Date: Thu, 26 Jul 2012 23:32:23 -0500
From: Chase <chase.matthews68@gmail.com>
Subject: Darek's Story

Your birthday is coming up soon, right?" he asked, "Your
eighteenth?"

"In two days," I replied.

He smiled, the kind of grin that made me wonder what he was
thinking. "Well," he said, "I will have an extra special gift for you."

I couldn't help smiling back, "Is that so?," I responded
cheekily, "Out with it then, what is it?"

"You will have to wait and see." He answered, it was clear
he would not tell me now.

I chuckled and shook my head as I slung my back-pack over my
shoulder. I raised a salute and turned away heading for home.
"Darek...." James called after me.

I turned to face him, "Yeah?"

He ran a hand through his hair nervously. "N...no...nothing.
See ya!" He stammered.

Shrugging my shoulders, I continued down the sidewalk,
homeward bound.

****
James stood at the bottom of the school steps, watching Darek
walk away.

"I love you." He whispered.

CHAPTER ONE

I had no idea, that first day, that the boy sitting beside
me in homeroom would become my boyfriend. Hell, I had no idea I could even fall
for guys, it was never something that had affected me before. I had the same
problems any 17 year old would have -- bad hair days, which Ralph Lauren polo to
wear the next day, morning wood (and all the wood in-between) -- a pretty
regular life.

To be perfectly honest, that first day was pretty fucked up
until he started talking to me. Starting at a new school is never easy, but I
was used to it. My parents were what you would call corporate climbers, always
chasing after the next promotion. Moving cities was standard stuff to me from
around the third grade.