Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2001 15:26:49 +1000
From: Mark Peters <mp_ponyboy@hotmail.com>
Subject: After We Danced - Part Two

Dear Reader: It has been very humbling and gratifying to have received
the response I have for my story. I've just been blown away with your
comments. Just like I asked, you have been gentle on me, so thank you.
I am happy to now forward Part Two for your enjoyment.

As I mentioned with Part One, this is my first foray into writing, at
least since High School, and while I may still be a little rusty, it's
all starting to come back to me now (sort of), thanks largely to my friends
Brennan and Danny. Thanks guys!

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this continuation of the story into the lives of
Matt and Luke. Parts Three, Four and Five are also on the way.


  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

Legal Stuff: The following story contains descriptions of graphic sexual
acts. Don't read this story if: You are not 18 or over, OR, if it is
illegal to read this type of material where you live, OR, if you don't
want to read about gay/bi people in love or having sex.

The author retains copyright to this story. Placing this story on a web
site or reproducing this story for distribution without the author's
permission is a violation of that copyright. If you would like to respond
to the story, make suggestions or other constructive' comments or advice
may be sent to: mp_ponyboy@hotmail.com. All e-mails will be answered.


  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

After We Danced - Part Two

by

Mark Peters


- Chapter One -

So what happened next you ask? You will be pleased to know that later that
same afternoon, after we had left the gang at the Center Café and went
back to Matt's place, we finally did it.

It was wonderful and exciting and it was everything that I had ever hoped
that it would be.

It was late in the afternoon when we reached his parents house and before
we went down the back to his flat we checked to see if anyone was home up
at the main house.  Thankfully there was no one there, so we both went
straight down to the flat.

When I followed Matt inside I was instantly hit by the familiar sweet musty
fragrance that always seemed to pervade. I inhaled deeply, drawing into me
as much of his manly scent that I could.

Like a puppy, I followed Matt through his living area and into his bedroom.
As we walked I had my eyes down, watching his gorgeous butt moving along in
front of me, thinking of just how I would love to get my hands on those
delicious looking globes.

It had been a week since I had been in there and the memory of that night
was still fresh in my mind, and as we both sat down on his bed the images
of what happened between us on that night kept tumbling over and over in my
mind.

Matt put his hand on my knee and started rubbing up and down my leg, with
the tips of his fingers gently teasing the inside of my thigh. It sent an
enormous shudder through my entire body.

"I want to thank you", he said, while still moving his hand up and down my
thigh.

"What for?", I asked.

"Just everything", he said.

I started to say to him, "You don't have to", but couldn't get it finish,
as he leaned over and placed his lips on mine.

We kissed for what seemed an eternity, our mouths working feverishly
together for ages, until finally we both needed to come up for air.

"You're welcome", I said to him, giggling like the love struck teenager
that I was.

He kissed me again, and again, moving from my lips to my ear, to my
neck. It felt wonderful and I didn't want him to stop. We both fell back
onto his bed, with neither of us wanting to let get go of the other.

We were laying there on our sides and were gazing directly into each others
eyes. "Did you really mean what you were saying when you said WE the other
day?", he asked me.

"Do you really need to ask me that?", I answered.

"No, but I would like to hear you say it again. It made me feel good".

I leaned forward and kissed him.

"On Monday morning when we were talking at school, you know, before
everything blew up, you referred to me as your 'boyfriend'. I could have
cried when you said that, it made me feel so good to be wanted like
that. Then after seeing the pain that you were going through at school that
day, all I wanted to do was take you up in my arms and hold you there and
tell you that everything was going to be alright".

He kissed me back, and then I continued.

"I told you that you would have to make up your own mind about what it was
you wanted to do.  I knew that you had strong feelings for Julie, but after
that first night when we were together it was obvious that you had feelings
for me as well, feelings that I could only wish that I had known about
earlier".

I leaned over once again and kissed him.

"I knew then that I wanted to be around you for a long, long time. For the
first time in my life I knew, absolutely and without any reservations, that
I was in love. And in spite of everything that was going on around us, I
think it was the happiest that I have ever been".

I looked into his eyes and what I saw surprised me. There was a tear
forming in the corner of one eye, and as I watched, it trickled silently
down his cheek.

"I... I..., don't know what to say", he finally stammered.

"Don't say anything", I answered. "Just kiss me". So he did.

We were both still wearing our school uniforms, but it didn't take all that
long for us to start removing them.

We sat up on the bed, and knelt facing each other, as we started to undo
the buttons on each others white school shirts.  They were quickly removed
and then Matt started to undo my belt and trousers.

"Lay back", he said to me, and I obliged.

Gently, he undid my shoes and pulled them off my feet. My socks soon
followed and then he started tugging at the bottom of my trouser legs. I
arched my back up and my trousers and jocks were soon removed, then dropped
onto the floor with our shirts, leaving me lying naked on the bed.

Quickly, Matt undid his own trousers and slipped them off, along with his
shoes, socks and jocks, all of which was then added to the growing pile of
clothes on his bedroom floor.

I don't know what made me think of it, but for some reason, seeing our
clothes inter- mingled like that on the floor, all I could see was our
future together. And as odd as it may seem, it looked right.

Matt lay down beside me, propping himself up on one elbow. He looked me up
and down and smiled at me. I looked him up and down and smiled back at
him. It was obvious that we both liked what we saw, because we were both
standing to attention, our dicks almost rubbing together.

"Until last Friday night I had only ever dreamed about this", I said to
him.

"Me too", he answered.

I put my hand up to his face and gently caressed his cheek, then let my
hand slide down along his body until it reached his hip. His cock was just
begging to be played with, so I ran my fingers over it, letting my fingers
run along its length, around his balls and through his dark pubic hair.

I watched his face as I did so. His eyes were closed and the expression he
wore was one of pure pleasure. Last Friday night he had pleasured me in a
way that I had never before experienced, so I thought that now it was my
turn.

Slowly, I edged myself down the bed until my face was level with his dick,
then just as he had done for me the previous week, I gently licked the tip
of his beautiful member.

I had never done this before and so didn't know what to expect as far as
what it would taste like, but it was sweet and tasted like...... Matt.

Slowly, I worked down its length, and as I did so I felt his body
squirm. He was enjoying this, and to tell you the truth, so was I.

I licked his balls a few times then worked my way back up to the top of his
cock, then opened my mouth and took him inside my mouth.

I worked my mouth backwards and forwards along him, and as I did so I heard
him softly moaning.

"That feels soooo, good", he whispered. "Let me do it for you too".

For a moment I took my mouth off him and look up. "Just wait a minute", I
said to him.

"No", he said back to me. "I'll turn around and we'll sixty nine".

As he said this he was already moving. He got up on to his knees and then
laid down in the opposite direction, with his head adjacent to my groin and
with his cock once again pointing at my mouth.

"Lets try that", he said as we settled back down onto the bed, and within
seconds we were both sucking away at each other like a pair of pro's.

This was a totally amazing experience, and made me harder than I could ever
remember being before. We must have been doing something right however,
because it was only a few minutes later that I could feel the familiar
tension building up inside me, like a volcano ready to erupt.

I took my mouth off Matt's cock for a moment and said, "I'm gonna come",
but just as I did this I felt the dam burst and the precious creamy-white
liquid spewed forth into Matt's mouth.

This obviously had the correct effect on Matt as well, because before I
could even put my mouth back over the end of his cock he too erupted, with
wads of delicious cum flying out of his cock all over my face.

I started giggling like a little kid.

"What's wrong with you?", he asked, wiping some of my cum from his mouth
with the back of his hand.

"Oh, this is just too much", I said to him.

"Wait", he said. "You're gonna love this", and with that he jumped around
onto the bed so that his face was near mine. I thought he was going to lean
over and kiss me again, but instead he started to lick my face, licking up
his own cum.

My first reaction was that it was kind of kinky, but the feel of his rough
tongue on my face, licking up his own sweet juice felt kind of nice. After
he had licked up a bit he then put his mouth to mine and we both opened
them, letting his cum dribble into my mouth.

The taste of it was salty, but pleasant, and despite my initial reaction I
was actually enjoying this.

"Next time", he said, "I'll let you taste your own".

The thought of this must as sent a tingle through my body, as my cock
started to get hard again. Absentmindedly I started rubbing it, which
instantly brought a huge smile to Matt's face.

"Ready to go again?", he asked.

"Why not?", I answered. "I'm starting to enjoy this".

He laughed, then leant over me, reaching towards the set of drawers that
were beside the bed. He was laying across the top of me, with our flat
stomachs rubbing together when he opened the top draw, from which he pulled
out a small toiletries bag, the type you would put your toothpaste and
shampoo and deodorant into when you went away anywhere overnight.

"What's that?", I asked, with my curiosity and a few other parts of me
aroused.

"Take a look", he said, and in one motion he opened the bag and tipped its
contents out across my flat stomach.

It only contained a few items, mainly condoms, in all shapes, sizes and
colours, plus a couple of small tubes of KY Jell.

"Before I met you, were you ever a boy scout?", I asked him as I picked my
way through the various items.

"No", he answered. "Why do you ask?"

"Well you are certainly well prepared enough to have been one".

He just smiled at that and reached across and picked up one of the small
tubes of KY.  It had already been opened, but was still about half full.

"How come that's half empty?", I asked him. "Who else have you had in
here?"

"No one", he answered. "I just use it wank off with. Now, which one of
these do you want to use?", he asked me as he picked up a couple of the
condoms.

"I don't know", I answered. I wasn't sure exactly where this was going, but
I had some idea. So too did my throbbing cock.

"I'll pick one for you", he said, and after a moments hesitation he picked
out a black condom and tore its packet open. "Never had a black cock up my
arse before".

This shocked me a little bit, as I was starting to find out things my best
friend that I hadn't ever imagined, but it also excited me in a way that I
had never been excited before.

I watched as Matt placed the condom over the end of my cock and starting
rolling it along it's length. It was hard and throbbing, in anticipation of
what it knew was going to happen.

"You up for this?", Matt asked, half jokingly.

"Ha, ha", I answered.

Next, he opened the tube of KY and squeezed out a generous amount onto his
hand. "You are going to love this", he said as he smeared it over my cock,
rubbing it all around and up and down its length.

He was right, I did love it, at least this part.

"What do I have to do?", I asked him.

"Nothing much", he answered. "Just lay back and enjoy. But first you need
to give me your hand".

I stretched my hand out to him and he picked up the tube of KY again,
squeezing a healthy sized dollop out onto the tips of my fingers.

"Spread it around my butt hole", he said to me, as he straddled himself
across me.

I reached between his legs and did as he asked, smearing the clear liquid
all around him.  I felt his puckered little hole twitch a little as my
fingers passed around it, so I played there for a moment, running my
fingers around and around and around.

Matt seemed to be enjoying it, so I started gently pushing at the hole
which, being fairly well lubricated, offered little resistance. My index
finger slipped inside him and he moaned as I thrust inwards and then
brought my finger out a few times.

"You sure you've never done this before?", he asked me.

"No, I haven't", I answered truthfully. "But I'm a quick learner, if you
hadn't noticed already".

"OK, I'm ready now", he then said to me, so I removed my hand from between
his legs.

Carefully he positioned his butt over my rock hard meat and started
lowering himself.  The end of my cock nestled into the small crater and I
wriggled it a little while before he went any further.

Then he lowered himself further, my cock pressing hard against his
hole. For a moment there was strong resistance, then the KY did its job and
his hole opened, allowing me to enter him.

"Oh, yes", he moaned.

He felt warm, and tight, and the further he lowered himself the more I
wanted to thrust deeper into him. I started to arch my back, rising to meet
him, our bodies merged into one, at least for the moment.

I thrust upwards, then relaxed, then thrust upwards again. Over and over
again. This was like nothing else that I had ever experienced. Jerking off
in the shower was certainly never this good.

Within a few minutes I was soon feeling that familiar rising pressure and
was ready to cum again, then moments later I exploded.

We both relaxed, but I still stayed inside him, with Matt basically sitting
on top of me.  He was hard, so I reached forward and started massaging his
big dick for him, and it didn't take very long before he too blew his load,
all over my chest.

We seperated, with my cock slipping out of his butt and making a loud
"slurp" noise, to which we both giggled. After that we collapsed in an
exhausted heap on the bed, with Matt half laying on top of me, across my
body.

"How come we haven't done this before", he whispered to me as he ran his
fingers through his own cum on my chest.

"I've been asking myself that for a week".

Then he kissed me.



- Chapter Two -

I don't know how long we lay there together for, but when we finally
emerged from Matts flat, after having a quick shower (together), it was
already dark outside.

I had told my folks that I would be heading over to Matt's after school and
we would probably be going out to the movies or somewhere, so they weren't
really expecting me back home that night. We thought that we might grab
something to eat at Macca's, before heading to the cinema, so once again I
borrowed some clothes off him and we got set for a big night out.

When we got outside we noticed that the lights were on up at his parents
house, so we walked up the driveway to the house, where we found them all
just getting ready for dinner.

"Hello boys", Matts mum said to us as we walked through the door. "What
have you boys been up to?".

"Hi, mum", Matt answered. "Nothing much".

"Hi, Mr And Mrs P", I offered as we entered.

"How was your last official day of school?"

"Boring", Matt answered. "We couldn't wait to get out of there. Nothing but
speeches and presentations. Made us all feel like a bunch of goons".

Matt looked at his father, who just nodded to us as we came in the door,
but didn't say a word. The look that he gave Matt wasn't all that friendly,
so I guessed there was still some tension there. Maybe there was still some
doubt in his fathers mind as to what Matt had told him, who knows?

"Are you boys staying for dinner", Matt's mum asked us.

"We thought we'd go to a movie and grab a bite on the way. Is that OK?"

Matt's father just glared at him, but his mother simply said, "Fine, have a
nice time dear".

"Thanks, we will", he said to her and with that he started bustling me out
the back door.

"Bye", I said to them as I was pushed back through the doorway.

As we headed out the door I heard Matt's father start to say something to
his wife, but we were down the stairs and heading for the car before I
could hear what might be said.

"Sorry about that", Matt said to me as we reached his car. "I could tell
that the old man was in one of those moods again so I thought we'd best
split".

When we were inside the car I asked him, "Has he said much to you this
week?"

Matt shook his head. "No, he's just been real moody and keeps giving me
those sort of funny looks, like the one he gave me tonight".

"Do you think he believed what you told him last week?".

"I don't know".

I could hear the emotion in his voice, so as he went to put the car into
gear I put my hand over his and said, "It's going to be alright you know".

"I wish I was as confident about that as you are".

"Well, I've had a week to think about it, and I reckon that once our exams
are over and done with and we've finished school, there's not much that we
are going to have to worry about".

He looked at me for a long minute, quite thoughtfully, then asked, "Sooner
or later everyone is going to find out aren't they?".

I nodded.

"I'd rather it was later. Much, much later".

"So would I", I added.

"So what do we do?"

"Just keep going as best we can. Keep what we have between us a secret. And
try not to make any slip ups".

"And if we do slip up".

"Cross that bridge when we get to it".

He nodded. "I suppose that's all we can do, for now. But what if my old man
keeps at me all the time?"

"Can't you keep out of his way? I mean, he's working all the time, and you
have your own flat and a part-time job. At any one time one of you or the
other isn't likely to even be here".

He thought about this for a while then said, "I guess you're right. As
always". He picked my hand up off his then brought it up to his mouth and
kissed it.

"Come on, lets go Casanova. We'll be late for the movies", I said to him.

Anyway, we went out and had a great night out, with all the worries of the
entire week the furthest things from our minds as we sat through the latest
blockbuster Julia Roberts' comedy.

Afterwards, we had a drink and a snack at the cinema cafeteria, where we
bumped into some of our class mates and got a few funny looks, before
heading back to Matt's place.  I thought to myself that this would be a
very easy habit to fall into, going back to his place every night, and if
we weren't careful it would be quite easy to make a 'slip up', like we had
spoken about earlier.

When we pulled up outside the flat, I said to Matt, "Are you OK with me
staying the night?"

"Do you mean am I worried about Dad snooping around and finding out about
us?"

"Yeah, I guess that's what I mean".

"Well, I did think about it, but I've come up with an idea. I've still got
the spare mattress in there, plus the blankets and all that. We'll just set
it up on the floor and make it look like that's where you're sleeping -
just in case anyone queries us.  We can lock the door, so if anyone comes
knocking, you dive for the mattress and everything is sweet".

"Brilliant", I said to him. "Do you think he might suspect something if I
come over too often though?"

"Probably, but he's not to know how often you come over is he".

"How do you mean?"

"Well, you just come over any time you like, but you sneak in through the
back way, from the vacant lot. And if we make a few slight 'modifications'
to the flat you will be able to come straight inside without even being
noticed".

"Do you think it will work", I asked.

"It's got to", he answered. "Otherwise we'll just have to move away some
where".

"And when did you get that brilliant idea?"

"Tonight, when we were driving home".

"You fucking amaze me sometimes", I said as I punched him in the arm.

"I even amazed myself with that idea. Wouldn't you love to live on a beach
or some- thing, as far away as we can get from everyone we know? Or how
about in a cabin beside a lake, way up in the mountains somewher? Come on,
lets get inside before the old man comes snooping".



- Chapter Three -

Thankfully, the next few days went by relatively incident free, as things
finally seemed to be settling back down, and with Matt seeming to return to
his old self.

His father seemed to have settled back down too, especially after he came
down to the flat the next morning, on the pretense of asking Matt to mow
the lawn that day, and found Matt sipping coffee at his little kitchen
table and me sleeping on a mattress on the floor (or was that pretending to
sleep?).

It was all we could do not to burst out laughing as we listened to him walk
back up to the house - actually whistling to himself. Our little deception
seemed to do the trick, but the question was how long would we be able to
keep that up.

I got back home by lunch time on the Saturday and no one seemed to have
missed me.

"Did you have a nice time dear?", my mother asked me as I entered our
kitchen.

"Great", I said to her as I kissed her on the cheek. "I'm going to do some
study", I said to her and kept going straight on through to my room.

On my way home I had stopped by the shopping mall to make a couple of
purchases. I couldn't wait to see Matt again, as one of them was for him.

I spent the afternoon studying, as I thought that I still had a fair bit to
brush up on before the exams in two weeks time, but to tell you the truth I
was having a fair bit of trouble trying to concentrate, which was hardly
surprising really. As much as I hated to say it, this was basically all
that I would be doing for the next two weeks.

Mum checked in on me from time to time, and also made sure that my kid
sister stayed well clear, so all in all I didn't end up having a bad day,
except for the fact that Mathematics and Chemistry were driving me crazy.

At around dinner time I heard the phone ring, then mum call out to say that
it was Matt calling, which was perfect timing as I was about ready to quit
anyway.

"Hi", I said.

"Hey gorgeous, what's happening?"

It was the first time that I had ever heard him talk like that and it took
me by surprise.

"H.., Hey, yourself", I stuttered.

"Aren't you going to say you love me and you want to make mad passionate
love to me?", he teased.

"Ummm, I'd really like to, but... ".

He laughed.

"It's OK. Your mum must still be within listening distance, is she? You can
tell me you love me later".

"Yep", I said, "and it's a deal".

"How did your studying go?".

"The pits. Yours?".

"Ditto. All I could think about was you".

"I'm touched", I said to him.

"You will be next time I see you".

"Very funny. Are you on your mobile?"

"Yup, and nobody else can listen in".

"Cool".

"Feel like some help studying tomorrow?", he asked.

"Where?"

"Your place, if you like. We'd better not have you spending all day every
day over here at my place. Someone might get suspicious. We could lock your
door, couldn't we?  Just think of how exciting it would be doing it while
your parents were in the next room".

I could feel myself blushing at the thought.

"Hang on", I said and I called out to mum and asked her if it was OK.

Now stop jumping to conclusions! I meant was it OK for him to come over to
study, not to screw me senseless while they were in the next room!

"That's fine", she answered, so I relayed the message to Matt.

"Great", he answered. "Well, I'd better go and wash all this sweat off
after mowing the lawn. I stink".

"You got it done did you?"

"Yeah, this afternoon, like I had any choice in the matter. Anyway, sweet
dreams gorgeous. I'll see you tomorrow".

"Yeah, you too. See you".

We disconnected and I walked into the kitchen, almost in a daze.

"You OK?", mum asked me. "You look like you're burning up. You're not
getting the flu or anything are you?"

"No mum, I'm fine".

"That's good dear".

She was getting dinner ready, so I started to set the table for her.
Thinking about lots of things other than where knives and forks should be
placed on the table. Anyway, after a few little stuff ups I finally managed
to get it right, before I went into the lounge room and watched the news on
television.

When dad arrived home we all sat down for our evening meal. It was one of
our house rules. Everyone had to sit down together for breakfast and
dinner.

"Heard something interesting today", he said about half way through the
meal. I didn't like the way he was looking at me when he said it.

"What's that Tom?", mum asked.

"Young Matt was spotted hanging around the toilets at the park the other
night".

I nearly choked on my sausages when he said that.

"What do you mean dear?"

"Oh, I dunno, it was just something that Dick Bower mentioned while we were
playing golf.  Know anything about that Luke?"

I just shook my head. I could feel my face burning up again though. Mum
noticed and placed her hand on my forehead, shaking her head as she did so.

Dad just shrugged his shoulders. "Seems an odd place to be hanging around,
that's all.  Suppose it's his business though and none of ours".

Nothing more was said, and as soon as I was able to I excused myself and
headed for my room - to study.

Unbelievable, I thought. Every time when things were starting to look up
someone else seems to come along and fuck it all up. What was I going to
tell Matt now?

Well, no use in panicking just yet. Maybe that's where it would end anyway
and nothing more will be said.



- Chapter Four -

Luckily, when Matt arrived the next morning there was no one else home. Dad
had gone off somewhere, I'm not sure where to, while Mum and Kate were at
church.

I told Matt that we were alone, for now. It was on the tip of my tongue to
tell him what dad had said last night, but I just couldn't.

Once we were inside, he greeted me with a long kiss, his hands groping me
all over and his tongue searching deep inside my mouth.

"Wow", I said when we finally parted. "What was that for?"

"For being there when I needed you".

"If that's the thanks I get, I'll be there anytime you want me".

He grabbed me by the hand and led me into my bedroom.

"We are going to have to do some studying today you know", I tried telling
him.

"Yeah, but if there is no one home now, why waste the opportunity".

I couldn't argue with that, so I started stripping. I stopped however,
shortly after slipping off my t-shirt, as I heard my fathers car drive
straight past my bedroom window.

"Shit, he's back already", I yelled.

Matt pulled his trousers back up and did up his fly, just as I managed to
put my t-shirt back on. As my father came through the back door we managed
to get our books out and at least look like we were studying.

I could just imagine him as he pulled up at the back door and seen Matts
car there in the yard. He would have looked it up and down, turned and
looked towards the house, and then walked up the back steps shaking his
head and wondering. He wouldn't have been able to help that.

Maybe it was just me being paranoid, but I could just imagine what he would
have been thinking: "What was Matt doing at the park? Is he a drug dealer?
Is he gay?  Does Luke go there with him? Is Luke into any of that stuff?"

I heard the back door close just as I managed to sit down at my desk and
opened up my history book. As Matt sat down on my bed and opened up his
notebooks, we heard him walk along the hallway.

He stopped outside my door and looked in.

"Morning Mr. Solomon", Matt said to him cheerfully.

"Morning Matt", he answered. A little too coldly for my liking. Then he
moved on.

He was carrying the Sunday newspapers under his arm, so would spend the
next few hours on the verandah reading those I thought.

"What's up his ass?", Matt whispered to me after he had left.

"Same thing as always", I answered.

Anyway, between then and lunch time we managed to get some studying done at
least, brushing up on some history, although thinking more about creating a
history of our own. When the cravings (for lunch) finally hit us we decided
to head down to Macca's.

As we drove out of the yard, giving Dad a wave on the front verandah as we
went by, we noticed him put his newspaper down on his lap and watch us
leave. I turned my head and watched him as we drove up the street, and for
that whole time he just stared at Matts car, until we went around the
corner out of view.

It was a fairly quiet Sunday, so there weren't too many people about, so
after ordering our meals we headed for the quietest corner, where I was
hoping we wouldn't be disturbed.

I had Matts present in my pocket and had been waiting for just the right
time to give it too him, which finally came once we had finished our
burgers.

Rather shyly, I fished the small packet out of my pocket and pushed it
across the table towards him.

"What's this?", he asked as he picked it up.

"Nothin' much".

He eyed me rather suspiciously as he opened it, but his eyes really lit up
when the beaded chain, the latest craze, dropped out into his hand.

"It's great", he said, then in one quick motion jumped forward and gave me
a quick kiss on the lips.

"Are you crazy?", I asked him, nervously looking around to see if anyone
may have spotted us. Thankfully, no one appeared to have.

"Yeah, I'm crazy about you. Thanks, I love it".

"I'm glad you like it. Look, I got one for me too", I said as I pulled the
collar of my t-shirt down to expose my own new chain.

"Won't people notice?", he asked.

"I don't think so. They're the latest craze. They'll just think that we
both liked them, won't they".

"It doesn't matter to me what they think. I just love it anyway. And I just
love you".

"Shhh", I said, "people might hear you".

Matt just laughed.



- Chapter Five -

A few days later, after Matt and I had finished a serious study session
(really, we did), and were making ourselves a sandwich in our kitchen, he
dug into his pocket and brought his hand out, holding it out towards me.

I looked at his hand and asked, "What's this?"

"Just hold out your hand", he said.

I did as I was told and into it he dropped a key, on a length of leather
lacing.

"What's this?", I asked.

"It's my key", he answered. "The key to my flat. I had it cut specially for
you".

I just looked at him, not really knowing what to say, so I kissed him. The
real significance of the gesture escaped me at the time, however it did
dawn on me later that night as I lay awake in bed, swinging it backwards
and forwards in front of me, watching it's silhouette swing backwards and
forwards in front of the light coming through my bedroom window. Every now
and then it would sparkle, reflecting some light from outside my room.

I stopped it swinging and just let the small metal object hang there in
front of me, then after a few moments I smiled to myself in the darkness
and quickly put it around my neck to let it hang next to my beaded chain,
the one I had which was just like Matt's. I don't think I let go of that
key all night.

The rest of that week and the one that followed went by far too quickly.

I got to spend some quiet time with Matt, although still not enough for my
liking, and we also got to knock around with Ox and J.D., and a few other
friends from school who decided that Matt was OK after all. I even crept
out of the house one night at about two o'clock in the morning and rode my
bike over to Matt's place to try out my key. He knew I was coming and made
me very welcome when I got there.

I got home just before dawn and we never saw each other for the rest of
that day, but when we compared notes later, neither lot of parents could
figure out how come we were both so tired the next day.

In spite of my hectic social life, I realised that I also had to spend
quite a bit of time hitting the books in preparation for my final exams,
which were still quite important to me as I needed good marks to get into
the university course I was interested in. It felt like my brain was going
to explode with the amount of stuff I was trying to remember, but I knew
that it wouldn't be long now, so I just kept plugging away.

When the first day of exams rolled around I felt that I was as ready as I
was ever going to be, and despite a few nerves I think I managed alright
with the first two exams, which were Maths and English.

As Matt and I did basically the same subjects, our exam schedule was nearly
identical.  The only exception was that he had taken a minor science
course, while I had taken chemistry. We were both happy with our first
day's efforts and afterwards we headed down to the Center Café, which
was jumping with Year Twelve students who had the same idea, and where we
met up with some of our classmates. We all had a fairly good time that
afternoon.

Now it wouldn't be right to talk about Year Twelve exams and not talk about
"schoolies" afterwards, you know, that endless booze up that most year
twelve students go on at the Gold Coast after their exams are all
over. Naturally the subject came up over milk- shakes and burgers and it
was obvious that everyone we knew would be going, at least for a few days.

It wouldn't be right for us not to go, especially as we lived in a small
country town and the opportunities for trips away with friends like this
were rather limited. Matt and I had discussed it with our friends earlier
in the year, and we had all been trying to save madly for it so we could
all go away and really enjoy ourselves, but in recent weeks we hadn't given
it that much extra thought.

Matt had his part time job at the auto parts store (which was why he was
always so bloody fussy about his car) and I had mine at the local
supermarket, and both of us had saved a bit for the holiday we intended to
take after school was out. We had also both taken some time off from our
jobs for the few weeks off leading up to the exams, and in spite of the
events of the last few weeks we were all still keen to go.

Most of our class mates had already booked their units in preparation for a
couple of weeks of sun and sin, but as I said, it wasn't something that had
been on our minds lately.

While everyone was talking about where they would be going, where they
would be staying and what they would be doing, Matt and I could only
listen. I had a few ideas that I would share with him later, I
thought. Although I could also see his mind ticking over and knew that he
would come up with a plan as well.

By late in the afternoon the party was starting to wind down and everyone
started to drift away. Matt dropped me at home just before dark, but not
before we had managed a bit of a kiss and cuddle back at his place.

"What do you think about Schoolies?", he asked as we lay on his bed, my
head resting on his shoulder, our legs intertwined and our toes rubbing
together.

"I don't really know?", I answered, looking up into his beautiful brown
eyes.

"We have to go...", he said, " ... after all our folks said it would be
alright ages ago.  And we've been saving like crazy for it".

"You don't have to convince me, but where will we stay? I mean we'd have no
chance of getting into a unit now, we'd have left it too late for that".

"Ox and J.D. have got themselves a unit and we could probably crash on the
floor there".

"O.K.", I said, "that sounds alright, but we won't have any privacy there
will we?"

After a moments thought he said, "Oh".

"What would you say to staying there for a couple of days, just to put in
an appearance, then heading somewhere else and going camping? Someplace
quiet. Someplace where there won't be anyone from school who knows us. It
would save us an absolute fortune and we would still be together".

He reached down and kissed my forehead. "Now we're talking", he said.

"Where can we get some camping gear from?", I asked him.

"We've got some, but not much. I can ask Phil if we could borrow some, he's
got this great tent that sleeps about six people. It's huge", he said.

"Cool".

"There's also something else to consider", he said.

"What's that?"

"You will be having your eighteenth birthday while we are away".

"You remembered", I said.

"Couldn't forget that, now could I? That's when you become legal".



- Chapter Six -

One by one we marked off our exams on the calendar and counted down the
days to our first big trip away together.

On the Friday of the week after our first exam, we finally finished our
last exam, and as we all walked, rode or drove out of the school gates that
afternoon, after twelve long years of torture, we were finally free.

The first of our end of school parties had been organised weeks ago by our
class captains, Chris Smith and Donna Booth, and had originally been
planned as just a barbeque out at the woolshed on Chris' family property,
which was about twenty minutes out of town.

As most of our class were now eighteen however, there were also plans for
plenty of booze to be there so that everyone would to be able to really let
their hair down.  Even the last few of us who hadn't yet reached that
particular milestone were really looking forward to it (you won't tell the
coppers will you?).

The only problem with this plan was that with the barbeque being held so
far out of town there were concerns about drunken kids travelling home that
night, so what started out as being a simple barbeque ended up being a
sleep over on a grand scale, much to the delight of our class mates and the
horror of some parents.

It proved to be a great night however, and everyone really enjoyed
themselves. We had Chris' father and Donnas parents there helping out and
keeping an eye on us, making sure that we didn't totally wreck the joint,
so we all behaved ourselves fairly well.  We still had fun though, and
plenty of it.

We lit this huge bonfire out in the middle of the paddock, which had flames
leaping high up into the sky for hours. We all sat around the fire just
enjoying each others company, getting a few beers into us and telling
jokes.

Some of us even got to wander off into the darkness for some privacy, but
alas, for Matt and I that wasn't to be - at least not until we finally
crawled off to our beds in the tent we had borrowed off Phil. A trial run
for the Gold Coast trip.

Unfortunately, some kids weren't allowed to come out to the party, which I
suppose was understandable in some ways, but the irony was that those same
kids who couldn't make it to the barbeque would still be making the one
thousand kilometre round trip for the schoolies party the following week,
where there would be absolutely no super- vision. Now you work that one
out!

Anyway, you should have seen the place the following morning.

Shortly after daylight I got dressed and stepped out of our tent (the one
that Matt and I slept in together, with our blow up mattresses side by side
and our sleeping bags undone and draped over the top of us), to go and take
a leak, and it looked more like an indian village than a farm.

There were tents everywhere. There were teenagers asleep on the ground,
having apparently just fallen over and staying wherever it was that they
passed out. And there was more rubbish strewn about than I could remember
seeing from the night before.

There was also something beautiful about the morning however, that really
made me feel alive and looking forward to the day that lay ahead. The
magpies were coming alive in the trees, warbling away for anyone who cared
to listen. It was fresh and clear and cool, with the promise of a beautiful
day to come, and there was the scent of burning wood still drifting around
from the smouldering remains of the bonfire we had lit the previous night.

The worries of our exams were finally behind us, and so too it seemed were
Matts worries about being exposed. Ever since that day at school when Matt
had cried in my arms, there had been very little said. And for that we were
both grateful.  It seemed that either the novelty of hassling the poofter
had worn off, or simply nobody believed it anyway. Things were finally back
to normal.

When I got back to the tent Matt was still sound asleep and so I just lay
down on the mattress beside him. For minutes I watched his uncovered chest
rise and fall with each breath he took, and studied the way that his hair
fell across his forehead.  I marvelled at the way that the corners of his
mouth were turned up slightly in a smile, and the way that his eyelids were
making the slightest quivering movements.

"You are just so beautiful", I whispered to him as I gently brushed his
hair back into place and then lent across and kissed his forehead.

It was just then that I heard some movement outside and looked around, out
through the mesh screen of the tent, to see Smithy's father standing there
with two mugs of steaming coffee in his hand.

"Saw you up and about", he said as I stepped outside to meet him. "Thought
you might want one of these", and passed a cup of coffee to me. I looked at
him and looked back at the sleeping figure of Matt, then back at Mr. Smith
again. I tried to read the expression on his face, but there was nothing
there.

"Th...thanks", I blurted out as I took the cup from him, but all I could
think of was did he see me kiss Matt? Did he hear what I said to him? What
would he do?

He started walking back towards where the fire was, still offering warmth
after burning all night long, and after a brief hesitation I followed
him. In spite of my obvious terror at the thought of his having seen me
kiss Matt on the forehead, part of me was curious as to why he had come
over to see me at all.  I had met him quite often through the various
school activities over the years, but being "a parent" had never really
spoken to him that often.

"Good party", he said as we backed up to the smouldering logs to warm
ourselves.

"Great", I answered, taking a sip of the burning liquid. "Thanks for
letting us have it here".

He just nodded. "Glad you've finished school?"

"Yeah".

"Looking forward to the 'schoolies' break?".

"Sure am".

"You and Matt going off together?"

I nodded, feeling my cheeks burning as I did so.

There was a lengthy silence as we both mulled things over in our minds.

He took a sip of his coffee, then said, "You don't have to worry you know,
your secret is safe with me".

I just looked at him. My face must have gone white as the blood drained
from my head, and my eyes must have been just about popping out of my
skull. This was the moment I had dreaded for years. Someone finally knew
the truth about me, not to mention knowing also about Matt, and I was sure
that it was bound to be splashed across the news by nightfall.  My heart
was racing, as if I'd just done the one hundred metre sprint, and I was
having trouble holding on to my cup of coffee.

"You can relax. I was a teenager once too you know", he said, then paused,
took a sip of his coffee and adding, "Only we didn't have the choices or
support that you kids have nowadays".

He looked straight at me and my mouth just dropped open.

"Chris told me what had happened a few weeks ago", he continued. "He was
laughing about it at the time, but all I could think of was how your friend
must have been feeling.  He's lucky. He has someone who cares about
him. Not all of us did. I wasn't going to say anything, just in case I was
wrong, but when I saw the way you were looking at him last night, I kind of
figured it out. Then when I came over to your tent this morning...  well, I
knew I was right".

He was still looking at me and I just didn't know what to do or say. In the
end I just looked into the murky liquid in the cup I was holding.

After a while he said, "Something similar happened to me, so I wouldn't
like to see anyone go through the same treatment. I just wanted you to know
that you aren't alone", and I nodded, finally understanding where he was
coming from.

The silence stretched on for a few minutes more, and I thought about Chris
and his father. I knew that Chris' mother had left them years ago. Was that
was the reason for it?

"You won't say anything to Chris will you?", I finally asked.

He shook his head. "No, that's yours and Matts' business as far as I am
concerned, and no one elses. Especially not Chris' ".

More silence.

Just then, as I thought he was about to say something else we were
approached by a couple of the other kids who had stirred and were up and
about, including Chris.

"If you ever want to talk...", he said, then turned towards the others.

I was numb. I was shocked. And for ages I simply couldn't move.

Eventually however, I made it back to our tent and just slumped down beside
Matt.

He was still asleep, still smiling, with his eyelids quivering. I hoped he
was enjoying his dream, because if I told him when he wakes up what had
happened I felt certain that he would be thinking he was living in a
nightmare.

I promised myself that I would tell him eventually though.



- Chapter Seven -

Two days later we were on the road, heading for Queensland's Gold Coast for
a bit of sun and a lot of sin. We had planned this for months and now we
were finally away.  No more parents, no more rules, no more hiding our
feelings - at least for the next two weeks anyway.

We had been waved off by our families that morning, with Matts car loaded
up with all our gear. You would have thought that we were going for a year
with the amount of stuff that we had packed. Anyway, when we hit the road
there was no looking back, only the promise of a great time ahead.

Ox and J.D. had booked themselves an apartment overlooking the beach and we
had arranged to crash with them for the first few days, after which we
decided that we would just hit the road and see where it took us. The sense
of freedom that this adventure was giving us, even having just started it,
was exhilarating.

After we had been on the road for a couple of hours, and had been talking
openly about a lot of things, such as school, what the future was going to
hold, the meaning of life, you know the things that kids talk about all the
time, I told Matt about my conversation with Chris' father, even though I
wasn't sure at the time how he would handle it.

He thought for a moment, then really surprised me with his response.

"I don't care who knows any more", he had answered, which once again left
me dumbstruck.

"Are you kiddin' me? Why the sudden change of heart?", I asked him.

He just shook his head.

"I've had a lot of time to think about it and, quite honestly, I'm not
prepared to hide anymore. You said it yourself not long ago, once school
was over we could tell everyone to just fuck off. Well, that's what I plan
to do".

I just stared at him with my mouth open. He was right of course. I had said
that.

"What?", he asked me, as he looked over at me and noticed me
staring. "Don't worry, I'm not going to stand up on my soapbox and tell
everyone that I'm gay. Hell, I haven't even told my folks yet, and aren't
likely too in a hurry either, but it's just that I've decided that I'm not
going to run and hide any more, like I did a few weeks ago. If anyone finds
out about me, or even just thinks that they know about me, then I don't
care. School is out. I have my whole life to live. They can just think what
they like as far as I am concerned".

My mind drifted back to that day, when I held him, shaking and crying and
trembling like a scared little boy. I knew that he wouldn't be able to go
through life feeling that same way and so I supposed that at some time he
would have to come to terms with himself and say to hell to everyone else.

But now? I just didn't think it would be so soon.

"And what about me?", I asked him.

"How do you mean?"

"What if they think you're gay then they'll just assume I am too, just
because we are such good friends and spend so much time together? I'm just
not ready to admit that to anyone yet. I just couldn't".

"Then you don't have to", he answered. "We all have to come to terms with
it in our own way, in our own time, and not be dictated to by anyone. I
certainly wouldn't ever tell anyone about you. I promise. Your choice
man. Your time".

I said nothing more and we drove on in silence. Matt kept looking across at
me, I guess he was wondering what I was thinking, but to tell you the
truth, I didn't even know myself what I was thinking at that point.

As the miles flew by we passed through quite a few small towns, with each
one giving us a sense of our getting closer to our destination. We watched
the scenery change as we went on our way, from the rich farmland which
surrounded our own home town, to rugged mountains, to lush rainforests.

I studied the countryside, and the further we went the less I thought about
our con- versation.

We were growing more and more excited with every mile, having left the
mountains and rainforests behind us and dropping down closer to sea
level. Here the country once again opened out into rich farmland, where
wide, deep rivers snaked their way through lush valleys on their way to the
sea.

We pulled up and gave ourselves a break from driving every few hours,
usually for fuel or food. Matt kept teasing me by ogling at every good
looking young guy he saw, saying how he'd like to get his hands on this one
or that one. Mind you, I wouldn't have minded getting my hands on a couple
of them either. Maybe we were nothing but a pair of tarts.

Several times on our journey Matt reached across and took my hand as we
drove along, letting go only when we came to a stretch of road where he
needed to use both hands on the steering wheel.  I guess he sensed the fact
that I needed to know he was there for me, and each time he did this it
sent a shiver down my spine, making me feel just that much more loved.

We drove like that for miles, talking more about us, about the future,
about our dreams and our fears. In all the time that we had spent together
over the past few years we had never opened up to each other like this, and
the more I listened to him, the more I was certain that I loved him.

The only thing that kept playing on my mind however, was the fact that he
had now accepted and embraced his sexuality, and I knew that it in spite of
what he had told me earlier, it wouldn't be long before he openly said to
the world, "I am gay".

I also knew that for Matt this would be one of the defining moments in his
life, the moment when he says "hello world, this is me, take me as I am",
after which he would be his own man, and as much as I loved him and needed
him in my life however, I just wasn't sure that I would be able to do the
same.

At least not yet anyway.



- Chapter Eight -

We pulled into the parking lot of the appropriately named Beachside
Apartments late in the afternoon, having had surprising little trouble
finding it, pulling up right beside the old green Ford that belonged to
J.D.'s mother. He and Ox had planned to leave home the previous day and by
the looks of it they had arrived in one piece.

"What unit did they say they were in?", I asked Matt as we got out of the
car and stretched my legs.

"Sixteen".

When we started looking for the right unit, the first thing we did notice
was that there were quite a few other people around that were our age,
which was only natural considering that school was out and the Gold Coast
was the mecca for schoolies. It didn't appear as if we were going to be
disappointed with the number of partygoers at least.

We found unit sixteen without any problems, up on the second floor and
about half way along the balcony which looked directly out towards a
shimmering beach where hundreds of people could be seen enjoying
themselves. When we knocked on the door it was answered just seconds later
by a half naked J.D., wearing only his speedos and with a towel draped over
his shoulder.

Matt and I just managed to look at each other with raised eyebrows, before
being dragged into the room by J.D.

"You finally made it", he said, slapping us both on the back.

I don't know what Matt was thinking, but he was looking J.D. up and down as
if he had never seen him before. Personally though, I thought J.D. had
always looked pretty cute in those speedos anyway, but then again I had
probably been looking at him in that particular way since we were about
fourteen, so I guess I was a little more familiar with our friends' skin.

We got the guided tour and found that the unit wasn't large, comprising a
living area and kitchen, just one bedroom, which was occupied by a double
and a single bed (both decidedly unmade - so they apparently weren't
sharing), plus and a small shower with a toilet. Ox was nowhere to be
found, J.D. explaining that he had already gone off down to the beach,
which was only just across the road anyway, with some of our class mates.

"I'm heading down there now myself", J.D. told us as he showed us through
the unit.  "Want to come down?"

I looked at Matt and we both shook our head at the same time.

"No thanks", Matt said, answering for both of us. "We're stuffed. We might
just bring our gear inside".

"Suit yourselves", J.D. said. "There's some drinks and food in the fridge
anyway, and here's the keys so you can lock up if you go anywhere", he
added as he threw them to me.

"Thanks", I said to him.

"See ya", he said, and with that he was out the door.

We watched him as he ran down the stairs and across the road to the waiting
sands which teemed with half naked sun lovers. He ran across to a group of
people and pointed back in our direction. They all waved madly at us.

"C'mon, lets get our gear from the car", Matt said to me after we had waved
back to them.

"And after that?", I enquired.

"Who knows?", he answered with a sheepish grin on his face.



To be continued . . .



(c) Mark Peters 2001. All rights reserved