Part 1

I was just starting high school the year my life changed forever. "So what?" you might ask. Everyone's life changes forever around that time in their lives. Sometimes more than once. You'd be right. My life had changed the year before when I finally realized I was gay. There would be other big changes later on, but if I had to pick the biggest, most unexpected, and strangest change of my life so far, it would have to be the one that began the Saturday before the start of my freshman year. Though I didn't know it at the time.

I was up early that day. My friends and I had a tradition of getting together on the weekend before the start of a new school year. I looked out my window first thing to check the weather. The week or two before Labor Day was usually stormy on Gyre Island, but that year the days were clear and hot. I was happy to see that the sky was clear. We wouldn't have to sit in one of our houses and play video games on our last real day of vacation.

I used the toliet, washed up and brushed my teeth quickly. I dressed in my cargo shorts and a yellow t-shirt. My little brother was still sleeping when I went downstairs to get a quick bowl of Wheaties and pack a cooler with some sandwiches and pop.

Mom was in the kitchen, and she had already started making sandwiches.

"Good morning, Logan," she said over her shoulder. "Are you and your friends going over to Dillon's rock today?"

"Mornin', mom. I hope so, if Teddy can get his dad to loan him the boat. If we can't, I guess we'll catch the ferry over to the mainland and go to the amusement park," I answered while I got a bowl and the box of cereal.

"Well take your jacket and keep an eye on the weather. The weather report said there's a good chance for a storm this afternoon."

I agreed to be careful and thanked mom for fixing the sandwiches. I washed my bowl and spoon, and helped mom pack the cooler. Then I said bye and hurried out the back door.

I looked next door and saw that Alex Shumacher was already outside. He was strapping his cooler to the back of his bike. We had lived next door to each other since before kindergarten and somewhere along the way we had become best friends. He was the person I trusted the most in my world, but I had not worked up the guts to tell him I was gay yet. I sure didn't have the guts to tell him I had a crush on him. For all I knew, Shoe was straight.

Shoe wasn't looking my way and didn't seem to hear me, so I took the chance to check him out a little. He had lustrous black hair though most of it was hidden under his lucky cap as usual. Alex was wearing jean shorts and was bent forward enough that I should have gotten a great view of his firm, little butt, if his shirttail hadn't been in the way.

"Hey, Shoe," I said when I was close enough for him to hear me. He stood straight and turned to look my way. Alex smiled, his dark eyes sparkling like polished onyx.

"Hey, L.T.," he said with a wave. He turned to face me fully and I saw that his red and white striped shirt was partly unbuttoned. My eyes dipped for a second to view the tempting sample of chest revealed. I wanted to reach out and run my fingers softly down the middle of his body and feel the smooth, soft, warm firmness of him. Instead, I hurried to raise my eyes back up to meet his. While I had been enjoying the view, Alex had said something, but I missed it.

"Huh?" I asked. Logan Tyler Stevenson the honey-tongued poet of love, that's me alright.

"I said it's a beautiful day," Alex chuckled. He took a deep breath and spread his arms as if he wanted to hug the good weather. The day was beautiful, but not as beautiful as him. I stood there for a second just wishing he'd hug me instead. "Are you sure you're awake, dude?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah, I'm awake and ready to go," I said, snapping out of my daze. "Or I will be as soon as I get my cooler strapped onto my bike." I started strapping the cooler down carefully. I paid close attention to the work so I wouldn't be able to think so much about Shoe. I hoped my stiffening dick would go soft before he had a chance to see it.

"Who do you think will get here first?" Alex asked.

"Stony for sure," I said without looking up. "Red's prob'ly still picking an outfit or checkin' hisself out in the mirror." We both chuckled a bit. Both friends lived on the eastern half of the island in the heavily forested area called The Boonies. Shoe and I lived in The Crescent. It was the more urbanized part of Gyre Island, taking up a strip of land between the hills in the middle of the island and Crescent Bay. Loop Road was the only paved road that linked The Boonies to The Crescent. Red and Stony would probably ride their bikes over, so we'd probably be waiting for them at least a little while. "How long do you think the good weather will last?" I asked. Alex shrugged, smiling so his lips parted just a little, showing a peek of a pearly canine and an incisor.

"A couple of days at least, I'm guessing," he said with a thoughtful look. "Maybe longer." He gave me a full, playful smile then. "Why ask me, L.T.? Did you miss the weather report?"

"The weather report called for a storm this afternoon," I said, smiling back. "But they're wrong half the time. You're right most of the time." I faked a serious expression then. "That's it!" I said, patting him on his shoulder. "Your callin' in life is to be... a weatherman!"

"The other weathermen won't let me," Shoe said laughing. "I'd make 'em all look bad!" I laughed at Shoe's exaggerated tone, and he began to mock the hypothetical threatened weatherman. "Oh no! Shumacher's right all the time!" Alex said as he loosened an imaginary tie. "And he doesn't wear a toupee that looks like a dead weasel! No one will watch me now! They'll all watch Shumacher!" My best friend's joke had me rolling. I tried to catch my breath so I could hear what else he was saying and tell him that maybe he could be a comedian if the weatherman job didn't work out. When I got my breath and looked at Shoe, he was sitting next to his bike. He was still smiling, but he had stopped laughing. I had known Alex for years, and I had the feeling that something was wrong.

"You ok, Shoe?" I asked.

"I'm fine," he said grinning with a return of humor. "I'm not the one who was rolling on the ground and gasping for air."

"Is that so?" I said with a false frown. I stood up and dusted the grass and dirt off of my clothes. Then I started to do obviously fake martial arts moves. "Perhaps... you forget... tiger claw kung fu!" I said with a lot of extra mouth movements like a badly dubbed movie.

The guys used to watch my dad's collection of bad wire fu movies when we were about 10. Then we could go out and try to imitate what we had seen. The day I tried the rib breaking tiger claw attack, I discovered that Alex was really ticklish. I had thought at first that he was pretending to be in agony from my attack. I stopped as soon as I found out I was tickling him and he didn't like it. Alex shook his head and laughed lightly.

"You are never going to forget that, are you?" he asked.

"Well, knowing where you're ticklish might come in handy some day," I said before I really thought. It was an idle threat. I'd never tickle anyone against their will, but I had been thinking about the chance to get my hands on him instead of how saying something like that might give away my secret.

"And just how would that come in handy?" Shoe asked with raised eyebrows. I had to think fast. I didn't think telling him it would be handy for playing around in bed would be a good idea. I remembered that Shoe was acting like something was bothering him.

"It might come in handy to get you to tell your best friend what's bothering you," I said quickly. Alex shrugged again. This time he frowned a little.

"I just don't know what I'm gonna do with my life," he said. He paused for a slow breath. "I'm startin' high school in two days, and I don't have any idea where I'm goin' when I'm out of school." Shoe was worried about not having a plan for his life. I wanted to comfort him. I wanted to grab Alex in a hug and tell him that it was alright, but that wasn't how guys were 'supposed' to act. Macho man no feel pain. Macho man no need comfort. Macho man no make water with eyes. Yeah, it's a load of crap, but don't all guys buy into it sometimes?

"So? I don't know where I'm gonna be in four years either," I answered. "I bet most of the kids in our class are the same. We'll figure it out as we go along. Right now I've got plans to hang with my friends today. That's all the future I'm thinkin' about right now." I went to sit next to my friend. "Don't worry 'bout the rest. There's no problem the two of us can't beat." Shoe gave me a little smile. I thought he was about to say something for a second, but he turned to look toward the street. I looked in the same direction and saw Stony and Britney coming our way.

Teddy Jackson was the most athletic member of our group. He was living proof that a 14-year-old could have a 6-pack and ripped bod if he tried hard enough. Stony was on the football, baseball, and wrestling teams. He played all the sports and developed his adonis bod partly because he liked to and partly because that's what his dad wanted him to do. The stupid looking crew cut was all his dad's idea. Mr. Jackson figured it was cheaper to cut Teddy's hair than take him to the barber shop. Stony had beautiful wavy chestnut hair when it grew out. I thought it was a crime to cut it all off. Stony was wearing cargo shorts, a white t-shirt, boat shoes, sunglasses and a happy smile. Teddy looked like he had a perfect medium tan, but it was his natural skin color. Sometimes I envied him a little for looking like a bronze god of summer all year round.

Britney Clark was Teddy's girlfriend. I'm not a good judge of attractive ladies, but all the straight guys seemed to think she was pretty. She was nice to Stony, and that was what mattered to me. Britney and Teddy had been going together since 7th grade. Stony waved as he put down his kickstand.

"Hey, guys," he called. Shoe and I waved back and stood up. Britney put her arm around her boyfriend's waist. She pulled real close to him and set her hand on his stomach. Shoe and I exchanged greetings with Britney. "Red's not here yet?" Stony asked.

"You know Red," Shoe said jokingly. "He'll be late to his own funeral, but he'll look his best when he gets there." We all laughed a bit about our friend's traditional tardiness. "I couldn't get dad to loan me the boat," Teddy told us. "But that's ok 'cause Charlie said he'd give us a ride out to the Rock. He's down at the docks now gettin' his boat ready."

I had mixed feelings about the news. I was happy that we'd get to go to our favorite hangout for our traditional last day of summer. I wasn't looking forward to seeing Charlie Clark though. Britney was nice enough, but I had never liked her big brother.

We all sat down in the shade of Alex's house to wait for Red. I sat next to Shoe. Teddy and Britney snuggled so close that it was like they were trying to merge into one body.

It was hard not to frown whenever Stony and Britney were all over each other. My friends got the idea that I was against PDAs because of that. That wasn't true, but I couldn't tell them that I just wished I could cuddle with Shoe in the same way. Seeing people enjoy what I desperately want but know I can never have doesn't really promote smiles and laughter. I'm funny that way.

While we waited, we goofed off, shooting the breeze and playing a couple rounds of 20 guest ions. I was just starting to worry that Red wouldn't get there before my little brother got up when he finally rode up.

Sean Clancy got his nickname for his strawberry blond hair. He had flawless, zit free skin and dreamy, blue eyes. The girls were drawn to him like butterflies to nectar. If I didn't already have a crush on Alex, I would have been drawn to him too.

Red was wearing jeans, a bright, blue long sleeved shirt that picked up the color of his eyes and a Cincinnati baseball cap. His perfect skin got sunburned real easy, so he was always careful to stay covered up in the sun. We all greeted Red.

"What's the plan?" Red asked. "Dillon's Rock or the mainland?"

"We're goin' to Dillon's Rock," Teddy said. Red looked about as happy as I felt when he found out we'd be riding in Charlie Clark's boat. We all got on our bikes and followed Britney and Teddy down to the docks.

Charlie's boat was the Barracuda. It was a 1979 Sea Ray 20 footer. His dad had gotten it for him back in June for his 16th birthday. It was Charlie's pride and joy. He was in the middle of getting the Barracuda ready to go when we got to the dock.

"Hey, Charlie," Red said. "Can we give you a hand?" Charlie looked up from what he was doing with a smile.

"Sure, you guys can help out if you want." Then, his smile suddenly melted into a frown. "Hang on. I said I'd take you islanders over to Dillon's Rock, but Britney didn't say anything about taking a mainlander bastard." Like any community, Gyre Island had its 'Us' and its 'Them'. Anyone born on the island got to be called an islander. Anyone born anywhere else, including places like Hawaii got to be called a mainlander. How seriously anyone took that distinction depended on how many good or bad experiences they had with people from off the island and how big an asshole they were. I don't know if Charlie Clark ever had a bad experience with a mainlander, but I do know he could be a huge asshole.

The mainlander he was talking about was Shoe. Alex's mom had moved to the island when he was just a baby, making him just a bit too late to ever be an islander. His mom was pretty young, but she didn't bring a husband with her. Gossip was the most reliable source of entertainment on the island, and the rumor mill went wild. The kindest rumor still floating around was that her husband had died in some accident. The craziest was that she was in witness protection and hiding from the mafia. The most common rumor that was still going around was that she had never been married. Charlie was probably smart enough to know the difference between a rumor and a proven fact, but he never let something like that stop him when he was feeling mean.

I wasn't going anywhere without Shoe, and I knew Stony and Red would feel the same way. I was opening my mouth to tell Charlie what he could do with his boat, but Britney was quicker.

"You shut up and let them all on your boat, Charlie!" she shouted. "What do you think mom and dad will say if they find out what you just said? We are all going out to the Rock, and you're gonna act nice, or we'll see how long you get grounded." Did I mention that Britney was a lot nicer than her brother? Well, she was pretty gutsy too.

Charlie caved in a hurry. We helped him get this boat ready, but only so we could get going sooner. As soon as we were clear of the docks, Charlie opened her up and we tore off across Crescent Bay. When we reached the channel, Charlie turned the Barracuda south and stuck to the shallows to avoid any of the big cargo ships that sometimes passed through the channel between Gyre Island and the mainland.

Once we passed the southern end of the island, we turned southwest and it was a straight run to Dillon's Rock. The Barracuda could make 40 knots, and Charlie was demanding every bit of speed from his boat. Red, Stony and Britney were really enjoying the rapid trip across the sea, but Shoe was sitting on the rear bench seat looking unhappy.

"Ok if I sit here?" I asked him as I walked over and pointed at the seat next to him.

"Sure," he said, trying to smile. "But wouldn't you rather be up front with the rest, getting seaspray in your face?" I plopped down next to Shoe as close as I thought I could get away with. I put a hand on my chin and tried to look thoughtful.

"Hmmm... Sit with my best bud and shoot the shit or get a saltwater facial," I said. "Such a hard choice." My clowning got Shoe to laugh a little. We talked about nothing in particular and I enjoyed being close to him for the rest of the trip. I knew that Charlie's stupid remark had hurt Alex. I would remember, and the first chance I got, I planned to hurt Charlie right back.

Dillon's Rock got it's name from the huge chunk of stone that made up the eastern side of the tiny island. From the open ocean, it looked like a huge block of rock with a stand of small trees on top. On the western side, the ground formed a wooded slope that descended to a small beach between two low cliffs.

If we had come in Mr. Jackson's boat, we could have just run up on the shore, but the Barracuda had a deeper draft. It also have a V hull and could have fallen on its side if we tried to beach it. Instead, we got as close as we could, and Charlie dropped anchor. Teddy stripped off his t-shirt and shoes, and he hopped into the water.

Stony swam around for a little bit, until he found the submerged sandbar that ran perpendicular to the small beach. We could wade up the bar to the beach and keep our lunches and other stuff dry. Charlie moved his boat alongside the bar once Stony told him the water was good and deep on the southern side. He dropped anchor again, and we all went over the side.

The water over the bar only came up to about my waist. I got my stuff ashore without a problem, but I decided that since I was wet anyway, I might as well take a swim. Besides, seeing Stony walk around all wet and half naked was giving me a woody I wanted to hide. I set my cooler on a rock, stripped off my shirt and ran back into the water.

Shoe took his shirt off and followed me in. Britney was wearing a bikini under her clothes. Stony waited for her to get undressed, and they charged into the surf holding hands. The higher parts of the island were blocking the sun, so even Red decided to join us, stripping down to his boxers to rush into the shaded part of the water. Charlie was the only one wearing his swim trunks, but I'd have been just as happy if he had stayed on the beach.