Chapter 1

In… Out… In… Out…

Wait, get your mind out of the gutter, we're talking about rowing here! Oars going in and out of the water. Jeremy shook his head from left to right, attempting to clear his stinging eyes of his soaking wet hair. In his single scull, he was practically soaring over the water. Jasper, his rowing partner, was nearly a full length behind him and making no progress in catching up to him. Putting his final reserves into play, Jeremy could feel his oars bending as he gave them his all. He crossed the virtual finish line on the water in two… one… and a horn sounded.

He sagged in the boat, hung over his oars, and waited for Jasper to finish his final strokes. This only took him a few seconds though. It was cold out on the water, and Jeremy could see steam rising from Jasper's shoulders. The sweat and heat were being wicked away from his back by the tight-fitting shirt. It felt like he was watching a human steam engine. In his boat, Jasper turned around and faced Jeremy. He could only manage a careful thumbs up because he didn't have any more air to spare. It was only a practice match, so why be a grumpy loser?

"Excellent match!" Jeremy called out to Jasper, feeling able to sit up again.

"Thanks, you too! You were killing it today!" Jasper yelled back, his voice trembling with exhaustion.

Jeremy held his oars with one hand while carefully brushing his long blonde hair out of his face with the other. His mother kept nagging him to get his hair cut, but he preferred it long like this. At thirteen, it was past time for mom to have less say over what he did or did not do. Especially when it came to his hair, what he wanted to wear… or who he wanted to see.

With the finish line close to the rowing dock, Jeremy carefully aimed his boat and landed it neatly at the dock with just a few strokes. Someone rushed over to hold his boat, while he unhooked the oarlock on the waterside and slipped his feet out of the footboard. For those who are unfamiliar, a single scull is a long, narrow boat. Consider sitting in the water on a long, round tree trunk. The smallest mistake can cause your boat to capsize and land you in the water. It's a massive blessing to have someone hold your boat after a race when you're exhausted.

Jasper had also just landed his boat, but he had the misfortune of finding no one to hold his boat while he attempted to get out. Just as he was about to step out of his boat, he noticed one of his oars rising much higher than it should, followed by him falling much faster than he should. After unlocking his waterside oar, he had toppled his boat with him ending up in the water.

Jasper landed in the water next to his boat with a huge splash and a lot of sputtering. He was already drenched from sweat and splash water, but now he was absolutely soaking wet. Fortunately, the water was shallow right next to the dock, so he could stand up, push his oar on the dock, and walk around the boat to get out. Because it was November, the water was already quite cold, and Jasper was shivering and his teeth were chattering.

Jeremy dashed over to Jasper and extended his hand to assist him on the dock. He could already feel how cold Jasper's hand was. Someone else was hurrying out of the boathouse with a large towel. He swung it over Jasper's shoulders in a flash.

"You okay?" Jeremy asked, sounding deeply concerned. He knew full well what a huge shock it was to your body to be plunged into ice-cold water after just running so very hot for a match.

Jeremy managed to respond despite his chattering teeth. "I'm fine. It's a little colder than I expected." He stated.

"Go inside and warm up. Take a hot shower." Jeremy said this to his friend as he pushed him towards the boathouse. "I'll look after your boat for you." Jasper grinned gratefully and dashed up to the boathouse and the promise of a hot shower.

Jasper was running towards the boathouse when Jeremy noticed him. Jasper's tight-fitting Lycra rowing suit now clung to him like a second skin. Jasper was slightly smaller than Jeremy, but their two years of rowing together had given him a well-defined set of back muscles, as well as everything else being very nicely proportioned.

Jeremy had been aware for about a year that he had a strong attraction to his male peers. In the previous two years, all of his classmates had begun chatting and making fun of girls. But, while the girls were nice, they weren't particularly exciting, to him. He used to have a girlfriend when he was younger. Three years ago was ancient history at his age. But it had not lasted. There had been kissing, fondling, and groping. But she was more enthusiastic about it than he had been. He had not been in any kind of relationship since she had moved away.

Jasper vanished around the boathouse door's corner, on his way to the locker rooms. Jeremy took care of both their boats and this took him a good ten minutes. He had made a bit of a rush job of it, wanting to get back in and see if Jasper was alright. He could hear the showers running as he approached the locker rooms. There had not been that many people left on the water, probably just a few that were now in the clubhouse drinking coffee or soda. So it must be Jeremy he was hearing in the showers. When Jasper entered the locker room, he noticed steam coming from the division, and a row of four showers was hidden from view behind it.

He walked over to his own sports bag and clothes, removing his own Lycra rowing kit until he was left with only his underwear. He grabbed his towel, walked to the showers, and hung it on a peg on the wall directly outside the showers. As he walked in, he noticed Jasper sitting on the ground in front of a hot shower, arms wrapped around himself. He must have been startled by Jeremy entering the showers because he jumped up from the floor. He, like Jeremy, was only wearing a pair of underwear, soaking wet and clinging tightly to his body. He appeared to be shivering still.

Jeremy took a step closer to see if Jasper was okay. The shower was warm, but not exactly piping hot, he could feel some water splashing against his feet and upper legs. He extended his hand and touched Jasper's arm. He wasn't as cold as he had been when he first emerged from the water, but he wasn't exactly warm either. "Man, you're still cold," he said, running his hand up and down Jasper's right arm.

"I know," Jasper acknowledged, "but I just can't seem to shake it." The sensation of Jeremy's hand running up and down his arm was pleasant, warm, and comforting. He took a step closer to Jeremy and noticed him reaching out with this other hand for his other arm, but Jeremy let his hand fall back again. Too bad, he wouldn't have minded. Jeremy's hand was nice and warm, and he needed all the warmth he could get right now. In a daring move, he moved a little closer himself "That's really nice; could you do my other arm as well? I'm freezing," he requested Jeremy.

Jeremy had almost started rubbing both of Jasper's arms out of reflex, but had decided against it because he didn't want to weird out his friend. I mean, they were both in the showers, nearly naked. Getting all touchy-feely could send the wrong signals. Well, wrong? It'd send out signals, to be sure, and he wasn't sure how Jasper would react. They had become pretty good friends since they'd joined on the same day a year ago. They had even spent some afternoons after practice at each other's houses. They were always together at the rowing club. When asked, Jasper's question caught him off guard. Did he want him to touch him? To help him warm up? He wanted to, but that was also the problem. He wanted to, real bad. Could he? Really?

He took a step closer, actually standing with Jasper under the pouring water, and he grabbed his other arm, now rubbing both of them. His hands could feel the muscles in Jasper's arms, the tension and the shivering. He began to massage the arms by instinctively kneading into the tense muscles. As he kneaded deeper into the hard muscles, he could hear Jasper making a faint and deep moaning sound. He could feel a warmth rushing through his own body that wasn't caused by the shower.

Things were becoming equally confusing for Jasper, but in a good way, he guessed. He could feel Jeremy digging his fingers into the tensed up muscles of his arms. As he felt someone else taking care of him in this way, warming him, holding him, he couldn't help but make a very contented noise. He tried to keep it quiet, but he was afraid Jeremy might have heard anyway. He was so relaxed that he didn't even notice his body going into autopilot mode, and he stepped in even closer. He could now feel the heat emanating from his friend's body. It was like stepping close to a campfire after a cold night of camping outside. The warmth of Jeremy's body drew him in, like a fish on a line. He felt their shoulders brush against each other; how had he gotten so close? He looked up at Jeremy, and it felt strange to be so close to his friend. They were almost nose to nose if his nose hadn't been slightly lower because he was a tad smaller.

Jasper was gradually closing the gap between them, and Jeremy could feel it. Jasper didn't seem to be looking up; he appeared to be deep in thought. He just kept getting closer and closer. And with each tiny step, Jeremy felt as if the heat was being turned up a notch. If it hadn't been for the shower, he would not have been able to hide how hard he had started to blush. And to his horror, that was not the only thing his body tried to do or get real hard. He turned his hips away a little from Jasper. He wasn't quite poking out yet, but he was definitely getting chubby. That's when Jasper looked up and stared him in the eyes, nose to nose. He'd never noticed the bright specks in the brown of his eyes. It was like there were tiny crystals hidden in there. The intense stare between them was not helping his self-control; he was losing the battle in his underwear and he was afraid Jasper might notice at any moment.

With Jasper so close to his own body, he began to move his hands around his friend's lean body. His hands probed the back, detecting even more overworked muscles. He traced a finger along some of them, and his hands grew closer to each other, clasping together and drawing Jeremy into a close bear hug. Their chests brushed against each other. He could feel Jasper's stomach making contact with his own, and he could feel his rapid breathing. Their legs had now come together, and they were in a full embrace. Whereas Jasper had been tense before, he now appeared to give in to some kind of internal struggle, relax, and place his head on Jeremy's shoulder.

Jasper was enjoying the arms that encircled him; he was never comfortable touching or being touched. But right now, it was as if the shower was washing away his inhibitions as he stood there. He felt Jeremy's arms pull him closer, and as their bodies connected, he began breathing more deeply and rapidly. He wasn't even thinking about what he was doing. Standing in the shower, nearly naked, and being touched like he'd never been touched before… by Jeremy, whom he secretly considered his closest friend. Was it strange? He had never been preoccupied with whether he was into girls or guys. He'd never felt a genuine connection with anyone before, so he didn't really know, and he didn't really care. However, this felt good. So, so good. He could finally relax, as the shivers left his body. He rested his head on Jeremy's shoulder, surrendering to the embrace.

Jeremy was noticing how he was thinking less with his thinking brain and more with his hormonal brain in his little head, and how his body was now being controlled by the more hormonal brain in his little head. He couldn't help himself; he was now at full mast in his underwear, and he didn't care. He pressed his entire body against Jasper, attempting to envelop him. He could have sworn he felt something poking into his thigh as their bodies fully connected. It did not matter anymore. He wasn't going to be able to disguise this as anything other than what it was. He was hugging his almost naked pal. It could not feel much better than this. They could both be not-near-naked. But that seemed a little too risky. They weren't the only ones at the club this afternoon. On some training days, they had the boathouse and the club to themselves. They were not always getting coached, just like today.

Time seemed to stand still, as they stood there in a tight embrace. Everything had quieted down. There was nothing but the sound of the shower and their heavy breathing. Then, there was a sharp knocking on the locker room door. A woman called out loudly, "Guys, we're heading out. You're the last ones here, so don't forget to lock everything before you go." That shook them out of their trance. They quickly split from each other, how long had they been standing there like that? Jeremy felt he was not even trying to poke a hole into Jasper anymore. The last few minutes they had just been standing there, hugging, caressing, feeling each other's bodies. And now that the link had been severed, all they could do was smile sheepishly at each other.

"Well, I'm pretty sure I'm no longer cold." They burst out laughing at Jasper's snide comment.

Jeremy stepped over to the shower next to Jasper's and turned it on as well. With all that had been happening, he had kind of forgotten that he had come into the shower to actually shower. As was quite normal for them, especially when it was just them, clothing was entirely optional in the showers. Some of the younger boys were always shy or hesitant to shower naked, but in the previous year, both of the boys had seen each other's bits numerous times while changing. So showering with underwear on had started feeling like the weird thing to do. They both quickly undressed and continued showering. Jeremy could not help but notice that Jasper's excitement had not quite gone down yet.

"I thought I felt something poking my leg just now." He said, while pointing at Jasper's boner. It was also not uncommon to have a hard on in the shower. The adrenaline of a good workout can often cause the body to become overly excited about almost anything. And feeling hot water streaming down your body was unfortunately a good way to lose control of one's nether regions.

"You're one to talk. Just a moment ago, I could feel something pressing into me as well," Jasper fired back.

Jeremy looked a bit contrite now, "But, in all seriousness. I'm… sorry. I just wanted you to feel less cold, and things happened," the last bit came out more in hushed tones, but Jasper got it. "I hope you don't hate me now," Jeremy said. His greatest fear was losing his good friend. It's why he had never said anything about having feelings for guys. It's sports and being bi, or gay; it felt like something that did not mix.

"It seems like I wasn't really minding it," Jasper grinned as he looked down.

A wave of relief washed over Jeremy. "Soooo, are you sure you're not weirding out on me?" He had to double-check.

"No weirdness. But shouldn't we finish our showers?" Jasper suggested. He did not feel troubled over what had happened. But he was somewhat confused. He'd never felt any sort of physical attraction to anyone before. To be honest, and he had to be honest, he thought he was the only guy he knew who wasn't… ehm… handling himself on a regular basis. It's like something that had never seemed all that important before. He certainly enjoyed the sensation of getting a boner. He might even touch it a little sometimes. But the only times he had experienced something resembling a climax was when he awoke to find a wet mess in his bed. He thought of himself as a late bloomer. Again, not something he'd brag about to anyone. But what had happened just now, it had somehow rocked his world.

They both finished showering, toweled off, and began getting dressed. They had resumed their conversation, this time about practice, just as if it were any other day. But they both sensed that something had changed, that their friendship had been altered, and that there was now a sense of tension in the air. And both were only hoping it would be a good change.

Chapter 2

When Jasper and Jeremy emerged from the locker room, they discovered that they were indeed the last people left in the rowing club. They had recently received their own keys after being a member for a year with no issues. When they were officially handed their very own keys to the rowing club, it had felt like a rite of passage.

Jeremy was not in the mood to go home just yet. His head was still swimming with thoughts, his heart fluttering with all kinds of feelings. Going home to face his parents and older sister was not something he was looking forward to doing right now. What if they were able to see or sense what had happened?

"So, you want to, perhaps, hang around here a while longer?" He ventured.

Jasper took a look around; being the only two people here seemed strange. But he didn't really have any plans. It was early afternoon on a Saturday. When he got home, the only thing he had to look forward to was homework. He would not mind postponing that, he absolutely hated math. "Yeah sure, why not? Do you want to throw some darts?"

Jeremy's face brightened; that was a brilliant idea. The club had a large darts board in the back, as well as a table tennis table and a few worn-out but extremely comfortable couches. It was a popular hangout for the club's younger members. Though, some of the 'old' men didn't mind throwing a dart every now and then either.

They both grabbed a can of soda from behind the bar, dropped some coins into the box reserved for when people served themselves, and went to the darts board. They popped the soda cans open and took a few big gulps. Jeremy placed his Fanta on the table-tennis table, and Jasper placed his Coke next to his.

They each got a set of darts from a box beneath the darts board, and they cleared the whiteboard of the previous players' scores. Apparently, Nathalie had seriously defeated Kris in the last game.

"Okay, who's gonna go first?" Jeremy asked.

"Let's throw for it," Jasper replied, and he quickly threw a dart, trying to get it as close to the bullseye as possible.

Jeremy pretended to be a pro, weighing one of the darts in his hand before getting a good grip and throwing his own.

The darts on the board collided with a THWACK, and a metallic sound rang out. However, Jeremy's blue dart was the closest to the bullseye of the two darts.

"It's mine, I'll go first," Jeremy said as he walked over to the darts board and pulled out both darts. He walked over to the throwing line and gently grazed Jasper's hand as he handed him his arrow back. You'd think it must have been the softest touch, but you'd be wrong because rowers have pretty coarse hands. All of the rowing often results in blisters and tough skin. As a result, Jeremy's touch on Jasper's hand felt a little like pulling two pieces of sanding paper over each other. Even if it was only for a split second, it felt electric.

He took a good throwing stance and threw his darts in quick succession. He heard Jasper snickering.

"That's bloody rubbish," Jasper grinned again.

Jeremy took a look at the board. One of his darts had completely missed the board and had become lodged in the wall. Adding to the ever-increasing number of tiny holes in the wall. He'd gotten three points from the other two. Jasper was correct; that was rubbish.

He took his darts from the board and moved himself out of the line of fire, as Jasper had already taken his place.

Three thuds were heard in quick succession, and Jasper yelled in delight. All three had landed on the board, giving him a nice score of forty-three. He took out his darts and marked the score on the board.

The game went on a little longer and Jeremy's aim was consistently off. Which was strange because he was actually quite good at darts. Jasper, as expected, won the game… and the next.

After two games, they had both finished their sodas and they had gotten two new ones. They returned to the couch and sank themselves into their favorite three-person couch. Because it was so run-down, they actually sank quite a bit into it. To them, a couch was far superior to any new and fresh furniture their parents were always raving about. Who would give up a perfectly well-tenderized couch? That's how most of the seats and couches in the hangout came to be there, as leftovers from the kid's parents' so-called furniture upgrades.

They were seated next to each other. Nothing out of the ordinary for the two of them. They'd been pretty much tied to the hips at the club since their first few practices. Only young boys could quickly become friends like this and feel completely at ease with each other. But that had been over a year ago, both had still been eleven then. Now, Jasper was twelve and Jeremy had just turned thirteen. And, after the entire episode in the shower just now, things felt a little strange for both of them all of a sudden.

Jasper became acutely aware of the warmth that Jeremy was emitting right next to him. He'd never noticed how you could feel someone's warmth when they sat next to you. But he was acutely aware of it right now. "Jeremy…? Are we still friends?" Jasper inquired nervously.

Jeremy looked over, concerned. "I hope so," he said quietly. "Are you having… doubts?" he questioned. He could feel his heart beating like a drum through his entire body. This was what he had been terrified of. He knew it. Jasper had figured out that he liked guys. Oh god, and he had just basically forced himself upon his friend. He must truly hate him now! Jeremy began to panic.

Jasper was actually much more laid back about it than Jeremy realized. He was completely unaware of his friend's impending panic attack. This was mostly because it was all just new to him. Liking someone, anyone, had never really been something very big in his mind. Sure, he 'liked' his friends, just like he liked his parents. Or grandmother. But, like-like someone, nah, it had never really happened. And his family was not really hung up on the whole gay thing. His father's brother, his uncle, was gay. His uncle had a great boyfriend actually, he loved hanging out with both of his uncles. They had an amazing carefree attitude toward life. In his own mind, it had never become a thing or a concern, what or whom he would like.

He turned his head and stared into Jeremy's panicked, wide-open eyes. He looked like a deer staring into a pair of bright headlights. "Jeez, dude, chill it," he told Jeremy. He moved closer and swung his arm around Jeremy's shoulders to show that everything was fine.

This helped Jeremy relax a little. Perhaps Jasper didn't despise his guts? He began to feel a glimmer of hope. "You… don't hate me, do you?" Jeremy questioned cautiously.

"HATE YOU?" Jasper yelled. But he quickly backed down after spooking Jeremy yet again. "No, dude, of course I don't hate you. I just never saw this coming. I don't really know what to think of it. Or at least how I feel about it. It's just so weird and new," he said.

"So, you like guys?" Jeremy carefully asked. "… too?" he added, throwing caution to the wind.

That actually caught Jasper off guard. He hadn't given any thought to how Jeremy might feel about guys or girls. Sure, they had talked about things like that. But Jeremy had never given any indication that he might actually like guys. Hadn't he had a girlfriend when he first began rowing? And he always told everyone that he didn't have anyone special in his life. And that he wasn't looking for someone either.

"Jasper?" Jeremy continued probing. Jasper had zoned out a little.

"I don't know," Jasper revealed, "it never really mattered."

Jeremy couldn't believe what he was hearing. He had been worried almost every day for the past year since he had first noticed he was looking at other guys at school. And when he joined the rowing club, he was terrified of having to shower alongside the other members. He realized puberty had really hit him when he started losing control of his erections and breaking out in pimples at the most inconvenient times. He'd gotten fewer pimples as he spent more time showering and training. The erections, not so much. And here Jasper was telling him that it never mattered much? How could this not be massive and life-changing?

"You're kidding, right? Doesn't really matter?" Jeremy gasped. "It's been the most important thing on my mind for ages, and to you, it doesn't really matter?"

"Wait, you've been worried about this for a long time? Why didn't you say anything?" Jasper was stunned. "I mean, we're like friends. Best friends. Right?"

He couldn't believe Jeremy had had this on his mind for so long and hadn't told him. He'd mentioned their family pet dying, and he'd even cried on his shoulder about it. But this, he had not told!?

He had unconsciously pushed himself back on the couch to be in a better position to stare in astonishment at Jeremy.

Jeremy was unable to speak. The words had hit him like a ton of bricks. He had wanted to tell… but he was too afraid of ruining everything. Even thinking about telling Jasper had resulted in a slew of doom scenarios, with everyone finding out and hating him. His parents wanting him to move out, and he'd never live it down in school. His throat tightened, and his shoulders began to shake. The stress was getting the better of him and a small sob escaped.

Jasper noticed how his friend had almost crawled into the couch's corner, his shoulders shaking, and… was that a sob? Was Jeremy crying? A huge wave of concern washed over him. No, no, that was not what he had wanted to happen. He wanted to be there for his friend. He was not angered. Perhaps confused, but certainly not mad. On a whim, he threw himself on Jeremy and hugged him tightly.

"Dude!" he exclaimed. Dude was something he said all the time. It was such an all-encompassing word. It could be someone, something, or don't be silly. Like apple sauce, he used it for everything.

He felt Jeremy move beneath him and begin to hug him back. His head was now resting on his shoulder, the opposite of how it had been in the showers, and he could feel his friend heaving, sobbing, and crying. "Dude…", he said again, as in, everything would be alright.

Jeremy could not help but let everything out. He had not realized how big of a deal this had been for him. He had thought he had handled everything calmly and considerately up to this point. But this huge outpouring of emotions also told him it had, in fact, been a big deal. A huge deal. And all he could do now was go with the flow, trusting Jasper to have his back.

They sat like that for a while, and Jeremy gradually began to calm down. The sobbing subsided, and he was able to wipe away a single last and lost tear. Oh, god, he had totally drenched Jasper's shoulder. The shirt was completely soaked. "I'm sorry," he apologized.

Jasper pushed back a little and looked Jeremy in the eyes, "Don't be." And, unsure of what to do or how far he could go, he settled on kissing Jeremy on the forehead.

Jeremy smiled. "Silly!" he exclaimed, planting a big kiss on Jasper's lips. Nothing hot or sexual, just a big grateful kiss. Okay, and he had wanted to show where kisses were supposed to be planted. Just a little at least.

Chapter 3

A few days had gone by, Jeremy and Jasper had not seen each other since the weekend and their very tumultuous day at the rowing club. They went to different schools and thus didn't see each other very often outside of practice. Except for a few random afternoons when they decided to do some homework or play video games together. However, it had been a hectic couple of days for both, with school, homework, and parents nagging them about chores and getting things done.

However, Tuesday evening was their training night. They had started real early so that they still had some light to go on the water. Rowing in fragile boats in the dark was not a good idea, and the club forbade it. So they spent half of their practice time in the boat and the other half doing weights and other indoor exercises.

The weekend's experience in the shower, as well as the subsequent discussions, had not gone down easy for either of them. Each had their own troubles with it.

You could argue that Jasper had had it the easiest. His main issue was that he was completely unfamiliar with everything. Jasper, who was twelve years old, was almost a year younger than Jeremy. He looked up to his older friend and wondered how much of a difference a year could really make. His primary concerns during the day were school and his difficulties with math. Or where to go with the latest story he was working on, or how to find new photographic challenges. And rowing of course, but he was afraid that that was something that was more important to Jeremy as well.

Most of all, he wondered if it was 'normal' for him to be uninterested in girls. Or any other type of relationship. Some of his classmates were going on about how hot this was or how hot she was. The stories they told couldn't possibly be true. And Jeremy was usually the first to bring up which actresses or actors he thought were 'hot'. Or he was telling about the girlfriend he had just before he starting rowing. Whatever.

But, oh my goodness! This weekend's events had thrown him for a loop. He'd never felt himself become so consumed by emotions before. He'd been so cold after falling into the water while trying to get out of his boat. He couldn't shake the cold even after sitting in the hot shower for quite a while.

And then Jeremy walked in. He'd begun by simply touching his arm and rubbing it warm. That had felt fantastic. And when Jeremy had hesitated rubbing warm his other arm, he had stepped closer. Inviting Jeremy to go on. And after that, something had come over him and taken control. Thinking about it now felt like watching a movie. Had he really been the one who inched closer and closer until they were finally locked in a tight embrace?

He must have been, but as Jeremy's arms wrapped around him, rubbing up and down his back, his body decided to summon all of its hormonal reserves and serve up a raging erection. Of course, he'd had erections in the past; he was a normal, healthy young man. However, they were almost always random occurrences. If it didn't happen at a very bad moment, he had even spent some time playing with it, discovering how his body was changing and reacting. This time however, it was definitely not a random occurrence. He was well aware of what, or rather, who, was causing his boner to attempt to poke a hole in his underwear. But Jeremy's embrace had made him feel safe. It felt like coming home after a long vacation. And he wasn't the only one who had given a standing ovation, which he found amusing. Perhaps it was even a compliment? Was that a real thing?

Jeremy had gone down a completely different rabbit hole. He'd had 'the talk' when he turned ten. He was now well aware that he was in puberty and that hormones had taken over his life. For the time being, at least. While they can be a lot of fun, they can also wreak havoc on everything.

Jeremy's parents had given him the talk, fully expecting the need to warn him about teenage pregnancy, STDs, and what might happen if he and his girlfriend decided to take the plunge and really go for it. It had been awkward, graphic, and confusing all at the same time. His parents had tried to rip the band-aid off his innocence.

At the time, he was still with Abby, his girlfriend. But, as he learned more about the birds and bees, he became increasingly uncomfortable with his current relationship. He'd tried some kissing and maybe even a little feeling, but it was more because Abby had pushed for it. The kissing had been nice though. Lips were mesmerizing, whoever's they were. He'd heard of guys who liked boobs or butts… but if he was anything, he was a lips-guy.

Not long after, Jeremy began to have the uneasy feeling that he was acting like he was in a relationship. He was playing a part. And Abby was willing to go a lot further in the whole relationship thing than he was. Breaking up with her was probably one of the hardest things he'd ever done in his young life. He'd tried the 'let's just be friends' approach. But that didn't work because one of them still wanted more. Starting rowing had been a lifeline for him. It took up his time, and it felt like he had a reason to be doing something else, to not hang out with Abby any longer, which meant that even being friends had to come to an end at some point.

Now, let's get back to the hormones. A lot of what his parents had told him didn't make any sense. Aside from the physical changes he was noticing in himself. And in his classmates in gym class, or in the shower after rowing practice. And he'd discovered a certain fascination in comparing himself to his friends, looking at them, and thinking about them. One thing had led to another. While lying in bed at night, trying to rub away the most vexing boner of his life, his thoughts had taken a wild turn, with guys soaping up after gym and everyone getting a boner. Some were small, while others resembled what he had seen on the internet. And they'd all started rubbing those boners like he was rubbing his own at the moment. It only took about ten seconds for him to have the strongest climax he'd ever had. WTF!

It was like finally locating the missing puzzle piece. He'd never felt this way about Abby before. He'd never felt this way about any girl before. But he realized how much more he had been thinking about guys, and he realized it wasn't just out of curiosity. It had all been just for lust. And, looking back, it wasn't anything new. At his previous school, he had been bullied by students who referred to him as a sissy or a nancy-boy. Gay-boy.

But, was that perhaps what he was? Gay? He didn't consider himself a sissy. Nah, he could run laps around anyone. He could bench press more weight than the majority of his classmates. He knew that for a fact, they had tried in gym. Not only that, but he had left them eating his proverbial dust!

And so, just three weeks after learning how not to get a girl pregnant, Jeremy came to a life-changing decision. He had nothing to be concerned about in that regard because he was gay. He wasn't bi or flex, not even a little. Jeremy liked guys.

That's when a whole new can of worms opened up to make life just a little bit more difficult. He didn't want to be bullied again. Changing schools was necessary because he couldn't stand another day at his old school, but it was extremely difficult to start over at a new school. However, for the first time, he was in a class that was not ruled by bullies. He wanted to keep things as they were. As a result, he found himself unable to express his true emotions to anyone, and he was forced to take on yet another role. Perhaps he should consider a career as an actor. Was that why so many actors seemed to be gay? They had too much life experience in playing roles?

All of this had combined to make his experience with Jasper one of the best, but also one of the scariest, he had ever had. He couldn't believe he'd told Jasper he was into guys. Not in so many words, but he guessed Jasper got the gist of him asking if Jasper was into guys… too. I mean, it was pretty self-evident, right?

But that meant his secret was no longer a secret. He was out. Would everyone know now? What if people at school found out? Was he going to be bullied again? Was he going to be 'the sissy guy' again? He didn't think he could handle it.

So, before they met again, both boys had had a tumultuous couple of days, and there was a lot of tension in the air. Their coach, a twenty-five-year-old guy with extensive rowing experience, couldn't help but notice. As far as coaches go, they'd had a pretty good run. Rick was a tough coach with a laid-back personality. He was also quite large. Not like heavy, but he was tall! Six feet four inches would be a safe bet. Dark brown hair, a slim build, but with a massive chest. Jasper and Jeremy were secretly hoping that all of their hard work in rowing would pay off in the form of a similar physique.

Rick had started their training with some time in the boats that day. He had one boat for each, so he could set them up to compete for a few runs. He'd timed them, and they were way off from what they were normally capable of. Rick had them dock their boats, and after they had cleared them away, he took them aside for a talk.

"So, guys, what's up?" he wanted to know. "Your times are way off, and Jeremy, you should know better than to dip so deep."

Jeremy looked down, knowing he hadn't brought his A-game today. "I'm sorry, Rick," he apologized, "I'm not sure what's wrong today."

They were still in the boathouse, the boys sitting down next to the weight rack and the ergs.

"How about you, Jasper?" Rick inquired, towering over the two of them.

Jasper felt intimidated. He wasn't exactly tall for a twelve-year-old. And Rick seemed to be twice his height.

"I… ehm… I'm not sure," Jasper stuttered. He was feeling very sorry. Not for himself, but primarily towards Rick. He was always striving to make his coach proud. That was the kind of inspiration he provided; he made you like him, which made you want to do your absolute best. His compliments were rare, but they were enormously satisfying as a result.

Jasper and Jeremy were both staring at their feet at this point. Still in their tight rowing attire, short pants, slip on shoes, Jasper noticed how much hairier Jeremy's legs were. What a difference a year made; his own legs were silky smooth! Wait, he should stop thinking about Jeremy's legs. Stop… Looking…!

Jasper snapped out of his trance and looked back up at Rick.

"We could do some weights perhaps? And practice some more on the ergs… to make up?", he tried to placate Rick.

Rick put on his best serious face. He was not mad at all, but he did demand to be taken serious, as a coach. As a result, some acting was required at times to get through. Especially for the younger children. Even though Jeremy was thirteen and Jasper was twelve, they were still kids to him.

Rick was now making a show of giving in. "You know what? I believe I have earned a good cup of coffee… and I believe you have earned the privilege of lifting weights while I sit and drink my coffee. Agreed?" he made pretense of glaring at them.

"Sir, yes!" Both Jeremy and Jasper stood up right away.

Rick took off his jacket and went inside to make some coffee and have the guys figure things out for themselves. He would have been content to leave the training at that, but if they felt they owed him a little more effort, who was he to argue?

Jeremy watched Rick leaving the boathouse and going inside. You should be aware that boathouses are extremely long. They house huge boats that can seat up to eight people in a row. And their boat house could accommodate three of them in a row. As far as boathouses go, their club had a relatively large one. As a result, Rick took a while to leave their sight.

"So, where do you want to start?" Jeremy asked Jasper, looking around.

"Let's use the bench, I'll spot you," he answered.

Jeremy approached the bench with a large bar installed above it. He put on some weights, nothing too heavy, and laid himself down. Jasper walked over as well and stood at his head's end, handing the bar to the waiting Jeremy.

When Jeremy looked up, he couldn't help but notice that he was staring directly at Jasper's crotch. The tight rowing pants left little room for imagination. He lowered the bar and then raised it again.

Under the pants, he could see the lines of Jasper's underwear. He dropped the bar again and began pushing it back up.

It was almost as if something twitched in Jasper's pants. The bar dropped, and pushing it back up became increasingly difficult; he began to breathe heavily.

Jasper, meanwhile, had been focused on keeping his hands ready on the bar. Ready to seize it if Jeremy became too tired and dropped the weights, or let it slip. He noticed that Jeremy looked very focused. And as he watched the muscles in his arms grow taut, he let his gaze glide over the rest of Jeremy's body.

It was strange, almost as if Jeremy had become a completely different person. Or he was looking at Jeremy through very different eyes. Just as he had noticed the hairs on his friend's legs earlier, he now noticed the abs that crunched together with each lift. And how his shirt had lifted slightly to reveal a hint of his flat stomach. When he dared to venture further south, he was surprised to notice something long and elongated in Jeremy's equally tight pants. No way, seriously? Was he sporting a boner? The mere thought caused his own body to react, and he nearly missed the fact that Jeremy had almost failed to lift the weights that last time.

"Once more… with feeling!" He chuckled as he gently assisted Jeremy in pushing the weights back up. Slowly, the bar rose, and he made it safely lock into the stand.

Jeremy was gasping for air and needed a moment to catch his breath. As he recovered from his exertion, he attempted to sit up and only then realized how horribly his erection was pressing against the elastic fabric. "Oh, I'm sorry," he apologized to Jasper, pointing to his own crotch.

"No worries, dude," Jasper shrugged. But, in secret, he couldn't take his gaze away from Jasper's package. The enchantment was perplexing. He tried to compensate for himself by getting busy, "My turn!"

As Jasper laid himself down on the bench, Jeremy quickly dropped the weights to something a little lighter. He could see Jasper rolling his eyes. "Seriously, I'm not trying to hurt you here! Let's see if you can match my fifteen with these," he said to Jasper.

Jasper grabbed the bar and looked left, then right, and finally straight up. Jeremy's dick was now obscenely tenting the front of his Lycra pants and protruding over Jasper's head. He dropped the bar and pushed it back up. The bar almost caught Jeremy on the dick, which made Jasper laugh.

He dropped and lifted the bar again, this time almost aiming for Jeremy's protruding dick. "Hey, knock it off!" Jeremy complained.

The bar dropped again, and this time he made contact. He expected the dick to be soft and squishy, absorbing the impact, but it turned out to be much more rigid than he had anticipated. Jeremy pretended as if nothing had occurred.

So Jasper lowered the bar and continued to aim for Jeremy's crotch; he managed to gently press against it at least eight more times before he felt he didn't have enough energy to lift the bar.

As he pushed up one last time, he made a strange, primordial "Ungh" sound and clicked the bar into its stand. He let his hands slide across the bar to the center, where they collided against Jeremy's stomach. Would he dare? He did dare! He let his hands fall in such a way that they both glided down completely against Jeremy's erection. It felt warm and smooth, and the moment passed far too quickly for Jasper's liking.

Jeremy didn't fully comprehend what had occurred, except that he felt a very satisfying touch on his groin after becoming quite excited as the bar continued to press into his raging erection. He was certain Jasper was not doing this by accident. And just as he was about to finish, Jasper managed to drop his hands in such a way that he could have almost grabbed a full hold of him.

"Dude! You are rock hard," Jasper exclaimed, both eyebrows raised in amazement.

"No shit doofus, you kept feeling me up!" Jeremy retorted, his cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

However, things took a turn for the worse when they noticed light at the other end of the boathouse. A door had been opened.

Jeremy swiftly turned around and grabbed a sandbag. He tried holding it up against himself, similar to how he would hold up a backpack if he were in the same predicament at school.

As he watched Rick walk briskly down the aisle, Jasper looked down at himself and saw that he was nearly presentable again himself.

Jeremy made a show of lifting and dropping the sandbag, all the while hoping that the damned thing would just go down.

"We must stop doing this!" he exclaimed to Jasper.

"What?" Jasper asked.

"If we keep touching each other, someone will notice." Jeremy replied.

Jasper realized it wasn't necessary for anyone to see him touching Jeremy's dick, even if it was by accident. So, a mishap? But it wasn't that big of a deal otherwise, was it? Weren't they friends? Jeremy also frequently wrapped his arm around his shoulders. Friends joke around.

"Whatever," Jasper said, unconcerned.

This irritated Jeremy even more. "Just don't!" he exclaimed.

"Don't what?" Rick wanted to know, approaching the boys with a puzzled look on his face.

"Nothing, really," Jeremy said quickly, his face flushed. He couldn't keep the sandbag up any longer. To his relief, his annoyance had reduced his boner to something relatively decent.

Rick shrugged, as if he didn't care. "All right, guys, enough is enough. Take a shower and go home." He began to walk away, but then turned around. "Oh, and could you please lock up? My girl is waiting for me at home," he said slyly.

Jasper and Jeremy exchanged glances. "Sure, no problem," Jeremy replied, feeling it was his duty as the older of the two to respond. "Ehm, have fun?" he tried.

Rick continued down the aisle, waving to them. They saw him leave the boathouse.

Jasper snatched his towel from the chair, spun it a few times to tighten it up, and flicked it at Jeremy with a quick wrist movement.

"Ouch!" Jeremy exclaimed.

"That's what you get for being such a grump!" Jasper stated. "What were you fussing about right now!"

Jeremy rubbed the sore spot on his upper leg. "You should be more careful with what you do," he advised Jasper, "what if someone notices?"

"So, what?" Jasper inquired. "We act silly all the time. We're friends. Is it because of our hug? The shower?" he continued. "And you were the one sporting a huge boner over my face just now," he added accusingly.

Jeremy became irritated as well. "Well, sor-ry! As if you're Mr. Perfect, always in complete control of your body," he replied. He was agitated, but he couldn't figure out where it was coming from. In more ways than one, puberty was a b*tch.

Jeremy sat himself down on the bench again. What was going on? What was the cause of this argument? He buried his face in his hands.

Jasper let out a deep sigh, willing himself to unwind. His mother had taught him meditation since he was really young, and it helped him now when he needed to relax. The pang of rage subsided as he felt the air leave his lungs. He took a seat next to Jeremy on the weightlifting bench.

"I just don't get it," Jasper admitted. "You let me come all close first, and then you just clamp down completely and shut me out."

Jeremy thought about it. Is that what he did? Yes, he thought he might actually be doing that. He couldn't reconcile how, on the one hand, he was ecstatic that Jasper had allowed him to get this close to him. On the other hand, being terrified of being found out by anyone else. A tremor of fear went through his body as he experienced a short flashback of how he had been bullied at his previous school.

Jasper had thrown an arm around Jeremy and felt the shudder go through him. "Dude, what's wrong?" he asked.

"I'm not sure if I can tell," Jeremy began, "some bad things from my old school. I'm sorry, but I never really told you about it."

Jasper had an idea as to what was wrong. As a student himself, he was well aware of bullies and the impact they had on others. He had a feeling whatever was bothering Jeremy had something to do with being bullied.

"Did people give you a hard time?" he asked cautiously, not wanting to pry too deeply.

Jeremy only managed to nod his head.

"Was it… really bad?" Jasper ventured.

Jeremy nodded his head again, tears welling up in his eyes now.

Jasper was at a loss as to what to say or do. He could only think of one thing. He grabbed hold of Jeremy and pulled his older friend in a close embrace.

"I'm here for you," he said softly.

Chapter 4

Jeremy wiped the last of his tears away and just hung against Jasper. They were in the boathouse's small indoor training area. It was completely enclosed, with only a few high windows allowing light in. Weights, benches, and, of course, rowing ergs, which no good rowing club could do without, were present.

They were sitting next to each other on one of the weight-lifting benches. The soft covering of the bench was indented where they sat, the faux-leather of the bench sticking to their sweaty bare legs.

Jasper was suddenly hit with a bolt of lightning. No, rather, it was a fantastic idea. "Why don't you come over to my place again tomorrow? It's been a while," Jasper ventured.

Jeremy raised his head and gazed into Jasper's brown eyes. It had been a while indeed. "Of course, why not? Like, after school?" he inquired.

Jasper gave it some thought. "I could ask mum if she wouldn't mind having you over for dinner as well," he suggested, "and then you could stay even a little longer."

Jeremy's face lit up at the thought; that would be nice. He knew from previous visits that Jasper's mother was a fantastic cook. She made the most delicious biscuits and sandwiches. "I'll have to ask my parents as well," he said.

"No problem, let's agree to both ask tonight, and then we'll message each other to know if we're on for tomorrow," Jasper said excitedly. The idea of spending all afternoon and the evening with Jeremy was something to look forward to indeed. He was at that awkward age where you stopped having 'play dates', but still just wanted to have friends over every now and then. And, well… okay, he had to admit, play.

That evening, both Jeremy and Jasper let their parents know about their plans. And, barring any homework issues, both sets of parents gave consent. Though Jeremy had to promise to behave as well. As if he wouldn't!

That evening, after dinner, Jasper texted Jeremy. "Wass up?"

"C'mon, what did your parents say?" Jeremy texted back.

Jasper typed, "They're okay with it, we're having pasta, we always have too much. And urs?"

Oh, Jeremy had forgotten that Jasper would not know. "Yeah, I can come over and stay for dinner," he replied quickly.

Jasper send back a GIF of some skater dude jumping in the air. "SWEET!"

Jeremy quickly snapped a selfie looking exasperated and sent it to Jasper.

"Ohhh, we're sexting now, are we?" he sent back, pulling Jeremy's leg.

On the other end of the phone, Jeremy had gone twenty shades of red. It had been a picture of him lying in bed, but he had had his clothes on. Worst case scenario, Jasper could see his pillow sheet had a floral print. It took him a second to realize Jasper was making fun of him. Two could play that game, and he quickly sent back an eggplant emoji. Which, for some absurd reason, had nothing to do with any actual eggplants in the world of texting.

Now, Jasper was a bit of a newbie on the texting scene. He knew what sexting was, they had gotten a lecture on the dangers of that at school. But what was the deal with texting back vegetables? Ha, it did actually look like a big purple dick if he looked at it just right. Wait, no… it couldn't be?

He quickly opened another tab and googled eggplant emoji, and quickly Google gave Jasper an important life lesson. Not all eggplants are what they appear to be. This was basically an emoji for a dick-pic! Even though he had not really intended to take this conversation this way, he could not deny feeling somewhat excited now. This was pretty much on the edge. School had basically said this was dangerous territory. Which, of course, made it fascinating. Would he dare take it a bit further?

He was lying in his own bed. The covers were pulled up high because it wasn't all that warm. His bedside lamp was turned on, but the rest of his room was already dark. This was probably a good thing because Jasper was not the most organized person and his room could use a good cleaning before Jeremy arrived. But, as long as no one broke their neck, everything should be fine.

His focus returned to his phone. He'd been quiet for a while, and Jeremy was probably waiting for a response. He drew his covers down a little more and looked down at his lithe frame with just a smidgeon of abs on him. He took a picture of his chest looking down at his belly button and sent it to Jeremy before he could change his mind. No text, let's just see what he'd make of this!

Jeremy had actually just put his phone away after no longer receiving any replies from Jasper. He assumed Jasper had become bored and had fallen asleep. When he heard a buzz on his bedside table, he instinctively grabbed his phone and clicked to see what had been sent. He almost dropped his phone between his bed and bedside table, but he caught it just in time. Oh my gosh! Full-screen, a bare-chested Jasper had jumped out at him. He could see his friend's completely hairless and thin frame. The slight rise of the pectoral muscles, and then lower he could follow the abdominal muscles down to a very cute little bellybutton. He shouldn't be thinking it, but he was almost saddened to see the view come to an end on the edge of a pushed back blanket. However, when he quickly zoomed in on the image, he noticed a distinct lack of pajamas or briefs. Did Jasper sleep in his underwear? Or nude? He had no idea because they had never had a sleepover.

Jeremy could feel a tent forming underneath the sheets, and it was not just a tiny little bump in the sheets. He could have started a circus underneath it, complete with elephants and all. He didn't dare to go naked, like Jasper, but he was going to give his friend a big surprise. He drew back his sheets most of the way, like Jasper, but he clearly showed the tent at the end. He took a quick photo, checked it to make sure nothing was showing that he didn't want to show, and sent it back to Jasper. He realized he had been holding his breath out of excitement and let out a massive sigh. Oh my goodness! What on earth had he done?

Jasper had been holding his breath as well. After sending the photo, he couldn't stop wondering if he had misunderstood Jeremy's joke. Jeremy would know that an eggplant had a double meaning on the internet, wouldn't he? The longer he waited, the more concerned he became. He'd started to get aroused immediately after sending the photo… the worries had definitely dampened his mood for the time being. Had it been too much? Had he jeopardized his friendship with Jeremy?

Jasper's screen lit up with a buzz. Jeremy has sent you 1 message. Was he going to get a good earful? As soon as he clicked open the message, he realized he wasn't going to get an earful, but an eyeful. DUDE! His gaze was immediately drawn to the massive tent beneath Jeremy's sheets. Surely he must be faking it? But wait, one hand was on his stomach, and the other was probably holding the phone. Then it can't be his hand pushing up a tent.

He slid his hand down and pushed the covers down. Jasper jr. appeared to have quickly regained his composure and jumped up. But, in terms of tents, he'd be lucky to just go camping. He gave it a few tugs and there was a small tent-wise improvement. His friend, on the other hand, had the upper hand. Would a year's difference in age make such a difference? He wished he could peer down the sheets on the photo and properly compare. This only led to more tugging, and before he knew it, he was jerking his young dick while looking at Jeremy's photo and imagining himself holding it. His mind turned to those moments at the rowing club under the showers where Jeremy, and himself, had sometimes sported unexpected boners.

It felt like he had been jerking it for over five minutes, but in reality, he suddenly and forcefully reached the finish line in about 40 seconds. He had not been very active sexually, I mean, not with himself of course. He had jerked it for a while because it felt nice, comforting. But this was different. His heart was racing, it felt like he was on the last 100 meters of a rowing match. And then, all of a sudden, he finished, and there was a sense of release… and wetness all over his hand. Another resounding DUDE rang out in his head, it had never done that before! It was not much, but surely, this was what everyone had been talking about. Ejaculation, orgasm… cum!

He sniffed his hand; it didn't smell like anything. Curiosity drove him to stick out the tip of his tongue and give his hand the tiniest of licks. Nah, nothing. Not even what he'd imagine pee would taste like. Slippery though. He wiped his hand clean on the sheets that hung over the side of the bed closest to the wall because it wasn't much. Nobody would notice.

His heart rate was now returning to normal. He was feeling incredibly relaxed and then he realized he hadn't yet responded to Jeremy. No, this was not something he dared take a photo of. Instead, he went for his emojis. Eggplant, rain, zzzzzz. Let Jeremy make of that what he wanted. He sent the message, returned the phone to his bedside table, and promptly fell asleep.

On the other end of the line, Jeremy had been waiting for Jasper's response to his rather risqué photo. Was it too… gay? He'd always heard stories about guys sending dick pics or photos of their tented shorts to other guys. The best stories began there. Some of the porn he'd been looking at online consisted of collections of dick pictures. He thought he had a good understanding of all the different shapes and sizes they came in. He figured his wasn't too bad. Except for the slight curve to the left, which had worried him for a while as he began to grow and develop larger erections. He'd convinced himself that only half of his dick had started growing, and the other half was probably damaged goods. But, as the internet pointed out, they come in all shapes, sizes… and directions.

His phone buzzed and flashed to notify him that Jasper had finally responded. He opened it, hoping to find another photograph. But all he received were emojis. Eggplang, rain , and sleep? It took a few seconds for his tired brain to connect the dots, or rather, the emojis. No way…! Was Jasper telling him that he had jerked his eggplant, came like it was raining, and had now nodded off to sleep? This was no longer hinting at things. Jasper had basically had sex with himself while watching Jeremy's boner photo. This was more action than he'd ever had, at least in terms of involving another human being and outside of his own imagination.

His mind went in to overdrive, and his hormones pushed it even further. He threw back his sheets and he hardly had to touch his dick before it spewed out a few big wads of thick white cum all over his chest. Jeremy wasn't new to choking the chicken, giving himself a hand, milking the monster… but it had been a long time since he had come without barely touching himself. It was like waking up in a wet dream.

For Jeremy, there was no way he could wipe anything off on the side of the bed. He was, however, always prepared, with an old sock stuffed between his mattress and the bed. He was very careful to always make the sock vanish before his mother did the beds. Thank goodness she was as consistent as a clock. He quickly cleaned up and stuffed the sock back where it had appeared from. He took one last look at his phone, admiring Jasper's photo, before falling asleep as well.

NEXT DAY

The next day, school seemed to last an eternity. Jasper and Jeremy were not only in different years, they both attended different schools. But apparently, the universe had deemed fit to slow down time at both schools, as both Jeremy and Jasper felt like their six-hour schedule for today lasted thirteen hours, without breaks.

Of course, there was nothing wrong with the universe, and time moved at the same rate in both schools. But when you have high hopes and big plans for the afternoon, time seems to slow way down.

Jeremy and Jasper rode their bikes to school. They lived close enough not to need to go by bus. When their schedules coincided, they would usually meet halfway when they were both on their way home. They had already texted each other during their lunch breaks and agreed to meet halfway under the bridge they had to pass through on their way home. Normally they'd go their own ways again in about ten minutes, but this time, Jeremy would continue with Jasper to his home. Everything he needed was already in his backpack.

Jasper had arrived first and was looking forward to Jeremy's arrival beneath the bridge. It was a secluded space. Every day, only a few people on foot or by bike would pass beneath this section of the bridge. Because of that, it was also a rather messy place. The area was littered with cardboard boxes and bottles. He'd heard that this was a popular spot for homeless people to sleep at night. Though, personally, he had never seen anyone else here. He found it amusing that it gave some of his friends the creeps when they had to pass beneath the bridge here, but he found the solitude peaceful. It was a train bridge, but there weren't many trains passing overhead. So, it was usually also dead quiet here. He had even seen a fox scurrying around once.

Jasper had gotten off his bike and sat down on a large piece of concrete that was lying on the ground a little way off the biking path. His backpack was on the ground in front of him, and his bike was on its stand beside it. Browsing on his phone, Jasper couldn't help but go back to his chat with Jeremy and the photo of Jeremy's bare chest and huge bed-tent. It kept amazing him how much an angle could change how big a dick looked. In this photo, pointing straight down, actually not showing anything, Jeremy's dick looked way bigger than it ever did in the showers, when seen from the front.

You had showers and growers, according to his uncle, Geoff. Not that dicks were a common topic of conversation between his uncle and him. But, with his uncle an out-and-proud gay man, Jeremy had discovered that it made more sense to ask his uncle a few questions about puberty and development than his own father. Like, who would know more about guys and boys than a gay man? His uncle was also very close to their family. Uncle Geoff and his husband, Uncle Karl, came over frequently for dinner or to watch a movie or sports. Despite being gay, Geoff and Karl were both avid sports fans. Right there, another stereotype was thrown out the window.

Anyway, the topic of showers and growers had come up after a family outing in which he, his father, and his uncles went swimming in a lake. While drying off, he couldn't help but notice a distinct difference between his father and his uncle, his uncle dangling something resembling a snake beneath his towel. This prompted a remark about showers and growers, which his uncle explained to him later that afternoon in greater detail because it had left Jasper quite confused.

Anyway, there was Jasper, waiting for Jeremy under the bridge, staring at his phone and clearly lost in thought.

"Hello, sexy!" Someone yelled, whistling a well-known tune popular among construction workers.

That immediately drew Jasper's attention, and he looked up, locking his phone screen at the same time. He saw Jeremy had finally arrived.

"Look who finally decided to show up," Jasper remarked, tutting Jeremy.

"I couldn't help but be here early because school was out half an hour early. Some kid went berserk, causing a huge commotion, and they then announced that classes would end early." Jasper explained.

"I wonder what that was all about then," Jeremy said, dropping his bike next to Jasper's. He sat down next to his friend and quickly checked his phone. "Is there anything interesting on that?" he inquired.

Jasper showed Jeremy his phone, which now just had a lot of text on it. "I'm just reading some fanfic to get some inspiration," Jasper said. He had quickly changed which program was open.

"Oh, that's right. How is the writing going?" Jeremy asked, remembering Jasper had told him some time ago he was writing a story.

"I hit kind of a block I think. I don't know where to go from where I am now. That's why I'm trying to come up with some ideas. But every time I read something, and think, that's a great idea, I also feel like I can't use it because it's already been done. But that way, I'll never find anything original," Jasper explained, scrolling through the story as if looking for something.

"Well, I don't know what your story is about," Jeremy thought for a moment before continuing. "However, if all of the inspiration you find from other writers feels like it isn't your idea, why not try to incorporate some personal experiences into your story? Like, not literally, but use events that happened to you as things that happen to your characters. That might get your story rolling again."

Jasper smiled as he looked up. "You know, that's not such a bad idea," he said. "I might also be able to make the characters more realistic." Jasper stood up and stowed his phone. "All right, let's get started. The last one at my house is a turd!"

Both boys hopped on their bikes and raced towards Jasper's house. They went through a small park, dangerously crossed a road (that was never used by cars), and almost collided with a garbage can. Jasper beat Jeremy by the tiniest of margins because he knew the road a little better.

"TURD!" He yelled at Jeremy, holding his fingers in an L shape in front of his forehead.

Jasper's house was quite nice. Free-standing, with a lovely patch of grass in front, two stories, and extremely white. This seemed to be a recurring theme in Jasper's neighborhood. The flowers in front of the house really did seem to burst out in color though, against all that white.

Jasper opened the front door and welcomed Jeremy inside. Both kicked off their shoes and dashed up the stairs to deposit their bags. Jasper's parents hadn't arrived yet; they'd be home in about an hour. Jasper had the last bedroom upstairs, his parents had the first, and in between the bedrooms was an unconnected bathroom that they all shared.

Jasper's room was on the verge of becoming a teenager's room, with movie posters and a good shelf of books, but the toys on the floor and the stuffed bear on the bed told a story of boyhood not yet fully passed. Jeremy had been over before, and he liked that Jasper still slept with a big old teddy bear. It was cute that he wasn't afraid to show his boyish side. Actually, Jeremy didn't really think it was a very conscious decision of Jasper. He could be very child like at times… but, then again, he knew his emojis.

They both sat on Jasper's bed, their bags on the floor. Their breathing was still a little heavy from the sprint to Jasper's house. "So, turd, you have to tell me, what's the deal with the aubergines?" Jeremy asked, nudging Jasper in the side with his elbow.

Jasper raised his brows, aubergines? Then it hit him what Jeremy knew, and he turned a couple of shades of red, recalling his bedtime adventures right here, on this very same bed.

"Eggplants you mean, get your vegetables straight." Jasper said, pushing his own elbow into Jeremy's side.

Jeremy wasn't about to let this go with that, neither the remark, or the poking in his side. He twisted around and thrust both hands into Jasper's sides, launching a vicious tickle attack. "I know what eggplants are," he said emphatically, "I KNOW what eggplants are." "You were jerking off yesterday!"

Jasper could hardly catch his breath, he knew Jeremy wouldn't stop before he admitted it. He tried to hold out a little longer, but his bladder was begging him to stop the punishment. "OK, okay, I did it! I'm sorry, I was just in that kind of a mood," Jasper admitted, "and it was all your fault! Sending me pictures like that!" he said accusingly.

Jeremy had stopped tickling, but he was still lying halfway across Jasper, breathing almost as heavily. "I'm sorry if I went overboard. I don't know what happened," he almost whispered.

"DUDE, you let your dick do the texting! You were, like, dixting, or something!" Jasper said, still catching his breath, but making no effort to get away from under Jeremy.

Jeremy looked down at Jasper. The brown eyes staring back at him were almost hypnotizing him, as if a huge cobra was trying to enchant him. He was acutely aware of every contour of Jasper's body beneath him, every muscle and bone he could feel. And as he laid there quietly, he felt something else, a beating. He could feel Jasper's heartbeat, which was racing like crazy. Racing, like his own heart. "Yeah, well, and you seemed to really like it," he said, unable to admit how much he had liked it himself. He still couldn't openly admit his feelings, not even to Jasper. But he felt he was soooo close, it almost hurt how close he was to telling.

After a while of staring at each other, Jasper felt an unwelcome rise coming on, and he pushed Jeremy away before it became too obvious and awkward. He stood up because he needed to use the bathroom badly after that tickle attack. He walked to the door and, jokingly, told Jeremy to just come out and tell him if he was into him, right before stepping out into the hallway.

Jeremy tried to catch his breath, but his voice broke as he attempted to say, "I am." But, because he was in the throes of puberty, his voice broke down, and Jasper couldn't hear what had just been admitted. It was Jeremy's first time admitting his feelings for another boy, and he had gone unnoticed. How was he going to muster the courage to try again?

Chapter 5

When Jasper returned to his room, he found Jeremy sitting at his desk in front of his computer. On his desk were a couple of printouts with snippets of stories Jasper had been attempting to write, most of them not getting past the first chapter stage. Jeremy was rummaging through them, reading bits and pieces.

"Did you find anything worthy of a Pulitzer Prize in there?" Jasper asked, pointing to the now jumbled stack of papers.

"Pulitzer? Maybe not yet, but I enjoy your writing style. I was just wondering if this is all part of one story or a series of incomplete stories?" Jeremy inquired, in response.

Jasper sat on his bed with his head in his hands. "They're all different stories I started, but I never seem to finish anything." Jasper sounded depressed; this was clearly bothering him greatly.

"Do you have any idea what is preventing you from continuing with the stories?" Jasper inquired.

"No idea, I get a great idea, I start writing, and I seem to get lost, almost distracted, in what I'm writing. Until I have another brilliant idea," Jasper sighed, "and the whole thing starts all over again."

Jeremy kept staring at the stack of papers. Then he had an epiphany. "You know, something about this reminds me of something. This looks a lot like the trouble I had writing essays for school. I was constantly getting lost in what I wanted to write, and it became jumbled and unreadable. As if every essay was a never-ending story."

Jasper chuckled, "Which is, in its own, a very good story." The Never-Ending Story is one of his favorite books and movies. He immediately had a strong mental image of the film's main character, Atreyu. He was hot! Wait, where did that come from?

"Annnyywaaayyy," Jeremy tried to continue, "things really improved when I discussed my problems with my teachers, and we agreed they would set a maximum number of words allowed per essay, instead of a minimum required. That provided me with some clear guidelines. It would have to end at that number of words and no more. Anything I wanted to say had to fit right in between, which meant I had to plan my essay's outline."

"So you're saying I should decide how long I want a story to be first, then think about the outline and make it fit?" Jasper inquired. That actually made some sense to him.

"Yeah, and start off with short stories, I think. Like, ten pages at most, or something along those lines. And then built on that. Then it should be like practice: start small, build up, and finish strong." Jeremy flexed his arm muscles as he said this, emphasizing his words.

Jasper got out of bed and walked over to Jeremy. He sorted through the pile of papers. "You know, I had no idea you had these difficulties at school."

Looking up at Jasper, Jeremy threw back his head. "If only you knew. It's a never-ending struggle. Sometimes I feel like I have so much on my mind that there's no more room for algebra or essays," he said, exhausted. Jasper could not help picking up on that.

"Perhaps we should study together more often," Jasper said, "I would really like that, I think."

"Are you sure you can keep up with me?" Jeremy asked, smiling. "Remember, I'm a year your senior."

Jasper huffed and pushed against Jeremy's shoulder, spinning the desk chair. "I'm a language whiz, dude!"

Jeremy was now freely swiveling his chair and ended up with his legs wrapped around Jasper's. He grabbed his sides once more and dragged him forward, sparking another tickle frenzy.

Jasper was not going down without a fight this time, and he yanked on Jeremy's shirt to help him get out of the chair. They only succeeded partially and ended up on the floor, wrestling for a better position. In an unexpected turn of events, Jasper was able to get on top of Jeremy and pin him down. They were chest to chest, and Jasper smelled Jeremy's enticing sweaty odor. He inhaled deeply without thinking.

"YOU SNIFFED ME!" Jeremy exclaimed in amazement.

"Uhm, dude, no I didn't," Jasper tried.

"You absolutely did, you're perving on me!" Jeremy yelled.

"What the hell, dude, you actually smell really good," Jasper sniffed once more.

Jeremy continued to laugh as he lifted his head and sniffed Jasper's neck in turn. A lovely aroma of boy scents flew up his nose, lighting up all the nerve endings in his brain. He could feel Jasper quiver as his neck was sniffed. "Don't you like that?" He teased, sniffing on the other side now.

Jasper was shocked, "You totally sniffed me back!"

"Ha, so, you admit to sniffing me first." Jeremy gloated.

Jasper rolled off of Jeremy with an exasperated sigh. He sniffed Jeremy's hair deliberately now. "Mmm, nice," he said.

"Weirdo," Jeremy said, smiling.

At that moment, they heard a door slam shut downstairs. Jasper's parents must have gotten home. Both boys jumped up and rushed down to greet Jasper's parents.

As they rushed into the kitchen, Jasper's mother help up both hands in surrender. "Ho there!" she yelled.

Both boys stopped in their tracks. "Okay, come give me a hug," Jasper's mother relented, opening her arms.

Jeremy had no problem hugging Jasper's mum as well. He had often thanked her with a big hug, showing his appreciation for some of the most amazing sandwiches.

Holding both boys in her arms, she hugged them tightly. Jasper's mom was a sizeable woman, and her hugs were heartfelt and warming. She oozed 'mumness' and was, in Jeremy's opinion, a fantastic woman. "Hi Mrs. D!" Jeremy said.

Holding both boys at an arm's distance now, she asked with a very serious tone. "Now, tell me honestly, has Jasper remembered to offer his guest a drink?"

Jasper tried to squirm away, but Jeremy answered. "No, Mrs. D, but he didn't have a chance yet. We just got here ourselves, and we put our stuff away first."

Mrs. D looked both boys in the eyes carefully. "Well, if you're sure Jasper hasn't just forgotten, let me get you some lemonade now."

When his mother had turned around, Jasper nudged Jeremy in the side. "Thanks," he whispered.

Both boys sat down at the bar in the kitchen. It had four bar stools. There was a large kitchen table behind them, which was usually used for dinner and breakfast.

Both boys drank their lemonade and turned around to go back upstairs.

"WAIT!" Jasper's mother yelled. "Do you boys have any homework to do?" she asked.

Both boys looked at each other, and they shook their heads in unison.

Jasper said, "I finished mine at school, we were out early."

Jeremy told her they had not been given any homework for the weekend, as a reward for high marks on their spelling test.

"Okay, then, go on up and enjoy yourselves. Dinner will be ready in about two hours," she said, shooing both boys back up the stairs.

Back in Jasper's room, they looked around for a moment. Not really sure what to do.

"Want to play a video game?" Jasper asked his friend.

"Actually, to be honest, not really," Jeremy admitted. "You don't happen to have any real games, do you?"

Jasper thought for a moment, and then he remembered he had a cup with zombie dice in one of his drawers. It's a game of chance where you roll the dice, and you end up either killing zombies, or getting your brains eaten out of your skull.

He quickly explained it to Jeremy, and his friend really seemed to like the whole zombie vibe. So, Jasper quickly dug up the cup with zombie dice and got them both started.

After a couple of rounds, they were pretty much tied score-wise.

"Want to make things more interesting?" Jeremy asked after winning another round, evening the score yet again.

"Dude, you're not seriously going to propose turning Zombie Dice into something like strip poker, are you?" Jasper joked.

Jeremy couldn't help wondering for a moment if that would work, but it was actually not what he had had in mind. "Nah, if you want to get undressed, that's up to you, but it's not what I had in mind," he replied. "No, I thought it might be fun to add another reward for the winner. Like, getting to ask a question that has to be answered honestly. And, if you get your brains eaten, you have to answer a question."

Jasper considered it for a moment. "So, basically, a mashup of truth or dare and Zombie Dice?" he asked.

"Kinda, except you don't get to choose. Winning or losing determines whether you get to ask a question, or have to reveal your deepest and darkest secrets!" Jeremy explained, ending his explanation in an ominous voice.

Seeing as it was now Jasper's turn, he wanted to make sure he understood the new rules right. "So, if I win this round, I get to ask you anything?" he asked.

"Yes, but, if you loose and get your brains eaten, I'll be the one that actually gets to pick your brain!" Jeremy added.

"Okay, seems fair, here we go!" Jasper exclaimed, throwing the dice.

In just a couple of throws, it became apparent that Jasper's brain was very much on the line, and he began getting nervous.

"Ehm, do you think we should set some boundaries on what can be asked?" Jasper tried.

Both boys were now sitting on the carpeted floor, and Jeremy leaned back, relaxed. "Nope, that's part of the fun! Why? Do you have any huge secrets for me to find out?" he asked inquisitively.

Jasper considered for a moment. As far as he knew, there were no huge secrets in his life. He was just hoping he wouldn't be asked anything ridiculous, like, if he had ever eaten a booger.

With the next throw, Jasper lost the remainder of his lives and his brain was forfeit.

"Omnomnom!" Jeremy said, smacking his lips. "Your brain is mine!" He leaned forward and grasped Jasper's head between his hands, and he pretended to take a bite out of his skull.

"Noooo, not my brain!" Jasper squealed, pretending he was trying to get free.

Jeremy let go after a few seconds of gnawing. "So, now I get to pick your brain!" he said in a challenging tone.

"Fine, go ahead, ask away." Jasper relented.

Jeremy thought for a moment. Come to think of it, he didn't really know many personal details about his friend. Other than his family that is, whom he loved. He thought of a perfect question to start with.

"Who was your first real kiss?" he asked, pushing his finger into Jasper's ribs.

Oh wow, that was not what Jasper had been expecting. And he would have to be honest. He began fidgeting a little where he was sitting.

"Come on, out with it! Who was the lucky girl?" he asked. "Or, was it a boy?" he continued.

"Welll," Jasper began, not really wanting to answer. "To be really honest…" he let Jeremy wait in anticipation. He sighed, "Okay, honestly, I never really kissed anyone. Not like that anyway." Throwing his hands up in the air he exclaimed, "There! Happy now?"

Jeremy quickly understood he had touched on a sensitive subject. He knew his friend was not really busy with the whole girlfriend/boyfriend thing. To be honest, he still was not entirely sure which way Jasper swung. But most of his friends his age had be now at least kissed someone already. He reached out to Jasper, "sorry dude," using Jasper's catchphrase, "it's okay if you have never kissed someone before."

Jasper simply harumpfed. "If it's no big deal, then why ask?" he grumbled.

This time Jeremy threw up his arms. "It's… a guy thing. I guess," he tried to explain. "I guess we always wonder what the other guy has done, or how we compare under the showers. You know, stuff like that."

Jasper thought he understood, but he still did not like it. "Well, who should have kissed me?" he said. "I've never had someone special. No girl, and no, no guy either."

Jeremy was still left wondering about what Jasper might actually prefer. He had an idea now and asked, "Okay, I'll change my question. If you could have your very first kiss, would you like it to be with a girl or a guy?"

Jasper sighed, not much of an improvement. But, at least, this was something he had been thinking about lately as well. He wasn't sure he really cared. With his uncles as a role model for gay men, and his parents as an example of a good heterosexual relationship, he had always thought it didn't really matter. But, especially after the last couple of days with Jeremy, he had started to have doubts again. Where did he stand? Did he have any real preference?

"To be honest, I don't really know. I've never kissed either, but right now, I'm not opposed to trying either," Jasper admitted, then he giggled. "Not like I'll get a chance to try, I guess."

Jeremy felt his face flush. Oh, he wanted so much to plant a big wet one on Jasper right here and now!

"You know, you're not bad looking. At least, I don't think so. You shouldn't pull yourself down like you do," he told Jasper.

"Hah, I bet," Jasper said, sounding unconvinced, perhaps even a little dejected.

Jeremy couldn't take it anymore. He hated seeing Jasper down like this, feeling like he had caused it. And he wanted to kiss him, so very much. He took a deep breath and finally said, softly, "I wouldn't mind being your first kiss."

That drew Jasper's attention up. Had he understood correctly? Was Jeremy really proposing to be his first kiss? Did he want Jeremy to be his first kiss? When he looked at Jeremy, he could tell he was just as nervous as he was. Think about it: he could be seconds away from his first kiss! He had a strange feeling in his stomach; was this what they called feeling butterflies?

"Don't leave me hanging," Jeremy lamented. Jasper realized he had not given Jeremy an answer, he had drifted off for a moment amongst his butterflies and the fantasy of a kiss. Yes, he decided he'd like Jeremy to be his first. He gave a quick nod of his head.

That was all Jeremy needed. He moved forward, taking Jasper's head in his hands once more, but this time he wasn't going to be gnawing on his skull. Their faces moved closer together, and Jeremy felt Jasper's breath brush against his lips as they almost touched. Then, he made contact.

They kissed at first as if it were a long hello or goodbye kiss. Lips pressed together, faces pressed together, nothing else. Jasper was, of course, completely inexperienced, and Jeremy's few attempts had been less than stellar. They moved closer as they felt themselves becoming more at ease with each other, and their kiss evolved into a loving embrace.

Jeremy decided he'd see if Jasper was ready for another step and softly tried parting his lips, touching Jasper's with his tongue. Jasper soon caught on and opened his lips as well, allowing Jeremy to enter his mouth just a little bit. Their tongues met and they mimicked the boys' embrace. Passion overwhelmed them and what had started as a cool 'tv'-kiss soon became a lustful entanglement of their bodies and their tongues.

It was as if the floodgates had opened for Jasper. Was this kissing? Had he been missing out on this!? He couldn't get enough of it now that he'd gotten over the initial shock. He tried breathing through his nose to avoid having to let go of Jeremy. In the pit of his stomach, the butterflies had suddenly turned into a raging storm. And then Jeremy abruptly left his mouth, his embrace. He opened his eyes, which had apparently closed somewhere during the kiss.

His butterflies went back to a flutter, and his mind drifted back down from cloud nine. He was at a complete loss for words.

Jeremy turned to face his still-open-mouthed friend. "Jasper, are you all right?" he asked cautiously.

Jasper's face lit up with joy. It was as if the sun had suddenly broken through where he had looked all doom and gloom just before the kiss. His entire demeanor changed. "DUDE!" was all Jasper could manage.

Jeremy knew his friend well enough to recognize that this was a good kind of 'dude.' His nerves calmed down a little. He'd just kissed his best friend, jeopardizing their friendship.

"That was even better than what we did in the showers!" Jasper exclaimed, having rediscovered his language skills.

"You're not bad at it yourself," Jeremy snorted.

"So you liked it? Did I do it right?" Jasper asked, his voice concerned. After all, it had been his first kiss.

"You're a natural, I guess. Not that I have all that much experience to compare it with!" Jeremy laughed at that.

"Well, you're the one who's had a girlfriend," Jasper shot back.

"Ungh, don't remind me. I never cared for her as much as I do for you!" Jeremy let slip, not realizing he had just confessed to Jasper that he had feelings for him.

Jasper wasn't a stupid kid; he got what Jeremy was saying right away. This kiss wasn't something Jeremy had done on the spur of the moment; it was probably something Jeremy had wanted to do for a long time.

"How come you never told?" Jasper asked softly.

Jeremy shrugged his shoulders at that and said, "Just scared, I guess. Me telling you I might like guys last week was already a huge step for me. I never told anyone. Admitting that I actually liked you, well, that was a major mountain to climb. I was afraid I'd risk our friendship."

"NEVER!" Jasper exclaimed vehemently, and he dove back on Jeremy.

They only broke their second kiss when they heard Jasper's mother calling them down for dinner. Both boys were still breathing hard with excitement.

"I'm guessing we're finished with Zombie Dice?" Jeremy asked, pointing at the dice that were now scattered all over the floor.

They both quickly cleaned up the floor and attempted to straighten each other's clothes. They were a bit of a hot mess. Shirts untucked, hair a mess. They giggled as they attempted to make themselves presentable once more.

As Jeremy turned to leave, he felt Jasper's hand slip into his and he was dragged out of the room. Jasper had to let go at the top of the stairs, and both of them arrived in the kitchen, trying to squeeze through the door opening at the same time.

"Good, I see you're both hungry!" Jasper's mother beamed, setting a big pan with pasta on the table. "Can you guys get some plates and stuff? I'll call your dad," she asked Jasper.

The boys quickly got the rest of the table ready and they had already seated themselves next to each other before Jasper's mother returned with his dad.

"Hi boys," he said. "Glad to have you over again Jeremy, you should come by more often".

Both boys looked at each other and Jasper said, "I've got a feeling he might." Jeremy kicked his friend under the table.

With everyone seated and plates being filled, Jaspers dad asked how the boys' day had been.

Before Jeremy could say anything, Jasper had blurted out what had just happened. "Dad, Jeremy and I kissed!"

Jeremy turned as pale as a sheet. He thought they'd keep it a secret. He had been so used to keeping his feelings a secret, it had never occurred to him that Jasper might tell anyone. Especially not his parents!

Jasper's dad seemed unfazed by the news. "That's nice Jasper," was all he had to say. Jasper's mother was something else. She jumped up from the table, rushed over to the boys and Jeremy was already cringing away in fear.

Suddenly he felt two big arms surround him and Jasper and pull them in for another tight embrace. "I'm so happy for you guys!" Mrs. D. exclaimed, clearly overjoyed.

Jeremy went from white as a sheet to purple as a beet. He did not know what to do with himself right now. He wanted to jump up and run out of the door. He was kept firmly into place though by Mrs. D.

Jasper's dad seemed to catch on to what was happening here. Seriously he started, "Jasper Day, what have we taught you about thinking before speaking?"

Jasper looked startled. What!? What had he missed? He looked over at Jeremy and saw the sheer panic on his friends face.

"Oh, dude, I'm so sorry! I should have asked first before I told mum and dad about us. I'm so so sorry!" he couldn't stop apologizing.

Jeremy slowly felt his panic subside. He noticed that neither of Jasper's parents seemed angry at him. Nobody was yelling. Well, except for Jasper perhaps, still trying to get out more apologies. He held up his hand to try and stop Jasper's torrent of apologies.

"It's okay. I wasn't prepared, that's all," Jeremy said. "I have never told anyone that I'm," he hesitated here, "that I'm into guys." Saying the 'gay' word was still too much for him. In his mind he could admit it to himself, not as much when it came to telling other people.

Jasper's dad lifted his glass to both boys. "Well, congratulations are in order I think," he said. "Happy coming out boys!"

Jasper and Jeremy both lifted their glasses as well, it was an automatic gesture when someone proposed a toast.

Before taking a sip, Jasper set his glass down though. "Dad, I'm not sure if I'm gay."

Jeremy spun around in a split second. Had he totally misread their make-out session just now!?

This time, Jasper did catch on to Jeremy's surprise. "No, no, I really liked us kissing. Really, it was," he made a gesture indicating his head exploding, "mindblowing!" Then he looked back at his dad, "but I'm not sure that's enough to say I'm gay."

Next, he smiled at Jeremy. "I can say that I really like you though, I have never felt like this for anyone before!" he told Jeremy.

Jasper's dad cleared his throat. He felt a big dad-moment coming on. "Well, son, that's remarkably wise, for a twelve-year-old rascal like you," he said, joking a bit. "But you're right, you are still young," he now also looked at Jeremy, "you both are. And you never know how things in life turn out. Stay openminded is all I can say."

Then he smacked his hand down on the table, "Uncle Geoff is going to love this!" he said, laughing out loud.

Jeremy looked at Jasper askance. "Uncle Geoff?" he asked.

Jasper nodded and explained, "yeah, uncle Geoff. Dad's brother. He's gay. He's married to uncle Karl, they come over here all the time to watch sports!"

That was a bit of a surprise to Jeremy, he had never really heard of gay guys being into sports much.

"Oh sure," Jasper's dad said, "they are coming over next wednesday. We're going to watch football! I can't wait to tell him his nephew has started kissing boys as well! He'll never believe it!"

Jasper's mother had by now returned to her own seat. She looked to be wondering something and said, "well, I'm not sure if he'll be all that surprised," she said.

Jasper's dad now looked wondering at his wife, "You think he knew?"

Jasper now looked his dad straight in the eyes, "Duh! Never heard of gay-dar!?"

"Wait, that's a real thing?" Jasper's father said flummoxed.

At this point, Jeremy just kind of drifted in and out of the conversation. It was bewildering to him that this could be such a normal thing discuss, during dinner. He hear Jasper explain all about the 'gay-dar' thing, as if he had always known, and he was pretty sure that wasn't the case as Jasper had never caught onto him. And he learned that Jasper's uncles were very much not like the stereotypical gay couple he had had in mind. They appeared to be real manly men, into sports, roughhousing and camping. Jasper even pointed out a picture on the wall with both of his uncles, standing together on a surfboard all dressed up in black wetsuit and catching quite a wave.

"So, better be safe!" he suddenly heard Jasper's dad say. Wait, what had he missed? Jasper was kicking him underneath the table.

"Sorry, what?" was all he could say.

Jasper's dad sighed, "It's a wonder you guys manage to learn anything in school. I said, we don't mind you guys hanging out here, or making out, but we do not want to catch you guys not being safe. You know, sex?"

It was a wonder that Jeremy managed to turn purple yet again. It seemed to be becoming a very natural thing for his body to do, he was getting quite good at it. "Oh no, I'm not doing any of that yet!" he exlaimed. "I'm thirteen!"

Jasper's dad laughed. "Good, I'm glad to see Jasper isn't the only wise one here. Still, I've been thirteen as well. And I seem to recall getting quite a similar earful from my dad when I started dating, so now it's my time to have some fun! I'm going to make this so awkward!"

He pointed at Jasper, "You, young man, you're coming with me this weekend and I'm going to teach you all about buying condoms!"

Jasper cringed, seriously, his dad thought he didn't know about condoms? "But dad!!" he whined.

"Oh yes, for the butt!" his dad laughed. "I'm sure you know all about condoms, you have sex-ed in school. But knowing where and how to buy them is a whole different thing. So, this weekend, we're going shopping!"

Next, he pointed at Jeremy, "And you, I'm guessing you haven't told your parents yet. Actually, didn't I hear from Jasper you had a girlfriend some time ago?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Yeah, but apparently that's not really my thing," Jeremy sighed.

"And have you shared this revelation with your parents?" Jasper's dad asked.

"God no!" Jeremy exclaimed, horrified by the thought.

Jasper's dad sighed, "and from that, I gather, that that might take some time too." He straightened up, "well, that means I'll have to offer you the same thing. If you want, you can come with me and Jasper, and we'll go condom shopping together."

At this, Jeremy's mother jumped in as well, "If it's going to be a family outing, can I join in as well?"

Both Jasper and Jeremy looked terrified at this, it was bad enough having to go through this with Jasper's dad. The thought of his mother coming along as well was mortifying! "MOM! No!" Jasper yelled shocked.

Jasper's mother raised her hands, "sorry, I'm guessing this is one of those guy things! But you know, women know how to buy condoms too! I've gotten plenty for your dad and me."

Jasper tried to cringe away in his chair. The thought of his mother and dad needing condoms was just a bit too much. Jeremy had no trouble understanding that!

Jasper's dad looked at the calendar. "Well, tomorrow is a saturday, and I have a day off as well. Shall we work the iron while it's hot?" he asked.

"You mean, you want to go to the shops, tomorrow?" Jasper asked, this was all a bit sudden.

All eyes now turned to Jeremy, and Jasper's dad asked if that was okay for him as well.

Jeremy thought quickly, this was not something he'd dare do with his own dad. And he had already come this far with Jasper and his parents. He quickly tried to think if he had anything planned for tomorrow, but couldn't think of anything. Then he had another bright idea, "Well… if we're going tomorrow, wouldn't it make sense if I stayed over for tonight?"

Jasper's eyes lit up. A sleepover!

"Hold it guys," Jasper's dad quickly said, "not too fast!" He looked at his wife and she gave a small nod, indicating she was okay with it. "Okay, Jeremy," he said, "if your parents are okay with you staying over, we're okay too." Then, he held up a warning finger, "But we trust you guys to behave… somewhat."

He slumped down in his chair and said, "the cat's out of the bag anyway, no point in trying to put it back in." He appeared to be realizing that the age of innocence had suddenly become history this evening.

They had all finished their meal and Jeremy was allowed to leave the table and make a quick phonecall to his parents. After only a short discussion, he returned to the table, still holding the phone. He offered it to Jasper's dad, "they want to talk to you."

Jeremy was again very nervous, he was worried that Jasper's dad might now tell his parents all about what had happened tonight. To his surprise, Jasper's dad didn't mention a thing. Just that both boys were having a great time and were hoping to come shopping together tomorrow. A few ahums, and okay's followed, Jeremy not being able to follow much more of the conversation. Suddenly Jasper's dad ended the call. "All set, you can stay."

Both boys started jumping up and down together with joy, chanting "Sleepover! Sleepover!"

Jasper's dad buried his face in his hands, "What have I done!?"

Chapter 6
Shopping

As the boys returned to Jasper's room, they could hardly keep their hands off each other. They had kindled a passion that would not just dissipate. Sitting on Jasper's bed, they continued kissing passionately for well over fifteen minutes.

Finally, Jeremy scooted back a little. "I never took you to be such a… passionate… guy," he said, stealing another quick peck.

Jasper shook his head, "Me neither." Something had really been awakened in Jasper. At the same time, it felt so new, and, it was all a bit scary.

Looking Jeremy in the eyes, Jasper said, "Look, I, uh, I don't want to be a buzzkill, but I am freaking out just a bit, with all these changing things." Jasper wanted to be honest with Jeremy. Yesterday, kissing and boyfriends had hardly been on his mind. Today, it seemed to be the only thing on his mind, and he felt he had some serious catching up to do.

Jeremy took a moment, he let sink in what Jasper had just said. True, I've had some time getting used to the idea of liking boys, liking Jasper. He's had, what, just over an hour?

He put some distance between them before he said, "No, I get it. This must be so new to you." He couldn't help but look a bit dejected. He had wanted this for so long, and now that he had it, it was hard to step on the brakes. "You should take your time. And let me know when I'm pushing too much. I don't want to push you away, not now," Jeremy said, stroking Jasper's left cheek with the back of his hand.

Jasper let out a sigh of relief, feeling he had again at least some control over what was happening. Then, he started looking around, realizing something. "Jeremy, what about tonight?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Jeremy replied.

"Well, you're staying over. Should we get a sleeping bag?" Jasper was beginning to sound a bit worried, "I'm not sure if I'm ready for, you know, sleeping, together." This sounded more sheepish than worried. It was a bit of a funny situation, after all.

Jeremy looked around the room as well, trying to figure out what would be best. He wouldn't mind sleeping together with Jasper. He had had dreams about sleeping with him. No, nothing sexual, just… sleeping. Having someone to hold. But he had promised not to push Jasper.

"Oh, I have it!" Jeremy exclaimed, "Look, if we clear out the floor a bit, we can put a sleeping bag right next to your bed," he indicated where they could put down the sleeping bag. "Then, when we're ready for bed, we can decide what we want to do. I can sleep in the sleeping bag, just like any other normal sleep over… or, I can crawl into bed with you." Jeremy couldn't help sounding a little hopeful with the latter suggestion.

Jasper thought it over, it would give them both options, without a real hassle. Yes, that would be a good idea. "Good, I like that. We can figure it out later. But first, we'll have to dig out the floor from under this mess." He pointed at the cup and zombie dice that were still all over the floor, the school bags, and the different pieces of clothing that were strewn all about. Oh god, it was only now that he noticed his dirty underwear still hanging on the edge of his bed! He had forgotten to throw them in the laundry basket this morning. He quickly made them disappear, as he started clearing the floor.

Jeremy soon joined Jasper in cleaning up the floor. And, without really thinking about it, they continued cleaning the rest of Jasper's room as well. Jeremy actually did find another pair of dirty undies, and teased Jasper to no end with them. They were old ones, and actually still had a very boyish superhero printed on them!

After about an hour, the room looked like it had been given a complete make-over. Exhausted, the boys sat back on the bed, which was now neatly made, when a careful knock sounded on the closed door. They could hear Jasper's dad behind it, asking if he could come in.

"Dad, of course. You never bother to ask!" Jasper said, surprised at his dad caution.

Mr. D. opened the door and stepped into the room, "I figured this was a good time to start. I don't think I'm ready to catch my only son snogging his boyfriend by surprise, thank you very much!" The boys knew he had been joking, at least in part, as his dad was smiling while he said it.

Jasper shrugged, "Whatever, it's not like we actually were."

His dad was now looking around Jasper's room, "I can see that. What happened here? A reverse whirl wind? I haven't seen so much floor since… well, since we last redecorated, I think." He stepped over to the book case. "And look, you can actually find books in here now! It's astonishing!" Clearly, Mr. D. was still making fun of Jasper.

"Seriously, I don't know how teenage hormones lead to a cleaning spree, but apparently, it's doing both of you guys a lot of good." He scraped his throat now, "I, ehm, just wanted to know, about, ehm, your sleeping arrangements. For tonight, I mean," he stammered. Both Jasper and Jeremy found it terribly funny how awkward Jasper's dad seemed to be, asking this.

"Well… dad…" Jasper started, "I intend to hump the brains out of Jeremy tonight, so you'd better put in some earplugs!"

Jasper's dad actually turned a few tints lighter, as if he'd just seen a ghost.

"Jeez, dad, of course not!" Jasper exclaimed, throwing his hands up. He couldn't believe his dad had taken him serious like that. "We were about to ask you and mum for a sleeping bag so that Jeremy can sleep next to me… on the floor," he explained, pointing at the spot next to his bed.

"Oh, right, on the floor. In a sleeping bag," Jasper's dad muttered, sounding somewhat relieved. Then he just sighed. "I'm sorry, boys, this is all new to me as well. I love that you have found this special bond between you guys, but until yesterday, my main concern was when Jasper might start showing an interest into anyone. And when we'd have to have a talk about protection, and birth control. What he should and shouldn't do with a girl. Obviously, we need to have an entirely different discussion now. And we need to figure out a whole new boundaries thing when it comes to sleep-overs and things like that. I mean, we're still parents, and you're still boys… young boys. Even if you're young men, there should be some ground rules, right?"

Jasper's dad had obviously really needed to get all of that off his chest. He looked relieved now that he had brought his worries out in the open.

"Mr. D.," Jeremy began, "Jasper and I actually talked about it, right before we started cleaning. I know I'm a year older than Jasper, and, more importantly, I've already known I like boys for a bit longer. To be honest, I already had a bit of an eye on Jasper for quite some time, but I didn't want to risk our friendship. And I still don't." Jeremy tried to find a bit more courage, this was a bit awkward to be telling his friend's dad. "Jasper asked me to take things slow, that it already is a lot to take in right now. And I fully respect that, and told him he's setting the pace. That's why we want the sleeping bag, we don't want to feel we need to rush into things." Secretly, Jeremy wouldn't mind a bit of a rush job, but he was dead serious about not wanting to risk his friendship with Jasper. And Jasper's dad could hear this in Jeremy's voice.

"Good, I'm glad we're on the same page," Jasper's dad said, relieved. "And, now, to make things awkward one last time, I'm going to be very blunt, and hope you'll understand I'm trying to level with you both in a very adult way." Both boys nodded, and Mr. D. took another deep breath. "Okay, Jasper, your mum and I had a quick talk downstairs. We actually already had some guidelines in mind for if you'd show up with a girlfriend, but we figure the same pretty much goes for Jeremy here. So, here are the rules. Feel free to do whatever you want, behind closed doors, but try not to go too far. And with too far, we mean sex. We think you boys are still too young for that. But we also understand there's a lot of ground to cover before you get there, and plenty of fun to be had along the way." He took another deep breath, "also, even though we are going condom shopping tomorrow, that is intended as just a lesson. Experiment with a couple of them to learn and understand what they are and how they work. Blow some up as balloons, see how much water you can get in them. Heck, try one on, if you have to. But they are only there for later, and just in case. I'd rather have too much protection available, instead of you learning bad habits and going without it in the spur of the moment." His dad took one last deep breath, he was surprised how hard talking about this was. "We are both very proud of you, and you should be too. Please do not feel worried about showing what you feel around us, just keep it decent, like your mother and I do. All right?"

Jasper and Jeremy were quiet for a moment, looked each other in the eyes, and they got off the bed together. In one swift movement, both boys hugged Jasper's dad, who was much less accustomed to these random hugs than Jasper's mother was.

"I'm proud of you too, dad!" Jasper said.

"Proud of me? What for?" he asked.

"For accepting all of this like you do, for keeping an eye out for Jeremy. Plus, you just gave me 'the talk'. And it was much less awkward than I had ever imagined it to be!" Jasper answered.

"Wow, I guess I did, didn't I?" Jasper's dad mused. "Darn it, and I didn't even notice I was doing it. I've been dreading this, you should hear the horror stories some of my colleagues told me, about them talking to their kids!"

Jeremy laughed at that. "Oh, but I bet you can really one up them by casually talking about your son's boyfriend!"

Mr. D. considered that for a moment, and a smile lit up on his face. Jeremy instantly feared again that Jasper's dad would be outing him by telling everyone!

"Mr. D., please don't tell anyone?" he quietly asked.

Jasper's dad turned all serious again, "No way boys, it's up to you to decide who you tell and when you tell them. But I would suggest not waiting too long with telling your parents, Jeremy."

Jeremy looked crestfallen; it wasn't for nothing that he had never told his parents about his preference for boys. That all the teasing at school might not have been fully without cause. He also knew his parents were not as easy as Jasper's parents were turning out to be. They watched a lot of Netflix at his place, and he could always hear them muttering things whenever anything came on that even just hinted at gay stuff or lesbians. They truly felt it should not be 'advertised' on TV. While Jeremy actually loved that Netflix showed that being gay, lesbian, bi, or purple really did not matter. It takes all kinds, and he loved that the network was presenting it as such. Also, where his parents might mutter when two blokes started kissing, he'd usually just start blushing furiously. Even though he tried not to. All in all, he was quite certain his parents would do something more than muttering if he ever came out of the proverbial closet to them.

Jeremy had been silent for a while, looking at his feet, with a worried expression on his face. Jasper nudged his friend in the side, "It'll be okay, seriously."

Jeremy didn't think it would be okay, so, he shook his head. "No, I'm quite certain it won't be okay. My parents are not really on board with the whole LGBTQ thing."

Mr. D. asked Jeremy to explain how he had come to that conclusion, and Jeremy told him about all the little hints and moments that showed him that his parents wouldn't be very supportive. Mr. D. sighed, "That's a tough one. I can only tell you not to rule out a parent's love for their children. They might surprise you by being supportive when you tell them. Even if it might take them some time to get used to the idea."

"I'd rather just enjoy this while we can, without having to worry too much about mum and dad, if you don't mind." Jeremy told Mr. D.

"Well, as I said, that's up to you. I'll be honest, I won't lie if I'm straight out asked anything, but I can promise you not to give them any hints or reason to ask." Jasper's dad promised.

"That's fair, I wouldn't want to make you into a liar, sir," Jeremy said, respectfully.

Mr. D. ruffled Jeremy's hair, "Enough hard talk. You boys did a lot of work, I'll go see about finding that sleeping bag. At least there's plenty of room now to put one down." And out the door he went again.

Jeremy slumped back down on Jasper's bed, Jasper following suit. Jasper tried kissing Jeremy again, but Jeremy was not in a very amorous mood right now. Jasper looked worried. "Are we okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's just… the whole thing with my parents," Jeremy said, now lying on his back, looking up at the ceiling. "I'm not afraid they'll hit me or anything, they are not like that. But I'm so afraid of disappointing them."

Jasper laid himself down next to Jeremy, and grabbed his hand. "You'll always have me, and my parents."

Jeremy laughed, "Your parents really are something different! I thought my heart stopped when you just blurted out to them that you had kissed me!"

Jasper looked thoughtful, "Knowing about your parents now, I can see why you reacted like you did. My family is used to the whole gay thing with my uncles. My dad told me he already knew about his brother being gay since they were young. And mom, well, she likes everyone, I think. She's like that."

Jeremy nodded, "Your mom is amazing!" He considered something for a moment, "Your dad is pretty awesome too. I can't believe he's taking us shopping tomorrow, for rubbers!"

Now it was Jasper's turn to sigh, "Yeah, he's like that. Straight to the point, no excuses." This also went for each time Jasper was procrastinating with any of his chores or his homework. Jeremy did not yet know how Mr. D. could be on Jasper's case all the time if he didn't do things on time.

"So, I take it I'm condemned to a spot on the floor with just a flimsy sleeping bag?" Jeremy said, trying to sound deeply sorry for himself, giving Jasper the best puppy dog eyes he could muster.

Jasper pushed against Jeremy, "Keep that up, and you'll stay in that sleeping bag for at least a year!" he threatened.

Pretending to be shocked, Jeremy clasped a hand to his mouth. Only to uncover it quickly, as Jasper turned his head to plant another big kiss on his lips. A quick knock on the door alerted them just in time before Jasper's dad came back in, carrying the promised sleeping bag.

Looking at the flushed faces of both boys, he turned around, and the boys could hear him muttering something about teenagers as he closed the door behind him again.

The sleeping bag was quickly rolled out right next to Jasper's bed, and the boys decided to play some video games after all, now that they had all this extra time together. To both Jeremy's and Jasper's surprise, things quickly started feeling 'normal' again. After all, they had been friends for some time already, and they found they were still also just friends. Just, with a little more attached to it now.

Around eleven in the evening, Jasper started yawning furiously. He could hardly keep his attention on the racing game they had been playing together. Both boys had installed themselves against the edge of the bed, from where they could see Jasper's screen on his desk, and play with the controllers. The sleeping bag was pulled over them, as it had gotten quite chilly later in the evening.

Suddenly, Jeremy noticed Jasper no longer controlling the car he had been racing, and he felt Jasper softly slumping against his side, head rolling over to lean against his shoulder. The controller slipped from Jasper's hands and his car crashed horrendously while flipping over at least three times, before coming to a halt on the side of the racing course he had been racing on against Jeremy.

Jeremy took the time to actually park his Formula 1 racing car, then carefully took hold of Jasper's controller and logged him out of the game.

He tried to turn a little without waking Jasper, and looked at his sleeping friend. It was astonishing what had happened in just shy of twenty-four hours. He had finally had the guts to let Jasper know how he felt. And they had kissed. Oh boy, they had kissed, a lot! And then he had been outed towards Jasper's parents as well. It was all a bit much to wrap his head around. He was not surprised to see that Jasper was as tired as he was and had fallen asleep against him. Actually, it was kind of cute. He tried shaking Jasper's shoulder, he was going to get a sore back otherwise. But there was no way he was going to be able to wake Jasper, he was out like a light. What now? Jeremy wondered.

He considered trying to lift Jasper into his bed, but he was feeling quite exhausted himself as well, and he was not sure if he'd be able to manage it safely. He did not want to drop Jasper on his head.

Next, he looked at his own sleeping arrangements. They had unzipped the sleeping bag completely so that it would fit them both while playing games. It would also fit them both on the ground, he figured. He placed his pillow so that he could rest Jasper's head on it, and then carefully lowered his friend down. Lying on the floor was a bit rough, but Jasper had a nice and fluffy carpet and they both had young bodies. Roughing it for a night on the floor shouldn't be a problem. He grabbed one of Jasper's pillows from his bed for himself, and laid down next to Jasper. Briefly, he wondered if Jasper would mind if he woke up with him right next to him. After all, he had promised to respect the separate sleeping arrangement. Yawning deeply, he realized there wasn't much he could do about it now. Not if he couldn't wake Jasper. YAWN… That was a good excuse…

Slowly, Jeremy drifted off as well, huddling closer to Jasper in his sleep.

– – –

The next morning, Jasper was the first to wake up. To say he felt disoriented would be an understatement. His bed felt rock hard, the ceiling much further away, and something was pinning him in place.

As the fog lifted from his sleep-riddled mind, he realized there was a leg draped over his own. As he turned his head to the left, he saw Jeremy lying real close to him, eyes still closed, snoring very softly.

Somehow, their plan of not sleeping together had not really worked out. He couldn't remember falling asleep last night, and he definitely couldn't remember climbing into his bed. He must have passed out right here next to Jeremy.

Slowly becoming more aware of his surroundings, he noticed one of Jeremy's arms on his shirt. He lifted the sleeping bag for a moment and saw that they were both still fully clothed. He also saw that Jeremy's hand was indeed lying on his chest, hand on his heart, and he could feel his heartbeat beating against his friend's hand. As he looked further down, he saw Jeremy's leg pulled up and over his own legs, his knee almost hitting him in the groin.

Speaking of which, he was sporting some serious morning wood. And feeling someone asleep on top of him, all cuddled up to him, was not helping things. He tried to move a little, carefully, but this only resulted in Jeremy suddenly snoring differently and shifting his leg so that his knee was now firmly planted on top of Jasper's hard on. It didn't hurt, fortunately. In fact, as he wriggled his butt a little, it actually felt quite nice. His boner was getting rubbed as he tried shifting around, but he couldn't find a way out. On his right he was pinned against his bed, on his left he had Jeremy covering him part ways. Shifting some more, he couldn't help but moan a little, and Jeremy's knee started moving up and down softly, rubbing on his hard dick. Jasper closed his eyes, how had he gotten himself in this situation! He was both loving it, and terrified of Jeremy waking up to this! Wait, have we locked the door? he wondered.

Jeremy's rubbing became more intense, and he could feel Jeremy was no longer just rubbing his knee up and down, he appeared to be humping his side now, while still asleep. Jasper opened his eyes a little to check if Jeremy was still sleeping, but his eyes remained firmly closed.

Next, Jeremy's hand started moving and rubbing his left nipple softly. This was becoming too much for Jasper. Between the rubbing on his morning wood and the gentle caress on his nipple through his shirt, he was going to either make a mess very soon, or he had to wake up Jeremy and stop him. Another moan escaped his lips, and he intensified his efforts on not making a mess. Think about nuns! Think about nuns! Dolphins, cats… ohh Jeremy! went through his mind. He started bucking against Jeremy's knee as he lost control over his feelings. He looked at Jeremy's face again, wait, is that a smile? The bastard, he's awake!.

"Jeremy, stop it, you're making me shoot!" he hissed.

All Jeremy could do was grunt, "Too late, I'm…ungh!"

Jasper felt Jeremy shivering against his bucking hips, spasms going through his body, and Jeremy's knee clamped down hard on his over-stimulated erection. That was too much for him. The thought of his friend climaxing right next to him, and the simultaneous pressure on his dick was too much, even for his still rather young and naïve mind.

With a much louder moan than he had wanted to let escape, Jasper felt his dick pulse and a hot, warm, wet spot appeared in his shorts. This felt so much like waking up at the end of a wet dream. He hadn't even touched himself!

His breathing slowed, he had lost the battle with his will to prevent this. But somehow, he was also not very much upset. Then he started feeling another wet spot appearing on his hip. Wait, was he dripping?

Jeremy rolled back onto his back, leaving Jasper's side. "Sorry, I'm afraid I was leaking on you," he couldn't help but giggle as he said this.

"Dude!" Jasper exclaimed, sounding a bit vexed. "What about taking it slow?"

Jeremy turned his head and looked into Jasper's eyes. "I'm sorry, I really did not mean for this to happen. But you know what it's like when you start waking up. I only woke up when you were already wriggling around and pushing your hip into my boner. I must have been having some awesome dream, as it only took me a few seconds before I suddenly came." Jeremy was now looking very contrite. He lifted the sleeping bag and looked down at the wet spots in both their shorts. "I really am sorry, and we made a bit of a mess, I'm afraid."

Jasper sighed. He had not exactly helped to prevent what had happened. And it also wasn't the first time he woke up to some wet and sticky sheets. But normally, it was just him making a mess, having someone else join in was a real first.

"Well, shit, it happened," Jasper sighed. Then he realized that that sounded a bit awkward and as if he were blaming Jeremy. He wasn't. "Not that it felt bad, but next time… when we're really ready… let's make it something real?"

Jeremy nodded. Most of what had happened had truly been a dream to him. And, though there were definitely worse ways to wake up, this had not really been anything intentional for either of them. Not like when they had been kissing yesterday. Which reminded him, and he placed a gentle kiss on Jasper's lips.

"Morning… lover!" he joked.

"Har har, just don't let dad hear, he'll have a fit!" Jasper said, but he was also smiling now, and planted a second, longer kiss.

Jasper threw back the sleeping bag that was still covering them, and instantly the wet spots in their shorts turned icy cold and slimy.

"Ehm, Jasper," Jeremy started, looking around, "I don't have anything else to wear."

Jasper realized that their sleepover had indeed been a real spur of the moment thing, Jeremy didn't have any clean clothes with him.

Quickly, he got up and opened one of the drawers in the cabinet on the other side of the room. He rummaged around, and then he seemed to have found what he had been looking for. He pulled out a pair of white briefs, looking very content with himself.

"Yeah, that's nice, you have underwear. But what about me?" Jeremy asked, annoyed.

"No, dumb skull, this is for you. It's a new one mom got me, but it's still too big. Should fit you perfectly though," he said, throwing the clean underwear at Jeremy, which promptly landed on his head.

"It'll work better if you just wear it where it's supposed to go," Jasper said, laughing. He rummaged some more and found some underwear for himself as well.

Both boys now felt a bit awkward. Despite all of their kissing, the time they had spent in the showers and after just making a mess on each other, it felt really awkward for them to now get undressed and cleaned up.

Jeremy, being the older of the two, and more experienced with waking up to a wet mess already, was the first to get up and pull his soiled undies down. Fortunately, their morning exercise had gotten rid of his boner, one less thing to worry about. He used the dry parts of his underwear to rub himself as clean and dry as possible.

Jasper had been looking at Jeremy for a moment, considering how different it now felt to be looking at his naked friend. He didn't 'see' anything different, but it still looked like he was seeing an entirely different Jeremy somehow. Instead of seeing him as just another guy, he now felt his gaze lingering on his soft dick and the small patch of pubes appearing on top of his dick. Realizing he was still staring, he quickly started getting undressed and cleaned up as well.

"I wish we could take a shower, I'm still sticky!" he exclaimed.

"Where's your shower? You don't have one for yourself?" Jeremy asked, looking around for a connecting door. He had never had to look for one when he'd been here before, so he had never realized there wasn't a second door in Jasper's room. His own bedroom had an en-suite, but he figured he just might be kind of lucky with that.

"Nah, but we've got a big shared one down the hall," Jasper said, putting an end to Jeremy's search for the elusive second door.

Jeremy glanced at the clock on Jasper's desk, it was just past seven in the morning. "Think your parents are awake already?"

Jasper thought for a moment. "On a Saturday? I wouldn't think so. They always sleep in when dad has a day off on Saturday."

Hearing that, Jeremy got a wicked grin and grasped Jasper's hand.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Jasper exclaimed, as he was getting dragged to his door, still naked and holding on to both his dirty and clean underwear in his other hand.

Jeremy opened Jasper's bedroom door and quickly looked up and down the hallway. He looked back at Jasper, as he didn't know which way to go.

Jasper, realizing he wasn't going to be let go, nodded his head to the left. He didn't want to wake up his parents by saying anything.

Jeremy considered what a blessing it must be, not to have an older sister like he had. He would have to be extra careful if he tried sneaking around naked at his place. Then again, having a private bathroom, he hardly ever had to. Except once, on a dare, and his sister had, in fact, almost caught him buck naked outside his own bedroom. His cousin, who had been visiting at the time, was keeping his door closed from the inside, laughing like crazy. At worst, his sister had caught just a glimpse of a butt cheek as he managed to slip back into his room. But if she had, she had never mentioned it. Bless his sister!

He tiptoed to the left, dragging a naked Jasper behind him across the hallway. He nearly passed the bathroom, but he felt Jasper pull him back. Softly, Jasper opened the bathroom door and Jeremy slipped in next to him. Jasper closed the door, and, thinking for a moment, locked it behind them.

Both were now breathing hard with excitement. For Jeremy, it felt very weird to be walking around nude in somebody else's house, and Jasper was just surprised by it all. He had not expected Jeremy to be doing something as bold as this. What Jeremy did not know was that Jasper frequently went to the bathroom without a stitch of clothing on. After all, it was just his mum and dad in the house. They had seen him naked plenty of times. Getting dragged across the hallway by Jeremy was something different, though. He liked how naughty it felt.

Jasper couldn't stop himself from hugging Jeremy out of excitement. He grabbed his friend and pulled him in close, not minding their touching bits anymore.

Jeremy looked around and saw the bath. His own private bathroom only had a small shower and a toilet. His eyes opened wide.

Using Jasper's catchphrase for once, he exclaimed, "Dude! You have a bath!"

"Well, duh," Jasper said, and he proceeded turning the taps to fill the bath.

In a couple of minutes, the bath was halfway full and filled with bubbles. The soiled undies had found their way into a laundry basket, Jasper re-assuring Jeremy that his parents wouldn't notice and odd pair of undies in there. And if they did, he'd tell them he had grabbed the wrong stuff in the locker rooms at practice.

They lowered themselves into the hot water, each on one end of the bath. The water level rose quickly as they got in, but the bath didn't overflow. Jasper had taken into consideration that the two of them would require less water in the bath, how very green of us!

Now, you might think, after all the things the boys had already gone through, they'd be at each other again in a heartbeat. And, to be honest, it was something that had at least crossed Jeremy's mind. But he also wanted to show Jasper that he would really try to honor their agreement to take things slowly. So, even though there was the odd slip of a foot against a butt or a dangling bit, the boys just sat there, enjoying the hot bath, relaxing and softly chatting.

They had not heard anything in the hallway, but suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door. Both boys went dead quiet instantly.

"Jasper, are you in there? I really need to take a leak, would you mind?"

Jasper, not new to sharing the bathroom with his dad, was already out of the bath and unlocking the door, before he realized he was not alone in here this morning. Jasper's dad was however already rushing in, legs tightly pressed with the very urgent need to release the pressure from his bladder.

Jeremy sat motionless in his corner of the bath, open-mouthed, as Mr. D. pulled his underwear down and fished out a rather large, slightly chubbed, adult penis and let go of a massive torrent of piss.

Mr. D. let out a sigh of relief and looked around as Jasper stepped back into the bath.

"Oh, hi Jeremy," he said casually, but then he suddenly realized where he was, dick out in the open and looking at Jeremy, who was not covered by so many bubbles anymore. "Oh shit!" he exclaimed, and he almost turned red from the effort of trying to stop the torrent so that he could put his dick away.

Jeremy shut his mouth with a resounding clap, eyes still bulging. His hands went down to his lap to cover himself. "Ehm, hi Mr. D." was all he could say.

Jasper's dad, still failing in stopping what he was doing, was looking very flabbergasted. Jasper was looking from his dad to Jeremy and back.

"Dad, he's seen it, don't bother trying to put it away," Jasper said.

Jasper's dad looked at Jeremy, who nodded his head. "Sorry, Mr. D., I didn't think you'd be here at this time. But don't mind me, finish what you're doing."

Relieved, Jasper's dad relented and finished what he had come in to do. When he was finally done, he shook off the last drips and tucked himself carefully back in his black boxer shorts.

He turned around and sat down on the seat that was placed next to the bath. "Sorry boys, it totally slipped my mind that you were both in. Normally, it's just me and Jasper. We're kind of used to coming across each other here. I had not figured you might be in here too, Jeremy. I'm sorry."

Jeremy relaxed, and pulled his hands away from his nether region. He never worried about things like this at the rowing club either, so why should he suddenly start being all modest here, with somebody he knew. It's just them guys anyway.

"That's okay, you just startled me a little. There are grownups at the club, so it's not like anything I haven't seen before," he giggled now and continued, "just never before breakfast, that's a bit much!"

Mr. D. got up and ruffled Jeremy's hair again. "You're a weird one, I can see why Jasper likes you," he said, winking as he left the boys, closing the door behind him again.

Jasper and Jeremy looked at each other, and they burst out laughing. They decided that they had had enough adventures in the bath and were ready to come out and get dressed.

Jeremy got a clean pair of baggy shorts from Jasper, which were much less baggy on him. But at least they fit and were free of any telltale stains, unlike his own. The offending shorts had found their way to the bottom of his school bag, he'd get them cleaned himself when he got home. He'd not risk his mother finding his crusty shorts in the laundry.

When the boys got downstairs, Jasper's dad was already hard at work in the kitchen, baking a stack of waffles. What a treat, both boys thought in unison.

As they finished the last of their waffles with maple syrup, Jasper's dad looked them both in the eyes.

"So, tell me honestly, no funny business last night, right?" he asked, sounding dead serious.

"Dad!!" Jasper exclaimed, and Jeremy just turned an awkward shade of purple.

"Just pulling your legs, guys. I told you, we trust you," he said. "But, looking at old Jeremy here, I'm wondering if we should."

Jeremy was still busy choking on his last piece of waffle, and blamed his awkward change in color to nearly choking to death. Mr. D. seemed to buy it, Jeremy thought.

"Okay, next topic on the agenda. The big shopping spree!" Jasper's dad said, slapping his hand on the table. "Let's see, what do we want? Ribbed, small, large, tasting like strawberries?"

Jeremy saw his chance for payback. "Oh, just the regular size, and not ribbed, they chafe after a while," he said, looking just as serious as Jasper's dad had looked at them.

Mr. D. looked back, slightly shocked, and Jeremy couldn't hold in his laughter for long.

"I have no idea!" Jeremy said. "I don't even know where to get them from!"

"Well, that's easy, most supermarkets have them, just not anywhere where curious young fellas might be looking around normally," he explained. "Then there are the drugstores, but you might get a few odd looks there, as you usually need to ask for them."

That did not sound like anything either Jasper or Jeremy would dare to do right now. Talking about it with Jasper's dad was awkward enough, imagine having to ask a total stranger!

Jasper's dad looked the boys over, "Do you guys have any questions about the different types that are available? I don't know how much of this has been covered in school."

Both Jasper's and Jeremy's school gave excellent sex education lessons. Enough that both boys felt they had the basics down, and perhaps a bit more. Plus, the Internet was always a big source of information, and amusement.

"Ehm, I think we're all right. I don't think we'd want anything fancy, just something for safety, for, whenever," Jasper told his dad. He felt this was probably going to be a day of never-ending blushing and awkwardness.

Jasper's dad stood up from the table, "Okay then, hey ho, let's go!"

After a brief ride in the car, they arrived at the mall, which had all kinds of shops in it. Even though it was still morning, it was already bustling with people going in and out of shops. The whole mall was covered by a glass roof and sunlight was beaming in. It was already becoming quite warm, and that was not taking into consideration the heat the boys were feeling themselves from the anticipation of going into a shop and having to purchase condoms.

Jasper's dad took them to one of the larger supermarkets that were in the mall, and took the boys aside to talk to them. "Okay, this is how this is going to go. We'll go inside, and you will need to be in the personal hygiene section. Do you know where that is?"

Both boys nodded in the affirmative, it's the aisle where their parents also got the aspirins and cough syrup from.

"Good, on the top shelves, you will find all the birth control stuff. And yes, that also includes what you guys will need, even if birth control is the last thing on your minds," he snickered at his own joke.

"I want you to figure out what you'll need and check with me. I want to know why you think that's what you'll need, just to make sure you're making a well-informed choice," he continued.

Both boys nodded again, this all made sense.

"Next, you'll take your condoms and pay for them at the register. Don't worry, I'll give you the money you'll need, but you purchase them yourselves."

This was a bit of a shock to the boys, they had figured they'd just be along for the ride and Jasper's dad would take care of everything. But they would actually have to purchase the condoms themselves!

Getting no further questions, Mr. D. ushered the two brightly red boys into the store. Where they'd normally stop at every soda or chips stand, the boys now went straight to the personal hygiene section, best to get this over with, as quickly as possible.

When they got there, they noticed how large the personal hygiene aisle was. Normally, they wouldn't be paying any attention at all when they were coming along with their parents to the store. But now, they actually had to look around carefully. It surprised them how much effort it took to actually find the section that had things like pregnancy checks and condoms. And it was all way up top. Much higher than they'd normally look.

"Can you reach it?" Jasper asked, looking at Jeremy, who was a bit taller, being a year older.

"I think I can, but it really is way up high," Jeremy said, stretching himself to see if he could reach the top shelf. "Yes, I can get there, but what should we get?"

Both boys took a step back and looked at the assortment of brands, sizes, and types of condoms.

"Dad, does it make a lot of difference if you get the cheap ones, instead of an expensive brand?" Jasper asked his dad, "I mean, safety wise. Or are cheap condoms risky condoms?"

"Excellent question," Jasper's dad said, "For now, cheap condoms will be fine, and they are just as safe. The rules for producing and testing condoms are very strict and apply to all brands, even the cheap ones."

"The difference is, of course, the brand name, like with Nike shoes. Or how nice they fit or feel. Or even smell, some really cheap ones can smell like putting on an old used tire, definitely a buzzkill," he continued explaining, clearly remembering a bad turn of events himself.

Jeremy pulled up his nose, imagining that. Having fun snogging, wanting to move ahead and then getting hit by the smell of old tires. Yuck!

Jasper and Jeremy took a step back to get a better view on the available selection. Jeremy pointed at the one which was on the left end of the shelf. "What about that one?" he asked Jasper. "You get twelve, but they cost the same as the Durex pack of four. And they are regulars, I figure regulars would be okay? Like, what can be wrong with regular?"

Jasper nodded in agreement, and Jeremy was already reaching out to get the pack to show it to Mr. D.

"Hold it boys, before you get that one, I have one other awkward thing to mention. Jeremy, you're thirteen, right?" he checked with Jeremy.

Jeremy nodded.

"Okay, no disrespect to either of you, but from what I've seen in the bathroom this morning, I'm afraid a regular might be a bit, ehm, optimistic," he was trying to figure out how to bring this gently. "I mean, I'm a regular. Noticed anything different between you and me this morning?"

Jasper and Jeremy looked at each other, not getting what Mr. D. was getting at. Jasper took a guess. "You're hairy?"

Mr. D. sighed. "I'm an adult, I'm much bigger than you boys are. Don't get me wrong, you're decent sizes, for your age. But these condoms don't come in boy sizes, like jeans. Regular means regular for adults. I'm afraid you'll be stuck with small for a few more years," he explained, blushing just as much now, having to go into such details.

The boys finally understood. Of course, that made sense. Condoms came in adult sizes because, well, adult fun!

Jeremy pointed to the pack directly to the left of the pack he had wanted to get, "So, that one then?" It was a twelve-pack of the same brand, but it said 'small' on the packaging.

Mr. D. put both thumbs up, and Jeremy stretched out to get the package. He could almost reach it. "Come on, Jasper. Help out a bit!" he told his friend.

A couple of people passing by were now looking at them. It was a bit of an odd sight to see two rather young-looking boys, trying to get to a packet of condoms, with an adult watching. But everyone also tried very hard not to appear to be looking at all.

Jasper went over to stand behind Jeremy and put both hands on Jeremy's butt, pushing him up.

"Woah, hands off the merchandise!" Jeremy hollered in surprise, suddenly feeling hands on his butt, but he did manage to get the package they were going for.

"Okay, you've got the condoms," Mr. D. said, "anything else you might need?"

Again, Jasper and Jeremy looked bewildered.

"Oh god, I wonder if I was ever so wet behind the ears as you two are!" he exclaimed. "Okay, Jasper, you might be surprised to know that, as kids, your uncle and I had many talks about his sexuality and what came with it. He made me understand one thing very clearly, guys need lube, and lots of it."

Well, this was a day of lessons indeed! Jasper had never considered what his dad and his brother had talked about when they were his age, or at least, younger. Not having a sister himself, he had never wondered what it might be like between siblings. But gosh, lube, he figured that made sense.

Jeremy was a few steps ahead of Jasper, lube was something he had indeed seen plenty when he had watched porn online. Yet, it had never really registered why there was always so much of it. However, now that he was forced to think about it, it did make a lot of sense. You'd probably get chafed something awful if you didn't use any! Or something like that.

On the shelf beneath the condoms, there were a couple of bottles that were, apparently, lubricant, or, lube.

"Another quick tip, when using condoms, use a real lubricant. Don't get all creative with creams or Vaseline, they may actually damage the condom, and that would defeat the whole purpose."

The boys nodded, that was something their sex-ed classes had covered as well. But, faced now with the reality of it, it made much more sense than it had in class. Quickly, they decided on the bottle to the right, as it was the cheapest and promised to have no smell on the packaging. They didn't want to run up costs too high for Mr. D., getting him to pay for their condoms was awkward enough!

"Okay, looks like you're all set! Off to the registers," Mr. D. said, ushering the boys ahead of him. After a minute, the boys were almost slowly crawling to the registers. The idea of having to show what they were getting was mortifying!

Mr. D. picked up on the boy's apprehension. "Guys, remember, I'm right here with you. You can be sure you aren't the first boys ever to be out buying condoms, it's why they're here in the store, to get sold. You won't have to give a blow-by-blow description of how they will be used," he tried to reassure them. He quickly added, "whenever, some day, it is time for them to be used, that is!"

Jeremy was still really squirming and had now almost come to a complete stand still. "But, won't they know that we're, well, gay, or something?"

Mr. D. looked him straight in the eyes. "First of all, it's nobody's business if you are. Secondly, you guys could almost be brothers, and you could be out supporting each other for this oh so difficult thing, before you're going on a double date with your girlfriends," that mental picture made both boys giggle. "And lastly, as I said, I am right there with you. Anybody giving you a hard time will have to deal with me!" Jasper's dad sounded surprisingly fierce as he said that. This was a side Jasper had never seen from his dad. Mom was usually the protective momma-bear.

Taking a deep breath, Jeremy started moving again, quickly followed by Jasper. Jeremy was still holding the bottle of lube, Jasper the package of condoms.

When they got to the registers, Mr. D. leaned down a little and whispered in the boys ears. "Last tip, as I know this is hard, go stand in the line of the cash register with the person you think looks most safe for you. It'll be easier."

That was a great idea, the boys briefly discussed and compared the four open registers. One had a young woman, practically a girl. That would be really awkward. The next had a big, chubby guy with a massive beard, he looked menacing. The last two registers had a friendly older lady and someone who looked more like a manager than someone who should be running a register. The boys quickly decided to stand in the older lady's line, even though it was the longest of the four. Mr. D. stood in line behind them.

As they slowly approached their turn, both boys got all nervous again.

"I'm going to hurl," Jasper whispered to Jeremy.

Jeremy was surprised, he had figured Jasper would be the cool one out of the two of them. Jeremy freed one of his hands and grabbed Jasper's, squeezing it for a moment, then letting go again. "We'll be okay!"

After what seemed to have taken an hour, but had in reality been hardly five minutes, it was the boys' turn. They had not dared put their purchase on the rolling belt, afraid that 'everyone would see'. But now, they had to hand over their purchases anyway.

The lady lifted her eyebrows a little, when she was handed a big package of condoms and a bottle of lubricant. She looked at the boys and then noticed the man standing closely behind them. The boys couldn't see that Mr. D. sneakily winked at the lady, and she quickly caught on; this was going to be one of those big life lessons for the squirming, bright red, boys in front of her register. She casually took both items, scanned them and told the boys what they had to pay. Jasper looked back at his dad, who already had his wallet out.

"Glad to see you're being responsible young lads! I bet your girlfriends will appreciate both of you being prepared. But please, no rushing into things," she said in a kind and grandmotherly voice.

Jeremy tried to respond in as casual a tone as possible, "Thank you mam, we sure won't. Better safe than sorry!" It would have sounded so very mature and wise for his age, if only his voice had not broken halfway, leaving him with an awkwardly high-pitched 'Better safe than sorry'.

Having paid, both boys almost ran from the store, not hearing Mr. D. whisper a thank you to the lady, before casually walking out of the store as well.

"Now, was that all that difficult?" he nonchalantly asked the boys.

Jeremy was still panting. "That… that was harder than rowing two races in a row!" he managed to get out. "My heart is still racing!"

Jasper was not doing much better, "Dad, that was awful! You have to go through this every time you and mom… you know?"

Mr. D. laughed. "NO! I am glad WE don't have to," he emphasized the 'we'. He continued, "Remember, sex is something you do together, your mother went out to get condoms just as often as I did. You guys will have to figure out for yourselves who goes shopping, when you're out, someday."

"But, if you don't have to buy condoms anymore," Jasper said, wondering something, "does that mean you and mom no longer…" he couldn't bring himself to complete the sentence. The idea of his parents having sex was nasty, but the idea of not having sex anymore when you got older, that seemed worse!

Mr. D. had been prepared for this question. At some point, kids always wonder what their parents might still be doing. Or rather, freak out at the mere idea that they might still be doing 'it'. These were the funniest things his colleagues had told about when reminiscing about having 'the talk' with their kids. "Oh no, we still 'get it on'. I just got all tied up after you," he said, pushing a finger in Jasper's ribs.

Jasper didn't get it straight away, but Jeremy did. "Oh, you had a Vafectomy!" he exclaimed.

"Hush, you don't have to share it with the entire mall!" Mr. D. hushed, "And, it's a vasectomy. Yes, I had my tubes tied. The doctor said having more kids might be risky for Jasper's mom after Jasper, there could be complications. So, it seemed to make sense to quit the whole hassle with condoms and pills and just getting the old boys tied off."

Jasper looked puzzled, "but, does that mean, you can't, ehm, shoot anymore?" he was clearly thinking back about the mess both him and Jeremy had made that morning. And he knew full well how much better it had started feeling when he was finally able to properly jizz, like a teen, instead of just the dry-run orgasms he used to have. He felt sorry for his dad now, having to miss out on that now.

"Oh no, you got that wrong, 'that' still happens," emphasis on the awkward 'that',"your balls just don't get a chance to mix in any actual sperm, you know, the real baby stuff," he tried to explain. "I'm shooting blanks, basically," was the best analogy he could come up with.

Having played plenty of war games on their computers, Jeremy and Jasper understood what he was trying to say.

"Okay, wow, that was something." Mr. D. said, as he noticed both boys were calming down again. "So, what do you say about putting away the condoms and lube instead of waving them around out here in the crowd, and let's go get an ice cream!"

Jasper and Jeremy instantly realized they hadn't bothered packing their purchases and were still holding both in their hands, for anyone to see. Not that anyone actually took notice, but the idea still horrified them. Jeremy quickly rushed back into the supermarket and got a brown paper bag. They quickly hid their precious cargo in it. Having sorted that out, all three of them headed over to the ice cream parlor around the corner, and they both got a mega-cone of ice cream from Jasper's dad. Licking his scoop of strawberry ice cream, Jeremy couldn't help but make a quick joke, "You know, tasting this, I really think we should have gone for the strawberry ones." And he gave his ice cream a very sensuous lick, getting both Jasper and his dad all flustered again.

The three of them hung around in the mall for a little while longer. They spent their time talking about all kinds of things, but mainly about school and rowing. It was nice to just hang out and not worrying about all the stuff of the past few days for a while. Jeremy got a whole new level of respect for Jasper's dad. He wasn't around often when he was over at Jasper's place, he was usually out for work, he had a very demanding job. But this had been a real special time they had all spent together. He secretly wished he could bond like this with his own dad, but he figured that wasn't going to happen any time soon.

Around noon, they returned home, and found Mrs. D. nursing a cup of tea, sitting at the kitchen table while reading a magazine.

Carefully and respectfully, she asked, "And?"

Proudly, Jasper held up the brown paper bag, "Got them!"

Jeremy slapped his hand against his forehead. There was no telling what would freak Jasper out, and when he just wouldn't give a damn. Apparently, in Jasper's world, it's the most normal thing in the world to inform your mother proudly about your first condom purchase.

Mrs. D. got up and gave both boys a hug. "I'm proud of you guys!" she told them.

"Hey, hey, I need some loving too! You don't know all the horrors these two put me through!" Jasper's dad interjected, and quickly it became a group hug.

They all had some tea, and, to Jeremy's horror, Jasper told his mother all about what had happened in the store. To top it off, he told his mother how happy he was that her and dad were still 'getting it on', despite 'dad's knots'. Which was the cause for a severe look from Mrs. D. to Mr. D., who could only smile back apologetically.

After tea, they both went up to Jasper's room, taking care to bring along the brown paper bag.

When they got to Jasper's room, and firmly closed and locked the bedroom door, they looked at each other.

"Well, that was something," Jeremy said. "I can't believe you told your mother all about what happened in the store!"

"Why not, isn't everyone always saying sex is a very natural thing?" Jasper replied innocently.

"Yeah…" Jeremy sighed, "But she's your mother!"

Jasper shrugged, he didn't see what the whole issue was. Suddenly, he realized something, "So, where do we keep these," he shook the paper bag, "your place or mine?"

Jeremy turned a paler shade. Just the thought of a bag full of condoms and lube in his room; the idea that his parents or his sister might find them! The horror! "You keep them… ehm, your dad paid for them."

Again, Jasper shrugged, it was all the same to him. He peeked into the bag. "Sooo, what do we do with them?"

Jeremy put on a very serious face, "Well, when a man and a woman, or two boys, fancy each other a lot…" he started.

Jasper knocked him over onto the bed, "Stop it. You know what I mean!" He got out the bottle of lube and flipped open the cap. He tried sniffing it, to see if it really didn't smell of anything. He couldn't smell a thing, as advertised.

Next, he squeezed a tiny dollop onto the tip of his finger, and he tried spreading it around between his fingers. "Dude, this stuff is slippery!" he exclaimed.

Jeremy grabbed the bottle and tried the same. "It sure is!" he confirmed.

Wiping his hands clean on the inside of his shirt, briefly showing off his stomach to Jeremy, he took the big pack of condoms out of the paper bag. He opened the cardboard box and inside were a bunch of condoms in very recognizable square tinfoil packages. They had seen those in sex-ed. He grabbed one.

He hesitated for a moment and then told Jeremy, "Jer, I uhm, I'd like to see one…" he hesitated for a moment, "and try one on," he stammered.

Jeremy's eyes lit up at that, "Well, go right ahead, whip it out and slip one on!" he said enthusiastically. He couldn't believe his luck!

Jasper looked shocked, that was not what he had in mind, he wanted to try one on, in private! "No, not right here!" he exclaimed, sounding as shocked as he looked. "You're here! You'll… see."

Jeremy looked disappointed. "What if I go first?" he offered?

Jasper considered it for a moment, but he still felt really uncomfortable about it. "Would you mind, if I try one on, by myself, in the bathroom?"

This disappointed Jeremy even more, but he remembered what he had promised. Jasper was going to set the pace, and he'd already had a lucky break that morning. So, sighing, he relented. "Sure, but you let me know if you need any help!" he grinned mischievously.

Jasper took out a second condom from the box and threw it at his friend, "You try it yourself, and we'll compare notes!"

Jeremy immediately ripped the package open and a rubbery smell came from the packet. Not like old tires, but rather like when you use an eraser at school. The smell quickly dissipated as well, as he got the rolled up condom out. He wrinkled his nose. Normally, he'd only see these used up in the bushes under the railway tracks, or even sometimes in the bushes at school!

"Okay, that's my cue, have fun, I'll be back!" Jasper said, hurrying out of his own bedroom and into the bathroom they had used that morning.

He quickly locked the door and took a moment to look at the packaged condom and considered what he was about to do. I am going… to put on… a condom! Even worse, right now… Jeremy… was doing the same… in my bedroom! Why didn't I send Jeremy to the bathroom so that I could stay in my own bedroom? his mind was reeling. Can I get a boner? he wondered next. Only to realize he wouldn't have to worry about that, he was already hard as a rock in his shorts!

He figured there'd be no point in postponing it. He dropped his shorts, followed by his underwear. His shirt was hanging in the way, so he got rid of that as well. He was now standing in the bathroom in just his socks, and he looked at himself in the full-size mirror that was on the wall. I am really hard! he wondered.

He tore open the packaged condom and felt the slightly slippery rubber. Okay, what had the teacher told us? he tried to remember. Yes, check where the tip is, so you know what direction will roll down, he remembered. He checked, found the tip, and it made sense. If he put it on the top of his penis like that, he'd be able to roll it all the way down. He tried it, cautiously, afraid to tear the flimsy rubber. It wouldn't roll down at first, but as he applied a bit more pressure, it suddenly rolled all the way down to the base. It wasn't exactly a tight fit, but his dad had warned them that the condoms were adult-sized. He took hold of his now wrapped up cock and shook it all about, the condom didn't come loose. He moved his hand up and down, and it felt really weird to have something like an extra skin over his cock. The new sensation of it was also thrilling at the same time, so he gave it another few strokes.

Suddenly, he felt his balls starting to tingle, and, not thinking that the condom was actually intended for what was about to happen, he tried to get it off, so he wouldn't get it all messy. Of course, the rubber wasn't about to slip off that easily, so, before he could help it, he felt himself spurt rope after rope into the tip of the condom, where it was all held in place. Well, that looks odd! he thought. He pushed against the cum filled tip, it was all squishy now. Carefully, he rolled the condom back up a little until he could slide it off, and he made sure he didn't spill any of his cum on the floor. Not knowing what to do next, he decided he'd just wrap the whole thing in toilet paper and put it in the bin. Eight layers of toilet paper later, better too much than too little, he dropped the package in the bin, hoping his parents wouldn't notice when the bin would be emptied. He forgot all about the wrapper, which was still left on the sink. Later in the evening, as Jasper's dad went to use the bathroom before bed, that wrapper was cause for a big laugh, which he just as quickly tried to stifle. The last thing he wanted to do was embarrass his son any more.

Quickly, Jasper got dressed again and rushed back to his bedroom. Before entering, he quickly knocked on the door. Wow, now that's weird, knocking on my own bedroom door!

"Come in!" he heard Jeremy call out, and he carefully opened the door. He was afraid he'd catch Jeremy still trying to put the condom on, or worse!

But, to his surprise, Jeremy was still sitting on his bed, fully clothed.

"You didn't try it on?" Jasper asked, disapprovingly, even a bit betrayed.

"Oh no, I did…" Jeremy said.

"So, what did you do with it?" Jasper asked.

Jeremy smiled, "I tried it on," he said again.

Sounding a bit vexed now, Jasper asked, again, more clearly now, "Yes, but where did you leave it after you put it on? I'm not going to find a used condom stuffed under my pillow, am I?"

Jeremy was now grinning widely, "Now, that's an idea!" he said, amused. He looked a bit sheepishly at Jasper now. "I ehm, I'm still wearing it," he admitted softly.

"DUDE!" Jasper exclaimed, "You're mental!"

"It feels nice…" Jeremy said, apologetically. "Anyway, what did you do with yours then?"

Now it was Jasper's turn to grin. He was feeling bashful as well now. "I used it," was all he said.

"What do you mean, you used it? All by yourself? That's not how they work…" Jeremy said, trailing off into silence. "Oh," he realized what had happened. "You 'used' it," a big emphasis on the 'used'.

He got up from the bed, and it was clearly visible why the condom was still in place, his shorts were tenting almost obscenely. Jasper couldn't help but snicker a little, as he pointed out Jeremy's predicament.

Jeremy put his hand down his shorts, "Actually, it's getting a bit awkward now, I can feel it chafing against my undies. I thought you wouldn't feel much because of the rubber."

"Yeah, well, you should have carefully read the package, look, here…" Jasper pointed at a bit of text on the box. 'Ultra thin, you won't even know it's there!'

"Ah, right," Jeremy said, he rummaged around a bit more in his shorts, and suddenly, he pulled up a long string of rubber. The condom still clearly attached to his dick, as he tried to pull it off, stretching it like a rubber band. With a snap, it suddenly came loose, causing the rubber to snap against his fingers like a whip, and making his dick feel like someone had flicked a finger against it, he doubled over in pain. "OUCH!"

Jasper was now doubled over as well, but from laughter. It was the funniest thing he had ever seen! In moments, both boys were rolling over the floor, both laughing now. The discarded condom lying in the corner of the bedroom.

A yell came from downstairs, asking them to keep it down a little, which was only cause for more laughter, thinking about what they had just done.

As they came down from their hysterical laughter, they were lying next to each other, on the sleeping bag they had shared together the previous night. Jeremy grabbed Jasper's hand. "You can't even begin to imagine how happy you've made me," he told Jasper.

Jasper smiled, "You're not the only happy one here, it takes two to call each other boyfriends, you know."

"So… are we?" Jeremy asked. "I mean, like, officially? Are we boyfriends?" He still couldn't really believe it.

Jasper sighed. He wondered for a moment how strange things could turn out. Him, having a boyfriend! "Dude, yeah, we really are!"

To Be Continued