tate still doesn't realize that he's mine body, mind, and soul. His overreaction to me `reading his mind' was just an example. He has a strong need to maintain independence and I didn't get where it came from, until later that night.

Having finally had sex the night before, we weren't in a hurry to leave. We were both relaxed and easy about it, knowing that the night wouldn't end without us being sweaty and worn out. So, we continued to talk and have fun, which was pretty amazing since Tate just had a way with people. I knew my reputation and how people reacted to me, they were usually pretty deferential because of my size.

Tate, on the other hand, put people at ease. Everyone smiled around him, and his smiles back were genuine. He wasn't pretending to be interested in a story about a cat someone owned years before, he WAS interested in the story. More specifically, he was interested in the person telling the story and it was so obvious it made me feel warm all over. He's so full of life you can't help but be thrilled to be around him. And no matter what you might think, he's actually interested in what you are saying right then. Tate was never one to think ahead in conversations, he was the most present person I'd ever known. The best part was that he rubbed off on people. You'd see them relax and take their time, picking up on ques from him.

Sex was like that for him as well. Unlike the previous night, we went upstairs together at a normal pace and once in his room, he gently undressed me. Long before he was done, I was forced to adjust myself so my cock didn't rip apart my boxer briefs. His fingertips, running lightly over my skin, were an amazingly hot feeling for me and I loved it more than anything any previous lover had done. For Tate's part, I was pretty sure this was as much about making me feel good as it was about exploring my body. He'd made the comment earlier in the day about how different our bodies were, and he was absolutely right. Like comparing a thoroughbred to a Clydesdale. My body was built to move boulders, while his would inspire someone to chip away at that same rock to preserve the beauty they'd seen in stone.

His final act was taking off my underwear and then he knelt on the floor in front of me and started to give me the best blowjob I'd ever had. At that point I knew exactly why he was doing this, so I would be drained after we had sex. I didn't think his plan would work but I didn't really care since right at that moment he opened his mouth wide enough and used his tongue on my balls as I was buried in his throat.

30 seconds or an hour later, I don't know which, I found myself trying to hold off as I warned him I was close. His reaction to that was to increase movement of his tongue while grabbing my hips and forcing me deeper which finally caused me to let go. It was so amazing, I felt like at least one of my balls was making its way out of my dick and directly into his stomach.

I'm a big guy in every way. Blowjobs are often problematic, either because of my width or length. Even people who'd given me good head were like rank amateurs compared to Tate. As I came down from the amazing orgasm, I looked at him sitting at my feet, staring up at me with a very pleased look on this face.

"That was incredible," I managed to finally say.

He smiled broadly, clearly happy with the pleased look on my face, "You're welcome."

I reached down and helped him back to his feet, then hugged him to me as closely as I dared, keenly aware that he had ribs, organs, and a spine. We kissed and I tasted myself on his lips, which drove me crazy. With a growl, I grabbed him under his ass and upper legs, lifting him easily off the floor, only to feel him wrap his legs around me.

I broke off the kiss and looked into his passion filled eyes. I felt overwhelmed but in the best possible way, completely overcome with my love for him and the very real feeling that everything I would ever need and want was in my hands at that moment.

I walked over to the bed, and sat down, still holding him and we kissed for what seemed like hours, until I finally got him out of his clothes.

TATE

Being with him felt so good, so natural, that I was ready to go from the moment he stripped off my underwear. He wanted missionary and while I was a little sore from the previous night, I was still stretched out just enough to take him comfortably.

He was sweating with his entry, keeping his body taught as he moved very slowly in, watching my reaction and adjusting as needed. It hurt, but the pain gave way to pleasure as he worked my prostate expertly, delivering cascading feelings of ecstasy to my rapidly overloading brain with each shallow stroke.

Then came the main event as he busted through my second sphincter and bottomed out deeper inside me than anyone previous. I looked into his face and saw him, a look of joy dominating his features. He started to thrust in an and out and the friction was like magic. I held back as long as I could then there was one sudden stroke, just a little to the left, and my world exploded. As I came back down, I realized he was close and squeezed with what little strength I had left, which was just enough to send him over the edge. The most amazing thing, was that he didn't lose control or start to slam into me, he maintained his rhythm and control even through his orgasm. He finally opened his eyes and gave me the dopey smile that he makes just after he cums. Then he leaned down to kiss me, his body starting to shake just a bit from the exertion.

After, he fell over to my left while I was still catching my breath as my entire body tingled. It was like it had been after last night, but this time I didn't start to drift off to sleep. I realized at that moment just how far gone I really was. This was beyond my love for him, this was me being completely under his control. The sex was so good I didn't trust myself to ever tell him no again.

I moved my head to look at him and saw him looking at me with a smile that rapidly faded as he quickly sat up.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

I sighed, "I feel amazing and I'm scared to death."

"Of what?"

"You."

He looked confused, "But why?"

"Because I'm scared of losing myself to you," I told him, honestly, as my eyes started to tear up.

His face softened and he leaned in to kiss me, then said with a smile, "You can let go. I'm not going to let you fall and I will never take advantage of you."

"But..."

"There's no but. I love you. I don't want to own you; I want you in my life for as long as we both live. I will never do anything to compromise that, you just have to trust me like I trust you." He looked away and cleared his throat, "What you're feeling I saw in your eyes last night. I knew what I was doing to you and was happy because I wanted you to know you could be vulnerable with me. I've got you."

I'd already started to tear up at that point and as the last words left his mouth, a few tears washed out of my eyes. I reached over to him with what little energy I had left and hugged him tightly as I whispered, "I love you."

"I know, baby, and I love you, too," he said back, his deep voice resonating in my chest as we laid entwined.

He got up to use the bathroom and I remember trying to stay awake but losing the fight pretty quickly, my last thought being of him and his arms wrapped around me. And that was how I woke up the next morning. He'd moved me during the night and wrapped me up in his arms, spooning me from behind. It was funny because I'd never been a fan of spooning, always finding whoever was doing it too hot and/or clingy. With Zach, however, it was neither. I just felt complete.

I made the decision to stay in bed with him and dozed off and on for about an hour before he kissed me on the back of my neck as he woke up. It was so sweet I let out a very heavy sigh, which earned me a squeeze from the powerful arm wrapped around me. He turned me over, and looked down at me, then moved in to kiss me, causing me to moan in delight.

"Good morning," he said, his voice deep and soothing. "Did you sleep well?"

I laughed, "Yes, I did! I had a super hot man holding me all night and I don't think I moved at all."

He gave me a weird look, "Where the hell is this guy? I feel like I need to have a talk with him."

"Nyuck, nyuck, nyuck," was my response, which earned me a tickle fight that I rapidly lost as he took control of my hands, forced them over my head, and then hovered over me staring deeply into my eyes, before he moved in for a kiss that led to us having sex again, though this time without him inside me since my overworked ass needed a break.

After breakfast, he helped me straighten up the house and then left. Watching him walk down the path to the street filled me with emotion, desire being at the top of the list, followed by a deep feeling of contentment. He might be leaving for now, but he wasn't leaving for good and while I loved being with him, I didn't mind the time apart.

About 5 I went to SFO to pick up my mother who was anything but happy when I pulled to the curb.

"What's wrong?" I asked, hoping the scowl on her face had nothing to do with me.

"They overbooked first and bumped me to coach."

"Oh, that sucks. I'm sorry."

She laughed, "Never thought I'd have such problems or that they'd get to me, but after this weekend I really didn't want someone crowded up on me for the duration of the flight."

"Did they at least give you the difference on the ticket?"

"Yes, and the company will appreciate my sacrifice, I'm sure."

As I drove us home, I told her what had happened over the weekend. I didn't want to lie to her and no, I wasn't super graphic, but I did want her to be aware.

"How do you feel?"

I thought for a second, then told her, "Good. I feel good."

She smiled, "I love you and I'm happy for you."

I looked at her strangely and before I could comment she said, "You're not a child. You're almost 18 years old and you're going to have to make decisions on your own. I can't do your thinking for you and I'm glad you don't need that. I'm also glad you were honest with me.

That being said, I'm very happy my son has someone he cares about and who cares about him. I'm happy my son is happy."

And for that, she got a monster hug as soon as we got home.

ZACH

As we moved into the fall, I tried my hardest not to get anxious about the future, but it was really tough. School work was trivial and I found myself thinking about what our lives would be like 2, 5, 10 years down the road and what we needed to do to make certain of my daydream's reality.

Presumptuous would have been a perfect description since none of this involved Tate. He had a role to play, to be sure, but it was modeling a little in college than for another few years in our 20s. After, he'd settle down with me wherever I was working and we would raise a family together. It was very 50s nuclear family, with Tate cast as the little woman. I mentioned my planning to him at one point and he looked at me unemotionally as he asked, "And what am I doing while you're in the middle of a `career'?"

I answered as best I could which wasn't nearly good enough. He didn't get angry, just pointed out that maybe we should concentrate on broad strokes, like getting through school first.

He was right, but it wasn't going to stop me.

About two weeks after we first had sex, my parents demanded I bring him to dinner since my father hadn't met him and my mother only met him once, briefly, when we were out and I had to stop by the house to drop something off to her. I'd wanted him to stay in the truck but he insisted he come in and say hi since it would have been rude otherwise.

Unsurprisingly we there for 30 minutes as my mother gushed over him.

I wasn't as open with my parents as Tate was with his mother. My parents were a little more traditional and while they knew what we'd been up to when I spent the night, talking about it was not something they wanted to do. They also understood how I felt about him and they were insistent that he come to dinner.

Thursdays were usually an early practice so I set dinner with the family for that night. I picked him up on my way home since his mother was still at work and he'd not yet purchased a car, something that thrilled me even if it did tend to make him a little cranky.

We arrived at my house and he got to meet my father for the first time. That meeting went better than I expected and my father was rather obviously taken with him. So were my younger sister and brother, twins in 8th grade. My mother was acting like she had a new son. I'd told her what I thought about with regard to Tate and some of that had clearly broken through as she basically treated him like her son in law, monopolizing him until we actually sat down to eat.

We talked just a bit as we served ourselves. I could tell my sister was anxious and that spilled out not long after he took his first bite.

"Zach said you're a model. Do you like modelling?"

Tate wiped at his mouth, then responded, "Well, yeah, but there are many pieces to it, some I enjoy more than others. It's a job and you have to treat it as such. I keep my diet pretty strict and I have to work out to stay in shape all the time. It gets to be a little tedious. Then there's the actual shoot..."

My brother interrupted him, "Aren't you just standing around and someone takes pictures?"

"I wish, but it's not really that simple. You're in a specific pose until they get the shots they want, then they move you into another. When you're done with those clothes, you have to change and then do it all again. Think about having to stand in place in the same spot for until someone tells you can move, then do it over and over again. If it's cold, you can't look like you're freezing and if it's hot, you can't sweat. It's not like mining coal, but it's not super easy either."

"I hadn't thought about any of that," my brother said.

"Well, of course you didn't, Tommy. You're 14," my father said, winking at Tate and I.

"There are some parts that are fun, right?" my mother asked.

"Oh sure. Meeting people is great and not just other models. A lot of times celebrities will come back stage after a show and you get to meet them. You also get to know the designers and they're usually really interesting people. It's how I keep getting asked to do jobs for specific houses."

"Like Prada?"

"Yes ma'am. I got to know Raf Simmons and he liked how I looked in their suits, which is pretty funny because their suits make everyone look good."

"You think they'd work for me," my father asked with a laugh.

"Of course. You and Zach would need custom, but they do an amazing job."

"How much would a custom suit by Prada cost?"

"$6, maybe $7,000."

"I think I'll stick to Nordstrom."

The conversation went like that all night, relaxed and easy, just like Tate. It was clear my sister was infatuated and even Tommy seemed to like him. The big surprised was my parents, especially my dad. He was an engineer and wasn't what you'd call warm and sociable. However, when it came to Tate, he smiled and was almost fun.

After dinner we settled in for a movie. I sat on the floor with my back to the sofa and Tate sat between my legs, leaning back on me as I wrapped my arms around him. I loved holding him like this and at one point, I looked over and noticed my father looking at me, smiling. When we made eye contact, he just nodded and looked away. Later that night, I called my older brother and told him what happened.

"Oh, wow, he must really like him. He did the same thing to me when I brought Shelly home the first time." Shelly, his wife, who my father really loved.

"So, it's a good sign?"

"Yeah, Zach. It's about as effusive as dad gets," he laughed out. "How was mom?"

"She loved him the first time she met him. I'm telling you; he has this effect on people. You can't help but feel relaxed when you're around him."

He chuckled a bit, "Well, Shelly and I are looking forward to it. She looked him up and found his Wiki page."

"He has a Wiki entry?" I asked, already typing the search into my computer.

"Yeah, he does..."

My face dropped as I read the page, "I gotta go."

TATE

This first thing I noticed as I woke up the next morning was the text notification. I opened my phone and saw it was from Zach

CALL ME ASAP

I sighed as the phone dialed his number, wondering what had happened.

"Hey babe, did you know you have a Wikipedia entry?"

"Oh, that. Yeah. Uhm, I think someone who works for Nina set it up. Why?"

"When was the last time you looked at it?"

I had to think before I answered, "I don't know, maybe a year or two?"

"You need to review it and call Nina to have it updated."

"Why?" I asked as I got out of bed and made my way to my computer.

I heard him sniff, "Because someone put something in about the rape."

I was kind of numb as opened up the browser. When the page loaded, I quickly ran through it until I got to the part Zach was talking about...

"On March 2nd 2022, Tate was attacked while at school and sexually assaulted. His assailant remains unknown."

A chill ran up my spine and I could feel my scalp tingle. None of this was public record, I was still a minor. However, how someone found out about it was less important than why they would post it?

"Babe, let me call Nina. I'll see you when you get here," and I hung up the phone. My conversation with Nina was blessedly brief and more than a little uncomfortable as I'd never told her what happened. Thankfully, she wasn't one of those people who made everything about them and didn't make a thing out of it, just told me calmly they'd find out who posted the information and have it taken down.

And then I told her not to bother with the latter. I felt a sudden jolt of bravery and decided I wasn't going to hide from this as if I was ashamed of it. He wouldn't own any part of me and that included making me fearful.

I got ready for my day, then went downstairs to see Zach talking to my mother who looked over at me with unshed tears in her eyes. We quickly closed the distance between us and she hugged me tightly.

"I'll call the attorney and handle this," she said.

"It's OK, mom. Nina is looking into it. I told her to leave it up."

She looked at me cautiously, then a smile spread on her face before she pulled me back to her.

During breakfast, Zach mentioned that his mother would be inviting us to Thanksgiving at their house. My mother, very quickly, said no.

"Zach, this is something Tate and I need to do together. We'd be happy to have dinner Friday or Saturday night, but Thanksgiving Day is going to be us and my father. We're all we have."

Zach nodded, "I understand."

I thought it was kind of weird since Thanksgiving was six weeks away, but I was still a little out of it from the Wiki page and didn't press. I was excited my grandfather was coming as I really loved him. Unlike my father's parents, his love had never been conditional.

We went on to school and for the rest of the day and well into the weekend, I put the Wiki thing out of my head. I did ask for an emergency meeting my therapist that afternoon which went far better than I expected. She was impressed with how I handled things and told me my emotional progress was good.

"You feeling comfortable with it, knowing that there's nothing for you to be ashamed of, is remarkable and I'm really happy you're there."

"Thank you. I think it's Zach who helped mostly."

She smiled as she put her notebook down, "No, this is all you."

I thought about what she said in the Uber on the way over to Chelsea's house since I was, once more, going to the game with the girls. I found myself in a surprisingly good mood. I felt like I really WAS past the rape. What Tillet did would live in me but it was not going to dictate my life and I refused to be silent.

When I got there, the girls were hanging out and it was nice to unwind and eat some shitty food before we went to the game. Chels looked at me a few times and at one point asked if anything was up. I smiled and told her `later' which got her off my ass.

At the game, our offense was on point which made life easier for Ben and Zach who were clearly having fun. Zach looked amazing on the field and I once again got worked up at what he was doing to the opposing players. There was only one Man on that field, and he was the one fucking me.

Later I walked down to the fence where his parents were and gave his mother a hug. His dad wasn't quite there yet and insisted on a handshake. Later when I mentioned it to Zach, he told me about his conversation with Darren and made it clear to me that his father really did like me. That much I knew, but his comments made me far more comfortable with him.

The rest of the night was fun. We went to dinner with a bunch of people, then over to a party which we didn't stay at long because I needed to be home. My mom really didn't care about the curfew at this point, but we had plans to go car shopping the next day, which ended up being a lot of fun.

My mother is a blast to hang out with. She doesn't try to be my friend, she's my mother and that's always 100% clear. But she's really funny and she has a way of making even car buying fun. We went to 6 different lots where there were cars I'd found. The fifth one ended up having the one I wanted and at that point, my mother backed off and let me negotiate the price. This is where knowing the market comes in very handy because I could point out there was another one for sale at dealer in Fremont that was about $500 cheaper. Now, driving over a bridge in traffic is worth something, so we played let's make a deal and, in the end, I got it market down $300.

I didn't mention the one in Fremont also had 1000 more miles on it.

So, I worked out the paperwork and we negotiated the loan terms with my mother's help. I wanted to pay cash, but my mother insisted on a loan since my assets, despite the current market, would eventually earn more than the interest on the loan. She understood it well, I understood it barely. All I cared about was when I could take it and the dealer would have the car ready to go on Tuesday, I just needed to make sure the wire was sent to them Monday morning for my down payment.

We got home about 4 and I went to get ready for Zach to pick me up. I knew he was going to be weird about the whole car thing, but I needed it. Having to rely on others to go anywhere was a real drag.

Zach showed up about 6:30 and talked to my mother for about 10 minutes until I made it downstairs and found them in the kitchen, snacking on this really delicious but very smelly dip my mother made with garlic, dill, and cheese. I got a blast of all three when he kissed me and pulled back weirdly which made him look at me for a second, before he realized what he'd been eating.

"Oh, I should probably brush my teeth," he asked, rhetorically.

My mother just laughed, "No, I think the damage is done from the look on Tate's face."

I laughed a little and remarked that the kiss was still worth the garlic blast, which earned me another kiss and a hug.

"What do you guys have planned tonight?" Zach looked at me, then turned to my mother, "We have a triple date."

"We do?" I asked.

"Yep. Ben and the guy he's been seeing from Berkeley and Chelsea and her new guy."

I thought for a second, "The junior she's been talking to? She actually started dating him?"

He nodded, "Yeah for about two weeks. Those keen observation skills must have missed it." Which made my mother snort.

We got to the restaurant first and had to wait for everyone else to get there before they'd seat us. It was a Mexican place in San Jose that was closer to Tex Mex than Oaxacalifornia. We'd been in the bar for about 5 minutes when Ben and Dustin showed up, followed about a minute later by Chelsea and Daniel.

Not long after, we sat down and I asked Dan to pass the chips.

"Sure, but it's Daniel," he replied.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't think," I replied.

"It's OK, it happens a lot. The one I really hate is Danny because it's like I'm back playing T-ball," he responded, laughing.

"I promise I'll remember, Daniel!" I responded with a smile. He really is a nice guy and Chels seems to really like him, which made me want to be on extra super good behavior.

We ordered then chatted some more and I got into a conversation with Dustin about UC and how he was liking it. Thoughts of moving back to Texas had pretty much died, and now everything revolved around staying as close as possible to Zach. I knew I wasn't going to get into Stanford, but I did think there was a chance for Cal Berkeley until Dustin told me the admission stats and I realized that I was more likely heading for San Jose State.

As if on cue, that was the moment Zach leaned over to me and said, "You don't have to worry about that."

I looked at him, "About what?"

"Getting into Stanford," he replied, softly, with a smile.

Honestly, I didn't know what to make of it but I decided I was going to leave it alone at least for the night. I don't know what he thought he knew, but I was sure he was very off base as my SAT scores weren't bad, but they weren't Stanford either. We didn't get into it because Ben started up about the attention the highlight videos were getting on TikTok. It was unusual because normally that kind of thing would attract local people, maybe a few hundred views. The one from the previous night had more than 20,000.

The rest of the weekend and Monday were pretty sedate. Tuesday he agreed to take me to the dealership to pick up my car after practice was over. I went early to watch him and was impressed that even in practice, he ineffably dominated the field.

After practice broke, he walked over to the bleachers and I was overwhelmed by the sight of him when he stripped off the pads. I know it wasn't just me, I could see other heads subtly directed his way, enjoying the view of my man's absolutely brutal upper body. It actually made me a little self-conscious since while I was lean and healthy, I wasn't shredded or built like a tank. I felt kind of soft, and wondered if I should start hitting the gym a little harder.

I walked down to meet him at the bottom of the bleachers and he started to lean in to kiss me. I shocked him a bit when I grabbed his head and took control, then pulled back to see him smiling broadly at me. As it turned out, I was smiling pretty brightly at him as well, something we found out about when we saw the snapshot someone took and posted to Instagram.

After Zach cleaned up, we made it to the dealer in time and they had my keys, and paperwork, done. I was really excited to be mobile again, even if Zach did find it a little comical. I bought a Prius because I wanted something that sipped gas and in which I could speed without too much attention from local police or CHP. He was anything but impressed but I didn't care. Who the hell stops a Prius doing 90? No one. Because they're looking for a sportscar.

We dropped his truck at his house, then took off to grab something to eat. I was starting to feel at home in PA and it was fun. I was really feeling happy, not good, legit happy for the first time in months. As apprehensive as I had been about the move, it all came together and I realized a big part of that had been the man sitting across from me. Then he noticed the smile on my face and asked, "What?"

"I'm just happy, I promise there's nothing else."

Our phones dinged about the same time and the picture that someone had snapped earlier and posted to Insta now had us tagged to it, along with almost a thousand likes. We both, stupidly, thought nothing more of it than being a good picture of us.