Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2005 11:59:58 -0800 (PST)
From: coxcomb rumbustious <rumbustiousboy@yahoo.com>
Subject: A Sensitive View

	My life was in turmoil the first time I saw Reid. For the first
time in weeks the sight of him took me out of myself and divorced me from
the pain my parents had visited upon me. While I was old enough to cut and
run, leaving my parents to settle their differences by themselves, I had
started college and the second semester was well under way, when they
announced their separation.
	My mother insisted on moving me and my sister with her to new digs,
leaving "your father" to roam the empty house, now devoid of warmth, after
the departure of his family. I had told my father I wanted to stay with
him.
	"Dad, I really want to stay here with you."
	"You know how your mother is, Dane. You best go with her or none of
us will have a moments peace."
	"But Dad...."
	"No buts about it. You're going where your mother says."
	I could have gone out on my own and given up college and found my
own way. Except I didn't have a very focused idea about what way that might
be, and so to keep from further upsetting the already tattered and battered
apple cart, I went along with the only parents I had known to that point,
although trading them in wasn't out of the question.
	Reducing our take to functional furniture used on a daily basis,
dishes and doodads, and with my skateboard and mother's SUV as our only
transportation. This created a two-hour public transportation fiasco for me
each day instead of the far better arrangement of driving my father's car
the ten minutes to school with him carpooling with his soon to be former
wife.
	My Tuesday and Thursday schedule now left me with two classes in
the morning and two late in the day, with a four hour break in-between. I
once used the time to be alone at home and I could play computer games and
visit illicit porno sites, when I wasn't conversing with other college
types on-line.  The first week I confined myself to the coffeehouse and
their computers, during my off time, but it was eating up my allowance
faster than desirable. So, once the weather warmed, I took my skateboard to
the local park and even spent time reading my assignments.
	Now I knew what went on in that park, because guys were busted
there every time there people running for election. I never gave it much
thought, because it was the time I had on my hands that took me there. I
always took one book for fun and another textbook I should be reading,
which was what I was doing the day Reid skated into my life. With no
indication that's what he was doing that first day but subsequent events
make it patently obvious that's what he did.
	I heard the wheels turning under his board before I caught site of
Reid the first time. He was circumnavigating the outer sidewalk as he came
from the direction of the university, and only turning into the park, once
he reached the heavily wooded section that had a sidewalk running through
it.
	There was a couple eating lunch, giggling with their heads
together, between him and I, when I caught sight of him. There were two men
with shopping carts filled with their belongings, resting up in the shade
of the trees, just beyond where he skated into the park. The skateboard
made us cousins of a sort, although I hadn't used my board since early in
high school, when I traded it in for more tempting wheels.
	Reid was graceful with effortless motions propelled him toward me.
His blond hair blew in the breeze he created as the muscles in his legs
were made prominent by the exercise they seemed perfectly suited to do.
Without any indicator he bent his back to alter his direction, making a
sharp turn that took him into the trees. Dropping my books into my
backpack, I raced on my board toward where he had disappeared.
	I gave no thought to where he was going or why he turned where he
did, going directly into the forbidden wood we were all warned to stay
clear of as kids. I reached the sidewalk he was on ten seconds after he
made his turn. If I caught up with him I'd warn him of the dangers that
lurked there within. He was fifty yards ahead of me, when the path took him
around the next curve. When I propelled myself faster, I had the urge to
stop at the spot where he disappeared.
	First I listened to see how far ahead he was, and when I calculated
I was closing in on him, his wheels suddenly stopped turning as I was about
to take off after him again. Being sure he had come to a stop, I picked up
my board and stepped into the trees to cut the curve by half. Almost
immediately I caught sight of his orange and green shirt as he stood
holding his board at his side.  A tall lean fellow stood just off the
sidewalk and I could see him talking to Reid. They were three feet apart
and the skateboard was between them as they chatted. The man removed his
wallet from his pocket as I eased up behind a well- rounded tree a dozen
feet away from where business was being done.
	I couldn't believe that a fellow that looked like Reid would let
himself be seduced in a park known for the most base of perversions. The
interceptor spoke softly and smiled in a most pleasant way.
	"Twenty?"
	"Hardly worth my time. They cost ten," Reid said, leaving me
baffled.
	"Yes, they would," Interceptor said. "Let me see what I'm getting
for my dime."
	"Okay, but don't try anything funny."
	Well, maybe this wasn't what it seemed but it sure seemed like it
was. He obviously didn't want to be touched, or did he? What were they
bargaining over? I didn't know a pervert from a partridge, but I knew if it
quacked like a duck, walked like a duck, and talked like a duck, it was
probably a duck, and this duck looked like a pervert to me.  As I watched
the goings on going on, listening for a more definite exchange of words,
much to my shock, Reid looked right at where I stood. He was actually
looking down the path where he came from before he looked in the other
direction. He dropped his board on it's wheels, pushing his shorts down to
his ankles, stepping out of them and then pushing his underwear onto the
ground, and taking them off and handing them to his new friend as I got a
view and a half.
	Having a clear view of Reid's most intimate spot before I knew his
name was unexpected, but not at all unpleasant, which heretofore I might
have thought it would be. In fact, seeing his low swinging balls and a
portion of his dick through his legs was unexpectedly enticing. I wanted to
see more, but not necessarily touch it, or necessarily if that's what it
took to see more.  The interceptor immediately had the silky sheer shorts
up under his long thin nose, being careful to have the inside portion out
where it had only recently cradled Reid's most intimate parts. I could hear
him sniffing as he closed his eyes and swooned. Interceptor took a step
forward, while Reid was checking the path, being butt naked at the time,
but he immediately sensed the arms length he'd carefully kept between them
had shrunk.
	"You ever seen what the wheels on a skateboard can do to a human
skull?" Reid quizzed, bending to give me another wide-open view of his firm
tight bottom end as he reached to lift his board to the ready at his side.
	"No, and I'd prefer to avoid the experience. I only wanted to give
you twenty-five for these. I wasn't going to touch it."
	"No, you weren't. You're a real joker, dude," Reid said with a
sharp laugh following the words, and he snatched his underwear back and
bent over yet again, catching me by complete surprise as he stepped back
into his dizzy underwear. I felt suddenly faint but not so faint that I
couldn't see and this was, too good to miss.
	"Okay! Okay! Forty? How about forty? That's a nice profit and we
both go home happy."
	I braced myself on the tree so I didn't miss anything as
Interceptor waved two twenty-dollar bills at Reid's face. This time Reid
bent with his back to me, turning to stare back down the path as he handed
over the pricey drawers, and there were all his wares for my easy
viewing. The Interceptors early swoon became my own as Reid's nakedness
below his waist unexpectedly gave rise to my own perversions inside my two
pair for ten-dollar shorts.
	Much too fast the deal was sealed and Interceptor was disappearing
back into the woods for some self-gratification, and Reid had pulled on his
shorts, checking both directions for voyeurs, skating away and pushing the
two freshly earned twenty-dollar bills into his pocket without ever knowing
I was there.  It had all taken two or three minutes, but I relived it late
at night for the next few weeks. I returned to the park, the woods, and the
streets adjoining the park two afternoons each week, hoping to catch sight
of my fellow skateboarder without success.
	By the time the pool had opened I had given up on ever finding out
who Reid was. It was a chance happenstance that had me confused about what
had drawn me to the distinctive fellow, who would give you the shorts off
his bottom..., if the price was right. I didn't understand what I'd seen,
except I'd seen plenty of Reid, and there was nothing objectionable about
him.
	On the first Tuesday after the pool was opened for students only, I
took my Speedos in my backpack to school with me. At ten o'clock I was
basking in a warm April sun and listening to the lifeguard's very loud
radio, while checking out the half dozen people scattered about the pool.
	I would have figured a better attendance, but it was early and most
kids had classes to attend and studying to do. I was still carrying one
book for fun and one for study, should get to it, which I rarely did,
because my parents were unbearable and that was reason enough not to. There
was some commotion in the pool as three fellows came and dove into the
water together, wrestling and trying to dunk one another.
	I ignored such over laden displays of testosterone, when I
could. Guys had never interested me all that much. I had two good friends
from the time I was in junior high school, and most other guys were simply
that and did not interest me. While Brent, Peanut, and me knew each other
like open books, we had started to distance from one another once Brent met
Melanie and lost interest in "the guys."
	Peanut joined the Army, after graduating from high school on the
lay-a-way plan and Brent and Melanie went out of state together to
college. Peanut and I had never dated. Peanut did like to express his
sexual prowess with displays of potency on camping trips and
sleepovers. While we had all engaged in circle jerks at twelve and
thirteen, mostly due to Peanut's coaxing now that I think about it, Brent
nor I could match him in productive or creativity for that matter. I can
remember him getting to five some nights, long after Brent was asleep, and
I should have been but wasn't.
	After Brent took up with Melanie, Peanut showed up at my house with
Malcolm Slocom, a rumored pervert from the class ahead of ours. I had never
been more uncomfortable with anyone in my life as I was with Malcolm Slocom
sleeping in my bedroom, but sleeping wasn't the optimal word. Peanut had
other things in mind for the alledged Malcolm and Malcolm raise no
objections as I tried to stay awake to see which of them would call it off
first. Peanut was no small matter to contend with and I found it hard to
believe that the human anatomy was predisposed to fitting something the
size of Peanut's dick into something as tiny as small Malcolm's
butthole. It turned out to never be in doubt and I still can't be sure
which of them was most adamant.
	I had no desire to cut in but there was a certain enjoyment that
came from watching them achieve liftoff. I told myself that everyone got
excited over sex, but even while I was telling myself that, a little voice
was whispering in my ear, "Yeah, but them there's two dudes hooked up like
a dude and a dudett ought to be."
	I rarely listened to that voice, figuring they were an attempt by
my forgotten religion to regain a foothold in my life and I wasn't having
any of it. When I questioned Peanut about his selection of partners, he
assured me that he had asked three girls if they'd let him screw them
before soliciting Malcolm for the affair. Peanut was five foot nothing and
not the best looking guy in the bunch. He knew it and realized that some
times he had to go for seconds and even defects if he was going to get
where he needed to go, and so Malcolm did for Peanut what the young ladies
at school wouldn't do. I'm not sure how he's making out in the Army, but at
least he'll have a lot of guys to choose from.
	Seeing Brent make out with Melanie or Peanut plowing Malcolm,
didn't bother me. I knew that sooner or later I'd find someone of my
own. I'd assumed it would be a lovely young lady of fine breeding, but then
there was that day I saw Reid in the park and what happened after I
followed him. He had made an impression in a way no one else had to that
point in my life, and I suppose I could have simply been going through a
stage, but I didn't think so. I thought I liked what I saw and what I saw
was Reid. I didn't understand it but I felt what I felt and I wasn't able
to blame this on my idiot parents, but maybe I'd try that tactic later if
things turned out badly for me in the love department.
	The three rowdy guys moved away from me and I paid them no
mind. Pretty soon I was lost in my thoughts, and that's when I looked up at
the high dive to see Reid charging out on the board, before charging back
toward the ladder. His two friends were behind him and the lifeguard tooted
his whistle as they yelled and made more noise than should be allowed.
	The next thing I knew, Reid was kicking his legs and screaming
wildly before holding his nose and sinking into the pool with his two
buddies close behind. Reid's chest was as impressive as the rest of him and
he had two dark well-shaped nipples accenting it all. Once again there was
dunking and laughing as they moved along passed where I lounged, watching
them cavort in happy bliss.
	Reid's eyes were big and round and blue. His tan face and perfect
teeth gave him a marvelous appeal. I was certain he was popular. He looked
like guys I knew that were popular. There was something that radiated from
him that didn't emanate from ordinary guys. All the activity circulated
around him and what he was doing. The other two boys were along for the
ride, feeding on his vivacity.  I watched as they floated together toward
the shallow end of the pool. Reid stood up first and stepped out of the
pool. The tall black boy and the shorter fellow followed in that order.
	I wasn't certain that I wanted to follow them. I still had more
than an hour before my next class, and there was nowhere to go once I
deserted the pool. Besides, he was with his friends and probably wouldn't
give me the time of day. I put my book away and walked on the side of the
pool, until I stepped into the empty dressing room, thinking that I might
get another cheap thrill from Reid.
	There was no doubt where they were, because they were making enough
noise for a small army. I sat in front of a locker that allowed me to stare
into the showers. There, at one end, were three bathing suits and at the
other end were three naked boys. Reid's body was more enchanting than the
first surreptitious run in I'd had with it. This time soap accented it in
steams, running into his rich blond pubic hair and down the length of his
uncut dick.
	Each boy had shampoo lavished in his hair with ample amounts of
soap that they massaged into their skin. They laughed and poked and were
familiar to one another. I tried to remember if Bent and Peanut had been as
playful as these boys. Then, the smaller boy let his soap squirt away. When
he bent to retrieve it, the black was ready for his bending. Slipping up to
him and warpping his long strong arms around him, lifting him off the floor
of the shower, the black boy caught in the white boy's crack.
	"Cut it out Amos. That's ain't funny," the helpless fellow said.
	"Nine inches of hot black steel. You ain't man enough, Pudge," Reid
advised, turning his back on the action to rinse the soap out of his hair.
Amos let lose his prisoner, turning on Reid in a flash with a far more
prodigious production having grown up in front of him. Reid was off the
floor, every bit as helpless as Pudge had been. Even though Reid was built
muscularly, he wasn't the equal of the powerful black fellow, who had
captured him.
	"You want to use that thing again, you'll get it out of my ass,"
Reid pronounced in a regular voice.
	"You're no fun," Amos said, backing down. "I was just playing with
you."
	"I want to get ruined, I'll look you up. I got to use that hole for
another fifty years or so."
	"I know how to do it. You think I just shove it in?"
	"I'm not even curious. I've seen you use it at parties, remember?"
Reid said seriously.
	"That's because girl's can't get enough of me," Amos bragged.
	"I've already had enough and I've seen plenty. Some of those girls
had dicks, dude."
	"Variety being the spice of life. How do dudes know what they're
missing if I don't share with them?"
	Reid finished rinsing off unexpectedly and before I could look away
he walked passed me. While his words said no no, his half-erect cock seemed
to indicate some peripheral interest in the physicality of it all. He
stopped and turned around with his towel in his hand, as I looked through
my backpack, glancing up surreptitiously to see if he'd passed yet. He
hadn't.
	"Do I know you?" he said, like he might, and the question showed on
his face as he considered my presence.
	"Dane," I said, reaching toward him with my hand. "I've seen you
around."
	"Reid Williams here."
	"Good meeting you," I said to my new naked friend as he looked at
me thoughtfully.
	"Is that great or just average?" he asked coyly.
	"Pardon," I said, looking at his curly blond pubic hair and the
firm pink package he was presenting.  "Great Dane? Like Amos in there? He'd
be a kin to a Great Dane. I guess you had to be there."
	"Just the regular Dane," I said, unsure of what I said.
	"That's a relief. A fellow can only manage one cockus giganticus in
one sitting, you know?"  I didn't know but I took his word for it.
	"Sure."
	"I get the feeling we know each other. I went to St. Albans."
	"Public school all the way. We did sports against you
guys. Northwestern?"
	"Yeah, I swam and ran track."
	"Track," I said.
	"You run?"
	"Sure," I said, just not track, which I didn't say.
	"That's it then. Track. We ran at your school my junior year. It's
been awhile. You go here at the university?"
	"Yep, I have a lot of free time Tuesday and Thursday," I said.
	"Me, too. I loaded up the other days. This is one of my relaxation
days," Reid confessed. "I meet friends and play. Keeps me fresh. Does it
keep you fresh?"
	"Sure. Looks like the black dude could put serious hurt on a dude."
	"Amos, he's harmless. Just don't bend over if you drop your soap if
he's within range. He can't resist a cute bottom."
	"You qualify," I said, remembering his posterior from our earlier
meeting.
	"What?"
	"I said it's hard to stay out of his range. He's got quite a
reach."
	"Yeah, he's got a hummer and a half on him doesn't he?"
	"Just don't see how it would fit up there," I said, failing to
measure my words in any intelligent way.
	"You were watching us?" Reid quizzed, suddenly concerned about
where I stood.
	"I just sat down. I saw the end of the action. I'd have been more
worried than you though. I've never done anything like that."
	"What makes you think I have?" Reid insisted on knowing.
	"Oh, I didn't think you had. I didn't think anything, except,
that's big."
	"Yeah," he said, watching my words as I spoke. "I don't worry,
because he's not stupid enough to try to fuck me, so if you were thinking
that I might go that way...."
  	"I didn't think anything," I said, telling no lie. "It's none of my
business. I was just making conversation. I never thought... I didn't
mean.... I'm sorry if you thouht...."
	"Calm down. I'm just yanking your chain. We're buds. I know his
limitations and he's well aware of mine. We like to joke around, but it can
shock a novice."
	"Sure can," I said. "I'm not that clear on where I stand on things
like that. I like trying to get along with new people. Try to learn new
stuff, you know," I said, reaching further than I could grasp, while being
aware of how intently he was exploring my words and the boy attached to
them.
	"Yeah, that's a good policy. I'm flexible but Amos is a bit rich
for my blood. Anything that walks, you know?"
	"I had a friend like that. Peanut. Boy could go all night and
wasn't that particular as long as he had a dance partner."
	"Did you dance to his tune?"
	"Me? No. Peanut and I were friends since forever. Besides, he's
like Amos, enough can be, too, much in his case."  I finally got a chuckle
out of Reid. He actually thought about what I was saying. Most guys, even
Brent and Peanut, half listened most of the time. Reid had taken the time
to listen carefully to everything I had to say. It was captivating and at
the same time disconcerting. It forced me to listen to what I was saying,
and I wasn't so sure I was making any sense.
	"You can say that again, but don't," Reid said, drying his hair as
he talked. "You live around here?"
	"Bethesda."
	"You have a car?" Reid inquired.
	"No, skateboard. Only not as nice as yours," I said, and he dropped
his towel and watched me as he picked it up.
	"I only skate over in the park. I mostly drive. You saw me at the
park? Is that where I saw you?"
	"Well, I remember you being on a board. I sit on the benches and
study some days. Before the pool opened, I mean. Now I don't go that far. I
use to live over that way."
	"But we've never met?"
	"No."
	Reid was deep in thought for several minutes and managed to do it
while getting dressed. Amos and Pudge had gotten dressed and went out, not
speaking to Reid as he conversed with me, after bringing his clothes ovr to
where I sat. I wasn't sure what it all meant.
	"I've got a car. I live in Hyattsville."
	"I use to live on Powhatan, until my parents split."
	"Bummer. You couldn't stay there, huh? Close to school."
	"No, my old man made me go with my mother."
	"He's seeing someone. Wants the house to himself. Wants no
witnesses."
	"No, he wouldn't do that," I said. "They were married twenty
years."
	"Yeah he would. Why wouldn't he let you stay if you wanted? It's
the second best way to piss off your mother. Most red-blooded American men
want to piss off the former Mrs. if they get a chance. The best thing
that's right ahead of taking one of her kids is taking a girlfriend. A
nice, young, big tits with an annoying loud laugh. He's got a woman over
there. Want to bet me?"
	"Nah, I don't want to think about it. That's shabby. I could have
gone all year without you saying that. My mind doesn't work that way."
	"Once your father does it to your mother, it will."
	"Sure," I said, failing to get into his train of thought.
	"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. Tell you what, we got some
fresh roast beef and cole slaw from Carmichael's Deli. Potato salad. Come
on over and I'll feed you. That'll make up for me being stupid. What time
do you need to be back?" he asked, gaining a head of steam with the new
plan.
	"Sure. I got plenty of time. I can miss sociology and not fall that
far behind. What about your friends?"
	"The way they slipped out, Amos has Pudge lined up for some anal
perversions. They use to hook up all the time but Pudge is trying to give
it up. He thinks he can attract a girl if he really tries."
	"They're gay?"
	"Not Amos. He's got more women than God. Pudge, the jury is
out. He's not so sure of himself and might end up going gay to avoid
dealing with women. He use to be fat as all get out. That's where the name
Pudge came from. Taking it up the ass is a masculine thing for him
though. Letting Amos have at it is the most excitement he gets."
	"Masculine thing? I'd think that's on the feminine side and I don't
have any idea what I'm talking about."
	"Me, too, but he says, taking nine and a half by seven up the old
tail pipe takes a real man. What would you say?"
	"Ouch!" I blurted, not needing to think it over.  Reid nearly
busted his gut laughing. Each time his laughter eased up, he'd look at me
and start all over again. At least I had brought some humor into his
life. I wasn't sure about Reid. I was sure he was the best looking guy I
had ever met but I wasn't certain how deep he ran or why he had the least
bit of interest in doing anything with me. I likewise, didn't know what I
wanted to do with him, but I was leaving the field open.
	He unlocked and opened the car door, holding it for me, until I was
fastened inside. It was a shinny red two-seater that purred to a start
before we bolted toward Hyattsville, passing the street where I once lived
before pulling into the driveway of one of the grand old homes that had
been there for nearly a century.
	"Don't worry. No one's home."
	"Oh, I wasn't worried. I'm just hungry."
	"Aren't we all," he said, smiling as I bounced out before risking
he might come open the door for me.
	Why did that bother me? Why was a going to a strange boy's house?
	We walked down the side of the house and went up a flight of
stairs, going passed a hot tub and entering the house through the mostly
glass kitchen door.
	"Want something to drink. Beer, milk, soda? Hard liquors in the
bar."
	"Milk is good with a sandwich. Nice house."
	"Yeah, my grandparents lived here. We moved in when they died. Did
you live in a big house before?"
	"Nothing like this but three floors and plenty of room."
	"So, you know about the park, huh?"
	"Everyone knows about the park. I've been hearing about it since I
was ten or eleven."
	"You go there to study?"
	"Read, study, it's hard to make myself get down to business."
	"I mean that's all you go there for? You don't go there for the
reason you were warned not to?"
	"You mean... no... I'd be scared shitless. I've never done anything
like that. I've never done anything like anything. I've never met anyone
when it came up."
	"And you wouldn't... if some dude came up and asked you to?"
	"Not in the park. Not with guys like that. That go there, I
mean. Go there for that is what I mean. I don't know what I mean. I don't
like that. I want something substantial. If I do something it won't be just
to do something. I'm not making any sense."
	"What about Peanut? Sounds as though he was substantial. Amos would
be more than happy to... and he's really substantial," Reid reminded me.
	"Peanut was big is all. Big and he never finished that he wasn't
thinking of starting up again. I get done and I'm finished."
	"You said you never did anything?" he quizzed, looking at me as he
spoke.
	"I do that. Everyone does that. You're confusing me."
	"No, you're confusing me. Amos and Peanut are substantial, but
substantial isn't big? What kind of substantial are we talking here?"
	"No, long is substantial. Not long as in how long is it, long as in
for how long are you together. One time, no matter the size, is not
substantial. It's cheap and probably painful if the one is Amos. I'm not
making any sense, am I?"
	"Boys or girls?"
	"I'll let you know when I've figured it out. I told you I haven't
done anything."
	"You're funny," Reid said, chuckling to himself as he unscrewed the
Miracle Whip. "Miracle Whip? You do have feelings. You must think about
girls or boys when you...."  "Sure."
	He put down a big sandwich on a bun for me with a load of cole slaw
on one side and potato salad on the other. He filled up a huge glass of
milk to go with it.
	"Chips?"
	"Sure," I agreed, making a pig of myself but enjoying the food.
"You like pizza?"
	"Sure," I said as I ate.
	"We'll get pizza next time. You ever had Ledo's pizza."
	"Sure."
	"Are you sure you're sure, or are you just making scintillating
conversation?"
	"I'm enjoying the sandwich and don't have money for pizza. I take a
bus that costs me two bucks each way. That's my food budget, when I lived
close to school. Now I got four dollars a day to do what I want with. Since
I've got to go to school if I want to graduate, that's where all my money
goes."
	"Bummer. I'll drive you, or you could stay here if you want? Some
nights?"
	"Stay here? You don't even know me. You're funny."
	"We've got eight bedrooms. It's only me and my mother, but we don't
sleep in the same room. That leaves six. You can sleep in a different one
every night if you like and then, if you want to stay weekends, you can
stay in the one for two nights and then start all over again."
	"You know how crazy that sounds?"
	"Sure."
	"I don't even know you."
	"Sure."
	"Cut it out," I said, starting to laugh.
	"Sure. I'm trying to be scintillating, like you. It's hard with
only one word, you know."
	"Sure," I said, laughing harder and spitting roast beef into my
cole slaw, as I grew hysterical.
	"You're for real, aren't you? I wasn't sure until now, but I'm sure
you're for real," Reid said as he watched me cracking up.
	"Me? For real what? I don't know what you're asking."
	"Well, you are entirely naïve, and I know a phony when I see
one. You're as naïve as you act. You know how cute that is on a guy that
looks like you?"
	"Me? No."
	"Did you know that your locker was three rows down from where you
were sitting, when I was in the shower? Where you were sitting was so you
could see in the shower. You followed us in from the pool. You were
watching us."
	"Probably."
	"You must be feeling something that made you do that. You say you
don't know, but I think you have a pretty good idea which way the wind
blows."
	"Sure," I said, unable to laugh as I watched his eyes fondle me.
	He reached across the table and mussed my hair as I watched those
blue eyes watch me intently. I bit into the sandwich, trying not to blush,
and not certain why it got so hot in there all of a sudden.
	"It's not as scary as it seems," he revealed.
	"I know," I said, knowing little more than my name.
	"I'm serious about you staying. Mom's never home. I have the guys
over from time to time but even with them here I'm lonely. You'd get more
out of it than they do," he advised.
	"What?" I said, being alarmed when I thought about what would be
expected of me for staying there with him.
	"You save all that time getting back and forth to school. You get
your life back. That is something, isn't it?"
	"Oh, yeah, it is. My mother will hate the idea, so, I'm naturally
drawn to it. The old man has already sprung for next year's tuition. All
that's left is finding a way to eat."
	"We're rich. I pick up the phone and get what I want delivered from
Queens Chapel Market or Carmichael's Deli. They're expensive but the food's
all good. It helps we got a charge account."
	"I've got to pay something?"
	"I'll figure payment out," he said, winking at me and putting his
hand on mine. "Besides, I want we should keep an eye on your slimy
two-timing old man and his new squeeze," he said in a sinister voice as he
looked around the kitchen to make sure we weren't being overheard. "I've
got camera equipment and you can blackmail him for your allowance."
	"You're crazy," I said, feeling giddy from his touch.
	"One should not take life all that seriously. We're all going to
die one day, you know."
	"We are? I'm not."
	I ended up with a mouth full of beef, looking across the table at
his eyes as he held his hand on mine. The smile was real and gentle and
sweet. It had taken me years to trust Brent and Peanut with anything that
was seriously on my mind, I'd have told this guy my life's story, and I'd
known him for an hour, and I didn't know him at all.
	I suppose when the time is right for love, you do it. In nineteen
years I'd loved one teddy bear and my mother for a few years, before I got
to know her. I'd never loved my father, because I never knew him, and he
never minded. My sister was okay but being my sister, she was disadvantaged
being younger, because she breathed my air and occupied my space.
	Reid was a classic. He knew me in a way I didn't know myself, and
what he didn't know he was anxious to find out. I had difficulty
associating him with the guy that sold his underwear to a pervert in
Magruder Park. He didn't need the money and that left me wondering, but I
still remembered every detail of his rear end and the secrets concealed
there within. Even the pervert hadn't gotten the view I had and it still
excited me in a way nothing ever had.
	Blazing new trails wasn't something I was in tune with. The biggest
curveball of my life came with my parent's separation. Meeting Reid
exceeded that as a total departure from everything that went on in my life
before. How he made me feel and why I was so entirely captivated by his
presence was a mystery. I wasn't sure what it was or what it meant, but I
was sure I never wanted it to end.

rumbustiousboy@yahoo.com

      "These truths are self evident, all men are...."

The evidence indicates we aren't. The powerful have no interest in equality
for minorities. When Hispanics, Black, Asian, Native American, and GLBT
communities unit in a majority, I hope we'll be more tolerant of them than
they've been of us, but maybe not the first day. I'd like them to feel the
sting of second class citizenship, denied certain rights we keep for
ourselves, because we like it that way.

	"All men are created equal," just not yet, and we must change that.