Date: Fri, 20 Apr 2001 02:01:25 +0100
From: Ardveche <ardveche@ardveche.com>
Subject: Educating Alex - Part 5

HARRIED

=======

Well, I posted Chapter 4 before it was finished because I promised it would
be up by the weekend.  So, the second part of it, and the rest of the story
of Megan's visit, is now told here in Chapter 5, it's a slow starter, so
bear with me.  Thanks for your time.  Oh, and for everyone who noticed that
Alex took Spanish last year and is about to take it again this year, well
done, you can stop telling me about it!!  Just pretend the second reference
was to German or something!  My undying gratitude to 'nortylaK' who helped
me write Megan's lines.  I guess I'm just not so good at coming up with
convincing things for teenage girls to say, I wonder why that is?


DISCLAIMER

==========

This is a work of fiction; any resemblance to persons living or dead is
entirely coincidental.  The author asserts all legal and moral rights
(copyright (c) 2001 - www.ardveche.com) to this work and you may not copy
it or transmit it in any way except in its entirety and with this
disclaimer. This story features descriptions of sex between adult males:

- if such material is prohibited in your jurisdiction, please DO NOT READ ON,
- if you're under the legal age to read such material, please DO NOT READ ON,
- if you don't like, or are offended by such material, please DO NOT READ ON.

Now, if everyone who is still here is meant to be here or at least aware
they shouldn't be, let's get on with it.  All comments are welcome and
gratefully received (email them to ardveche@ardveche.com).


EDUCATING ALEX V

================

The anguished shrieking of Alex's alarm clock awakened me, indicating that
it was time for him to get ready for training.  I groaned and rolled onto
my back, pulling the pillow over my head to blot out the awful noise.  It
didn't work, so I rolled closer and jabbed Alex in the ribs with my elbow,
the alarm was on his side and he could sleep through anything.  He made a
snuffling sound and stretched languorously, arching his back and yawning
heavily, one hand flapped limply at the alarm clock and after a couple of
failed attempts succeeded in stopping the noise.

"Are you awake?"  I asked his inert form.

"Hnn."

"That wasn't a word."

"Bleh."  This time a word, albeit a meaningless one, rather than a grunt.
But the little chuckle that followed gave him away.

"Yeah, okay, very funny."  I jabbed again, knowing that he was now quite
awake.  "Time to get up, sluggard."

"Don't wanna."

"Tough."

He lay still and silent again, and I must have dozed slightly because the
next thing I knew the alarm was squawking again.  Seven minutes must have
passed; with a groan he swung himself into a sitting position and slapped
his hand down on the clock, silencing it again.  I watched him rub the
sleep from his eyes and shuffle off to take a shower and stifling a yawn I
rolled over to try to get a few more hours sleep.  It was not to be, he
flicked water on me when he came back in and laughed like a hyena when I
protested.  I yanked the covers over my head and listened to him rattling
around getting ready, they were unceremoniously yanked away shortly after.

"See you later, sexy."  He said bending to kiss my cheek.

"Yeah.  Have fun."

"Say 'hi' to Megan for me, okay?"

"Sure."

"Okay, go back to sleep."  He pulled the covers back up over me, but so far
that my feet now hung out the end.  I mumbled a protest and tried to
rearrange things while he laughed at me, and then exited whistling
tunelessly.  The front door banged and, once more, the apartment was in
silence, and for all his tormenting I missed him.  Hours later I got up and
got dressed and wandered down to my first class, after lunch I spent the
day in the library, catching up on some reading for a class I'd been
neglecting.  Time flew by, and it was after six when I next looked at my
watch, so I had to run most of the way home and get my car to go collect my
sister.

"You're late."  She announced as I jogged up to her.

"I got delayed."

"By Alex?"  She drew his name out lasciviously.

"No."  I sighed.  "Not that it's any of your business, I was in the library
working."

"When you have a new man at home keeping the bed warm?"

"Where did you learn to talk like that?"

"From my big brother, he taught me everything I know about boys."  She hit
my arm playfully.  "Only he didn't tell me anything at all about THIS boy."

"He's not a boy."

"All man, huh?"  She giggled.  "A man who, by the way, sounds incredibly
sexy on the phone."  She gave a little shudder at the word 'incredibly'.

"Shut up!"  I was actually blushing!  I never blush at anything!

"What?  He did.  Does he drawl like that all the time?  He sounded
absolutely delicious."  She gave a little shiver.  In fact, Alex only ever
drawled when he was talking to girls, it wasn't calculated, but on some
instinctive level he knew it turned knees to jelly and just slipped into
his Rhett Butler, southern gentleman, mode whenever he dealt with the
opposite sex.

"Meg, please!"  I whined, much to my darling sister's amusement, she
cackled like a banshee.  I threw her bags in the trunk while she got in the
passenger seat then I walked round to the driver's side.  I rested my head
for a moment on the cool metal and took a few deep breaths before getting
in.  I had a feeling the next few days were going to be a serious trial
both to my nerves and my patience.  "Listen, I want you to behave.  Okay?"

"Whatever can you mean, brother dear?"  She asked innocently as I pulled
back out of the parking lot.

"Alex is still not a hundred percent happy with the whole being gay thing,
so go easy on him?"

"Are you his first boyfriend?"

"Not that that is any of your business, but yes."

"His first guy?"

"Yes.  He just got out of a long-term relationship with a girl."

"Wow."  She pushed her lower lip out and nodded slowly.  "My big brother,
the corrupter of innocent little straight boys!  You must be a fantastic
lay!"  She patted my knee.

"Megan, please."  I sighed, although I had to stifle a laugh at 'little'.
Wait until she saw him!  Okay, so I was supposed to be making her go easy
on him, but part of me was kind of looking forward to showing him off too.

"Sorry, Ryan."  She was quiet for a moment, staring at her hands.  "Listen,
when you were coming out?  I was there too, okay?  I know what mom and dad
put you through and how hard it was for you to deal with.  I've only
watched, but I know it's tough.  I'll be good, no dumb jokes, best behavior
I swear."

"When did you get so grown up?"  I asked with a laugh, touched by my
sister's words.  I had to make a joke before I started crying, it's the
only way I know how to deal with my unwanted emotions.  "It's not like
there's a sign that says 'trainee fag, handle with care' hanging round his
neck."

"If he looks as good as he sounds, I'd happily handle him with care!"  The
touching little adult moment with my sister was over.

"Oh, shut up!"

"Hey, I lived with you too, I know it's hell.  So I figure when he sees me
he's gonna turn straight again."  She gave me a lopsided grin that looked
uncannily like the one Alex used when he was teasing me.  "So when we run
off together, you have to come to the wedding."

"Honey, I'm already his best man!"

We laughed easily together, she could be as annoying as hell (show me the
little sister or brother that can't), but deep down inside Megan was okay.
On the drive back to the apartment she told me what my parents were doing,
and brought me up to speed with all the gossip from home, I was appalled
that some of the people I went to High School with were getting married!
Some of them had kids already!  I was more interested in the neighborhood
gossip than with my parents, I must admit, we hadn't seen eye-to-eye since
I had come out to them and had barely even spoken since I left for college.
I guess I was just a problem they no longer had to deal with, living in my
own place and paying my own way.

We pulled up outside the apartment and I did my pack animal thing again and
lugged her bags up the stairs, what the hell do girls carry when they go on
vacation?  She would be sleeping in Alex's old room, which had become a
kind of half library half gym since he and his clothes had moved through to
my room, his being the smaller of the two bedrooms.  All of his weight
equipment was in there and I had to kick some of it aside to make room for
Meg's bags.  She stood with her hands on her hips and looked around the
room with an expression that might have been disapproval on her face.

"This is such a boy's room."

"Alex IS a boy, Meg."  Okay, so I just told her he was a man not a boy, but
give me a break!

"This was his room?  Are those his trophies?"  She covered the distance to
the shelves above his desk in record time, and started examining the little
plaques on the trophies' plinths.

"You think suddenly I became a star athlete, kiddo?"

"Wow, he's won a lot of them, hasn't he."  It wasn't a question, if it was
it was a dumb one as they filled three shelves, so I didn't bother
answering.  "Oh my god!"

"What?"  I looked up startled from hanging up her stuff.  I knew if I
didn't do it nobody would, she always was a dreadful slob.

"Is he in these pictures?  Which one is he Ryan, tell me!"  I was given no
opportunity to speak or cross the room before she repeated herself, holding
up one of Alex's framed team shots and waving it in my direction.  "Tell
me!"

"Which one do you think?"  I asked, looking over her shoulder.  She frowned
at me for a moment, obviously unwilling to play this game, but turned her
gaze back to the picture with a rueful shake of her head.  We stood in
silence, me grinning her frowning, as she examined each face in turn,
taking her time and thinking carefully.

"This one."  She pointed straight at a well built, good looking, broadly
smiling blond guy in the front row.  Alex.  Either my sister had really
great taste in men, or she knew mine better than I would have thought she
did.

"Good guess."  I grinned broadly at her and put my hand on her head, giving
it a gentle shake and then leaping aside with a squeal to avoid a lethally
aimed elbow.  "My baby sister is all grown up!"  I resumed my unpacking
efforts halfheartedly.

"I'm doomed!"

"Why?"

"All the cute ones are gay!"  She gave a sad shake of her head.  "Well,
except you, brother mine, you're just pathetic."

"And people say we look alike."

"Kill me now!"  She appealed to the ceiling with arms outspread.

"So you hungry?"  I asked, fed up with both the banter and the
insurmountable challenge of organizing her possessions.  I guess she must
have left her room back home pretty neat as it seemed everything she owned
was in those bags.

"Mm.  Very, haven't had a thing since breakfast."

"So what do you young folk like to eat?"  I put on my best aged relative
voice for her.  "I don't think I have any live cultures or Bengali brown
rice, or seaweed in at the moment."  My sister had been a real fad eater
when I was still living at home, with some crazy new diet every other week.

"You think maybe we could phone for pizza?  You know how mom and dad are."
I did indeed, they had both got into healthy eating in a big way after my
dad had a minor heart attack.  At the time I had worried that it was the
stress of having a gay son, with hindsight I realized it was more likely
his penchant for deep fried everything.

"I guess so, certainly saves me some effort.  And gets you out of washing
up!"

"So we all win."

"We all win if you pay!"

"Oh, mom gave me some money..."  She fumbled through her various pockets
before reaching for her purse which had been discarded on the bed.  I stood
watching this performance with a small smile on my lips.

"Meg?  I was kidding."

"She said I should pay for stuff."

"Keep it.  We'll go shopping on the weekend."  I smiled fondly at my little
sister.  "I think I can just about afford to buy pizza."

"Okay.  Are we going to wait for Alex to get here?  He is going to be here,
right?"

"Yes."  I laughed and shook my head, glancing at my watch.  "He's at
practice, he should be home in about a half hour.  Anyway, did you come
here to see me or him?"

"Him!"

"That was too quick."  I tried to look hurt at her, but was having trouble
because it was the same answer I'd have given.  "Couldn't you have at least
pretended to think about it?"

"I guess."  She shrugged.  "Would you have believed me?"

Nope.  Hey, how about a coffee while we're waiting?"  It had occurred to me
that we were still standing in the spare bedroom when we could have been
enjoying a comfy seat in the living room.  She nodded her assent and
followed me to the kitchen, getting underfoot as I made the coffee, the
same space problem which had been so welcome when it was Alex was now just
a nuisance.  We retired, one steaming mug apiece, to the living room and
took seats, suddenly I could think of nothing to say.  I had always had
this problem with Megan, sometimes conversation between us just flowed so
easily, other times we just could not communicate at all.  It seemed more
than a little pointless to try the usual small talk, I had known her for
her entire life after all.  So we sat in silence, sipping our coffee.

"So, um, what happened with Daryl?"  I asked as the silence was killing me,
she didn't make the aggrieved snorting noise I associated with me getting
something like a boyfriend's name wrong, so I figured my memory must have
delivered the goods this time.

"Not much, he dumped me."

"Why?"

"I don't know.  He was an asshole.  I was bored with him, guess he was
bored with me too."

That was a perfectly plausible explanation.  She had dumped people for
less.  So had I for that matter, so why should Daryl be any less fickle?
So why didn't I believe her? Maybe there was something about the casual way
she had said it, the way she obviously wanted to dismiss the whole subject.
Or maybe it was just that she seemed to be having difficulty looking me in
the eye. I stared intently at her, waiting for her to go on speaking.  To
her credit she lasted longer than she would have been able to even a year
before, but she had always broken in the past, and she did this time too.
I always know when Megan is lying to me or concealing something, and she
knows I know.  Doesn't stop her trying though.

"What?"  She squirmed.  "What do you want me to say?  We just weren't right
for each other.  It's true."

"Did I say it wasn't true?  Who are you trying to convince?  You or me?"

Before I could continue though, and get to the bottom of this little
mystery, I heard the front door bang shut and the clatter of Alex's keys
landing on the table by the phone.

"Honey, I'm home!" He called.

"Cute."  Megan muttered and I gave her my most withering look.

"This conversation isn't over, Meg."

"Hey there."  Alex entered the room, clad once again in sweats and running
shoes, fresh from the gym.  He had his backpack in one hand and a bunch of
sorry looking flowers in the other.  They obviously hadn't stood up well to
the journey home, he'd probably stuffed them in the backpack and run the
whole way, if I knew him at all well.  "And you must be Megan, Ryan never
told me how pretty y'all were."  Megan giggled and covered her mouth with
one hand, obviously embarrassed and flattered by my dopey boyfriend.

"Alex, flowers?  You shouldn't have."  I rose and moved towards him, he
kissed me lightly, chastely on the cheek.

"I didn't, these are for Megan."  He sketched a little mock bow as he
dumped the pack and presented the 'bouquet' to my sister with a broad,
brilliantly white grin.

"Thanks."  Megan was blushing.

"What am I?  Chopped liver?"  I asked the room generally, but the room, as
well as Alex and Megan ignored me.

"I'm Alex, as Ryan doesn't seem to want to introduce me."  He kept his hand
extended towards her after she took the flowers and she shook it, he smiled
at her and kept his eyes on hers the whole time.  Alex was a great people
person, really good at making you feel you were the most important person
in the world, at least to him.  And who could possibly need more?

"Good grip!"  She said shaking her hand when he released her.

"Isn't it though."  I muttered wistfully and, I thought, to myself but
apparently they both noticed as Alex went beet red and Megan gave a squeal
of horrified laughter.

"I think I'm gonna take a quick shower."  Alex stated, trying to act like
my flippant remark hadn't fazed him in the slightest, but the burning of
his cheeks and the look he shot me said otherwise.  "And then we can get to
know each other, Ryan's said hardly anything about y'all."

"He didn't even tell me you existed!"  Megan laughed, I don't know if she
saw it, but Alex winced at that comment, and the conversation the previous
day came back to me.  Maybe he was more upset than he had let on.  I mean,
sure he said he was okay about it as he hadn't told anyone in his family he
was even gay, but I had been out for years and I hadn't even mentioned him
when I had split up with John.  It had been a genuine, if hard to believe,
oversight though.

"I know."  He smiled again, more faintly this time, and ambled off toward
the bathroom.  "But that's because your brother's an asshole."

"Tell me about it!"  She called to his back as he left the room.  I was
beginning to see how this visit was going to go; Alex was, quite justly,
going to make me feel bad for not saying anything, and the two of them were
going to gang up on me the whole time - quite unjustly!  I braced myself
for the onslaught, Megan at least had the sense to wait until she heard the
water running before she started on me!

"Oh.  My.  God.  Ryan!  He's amazing!"  She sat in her chair, shaking her
head slowly back and forth, her mouth slightly open, as though she was
about to keep speaking, but couldn't think of the right word for the
occasion.

"Yeah, I know."  I grinned like an idiot, feeling a flush spread across my
face, so pleased to be showing him off, even if it was just to my kid
sister.  I dipped my head shyly and scuffed one foot on the carpet.  "He's
perfect."

"My big brother's in love!"  Megan leapt out of her chair and crossed the
space to where I was standing in one bound, throwing her arms around me.
"I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks, Meg."  I hugged her tightly, almost picking her up off the ground.

"Wow!"  She said as I put her back down and stepped back a little,
remembering that my sister hated it when I was mushy with her.  "He's got
you on the weights!"  She reached out and gave my bicep a squeeze.  "Ooh,
my bro got all buff!"  I grinned stupidly at her again and muttered
something about wanting to look good.

"Oh, you've got it bad!  What happened to 'Mr. Take Me As I Am'?"  Isn't it
funny how they always remember every dumb thing you ever said?  Megan and I
had once talked about how you should be yourself and not change just to
impress some guy, either he loved you as you were or he didn't.  I had even
gone so far as to say that I hated that whole 'gym rat' thing, gay guys
pumping and preening all the time, obsessing on their bodies.

"Well..."  But that wasn't what I was doing, I was just getting into better
shape, there was a difference!  Wasn't there?

"You never did this for John."

"Well..."  I started again.  But the only thing I could have said was that
John wasn't worth it, but Alex, Alex definitely was.

"But then, John was a complete troll."

"He was not!"  I wasn't so much defending John, as I was defending my own
taste in men.

"Next to the boy in the shower he was!"

"Okay.  Maybe."  Who am I kidding!  John was good looking in a classical,
brooding kind of way, but he had nothing on Alex's easy charm and slightly
quirky beauty.  I've said before that he wasn't Hollywood handsome, but
damn that boy was cute.  There was something about that lopsided grin and
his often unruly hair that made him so much more attractive, more desirable
than John's excessive grooming would ever achieve.  Plus he just didn't
take himself as seriously as John had, what had I been thinking?

"I hate you so much, Ryan Thomson!"  She gave me another quick hug.

"Thanks, Meg, that means a lot to me."  I squeezed back, I wasn't exactly
crying, but I could have been if that had gone on much longer.

"Okay, lemme go, you freak!"  And I was roughly shoved away, the mature
young woman was gone for the moment and my teenage sister was back, and I
was glad to have her.  "God, gay guys are so clingy."  She straightened her
clothes up and shot me a look that showed she was kidding.

"Wash the mugs, Meg, I'm going to phone for pizza, okay?"

"What did your last slave die of?"  She shot back, but stooped to pick up
our discarded coffee mugs anyway and take them to the kitchen.

"Too much sex!"  I called after her as she retreated to the kitchen.  "So
you'll have to die from hard work instead."

"Ha ha."  Came the far from amused response.  I shook my head and went to
the phone to call for pizza, no searching for the number, Alex had added it
to the speed dial!  Pizza was a staple of our diet since he had moved in,
and was certainly preferable to his cooking.  Which, to be fair had been
almost okay that last night before classes started.  I guess it was just as
well he took as much exercise as he did, considering how badly he tended to
eat - and just as well he'd got me into it too.

"So, talk to me."  I instructed my sister after I had made the call.

"About what?"  She asked as she returned the mugs to their rightful place.

"You know what.  You're not just here for the scenery.  And you're
certainly not here to see me, or Alex, 'cause you didn't even know he
existed.  So, spill."

"It doesn't matter."

I sighed theatrically.  I was sick of this game lately, having played it ad
nauseam with Alex on so many occasions.  Why can't people just say what's
on their minds?  Why do they have to dance around issues and make me drag
the information out of them.  I leant on the kitchen door frame,
effectively blocking her exit, crossed my arms and scowled at her.  "You're
not getting out of this kitchen until I get an answer."

"Fine, the food's in here."  She shrugged and favored me with a sour little
grin.

"C'mon, Megan, don't do this."  I sighed again.

"Don't do what?"  Alex asked, arriving behind me, sliding one arm round my
waist and kissing my cheek.  "Can I squeeze through?"  He asked me,
pressing me forward into the kitchen and side-stepping to allow Megan to
duck past him and back into the living room.  He seemed utterly unaware of
the black look I shot at his back as he got himself a glass of water.  Once
more my sister had been saved by the poor timing of my boyfriend, it was a
conspiracy!

"Feel better?"  Megan asked Alex as we returned to the living room
together.

"Mm.  Much."  He grinned broadly at her and she returned a goofy smile of
her own.  "All freshened up and squeaky clean."

"That's good."

"Oh for God's sake."  I sighed, but the doorbell saved them from whatever
scathing comment was forming in my mind.  I paid for the pizza and we
gathered round the table to eat, Alex and Megan as though they hadn't had
any food for days.  We all chatted amiably enough as we devoured the pizzas
and Alex and Megan seemed to be getting on really well, she was opening up
to him more than she ever had to me.  He asked her what she wanted to do
while she was staying with us and where I would have been answered with a
shrug and a 'whatever' she actually told him!  She wanted to go shopping,
because 'all the stores at home suck', she wanted to maybe go see a movie
or a play some night and 'check out the cute college boys' and even to just
'hang with you guys'.  Not just a grunt, but an actual response.

The rest of that evening was spent just chatting back and forth and
watching TV, we planned on being more active on Saturday, because Alex was
too tired to go out that night.  So we sat on the couch, or in Alex's case
on the floor between my feet, and munched chips, drank coke and just
enjoyed a deeply relaxing evening.  Megan behaved herself and only made a
few off color remarks about Alex the whole night and I contented myself for
much of the time with playing with Alex's hair and listening to the casual
back and fro.  Finally, he tilted his head back so he could see both Meg
and me and announced that he was tired and was going to bed, heaving
himself to his feet with a series of wheezing sighs.

"Coming?"  He asked me holding out a hand and cocking his head on one side.

"Soon."  I answered.  "I just want to talk to Meg a bit longer, 'kay?"

"Sure."  He nodded agreeably.  "I've been kinda monopolizing the
conversation, you two should catch up."  Dear, good-hearted Alex!  He leant
towards me, putting one hand on my shoulder, kissed me lightly on the lips
and messed up my hair with his free hand.  "Night."

"Night, babe."  I answered and this time he made no sarcastic or mocking
comments about the use of that word.

"Miss Thomson?"  He asked, turning to my sister with an eyebrow raised, she
made no response, apparently not understanding what he was driving at.  He
shook his head and smiled fondly at her, bowing gallantly and kissing her
on the cheek.  "Good night."

"Night, Alex."  She managed to murmur to his back as he left the room,
closing our bedroom door behind him.  She waited a moment before tearing
her eyes from the door, moved her hand, gazed at it for a few seconds and
then looked toward me. "Wow."

"What?"  I asked.

"He kissed me."  She mumbled.

"He's very affectionate."  I shrugged and smiled goofily at my little
sister until I remembered that I was meant to be being stern to get answers
from her.

"Like a puppy."  She grinned back at me and then gave a little sigh.
"You're so lucky, Ryan."

"Never mind that, you're on your own now.  Alex isn't going to save you
from the big bad brother.  I want answers, young lady!"

"Don't 'young lady' me, Ryan, you're not mom."  She looked pissed, then a
big grin spread across her face.  "For a start, you dress better than she
does."

"Stop messing about Meg."  I took her hand in both of mine and squeezed,
fixing her with my most sincere look.  "Tell me what's on your mind,
please?"

"It's nothing."

"Come on, Meg, you know I'm not an idiot, please don't treat me like one.
There's something wrong.  Is it mom and dad?"

"No more so than usual."  She snorted.

"Okay, so it's Daryl?"

"Yeah."  She sighed.  "I told you he dumped me?  Well I didn't tell you the
whole story."

I bit back the sarcastic response to that self-evident statement that
instantly surfaced in my mind and waited patiently for her to continue
speaking.  She didn't, instead she hung her head and fiddled with a ring on
her finger.  "And?"  I prompted.

"And, oh, it's just so stupid."  She sounded really angry as she banged her
fist on the cushion.  "HE'S just so stupid.  But I really liked him, how
could he be such a total asshole?"

"What did he do?"  I asked, suddenly worried.  "He didn't try to force you
to do something?"  I'm not a very physical person, but if he'd laid an
unwelcome hand on my little sister I'd have kicked his skinny little ass so
thoroughly he'd never forget it.

"No!"  She seemed appalled.  "Daryl'd never do that, he's really kind and
gentle."

"What then?"

"It was about you, if you really have to know."

"What about me?"

"About you being gay."  She said after another long pause, unable to look
me in the eye now.

"He dumped you because I'm gay?"

"We had a fight about it."

"Okay, Meg, can we stop doing this piecemeal?  Can you just tell me the
story before the sun comes up?  I'm not going to get mad, you know that, I
just want to help you, you're my sister."  I squeezed her hand again and
then looked up and smiled faintly at me and nodded.

"Oh, alright!  But I warned you it was dumb, and it really doesn't matter
'cause if this is what he thinks I don't want to be with him."

"Meg.  You're babbling."

"Sorry.  Okay."  He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly.  "He found
out you were gay, I mean not that it's a secret or anything, not that it
should be either."  My expression must have told her she was babbling again
as she stopped herself and looked apologetic.  "So anyway he went on about
how it was against nature and stuff, and that the bible said you would burn
in hell for it, which it so doesn't, all that Adam and Eve not Adam and
Steve bullshit.  Which wasn't even clever, like twenty years ago."  She
took another breath and I sat quietly and waited once more until she
started talking again.  "And then he said that all gays were AIDS mongers
and they deserved to die horribly."  Megan bit at her bottom lip and I
could see from the film of liquid on her eyes that she was trying not to
cry I reached out to her and she allowed herself to be hugged.

"He had no right, Meg.  No right to say something so hurtful to you.
You're not responsible for my choices."  To my astonishment she pushed me
roughly away.

"It doesn't matter whether I'm 'responsible' or not!  That's not the point,
the point is he's totally wrong!  How can people be so dumb?"

"Meg..."  I stared to speak.

"It's just so fucked up, that people can still believe stuff like that."
Her tears were flowing freely now.  "Doesn't matter whether he was talking
about you or someone else.  How can such a nice guy have such hate?"

"Meg, I'm sorry.  There's nothing I can say, I'm sorry he wasn't what you
hoped he would be."

"Daryl doesn't matter, hope HE goes to hell!.  I was just so down about it,
about the whole thing, and I needed to talk to someone, and there was no
point trying to make mom and dad understand.  You tried for years and they
didn't want to listen to you.  You think I couldn't hear, didn't you?  You
all did, but I heard the fights and the banged doors and stuff getting
thrown and I wished I could come downstairs and tell them to stop, tell
them to leave you alone.  You were still my brother, still their son,
nothing else matters."  Her voice was becoming harder to understand as she
became more emotional and poured it all out to me, I sat stunned, unsure
what to do.

"I'm glad you talked to me Meg, I just wish there was more I could do.
Something to tell you to make you feel better."

"You already did everything."  She said and threw her arms back around me,
hugging me tightly and burying her face against my shirt.

"Some people are always going to be closed minded and bigoted, Meg.
There's nothing you can do about it but ignore them, no amount of arguing
or informing them of the facts is going to make them change."  I trailed
off as Megan stared fixedly at me.

"Just give me a hug, you fool.  Stop being a camp counselor and just be my
big brother."

"Camp counselor!"  I erupted into hysterical laughter at her unintentional
pun and after a moment in which she fixed me with a quizzical look she too
started to laugh and we clung to each other, tears running down both our
faces, more due to laughter now than anything else.  Okay, so it wasn't
that funny, but for some reason in the circumstances it struck me as one of
the funniest things I'd ever heard.

"I heard laughing."  Alex's voice said from the door where, through the
tears, I could see him standing in socks, shorts and T-shirt obviously
straight from bed. "What's going on?"

"Alex!  Come here!"  I managed to gasp, holding out one arm in his
direction.  He shook his head ruefully and covered the distance to Megan
and me in a couple of bounds, squatting on the floor and wrapping one arm
round each of us in a big three way hug.  It was great, the two most
important people in my life were there with me in a moment of simple
pleasure in one another's company.  Megan and I each slipped an arm around
his broad back and I pulled him closer in as Megan transferred her head
from my shoulder to his.

"So why are we having a hugfest?"  He asked, his voice a little muffled by
Meg's hair.

"Because Megan's boyfriend..."  I was interrupted.

"Ex boyfriend."

"...ex boyfriend."  I corrected myself.  "Is a homophobic asshole."

"Oh."  He murmured and bobbed his head slightly, never moving his wonderful
strong arms from either one of us.  "Fuck him then.  I never met him and I
hate him already."

"Thanks, Alex."  Meg sniffed.

"No problem, y'all deserve someone with a brain.  You're way too smart and
pretty to settle for a knuckle-dragger like that, Meg."  He punctuated his
words with rib-cracking squeezes and I began to wish fervently for this hug
to come to an end.  "Want me to kick his ass?  I know some people."  He
asked, echoing my earlier thought, Meg pushed us both away with a huge
smile on her face and hit him on the shoulder, he was making his fierce,
simian face at her and she couldn't help but laugh, same as I always did.

"Stop it!"

"Real big guys."  He sat back pulling his knees back and wrapping his arms
round them instead of us.  I still had one arm round Meg's back, trapped
now against the back of the couch.

"You do?"  I asked raising one eyebrow in mock outrage at him.

"Nothing for you to worry about, stud."  He answered with a wink.

"Stud?"  My sister leapt to my defense, giggling the while.  "Ryan?  Don't
make me laugh anymore, it hurts!"

"Well, if you're feeling better..."  I huffed.

"Thanks, Ryan, I am, I really am."  She smiled at me and ducked her head a
little to show she meant it.  "And thank you too, Alex.  You guys are the
greatest."

"So we're done hugging."  I asked pushing myself to my feet and rubbing my
ribcage.

"We-ell, maybe one more?"  Meg asked shyly.  I laughed and stretched a hand
out to each of them pulling them to their feet, well pulling Meg to her
feet and only holding Alex's hand as he stood up.  "Thanks guys, you really
cheered me up."  We hugged again and this time I broke it first, pushing
the two of them away.

"Okay, enough mushy stuff."

"You can never have enough mushy stuff!"  Alex responded, picking Meg up
bodily and spinning her round and round, squealing for him to put her down.
Albeit in a tone I knew of old, the 'I'm too mature for this nonsense, but
I love it anyway' tone she normally reserved for me.  He plonked her,
unsteadily, back on her feet and grinned lopsidedly at me.  "I'll let Ryan
tuck you in."

"Eew!"

"Thanks."

"Pleasure, brother dear."

"Okay, I'm going back to bed, and this time I'm not coming back out even if
I hear screaming, understood?  And you..."  He turned to me.  "I expect to
see you in here in one minute."

"Okay."  Megan and I dutifully responded together, unable to look each
other in the eye.  Me because I was far too embarrassed by his near
explicit reference to sex and her because she was too, or possibly she just
didn't want to laugh in my face.

"Okay, good night, guys.  Again!"  And so saying my sister headed off to
the spare room.  We both called good night after her.  "Any chance of
breakfast in bed, Ryan?"

"You'll be lucky!"  I laughed and the door closed on my sister's pouting
face, leaving Alex and me alone.  I made a mental note to take her
breakfast in bed.

"Well, that was weird."  He said, sliding an arm round my shoulders.
"Coming to bed?"

"You're the boss."

"Never forget that."  We retired to the bedroom and he slid under the
covers, watching me as I undressed, a little self-consciously.  I paused at
one point and turned to face him, a questioning look on my face only to
have him flap one hand lazily at me like a Roman patrician at a banquet.
"Carry on, you're doing fine."  I shook my head at him as I yanked on my PJ
bottoms and slid into the bed beside him, his hand coming to rest on my
bare chest immediately.  He was propped up on one elbow looking down at me.

"What?"  I asked reaching up to stroke his cheek.

"Will she be okay?"

"Yeah, I think so.  Meg can look after herself, she's dealt with people
like this before.  I think she was more disappointed in him than anything
else, you know?  'Cause she really liked him and thought he was a pretty
cool guy."

"Maybe she can talk to him, show him he's wrong?"

"What about, all I know about this guy is that he's an asshole."

"Oh, he dumped her because her brother's a homosexual AIDS monger."  I
brought him up to speed as succinctly and lightheartedly as I possibly
could.  Like I've said before; joke about it, it takes the sting out.
Well, maybe not, but it makes us look confident and in control, and that's
half the battle, never let people see they're getting to you.

"Bastard."  Alex said with real feeling after he had gaped open-mouthed at
me for a few seconds.  "I really am going to kick his ass."

"It's okay, Alex."  I pushed him back onto the bed and rolled atop him,
pinning his arms loosely and gazing down into his eyes.  "Forget it."

"But he dissed my boyfriend."  He protested with a small smile.

"Easy, Tiger."  I kissed him on the lips.  "I've been doing this for a long
time, I can handle myself."

"I'd rather you handled me, sexy."  Alex gave a little wink.

"Let me think about it."  Always a mistake to stall Alex, he rolled swiftly
and suddenly it was me who was pinned beneath him, my hands that were
pinned and my neck and shoulders that were being gently kissed.  Not, you
must understand, that I was complaining too much about this.  Alex just had
to look at me in a certain way to arouse me and make me forget everything
but him, and I quickly forgot that my sister was on the other side of a
wall through which I used to be able to hear Alex having sex with Julie.

He slid further down, kissing his way along the line of my sternum, and
drawing himself into a squatting position astride my body.  He freed my
hands and I was able to bring them down to rest on his bare thighs, gazing
up into his eyes in anticipation.  He reached up and pulled his T-shirt up
over his body, throwing it aside.  In the darkness of the room his body was
a series of reliefs, dim gray plains where the light from the alarm clock's
digits illuminated him slightly and deeper , blacker shadows where it did
not.  His eyes practically glowed with reflected light enabling me to see,
as well as feel, his desire.

"You okay?"  He whispered.

"Honey, I'm sensational."  A facetious answer, I know, so I smiled up at
him and wriggled my hips to answer the question he had really been asking.

"That feels like it might be a yes."  He ignored the 'sensational' part,
bowing his head to kiss me once more and allowing me to run the fingers of
one hand through his hair and, while he was distracted, to surprise him
with the other hand!  "Mmmm."

I took that little happy sound as encouragement and slid my hand further up
the leg of his shorts, finding what I was looking for without any trouble
at all, he shifted his position and I shifted my grip, resulting in another
happy little noise, though this one more strained.  He lifted one leg and
swung off to the side, hooking my waistband with a thumb as he did so, and
allowing my hand to slide back down his thigh.  I obediently arched my back
and allowed him to strip me completely, pulling my knees up a little to
make it easier.  Naked, I reached for him and pulled him back down into an
embrace, though briefly as we rolled again and I was able to slide his
shorts down.  I crawled down the bed a little away from him and pulled of
his socks, which he usually discarded once he got into bed anyway.  Now we
were both naked, things were more even!

"You're a good guy, Ryan."  Alex whispered again, leaning closer and
kissing me softly.  "I wish I had a brother like you, buddy."  The note of
sincerity in his voice, reminded me again why I loved him as much as I did.

"Thanks, Alex."  I murmured in response as he once more kissed his way,
slowly, down my body, this time kissing and nibbling gently at my thighs
too, his fingers sought out and rapidly discovered the miniature erections
of my nipples, causing me to gasp slightly.

"No problem."  He replied, drawing me deep into his mouth, and ending any
possibility of more conversation for the time being.  I groaned softly as
he put his tongue and lips to a better use and lavished all the care on me
our few weeks together had taught him, his head rising and falling
rhythmically, one of my hands knotted in his hair the other in the sheets.
After a few minutes longer, he slowly and carefully raised his head back
up, forming a tight seal with his lips as he did until only the very crown
was left in his mouth then, with a pop, his mouth was empty and he was
back, covering me in kisses.

"Alex.  That.  Was.  Fantastic."  I was able to gasp out between kisses and
was rewarded with a broad grin followed by a long, slow, deep kiss.

"Ryan?"  He gazed into my eyes again, one hand supporting his head, the
other lazily stroking me.  "I've been thinking about, you know, what we
talked about?  Could I?"

"Fuck me?"  He chewed nervously on his lower lip as he nodded a yes,
looking away from me as he did so.

"Alex."  I raised his head, so he was looking at me again.  "It's nothing
to be ashamed of, it's a wonderful thing, you'll love it.  And I know I do.
Of course you can."

"Really?"  He still seemed nervous.

"There should be condoms in the top drawer."  I murmured, nodding towards
the dressing table.

"'kay."  He slid quickly and soundlessly from the bed and picked his way
through discarded clothes to the dressing table, rummaging around for a
moment before he returned.  I lay, barely able to move the anticipation was
so great, my heart was thumping in my chest loud enough that he could
probably hear it from the other side of the room.  Assuming it wasn't
drowned out by his own.  "Found them."  He whispered from across the room,
turning with his trademark victory grin, I could see that neither his
nervousness nor his journey had cooled his ardor any - thankfully!  He
rejoined me on the bed and handed me the little foil square.

"What am I doing with this?"  I asked holding it up.

"Um, I thought, you know, you might put it on for me?"  Poor old Alex,
losing his virginity again, and as nervous now as he had been the first
time.  I smiled at him and pulled myself into a sitting position and then
up onto my knees, Alex kneeling by my side.

"Here's a little trick I picked up in high school."  I informed him with a
smirk, in fact I had done no such thing, but it seemed like a good thing to
say at the time.  I tore open the condom packet and put the rubber disc
into my mouth, I had seen this done in movies, but never actually done it
myself.  Arranging it carefully with my tongue and teeth, I bowed my head,
almost spitting it back out when I saw the look of surprise on Alex's face.
I pressed on after a moment, sliding the rubber slowly downwards, using
long sweeps of my tongue to prevent wrinkles as I went and, taking a deep
breath through my nose, plunged the rest of the way, taking Alex into my
throat and sheathing him completely.  Pleased with my efforts, I drew
slowly back up and rocked back on my heels with a grin fit to split my head
in two.

"Ryan!  That was amazing!"  His mouth was hanging open and he was looking
at me in awe.  "What high school did you go to, man?"

"I was kidding.  I've never tried it before."  I answered proudly and with
a little chuckle.

"Wow."

"Yup.  Wow.  So..."  I paused and grinned again and reached out to give him
a companionable squeeze.  Well, maybe a tad more than companionable.
"After all my effort, I hope you're going to use this."

"Um, sure."  He looked down at my hand, but made no actual move.  "Uh,
Ryan?"

"Yes?"

"Well, um, how?"

"Please tell me you don't need me to explain that!"

"I mean like, you know, what position and stuff.  Do I need to, um, do
anything first?"  He was mumbling now and talking more to his chest than to
me, if there had been light in the room I was willing to bet that his face
was deep crimson.

"Ah.  I see.  Well," squeeze, "the first thing you," squeeze, "should do,
is relax."  Another squeeze.  He smiled shyly at me and bent to kiss me
some more, I could feel the heat from his cheeks as he did.  I held him and
nuzzled against his neck, I had been right his heart was pounding, as he
kissed me lightly.  "I'm sorry, Ry, you must think I'm such a dufus."

"Of course I don't, I had no idea what to do the first time either.  It's
not a problem, here, let me guide you."  I slowly lay down, pulling him
along with me until I was on my back and he was lying full length, much of
his weight resting on me, kissing him, stroking his back and trying to
reassure him that everything was okay.  "Okay?"

"Thanks, Ry."

"Okay, then lift up a little."  I slapped his butt lightly and drew my
knees up as he did.  He adjusted himself, finding his instincts finally
starting to show him what to do and I felt his head press against me.
"Now, push forward, easy though."

"'kay."  He replied hesitantly, if he bit his lip any more he was going to
start bleeding.

"Kiss me."  I instructed, guiding him with one hand and using the other to
pull his face to mine, forcing him to stop chewing on his lip and start
chewing on mine instead.  He began his slow, inexorable slide forward and
into me as I sucked ever more eagerly on his tongue.  Soon I was able to
remove my hand and press it down on his butt instead, applying some
pressure and relying on his sense of direction to get him the rest of the
way.  It was an unbelievably hot feeling, it had been so long, and I ground
my shoulders back into the bed and moaned aloud as he continued to sink
into me.  Alex sucked at my neck and gripped my shoulders incredibly
tightly, emitting a tiny keening sound himself and from the expression on
his face, I figured he was enjoying his first time fucking a guy.

"Oh God, Ry!"  He gasped to my neck as he reached his maximum depth and
held still for a moment, then he writhed a little, making himself more
comfortable and setting off the most wonderful sensations starting at my
prostate.  "Feels so good!"  He moaned.

"You should try it from this end!"  I chuckled quietly.

"Yeah?"  He sounded skeptical.

"Maybe another time, handsome."  I replied, stroking his hair out of his
eyes and kissing him again.  "You know what to do next right?  The whole
back and forth thing?"

"Oh!"  He said as though just realizing.  "Of course.  Sorry."  He mumbled,
I slid both my hands down and cupped one butt cheek in each, then gave the
left a good hard slap.  "Ow!  What was that for?"

"Apologizing.  Now shut up for Christ's sake and fuck me!"

"You have a foul mouth, Ryan Thomson."  He laughed, but obeyed me to the
letter, pressing me back into the pillows in one of the most intense kisses
I can ever remember.  I clung to him so tightly, a wave of emotion came
over me, I felt like we were more connected then than at any point before.
And I'm not talking about the fact that there were a good few inches of him
inside me, I mean on every possible level, I was floating on air.  He began
a slow back and forth motion, drawing out a long way and sliding back in
achingly slowly, I knotted my fists in the sheets.

"Oh God." A tiny sob escaped my lips and my eyes filled with tears.

"Ryan?  What's wrong, am I hurting you?"  He asked, his face full of
concern for me.

I gaped at him, how could he be so wrong, hurting me?  Of course he wasn't
hurting may he was making me feel like no other man had ever made me feel
before.  I pulled him close and kissed him and pressed my lips against his
neck, clinging to him and whispered to him.  "Alex, I love you more than
you can ever imagine."

"If it's even close to how I feel about you, Ryan, I can imagine.  Believe
me."  He kissed me back, softly and began his motions anew, I groaned in
pleasure once more.  This time there were no interruptions, he kept moving
starting with long, slow strokes and gradually increasing his speed and
moving more shallowly.  Sensation coursed through me as we gasped and
groaned together, my back arched and I clutched at his thighs, my eyes
shut.  The last thing I saw was his face, strained with exertion, beaded
with sweat, his eyes closed too, biting on his lower lip again, but not
from nerves any longer, from sheer passion.  I felt the telltale tightening
of an impending orgasm and his strokes also became more erratic as we
neared the end together.  I hung on him as he sank into me one last time,
arching his back and gasping out my name as we clutched at one another and
kissed deeply exploding together in perfect unison, just the way Alex
liked.

We lay still for a while, letting our breathing return to normal then Alex
began to slide carefully back out of me, leaving a feeling of real
emptiness as he rolled on to his back and clawed for some tissues to clean
up.  That was going to have to do, I couldn't trust my legs to make it to
the shower and I didn't want to anyway, I wanted to stay there in my
lover's arms all night.  So there we lay and just let the sweat dry on our
bodies, my hand sought out his and our fingers twined together.  Alex was
the first to recover his voice.

"Ryan, that was the most amazing thing I have ever felt.  I had no idea it
would be so good."  He mumbled, his voice thick with sleep.

"Yes, yes it was."  I mumbled right back.  I have no idea when Alex fell
asleep, but I do know I was only moments after that comment.  I rolled
towards him and snuggled against his side, the feel of his strong arms and
the sound of his breathing the last things I remember.

To Be Continued...