Wishing At Christmas

Peter Grandon sat moodily in his dorm room staring at his literature textbook and studying for finals. He had read the same passage four times and he still couldn't tell what the paragraph meant. His mind was elsewhere.

He was in the middle of a crisis. In a week he was supposed to leave for home on winter break. Four weeks away from his state college—books, tests, the lousy food in the dining hall. The emphasis was on the word supposed, because it didn't look like he was going anywhere. Not even for Christmas.

Peter was a freshman on a full-ride scholarship. This was partly due to his grades since he graduated in the upper eight percent of his high school class with a high GPA and partly because he ran cross-country in the fall and was a distance runner on the spring track team. The biggest reason for the scholarship, however, was because his family was poor and couldn't afford to send him to the university.

The major challenge was that Peter's southern California home was seven hours away from Sacramento where his college was located. His step-father had fallen off a tall ladder at work and injured his shoulder and had no employment to speak of at all right now. Peter couldn't afford to spend money on traveling; even purchasing an inexpensive bus ticket was out of the question. There was simply no give in his paper-thin budget for a visit, not even to go home for the holidays. Just like the words in that old Christmas song that made him sniff and deny he was crying.

Peter knew the value of a dollar: he'd spent his high school years mowing countless lawns after school, packing boxes at the electronics store in town and lifeguarding during summer vacations. Even though he missed his mother and step-father, some unanticipated expense always came up at school and he was broke.

Peter hoped that his best friend, a boy named MJ Wilkins, might help him find an answer. They had met for the first time a few months earlier when they were assigned to the same dorm room, and they had a lot in common. Like Peter, he was majoring in computer technology and part of his college funding was scholarship-based. Both of them realized earlier than the typical freshman that while they, like most teens, enjoyed weed or beer on occasion, the reason they were in Sacramento was to study. College was hard work and not an opportunity to squander. Neither MJ nor Peter were in the habit of bringing girls back to the dorm. Neither was sloppy or overly zealous in cleaning, nor did they infringe on each other's space. They enjoyed the same kind of music and video games. They had the same zany sense of humor, and they shared friends too.

Being the intuitive friend he was, MJ soon noticed Peter's gloom and asked what was bothering him. Once explained, it wasn't hard to come up with the perfect plan—rather simple really since MJ had a good head on his shoulders. Both boys lived in the same southern direction from their college, but the Wilkins' home was closer; the Los Angeles area as opposed to southern Orange County. MJ also had a cousin at State named Kevin, a junior who was allowed to drive his car back and forth to school, and the two students were traveling home together for Christmas. He suggested giving Peter a ride to his house if his step-dad didn't mind driving up the rest of the way.

"It's no problem, Peter," MJ told him. "Mom's cool with me bringing friends home, and it's only for one night. Your step-dad can pick you up the next day and bring you back after the holidays so we can return to school. You can sleep in Kane's room overnight."

Kane was MJ's wiser, twenty year-old brother and a junior majoring in pre-med at a large university in Riverside. MJ talked about him all the time, complaining like younger siblings do, but Peter knew he loved his brother. Kane too would be going home for winter break, but he wasn't expected until the morning after the boys' arrival. Would Peter be interested?

It was the perfect solution, Peter thought. A fourteen-hour round trip would be daunting for his step-father in both time and money, but a three-hour drive, well that was entirely do-able. He agreed at once, and eight days later found the three boys on the road home, already in a celebratory mood as they contemplated a full month off from school and the approach of the Christmas holidays.

Mrs. Wilkins greeted the boys enthusiastically, relieved to see them arrive because it had begun pouring rain as they traveled south and the roads were flooding. She made them a late dinner, and by nine p.m. the boys were sitting out on the enclosed porch watching the storm and listening to music. The weather was so bad that Kevin was also spending the night, taking the second twin bed in MJ's room, instead of driving to his house an hour east.

MJ brought out a beer for each of them. He and Kevin talked about their families, and Peter shared anecdotes about his mother and step-father, saying he was an only child. They talked about the pros and cons of having siblings. He listened as the Wilkins boys discussed Christmas and what they hoped their gifts would be. They talked about Kane, older brother and cousin, who they described as the type of guy who didn't know how to let loose and have fun. Always studying and playing the mature older sibling role, he kissed up to the elder Wilkinses and probably thought he was better than everyone else because he was going to be a doctor. He was so quick to point out everyone else's flaws.

MJ and Kevin were both tall and blond with pale eyes and said that Kane looked a lot like them. Peter was already aware of this fact because he'd seen pictures of Kane all over the house, and he was gorgeous. His hair was shoulder-length and curly, and his sparkling aqua eyes had dark lashes and brows. His face was nicely shaped with a square jaw, straight nose and lush lips on a pouty mouth. He appeared to be athletic with great muscle structure and a lean, narrow waist. It was hard to tell the shape of his ass in the pictures, but his legs were long and tanned. Yes, Peter thought he was very attractive.

There was one thing that nobody at Peter's school was aware of; in fact, very few people anywhere knew about him. He was gay. His mom and step-father were cool and said they loved him no matter what, and he'd never experienced any form of condemnation over it. Unfortunately, he lived in a small town where he didn't know a single gay person. Peter had put his hopes aside of finding anyone special for a long time, but going to college had opened up an entirely new world for him. When the time came and he met the man of his dreams, he hoped he'd be able to admit who he was.

Not even MJ was aware of the truth, but it wasn't because Peter was afraid he'd misunderstand. Actually, he had been waiting for an opportunity to talk about it. Peter was aware that MJ knew several students who were gay; homosexuality had come up in one of their early heart-to-heart discussions. MJ had never shown one sign of being bigoted, but for one reason or another Peter held back. He decided to wait until he was more secure before revealing this secret.

Yeah, gay and a virgin, that was an attractive combination for a college student. When he was much younger, before he figured out that he didn't especially like them, he'd kissed a couple of girls. Now? Not even to throw off suspicion about himself would he even consider the idea, and it helped that he was so shy and quiet most people didn't believe he dated at all. He'd had a few crushes on some of his male classmates in high school, but dreaming was as far as it ever went. He played the role of the techie nerd who couldn't get a date, and nobody was the wiser.

He didn't own or watch gay porn, but he read gay love stories. In his mind, finding someone who was into him and being loved and romanced had turned into this huge deal that he wanted very much. However, there was that tricky closet thing at school, so unless a miracle popped out of nowhere, he wasn't likely to meet his Prince Charming.

It wasn't that he was ugly or a total geek either; actually he was quite good-looking. Tall and dark-haired, Peter had broad shoulders and a trim waist. Muscular in all the right places from running, and a babyish face with an endearing smile. He'd been told that his brown eyes were soulful and he had nice hands. He was friendly and trustworthy, he never made a promise he couldn't fulfill, and it took a lot to make him angry.

At 11:30 Peter was ready to turn in, and MJ showed him to Kane's bedroom. It was much how he imagined it would be, totally suited to the man in the photograph. The room was in shades of navy blue and gray with a double bed and sensible furniture and manly décor. That Kane had a scientific mind and was something of a IT geek himself showed up in the posters on the walls and an old-fashioned microscope operated by hand and used in schools fifty years ago. There was also an old sports picture on his wall of Kane with a group of high school students in Speedos. Oh, so he was a swimmer. He looked very sexy in the small scrap of fabric. Kane had a very nice package, and Peter felt his cock growing and stiffening in his shorts.

Peter went to bed, thinking about Kane and remembering the picture as he tried to sleep. It had all made Peter very horny, and listening to the boys talk about him hadn't helped. He remained hard, and even adjusting himself several times wouldn't let him get comfortable. Peter thought about masturbating, but it would be a violation of Kane's room and the hospitality of the Wilkins family. At last he drifted off into an exhausted sleep, dreaming about Speedos and beautiful asses.

He had no idea how long he slept. The room was still dark, but as if he was in his own dream, Peter knew he wasn't alone. He was dozing fitfully, but suddenly he found himself pulled from slumber by the slight bounce of the bed, followed by a startled gasp as a soft hand came in contact with him and pushed down firmly on his chest. "Ummph," he exhaled and coughed quietly, trying to breathe normally.

Peter could sense that the person belonging to the hand was very startled to be touching another warm body and was on the verge of shouting or maybe even hitting him. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he whispered wildly into the dark, not daring to move. "Don't freak out. I'm Peter, a college friend of MJ's."

In the filtered light from the curtained window he saw the hand move towards the small bedside lamp and switch it on. His eyes adjusted to the dim light, and there sat Kane on the bed looking at him oddly. He was even more handsome in person. His blond hair was only slightly damp from the rain and curled around his ears and against his neck. His light blue eyes were confused but breathtaking. He was wearing a tight band t-shirt that didn't hide the chiseled firmness of his upper torso, and his jeans were snug across his hips and ass.

"What are you doing in my bed?" Kane's eyes snapped in irritation and his voice was a low growl.

Peter explained himself as he sat up. "MJ said you wouldn't be home until tomorrow." He noticed that Kane's damp t-shirt was sensuously clinging to his chest and well-muscled shoulders. He began to feel these strange sensations in his already-aroused groin. He knew what it meant and forced himself to remember this was his best friend's brother—a straight older brother.

It was Kane's turn. "I meant to stay at the university but I left school early because of the weather. It's supposed to rain harder the rest of the weekend, and I didn't want to drive through thunderstorms. I didn't tell my parents because I didn't know what time I was going to arrive and..." Kane's eyes darkened in anger. "Stupid Sal."

Sal? That was an abrupt change in the conversation! It wasn't any of his business who he was, but Peter liked talking to Kane and didn't want him to leave so he asked, "Why is Sal stupid?"

"Sal is an asshole," Kane said with firm, annoyed conviction. He was looking at the bare chest of the boy in his bed and noticing how muscular he was without a trace of hair. "A total fucked up jerk of an asshole!"

Kane said he shared an off-campus apartment with three other men all studying pre-med. Sal was the most ambitious of the bunch, one who seemed to think that he had to be the best in everything and wasn't fussy about accomplishing his goal. Kane had thought they were friends only to discover that Sal had entered his bedroom without permission and borrowed his textbook notes and research materials for a final term project he'd been working on for months.

Lo and behold, when the professor was grading the students' finals, he came across two that were nearly identical, and Kane had been called upon to defend his actions. For over an hour he argued that the project was his own work, and he finally prevailed when he was able to prove it with earlier renditions of his study annotations. But Sal was being disciplined, and Kane and the lying bastard were done as friends.

As Peter was able make out through the harsh words and a tear here and there that Kane carefully disguised, it sounded as if there had been more than friendship at stake. He could scarcely believe his ears when Kane, probably not even paying attention by that point to whom he was speaking to, had poured out his grief. Kane thought Sal liked him, and he certainly liked Sal, and between two men hoping to start a relationship... well, you certainly didn't treat potential boyfriends that way.

Peter continued to listen but he went completely still. Kane was gay. The hot photo-fantasy man sitting next to him was gay.

He was awake enough to recognize the weirdness of the fact that he was totally naked except for his boxers and sleeping in the bed of MJ's completely adorable, gay brother not three feet away from him. He wanted to offer soothing words but was completely out of his element. He had no idea how to talk to Kane, as distracted as he was with his hardening cock and fighting his desire for him. He brought his legs up under the covers and leaned forward in the bed with his elbows on his knees to hide it.

Kane's mouth was in a delightful pout as he sucked on his lip, and his chest rose and fell in indignant anger. Watching his muscles flex underneath the t-shirt, no matter the reason, was one of the biggest turn-ons Peter had ever experienced. He wondered whether Kane had hair on his chest and how his skin would taste dampened by the rain. He saw himself kissing him, getting lost in those aqua eyes as Kane told him that he loved him. I mean, wasn't it fate that had brought them here?

Shaking the hopeless romance out of his head, Peter returned to the here and now of Kane returning home unexpectedly. He knew he should do the right thing, and he offered to give the older boy back his bed if he would tell him where he could sleep and get him a blanket and pillow. He was very tired, and yet he felt energized in his presence.

Kane smiled and thanked him. "You can sleep on the couch," he said. "I have a blanket in my closet, and Mom keeps a spare pillow..."

Peter was already half-way out of bed when he remembered he only had boxers on. Not only that, but his erection was rearing up stiffly in the front and creating a very noticeable tent. Mortified, he looked at Kane, and he was looking back, but not at his face. Kane stared at his crotch with a sultry expression in his eyes, and he smiled at Peter in a way that could only be described as provocative and made him turn red.

Kane reached back in his memories to a quick trip home his little brother, MJ, had made earlier in the semester. He was talking about how wonderful going to school up in Sacramento was; all about leaving home for the first time, his classes, making friends and the new experiences of college life. He had expounded enthusiastically about the cool student assigned to his dorm and how they had become buddies right away. Even more important, MJ had told Kane he had discovered quite by accident that his roommate was gay and probably still a virgin.

Kane was a nice person, definitely not a player and in no way could be accused of being the type of man who enjoyed breaking hearts for the hell of it. He remembered his own coming out and the tentative steps he'd made in self-discovery. It sucked being young and gay, not knowing who to trust.

Was that cute senior with the dark eyes looking at you because he was gay too and wanted to see if the two of you had something mutual to build on? Or was he just looking at you like any other student, and if you approached him he might denounce you in front of all your peers... or worse.

He had left the university that afternoon with his hormones raging, his dreams of Sal shattered, and angry as hell that the other boy had betrayed him and tried to plagiarize his term paper. Arriving in town, he'd gone to a friend's house where he proceeded to get drunk, but he wasn't able to discuss in full detail his heartbreak over Sal, not like he'd confided in Peter. But now his jeans were tight across the crotch and he and Sal had no future. His body was frustrated with longing... until he saw this good-looking man-boy in his bed with his eyes dark with lust and his cock stiff, wanting it. Wanting him.

Kane pushed him by the shoulder indicating to stay put. "What's your name again?" he whispered in a sexy voice that was like a warm hug.

"Peter." He closed his eyes, his heart pounding. He must be dreaming.

"You said you're MJ's friend from school. How old are you?" Kane moistened his lips, his pink tongue darting out of his mouth.

"Eighteen," Peter whispered. His eyes tracked the tongue and his own mouth was going dry just looking at him.

"Well, Peter, age eighteen, I'm going to ask you a question and I just want a simple answer, okay?"

Peter nodded wordlessly, his hands beginning to shake. He wasn't sure he'd be able to talk anyway.

Kane's aqua eyes were wide and warm, and he was smiling at him. "No screaming or yelling, promise?"

Peter nodded again, the invitation from those eyes stealing over him, dreamlike. They were giving him ideas.

"Are you gay?"

Peter nearly jumped out of bed. What was supposed to be a simple question sounded more like an invitation. He figured he must have heard wrong. Despite his young age, Peter was an intuitive man, but not even in his wildest dreams would he have imagined Lady Luck smiling on him. It didn't take much to determine the crazy path this line of questioning would take.

"Yes." The word nearly stuck in his throat, and to make sure he was understood, Peter nodded again. Kane's face lit up in joy before he remembered that the answer to one question didn't necessarily mean anything unless...

"Um... uh, Peter, have you ever... uh, done anything... well, sexual with another guy?"

Part of Peter felt mortified having to admit his naïveté. Part of him was so excited he broke out in goose bumps and began to tremble. He looked at Kane, fighting a deep blush, and saw the desire in those pale eyes, and it did wonders to calm his own fears. Here was what sounded like a clear request to explore some of the things he'd always wondered about.

"You're asking if I've ever had a blowjob or... anything?" he choked out. He shook his head wildly. "No."

Kane pursed his lips, thinking Peter's pink-cheeked embarrassment was cute. It didn't bother him at all that this was his baby brother's friend. It was as if it was meant to happen. "Do you want to?"

Peter nodded. His cock was so tight in his boxers; it was throbbing and starting to ache. "Only a few other people know I'm gay, and besides, I'm not much to look at anyway."

Kane stared at Peter's tanned, toned abdomen and well-defined chest muscles with brown nice-sized nipples and shook his head. Judging by the size of his hard on, he thought he must be joking, and his eyes burned with need. "How can you say that, Peter? You are so cute!"