Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2003 22:12:12 -0400 (EDT)
From: Brad <brad060103@excite.com>
Subject: College with Mark

A Note to the Reader:

Here we go again.  This story is completely fictional work and is entirely
from my overactive imagination.  In other words, the characters in this
story do not really exist.  Now, if you are a kid and under 18 (21 in some
crazy places) or live in one of those places where this sort of story is
just plain illegal, stop reading now, and do not continue until you are old
enough or you move somewhere its legal- whichever the case may be.  If you
are offended by homosexual relationships and or sex, now may also be a good
time to stop reading.  If none of these things apply to you, then relax,
sit back and enjoy the story.

This is the next part of the story of Mark and Brad.  I hope that you are
enjoying it, and apologize for taking so long to get this part written. I
hope to be a little quicker on the next part, but please be patient.
Thanks again for reading!


CHAPTER 6

Mark and Brad both worked hard in their classes.  Both had just completed
their mid terms when they were presented with the welcome time off that
Spring Break afforded them.  They had not planned a major trip over the
break like many of the others they went to school with.  Mark had been the
previous two years and since Brad's mother wanted him to come home over the
break, Mark was happy to just relax over the break rather than to contend
with a major trip.  The past two years he had returned to school hung over
rather than refreshed.  This year was going to be different, he was going
to sleep at home in his own bed.  The only problem was that Brad and Mark
had not slept in separate beds since January.  They had also carpooled the
two hour trip home each time, but this time they were each taking his own
vehicle, so as not to raise suspicions with their families.  They knew that
eventually it was going to be inevitable, but both of them agreed that they
did not think this was the right time to do it.  Truthfully, each man was
afraid of his own parents and their reactions.  They did both feel like it
would be more difficult to tell Mark's parents because they were what Brad
liked to call the, "the perfect family."

Throughout the week, Mark and Brad spent as much time as was possible
together without arousing suspicions.  Mark took a shopping trip to Macon
with his parents on the insistence of his mom.  They all had a good time.
It was like when he was a child and they went shopping.  Mark never was a
big shopper.  He just wanted to hit the sale rack and go as quick as he
could, but his mom liked to shop around.  She did her best to teach him how
to do that on this trip.  All in all, the family had a nice afternoon
together and Mark felt much closer to his family than he did the week
before.  It did however make him feel very guilty for not sharing the best
thing in his life with them.

Brad spent his days on vacation lounging around his house, his mother
really didn't have anything planned for them to do together, and he was
kind of annoyed with her for telling him to come home.  She didn't really
want to be around him, she just wanted him home.  It really made no sense
at all to Brad, but he just let boredom set in.  He picked up the telephone
and called Mark's number.

"Hello."

"Hey Mark! Its me Brad!"

"I knew that, you sure don't have to tell me who you are."

"I am bored.  I really miss you."

"Me too."

"Your mom and dad are right there aren't they."

"Yes."

Brad decided to have a little fun with Mark, "Hey Mark, guess what I'm
wearing."

"I'd rather not."

"Oh, I know what you would rather do," Brad said seductively.  "And it
involves absolutely no clothing."

"I am going to have to let you go now, Brad," Mark said clearly not amused.

"Ok Mark, don't get all pissed now.  I'm just fooling around," Brad
laughed.

"I'm not, but I don't think it's a good time for that."

"Its ok, I'm just trying to kill some time and mess with your head at the
same time."

"Gee thanks."

"What are you up to in the morning?"

"Well, I just got back from Macon with my family, and I don't really have
anything planned.  Why have you got any ideas?"

"I just thought if you were not busy we could go do a little fishing out on
the river."

"We could, but how does out here in the pond sound to you?"

"That sounds great to me.  Nobody ever goes back there do they?"

"Nobody but us," Mark replied.

"I like the way you are thinking there Mark," Brad said.

"Ok, well be over here in the morning and we will go.  I have to go, Mom is
yelling at me about something."

"I'll see you in the morning."

Brad and Mark hung up the phone and Mark walked into the den and told his
mom, "Brad and I are going to go to the pond and fish tomorrow morning."

"Ok, but just be cleaned up when you come to lunch.  We are eating at 12:00
at Sarah's with your grandmother.  Brad is welcome to come.  Just tell him
to bring some clothes and he can take a shower in your bathroom.  I won't
be here, but don't either one of you use another bathroom.  I don't want to
have to clean up but one.  I know how you boys are after you have been
fishing.  Nasty."

"Ok Mom."

Mark went into the other room and called Brad to let him know that he
needed to bring a change of clothes, and then went to bed.

The next morning, Mark and Brad caught a lot of fish early, but as it got
later, the fish stopped biting, and it turned more into boating on the pond
than fishing.  While it was quiet, they began to talk.

"Mark, you know I have been thinking, I love you with all my heart, and
don't know how long I can hide it from the rest of the world."

"Brad, I can understand how much you love me only because I love you as
much if not more myself.  I love you more than myself.  If I died tomorrow,
I would die happy because I have felt true love.  I would love to put how
much I love you on a billboard for all the world to know.  I am just not
sure how everyone will react.  I think that the first people we should come
out to are the people closest to us, meaning our families."

"I agree that we should tell our families first, but when.  What is going
to happen? What if they all hate us and never want to see us again."

"Then we will have each other.  You will always have me by your side in
your heart and in your mind no matter where you are.  You won't be able to
get rid of me, kid you are stuck with me!" Mark grinned.

"Sounds like a fungus to me."

"Ha ha, why don't you see how you like a fungus from the pond!"  Mark began
to shake the boat.

"Ok! Ok! I give up!" Brad laughed, and Mark stopped rocking the boat.

"Though it is hot and a swim does sound good right now."

"Well, we do have to head up to the house and get ready for lunch, lets
jump in," Mark said.  He stripped his clothes off and jumped into the water
naked.  Brad looked at him strangely.  "Well, what are you waiting for?  It
ain't like you have anything I haven't seen before."

That was all it took, Brad stripped off and jumped into the water.  The
cool water felt good against his hot skin.  He swam over to where Mark was
and they wrestled in the water a minute.

"We really can't stay in here long, but I did want to tell you something
real quick before we get back in the boat," Mark said.

"What's that?" Brad asked.

"This!" Mark said as he reached around Brad and pulled the two together,
giving Brad a deep kiss.  "I love you, and I miss you every night we are
apart," Mark whispered into Brad's ear as they pulled apart,

"I miss you too, Mark."

"Lets get back to the house and get ready before my mom freaks and comes
looking for us," Mark said as he pushed the boat to the side of the pond
where it stayed.

The two boys dried off and got dressed and went back to the house.  They
talked seriously on the way back as to if and when they would come out to
their families.  It was a given that they would have to do it all at once
because of the nature of the small town they lived in.  Brad was concerned
about what Mark's family would say because of their conservative nature.
Brad's family seemed like it would be less of a challenge because they
really weren't that close to him anyway.  They decided to do it on their
break before summer classes began.

The rest of the week came and went, and Brad and Mark were more relaxed
after their break, but were also very excited to be at home after time
apart.  The first thing they did when they walked into the apartment was to
pull each other into a long embrace.  They got into the bed that they
shared and just held each other for a few minutes.  It just felt so good to
be there together.  Brad instigated a passionate kiss, and Mark's hands
roamed freely over Brad's body as he kissed his lover.  He unbuckled Brad's
shorts and slid them down.  Brad likewise did the same thing to Mark.  As
they released their embrace briefly, both of them slipped their T-shirts
off.  Brad began to kiss down Mark's chest down to his hard cock.  He took
it in his mouth and began to pleasure his lover.  Mark looked down at Brad
and ran his hands lovingly through Brad's dark brown hair.  Mark moaned as
Brad pleasured him.  Pulled away from Brad and they moved into the 69
position.  It didn't take long until Mark was streaming jets into Brad's
waiting mouth, which pushed him over the edge.  After they had come, they
embraced into a passionate kiss and just lay there in the bed enjoying
being next to one another.

"Mark," Brad was the first to break the silence, "I love you."

"You are a part of me.  I am yours as long as I draw a breath.  You are my
everything."

"You know that I feel the same way, its hard to express in words how much I
love you," Brad said.

"You know Brad, I sure am glad that I had to work for my dad that day last
summer.  Do you suppose he would have asked me if he had known what he was
doing?"  Mark half laughed.

"He would have probably skipped the dentist, but we will find out for sure
when we tell him."

"Yeah, I am terrified of that, Brad.  I have known I am gay for a long
time, but there is no way I could have considered coming out without you to
lean on.  I can get through whatever pain they inflict because you are
there."

"I love you, I know I couldn't either.  As long as we have each other we
can get through anything.  No matter what happens, you need to forget about
those pills you had though."

"I know.  As long as I have your love I will never need them."

"Lets think about that coming out thing.  I was thinking it might be easier
to come out to a few people up here at school first.  You know kind of like
a practice run." Mark said.

"I think that's a good idea."

"Do you know anyone else who is gay?  It might be good to talk to somebody
who has been through this before."

"Well, I think I heard Joe Amerson is, but he has never told me that, so I
don't know.  I don't really think it's a good idea to just pick people we
don't know that well because they are gay.  I would rather come out to the
people we are closest to first, but since we have not told our parents, it
might be best to stick with the people we are closest to who aren't from
home," Brad said.

"Once again, you are right!"

"I do my best, Brad replied.

"Lets get this place unpacked and ready for next week and we can talk about
what we need to do later."

"Ok, I know you can't stand not having things straightened up.  You must be
gay or something."

"Maybe I am, you got a problem with it?"

"I might."

"Well if you do, then I would suggest that you stop kissing me and sucking
my dick repeatedly," Mark joked.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

They joked around for a little while longer.  That evening they finally
came to the conclusion that they would come out to their friend Gene.  He
had been in several classes with Mark, and was a good guy that hung out
with them most weekends.  They knew that when they told him, his hanging
out days might be over, plus they might have to deal with everyone else
knowing, but outside each other, they considered him to be the best friend
they had in Athens.


CHAPTER 7


After a couple weeks of heavy thought, Mark and Brad invited Gene over to
eat pizza and hang out.  They got together and watched television for a
while.  Mark and Brad sat on the sofa, while Gene sat in the recliner.
Mark turned off the television set.  He looked at Gene and said, "I want to
talk to you about something."  Brad's placed his hand on Mark's back,
though out of Gene's sight.

Gene got a worried look on his face and asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong Gene, but what I need to tell you is that I am gay."

Gene said nothing.

"No, actually we are gay, and I am totally in love with Mark." Brad said.

"And me with Brad," Mark said.

Gene just sat there dumbfounded.  Finally he spoke.  "I don't really know
what to say here guys.  I guess I don't have to tell you that it freaks me
out."

"Look Gene, before you get upset, let me tell you a couple of things.
First, I am in love with Brad totally and completely, and am not out
looking for guys, and certainly don't want to run after guys who aren't
interested.  Second, I understand if you are uncomfortable being friends
with us and hanging out the way we always have, but we hope we can still be
friends.  Third, we wanted to tell you because we want to be honest with
everyone now, but you were the first one we have told, including family, so
we would definitely appreciate it if you wouldn't say anything to anybody,"
Mark said.

"I am really not comfortable with it at all."

Brad pointed out, "Gene, you have known us all this time, and considered us
friends, or at least we have considered you one.  We have both been gay the
whole time.  We are the same people we were last week.  In fact we have
been together since the middle of last semester."

"I know that, but its wrong guys.  Don't you go to church?"

"Well, that's a whole other issue entirely.  I don't really know what to
tell you on that other than I don't see why loving another person can cause
God to hate me, especially when it's a relationship truly based on love
rather than lust.  I am afraid that when we come out we will not be welcome
at the church."

"I just can't believe it.  Are you sure you aren't shitting me?  This is
some kind of late April fool's joke right?"

"Gene, I really do consider you a good friend, which is why we came out to
you first, but Brad is everything to me.  I know its hard to deal with it,
and I really hope we can still be friends, but given the choice I will
choose Brad over everyone else in the world."

"I think I need to go now."

"Gene, even if you hate us now, would you do us a favor and not tell anyone
about this just yet?" Brad asked.

"Brad, I don't hate you, I just don't like this.  I just can't believe you
two are faggots - uh I mean gays."

"Gene, I am not asking you to like us because we are gay.  I am asking you
to think about whether it really makes a difference.  We were gay last
week, but you didn't know it and we were friends.  We are still the same
guys we were last week, the only difference is that you know we love each
other."

"Yall, I just don't know about all this.  I don't think its right, and I
just need to go.  I don't really know what to think, nor what to tell you.
I'll just have to call you sometime."

"Well, I hope we hear from you soon," Mark said as Gene walked quickly out
the door.

After Mark shut the door, he looked at Brad with tears in his eyes, and
said, "It sure is easy to lose friends this way.  There is no turning back
now."

They sat down in the recliner together and cried together.  "I don't know
if I can take this, Brad.  I know I love you, but it is so hard being
rejected by your friends like that.  Gene is such a good guy, maybe we are
wrong," Mark bawled.

"It is hard, and I know these feelings I have for you can't be wrong.  Gene
is a good guy, but he just doesn't know, but you have me.  Always.  No
matter what."

"As bad as it hurts, Brad I know you are all I need."

They sat sobbing wrapped in each other's arms for another 20 minutes when
the door flew open and Gene walked inside.

"Guys, I am sorry.  I acted like an asshole.  I heard what you said after I
left and you are right.  It is hard to be rejected by your friends, and I
don't know what its like, and to be honest I don't want to know.  After I
sat on your porch a few minutes and thought about what you were saying, I
started to realize I was wrong.  I still don't agree with what you are
doing, but I do consider you friends anyway.  I have friends I disagree
with all the time, but I don't write them off, and I shouldn't write you
off either."

"Gene, you have made my day," Mark said.

"One other thing you two dickheads need to know," Gene said as he grinned.
"You need to close the window you are sitting next to rather than just the
blinds when you are having private moments.  Of course if I hadn't heard
your reaction, I might not have changed my mind either, so maybe it was
good."

"You don't know how much this means to us.  We haven't told either of our
parents yet, and I have know idea how either of them are going to react.
Both sets are Baptist, and you know how that goes."

"Oh man, you do have a hard road ahead of you.  I used to be Baptist, but I
kinda quit going."

"Lets face the facts, this is the south, and we probably won't be welcome
anywhere."

"I don't know, you might be right, but I'll commend you guys.  That was
brave as hell coming out to me.  I didn't really react the best way, but I
hope I wasn't too big a jerk, and you still want me to be friends with
you."

"I think we both are proud to call you friend, Gene."

"We are," Mark chimed in.

"Well as good a friends as you two are, I need to get to the house.  I have
an eight o'clock class in the morning."

"That sucks.  Well be careful. You need a lift?" Mark asked.

"Dude, I'm in the same complex, I might be a bigot but I'm not too lazy to
walk down the sidewalk."

"No Gene, you aren't a bigot.  You are a good person.  But you are a touch
on the lazy side." Mark joked.

"Keep on, one day I might not come back," Gene joked.

"Promises, promises," Brad laughed.

"Well look guys, I do need to get to bed.  I'll talk to you guys later."

"Later."

"See ya."

Gene walked out of the apartment and stood on the porch for a minute when
he heard Brad say, "Damn that Gene has some kind of nerve eavesdropping on
our conversation.  What an ass."

"Yeah, he is a dickhead.  I don't know why I wanted to come out to that
pompus ass."

"Hey!" Gene found himself shouting.

"GOTCHA!!" Both Mark and Brad shouted as they raised the blinds right
beside their front door.

"Man, you guys are tough."

"It's a tough world," Mark laughed.

"Ok, well gotta go for real now."

"We are gonna shut the window now, so have a good night."

"Ok, later," Gene laughed.

"That didn't go to bad," Brad said after he shut and locked the window.

"I guess not," Mark replied.

"Lets get to bed, I am tired."

"I am emotionally drained."

With that, the two roommates fell into bed and kissed one another
goodnight.  They almost immediately went to sleep with their bodies
intertwined.

___________________________________________________________________

Thanks for reading my story.  I have enjoyed writing it, but please email
me and let me know if you are still enjoying it. I just want to make sure
people haven't lost interest.  If you don't email me, I don't have any idea
how its doing, so please do your part.