Date: Mon, 9 Jul 2012 10:38:17 -0400
From: Ronyx <ronyx@woh.rr.com>
Subject: A Delicate Situation   Chapter 4

The following is a work of fiction. Any similarities to anyone are purely
coincidental. The story is intended for a mature audience. It may contain
profanity and references to gay sex. If this offends you, please leave and
find something more suitable to read. The author maintains all rights to
the story. Do not copy or use without written permission. Write
ronyx@themustardjar.com with your comments. Ronyx is a prolific Nifty
author. Visit my personal website at www.themustardjar.com for more
stories.


A Delicate Situation        Chapter 4


"What's wrong?" Jade asked as I stopped dancing and stared at Travis and
his friends.

"My roomie," I stated nervously. They were all now looking over at me and
whispering to each other. Jade took my hand and led me to the other end of
the large room. A minute later, Seth and Sydney approached.

"I see Travis and his ignorant posse showed up," remarked Seth
angrily. After spending the evening with him, I had almost forgotten that
he had been one of them earlier. "My roommate, Raleigh, is with them.

"Which one's Raleigh?" Seth was looking at the guy in the shower.

"The big goober with no neck," he started laughing. I was right. Raleigh
was the guy who had confronted me in the shower, and he had tried to block
me from leaving the dorm room. "He's a real work of art," added Seth.

"Like Travis," I said. "I guess birds of a feather flock together."

Seth laughed and remarked, "More like scum settling to the bottom of a
pond." He looked across the room at the table where other students were
busy putting snacks into bowls. "I'm hungry," he announced as he grabbed
Sydney's hand. "Let's go get something to eat."

We loaded a couple of plates with chicken wings, chips and dip. Jade and I
shared one, while Seth and Sydney shared another. We were standing off to
the side talking about the upcoming first day of class when I sensed
someone approach me from the side. Soon, the plate I was holding went
flying across the room.

"Oh, damn, Dude," said a sneering Raleigh. "I didn't mean to do that."

"Fucker," I spat angrily. I looked at him as his eyes narrowed and his face
began to redden with anger. He reached out and grabbed me by my collar.

"What did you call me, Fag?" he asked angrily as he lifted me off the
floor.

Jade hit him in his side. "Put him down, you goon!" she yelled as she hit
him again. Seth stepped up beside me as Travis and several more of his
friends approached. Raleigh drew his hand back to hit me when Seth stepped
in front of me and grabbed his wrist.

"Give it a break," Seth ordered emphatically. He stared defiantly at his
roommate.

Raleigh took a step back and glared at me. "You going sweet on this
faggot?" Seth approached him with his fist drawn, but one of the chaperones
of the event stepped between them. His lapel label identified him as dean
of the English department.

"Is there a problem here?" He stood between Raleigh and Seth. Raleigh
became excited as he pointed at me.

"Yeah," he replied as he teetered slightly. "He called me a fucker." The
Dean looked over at me.

He asked, "Is this true?"

"Yes, Sir," I replied nervously. "But he knocked my plate out of my hand."
I pointed to the food lying on the floor.

Raleigh looked innocently at the Dean. "It was an accident, honest. I even
apologized for doing it." Travis and his friends stepped forward and
started to confirm Raleigh's side of the story.

The Dean turned to me and said, "Perhaps you should leave."

"What!" Seth and Jade shouted in unison. Jade stood before the
Dean. "Dorian didn't do anything. We were having a good time," she pointed
toward Raleigh who had a smug look on his face, "when this asshole knocked
the plate of food out of his hand."

The Dean's face reddened. "I think you should leave too, Young Lady?"

Jade and Seth started ranting about how unfair it was for us to be removed
from the event when we had been there all night, while Raleigh and the
others had just arrived. Sydney remarked that she suspected they were
probably intoxicated.

Most of the people in the room had circled around us as they continued to
argue. Raleigh and Travis had their arms crossed with smug looks as they
watched what was going on. Finally, two school security officers
arrived. After a short conversation with the Dean, they took me, Seth, Jade
and Sydney by the arm and began to lead us from the room.

As I passed by Raleigh, he leaned in and whispered in my ear, "This ain't
over, fag."

Seth and Jade were still fuming as we walked back to the dorm. Since it was
after eleven o'clock, we decided to call it a night. All of us had early
classes in the morning. My first class was Modern Biology at eight. Jade
and I went to rooms while Sydney and Seth wandered off to a sofa in the
lounge area. On the elevator, Jade remarked that she thought they made a
cute couple, and she hoped they started dating. I rolled my eyes when she
said, "Now we have to find you a cute guy."

When I got to my room, it appeared as if a tornado had swept through it. I
wasn't sure how much more I could take of Travis's partying. My laptop,
which I had put away earlier in my desk, was sitting out with a video game
still displayed on the monitor. I shut it down, and then attempted to clean
my area. I tossed all the beer cans, empty snack bags and paper cups onto
Travis's bed. He would be mad, but I didn't care.

I finally crawled into bed and fell asleep. I was awakened later when
Travis came stumbling into the room. One of his friends helped him over to
his bed. He pushed all the trash I had thrown there earlier onto the floor,
threw Travis into this bed and left. I had to get out of bed and turn off
the overhead light he'd left on. When I returned, I stood and looked down
at Travis's drunken body. He was sprawled out with slobber drooling from
the side of his mouth. He snorted something inaudible and then rolled over
in bed. I climbed back into my bed and fell asleep.

When my alarm went off at 6:30, Travis hollered out, "Turn that goddamned
thing off!"  I hopped out of bed and slowly made my way to my desk to
silence it as Travis continued to rant. "I'll throw that mother fucker out
the window the next time it wakes me up!" He moaned his displeasure and
then fell back asleep. I quickly dressed, put my laptop in its case and
left for the day. I considered showering, but I could hear movement in the
hallway; so I assumed other guys were getting ready for classes too.

When I went downstairs, Jade and Sydney were waiting for me. Since we had
the same schedules, it was easy to accompany each other to class. Sydney
looked much nicer than the day before. She had spent a lot of time curling
her hair and applying make up. When I told her how nice she looked, Jade
commented, "She's trying to get a certain guy to like her."

Sydney lightly slapped my arm when I asked, "Could that certain guy be
Seth?"

We went to breakfast at the dining area in a nearby dorm. It was filled
with sleepy-eyed students who, like us, had scheduled early morning
classes. "I'm glad we only do this two mornings," moaned Jade. "At least
the other morning classes are at 9:30."

I found out quickly that my first year of college wasn't going to be much
different from high school, except the classes seemed more organized. In
all classes, the professor passed out a syllabus with the material they
planned to cover for the quarter. We had to endure lectures about attending
classes and making sure our work was turned in promptly. My world
civilization professor even confirmed that our freshman year was the
`weeding out' process. If we didn't make the cut, then we'd be flipping
hamburgers the rest of our lives. I wanted to raise my hand and ask him if
he knew my father.

Seth called Sydney as we were leaving our afternoon class, and he asked if
we would like to meet him in the Student Union. Jade and I kidded her
because she was practically running to get there. He smiled a toothy grin
when we approached, and his eyes lit up when he saw Sydney. It looked like
Cupid's arrow had found its mark. Even though I was at first upset because
Seth was straight, I was happy that he liked Sydney. They made a nice
couple.

Seth suggested that we go to the game room and play pool. I was skeptical
because I had never played the game. I had seen a movie a few years earlier
about a guy who made money shooting pool; but other than that, I knew
nothing about it. Seth assured me, however, that it wasn't that difficult
to learn to play.

Since it was still early afternoon, we had the game room to ourselves. At
least I didn't have an audience to watch me make a fool out of
myself. Twice I knocked the eight ball in the pocket; but Seth would take
it out and place it back on the table. I asked him if that wasn't cheating,
but he said that it was okay as long as the other player agreed. I had very
little knowledge of the game, but even I knew he was lying. However, Sydney
and Jade were worse than I was. Jade and I would raise an eyebrow each time
Seth got behind Sydney and put his arms around her to show her how to hit
the ball with her cue stick. Jade even commented to me that she thought
Sydney knew how to play pool, but she was acting dumb just to get Seth to
hold her. Their faces reddened when Jade put her arms around me and began
humping me as she acted as if she was trying to instruct me.

Suddenly, Sydney stopped, stepped toward the door and looked at a
television screen that was suspended from the ceiling in another room. She
then turned toward me with an astonished look on her face. "You'd better
see this, Dorian," she warned me. Jade, Seth and I cautiously approached
the door.

On the television screen was file footage of my father. His image appeared
on CNN, and the caption scrolling across the bottom of the screen read,
`Special Announcement: Governor Mark Caswell to announce at a press
conference at 5:00 that Senator Jonathan Gale will be his vice presidential
running mate.'

Jade turned to me with a surprised look on her face. She grabbed my arm and
excitedly exclaimed, "Holy crap, Dorian!"

"What's going on?" asked Seth. He looked puzzled by the reactions of Jade,
Sydney and myself. I couldn't remember if anyone had mentioned to him that
my father was Senator Gale. Jade gave me a questioning look and I nodded my
head.

"Senator Gale is Dorian's father," she informed Seth. His eyes widened, and
he fell back against the door.

"What?" I nodded my head. "Jesus," he sighed. "How come you never mentioned
it?"

"It just never came up," remarked Sydney. "Besides, Dorian and his father
don't exactly get along."

I walked over, sat down on a sofa and buried my head in my hands. "I can't
believe this," I moaned. Jade and Sydney sat down beside me and patted me
on my back.

Just then, my cell phone rang. It was my mother. I got up and excused
myself as I walked across the room so the others couldn't hear our
conversation. "Hello, Mother," I said nervously into the phone.

She asked, "Have you heard? Governor Caswell wants your father to be his
vice president."

I paused a minute before answering, "Yes, Ma'am. I just saw it on CNN."

I almost fell to the floor when she announced, "We'd like you to come
home."

"What!" I shouted. I looked over to see the others staring at me.

"Your father thinks it would be best if you came home," she replied. "He
thinks you should be here with us."

"So he can control what I do, Mother?" I asked angrily. "He doesn't want me
where he can't monitor what I'm doing so I don't embarrass him?" I was
beginning to become very upset. I was just starting school and making new
friends. I wasn't going to let him force me to come home and live a
solitary life in my bedroom so it wouldn't be revealed he had a gay son.

"Dorian," she insisted, "It's not like that. He just feels you should be
here at home with us."

"At home while you're out on the campaign trail? At home where no one will
know?"

"Know what? What are you talking about, Dorian?"

"Cut the crap, Mother!" I shouted. "Dad doesn't want anyone to know I'm
gay." The phone went silent as she grasped what I had just revealed. Even
though I had never officially come out to my parents, I realized I had just
done it in a moment of anger.

"Mother?" I asked urgently when she didn't reply. "Are you still there?"

Her voice shook as she insisted again, "You'd better come home."

Tears started to well up in my eyes as I replied, "No, Mother. I won't." I
then hung up.

When I looked across the room, Jade, Sydney and Seth were staring worriedly
at me. I didn't feel like talking to anyone. I was upset, and I knew they
would pressure me for details of what my mother had said.

So I left. I turned and headed out the door. In the background I could hear
the newscaster on the television in the Student Union still discussing my
father's qualifications to be vice president.

"If you want a homophobic prick," I muttered to myself as I hurried from
the room.

I felt guilty running away from the others because they were becoming
really good friends. I knew I could trust them; however, talking to someone
about my problems was something I wasn't accustomed to doing. In the past,
I would find solace in reading book or watching a movie to forget what was
bothering me. Occasionally, Carlton would try to prod answers from me when
he would notice I was upset. But for now, I needed to be alone. It was in
my solitude that I could better deal with life's problems.

And I knew this would become a serious problem. I was a delicate situation
that my father didn't want to discuss. How could he stand on a stage and
denounce gay rights and gay marriage if he had a gay son? People might view
him as hypocritical. However, I am the only one who could attest to the
fact that he was firm in his beliefs. He is homophobic, and he detests
having a gay son. If I admitted that to the press, however, it would only
make him more appealing to his conservative base.

I considered going back to the Student Union, but I wanted to be alone for
a little while. I would apologize later, and hope that they would
understand. I knew Jade and Sydney would. Seth had only recently found out
who I was, so it might be a little more overwhelming for him. I needed to
talk to him and try to persuade him not to tell Raleigh, Travis or the
others what he knew. I was hoping I could fit in somehow, although that
seemed impossible. However, I don't think it would matter to them that I
was Senator Gale's son. All they cared about was that they presumed I was
gay. They displayed the same resentment toward me that my father did. One
thing was certain- the next few months were going to be difficult for me.

I wandered around aimlessly for an hour. There was a chill in the air even
though it was a late August night. I entered a school store located in a
small mall in the center of campus and purchased a school hoodie. After
leaving the store, I noticed a small coffee shop. I sat down at a table
with a large umbrella that shielded me from the sun setting in the
west. Soon a server came to the table and took my order. After studying the
menu, I ordered a café latte and a spinach salad.

As I ate, I kept making eye contact with a young man at a nearby table. He
had his laptop out, and he would occasionally look over the top at me and
just stare. I tried to avert my eyes, but there was something about him
that made me want to make eye contact. I continued to nibble on my salad
and occasionally look over at him.

He was cute, but he looked like most of the young guys walking around
campus. His hair was curly brown. It appeared naturally soft, almost as if
you would want to walk up to him and run your hands through it. He had on
sunglasses, so I couldn't tell what color his eyes were. It appeared he
hadn't shaved for several days because a light beard was beginning to form
on his face. He appeared rather thin, but his features weren't gaunt. He
seemed to have a swimmer's body- lean and muscular.

The waitress had cleaned my table, and I was getting ready to leave when he
closed his laptop, got up and approached my table. I nervously looked away
because I was afraid he was going to say something about the way I had been
staring at him. Instead, he sat down and extended his hand toward me.

"Hi," he said smilingly. "I'm Weston Hayes, but everyone calls me Wes." He
smiled broadly as he took off his sunglasses to reveal a pair of beautiful
blue eyes. I nervously reached out my hand to shake his. His grip was firm
and strong.

"I'm Dorian," I replied nervously. I didn't tell him my last name because I
was afraid he would make a remark about it being the last name of the man
who was now being talked about on the news.

The waitress walked up and asked us if we would like anything else. "Yes,"
Wes replied quickly before I could object. He looked at my now empty
glass. "Bring us two of whatever he just drank." She nodded, turned and
walked away. He looked at me and asked, "What is that? I hope it isn't
anything strange."

My face reddened as I looked over at him. His smile was infectious, and I
didn't want to seem too struck by his genuine friendliness. He noticed my
embarrassment and started laughing. "Relax, Dorian," he laughed. "I don't
bite."

"Why are you here?" I regretted saying it as soon as the words came out of
my mouth. Wes was probably just being friendly, and I was assuming he had
some ulterior motive. I wasn't used to strangers approaching me, especially
good-looking ones.

Wes shrugged his shoulders as he continued to stare at me. "I don't know,"
he replied. "You were looking at me and I just sort of felt this vibe going
on between us." He looked around at the nearby tables, and then leaned in
and asked softly, "You are gay, right?"

"What?" I asked nervously.

He leaned toward me and whispered softly, "It's okay. I'm gay, too." He sat
back and smiled. "God, I thought I was the only one at this school who
was." When I didn't reply, he gave me a worried look and asked, "I didn't
offend you or anything, did I?"

"No," I replied. "It's just this whole thing is kind of weird?"

Wes gave me a puzzled look. "Weird?" Then he sat back and started
laughing. "Oh, you mean me being so brazen?" I smiled and nodded my
head. "My boyfriend, Alex, tells me all the time I'm going to say something
to the wrong person some day and get the shit kicked out of me."

Boyfriend. That was a word I didn't want to hear. Wes was very cute, and I
was beginning to think that maybe he would pass Jade's approval as
boyfriend material; however, that all vanished quickly.

"Boyfriend?" I asked solemnly. Wes noticed the disappointment in my voice.

"Oh, God," he leaned toward me, "You didn't think I was coming on to you,
did you?"

"No," I replied with a forced smile. "I didn't think that."

He scooted his chair nearer to mine. "It's just that I'm really missing
him, and I don't have anyone to talk to about it. All the guys in my dorm
are straight, and..." He stopped when I started laughing. "What?"

"My dorm is the same," I replied. "My roommate is an asshole."

"Yours too?" Wes laughed. "When I left this morning, he was jerking off to
a Hustler Magazine." We laughed when he put his hands to his chest and
pretended he was holding two ripe melons.

"Mine was in a drunken stupor," I said. "But I walked in on him banging
some girl the first night we arrived."

"That must have given you nightmares."  He sat back and laughed. The
waitress arrived with our lattes and we stared at each other as we quietly
sipped from our cups. Finally, Wes put down his cup and asked, "So, do you
have a boyfriend? I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but you're
really cute."

My face reddened, and I looked away. "No," I replied, "No boyfriend." The
sun was beginning to set, and the dim patio lights came on as we continued
to drink our lattes. Wes ordered another when the waitress came out again.

"This is nice," remarked Wes as he sat back and took a sip. Just then, my
cell phone rang. It was Jade calling. "Aren't you going to answer it?"

"No," I replied. I was enjoying the relaxed mood I was feeling with Wes. I
felt comfortable, and Jade would insist on finding me. I motioned for the
waitress to bring us the tab. Wes insisted on paying his share, but I
quickly handed her my credit card.

"You don't have to do this," he remarked. "I can pay for my own drinks."

"I know," I replied as the waitress returned with my card. After writing in
a generous tip, I stood and asked Wes if he was ready to leave.

"Are you trying to avoid someone?" He asked as we strolled slowly down the
sidewalk.

"Yeah," I laughed nervously. "Me." Wes gave me a puzzled look as I quickly
walked away. He ran up beside me and grabbed my arm.

"Are you all right, Dorian?" The trembling started in my shoulders, and
before I could stop them, tears started falling from my eyes as I began to
sob uncontrollably. Wes reached out and pulled me into his body. "Come on,"
he whispered softly as he looked around to see if anyone noticed us. He put
his arm around my shoulder to steady me as we walked.

He asked worriedly, "Do you want me to take you back to your room?"

I wiped tears from my cheek and laughed, "That's the last place I need to
go."

"Do you want me to call someone?" He pulled me closer into his body and
held me tighter.

I looked into his eyes and sighed sorrowfully, "Why are all the good ones
always taken?"

He closed his eyes and brought his lips nearer to mine. The kiss was gentle
and tender. I wrapped my arms around his body as he drew me
tighter. Suddenly, an overwhelming feeling of remorse surged through my
body. I knew what we were doing was wrong. Wes had a boyfriend who he
obviously loved very much. It was wrong for me to take advantage of him. I
pulled away and shook my head. "I can't do this," I muttered as I looked
upon his astonished face. By his expression, he too knew we had crossed the
boundaries of friendship.

"Listen," he said apologetically as he wiped my kiss from his lips. "I'm
sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen."

"Me either," I replied sadly as I turned and hurried away.

"Are you all right?" Jade asked as she and Sydney sat down beside me at the
counter at Tim Horton's.  "I called you all night but you didn't answer
your phone."

"Yeah, well..." I mumbled as I motioned for the waitress to bring me more
coffee. I was going to need it to stay awake for my classes. After leaving
Wes, I walked around campus for a little while before returning to my dorm
room. Travis wasn't there, but from the noise two doors down, it was
obvious a large party was being held. The noise from the stereo could
probably be heard a mile away. I undressed and climbed into bed and covered
my head with a pillow. However, it did no good in silencing the pounding
music coming from down the hall.

Finally, sometime after four, Travis staggered into the room with the help
of a friend and dropped into his bed. Seconds later, the room filled with a
different irritation- his deafening snoring.

"You look like shit," stated Sydney as she closely studied my somber mood.

"Thanks," I remarked sharply as I turned my back to them.

Nothing was turning out as I had planned. I thought that by beginning
college I could start a new life. However, I was quickly finding out that
nothing had changed- just the same old shit, a different place. I hated my
dorm room more than the quiet room I used to dread at home. It was
agonizing to go to my room and never know what was waiting for me on the
other side. At least at home, I could find solitude- and loneliness. Now, I
was just lonely.

I also thought I could finally be free from my father's influence, but now
my life was just beginning to become intertwined more deeply with his. Now
that he had entered the national political spotlight, his life, and mine,
would be examined under a very intense microscope. It was only a matter of
time before the media would make their way to the campus to meet The
Senator's Son. I know my father would make every attempt to shield me from
public scrutiny, but that would be next to impossible. As a senator, it was
easier to do. Now he was on the national stage, and the vetting would be
more difficult to stop. It would only be a matter of time until I was
paraded before the world as Senator Jonathan Gale's gay son.

As I glanced at Jade and Sydney, I wanted to let them help me with my
problems; but I couldn't. I needed to protect them. Even though our
friendship was still in a blossoming stage, I knew that they both would
feel the need to protect me. However, I had seen how cruel the media could
be when they wanted to penetrate someone's personal life. They would be no
match, and it could jeopardize their own reputations. Therefore, I needed
to distance myself from them in order to keep them safe.

And Wes. The kiss. My first kiss. I couldn't fall asleep because each time
I closed my eyes, I felt his gentle lips against mine. But why did I allow
him to kiss me?

Nothing made sense. Nothing seemed right. What little order I had tried to
maintain in my life was quickly coming apart.

Jade startled me from my contemplative reverie. "Dorian?" she asked
worriedly, "Are you all right?"

"No," I replied woefully.


* * * * * * * *

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