Lawn Boy, Chapter 15
Several of the guys from 5th floor attended the Gay/Straight alliance meeting with Lynn and some of her friends. Whether straight or gay, all felt welcome.
Once the meeting got underway, the president of the club, a guy named Chuck Williams, invited any interested newcomers to say a few words about why they were there. Of course, the gay couples had good reasons for participating, and several took him up on the offer.
But it was Austin's impassioned remarks about being attacked for being mistaken as a transsexual that made the biggest impact. He told the audience that his experience had made him, as a straight man, want to become a crusader for others who actually fit into that category. He received a lot of applause.
During the social time which followed the main meeting, two attractive girls came up to him to tell them their stories. Brenda had been born "Ben" and Davida was originally named, David. Their tales had some similarities, but their families' reactions had been poles apart. Brenda's family had been accepting and went through each step with her. Her father took time off from work to go with her when she had the reassignment surgery.
Davida's were the opposite. She suffered a beating at the hands of her father, in which she had experienced a couple of broken ribs. Her mother took his side when the cops came, and lied about what had happened.
Austin told them about the research paper he was in the process of writing, and asked if he could use their stories as part of it. Both were enthusiastic about being included. He had not only made them feel hopeful by his acceptance, but he would be validating their experiences in his essay. It was a win/win situation.
In Perrin's mind, his tale of being rejected by his bigoted religious father paled in comparison with the Davida's hardship, but others, including Chuck, felt he needed to share his story with a wider audience. Once they discovered he was the son of a famous gay-bashing televangelist, they encouraged him to take a visible role in their cause. His father's fame, or infamy, would make him instantly recognizable. He might be able to be a positive influence because of it.
Perrin said he would consider it. Perhaps he could undo some of the harm his father had caused during his years of preaching in the community. Much as Perrin would like to bury the past, perhaps he had a moral obligation to do something to confront it head-on.
Austin's essay turned into something more akin to a thesis. His professor, Dr. Forman, was so impressed by it that he wanted to see it published. He said that what made his work outstanding was the anecdotal evidence that accompanied his research.
The experience made Austin aware that his interest in helping others could lead to a career in counseling. He had been considering that route already, hence the psychology class, but now he was certain. Having entered a drag contest on a lark, had led to a life-changing event, but not only for him.
His commitment to the field influenced Perrin and Liam too. Perrin went to see his advisor early in the following week, and found that he could major in psychology without necessarily adding a semester to his undergraduate studies. He was ahead in credits from taking summer school the past two years, and his hours in computer technology could become his minor instead of his major.
Liam hadn't declared a major yet, so he decided to pursue counseling like Austin was doing. It not only interested him, but he figured it would, perhaps, allow him to work with Perrin in a future job.
Perrin had heard from Dr. Forman about two recent graduates who were operating a shelter for gay kids, and providing counseling services as well. His wife, Abbie Lynch, was involved as a counselor, and he suggested that Perrin and Liam might make an appointment to see how the place operated.
First term continued apace. Midterm exams were looming in the near future. The unusually warm fall weather had kept lawns growing into November, and, although the grass didn't grow as rapidly as it did in the summer, Liam's jobs continued sporadically through the middle of the term. Again, he was fortunate to have two high-schoolers who didn't mind making a little extra dough.
One of the reasons Kellan liked the money was that he could use it for gas to operate his car. With what he had in his savings account from their father's generous gift, he had purchased a serviceable little sedan from Baxter Motors and still had enough left to pay for insurance and other expenses. But, once that money was spent, his account looked rather flat, and he wanted to build it up again.
Being a few months older than Max, Kellan supplied their transportation when they decided to escort a couple of girls to the homecoming dance at school. Kellan had originally planned to ask Pennie, but Max was hesitant to double-date with his sister as part of the group. What if he decided to get a bit amorous? Would she tattle to their mother? If Kellan and she made out, would he be uncomfortable?
Kellan ended up asking his friend, Anna Porter, and Max went with Mia, a girl from his science class. That might have been fine, but there was fallout afterward.
Pennie was upset that Kellan hadn't asked her. After they'd gone to the Valentine's Day dance last year, and one later in the spring, she had assumed they were becoming an item. When she found out that Max had been the one to change Kellan's mind, she didn't speak to her brother for a week.
Kellan and Anna didn't hit it off exactly like he assumed they would. They were good friends, but there wasn't a "spark" between them. He began to wonder if his bromance with Max had messed with his mind. Maybe he wasn't cut out to find love with a girl, at least not yet.
Max didn't feel any attachment to Mia either, so the two high school boys ended up doing a lot of things together without the presence of female companions.
Both Cindy and Madeline were somewhat relieved that their younger sons weren't girl-crazy at the moment. Girls could be a definite distraction from pursuing their studies. There would be time for that later.
On the weekend after midterms Perrin and Liam were headed to a special Steve Grand performance at the Target Center in Minneapolis. Good seats were at a premium, and were fairly expensive. Perrin had been blown away that his mother had purchased two prime seats back when they were first made available, so that he and Liam could go. He was amazed that she had known about Steve's tour, and that she knew how to navigate the web to buy the tickets.
In reality, it had been Max who alerted her to the event, and made the arrangements, but he didn't want to spoil her surprise by letting his brother in on the details at present.
She had been doing many little things for Perrin since they had reconciled, and he was pleased that she was. She had offered him his own bedroom at the new condo, but he had politely told her he was now on his own, and would be either living in university housing or sharing with Liam when they weren't in school.
Although there weren't any more choice spots available for the concert, Perrin thought that Clay and Garth might like to go along for the ride and share a hotel room. He could swap out his accommodations for a room with two separate beds.
Liam and he were planning to spend a little time at the Mall of America in Bloomington on the way home, and the guys might enjoy that.
Their friends declined the offer, saying they couldn't afford even the cheap seats, and were planning to celebrate the anniversary of their becoming boyfriends while they were pretty much alone in that wing of the dorm. The majority of kids would be going away for the weekend after midterms to blow off steam.
"If you want a slightly larger bed to romp in, you can use my room as long as you wash the sheets when you're done," Perrin offered. "I'm not into stiff sheets, unless Liam and I provide the starch!"
"We might take you up on that," Garth grinned. "My guy is getting hunkier and it's kinda crowded in a twin bed."
"Okay, I'll make up my bed fresh before we leave. Don't let me go before I give you my keycard."
"They can take the one I have right now," Liam suggested. "You and I will be together anyway."
"You have a key to Perrin's room?" Clay asked, in mock amazement.
"Of course. Don't you guys have keys to each other's room?"
"Yeah, but we LIVE together!" Garth giggled, rolling his eyes.
"So, are you two planning anything special for the commemoration of your anniversary, or am I being too nosey?" Perrin asked.
"I'm sure it will be a lot like what you'll be doing in your hotel room," Clay said. "One thing we're doing for sure is shutting down our phones for at least 24 hours, so don't expect us to answer if you send messages."
Perrin and Liam left on Friday afternoon, so they'd have a full night's rest before the concert. Of course, they would stay Saturday night as well. Their hotel, in the middle of the city, was connected to the arena by enclosed skywalks high above the street.
Once they were parked in the ramp, they wouldn't even need jackets to stroll the area.
Having eaten on the road, they checked in around 7:30 PM. Their room was guaranteed by Madeline's credit card, so there wasn't a problem.
The room, on the concierge floor, was a well-appointed one with a king-sized bed. There were amenities like free wireless, access to the workout facilities, and a full breakfast. Perrin's mother was picking up the tab on it too, so their luxurious stay wouldn't put a dent in their savings account.
With a good part of the evening ahead of them, they decided to work out for a while, and then enjoy the whirlpool and sauna. The spa was co-ed, but there were separate saunas attached to the men's and women's locker rooms. After a good workout, they rinsed off and relaxed in the bubbling water. Then, they went through the locker room to sit in the warm, dry chamber, with only a towel as their covering.
Being the only ones there at the moment, they took the opportunity to mess around a little. Getting naughty in a semi-public place raised their heart-rates as well as their guy-parts. They quickly covered their erections with the towels, as they saw the shadow of another guy on the semiopaque glass door.
The new arrival was probably five or six years older than they, but hadn't let his body go to seed. He said hello when he entered, and situated himself across from them. After a few minutes of making small-talk, he lifted the corner of his towel to wipe his eyes, revealing a good-sized cock which wasn't entirely flaccid. He was obviously showing off, perhaps hoping to connect with them.
If the guys hadn't been in a relationship, they might have been tempted to respond in kind, but neither of them showed what they had, and they headed out to shower soon after that. They shared the shower, and didn't pull the curtain completely closed, so the guy would figure out they were together, if he came out while they were still in the locker room.
Relaxed and refreshed, but feeling horny, especially after their "encounter" with the stud in the sauna, they tumbled into the big bed naked and erect. It was fun to be able to wrestle around amorously without fear of falling on the floor like they might in Perrin's double bed in the dorm. They kissed, licked, and nibbled, but ended up rubbing their bodies together until they both exploded. Luckily, Liam had brought along a towel to wipe up whatever they didn't ingest.
Feeling satisfied, they cuddled together and talked for a while. It was great to be drifting off to sleep with no responsibilities and no need to set an alarm. Times like those were few and far between for college students, and they were making the most of it.
In the morning, they showered leisurely and dressed for breakfast. There was a small dining room on their floor where they were waited on hand and foot. This wasn't one of those buffet line meals with reconstituted scrambled eggs sitting in a covered chafing dish. Their food was made-to- order and served hot. Everything was delicious, from the crisp bacon to the equally crisp Belgian waffles to the basted eggs.
They had to pace themselves, so they didn't over-indulge.
After they'd eaten, they checked out the many shops which were in the skywalk area. The took a few photos of their surroundings to send to Garth and Clay. They were pretty sure the two had other things on their minds, but they might enjoy looking at them if they came up for air.
As they were sending them, they received a startling campus-alert message. They said a quick, silent prayer for the safety of their friends.
About 10:15 on Saturday morning, the university sent out an alert to all students that there was a potentially active shooter on campus. They were advised to shelter in place and keep doors locked. Neither Clay not Garth saw the message because of their vow to be off the info-grid while enjoying their intimate celebration.
They were taking a chance by sharing a shower down the hall, but since they hadn't seen anyone on their floor since Friday night, they figured there weren't enough people around to notice what they were up to. Going back to Perrin's room clad only in tended towels, they came face to face with Mike Pierce, Austin's former roommate, and he was armed with two handguns.
"I'm here to even the score with that son-of-a-bitch Perrin," You call him out here if you want to save your skins."
"We can't, he's in Minneapolis," Clay told him.
"I don't believe you. Go rap on his door and tell him you need his help. Be insistent that he has to come out in the hall!"
"I have the key to his room, and I'll prove to you that it's empty," Clay said, holding up the card.
"Don't do anything stupid or I'll kill your little boyfriend."
"He's not my boyfriend; Austin is," Clay lied.
"What? No, Austin's not gay, and from the look of your towels, I'm sure you two have been fooling around in the showers together."
"Says who?" Garth glowered.
"Both of you, just shut the fuck up and open this door!"
To create a diversion, Clay "stumbled" and dropped the key-card when they were about five feet away from the door. As Mike's eyes followed the object, Clay went to the floor on his knees in front of him, ostensibly to retrieve the key. In those split seconds, Garth reacted, kicking Mike hard in the back and sending him sprawling over Clay. Mike's guns spun out of his hands and clattered across the floor as his arms hit the solid surface. Before he could get his bearings, the other guys had kicked the weapons out of reach. He jumped up and made a lunge toward Garth. That was his undoing.
Having lost his towel in the scuffle, Garth was completely unrestricted, and kicked Mike in the head this time. Mike went down with a thud. While Garth held him down in one of his famous grips, Clay used the key to open Perrin's room and get his cell phone. He kicked the guns on into the room before he came back with a pair of boxers for Garth.
"I'll call campus security and then I'll trade places with you, so you can put these on."
"I may pass on that," Garth said. "I'd rather have them see me naked than to take a chance on him getting loose in the handoff. Why don't you put them on, and drape the towel over my butt?"
Clay simply nodded as he began talking to the officer. That was when he found out that the campus was on alert. He was told to hang-tight and the cops would be there momentarily.
A total of four officers arrived within a matter of minutes. One of them recognized Mike from the year before.
"Isn't this the guy we took away in handcuffs last year after he caused trouble with the RA?"
"Yes, it is," Clay informed them. "He said he was after Perrin, that's our RA, and was going to get even. He had two guns which I kicked on into the room. They'll have his fingerprints on them, and maybe my toe prints."
"Okay, that's not a problem. I don't know how you guys took him down without getting hurt, but my hat's off to you. We'll take charge of him when you let go," the officer said to Garth. "What's your name?"
"Garth."
"What's his name?"
"It's Mike Pierce."
"Mike, listen very carefully. I have this taser trained on you and I will use it if you make any move after this guy gets up. Is that understood?"
Mike nodded.
"That's not good enough. I want you to say that you understand."
"I understand, and I won't move," Mike said shakily.
"Garth, I expect that you know how to release him and get out of the way quickly."
"Yes, Sir!"
"Okay, do it whenever you're ready."
Garth sprang back, losing his towel in the process, but he had moved away in a flash (in more than one sense of the word). Mike didn't move a muscle.
Two cops handcuffed Mike and steered him toward the elevator while the others put the guns in evidence bags and prepared to interview Clay and Garth.
Garth pulled on a pair of shorts without stopping to find underwear. He wasn't embarrassed about going commando. After all, the cops had already seen everything he had.
The two officers took the guys' statement rather quickly and efficiently. In the midst of their questions, Clay's phone buzzed, alerting him to a text message.
"Sir, is it okay if I answer this? It's from our RA, and he wants to know that we're safe."
"Yes, we can certainly take a moment to let him know you're okay."
"We have a few cans of Sierra Mist in our fridge. May I offer you something to drink?" Garth asked.
The cops agreed that it would be good to have a break, so Garth went to his room and retrieved the sodas. He brought glasses and ice because he had to split three cans four ways.
As they sat there a few minutes, they could hear Clay's side of the phone call. He was regaling their two buds with Garth's heroic takedown of Mike.
"Man, he kicked the guy in the head! You had to be there to believe it!
"Yeah, I remember how he took care of my stepfather, but he wasn't armed like Mike was. Yeah, I'll tell him. Thanks for the prayers."
"Perrin and Liam had a bad feeling when they got the alert on their phones. Perrin said it was a kind of premonition that we could be in trouble since we'd silenced ours. It's great to know they care."
"Your RA must trust you a lot if he gave you a key to his room," one of the cops observed.
"Yeah, um, Perrin said we were welcome to use his TV while he was gone. The one in the lounge is usually being hogged by guys who want to watch something different than we do," Clay informed him.
After their break, the policemen wrapped up their interview and went on their way, saying that there were counselors available in the library if they felt the need to talk to someone.
The guys thought they'd be okay on their own. They had plans to relax each other that they didn't share with the cops.
Moments later, their phones buzzed again with the all-clear message sent out by the administration. The whole thing was over in a matter of minutes, and some students would only hear about it well after the fact.
"You think well on your feet, Mr. Clayton McBride," Garth giggled. "I'd have probably spilled my guts about why we were using Perrin's room in his absence."
"That's because you're an innocent, blue-eyed redhead with loving parents, and I'm devious blond who got that way from living with a nasty stepfather who was always prying into my business. Being around him taught me to come up with `alternative facts,' like politicians do."
"So, now that the excitement is over, do you want to watch TV in Perrin's room?"
"No, smart-ass. The excitement's just beginning. Let's rinse off quickly in his shower and get back to our original plan. We'd better get in there before a bunch of people hear about what happened and come looking for us. We don't want to be distracted from our mission."
"At least they probably won't look for us here. It's good that we're not in our own room!"
Author's notes: Thanks to Ott H, Gordon, Bill K, Walter Sz, Charles G, John L, Tim T, Tony F, Harry T, Skip M, Mendy D, Jim W, Puppy, Bill T, Frank K, Soccer, Steve C, Paul R, Tom A, Kenny B, Paul F, and Zero M who wrote to me since last posting. There even some new names on the list.
I believe the next chapter will wrap up the story. I plan to post a short, rather whimsical one before I start a new series. I have a few plots in mind, but I may take a few weeks off.
My best to you,
David