Date: Wed, 29 Oct 2003 23:59:22 -0800 (PST)
From: Randy <usam1a2mbt@yahoo.com>
Subject: Joey and Joshua, prelude, chapt 3.

Joey and Joshua: The Prelude.
Chapter 3: Coming Out.
By Randy P.

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Disclaimer: These stories are a work of fiction and
contain descriptions of homosexual sex. Any
resemblance to real people or events is coincidental.
If this type of material offends you, or if you are
forbidden by law to read it, please exit the story
now. Email comments may be emailed to:
usam1a2mbt@yahoo.com. Flames will be deleted without
comment. The usual copyright laws apply.

Note on the Prelude: This prelude is written to
provide for the setup of the main story involving Joey
and Joshua and contains time gaps that may or may not
be expanded in the future.

Dedication: This series is dedicated to my first true
love, Scott. I'll never forget the fun and love we
shared, Scott. I miss you terribly. I've decided to
call one of the characters Scott in this story as a
tribute to what we had, love.

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Scott and I traded a stunned glance at my dad's words.
I looked at my dad's face, and for some reason, he had
an expression of gentleness, which totally confused
me. "Well," he continued softly, "How long?"

I just stood there in shock while Scott took the
initiative and stepped in front of me as if he were
protecting me and bravely answered, "Two weeks, sir. I
love Joshua and he loves me."

Those words spurred me into action. I wrapped my arms
around Scott from behind and hugged him to me.

"Dad," I said, "if you are going to be mad at someone,
be mad at me."

Scott broke free of my embrace and whirled around. He
spat, "Josh, I started this, it's my fault, not yours,
so shut up and let me handle this."

I stood there completely tongue-tied. HE was trying to
take the blame for the whole thing! True, he had
started it, but it had been my choice to continue the
relationship!

We glared at each other, the tension between us so
thick you could have cut it with the proverbial knife.
As I was about to answer Scott, a deep chuckle from my
dad broke the tension and made us stare at him. The
chuckle quickly changed into a deep belly laugh.

A few moments later, he shook his head and stated,
"Well, guess you two lovers just had your first spat."
Our jaws both dropped as he went on to say, "Look, if
you two boys are serious about this, neither Helen nor
I will interfere, Josh. We've discussed the
possibility of Josh getting involved with someone
since he came out three years ago. We aren't thrilled
with the idea of you having sex, but we can't stop
you. We can only try to make sure you don't hurt
yourself or others.  We just never thought it would be
with Scott. I know the Bumars accept Josh for what and
who he is, but I am not quite sure how they will react
to Scott being involved with someone at his age.
Scott, do you have any idea?"

Scott pondered the question for a second. That's one
thing I love about him: he always thinks before he
speaks - most of the time, anyway.

"My dad explained to me last year about hetero, gay
and lesbian sex and how to protect myself against sex
diseases. He also told me I could go to him with any
questions I had, for advice or condoms if I needed to.
He really wasn't comfortable with the idea of me
having sex either, but he knew I'd try it sooner or
later and wanted to make sure I had the right
information - from him and not my friends, because
they're sometimes wrong. I asked him how a person knew
if they liked girls or boys, and he just said, 'You
will know when the time comes, son.' I asked him if he
knew anybody who was gay, and he told me about
Joshua."

My dad nodded as Scott continued, "I asked if I was
gay, would you still love me, because some boys at
school were saying if you were gay, your parents would
hurt you and kick you out the their house. Dad made
sure I knew that if I was gay, they would still love
me with all of their heart."

"Well," my dad said after taking a deep breath, "I
don't see a problem then. If you young men want to
tell them, that is your choice. I won't say a word to
them about this. Since you two have made it clear that
you are," and he queasily said the word, "lovers, I
want to lay down some ground rules here. First, if you
have sex, do it privately and quietly, not in front of
others or in public. Second, we don't want to hear or
know about your sexual activities. Third," he sighed,
"you two can hold hands and show affection around
Helen and I, just don't flaunt it in front of us.
Josh, I'll put the lock on your bedroom door this
afternoon and I'll inform your mom. We will not enter
your room without knocking and receiving permission
while you are in the room."

Dad retrieved the watermelon from the fridge and began
heading outside. He stopped and said in a very subdued
voice, "I think it might be a good idea for you two to
tell everyone in the backyard about your... being
engaged in... sexual activities with each other before
too long. It's your call as to when." He left with the
cold watermelon and we stood there looking at each
other and thinking.

Scott rubbed his fine red-brown hair and asked, "So
now what?"

I shook my head and muttered, "I don't think we have a
choice, Scott. We might as well come out and tell them
and get it over with, don't you think?"

With a grimace he said, "I think so too. How do you
want to do it?"

I took a deep breath but I didn't know what to say.

Scott gave me an impish grin, "Let's go out holding
hands, and maybe a nice little kiss. That'll shock
'em."

I laughed and said, "No kiss. Holding hands is going
to be enough shock to them as it is." He nodded his
agreement to my modification of his plan.

We went outside holding hands. Janice, Scott's mom,
was the first to see us. She was in the process of
getting some macaroni salad, and abruptly sat down,
hard, poking Scott's dad in the arm. Brad looked at
Janice, followed her look and the look on his face was
priceless. He looked like someone just landed in front
of him in a spaceship from another galaxy. My mom
noticed their expressions, and turned to look at us
and gave us a resigned smile after noticing us holding
hands. My dad kept a neutral expression on his face,
but I could see his jaw muscles tighten up.

Scott impulsively said, "Everyone, Josh and I are
lovers!" and changed everything for all of us.