Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2012 17:40:45 -0800
From: h.schreiber@hushmail.com
Subject: Chapter 20 of Val 'n Tyne by Hans Schreiber and Flip McHooter

Warning!  This story is a work of fiction written by a legal age adult. Any
similarity between the fictional characters and any live person is purely
coincidental. This story contains fictional descriptions of sexual activity
between consenting minor youth. If you are under the age of 18, and/or if
you are offended by this content, and/or if it is illegal in your
jurisdiction to possess or read such material, please leave now and do not
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responsible for your actions. Please, always practice safe sex; no
momentary thrill is worth your life.

All rights reserved. No part of this story may be transmitted or reproduced
in whole or in part in any form or by any means, mechanical or electronic,
including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and
retrieval system without the written permission of the Author or Publisher,
except where permitted by law. Copyright (c) 2012 by Hans Schreiber and
Flip McHooter. This work is collaboration between Hans Schreiber and Flip
McHooter.

Please send your comments to Hans at h.schreiber@hushmail.com and to Flip
at 1977.flip@gmail.com

Val 'n Tyne

Chapter 20

Sorry is the Hardest Thing

	It was over before Val even knew what happened.

	As Tyne trailed Val outside, both Noah and Dane watched him
go. They continued to eat their dinner, wondering what the two guys were
going to talk about. But the second Lukas stepped out of the shadows, Noah
squealed like a pig in heat and took off in a dead run toward the exit
doors. Dane sat there mystified at first but then when he saw the second
guy and Lizzy come out of the shadows and around the planter, he dropped
his spork and took off after Noah. Just as Noah exited the food court into
the courtyard, Lukas made his move.

	Lukas kicked his right foot behind him like some charging bull
cartoon character; he cocked back his arm, balled up his fist and made a
sloppy run at Tyne, who was now poised in a balanced stance next to the
planter. Val seemed slow to react and just sat there on top of the wall,
almost like he was watching a badly scripted play.

	Tyne's karate training took over automatically, and he squatted
slightly into a defensive posture. As Lukas came running towards him, and
once he was close enough, Tyne deftly shifted to the side allowing Lukas to
lunge awkwardly past, easily missing him. Then, just when they were side by
side, Tyne reached out and grabbed Lukas's balled up fist and out-stretched
arm, and using Lukas's forward momentum, drove a knee with a sharp and
precise attack to Lukas's nuts, and then immediately wrapped his arm
securely behind his back and up towards his neck forcing him to make a
screeching halt inches from running body first into the stucco
planter. Tyne pulled Lukas's arm up even tighter behind his back, forcing
Lukas to cry out in pain.

	"Lesh go of me, faggot," Lukas screamed. He was half-way leaning
over the planter with his ass sticking out. Tyne took advantage of his
predicament and slipped up tighter behind him, and without really thinking,
ground his crotch hard into the drunken boy's ass.

	Lizzy, who had been standing there open-mouthed and bug-eyed,
screamed out, "Oh my god! He's buttfucking Lukas! Right here in front of
us! Stop him, Pedro, stop him!"

	Pedro started toward Tyne to pull him off Lukas just as Noah and
Dane came bursting through the doors. Pedro stopped short, stared at Dane
and again at Val, who still hadn't moved, spun around and yelled to Lizzy,
"Fuck that shit, you do it. He's your boyfriend. I don't even like the
asshole all that much. I'm outa here." He quickly high-tailed it out of
sight. Dane gave chase for a while and then pulled up to go back and see
what was happening with Tyne.

	Tyne leaned in as close as he could towards the bigger boy's head
and growled softly but loud enough so that Val could hear too, "Next time
you want me to fuck your smelly ass, ask nicely first." That made Val laugh
and snapped him out of his trance. He finally jumped off the wall and stood
on the other side of Lukas in case Tyne wanted any help, which apparently
wasn't going to be needed anytime soon.

	Lizzy, watching Pedro run off, reacted by rushing Tyne from behind
and grabbing a fistful of Tyne's hair and jerking his head backwards and
screaming like an alley cat in heat. Tyne grimaced but didn't immediately
respond to her cheap shot and instead gave Lukas's arm another shove
upwards. He took a moment to process his next course of action and, in that
moment, Noah snapped his fingers, tossed his head from side to side crying
out, "Oh no you don't, you fucking bitch!" He rushed Lizzy, grabbed two
handfuls of her hair and tried to jerk her away from Tyne.

	What happened next was a shocking surprise to everyone. Noah went
crashing backwards onto his ass with both hands full of Lizzy's curly hair
extensions. He landed hard on his ass with his legs flying in the air. His
Utilikilt flew up over his torso and exposed his naked genitals
underneath. Lizzy shrieked and grabbed at her head, letting go of Tyne. She
whirled around to see poor Noah sprawled out on the sidewalk, both hands
laid out spread eagle and his bald, clean shaven privates fully exposed.

	"Oh my god, look at your dick! You're such a freak! Give me back my
hair you freaking faggot!" She launched herself on top of him and her
knobby knee caught Noah in the left testicle. He gasped and groaned as the
two of them began rolling around on top of each other on the sidewalk,
pulling hair, slapping and gouging at each other. It was quite an
image. Val stared in complete disbelief at the whole sight.

	Tyne yanked Lukas upright, turned him around and pushed him towards
Lizzy and Noah rolling on the cement. Stumbling, maybe from being drunk or
maybe just from being embarrassed by getting his ass whipped by the gay
geek boy, he took a couple steps or so before he stepped on the laces of
his untied shoe and did a face-plant on the sidewalk right at Lizzy's
feet. He let out a moan then went completely limp. Lizzy let out another
scream and covered her mouth. She pulled away from Noah and crawled over to
her drunken boyfriend.

	Tyne, Val and Dane, who had returned from his chase, just stood
there looking down at Lukas wondering if he was going to get up. But before
he even had the chance to move, a security cart rolled up silently behind
them and two uniformed security guards jumped out and told everyone to
freeze. The smaller of the two guards reached into his belt and pulled out
a can of pepper-spray to underscore his order and stood in a defensive
position off to the side. Noah sat up and tucked his Utilikilt between his
legs, which he'd also shaved.

	Dane walked straight over to Tyne against the mall cop's
orders. "Are you all right? What happened?"

	"It's nothing. I'm fine," Tyne said.

	"Sir, Stop! Go back over there, now!" the taller security guard
yelled at Dane. "You two, don't even think about moving," he said, pointing
to Tyne and Val. "Miss, please stand over by the cart, and don't move
either." Then, looking over his shoulder at his partner to make sure he was
still covered, he grabbed some plastic zip handcuffs from his belt, leaned
over Lukas and locked his hands firmly behind his back. Once he was secure,
he rolled him on his side so he could breathe. Lukas gave no resistance
because he had passed out.

	Standing up, the security guard went to Lizzy next, who had slowly
heeded his warning and backed up a few feet towards the cart, rubbing her
head. She was alternating between looking at Lukas on the ground and
searching for Pedro down the sidewalk. It looked to the guard that she was
thinking about making a break for it. "Don't even think about it. Turn
around and place your hands behind your head."

	"I will not! I did nothing wrong," she seethed.

	"See that camera up there," he said, pointing to a small camera on
a pole that nobody had noticed before. "We have them positioned all over
the mall. One thing that The Commons takes very seriously is security. We
have the most high-tech surveillance equipment available. We've been
watching you and your two boyfriends drinking in your car just before you
and this boy started this fight. That's how we got here so fast. We were on
our way to arrest you."

	"I did NOT start this fight. And I was NOT drinking. I don't know
what you're talking about."

	"Fine. That can be cleared up with a quick breathalyzer test."

	That made Lizzy pause. Quietly, she amended her story, "Well, maybe
I did drink a little. But I didn't start this!"

	"Hands behind your head, now! Underage drinking, open containers in
the mall parking lot, instigating a fight - you're in a lot of trouble,
missy," he said, pulling out another pair of plastic handcuffs and putting
them on tightly over her wrists.

	"Ouch! Let go of me."

	Her outburst caused quite a chuckle for the crowd who had just
gathered and was standing around in a circle watching all of the
action. The guys from the basketball team were front and center staring in
disbelief at what was going on. They were laughing and pointing at Lukas on
the ground. Another couple of security guards had just showed up, stepping
out of a full-size car this time, one walking straight over towards Tyne
and Val while the other pulled Lukas to his feet.

	"Amazing job, young man," the older of the two said to Tyne,
holding out his hand for a shake. "We saw the whole thing on our
closed-circuit monitors. That was some slick move, I must say. Are you all
right?"

	"Um, yeah, I guess so. You saw all of that?"

	"Sure did. Have it all recorded, too. Where did you learn those
moves?" he asked.

	"Karate. I've been practicing for a few years now," Tyne said
shyly. "I'm not in any trouble am I?"

	"Oh, no. Not at all. All you did was protect yourself and without
excessive force, I might add. If it was up to me I'd give you an award. If
you were older, I'd offer you a job. We just need to take your name and
contact information for our reports. Then we'll turn these two over to the
Hartsdale PD along with a disc containing the security camera footage. The
police may want to talk with you, but that shouldn't be a problem."

	"Okay."

	For the next few minutes, Tyne gave his version of the story to the
security officer and then it was Val's turn. While Val was talking, Tyne
walked over to Dane and Noah, who had gathered himself up off the sidewalk
and walked over next to Dane, and told them everybody was fine and that
he'd see them inside in a minute.  While he was doing that, he looked out
the corner of his eye to see both Lizzy and Lukas being placed in the back
seat of the car and hauled off to the security office. He hoped that was
going to be the last time he'd ever see the two of them. Once Val was done,
they were both finally free to go.

	The rest of the crowd had broken up and everybody had either left
or wandered back inside the food court. Tyne and Val looked at each other,
but neither knew what to say. Tyne seemed antsy and Val was feeling
dejected. It seemed to Tyne that every time he was with Val something bad
happened. As for Val, he had brought Tyne outside to apologize, and instead
got him involved in a fight with Lukas and Lizzy. And all he could do was
sit there and watch, frozen in place like some helpless damsel. The voice
in Val's head scolded himself, "What the F is wrong with me? Why didn't I
jump up and kick Lukas's ass?" he wondered. He wished they were someplace
else where they could talk quietly together, and he could really apologize,
the right way. Where he could hold his hand and look him in the eye and
tell him how truly sorry he was for hurting his feelings, and then tell
Tyne how F'n impressed he was with his kick-ass move on Lukas. What he
really wanted, more than anything in the world right then, was to wrap his
big arms around Tyne and never let him go, smothering him in tender
kisses. That, and to feel Tyne's soft hands roving over his bare skin,
hugging him back.

	Finally, as they got moving and were going through the big doors,
Val stopped him and said, "So can we talk later? I still need to apologize
to you."

	"Nah, I'm good. I told you already. No worries. Listen, I gotta
go. Noah's my ride home and he's probably having withdrawals from his
Ritalin or Adderall or whatever he takes about now, not to mention that he
probably wants to get the hell out of here after the little display of his
jewels that he just put on for everybody. Well, maybe not that. So I'll see
you around, huh?"

	"Tyne, I can tell you're still mad at me and I hate that. I really
need to apologize to you. I need to explain."

	"Explain? I don't think any explanation is necessary. I'm smart
enough to figure it out on my own. And, I'm not really mad at you
anymore. I was - really mad, but I'm over that. I am sad, though, but
nothing you can say will change that. It's possible for me to be sad and
not be mad at the same time. I think you got that all confused."

	"Yeah, I guess. Tell Noah I like his skirt," Val said quietly.

	"It's a Utilikilt. He's corrected me a half dozen times over
that. But I'll tell him." Tyne gave him a quick wave and headed over to the
table where Noah and Dane were sitting again. They had cleaned up the table
and the rest of his dinner had vanished. But he didn't care because he had
lost his appetite.

	"So what all happened out there?" Dane asked, breathlessly. He was
staring at Tyne with intense admiration as he sat down.

	"Was Lukas begging for mercy? How did you get him in that
buttfucking position?" Noah asked breathlessly, "And, holy crapola, I so
wanted to do my happy dance when I saw Lizzy get arrested. That bitch. Can
you believe I grabbed her hair extensions? But then I remembered I didn't
have my chonies on underneath my kilt and I didn't want to put on any more
shows. C'mon, spill it, mister man," Noah said, bouncing around in his
chair. "DE-tails, DE-tails!! Blow by blow."

	"It was nothing. Val wanted to talk about something but before we
could even get into it, Lizzy, Lukas and some guy named Pedro showed up
calling us faggots. I think Lizzy egged them on to gay bash us, but only
Lukas seemed all that interested. He was shit-faced drunk, by the way."

	"That's not a surprise," said Dane. "For a churchie, he parties
pretty hard."

	"Anyway, he charged at me and I just used my Karate training to
subdue him. Then he fell on his face and Pedro took off. That's all there
is too it. It wasn't even much of a fight." Tyne sighed and slunk back into
his chair. All of a sudden he was exhausted - mentally more than
physically.

	"Well, you're my hero," Noah said, clasping his hands up to his
chest tightly and batting his eyes at his BFF.

	"No shit! That was awesome. I just wish I got to see it up
close. Damn, Tyne, you're full of surprises," Dane said, with a big grin
plastered on his cute mug. "I wonder what Val wanted to talk to you about?
Do you know? I bet you were kind of shocked to see Lukas show up. I wonder
what Lukas and Lizzy were doing together? Do you think they're a couple
now? I can't think of two people who deserve each other more than those two
do, you know? I wonder who that Hispanic pussy, Pedro, was. He took off
like a scared rabbit. How did you handle Lukas so easily?"

	"Like I said, it was nothing. Just years of training that has
finally paid off," Tyne said. He looked over at the other end of the food
court to see the crew from the basketball team talking excitedly about what
just happened. Again he wondered why Val didn't do anything. He had a
fleeting thought that maybe Val was going to let Lukas hurt him for some
reason. But why would he? Then Tyne sighed and added, "You guys wanna go?
Let's get out of here."

	"Can Dane give you a ride home, Mr. Karate Kid hero? I want to go
by Whole Foods and show off my new designer rags and see if the manager
will allow me to wear my Utilikilt to work. Speaking of that, is the back
of it dirty from rolling around with that Lizzy bitch? Plus, if Lizzy's
sister is there, I can be the first to tell her all about the festivities
tonight. I need to return LIzzy's hair extensions to her. Ohhh, I can't
wait!" Noah said, squirming around in his seat again. "I wonder what
Lizzy's mug shot will look like?"

	"You better settle down or someone is going to see your junk under
that kilt again," Tyne said. Then he looked over at Dane, who hadn't taken
his eyes off of him. "Do you mind giving me a ride home? It's on your way,
right?"

	"Yeah! Of course. No problem. Let's roll."

	They stood and Tyne inspected Noah's kilt for him and declared it
to be clean. Then they both said goodbye to Noah and headed out to the
parking lot on the other side of the Commons. Tyne made a point to steer
them away from Val and his crew because he really didn't want to go through
the whole thing again. And he really didn't want to see Val again,
either. Tyne and Dane made small talk as they walked across the asphalt
until they reached the only car left in the back part of the parking
lot. It could only be Dane's.

      Well, he guessed it was his, because the car parked way out there was
a funky looking, ginormous boat of a thing that had to have been made in
the 1970's. It was so big that at least ten people could fit in the steel
behemoth. He had to admit that it was a beautiful looking car, though. It
was shiny midnight blue with a taut, bright white canvas top. Gleaming,
glistening chrome was everywhere and huge, white-wall tires poked out from
deep in the four corners. It seemed that it took several minutes to walk
around the car because it was so damn long.  Dane popped open the passenger
side door to let Tyne in and then scrambled around the other side. In fact,
he moved so fast that he almost ate it on some loose gravel. Tyne took a
second to peer inside the car before he climbed in.  When the door opened,
all kinds of interior lights lit up and he was totally amazed at how big
the cabin was. The back seat looked like a living room in an old ladies
house. He slid in on the sumptuous white-leather seat and pulled the huge
door closed behind him with a pronounced thunk. He looked over at Dane who
had beat him inside and was sitting up straight and tall at the large
wheel, grinning up at him like a fool, and Tyne had to smile back. He just
couldn't help it. It was so funny to see this cute young jock driving this
humongous old car.
      "What is it with you and all of these weird old cars? What the heck
is this one? Shouldn't this land-yacht be out on Lake Hartsdale?"
      "You like it? I was excited to show it to you when Noah said you
needed a ride home. I wanted you to ride in the lap of luxury with
me. We're lucky; my dad just washed and detailed this tub for a Route 66
car show thing yesterday. I don't usually get to drive this one. I'd put
the top down but I'm not sure I'd get it back up. This beauty isn't even
his favorite, but it usually gets the best awards. It's my favorite,
though. I fantasize about having crazed wild sex in the back seat.
      Tyne looked over his shoulder and his eyes popped. "A family of four
could live back there," he joked and Dane laughed in his smooth, deep way.
      "Anyhow, I'm glad you're here with me. I'm so glad you got Noah to
bring you over to see me. I was surprised when you came out to meet me
tonight. I didn't think you wanted to see me anymore. I was bummed. I'd
kind of given up on you, you know? Then when ... umm ... when I umm..."
      Tyne laughed at his unusual loss for words and filled in the blank,
"When you got Noah's text about me and Val? It's okay, I know Noah put you
up to it. I'm glad you sent the text. It was a sweet text, seriously. I'm
happy you sent it."
      "That's a big relief. After the last time I took you home, I thought
I'd blown it for good with you and you'd never want to see me again."
      "Dane, don't say that. You know I like you. I really do. It's just
that, well, all this other drama that's been going on with me lately - like
tonight. It follows me around like my own private little rain cloud. But I
think all of that stuff is over now, finally. I hope, anyway. I don't want
to lie to you, and I don't, you know, like, want to lead you on or
something. But for now, can we at least just go slow and, you know, get to
know each other better? I hope that's enough for you, because that's all I
can offer right now. No pressure, no drama, okay?" Tyne told him, hoping
that he didn't sound all preachy. He honestly did like this guy, but he was
in no hurry to get burned again.
      "That's cool with me. But just so you know, I really, really like you
and it's going to be difficult for me to keep my hands off you. So bear
with me, okay? If I get to be too much, just tell me and I'll simmer down
or, better yet, just give me a karate chop," Dane said sincerely, keeping
his hands on the wheel. "Well, maybe the karate chop is a bad idea after
seeing how you laid Lukas out back there. Maybe just a little slap on my
hands would be better. I promise I won't do anything that will make you
uncomfortable. Friends first, and if more happens, which I'm really hoping
for, then that will be a bonus. But I promise I won't push you, Tyne. I
promise." Dane peered over at Tyne and winked.
      Tyne chuckled. "Okay, that sounds good to me. So let's start fresh
and pretend this is like a first date or something. Just new friends
getting together for some low-key fun. How does that sound?"
      "That sounds awesome!" Dane almost screamed. Then with a sly
expression, Dane added, "You know, I actually lead the league amongst all
the other point guards in getting rebounds. I'm just saying. You know?"
      Tyne caught his drift but chose to change the subject. "So tell me
about this car. It's really nice. But dude, it's so freakin' huge!"
      "I know. It's a '74 Cadillac Convertible. This was my grandmother's
car, and she bought it new. It only has like 40 thousand miles on it. My
dad got it when she bought something else. He's got like 6 or 7 old 70's
cars in his 'fleet'. He's weird like that, but he lets me drive them so
it's all good. They're all fun to drive because everybody gives you funny
looks, especially because I'm so young. This one is like driving around in
your living room," he said, starting up the engine and letting it warm up.
      "No shit. It's like you've got La-Z-Boy recliners in here for
seats. Slinky leather La-Z-Boys. It's really kinda cool in a way. Too bad
you don't have a flat screen up here and we could just kick back and watch
a movie."
      "No kidding. But it's in great condition and someday it will be worth
some big bucks, at least that's what my dad says. Too bad it only gets like
7 miles to the gallon," Dane said.
      "Yeah. Be thankful I'm not some kind of crazy environmentalist or
something. So I guess I'm supposed to say something like 'Home James'?"
      Smiling at Tyne's joke, he suggested, "How about we head to Baskin
Robbins first to get a cone or something before we go home?" he answered.
      "Awesome. So you like working out here at the Subway? This looks like
a cool gig." Tyne asked, running his hand over the wide, white leather dash
board. He was really thinking how great it would be to drive around in this
boat with the top down on a sunny day.
      "I'm just helping out my sister and brother-in-law for a while. Did
you know she just had triplets? Pushed them out in like fifteen minutes. I
got to watch it all happen. All three of them. God, it was
fascinating. She's lying there with her feet all up in the air panting like
she just ran wind sprints and her thing is wide open and pulsating and the
doctor is turning the first little girl. Then when she starts to come out,
my sister starts grunting like she's taking a massive dump or something and
she got all purple in the face. She was squeezing the crap out of her
hubbie's hand. Just then the top of numero uno with slicked up black hair
peeks out of her vagina and they're all telling her to keep pushing, keep
pushing and she's yelling at them that she is pushing and then wham! The
whole little naked baby girl just pops right out, all purple and kind of
slimy. It was good the doctor was right there to catch her. Then ..."
      "Dude! That's way too much information. But good for her. So, what,
you're like an uncle now? That makes you sound so old," Tyne commented as
Dane made a left turn out of The Common's parking lot and headed down
Hartsdale Avenue towards town.
      "Yeah, scary, huh? But I love those little nuggets like they were my
own. I could just eat them up they're so cute. They named the first of the
three girls Dayne, after me. Can you believe it? It's Danish for Dane,
well, duh! It means I have, or she has, or we have a clever mind, good
business judgment, a sense of responsibility, according to this name
generator app I downloaded the other day. Oh, it also said us Dane's have
an appreciation of the finer things of life, like you, if you catch my
drift."
      "I wonder what my name means," Tyne mused.
      Dane pulled his phone from his pocket and navigated to the name app
and tossed it over to Tyne. Type it in and see." Tyne typed in his name and
it didn't come up. There was one for a 'Tine' spelling but that turned out
to be just an abbreviation of Kristine. So he checked Spalding and read the
meaning with bemused irritation.
      "Well? What's it mean?"
      "Nothing for Tyne, but I tried Spalding and it says it means 'Divided
Field' if you can believe it. That's a little ironic."
       "Hmm. Interesting. I kind of forgot your real name is Spalding. Well
it's just a dumb app, you know? I mean the other two names of the triplets
didn't really seem all that interesting. Well, Payton is kinda cool, but,
c'mon, Isabella? Aren't we done with Twilight? Shit! Anyway, all I know is
that those three little cuties are the bomb. I wanna have kids with my
husband someday. You?"
      Tyne handed the phone back. "Yeah, I guess so. I never really thought
about it before. I think I'd rather start with puppies first and work my
way on up. You know what I mean?" Tyne said, feeling uncomfortable all of a
sudden thinking about how his dad had left him so soon and how he'd never
ever want his kids to go through something like that.
      "What's wrong," Dane asked, picking up Tyne's quick change of mood as
he sailed the big GM boat down the street toward Baskin Robbins.
      "Nothing, just a chill, like when you get that deja vu kinda
feeling. Are you sure you want to go to Baskin Robbins? I mean, I don't
care, but what if somebody from school sees us together? After that fight,
I'm pretty sure that it's been texted all over everywhere now that I'm gay
and I don't want you to be the butt of gossip if we're seen together," Tyne
said quietly.
       "No worries. If anybody sees us and asks what we're doing, I'll just
tell them the truth that we're on a date," the copper-haired boy said,
giving Tyne a dazzling toothy smile. "Like I told Tyrell. Besides, I'm
proud to be seen with you."
      "You're shitting me! No way, dude," he said, turning his body to
really look at Dane.
      "No. I'm fucking serious. Remember that day that I came out to you at
the hospital? After I got home I told my family. I'm like that. I don't lie
and I don't like liars. If something's on my mind I usually say it. I
realized keeping something so big a secret was really no different than
lying about it. So I told them and that was it. I might tell the guys at
school tomorrow, but they probably know by now anyway since most of them
were here tonight. Did you notice how Tyrell was looking at me? I thought
he was going to freak for a second. But he got over it. And like I said,
that's just how I am. I don't like liars. Whatcha see is whatcha get. No
bullshit here. They can either take me or leave me, no big deal. Besides,
now that I know you can do karate, I'll just keep you at my side protecting
me. So why worry about it?"
      "But it is a big deal, Dane," Tyne said, trying not to think about
his comment about liars and pushing Val's face out of his mind. "What did
your parents say?"
      "They pretty much took it like when I told them I wanted to be a NASA
Scientist instead of running the family business with them. Curious at
first, maybe a little sad, but then they got totally supportive. They're
pretty mellow like that. If I'd known it would go that smoothly, I would
have done it years ago. I regret that I didn't, now. After you inspired me
to come out, I decided right then and there, I was going to be true to
myself from now on, no matter what. My Dad said he kind of wondered. I
never really dated and he remembered this time when I was like eight years
old. We went to a water park on vacation and I kept disappearing. He would
find me back in the changing room just sitting on the bench peeking at the
boys changing into and out of their suits. Then he noticed how at our
annual summer beach trip, my eyes sneakily wandered after the cute guys
instead of the bikini clad girls. He's pretty observant like that."
      "Wow. You're really something," Tyne said with a feeling of confusion
and astonishment. Maybe Lukas was right, Tyne wondered - maybe he really
was systematically turning everybody gay or at least opening them up to the
realization of their gay side as in Val's case.
      "No I'm not all that. I always knew I was gay; there just wasn't any
reason for me to say anything about it before and take the risk. Not until
we ran into each other in that elevator."
      "That was just a random thing. And anyway, me plowing headfirst into
you is no reason to come out. I don't see the connection."
      "That wasn't random! You know that. Life isn't random. Everything has
a purpose. Besides, you smashing into me was the best reason to do it. I
could have been run into by anybody, but it was you who ran into me. I'd
been crushing on you for a while but didn't know how to approach you. I
decide on a spur of the moment to go visit Val, when suddenly I'm flat on
my back with the cutest kid in school on top of me. Boom! And look what
happened? We're here having a rebooted first date. I think it's nice
karma," he said, as he quietly and softly slipped his hand into Tyne's and
curled his fingers around the back of his hand. Tyne didn't pull back, and
instead, gave him a tentative squeeze back.
      "I've got to hand it to you. It's really cool to be with a guy who
knows who he is and what he wants. It's kind of refreshing really. I just
hope you don't put everything on the table right away. You gotta have some
surprises, right?"
      "Of course I do! I bet you didn't know I like to wear silky black
boxers, did you?" Dane laughed, pulling up to a light that had just turned
red.
      "TMI, dude, TMI!" and Tyne started laughing too. Then his stomach
rumbled loudly, reminding him that he hadn't eaten much of his Kung Pao
Chicken. "C'mon, let's get going."
      "Hold on a minute," Dane said, as he pulled the giant car over to the
curb. "One more thing and then we'll go pig out on all 31 flavors. But you
have to scoot over here closer to me."
      "Why?" But Tyne already knew why, and he started to blush a little
and his dick stirred in his pants. "Okay, I'm here. What?"
      "Just this," Dane said almost in a whisper as he leaned into Tyne and
pressed his moist lips to Tyne's. It was just what both boys needed right
then - not too much and not too little. Just right.
      **##**
	Val woke up with butterflies in his stomach. He reached over and
tapped the button on the alarm clock. He climbed out of bed and made his
way to the bathroom. Vi rushed out of her room a little bit late. She had
been happier than a monkey on a banana plantation ever since meeting Tim at
Sylvia's church. They had texted and even talked on the phone every day for
the past week.
       Val had attended the youth group meeting with her on Wednesday and
joined in the game night they were having. It was fun to watch Vi and Tim
flirt with each other. Tim was awkwardly bad at it. Val was thrilled that
she'd found Tim because he was obviously a good kid who had been well
parented and would help Vi stay away from Danny and his type. Tim was
polite and cheerful by nature.
       Val actually enjoyed the youth experience as well. The older kids
were all upbeat and fun to be around and didn't seem so shallow once the
initial surprise of Sylvia and the hot jock was over with. Sylvia was
enthralled that Val and Vi attended. She had picked them up and driven them
over since it was Sylvia's turn to help with homework on Wednesday. Tyne
had made excuses all week about coming over and doing homework together,
but Val was sure to be completely honest with Tyne about going with Sylvia
to the youth activity. He had even made a special point to invite him to
join them, but Tyne politely declined the offer saying he had to help Dane
at Subway. He wondered what exactly he was helping him with.
	They played some relay games including one where they put three
potatoes between their legs along with a stick horse. They had to hobble
over three pans and drop one potato in each pan. If they missed the pan or
dropped more than one at a time, they had to go back and start over. It was
hilarious to watch from the back because it looked like they were
pooping. Everyone was laughing their heads off over it. Another game
involved passing an orange from under your chin to the next person in line
without dropping it. The first team to get the orange passed all the way
down the line won. Tim practically knocked his buddy over when he tried to
get in line between him and Vi. There was no way he was going to miss the
opportunity to 'neck' with Vi while trying to get the orange from under her
chin to under his.
	The last game had been suggested by a kid named Wyatt after the
chaperones went inside to start cleaning up from the refreshments they'd
had.  He was a tall, skinny guy with sandy hair and mild acne. He took a
little ribbing for suggesting it, but everyone ended up playing, despite
some grumbling.  It was called 'fag tag' and when Wyatt suggested it, there
were quite a few groans. The rules were that if you were tagged, you had to
freeze in place until another member of your team, of the same gender,
kissed you on the lips. Val looked at Sylvia when the rules were explained
with wide eyes and a slack jaw. She just rolled her eyes and shrugged. "I
think Wyatt likes to watch the girls kiss each other." As the game
progressed, Val was pretty sure Wyatt had other motives for suggesting the
game. The boys quickly sorted themselves out as taggers or faggers. Some
guys flat refused to free a teammate by kissing them, but would hustle
their butts off to tag the other team.
       Val got tagged in the back and was frozen, which was a big loss to
his team because of his athleticism. He had been a very good tagger up to
that point. Tyney Tim came up near him along with Vi. "Kiss my brother and
free him," Vi urged Tim. Tim was a definite tagger as well. He shook his
head emphatically, no.  "C'mon, if you kiss him, I'll let you kiss me," she
offered with a little waggle of her tongue. He paused and considered it for
a second and then rushed over and pulled Val down by the shirt planting a
quick kiss on his lips. It was weird for Val to get kissed by a kid like
that. But it was funny too. The funniest thing was the immediate and
frantic wiping of his lips afterward as if they were covered in manure or
something. They all had to rush off since a fast kid from the other team
was making a beeline toward them. As soon as they escaped, they slipped
behind a bushy tree and Tim kissed Vi, a little unsure of himself. Val
watched with amusement from a distance and suspected Vi might just probably
be his second kiss, since Val had been his first. He laughed over that and
watched with even more hilarity as Vi pulled him back in against her lips
and apparently slipped him a little tongue. Something she probably learned
from Danny. Tyney Tim came up wide eyed and gasping for air. Their hiding
place was discovered and they had to run to escape getting tagged. At first
opportunity, Tim stuck his hand in his pocket and wiggled it around a bit
to rearrange his boner. He was still smiling like he'd scored the game
winning basket in the state championship.
       It had been a fun evening and Val wished Tyne would have joined
them. He thought how cool it would have been to be able to kiss Tyne in
public without any stigma attached to it. As fun as the night had been, it
would have been so much better if Tyne had joined them.
	Val stopped daydreaming about the youth activity and showered
quickly and dressed. Then he poured himself a heaping bowl of Frosted
Shredded Wheat. He poured the milk over it and let it soak in a minute
before shoveling it in. He loved the mixture of the sweet frosting and the
milky sogginess of the shredded wheat. He was nervous about going back to
school. He wasn't sure what kind of reception he would receive. The
basketball team had lost one and won one of the final two league games. As
a result, they hung on to their league championship and were headed into
the regional playoffs that were a 'one and done' format. Val wanted so
badly to play in the upcoming Thursday game, but his parents and the doctor
said no. Besides, while his depth perception was improved, it was still a
little off. He was still going to wear a shirt and tie on game day and sit
with the team on the bench. It would just be so hard not to play.
	Nick showed up right on time to give him a ride. Val grabbed his
backpack and made his way out to the car. As he climbed in, Nick turned
down the bumping rap song he had playing and tossed knuckles at Val who
bumped with him. "Dude, it's so great to have you back at school. We've
missed you."
	"Why?" Val asked in full honesty.
	"Serious? Dude, you're the heart of the team. Whether you can play
or not, you're like our inspirational leader. Not to mention your horrible
sick sense of humor. Nobody cracks a bad joke as well as you."
	"Hmm. Thanks, I guess. So where's Noah? I thought you'd be driving
him to school since you guys are like attached at the hip nowadays."
	"Nah, he drives himself. He's got a car. Besides, we both agreed to
play it cool at good old Hartsdale High. Neither of us really wants
unnecessary attention, if you know what I mean. Besides, we are NOT
attached at the hip!"
	"Oh yeah, I suppose I should have said, 'attached at the butt'
instead of hip." Val smiled wryly.
	"See! That's exactly what I was talking about - your lousy, sick
sense of humor. Nobody does bad jokes as well as you." Nick grinned
back. "For the record, we haven't gone that far yet. I'm not sure when or
if we'll be ready for that. So what's going on with you and Sylvia?  You
tapped it yet? Lost your V-card finally? Sent your little miner into the
glory hole? Drilled the ..."
	"STOP! Enough youthanisms, or whatever they're called. The answer
is NO. Not that it's any of your jizzness, we didn't go all the way. We did
get close though. Can I tell you something just between us?"
	"Sure."
	"Swear?"
	"Geez! We're not ten anymore. All right, I swear."
	"I had the opportunity, but I backed out because I was afraid of
hurting Tyne over it." Val studied Nick for a reaction. Nick didn't really
react for a bit.
	"Well, what you did to Tyne in order to hook up with Sylvia already
hurt him. Bad. I heard all about it from Noah." Nick looked Val hard in the
eyes disapprovingly and then looked back to the road.
	"I know. I've tried apologizing. I didn't mean for him to find out
and get hurt over it. I know I have to cool the sex stuff with Sylvia and
Tyne both."
	"So you've been messing with Tyne? Like full on sex?" Nick
pried. There was incredulity in his voice.
	"No, not full on sex. Just some messing around together. Harmless
boy on boy playing around, you know? Like you suggested I should try out
like the way you did it with your cousin," Val explained weakly.
	"Dude, I was saying that because I had the fucking hots for you. I
wanted to get in your pants and play with your big toy. Tyne's a different
story completely. He's not in lust with you like I was ... am. He's in LOVE
with you. Big fucking difference."
	Val stared at Nick. There was that four letter word - LOVE. It was
such a complicated, crazy-making word. "I never asked him to be in love
with me," Val finally muttered.
	"Yeah, well you don't really get to decide that. Trust me; we tried
talking him out of it," Nick said. "But he's smitten. Don't ask me why?"
Nick shot a sideways glance in Val's direction. Val shook his head slightly
and smiled back. "Luckily, Dane's still interested in him so it's all
good."
	"Why Dane? I had no F'n idea that Dane was gay. Did you? I mean,
c'mon. Shouldn't there be some clues? And what's with Tyne all hanging out
with him like every night? I think he's just trying to get at me. Don't you
think so?"
	"I think that bump on the head messed you up more than you
think. Seriously, you're shocked about Dane crushing on Tyne after YOU have
been crushing on him? Dane's a lot more likely candidate to be gay than you
are. And no one suspected me besides that homophobic asshole Lukas, and
Lizzy, of course, until the fucking phone pix disaster happened. Are you
jealous of Dane and Tyne being together?"
	"No. Let's talk about something else. This is depressing me." Val
counseled Nick on the upcoming playoff game to get the conversation moved
away from his relationship issues. "If we're gonna beat Eastridge this
Thursday, you and Dane gotta do some serious ballin' together."
	Nick glanced over and started snickering. "I don't think Noah and
Tyne would be very happy about that." Val looked puzzled at first and then
grinned.
	"Whatever. What I'm saying is you and Dane are the best players on
the team and without a big man, you two have to feed each other balls when
you got a man on you." Nick couldn't contain it and burst out laughing. Val
was perplexed. "What? What is so damn funny? Dude, you're whack. Get your
mind off sex for two minutes."
	Nick fought for control and said, "Okay, but c'mon, did you hear
what you said? Besides, I'm just zoning a bit in the buzz of last night's
action with Noah. It was so sick."
       "What did you guys do?"
       "We were at my house just hanging out, listening to music, doing a
little dancing and since only my housekeeper was there, we went out in the
spa in just our boxers. My god, he had little pink hearts all over
his. Once in the water, we pulled our boxers off and let them float around
us. Noah gave me an underwater blowjob. Holy shit, dude, it was so hot. I
can't believe how long he can hold his breath. God, I love being with him."
       Val smiled and felt his dick enlarge a bit as he was reminded of his
experience in the mountain hot spring with Tyne. "I'm glad for you
two. It's gotta be great to have that without all the complicated shit. I
wish ..." They reached the school and Nick parked out on the edge of the
lot where he usually did to try and avoid scratches to his nice ride. Val
just sat in the passenger seat as his stomach churned, making no effort to
get out.  "What?" Nick asked, pulling the keys from the ignition.
	"I'm F'n skitzing. What if I get shit about the whole naked thing
with Tyne up on the mountain?"
	"Dude, chill. It's been too long. Nobody's even remembering that
shit. Peeps are just gonna be glad to have you back."
	"I hope so." He grabbed his backpack and headed with Nick onto the
campus. Along the way to first period, he got lots of second glances
accompanied by thumbs up and waves with encouraging comments welcoming him
back.
	In each class, he was welcomed back by the teacher and students
alike. Passing in the hallways between periods was the same thing. At
lunch, he came into the cafeteria just as Noah and Tyne were headed out
with their trays. The chicken enchiladas actually looked appetizing for a
change, but coming face to face with Tyne, squelched Val's appetite. "Hey
Tyne - Noah."
	"Hey. Welcome back," Tyne said sliding to the side to get by him.
	"Where you guys headed?"
	"Out by the chess boards like always. Noah needs another lesson."
	"As if, sister. Who checked your mate last time we played?"
	"I spotted you a knight and a rook."
	"So. I still won." Noah flipped his head back and sashayed out.
	"Mind if I join you after I get my food?" Val tried not to sound
like he was pleading.
	"Don't you need to sit with Sylvia?"
	"She has second lunch. Don't you need to sit with Dane?"
	Tyne shot him a piercing glare, finally looking Val directly in the
eyes. "He's not here today. He's working at Subway because one of the
triplets is back in the hospital."
	"So, can I join you and Noah?"
	"Free country. Do what you want."
	When Val arrived with his food, Noah was stressing over where to
move. Val recognized Tyne's strategy and knew he was setting up a protected
attack on Noah's queen. While Noah chewed slowly on his enchilada and
fussed over where to move next, Val engaged Tyne in conversation. "Tyne, I
never really got to apologize for my bad behavior and I know, I know you
said I don't need to explain, but I need to say this for me." Tyne just
shrugged so Val launched into it, "I never meant to hurt you. I care about
you. A lot. I want us to stay friends." Noah was now paying little
attention to the chess game and was watching the exchange between Val and
Tyne. Val continued, "I won't lie and say I don't have special, tingly
feelings for Sylvia, because I do. But I have them for you too. I don't
know how to choose. I can't choose. Please forgive me. Don't stay mad at
me."
	"I told you already," Tyne burst out in exasperation, "I'm not mad
at you, I'm just sad. You say you can't choose, but you DID choose. You
chose her."
	"Tyne, c'mon give me a break here. I got an offer to go over to her
house while we were out on a ride at Makeout Meadow. She said her dad would
be gone and the house would be all hers. She wanted to make me dinner and
then watch Princess in Paradise together. I mean, if some hot guy invited
you to go do something like that, I'd understand."
	Noah was getting more and more red in the face and it looked like
he was about to spontaneously combust. Tyne shot him a 'chill out' glance
before he launched into one of his famous lecture tirades. Then Tyne looked
Val squarely in the eye and said, "If this was meant to make me feel
better, you failed. I really didn't want to hear that you not only dissed
me to go out with Sylvia, but actually went to her house for dinner, a
movie and your first fuck. Congratulations, by the way. I hope you enjoyed
it." Noah had to restrain himself not to stand and give Tyne an ovation.
	"That's just it, Tyne. That is what I planned to do. That's why I
dissed you. The dinner was great, the movie wasn't as bad as I expected and
it did get me horned up just like I'm sure she planned. We ended up naked
together and as I was about to do the big deed, I couldn't follow
through. I couldn't do it because all I could think about was you. All I
could think about was how it would hurt you if I did it. Your feelings were
more important than losing my virginity with Sylvia so I backed out."
       There was a heavy silence. Noah studied Val's face for any signs of
insincerity but didn't see any. All Tyne could do was look at his hands
with intense interest. "Mind if I make a suggestion?" Val asked, leaning
over Noah. He moved Noah's king side knight forward three and over one. It
placed Tyne's bishop and his rook at risk with no way to protect them
both. Val looked at Tyne and said, "It sucks when you have to choose to
sacrifice one to save the other, doesn't it." He lifted his tray and walked
sadly away toward the basketball gang like a dog returning to its vomit.
	                                         **##**
	On Tuesday, Val purposely skipped lunch. He didn't want to deal
with watching Dane and Tyne. But come fifth period and Contemporary
Lifestyles, there was no avoiding Tyne. They sat at the same table. That
had been exciting at first and now it was just awkward. Val assumed it
would just be another day of awkward silence like it had been after the
lunch encounter on Monday. Val considered skipping, but he couldn't do that
forever. A big part of the grade was class participation. His stomach was
in knots as he approached the classroom. He stood outside until the bell
rang and slipped into his seat while it was still ringing.
	Tyne greeted him with a simple "Hey."
	"Hey back."
	Ms. Harris was talking about the civil rights movement and Tyne
focused on taking copious notes while Val drew a basketball court on his
notebook paper and started marking X's and O's with arrows outlining some
suggested plays for the big game on Thursday.  Most of the plays involved
Dane bringing the ball into play and then passing it off to either Nick or
Tyrell on the outside perimeter. If they were going to beat Eastridge, it
was going to have to be from lights-out shooting from the outside.
	Towards the end of class, Val drew a thick, dark arrow from Dane's
X at the top of the key over to the bench. He smiled to himself as he did
it, then crumpled up the paper and flicked it into the waste paper basket
in the back corner of the room. It bounced off the wall and dropped in. He
gave a small jubilant fist pump and said "Yes!" under his breath. Tyne
looked over at him and smiled. Val took the opportunity to ask something he
knew he shouldn't but couldn't help asking anyway. "So, you hanging out
with Dane tonight?"
	"No. He's working at Subway again after school." There was an
auspicious pause and then Tyne asked, "So I guess it's my night to come
over and study with you. You okay with it if I do?"
	Val almost swallowed his tongue. The shocked look on his face was
so evident that Tyne chuckled slightly. When Val found his voice, he said,
"Sure, that'd be great. If you want to."
	"Yeah, I do. Can't have you failing after all the work Sylvia and I
put into keeping you caught up, can we?"
	"Yeah. I mean, no! We definitely don't want that. Does this mean
you're not mad ... I mean you're not sad at me anymore? Val asked.
	Tyne smiled again gave him a little push on the shoulder. "No I'm
still sad, but I still like you and I still care about you. Plus, I miss
studying with you. See you at 7:00 then." The bell rang and the boys walked
out together then split off for separate classes. Val practically skipped
to gym. He went to the locker and stripped down next to Nick. After he
pulled the jockstrap over his large package, Nick pulled his eyes away from
it and looked up at Val asking, "How come are you dressing out? I thought
the doctor and your parents said you couldn't play yet."
	"I can't play yet, but I can work out a little, as long as it's
just me and the ball. I'm just going to run and dribble around a bit and
maybe work with coach on some ideas I've got for some plays for Thursday's
game."
	"That's cool. I've missed getting to see that big package of yours
every day. I might just have to go see if Dane's finished in the toilet
stall and take his place." Val shoved him hard enough to send him sliding
off the end of the bench onto the tile floor. They both started laughing.
	It felt good for Val to be back on the court and to get a ball back
in his hands. He practiced dribbling and shooting on the opposite side from
where the team was running through some of the new plays that Val had
suggested to the coach. Every now and then he would get called over to
consult on different ideas the players had. In the end, they were looking
pretty good at spreading the defense and getting open looks for outside
jump shots. They had to play a fast break, high speed game with perimeter
shots whenever they couldn't drive quickly to the basket.
	Back in the locker room, Nick pulled his phone out of the locker
and said, "That's weird. Tyne sent me a text." He opened it while he sat in
front of the locker in only his shorts. "Hmm," he said looking slowly over
at Val. "Tyne's wanting me to give him a ride to your house to study
together tonight after dinner. Noah's working and can't do it. He says his
mom can pick him up afterward."
	"Cool. Thanks for bringing him over," Val responded.
	"Who says I'm going to?"
	"Hello! Why wouldn't you? You got something else going on? If
Noah's working, you won't be doing any underwater demolition together."
	"There goes that lame humor shit again. But I'm seriously not
bringing him over if you're going to start messing with his head again. I
kinda like the little dude. Things are going good between him and Dane and
you can't go fucking that up. I mean it. It isn't fair."
	"I know it isn't fair. We sort of talked about that. Kind of. But
anyway, I promised myself to cool it with him and just be friends like I
should have done from the very beginning. I need the study help and he
wants to help me out. So it's just a friendship thing."
	"Okay then, if you say so. I guess Nick's taxi service is back in
business."
	They finished dressing and Nick took Val home. Val was so excited
for Tyne to come he could hardly stand it. His mother and Vi both commented
on his improved mood at dinner. Val was so antsy waiting for Tyne to show
up, he was pacing around his room. Finally, he decided to go do some
weightlifting in the garage to work off some nervous energy. He put on a
tank and a pair of running shorts. They showed his boxers so he pulled them
all off and just put the red nylon, running shorts back on. He worked on
arms and pecs and was bench pressing with his favorite tunes blaring in the
background on a small pair of speakers plugged into his phone when Tyne
arrived. Mrs. Hardcastle directed Tyne to the garage. He stood quietly just
inside the doorway next to the water heater and watched Val bench a full
set. He watched in rapt, sexually charged fascination as Val's large
muscles strained against the heavy barbell. Val strained and grunted with
each upward thrust. A light sweat glistened on his firm, inflated neck,
shoulder and chest muscles. Against his wishes, Tyne's dick twitched and
expanded an inch within his shorts, creating a slight, but visible
tent. The outline of Val's large, flaccid penis was visible as it lay in
the crook of his thigh.
	When Val set the weight on the rack and sat up, Tyne clapped and
spoke up, "Impressive. How heavy is that?" Val spun around at the sound of
Tyne's voice and lit up with his big, toothy grin.
	"260 pounds. But for a cool down, I like to hot body lift 150."
       Val stood and walked briskly over to Tyne and caught him off guard
by wrapping his arms around him and pulling him off the ground just as Tyne
was asking, "What's a hot body lift." Tyne was pressed to Val's strong,
sweaty body with his feet dangling. "Eww, put me down. You're all sweaty
and you stink."
       Val complied and started laughing. "Oh yeah, sorry about that." Then
Val asked, "Do you like to lift?"
       "I like it and my sensei says I should do more of it. I just don't
have anywhere to do it."
       "You do now. Join me for a while before we go study. Physical
exertion is good for the brain as well as the body."
       "If you say so. But I'm not dressed for it."
       "Sure you are. Just take your shirt off. I'll spread a towel over
the bench for you." Tyne showed some interest mixed with reluctance as Val
took hold of Tyne's shirt and pulled it up and off his upper frame. Tyne
lifted his arms and let him, with mixed feelings.
       Tyne and Val took turns working on various muscle groups while Val
pointed out some better techniques on some of the lifts to help Tyne get
the maximum effect. The conversation became more natural and free flowing
as they worked together spotting and encouraging each other. As Val stood
over Tyne when he lay on the bench to press, Tyne could see up the open leg
of the red nylon, running shorts and see Val's dick and balls jiggling
around. He had to close his eyes to prevent the distraction from overcoming
him and cause his mind to go crazy with lust. After forty minutes, both
boys had a faint sheen of sweat on them and Val declared it an adequate
workout for the day. Val pulled his tank off, baring his chest, and tossed
it in a pile of dirty clothes next to the washing machine.
       Tyne felt good from the workout and they agreed to do it on a
regular basis. When Tyne stood up, Val stepped over to him and slipped his
hands around his back and then pulled Tyne into him. The heat of their
strained muscles radiated between them. Their sweaty bodies slid together
into a comfortable embrace. Tyne left his arms to the side at first and
then involuntarily slipped them onto Val's back.
       "Thanks for coming," Val said softly. "It means a lot to me. I've
missed you so much." Tyne didn't respond verbally, but he relaxed into
Val's embrace and pressed his fingers into the flesh of Val's back. Then
they separated and Tyne wiped his upper body dry with a towel.
       After helping Val with his math upstairs in his room, Tyne's mom
arrived to take him home. Tyne and Val exchanged goodbyes with their
special handshake and set a date for Thursday to lift and study together
again.

			    ********##********

	Special thanks to our editor Pablo.

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