The Prince

The Prince Chapter 4 "The Gift"

The Monday after the accident came and went. That Tuesday came and went. Wednesday started out quite uneventfully. Alex and Gavin both went to class that morning; Gavin went to work at his on campus job, while Alex returned to the dorm. Neither of them was in the mood to be where they were. Alex came back to the dorm room to find that Eddie was there, lying on his bed reading something for a class. (It was the first time that Alex hadn't seen him on the computer!) He sighed heavily as he turned each page. After an hour or so, it had become regular to Eddie and annoying to Alex. Alex couldn't seem to be able to concentrate on anything other than the sound his roommate was emitting. Gavin had walked into the Psychology Office to find that the secretary had pulled a stack of papers he'd filed two days before sitting on her desk. He knew it wouldn't be good. She noticed him standing at his station and came out into the front office.

"We need to talk, Gavin," she said, motioning for him to join her in the department chair's office. As the secretary shut the door behind him, the two of them seemed to pounce onto Gavin like lionesses on a gazelle. They complained that he hadn't filed the papers correctly. The secretary had to take a day and a half to find all the papers and was going to have to re-file them. Gavin apologized for the mistake, even though he'd followed the directions just as the secretary had given him. He promised that the mistake would never happen again, but that wasn't good enough for the two vultures. They told him that a `mistake of that level' warranted Gavin's dismissal from the department. They asked him to gather his things, which he did without putting up an argument. He could have said that he followed the instructions he was given, but, in his mind, that would have done no good, because the department secretary would have negated what he said. He slowly walked back to the dorm.

"Hey Gavin!" Lisa said as she saw Gavin enter the front door.

"Hey Lisa. How are you?" he said, less than enthusiastically.

"I'm great. Sounds like you're for shit, though!"

"Yeah."

"Wanna talk about it?" she asked nicely from her office.

"Not right now," Gavin said, trying to be polite.

"Alright. Well, just remember that I'm here for you if you need to talk."

"Thank you, Lisa. I appreciate it."

"Anytime!"

Gavin gave her a half-smile and walked down toward his room. He didn't even notice that he'd passed Alex's room until after he'd entered his own room and lay down on his bed.

Alex tried to sit on his bed and study for a bit, but Eddie was getting on his nerves beyond explanation. Alex closed the notebook he was studying from and walked out of the room. He didn't have anywhere in particular to go, but something was telling him to go to Gavin's room. He went and knocked on the door. Initially there was no answer. He knocked a second time, but thought that there was no one there. Just as he was about to walk away, he heard the door unlocking and saw the knob turning on the door.

"Hey," Gavin said. He tried to smile when he saw Alex, but Alex was smarter than to believe that everything was OK with Gavin.

"Hey yourself," he said as Gavin invited him in. "What's going on?"

Gavin exhaled. Over the few days since they'd been at the hospital, they'd managed to talk a few times, and Gavin had begun to feel completely comfortable in Alex's presence. "I lost my campus job this afternoon. They said I fucked up something."

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry to hear that," Alex said. Gavin sat back down on his bed. Alex sat beside him and put his right hand on Gavin's back. He rubbed up and down for a second.

"I won't have enough money to pay my car payment, insurance, and tuition without that job. I don't know what I'm going to do," Gavin said, putting his face in the palms of his hands and starting to cry.

"I wish there were something I could do for you," Alex said.

"I appreciate you saying that," Gavin said, not moving his face from his hands. "I can just see myself having to go home and just seeming like a complete loser to my little brother."

"You won't seem like a loser to him."

"Yeah? You're probably thinking about how much of a loser I am for crying over this."

"No..." Alex said. "It shows that you're concerned about your place in life and that you know that you are the only one who can determine your own future," Alex said, thinking for a moment about his own future, and how it was predetermined for him by his birth to the Queen of Lorenzia.

"I can't ask my parents for money. They barely have enough for themselves," Gavin said. "And my scholarship doesn't cover the whole price of school. I'm just going to work on the farm I guess."

"Don't think so negatively, Gavin. I'm sure that something will work out for you." Gavin looked at Alex, unconvinced by Alex's optimism.

"Thanks for your optimism."

"Not a problem. Why don't I take you out to dinner, try to get your mind off things?"

"I would love that, but I don't have the money."

"It's my treat!" Alex said. Gavin exhaled. "Besides. I owe you for Saturday night!"

"Thanks, Alex."

"Anytime!"

"So where do you want to go?"

"You choose?"

"You craving gravy?"

"Is my name Alexander Joaquin Saavedra!?"

"So that's a yes!" Gavin said, smiling for the first time at Alex.

"Alright! That's what I'm taking about!" Alex said, continuing to rub the back of the man who'd comforted him just a few days before.

The two chatted for a while that afternoon. Simply by having Alex there, Gavin was able to calm himself from the high (I don't like this word here high to me indicates a good feeling or drug induced state perhaps you can say

calm himself from the state or state of anxiety or there are many other choices as well

that he'd put himself into by losing his campus job. They went to dinner at Chili's in Hoover. Gavin ordered a simple pasta dish and seemed to eat it slowly and methodically. Alex ordered Country Fried Steak and asked that it be slathered in gravy, along with an extra serving of gravy on the side for him to dip his fries into.

"Alex," Gavin started as the waiter put their plates on the table and walked away. "I really want to thank you for this afternoon."

"It's not a problem, Gavin. You would and have done the same for me!" Alex said, smiling before putting a large piece of meat slathered in gravy into his mouth. It felt odd to be eating with his right hand, since his left forearm was slung up in a cast.

"I just...kind of lost it today. I may be able to pick up more hours at my off-campus job. Maybe I can find another job on campus or something." Gavin toyed in his head with ideas.

"Like I told you, if there's anything I can do, just let me know."

"I appreciate that. You're probably the nicest person I've met in a LONG time."

"Nah. I'm really not very nice. I can be a pompous ass at times. I assure you of that!"

"Well. I suppose we all can!" Gavin said. Alex smiled, thinking to himself, `if he only knew.'

The two continued to talk as they ate the food before them. After they were both finished, Alex paid the check and the two left. It was a quiet drive back to Montevallo from Hoover for both of them. It's not that it was a horrible trip for either of them, though. When Gavin pulled into the parking space behind the dorm, they both climbed out of the car slowly. They walked back into the dorm, slowly. They turned to go down their hall, again slowly. The pair walked quietly to Alex's door. They stopped. Whereas they'd been walking side by side down the hall, they then turned and faced each other. Gavin saw again that Alex wasn't the typical gay boy. He saw something in Alex that he'd never seen in any other gay boy's eye: courage and selflessness. Alex, on the other hand, saw strength and honor. He saw courage and fierce loyalty to those he loved.

"I guess we should probably part company for the evening," Alex suggested. Gavin simply gazed at him, wanting so bad to ask Alex for nothing more than to hold him. Alex recognized that there was something else Gavin wanted to say. "Unless of course, you want to come in and hang out with me and my roommate for a while," Alex said as he heard Eddie's deep exhaling from inside the room. The slightest of sounds seemed to echo into and down the hallway from their room. Alex rolled his eyes for a moment and Gavin smiled.

"Or you can come down to my room and hang out with me," Gavin suggested.

"That might be a better idea," Alex whispered. "Just let me go in and get a couple of things," he said. He turned and walked into his room for a second. Eddie was still sitting on his bed reading for a class, while Gavin stood outside in the hallway and waited on Alex to gather a couple of things. The door was left open, so Gavin was given a full view of Alex and a partial view of Eddie. After just a moment, Alex came out of the room, shutting the door in the wake of his departure. Alex carried a book bag on his shoulders while Gavin played with his keys. Only a few feet separated their rooms, but to Alex, it seemed like not only a completely different place, but a completely different world. As the two walked in, there was a white guy standing over Kevin's bed.

"Hey! I'm Kevin," the guy said as Gavin looked puzzled at him. "You must be my `roommate,' Gavin."

"Yes. I am. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," Kevin said. "I'm getting out of your hair in just a second. I just had to come by and get something out of my closet," Kevin said, holding up a box.

"No problem, man. It's your room, too."

"Actually, my room is at my boyfriend's apartment," Kevin said. "I just stay here to keep up the appearance to my parents that I'm not gay."

"OH! So if they call, which they haven't, what should I tell them?"

"Um...Just tell them to call my cell phone," Kevin said, winking at them.

"If you want, feel free to pull the beds together and stuff," Kevin said, smiling at Alex, who stood quietly to the side of the room, out of the way of Gavin and his roommate.

"Cool. Very nice of you."

"Not a problem," Kevin said. "Like I said, I more of less live with him."

"Nice."

"Alright. I'll leave you boys alone. Have a great night. By the way, I left my phone number on your desk if you need anything."

"Very cool," Gavin said. "Thanks."

"Ciao," Kevin said as he walked out the door.

"Bye!" Gavin and Alex both said.

"That was...different," Gavin said.

"Yeah," Alex concurred. "He seemed nice enough, though."

"Yeah. I will give him that. He's not bad looking either."

"I agree with you there," Alex said, wanting to blurt out that he wasn't as cute as Gavin, but finding those words hard to manage.

"He's not as cute as you, though, Alex," Gavin said, not facing Alex and dropping his eyes to the floor. Alex smiled, though, relieved that Gavin had brought up the topic of cuteness first. "And I'm sure that he's not as nice as you either or has a dick as big as yours!" Gavin and Alex both chuckled a little bit.

"I was just thinking that he wasn't as hot or nice as you, either."

"I don't know about that!" Gavin said, jokingly. He turned around to face Alex. He took it all in. "Alex. You're an amazing man, and I could see myself falling for you quite quickly."

Alex smiled. "I feel the same way," Alex said. It was his turn to look toward the floor and to think. He wanted to blurt out everything to Gavin right in that moment, but he was confused. He didn't know where to start; he didn't know how to confess his true identity or that his trip to the US was a finite one. He was being honest with Gavin, though, about his feelings. That was, in his mind, a start.

The talked for a big longer before pulling the beds together per Kevin's advice. They both lay down on the now combined bed and looked up at the ceiling. "So do you just want to stay over tonight?" Gavin asked, not looking at Alex.

"Sure. If you don't mind. I haven't slept very well, what with the cast and Eddie's breathing!" Alex said. "Are you sure you don't mind?"

"Not at all!" Gavin said, finally turning onto his side, letting his head rest in the palm of his left hand to prop him up for a better peek at Alex.

"Thank you," Gavin said.

They chatted a bit longer about things, including relationships. They made no hypotheses about their own, obviously coming relationship. Gavin talked about ex-boyfriends. Alex listened intently, since he'd never been on a date. Gavin made Alex laugh with some of the stories of his ex-boyfriends. For a while, they watched TV. There were so many random thoughts in both of their heads that they found themselves completely without focus. By midnight, Gavin was drifting off to sleep. Alex wasn't far behind him, despite the fact that he hadn't woken up early to run because of his wrist.

Gavin stood up from the bed and began pulling his clothes off. First went his shirt, then his pants, until he was wearing nothing but a pair of grey boxer briefs. With only a groggy look on his face, he pulled back the covers and climbed into bed. He turned his back to Alex quietly, who was himself dozing more quickly as the moments passed. "Night, Alex," Gavin said as he repositioned himself on the bed.

"Night Gavin," Alex said as he climbed out of the bed. He was making his way to the door when he heard Gavin turn around in the bed.

"You can stay here tonight if you'd like. I could kind of use a cuddle buddy after today," Gavin said honestly.

Alex, still looking toward the door, smiled. "I think that can be arranged," he said.

"Nice," Gavin said as Alex turned around. He noticed that smile. It was Gavin's ticket to anywhere he wanted to go in the world. It was beautiful and white, and the way his lips acted when they were drawn apart by his smile made Alex wish that he could just run over and kiss them and never stop. Gavin continued to smile as Alex took off his button down shirt, exposing a tight fitting yellow t-shirt with something printed in Cabochean, one of the languages of Alex's homeland, on the front. He watched Gavin watching him as he undid each of the buttons in the fly of his jeans. He purposely went slowly and deliberately with his actions, leaving at the end only his t-shirt, a pair of plaid boxers and his socks on his body. He climbed into the bed and turned onto his left side; his back was facing Gavin's almost naked body. Gavin wrapped his arm around Alex's waist, putting his hand beneath the waist of Alex's shirt and feeling his abs. Alex moaned a little bit as the lightness of Gavin's fingers grazed his sensitive skin. "Everything OK?" Gavin asked.

"Uh huh," Alex answered. "I've never had anyone touch me like that."

"Oh. I can stop."

"Did I ask you to stop?" Alex countered. Gavin smiled from behind him. Alex could feel the energy from his smile. It made his back tingle a little. Gavin let his head touch the nape of Alex's neck, sending more tingles throughout Alex's virgin body. Sure he'd cuddled with this man before, but he was doped up and didn't remember any of it. He'd seen this man naked, but only in glances. That time, he left, embarrassed by the rigidity of his not-so-flaccid penis. This time was different. All of his senses seemed to be going into overdrive just from this man's calming, soothing, sensual, caring touch. Alex moaned again.

"You OK?" he asked. "I'm sorry if I'm offending you. I just like the way your skin feels, all smooth and silky."

"Yeah. I'm fine. It feels different for someone else to be touching me like that though."

"Oh?"

"There is just this energy that you seem to be transferring to my body."

"Good energy?" Gavin asked.

Alex didn't answer verbally. Instead, he took Gavin's hand. He slowly moved it to the waist of his underwear and held it there for a second while he thought about what he was doing. Gavin could feel the tightness of the fabric. He knew what was going on, but was waiting for Alex to make the next move. Alex thought to himself that it was that moment, or never. Slowly, he moved Gavin's strong, smooth hand over the tent in his shorts.

"Now I understand," Gavin said.

"Yeah...so it's not a bad thing. Not at all a bad thing."

The flood gates of emotion from both of them seemed to open between them. "You want to know something neat?" Gavin asked.

"Sure," Alex responded. Gavin took his hand from beneath Alex's and caressed it for a moment on top of the hard on Alex was sporting. Slowly he lifted it over Alex's hips to a place where he eyes couldn't see. Gavin repositioned himself for a second, so as not to overstretch Alex's arm. He slowly moved the hand, grazing Alex's ass in the process. He put Alex's hand on top of his own hard on. "Whoa!" Alex said. "That's kinda big."

"It's not that big," Gavin said, a smile on his face that Alex couldn't see.

Alex wrapped his hands around it. It was thick. It was at least two of Alex's hands long. Alex took his hands from Gavin's dick and turned around to face him. They looked deeply into each other's eyes. Gavin put his arm back around Alex's waist and pulled him close to him. Alex put his right arm under the pillow and let his head rest on it. He wrapped his cast-laden left arm around Gavin, touching as best he could the exposed flesh of the man before him.

"What's wrong?" Gavin asked.

Alex sighed. "You remember that I'm only going to be here a semester, right?"

"Yeah," Gavin said. "I remember."

"I just don't want either of us to get hurt out of this."

"Nor do I. I just like you, a lot. I want to be able to spend as much time with you as I can before you have to go back home."

Alex put his head on Gavin's chest. He started to whimper a little bit. "It's OK," Gavin said, pulling him into a hug horizontally.

"I didn't come here to find you or this. I came here to study and that was it. I never expected to even meet a guy like you."

"I didn't come here to find you, but I'm glad that I did. You're very sweet, Alexander Joaquin Saavedra."

"Thank you, Gavin. This is supposed to be your night to be comforted."

"Personally, Alex, seeing you comforted me. You were so sweet this afternoon and evening. I couldn't have asked for a better companion today," Gavin added. He reached his head down and kissed the top of Alex's head. It wasn't just a peck but a kiss that seemed to be going in slow motion. Gavin finally released his lips and then stayed there in the position they were in. A few moments passed before anything further was said.

"Gavin?" Alex asked.

"Yes, babe?"

"I think I just cummed in my underwear," Alex said seriously. In a moment, almost simultaneously, they began laughing. Gavin took his hand and nonchalantly felt around Alex shorts.

"Nope. You didn't cum," he assured Alex.

"Keep touching me like that, and that might change!" Alex said, his hard on throbbing in his underwear under the grip of Gavin's hand.

"I don't know if I can let go!" Gavin joked.

"You don't have to; there just may be a mess in a moment," Alex said.

Gavin stroked Alex's cock a couple of times inside his underwear. "Your dick is the bigger one by the way. You must be packin' at least eight."

"Yes."

"I could ravage you right now."

"You could?"

"Yeah," Gavin answered as Alex looked back up at him.

"But if it's OK with you, I'd rather not tonight. I want to get to know you better before we do anything."

"I completely understand," Alex said, smiling as Gavin continued to hold onto his dick. "I was a little nervous when you said that, anyway."

"Why?"

"Because...um...you would HURT me," Alex said, running his fingertips along the side of Gavin's body.

"Not intentionally," Gavin said, smiling.

"Besides, though, maybe a little pain is a good thing," Alex joked. Gavin almost roared with laughter. When he calmed down, he and Alex looked at each other. Gavin took his hand from Alex's dick and ran it along his back until it was at the base of his skull. He ran his fingers through Alex's hair. It was just as silky as his skin was. Alex voluntarily moved his head closer to Gavin's until they were so close they felt each other's breaths. It was amazing for Alex. He'd never experienced any feelings like those he was having at that moment. Gavin was also amazed, but more because he'd met a man that he felt he connected with on a level, which he'd never connected with any other individual before. They moved so slowly and slowly toward each other until their lips were within millimeters of each others. At the same time, they moved in for the kill. Gavin kissed Alex from his top lip; Alex did the reverse. For at least five minutes they kissed each other, concentrating on making the most of the moment that they had.

"My God!" Gavin said, in a completely unmistakable Southern accent.

"Yeah. I agree. Isto d'acordo," he said in Cabochean. (I agree.)

"You should teach me a few words in Cabochean," Alex said.

"Eo posso, si vuolase." (I could, if you wanted.)

"OK? What does that mean."

"I could if you wanted me to."

"Oh! How do you say: `Alex is hot'?"

"Alesandro é gopo."

"Alesandro é gopo," Gavin tried to pronounce. It was a good attempt; it was good enough to make Alex smile in approval. "Now! How do you say: `I would like to kiss you again'?"

"Eo gostaría baesarte atra velz," Alex explained.

"OK. Eo gostaría baesarte atra velz?" he tried again.

"Right."

"What about: `Do you have a boyfriend'?"

"Tenes tu um nôvíu."

"Tenes tu um nôvíu?"

"Nao. Eo na tenno um nôvíu."

"How would you say: `Wanna be mine'?"

"Queres ser meu?"

"OK. Queres ser meu?" Gavin asked. His accent was so thick, but his attempts made Alex grin with pride.

"Si. Sería honrau." (I would be honored.)

"OK. You have to translate that for me." Again, Alex used a non-verbal message to answer his question. He reached up and kissed Gavin on the lips once again and held it there for a few seconds. "Damn," Gavin said. "Now what did you say?" Alex kissed him again. "Now...I understand."

"Yes?"

"You just want to use me for my kisses."

"NO!" Alex giggled while Gavin smiled. "I would be honored is what I said. I just need to take things a little slowly for a bit."

"That's fine. I'm not in a rush anyway."

"Cool."

"So we should probably get some sleep. Tomorrow promises to be a long, painful day." Alex turned back around and snuggled up against Gavin's body. He took Gavin's hand and wrapped it around his waist. They slept in that position all night. The only thing was, Gavin threw his head in a weird position and began snoring. They woke up rather late that morning. Alex decided that it might be best for his recovery if he not run for a couple of weeks. This decision was recertified by the fact that Gavin seemed to hold him so well in the night. Both of them almost regretted that they had things to do that day. At around nine, they managed to roll out of bed. Alex dressed in the clothes he'd worn the night before and walked down the hall to his room. Not before stealing a few kisses from Gavin as he stood there not really wanting to go to work so that he could spend the day with Alex. As Alex left, though, he spent a few minutes laying on the bed and sniffing the pillow Alex had used. It smelled of Alex; Gavin enjoyed the essence as he began to fondle himself inside his underwear. Slow stroking turned into fierce pumping until he was ready to violently shoot his load into the fabric of his underwear. His breathing had become rather heavy as he masturbated to the thought of Alex. The feeling that came a moment later was the unmistakable one of pleasure and delight that he'd felt several times before. After his hard on went away though, he pulled his hand out of his underwear and wiped the goo still on his hand on the fabric. It was already saturated by his cum anyway.

Alex went into his room to find Eddie still sleeping. He'd skipped class again, so there was no hope of Alex relieving himself in their room. He walked to the bathroom though and slipped into one of the stalls. He needed a release and after only two minutes of stroking, he had an orgasm that beat any morning orgasm he'd ever had before. Three volleys hit the door of the stall. Three strayed into the floor of the stall. One landed on his shoe, and one landed in his pants, which were bunched up around his ankles as he sat on the toilet.

Relieved, he went about his day normally. By the time he was finished with class, Gavin was already at work. It bought Alex some time to follow through on a plan he'd hatched while he sat in class. He went back to his room and cleaned out the leather satchel he carried with him daily. He found the locked box and undid it. He took some paperwork, including his bank account information in Lorenzia and both his diplomatic passport and his personal one. He was sure that the prior would help convince the people he was going to see to help him without problem. He quickly left the dorm, after stuffing the paperwork back into his satchel. Before he could slip out the door, though, Lisa stopped him. She knew the story about the cast and figured it would be the best way to find out what had happened to Gavin.

"What's up?" she asked as she noticed him from her office in the front of the building.

"Not much, Lisa. How are you?"

"I'm fine," she said as he walked to the doorway. He noticed Lee was sitting there with her. "Mind if I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"So I saw Gavin the other day. He didn't look good. Then I was in the psych department handing some things for my graduate work, and the secretary mentioned something about having to fire her help the other day. Since I knew that Gavin was the guy that worked for her, I assume that that's why he was in a funk yesterday." Alex listened intently. "I just assumed since you guys were friends that you might know what happened?"

"I do, but I can't really say. I don't want to violate his confidence like that."

"I understand completely. Just answer me this...is he OK now?"

"I think he'll be fine," Alex said, thinking about the plan that had been cooking in his mind.

"Cool. I was going to tell you to tell him that I needed a Resident Assistant for the first floor here. He could stay in the same room if he wanted or he could move into a private room. Will you mention it to him for me?" Lisa smiled at Alex.

"I certainly shall, Lisa," Alex said, smiling. He winked at her and then told the pair that he must be off. He walked out the back door and grabbed his cell phone from his pocket. He dialed Gavin's phone number and waited. It rang once, then a second time, followed by a third.

"Hello?" Gavin said, answering the phone.

"Hello, Gavin Butler," Alex said as he walked past the public library on his way to Main Street and Regions Bank.

"Alex! I'm glad it's you!" he said, sounding as enthusiastic as the afternoon before.

"What's wrong?"

"I don't know what I'm going to do. Instead of giving me more hours, he said that he was going to have to cut my hours!" Gavin explained. "I'm sitting in my car right now on break. I don't know what I'm going to do."

"Well, part of the reason I was calling. Lisa told me to pass a message onto you that she needs an RA for first floor. She said to tell you that you could either stay in the room you're in or you could move into a completely private room."

"Really??" Gavin asked.

"Really! She said to see her when you got in this evening."

"I will definitely do that," Gavin said. "In the meantime, I have to get back to work. I'm glad that you called, though."

"I as well," Alex said, looking both ways before crossing Main Street.

"Where are you at? I hear a lot of noise."

"I am on Main Street taking care of a couple of things."

"Oh! Alright. Well...will I see you tonight?"

"If you'd like," Alex responded, with a smile on his face as we walked up to the door of Regions Bank. He stood there as he finished the call with Gavin.

"I WOULD like. I could use your expertise as a cuddle buddy once more."

"I can handle that!" Alex said.

"Alright. Well, I better get back into the store. I will see you later this evening."

"Alright," he said as a couple of people walked into the bank and another couple walked out. He closed the cell phone and pulled open the door, holding it for a lady as she walked out. She smiled and thanked him, to which he returned the smile. As he stood there, he tried to determine where in the bank he needed to go. He saw a man sitting in the first office of several along the side of the lobby.

"Good afternoon, sir," the man said, walking up to Gavin to meet him.

"Good afternoon," Alex responded.

"What can I help you with today?"

"I need to take care of a few personal banking matters. Can you help?"

"I can certainly try. Why don't you step into my office, and I will see what I can do?" he offered, motioning for Alex to join him in his office. Alex walked behind him as he was guided into the office. The man shut the door behind Alex and asked him to have a seat while he walked behind the large wooden desk. Alex glanced for a moment at the photos of the man's children that sat on the desk in neat little silver or wooden frames. "What can I help you with today?"

"Well. I'm obviously not American," he said, pointing to his mouth. "But I need to transfer some money from my personal account in Lorenzia here to America, and then open an account here, if possible."

"That shouldn't be a problem. How much are you wanting to transfer?"

"$10,000 Lorenzian. Can you tell me what the conversion rate would be?"

"Hold on one second," the man said as he typed away at his computer. "3.52 US to 1 Lorenzian. So you're wanting to transfer $10,000 Lorenzian?"

"Yes sir."

"I can definitely help you with that. Do you have a certified cheque?"

"I was actually going to take the money using my debit card, if that's alright?"

"Does it have the Visa logo?"

"Nope. Mastercard."

"We can still use that one! There may be a hold from your bank, though."

"There won't be," Alex said. "I've checked it already," he said, having not checked up, but knowing that it would come out without problems.

"Alright. I will just need to see your passport, visa information, and your debit card."

"Here you go," he said, handing the debit card to him from his wallet. He fished around in his satchel for a second and came up with his green passport and his visa information. He handed it to the man, who looked at him with a puzzled look. He opened the passport and read the name. He looked back at Alex, then back at the passport.

"Uh...I'm sorry for asking this. It may seem rude, but is this real?" the man asked Alex.

"Yes. I am Alexander, Crown Prince of Lorenzia. If you need, President McChesney can verify my identity."

The man cleared his throat. "That won't be necessary."

"I need to ask a favor, though."

"Go ahead."

"I need the account to read Alexander Saavedra, without Royal titles."

"OK. I can make that happen," he said. He typed away at the computer, finding his nerves after just a second. Within just a few minutes, the account was open and he began to process of transferring the money from Lorenzia to America. Within a half hour of the beginning of the transaction, it was finished. "Is there anything else I can do, Your Highness."

"Two, actually. First, I need a cashier's check for $10,000 US, made out to the University of Montevallo. I need, if possible, that it not read my name or anything."

"Done! Number 2?"

"Call me Alex if you see me. My presence here is totally personal, but it's still considered a `state secret' of sorts."

"That can be done as well. I guess from that that I shouldn't mention I know this."

"That would be greatly appreciated," Alex answered with a smile. The man smiled back at Alex and walked out to get a cashier's check. Within a few minutes, he was back, with a check. Alex inspected it and then asked that it be placed in an envelope by the associate. "Thank you very much for your help, sir."

"Please...call me John."

"Alright, John. Thank you very much. I really do appreciate it."

"Anytime, Alex!" he said as Alex walked from the office with the account information and a check that he intended to get to Gavin without him knowing it was from him, at least not just yet. Alex walked directly over to the student post office and checked his mail. There was another letter from Margaret and a few other random things. Within just a second, he was walking back toward the dorm. Within a moment, he was standing in view of the dorm. Instead of walking there, though, he walked to Calkins Hall, the building that was initially built to house the Department of Music, but had since been converted to the office officially used by the President. He walked in and up the stairs. The President's secretary sweetly greeted him and asked if she could help.

"Actually ma'am. If you could tell him that Alexander Saavedra is here to speak with him for a moment," he said.

"He's in with someone at the moment, if you'd like to have a seat, I will phone him and tell him that you're waiting."

"That would be great. Thank you very much," Alex answered, taking a seat in one of the leather upholstered chairs just by the secretary's desk.

Alex watched as she picked up the phone and dialed a number quickly. "Yes sir. Alex Saavedra is here to see you," she said. "I will let him know," she said after a second. "Sir?" she said, looking at Alex.

"Yes ma'am?"

"The President is just finishing up a meeting. He will be with you..." she started. Before she could finish, the President escorted the two people with whom he was meeting from his office. He wished them well for the afternoon and invited Alex into his office.

Shutting the door behind them, he smiled at Alex. There was a moment of small talk between the two of them; the President seemed keenly interested in Alex's classes, and how things were working out for him. He seemed pleased that things were going well.

"So the reason I've come to see you today..." Alex started.

"Yes?"

"I have met an amazing friend. He's smart; he works hard; he doesn't expect anything from anyone."

"Uh huh..."

"But he's come into some financial hard times, and I want to help him out without him knowing."

"Alright..."

"So I went to open a local bank account today," Alex said, pulling some papers, including the envelope, from his satchel. "And I got this check," he said, handing the check to the President. "I need this applied to his account, but I don't need it getting back to me."

"I think I can help you with that. What's his name?"

"Gavin Joseph Butler."

"And he lives on campus?"

"Yes sir. In Napier, just down the hall from me."

"OK. I will give the cashier's office a call. I'll have them note his account that it's a Special Presidential Award. I'll have my secretary write up a letter explaining things to him and then run it over to the post office to put in his box. Then I'll have Accounts Payable department cut him a check and get it over there today. Does that work?" President McChesney asked, looking at the check.

"That would be perfect. And you can have it done today?"

"Yeah. By this afternoon, he will have a University check in his box."

"Thank you, Dr. McChesney."

"You're quite welcome. Is there anything else that I can do for you today."

"That will be all. I really do appreciate your help."

"Anytime. Like I told you before, my door is always open to you. Just come by and tell who ever is out front that you need to talk to me, just like you did."

"You didn't stop the other meeting because of me, did you?"

"Yeah. But you outrank those people!" Dr. McChesney added, smiling.

"You didn't have to do that, but thank you!"

"Not a problem," the President said. The two of them stood and Alex walked out of the office, smiling. He quickly walked across the quad that separated Calkins Hall and Napier. There was a little bit of pride in his step, as he had found a way to help out a friend anonymously. After all, his mother had always told him to help out people if he could.

By the time he got to his room, he found his room vacant. For once, Eddie was gone and he could enjoy peace and quiet. He lay down on his bed and relished the silence that permeated through the room. It was quite like music to him. He lost himself in his thoughts; he lost himself in his mind, in his ideas, his goals, and his dreams. For almost an hour, he simply enjoyed the solitude. He smiled as he placed his hands behind his head and relaxed for once. By about six in the evening, Alex found himself drifting between sleep and consciousness. A loud knocking on the door woke him though. He walked over and unlocked it, slowly opening it to see who was on the other side.

"Hey!" he said after noticing it was Gavin. "What's up?"

"You will NEVER believe what happened to me!" Gavin said as he walked in the room.

"What?"

"Well, I talked to Lisa on the phone. She offered me the job without question! So I am your RA now!"

"Yay!"

"Then I stop on my way in to check my mail and I find that I received a scholarship that I didn't even know I was up for. There was a letter from the President saying that I'd received a Special Presidential Award. And since my tuition was paid, they wrote out a check for $10,000 and put it in there as well."

"Great!" Alex said, taking Gavin by the arms and pulling him into a big hug. "I'm so happy for you!"

"I can't believe this is happening!" Gavin said. Alex felt him begin to shake a little. "This is going to help me out so much. I can almost pay off my car with this, and the refund I'm getting on housing is that much more money that I'll be able to use to help me out." Alex smiled.

"I'm sure that whoever did that is just glad that you're going to be OK," Alex said.

"Whoever it is has my eternal gratitude." Gavin broke their hug after a moment and looked at Alex. "I'm really hungry. Want to get dinner?"

"Wow. Our third date in a week!" Alex said, winking at Gavin.

"And you know about my third date rule, right?"

"I think so..." Alex said, smiling. "But explain it to me!"

"We go out for ice cream afterwards!" Gavin joked and winked. Alex laughed. Gavin went to change his clothes quickly; Alex followed him to his room. Gavin shut the door and opened his closet. He quickly took off the clothes he'd worn to work and put on some more comfortable, informal clothes. As Gavin pulled up his jeans Alex noticed the cum-soaked underwear on the floor. He got a hard on knowing that Gavin had been wearing those when he left his room that morning. "Alright! Ready to go?"

"Sure," Alex said as he looked from the floor to Gavin. Gavin noticed what he was looking at. He was a little embarrassed that he'd not picked them up at least, but only until he realized that he had nothing to be embarrassed about. He had created that mess in the heat of passion, passion that he wished he could have directed toward the person for whom he had begun to have deep, true feelings.

They left within just a moment for dinner. Gavin felt like celebrating, and so he made a tough decision. He didn't have the money for anything too fancy or expensive, but he did want something that he didn't eat often. He vaguely remembered a few places in Birmingham that he'd eaten at that seemed different. He thought for a moment and asked Alex if he minded Latin food. Alex, feeling adventurous, agreed, and Gavin began driving his car north on I-65 to Sabor Latino, a Mexican/Peruvian restaurant in Birmingham's Green Springs area. They talked the whole way there. Gavin was so excited and very much relieved by the events of the day. Alex looked at him with a certain degree of relief that he would now be able to stay in school, something that he'd learned through their conversations was very important to Gavin.

The drive was uneventful, and they eventually arrived at the exit. Gavin was relieved to find that they weren't very crowded. Being the gentleman that he was, he turned off the car and met Alex at his side of the car. Alex had already opened the door and was climbing out, but Gavin made it around just in time to help him get out of the car. They weren't at the point of holding hands in public or anything, so they simply smiled at each other and walked toward the front door of the restaurant. Once inside, a prim, proper, and very courteous Latina welcomed the boys to her restaurant. "Hola! Welcome to Sabor Latino. I'm Olga! How many?"

"Dos," Alex answered. (Two.)

"Ah! Hablas español! ¡Qué bien! ¿Fumar o no?" she asked. (Ah! You speak Spanish. How nice! Smoking or non?)

"No fumar, por favor," Alex answered. (Non smoking.)

"Bueno. Eso lo puedo hacer," she said as she grabbed two menus and two sets of silverware. "Que me sigan, por favor." (Alright. I can do that! Follow me, please.)

The boys did as instructed and were set in a dimly lit, quiet part of the restaurant. The only two people around were another couple, obviously gay from their motions, but they were at the other side of the section. Neither group was in earshot of the other. "So what's good to eat here?" Alex asked as they were seated and began to look over the menu.

"Everything," Gavin answered. "I like to come here and try something I've never had before. There is a wide variety of `Mexican' and Peruvian cuisine."

"Nice. I've never had either," Alex answered.

"You've never had Mexican food?"

"Well, only Taco Bell, but I've always heard that doesn't really count. In Cabocha, we have more Spanish restaurants than traditional Cabochean or Lorenzian restaurants."

"Wow. What is Cabochean food like?" Gavin asked.

"It is the richest, most delicious food you could imagine," Olga said as she walked back up to the table. "If you'll notice on the menu, we have two Lorenzian dishes: Shrimp na salsa lete (Shrimp in Milk Sauce, translated) in the Cabochean style, and Carne Asada a la periñana, or Grilled steak with a lovely light tomato and garlic sauce."

"Wow," Gavin said. "I think I'll have the...um...Carne Asada a la periñana."

"I think I will have the same, if you don't mind," Alex said.

"Actually, I just came to get drink orders, but I will go ahead and put those in as well. What would you like to drink?"

"Do you have sweet tea?" Alex asked.

"As one of my southern friends would say, `does a one-legged duck swim in a circle?'" Olga said. Gavin laughed, and Alex, having picked up a little Southern slang, grinned.

"I'll have that then," Alex answered.

"Same here," Gavin said.

"I will be right out with those, then," Olga said, smiling as she walked away from the table. In just a moment, Olga returned with their drinks.

They talked and joked for a few minutes. They found that even though they'd known each other technically only a short time, small talk wasn't the agenda of the day. Their conversations took a much deeper tone, something that both of them enjoyed. Their plates were quickly brought to them. The steaks were cooked perfectly and each of them enjoyed it very much. Halfway through the meal, Olga returned to their table. She'd brought a small dish of Shrimp na salsa lete for Gavin to try. She said that it was on the house, and that she wouldn't accept anything for it. Gavin tried it and loved it; he offered some to Alex, but learned that he, like his twin sister, was allergic to most things from the sea. In Lorenzia, he would eat it if offered to him by someone, but would pay the consequences later. Their dinner went on without a single hitch or flaw. For the first time, they were on a date that seemingly wasn't going to end in a hospital or with someone's feelings being hurt. As they drove back to Montevallo, Alex decided that it was time to mess with Gavin a little bit.

"So what about ice cream?" Alex joked.

"Oh! I almost forgot it was the third date!" Gavin said. They both laughed at the statement, but when they reached the intersection with I-459, Gavin took it heading north. In just a second, he took Alex to Birmingham's newest shopping center: the Summit. Once there, he took a turn into the parking lot almost directly in front of the Ben and Jerry's store. Just as before, he got out of the car and made his way around to help Alex out. In virtual silence, they walked to the door of the shop. Gavin grabbed the door and allowed Alex to pass. An older couple saw them as they entered and smiled. There was an obvious affection/attraction between the two boys, and they thought it was quite refreshing to see young love.

"Wow," Alex said as he looked at the selection. "I really should expand my ice cream palate."

"What kind do you normally eat?"

"Walnut or, what we call in Lorenzia, gorzanut. It's more commonly known as pistachio."

"Wow."

"What about you?"

"I've always been found of strawberry with chocolate syrup on top."

"Sounds interesting," Alex said, smiling at Gavin.

"Do you think that sounds gross?"

"Actually, no. It sounds amazingly good. Would you mind if I ordered that, too?"

"Not at all. I may get some gorzanut myself. Just to try something different."

"Good," Alex said, patting Gavin's shoulder.

The pair ordered two small cups of ice cream. Rather than staying in the store, though, they walked outside and down the sidewalk randomly. They talked as the two enjoyed the dessert. Gavin found that he quite liked `gorzanut' ice cream; Alex attributed his new found taste for strawberries and chocolate to be quite pleasing. For him, it was either that, or the company he was keeping.

Before long, though, they'd returned to the SUV. They drove back to the dorms in Montevallo. It was a quiet ride whose only difference from each of the others they'd taken was that Alex, for the first time in his life, felt connected to someone other than his mother or sister. He'd almost completely let his guard down with this man, and he was wearing his heart on his shoulder. He held out his hand over the center console, palm facing up. Gavin looked down for a second and smiled. He put his hand atop Alex's and squeezed. Time seemed to fly as they lost themselves in their own thoughts, thoughts of not only passion but also caring and appreciation. One wouldn't necessarily say that it was `love' that flowed between them, but it was something much stronger than either of them had ever felt before.

When they arrived back at the dorm, they climbed from the SUV. This time, Alex was out before Gavin made it around. They continued to walk quietly into the building and toward Gavin's room. As he fished for his keys, Gavin looked over at Alex. "I could still use a cuddle buddy for tonight, if you're up for it," he suggested.

"That would be nice," Alex said, smiling at Gavin. Gavin opened the door and let Alex enter. He liked the view of Alex from behind. It was a nice tight ass, and even though he'd seen it already, he enjoyed looking at it through Alex's pants and imagining what it would look like as he was ravaging the man. They stayed up for a bit. Gavin handed Alex the remote to the TV and he quickly turned it on and to the Lorenzian station on the University's Cable System.

There was some pointless sitcom on TV. Given that it was four in the morning there, Alex wasn't surprised. The news and good programs actually didn't start until around 6 a.m. Cabocha time, which would be 11 p.m. in Montevallo. He felt himself already getting tired, and wasn't sure he'd make it that long. After checking his email and then powering down his computer, Gavin lay down on the bed next to Alex. Facing the TV, he got comfortable, placing his hands behind his head. For a half hour, they lay there just as they were, with Alex lying on his back, propped up by the pillow that he'd been using. They both kept stealing glances at each other. Both admired the way that their clothes fit perfectly against their bodies at rest.

"Posso baesarte?" Gavin asked, catching Alex off guard by the use of his thickly accented Cabochean. (May I kiss you?)

"Si vuolase," Alex answered. (If you'd like.)

"I would like it a lot," Gavin said as he repositioned himself. Gavin was at eye level with Alex, and wasted no time in making their lips meet one another's. He placed his right hand behind Alex's head so as to pull him closer to him, for deeper, longer, more passionate kisses. For what seemed to pass both quickly and slowly at the same time, they kissed. They learned the shape of each other's lips. They learned the smoothness of the other's skin.

"Damn you're a good kisser," Alex said as Gavin temporarily parted from him. Alex couldn't even open his eyes from the excitement.

"I'm only as good as the person I'm kissing, Gavin added as he began with renewed vigor to kiss the man before him.

In the distance, they could hear a telephone ringing. Neither of them paid the least amount of attention to it, though. Since it was in his room, though, Eddie had to pay very close attention. The sound of the phone ringing annoyed him to no end; it was taking time away from his chatting. After the fourth ring, he decided that he should answer it.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Hello. Is this Alex Saavedra's room?" the woman asked.

"Yeah, but he's not here right now. Can I take a message?" Eddie asked, slightly miffed.

"Actually. I was hoping to talk to you for a moment. This is his sister, Elizabeth."

"Oh. Hi! I'm Eddie. What did you want me for?"

"Well, I'm trying to get together a photo album for him and our sister for their birthday. I was wondering if you could help me get some photos of him from America. It's a surprise, though, so you mustn't say anything."

"I will try, but I can't make any promises."

"That will be alright. Let me give you my phone number and email address, and if you come across any good ones, please send them to me."

"I will see what I can do, ma'am."

"It is greatly appreciated. I'll even compensate you for your time," Elizabeth said.

"Great!" Eddie said, finding motivation to help out the sister of his roommate.

"We'll discuss that later, though."

"Alright."

"Well, I must be off. Have a wonderful evening, Eddie," Elizabeth said, in the nicest tone she could muster.

"You as well."

"Bye."

"Bye," Gavin said, hanging up the phone.

Elizabeth also hung up the phone. She was sitting in her ornate office in her palatial home in Italy. "You are delightfully evil sometimes, Highness," the man sitting in the room with her said.

"Well," Elizabeth started, "my little brother has to eventually fuck up something. When he does, I will definitely be ready to pounce and claim what should be mine!" she said. "Can I count on your support, sir, when that day does come?"

"Most certainly. You were robbed of your post when he was born, and it's not fair," the man before her said.

"You are quite right, Mr. Richardes. And when I am Queen, you can be assured that your party will be looked upon quite favorably."

"Yes ma'am. I appreciate that!" the man, known to his contemporaries as the Leader of the Opposition, said.

As they were talking, Gavin and Alex were still back in Gavin's room, making out. Alex was so enjoying himself that, for some time, he didn't realize that he was sporting quite the hard on. Gavin was painfully aware of his, though. He wanted to rip off his pants and just jack off as he kissed Alex. He knew it was far too soon to try to move beyond such an action, but he was afraid in that moment of what Alex might think of him. As they pulled apart from each other, Gavin looked at Alex.

"You are so beautiful. I can't believe that NO ONE has ever told you that before."

"They have. I've just never been able to act upon any advances."

"I'm so sorry for that. They don't know what they're missing, though."

"To be honest, I've never known what I was missing," Alex said, smiling.

Gavin smiled and then went directly back to kissing Alex. For what seemed like an eternity, they stayed there kissing. By the time they'd both lost their energy, they separated themselves. Gavin rested his forehead on Alex's. Both of them had literally been worn out by their session of kissing and oral exploration.

"You OK?" Gavin asked.

"Yeah..." Alex managed to say.

"Good."

"You?"

"Yeah. It's fun kissing you," Gavin said. Alex, with his eyes closed, could feel Gavin smiling.

"Yeah." After a few minutes, the boys got up from the bed and took their clothes off. Wearing only their boxers, the pair climbed back into bed and returned to virtually the same position they were in before. "I can't wait to get this damn cast off," Alex said, breaking the silence.

"Same here, Alex." Gavin pulled the covers of them and they drifted off to sleep.

Alex dreamt quite vividly that night. He was back in Lorenzia, sitting on the beach on one of the islands. He remembered enjoying a beer as he soaked in the sun. To his right was his sister, in all her princessly beauty. To his left was Gavin, looking at him with great affection.