Hey there guys, thanks for reading my new story. Some of you may have read my other stories, which you can find on my site: http://GTHQ.homestead.com. This is my first story based around college life, and if you want to comment or critique it, please email me at Boyinterrupted85@aol.com. Thanks again, Gary T.
What's Love Got To Do With It? ________________________________
What does love have to do with it? Or maybe better said is, what does love have to do with leading a great, happy, successful life? Can't someone go through life without loving, and still be happy? Well, when I was in my underclassmen college years, I certainly thought that was true. When I was beginning junior year, and my college days were slowly drawing to an end, I realized that love was needed to be happy. What's the point of going through life, being successful, and having fun if you don't have anyone to share all the things that make you happy?
"Ethan, where are my leather pants?"
"Did you check behind my bed? You flung them off pretty fast last night, maybe they went behind there or something."
I'm Ethan; this is how my life was day in, day out. At this point, I was half way through my freshman year.
Jake, my boyfriend at the time, had stayed the night in my dorm. I went through boyfriends like toilet paper.
"Ethan, did you see my coat?"
"It's behind my bathroom door Mark."
That was one week later, as you can tell; I got around quite a bit. I never took the time to give myself a chance to love any of them. They were gone before I even knew their birthdays, let alone met their friends and family.
Now in the middle of my junior year, I've stopped dating for a couple months. I had a major AIDS scare and it really made me think.
I had literally started counting the guys I had slept with. My goal was to beat the record of a different guy each night. So in other words, I was a 2-cent whore. But I wasn't even getting 2-cents.
Since I've been on my "not dating" kick, I've met a few guys that I could have had but didn't take. I actually got to know one of them, Justin, and we've hung out a few times.
Since last week we've hung out three times. We went to Oasis, this club, all three times. We had fun, but the bar atmosphere isn't my place of choice. To be honest with you, I'm not even 100% sure he's gay. If I had to guess I would say he is, but it's never come up. I'm just glad to have him as a friend.
I woke up Friday morning. I had a class at noon. I walked into the bathroom and made sure to note I needed to lose a few pounds as I walked up to the mirror.
I still looked decent though. I guess one could say I was cute. Not "hot", just "cute". I didn't have the right build to be called hot.
I am just a fraction of an inch shorter than 6 foot. Almost black hair. I would say my best feature is my belly button. I have an adorable outie, and I'm the first to acknowledge it. Everyone says they want my belly button. I have it pierced too, but I took the ring out a few months ago. I guess I was sick of making sure I didn't catch my washcloth on it. I weigh in at about 160 pounds, I definitely don't have a six-pack, and it's rather flat with just a line down the center that lets you know I do attempt to work out. I had braces on my teeth until I was 19 years old. I actually miss them. They always gave me an excuse to not smile. At least my teeth are straight now. I hopped into the shower and washed up before I headed off to class.
At 6 o'clock Justin was coming over. We had planned on renting a movie and ordering out. I was looking forward to seeing him again. We'd known each other for around 3 weeks, and we were already known around campus as being good friends. Most people that I seen on a regular basis, assuming they stayed in a dorm near by, knew I was gay. People in my classes, on the other hand, didn't. So, I'm always trying to look as normal as possible when I get in class.
Normal is a word I hate. What makes someone normal? Is a guy that likes girls "normal"? By whose standards? I consider myself, the way I AM, normal. I don't like saying that I need to "act normal". Unfortunately society has made it that way, and most people that aren't "normal" by society's standards have to.
Even though I'm a loser at my own game, I advise people to be themselves and cut their losses. If someone doesn't like you because your hair is too bright, or your tongue ring grosses them out, blow them off. They're just too afraid to realize how much pride you take in individuality.
Being gay is my claim to individuality, but if I were straight, I'd find something else to separate me from the rest of the crowd. I couldn't stand being a follower, unless I was following my heart. That's something I've never done. I can honestly say I've never loved or been in love with anyone I've ever dated. It's pretty sad, but true.
I got out of my classes and took a quick trip to the cafeteria for a sandwich. Roast beef on rye. I ran a few errands I needed to do and headed to my dorm. By the time I got to my room there were still a few hours left before Justin would be over. I sat and watched Jenny Jones with her usual big breasted girls and Sally with her usual attitude. I pretty much wasted the rest of the day away watching talk shows and reruns of some of my favorite shows. By the time Justin came over I was worn out doing nothing.
"Hey Jus, what's up." I said as we walked in the door.
"Nothing much, it's been a really long day." He replied.
Every time I seen Justin he looked better and better. Though as of now the attraction was merely physical because I hadn't known him more than a month and a half, I could see myself with him down the road. I'm sure that sexuality would eventually come up, but for all I knew he could be in a relationship.
"Yeah, classes were over early today, so I had a lot of time to waste before you came over." I said.
"Yeah, same here." He said with a smile.
He came and plopped down next to me on my bed, which had a little nightstand at the end where my TV sat. I was propped up against the wall with my feet stretched out towards the TV.
Justin, to my surprise, lay his head on my chest and put his feet down by mine. I was pretty stunned, and obviously pleased. I put my arm around his shoulder, and I looked down at him. He sensed the stare and looked up, our eyes met and we both gave a glimpse of a smile to acknowledge the others approval. We sat and finished watching the rerun of The Simpson's, and I reluctantly took my arm off his shoulder.
"Should we order a pizza, or go out tonight?" Wondering if Justin wanted to keep our plans, or make new ones.
"Let's go out, how about Oasis?" He asked.
"Hmm, I'm really not in the mood for the bar atmosphere tonight." I replied.
"Well, where do you want to go?" He asked curiously.
"Well, I have an Idea." I said grabbing my car keys.
"What's that?" He asked.
"Let's just get into my car."
We headed for the dorm parking lot, and Justin didn't know what my car looked like.
"Exactly what kind of car do you have?" Justin asked.
"I have a 1997 Buick Skylark, it wasn't my personal favorite at the time, but my Grandparents were in the market for a new car when I was in the market for a used one, and I bought it off of them for a really good price."
I relied.
"That's awesome. I have a 2000 Chevy Tahoe." Justin said.
"Your family have some money?" I said as I pressed the 'unlock' button on my keyless entry pad.
"Well, my parents are paying my entire way through college, so whatever money I make I have to spend, so I got the Tahoe. I love the thing." He said.
"Yeah, it's a nice truck. I would never buy anything but a GM product." I responded.
"Oh definitely, I never will either." He said enthusiastically.
It was nice to know we agreed on that. I am a pretty reasonable guy, but when it comes to GM vehicles and AMD processors, there are no substitutions.
One down, one to go.
"So, where are we going again?" Justin asked as we pulled out of the parking lot.
"Well, to be totally honest, I don't know. I like to just hop in my car and take long rides, and where ever the moon takes me is where I sit for a few hours to relax." I replied.
"Yeah, I've never looked at it in such a subtle way, but I do the same thing now and then. I just do it when I'm really pissed off." Justin said smiling at me.
We drove for a couple hours, just the two of us talking and getting to know each other. Justin was from a wealthy family. He found out that I was too.
Neither of us took the money to heart though.
My Dad worked his way up in SeaTech Inc., which made technical equipment for submarines and other watercraft. I knew very little about what he did, just that he had started out as a labor worker, and over the course of 35 years became foremen of his department, then general manager and finally Chairman of the company's board.
Justin's Mother was from a wealthy family that invested in tech stock many years ago and became rich off of that. Her brother was the real head of it all, but the entire family became wealthy after he had his foot in. His uncle now owned his own company in Maine, which is where his mother and father lived. His father was Vice President of his brother's company, and together they became rich, though Justin nor I said how rich our families were.
"So, what made you pick UIC?" I asked.
"Well, I've always loved Chicago. It's my favorite city to visit, and I've always wanted to live here. My parents wanted me to go to an Ivy Tech, but I wanted to go here. That's technically how I'm able to afford the Tahoe. My parents gave me all the money they had saved for me to go to an Ivy school, and I didn't need it all."
"So you spent it on a top of the line Tahoe instead?" I said snickering.
"Well, yeah. But I make some of the payment from my job." He replied.
"Where do you work?" I asked.
"John Hancock Cheesecake factory." He replied.
"Oh wow, I just ate in there a few days ago."
"That's cool. So Ethan, why did you pick UIC?" He said feeling weird to ask the same question I had just asked him.
"Well, it's always been my first choice. My family lives in Licolnwood, IL and it was just always the place I've planned on attending. It was either here or Eastern Illinois University down in Charleston, IL, and that was too far away from my family. I don't know how you deal with being so far from your parents." I said.
"Well, since they told me they don't want me around since I'm gay, it's not really that hard. My parents called me a disgrace to my family when I came out to them last week. So, I know where you're coming from, especially before I told them, but now I don't care if I see them again." Justin said.
I could tell that he was getting a little upset.
"That's terrible man. My parent's took it well." I said, trying not to press the subject too much.
"Well, I can't wait to meet your parents then." Justin said looking over at me with a smile.
I was getting tired of driving.
"Do you want to go to Navy Pier?" I asked.
"Yeah, that sounds good." Justin replied.
We parked the car and walked around the pier for an hour or so. Unbelievably, it wasn't too crowded, especially for a Friday night. We got to the end of the pier and took a seat.
"So, when did you discover that you're uhh, gay?" Justin asked me.
"Well, I guess I always have been different, but I didn't really know what it meant until I was about 12 or 13.
"Yeah, that's the same with me." Justin said. "I had so many close calls as a kid. My parents almost caught me with our 17-year-old neighbor when I was 14. That would have been really bad." He continued.
"I'll bet." I replied.
"My Mom and Dad caught me looking at some pictures online when I was 14. They were upset that I was looking at porn. Though they took the gay thing well overall. I've introduced all my more serious boyfriends to them, and they are perfectly comfortable around them." I said. I kind of lied there.
I made it sound like I had few boyfriends, which was far from the truth. I had introduced my family to my presentable boyfriends, not my "boytoy" boyfriends.
"That's really great Ethan. I hope someday my parents will be like that."
"Yeah, it may just take a long time though." I said comfortingly. Though I do believe it came out a little wrong.
"I'm just worried that my parents are going to tell the rest of my family that I'm gay. I don't want anyone knowing, especially my little cousin Blake. We've always been close, but since I've been in College we don't get to see each other much anymore. I think he'll be 17 in April. That's my uncle's son, the one I was telling you about. I heard him and my Aunt are expecting another child, so I'll have to take a trip out there when the baby's born, it'll be sometime in August. Maybe you can come along?" Justin asked.
"Well, if you think we'll still be friends by then." I said with a smirk.
"No, I'm hoping we won't be friends." Justin said rubbing my leg.
"Yeah, I hope that too." I said smiling at him.
Justin and I were getting tired, so we decided to make our way back to the car. The car ride home was much more quiet. It was definitely a fun night though, and for the first time in a long time I felt like I could be happy. I dropped Justin off at his place, which wasn't too far from mine. I think he wanted to kiss me goodnight, but he's a tad shy, to say the least. Even with me expecting that he was gay, I'm surprised he went to the measure of laying his head on my shoulder like he did. It was a sweet thing though. I really like him.
I had a hard time sleeping last night. All I could think about was Justin and our night together. It was wonderful, just the two of us, and getting to know him so well. It was a real shame that his parents can't accept him for who he is. That gets me back to the socially "normal" problem this country has. He is such a wonderful person, and for his parents to tell him they don't want to see him anymore because of his sexual preference is terrible. I did experience this when I was a teenager though. My cousin, Steve, went through it with his parents. They pushed him away, and now that they have decided to accept him, he's gone. Changed his name, moved across the country, and only my Mother, Grandma, and ex-Aunt have verbal contact with him. Family is a permanent thing; no one should have to go through that.
There was a knock at the door. I got up to answer it, wondering why my roommate hadn't been here in three days. One second, I'm opening the door, the next I'm lip locked with someone I didn't even get a look at. When I pushed this guy off of me I knew exactly who it was.
"Jake, what the hell is wrong with you and why the fuck are you here?" I asked.
"Whoa, man chill out, you know you liked the kiss."
"No, I didn't" I said wiping my mouth free from his saliva.
"OK, then why did you call me?" Jake asked.
"Call you, the last time I fucking called you was around Christmas." I replied.
"Yeah, but you still called." He said trying to prove a point.
"Almost two months ago, I haven't called since have I?"
"No." He said with disappointment in his voice.
"Well, I'm seeing someone, now you need to go, because I don't want people getting the wrong idea. I'll talk to you sometime." I said.
"Ethan, you know you want me." He said as he headed for the door.
"No, I don't. You don't know what I want anymore, so just leave. I've changed a lot since we were together. Now bye." I said closing the door in his face.
I turned and leaned again the door relieved no one saw Jake kiss me. The last thing I need is something twisted around getting back to Justin.
Jake and I have been getting together occasionally ever since my freshman year. We met at one of our mutual friend's parties. He's a really cute guy without a good personality, which makes him an ass in my view. He's really tied into being "straight" yet he had sex with me. So, that's the thing I'm really trying to stay away from.
I called Justin and we made plans to go out again this afternoon. He wants to pick me up tonight in his Tahoe, which I can't object to. I got the rights of planning the night last night, and he gets those rights tonight.
When Justin told me around 12:00, I hadn't realized that it was already 10:30, so I grabbed a breakfast bar for a quick breast fast and went to the community bathroom for a shower. By the time I combed my hair Justin was at my door.
"Hey there." I said with a smile as I showed him in my room.
"Hey Ethan, sleep good last night?" He asked.
"Hehe, are you kidding? By the time I fell asleep my alarm was going off." I said jokingly.
"Yeah, same here. So, are you ready to go?" Justin inquired.
"I suppose. Wish you would tell me where we are going though." I said.
"It's not too far, don't worry. C'mon Ethan, you didn't tell me last night so I'm not telling you tonight." Justin said feeling guilty since I had asked him where we were going and he wouldn't say.
"OK, OK." I said laughing.
We headed out of my room and down to his Tahoe, which was white. It was really nice and it had all the features. 6 CD changer, heated leather and mirrors, foor wheel drive - of course, all the things anyone could ever want.
"Wow, Justin I do believe your vehicle outdoes mine."
"Yeah, well yours is perfect, mines too big and it costs ALOT for gas." He said.
"That's true." I said still wishing I had one.
We headed out from campus on the expressway and wound up back over on Lakeshore Drive. I had pretty much figured out where we were going by now, but I still didn't say anything.
I was right. We pulled into the parking area right by Lake Michigan that lead to the 100th Annual Chicago Auto Show. Luckily we got a good parking place. Last year we had to park all the way down by the Alder Planetarium, which is a good 1.5 miles away from the McCormick place, where the auto show is held. We had no jackets, and in the middle of February, we froze our asses off. I went with my family last year, but they had gone last weekend this year, so I didn't get the chance to go with them.
"Awe man, you really know what I like." I said to Justin as we made our way up to the entrance.
Once you get into the building, you still have to walk FOREVER. (Through McCormick place north, over Lakeshore Drive, and into McCormick place south.) I started to head over to the ticket booth, but Justin said there was no need; he had already gotten tickets off the Internet.
We walked through the metal bars that rotate. I always wonder what people call those things.
I didn't even have to ask. We made our way straight towards the GM vehicles. This guy was a keeper. Normally when I come to the auto show, I have to go through all the crappy fords and Chryslers before I could see the GM's. We spent 2 good hours browsing just the Chevy's. MY personal favorite, the Monte Carlo/Impala duo where first. The Trucks and SUV's were next, and we finished with the Venture minivan for some reason. After the Chevy's, we spent another hour and a half looking at the Buick's, GMC's and Pontiac's.
By the time we finished with those we were tired and thirsty, so we went to one of those lemonade stands which charge you $2.50 for some ice and a little lemonade. We found our way to a bench and sat down to drink and chew on our ice. Justin had paid for everything so far, so I bought the refreshments.
"Ethan, you are such a great guy." Justin said seriously.
"Awe, thanks. You're a wonderful guy yourself. I'm really glad we met." I said looking into his eyes.
"I can definitely say the same." Justin said taking his first, and oddly last slurp of lemonade.
"Now, we gotta finish off the rest of our cars." Justin said pulling me up by my arm.
"Ahh, c'mon just 5 more minutes. My legs are so sore." I said taking mini steps trying to stop him from pulling my arm off.
"No! Let's go!" Justin said pulling me harder.
"OK, I'm coming, I'm coming."
Justin was walking a tad faster than I was. What a beautiful ass. I had never paid too much attention to it until now. His pants just clung to it in the right way. I noticed a few girls taking a glance as we walked too. That just made me smile. Knowing that he was attracted to me, and not them.
We made our way over to the Hummer's, Saab's, Isuzu's, Suzuki's, and Subaru's. All the company's GM had just purchased all or part of.
We finished off the GM's by visiting the Cadillac's and finally the recently axed Oldsmobile's. After we were all through, we spent 5 hours in the auto show. On the way out we passed by some of the Ford's to poke fun, and then back through the wire bars.
Once we made the long walk back to the Tahoe, we were really tired.
"Ahh" I said rubbing my feet, "This has been one of the best days I've ever had in a long, long time."
"Yeah, same here." Justin said.
I reluctantly put my shoes back on and Justin pulled out of the parking lot.
Or rather got in the line leading out of the parking lot.
"So, what do you want to do now?" Justin asked.
"Oh man, I want to go to sleep, I'm so tired."
"Well, do you want to come back to my place? I mean, no...not like that. Just to hang out." Justin said with a red face.
"Yeah, sure." I said with a smile.
Justin had his own apartment, which had to be much better than my dorm room. The few times I had dropped him off, it looked nice, but I had never been inside.
Nice was definitely an understatement. I was starting to believe he was being modest when he said his family had money from the looks of the place. I think they were billionaires.
The place was wonderful. With all the modern furniture, it looked like something off of MTV. I loved it.
"So, what do you think about the place?" Justin asked.
"Wow, it's, it's wonderful Justin." I said looking around. Everywhere you looked there was something unique and beautiful. The most beautiful standing in front of me, talking to me, and liking me. He was perfect in everyway.
All those years I had been doing the one-night stands. I was sexing my way through life. Ruining any chances, potentially endangering others, of leading a normal life. I had finally taken the time to get to know someone; their family, and I had plenty of time to find out Justin's birthday. Love has everything to do with it. ________________________________________________________________
So that's the story. And yes, this and Blake's love will have a few intertwined adventures. I hope you enjoyed reading this one, because I LOVED writing it. Well, looking forward to all your comments and emails.
Email me @ : Boyinterrupted85@aol.com
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