Learning to Love

Learning to love Part Three

Is He or Isn't he

When my father and I returned to the reception area inside of the dealership, his hand was resting on my left shoulder. I looked up at his face, and he was wearing a casual smile. I looked to the receptionist and saw this motherly glance which I found kind of funny, considering she looked like she was no more than 18 years old. Someone cleared their throat and we all looked in the direction the sound had come from.

"It would be my pleasure to personally show your son the vehicles we have on the lot," Mr. W. addressed to my father then turned to me. "If you'll follow me young man, Brent wasn't it?" He extended his hand and we shook. I followed him through a door to the right of the reception area. My father and Hank followed in our wake. I turned back and looked at my father, he smiled and simply nodded his head at me. There were quite a few cars on the lot and a few other salesmen and potential customers milling about. I was looking around to see if I could spot where the Mazda RX-8's were parked, then they came into view. An audible gasp escaped my mouth and I excitedly turned to my father, who motioned with his hand to "go ahead", so I got around Mr. W and sprinted ahead to look at the choices.

There was a blue one that looked like the one Wolverine drove in X-Men that caught my eye first. It was a beautiful car. Sleek, very sporty. Parked next to it were three others in black mica, pearl white, and one in silver. Mr. W. had made it to where I was standing and began his sales pitch about the specifications of the line. I walked around the vehicles as I vaguely listened to him rattling off mileage, horsepower...I loved the look of these cars. I mean, they would be any teens dream to own and drive, but for me to be able to drive one at 14, I was not thinking pussy magnet, I was thinking COCK magnet! While I was thinking this, something in Mr. W's speech grabbed my attention. I looked over at him.

"I'm sorry Sir, but what was that you just said about showroom?" I asked.

"Oh, I said we have another that is fully loaded in red, with red and black leather interior in the showroom." He noticed my eyes light up at the mention of red. "Would you like to take a look at it?" He asked me and smiled.

"You bet, I really like red cars!" I exclaimed. I'm sure my father would probably have liked my enthusiasm to have been a bit more subdued, he was going to have to pay for my choice. If at the mention of red, I started sporting a chubby in my jeans, his bargaining chips would be drastically reduced for the negotiating table. We all followed Mr. W. back to the reception area and then into another part of the building that showcased a few Cadillac's and some other Mazda brands, but there with spotlights hitting it and casting an aurora about it, set the car of my dreams. I walked over to the RX-8 and lay my hand on the roof and looked over at my father and nodded my head. He smiled really big at me and nodded his head in an affirmative, I doubt he missed the drool leaking out of the corner of my mouth. The car had a two-tone Velocity red exterior, inside had Navigation, moon roof, heated leather seats, Bose sound system, 6 CD changer, side air bags, power front seats, 18 inch wheels, front air dam, side and rear flares, and a rear wing spoiler.

My father approached me and gave me a hug, "Happy birthday son." He bent and kissed the top of my head that made be blush. He then turned to Mr. W. and said, "We'll take this one."

"Excellent choice, excellent! If you'll follow me, I'll introduce you to our finance manager and the two of you can work out the financing. I must say, your son has excellent...," My father interrupted him.

"Financing won't be necessary, we'll be driving it home when we leave. Please have your detail team prepare the vehicle. We need to be returning home within the hour. I assume you have no problem accepting a check drawn on a local bank or I can provide you with the name and number of a US Bank officer to initiate a wire transfer of the funds."

Mr. W appeared a bit flustered but he recovered quickly and asked my father to please follow him to the finance managers office and they would be able to finalize all the details and the sale. About 10 minutes after my father left with the general manager, a team of men began preparing the car for removal from the showroom and within 50 minutes, we were standing in front of the dealership with my new car.

"Hank. Brent and I will follow you in the Mazda. We are going directly home from here, but if we get separated, don't worry and we'll just meet you at the farm. I lived here a long time and I think we will be able to find our way with no problems. So we'll see there." I opened the passenger side of the car and climbed in and my father opened his door, removed his jacket and tie, threw them in the back seat and climbed into the drivers seat. We both put on our seatbelts. He started the car, shifted it into gear and off we drove for home. On the way my father explained that I would need to take a certified drivers education course of approximately 6 weeks in length, where I would get my drivers permit and had to keep it for 6 months, then I would be able to get my permanent license. This was all very surprising to me, because there was no way in California I would be driving at 14, but my father explained that N.D. had different requirements.

We arrived home at about 4:30 pm and I was exhausted. The emotional breakdown and the excitement of the new car had taken it's toll on me physically. Throughout the trip home, my father and I had continued our promise of trying to make up for lost time together. We both knew it wasn't going to be easy. 14 years of my life (ok 13 years, 50 weeks) could not be wiped away with a good cry, a few hugs and a confession of undying love, but we were committed to bridging the gap. Connie was waiting in the kitchen when I bounded in and grabbed her by the hand to drag her outside. "Look what dad bought me for my birthday!" I pointed to the car, jumping up and down like a 6 year old.

"It's beautiful Brent! Congratulations sweetheart!" She gave me a big hug and followed me to the car so I could show her everything from the bumper to the headlights. Later that night after we had all eaten dinner and I had gone to my rooms to watch a DVD, Connie knocked on the door and asked if she could come in. I invited her in and we sat on the sofa in front of the plasma screen. She reached for the remote and paused the movie.

"It seems some things happened today while you were gone with your father. Do you want to talk about anything?" She asked me with the ever present look of love in her eyes as she focused them on me. I thought for a moment, trying to get everything arranged in my head.

"Well, everything this morning at school went really well. There were more people there than I thought there was going to be. I felt really nervous when we first pulled up outside the school, but then dad met one of his old friends from when he was a kid here. He was a very friendly guy and he was there dropping his son Tommy off. Tommy is a freshman also and after I got my schedule, we found that we were going to have a few classes together."

She raised an eyebrow at me with a smile, "And?"

I blushed a little and smiled, "AND, well he's cute too! Satisfied?" She gave me a big hug. "But Connie, right now I'm just really glad to meet someone my own age. We made plans to meet on Monday before orientation so we could go together. I really do want us to be friends even if it's nothing more than that. I miss my friends, a lot."

"I know you do heartling. You'll make other friends here too. You're a very outgoing boy and you've never been shy and withdrawn. That's a very good quality to have. You'll have a whole crowd of admirers in no time. Ok, so now I know what happened at school, but I sensed something more profound has happened with you than just your meeting Tommy today, right?"

I looked at her and then down at my hands. "Dad told me he loved me. I kind of had a breakdown when we went to the car dealership. We had gone to the bank first and he gave me my allowance card, which confused me at first. You know how it was, I'd always ask for money for what I wanted and he'd give it to me and that was basically it. Well I kind of thought that with this new card, it was like, well, even that little interaction between us was gone. He wouldn't have to even see me if he didn't have too. Then we stopped at the dealership. That really confused me because I knew dad didn't need a car and mom never drives anywhere. When I heard him tell the guy inside that he wanted to buy me a car and that I would be able to drive at 14, well, the mix of hurt from the card and then him wanting to buy me a car and let me drive, I broke. Dad came and found me in the back of the SUV crying. He got in the back with me and," I looked up into Connie's eyes with tears already standing in mine, "Connie, he took me in his arms and told me he loved me and that he was sorry he'd not been a part of my life. He asked me to forgive him and then he said he didn't want to be his dad." Connie's arms wrapped around me and she hugged me to her tight.

"It's never to late Brent except when you refuse to accept change. I'm so happy for you and your dad. I hope this is the beginning of a greater closeness for you both. You know, moving to this farm and out of L.A. where your dad was swamped with things he had to do and appearances he had to make to be competitive, may have been more than it appears on the surface. Maybe you should think about that and what he gave up and not just what he made you give up. I think you'll find, his choice was more of a benefit for you AND him." She let go of me and stood up. "It's already 10pm and I know you've had a very long day. Maybe you should finish your movie tomorrow and just turn in for the night."

I got up from the sofa and turned the movie off with the remote. "Your right as always. I am exhausted. Thanks for coming to talk. I'd die without you, I really would. I love you so much."

"Aw Brent. Son, you're my existence and I'm so very proud of you." She gave me another hug and a kiss goodnight then left, closing the door behind her.

Monday morning finally arrived and I showered and dressed, then ran downstairs to the kitchen for breakfast. It was very early still, but I was too excited about school. Friday, the cable had been installed while we were in Bismarck and I had spent the weekend making contact with my friends back in LA. Everyone was doing fine and they all missed me. I told them about my car they were all green with envy. The weekend couldn't pass quick enough for me and I made a nuisance of myself the whole time. I looked in the frig and got out the carton of milk and poured me a glass. The coffee pot was already gurgling and the aroma was spreading throughout the kitchen. I sat down at the kitchen counter with my glass of milk and started watching the minutes pass on the wall clock. About 10 minutes had ticked by when Connie walked in wearing her house coat and slippers. She didn't notice me sitting there at the counter. She went to the cupboard and took out a cup and then went to the coffee pot and poured herself a cup. Before she took a sip, I saw her yawn really big and she heard me giggle.

"Demons! You startled me Brent! What are you doing up so early and down here in the kitchen accosting unsuspecting people?" She asked, and finally took a sip of her coffee, walking over to join me at the counter.

"I have school today!!!" I bounced in my seat.

"I think everyone on this farm and the next, including the cows, the horses and the chickens are aware of that." She sighed. "You hardly let us forget about it the whole weekend." I saw her gaze up at the clock. "You are aware that it is only 6:30am aren't you?"

"OH! I better call Tommy and make sure he didn't forget we're meeting in front at 8:30am." I jumped off the stool to go make the call.

"Whoa there demon child! I don't think he'd appreciate being woken up this early just so you could..." We both heard the phone ring and Connie beat me to the wall phone next to the frig. "Good Morning, Stewart residence. May I help you?...Who?...(chuckle)...may I tell him who's call...um you do know it's only 6:30am right?...I'll see if he'll take your call, one moment please." Connie held the phone to her breast. "There's a young man named Tommy on the phone and he'd like to know if he could speak to Mr. Brent Stewart if he`s available." She raised her eyebrows at the excited look on my face as I dashed to her and grabbed the phone from her hands.

"Tommy!! Hey dude, I was just going to call you to make sure you remembered we were going to meet...yeah...sure of course...Hank...It shouldn't be a problem...yeah me too...ok, see you in half an hour...bye." I handed the phone back to Connie and started to run for the front door, but Connie was quicker than me and grabbed me by the arm.

"HEY! You hold on just a minute. What was all that about and seeing him in a half hour?" She asked me, maintaining a firm grip on my arm.

"Tommy's dad is bringing him over here because Mr. Weber wants to talk to dad. Tommy's going to ride with me to school and I need to go tell Hank.!" I was breathless with anticipation and Connie seemed to be so damn calm!

"First off, don't you think you better go get your dad up so he'll be ready when Mr. Weber arrives? And secondly, Hank lives in town, did you plan on running all the way into Beulah to tell him he'd be dropping off another kid at school this morning, then run back to meet here with Tommy?" Of course everything she said made perfect sense, but somehow she wasn't grasping the importance of all this. She finally let go of my arm when she saw sanity return to my eyes.

"Your right." I agreed. "I'll go wake dad, you call Hank!" I ran from the kitchen, down the hall, past my fathers office and then jerked my parents' door open and yelled in, "Dad, Mr. Weber will be here in 30 minutes!! GET UP!" I slammed the door shut without even seeing his reaction and ran back to the kitchen. Connie was bent over laughing, supporting herself against the frig. My father hurried into the kitchen, tying his robe closed, mere seconds after I got there. He had this wild look in his eyes as he took in the scene of Connie doubled over laughing, me staring at her as if she had flipped out and a carton of eggs, precariously balanced on the edge of the counter.

"What in the name of all that is holy is going on in here!?" My father demanded. "And what was that you screamed about a robber being here in 30 minutes Brent!?"

Ok, everyone is acting really weird this morning I thought as I looked at my dad in shock. "I said that Mr. Weber would be here in 30 minutes, not a robber and I have no idea what is going on with Connie. She's been acting weird all morning." Connie looked over at me when I said this and she redoubled her laughing. I walked over and helped her straighten herself up, I moved the eggs to a more secure location and then turned back to my father and calmly said, "Don't you think you should get dressed. You have company coming in... I looked at the wall clock ...20 minutes."

"Not until someone tells me what's going on and why is Mike coming here in 20 minutes without any kind of notice.?" He looked to Connie who had finally gotten herself under control.

"Oh my word, I haven't laughed like that in YEARS! This demon child of yours was up at the crack of dawn, lurking here in the kitchen when I got up..." She went on explaining to my father about my excitement over going to school and wanting to call Tommy, but Tommy calling instead and how Mr. Weber was bring Tommy over to ride to school with me.

"Ok, I think I understand now," my father offered, but then turned to me, "Brent, did you have to SCREAM into our bedroom like some banshee and then slam the door off the hinges? You almost gave your mother and I heart attacks. Matter of fact, I better go get dressed and make sure she's climbed out from under the bed by now." He grumbled and turned back down the hall grumbling as he went.

I looked at Connie and asked, "And what were YOU laughing so hard about when I came back to the kitchen, huh?"

"Oh Brent it was priceless. I had just reached into the refrigerator to take out some eggs to start breakfast, when all of a sudden I heard you scream out what you did and then heard the door slam and I could just picture what went on in that bedroom after your display." She grabbed a dish towel and was wiping the tears from her eyes and face. "Oh my LORD! That was, I don't know what it was, but you are a joy and a burden to me and I love you dearly." She chuckled and took a pan from the overhead rack an placed it on top of the stove.

Hump! I said, "I'm going to go sit outside on the porch until Mr. Weber and Tommy get here. I'm the only sane person in this entire house!" I stomped out of the kitchen and opened the front door and could hear Connie having another fit as I closed it behind me.

I heard a vehicle coming up the road and stood up from my perch on the front steps to see if I recognized it. As it got closer, I could tell it one of the farmhands' pickup and saw it turn off before it made it to the main drive. I double checked my clothes and thought that maybe I should go change my shirt to an orange one instead of this green one. I decided to wear another pair of Diesel jeans today and had on a lime green Hollister polo with an orange seagull logo on the left breast. I wore a pair of Puma Cell Kingston's in orange to match the logo. I heard another truck coming down the road and when I saw it from a distance I didn't recognize it. I could see the silhouettes' of two people in the front seat. My heart rate seemed to increase and then I caught myself and thought what the hell is my problem.

Finally the truck pulled up in front and before it came to a complete stop, Tommy opened the passenger door and jumped out running towards me waiting on the porch. His short blond hair was gelled in spikes and he wore a pair of blue jeans, a blue and white stripped polo style shirt and tennis shoes. He had a big smile on his face as he ran to me. My heart started beating faster again. Damn this boy is so cute! "Brent! Hey man! We're here!" He called as he ran up on the porch. He looked like he was about to hug me, but then took control of himself and held out his hand to shake. I don't know how they do it here, but with all my friends we had no problem with hugs, so instead, I caught him and gave him a "friendly" hug.

"Tommy! Dude! Cool to see you again! You ready for school!?" I felt his arms wrap around me, returning the hug and it felt so good.

"You bet I am. I think I've been driving my mom nuts since Friday." He said and laughed, letting go of me and I him.

His father had parked and made it to us on the porch by now and overheard the last part of Tommy's statement. "Your mom? You've driven us all crazy. Brent this, Brent that, Brent, Brent, Brent..." Tommy flushed as red as a fire engine and pushed on his dad's arm.

"DAD!"

"Ok, ok. Hello Brent, nice to see you again. Is your dad up?" Mr. Weber asked me.

"Yes Sir. I woke him about a half hour ago, he should be in the kitchen with Connie. Why don't we all go inside. Hank isn't here yet anyway." I opened the door and invited them in. I led them to the kitchen and sure enough, my father was sitting at the kitchenette table with the paper and a cup of coffee. Connie was taking toast out of the toaster. "There here!" I announced and my father looked up and folded his paper.

"Mikey! Good to see you again. What brings you here this time of the morning?" My father stepped around the table and shook Mr. Weber's hand.

"That one over there." He said and pointed to Tommy. "I was afraid if I didn't bring him over here to go to school with Brent this morning, he was going to hang himself from the iron rooster on top of the barn!"

"DAD! Your embarrassing me!" Tommy blushed once again.

"Embarrass hell my boy. It's the truth." He turned and winked at my dad then said, "I think he's sweet on him!" Both my dad and Mr. Weber laughed after he said this and both Tommy and I were a matching pair of red faced, embarrassed boys.

"Mikey this is my son's nanny, Connie. Well she's actually more than a nanny, she's keeps us all balanced and sane. Connie, this is Mike Weber, an old school friend." My dad introduced them.

"Pleasure to meet you Mr. Weber." She then turned to Tommy and I, "Now you two boys go wash your hands. I made breakfast and by the time your finished, Hank should be here to drive you boys to school. Hurry up now before it gets cold.

"Come on Tommy, follow me. I'll show you where we can wash up." I grabbed his arm and led him to the downstairs washroom. He followed me in. I turned the water on in the sink and showed him where the liquid soap dispenser was so he could get some for his hands. As we were washing our hands, I looked at him out of the corner of my eyes and noticed him doing the same thing. We finished up and I handed him a hand towel and took one for my self. When we got back in the kitchen, Mr. Weber was sitting with my father at the kitchenette drinking a cup of coffee and they were talking. Connie had set two places for Tommy and I at the kitchen counter.

She served us up scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage links, sliced tomatoes, buttered toast with blackberry jam and we each had a glass of milk and orange juice. Be both dug in and started eating. I kept looking over to Tommy and our eyes would seem to meet each time I looked. I took a bite of my toast with jelly then reached for my milk and was about to take a drink, when I stopped and held up the glass and called Connie. She turned and looked at me and I showed her the glass in my hand, she smiled and nodded her head. I took a tentative drink and then a bigger one. When I set the glass down, I noticed Tommy give me a strange look.

"Store milk." I said. "I can't drink that stuff straight from the dairy. It's awful!" I told him.

"Are you crazy?!" He asked surprised. "I love fresh milk and cream."

"Well, you won't be kissing me anytime soon after you drink that stuff!" I said and picked up my toast and took another bite. Connie was standing in front of us, and she had been cleaning up, but when I noticed her, she was just standing there staring at me with her mouth slightly open. I raised my eyebrows as if to ask her "what?" and she cut her eyes in Tommy's direction. I looked over at him and he also was staring at me, but his face was flushed and his mouth was hanging wide open.

"What's wrong with you two? I can't help it if I can't stomach that stuff. It just doesn't taste right." We heard a horn sound from outside and I jumped up and looked out the kitchen window. Hank was pulling up in the SUV. "That's Hank, we better hurry and finish before he decides to go off and leave us!" I grabbed my toast from my plate and hurried and ate it then drank the rest of my milk. I looked at Tommy and he seemed to still be fixated on me. "Are you ready?" I asked him.

"Huh? Um...yeah, just give me a second." He also grabbed a piece of his toast and ate it, then finished his milk. He stood up. "Oh shit! I left my book bag in the truck! Don't you guys leave without me, I'll be right back!" But before he could run out his dad stopped him.

"Hold on just a minute! What did you just say?"

"I gotta get my book bag out of the truck, I forgot it when I jumped out this morning."

"Yeah I heard that part, but I'm more interested in the Oh Shit part." His father said and drew his eyebrows together.

"Oh, uh, um..." He turned and looked and Connie and blushed. "I'm really sorry Connie. I meant to say darn or something else. Please accept my apology." He blushed more and lowered his head.

"Apology accepted young man. I know you must be very excited and wouldn't normally use such language." She looked in Mr. Weber's direction, "We all make mistakes and yours was very minor an meaningless."

Tommy looked up at her and then towards his father. His father's scowl loosened and said, "Go get you bag and you may be excited, but you know your mother and I don't approve of that kind of language at any time. Hurry up before your late." Tommy ran out of the kitchen and I heard the front door open and close. Mr. Weber sat back down with my father and Connie came towards me and said she needed to talk to me while I grabbed my book bag and stuff.

I had placed my stuff on the settee by the front door and I picked it up as Connie came over to me. "Brent, you don't even know what you said to Tommy just before we heard Hanks horn do you?"

"I don't know what you mean. I told him I don't like fresh milk and he thought I was crazy for not liking it." I said and looked up at her.

She chuckled, "Yeah, you did say that but you also said, and I quote, `Well, you won't be kissing me anytime soon after you drink that stuff.' was the rest of it!"

"I DID NOT SAY THAT!" Oh my God, did I say that?

"Yes you did Brent. Tommy smiled, then blushed, then he kind of just turned and looked at you with his mouth hanging open." She now laughed a little, "I think you caught him a bit off his guard."

"Yikes! I wonder what he must be thinking about me right now." Idiot, what would possess me to come out and say something like that, and my father AND his in the kitchen too! "You don't think my dad and his heard me do you?" Now I was getting scared.

"No, no. They were busy talking themselves and the only reason I heard was cause I was standing right there in front of you two. I decided to tell you, incase Tommy brought it up, so you'd have something prepared to say to him. But if you really want my honest opinion, I think he felt more surprised that you said it in front of me, not that you said it. Remember he smiled and blushed. That tells me he liked it. Well, you better get out there. They're probably wondering what your waiting for." She gave me a hug and wished me a good day. I opened the door an went outside.

The SUV was right in front and I could see Hank, who waved to me when he saw me. The side door was open and I could see Tommy inside in one of the captain chairs waiting too. I took a deep breath and walked over to the car and got in and closed the door. I looked at Tommy and he smiled real big and showed me his bag. Well, at least he's still smiling at me. That's a good sign.

"Brent this is so cool man! I'm glad y'all moved here so we could go to school together." He frowned a little, "You know I never even asked. Are you glad you moved or do you really miss being in California? Because if you had stayed in California, we wouldn't ever had met you know."

I looked at him and gave him a smile. "I'm glad now Tommy. I actually think I'm starting to be happy I moved." Hank started the SUV and pulled away from the house.

When Hank pulled in front of the school, this time at the main entrance and not the admin side, I could see students walking from the parking lot past the flag pole and through huge sets of double doors. One distinct difference I noted right away, was the lack of group segregations. There was no preppy group, no slacker group, no emo group, everybody blended together and appeared to all be part of one huge group of just people. I opened the door when Hank pulled to a stop and got out. Tommy followed me out of the SUV and before I closed the door, Hank said he'd be in the same general spot to pick me up at 3:50pm. I thanked him and closed the door. He drove off and then Tommy grabbed my arm and started us walking towards the building. As we got nearer, other students started closing in as we all approached the double doors leading inside. A few of them gave me a cursory look, some said hello to Tommy and he said hi back. We made it inside and the front entrance turned out to be the entrance to the commons and cafeteria area as well.

"See what I told you," Tommy said. "Your so lucky to have your locker where it is. It's just right over there." He pointed.

"Yeah, I really did luck out on Friday. In more ways than one." I looked over at him and he looked at me and smiled. I was really falling for Tommy. He was cute. I saw more in him now than I did on Friday. Without the cowboy clothes and the hat, he was more open to view and I loved the way he spiked his hair. His jeans were framing a cute bubble butt. When he'd ask a question, he'd always raise just his right eyebrow and cock his head slightly to the right as he waited for an answer.

"Hey Brent!" I heard a female voice call out my name. Tommy and I looked around and then I saw Missy coming towards us with a group of about 6 people. She ran up to me and gave me a hug like we had been good friends all our lives. "Good to see you again Brent!" She gushed. "I want you to meet some of my friends. Come on lets go grab a table before you have to go to orientation." She took a hold of my arm and pulled me in the direction of the cafeteria. She spotted a table and pulled me with her over to it and sat down, then patted a chair next to hers, indicating for me to sit. I sat down, then the rest of her friends showed up and they all sat in chairs around the table.

"This is Susan, she's a cheerleader like me. Next is Adam, he plays basketball and we're going to have a really good varsity team this year." I said hello to both of them and they said hi too. She continued. "This is Erika, she's a freshman like you this year. Her dad owns the farm next to where yours is." Then she giggled, "We'll I don't know if 5 miles is really next, but it is kind of. This is Franklin, he goes by Frank and he plays Varsity hockey." Again I said hello to both of them and kind of kept my eyes on Frank for a little longer than the others. This guy was a walking orgasm. He had short spiked black hair, piercing dark coffee brown eyes. He had broad shoulders that tapered down to a slim waist. You could tell that he had a muscular chest because his shirt allowed for showing the definition of well formed pecks. "This is Michelle and this is Robin." The last two girls she introduced had to be sisters, because you could tell they shared too many of the same genes to be anything otherwise. I said hello to them.

"So how do you like it here in Beulah so far Brent?" Frank asked me. "I bet it sucks like shit compared to LA! Oh man I wish I could live in LA with all those hot California babes running around on the beach almost naked everyday! Whew!"

"Well I've only been in Beulah for like four days, but yeah I miss LA because I've never known anywhere else. I also miss the friends I grew up with too. I'm sure you all could imagine what it's like if you had to leave everyone you know behind." I said. I then looked and noticed the table we were sitting at was full with Missy and her friends and then I noticed that Tommy wasn't there. "Hey, where's Tommy?" I looked around and then behind me and he was nowhere in sight.

Robin waved her hand over in the direction of the commons area and said, "Oh, I think he walked off over in that direction somewhere." Kind of dismissing him with the wave of her hand. "So, Missy says you have second block lunch, so do all of us. Do you want to meet up with us at lunch and we can all hang out some more." She asked. Why did Tommy not come over with us. I thought he was right with me.

"Um...I have to go guys. Nice meeting everyone but I have orientation and I don't want to be late." I grabbed my book bag and pushed away from the table then stood up and started walking off in the direction Robin had waved her hand. I heard one of the girls say, "God Missy he is so hot!", I think it was Robin and then Missy reply, "Hands off girl, he's all MINE!" and finally I was lost in the crowd and couldn't hear anymore from the table. Yeah right I'm all hers. She better grow a dick and loose those tits.

I kept scanning the crowd on my way from the cafeteria area into the commons. I couldn't see Tommy anywhere, and damn at the number of blonde haired, blue eyed guys in this school. They were 5 to 1 for any other combination and most of them kept their hair short and gel spiked. I started feeling really bad about walking off and leaving Tommy, but I could have swore he had followed us. I started asking random people if they knew Tommy Weber and if they had seen where he went. I got a few positive replies and began to narrow in on my search. Finally I asked this red haired girl standing by a flight of stairs if she knew him and seen where he went. She had more freckles on her than I had ever seen on a person in my life.

"Yeah I know him. I saw him go up these stairs about 2 minutes ago." I told her thanks and bounded up the stairs two at a time. There was no one in view at the top of the stairs, the halls were completely empty. I noticed the entrance to a set of boys and girls restrooms a little ways down the hall and decided I'd check and see if maybe he had to take a piss and came up here. I opened the boys room door and walked in, but the place seemed to be empty. Just as I was about to turn in leave, I heard the bare whisper of what sounded like a sniffle.

I stopped and listened. There I heard it again. It sounded like it was coming from one of the toilet enclosures and I slowly walked in that direction keeping my ears focused. As I got closer to the last stall I heard the sniffling sound a lot better, but then I started thinking how weird this was hanging out in a boys restroom. I took a breath and softly whispered, "Tommy...Tommy are you in here?" Some scuffles sounded through the last enclosure. "Tommy...Tommy are you in there, it's me, Brent. Is that you?" Whoever it was they weren't answering me and I was beginning to get paranoid about bothering a perfect stranger in the boys room. I decided I had better leave and turned and started walking towards the door.

"Brent..."

I faintly heard my name called and turned back and walked to the enclosure. "Tommy? Open the door dude. What's wrong. Why didn't you answer me?"

"Yeah it's, it's me." I heard a click from the door and I reached over and pushed it open about a foot and peered in. Tommy was sitting on the toilet with his book bag in his lap. His eyes were red and swollen like he had been crying. He was just looking straight ahead and occasionally wiping at his eyes with a piece of tissue. Seeing him like this, fire went off in my head. The blood boiled up into my face and red haze fogged my vision.

"WHAT HAPPENED!? DID SOMEONE HURT YOU!? YOU SHOW ME WHO HE WAS AND I'LL FUCKING KILL THE SON OF A BITCH!!" I yelled, losing all control of reason and filled suddenly with a killing rage.

"NO, no Brent, calm down. Calm down man. No, no body touched me." He looked up at me at this point and the sad look on that cute face of his almost torn me in half.

I crouched down to be more on eye level with him. "Then what happened Tommy. Did someone say something mean to you? Why didn't you follow me when Missy drug me off with her? I...I thought you wanted to hang out with me, but when I looked around for you, you were gone. Please stop crying, because seeing you sad like this, it's...it's too much for me to take." Again I must have been possessed by some alien body snatcher and I reached out and pulled Tommy off the seat he was on and into my arms. The door closed shut behind me and I pulled him up until we were both on our knees. I used one of my hands to wipe a tear that had fallen from his eye and bent forward and kissed him on his lips.

The loudest damn bell in the world went off in my head the moment our lips touched and Tommy broke the kiss and looked at me wide-eyed and said, "Orientation!"

"What? OH SHIT! We're going to be late!" We both jumped up knocking our heads together and scrambling for our book bags. For some reason the door was fighting me like Mike Tyson, and one more knock to the head and I was going to be out for the count. Tommy started laughing and trying to push me back behind him so he could get the door open. Finally we managed to get out of the "ring" and ran into the hallway. I started for the stairs when Tommy grabbed my arm and said, "You kissed me."

"I know," I said, "but we'll have to talk about it later. Please don't tell anyone, please...I can explain." I looked deep into his eyes.

"I think we both have some things we need to explain and of course I'm not going to tell anyone. Come on! We HAVE to go!" He grabbed my arm and together we flew down the stairs and made it to the commons area, just as another bell rang.

When we got there, there was already about 80 other students standing around. Tommy pulled me by the arm and we worked our way a little closer to the stage area. A few of the people gave Tommy strange looks, I'm sure it was because his eyes were still red from earlier and a couple even gave me dirty looks like maybe I had caused it. The commons area was shaped like an amphitheater with carpeted steps leading from the top to a small half moon shaped clear area about 10 feet wide in front of the stage. A balding man came out on the stage and tapped on the microphone, which got everyone's attention and we all quieted down. He introduced himself as Mr. Shultz and that he was the 9th grade house principal. He then began reviewing school policies that were also found in the student handbook.

I looked over at Tommy and he was also looking at me. I kind of grinned at him, hoping he wasn't mad at me considering I had flamed out on him and gave him a kiss in the boys room. He smiled at me and gave me a wink, then turned back to pay attention to Mr. Shultz. I still hadn't learned what sent him to the boys room in the first place and why he had been crying. Mr. Shultz had us take out the facility plan and he pointed out for us where the cafeteria was, which made us all laugh considering it was just across the way. He then pointed out the locations of the library, the gym, his office, the principals office, and then explained to us where the tennis courts, pool and baseball fields were located. Most of the kids simply looked bored because of course they had lived here all their lives and had probably been to every one of these place with a sibling.

"Your first period class for today has been cancelled so you could attend this orientation. The floor is now open for any questions you might have or clarification of school policy." He looked out at the group before him looking for any raised hands. "Well very good then," he said when he saw no one had raised a hand, "I'm going to begin passing out a pop quiz sheet with questions concerning school policy and the grade you make on this quiz will become part of your first period class marks." Someone from the group blurted out, "OH SHIT!" and Mr. Shultz called out, "I heard that Robert!" and every started laughing. After the laughing had cooled down, he continued, "I was only joking, there is no pop quiz. Since no one has any questions, just remember to use the facility plan as a reference to find your way around for a couple weeks and you should be just fine. I have an open door policy, so any time you feel you need to speak to me, just come to my office and my secretary will make sure I'm available. Welcome to Beulah High School and I'm sure you'll find your time here enjoyable and educational." He then looked at his watch and then the large one that could be read even from here, in the cafeteria. "You have 20 minutes before the first period bell rings and then 10 minutes after that to make it to your second period class, Until that time, everyone please move over to the cafeteria and have a seat. You may talk amongst yourself, but do not leave that area until the bell and please keep the noise level to a minimum. Your dismissed."

The next thing I know after Mr. Shultz dismissed us, someone grabbed me by the arm and started pulling me towards the cafeteria. "Erika?? What are you doing." I pulled my arm free of her grasp.

"I sent some of my friends to grab a table, so we better hurry before all the seats are gone." I looked behind us and Tommy was just standing there looking at us. "I'm sorry Erika, but I need to talk about some things with my best friend, so we'll just have to make it some other time."

"What do you mean your best friend? How can you have a best friend, you just moved here 4 days ago." She said and frowned at me.

I turned her around so she was facing towards Tommy and I pointed to him. "You see that blonde guy right there. His name is Tommy Weber. His father and mine were best friends in high school and I've known Tommy all my life. He's my best friend and will always be my best friend. He knows everything about me that I wouldn't even tell my mother. That's how I already have a best friend." The look on her face when I told her this was comical to say the least. She looked like someone had snuck up from behind her and hit her in the back of the head with a frying pan.

"Oh, well, that's ok then. Maybe later." She thought for a moment, then looked back at Tommy and gave him a wave and a smile. He waved back at her with a big smile of his own plastered on his face. Then she turned and left, headed for her friends in the cafeteria.

Tommy came up to me, "I heard what you said to her. You lied to her. You know we haven't know each other our whole lives and I definitely don't know stuff about you that you wouldn't tell your mom!"

"Your about too!" I said. I took a hold of his arm and looked around. Everybody had cleared out of the amphitheater by now and that just left Tommy and I standing there. I decided the best way to do this would move somewhere in the center and sit down on the steps, that way we could see anyone approaching long before they got close enough to hear anything. So I led Tommy to what I thought was a good spot and asked him to sit down with me. He sat down and I sat next to him, but with my feet folded on the step facing the cafeteria so I could keep watch. "Sort of help me keep a watch for anyone getting close enough to hears us, I don't want any eavesdroppers." He repositioned himself to where he was facing the same direction I was, and moved a little closer to me, his right knee was touching mine. The contact felt good.

"Tommy, what I'm going to tell you, you have to promise that no matter how upset or mad you get, it will only be between you and I. I'm new here and I don't have any friends, and with this you could really make my life a living hell." I began.

"What a minute Brent, you do too have a friend here. You have me!" He used his thumb to point at his chest to emphasis his point.

"That's what I mean Tommy. You might not what to be my friend after I tell you, so please just listen to me and let me finish what I have to say, but first I need you to promise me and really mean it. If you don't think you can, then, well...it's probably better if I just stop now and let you leave."

He looked at me for about a minute and then said, "I swear to God and on the life of my baby sister Angie. If I ever tell anyone what you tell me without your permission, may God take her from me." His eyes misted up a little and I saw him swallow past a lump that must have formed in his throat.

"Tommy! I didn't ask you to swear like that! That's too much!" I was shocked.

"Tell me. You can trust me now." He was very focused on me and watching every move I made at this point.

I took one more look around to make sure we were alone. "Ok. When I found you in the boys room and saw that you were crying, well I thought at first that someone had hit you. My blood felt like it had caught on fire and I was ready to do murder. Then when you said no one had touched you, I was confused about why you were so upset and then you looked at me and you looked so sad, it was tearing me in half. Well, you know what happened. I kissed you." I looked around again. "The reason I kissed you is because I didn't want you to be sad and I wanted you to know I cared about you." He looked around this time to make sure the coast was still clear. "Um...the reason I care about you is...well...DAMN this is so hard to say Tommy."

"Just say it Brent, I already swore." He was scanning the area with his eyes and the moment he returned his to mine.

"I'm gay Tommy and I like you." His eyes locked on mine and he didn't even blink for at least two minutes. He didn't move a muscle or utter a sound, it was like he was a frozen statue. I was getting fidgety and finally I asked, "Well, aren't you going to say anything?"

He finally blinked his eyes and then looked around and behind us. Then he dropped the bomb. "When we walked inside this morning and Missy came an drug you away with her and her friends, I didn't follow because she didn't invite me and as you left you didn't even turn and call me with you either. I watched you sit down with her and then her friends and you all began to talk. Suddenly I felt like you didn't really want to be with me because now you had more popular friends that you would be able to hang out with." His eyes started misting against and I almost reached out to run my hand along his cheek, but I controlled the urge. "The longer I watched the more emotional I stated feeling and I knew I was going to start crying so I went upstairs to the restroom and locked myself in so no one would see me crying."

"A few minutes passed and then I heard the restroom door open and someone walk in. I held my breath as long as I could, but because I had been crying, my nose was stuffy and when I finally did breath, I also tried to breath through my nose and I guess that's when you heard me. I then heard you calling my name and asking me if I was there, but I didn't want to answer because I didn't want you to think I was a cry baby. Then I realized that you were leaving, so I said your name and that's when you came back. When you opened the door after I unlocked it and then got so mad when you thought someone had hurt me, well, you don't know how good that made me feel Brent. But then I thought, now he's going to want to know what was really wrong and I knew if I told you, you would think I was a pussy and not be my friend. You must have seen that in my eyes when I looked up at you and then you pulled me in your arms and...I still can't believe it happened...you kissed me, on the LIPS!" He looked around real quick and so did I.

"The really most amazing part of all of this Brent is that, I never thought you were gay. Even after you kissed me. You know we always hear crazy stuff about people who come from California, you probably would laugh your ass off at some of the things people say about it. But you need to know something about me. I'm, well, I'm gay too. My whole family knows about me, including my dad. That's why when he was saying that stuff to you this morning about the way I was acting, I got embarrassed because I didn't want you to find out and not want to be my friend. So you see. I'm not going to tell anyone your secret. What I want to know is if you really meant it when you said you cared for me and that you really do like me? Because if that is true, I might just die right here on this step because there is no way in a million years I could ever be good enough for you!"

BBBBBBRRRRRRRRIIIIIINNNNNGGGGGGGG!!!!!!

The school bell sounded and startled both Tommy and I so bad that we almost fell off the step we were sitting on. Students started shuffling out of the cafeteria, heading in the direction of the hall and up the stairs to their second period class. Tommy and I stood up and I said, "We need to talk more about this Tommy. Call home at lunch and ask if you can ride home with me after school. Make some excuse about homework or something, but don't let them say no. Please?"

"You don't have to say please to me Brent, I'll be there and I'll let you know for sure in 5th period, we have Spanish together remember, then gym and we even have social studies together! We better go, cause we only have like 7 minutes left before the tardy bell."

We grabbed our book bags and while I headed up the stairs to go to my Algebra class, Tommy headed down the hall past my locker to his class. He IS gay! I felt all giddy inside. This time I won't make any mistakes, I told myself as I walked to class.

Thanks everyone who has e-mailed me with your support. Now that the "cat" is out of the bag between Tommy and Brent, maybe Brent will get to do a little bit of exploring on the wilder side of life. Comments can be sent to me at jmedinacorona@gmail.com. Thanks again for everyone's great comments.