Pop: Chapter 9a

    "What?" Jim asks sluggishly.

    "The alcohol.  I smelled it on you last night.  Where did you get it?"

    "Oh.  When we, Will and I, stopped by Rick's.  Will talked over to his wife, while I kind of snooped around.  I found a few bottles of beer and decided to take them to the party.  I didn't know about the booze ban because of you brother.  Not really.  I drank two of them in the back after Sam left.  I'm sorry.  I shouldn't have brought them, and I definitely shouldn't have drunk them."

    "Well, that explains part of it.  Rick is into these 'artisanal' craft beers.  They have a higher alcohol content than the usual brands.  Rick usually takes an hour or more to sip just one bottle.  Taking two in a short period of time would have gotten you tipsy fast, especially if you aren't used to it."

    "Chris, just because I was drunk, doesn't mean I don't love you." Jim sighs.

    "What do you mean?" I'm afraid of what Jim's answer will be.

    "Ever since that first day I saw you in the boys room, something just clicked with me. It wasn't just because you were excited.  I had seen other boys like that for years.  Over half the boys at the school went to that particular restroom to do the exact same thing.  Even me.  That day.  I just had to pleasure myself as soon as you went into the stall."  

    "Jim.  You can't be serious."

    "I am.  I mean.  I had seen lots of other boys, sometimes while like that for both of us, but I never felt the same connection I felt with you.  When you told me about all of your problems, no father, lousy mother, losing your best friend, I saw a way to help both of us.  I could pair you up with my brother and his friend, thereby helping you while also allowing me to be close to you.  I had already helped out Pete, so getting you into the group was easy."

    "I still can't tell you how much being with your brother and Rick and Pete helped me, as well as having you as a surrogate 'big brother.'  However, after those first few months, you started to keep your distance.  You barely talked to me after a few months.  Even after that first year, you talked more to Pete than me, during summers and you breaks from college.  If you loved me so much, why did you stop wanting to be around me?  It doesn't make any sense."

    "Do you remember that convention my Dad took you and your friends just after Thanksgiving your freshmen year?" Jim asks.

    I nod.  The four of us were sleeping over at Will's so that his Dad could take us to a gaming convention a few counties over, our first.  I woke up about five to go to the bathroom.  I guess I was still a little sleepy and confused, and I wound up opening the door to Jim's room by mistake.  He was lying there naked on his bed, going at it like there was no tomorrow.  I didn't say and word and quickly left.  It was the first time I ever saw a naked male that much older than me.  It would be years before I saw my first adult film, but that first time shocked me.  Later that morning, Jim made a brief comment about how he should take his own advice and "lock the door."  After that incident, his kept a certain distance from me.  I had thought that it was from embarrassment.

    "I had just gotten back to me room from hitting the head, when I saw you walking to the bathroom yourself.  You were in those tight PJs.  While they didn't really show anything, just looking at you turned me on.  I was so aroused, I wasn't thinking.  I just had to go for it.  I barely noticed when you accidentally walked in, but that just threw me over the top.  I actually managed to get my first "twofer" that morning."

    "That still doesn't explain why you stopped talking to me after that.  If you really cared for me that much, why did yo ignore me after that day?"

    Jim chuckled a bit before continuing.

    "Chris, when is my birthday?"

    "Your birthday?  February eighth?"

    "Close.  The fifth."

    "What does your birthday have to do with you ignoring me?'

    "Everything," Jim replies.