Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2000 14:11:37 -0800 (PST)
From: Brew Maxwell <brew_drinker23@yahoo.com>
Subject: My Adventures with Nick, Part Six

Disclaimer: This story is fiction, and any resemblance to real persons is
purely coincidental.  It contains graphic descriptions of sex between and
among young adult men, and anyone who finds this subject matter
objectionable, or who is not of legal age in his or her political
jurisdiction to read such material, must leave immediately.  This story is
being posted to the Nifty Archive for the amusement and entertainment or
readers.  It may not be posted or reprinted in any other medium without the
written consent of its author.  Comments are always welcome.

My Adventures with Nick, Part Six

	We slept for about an hour, and this time I woke up before Nick
did.  I just lay still, watching him breathe.  I could see stubble on his
chest and stomach where the hair he had shaved off was starting to grow
back in.  It looked like a fairly healthy crop, to me, but it was a
slightly lighter brown than his hair or beard.  Like everything about Nick,
his pattern of body hair was sexy.
	Nick woke up around three.  "I could use a cup of coffee," he said.
"You want one?"
	I decided to join him this time.  Nick got up and went across the
room to the coffee maker he had brought up that morning.  In a few minutes
the room smelled of the fresh brew.
	Nick came back to bed and turned on his butt plug on its lowest
setting.  I turned on mine, and the sensation was quite nice.  It wasn't as
powerful as it had been earlier in the day, of course, but it was enough to
make my cock stir.
	"If you keep it on low," Nick said, "it'll take a good bit longer
to make you come.  I love getting hard this way.  It'll be really intense
when you come, too."
	"I'm not sure I can stand too many more like before," I said, more
to make conversation than because I meant it.
	"Bullshit."  We both laughed.  "A cum-puppy like you can't get
enough, and you know it."  More laughter.
	We drank our coffee and smoked cigarettes lying in bed.  Our cocks
were getting harder by the minute, but there wasn't the rush to full-blown
erections that we usually experienced.
	"Okay, so what are you thinking," Nick asked.
	"What?  Oh, I was just thinking about you.  We're going to graduate
in five weeks, and I don't know what you're planning to do next year.  Or
this summer, for that matter."
	"Three days after graduation I'm going to Europe.  I'm going to be
there eight weeks, just touring around."
	"Wow!  That sounds like fun."  I was genuinely enthusiastic.  My
mother travelled so much on business that she never wanted to go anywhere
just for fun, so I hadn't really been many places.
	"Who are you going with," I asked, assuming he would be part of a
tour or some kind of group.
	"Nobody.  Just me.  I'm going to get a car from a friend of my
dad's in Spain who has a Hertz franchise, and I'm going to go where I want
to go and do what I want to do.  I'll drop the car off at a Hertz place
when I'm through with it.  I'll be in Spain and France for a good bit of
the time, probably, so I can practice my languages."
	Colton Academy required everybody to take foreign language every
year.  I wasn't taking one because I hadn't been taking one in Minneapolis,
so I had an extra study hall.  Everybody else was, though.
	"Which language, French or Spanish?"
	"Both," he said.  "I've taken both for six years."
	"Are you any good," I asked.
	"Yeah, I'm pretty good with both of them.  I spent four weeks in
both countries last summer staying with families the school set up, and I
got really good then.  I've probably lost some of it, but I think a couple
of weeks in each country ought to get me back on track.  I'm good at
languages.  It's sort of a talent I have, I guess."
	"Christ, I've had to struggle with every word of French I've
learned.  We didn't have to take as much at my old school as you guys do."
	Nick lit another cigarette.  Then he said, "So what are you doing
this summer?"
	"Not much.  I'm thinking about taking a couple of college courses,
maybe.  I don't know."
	"Why?  You ought to be doing something that's an adventure.  Hey,
why don't you come with me?"
	"God, I'd love to.  I've never been to Europe, but I've always
wanted to go."
	"What do you think your mom would say?"  Nick was really warming to
the idea.  "Let's call her and see what she says.  You know how to get in
touch with her, don't you?"
	"Yeah, but . . . ."
	"But what?  Get the number.  Come on.  Get it."
	"Nick, it's not as easy as that.  How do we know I could even get a
plane ticket?  And how much would it cost?  That's something she'll
definitely want to know."
	"Give me the fuckin' phone," he said.  I couldn't tell if there was
annoyance in his voice or not.  He dialed directory assistance for New
Orleans and got the number of a travel agent.  He called the number, but I
didn't expect anybody to answer at this time on a Saturday afternoon.  But
they did.  I found out later the agency is in a shopping mall and that they
keep mall hours.
	After Nick identified himself and reminded the agent of his own
travel plans, he asked if there was any way there could be a second person
included in his party.  The agent probably had to do some quick computer
hunting, but the answer was "yes."  Nick ordered a second set of tickets
and gave her his American Express card number to secure the reservations.
That part was taken care of.
	"Shit," he said after he had hung up.  "You're going to need a
passport."
	I smiled.  "No problem there.  I got one last fall when I thought I
would be going with my mom to Argentina.  That trip fell through, though,
and I got to see my dad for Christmas instead."
	"Okay, so let's call your mom.  Tell her you won an all-expense
paid trip or something.  It won't be a lie.  I'll pay for everything if
money's a problem.  The contest was to see who could make me come the
hardest today, and you won.  So you won't even be lying."
	I laughed at Nick's sincerity.  "Money won't be a problem.  She's
banked every dime of child support my dad has sent her, and it's for me to
use for my education.  This is very much a part of my education."  I was
really starting to get excited at the prospect of going to Europe with
Nick.  "Plus, she makes a shitload of money."
	"Well, call her, man.  Dial the fucking phone."
	This all seemed very quick, but I couldn't think of a single reason
for not doing it.  I could argue the need to improve my French, to see the
great sites of Europe, to learn to take care of myself.  You name it.  I
was ready.
	I dialed my mom's number in Brazil.  I wasn't sure she'd answer, of
course, but I hadn't lost anything if she didn't.  She picked up the phone
on the third ring, and Nick clicked on the speaker phone.
	"Mom, it's Brad," I said.
	"Brad!  Darling, what's the matter?  Are you all right?"
	"Yeah, I'm fine.  How's Brazil?"
	"It's fine.  I'm working almost nonstop, but it's okay.  Why did
you call?"
	That's my mom.  Cut to the chase.
	"I didn't go to Atlanta.  Instead I went with a friend from school
to his family's place in the country.  In Mississippi."
	"Well, that's nice.  Are you boys enjoying yourselves?"
	Nick started laughing, trying to smother it so my mom wouldn't
hear.
	"Yeah, we're having a great time.  You should see this place.  It's
beautiful.  Anyway, Nick and I--that's his name, Nick--we got to talking
about what we're doing this summer after graduation, and he said he was
going to Europe for eight weeks to improve his French and Spanish."  Nick
grabbed my cock at that point, and I slapped his hand away gently.  "He
asked me if I wanted to go with him, and I do.  What do you think?"
	"Who would be going?"
	"It would just be us, but he's been before and knows people in both
Spain and France.  I figure I could improve my French.  They always told me
at Deerfield that I should visit a French-speaking country, if I wanted to
get good at it.  Plus, you know better than I do that travel is very
educational."
	"Brad, this is rather sudden.  What makes you think you could even
get airline tickets?  I mean, sometimes I have to book flights months in
advance."
	"Nick checked, and that won't be a problem.  I could pay for the
trip out of the money Dad sends."
	"The money's not a problem; you know that.  When would you have to
know for sure?"
	Nick wrote something on a notepad and shoved it in front of me.
"By tomorrow at noon" it said.
	"By tomorrow at noon.  Is that too quick?"
	"Listen, give me the number where I can reach you.  I want to think
about this.  I'll call you back by noon tomorrow.  What time is it there
now?"
	"Three twenty," I said.
	"Okay, sweetheart.  I'll get back in touch with you.  I love you."
	"I love you, too, Mom.  And Mom, please."
	"Goodbye," she said, and hung up.
	"Well, what do you think," Nick wanted to know.
	"She didn't say 'no,' which I think means she'll probably say
'yes.'  She's a pretty decisive lady, especially on the 'no's.'"
	The gray day was finally beginning to lighten.  It had stopped
raining while we were asleep, and I could tell that it was already getting
warmer.  The cold front that brought the rain went out as quickly as it had
come in.
	I had started getting hard before I called my mom, but talking to
her and having Nick grab my cock in the middle of our conversation dampened
my sexual enthusiasm.  Nick was hard, though.  He noticed my flagging dick
and turned up the vibrator another notch.  It worked, and in a few minutes
I was rock hard again.  He turned it down to its lowest setting.
	"Let's go outside," he said.  "The rain's stopped, and I think it's
warm enough.  Besides, I have other jackets you could wear."
	I thought he meant we would put some clothes on, but he didn't.  He
meant jackets, not clothes.  He dug a brown leather aviator jacket out of
his closet for me to wear, and we went outside.
	Being outside presented an interesting set of sensations.  I was
warm, really, with the jacket and all, but I could feel the slight chill in
the air on my legs.  My cock was still very hard, so that part of me was
warm, too.  We had put on shoes, so my feet were okay.  Really strange.
	We walked across the patio to the pavillion.  Nick wanted to get
something.  It turned out to be a frisbee he wanted.  He took the cock
jewelry off and put in into the pocket of his jacket, and I took off the
nipple ring, which stung more than it felt good at that point.  We tossed
the frisbee around for awhile, and then the heat of our movements, coupled
with the rising temperature, made us want to take our jackets off, too.
Then Nick unsnapped the cock ring from the butt plug he was wearing.  I
didn't know it came as two separate pieces, but I did the same.
	"I want to show you something," Nick said.
	He led me to a part of the garden that had a sudden drop-off of
maybe forty feet.  The land was hilly anyway, and this was apparently a
place where the elevation dropped rather suddenly.
	"It's a bitch to cut this grass," he said, "but it's fun the slide
down when it's wet like this."
	Nick took the lead.  He moved back maybe twenty feet and ran full
force toward the spot where the land dropped.  When he got there, he
flopped down on his ass and slid to the botton of the the elevation on his
butt.  He let out a loud whoop on his way down.  When he reached the
bottom, he called up for me to do the same.
	Not being the super-physical type like Nick, I was a little
hesitant to follow him.  I walked to the edge of the mini-cliff and looked
down.  It looked like a long way to me, higher than any water slide I'd
ever seen.
	"Come on.  Don't be such a pussy," Nick shouted.  "You'll like it."
	What could I do?  I was scared, but my buddy wanted me to try.  So
I did.  I went back about half as far as he had gone, and I ran at about
half his speed.  I hit the ground with a thud, and then gravity took over.
I slid on the wet grass as fast as I had ever moved in my life, outside a
plane.  The impact sent the butt plug in my ass at least an inch deeper,
and it must have touched some magic spot inside me.  The feeling was
indescribable.  I had already had a few involuntary twitches telling me I
was nearing orgasm, but on the ride down I lost control.  Halfway through
my fifteen-second descent I started to come.  Like the other orgasms I had
had this weekend, this one was unique.  My ass burned a little from the
friction, but that only added to the pleasure.  When I got to the bottom, I
was spread-eagle on my back, and cum was shooting out of me in giant wads.
Nick greeted me with laughter.
	"So how was it," he asked, barely able to talk around his hilarity.
	"Pretty fucking cool," I said, laughing too.  Then I noticed the
cum on Nick.  "For both of us, it looks like."
	"Yeah, buddy, pretty fucking cool."
	We were both still hard.  Nick put his arms around me and kicked my
feet out from under me before I realized what he was doing.  In a second he
had the plugs out of me and himself, and he shoved his cock up my ass.  It
wasn't rape, because I welcomed him with every cell in my anus, but it was
a little bit of a surprise.  We fucked like mountain goats right there in
the open field of the lower garden.  I came again a little before Nick did,
and we changed places.  This time I plowed his ass for a good, long time.
When we were finished, we rolled apart onto the wet grass.  In a second or
two the still-cool temperature got to us.  We jumped up, gathered the stray
butt plugs, which were still humming away, and ran up the hill to get warm.
We picked up our jackets and ran into the warmth of the pavillion.
	I thought the building would be warm enough, but my teeth chattered
and I shivered all over.  I, the Yankee.  Nick picked me up in a cradle
grasp and took me toward the locker room and a hot shower.  After a few
minutes I settled down, and we washed each other gently.
	After our shower Nick asked me if I wanted a rubdown.  I said I
did, so he led me to a mat that was on the floor near the shower stall.  He
had me lie down, and he started working my shoulders and back with his
fingers.  It felt really good, but before too long, the rubdown became
another form of sex play.  Nick was all over me with his arms and legs and
torso.  He used some kind of oil, and we both got very slippery.  He turned
me over after a few minutes, and the two of us rubbed our whole bodies
against each other.  We were both hard, of course, and in a few minutes we
both came.  It wasn't as spectacular an orgasm as I had had at other times,
but it was different from the others in some ways.  We hopped back in the
shower to wash the cum off, and this time we didn't do anything else.  We
wrapped up in towels and went back into the house.
	"Matt's going to be here in a little while," Nick said.  "Would you
feel more comfortable meeting him with clothes on or off?"
	"On," I said, so we both dressed.

	At ten minutes after five, Matt appeared.  Nick and I were sedately
sitting in the morning room when we heard him open the front door of the
house and leap across the foyer to turn off the alarm system.  He called
out Nick's name, and Nick called back where we were.
	Matt looked remarkably like his younger brother.  In fact, except
for minor differences in size (Nick was slightly taller and a little more
muscular), they could have been twins.  Matt's hair was longer, but it was
the same color as Nick's, and they combed it the same way.  Like Nick, he
was gorgeous.
	"Hi, guys!" Matt said.  "What's up?"
	"Matt, this is Brad Macmillan.  Brad, this is my brother Matt."
Nick made the introductions.
	Matt and I shook hands, and he flashed a grin that was almost pure
Nick, except for a degree of devilment that Nick's grin lacked.  Matt
looked me squarely in the face until I averted my eyes.
	Matt said, "I could use a drink.  You got anything?"
	Nick got up and fixed drinks for each of us.  He also brought
cheese, crackers, cashew nuts, and some sliced sausage back into the room.
Matt put some music on, sat on one of the leather sofas, and lit a
cigarette.
	"So what have you guys been doing," Matt asked.
	"Just kinda hanging out," Nick said.  "Tony and a friend of his
came over last night and ate with us.  Otherwise it's been pretty quiet."
	"Where was Bob," Matt asked.
	"His mother's in the hospital, so he's up in Jackson with her,"
Nick explained.
	"So you've just been hanging out?"
	"Well, yeah, pretty much," I said.  Matt had a kind of leer in his
voice that made me a little uncomfortable and slightly embarrassed.
	"So nothing's come up around here, so to speak," Matt asked, by now
a devislish grin creasing his face.
	"Er, . . ." I didn't know where to go with this.
	"Cut the shit, Matt.  We've been fucking our brains out, and you
know it.  Don't give him a rough time."  Nick, my hero.
	"I'm just kidding you guys.  Just bustin' your balls, as Chubby
would say.  Chubby's a good friend of ours that we think might have one or
two Mafia connections."
	"I met Chubby at the pool hall the other day," I said.  "I
suspected there might be a little Mafia action going on around that place."
	"That's bullshit, Matt, and you know it.  Chubby wouldn't do
anything illegal, and he wouldn't let Mafia guys hang out in his place."
Nick was a little put out with us, I thought.
	"Yeah, man, you're right," Matt said.  He winked at me so Nick
couldn't see him.  I already liked this guy.
	Nick lit a cigarette, and I did too.  For a minute the three of us
sat there smoking and nursing our drinks.
	In a minute Matt said, "I brought something I want y'all to see.
It's a video starring The Kid here."  He motioned toward Nick.
	"What are you talking about," Nick asked.
	"You know those tapes I made that weekend with you and the guys
from the stable?  I edited them into a porno tape.  It's pretty good, if I
do say so myself."
	"What the hell are you going to do with it?  Sell it?"  Nick's
voice had a kind of urgency in it.
	"Don't worry, Nick.  It's just for personal consumption.  Let's go
up to my room and watch it.  You want to," Matt asked.
	We took the snacks, the booze, ice, and ourselves up to Matt's
room.  We got comfortable on the sofa in his sitting room, and he popped
the tape in the TV-VCR.  These people had more electronic gear around that
place than I had ever seen in one house before.  They obviously could
afford anything they wanted.
	The video came on with credits and everything.  Nick was in every
scene.  I watched his face as he watched the movie.  At first he was a
little embarrassed by what was going on on the screen, but in a few minutes
he relaxed and seemed to enjoy it.
	Matt broke the silence.  "Goddamn, bro, you sure do make me horny.
I've got to do something about this fucking hard-on."  I was seated between
the Marshall boys.  With that last statement, Matt grabbed my hand and put
it to his crotch.  When Nick saw what he had done, he grabbed my other hand
and put it on his crotch.  Matt leaned over, licked my ear, and whispered
for me to rub.  So I rubbed both of them.  Nick leaned over and started
unbuttoning my shirt.  I wiggled forward for him to take it off me, and he
went to work on my right nipple.  Matt put his hand in my crotch and
started rubbing me the way I was rubbing them.  All three of us had
hard-ons before any of this started, but our excitement grew with each
stroke.
	Matt moved his hand away, took off his shirt, and then went back to
my crotch.  Nick did the same.  Next came the jeans, first Nick's, then
Matt's, and finally mine.  I hadn't bothered to put on underwear earlier,
and neither Marshall was wearing any.  Matt got up first and moved me onto
the back of the sofa.  He got between my legs and started sucking my cock.
Nick stood on the sofa, and, by turning my head to the right, I was able to
get his cock into my mouth.  After a few minutes of this, we got on the
floor on our sides and formed a daisy chain: I sucked Matt, he sucked Nick,
and Nick sucked me.  Nick put one, then two, fingers up my ass and
finger-fucked me.  I did the same to Matt, and he followed suit with Nick.
Nick started a rhythm that we all picked up in a second.  I thought about
what we must have looked like and almost started laughing.
	I lasted much longer than I had ever lasted before, and the
Marshall boys probably could have gone on forever.  The inevitable
happened, though, and I felt the loose wetness inside myself that meant an
orgasm.  Despite the fact that I had already come many times that day, I
shot a big load for Nick to swallow.  Matt produced a prodigious output,
and I suppose Nick gave his usual pint of cum.  We writhed in mutual
pleasure for what seemed like a long time, and then we slumped into one
another, tired and satisfied.
	"Brad, you're pretty good on the old rod.  Who taught you how to do
that," Matt asked.
	"I did," Nick said.  "Who the fuck did you think?"
	"What did you do, take his cherry, or something?"
	"That's right," Nick said proudly.  "I fuckin' did."
	"Awesome, little brother," Matt said.
	"'Little brother' my ass, Stump," Nick said as he shook his cock in
Matt's face.
	This was getting a little personal for me, considering Matt's cock
was slightly larger than mine.
	"All right, Snake, you win that one, but remember, It's not . . ."
Nick joined in, "the size of the tool but how you use it that counts."  All
three of us laughed.
	Both boys were obviously enjoying teasing one another.  Then Matt
leaned over Nick and gave him a deep, wet kiss.  This startled me, and I
was a little embarrassed by this display of fraternal affection.  Matt
said, "I love you, boy."  Nick responded with "I love you too.  Stump."
Again, laughter.
	Nick got the drinks, the snacks, and the cigarettes, and we stayed
seated on the floor.
	Matt said, "So Brad, tell me about yourself."
	"Like what," I asked.
	"The usual stuff.  Where you're from, what you like to do.  That
shit."
	"I was born in Chicago.  Both of my parents were in graduate school
at the University of Chicago, and I think I was quite a surprise.  I've
lived most of my life in Minneapolis, though, and I moved south less than a
month ago.  My folks are divorced.  My dad lives in Arizona, and my mom
travels a lot.  She's a computer consultant and does a lot of business in
South America.  She's in Brazil right now, in fact."
	"Did Nick here really take your cherry?"
	"Well, yeah.  He did."
	"So when did you realize you were gay?"  Matt grinned with this
question, winked at me, and looked at Nick.
	Nick started to go into his "categories" discourse, then realized
what Matt was doing.  "Fuck you" was all he said.  Again, we laughed.
	There was silence for a while.  I thought about Matt's question.
Despite Nick's theories and diatribes about categories and such, I still
felt that I had to know about the sexual part of myself.  I hadn't thought
of it in a while, but knowing about myself was still the focus of my
weekend.  Did Matt see something in me that I couldn't see in myself?  By
then, being gay would be just fine with me, if I really were.  Oh, there
would be complications, of course.  My parents would be cool about it, I
was sure, but what would that mean for my future?  I decided not to dwell
on the question just then.
	In a minute Matt started again.  "So continue with the biography.
You go to Colton, now, right?"
	"Yeah."
	"What are you going to do next year?"
	"That's a very good question," I said.  "I've been accepted at the
University of Minnesota, the University of Arizona, Georgetown, Tulane, and
Dartmouth.  My dad wants me at Arizona, my mom wants me at Tulane, and I
favor Minnesota because I'll know so many people there.  Shit, I don't
know."
	"Well, I vote for Tulane," Matt said.  "That's where I go.  I
couldn't get Shit-for-Brains here to even apply to the fuckin' school,
though.  Everybody in our family has gone to that school, but Nick wanted
to go to UNO.  That's it.  Fuckin' UNO."
	"What's UNO," I asked.  "The University of New Orleans?"
	"Right," Nick said.  "They'll honor all of my AP credit, and I'll
start as a second-semester sophomore.  Tulane wouldn't give me dick for all
the work I've done in AP."
	"How much AP credit do you have," I asked.  I had completely
forgotten about the AP exams we'd have to take in a month or so.
	"I've gotten 5's in English, American History, Biology, Chemistry,
Calculus, Spanish, French, and the two Governments, and 4's in Art History
and computers.  I'll get another 5 in English this year, I think, and
probably a 4 or 5 in European History, the second calculus, the two Econ's,
and Physics.  I'd be a fool not to take that credit."
	I was impressed at his record, and I had to agree about the
college.  I didn't know anything about the University of New Orleans, but I
liked the name, and I liked their AP credit policy.
	"Besides," Nick continued, "a lot of the people I know go there.
And--bottom line--Tulane is clear across town, and UNO isn't.  I won't have
to leave home an hour before class to get there on time."
	"Well, I still think Brad ought to go to Tulane," Matt said.
	"Don't get me wrong, Brad," Nick said, "Tulane is a great school.
I'm just not interested, that's all.  Go there, if you want to."
	I hadn't even considered UNO when I started applying to colleges
because I didn't know it existed.  Nick's apparent commitment to the place
made me wonder about it, though.  Especially if it were close to where we
lived.
	Matt got up and made us another round of drinks.  We continued
sitting on the floor, drinking, eating the snacks, smoking, and talking.
It was mostly small talk.  Matt told about his interest in computers,
photography, drawing, painting, sports, boys, girls.  He was a regular
"Renaissance Man."  Before we realized it, it was 7 o'clock, and all of us
were hungry.
	"I thawed a chicken for tonight," Nick said.
	"Yeah, and in a hour or two it'll be ready to eat," Matt said.
"Let's forget the chicken and order pizza."
	That sounded good to me.  Matt called Pizza Hut, the only place
that delivered in the vacinity, and we got fresh drinks to wait on the
pizza man.  He came in forty-five minutes or so, and Matt went downstairs
buck naked to get the food.  When he came back with the pizzas, we asked
him how the guy reacted, and Matt said he didn't think he noticed.
	I had a decent buzz from the drinks, but the pizza took care of
that.  We had ordered three mediums, and we each ate almost a whole one.  I
felt bloated when we were finished and a bit sleepy.  Nick suggested we go
into his room where the fire was, and he put more logs on the coals to
bring the fire back to life.  It lulled us all for a while, and it was
really quite warm in the room since the temperature outside had gone up.
	Matt made more drinks.  I had already had quite a bit more to drink
than I was accustomed to, but I didn't want to throw a wet blanket on
things by refusing.  Besides, I really like the bourbon and 7-Up they were
making for me.  In front of the fire, naked with two guys I really,
_really_ liked, I felt as secure and accepted as I had ever felt in my
life.  Nick put on some music, and we all recovered from the pizza.
	Matt was the first one to stir.  "I came here looking for cock," he
said.  "Anybody got one?"  We all laughed, but I knew what he meant.  I had
grown half-hard lying on the floor with them, and I was ready for some more
action, too.
	"This boy's almost ready," Matt said, meaning me.  "Wake up,
fuck-head," he said to Nick.
	"I'm awake, dingleberry," Nick said.  I laughed.  Matt said, "Don't
encourage that sort of thing, Brad.  He doesn't even know what the word
means.  He's just heard me use it, and he wants to imitate the big boys."
It seemed that Matt was forming a tease-alliance with me against Nick.  I
was Matt's equal, and Nick was the "little brother."  I knew Nick was
sometimes quite literal where irony was concerned, so I looked forward to
what would develop.
	"Oh, yeah, smart-ass.  So what does it mean, anyhow?"  Nick had a
kind of defiant tone, but Matt and I could tell he wasn't sure what the
word meant.
	"You tell me.  You used it."  "Do you know what it means, Brad,"
Nick asked.  "As a matter of fact, I do."  I really did know, at least the
Minneapolis meaning. "All right, you shits, tell me."  Nick was getting a
little miffed.  "Do you really want to know," Matt asked.  "Yeah.  Tell me,
goddamn it."  Matt moved over to Nick and raised his legs back toward his
shoulders.  He stuck his finger into the general area of Nick's asshole,
and started rubbing it.  He dropped Nick's legs, and they hit the floor
with a thud.  "Sorry, Nick, but you wouldn't understand," Matt said,
grinning broadly.  "What the fuck do you mean, shit-ass?  I'll understand."
Nick was really caught up in this thing, and Matt and I just laughed.  "No,
you won't," Matt said.  "You don't have what it takes to understand." Nick
was getting a little angry at this point.  "Don't tell me that, you
cunt-cheese.  I'll fuckin' understand."  "Well, see, Nick, a
dingleberry. . . . Tell him, Brad."  "Nick, men have hair around their
assholes.  A dingleberry is a little ball of shit that clings to the hair.
Of men."  Matt and I were laughing hard, by this point.  "Really?"  "Yeah,
dude," I said.  "See you don't have any hair, so you can't really
understand.  Only men with hairy assholes can really understand."  "You
guys," Nick said.  He was pissed.  Matt and I were hysterical.  "I'd have
more fuckin' hair on my ass than either of you bastards if this prick
hadn't made me shave it."  Matt and I laughed so hard we collapsed onto the
floor.  Nick was really taking all of this seriously, and it was funny as
hell.  "Come here, bubba," Matt said.  He put an arm around Nick's head and
hugged him tight.  "We're just funnin' you, man.  We know you're a stud.
Don't get pissed at the only two people in the world who care about you."
Matt and I laughed harder.  "You're teasing me, right?"  "No, that's what
_dingleberry_ means, all right.  It's just that you took it so seriously.
Come on, Nick.  You know it's funny," I said.  He flashed a big grin.  "You
guys aren't gangin' up on me, are you?" "Would we do that," Matt asked.
"You would in a fuckin' heartbeat.  I know that.  I don't know about my
buddy, though."  He made me feel a little guilty with that.  He seemed
really vulnerable at that moment, much more than I would have imagined.  I
was beginning to feel some real conflict.  Nick was my fantasy man,
everything I had ever imagined, and I thought I loved him.  But Matt was,
too.  Which guy would it be?  Would I drive a wedge between two brothers
who were much closer than any brothers I had ever known before?  What was
going on here?  "It's just fun, Nick," I said.  "Buddy."  That seemed to
satisfy him.  "You fucks," he said, and all three of us laughed.  We stayed
by the fire, drinking and smoking, for a good while.  The music was
hypnotic, and we all got more mellow as the minutes passed.  Then the phone
rang. "Who the fuck is that," Matt asked. "How the fuck do I know," Nick
said.  He got up and answered it.  It was for me.  My mom.
	"Hi, Mom," I said.
	"Listen," she said, never one for small talk.  "I've been on the
phone with your father."
	Gulp.  I knew they talked about important decisions about me, but I
didn't expect her to consult him about my summer plans.
	"Yeah," I said quizzically.
	"We both think you deserve this trip.  It'll be good for you in
lots of ways."
	"You mean I can go," I asked.
	"Yes, Brad.  You can go.  Figure out how much money you'll need,
and get all the details lined up for us."
	"Mom, . . . ."  I didn't know what to say.
	"Are you excited," she asked.
	"Oh, Mom, you don't know.  Thank you.  Thank you.  This is
wonderful."  I kissed the receiver.  "Oh, thank you," I said.
	"You're a good kid, Brad.  Your dad and I know that.  You're also
growing up.  It's time for you to have an adventure on your own.  We just
want you to be careful and have a good time," she said.
	"Yes, m'am," I said.  I never used that expression before I came
south, but it seemed just right at that moment.
	"Is Nick there?  May I talk with him?"
	"Sure.  Here he is."  I called Nick over.  "I can go, buddy.  I can
go!  She wants to talk with you."
	We weren't on the speaker phone, so I didn't know then what she
said to him.  He grinned, though, and even blushed a little.  When he was
finished on the phone and had hung up, I wanted to know what she had said.
	"She thanked me for asking you," he said.  "But she said to
beware--you're a real dingleberry."
	I was so happy at that moment, anything would have been funny.  But
this was too much.  I laughed until tears started down my cheeks.  Nick
laughed, too, and we hugged.
	"What the fuck is going on here," Matt wanted to know.
	When he had calmed down, Nick said, "Brad's mom just said he could
go to Europe with me after graduation."
	"What are you talking about," Matt asked.
	"Don't give me that shit.  I told you and Scott two months ago I
was going to Europe for two months after I graduate.  I've got it all
planned and set up.  Don't even start with me."
	"Yeah, I remember that.  I haven't thought about it since you told
us, though."
	"Well, Brad and I are going together.  We're going to fuck our way
across the Old World."
	Nick made all of us another drink to celebrate.  We toasted "To
Europe," and "To us," and "To buddies forever."  Kid stuff, really.
	Matt drank with us, but his mood obviously changed drastically
while we were celebrating.
	Nick noticed, and said, with real solicitude in his voice, "What's
the matter, bubba?"
	"Nothin'," Matt said.
	"Fuck you.  What's the fuckin' matter," Nick demanded.
	"Nothing, man.  I just feel a little left out, that's all.  I'll be
all right."
	"So, cheer up, will you," Nick said.
	"Yeah," Matt said.  But he didn't.
	"Matt, please don't do this.  What's the matter, bro.?"
	"I don't know.  Scott's got Cathy, you've got Brad.  Who do I
have?"  After a pause: "Forget it, man.  I'm just feelin' sorry for myself,
I guess."
	"Matt, if you're hurtin', I'm hurtin'.  You know that.  Say what's
bothering you," Nick said.
	"It's kind of personal, okay?"
	"Personal, my ass!  What the fuck's wrong with you?"  Nick looked
worried.  Or concerned, at least.
	"You and Scott weren't supposed to know about this.  I've been
seeing a girl--her name is Laurie--that I really liked.  I though she was
the one, man.  Anyway, night before last she told me we were through."
	"Oh, fuck.  Man, I really didn't know."
	"I know you didn't.  I met her at school, and we've been dating for
a little more than six months.  I was in love, man.  Really in love."
	"She'll come back to you, Matt.  I know she will."  Nick's tone was
as solitious as I'd ever heard it be.
	"No, man.  It's over.  She left this morning.  She dropped out of
school and everything.  She's fuckin' gone."