Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2014 11:06:40 -0700
From: h.schreiber@hushmail.com
Subject: Chapter 11 of Come Christmas Steve by Hans Schreiber

Come Christmas Steve
Chapter 11
No Solutions

We pulled our jackets back on and went to visit Calvin the computer geek. I
kept trying to think of where else Steve might have gone. I'd decided to
not only bring the thumb drive but also Tom's old computer. It was tucked
under my arm as I walked and I had to keep a small part of my mind focused
on keeping it there.

"There's probably no link between this thumb drive and Steve taking off," I
said out loud as I trotted to keep up with Whittaker's long stride. "Still,
it will be good to know for sure."

"Maybe not, but you did say that Steve acted strange when you caught him
putting it there. I've been thinking about Steve's note. What do you think
he meant by saying he wasn't worthy of you? Has he ever talked about anyone
else that he might ... umm, be having a relationship with?"

"What? NO! What are you suggesting?"

"I'm sorry. I know you don't want to think about it, but there's something
I've been considering. When he found out about us having, you know, sex
together, he took it pretty calmly. I was just wondering if maybe he was
cheating on you, too, and that's why he didn't make a big deal of it. If he
is, then maybe he's with that guy."

"No. No, I can't believe that. Steve wouldn't do that. He was just
forgiving ..." I paused and then stopped dead just before crossing the
street to the apartments where the computer geek lived. "Todd," I muttered.

"Who?" Whittaker asked turning back to look at me.

"Todd, the guy in Steve's English study group. When I met him, he knew so
much about me and he asked me right out if Steve and I were 'partners' and
Steve jumped in and answered by saying we were partners in crime."

"The guy in the nice Camaro? Wow. Doesn't seem like Steve's type, but
there's no accounting for taste, right?"

"Why would you think he wasn't Steve's type? He's everyone's type. He's
gorgeous - black hair styled up nice, sharp dresser, broad shoulders, firm
square jaw with a slight afternoon shadow, perfect smile. He's Mr. Vanity
Fair."

"That's not him. The guy I saw was as tall as me, only skinnier, and had
bushy, curly blond hair. I remember thinking he looked a little like a
Q-tip. They seemed to be having an agitated conversation before Steve got
into the car."

"I'm confused. If it wasn't Todd you saw, then Steve lied to me about going
there to study. Why?" I felt more and more uneasy. "Something's going
on. None of this adds up. And if it wasn't Todd, who was the guy you saw
him with?"

As we crossed the street, I prayed that Steve was okay and I hoped that
Calvin could decrypt the drive. "Whittaker?" I asked "D'ya think Steve was
cheating on me the whole time with that Q-tip guy? Do you think I was just
a sideshow for kicks?"

"No. No way. I saw how he looked at you and I know all the things he told
Jensen when you two were broken up. He loves you. I know he does. I know I
put the idea in your head about him cheating on you and I still think that
may be possible, but not because he didn't honestly love you. A weak moment
maybe, like you had with me, or an old flame possibly, but he loves you
just like he said in his note."

"God, this is so confusing." I rapped on the door to the apartment. I was
about to knock again, when the door swung open leaving my hand poised
awkwardly mid air. A rounded, zit splotched face appeared attached to a
pudgy body clad in a wrinkled t-shirt and a pair of black athletic shorts
that fit poorly.

"You the guys with the encrypted drive?"  he asked.

"Yeah, I'm Shane and this is Whittaker. We're friends of Jensen."

"Hmm, whatever. Where's the drive?"

"Here." I fished the drive from my pocket and handed it over.

Calvin snatched the drive and wheeled around leaving the door open behind
him. We took that as an invitation to follow him and I pushed the door
closed behind me as we entered. We walked past the small living room with
nothing but oversized pillows in it to sit on and a large flat screen
attached to a gaming system. The kitchen area was a mess with piles of fast
food wrappers on the counter and a stack of unwashed dishes in the
sink. Calvin pulled the door closed to his very messy bedroom but not
before I got a glimpse of the mess. Calvin may have been a computer genius,
but he was also a complete slob. The second bedroom was filled with fold up
tables covered with computer equipment. He had four machines and six
monitors. He sat in the cockpit chair and plugged the drive into one of the
desktop style machines under the table. Soon, the files appeared on one of
the monitors.

With a few quick taps, Calvin was examining the properties of the
files. "Hmm," he said. Calvin absentmindedly fingered a large and sore
looking zit on his neck while he studied the files.

"What?" I asked.

"Common encryption suffix on the files. Could be one of several free
encryption programs using 128 bit encryption. Obviously, the person wanted
the files protected but didn't know how to do it professionally. The bank I
work for uses 512k encryption. I should be able to break it, given some
time. I got your number, I'll call you when I'm done."

"Oh. I was hoping you could open them and let me know something
tonight. It's kind of important," I said with clear disappointment in my
voice.

Calvin bristled. He jerked the USB drive from his machine and flipped it to
me. "Tough luck, dude. I'm busy and that takes time. Good luck. You can
find your way out, right?"

I gripped the drive in my palm and suppressed my flash of
anger. "Please. I, I'll pay you. My roommate is missing. I'm really worried
about him and think he may be in trouble and there could be a clue on this
drive. How much would it take?"

Calvin stared at me for a minute and I stayed locked on his
gaze. "Expound," he finally said. I stared back blankly until he said with
a condescending roll of his eyes, "Fill me in on the details."

"Oh. Well it's kind of a long story."

"Give me the short version," he said a bit exasperated.

"Steve is my roommate. We're both freshmen. We became good friends and I
found out he was an orphan and grew up in a boys' home. He was at school on
some kind of scholarship or by some person paying his way. I'm not real
sure about that. He didn't use a cell phone or a computer except to
occasionally borrow mine to get assignments. I caught him hiding this drive
under his mattress the other day and then I gave him this computer as a
gift for ..." The words, Valentine's Day, caught in my throat. "Umm, for a
special occasion and he said he wouldn't accept it, or couldn't, and he
refused to give me a reason why not. Then I told him I put a Facebook on it
for him and that really freaked him out. Steve said he had to get it
deleted but still refused to tell me why and so I left with Whittaker here
to go play pool. When we got back, Steve was gone along with all his
stuff. He left a note with no real explanation. I'm worried about him and
I'm hoping there's a clue on this drive. Please, if you can help us find
him, please try."

Calvin continued fingering his large pimple while he contemplated my
story. "Is this the Steve who lived with Jensen for a while after having a
fight with his roommate?"

"Yes," Whittaker confirmed. "I'm Jensen's usual roommate."

Calvin let a smile creep out in spite of an apparent attempt to suppress
it. "I might help you but I will want something for it."

"How much?" I asked cautiously, hoping it wouldn't be too much.

"My normal fee for something like this would be five grand."

I gasped out loud. "Dude, I don't have that much money."

"Didn't think so. I don't really want or need your money anyway. But there
is something I do want from you," he said.

"What?" I asked.

Calvin looked up at Whittaker then back at me. I didn't get the drift at
first until he motioned with his head for Whittaker to leave. "Whatever you
want, you can ask in front of Whittaker. He's Steve's friend too."

"Ooohh, cool," Calvin said. "All right then. It's blatantly evident that
you and this Steve guy are gay, am I right?"

I nodded. There was no point denying it.

"Thought so. Pretty obvious. So, I'll decrypt the drive for you if you get
naked with me and have some gay sex. I want to fuck your cute ass." I
swallowed hard. I didn't answer and Whittaker jumped in before I could find
my voice.

"That's sick, dude. He just tells you that he's worried over his missing
lover and you want him to have sex with you to help find him."

Calvin stared blankly at Whittaker and shrugged. "That's my price. You can
take it or leave it. But, if you're not going to take it, then you do need
to leave. I really am busy."

"I'll do it," I blurted. "Whatever it takes to find Steve and make sure
he's okay."

"No man. I'll do it. I know you made a commitment to Steve after what
happened while you were split up, and that's pretty much my fault. I'll
fill in for you," Whittaker offered. Turning to Calvin, he said, "You can
fuck my ass instead."

"No offense, red, but I'd really prefer Shane here over you."

"Maybe I could change your mind on that," Whittaker said and in one quick
motion, he popped the button on his jeans, zipped down and slid his pants
and boxers off down to his knees. He swung his hips slightly to cause his
incredibly long dick to swing like the pendulum of a grandfather
clock. Calvin's eyes widened and a wicked smile crossed his lips. He
involuntarily licked his lips as he stared at Whittaker's enormous
offering.

"Okay. Sure. I'll let you swap as long as you agree to going all the way
with me. I want to fuck you and I wanna get fucked by that monster also. Do
you agree?"

"Agreed. When do you want to get together and do it?" Whittaker asked.

"Now, dumbass. I'll get my algorithm cracking programs working on the drive
files while we fuck. I'll get multiple cracking tools running
simultaneously on different files. Chances are, if we crack one, we crack
them all. Those programs can take a long time to run so we should have
plenty of time to fuck around. You can go back down the hall to the
bathroom and get showered while I get this started. Then go in my bedroom
and just toss all the shit off the bed onto the floor. Lay naked on the bed
and work your dick up into a boner and I'll be in as soon as I'm done
getting things started here."

I saw that Whittaker was caught off guard by that, but he didn't back
out. I don't think he was expecting to have to perform his sacrificial
offering that very night.

"What about me? What can I do while you're, umm, collecting your fee?
Should I monitor anything?"

"I don't really give a fuck what you do? You can sit here and masturbate
for all I care. That laptop on the end there is my porn machine. It's not
on the main network and it has exceptionally strong firewall and malware
protection on it. You're free to surf on it if you want but don't touch
anything else in here or I swear, I'll cut your nuts off," Calvin stated.

"Do you wanna come in and watch us fuck?" Whittaker asked. That surprised
me but since he'd watched Steve and I do it, I wondered if he was trying to
be fair. More likely, he liked watching us and liked the idea of being
watched. I also wondered if he was a little nervous about being in there
alone with Calvin, who was a little weird to say the least. Whittaker
added, "If it's okay with Calvin, that is."

"I'm cool with it if you want to," Calvin agreed. "In fact, I think I'd
like it as long as you get naked while you watch. I really want to see you
naked, dude. You're a fucking cutie."

"I guess I could watch," I agreed. I saw no harm in doing that and in fact,
I didn't think it was such a bad idea to have someone else in there with
Whittaker. I was still a little worried that when it came right down to
getting fucked up the ass or being asked to suck Calvin off, Whittaker
might back out. I didn't want that to happen and have Calvin freak out and
stop helping us. I decided I'd offer to step in if I had to.

Calvin plugged the USB drive in and out of several computers and tapped
away at the keys. One by one the monitors were filled with incredibly fast
scrolling strings of data that I assumed to be systematic password guesses.

I heard the shower running and wondered what was going through Whittaker's
mind. I wondered how much of a sacrifice he was really making on my behalf
and how much he was really into doing it with Calvin anyway. It occurred to
me that if Steve really had run off with another boyfriend, they were
probably having wild sex together. That would mean I'd end up being the
only one in our little group to not be getting any Valentine's Day sex. It
seemed kind of ironic. None of that would matter as long as I could make
sure that Steve was safe.

Between starting up the decryption processes on the various machines,
Calvin would leer at me, undressing me with his eyes. It creeped me out how
infatuated he was with me. I'd never experienced that kind of thing
before. I supposed hot guys and sexy girls dealt with it a lot, but I never
considered myself to be all that attractive and I wondered what it was
about me that attracted Calvin. He was definitely not my type and didn't
cause any tingling in my loins at all. In fact, it was just the opposite. I
thought it was probably good that Whittaker was filling in for me because
I'm not sure I'd be able to keep it up while doing it with him between my
lack of interest in him and my concerns over Steve.

The shower shut off and shortly after that the bedroom door opened. When
Calvin heard the door, he seemed to quicken his pace on the decryption
process. He pulled the drive from the last machine and set it on the
desk. Then he stood and asked me if I was coming in for the show. I
shrugged and said, "Sure, I guess."

"Cool. Let's go." I followed him as he bounced into his messy room. I
pulled a desk chair out and sat down beside the bed where Whittaker was
lying stark naked. His dick was still soft, so I guess he couldn't have
been too excited about what he was about to do. Maybe I misjudged
him. Maybe he really was sacrificing himself on behalf of me and
Steve. Calvin, on the other hand, was totally boned before he even pulled
his shorts and boxers off. His four-inch dick whipped upward as it broke
free of the waistband. He was completely shaven bald and with his smallish
dick and balls, he looked disturbingly young.

"Are you going to be able to get an erection in that big dick? Because if
not, it's useless and I want Shane to do this instead," Calvin whined as he
stood over the bed stroking his small dick.

"Once we get started, I'll bone up. Don't worry about me, I've got full
control of my monster," Whittaker bragged. "It does whatever I tell it to
do."

"All right. I hope so. Let's get started then. I want to suck on your dick
to begin with. That'll help get your boner going. Spread your legs."
Whittaker complied and Calvin slipped between them taking the long snake in
his hands and pulling on it. Calvin looked over at me and said, "If you're
gonna stay in here, I want you naked like I said. Otherwise, leave."

"Okay. I'll get naked if you want." I stood up and pulled off my clothing,
folded it and laid it neatly on the desk. Calvin never took his eyes off of
me while I stripped and he moaned an approval when I exposed my semi hard
dick. I sat back on the chair and slowly stroked my dick into an erection
while I watched Calvin turn his attention back to Whittaker's large
dick. He used both hands to stroke it and as it began to harden up, Calvin
started sucking on the tip of it causing Whittaker to moan. Watching it
happen was giving me a solid boner, the kind that you can feel all the way
up your ass. It was the kind I only ever got when I was with Steve. The
experience of watching a live porno performance was a bit like going to a
theatrical production instead of a movie. There was also a certain
naughtiness to it that enhanced the experience for me more than I
anticipated.

I gripped the base of my dick and stroked it slowly, avoiding the sensitive
glans in order to prolong and enhance the experience. My eyes were glued to
Calvin's mouth working the tip of Whittaker's large tool. He was focused
only on the tip and I could tell Whittaker wanted him to take more of it by
the way he tried to push up into Calvin's mouth. Finally, Whittaker simply
made the request, "Suck down on it as far as you can. I want to face fuck
you."

Calvin pulled off and sneered, "I don't care what you want. This is my
party. You're the $5,000 whore here and I'm the John. We do what I say we
do."

"Whatever. Are you a natural born asshole or did you get specific training
for it?" Whittaker asked.

"It's definitely learned behavior. I learned all about being an asshole
from the best. Guys like you basketball jocks and the "cool crowd" in
junior high and high school. I took enough shit for being a computer geek
choirboy to last me a fucking lifetime. Now that you guys need something
from me, it's my turn to set the rules."

"Wow! Bitter!" Whittaker said, "Big assumption that I'm a basketball jock
and part of the cool crowd just because I'm tall. Truth is, I'm awkward as
hell and I hate playing basketball. I got my share of shit in high school
too, so fuck the sympathy shit, cuz I ain't got any for you. What someone
else did to you hasn't got shit to do with me. You're making a conscious
choice to be an asshole here for no good reason, and honestly, I feel bad
for you about that. You're the real loser in that fucked up game. If life
gives you a pile of shit, you can either sling it at people like a zoo ape
or go in the manure business. I found out that all that bitter, get even
with the world shit just makes you more bitter and miserable. The way you
get even is by overcoming it and being the better person. Your way of
thinking is why the world is constantly at fucking war. Shit! Some of the
fucking radicals in the Middle East are still pissed over the Crusades for
God's sake. Generations of American Indians are still living in poverty on
the reservations. I don't get that shit. Get over it already and take
advantage of the opportunities you have now. So fucking what if you were
harassed in high school by stupid ass jocks. They'll all be janitors in the
companies we own someday. In the end, nerds and dorks rule the world if we
don't get caught up in the whole getting even, pity party shit."

I was expecting Calvin to blow up and call it all off. He'd quit sucking on
Whittaker and Whittaker's dick had even started to soften during his little
rant. Calvin just stared at Whittaker while he carried on.

"Yeah, sorry I assumed you were a basketball jock," Calvin finally
said. Then without another word, he stroked Whittaker back up to full
hardness and slipped his mouth over the tip. This time, however, instead of
stopping just over the ridge of the tip, he kept going. Just short of half
mast, I could see that Calvin had taken all his mouth allowed. To my shock
and Whittaker's immense pleasure, Calvin arched his back and tilted his
chin and kept moving slowly down Whittaker's massive pole. He kept going,
slowly and steadily, further and further until he'd taken it all the way to
his pubes like some sort of circus sword swallower. Calvin had put both
hands on Whittaker's raised knees for support and leverage and was
practically bent in half at the waist to accomplish this amazing
feat. Whittaker simply gasped, wide eyed as he watched his dick completely
disappear into Calvin's gullet.

As carefully as he swallowed it, Calvin pulled himself off the bulging
pole. He licked the tip as if tending to a melting ice cream cone before
plunging back down onto the thick hot pole again. Time after time, he
swallowed and pulled back off the stiffened pole until Whittaker was
actually crying in ecstasy.  "Oh my god, Oh my god," Whittaker kept calling
out as Calvin worked his magic.

After a dozen or so deep throated dives, Calvin pulled off and said, "Let's
sixty-nine." He climbed over Whittaker's leg and positioned himself over
Whittaker's face and then resumed his deep throat excursions from the
opposite direction. Without complaint of any kind, Whittaker began
voraciously sucking Calvin's small dick and suckling his hairless, tender
balls. Calvin squirmed in delight when Whittaker took in his dick and both
balls, obviously working them with his tongue. I was sweating from watching
it. I desperately wanted Steve's dick up my ass right then, pounding my
magic spot. I looked around for something to shove up there but nothing was
available.

"I'm gonna blow my load, swallow it," Calvin commanded.

"Umm-kay," Whittaker agreed. Whittaker began sucking Calvin's dick double
time while Calvin pushed himself in and out of Whittaker's hungry
mouth. The look on Whittaker's face told me he was in that sexual zone
where the mental discomfort over what he was doing had shut down and been
tucked away. He was in the height of a glazed frenzy when Calvin pulled off
Whittaker's dick, tossed his head back and literally screamed.

"Fuck yeah! Take my cum! Suck me dry, you bitch!" He shoved his groin hard
into Whittaker's face while he unloaded into Whittaker's mouth. He gripped
and squeezed Whittaker's dick with both hands until his knuckles turned
white while he unloaded his creamy spunk.

I stood up almost involuntarily and walked over to the edge of the bed for
a close up of the climax. My own orgasm peaked while Calvin was cumming
into Whittaker's mouth and I started to moan in pre-orgasmic
euphoria. Calvin turned to watch me jacking my dick and reached out to
me. He gripped my forearm and pulled me up onto the bed. I took the cue and
crawled on my knees over to him just in time to spew my hot load onto his
face. He blinked away one shot that landed on his forehead and ran down
into his eyes. The remainder of my load splattered over his cheeks and into
his gaping mouth. When it was all over, Calvin pulled his sensitive dick
out of Whittaker's mouth, grabbed my head and pulled me into a kiss,
smearing the remnants of my own cum onto my lips and cheek. I pulled away
and wiped my face on his bed sheet. Calvin grinned and rolled over onto his
back, leaving Whittaker the only one left to climax and cum.

I sat back on my haunches and panted. Calvin retrieved a condom and lube
from a nightstand and deftly rolled the rubber as far down Whittaker's
stiff pole as it would go. Then he lubed it up and lubed up his own
asshole. He gripped behind his knees and pulled them up to his chest,
"Finish yourself off by fucking my ass," Calvin offered.

Whittaker rolled quickly into place and pressed himself into Calvin's
welcoming cavern. He stopped at halfway and allowed Calvin to relax a bit,
before plunging all the way into his soft bowels. Once Whittaker was fully
buried, he began slow pumping at first and only briefly. His pace quickened
with each stroke and soon he was furiously fucking Calvin like a dog in
heat. Calvin's pudgy belly jiggled like cafeteria Jell-O from each plunging
jab delivered by Whittaker.

 With each frantic thrust, Calvin screamed out in crazy abandon. "AH! AH!
AH! AH! AH!" he yelled in an ever increasing pitch until Calvin grabbed his
revived dick and jerked it frantically to a second orgasm, spilling his
second load of cum across his belly rolls. As Calvin's body flinched and
quivered, Whittaker went off. Whittaker rammed himself deep into Calvin's
ass and groaned, emitting a deep and guttural sound that was almost
inhuman. Then, Whittaker collapsed on top of Calvin and Calvin let go and
dropped his knees. Calvin pushed against him and Whittaker extracted his
still hard dick, being very careful to bring the condom with him this time.

"Holy shit! That was one fantastic fucking!" Calvin muttered.

"Yeah," Whittaker gasped.

"Yeah," I agreed.

"How'd you learn to deep throat like that?" Whittaker asked.

Calvin rolled over and retrieved a long, double sided dildo from his
nightstand. "I saw it being done on a porn site and wondered if I could
learn to do it. So I bought me one of these to practice on. I never
expected to find one like yours to actually do it in real life."

I'd never seen anything like the dildo and I wondered who would use such a
thing. Then it occurred to me that it was probably for lesbians who wanted
to fuck each other at the same time with it. I wondered if I was right or
not and made a mental note to check it out. I didn't want to just ask and
sound stupid in front of Calvin, who already intimidated me with his crazy
amount of knowledge.

After a long period of refractory and post orgasmic reflection, we made our
way to the bathroom and cleaned ourselves up. We all stayed naked while we
checked on the progress of the decryption.

"You might as well go. I have work to do. I'll let you know when or if we
get a crack," Calvin said.

"Wait. How long?" I asked.

"Can't tell. A day or two or maybe three or four. If we don't have anything
after four days, I'll just pull the plug."

"I thought ..."

Calvin cut me off. "I never said it would be done tonight. It happens when
it fucking happens. I'll tell Jensen when it's done. Now get dressed and
go. I have work to do."

I slumped. After all that, I still had no answers. "Please just call me
directly when you find something." I wrote my cell number on a pad of
paper.

"Sure." Calvin took the paper and stuck it to his corkboard. "I'm sorry
about your BF, dude. I'll let you know as soon as I find anything." I
smiled appreciatively and left to get dressed. Whittaker followed. Before
leaving, we stepped back in to say good-bye. Calvin was working on some
hairy computer problem for the bank and was a little annoyed we broke his
concentration. He waved us off without speaking.

Neither of us spoke until we were about half way across campus. "Whittaker,
that was a nice thing you did for me, volunteering to take my place with
Calvin."

"No big deal. I knew you wouldn't want to have to do it, so I offered, but
it turned out okay. I enjoyed doing it with the porky little asshole. That
fucker really knows how to suck a dick."

I laughed. "I wish you could have seen your face when he first went all the
way down on you. It was priceless. You were like ..." I bugged my eyes out
and dropped my jaw as far as it would go.

He laughed at me, bumped my shoulder and said, "You're exaggerating."

"No, I'm not. Once you started doing sixty-nine with him, you went into
this sort of glazed stare like some kind of zombie or something - totally
zoned out."

"Well shit, it was amazing. You have no idea."

"I'm actually glad I got to witness it or I'd think you were lying if you
told me about it later."

"Yeah, it was actually cool having you in there. I was glad you were. That
was pretty hot how you shot your load on his face. Why'd you do that?"

"I don't know. You think that was wrong of me. Do you think Steve will be
mad about it? I was just kind of under the influence of the endorphins, you
know?"

"Yeah, I totally know. Orphans of all kinds are hard to resist, right?"

"You mean like Steve? Yeah. God, we still don't know anything. I hope he's
okay. I'm so worried," I said sadly.

"I'm sure he is. We'll figure this out in the morning. Let's go get some
sleep. I need it and I'm sure you do."

We got to the dorm and I was overcome again with sadness looking at the
emptiness of Steve's side of the room. I stripped to my boxers and climbed
into bed. Whittaker offered to cuddle with me if I needed it, but I told
him no. I really preferred to be alone in my bed but was glad he was there
in the room. It made it feel a little less empty. I suddenly realized I'd
left Tom's old laptop over at Calvin's place. "Whittaker, I left the laptop
over there. We'll have to go get it tomorrow."

"Umm-hmm."

I wasn't sure it even registered with him, but I knew I'd remember. I
drifted off to sleep praying silently for Steve's safe return.

The next morning, I woke to find Whittaker dressed and ready to
run. "Coming? It would do you good."

"I don't think so. I'd just be sad that Steve wasn't with us." Whittaker
just stared at me for a while in a disapproving manner. "Oh, all
right. Give me a minute." I got up and pulled on my running gear. I
followed him out and it turned out that running really did do me good. I
felt better and more hopeful after the run and I was thinking more clearly
about things.

"Whittaker," I said as we stripped for showering.

"Yeah?"

"I think we should sit down and I should just start thinking of every
little detail I can remember that Steve told me and maybe, with your
logical mind, we can come up with some clues."

"Good idea. I'm busy until lunchtime. Does that work?"

"Yeah. I'll meet you in the cafeteria."

"Jensen will probably be there. Is that okay?"

"Sure. He'll probably want to help us."

"He may want to brag about his sexual exploits from last night, though,"
Whittaker suggested.

"Maybe, but we'll listen politely for a little bit and then tell him we
need to work on finding Steve. He'll be okay. If not, we'll just come back
here and do it."

"Okay, cool." Whittaker pulled me into a hug. "By the way, I'd prefer we
not talk about my night in front of Jensen." His naked flesh pressed firmly
against mine as he added, "Don't worry, Shane. We won't quit until we find
out what's going on with Steve. I promise to help you until we do."

"Thanks. You're a true friend." We wrapped our towels around us and we made
our way to the showers. Afterward, Whittaker headed back to his dorm and I
returned to my half empty, lonely room. I made my bed as well as Steve's
bed that Whittaker had slept in. I gathered up Whittaker's running clothes
and stuffed them under my bed to give back to him later. Then, I got on my
computer and googled the boys' home that Steve was raised in. I read the
mission statement and thought about it. It affected me. "Our mission," it
began, "is to raise public awareness of the needs of homeless children in
our community. We provide for the physical and emotional needs of the
underprivileged, delinquent, and neglected boys we serve in a loving and
caring environment." Steve was certainly underprivileged and he had been
neglected, but was he delinquent? No, I concluded. He couldn't be. It
wasn't in him. I closed down the laptop and headed out to my first class. I
decided to be late for my second class and go stand outside Steve's English
classroom in hopes of seeing him or at least being able to speak to Todd.

My first class drug on and my mind wandered to what I would say if Steve
did actually show up to his English class. I also pondered over and over
the mission statement from the boys' home. From the tidbits of information
that Steve had allowed himself to share about the home, it was not always
such a loving or caring environment. It seemed fairly harsh and cold once
he joined the older group. What would that do to a person? When the lecture
was over and students were filing out, I realized I hadn't gotten one
single thing from the lecture. I decided I better borrow some notes from
someone the next time we met.

I rushed off to the English department and found the classroom. I peeked
inside and neither Todd nor Steve was there so I waited just outside the
door. I recognized the two girls in the study group as they walked in
chatting together. Todd followed a little bit later and was by
himself. "Hey, Todd," I called as he approached.

"Oh, hi Shane." I was surprised he remembered my name. "What's up?"

"I was just wondering if you've heard from or seen Steve. Is he staying
with you?" The look of legitimate confusion told me all I needed to know.

"No. Why would he be?"

"He left last night without saying where he was going. I'm worried about
him."

Todd looked perplexed. "Why does it worry you that he was gone for just one
night? Maybe he just stayed over at a friend's house or something."

"No. He doesn't have any friends, besides me and you and a couple guys in
our dorm. Besides, he packed up all his things. He didn't just leave, he
moved out."

"Oh, wow. That sucks. Did you have a quarrel or something?"

"Not really. A disagreement, but nothing that should have caused him to
move out on me. Like I said, I'm really worried about him. If he shows up
or contacts you, would you call me please? Here's my number."

Todd took it. "Sure. Hey man, I'm sorry. I know you two were tight. I'll
let you know if I see or hear from him. I hope I do hear from him,
actually. He still has part of our English project for this class. We need
it."

"Thanks. If I find him, I'll remind of the assignment. Well, Cya."

"Yeah sure, later." Todd scurried into the room and slipped into the first
empty desk since the professor had just started her lecture.

I headed over to Calvin's to retrieve Tom's laptop. I had to knock three
times and was about to give up when the door jerked open. "What?" Calvin
looked like he'd just woken up. He was in his wrinkled boxers and ankle
socks but otherwise naked. His blond hair was matted and uncombed. He
rubbed his eyes and without waiting for me to tell him what I wanted, he
said, "It isn't done yet. I told you I'd call you when it is. You woke me
up."

"Sorry, but I left Tom's laptop here last night. I'd like to get it back
please. I didn't know you'd still be sleeping."

"Okay, whatever." Calvin walked off leaving the door open as he'd done
before. I let myself in and closed the door. I was halfway down the hall
when he came out of the computer room with the laptop. "Here. What did you
call it? Tom's laptop? Who's Tom?"

"It's kind of a long story. Tom's my brother who attends law school at
Dartmouth. He got a new computer and he gave this one to Steve, my
roommate. But it didn't turn out so good because I surprised him with it
and I put a Facebook page on it for him before I gave it to him. He was
upset over that and said he had to get the Facebook page off and cancelled
as soon as possible. He stayed behind to do that while Whittaker and I went
over to the student center to play some pool. When we got back to the room,
Steve was gone.

"Yeah. You told me that last night," Calvin said with a little
annoyance. Then he asked, "So did you check?"

"Check what?"

"Jesus, dude," Calvin whined. "Did you check to see if the Facebook is
deleted or not?"

"No. It never occurred to me. I guess it is. I mean, that's why he stayed
behind."

Calvin had taken the laptop and turned it on. When it finally booted up, he
asked for the log in password. I typed it in for him and after the
Microsoft jingle played, he said, "The Facebook icon's still there. What's
the password?"

"Oh my god," I muttered.

"That's a lame password. Is it like OMG or spelled all the way out? Caps or
lowercase?" Calvin groaned.

"No. No, that's not the password. It's just that I realized he never asked
me for the password and I never gave it to him. He couldn't possibly have
gotten past the sign in screen."

"So what is the password?"

"Umm, SSLUVSSF. All caps."

Calvin furrowed his brow. "What's your last name?" he asked me.

"Steele."

"Steve's last name starts with an F, I bet."

"Yeah, it does."

"How cute." He said the cute part in a derogatory, mocking manner. "Not
very secure but definitely cute."

When Steve's page loaded that I had created for him, Calvin grinned at me,
"He's hot. No wonder you wanna find him so bad." He studied the page and
then announced, "Well, he only had one single friend request. Some guy
named Simba, the Child King. No picture." Calvin tapped a few keys. "Simba
sent your BF a private message." Calvin chuckled. "Listen to this."

"Are you fucking nuts? Now is not a good time to start breaking the
rules. Contact me in the usual way. Tonight!" Calvin read aloud.

"What the hell does that mean? Did Steve reply?" I asked.

Calvin stared at me like I had just asked if the earth was flat or if Al
Gore had invented the internet.. "No, dumbshit. He couldn't access it
because he didn't have a password, remember? He never even saw this."

"Oh. Yeah, huh? Shit."

"Do you know who this Simba guy is?"

"No idea."

Calvin clicked away furiously at the keys and in a short time, Simba's page
was displayed. He had a couple hundred friends and multiple posts that
revolved mostly around gay themes. There were no pictures of Simba or any
real obvious clues to lead us to his identity or how he might know
Steve. When Calvin grew bored with it, he showed me how to get in to
Simba's page and then closed down the laptop, wishing me luck.

"This Simba guy seems to be your best clue about Steve's disappearance. I'd
focus on that if I were you."

"I agree. I'll have Whittaker go over his Facebook page with me thoroughly
and see if we can find any clues."

"Yeah. By the way, tell Red that if has any hard drive problems pop up,
I'll be happy to service them for him. Anytime." Calvin grinned as he
licked his lips.

"Uhh, sure. I'll let him know. How much longer before you might crack the
code on the thumb drive?" I asked.

"I told you already. There's no telling. It could happen in the next five
minutes or five days. Or ... never. I had to back the search off to just
two computers working on it because I needed the others for real
work. Speaking of which ..." He waved me off toward the door.

"Okay. Thanks."

He didn't respond. He just waved an acknowledging hand at me. I headed off
toward the cafeteria to share my newly discovered knowledge with Whittaker
and probably Jensen.

I arrived a little bit late. Whittaker and Jensen both had their food and
were seated at a corner table. I dropped the laptop off, started it booting
up and went to get my rations. I settled on the spaghetti and added Ketchup
and Tabasco sauce to it in order to juice it up and spice it up a
bit. Otherwise, it's pretty bland. When I got to the table, Jensen was in
the middle of spilling his guts about his Valentine's Day
exploits. Whittaker was grunting at appropriate intervals to show polite
interest. My arrival at the table caused him to abandon his tale of
conquest in favor of asking about Steve. "Any progress on finding out about
Steve?" he asked sincerely. I was glad he didn't insist on finishing with
relating his sexual exploits. I wasn't in the mood to hear it,
really. Whittaker looked equally relieved, although I knew he would
eventually hear all about it at some later time. Jensen seemed to love
talking about his sex life as much as he liked having it.

"Nothing too major," I responded. "The encrypted files on the drive still
aren't cracked. Calvin did manage to get into the Facebook page that I set
up for Steve and there was one message sent to it from a guy known as
Simba. Basically, this Simba guy cussed Steve out for having a page and
told him to contact him right away in the usual manner, or something like
that."

"Whoa. That's big," Whittaker said. "So Steve is probably with this Simba
dude, but why would he care if Steve had a Facebook. What's the bfd about
having a Facebook?"

"That's the mystery, but whatever it is, it's probably the key to finding
out what's happened to him," I said, stating the obvious.

I navigated to Simba's page and together we scrolled through the messages
and followed links to his friends. It was obvious that Simba was gay and a
bit kinky. We spent a good forty-five minutes scouring the pages until we
struck gold. NumbNutz, who seemed to share Simba's interest in unusual sex
toys, was also a student at Montana State. The only problem was how to find
him. Whittaker clicked on Numbnutz' page and when it opened, I gasped.

"It's him!" I seethed.