Author's Note: "Spring Break" is a sequel to the previously published, "The Lighthouse."

Having gotten the first bus from Johnson High School in Savannah where he was in 10th grade, Toby arrived back on Tybee Island in time for his after school job at Sav-Hil Vacation Rentals.

Just turned 17 years old, still cute in a boyish way. A growth spurt had stretched him out to nearly 5'8." Slender, narrow hips, with a 28-inch waist. Painfully pale, the whitest of white skin, in contrast to the long black hair covering his ears and neck. Light blue eyes, tiny black moles here and there on his face. Pink lips. When he was a little kid, his grandmother called him the Irish Ghost.

Picking up the bank bag sitting on the corner of Karla 's desk he said, "I'll go to the bank."

"Because I've had to register and verify four properties today. I'm sick and tired of taking shit from smart ass kids."

This was the first of three weeks making up spring break for colleges up and down the East coast. Even though Tybee Island was pretty far from the real action in Daytona, the island still got its fair share of spring breakers, hell bent for partying and all kinds of misbehavior.

There was a two part process to occupying a vacation home. For good reason. Smashed windows, holes punched in walls, furniture thrown over balconies. Toby's favorite was when they found a full sized upholstered sofa at the bottom of a swimming pool. Alcohol had a funny way of distorting a young person's judgment.

The first part, registration, was simply picking up keys at the office and signing a long form outlining liabilities and penalties. Prior to occupancy, the names of everyone staying at the house, even small children, had to be listed on the reservation. Verification involved a visit to the property by a Sav-Hil employee to confirm who was actually there and collect ID information. Regardless of who pointed the finger at whom, if and when damage occurred to a property, blame and costs could be assigned.

Tapping away on the keyboard with her left hand while she stared at the computer monitor, Karla grabbed a clip board with her right hand and shoved it at Toby.

Taking the steps two at a time, Toby ran down the stairway on the side of the building to the ground level. He was in no particular hurry but sometimes a guy just needed to run.

Pulling onto US 80, he glanced back at the two-story clapboard building, home to Sav-Hil's Tybee Island office. The majority of Sav-Hil's properties were in Savannah and on nearby Hilton Head Island. At those locations, the company had splendidly luxurious offices in handsome buildings. Not so, on Tybee Island. Their office resembled more of an outpost. A couple of desks and file cabinets, computers, faded pictures of properties no longer offered for rent, and a weathered wooden sign on a post next to the street.

Rounding the curve in the road, Toby drove along Butler Avenue, Tybee's main drag. The business district, if you could call it that, resembled similar strips like many other coastal areas along the Eastern seaboard. Aging motels, a plentiful number of t-shirt shops, gift shops, and seafood restaurants. When you walked along the street near the center of town, the unmistakable smell of booze and beer wafted out from the open doors of several local joints.

Just past Nickie's 1971 and Benny's Tybee Tavern, Toby took a slight right onto Inlet Avenue. One short block further, broken concrete becoming crumbling asphalt, and he pulled up in front of 112. Sav-Hil staff referred to their properties simply by number rather than by the full address. Hence, "112" meant "112 Inlet Avenue."

By all standards, this was one of their more modest rentals. Two bedrooms, two baths, in decent condition, no swimming pool, but good access to the beach. Like most of the houses on the island, this one was built on stilts. Periodically, high seas from storms washed across the entire island. As a result, living quarters usually started on the second level, a long flight of stairs from the ground. A Nissan Sentra sat in the sandy driveway, Florida plates. Probably a rental.

Standing on the front porch, Toby rapped on the door. It was only then that he glanced down at the clip board. Three names. Carey Sterling on the first line. Second line: Campbell…his eyes widened. Just then, the door bumped open.

Campbell Maine. Still looking gorgeous, pretty much the same as the last time Toby saw him. Slightly built and fine boned. Slender, about 5'8." Olive toned skin; perpetual soft tan. Medium brown hair, natural highlights, straight and parted down the middle. Long, it fell just past his shoulders. Almond shaped brown eyes, long nose, high cheek bones, thin lips, and full eye brows.

His shirt unbuttoned revealing his velvety smooth chest and stomach, brown nipples, a soft indentation in the middle of his chest. Christ! Didn't he know how to button a shirt?

Toby could hardly feel his face. His chest muscles tightened, lips suddenly dry.

"Ahem," he tried to clear his throat. "I'm supposed to get ID's for everyone who is staying here."

With a sweeping motion and a slight bow at the waist like a maitre d, Bell welcomed him into the house. Walking to the dining room table, Toby set the clipboard down and pulled the pen out of the clip.

A guy came out of one of the bedrooms. Skinny. Maybe 5'10." Sandy colored hair, neatly cut, slightly over his ears. Fine features, narrow square jaw. A slightly detached look in his brown eyes. Wicked cute. Of course, Toby thought to himself with more than a hint of disdain.

Toby copied the number down next to his name. A quick look told him Carey was 20 years old.

Bell held his drivers license out to Toby. When he took hold of it, Bell kept his grip on it. Toby pulled harder. Bell held firm. Their eyes locked. With a sharp tug, Toby pulled it away with a disgusted grimace. Bell smirked. Toby looked at the license. Yep. 16 years old now.

As he finished copying the numbers down, Toby looked up. He hadn't noticed the girl walk into the room. Tall, leggy. Booty shorts that barely covered the bottom of her ass. T-shirt short enough to reveal part of her tummy. Apparently flat chested. Under age? Long dark hair, triangular face, pale blue eyes.

This was gonna be a problem, Toby thought, as he looked at the clipboard. The third name on the list was a guy's name. An unregistered occupant in a vacation home caused all kinds of complications. The other problem was that this undoubtedly meant Bell was switch hitting. That thought hit with a thud. But, why should he be surprised or even disappointed? When they were last together, Bell had refused to identify with any kind of label like, "gay."

In the meantime, "Where's Micah Jones?" Toby asked as he read the third name off of the verification form.

"That's me," she said turning to him. Wait a minute! That was a guy's voice! Toby blinked hard. Fuck me, he thought. She was a he! Toby's face felt hot.

Micah grabbed his drivers license out of a bag on the kitchen counter, brought it over, and handed it to him. At that moment, Toby realized his mouth had been hanging open. Micah didn't act overtly feminine. Ok, he was obviously a guy. Toby realized that now. But, there was something oblique in his movements and the way he spoke. He carried with him an intoxicating vibe of boy and girl that was incredibly erotic.

Quickly copying his drivers license number down Toby took note of Micah's birth date. 18 years old. Toby excused himself and walked to the door.

Following him, Bell said, "Hey! We're gonna be here for a few days. Let's hang out."

He pulled out of the driveway, drove a block and slammed on the brakes. He banged his head into the steering wheel three times. Hard. This couldn't be happening, he thought. Not like this.

Just then, the car behind him honked. Looking in the rear view mirror, he drove on.

That night Toby lay naked in bed, his cock painfully hard, a small pool of cum at the tip. Memories from last summer came rushing back. It was, in a sense, ironic that he should feel this way after seeing Bell today. Truthfully, it wouldn't have mattered anyway. He relived those fleeting moments with Bell almost every night, just like now. The fact that he had actually been in his presence this very day made him shudder.

Turning over onto his side, he opened the nightstand next to his bed. Reaching far to the back, he pulled the rubber dildo out. He'd found it on a web site called thesmittenkitten. After perusing an amazing assortment of dildos and vibrators he found the one that most closely approximately Bell's cock. Large. 7 inches to the base. Thick. Perfectly extruded head. Same curve.

After lubing himself up and gripping the dildo to make it slippery, he brought his knees up into his chest. Rubbing it along the crack of his ass until it scratched against his asshole, he held it there for a moment. Toby imagined Bell's serious, almost vacant eyes, looking at him. Softly groaning, he pushed the dildo steadily in.

Outside of the initial jolt of pain, he felt nothing but the glorious pressure of having it inside him. He'd done it enough so that his anal canal and rectum were more than willing to accept the dildo now. Pushing and pulling, in and out, Toby initially lost his erection. After a couple of minutes, it came back stronger than ever. A memory washed over him. Bell's tongue deep inside his mouth. That first kiss. He went over the edge, the cum pulsing onto his stomach.

Saturday morning. The island was fully enveloped in a thick marine layer. It was going to be hot and sunny later. In the meantime, gray and cool.

Toby pulled into the parking lot for his scheduled half day of work. Saturday morning was crazy time. Even though the clock was just hitting 8:00 am, renters stood in small groups outside San-Hil's office waiting for them to open up.

Winding his way through the crowd, he hopped up the steps and knocked on the door. Karla unlocked it and let him in, a fresh morning glare on her face.

"Let's get going," she breathed. He turned his head, but too late. The noxious odor of her boozing from the night before hit him smack in the face.

Several folders were laid out on the counter. Jessica, her assistant, busied herself stapling forms together.

Handing him a folder, "We'll do regs and verifies together. Get these people settled and get right back here," she said firmly.

"Got it." Toby took the folder, left the office, and trotted down the steps. "Turner!" he yelled.

Toby quickly arranged for them to caravan with him over to their vacation rental.

1715 was one of their larger and newer properties. Able to sleep 12, the house had it all. Multiple decks, heated pool, large bedrooms, and a gigantic great room/kitchen. Toby quickly checked the place out while the family hauled their bags into the house. Stepping out onto one of the decks for a moment, he took a long breath in, smelling the morning sea air. He could literally hear the fog rush by. It made a whooshing sound as it deposited small droplets of water onto the deck railing and furniture.

Returning inside to the kitchen, he opened the folder on the marble covered island and flagged down Mr. Turner. After a quick run through of the boring details, he had him sign the form. Next, was verification. The man marshaled everyone together and, one by one, sent them forward so Toby could collect ID.

In a bright voice, "And this is Cecilia," she said pushing her teen daughter forward. Toby looked up. Standing before him was an incredibly cute girl. Even before he took her ID, Toby was sure she was pretty close to his age. Flowing brown hair, brilliantly green eyes, a field of freckles across the bridge of her pert nose. Cute figure. Toby tried to play it cool.

When he took her ID, Toby confirmed that she was indeed his age. In fact, they were only 2 months apart. Ok, you're cute. We both know that, he thought.

Quickly finishing the paperwork, Toby extracted himself as quickly as possible. He could see the invitation to the inevitable pool party or barbecue forming on Mrs. Turner's lips as he left the house.

Jumping back into his car and driving off, Toby had mixed feelings. Well, more than mixed feelings. Just mixed up. Totally.

He wasn't ambivalent about his sexuality like Bell was. It was more like he was confused. Ya, there had been some girls. He'd just come out of a relationship with a girl, as a matter of fact.

By any measure, Magnolia Donahue was a 9, maybe a 10. Long flowing bright red hair, freckles, and blue eyes. Petite, slender, a figure that was guaranteed to get most guys going. Fun personality and smart. And on the hunt for a guy.

Mags was a suck face artist extraordinaire. Kissing her was a treat. And, she had a few tricks, too. One of them was blowing into Toby's mouth. It was hard to describe the feeling but it was pretty damn hot.

They never had actual sex but Magnolia was willing to do almost everything else. One time, when they were alone together at her house, Toby got her top off and sucked on her tits. Amazingly, she ripped his shirt off and sucked on his nipples, too. He was always embarrassed at how pink they were but she loved them. First licking around them and then lightly biting them, she nearly drove him nuts.

Going one step further, Magnolia was also the first and only girl he'd ever fingered. He was fascinated by her pubic hair because it was just as red as the hair on her head. Her snatch felt warm and wet although he was mildly turned off by the smell. He never failed to get her off the couple of times they went that far.

Magnolia returned the favor, too. Pulling his cock out of his pants, she was apparently a jerk off expert, too. When she leaned over and appeared ready to suck him off, Toby pulled back. He didn't even know why.

When the relationship was over, he let her down easy. Toby knew she'd been cheating on him, but he really didn't care all that much. When he confronted her, he tried not to make her feel too bad. Afterwards, he was relieved.

Heading back to the office, Campbell's face flashed into his mind. Then it was Cecilia. Oh, man! He could feel a headache coming on.

Karla had expertly organized the initial chaos into a soft hum of normal activity.

When Toby looked at the counter now, most of the registration folders had been replaced by maintenance orders.

Rolling her eyes, "Because he's over at 642. Water heater. He'll be there all morning."

Toby grimaced in resignation. Looking down at the slip, it read: Garbage Disposal plugged. Address: 112 Inlet. "Oh, shit!"

Speaking of nothing, Bell answered the door wearing nothing but a towel. Of course! Toby thought sardonically.

Dirty water stood a couple of inches deep in the disposal well of the kitchen sink.

Toby smirked. He looked under the sink and dragged out a plunger. Next, he grabbed a drain plug for the other sink well.

"Push down on that plug," Toby directed. Bell complied. A couple of strong plunges, some hot water, and in less than a minute the disposal was running clear. Toby rinsed the plunger, dried it with a paper towel, and returned it to its place under the sink.

Sitting down at the dining room table to fill out the maintenance report, Toby was acutely aware that Bell was standing close to him. Too close.

When he looked up, Bell was staring down into Toby's eyes with a serious look on his face. Slowly, he pulled the towel open and let it fall to his feet. That magnificent cock, already half hard, sprung out and headed north. Toby involuntarily groaned.

It truly was extraordinary. And, attached to that smooth stomach and hips, thighs covered in fine hair, it looked even more amazing. Bell had allowed a small patch of pubic hair to bloom above his cock. His balls, dark and tight, sat neatly below.

Without a word, Toby took it into his hand. That round pink head, the hole almost like an eye, winked at him as a small drop of pre-cum filled it. Reaching forward to first look at it closely, Toby considered it for a moment, before winding his lips around it and sucking it down as far as it would go.

A bit too far as it turned out. He gagged and coughed once. Bell chuckled lustily. Back he went for more. Toby grabbed first onto Bell's hips as he thrust them forward. Needing more of him, Toby moved his hands around and put them on Bell's butt cheeks, pulling him in as far as he could. Bell smelled delicious. He must have used some expensive body wash. Armani, maybe?

When Bell orgasmed, Toby's mouth filled with a load of hot and salty cum. As his thrusts slowed, Bell brought his hands up and softly caressed the back of Toby's head. When Bell's cock eventually fell out of his mouth, Toby sat back and wiped his lips with the back of a hand, his eyes meeting Bell's. Toby looked for a sign. Any sign. Typical for Bell, what he got was a nonchalant, somewhat detached stare.

Glancing to the side, Toby realized they'd had an audience the whole time. The place where he was sitting lined up perfectly with the open door to one of the bedrooms. Both Carey and Micah were in bed, Carey on his stomach, apparently asleep. Micah, however, had seen everything. He was sitting up in bed, bare chested, with his back against the headboard. A smile was on his face. Toby's mouth dropped open. Micah gave him a small wave. He giggled lightly.

"I havta…" Toby started to say as he attempted to stand. Bell grabbed him before he fell back onto the chair, pulling him to his feet. They looked deeply into each other's eyes.

Taking his hand and lightly brushing the hair off of Toby 's forehead Bell whispered, "You're still such a sweet boy." Toby thought he might melt then and there.

Bright sunshine. The marine layer had evaporated just like that. It was, indeed, going to be a hot sunny day.

Not that one. Not that one. Not that one. Toby quickly flipped through the size S swimsuits on the sale rack at Waves Surf Shop. No way was he going to be embarrassed again like the first time he hooked up with Bell. That old weathered Tybee YMCA swimsuit was history anyway.

The last one in his size on the rack was the best one. Ocean blue with some kind of wave print. On the way to pay for it, he also grabbed a new t-shirt. White, emblazoned with "Tybee" in a rainbow print.

After a quick shower, Toby applied a layer of SPF-50 sunblock over his pale skin. He was going to rub it on his privates too, just in case. The thought of it gave him an immediate erection. No. Not gonna do that. Not in public. Even still, his erection refused to go away. A half humorous vision played itself out in his head where he asked the sales clerk at Waves to show him swimsuits that would conceal a hard-on.

Carey and Micah were just finishing packing a cooler when he arrived at the house. Micah's swimsuit immediately caught Toby's attention. Thong style bottoms left his hips and most of his narrow butt exposed. A halter top, sans bra cups, made him look girly and especially cute. His hair was pulled back into a pony tail. Carey wore conventional boxer style swim trunks and a bright green polo.

Bell looked, as usual. A different pair of board shorts from the last ones Toby had seen him in. A skin tight sleeveless tank on top. Wrap around sunglasses.

Carey and Micah walked ahead, each holding a handle of the cooler as they swung it between them. Bell and Toby followed behind, each carrying an umbrella. During the short walk to the beach, Bell held Toby's hand until a group approached them walking in the opposite direction. Just like the last time they held hands, Toby shook his hand free. PDA's like this, especially with another guy, made him feel creepy.

Taking a boardwalk over the inlet, they followed it until it met the sand. Even though spring break was now officially in progress, the massive beach still appeared to be almost empty. People were widely spaced out. They found a good spot in front of the dunes and set up. Umbrellas provided some nice shade.

Micah pulled a frisbee out of a bag and grabbed Carey. They moved up the beach casually tossing it back and forth. Bell and Toby pulled their shirts off and flopped down on the towels they had laid out. It was then that Toby noticed the leg Carey had been favoring.

"His leg looks like it's been through a meat grinder," Toby said. Carey's left leg, from his ankle to his knee, was scarred and mottled in various shades of red and pink.

"He's been pretty torn up about it. Micah and I are…well…we're just trying to help."

Bell smirked again as he pulled a narrow stick out of the sand. "Ya. I slept with him when he was dating my sister."

Toby looked at Carey. It was hard to imagine. Carey seemed so…thin and frail. Harper, Bell's sister who he'd met last summer, was tall, strong looking, and big boned.

Bell used the stick to dig absentmindedly in the sand between their towels. Taking off his sunglasses, he looked intently into Toby's eyes. Toby looked away, partly out of shyness, partly because he was afraid of his own feelings. His heart was suddenly beating wildly in his chest.

Bell reached over, put his hand behind Toby's head, and pulled their faces together. They looked at each other for only a moment before their lips and mouths met. Bell moved over, closer to Toby. They crushed their bodies together as they kissed. The sounds of the ocean waves, the birds overhead, everything seemed to recede into the background. Toby faintly heard only groans, murmurs, and lips smacking together.

Bell's fingers brushed against Toby's erect cock through his suit. Toby instinctively pushed Bell's hand away. Returning to the waist band, Bell yanked it down, baring Toby's hip and part of his crotch.

"Not here!" Toby said more firmly. No way was he going to get naked on a public beach. He pulled away from Bell, looking annoyed and a little hurt.

Toby sat up. He watched Carey and Micah as they continued to toss the frisbee back and forth. A man emerged from the dunes and sat down not too far from where Micah was standing. Stocky, thick legs, crew cut. Elbows on his knees, he appeared to watch Micah pretty closely. A kind of banter began between the two of them. Toby couldn't hear what they were talking about but, in between throws, Micah appeared to be responding to what the man was saying.

"C'mon!" Bell grabbed Toby's hand, pulling him to his feet. Beckoning to Carey, he led all three of them in a sprint to the water.

The water was freezing! They yelped and screamed when they hit the water. A minute or so was all they could take. Gasping and laughing, they ran for the towels.

All three fell back down to the towels. Bell brought out cans of soda and a couple of bags of chips. No one spoke for a few minutes. They quenched thirst and hunger.

Toby glanced over to where Micah and Carey had been tossing the frisbee. Micah was nowhere in sight. The man he had been talking to was gone, too.

The three of them continued snacking and slurping, each one glancing up to look for Micah every few seconds.

A couple of minutes later, Micah appeared from behind the dunes. He held his halter top in his hand. Topless, he strolled over, his thong bikini bottom slightly askew. A half swollen dick was clearly visible underneath the thin fabric. His hair, no longer pulled back, hung down around his flushed pink face. When he reached the towels and umbrellas, he dropped to his knees, with a gasp.

Toby stared at Micah. In this state, he was positively alluring. Narrow chest, light pink nipples, lips apart, small hips, cute belly button.

Nodding at Carey and turning to Bell with a dull look in his eyes, "It went." With that, he collapsed onto his back.

No one said anything for several minutes. Once in awhile, Toby glanced over to see if the man had reappeared. Nope.

In the meantime, Bell continued to use the stick to dig a small trench. Toby watched him. Getting out some frustration, he wondered? Stopping after a bit, Bell reached down and scraped away at an object buried in the sand. Using his finger, he dug around and, with a bit of pressure, pulled a small rock out of the hole. It was unique. Almost perfectly white, perfectly round, and completely unblemished. About 2 inches in diameter.

Micah's eyes were closed. Carey and Toby now watched Bell as he continued excavating. Not 5 minutes later, he struck another object. After some more digging around, he unearthed another rock. Incredibly, it was almost an exact duplicate of the first one.

The only bad part about going to the beach was the walk back. Hot, tired, dragging. When they got back to the house, all of their stuff got thrown on the floor. Bell offered Toby a shower which he gladly accepted. Two bathrooms: Carey and Toby showered first.

When he finished, Toby wrapped a towel around his waist. Walking through the kitchen, he found that someone had left fresh cold drinks out on the counter next to the two rocks. Taking a cold bottle of sparkling water, he sauntered out to the second floor deck and fell onto a chaise lounge, flat on his tummy. In less than a minute, he felt himself falling into dreamland.

He heard a soft noise and a cough. Opening his eyes for a moment, he watched as Carey laid down on a nearby chaise lounge. Just like Toby, he only wore a towel around his waist. Toby closed his eyes again.

Awhile later, he felt a depression next to him. Opening his eyes yet again, he saw a freshly showered Bell sitting with his hip touching the side of Carey's leg. Bare chested, he wore a pair of fleece shorts on the bottom half of his body. Wet hair, slightly tousled, but then again, neat. How the hell was he able to do that with no effort? Toby closed his eyes.

Bell softly massaged Toby's back as he murmured with pleasure. It felt like Bell was drawing little pictures on his back. After a short time, his hands fell to Toby's butt as he continued his soft massage. Lightly grabby Toby's hips, he lifted them slightly and pulled the top half of the towel off, letting it fall to the floor. Toby's painfully white butt was fully exposed.

Bell knew what he was doing. Cupping one cheek, then the other. Then both. He separated them, exposing Toby's asshole, leaning down to give it a close inspection. Toby could hear Bell inhaling his scent. He hoped to God he didn't smell too bad back there. Letting his butt cheeks fall back together, Bell slowly swept his hands to the sides of Toby's hips. His fingers lightly tickled Toby's sides from his armpits down past his hips to his upper legs. Toby couldn't help but groan. Beneath him, his cock throbbed against the other half of the towel and the chaise lounge.

Toby felt Bell scoot down to the end of the chaise lounge. His hands pulled Toby's legs apart. Toby's respiration quickened. Oh! Here it comes! No! Not here! But, he didn't move. Turning his head to the side and opening his eyes, he looked across to see Carey slowly pulling on his own stiff cock. He'd also unwrapped his towel and was now naked, watching. Toby couldn't believe how beautiful this guy was. What struck him first was that his nipples were almost as pink as his. He had a bit more definition to his smooth chest. His hips, although narrow, curved down to his small waist. His cock: hard, pink.

Toby braced himself for Bell's cock to enter him. Instead, Bell use his hands to push his legs apart even farther and spread his cheeks. In one motion, he plunged his tongue deep into Toby's ass. He gasped. A warm feeling flooded his entire body. Bell's wet tongue swirled inside him. He held Toby's hips to keep him from wiggling away. When Bell cupped his lips and sucked on his hole, Toby orgasmed, shuddering and gasping.

Toby tried to turn over but Bell kept his back pushed down with one hand, pulling his shorts off with the other. In a quick move, he got on top of Toby. Thrusting his cock against Toby's butt crack, he slid it back and forth. His head actually hit Toby's asshole a couple of times. In a short time, cum poured out all over Toby's back and ran down his sides.

As they both tried to catch their breaths, Bell stumbled off of Toby and sat next to him again. He grabbed the end of the towel and began to carefully wipe the spunk off of Toby's back and butt. When Toby turned his head and opened his eyes, he saw that Carey had also orgasmed. His cock was quickly returning to normal size as he also wiped himself off.

After Bell wiped him off, he placed a flat hand on one of Toby's white butt cheeks and then the other.

There was silence for a moment. Toby looked at Carey. He was smiling but his eyes were filling with tears. He chuckled once. Then he laughed a little more. Then, it was fully hysterical laughter. Bell burst out in laughter himself. Toby had never heard him laugh outright. But, here he was, laughing his ass off, too. Toby, a bit embarrassed but, even still, started giggling.

Hearing the commotion, Micah came onto the deck. He wore only a pair of white bikini panties.

"What's going on?" He asked with a smile. The laughter was contagious. He joined in.

They laughed until they cried. For a long time. Weak and hoarse, Bell got up, pulled Carey to his feet, and hugged him hard and long. It was as if someone had pricked a pin into the balloon of sadness, despair, and anxiety, and blown it to smithereens.

Later, as it was getting dark and Toby was leaving, Carey came up to him, put his arms around him, and kissed him lovingly on the cheek.

"You are a beautiful person," Carey said. And with a silly smile, he said, "And you have a perfect pair."

When he wasn't going to school or working his part-time job, he hung out with the guys at 112.

His parents even let him stay over one night. A school night, which was a pretty big deal.

He let Bell fuck him twice. Maybe "let" wasn't the right word. He wanted it so bad, he could hardly stand it. The first time, Toby was on his knees, head held down by Bell's hand on his neck. Toby somehow loved the mild choking sensation. Rough, but not too rough. The second time, on his back, legs thrown up, hips elevated by a pillow to make it easier for Bell to enter.

Bell did it covered. It made Toby think. Was he just being careful or was it because he cared that much about him?

"Oh ya," Bell answered with an awkward chuckle. "We were on the plane and… Well, when we got back home, I had some issues to deal with."

Toby looked down, kind of sad. His forlorn look prompted Bell to put his arm around Toby's shoulder and press his lips against his temple. He held him like that for several seconds.

The laugh attack seemed to have transformed Carey. His eyes twinkled, he joked around, and led the group wherever they went.

In the back of his mind, Toby kind of knew it was coming. When he got to work after school on Thursday, Karla thrust an envelope at him.

It was from Cecilia. In her loopy girlish handwriting, she invited him for a swim and barbecue that night.

He had mixed feelings about going but, in the end, he went. He had a great time. The Turner's were really nice. He and CeeCee, as her family called her, chatted up a storm as they paddled around the pool. He could barely get a word in edgewise but he genuinely enjoyed her banter. She was smart and had a wicked sense of humor.

They were obviously a family of means based on their chatter. Before he left, he was invited to their summer home on Montauk Island, wherever that was.

When he finally got out of there, around 8 pm, he ran over to 112. As soon as he arrived, it was obvious the boys were going out for a night on the town. Apparently, Bell had come up with some fake ID's for the three of them so they could get into the bars downtown. Obviously, Toby was going to be left out. Not only did he look way too young to drink, he was a Bee. That was the nickname assigned to native islanders. Everyone knew who he was and they would know he was underage.

Carey and Bell had stepped it up in the way they were dressed. Still casual, but wearing nice shirts and baggy shorts.

Micah had taken his androgynous persona to a new level. He'd done something to his hair. Toby couldn't quite figure out what it was but he'd combed it differently and pinned part of it to the side. He also wore eye-liner and a soft pink eye shadow. Lipstick, too, although it was subtle. Toby tried not to stare but he could almost see Micah's tiny nipples through his translucent sleeveless shirt. Cigarette leg jeans. On his feet, red sparkly shoes with heels, like Dorothy's ruby red slippers.

Before they parted, Bell put his arms around him, looked him in the eyes, and said, "Be good."

After school the next day, Friday, he drove directly over to 112 before he even reported for work. The Sentra was gone. In its place was the van belonging to the cleaning crew.

The inside of the house was a hub of activity. Sheets and towels were piled in the middle of the great room floor, a vacuum whirred in one of the bedrooms, and one of the maids was throwing flatware into the dishwasher.

What should he say? What could he say without sounding like a complete loser? Before he could tap a response:

Toby sniffled and wiped his eyes. When he looked down at the counter, he saw it.

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[For those who use webmail, or whose regular email client opens when they want to use webmail instead: Please right click the author's name. A menu will open in which you can copy the email address (it goes directly to your clipboard without having the courtesy of mentioning that to you) to paste into your webmail system (Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo etc). Each browser is subtly different, each Webmail system is different, or we'd give fuller instructions here. We trust you to know how to use your own system. Note: If the email address pastes or arrives with %40 in the middle, replace that weird set of characters with an @ sign.]

^* Some browsers may require a right click instead

Spring Break

by Jack Lynch