Soulmating

|-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-| ~ S O U L M A T I N G ~ |-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-| by reid

||||||||||||||||| || DISCLAIMER || |||||||||||||||||

This story is meant to imply nothing about the sexuality of the real people involved. Anything mentioned from this point on is purely fictional and not meant in any way but the highest regard.

The lyrics used within are not meant to imply anything about the individual preferences, practices, or lifestyle choices any of the musical artists mentioned. The lyrics are not used for any personal monetary profit...

If you have any objections to my writing, then why in the name of Jesus are you reading this? I know some of you might like Hanson but I don't buy the whole "I didn't know it was a GAY STORY!" defense. So shut up and don't send me any more hate mail you stupid, obesessed little Christian girls.

As always.... Comments, Suggestions, and Criticisms can be sent to saboteur_98155@yahoo.com

WARNING!!! My stories contain mature themes and may project images or scenarios that are inappropriate for younger or sensative readers.

I can be reached on ICQ at 70639912... Or on AIM at Reid00005992...

Enjoy!

|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| || Karma- Part 1 || ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

"You're not getting any younger, Reid."

"Yeah," I griped, "Neither are you."

"Well, I'm currently in a relationship."

"How -is- Amy, anyway?"

"She's fine. Real tired."

I stopped to grab two loaves of bread, "Jeez Lori, she's pregnant. Of course she's tired."

Lori nodded and I smiled, genuinely glad for her. She and Amy had been going to the clinic for almost a year, hoping to find out that they would be expecting a child. Since they'd registered to raise a child instead of surrogate birth one, it had been a little tougher to become approved and given the best formulation treatment by the doctors. But they never gave up. I admired that. They had just kept going back, hoping that one day, their number would be approved and they'd be given the 99% possibility treatment. And then finally had. It was a joyous occasion.

Then again, it would be nice if I could find someone. Most everyone I knew had found someone. But I wasn't discouraged. It could have been worse. Hell, I could have been gay. But I knew since a very early age that I wasn't gay. Of course, I didn't have any problem with gay people. They were fine by me. I had to admit that when I saw them kissing and holding hands, it made me feel a little weird but nothing more than that. Being gay was just fine. I just knew that I wasn't gay.

"Reid, could you go get me a half gallon of skim milk?"

"What does she want to put it on now? Sauerkraut?" I smirked.

Very funny," Lori rolled her eyes, "It's corn beef this time. Which reminds me..."

I smiled and nodded and walked towards the dairy case, hearing Lori take off towards the canned goods section. As I walked though the back row of the supermarket, I sighed and thought to myself. I'd been single for quite a while. If you called 20 years quite a while. So many of my friends just jumped right into relationships and devoted themselves, not even thinking about whether the other person is right for them. I never understood how they could just so completely give their hearts and end up hurt over and over and over again. It hurt me because I cared about them.

A little girl who couldn't have been older than three raced by me, chased after by both her parents. I smiled as I watched them catch up to her and playfully scold her for trying to make a break for it. They obviously loved her very much. She looked like them too. The likelihood of both of them being her natural parents was pretty minimal but she still looked like them. She looked like their daughter, which she was. As I walked around the corner to the dairy section, my mind flashed back to an article about children from surrogate homes compared to natural homes. 99% of both graduated college. I found it interesting.

When my eyes hit the dairy case, a wall of white goodness graced my eyes. So many different types, so many different varities. After finally managing to find the skim milk, I had to look over at least five different brand names. I knew that if Amy didn't get the exact right kind, she'd be unable to choke it down. As I looked, the cooling system started but I didn't pay it much mind as I compared brands and prices, trying to figure out which one would be "acceptable" to the tastes of a pregnant woman. With some terrific soul searching, I groaned and pulled out the first bottle I saw and carried it back to where we'd left the cart.

"Is this brand satisfactory?" I asked in a stuffy English accent.

Lori chuckled, "Yes, that's fine. I have to get shampoo."

"Okay. I need oat bran."

Ignoring Lori's comment about my digestive system, I walked idly towards the cereal aisle, not really thinking about anything in particular. That was one of my specialities. Not thinking about anything. I could turn my mind off. Some called it a way to get out of doing work, which I never denied. I called it "going inside myself". It made me smile as I turned the corner and walked down the aisle, looking down to make sure I wasn't running into anyone.

Then I saw him.

He was bending over and pulling out a stack of cardboard boxes filled with granola bars. My knees felt weak and I felt my heart rate increase about twohundredfold as I ducked back behind the corner but kept my eye on him. He was about 15 years old, give or take a few months, he stood about 5'8" and had the most amazing muscular physique I'd ever seen. He was dressed in the white shirt, black pants combo that was the supermarket "uniform" and he had a black work apron on. Not like I was paying attention to his clothes.

All I saw was the thick, tied back mane of blond hair. He had the most beautiful hair I think I'd ever seen on a human being. As if the hair wasn't enough, I finally saw his face as he stood up and rested. Amazing dark eyes... caramel colored... rock solid jaw... lush lips that just begged to be kissed and nibbled all night long. He was unique looking. He didn't look like every other wannabe Gap model that tried to look cooler than shit. There was something special about his looks. He was handsome in a very striking way. It only made me more and more attracted to him. The tastebuds in the back of my tounge ached at the site of him. Whoever he was, he was the most scrumptious person I think I'd ever seen in my entire life.

When I trusted myself to breathe, I walked forward unsteadily and tried not to be too obviously infatuated with him. Fortunately, he had gone back to work and didn't notice as I walked down the aisle and began to attempt to peruse the oat bran boxes. As if cereal mattered at that moment. Out of the corner of my left eye, I could see him look up at me momentarily before going back to work on the other side of the aisle. My cheeks burned and I felt blissfully lightheaded, my stomach fluttering as if it had been filled with butterflies.

Good God, he was gorgeous. His hair... his lips... his whole body... even though he was covered up quite cruelly, I knew... I just knew that he must have been built like white hot sexual muscle. I fought the urge to grunt with an aching appreciation of his entire form. So instead, I did my damndest to look interested in the cereal, trying to redirect my hormones into finding the best oat bran. The best cereal to cleanse my colon. It was hard to do when my lungs felt like they were constricting. Beads of sweat ran down my forehead and I wiped them quickly, hoping that he wasn't watching.

"Need some help?"

Now I heard the voice. For a split second, I didn't comprehend. But then I did... and I nearly fainted. I realized it was him and he was actually -talking- to me. Talking. To me. He was using his voice as a means of communication with me. As if it was even possible, I became even more attracted to him after hearing his voice. It was deep... but not that deep. He had obviously come through puberty but his voice still had that youthful connection to it. How I longed to probe those vocal cords with my tounge... to hear them pillow talk to me and moan my name in ectasy.

I could hardly believe it but I didn't want to seem too preoccupted and I always played it cool pretty well. After taking a deep breath, I spoke, "Nah, I'm all right."

"Cool," He said and went back to his stocking job.

"Yep." I said, and realized that if I didn't talk to him, I could possibly be blowing a chance. But then again, if I talked to him too much, he might get creeped out and then my chance would be blown altogether. A truly agonizing decision to make. But, as it turned out, it was a decision I didn't have to make.

"They're already trying to break my back." He said with a chuckle standing up and stacking the empty warehouse boxes together.

I looked back at him, "Did you just start?"

"Yeah. It's my third day."

After looking back again, I managed to get a good look at his name tag. His name was Zac. My Zac. All mine. Even his name was sexy. It was so unique. It fit him. His name fit him like a glove. Before I could think too much, I realized that he was waiting for me to say something back.

"Did you just move here?"

"Yep," He said, moping the sweat from his brow with his rolled up sleeve, "Just moved here from Tulsa."

"Wow. How come?" I said, and instantly realized how it was so incredibly none of my buisness.

He hesitated, "It's a long story."

"Yeah," I said, backtracking as I grabbed the closest box of oat bran I could find, "I'm sorry. It's your thing."

He nodded and before I could say anything else to embarrass myself, I walked away down the aisle. At the same time, I was cursing myself for scaring him off but still giddy that I'd been able to talk to him. Before I could get too far, I heard him set down the boxes.

"Hey." He said.

I turned around, "Yeah?"

"Do you come here a lot?"

"It's where I go to shop."

He nodded and held the boxes under his arm, "Then I'll probably see you again?"

"Most likely."

He smiled, knocking me for several consecutive loops, "I'm Zac."

I smirked and pointed to his nametag, "I can see that."

After a moment of slight confusement, Zac looked down and smiled again, "I'm still getting used to it."

"I'm Reid."

Then he held out his hand. My stomach fluttered again and I wasn't sure if this wasn't a dream. My God, was I actually being presented with an opportunity to -touch- this kid? It seemed way too good to be true. Without waisting a second, I stuck my hand out and shook his hand. His hand was so warm. It was warm and soft as silk. I also noticed that this Zac kid had an absolute hell of a grip. For the first time, I noticed that his hands were quite big. He had long fingers and smooth, tanned skin.

When his hand squeezed mine, confidently but not over assertively, the muscles in his exposed forearm flexed. It was almost too much. I smiled as calmly as I could and he did the same, and our touch broke. God, how I didn't want it to end. I wanted to feel him close to me forever. At that point, I knew I was in love. Completely in love and it had all been at first sight. Suddenly, my throat felt dry and I needed a drink.

"Well, I'll let you get back to work."

Zac seemed to become aware of the situation, "Oh... yeah. It's always the last hour that's the worst."

"I'll see ya later, Zac."

"Later Reid."

After turning away and walking back down the aisle, I turned and walked towards the checkout line where Lori was waiting. She was dozing off as she leaned over the back of the cart and I didn't blame her. As I walked, I closed my eyes and put my hand to my heart, a warm breath making it's way through me. It was hard for me to believe that this cute, handsome, gorgeous young man actually seemed to like me. He actually, honest-to-God seemed to like me. My tounge felt dry but I didn't care as I smiled and leaned against the card, waking Lori up.

She looked at me, "Are you okay?"

"Hmmm?"

Lori smiled, "You look dreamy."

"I am." I sighed, wistfully letting the box of oat bran drop into the cart.

Lori said something else but I didn't notice. My mind was in the stratosphere. The line eventually worked it's way up and we paid for the groceries, but not once didn't my mind come back down. I kept saying his name... Zac. His name was Zac. He had the most amazing hair I'd ever seen. And he was so handsome. When we walked out of the automatic doors and I felt the sun, it matched my mood. For the first time in a very very long while, I felt sunny inside. As we walked, across the warm parking lot, towards the car, I fought the desire to just spin around. Oh lord it felt good.

Over the course of the next week, I went back to the store about twice. Just my luck, Zac wasn't working on either day and the only time I heard anyone mention him was when two guys were outside the store gushing about him. It made me a little jealous to think that other people had the nerve to notice and appreciate his beauty, but that's how life worked. Part of me was worried that if I waited too long or didn't see him enough, he would think I wasn't interested. Then he'd end up with someone who could never treat him right and then he'd be miserable, which was the last thing I wanted.

From several discreet inquiries, it turned out that Zac worked a staggered schedule where he had Tuesday and Friday off but worked every other day. My own job at the bank usually meant my free days, in which I could go to the grocery store during work hours, were Tuesday and Friday. It wasn't exactly condusive to a budding romance but I was determined to make it work. After some wheedling, I managed to switch my days off for the time being to Monday and Saturday, which worked as well as anything could. As much as I wanted to, however, I was still nervous about talking to Zac again.

The first Monday that I had off of work, I parked outside the supermarket and silently tried to psyche myself up. Using every technique in the book, I did my best to stay cool and calm and not put off a sickening vibe of nervousness. It wasn't exactly working but it wasn't really a bad feeling. My stomach began jumping around just like it had the first time I'd seen him. As I sat there, the temperature inside the car increased with the growing afternoon and I knew it was going to be now or never.

Mentally dictating to myself, I clenched my teeth and rubbed my hands together, rehearsing in my mind what I was going to say. Everything just seemed way too dorky or cliched as a way to talk to him. Zac just seemed so much better than the usual pickup line designed for a quick sexual encounter. I had to have something good. Something intelligent and something that wouldn't insult him and make him feel put on the spot. There was nothing that I hated more than making someone feel uncomfortable. My ultimate fear was that Zac would feel like he had to say yes or had to accommodate me. That was what I -did not- want to do.

Okay Reid, I told myself, it's time to go. Forcing myself out of the car, I stood up and took a deep breath in the hot sun of the parking lot. Even though it was only late morning/early afternoon, lots of pedestrians and bicyclists had begun to fill up the area, making it a little easier for me to move. The amount of people made it feel a little less solitary. When my feet stepped up onto the curb outside the supermarket, I hesitated momentarily before shouting the fear and walking forward. This isn't that hard, I told myself, it just isn't that hard. There wouldn't be marriage if it were impossible.

"Hey!"

I snapped back to the present and saw Zac standing in front of me, "Hi."

"Were you going in?"

"Yeah. I needed..." I paused and searched my brain, "Cigarettes. Marlboros and beer."

Zac smirked and glanced at his watch, "At 11:50 in the morning?"

I winced internally at my stupidity, "You... bet I do."

He smiled, "Really?"

"Hey, why aren't you working?"

"They didn't need me today."

My heart was pounding, "Ahhh... well, that's cool."

We were quiet for a couple seconds before Zac said, "Are you really going to buy cigarettes and beer?"

"Well... I don't -need- them." I conceded.

Zac smiled and it was pretty clear that he knew exactly what was really going on. In the shade of the small store lobby, my blushing couldn't have been too obvious as I searched and tried to come up with some witty way to -not- look like a huge dork. What felt like several hours was probably only about five seconds as I smiled and shook my head, briefly considering an attempt to pass this off as some sleepwalking mishap. But that wouldn't fly. Zac was way too smart to fall for some old television sitcom ploy.

"I have some time before I get picked up." Zac said softly, exaggerating the flirt in his voice.

I felt less nervous, "Well, since I'm not going to get my morning beer and tobacco fix, I'm going to need something else to get me through the day."

"If you let me change, I'm sure I can help you out."

"Sounds good."

Zac smiled again, "Stay right here, okay? Don't go anywhere."

"Okay."

"Promise?"

"Yes, I promise."

He turned and went back into the store, leaving me to catch my breath and try and get a hold of my pounding heart. For the first time, I was able to stand there and actually review what had happened. We were talking. We were talking and we were being companionable. Hell, more than that. We were flirting. My knees felt weak just thinking about his smile. Silently leaning against one of the large windows, I exhaled deeply and wiped the sparse sweat from my brow. Trying to relax a little, I rolled my head around on my neck and relaxed my jaw, floating in a blisfully relaxing state of amazement.

Maybe Zac was the one for me. Everyone I knew talked about it at great length and they all seemed to feel it was their job to encourage me into finding "the one". I always passed it off as waiting for the right person but deep down inside, I was scared of making the wrong decision. Misjudging the biggest decisions in your life is a dangerous thing to do. What if I settled for the wrong oen when my right one was roasting goat over a dung fire in Botswana? It was most definitely the kind of thing that making a rush decision or settling for someone because they're "there" can definitely make the rest of your life miserable.

Maybe it was fate. Maybe I was supposed to meet Zac and then see him today and then we were meant to hang out and fall in love. But then again, maybe we weren't going to fall in love. Maybe as soon as we started talking, we'd find out that we had nothing in common. It would just be a horribly awkward conversation based on the fact that I was attracted to his looks and really had no other support to fall back on. My hands began to shake and I started worrying, wondering how we were going to get along.

Using a trick I'd taught myself in school, I clenched my hands into fists to stop the shaking. Breathing deeply, I calmly told myself to stop worrying for no reason. The kind of vibe that I'd felt with him didn't suggest that it was only about looks. I remembered what I'd felt the first time I'd seen him. That sensation of incredible wonder at someone so incredibly attractive. Beneath all that, it had that feeling of being more than looks. It felt like fate. Like that's how it's supposed to be. Zac and myself... together... in bed...

"You ready?" Zac asked, remerged from the store.

"Yup."

We turned and walked out of the store, and I noticed what he'd changed into. My stomach nearly dropped. He was wearing a light blue, black trimmed tank top, black shorts, and sandals. And the hottest pair of sunglasses I'd ever seen. He could make anything look hot. The outfit was so skimpy that it was almost painfully exciting to see. The tanktop gave me a tantalizing view of his tanned, broad, muscular shoulders that I so badly wanted to just lick and suckle on. The boy was built for hickeys, pretty much. I was almost melting at the sight of him. But, luckily for me, I didn't show it too much and kept my cool as we walked down the sidewalk. He was clearly leading the way and I was happy to allow him the role, wanting very consciously for him to feel comfortable and not feel burdened.

"Ice cream?" He asked, indicating the Baskin Robbins to out right.

"Sounds good to me."

When we reached the glass door of the establishment, Zac opened and held the door for me like a perfect gentlemen. When he couldn't see my face, I made eye contact with another sitting at one of the inside tables and we both recognized my good fortune. As he came inside, I noticed that Zac let the door close with his left hand. He was a southpaw. That made me wonder if he jerked off with his left hand, making me even more lightheaded as I leaned against the splendidly cold ice cream cooler. It also did a top notch job of hiding my growing erection.

Keeping my eyes focused downward, I perused the selection of flavors and tried to keep calm. Zac stood next to me and he seemed much more at ease than I was. Slowly, he tapped on the glass with his finger, trying to decide. Just seeing him do something so... normal drove me insane. He was so perfect. As I lifted up my hand, I saw a large print on the glass made with the sweat from my plam. Hurriedly, I wiped it off and stood up straight, getting myself back in line for the umpteenth time that morning.

"What can I get you?" The girl behind the counter asked.

Zac looked at me and I spoke up in a measured tone, "I'll have white chocolate chip."

"Okay," She said, "And for you?"

"The same." Zac said, looking slightly surprised.

We waited patiently as she made up the ice cream cones, enjoying the air conditioning of the place. Zac slipped out of one of the sandals and idly pawed at the ground with his foot, tracing one of the lines between the tiles. As he did so, I took the moment to just revel in him. His outfit was giving me an almost aching view of his body. He was so muscular... much more so than he'd get from working at the supermarket. He had soccer muscles. Before he could notice my rather shameless ogling, I turned away and bit my lip, taking some relief from looking at the cabinet of ice cream cakes.

Soon enough, the girl behind the counter was finished and when I went to pay, Zac beat me to it and tossed a five dollar bill across the counter. Before then, I don't think anyone had really bought me anything before. It wasn't expensive jewelery, which I didn't really want, but it was nice. It was better than any really expensive gift. It was nice. Very gentlemanly. As Zac nodded towards the small lawn out front, I nodded and as I followed him out the door, I closed my eyes and shook my head. Good god, how the hell did it happen to me?

"It's not a bad job, but I like it."

"How long have you worked there?" Zac asked as he crumpled the paper ring.

"About four months. It's defnitiely not what I want to do."

"Anything where you have to remember that the customer is always right usually sucks beneath it all."

I nodded, smiling and finishing the last of my ice cream. Any possibility of Zac and I not being able to talk had been dashed about ten seconds into our conversation. He was probably the most easy to talk to person I think I'd ever met in my life. Above that he was probably the most intelligent fifteen year old I could ever imagine meeting. The more he and I spoke, the more comfortable we became together. As it turned out, we didn't have everything in common but we had more than enough to make small talk. Which we didn't exactly need in the first place. It just felt like our emotions and feelings and personalities meshed so well.

The one thing Zac didn't seem overly eager to talk about was his family. I didn't press him about it because I knew the discomfort of having to describe a less-than-ideal home life. It didn't really seem like he was all that angry or ashamed. More like he was cautious of how he spoke about them. I couldn't help but wonder why he'd be so pensive about them. But I didn't push it. We stayed with safe topics such as how he liked his job and what sorts of things he did for fun. Soccer was his sport of choice, and although I didn't really like soccer, hearing him talk about it was captivating.

There was such a charm with him. He was so laid back but at the same time, fully aware of himself. His personality was so open and he was so extroverted but still very respectful. It only added to my attraction. He fascinated me. I wanted to talk to him and find out how he felt and who he was deep down inside. What I felt for him as we talked was so real and formed but at the same time, very intangible.

"Do you have any siblings?" I asked.

He looked down, "Yeah, you?"

"Only about five. How many do you have?"

"Six." He smiled, used to shocked reactions.

"That's cool."

Almost immediately, his mood seemed to darken, "Look Reid... I have to tell you something."

"Uh oh," I said, sitting up, "What is it?"

"It's about my family."

Here it comes, I thought.

"What about them?" I asked, bracing myself.

"Before I tell you, I just want you to know that I think you're really cool," He said and my stomach jumped as he continued, "I know that you may have viewpoints and morals and shit like that but this is something I have to tell you because it might be a problem later. I just want you know that I hope you don't get mad and I hope you and I will still be cool."

"Just tell me."

"I have two older brothers." He said and seemed to stall.

"And...?"

"Well... they're both gay."

I wasn't expecting that. It came as a big surprise and I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a bit of weirdness about it. Everyone said that they didn't have a problem with gay people. And I didn't. I was very tolerant of other sexualities and this time I would be no different. But there really wasn't any way I could hide my surprise. I just wasn't expecting it. Zac seemed so... he seemed so normal. I couldn't really understand how something like that could happen. People were born that way, sure, but I'd never known someone who was actually related to a gay person.

"Whoa." I said softly.

Zac looked heartbroken, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Do you want me to leave?"

I snapped out of it, "No! No, I'm cool with. I just... wasn't expecting you to say that."

"I had to tell you because I didn't tell other people in Tulsa and it turned into a huge problem. But you gotta know that I'm not gay. I'm totally straight, Reid. I'm cool with them and I don't really have a problem with it. They're my brothers and I love them but I'm not like that." He said, babbling slightly.

"Shhh... it's okay," I smiled, "It's cool, Zac. It's not a problem with me."

Zac looked like he'd just had a ten-ton weight lifted from his chest, "Okay. That's awesome."

I shook my head slightly, "Wow. Both of 'em?"

Zac nodded, "Yep."

"I thought that only happened in erotic stories," I said, "How old are they?"

"20 and 18."

"Do they have..." I paused, feeling odd saying the word in relation to the male gender, "Girlfriends?"

"Taylor did. He's the 18 year-old one. He was dating this girl in Tulsa on the down low until her dad found out and threatened to... hurt him. His gayness is why we moved here." Zac said, sounding embittered.

"What happened? Or do you not want to talk about it?"

"I usually don't," Zac shrugged and paused, "What happened was the typical gay bashing. He came onto the wrong girl who he thought liked him like that and her girlfriend beat the hell out of him. He ended up in the hospital and my mom decided that she wasn't going to deal with it anymore. So we moved here."

"I see."

"You won't tell anyone?" Zac asked hopefully.

"No. Your secret is safe with me."

"Cool. I'm just tired of it reflecting on me. Like when they came out and everything happened, I was just discovering that boys weren't the enemy, you know? So suddenly, everyone assumed that I liked girls too and I was gay just like them. It gets to be really bothersome and I'm sick of it."

"I understand. A gay guy went to my high school but I didn't see him much."

"You never really think about it until it's a member of your family, you know?" Zac asked, rolling onto his stomach in the grass.

I smirked, "So do they like to interior decorate and sing showtunes?"

Zac laughed and punched me softly in the shoulder, "That's just their stereotype."

I laid down beside him, "I know. I just hope they find peace here."

"If they get as lucky as I have, they will." Zac said softly.

"Huh?" I asked, not sure if I'd heard what I'd just heard.

"Nothing." He said, blushing impressively.

For a few seconds, we laid there on the grass and thought. I felt very honored that Zac would open up to me and feel so comfortable that he would confide a big secret like that. It did add a new dimension to our relationship as I knew that when Zac's brothers either came out or were outed, it would impact heavily upon him. That meant that if I were committed to a relationship with him, I would be there to help him bear the brunt of it. He would need someone to vent to and he would need someone to help him deal with the frustration of trying to prove he wasn't like them.

I would have to help him prove that he wasn't gay. Sort of like a middle class trophy husband... but that was getting ahead of things. We had just had ice cream. Nothing more. We hadn't even had our first real date yet. That is, if he wanted to date me. Maybe he just wanted me as a friend. Good lord, that thought was enough to make me feel nauseous. Maybe he just wanted to be friends. I'd heard that before.

"So we're cool?" Zac asked.

"Yes. We're cool."

Zac nodded as he looked over and waved to someone in the parking lot. He turned back to me and slipped his feet back into his sandals, "Hey, that's my mom. I gotta go."

"Oh okay." I said, standing up with him.

"Can I have your number?" He asked with an melodramatic shyness.

"Sure." I said, feeling a warm rush as I wrote it down on the wrapper and handed it him.

Our hands actually touched for a second and it felt like an eternity. He took it and stuffed it into his pocket, smiling as he did so. Whenever he smiled, I nearly melted. How the hell was I going to handle an actual date if I couldn't even stay three-dimensional when he merely smiled. It was a problem that I was more than willing to deal with. Knowing that he had the ability to contact me if he wanted to gave me a great sense of security.

His mom honked again and Zac looked pained as he turned around and gestured to her. When he turned back, he bit his lower lip for a second and then stepped in close. He stepped in so close that I could feel the body heat from his shoulders against my arms. I could smell his shampoo. He used baby shampoo. I swallowed hard as he smiled and looked down.

"I'm really glad you came to see me today." He said softly.

I smiled, "Me too."

"I'll call you tonight."

For another second, Zac hesitated before throwing his arms around my neck and hugging me tightly. I was stunned before it even occurred to me to hug him back and I did, holding him and I was nearly knocked for a loop by the sensation. His soft, muscular body felt so perfect wrapped in my arms. I squeezed him gently and took in a shallow breath, getting a dose of his scent. It was soap mixed with sweat. More like sweat with a slight hint of soap but I didn't mind in the least. Our embrace only lasted a few seconds but to me, it was more than enough to satisfy my heart for a lifetime. I still didn't want it to end.

"Tonight?" I asked, fighting the urge to kiss his shoulder.

"You got it." He stepped back and put his sunglasses on.

"Promise."

He grinned, "Promise."

Before he turned to leave, Zac leaned in and kissed me on the cheek. My world nearly dissolved into blurry lines of color as I heard Zac say goodbye and walk off towards the car. I stood there, arms at my sides, watching him walk through the parking lot and get in one of the cars. I watched the car leave and I still stood there, realizing just what had happened. As soon as the car was out of sight over one of the hills in the distance, my knees threatened to give way and leave me in a heap on the grass.

Cautiously, I staggered over to one of the steel benches in the shade of the overhang. I sat down and closed my eyes, leaning back against the brick wall and inhaling as deep as I possibly could. Sweat rolled down my temples and I mopped it up, feeling like a feeble old man. Nothing imaginable could do such a thing to me, I thought. There was no way that any living being could make me feel so weak. As I sat there in the shade, on the verge of fainting as I inhaled and exhaled, I realized that it was possible to feel love. I realized that Zac was the one.

I smiled and exhaled again, leaning forward and dropping my head down. There was no way this had happened. This was some dream where I'd wake up and be alone. But I didn't wake up. In the back of my mind, I knew that it was real. There really wasn't any way it couldn't be real. My dreams were never so good. All my life, I'd been dreaming but there... on a sweltering day... in a normal supermarket... my life became better than my dreams.

"Where have you been?"

"Huh?"

"Reid, you've been gone all day. Why didn't you call?"

I sighed, "Amy... matters of the heart can't adhere to your rules."

She shook her head, "I was worried sick. You should have called."

"I'm a big boy," I said as I fell into onto the overstuffed sofa next to her, "I can handle the world."

"I guess so."

"Where's Lori?" I asked.

"She agreed to work overtime."

I smiled and settled back into the couch, "She wants plenty of time to be here when the baby comes."

"She'd better," Amy looked at me for a moment before turning back to her knitting, "So what are these 'matters of the heart'?"

I smiled and blushed a bit and looked at the TV, trying to figure out the most suitable way to describe all my feelings. The wheels in my brain cranked around as they searched for a proper description of the intense emotional glee I was feeling. It's not like words came easily to describe where I'd been thrust into in only the space of a week. My whole life had changed. I know felt like there was actually something worth sticking around to experience for more than a few more months. I had quite possibly found the love of my life. But it was so much more than those things.

I traced my finger over one of the patterns in the worn upholstery, "I found him."

Amy smiled, "-The- him? The one you've been holding out for?"

"I think so. It's too soon to tell but... I feel it." I struggled for the right words.

"I know what you mean. You feel like it's fate."

She knew what I meant. It was a great feeling. I was grateful that she knew what I was trying to describe. She always did. She was like the mother that I had been cheated out of at birth. She and Lori played that role very well for me. Amy had told me that doing so was giving them practice for their own child who would be on the way very soon. Sometimes when I watched them, I felt a little intrusive but they'd assured me that I was going to be "Uncle Reid". And, truth be told, it didn't sound too bad at all. Having a little living being that depended on you and making sure they knew you wouldn't let them down.

"He's going to call me tonight... hopefully."

Amy smiled and continued her knitting, "If he doesn't, it's his loss."

I leaned forward and rested my elbows on my knees, "I know. But I hope he calls."

"So tell me about... him." She said in a meddlesome voice.

"His name is Zac. Blond hair, blue eyes, tanned... and amazing."

"Sounds like he's in a boy band."

"He's not like that. He's so much more... unique. Unique and special. He's not like all these other bony, boylover attracting, anorexic, thickheaded, teen idol wannabes. He's unique. Like he's the kind of guy that you aren't gonna find everyday. He's more House of Blues than Hard Rock Café," I paused and flinched at my own truisticness, "Forget I said that."

"It's okay. I know what you mean. He's idiosyncratic."

I rubbed my eyes, "I'll trust you on the meaning of that."

"Good," Amy said, "The baby kicked today."

"Awww... he's just about ready to bless us with the miracle of birth."

"Good. I'm just about ready to not be pregnant anymore." She said with an edge of seriousness.

I chuckled and got up, walking into the small kitchen and opening the fridge. At that point, it occurred to me that the situation of living with a very pregnant woman coupled with my other use for the supermarket, I hadn't gone grocery shopping. We were completely and totally out of food. Other than the stockpiled jars of baby feed, that is. Cartons of formula and tiny jars of assorted strained and mashed food were available for residents under the age two years. Wearily, I stood up and sighed, realizing that one of us would have to go out and get food if we were going to survive for the next few weeks.

My feet scraped on the polished oak of the floorboards as I trudged back into the living room and draped myself over the back of one of the easy chairs. Amy didn't immediately notice me as she continued knitting. Silently, I scolded myself for not remembering to take care of that one responsibility. The one responsibility that I would have to go back out after an already exhausting day to take care of. But... I couldn't go out. What if Zac called and I wasn't there? He might think that I was just playing some colossal trick on him and trying to play with his emotions.

"Are you okay?" Amy asked, seeing me for the first time.

"We ain't got food." I mumbled.

"Oh," She paused, "I thought you were going shopping today."

"I'd planned to... but stuff happened."

Before she could say anything else, the door opened and Lori walked in, still clad in her work clothes. At times like that, I really respected her. She had just worked a sixteen hour day. A sixteen hour day working with nut cases and runaway teens. Most of whom would have rather pulled a gun or a knife than so much as look at her. I leaned up and smiled as she kissed Amy and they had their little mommy moment together with their expected child. When Lori walked into the kitchen, I heard her open the fridge and I grimaced, bracing myself...

"Reid! What the hell?!" She said. Loudly.

"I forgot, Lori."

"Obviously," She sat down on the loveseat, "How long were you out today?"

"Long enough to ensure our starvation." I said with a hint of venom.

"Okay, you guys. It's not a big deal." Amy said.

"I can't go out again tonight. I'm expecting a call." I said, trying to sound reasonable.

"I just worked sixteen hours. With no lunch break." Lori sobbed, taking the clip out of her hair.

Amy had had enough, "Why don't we just order pizza tonight and then Reid can go after work?"

"Why do I have to do the shopping after work?" I whined.

"Because you're the one who didn't do the shopping when you had the chance today." Lori said as she sat sown next to Amy.

I knew I was beaten, "Okay, fine."

With every moment that passed later that evening, I became more and more worried that Zac wasn't going to call. I don't really know why I was so worried. Everything we had talked about earlier that day had just seemed so incredibly cool. We had gotten along so well. Everytime he entered my mind, my stomach felt the butterlies flying around again. Something wouldn't let my mind stop thinking about him.

My fingers could still feel his hand as he took the paper from me... they could still feel the warmth of his touch and my shoulders could still feel the muscule in his arms as he hugged me. My cheek could still feel his lips when they kissed me gently, touching me for a few fleeting seconds. As I stood ironing my shirt for work, it was the first time that the realness of what he did hit me. Zac had kissed me. He had touched my person with his lips. His luscious, plump, pouty lips that I wanted to feel on mine so badly that it made me shiver.

Something about the boldness of what he had done was very... sexy. It was very alluring and it made me wonder in what other ways he could be so bold and foreword. It made me worry just a bit but deep down, I hoped that he would show me. I wanted him to show me everything about himself. For the first time, I think I truly wanted to completely and totally -know- someone and have them know me. A very odd feeling indeed. Even a little bit scary. But it was also a very welcome sensation that I'd sort of given up on over the years but now here it was. Seeming so real and available.

When the phone rang, my heart nearly flew into my throat. My hands began to shake and I set down the iron, not wanting to burn myself or do some pretty major upholstery damage. I heard Lori answer it in the kitchen and from what she said, I knew it was for me. Silently closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and calmed myself down as best I could. What the hell was it about Zac that he could do this to me... what power did he have... my mind raced. I steadied myself and unplugged the iron, making sure that nothing could possibly interrupt me.

"It's for you," Lori said, handing me the small black cordless phone, "He sounds really cute."

"Thanks," I said and took a second to secure myself. Here we go, Reid. Cool, calm, and collected, "Hello?"

"Hey sexy." A breathy voice said on the other end, making my knees weak.

"Ooooh... Grandma. Are you wearing your pink Depends tonight?"

"Ewww," Zac giggled, "What's up?"

"Oh not much. Just sittin' around." I said, lying through my teeth.

"You mean... you weren't waiting frantically for my call?" Zac whimpered.

"You wish." I said and hoped God would forgive my blatant ignoring of the truth.

"Oh... well, gee..."

"Awww... you're special."

"I know. Seriously, I would have called earlier but my brothers were on the phone with their... you know."

"Yeah, I do." I said and I still felt weirdly odd about it.

"Little Zac has to wait to use the phone. I was ready to go kung fu badass up in here." Zac said.

I smiled, "I'm glad you called."

"Medical science hasn't proven my mental retardation and/or stupidity. Nor have I been replaced with some bizarre pod person replica of myself. Those are the only things that would interfere with me calling you. Besides, it's always proper manners to call after the first date."

"Was today a date?"

"Hey, we ate together and it ended with a kiss. I'd call that a date."

"Makes sense," I felt lightheaded from his incredible charm, "I'm going grocery shopping tommorow."

Zac suddenly sounded excited, "What time?"

"I get off work at 3:30. I'll probably go straight there."

"Promise to say hi?"

I blushed, "Of course."

Zac was silent for a few seconds, "Reid... you're gonna make me do it, huh?"

I had no clue what he meant, "What do I mean?"

"Mr. Cameron," He sighed, "Will you do me the honor of having dinner in my company this weekend?"

I had to sit down, "That would be great."

The other end of the line was quiet and it sounded like some soft rustling was going on. Immediately, I was concerned and wondered what had happened so suddenly to make Zac quiet. Just as my heart began to speed up, I heard Zac grunt and shift something around on his lap. Something told me everything was fine. I sat back on the couch and began to breathe normally again, waiting for him to return.

"You still there?" He asked.

"Yeah, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. My little sister was trying to substitute my nose for her pacifier."

"Awww... that's cute."

"More than a little startling, however."

"So... we're confirmed for this weekend?" I asked shyly.

"Yeah... yeah, we are! Awesome. You really want to go out with me?" He sounded so thrilled.

"Yes, I do." I was a little taken aback by his glee.

"Wow... cool. Awesome!"

"I'm not worth getting -that- excited over, Zac."

"Sure you are," He said, making me blush even more, "You're going to be my first real honest to God date. Wow... I'm already excited."

"I can tell."

He slowed down a bit, "Since I asked you out, that means I get to pay, huh?"

"You don't have to."

And then he perked right back up, "Sure I do! It's the rules."

"Hey... that's cool."

"Sweet. That was why I wanted to call," He paused and then sounded embarrassed, "I was kinda worried that you wouldn't want to go out with me. I guess I thought you already had someone."

"I'm working on that as we speak."

He paused again, "Will you marry me?"

-That- sent a jolt straight to my heart, "Awww... well, maybe."

Zac sighed softly, "Do you promise to come see me tommorow?"

"Sure. Do you promise not to pretend you don't know me?"

"Only the pod person would do that."

"I'll trust you on it."

"Cool. Hey, I have to go to bed. You promise about tommorow?"

"I promise, Zac." I said, noting how big he was on promises.

"Okay cool," He paused again, "I don't wanna hang up."

"Zac... I'll come see you tommorow. Don't worry."

He sounded relieved, "Okay. See ya tommorow, Reid."

"Bye Zac."

"Later."

My thumb pressed the talk button and the small green light went off. The room was silent and I sat there, listening to my own slightly rushed breathing and waiting for the thumping in my chest to dissipate. I felt sweat rolling down my temple and I reached up, my hand shaking just barely, and wiped it away. We were going out on a date. A real date. Zac and I were going to go have dinner... at a real restaurant. That was too much. This goofy, rough-around-the-edges kid was going to take me to a real restaurant and we were going to eat a well made meal. I could hardly believe it myself.

"Wow." I was honestly speechless.

"Okay... Reid... I don't normally dress like this."

"I'm not expecting you to. Just... wow."

Zac blushed as he pulled back his still wet hair, securing behind his head in a tight ponytail. As we walked out to my car, I couldn't keep my eyes off him. He was wearing a white button down shirt, gray pants, and boots. Not all that glamorous but on him, it looked incredible. It was the most formal I could ever imagine seeing him. For a kid who I'd only seen wear baggy pants and retro t-shirts, it was a serious leap in style. Nearly impossible for me not to drool over.

"Cut it out." Zac said as he got into the car.

"I can't help it," I said, settling in behind the wheel, "You look... amazing."

"Well, enjoy it. This is about as vogue as I'm able to look."

I smiled and turned back to the road, more to get my bearings straight and not crash us before we actually got to the restaurant. Apparently this was a pretty nice place that Zac had been to very recently. His mom had recommended it and call me crazy, but she seemed to like me. So did his brothers. They were really nice guys. When I met them and we talked for a little bit, I almost found myself forgetting their "alternative lifestyle". As we talked, something in me began to think that maybe it really was something that people were born with. Maybe they didn't choose to be gay. They could very well have been born with the desire to be with girls... but that didn't make it much easier for me to understand.

In a kind of horrible way, it made me appreciate Zac that much more. There was pretty obviously no danger of him jumping to the other team. From meeting his family... and there was a lot of family to meet... they seemed very tight. Zac obviously loved them very much, especially his youngest brother who looked so much like him it was scary. Even though no one actually said it, there was a tension concerning the little boy because no matter if the odds said it was likely he'd be straight, two of his big brothers were gay and it was a very understandable reaction. I could tell it was more a worry that he would be tormented of because of it... like all three of his older brothers. Two for being gay, one by assosciation.

"Turn here." Zac said, still messing with his hair.

I did as I was told and took a right, noticing the growing darkness. It was a very warm summer night. Very pleasant. Perfect date weather. After a few more blocks of driving, Zac indicated the turn into the parking lot. The building was rather small and stationed in a part of town that was older. It had been around much longer than other neighborhoods. I always liked those kinds of places. The ones where you could find buisnesses and marquees that had been around since before 1980. Places were there wouldn't be a mini-mart or car audio store insight.

With the car parked and locked securely, we walked through the almost empty parking lot and up to the front of the eatery. Just as he had done at the ice cream parlor, Zac held the door open and beckoned me inside. As I stepped in, the warm smell immediately made me hungry. It was a pleasant scent of garlic and baking cheese. At first, I couldn't see anyone but soon enough, a waiter came and we were shown to a small semi-circle booth against the wall. The seat was just small enough that Zac was able to sit next to me without looking too obvious in his intentions. Not like I was going to push him away.

"Smells good." I said, opening the menu.

"Oh... that's me," Zac said as he followed suit, "I gotta start washing below the belt more often."

I made a sour face and shook my head as Zac giggled and took great pleasure in his humor. My eyes scanned the menu and it was the standard fare. Always a fan of Italian food, I knew that there would be no trouble finding something to please my palate. Under the table, I felt Zac's foot bump against mine and he didn't move it away. Instead, he gently rubbed it up to my ankle and smiled before moving it away finally, blushing a little. I guess it wasn't going to be all on my shoulders to do the flirting.

"I'm gonna have pizza." Zac said, setting the menu down.

"Wanna share?"

"Hmmm..." He said as he squinted and stroked his chin, "Just promise not to drool on any of it, Reid."

"I can handle that."

He leaned in whispered, "We gotta save the drool for our next date."

I blushed. Quite deeply. Zac's personality was like some weird force of nature that was impossible to resist and futile to even attempt to understand. He was like some odd mix of maturity and childhood that meshed in a way that I'd never seen before. I doubt anybody could ever even imagine that kind of a mix. It was the kind of personality that so many people tried in vain to cultivate but their inherant vapidness was impossible to overcome.

I sat there, blushing. He had made me blush. It wasn't just his unabashedness. It wasn't just the fact that he made my stomach feel all warm and gooey and fuzzy. It was because he directed at me. He wanted me to hear the genuine underline beneath it. He was asking me for companionship. Asking me for my company. Making me blush did that. And did I ever blush right then and there. Something very extra sensory told me that it wouldn't be the last time he would make me do so that night.

"Wow... we ate that much?"

"I don't know about me. You sure pigged out." I said, sitting back in the booth.

"I know. I'm gonna regret it at about 3:00am."

I didn't want to know what exactly was going to happen to make him regret it. It didn't really matter because, knowing Zac, it was pretty obvious what he meant. As bad as it sounded, if he did get a serious case of constipation, he deserved it. But that didn't take away from an impressive dining display in which he'd eaten nearly half the large pizza we'd ordered. Half a pizza and several slices of garlic bread. All I could do was sit there and eat and try not to have my hand biten off as a result of a mistimed reach for food. I did pretty well. I trusted Zac. He was pretty tame for a wild animal.

As we sat recovering from the large meal, the waitor brought by the check and when Zac opened it, he did a good impression of being shot in the heart with an arrow. When I tried to look at the check, he acted horrified and refused to let me see it. Apparently, he thought that it wouldn't be good date manners to allow me to see how much he was going to pay. From the way he spoke about it, it seemed like he was paying a lot. Or at least he was paying a lot of money compared to the money he actually had available. He was such a typical guy but I didn't really mind.

While the waiter was getting Zac's change, we sat there. For the first time really since we met, there was an almost awkward silence between us. I watched Zac idly push around an empty sugar packet on the table cloth, preoccupied with something I couldn't readily imagine. Under the table, his foot tapped softly against the worn marble floor, only making his weird onrush of silence only more apparent. I wasn't really too sure what to say about it. There really wasn't any way to know how he was feeling until he actually told me but not knowing only made me more eager to help.

"You okay?" I asked, putting my arm around his shoulders.

He nodded, "Yeah."

"Wanna go someplace and talk?"

Zac smiled and looked at me, "Yes, I do."

I gently squeezed him with my arm and he playfully poked me with his elbow, taking some of the edge of the mood. A few seconds later, the waiter came back and gave Zac his change. Silently, I took note of Zac leaving quite a large tip before standing up and stretching. As we walked out of the restaurant and Zac held the door open, I felt a soft pressure on the small of of my back and looked over my shoulder to see Zac gently guiding me through the door. It was small things like that which really made things seem special. For so long, I'd never really thought about being with a gentleman. Zac wasn't exactly the flawless model for a gentleman but he had his own ways of showing it.

Instead of getting in the car, Zac and I walked down the sidewalk in the growing dusk. The air was warm and nice, and from somewhere, I could smell a flower garden. My right hand felt an odd twitch as we walked, and out of the corner of my eye, I could see Zac. He had pulled the band out of his hair and let his long strands fall down around his shoulders. He was so amazing. My hand flinched again and I badly wanted to slip my hand into his, and feel him hold it. As my hand tried to drift over, something held it back. Something just couldn't let that happen. It was very irritating.

Pushing my annoyance down, we turned into a small park. The evening was pretty quiet and the streets were nearly empty, affording us a great deal of privacy. I think Zac and I both knew how to really appreciate having the opportunity to not worry about being walked in on. We walked through the small greenery of the park and sat down on one of the classic "olde English" style benches, and I was surprised with how comfortable it was.

Zac sighed and rubbed his stomach, yawning and looking up at the sky, admiring the clear night overhead. I rubbed my hands together and took a deep breath, beginning to realize that this was the moment. It kind of made me feel odd because the moment was so cloying and too "perfect" that it didn't seem right. A warm breeze hit us and it made things seem even more sickly sweet. What was supposed to happen was pretty obvious. I was supposed to kiss him. Under the stars in the warm summer night. But something wouldn't let me. I stole a glance at Zac and he was still looking up, lost in the stars.

What in the hell was I supposed to say? My mind cycled through all my options and there weren't many. I shifted on the bench and felt the meal I'd just eaten begin to churn in my stomach. Wiping my plams on the arm of the bench, I took another deep breath and closed my eyes, praying for some kind of other worldly assistance. This wasn't the kind of thing that I could do on my own and I knew it full well. Just as I was about to open my mouth, Zac spoke.

"Do you think our lives really are decided by the stars?" He asked, staring up into the sky.

I leaned back next to him and looked up, relieved to no end, "I don't know. Possibly."

"Do you think things happen for a reason?"

"I think most things happen for a reason. The really important things, at least."

Zac nodded, "Like fate?"

"Ummm... yeah. Maybe fate."

He didn't say anything as he continued to look up at the sky. It was such a clear night and the stars were shining brightly, looking vast and infinite above us. Zac chewed his lower lip idly and tapped on the arm of the bench, evaluating our current situation. Slowly, I gently draped my arm across his shoulders and held him tentatively. At the first contact, he smiled at me and snuggled against me, fitting perfectly against my side. My heart sped up momentarily but relaxed. Zac's presence was very calming. As he nestled into me, my nostrils picked up the sweet scent of his clean air and it nearly made me lightheaded.

Zac stretched his legs out and crossed them, chilling out and enjoying the incredibly pleasant night. My arm constricted around his shoulder, feeling the warmth of his body. Under the sheer fabric of his shirt, his skin was warm and soft. The muscles in his shoulders rested against my arm, completely slack in my presence. Just knowing that he felt that comfortable with me sent a warm vibe of gratification through my body. Something about Zac made me feel needed. Like he needed and wanted me to be with him.

We sat for a few more minutes, not saying anything and just being together. Zac let his head rest back against my chest as he looked back, the starlight reflecting off his eyes. As I looked at him, my lips began to feel an odd buzzing. They felt like they were being pulled to him. Zac noticed and smiled slightly, turning his head just enough so that he faced me, and he cocked his head to the side as my lips moved in closer. Stray wisps of his hair tickled my cheeks as I came forward, the heat from his skin hitting my lips and on my chin. I could smell the soap he'd used.

Time felt like it had frozen when our lips touched. An electic shock of pleasure hit me from my toes all the way on up as Zac kissed me, firmly at first then and a little gentler the second time. His lips were so warm and soft. They felt like specially spun silk as they came into contact with my lips. They felt so perfect. So plump and full. A familiar quaking sensation resonated in the put of my stomach and I whimpered softly, the newfound pleasure of his lips against mine shaking me to the bone. The kiss only lasted for a few seconds but it felt like an eternity. Being in close contact with Zac had a way of making time slow down.

I pulled back a bit and held my face there, only a milimeter away from his. Zac smiled and his cheek brushed against mine, the dimple in his chin showing as he smirked. The only thing I could really hear was his soft breathing and my own heartbeat as it pounded off the inside of my head. I leaned back and gently ran my fingers through his hair, watching with an adoring satisfaction as Zac blushed and took a long breath. Our kiss had affected him. Greatly.

"How was it?" I asked, cupping his cheek with my hand.

"Words can't describe." He said softly, turning his head and kissing my hand.

I smiled, "Cool."

There we stood.

The last time I remembered looking at my watch, it had been almost 11pm but I don't think Zac particularly cared. I sure knew that I didn't. After pulling ourselves away from the park bench and driving back to his house, Zac had practically led me by the hand to his front porch. A few moments of silence ensued as Zac stood there, smiling with half his mouth and tapping his fingers on the white oak door frame. There really wasn't anything that I knew should be said. Flying blind. No prior experience, really. Zac didn't have any either, which made it all the more blisfully difficult.

Not wanting to seem like the obnoxious guest who wouldn't leave, I considered turning and walking away. But that would be even worse. It would be leaving things hanging. What had happened was so special that I just couldn't leave it. Again, what was only a few seconds seemed like years. Zac stopped tapping on the doorframe and began to fool with one of the buttons on his shirt, idly rolling it between his thumb and forefinger. If he only knew how much it drove me crazy... the images... the images of what he could be rolling between his fingers instead...

"I had a lot of fun tonight, Reid." Zac said, breaking the silence.

I nodded and felt a bit lightheaded, "So did I. I think it was a good second date."

He smiled and looked at me, brushing a strand of hair away from his eyes, "I never thought I'd kiss a guy on the first date. You better feel really damn special."

"I do, Zac."

There was that silence again. Zac and I stood there, bathed in the soft yellow glow of the porch light, overcome by a very inconvenient bashfulness. We both knew that the moment would have to end but really, neither of us wanted to. Zac's entire being told me that he wanted to stay in that moment forever. His body language was so relaxed yet very alert, ready for anything. It dawned on me that he needed me to know what to do. Zac needed me to be the mature one and find a way to end the moment.

After that, a fear dawned on me. More of a panic. How was I going to do it? How could I end this beautiful, perfect moment without scarring him? This had been his first real date... and his first real kiss. How the hell was I going to do this with a maximum of tact and a minimum of mistake. My mind raced and I went over whatever paltry options existed in my head. There sure weren't that many. I swallowed and inahled slowly, making up my mind.

"Reid," Zac said softly, "You okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine."

I took a deep breath and straightened myself, ready to go.

"I'll see you very soon, Mr. Hanson." I said plainly, offering him my hand.

Zac grinned and blushed a little, bending over and giggling softly. Then he straightened up and looked at me with the same overdone maturity, nodding and accepting my hand. When his warm, soft palm pressed into mine, it nearly melted me. His strong grip... the same grip I'd felt the first day we had met. Showing his charming sense of humor, Zac turned the handshake into a mildly complicated serious of hand-grips before releasing me. I smiled and shook my head, turning to walk down the front steps of the porch.

"Hey Reid?"

"Yeah?" I turned around.

As soon as I turned back to him, Zac stepped forward. My ears picked up the sound of the boards on the porch creaking as Zac ran his fingers through my hair and pulled my face to his. Our lips converged again and the blood rushing through them seemed to flow together. A whimper escaped my throat again and my legs quivered, nearly falling off the steps. Zac held me strong and his lips began to part, filling me with a hot rush as I knew what was coming.

His wet tounge slid between my lips and touched the roof of my mouth, sending chills up and down my spine. I exhaled heavily as Zac's tounge licked the roof of my mouth in several long swipes, tickling my tonsils and grazing the back of my throat. My toes curled inside my shoes, and my eyes shut tightly as I tried not to lose it. Zac continued to transer a nice gallon or so of his saliva into my mouth, the long slickness of his tounge feeling almost extraterrestrial. Like something out of Alien or Species but I knew that this pink creature from outer space wouldn't hurt me.

Zac kept his grip on the back of my head for several more seconds, sloshing his tounge around and I could tell he was enjoying it maybe more so than me. With a slurp, his lips released me and my drool-coated lips felt a rush of heat. After a moment of steadying, I shook my head and blinked my eyes, still more than a little knocked for a loop by what had just happened. Zac stepped back on the porch and wiped his mouth before smiling.

"Call me?" He asked, still breathing heavily and in the light of the porch, sweat glistened on his forehead.

"Uh huh." I nodded, taking a moment to collect my brain before answering.

Zac smiled, "Cool. Drive safe."

Another moment before I could answer, "Oh... I will."

He giggled, "Bye Reid."

"Bye Zac." I said and turned to walk to my car.

As my feet shuffled down the front walk, my mind began to wrap itself around what had just happened. We had kissed. The first kiss had been gentle and loving and the second had been... deep and wet and sloppy. Suddenly, I realized that my lips were still soaked with Zac's spit and I wiped it off, registering the taste of his tounge and mouth in my own oral cavity. As it dawned on me, I began trying to convince myself that it hadn't happened. There was no way that we had just French kissed on our first real date. But then again, it wasn't too surprising considering how impetuous Zac seemed to be.

A great warmth swelled in my chest and I inhaled the warm night air, smiling and leaning against the driver's side door of my car. My hands shook a little and I fought with the temptation to let out a triumphant call of happiness. For the first real time, I noticed the world around me. How the night was so warm and pleasant... how amazingly beatiful the starry sky was... just how wonderful everything seemed. As I got into my car and blissfully started the engine, I thought back to all the sappy, dorky love songs that I had heard in my life. Something weird happened.

They started to make sense. All the sugary sweet ballads about "the one true love" really began to seem plausible to me. They actually sounded like something I could relate to. Everything about them that I had once made fun of now really, honest-to-God sounded true. The car shuffled into motion and I still had enough of my wits to operate a motor vehicle, driving carefully but still thinking about Zac. Wondering what in God's name he had done to me.

"Clunk." Zac said softly as the door shut.

He was on cloud nine. No two ways about it. He wandered through the foyer of the house, humming a tuneless melody and difting like the wind. The taste of Reid still hung in his mouth and he rolled his tounge around, delighting in the essence. His head swayed from side to side as he idly wandered towards the stairway, fully intending on taking care of some very personal, very pleasurable buisness. Before the date, Zac had considered taking after There's Something About Mary and yanking himself to a quick squirt but then the paranoia of spooging his ear had made him think better. But now... he wouldn't have to worry about it. He could coat himself if he wanted. Just the thought brought a smile to his face and a tingling in his loins.

Zac fell back against the wall in the dimly lit hall, smiling and pursing his lips, reliving the amazement that had hit him just a few minutes before. His heart sped up at the mere thought and he fought with the reckless urge to fondle himself through his uncharacteristically clean and dressy pants. It would be a long ass time before he ever wore them again, he could promise himself that. There was something scary about how he had been so willing to dress up... at least compared to his other clothes. His parents and siblings were so shocked and they wondered what kind of person could make their raggedy Zac doll himself up.

They wondered until they met... Reid. Once they met... Reid... they knew exactly what kind of person could cause such a drastic change in personal wardrobe habits. Oh, how they loved... Reid. Crap, just the name was enough to make Zac shiver. His body slid down the wall like a noodle and he leaned back, legs sprawled out as he closed his eyes and played back the date in his imagination. The meal... the footsie under the table... the multiple kisses... the slobberificness... There was the damn tingling again.

Zac giggled at the sensation. He was doing a lot of that lately. Everything just seemed so... cool. Life had gone from being dark and shitty and full of crappy-ass people to being bright and happy and full of joy. When his mom had said that they were moving, Zac had been torn apart at first. Sure, Tulsa had turned their collective back on his family because "alternative lifestyles don't play in the bible belt", but it was home. It was the only real home Zac had known. Seattle had always been some rainy city that grunge bands came from and got mentioned on TV when a sitcom needed a netural sounding city to have a main character move to or from. But shit... Charles In Charge hadn't mentioned that Reid was living there, that's for damn sure.

"Well well well... look at Mr. Romance." A voice said from above.

Zac's gaze drifted up and he saw Taylor standing there, "Huh?"

Tay smiled, "Good date?"

Zac needed a few seconds to register, "Yeah... it was tres stimulating."

"Was he a gentleman?"

"Yes, he was." Zac said softly.

"Were you?"

Zac blushed, "What do you think?"

"I think you kissed him and scarred him for life."

"Bingo."

Tay simply shook his head at his impetuous little brother and went into the kitchen. Zac smiled and closed his eyes, the mere mention out loud of him kissing Reid was enough to send little shivers up and down his spine. And the shivers went from his spine down to Little Zac, who responded with more tingling and then began to do his familiar little wave to his daddy's chin. An excited, warm stirring began in Zac's stomach and he smiled. For a very brief, very fleeting second, Zac saw himself settling down on the couch naked and whacking off in plain sight... but that would be playing with fire.

Instead of risking a nutbusting orgasm with the danger of neverending embarassment... or was it embare-ass-ment... either way, Zac hauled himself up and walked quickly. Taking the steps two at a time, he went as quietly as he could as to not wake anyone up and invite a lecture. The upstairs hallway was quiet and dark, allowing Zac to slink along with no noise save for the soft creaking of the floor boards. In the darkness, his slightly moist hand felt the cold metal of his doorknob and he smiled, feeling the tingling in his crotch turn into a very hard erection.

As soon as he was safe behind his locked bedroom door, Zac shivered at the pleasant cool temperature. Zac applauded himself for having the good sense to leave his window open and let the fresh air circulate while he'd been gone for the evening. Thank God he'd remembered the mesh bug guard because the mere notion of another mosquito bite under his foreskin was enough to warrant a few scratches just for personal comfort. At least the mosquito had good taste.

Working quickly, Zac walked over to his unmade bed... well, his unmade matress on the floor until a bed frame could be afforded... and turned on the small Garfield lamp. Then he turned the face towards the wall. Garfield didn't need to see this. Zac giggled again as he pulled off his boots and wormy black dress socks, pleasantly surprised at how well his Mr. Scholls foot powder had worked.

Off came the watch, not out of any malice but fueled by the desire to /not/ scrape or scratch the tender skin of his dick. We can't have any damage being done, Zac thought as he moved down to his feet, struggling slightly with the socks, his hands shaking with pre-masturbation excitement. As the socks came off, his hard dick rubbed against the tight fabric of the pants, sending a tingle through his groin. This was going to be a big one. Oooh yeah, Zac thought to himself, you're gonna hit the ceiling. The thought of such an ejaculation was enough to make Zac's hard and impatient dick throb painfully against his boxers, signaling that it was time to get the show on the road.

As he laid back on the bed, Zac grimaced at the mixture of pleasure and pain that shot down his shaft as his dick strained against his clothes. Cooing softly, he stretched out and lovingly rubbed the shaft through his pants, apologizing earnestly for getting it so worked up and making it wait so long. Not wasting any more time, Zac quickly unbuttoned his white shirt and spread it open, admiring the sight of his torso, covered by a tight fitting white undershirt, watching it move up and down with his excited breath. With a trembling hand, he ran his fingetips over the soft fabric, feeling the warm skin hidden underneath.

Gently feeling his stomach, he frowned and thought to himself. Tay and Ike sometimes joked about his "chunkiness". Of course, he was a damned whale compared to them but he wasn't fat. One of the guys at work had called him "Plumpy" but he didn't get it. Besides, there was just more of him for... Reid... to snuggle with and cuddle and nibble playfully... under the covers... His thoughts deteriorated from the outside world in a warm gush of horniness as Zac's eyes rolled and he gasped for breath, feeling himself overcome by the need in his groin.

His tounge snaked out quickly and he licked some of the sweat from his upper lip, tasting it's saltiness and enjoying it greatly. Underneath the stretched white cotton of his tanktop, Zac tweaked his stiffening nipples, tugging them and making them stand up, stiff and hard like little brown sexual lightning rods. After a few pinches, he groaned softly and clenched his eyes shut, breathing deeply and reminding himself that too much of that would result in an explosively premature orgasm. When Zac opened his eyes, he looked himself over, impressed at the sight of his hard dick inside his pants and the little droplets of sweat standing out against his tanned skin. He felt a bit of pride as he watched his large chest expand. It's true, he thought to himself, you are one foxy bitch.

After some giggling at his own dirty mouth, Zac smiled and undid his belt, pulling it off with a sexually motivated flair. It was soon forgotten as it fell of the matress and Zac hurriedly kicked his pants down and off, exposing his long, overheated legs to the cool night air. Who knew that Dockers could be so damn suffocating? Zac shivered as goosebumps began to stand up on his legs but paying them no mind as he resisted the nearly overpowering urge to grab his dick. You gotta cool down, he thought, we gotta savor this... calm down... breathe deeply... and calm down.

With his hands steadied, Zac hooked his thumbs in the waistband of his boxers and pulled them down, moaning involuntatily as his hard dick bobbed up and slapped softly against his stomach. The mere sensation nearly pushed him over the edge as he rededicated himself, slowly pulling the tank top up and over his head and tossing it off to the side. Zac curled his lips into an circle and let out a long hissing breath, digging his damp buttocks into the mattress and squaring his broad shoulders against the sheets. As his sexual energy increased, Zac felt his low hanging, heat loosened balls pull up slightly and swell against his thighs, ready and willing for whatever five fingered pleasure that was in their future. And the future was now, he thought as his hand came closer... and closer...

"Ooooooh yes..." Zac groaned deeply as the long fingers of his left hand wrapped around his shaft one by one.

For the first time since he'd focused in, Zac caught the first whiff of himself. His small room was filled with an almost hazy air of sweat and desire. It wasn't the same kind of sweatiness that came when he had been working all day or been chased by a huge dog with murder in it's eyes. It was a sweet, heady aroma filled with the essence of a fifteen year-old-boy on the verge of orgasm. A very sexy, studly boy who enjoyed the sight of his own tanned body. Zac giggled as he began to stroke, running his fingers up and down slowly, feeling his cockmeat throb and swell against his hand. The warm, sticky sweat helped but it just wasn't quite the kind of lube that Zac preferred.

Sowly, he brought his left hand to his mouth and licked it, letting his tounge travel up and down each finger and bathe it with his saliva. A visceral thrill ran through him as he sucked on each fingertip, giving it each a tiny, sensual blowjob. After soaking his hand suitably, Zac pulled it back and looked at it, glistening softly in the yellow light. There was something oddly erotic about being a southpaw, Zac thought. At least to him. A very slight smirk came across his flushed face as he felt his nipples, rubbing them with spit and feeling the cool breeze through the window blow across them.

He drew a line of cool wet pleasure down his chest and stomach, stopping only when he reached his throbbing meat. Using his thumb and forefinger, Zac pulled his foreskin down and exposed the large purple head. Another moan escaped his lips as he looked at the purple membrane, a white trickle of precum oozing from the peehole. It stood out magnificently against the golden halo of pubic hair that surrounded the base of his tool. Zac took a moment to let his head fall back and feel the breeze blow over the exposed crown of his prick, emitting a large throb and another stream of precum.

"Hell yeah," He said softly, watching his fingers manipulate the slit and imagining that Reid was there.

The thought of it made Zac moan from deep inside, and as his fingers slipped down and pressed against the forbidden underside of his cockhead, a massive tremor hit him. Zac let out an involuntay moan and felt his legs shake several times as a thin spurt of precum flew up and hit his left pec, the sweet scent almost driving him insane. Shaking his head and taking a deep breath, Zac got control of himself and began stroking again, nearly losing it just as quick as he'd regained it. The sensation of his fingers pressing against the rim of his cockhead was unbearably cool. More precum oozed out and he felt it, hot and gradually thickening as it flowed down over his knuckles.

Keeping one hand on his dick but not stroking, Zac brought his right hand to his mouth and sucked on each finger. Repeating the same individual attention, he wetted each digit and bent his knees slightly, forming a V with his legs. The muscle flexing caused a slight spread of his cheeks, and exposing his hole to the open air. A delighted chill caused his naked body to shake again. He smiled, spreading his legs wide apart and rotating his ankles, making his thigh muscles flex and pull at his prostate gland, inducing another gush of precum. Zac smiled at his own proficiency. You're a machine tonight, boy, he thought as he licked more of the sweat off his upper lip.

For a second, Zac stopped stroking and flattened his left hand out. In a circular motion, he rubbed only the palm of his hand around his cockhead and gasped at the sensation, feeling his ass tighten and his prostate bark at him for relief. His legs shivered again and he smirked with a hint of conceit, imagining how incredibly nasty he looked. Positively nasty as he rotated his palm around on the throbbing purple helmet. Good God, he had to look absolutely sinful. Legs spread... foreskin retracted... sweat glistening on his smooth upper body... smelling like a sexually charged jock strap... cheeks flushed. If only Reid could see him right now. For a moment, he wondered honestly what Reid would think. Then he smiled. Reid would love it. Zac's eyes closed and he pursed his lips in a face of pure passion, closing his fingers around his shaft and mentally preparing himself for the orgasm.

"C'mon... let's hit the ceiling." He drawled, sucking his lower lip into his mouth and biting it.

His stroking increased and almost immediately, Zac felt a tightening sensation in his balls. His legs reassumed their slightly bent posture and the lubed fingers of his right hand crept between his ass cheeks, probing past the muscles that had become so divinely taught under the pale, silky skin. The fabric of the sheets squeaked softly as they were dug into by ten sweaty toes when Zac's finger hit his prostate and his strokes sped up. Mercilessly proding his tiny pebble of a gland, Zac began to masturbate himself faster and faster, whipping his left hand up and down at an increasing rate.

An uncontrollable and hazardoudly loud yelp passed Zac's lips as his rosebud cinched around his finger. With a white hot intensity, Zac clenched his eyes shut and tightened his grip on his cock and began jacking in hard, slow pulls. At two pulls, Zac felt his toes uncurl and splay out... At three, he felt his prostate moisten with cum... At four, his ass rose from the matress and a long, deep, guttural moan rumbled from inside him as the cords of muscles in his neck flexed and stood out... and at five, Zac felt his cock swell and his nuts squirm against each other. The first shot of cum rocketed out of his cock and landed on his right shoulder, and several more sprayed out and splattered all over his chest and stomach. His cock spewed like a fountain, painting him several times over with streams of his cum, making a hot, wet mess all over the rippling muscles of his upper body.

But Zac couldn't have cared less. Fireworks exploded in his head and glob after glob of hormone splatterd down on his already sizzling brain. His legs shuddered as the last of his long awaited orgasm worked it's way out. A final spurt, more jellied and clumped than the others coursed out Zac's urethra and drew out an almost startled moan at the thick sensation of it. He gasped and went limp as the last energy drained from his body. His mouth fell open and he couldn't move at first, anxious but not exactly scared of his current state as he felt his cum begin to congeal on his body. It was actually a rather nastily gratifying feeling.

For quite a while, he laid there after wiping himself off with a sock. His glazed eyes turning to the side and looking out the window, watching the clear sky and remembering again how wonderful it felt. How wonderful everything that night had felt. It all felt so right. His eyes closed halfway and he smiled, licking his lips slowly and still finding a hint of Reid on his mouth. Reid had such a distinctive taste. He rolled his tounge around his lips again, stretching his legs out and looking down, admiring how the light from the moon made his skin seem an almost silvery color.

Eventually, one of his light blue bedsheets got pulled up and he sank into the matress, finally feeling the effects of the long, but rewarding day. All the nervousness and tension of showering and deciding on the right clothes and whether or not he smelled good. Then the anxiety as Reid went through the Hanson family interrogation. The excitement of the kissing and then the celebrating he'd done by himself. It was all quite draining on a strapping young lad such as himself.

Zac yawned and curled one arm behind his head, smiling as he looked out the window as he did every night before falling asleep. Looking out into the dark night and wondering what was on it's way. Often he wondered what was planned for him and what God would be sending to him. That night wasn't any different but as he fell asleep, Zac knew that God had sent him something very important. And he prayed that God would help him and his oddball family -not- screw it up.

Some people say that they would never trust themselves to work at a bank.

That reasoning never has and never will actually make any sense to people actually working at a bank. A lot of cute little moments at parties often culminate with me hearing "So... you must want to just stuff your pockets, eh?" and then a bunch of haughty laughter. I always told myself that if they ever worked at a bank, it would be far different. They don't have to deal with paper cuts that need sterilization immediately or the buildup of gunk and filth on your fingers from constantly having to handle things that other people get from God knows where. In reality, working at a bank is a very dirty job that doesn't give you much satisfaction.

The part of the job that I hated especially was having to separate dollar bills into assorted trays by denomination. But oh no, these weren't chump change bills you'd find in a Mexican wad. These were large amounts. Large amounts that most people would drool over if they hadn't been working as long as I had been. They would stuff themselves with it. Probably their mouths... which just made me feel revolted. There wasn't any way I could steal any money. Even if I wanted to steal any money, the magnetic door frame would catch me. Quite the buzzkiller it was.

Oddly enough, the job wasn't so bad on that particular morning. My life didn't seem so bad. It had been almost a month to the day after my first date with Zac and since then, we had been practically joined at the hip. Every weekday that we both had to work, I would call him in the evening and due to some schedule manipulating, we were both able to get our weekends off. It was almost magic. Every weekend we were together, doing various fun things. I took great delight in helping Zac familiarize himself with Seattle and he really enjoyed it. He was a very adaptable person.

Our weekends were filled with one another, save for the brief break when I was guilt tripped into taking Amy, approaching her ninth month of pregnancy, to see her grandmother, whom she hadn't seen in years. I'll forever curse pregnancy induced hormones. But it was well worth it considering she and Lori, after interrogating Zac coldly for several visits in a row, had warmed to him and finally decided that this long haried goofball wasn't going to hurt me. So I couldn't really say no to her when she had graciously allowed Zac the honor of being my boyfriend.

As we spent more time together, our goodnight kisses became longer, deeper, and wetter. My hands very badly wanted nothing more than to roam under his loose, baggy clothing and fondle every inch of his warm skin. The desire was getting to be almost suffocating for the both of us. Every time we looked into one another's eyes, it was as if some sexual charge hit us both and we knew what the other was thinking. After kissing Zac goodnight and getting myself home, it was almost as if I was fourteen again and it seemed as if Zac had harkened me back to my early days of masturbation. Just the thoughts of him were enough to make every climax feel like it was the first one I ever had.

Zac did that to me. It seemed like every little thing he said or did managed to attract me more and more. Wether it was his hefty bag cutoff shorts or tight fitting retro rock t-shirts... he had me. Wrapped around his little finger. Even gross things like his ability to belch like a gassed up whale drove me wild for some sick reason. I just took so much pleasure in experiencing his personality and when he talked, I listened. When I talked, he listened. It was the most functional and healthy, yet weirdest relationship I think I'd ever had.

That day, I was working with more dedication than usual. Excitement kept me at a fast pace as I sorted the bills carefully and laid them, crisp and unlikely to ever be spent in real life, into the small black steel trays. That evening, Zac would be joining me at my house while Amy and Lori were visiting friends. We would be watching TV, hanging out, behaving ourselves as two fully functional members of society. We were looking forward to it... and we both knew what could very well happen. Very unbehaved... sweaty... passionate... musky scented things... Every time I paused long enough to think about it, my hands shook and my stomach churned with nervous excitement. I wanted to be with Zac very badly and he had told me, in no uncertain terms, that he wanted it just as bad.

"Reid?"

"Huh?!" I said, startled as my head snapped up.

"We're closing. Put the cash away and you're free to go."

It was Susan. My red haired, occasionally hyper-feminist boss. I nodded and she walked away, leaving me to exhale and attempt to calm the quick beating of my heart. After wiping the sweat from my brow, I shook my head and slid the metal tray into the drawer with a soft clanging noise. My palms were unusually sweaty. Now that was odd. My hands were usually dry, regardless of the emotional situation. But this was different. Hoo boy, was it different.

"Okay... what are the rules?"

"God, Amy... I'm not eleven."

She looked at me sternly for a moment.

"Don't upset the neighbors and don't break anything." I sighed, purely from memory.

"Very good. And if I find any cum stains on the couch, you're dead."

That made me blush. Quite deeply.

"We're clear on the rules?" She asked.

"Yes."

With that, mercifully, she and Lori were out the door, leaving me alone. Another excited flutter resonated in my stomach and I clenched my fists, trying to control the eagerness. Looking at the clock on the VCR, I checked myself again. It was 4:53pm... Zac would be here at 5:00pm. Seven minutes. A frustratingly short amound of time to have to kill when you're waiting for someone so incredibly handsome and sexy as Zac. Wiping my hands on my palms and cursing whatever decided to make my hands sweat so suddenly, I took deep breaths and stoop up, beginning to wonder if Zac might chicken out.

But that was just inviting trouble and even more stress. But then again, something still worried me. No matter how mature and intelligent he was, Zac was still a mere fifteen years old. There was a bit of unfairness in expecting him to commit at such a young age. It was asking him to devote himself emotionally to me and that was a heavy thing. I didn't want him to feel pressured or feel like he had to stay if the time came when he felt he hadn't experienced enough of the world. All I could do was pray that he realized and had thought about what he was getting into.

Then the doorbell rang.

My heart nearly lept into my throat but I was able to control it and swallow it back down. My ass was off the couch in an instant and I stood up, composing myself and trying to breathe normally. Wasting no time in getting to the door, I opened it slowly... trying not to pass out. It's just Zac, I told myself... it's just Zac. But then again, that was the whole basis of the issue. And boy... was it ever him. He was beautiful. In his tight fitting Led Zepplin t-shirt... it made my mouth water. As always, he was dressed like the long lost member of some 80's hair band/grunge rock group but it only made him sexier. It made him real.

"Hey." He said, smiling.

"Hey, come on in."

Zac nodded and walked in the door, leaving me a moment to shake my head briskly and try and clear the fog. He was so hot. We walked into the living room and he sat down on the couch, lesiurely propping one foot up on the coffee table and letting his head rest against the cushioned back. For a second, I stood, not entirely sure what to do. It was only for a short time before Zac smiled and suavely patted the spot on the couch next to him. That made me blush for some wacky reason. I guess it was because he was showing a very genuine and pronounced desire to be close to me. That was still just a bit foreign to me.

So I sat down. Slowly.

When I had finally settled, Zac gently draped his right arm around my shoulders. My muscles tensed for a second before I calmed down and accepted the show of affection. His arm felt so warm and strong as he cozied up to me and sighed happily. Now that the ice had been broken, not that it was all that tough in the first place, we were able to relax. For me, relaxing would be in the very loosest sense of the word. Every muscle in my body felt like it was on edge.

Some odd, incovenient sense of worry seemed to be making them prepare themselves for the worst. Something inside me was worried that Zac would bolt. Like a gazelle. I felt as though every single thing had to be exactly perfect or else he would get offended. That didn't exactly seem like him since I'd been to his house and experienced the unique "pleasure" of seeing his bedroom. But the worry just wouldn't go away. Everything had to be perfect because this was his... first.

"You okay?" Zac asked, running the tip of his left hand over my left forearm.

"Yeah," I said, feeling goosebumps at his touch, "I'm doing all right."

He laid his head on my shoulder, "You know Reid... it's gonna be incredibly difficult for us to have any fun tonight with that gigantic bug up your ass."

"I just want it to be... perfect."

"You're here. I'm here," Zac smiled, "What more do we need?"

"You to age about four years." I said with a frustrated whine.

"Oh God... Can't you just relax?"

I looked at the ceiling, "No."

"There's only one way to get past this." He said in a very buisnesslike tone.

"Yeah? And what's that?"

Almost before I could finish, Zac had curled his fingers in the neckline of my t-shirt and pulled me to him. Our lips mashed together and we kissed... deeply. I squirmed on the couch to no avail as Zac continued to crush his mouth into mine, his tounge sliding out and licking my lips, polishing them with his spit. His tounge felt so warm and long in my mouth and coupled with the shock of feeling it so suddenly, sent a rush straight to my dick. It hardened in almost record time and throbbed, making me worry that I would cum just from kissing.

My hands searched for something or someplace to occupy them. Zac's body was pressed into me at an odd, lower angle which made it hard to hold him. Gradually, my fingers found their way to his waist and I helped him slide up onto the couch. After situating him in a laying position along the length of the couch, our kissing broke momentarily as I laid down ontop of him. As soon as my weight came down, Zac thrust his hips up and the for the first time, I could feel his equally hard, equally aroused cock rub against mine. Through the fog of sex in my brain, I realized that it was happening. Zac and I were going to... do it.

A soft slurping filled the room as we kissed and humped ourselves together. With every thrust of his hips, I could tell Zac was driving himself closer and closer to orgasm. Then the knowledge that he was experiencing such intense pleasure as a result of my company was almost enough to drive me over the edge as well. Still, my hands knew how to work. I felt the soft fabric of his t-shirt under my hands as I pulled it up and exposed his warm stomach. His skin felt like heated silk under my fingertip as I traced the warm line of soft fuzz under and around his belly button, giving myself just a hint of what excitement was to come.

As I felt his stomach, Zac groaned from deep inside his chest and his hands moved from my shoulders down to my ass. With an almost frighteningly animal strength, he squeezed each cheek and drew a surprised moan out of me. When my kissing went from his lips to his neck, he began to chew on my ear. This was too much. The taste of his flushed skin under my tounge was almost like something out of one of the many dreams I'd had. Part of me expected to wake up and find my sheets all wet and nothing else... but this wasn't a dream.

More sweat stood out on Zac's neck as his muscles bulged and flexed, responding to the sucking actions of my lips. His hips had begun to thrust faster as he humped himself against my stomach, yet it wasn't exactly fast enough to allow an orgasm quite yet. The salty taste of his skin was driving me half mad as I licked around his adam's apple, getting an odd but incredibly pleasurable charge from feeling the quickening beat of his pulse.

That was probably the biggest turn on. He felt so alive underneath me. His heart was pounding against my shoulder and his breath was coming hot and heavy as his chest heaved and lifted me up and down easily. He was so real and so incredibly into what we were doing. It reassured me and made me feel that maybe I could do a good job being with someone. It gave me an extra swell of confidence as I pulled away from his neck, to a questioning moan of frustration from Zac, and pushed up his shirt and sealed my mouth to one of his nipples, followed by another much louder, much happier moan of pleasure. My lips traveled down away from the chocolately goodness of his nipples as his hands found the back of my head, running his fingers through my hair and making me shiver with pleasure from his touch.

As soon as he could maneuver them free, Zac wrapped his legs around me and squeezed, making me falter at the sudden power of his embrace. It felt like each muscle was wrapped around me. Deep in my brain, a little voice tried to tell me that very shortly, every muscle in his body would be wrapped around me. That thought nearly sent me into another sexual frenzy as I dove back down onto Zac, sucking hard on his chest. Oddly enough, it seemed that the more I sucked and the more pressure I put behind my lips, the more musky desire seemed to gush from each pore on his chest.

In one swift motion, Zac pushed me off and pulled his red t-shirt up and off, exposing his upper body. With a very determined glare, his eyes ordered me back down and I continued, flicking my tounge over his cute little belly button. The sensation of my tounge playing gently over his skin made him jump, sending a pulse of excitement through his body. When my tounge began to feel exhausted, I stopped and took a deep breath, my nose hovering above the waistband of his black cotton shorts. Along with the heat, a musky, tangy scent of desire tickled my nostrils. Like some heavenly cologne being brewed between the two of us.

I felt Zac's hands around my cheeks as he pulled my face up. Slowly, my eyes traveled up the majestic sight of his tanned, meaty torso and onto his face. His mouth was open slightly as his chest heaved, and his eyes were looking more than slightly glazed with desire in the soft light of the room. Slowly, his lips pressed together and even in his frazzled state, Zac smirked and puckered his lips, blowing me a sultry kiss. Yet another example of his forward nature coming in very handy. I smiled and shook my head, letting my forehead rest against the fleshy, moist heat of his stomach as I did my best to regroup.

He giggled huskily, "One more push and that bug's gone."

I smiled cannily and pushed my fingertips into the soft skin of his stomach. Zac immediately thrashed under me and yelped, laughing as I tickled him. Pushing myself onto my knees, I tickled him until I heard a twinge of discomfort in his voice. When my fingers finally retreated, he was breathing heavily and his brow was glistening, as well as the less-than-moderate exposure of skin on his shoulders and chest. What with his frizzy hair and flushed cheeks, my mouth couldn't help but water at the sight. My face tightened as I winced at the extreme pleasure that looking down onto him gave me.

"It's gone, Zac." I said, running my fingertips over his chest.

He shivered, "Awesome."

My fingers moved down and traced the line between his chest and stomach muscles, "Long gone."

"About time," Zac squirmed slightly, "I wanna say something... but I don't know if I should."

My stomach wrenched. There was no way I could even begin to speculate what he was wanting to say to me. The number of things that would make him seem so pensive were small but equally frightening. Whatever could raise such a feeling of trepdiation had to be big. Big and probably pretty important. I took a deep breath and internall prepared myself for whatever bombshell Zac was getting ready to drop. Just remember, I told myself, that this is Zac. This is the same kid that you've been spending damn near every free minute of your time with.

"Just say it, Zac."

He squirmed again, "I'm... uh... what I mean is that I think I'm-- well, you know."

It dawned on me, "Ahhh... yeah, I think I do."

Zac smiled, almost timidly, "What do you think?"

"Well," I panted, trying to get enough blood in my brain to think logically, "I think that I agree."

He smiled again, "You do know we're talking about love here, right?"

I smiled, and realized, "Yes, I do."

All my life, I felt incomplete... But you turned my soul, with your love so sweetly... You hear my thoughts, you read my mind... You're the part of me, I thought I'd never find... No one I know, can make me feel like you do... You hold me and I feel like I can fly...

You and me, we're a miracle... Meant to be and nothing can change it... Mountains move and oceans part... When they are standing in our way... You and me, were a miracle... Angels stand watching over us... And heaven shines upon us everyday...

"God, it's hot."

"Mmmm... our fault."

I squirmed under the sheets, my eyes still adjusting to the newly dawned morning. Whatever temperature increase had gone on in the night had been a major one and it was never more apparent than when I woke up. Sweat stood out on whatever skin wasn't covered by my white bedsheet and the skin that was covered felt hot and uncomfortably sticky. The sensation of the sheet sticking to my skin was the first real sensation that I felt, not counting the slightly disagreeable morning warmth. Morning warmth I could handle but the cotton mouth feeling wasn't too good.

The second sensation that registered to me was the warm sack of flesh cuddled up up to me in the bed. As my mind roused itself from sleep, the realization dawned on me that the warmth wasn't necessarily the air. It was Zac. His bare skin felt like it had been welded to mine with a mixture of sweat and sleep induced body cheese. His hair, which at some point the night before had been freed from it's ponytail, was casually splayed around his shoulders and on his back in a haphazard dark mass of ringlets and gold streaks. After the sleep had gone, my first instinct was to touch his back and hug him close to me... and I followed that instict.

My contact with his skin woke Zac up and he squirmed slightly, feeling the warmth and experiencing the same mild displeasure that had plagued my first non-waking moments. Funny thing was, neither of us moved. It only took a few minutes to wake up and it was clear that our sweaty bodies pressed together was causing the heat... but we didn't move. Zac even seemed to settle in a bit more than he had and sighed contentedly, willing to foresake immediate heat relief for the closeness of the moment. Slowly, I exhaled and blinked my eyes, realizing that we had... done it. We'd had sex.

"You think we're pretty hot, huh?" I chucked, shifting him slightly.

"Uh huh." Zac murmured weakly.

"Cute."

He grumbled, "Don't call me that."

I moved some of the stray hair away from his face, "Face it, Zac. You're cute."

He made a pained face before sliding up and kissing me, "And your male organ is entirely too thick."

"Sore?" I asked, smiling at his choice of words.

"I feel like I just shit a telephone pole," He wheezed but smirked slightly, "An incredibly satisfying, rapture inducing telephone pole. But a telephone pole, none the less."

I kissed his damp forehead, "I'm glad I could satisfy."

He giggled and wrapped his arms around my chest, hugging me tightly. My lungs expanded and I took in a deep breath of the steamy air in the bedroom. The room smelled of pure, uninterrupted, passionate sex. The odeur of our sweat, pheremones, and semen hung in the air like a fog of fornication. It made me wince to think of what it would be like when I finally got down to buisness and cleaned the room, wondering where all I would find small dried splotches of bleachy smelling substance. Then I'd have to smell each one just out of morbid curiousity to see who's seed the stain was comprised of. But then again, that didn't sound too unpleasant.

I thought back to what Lori had said about me finally finding "the one". Someplace in my mind I'd figured that my "one" would be found during a party or blind date. Not seeing him in a supermarket while I was looking for bran flakes. Just too weird. You couldn't plan things like finding "the one". You had to just let life take it's course. I had done that with Zac and it had gotten me to the happiest point I could ever remember feeling in my life. My life had been a series of dissapointments until my meeting with Zac and now... here we were. Basking in the afterglow of soul-gratifying lovemaking.

Very gradually, the events of the night before began to play out in my mind. Although very hazy and unclear, I could still remember the pertinent events: Zac leading me by the hand into the bed... myself undressing him slowly and feeling him shake with pleasure at my touch... the feeling of Zac's soft skin gliding under my fingertips as more and more of his body was revealed to me... his muscles tightening as my tounge explored him... and then the pressure, the slackening of his muscle, and the extreme heat and tightness of the entry... and finally, the moment of climax.

It was like falling. As if someone had pushed me over the edge and I was careening downwards, held only by Zac's presence in my arms. Like some blessed montage, my mind then remembered the aftermath. As we had laid there, holding each other as we calmed down and breathed deeply. We breathed deeply together. It felt like our breathing and our pulses and our heartbeats were in perfect time with one another. No words were needed, really. In the hazy dreamlike state of the moment, I doubt that we would have really said anything outside of our own imaginations. The only thing we needed was the look in our eyes.

"I'm gonna get up." I said rhetorically.

Zac's arms constricted around me, "You can try."

"Or I could just stay here."

His arms loosened, "That's a -much- better idea."

THE END