Date: Tue, 03 Aug 1999 22:52:55 EDT
From: Catch Anut <catchanut@hotmail.com>
Subject: Love At Last

Hey!!  This is the first story that I've posted to the net.  Be easy on me,
I'm a virgin ... in this territory.  I'd like to hear what you think -- 
good or bad.  You can email me at Catchanut@hotmail.com with your comments.

***This is part one, and it all depends on your response as to whether
there will be a part two.

This story is dedicated to SoQueer <SoQueer@hotmail.com>.  Without his
encouragement and confidence in me this story would never have been born.
Thank you.

To Thom: Thank you for the "inspiration" for this story.  I think about
you every day, many times a day.  Smile for me Darlin'.

This story is copyright by Catchanut, and my not be reproduced, transmitted
or used in any way, in part or in whole, without the written permission of
the author.

			       Love At Last

			       By Catchanut

It's finally here, the first day of summer. I love summer time. Being able
to be in the warm sun in just my shorts. Tanning my body, and of course,
looking at all the fine guys. At 17 my hormones are raging. At least that's
what my Mom says. But she thinks I'm looking at girls, when I'm actually
checking out the dude the girl is with. Sometimes the dude is checking me
out too. I guess you could say that I'm good looking. I don't really see
myself that way, but ever since I was in junior high, the girls started
swooning over me. I'm 5' 7" tall, brown hair that I have cut into a buzz
cut, hazel eyes, a goatee, and about 160 lbs of muscle. I started working
on my body a couple of years ago, and now it's paying off. I'm not huge,
but I have the type of biceps that have definition even when they are
relaxed. Nice tight abs, and decent butt. I need to work on my butt some
more, but it's ok now I guess. I've always wanted one of those cute little
bubble butts. I don't really play any sports in school, so I'm not
considered a jock. I take a few shop classes, but I'm not considered a
grease monkey either. I just seem to get along with both crowds. Everyone
speaks to me and knows my name. I don't worry about too many things, I'm
pretty easy going. I like to laugh, and make others laugh. I guess that's
why I seem to fit in with all types.

I've thought I was gay for a couple of years now, but I've never done
anything with a guy before. I live in a small town, and it would be a
disaster for me if anyone found out. Since I will be a senior when school
starts, I'm not about to goof it up now. Hell, I've gone through 12 years
in this place, so what's one more. However, lately I've just had a sinking,
lonely feeling. I've always been able to find a date when I wanted to. Most
of the time, I'm turning them down more than I'm asking. But when I go out
on a date with a girl, that feeling just don't seem to go away. It's as if
I need someone, someone like me, someone that just isn't out there.

I slept kinda late this morning since it was the first day with no
school. You know teenagers, we need our sleep. I remember dreaming about
this guy, but I didn't know who it was. I did not recognize him from
school, or anywhere else that I could recall. It was kinda weird, I could
see his face but not real good. The dream was vivid, yet his face was
always as if it were just out of reach. Even up close, he appeared kinda
fuzzy, like looking at someone through shower doors. This was not the first
time I'd had the dream. Seems like about once a week, `HE' would pop into
my dream. I don't know who this guy is, but I know that he is good
looking. Shit, he was PERFECT!! I rolled onto my back and rubbed my eyes,
trying to remember the guy's face, his voice, and his touch. WHO the hell
was he? It wasn't like a wet dream or anything. He always seemed to work
his way into my dream as if he fit in, no matter what I was dreaming. When
I'd see him, I always felt a sense of relief, comfort and safety. We were
like best friends, yet I had a feeling of being closer to him than I was to
David, whom I'd known since I was in kindergarten.

I lay there thinking about this guy and trying to recall faces of people
that I had met before. I knew it wasn't someone that I saw a lot, or else
I'd recognize him right away. I closed my eyes and tried to remember my
dream, replaying the last few frames in my mind. He was standing in front
of me, looking down at me with his hands in his pockets. He was saying
something about how glad he was that we had met, and how happy he was when
he was around me. I could tell he had dark hair that was cut close, a
goatee, and a nice body so it seemed. There was jut something about his
eyes that drew me.  Oh man, the eyes!!!  "FUCK!", I said out loud as I sat
straight up in the bed. I remember his eyes! They were a glassy brown, that
seemed to light up whenever he looked at me. Those loving puppy dog eyes
that drew me in and seemed to say "you're all I've ever wanted, and I'm not
letting go". That's the first time that I remember clearly seeing something
about him. I was excited and so damned confused all at the same time. I
felt like I had a secret admirer, yet I could never be allowed to find out
who it is.  So what is happening here? Why is this dude haunting me like a
soul in purgatory?

I sat there for about 15 minutes trying to recall the dream and make some
sense out of it. Finally, I reached down to scratch my balls, and realized
that I still had a raging hardon. I let out a big sign and ran my hand
along the length of my dick. Man that feels good. I guess you could say
that my dick was one of my better assets. The guys in gym class and my
close buddies use to tease me about it. We'd be in the locker room changing
for gym class and Eric or David would yell out "Hey Chad, watch where
you're walking or you'll step on that thang". All the guys would bust out
laughing, I'd turn red and then start laughing too. It's not THAT big, but
it was the biggest in my class. I think that because I'm kinda short, it
just looks bigger, but they didn't seem to agree.  Because of it I earned
the nickname `Trigger', which was the name of The Lone Ranger's horse. Now,
at 17, it was 6 inches soft and grew to just over 8" when it was hard.
Which was big, but add to that the fact that even *my* hand would barely
reach around it when it was hard.  It could get real embarrassing real
quick when I sprang a woody in class.

Anyway, I stroked my dick a few times and then was painfully reminded that
I hadn't taken my morning piss. So I swung my feet to the floor and head to
the bathroom -- my dick leading the way. When it finally went down about
half way, I emptied bladder and headed out. Remembering that since it was a
weekday and my parents were at work, I was alone in the house. So I didn't
bother to put on any clothes, and headed to the kitchen for something to
drink. As I walked, my dick would sway back and forth, slapping each thigh
as I took a step. "Down boy, down.  I'll take care of you a little later" I
said as I reached the kitchen. I opened up the fridge and took out the
chocolate milk, just like I did every morning when I got up. I poured a big
glass, grabbed a donut and headed to the den to watch some TV.

I flopped down on the couch, laid my head on the arm rest and instinctively
reached down and laid my dick on my side.  I hit the remote and flipped
through the channels.  As I listened to the local weatherman say that it
was going to be a typical summer day in North Carolina, I thought about
what I wanted to do for the day.  I knew for certain that it didn't involve
anything remotely related to work.  I looked at the clock and it was 10:30.
David should be up by now, he don't usually sleep late.  I'm surprised that
the asshole hasn't been over here already.  He had a knack for knowing when
I was sleeping late or taking a nap.  He was like a brother to me, and so
none of my family thought anything about it when he just let himself in the
house.  Hell, he even knew where we kept the spare key hidden.  So he would
let himself in, and come up and scare the living shit out of me.

I reached for the phone on the coffee table and dialed David's number.  It
rang only a couple of times and he answered.

"Hello" David said

"Hey asshole!  I'm surprised that you aren't over here jumping my ass
waking me up."  I said

"Shit.  If were to jump your ass, you'd love it too much" he replied with a
devilish laugh that made my mind wonder if he was trying to make a pass at
me.

"yeah, right.  I know you're dying to get your hands on this big thing of
mine.  I see you looking at it all the time" I laughed, half joking and
half wishing.

"Well damn Trigger, it's kinda hard to miss that thang ya know?"  David
laughed into the phone, reminding me of all the conversations that we had
had over the years.  Making me glad that I had a friend like him.

"So what's `sup for today?" I asked.

"Don't know studley, whatcha got in mind?"

"I don't know, but I don't want to stay inside all day.  Why don't we go to
the mall?  I want to get that new Kenny Chesney CD."  I told David.

"You and that dang country music.  You need to get into some real stuff,
like N-Sync or something."

David was always teasing me about liking country music, but it's what I had
grown up with.  I loved riding around and singing to the radio.  Sometimes
though, I longed to have someone that I could sing those songs to, and
really mean the words they contained.  I imagined standing outside on a
warm summer night, looking up into the face of the guy I loved and singing
to him.  Just the two of us, in our own little world, slow dancing and
sharing our love.

"Hellllooooo???  You still there?"  David shouted.

"oh, ummm, yeah, sorry.  So what do you say?  You up for the mall?"

"Yeah, I'll be over in about 15 minutes" David said

"OK.  But I've still got to shower and stuff.  So if I'm in the shower,
just come on in -- in the house, that is. I think I can handle the shower
part by myself.  Unless you want to help me wash my third leg??"  I
chuckled at the thought of David rolling his eyes at me.

"That's ok. You go ahead, man.  I wouldn't know what to do with all that
anyway."  David laughed a deep laugh.  And then said, "I'll see ya in a
minute"

"a'ight, lata."  I told him.  And hung up the phone.

I tossed the phone back on the coffee table and finished off my chocolate
milk.  Man, I'd love to have one of those chocolate muffins with chocolate
chips in them.  Geez, I'm a choco-holic.  I love the stuff.  Only problem
is, it makes me horny.  And speaking of horny, my dick was half hard again.
I reached down and gave it a rub or two, and then decided that I didn't
have time to play.  So I got up and headed to the shower.  I turned on the
radio in the bathroom, lathered up my face and shaved.  Damn I hate
shaving!!  I think that's why I grew the goatee. So there would be less to
shave.  But now I have to trim it, and sometimes that seems like more of a
pain.  But everybody thinks it looks so cool on me.  Oh well, got to keep
my fans happy I said to myself.  And then laughed at my own sarcasm.  I
turned on the water and jumped in the shower, knowing that David would be
here in a flash.  And sure enough, I had just soaped up my head when I hear
him holler at me.

"Yo man.  Ain't you done yet?"  David said as he came into the bathroom.

"Man, gimme a break here.  I've got a lot to wash" I chuckled.

"Oh geez.  Don't tell me I'm going to have to put up with this all day"

"Nah, I'll let you play with it when I get out.  That way you'll be
satisfied" I said.

A stray thought ran through my mind.  I wonder if he really would.  I
wonder if he'd like to jack off together or something.  I'd thought about
it before, but we were like brothers and I had never mentioned anything
like that to him.  We had been naked in front each other a lot of times,
and I honestly didn't think anything about it most of the time.  I guess I
was just horny since I hadn't got a chance to `play' this morning.  And my
dick was starting to get hard with the thoughts I was thinking.  But I
pushed them away and finished rinsing off.  I opened the curtain and David
handed me my towel and I dried off.  When I turned around he looked down
kinda laughed to himself.

"What?"  I said to him, wondering what was so amusing.

"Nothin' man.  Just looks like you're starting to get a boner."

"Smartass, I guess you never have morning wood, huh?" I said with a little
side ways grin.

"Yeah, but I took care of mine." He replied.

"Well, I didn't have time.  Gimme a break."

I finished drying off and David followed me to the bedroom to get dressed.
It was going to be hot today so I threw on a pair of Duck Head shorts and a
tank top.  I didn't have to worry about my hair since it was so short.  So
we were ready to go in 5 minutes.  After deciding to drive my truck, we
were off to the mall.  I popped in my Kenny CD and David and I talked and
sang on the way.  I know he likes my music, he just likes to give me shit
about it.  H e grew up with it too, and he knew most of the words to the
popular songs on that CD.

I parked and we headed into the mall.  There were several people out today.
Mostly people our age.  I guess they were enjoying their freedom from
school.  We looked at some clothes and stuff on the way to the music shop.
We walked in and headed straight for the section that I knew so well.  I
started thumbing through the CDs and found the one I wanted.  "Everywhere
We Go" was the title.  David just looked at me with a crooked grin, rolled
his eyes, and walked to other side of the store to `his' section.  I just
thumbed through some of the other stuff, killing time while he looked
around.  Then I remembered that I wanted to look at Reba McIntyre's latest
one and turned go down the display a little bit ... and BANG!!!  I was
knocked backward two or three steps.  I guess I had turned to walk but not
turned my head to see where I was going.  I ran right into somebody and
about knocked them down.  Once I got my balance back and looked around, I
reached out and took the guy's arm that I almost ran over.  He just took a
step back and got his balance then turned his face from the floor to look
at me.

I couldn't speak, I froze.  This guy was incredible.  He was taller than
me, probably around six foot or so, with dark brown hair, tan face, goatee,
and the best looking face that didn't have a sign of a blemish on it.  He
appeared to be about my age.

I let go of his arm and said "man, I'm sorry.  I wasn't watching what I was
doin"

He looked down at my face, and he looked on down my body for just a second.
His eyes quickly returned to my face and he said, "It's a'ight man, no harm
done.  You sure you're ok?  I think it shook you more than it did me."

"Yeah, I'm ok."  I said, hoping that he didn't notice that I was staring at
him.  I didn't know what to do, or say.  I just stood there looking at the
best thing I'd ever seen in my life.  If I had ordered him out of a
catalog, he couldn't have been more perfect.  And he just stood there
looking at me just like he'd seen a ghost.  I looked at his mouth, his
nose, his ears and his perfect chin.  His body just right, not skin and
bones but not pumped up to the `untouchable' point either.  I shook my head
and tried to bring myself around before I gave myself away.  I looked back
up at him and he hadn't moved, except a little grin that seemed to be
spreading across his face, forming very small dimples in his tanned cheeks.
Then he spoke.

"Umm, I was just looking around, umm, at some stuff.  What are you
looking for?"  He said in a low, shaken voice.

"I, umm, I--I just picked up the new Kenny Chesney CD and was gonna,
umm, look for Reba's new one."  I told him as I tried to control myself
and break off my stare.

"oh yeah, I just saw it down here" he told me.  Still smiling and pointing
at a row of CD on the display rack.

"Great.  I love that one called `One Honest Man'.  It's one of the best
I've heard in a while."  I said a little too enthusiastically.  Then I
realized how what I had just said sounded.  I could feel the blood rush to
my face and my heart skipped a couple of beats, and then started pounding
furiously.  Did he notice, or even catch on?  God, I was so paranoid all of
a sudden.  What if David heard me?  David?  Where is he anyway?  I looked
around and he was still on the other side of the store.  Shew, safe so far.
I picked up the CD and flipped it over, looking at the song listing on the
back.  I could feel this guy looking at me, and out of the corner of my eye
I could see him looking over my shoulder.  I turned a little, to say
something, and found him standing about a foot from me.  Then he took a
step back.  That grin returning to his cute face, thinning out his full
lips.

"I think I'll get this one too" I said.

"Yeah, I like that one.  I like that song you mentioned too.  I always turn
it up when I hear on the radio."  His voice kind of hoarse sounding, as if
he were nervous and needed clear his throat.  "Maybe I'll get that one too.
Then I can listen it as much as I want"

"Here ya go."  I told him as I reached down and picked up another copy and
handed it to him.

"Not many guys our age like this kinda stuff."

"Yeah" I replied, turning around to face him fully.  "I grew up on it, so
it's just what what I like.  I take some kidding about it from my best
friend, but I don't care"

"No shit.  I hear it too from mine.  Do you live around here?"  he
questioned me.  Standing with one hand in his pocket and CD in the other
one, his head kinda sideways like he was trying to see through me.

"Yeah.  Do you?"

"Yeah. I just moved here a couplf of weeks ago.  I finished school at my
old place last week.  I just here about four days ago."  He looked down at
the floor and kinda moved one foot as if he were playing with something on
the carpet.

"Cool.  Well my name is Chad.  What's yours?"  I asked him, dying to put a
name with that gorgeous face.

"Thom.  Nice to meet you Chad."  As he pulled his hand out of his pocket,
extending it to me.

"You too" I said, taking his hand in mine and giving it farm shake.

And the moment that I our hands met, I felt a warm rush run through my
body.  It started in my hand and ran up my arm and spread through my body.
I actually had chill as we stood there holding our shake for a little
longer than was necessary.

"Hey bud, you find what you wanted" I heard the voice from behind me ask.

"huh?  Umm, yeah, umm, got it right here."  I told David, still holding
onto Thom's hand.

"David, this is Thom.  He just moved here last week.  Thom, this my best
friend, David" I finally let go of his hand so that they could shake.  But I
definitely noticed that Thom released David's hand within the acceptable
time frame for a `manly' shake.

David looked at me, then at Thom.  Then back at me again.  He had this
weird look on his face as he caught me looking at Thom out of the corner of
my eye.  He didn't say anything, and I hoped that he hadn't noticed.  David
is a real homophobe.  He's always saying something about that fag, or this
queer.  Putting them down like they were second class people.  I usually
went along with it too, because I didn't want him to know I was gay.  Even
though it hurt inside every time something was said, I couldn't stand to
loose the closest thing to a brother that I've ever had.  I stood there a
second and then David spoke up.

"Hey, let go eat.  I'm starving.  You want to come with us Thom?"

"Yeah, umm, sure, why not."  Thom looked at me as he replied.

"Where ya want to go."  I asked, looking at David.

"What about just grabbing something here in the mall?  I want to look at
some boots later."

"A'ight.  Le'me pay for these and I'll be ready."  I said

"oh yeah.  I guess I should pay too." Thom said sheepishly.

Was it just me, or was just looking at me?  Damn, him.  Does he know what
that little grin is doing to me?  Shit!!  I gotta watch what I'm doing
here, or David is going to start to catch on.  So we moved to the counter
and paid for our stuff.  We turned and met David outside and headed toward
the food court.  As we walked, I noticed that Thom was just the right
height for me.  I usually noticed guys that were taller than me.  Don't get
me wrong, just by looking at me you'd think that I was very confident and
outgoing.  But I am actually really shy around new people.  While I'm not a
wussy, I've always dreamed of having a guy that would be there for me,
watching out for me and protecting me.  I can take care of myself, but
having someone holding me tight and craddling me in his arms, is just
something that I've always wanted.  A protector: someone to make me feel
safe ... and loved.

I walked beside him and watched out of the corner of my eyes at the way he
walked.  Each step was with confidence, not the type that you would see as
arrogant or over powering.  But sure of himself, sure that he was where he
wanted to be, and knowing where he wanted to go.  Something about him just
seemed to be pulling me closer to him.  He seemed like a nice guy, nice
looking and all that, but it was like something from inside him was calling
out to me.  Besides, he likes country music!!!  And he's looking at me.
WAIT. He's looking at me???  Was he just looking at me?  Nah, I'm just
being paranoid.  Or was he?

We ended up getting some subs and sat down to eat.  We went through some
small talk and we learned that Thom had moved from western part of the
state. And best of all, he would be going to the same high school as we did
for his senior year.  We talked about school, movies, and music.  And to my
dismay, found out that Thom really liked dance music best, but he like some
country.  Oh, well, I guess he's not perfect after all I thought, and
laughed to myself.  As I was grinning at my own thoughts I looked up and
caught him looking at me.  He didn't immediately look away.  He just kinda
blush the least little bit, grinned just enough to make me wonder what he
was thinking, and then looked down at his food.  Man, what's the deal with
him?  Do I have food on teeth or what?  I'm always laughing and cracking
jokes, maybe he was just thinking about something I'd just said.  One
things for sure, I like this guy.  I don't know what it is about him yet,
but there is something there.  I've just got to find a way to figure it
out.