Date: Mon, 28 Aug 2000 15:12:03 -0400
From: James C Harrison <theguywhosings@juno.com>
Subject: BoysLife - Episode Four

Well this is Episode Four, and I have chosen to deal with an issue that
one of my friends recently had to go through in a relationship. I want to
make it clear that I do not think something like this makes a story
"interesting" or eye-catching, but with this series I do not want to be
afraid to address issues that people in our world face today. Things like
this happen every day, perhaps not exactly the situation that is
presented in this story, but similar events. While some aspects of my
story are meant to make us go to this special place where being
"different" is accepted and not looked down upon, things like this happen
in the reality we face today and I apologize for any feelings of offense
I may have caused, and I hope this does not effect your opinion of my
series any... please write and tell me what you think... I enjoy hearing
from all of you!
-JCH


BoysLife - Episode Four

Perry Adamson pushed open the door of his house and practically fell
inside. He felt exhausted and he could barely walk. As he shut the door, a
noise behind him made him jump. It was one of his roommates Josh Maxwell.

"Oh it's you Josh," Perry said quietly.

"How was skating?" Josh asked.

"We didn't go," Perry said. "We got there and decided to do something
else."

"Oh," Josh said, giving Perry a strange look.

"What?" Perry asked him.

"Are you all right Perry?" Josh asked. "It looks like there's a nasty
bruise on your face there."

Perry's hand flew up to his face, and he winced in pain. "Josh I'm really
tired, I'm going to bed." He pushed past Josh and ran up the stairs to his
bedroom. When he got there, he turned on the light and shut the door. He
went to the mirror on the wall and looked at himself. Sure enough, there
was a bruise on the side of his face, right under the ear, along his
jawbone.

Perry stared at himself in the mirror for a moment. How could he have let
this happen? He and Wade had gone ice skating for a little while, and it
was a lot of fun, Wade had been great with him. After they left the sports
complex, they had went back to Wade's apartment and Wade had really gotten
drunk, Perry knew that. Perry had a few drinks himself, but not quite as
many as Wade. And then everything started.

It started out good, they made out on the sofa, tearing each others clothes
off. Then they went back to Wade's bed and began to have sex. And that's
when Wade starting getting rough. He tried choking Perry a few times, and
once when Perry was sitting on top of him, he swung and hit him in the jaw,
which obviously left the bruise. Perry didn't think Wade had hit him that
hard, and Wade kept apologizing, and the sex was absolutely awesome after
that, and Wade stopped being rough all together. After they had sex, Wade
fell asleep. As soon as Perry was sure Wade was out, he slipped back to the
living room, threw on his clothes, and walked home. That was why he had
been so tired.

Perry wondered why Josh had been up so late. It had to be close to four in
the morning. It wasn't something he really wanted to find out. He fell onto
his bed, and his eyes closed, and he fell fast asleep.

*****

Jason Harmon woke up to the sound of his boyfriend packing.

"I'm sorry Jay, I didn't mean to wake you," Trevor Keiser said, shoving
some clothes into his travel bag. "I'm meeting Grandma at her house at
noon."

"Do you want me to take you over there?" Jason said. "I don't have to be in
at work until one today."

"No, I think it's going to be hard enough on both me and Grandma," Trevor
said. "So I think I'll drive over myself."

"Okay," Jason said with a disappointed sigh. "If that's what you want."

Trevor sat on the bed next to him. "Baby, believe me, I want you to take me
and do the things you want to. But my Grandma is a mess right now and I
don't need to be all emotional on her. I really don't want to leave you."

Jason put his arms around Trevor. "I'm going to really miss you Trevor."

"I'm going to miss you too Jay," Trevor said, holding Jason close to his
chest. "Now why don't we go downstairs and get some breakfast."

"Yeah, well there isn't much to eat," Jason said. "I need to try and go to
the store this morning."

Trevor looked at his watch as he and Jason walked out of the bedroom. "I
think I have enough time for a grocery store run, what do you think?  Just
the two of us?"

"That sounds awesome!" Jason said, giving Trevor a quick kiss. Then they
went downstairs, into the kitchen. Josh was already there.

"Good morning you two," Josh said.

"How come you're up so early?" Trevor asked.

Josh shrugged. "I couldn't sleep." He paused. "Guys I think something is
wrong with Perry."

"What is it?" Jason asked, a look of concern on his face.

"I don't want to assume anything," Josh said. "But Perry came in last
night, and there was this nasty bruise on the side of his face."

"Maybe he fell down or something," Trevor said. "Didn't he say that he and
Wade went ice skating?"

"He told me they didn't go," Josh said. "And when I questioned him about
the bruise, he ignored my question and changed the subject."

"Maybe he's embarrassed about what happened," Jason said. "Maybe it was
something stupid and he doesn't want us making a big deal about it."

"But it looked exactly like someone had hit him," Josh said. "And it was a
nasty bruise."

"Look," Trevor said. "I'm sure if something is wrong that Perry will tell
someone about it. Until then, we need to let him do his own thing, until he
comes to one of us."

"Do you think Wade is hitting Perry Josh?" Jason asked.

"I don't know," Josh said softly. "But if that is the case, then this Wade
character is going to have me to deal with."

"We don't want to assume anything Josh," Trevor said. "Let's just see what
happens."

"Yeah," Jason agreed. "Perry's smart, he won't stay in a situation if it's
harmful."

"That's true," Josh said. He sighed. "I just have a really bad feeling
about this relationship with Wade, and I don't know why."

"I don't really like it too much myself if you ask me," Trevor said. "It
seems to be such a secret from us, and it all happened so fast. But then
again, it is none of our business, so we need to leave Perry to himself."

"I think I can do that," Josh said. But he knew deep down inside that if
anything happened to Perry, he'd be going after Wade in a heartbeat.

*****

Perry stumbled down the stairs as Trevor and Jason were carrying groceries
in.

"Late night?" Trevor asked, as Perry followed him into the kitchen.

"Yeah," Perry said. "I guess so."

Trevor sat the bag of groceries on the table, and turned to face
Perry. There was no mistaking the bruise now, and he had to agree with
Josh, it looked exactly like someone had hit Perry. But he decided to not
say anything to Perry about it.

"Well, at least you got your rest," Trevor said. "That's more than me." He
went back out to the car, passing Jason on the way and warning him not to
say anything.

Once all the groceries were carried in, Jason helped Trevor load his bags
into his car. Then Trevor pulled Jason into his arms, and they held each
other for what seemed like forever. Then it was time for Trevor to go. With
one last passionate kiss, he said good-bye and got into his car.

"I love you," Jason said.

"I love you too Jay," Trevor replied, shutting the door and rolling down
the window. "You take care of yourself while I'm gone okay?"

"I will," Jason said. "Tell your grandmother I said hello."

"That I can do," Trevor said. He pulled his car out of the driveway, threw
Jason a kiss in the air, and a little wave, and then he was gone.

Jason was unsure how long he stared down the road after Trevor had
left. Tears slowly streaked down his face, and for the strangest reason, he
felt as though Trevor had just walked out of his life.

It wasn't until he heard the door behind him that Jason snapped out of his
daydream. He turned to see Perry hanging out the door, the phone in his
hand.

"Jay, it's Sabrina on the phone for you," Perry said. Jason went inside,
and Perry gave him a hug. "It's going to be all right Jay," Perry
said. "It's only one week."

"Yeah I know," Jason said. He took the phone from Perry. "Hey there sis."

"Is he gone?" Sabrina asked.

"Yeah," Jason said softly. "Just a few moments ago."

"Did you want some time by yourself Jason?" Sabrina asked. "Should I call
back later?"

"No, I'm fine," Jason said, wiping his eyes and blowing his nose. "It just
feels weird to me, this all happened so fast. I don't know why I'm getting
all emotional, he's only going to be gone for a week."

"You love Trevor Jay," Sabrina said. "You guys do everything
together. Since you started dating you've never really had much time apart,
he was always at the house or you were at his, and then you guys moved in
together." She paused. "So this might actually be a good thing for you
guys."

"Yeah," Jason said. "I guess you're right. It's still weird though."

"I know," Sabrina said. "But believe me these few days are going to fly by
and you'll have your man back before long."

Jason laughed. "It sounds so weird when you call him my man."

"What?" Sabrina asked jokingly. "It's the truth!"

"Yeah," Jason said. "And I am so glad it is."

*****

As Jason talked on the phone, Perry laid down on the sofa and watched
T.V. He heard a car pull up in the driveway and did not think anything of
it, until he heard a knock at the door. He got up and opened it.

"Hey there sexy!" Wade said, throwing his arms around Perry and kissing him
passionately.

"Hi!" Perry said, surprised, as Wade let go of him and the two of them came
inside. "I wasn't expecting it to be you!"

"Why not?" Wade asked. "I wanted to see the sexiest man alive, who just
happens to be my wonderful boyfriend." He tried to kiss Perry again, but
Perry put his hands on Wade's chest, pushing him away.

"Wade, stop," Perry said. "Jason is right in the other room and he doesn't
want to see you all over me."

"Let's go up to your room then," Wade said, pulling Perry by the hand to
the stairs. Perry let Wade take him up the stairs and into his room.  When
they got there, they sat on the bed, and then Wade was on top of Perry,
kissing him, and eagerly unbuttoning Perry's Hawaiian shirt.

"Slow down boy!" Perry said, pushing Wade off of him, and sitting up. "What
has gotten into you today?"

"I don't know," Wade said. "I just know we had some awesome sex the other
night and I didn't want it to end."

"Is that al you remember?" Perry asked. "The great sex?"

"Why shouldn't I remember that?" Wade asked. "It was awesome," He leaned
over and began kissing on Perry's neck. "And I want more of it," He
whispered.

Perry felt himself melting into the moment. Wade knew what Perry liked, and
soon Wade's lips were moving down Perry's chest, to his nipples.  Perry
fell back onto his pillow, and allowed Wade to completely unbutton his
shirt. Then Wade was working on the button on Perry's jeans, and Perry
stopped him once again.

"Wade..." Perry said, letting the thought die as he looked into Wade's
eyes. How could Wade not see the mark on Perry's face? And how could he not
remember hitting him? Perry wanted answers, but Wade looked at him like no
one ever had before. As Perry stared into Wade's eyes, their mouths met
again in a long and passionate kiss. Wade's hands slid across Perry's
shoulders, sliding his shirt off. Perry couldn't resist him any longer. He
reached his hands under Wade's T-shirt and pulled it up. They stopped
kissing long enough for Wade to take off his shirt and then Wade pushed
Perry down and laid on top of him again, kissing him eagerly. It all felt
so wrong to Perry and yet so right.

Within moments, they were both laying naked in each others arms. Perry felt
his hands moving up and down Wade's body, caressing him, touching him. He
felt so safe in Wade's arms, and then he thought about how Wade had hit
him. He had to believe it would never happen again.  And the softness of
Wade's kisses, as they made their way all over Perry's body, was more than
enough to convince him.

*****

Jason had agreed to let Sabrina come over and help him fix a nice
dinner. He had not done that much cooking since moving into the house, it
was something he loved to do, and used to do all the time with his mother
and sister.

"Are you all alone?" Sabrina asked, coming in the door with two bags of
groceries.

"Nah, Perry and Wade are upstairs, having sex I think," Jason said.

"Ooh!" Sabrina said, her eyebrows raising. They took the bags into the
kitchen.

"Sabrina you really didn't have to go and get all this," Jason said. "I'm
sure we could have found something around here to fix."

"Don't be silly!" Sabrina said. "I wanted to go shopping myself. Besides,
you're a guy Jay, how can you possibly know what to pick up at the
store. You probably go down the aisles, looking at stuff and saying 'This
looks good' and dumping it into your cart."

"Yeah that's about it!" Jason said.

Sabrina smiled. "See what I told you?" She began to empty her bags. "Now I
thought we could make that awesome stuffed chicken breast you make so well,
and I'll do a salad and some garlic bread and some stir fry
vegetables. How's that sound?"

"That sounds awesome!" Jason said, helping to put things into the
refrigerator. "I haven't made it in a while though."

"Well," Sabrina said, reaching into her purse and pulling out an index
card. "I brought the recipe just in case."

"You're the best," Jason said, giving his sister a quick hug.

"So tell me about this Wade guy," Sabrina said. "You said you think they're
having sex?" She looked at her watch. "It's three in the afternoon."

"Yeah well Wade came when I was on the phone with you," Jason said. "And if
you ask me he was really horny."

"Jason!" Sabrina said with a laugh.

"Well, he was," Jason said. "And then he and Perry went upstairs, and I'm
telling you, those were sex noises I heard."

"Sounds nice," Sabrina said. "To be able to have sex in the middle of the
day."

"Tell me about it," Jason said, sitting down next to his sister at the
island, on a stool. "Perry starts his new job on Friday and I'm not real
sure where Wade works."

"So what's he like?" Sabrina asked.

"I'm not really sure, to be honest with you," Jason said. "I really have
never talked to the guy. And Perry rarely talks about him, so I feel like I
don't know him at all."

"That doesn't seem like Perry," Sabrina said.

"No it doesn't," Jason said. "I know that Josh and Trevor are not really
that fond of him. I don't really have an opinion yet. But there is one
thing."

"What?" Sabrina asked.

"You'll see it as soon as you see Perry," Jason said. "But he's got this
nasty bruise on his jaw, and it looks like someone hit him."

"Oh my," Sabrina said.

"It happened one night when he was out with Wade," Jason said. "I'm pretty
sure Josh thinks Wade hit Perry. I don't know if that's true or not, but it
looks awfully suspicious."

"Well let's hope that's not what it is," Sabrina said. "Perry's a small
guy."

"And Wade is a big one," Jason said. "I mean, he's cute in a way, but he's
your typical football player, not my type at all."

"Yeah, you were never into the jocks," Sabrina said with a grin. "It's your
loss buddy."

"Whatever," Jason said. He stood up. "Let me go call Josh and see what time
he's coming home and see if he wants to have dinner with us."

When Josh got on the phone, he told Jason that he worked that evening until
seven. "And I'm meeting this girl Amy after work so you guys go ahead and
eat without me."

"That girl you've been training?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, her," Josh said. "Don't think anything Jay, she's only a friend, I
do prefer guys remember."

"I think it's great Josh," Jason said. "I can't wait to meet her, she
sounds like a great person."

"She is," Josh said. "Tell Sabrina I said hello all right? I need to get
back to work."

"Okay," Jason said. "See you later." They said good-bye and hung up.

"He's not coming?" Sabrina asked as Jason hung up the phone.

"No, he's working late," Jason said. "And he's meeting a friend after
work."

"So it'll just be the four of us then," Sabrina said. "Sounds exciting."

"It could just be the two of us dear," Jason said. "I guess I'd better go
upstairs and see what the two love birds are going to do tonight."

Sabrina laughed.

*****

Perry laid with his head on Wade's chest, listening to the sound of his
heartbeat. Wade had dozed off, but Perry could not stop thinking. He had
just had great sex with Wade once again, and not once did Wade get rough
with him, he was very gentle, romantic, sweet.

But then again, this time Wade had not been drinking either.

As Perry lay there, there was a soft knock at his door. He had covered
himself and Wade with a sheet as they had lay down, and he really did not
feel like getting out of the bed.

"Yeah?" Perry called out.

Jason poked his head through the door. "Woah!" He said when he saw the two
of them in bed together. "Um, sorry to disturb you."

"It's all right," Perry said. "What is it?"

"I wanted to know if you guys want to have dinner with Sabrina and I,"
Jason said. "I'm cooking something kind of nice."

"I'll ask Wade when he wakes up," Perry said. "We'll probably stay though,
that sounds nice."

"All right," Jason said, shutting the door behind him.

Perry laid there for another moment, and then decided to get up and get
dressed. Wade did not even stir as Perry got out of bed, and put his
clothes on. One he was dressed, Perry went into the bathroom to look at his
bruise in the mirror. It was still there, black as ever, and so
noticeable. He sighed and went downstairs. The guys had already seen it,
and he could deal with Sabrina seeing it as well.

"Hi there Perry!" Sabrina said as he came into the kitchen. "How are you
doing?"

"I'm all right," Perry said with a small shrug. "How are you?"

"I'm good, thanks," Sabrina said.

"I didn't mean for you to come down here now," Jason said. "You could have
stayed upstairs with Wade."

"It's all right," Perry said. "I'm not really that sleepy, and he was out
cold."

"Okay," Jason said. "That's cool then."

"So what are you making for dinner tonight?" Perry asked.

"Chicken breast stuffed with crab meat," Jason said. "It's really good."

"Sounds like it," Perry said. "I can't wait to taste it."

"So you start a new job this weekend," Sabrina said to Perry.

"Yeah," Perry said, nodding. "It'll be nice to go back to work."

"I'll bet," Sabrina said. "Are you excited?"

"Not really," Perry said. "I mean, it's just a job. I've worked as a
cashier before, it was actually my first job."

"I didn't know that," Jason said.

"My first job was cashier at Wal-Mart," Perry said. "Then I moved over to
Sports World."

"Yeah, well I've been cutting hair forever it seems like!" Sabrina said
with a laugh. "But it's fun, we get all kinds of people coming in, and I've
seen some of the strangest hairstyles."

"I can imagine," Perry said. He looked at his watch. "Well, I think I'm
going to go see if I can get Wade to wake up." He turned and left the room.

"Wow Jay," Sabrina said, as Perry went up the stairs. "You were right, it
does look like someone hit him."

Jason looked at her and shrugged. "Who knows?"

*****

"I'll see you all tomorrow," Josh said to his fellow workers as he walked
out of the store and into the mall. He was meeting Amy at a restaurant
there, so that he would not have to drive anywhere.

When he got to the restaurant, Amy was waiting for him on a bench outside
the entrance.

"Hey Josh!" She said, standing and giving him a hug.

"Hi Amy," Josh said. "How are you?"

"I'm good," Amy said. "How was work?"

"It was okay," Josh said. "Well, are you ready to eat?"

Amy nodded and the two of them went into the restaurant. Within moments
they had been seated and served drinks.

"I'm glad you agreed to have dinner with me," Amy said. "I have not been
out of the house other than to go to work."

"Yeah," Josh said. "I didn't really want to be home tonight anyway."

"How come?" Amy asked, sipping her soda.

"Do you remember me telling you about Perry?" Josh asked. Amy nodded, so he
continued. "Well he and Wade, his new boyfriend are home tonight with my
other roommate and his sister, not really the greatest combination."

Amy smiled. "Well, that leaves you free to eat with me then!"

"Yeah," Josh said. "I'm glad you asked me. And I'm glad you didn't freak
out when I told you I was gay."

"Well..." Amy said, putting her glass down on the table. "I don't really
agree with it. I've always been raised to think that being gay is just not
right." She paused. "But you seem very happy, and I am not going to try and
tell you how to live your life, that wouldn't be fair."

"I wish everyone had that attitude," Josh said. "But then again, not a lot
of people know I am gay."

"Yeah," Amy said. She smiled. "I'm glad to be only one of two at work that
knows!"

Josh smiled. "Yeah, I knew I could tell you. And since it is probably going
to be and you working most evenings during the holiday evening, I thought I
should become good friends with you."

"Oh boy, don't I look forward to that!" Amy joked. "The long holiday hours!
But it'll be cool working with you. You're a great guy Josh."

"And you are one hell of a girl Amy," Josh said. "If I were straight, I
would think about dating you."

Amy laughed. "Now that is funny!" She sipped her soda. "But thank you. I
have only had one boyfriend and he was one of my closest friends, and that
just didn't work out."

"Really?" Josh asked.

"It lasted three weeks," Amy said. "And then we decided to go back to being
friends. It's been good though, we're still friends now."

"And no others besides him?" Josh asked. "I find that hard to believe."

"Well believe it boy!" Amy said with a grin.

"How old are you?" Josh asked. "I don't think you've ever told me."

"I'm twenty," Amy said. "I'm actually having a birthday next month."

"That's cool," Josh said. "I'll have to get you something nice."

"I like diamonds," Amy said.

"Oh yeah, I'll just take out a loan for that one," Josh said
sarcastically. He laughed. "I think it will have to be something a little
less expensive."

Amy laughed. "Yeah I think I can handle that."

Their food came and they ate, talking and laughing the whole time. Josh
really felt like he could open up to Amy, and in turn she shared her life
with him.

"Well, that was good food," Josh said as they had finished sharing a
dessert. He looked at his watch. "Would you like to come by the house and
meet everyone?" He paused. "Of course, Trevor won't be there, but you can
meet the others."

"Sure," Amy said. She stood and threw some money on the table. "That would
be great."

Josh paid the bill, ignoring Amy's insistence that she pay. Then the two of
them walked out to their cars, and Amy followed Josh to the house.

"Oh I know this part of town!" Amy said, as she got out of her car and came
over to where Josh waited for her. "I live about ten minutes from here I
guess."

"That's cool," Josh said. He opened the door, and she went in. He followed
her and closed the door behind him. They heard laughter coming from the
dining room.

"I guess they're still eating," Josh said.

"Oh my!" Amy said with a smile. She followed him into the dining room.

"Hey guys!" Josh said to the others as he and Amy went into the room. "Did
we interrupt your dinner?"

"No, we're just finishing," Jason said, standing, and coming over to Josh
and Amy. "Let me guess, this is the famous Amy."

"That's me," Amy said. "You must be Jason."

Jason nodded. "Yeah, I would have to admit to that one."

Sabrina stood and came over to Amy. "Amy Martin?" She said. "Oh my word, I
haven't seen you in ages!"

Amy looked confused. "Who are you?" She asked.

"Sabrina Harmon," Sabrina said. "We went to school together."

Amy stared at her for a moment, and then her face brightened, and she threw
her arms around Sabrina. "Oh my gosh! You were on the cheerleading squad."

"Yup," Sabrina said, as Amy let her go.

"How have you been?" Amy asked excitedly, as Sabrina led her out of the
room.

"Girls," Wade muttered. Perry and Jason laughed.

"Well, I guess I'd better clear this mess," Jason said.

"I'll help you," Perry said.

"I was going to take you over to The Pub with me to meet some of the guys,"
Wade said, standing.

Perry looked at Josh, and then Jason.

"Go ahead Perry," Jason said. "I can do this by myself."

"Okay," Perry said. "I'll see you guys later." He followed Wade out of the
room.

"I'll give you a hand there Jay," Josh said, grabbing two plates and
following Jason into the kitchen. "How did it go tonight?" He asked.

Jason shrugged. "Oh it was all right. It was kind of interesting actually
getting to know Wade."

"Yeah, I'll bet," Josh said. "We don't know much about him, except that he
doesn't like me."

"What?" Jason asked.

"Didn't you see the way he got Perry out of here when I got here?" Josh
asked.

Jason sighed. "Josh, I don't think Perry even told Wade anything about the
two of you."

"Oh," Josh said. He paused. "Well, I don't like him. I'm sorry."

"Well, I don't really like him either," Jason said, "But I don't dislike
him, so I guess I'm more neutral."

"I suppose," Josh said.

*****

When the guys had finished clearing the dishes they went into the living
room and sat with the girls.

"So you two know each other?" Jason asked, sitting on the floor.

"Yeah," Sabrina said. "It's a small world. Amy joined up with the
cheerleading team for about a week or so during senior year, but then had
to stop."

"I was already too involved with everything else," Amy said. "I didn't want
to be a cheerleader and not put my all into it."

"I didn't know that," Josh said.

"Yeah," Amy said. "It was a lot of fun."

"I'm glad you're starting to hang out with her Josh," Sabrina said.

"Why is that?" Josh asked.

"Now I'll have another girl around," Sabrina said. Her and Amy laughed.

"Oh very funny," Josh said, a grin on his face.

Amy looked at her watch. "Well I had better head home. Unlike all of you, I
still live with Mommy and Daddy, and they don't like me rolling in at all
hours of the night."

"I'll walk you out," Josh said.

Amy gave Sabrina a hug. "It was great to see you again. I'll come to see
you sometime and see what you can do about this hair of mine."

Sabrina smiled. "All right."

Amy turned to Jason. "And it was good to meet you Jason. I've heard a lot
about you."

"I'm almost afraid to ask what all he's told you," Jason said. Josh pushed
him down onto the sofa.

"I'll see you all later," Amy said. She followed Josh out to her car.

"Are you going to be okay finding your way home?" Josh asked.

"I'm positive," Amy said. "I have lived around here my entire life, I know
these streets inside out." She smiled. "You have a great place Josh. I hope
I will be able to come over a lot, I like it."

"You're always welcome here," Josh said. He gave her a hug, and she got
into her car. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Yes," Amy said. "See ya then!"

*****

Perry couldn't take it anymore. Wade and the guys were drinking a lot, and
it was really making him feel uncomfortable. As the guys played pool, he
slipped to the pay phone and called the house. He was glad when Jason
answered the phone.

"Jay it's me," Perry said. "Can you come by The Pub and pick me up? I want
to come home."

"Sure," Jason said. "Is everything okay?"

"Wade is drinking and I don't want to be here all night," Perry said. "Just
come get me okay?"

"I'll be there as soon as I can," Jason said.

"Oh, and don't say anything to Josh," Perry said. "I don't want him to
worry."

"All right," Jason said. "I will be there soon."

"Okay," Perry said. He hung up the phone and went back to Wade and the
guys.

"Wade, I'm leaving," He said.

"You're leaving?" Wade asked. "How come?"

"I want to," Perry said. "I'm tired."

"Oh," Wade said. "Okay." He went back to playing pool.

Perry pushed his way outside and sat on a bench. Soon he saw Jason's car
pulling up, and he almost ran to it. He threw open the door and got inside,
almost in tears.

"Are you all right?" Jason asked.

"I just want to go home," Perry said.

"Okay," Jason said, pulling out of the parking lot. "Is there anything you
want to talk about?"

Perry shook his head. "I'm so confused Jay. Wade says he loves me, but he
won't stop the drinking, and I hate him when he gets that way."

"You might have to make him choose," Jason said. "Either you or the
alcohol."

"I don't want to do that to him," Perry said.

"But if he has a drinking problem, he needs help," Jason said. "How often
does he get drunk?"

"I'm not sure," Perry said. "Both times I've been to The Pub with him. And
he is always drinking with the guys." He paused. "Jason, I just don't know
what to do anymore."

"Perry be honest with me," Jason said. "Did Perry hit you and make that
bruise?"

Perry sighed. "Yeah, he did."

"Oh Perry!" Jason said. "You can't keep putting yourself through this. If
he's getting physical..."

"But it was only that one time," Perry said, cutting Jason off. "We were
making out, and he got a little rough, that's all."

"A little rough?" Jason asked. "Perry that bruise is awful! He must have
hit you very hard to make that kind of a mark."

"I don't remember," Perry lied. "Look Jason, let me figure this one out on
my own. And please don't say anything to Josh or Trevor about this, I know
they'd try and force me to break up with Wade."

"Perry why did you go out with him in the first place?" Jason asked,
pulling into their driveway. "Was it because you really liked him, or was
it only to escape the feelings you had for Josh?" He paused, and stared at
Perry. "I'm not going to force you Perry. But I'm telling you, if this
happens again, I'll make sure he never hits you again. If I need to call
the police, I will. Perry I am your friend and I am not going to let this
guy beat you around, just because he wants to get drunk." He opened the
door and got out. "Do you think he really loves you? Or is he only using
you for the sex?" Jason slammed the car door and went inside, leaving Perry
in the car alone, tears slowly running down his face.