Second Chance, Chapter 62
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This story contains descriptions of love and sexual fulfillment between people of the same gender. If possessing or reading this kind of material is illegal where you live, please leave this site at once.
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Chapter 62
The first day of the new school year is always kind of exciting as students get reacquainted with other kids they haven't seen for a couple of months or more. Eric and Josh had stayed in touch with their close friends all summer so there wasn't a lot to catch up on. They did the usual rituals of fist bumping and high fiving with their buds and were also approached by some students that they didn't know particularly well.
At first their casual acquaintances didn't exactly know how to ask what was on their minds. But eventually somebody mentioned hearing rumors that they'd gotten married. In response, Eric and Josh proudly showed off their matching gold bands.
Comments from their classmates were varied, but most were either positive or neutral. A few people were completely non-committal. There was only one boy who made nasty remarks about fudge-packers, and one girl who told them they were going to hell for being gay. Several said they'd like to know more about same-sex marriage. All in all, coming out at school was accompanied with far less drama than they'd feared.
Dylan said he was looking forward to the reception because he'd been disappointed about not being at their wedding. Damian felt the same, but like Dylan, he understood that it would have been difficult to have invited all their buds to Iowa for the ceremony, and traveling that far would have been nearly impossible for most. Besides, how would the country club have functioned without them?
Mr. Shackford was pleased to have Eric back in his advanced placement writing class. He had received an advance copy of the "Armadillo Rap" as the boys had. He said that Eric could choose to work on another children's book to fulfill part of his writing assignments for the coming year. It would provide a real-life experience for the class to see, and perhaps it might inspire others.
Likewise, Mr. Gilbert was thrilled to have Josh continuing in his art classes. He gave Josh a lot of leeway in what he would be doing for assignments. He wanted Josh to have plenty of time and flexibility to create a large body of work for his upcoming exhibition in November.
Because Josh was becoming known in art circles in the city, he was an inspiration to younger students. His reputation was helping to build the whole program.
Before dismissal on that first day, Josh, Eric, and Rob went to the office to make changes to their emergency contact information. Eric and Josh registered their name changes and all three put their spouses as the first person to notify with Scott and Ben as the second. The secretary began to question what they were doing, but accepted it since there was a box to check for "spouse" and the boys had brought along their marriage certificates.
That evening, the young men from the Larson-Brady household went to the country club for a special dinner. (It was an affair that required shirt and tie, but no jacket.) Tinker Bell was hosting the event for all of the summer help and also in honor of Blake who would be leaving his job to take an internship in a business co-owned by one of the members, Gregory Cox. Tinker had become really fond of the high school boys who helped that summer, largely because of her contact with Josh and Damian. She had heard good reports from Cliff about the rest as well. She had an ulterior motive in hoping to encourage high quality help to return the following season.
It was a dinner done to style with several entrée selections and a dessert table that was to die for. Cliff and his wife were guests of honor along with Blake and Rob. The evening didn't last too late because guys like Eric, Josh, Damian, Rob, Dylan, Peter, and the rest had to be up for school in the morning. Blake would be reporting to work.
In the early days of September, the guys were beginning to train more consistently for the swimming season. It was great to have the team together again. The atmosphere was entirely different without Jake there. His kid brother, Casey, had decided to join the team and was proving to be a pretty good swimmer in his own right. He found support in the very people his brother had tried to bully.
Eric was getting his form back after recuperating from his appendectomy, but still didn't have the stamina he'd had before the surgery. Dylan wanted to compare scars and that led to having several swimmers checking them out in a state of complete nakedness. Aaron grinned salaciously but didn't say anything suggestive.
The freshmen boys on the team were in awe of the seniors and a little apprehensive of how they would be treated. They had seen some of the meets in the previous year and knew what a great organization they were now a part of. They had also heard about Jake and his cronies who had the reputation of being mean to new kids. When Dylan, Josh, and Eric welcomed them as equals, the younger boys beamed. It was a great relief to them to know that they weren't going to face a hazing kind of initiation.
Of course the upper classmen pulled a few harmless pranks on the freshmen, but it was all done in good spirits and was received as such. In about a week, the older guys had fostered a new spirit of camaraderie that was to make this team one of the most cohesive ones in the history of the school. It was truly one for all and all for one. No petty jealousies could arise in that kind of atmosphere.
Coach David was thrilled over the way his team was shaping up. It was too early for him to coach them officially, so the leadership shown by his seniors was invaluable in giving the team a head start. He had originally been a little uneasy about how his two gay, married stars would be received by the rest. Now, it seemed like what could have been a liability was turning into an asset. Whether their congeniality was part of their orientation or general personality, they were popular, positive role models for the rest.
Two weeks into the term, the day of the long-awaited wedding reception finally arrived. The younger guys were nearly as keyed up about it as they had been about their ceremony because almost all of their close friends were going to be there.
Ben and Scott were not as excited as the younger members of their household, but were pleased that Sophia had chosen to honor them as well. The guest list ran heavily toward teenagers, but Chuck and Robert would be there as well as Wade and Roger. Several of Ben's colleagues from work were expected to attend.
Of course the presence of Mr. and Mrs. Shackford, Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert, Norm Hadley and his date, Ms. Burgoyne and her escort, Blake's mother and aunt as well as the Bells would make the men feel that they were not completely surrounded by kids.
Two guys that the boys hadn't expected would really be able to come, Dane and Colt, were going to make it after all. They had sent their RSVP responses directly to Sophia to keep it a surprise.
But the biggest surprise of all for Eric would be Alma Stern, his neighbor from Illinois. Scott had contacted her without Eric's knowledge. After he'd met her the summer before, he knew that she had been more of a parent to him than his mother.
The three couples dressed in their wedding attire arrived at the appointed time. Sophia had scheduled it so that the guests would arrive ahead of the wedding party by about 20 minutes. While they were waiting, they were treated to the video of the wedding on a large screen just beyond the dance floor.
As soon as it was finished, the grooms entered the room in the order in which they'd been married to the sounds of "Smile" by Uncle Kracker (Matt Shafer)*. Eric and Josh led the way followed by Rob and Blake (with Robbie, of course). Ben and Scott brought up the rear. They received a standing ovation from their friends while being ushered over to start the buffet line. Before they began filling their plates, Dr. Mann gave a short prayer of blessing thanksgiving and for the food.
By the time everyone had been through the line, people started tapping spoons on their goblets and asking the grooms to kiss. It was fortunate that the wedding party had at least a small head start on eating because they spent a lot of time kissing.
Sophia proposed the first toast. (It was made in sparkling grape juice because Sophia didn't let any alcohol be served. She felt it would be too hard to control with so many minors and also an unkind temptation to people like Sam who struggled to remain sober.) She wished each couple long life and happiness. She made special mention of her son's excellent taste in choosing a great mate. Blake blushed at her compliments and Rob had little tears of joy.
Alma made the next toast. Eric hadn't seen her in the crowd until that moment. He had tears in his eyes when she talked about how much he meant to her. When she finished, he came over to give her a big hug. Everyone broke into another round of applause.
Several other people took the mike to wish their friends good fortune. Among those were Dylan, Damian, Peter, Luc, Garret, Aaron, Sam, Dane and Colt. That part of the festivities went on for some time.
As soon as the couples had danced their first dance together, others lined up to have their turn. Ursula danced with Rob while Sophia danced with Blake. Alma had the first dance with Eric after he and Josh finished. Dylan took Josh's hand ushering him out onto the floor. Luc chose to dance with Eric as soon as Alma had finished. Damian was waiting to dance with Josh as soon as Dylan let go of him. Dane and Colt stood back so that Eric and Josh could dance with their high school friends first, but were in line as soon as they felt they weren't intruding. Each got a warm hug from the other couple.
Before long, many of the guests were joining in – some as male/female couples and others as same-sex combinations. Aaron and Sam were among the first same-sex couples, other than the wedding party, to participate. Even Casey got brave enough to dance with Aaron for a short time before Sam cut in again. Not everyone was accomplished in ballroom dancing, but everyone was having fun and anyone, including the younger children, could feel okay about participating in line dances like the Macarena and the ubiquitous "chicken" dance. Mick, Nick, and Ethan really got into that one. Theresa nearly stole the show when she danced with her little nephew. Robbie wasn't walking by himself yet, but loved standing and bouncing up and down to the music as long as someone held his arms so he wouldn't fall over.
Around 3:00, the guys went over as couples to a special table in the center of the room for the cutting of the cakes. Sophia had ordered a separate cake for each pair of grooms done up in the same colors as their outfits. So, each couple got to have pictures taken with their own cake.
The cake for the guests was in the form of cupcakes of a variety of flavors set around the table on silver pedestals. They were convenient to serve in that form and fun to eat.
The party began to break up around 4:00 which was a bit late for a luncheon, but just right for this kind of reception. Dane and Colt hung back to help the guys gather up their wedding cards. They were asked to come over to the house along with Chuck, Rob, Wade, Roger, and Ethan. It would be a time to relax, visit, and eat take-out pizza later in the evening.
Alma had been invited to stay over, but had a plane to catch because she was heading for California to visit her son and his family. She could fly out of the Twin Cities just as easily as from Chicago.
Eric didn't want thoughts of his mother to spoil his day, but he did inquire about her health. Alma said that she seemed to be the same as usual – on the go and married to her job. When pressed further, Alma admitted that Tina was drinking again and that she had evidently thrown Antonio out again. Alma had overheard a lot of shouting coming from the house before he left.
Instead of feeling depressed by the news, Eric took it in his stride. He recounted his blessings of having a great dad and an awesome husband. He had family!
The guys opened their cards when they got back to the house. Since they had specified that they didn't want wedding gifts, many guests had included notes that said a specified amount of money had been given in their names to a local or national charity. Most of the people who gave cards to Rob and Blake were aware of Rob's interest in the rescue mission downtown. The tally for that cause was over $4,000. Rob was really pleased at the thoughtfulness of their friends.
Before the group dispersed, Roger announced that he and Wade would like all of the guys to come to a small celebration in the middle of October on the anniversary of Ethan's adoption. They marked the date as well as his actual birthday. Most of Wade's family would be coming and it would be a chance for everyone to meet the rest of them.
After everyone had gone, it was time to think about going to bed. Ben and Scott cuddled on the sofa watching the late news. They told the boys that they were having quiet drink together before retiring for the night. Josh and Eric were invited to use the shower in their dads' bathroom because Rob and Blake were going to use the upstairs bathroom that they all usually shared.
The minute the younger guys were gone, Ben and Scott hurried to embellish their bedrooms with candles, incense, and rose petals. It would be like a second honeymoon for them. The men were sure that the guys would take advantage of it.
Blake and Rob were finished first. When they came into their room clad only in towels, they smiled at the thoughtfulness of their surrogate fathers. Their towels hit the floor in record time as they embraced and kissed deeply.
For several minutes, the only sounds in the room were moaning and heavy breathing – that is, if you discount the subtle licking of nipples. Both young men were thoroughly aroused as evidenced by their steely erections.
"Breed me Rob," Blake whispered in his husband's ear.
"Anything you wish," Rob responded.
Rob prepared his lover with the new lube and applicator that Scott and Ben had left them and slipped into that warm secret place with ease.
At that point, conversation ceased for the rest of the evening as Rob made good on his promise.
Eric and Josh fooled around in the shower a little longer. Their self-discipline nearly failed them at one point. It was with heroic will power that they managed save themselves for bed.
When they saw what their dads had done for them, they also grinned. On their bed was a bottle of Platinum silicone lube and an applicator that would allow them to reach deeper than using fingers. They couldn't wait to try the Lube Launcher and Josh wanted to be the receiver.
All of the fooling around they'd done coupled with the new aid that their dads had thoughtfully provided made them hornier than normal even for teenagers. Josh lay back with his knees against his chest for Eric to do the honors.
Eric licked and teased before getting Josh lubed up. He wanted his husband to enjoy the experience to the max. Once he'd pumped a few squirts into Josh's chute and grease his own rampant cock, he slipped in more easily than he ever had.
Josh showed no signs of discomfort, and urged Eric to go faster and harder. Eric's mind was reeling. His hips were on auto-pilot as his love and desire took over. He was just ready to blow his load when he felt the telltale evidence of Josh's cock exploding between them. Josh was crying out in ecstasy. Of course Eric couldn't hold out a minute longer. He flooded Josh's insides with a copious amount of juice. Josh's rectal spasms kept milking Eric's cock until nearly every drop had been expended.
They lay there in post-coital bliss for several minutes before Eric pulled out and licked up Josh's offering that was beginning to cool on their abs. He shared most of it in a deep kiss. The rest got rubbed over their bodies. Then they cuddled together and fell into a deep sleep.
One of the events at school that included the Larson-Brady boys and several of their friends was the fall kickoff for the LGBT group. Eric, Josh, Rob, and Blake were asked to speak about same-sex marriage and how it affected their lives.
They weren't sure what they should say, so they decided to show an edited version of their wedding video. Basically, they kept the parts that zeroed in on them as they repeated their vows, cutting out their dads. It wasn't that they were embarrassed to show their fathers, but felt that doing so would possibly be distracting and take the discussion off on a tangent.
When the night of the meeting arrived, they all felt a little nervous. Their moods changed the minute they got into the little theater room and saw that their best buds were right down front to support them.
After a bit of equipment setup and introductions by the sponsor, Miss Hovland, the guys dimmed the lights and ran the short video. They didn't know exactly what to expect. When the lights came back up, they were faced with a big round of applause.
"Thanks!" Rob began. "You have no idea how great it is to have our classmates' support. As you may know, my husband is in college and that little boy in the video is our son. We're supposed to tell you about what marriage means to us. Well, for Blake and me, it means that he is my son's dad as well. We are also having adoption papers drawn up so that he could raise Robbie if something happened to me. It will give us security and stability as a family.
Marriage also means that we can make medical decisions for each other like any married couple can. If one of us is in the hospital, we have visiting rights when only family is allowed in. We hope that Minnesota will soon have same-sex marriage as well. In the mean time, our lawyer is drawing up paper to cover that in case any problems should arise."
"We have similar reasons for wanting to be married," Eric spoke up.
"Yes," Josh agreed. "When Eric was in the hospital this summer with acute appendicitis, it was only because of a gay doctor who understood our relationship that I got to be with him like a spouse would. In many places, I'd have been pushed aside."
"Don't believe it!" Eric laughed. "Josh all but threatened a lawsuit when he didn't think I was going to get treatment quickly enough. He's a real tiger when he's fighting for someone he loves."
"I'm not sure what else to tell you," Josh said. "Eric and I hope to adopt children someday or perhaps have a surrogate mother to carry our babies. We want to have the same kind of family situation that hetro couples can have. We've been involved with Rob and Blake's son and know that's what we want too.
Uh, we're open to questions if you have any."
A number of students asked about details. What was the procedure for getting married in Iowa? How old did you have to be? Did you have to be in the state long enough to be a resident? Some of the answers were rather obvious, but the guys treated each question as seriously as it had been asked.
The discussion lasted longer than anyone had assumed it would. Often the presentation part of the meeting was something that kids endured in order to get to the social part with pizza or whatever treat was provided.
Some of the guys indicated that they were interested in knowing more about the "mechanics" of two males being married. They asked if some kind of counseling sessions could be set up with peer discussion groups led by the guys who were presenting.
Miss Hovland said that she would check with the administration to see if it were possible. She was afraid that there would be a lot of resistance on the part of people who had no students in the school. She knew that outside groups often wanted to impose their ideas of morality on everyone else.
"We teach about the "mechanics" of straight sex, although we don't get into the romantic parts of it. I don't see why we should shy away from discussing same-sex acts, but I'm sure someone will take us to court if we do."
"Maybe we could get an open-minded church to have a retreat," Aaron suggested. "That would keep it away from a state-sponsored institution and still make it available to students whose parents would allow them to participate. Eighteen-year-olds could go without parental consent if they wanted to."
"That's an excellent idea, Aaron!" Ms Hovland exclaimed. "I'd like the club officers to explore that possibility. You might help them with that, if you have any places in mind.
Now if there are no more questions, I see that the pizzas have just arrived and I think we should eat them before they get soggy. How about another round of applause for our guest speakers?"
Several younger guys hung around the two married couples. They seemed to be in awe. It was obvious that they wanted to know more, but were hesitant to ask in a public situation. Josh made a mental note to talk to Dr. Mann about having some kind of retreat where students could feel comfortable to talk to peers about everything. He had a feeling that it might be possible.
- http://www.unclekracker.com/video/smile/
Author's notes: Thanks to Polar for suggesting the song to use. Thanks to all who emailed since last posting: Rutabaga, Chea, Paul R, Jim We, John McD, Karserus, Vann, Carroll, Tom A, Mark H, Jim C, Tim E, Mike (VF), and Peo.
It looks like same-sex marriage is safe in Iowa until at least 2014 because it would take too sessions of the state congress to consider a constitutional amendment to ban it. Hopefully by then, people will see that allowing gays and lesbians to marry hasn't led to the end of Western Civilization. Besides Iowa, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Connecticut allow it. Washington D.C. will join the list March 4th.