Every December Billy's father had Billy come to work with him on Saturdays to do some small jobs for his boss to earn some money for Christmas presents.

"I can't meet up with you Saturday," Billy told Lance in the hallway before school. "I'm going to work with my Dad to earn some money for Christmas."

"That's awesome. My father usually gives me some money to go shopping with but I doubt that's going to happen this year."

"You want me to ask my Dad if you can come with me? I'm not sure how much his boss would pay you or if he'd even allow it. He does it for me as a favor to my Dad."

"That would be great! As long as I can make enough money to buy my Mother something, and my boyfriend, of course."

"I know what I want for Christmas from you and I'm looking forward to unwrapping it," Billy said as he discreetly gave Lance a quick crotch grab.

It was a quiet week at school for the boys, giving them ample opportunities to meet up after school at Billy's house. He was still nervous about going to Lance's house but Lance didn't care. As long as they could find alone time, he was happy.

Saturday morning Billy's Dad took Lance and him to work. They met with the boss and were given a list of things to inventory and areas to clean up. Paul showed them around and let them get to work. He had to take one of the trucks for repairs so he wouldn't be back until 4:00 when the boys should be done. The boss came down to check on them at noontime. The boys were sitting down eating their lunch when he came up to them.

"Good, sir. We were going to find you after we ate to see what else you wanted done," Lance told him.

"You have to finish what I gave you this morning first, then I'll find some more work."

He went to the supply room and the tool room. He was amazed at the job the boys had done. Not only had they finished everything on their list but they had done an excellent job.

"Frank was right. You boys are hard workers and do a hell of a job. Finish your lunch and I'll see what else I can find for you."

Frank returned with the repaired truck. The boss came back to the three of them and told Frank to take the boys home. Frank looked at his boss and then to them.

"Nothing? I'll tell you what they did. I gave them a list of things for them to be done, a list that would have taken any two of my regular guys a day and a half to finish. These boys had everything done before lunch. And all it done better than I could have imagined. I was going to try and find something else for them to do, but right now I'm at a loss."

"I should have known. They make a hell of a team, these two," Frank smiled and shook his head.

"We're trying to earn money for Christmas presents so we'd really like to finish the day if we could, sir," Billy explained.

"You've done a full days work in a half a day. I'm not to penalize you for working hard so I'm going to pay you for the full day. Come back next Saturday and by then I'll have another list for you."

On the trip home the boys counted their cash three times, grinning and smiling at each other.

"Like I said, the two of you make a great team. You belong together," smiling and winking at Billy.

Billy's Dad and Mother went shopping for the afternoon and left the house to Billy and Lance. They boys went up stairs and began kissing, groping and eventually undressing each other.

"I think I'll buy myself a present," Billy said as he pulled a five-dollar bill out of his pocket and handed it to Lance. "Here you cheap whore, suck my cock"

Lance, AKA the cheap whore in this game of the john and the hooker, took the money and got down and sucked Billy's cock. Billy was calling Lance all kinds of disgusting names, slapping him on the cheek and telling him to take it all. After he shot his load, then it was Lance's turn.

Lance flipped Billy a ten and proceeded to play the part of the john fucking his whore.

This game went on for the rest of the afternoon, using their imagination to come up with different scenarios and trading places. Once their carnal pleasure was complete, they counted the money and divided it equally again. They got cleaned up and dressed and played video games until Frank came back and gave Lance a ride home.

The boys worked two more weekends and had all the money they needed to buy presents. Frank was going to take them shopping at the big box store in the next town. They each bought something for their parents and then split up to buy a gift for each other.

Lance carried his bags into the house and up to his room. As he was passing through the living room his Mother commented on all the bags.

"Billy and earned a whole bunch of money and I bought presents for everyone, including Billy's Mom and Dad. I even bought something for Dad."

The boys spoke that night and planned on helping Lance's mother set up their Christmas tree in the morning then set up Billy's tree in the afternoon. Billy's Mom called Lance's Mother and invited her over for homemade cookies and hot cocoa while the boys worked on the tree with Christmas carols were playing in the background.

"This is going to be the best Christmas I've had in a long time. Thank you so much for having us over to get things started," Lance's Mother said as they were getting ready to leave.

After a pleasant afternoon, Lance and his mother returned home. They found two packages on the porch steps. Lance picked them up and took them inside. There were labels on each, presents to he and his mother from his father.

"Wow, this is a surprise. I suppose expecting him to stop and say hello would be too much to ask," Lance's mother said indignantly.

Spirits were high at school Monday. It was the last week before Christmas vacation. Rachel met the boys at Billy's locker as usual.

"Of course. Unfortunately Billy and I both got you the same thing," Lance admitted. "A big lump of coal."

"I hope it so big that it hurt when I nail you with it. I'll bet I can guess what you got each other. It's short and skinny and goes into any where," she raised her eyebrows and smirked.

"Pardon me madam, but it's long and thick and it can only goes in two places. We're very selective," Billy replied, somewhat out of character.

They all had a good laugh and proceeded to their first class. The week went by quickly with Thursday being the last day of classes. Christmas was on a Sunday this year so they had two free days. Thursday morning Billy walked around the corner in the hall and accidentally bumped into Dwayne. Dwayne stopped in his tracks and glared at Billy.

"Sorry, Dwayne, I didn't see you coming," Billy apologized hoping to ward off a confrontation.

Billy took a deep breath and continued on his way. It wasn't the most cordial greeting he had ever gotten but it was better than a fist.

Friday morning Lance went over the Billy's house knowing his Mom and Dad were working until noontime.

"So, we've got all morning to ourselves. Any ideas on whet we could do?" Lance asked suggestively.

Lance was taken aback by Billy's demeanor but decided to play along. He went and stood in front of the tree in the living room.

Billy walked up to him and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. Lance started to raise his arms and open his eyes.

Billy again gave him a quick kiss. Then he slowly unbuttoned Lance's shirt, one button at a time. When the last button was undone, Billy raised his hands and slid them inside the shirt, rubbing Lances torso up and down. He purposely avoided contact with the nipples. He pushed the shirt back off Lance's shoulders and let it drop to the floor. Billy massaged his shoulders then brought his hand down to Lance's chest. He gently tweaked the nipples them swirled his fingers around them. He lowered his head and took one in his mouth, licking it and sucking on it and finally gently biting it. He felt Lance start to move his arms up to reach for Billy but Billy shouted for him to put his arms down.

Next Billy undid Lance's belt buckle and the top snap on his pants. He ran his fingers around Lance's waist, teasing and rubbing his naked flesh. He pulled down the zipper and ran his fingers around again, sliding them inside the top of his pants. The bulge in Lance's pants was very obvious now that the zipper was down. Lance's breathing was growing quicker and deeper.

Billy slowly pushed the pants down so his hand was sliding down Lance's leg as he did. When the pants were down to his ankles, Billy gently lifted one foot and then the other to remove them altogether. He ran his fingers back up Lance's legs, moving from the outside to the inside as he went up. Nearing the top of his legs, Billy moved to Lance's hips and around to his back. He stuck his fingers in the waistband of his underwear and ran around the circumference of his body. Moving to the back, he pulled the underwear down to expose his ass cheeks. Lance's boner was now pushing out the front of the underwear, loosened by the lowering of the backside.

"Shut up! I told you not to talk," Billy said firmly as he pulled the back of the underwear back up in place. Lance let out a whimper of disappointment. "Open your mouth again and all the clothes go back on. Understand?"

Lance just nodded. This was so unlike Billy being so dominant. Usually it was Lance taking the lead in their sexual play. Judging by the throbbing of his rock hard cock straining to be set free, Lance was totally enjoying this new side to Billy.

Billy went back to caressing Lance's legs, then pulling down his underwear all the way to his ankles, pulling it away from his cock so as not to ensnare it. It was sticking straight out and leaking. Billy ran his hand up the inside of the leg to the top of Lance's thigh, being careful not to touch his balls or his cock. He reached trough his legs and fingered his ass crack, staying away from his pucker. Lance's breathing was increasing more and more with every minute that passed. His legs were trembling ever so slightly in anticipation of what Billy was going to do next. Billy brought his hand back between Lance's legs, brushing his ball sack with the back of his hand. Lance moaned and spread his legs to give Billy better access to whatever he wanted down there. Billy ran his fingers around Lance's groin, being careful not to make actual contact with his balls. Then he took Lance's balls in his hand and massaged them resulting in a huge drop of precum to form at Lance's piss slit. As it was about to drip off, Billy positioned his tongue close enough to catch it without making contact.

Lance was biting his lip trying not to say anything, wanting Billy to take his cock in his mouth and suck him off. But Billy was far from that point. He pushed Lance's cock up with one finger from underneath then took his ball sack in his mouth. He rolled his balls around like olives at Christmas dinner. Lance's cock kept flexing and tightening, pumping out more clear liquid. Billy let the balls drop form his mouth and again positioned himself to catch the falling drop. He finally took a hold of Lance's stiff boner and held it tightly. He was about to start to slowly stroke it when Lance yelled out.

Billy knew he had Lance in a high state of arousal but never imagined that two strokes on his cock would push him over the edge. The unexpected orgasm caught both boys by surprise as Lance fired a huge shot after shot of cum right at Billy, some landing on his face, some in his hair and the rest all over his shirt. When Lance was done with the last dribble, he fell backwards on the bed.

"Damn, Billy, that was the biggest and best load I've ever shot. You're fucking awesome!"

"You'll have to give me a few minutes to catch my breath and be able to stand up."

Billy got up off his knees and went to the bathroom to clean himself up. In doing so, he couldn't resist licking some of the cum off his face and putting it in his mouth. Lance's quick climax had denied him the pleasure of a throat of hot white goo so he settled for what he could get. He went back into the bedroom and stood nest to the bed.

Billy shook his head in agreement. Lance started the same way Billy did, removing his shirt and exploring the bare flesh it revealed. He undid the pants and continued the teasing just as Billy had done. Suddenly he yanked Billy's pants down and came forward to swallow Billy's cock. He began to vigorously suck him while squeezing his balls and moving a finger back to play with his hole.

"Hey you're cheating," Billy protested in jest. Lance pulled away and looked up at Billy.

"You've never seen me tear into my Christmas presents, have you?" Then diving back onto the stiff cock in front of him.

Much like Lance, Billy didn't last long. He also shot a huge load of cum but this load went directly down Lance's throat, swallowing every drop. Lance stood up and gave Billy a kiss tasting of the left over cum in his mouth.

"Christmas has always been my favorite time of year. Now I have another reason to like it," Lance whispered in Billy's ear. The boys cuddled and kissed until they felt it was time to clean up and get dressed.

Billy's family had a Christmas Eve tradition to enjoy a big meal then sit in the living room and tell stories about holiday past and family members who had passed or moved away. It was their way of connecting the present to the past and keeping their loved one alive in their hearts. Billy asked if he could invite Lance and his Mother to join them.

"They would probably be bored hearing all our stories but you can certainly invite them. Tell them they can just stay for supper if they prefer," Billy's Mom offered.

Lance and his Mother thought is was a wonderful tradition and they would be honored to be a part of it.

Lance and his Mother went to Billy's house on Christmas Eve, shared a delicious meal and then retired to the living room. Billy's and his parents began by telling stories of when Billy was young and how much he enjoyed Christmas morning and unwrapping all his gifts. Billy and Lance looked at one another and burst out laughing. Lance's mother said she didn't know what they were laughing about because Lance was like that as well.

"He would get a present and just tear the wrapping off like it was a timed event."

This time the boys were laughing so hard they fell of their chairs. The adults just smiled and shook their heads at the silliness, not knowing what was behind the laughter.

They spent the rest of the evening sharing and reminiscing about times past. Lance's Mother yawned and thanked Billy for inviting them, excusing themselves to head home. As they walked up to the house they saw two packages on the steps. Lance picked them up and carried them inside. One had a tag on it with Lance's name and the other had a tag with his Mother's name on it. They both were from Lance's father.

Lance put the presents under the tree and went to bed. As he got undressed, he thought about the past few months and the relationship he and Billy had developed. He was thankful that his Mother had stopped drinking and was turning herself around. This really was going to be he best Christmas ever!

Christmas morning Lance and his Mother came downstairs for a quick breakfast and then opened their gifts. Lance had gotten his mother a nice warm robe and some slippers. She loved them. She had gotten Lance some new knee and elbow pads for skateboarding as well as a new helmet. He immediately put them on and walked around with them to model them. Then it was time for the two presents from Jack. Lance opened his first. It was a box from Leonard's, the expensive men's store in Dallas where his father always bought his clothes. Inside the box was a three piece suit, and a note. "Always look your best." Lance took out the jacket and tried it on. It was several sizes too small.

He folded the jacket and put it back in the box. He handed his mother her present. She opened hers to find a gallon of cheap jug wine in side. He note read, "I hope this is big enough."

They put their presents back under the tree, with the exception of the two from Frank. They cleaned up from breakfast and put on the television to watch Christmas specials. At noontime Lance called Billy to see what he got. They chatted for a while then said goodbye.

The day after Christmas Lance and his Mother drove to Dallas to exchange the suit. It was about a 3 hour drive down to Rte 80 and on into Dallas. They parked in front of the store and went inside. A sales clerk came right over to assist them.

"My husband bough my son this suit and it's too small. We'd like to exchange it for something that fits him. Unfortunately we don't have he sales slip."

"No problem. Quite a few people don't have the receipt for presents. Let me open the box and see what we have."

The salesman opened the box and took out the suit. He looked it all over then gave Margo the bad news.

"Yes, our box but not our suit. First of all, look at the loose thread and the uneven stitching. Definitely not the quality we sell. But more importantly, the label inside is not a brand we stock. This is a very inexpensive brand, probably bought at the department store down the street and put in one of our boxes. I'm sorry but there is nothing I can do."

Lance and his mother thanked him and then left the store. Once outside, Lance started yelling and cussing.

"That cheap fucker. He knew he bought the wrong size and did it just to embarrass us when we tried to return it. I should have know better."

They drove home telling tales of the many times Frank had been a jerk to one or the other of them. Lance called Billy when they got home and asked if he could come over.

"That's perfect. I want to play with one of my presents and I wanted you to enjoy the fun."

When Billy showed up, Lance had everything prepared. He asked his Mother to join them in the back yard. Billy noticed a strong order of gasoline and looked at Lance.

Lance lit the paper and his mother threw the flaming paper on to the pile of clothes that Lance had soaked in gasoline. The fire ignited immediately and black smoke rose from the pile of clothes.

"Thank you, Billy. But this is what we've come to expect from him. It was foolish to think otherwise."

They all watched until the flames died down. Margo went inside leaving Lance and Billy to clean up the ashes.

"Hey, does this mean if you unhappy with my present to you," as he grabbed his crotch, "that you're going to throw gas on me and burn me up?" Billy laughed.

"I wouldn't use gasoline, I'd just fuck you so hard and so fast that you'd spontaneously combust."

"Yes. I don't know how to say this and I hope you're not mad at me," she started. I'm meeting with a lawyer this morning to file divorce papers on your father. I was hoping the separation would bring him to his senses, but those two presents he left showed me there is no use prolonging this any longer. I hope you can understand and forgive me."

"Forgive you? This is the best news I've heard in forever. You probably should have ditched the bastard as soon as you found out he was cheating on you. That's what I would have done."

"You learn as you get older when you have this much time invested in a relationship, you don't throw it all away at the first bump in the road. I was hoping things would go back to the way they were."

"And if they did, would that be any better? Drinking yourself into a stupor to deal with the life he had you trapped in?"

"I meet with the lawyer this morning, he serves the papers then my lawyer and his lawyer try and work out an amiable agreement, how we divide the property and who gets what."

"You're not property, you silly boy. You're my son and you're staying with me no matter what he may think."

They hugged for a few minutes. Lance cleaned up from breakfast while Margo went to get dressed for the meeting with the lawyer.

Lance got to work cleaning up and was thinking how a divorce was going to affect his life. His father would no longer be part of his life but he hadn't been for a while. Would they have to move out of the house? If they did, would he still be close to Billy? Or would he have to go through a divorce from Billy as well? His Mother came back through the kitchen and Lance bombarded her with questions.

During the rest of the Christmas vacation week the boys got together with Mike and some of the crew and hung out, usually at Lance's house. His Mother was a perfect host, providing food and refreshments but leaving them alone other than feeding them.

Rachel was having a New Year's Eve party at her house. She invited the whole crew, most of them showing up. Her cousin Kate was in town and was anxious to see Billy again. Lance and Billy decided to be very casual and not be outwardly affectionate at the party. Kate latched onto Billy and monopolized his time most of the evening. Mike gave Lance a 'what's up?' look several time but Lance just shrugged his shoulders and didn't make a big deal of it. He knew Kate and Billy were nothing more than friends so he didn't feel threatened.

At midnight the boys all cheered and hugged one another. Rachel grabbed Lance and gave him a quick kiss and Kate did the same with Billy.

"Happy New Year, you queer son of a bitch," Rachel whispered in Lance's ear then pulled back giggling.

Lance picked up some of the dirty glasses and dishes to take them to the kitchen.

They put the dirty dishes on the counter then grabbed each other for a deep passionate kiss. Mike walked quietly in the kitchen with his glass and plate and put them on the counter.

The boys were surprised and quickly broke their kiss. They saw it was Mike and cussed at him.

"For fuck's sake! Why don't you scare the shit out of somebody sneaking up on us that way," Lance scolded him.

"When you guys only kissed the girls and not each other, I thought there was something wrong between the two of you. Thankfully I was wrong."

"We just didn't want to make anyone uncomfortable, that's all," Billy explained.

"That wouldn't have bothered anyone. But if you stripped and started in on each other that would be a different story," Mike laughed.

They all went back downstairs as the party was breaking up. Everyone said their good byes to Rachel and left. Lance and Billy had stayed behind to wait for Billy's parents to pick them up on their way home from an adult party. The four of them sat around making small talk for a half an hour. Lance excused himself to go take a piss and Rachel went up stairs to put away the left over food and drinks.

"Now it's just the two of us," Kate said, looking into Billy's eyes. She moved up close and lean in to kiss him again. Only this time it wasn't a little peck on the lips. This was a full on mouth open kiss with lots of tongue. She threw her leg over Billy so she was sitting on his lap as they kissed.

Billy was totally taken by surprise. He should have pushed her back right away but he was enjoying her kiss. It was similar to Lance's kisses, with the tongue and all but the ferociousness of her attack and the softness of her face pressed against him was making his crotch stir. She was leaning into him and pushing him back on the couch despite his half-hearted efforts to resist. Finally he pushed her away enough to break the kiss.

"Of course I like you and that was hot. But I'm seeing someone so I really shouldn't be kissing you."

Billy didn't know if Kate knew that Lance was gay and didn't want to let on that he and Lance were boyfriends.

"Well I don't see her here now. It's just you and I," as Kate dove back onto Billy's mouth to continue where she left off.

Billy put his hands on her shoulders to push her away. From the bottom of the stairs it looked like he was embracing her. That's what Lance saw when he came back from the bathroom. Lance glared at the two of them and shouted out.

Rachel came back downstairs just then and looked at Kate sitting on Billy's lap and the red face's on both of them.

She climbed off of Billy's lap and ran past Lance and Rachel to go to the bathroom. Lance looked and saw a bulge in Billy's pants, the results of Kate amorous kisses.

"It wasn't my fault, Lance. She came after me. I tried to get her to stop but she kept at me."

"Yeah, I saw how hard you tried to stop her. Or should I say, I see how hard you are. I'm going to wait on the porch for our ride home," and ran up the stairs two steps at a time.

"Rachel, you believe me don't you? I told her I was seeing someone but didn't want to out Lance if she didn't know."

"She can be aggressive sometimes. I'll go talk to Lance and see if I can get him to calm down."

"I've never had a boy refuse my kisses. What are you, gay or something?" she growled.

"As a matter of fact I am. I thought you and I could be friends and nothing more. I sorry if you took it wrong."

"A damn fag. Just my luck! This will go down as one of the worst New Year's Eve ever." Kate stormed off to go to bed. She passed Rachel on her way through the kitchen. "Thanks for setting me up with a queer boy. You could have warned me."

Rachel had calmed Lance down after explaining everything to him. He was still mad but was cooling off slowly.

"Okay," he agreed then went to the top of the stairs to yell for Billy. "Billy, let's go. We have to lock up so we'll wait outside for your parents."

They went on onto the enclosed porch to wait. It was chilly but not as bad as being out in the open.

"I know, Rachel explained everything to me. I heard Kate come through the kitchen all pissed off that you are gay and Rachel never old her."

"I don't know what's worse, letting people know we're gay or trying to keep it a secret. So you forgive me?" not that Billy had actually done anything that needed forgiving.

"When I saw the two of you kissing and then the bulge in your pants, I thought for sure that you weren't really gay and you were just using me for sex. You didn't have feelings for me other than a quick fling under the covers."

Billy reached out for a hug. Lance hugged him back but not like he usually does. It was more like a hug you give your grandmother. Billy was nervous that this had done some real damage to their relationship. He was hoping Lance would feel differently after a good night's sleep.

"It was okay. I'm not sure what all the big deal is about New Year's Eve anyway. It's just another day," Billy answered.

Billy's parents looked at one another and knew something must have gone wrong but didn't want to ask. The car stopped at the foot of Lance's driveway and the boys got out.

Lance got out and said a cordial thank you for the ride and started towards the house, not waiting for Billy. Billy caught up with him at the kitchen door.

"Lance, can I come in for a minute. We need to talk. I don't want to leave things like this."

Lance opened the door and walked in. Billy followed quickly before Lance could close the door.

Lance had turned to face Billy and was about to move in for a kiss when he heard his mother in the living room.

"Lance, my baby boy! You're home. You've come back to this pitiful place we call home. But it's going to get better without your asshole father here," she yelled, slurring her words.

Lance turned and ran to the living room. His mother was slouched across a living room chair, the half empty jug of cheap wine and an almost empty glass on the coffee table.

"Of course not. There were three of us," she giggled. "It was me, myself and I."

She tried to get up but fell on the floor, spilling the glass of wine on the coffee table.

"How wonderful! You brought my favorite boyfriend home with you. Well, your boyfriend that is. And look, he has clothes on this time," she burst out laughing.

"Shut your damn mouth, Mother!. Billy, come over here and get her up. I have to go get a towel and clean up this wine before it gets on the carpet."

Lance went to the bathroom to get a couple of towels to pick up the spilled wine. Billy came over and extended his hand to Lance's mother to help her get up. She stood up, unsteady on her feet, and lunged forward into Billy. He grabbed her so she wouldn't fall and was trying to get her back in the chair. She grabbed the back of his head and kissed him.

"Oh Billy, you're my knight in shining armor. Lance is so lucky to have you for his boyfriend. Maybe I'll steal you away from him," she giggled and went back to kissing him.

It was a sloppy kiss with a heavy taste of the cheap wine. He had noticed the difference between Kate's kisses and Lance's but this was totally different again. This was an adult woman, starved for affection and intimacy for a long time. She was trying to make up for lost time since her husband had abandoned her in the bedroom. For the second time this evening he was feeling aroused by the kiss yet knowing it was so wrong to be making out with his boyfriend's mother. So god damn wrong! He had his arms around her to keep her from falling over and was pushing her back towards the chair.

"Oh, such a big strong young man," as she put her hand on his arm and felt his muscle. "You have strong muscles every where, don't you?" as she quickly lowered her hand and grabbed Billy's hardening cock. Bad timing again as Lance returned with the towels at that moment.

"You fucking bastard! First Kate and now my drunken Mother? What the hell is wrong with you?" Lance was screaming as he dropped the towel and ran towards them. He pulled them apart and shoved his mother back into her chair. "Get the fuck out of my house and don't ever come back here again, do you hear me?"

Billy stood there dumb founded. Tears started to roll down his cheeks at the prospect of Lance throwing him out of the house and presumably, out of his life forever.

"Oh yeah, you're just so god damn irresistible that women have been throwing themselves at you all night? No, you're a lying scum bag and I don't want anything to do with you again."

He pushed him out of the living room and towards the door, pushing and shoving every time Billy tried to stop. Lance opened the door and gave one last shove, Billy tripped on the doorstep and fell down. He could hear Lance click the lock on the door and turn off the kitchen light.

Billy picked himself up and slowly made his way to the car, trying to wipe the tears from his face. When he opened the door to get in the car, his Mom turned around and saw his face.

"Not really. Lance's mother was drinking tonight and Lance is really upset. I think he was embarrassed and yelled at me to leave."

"I know he was so proud of his Mother for trying to quit drinking. A relapse is not uncommon and will probably happen again before she can stay totally sober. I wouldn't let it bother you too much. Just be supportive and let him know you're there for him. We all are."

Billy got home, washed his face and went right to bed. He was exhausted, physically and emotionally, yet sleep was not to come easily. He would doze off and then wake up, then doze off again, repeating this all night long. Everything had been going so great and then, bamm! Through no fault of his, his life was turned upside down. He didn't know how or even if Lance would ever forgive him.

A few blocks away, Lance was lying in bed staring at the ceiling. His anger was keeping him wide awake. He was angry with Kate for making out with Billy. He was furious with his Mother for getting drunk and making out with Billy. But most of all, he was so mad at Billy. He wanted to come up with new cuss words to throw at him. Lance thought that he and Billy were boyfriends, no, more than boyfriends. Boyfriends can come and go in your life but a soulmate is with you forever. Even if Kate and his Mother came on to him, if he really loved Lance as he professed, he would have found a way to ward them off, not make out with them and get hard while doing it. Billy had told Lance that he wasn't sure if he was gay when they first started getting together but then stood up and announced to the whole school that he was gay. Now Lance questioned if Billy was sincere or if he still wasn't sure or if he was just using Lance as his boy toy.

"It doesn't matter what the hell he is. The one thing I'm sure about is that he is out of my life for good," Lance mumbled to himself. The rage subsided and he drifted off to sleep.

Billy tried calling Lance the next day. The phone just rang and rang with no answer. He put his coat on and walked over to Lance's street and walked past his house. He didn't stop but went a few houses past and then walked back again. He did this several times hoping that Lance would see him and come out to talk. Finally he gave up and went home. His Father called out to him as he entered the house.

"You're growing up more and more every day. You're a very responsible young man, wise beyond your years. And I'm very proud of you. But you have to understand that at your age with the hormones running rampant through your body you are prone to falling in love quickly and falling hard. Sometimes it lasts, but most times it won't at your age. You're not the first young man to have problems with relationships. Its wonderful when they start and painful as hell when they end. You've had some great times with Lance and you may have again. Don't do anything stupid just yet and give it time. It will either work itself out or it won't. If it doesn't, there will be someone else right around the corner."

"I know you do. I'm betting he wants you as well. Give it time and try to work through it. When your Mother and I were dating, we had a big argument and didn't talk to each other for two months. She was being unreasonable and difficult to deal with."

"And your Father was being a pig headed ass who wouldn't listen to me," his Mother chimed in from the other room. His parents chuckled to one another over their view of the argument back then.

"We finally made up and well, here we are today. So don't give up hope just yet."

Rachel was standing at Billy's locker Monday morning at school. Billy saw her and stopped briefly to get his books, not wanting to talk to her. .

"I tried to talk to Lance yesterday but he wouldn't answer the phone. I went to his house and no one would answer the door. I've never seen him this mad before. I hope he doesn't do anything stupid," Rachel told Billy.

"He already has. He slapped me and threw me out of his house and out of his life."

Lance came down the hallway and kept walking past Rachel and Billy, not even acknowledging them. Billy just looked at him and slammed his locker shut. Rachel called out to him and went after him but he kept walking. Rachel finally stopped and came back to Billy but he had already left for class.

Billy walked in math class and didn't see Lance there yet. Just before class began, Lance walked in and took a seat on the opposite side of the room. At the end of class Billy was busy writing down the homework assignment and when he looked up Lance had already left.

Rachel sat with Billy at lunch and they were joined by Mike and some of the crew. But no Lance.

"Where is Lance? I haven't seen him but once this morning. Did you and he have a fight or something?" he asked Billy.

Mike was going to keep asking question but Rachel jumped in to change the subject. Billy poked at his food, not eating much at all. He turned in his tray and left the lunchroom to walk around the corridors to try and find Lance. He had to talk to him, one way or another. But Lance was not to be found. He had left school right after math class. He figured he could avoid Billy most of the day but last period was gym class. Their lockers were side by side and Lance knew it wouldn't be pretty with them being that close.

Lance left school heading no where in particular. He walked to the skateboard park, always a place of refuge for he and Billy. He sat on one of the jumps, watching the dull gray clouds passing overhead. He thought back to all the good time they had there. Then Fred popped into his head. Fred was always a big part of the park and everything they did there. He was gone, gone forever. And now Billy was gone. Lance got up and began walking again, walking aimlessly. When he became aware of his surroundings, he was standing on the new overpass over the river that Billy and Fred had jumped. He leaned on the railing and looked down at the water. The river looked dark and angry, swirling and racing along, splashing on the banks as if it was trying to escape it's fate of going downstream to parts unknown, washed away form here forever. So much that had begun here is also gone forever. His father is gone, living with his whore in the next town. His Mother's sobriety is gone, thanks to his father's asshole gift of the wine. Fred is gone, all because of his ego and his refusal to quit something he should have known better than to try. Now Billy is gone, a traitor to their relationship and their proclamation of love for each other. Maybe this is where Lance Habershaw should end as well. He surely didn't have much to look forward to.

"Hey Fred, I'm coming to join you," Lance said as he turned his gaze from the river below and up to the sky. "I hope you're waiting for me."

He looked back down at the water again. It looked cold and angrier than before. The swirling motion of the water was mesmerizing him, little white cap rising up as the churning was getting more violent. He wondered if he jumped would the fall kill him or would he slowly drown as the river filled his lungs and washed the life out of him. Maybe he would die of fright just before he hit the water. As he stood looking over the railing, a blast of frigid air rose up from the river and smacked his body. It was not your typical gust of January air but the Devil's own breath that made his face sting and his lungs burn as the cold permeated every pore of his body. The sky darkened as a black thundercloud moved overhead. A loud clap of thunder shook the overpass he was standing on as a streak of lightening flashed across the sky. Was this a sign from Fred? If it was, it was effective. Lance decided he didn't want to die. Not because of the people he'd leave behind, but for his sake. He wanted to live, graduate high school, go to college and find someone who truly loved him and would spend the rest of their lives together. Lance got so scared at what he almost did that he bolted from the overpass and ran for his life, literally. He kept running as fast as he could until the pain in his side returned and he had to slow down and walk, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. He got home and went through the kitchen door, closing it behind him and slumping against the inside of the door.

"Where have you been? The school called and said you missed most of your classes."

"Lance, I'm so sorry about last night. I was feeling so lonely and depressed. This was the first of what I fear will be many New Year's Eves alone. The reality of the divorce hit home so I decided I'd have one glass of wine to calm down. That led to another and another and, well you know the rest."

In her drunken state, his Mother hadn't remembered the passionate kiss she gave Billy. Until now. She covered her mouth and gasped.

"Oh my god, I did do that didn't I? Oh Lance, I'm so, so sorry. Billy was helping me up and I just got overwhelmed by him holding onto me the way he did. I haven't been held by another man in a very long time."

"He's not a man, he's my boyfriend, or was. And you're my Mother! Do you have any idea how that made me feel? Or Billy?"

"I don't know how I can ever make up for this. I pray that you will forgive me, if not now, then in the very near future. And Billy too"

"I blamed Billy for kissing you. He and I had a huge fight and we're still not speaking to each other. I don't think we ever will again. But I'm also at fault. I told you I'd stand by you and help you stay sober. Instead of spending the evening at home with you when you really needed someone, I ran off to go to a party. I'm sorry I let you down."

"Oh honey, none of this is your fault. I should have poured that jug of cheap wine on that fire you burned the suit with. Then I wouldn't have been tempted to drink when I was feeling sorry for myself."

Lance walked out of the kitchen with his head hung low. He went up stairs, got undressed and climbed into bed even though it was still afternoon. He woke up with his stomach growling for food, having missed lunch at school. He went to the kitchen and made a sandwich, then back to bed.

Darkness had fallen and the moon was rising over the little town of Pittsburg, Texas. All was quiet but if you listened very hard you could hear the faint sound of two boys in two different bedrooms gently sobbing, soaking their pillows with tears for what they feared they had both lost forever.

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Boarding with Friends

by Jonathan Perkins

Chapter 9