A Shift in the Universe Christian Mitchell Copyright 2004
CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
I woke up late Thursday morning. Kyle and I got together at noon then went to the Beverly Center. Tyler and Paul joined us for lunch at Jerry's Famous Deli then we headed to Tower Records on Sunset Boulevard. Because we had decided not to hang out later I returned home about five o'clock. When my parents arrived home they announced that we were going out to dinner.
My father had talked to Principal Michael at some point in the afternoon.
He managed to get Michael to keep the suspension off my transcript, but he was not able to have it canceled. Principal Michael said he was willing to keep my record clean because the school year was nearly over and I'd be going to college soon. However, he thought that the punishment was justified and he could not forfeit the opportunity to use the fight as an example to the other students. My suspension remained in intact.
I basically just hung out at home with my family. I started to clean and organize my bedroom but that chore didn't last long. I was checking my e-mail when Roger called me soon after nine o'clock.
"Hey, how are you?" I beamed.
"I'm good. Enjoying your time off from school?"
"Sure."
"Good. You should take advantage of it," he replied.
"I know. I still have Friday and Monday off. So we'll see what adventures an extended weekend provides."
"Well, the reason I called was because I wanted to invite you and Kyle out with me tomorrow."
"Really? What did you have in mind?"
"I know you and Kyle are just now getting comfortable with yourselves and being open about your relationship. But I'd like to be the one to expose you to an environment that you might feel much more relaxed in."
"Yeah, what environment is that?"
"West Hollywood," he answered.
I considered the thought for a moment. West Hollywood is the gay area of Los Angeles. Most of the clubs and restaurants that catered to a predominantly gay crowd were there. Being a Los Angeles native I had been in areas of West Hollywood many times. I, however, had never been to the heart of Boys Town.
"Maybe," I replied. "I'll have to ask Kyle."
"If you guys aren't ready, that's cool. I just wanted to extend the invitation. And when you guys are ready to take me up on my offer, then let me know."
"Thank you," I responded.
"Of course, you guys may decide to explore it on your own. And that's fine, too. But if you'd like an educated tour guide, then I'm your man."
"Cool, man. Thanks," I replied. "I'll let you know."
"Okay," Roger said. "It will be fun. Call me and let me know how Kyle feels about it. If he wants to go, then we'll set up a date."
"Alright. I'll call you back tonight or tomorrow."
"Great. Have a good night."
"Thanks, Roger. You, too."
Kyle called me about a half-hour later. "Other than saying good night, I wanted to check in with you," he said.
"Oh, I'm fine," I replied. "I was trying to clean my room but I got bored so I signed online."
"I should clean my room, too. But I still have three more days of suspension so I'll wait to do that."
"Something to occupy your time, huh? You can keep yourself busy doing that when I go back to school on Tuesday."
"Yeah, I'll think about it."
"Roger called me," I told him.
"Oh, yeah? What's he up to?"
"He was calling to say hi. He also wanted to invite you and me to West Hollywood."
"You're kidding!" Kyle laughed. "You know, I haven't even thought about West Hollywood. I mean, I've thought about you. I've thought about how things are changing in my life. But I forgot that West Hollywood is only miles away."
"What do you think about the idea?"
"I don't know. You?"
"I guess it could be fun and educational," I responded. "Going to West Hollywood makes everything seem so real. At this very moment, you and I are gay. I mean, unless something happens in the future that tells us otherwise, you and I are now involved in a gay relationship."
"Being in West Hollywood would really bring it on home," Kyle replied.
"Exactly," I agreed. "What do you think about that?"
"That's fine by me. We decided to be together because we love each other, right?"
"Yes," I answered.
"And we might meet some people that we like. Maybe make some new friends that we can relate to on a different level. You know?"
"That would certainly be a change from our regular group of friends."
"Then maybe we should just go for it. What harm could it do? We might enjoy ourselves and realize that we like being there. Or we'll realize that it's kind of nice and all, but not for us."
"Yeah, I hear ya," I said. "So I should tell Roger that we'll go with him?"
"Sure. What the hell."
"Okay, I'll call him later."
Kyle interjected," you know what? Give me Roger's number and I'll call him."
"If you want to."
"Well, it's cool that he's reaching out to us. I know you know him better than I do. But I feel like I should have some sort of communication with him. I don't want him to only being calling my boyfriend to relay messages to me or invite us places."
"Are you getting jealous?" I teased.
"Well, maybe a little," he replied quietly. "I'm sorry. But I just don't want him to be solely focused on you, as far as you and I are concerned."
"It's okay. I understand. And I don't think he'd mind talking to you more. Maybe the two of you will become friends." After I recited Roger's phone number I turned my computer off and sprawled myself out on my bed.
"Cool. So I'll call him just as soon as I hang up with you."
"Is anything else going on with you? How are things at home?"
"Everything is good. My dad mentioned that he might call you about coming over here for dinner on Sunday night. So be prepared for a possible phone call."
"I'll do that," I replied.
"Other than that, nothing much is going on with me at all. My mother is making me study."
"Well, that's probably a good thing."
"Yeah, I know. It's just a pain in the ass," Kyle complained.
"It's all good."
"Okay, baby. I'm gonna let you go for now. One, two, three."
I instantly understood that one, two, and three was the code for "I love you." "1, 2, 3, 4. Talk to you tomorrow."
"Okay. Good night."
"Good night."
Roger was excited to hear that Kyle and I wanted to join him in West Hollywood Friday night. He seemed to be very happy that we had decided to take him up on his offer. At school Roger was quite laid back and never drew too much attention to himself. Now that he was going to be our tour guide, he appeared to come out of his shell a bit. He arrived at my house with a permanent smile on his face.
"I'm glad you guys are taking the steps to expose yourself to WeHo," he beamed.
"This might be a really good thing for us to do," Kyle replied. "You know, experience the world outside of our neighborhood and circle of friends."
"Exactly," Roger replied.
He tugged on the sleeves of his T-shirt, which seemed to be slightly too small for him to wear. It did present his body much more clearly than the clothes he typically wore to school. Due to Roger's Hispanic background he had olive toned skin and black hair. It was styled in a slightly messy fashion. I could instantly tell that he was somewhat of a different person when he wasn't at school.
After we said good-bye to my parents Roger asked," who wants to drive?"
Kyle and I both shrugged our shoulders.
"Let's take Marcus' car," Roger suggested. "If you guys feel like you want to leave then we'll leave. If I decide to stay, I'm sure some friend of mine will be around to drive me home."
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"Yeah, it's fine."
We drove east on Santa Monica Boulevard in my Mustang. Roger started to point out buildings and such once we arrived at Doheny. When we arrived at Robertson there were many more people walking around. Roger mentioned places like the Abbey, Rage, Mickey's and some twenty-four hour gym that really wasn't a twenty-four gym. Apparently management restricted business hours in an effort to discourage non-work out related activities.
As we continued to drive east Roger talked. "You guys would probably like this place here," he said, pointing to a little building on the corner of the block.
"What is it?" I asked.
"The Flowering Tree. It's a health food restaurant. No sugar. Stuff that's good for your body. You know, all that crap," he smiled.
"Yeah, we'll be there at some point," Kyle replied.
"There's Buzz Coffee, which used to be a really cool place to go, but something took the vibe down hill," Roger continued. "And right across the street is Marco's, an Italian restaurant. We should eat there."
"Now?" I asked.
"Well, tonight. We can keep driving but once you get to Fairfax there really isn't too much to see. I mean, there are some places all the way to La Brea. But, pretty much, this is it." He paused then pointed to the left. "And this is the French Market. It's okay if you're not looking for some out of this world cuisine experience."
"Well, so far we've seen a gym, clubs and restaurants," Kyle said. "So, basically West Hollywood promotes working out, drinking and eating."
"No!" Roger exclaimed with a laugh. "There are places to shop. You can see those better when we're walking down the street. I just wanted to give you a general idea of what's here."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Kyle teased. "It's okay. I work out. I like to eat. And I've been known to drink a few too many Coronas."
"Well, some of us are vain. Some of us like to have a good time. But not everyone is like that," Roger replied. "You know, whatever makes you happy."
"That's for damn sure," I replied.
"And that other stereotype that if a guy is good-looking then he must be gay - - that's not true either. There are some beautiful gay men, like the two of you. But I've seen my share of scary ones, too."
We did decide to eat at Marco's Trattoria. Roger explained that the food was really good and that it was one of his favorite places to eat when he was in West Hollywood. "The owner's mother used to work here all the time. Everyone called her Mama. Mama Italiano. Mama Marco. She was a very sweet and funny lady, but she died of cancer a couple months ago."
"Oh, that's too bad," I replied.
"Yeah, she was a real character," Roger laughed.
We had a nice dinner. The food was good. The conversation was lively and entertaining. The three of us were having a good time.
The restaurant seemed to be pretty popular on Friday nights. I expected the place to be crowded with a lot of gay people but there were a lot of straight people eating there as well. I mentioned this to Roger.
"Well, yeah," he smiled. "West Hollywood isn't only for gay people. We don't try to keep the heterosexuals out."
"Contrary to popular belief," Kyle laughed.
"And you can't look at everyone and instantly know whether someone is gay or not. I'm sure you've seen some guys here tonight that you thought were straight but they're probably gay. Look at you and Kyle. You guys seem pretty straight, but you're a couple. Your gaydar hasn't developed yet."
"What?" Kyle and I asked in unison.
"Well, this might sound kind of silly, but if you're gay then you develop this ability to scan a crowd and accurately determine who is gay or not. Gaydar."
"Okay, I'll let that bit of information marinate for a while," I smiled.
"Yeah, I need to process that, too," Kyle replied.
"Believe me, it's true. I bet there have been some guys in here checking you out and they instantly knew that you were gay. They weren't fooled by your straight acting personas."
"You make that sound like a negative thing," Kyle grinned.
"No, I'm sorry. Don't get me wrong. I'm just saying," Roger stressed. "It's refreshing to have two new guys in the family who aren't flamboyant queens."
"Like you," Kyle teased.
"Fuck you!" Roger laughed.
Following dinner the three of us walked around the other side of West Hollywood, between the gym and the Abbey. It was interesting to see a lot of gay people walking around. It seemed to be a very liberating experience to a lot of people, especially Roger. He was totally in his element, smiling and laughing as we walked along the street.
Some people did seem to be staring at us as we walked along. Roger said that it was because we were good-looking guys. To me, it seemed like we were being judged. My insecure mind was telling me that everyone instantly knew that we were the new kids in town. Or maybe Kyle and I looked like we were out of place. Not that I was uncomfortable, but I was a bit nervous.
"Do you guys wanna get some coffee somewhere?" Roger asked. "We can hang out and talk. Watch the people. And I can introduce you to a few people."
We attempted to go to the Abbey but anyone under twenty-one years old was prohibited from entering. Apparently during the day anyone can enjoy the coffee house/café establishment. Later it becomes a full-fledged bar. So Roger suggested that we venture down Santa Monica Boulevard to the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. It's actually my favorite place to go for coffee in Los Angeles so I didn't mind that the Abbey was off limits to us.
The three of us sat outside. Just as we were about to begin talking a tall, semi-muscular blonde guy walked up to our table. I estimated that he was at least twenty-five years old. He placed his hand on Roger's shoulder and shouted," bitch, I haven't seen you in weeks!"
Roger immediately stood up and embraced the stranger. "I'm a good boy trying to earn my high school diploma, remember?"
"Oh, that's right," the guy replied. Then he looked at Kyle and me. "And who are your two gorgeous friends?"
"Oh, this is Marcus. And this is Kyle. They're friends of mine from school," Roger smiled. "Marcus and Kyle, this is Patrick."
We shook hands and invited him to sit with us. "Sorry, I can't. I'm running late, as always. I'm meeting some friends at the Abbey."
Kyle and I laughed. "Of course!" I exclaimed. "The one place we tried to get into."
"Baby, the three of you need to get some fake ID's," Patrick smiled. "Then we'll all go together some time."
"Maybe when we graduate," Roger replied.
"You guys can go to Mickey's on Thursday nights. It's eighteen and over," he said. "You'd have a good time."
"Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention that," Roger responded. "We should do that some time."
"Okay. Well, it was nice meeting the two of you," Patrick smiled. "Roger call me. You need to do a better job of staying in touch." Then he disappeared around some people standing on the sidewalk.
"I've known Patrick for about a year," Roger informed us. "He's a really nice guy. Pretty funny, actually."
"Cool," Kyle replied as he sipped his latte.
Roger looked at Kyle and me then smiled. "I'm really happy that the two of you have each other."
"Thank you," I responded with a grin. "I'm happy about that, too."
"I think it's really cool that you guys have been best friends for so long and wound up in each other's arms. That would be the ideal situation for any person emerging from the closet."
"I guess we're really lucky," Kyle said.
"You are lucky," Roger stressed. "When I came out of the closet I felt like I was all alone. I didn't really have anyone to turn to. Then when I started coming to West Hollywood I practically slept with the first guy that flirted with me. And believe me, that wasn't the ideal situation for me."
"Why?" I asked.
"Because he was an asshole," Roger replied. He smiled and relaxed in his chair. "Do I sound bitter?"
"Well, yeah," I smiled.
"Well, I am," Roger laughed. "Okay, seriously. It wasn't very romantic or anything. He pretty much flirted with me and told me all the stuff he thought I wanted to hear. And I guess they were all the things I wanted to hear because I thought I was falling in love with him." He laughed again. "Can you believe that? How stupid of me. I was barely seventeen years old and I'd only known him for about a week."
"How old was he?" Kyle asked.
"Twenty-four."
"Into older men," I smiled.
"I guess so," Roger replied. "Anyway. The third time that we hung out he invited me back to his place. I went. We were making out and he started to drop hints that he wanted to have sex. At first I resisted. Mostly, because I was nervous. But I surrendered to desire and lost my virginity. Then I never heard from him again."
"That's fucked up," I said.
"Yeah, well, that kind of shit happens a lot. There are a lot of older guys who are very eager to pounce on young gay men."
I was somewhat shocked by the story and the latter statement that Roger had made. "So he didn't really have much of an interest in you as a person. He just wanted to sleep with you."
"Yep," he responded as he gulped the last of his blended beverage.
"I'm sorry that happened to you," I said.
"Me, too," Kyle chimed in.
Roger shrugged his shoulders. "Life goes on. Thankfully, I've become a bit more experienced with weeding out the assholes since then."
"Good," I smiled.
"But as long as we're on the subject," Roger continued. "That brings me to a topic that I wanted to discuss with the two of you. It's sort of embarrassing. So please forgive me if I sound like an idiot or I make you guys uncomfortable."
Kyle and I nodded.
"Are you guys practicing safe sex?"
Neither one of us responded right away. "Well, no," I finally answered.
"Since we're young then I guess it's pretty much okay. Unless the two of you have slept with a lot of people. If you have slept with a lot of girls or guys, then you need to use condoms. And you probably should get yourself tested."
"I can promise you," Kyle stated. "We have not slept with a lot of people. And neither one of us has had sex with other guys before."
"Good," Roger smiled. "I'm not totally freaking you out, am I?"
"No, we're fine," I replied.
"If the two of you start sleeping around then you need to be safe."
"We're not going to cheat on each other," Kyle said.
"Great," Roger beamed. "But you never know. Shit happens. And what if you guys have a threesome or something?"
Kyle and I looked at each other. It did seem as if Roger was lecturing us, but it wasn't so much so that we became angry or uneasy with the conversation.
"Yeah," Roger stressed. "You need to think about these things. Condoms.
Lube. Flavored creams and stuff."
Kyle raised his eyebrows with interest.
"Yeah, lube would make sex easier," I replied.
"You guys haven't been using any lube at all!" Roger exclaimed, a little too loudly.
A couple at a nearby table looked in our direction and smiled.
"Let's not broadcast the details to all of West Hollywood," Kyle laughed.
"Sorry," Roger grinned. "I need to take you guys shopping for some supplies."
We returned to my house about ten o'clock. After Roger was certain that he had his bag of sexual supplies he hugged us both good-bye.
Kyle and I stood in the driveway talking.
"I don't want to go home yet," Kyle said. "I want to be with you."
I smiled. "Since our parents know that we're having sex, do you think it would be weird to spend the night together."
Kyle rubbed his stomach. "Um, I don't think my parents would be totally comfortable with that yet."
"Yeah," I replied. "I'm not sure about my parents."
"Should we bring it up and see what they say?" Kyle asked. "Or should we just figure out where we can go?"
I shrugged my shoulders and bit down on my lip. I pondered the thought and replied," we can ask. If they say no, then we'll try to figure out what our options are."
"Okay," Kyle responded and nudged me with his arm. "You lead the way."
I laughed. "Stop pushing."
Once we were inside my house we spotted my parents in the living room watching television.
"Did you guys have a nice time out?" my mother asked.
"Yes," we replied.
"Where's Roger?"
"He went home," I responded.
"Where did the two of you spend the evening?" dad questioned.
"Um, West Hollywood," I answered.
"Oh," he smiled. "Well, I hope you had a good time."
"I have a serious question for you guys," I said.
My parents both perked up and looked directly at me.
"Do you think it would be alright if Kyle spent the night?"
My father looked at my mother. She scratched a spot on her arm. "Well, I think that your father and I need to talk about that first," she said.
"That's fine," I replied. "We'll be in the kitchen or on the patio."
"Well, wait a minute," my father said as he straightened his posture. "You're both eighteen years old. You had the courage to confide in us about your relationship. So let's talk about this as adults then."
My mother looked at him as if she were a little concerned that he had said that.
Kyle and I sat on the sofa across from them.
"Kyle has spent the night here numerous times. We've never had a problem with that. But now sex is involved," my father said. "I think that your mother and I would need to be certain that you're being responsible."
"Yes," she agreed. "And I guess it would seem pretty ridiculous to suddenly not allow Kyle to spend the night."
"We're not asking just because we want to have sex," I said. "We haven't been screwing non-stop since the first time we had sex."
"That's a mighty colorful way of putting it," she complained.
"Sorry. You know what I mean."
"They're adults now," my father said. "What do you think, Carol?"
"Well," she replied, drawing out the word extensively. "Your father's right. You are both adults now. And you need to be responsible. If we have those assurances, then I guess there's nothing wrong with it."
I held up the bag of sex supplies that Kyle and I had purchased earlier in the evening. "We have the tools and the maturity to be responsible adults."
My parents smiled somewhat nervously. "Okay, we don't need to inspect the bag, Marcus," she said.
"Thank you," I said as I stood up. "This means a lot to us. I'm happy that we have your permission to be together in this house."
My father cleared his throat. "Obviously, Kyle's parents will have to say that it's okay for him to spend the night. So you need to check with them first."
"We will," Kyle replied. "I'll call them in a little bit."
About twenty minutes later Kyle called his house. It was his mother that answered the phone and said yes. She said that she would let his father know that he wouldn't be home.
Kyle and I remained in the living room watching television with my parents. Since we didn't want to make them uncomfortable by immediately running upstairs, we waited for them to go to bed first. Once they had retired to their bedroom Kyle and I rushed to my room.
We really didn't waste any time getting undressed. We jumped into bed with the bag of goodies near by. For a while we lay in bed touching and caressing each other's bodies. We kissed and talked a little.
"I wanna make love to you," Kyle whispered.
I positioned myself more comfortably while Kyle grabbed the bag. He dumped the condoms and lube on the bed. He smiled. "It seems kind of stupid to be using a condom now. But we should use them until we know for sure, right?"
"Yeah," I said. "Let's try it this way. Then we can make a decision about using condoms after we've been tested."
He nodded as he rolled the condom on his cock. When he picked up the bottle of lube he pretended to read the instructions very seriously. Then he squeezed some of the liquid into his hand.
"It's kind of cold," he smiled. "And too much squirted out."
I quickly glanced about the room. "Wipe some of it on one of our shirts."
He did as instructed then applied some of the lube to his cock then my ass. He was right, it was kind of cold. Plus it felt very slippery.
"Yeah, this is going to make sex a lot easier," he chuckled.
I grabbed his face and pulled him to me. We kissed long and hard for a couple of minutes. "I need you," I moaned.
He started to push the head of his cock into my ass very slowly. The length was sliding in very easily. I did not feel the same amount of pain that I experienced previously when we had sex. Once he was in to the hilt he began to gently thrust.