SHIT! Instantly, Nick pulled away – Brandon was still lying on the couch, his eyes closed, his mouth open slightly. But Nick looked away in horror, the reality of what he just did suddenly coming to him. He had just made out with Brandon Jones! How the hell did that happen? One minute he was playing video games with his best friend, and then the next he was kissing him! He brought his fingers up to his lips and stood up quickly.

“Wow,” Brandon sighed from beneath him. Nick glanced down to see him grinning, his eyes fogged over in a daze. His hand lay limply on his chest as it rose up and down gently with his breathing.

“I’m sorry,” Nick muttered, unsure of what to say. Brandon gazed at him dreamily; Nick immediately closed his eyes to get the shudder out of his body.

“Sorry for what?” Brandon replied. But Nick couldn’t answer; his throat was unable to make a sound. He turned away in a panic. “What’s wrong, Nick?” Brandon asked. Didn’t he know? Didn’t he have a problem with kissing another guy? Why wasn’t he freaking out or something? “Nick?” he repeated. That’s when Nick realized what was going on. He slowly turned back toward his buddy and stared at him.

“Are you…are you gay?”

Brandon stopped smiling, finally seeing the fear in Nick’s face. He opened his mouth to speak, but then didn’t, as if he didn’t know what to say, as if he wasn’t sure of the answer.

“Are you?” he said calmly. Nick froze; he didn’t know how to answer the question himself.

“I…I,” he stuttered, blinking uncontrollably, “but I love Erin.”

“I know,” Brandon said softly. Nick gulped. This didn’t make sense.

“But why did kissing you feel so…so…”

“Good?” Brandon finished his sentence, his eyebrows rising empathetically. Nick looked down at his best friend, searching for some sort of answer, but he peered up at him placidly. How was he so calm about all of this? “Let me show you something,” he finally said, getting up and leading him toward the stairs. Nick could only follow him.

As soon as they entered his bedroom, that sense of awe came over Nick as he viewed Brandon’s collections of trophies and awards. He simply couldn’t imagine that someone like him – someone who was a born athlete, a superstar in everything he did – could be gay or… Nick watched as Brandon opened a drawer, pulled out a framed photo and handed it to him. It was a picture of him at a younger age – maybe 10 or 11 – wearing a football uniform. He was beaming brightly with the smile that always haunted Nick whenever he saw it. He held his helmet underneath a toned, muscular arm, his small, but impressive biceps bulging with confidence. The jersey was short enough that the lower section of his eight-pack could clearly be seen. Nick shook his head, amazed that someone at that age could have such a fantastic body. But then, Nick moved his eyes up to the other two people in the photo – Brandon’s parents. His dad was smiling proudly, his massive arm wrapped around his son’s shoulders. And then there was his mom; she was strikingly beautiful, like a supermodel. Her flowing, blond hair draped elegantly over her shoulders, her piercing blue eyes instantly mesmerized Nick from the second he looked into them.

“Wow,” he exclaimed, “your mom is gorgeous.” He looked up at Brandon who held a sullen expression on his face.

“That picture was taken six months before she died of breast cancer,” he stated plainly. Nick’s mouth dropped open. “I never knew she was sick until right before she went.” There was a sadness in Brandon’s eyes that Nick had never seen before. That explained why he had never met a Mrs. Jones; she was no longer around.

“I’m sorry,” Nick whispered. Brandon sat down on his bed; Nick followed suit, wondering what this all had to do with what just happened downstairs.

“When she passed away,” he began, “I was mad. I don’t know if I was mad at my parents for not telling me, mad at God, or the world, but…” He bit his lip lower lip and looked down at the floor. Nick moved a little closer to him. “My dad could tell you that I was always a happy, energetic kid when I was young. My parents put me into every sport they could think of…and I excelled in every one of them.” He was smiling as he reminisced of his past; Nick could feel the warmth inside of him. “They were so proud of me, my mom too. She came to every game or meet or whatever and cheered me on. When she died, it felt like a part of me died with her.” Brandon swept his fingers through his blond hair; it had the same texture that his mom’s did. “I was nine years old; I was confused.”

“Wait,” Nick suddenly interrupted, “you were nine in this picture?” Brandon blushed slightly.

“Actually, I was eight,” he replied. EIGHT?! Brandon had a body like that at eight years old? Nick’s mouth dropped open and Brandon grinned sheepishly. “I was always a little ahead of the curve physically.” He sighed. “And that was part of the problem. I changed when my mom died. I became reckless. I began skipping school, I started hanging out with a different circle, going to parties. I always looked older than I really was and that was my ticket.” Nick leaned toward Brandon, hanging onto every word he said.

“What happened?” he asked. Brandon gazed over at him.

“I lost my virginity when I was nine years old.” Nick breathed inward as he stared into Brandon’s eyes. “She was 15; I didn’t know what I was doing; I was probably drunk. But once I experienced sex for the first time…by the time I was 11, I had fucked just about every hot girl in Jasper. I was beginning to get a reputation.” He swallowed hard. “Little Brandon Jones, the 11-year-old with a model’s body and a huge cock – I was the center of attention at every party.” He leaned backward on the bed, propping himself up with his elbows. His taut pecs stretched perfectly across his chest, his striated shoulders flexed. He stared up at the ceiling.

“I didn’t realize…” Nick said, still digesting the whole story. Who would imagine that Brandon had been through so much so early? But that wasn’t the end of it.

“When I was 12,” he continued, “things started changing again. I hit puberty and kept growing and pretty soon, I began to get bored with girls.” He plopped down onto the bed, his thick body bouncing up and down a couple of times. “That’s when I…” He didn’t seem to be able to finish the sentence, his lips quivering slightly. Nick looked down at him intently.

“Have you ever done it with a guy?” he asked. Brandon nodded slowly. He closed his eyes and flexed his jaw muscles.

“It was something different to me at the time,” he explained. “I don’t know why I did it. The guy was hot, but…but I didn’t feel any attraction toward him besides sexual.” Nick dropped his mouth open, shocked at how Brandon was repeating the exact same reaction Nick had had to JP.

“Does that make us bi?” Nick asked, still confused. Brandon gazed up at Nick, their eyes meeting again. Nick could tell he knew exactly what he was thinking, what was going through his mind. He knew Nick had the same thoughts, the same dilemma.

“I don’t know,” he answered softly.

Mrs. Andersson kneaded her fingers into the traps of the teenage football player lying face-down on her massage table. He groaned softly as she worked out the knots in his muscles. Jesus, these kids are tight, she thought. Who would have thought they’d be under so much pressure? But with the play-offs coming up, they were. She could even see it in Daniel, their coach. Every time they went out for dinner, he looked tired from pushing his guys as much as he possibly could. There was a lot of pressure on them to produce, especially since this was the most successful football team Central High School had had in years.

“You feel better, Jimmie?” she asked the 18-year-old as she finished up.

“Thanks, Mrs. Andersson,” he replied foggily, slowly turning his head to face her.

“Good,” she went on, turning to put the massage oil away. “Now make sure you drink plenty of water in the next hour. You don’t wanna—ahh!” She flung around as Jimmie squeezed her butt and glared at him. He had a broad, mischievous grin on his face. Suddenly, she grabbed his wrist and twisted his arm behind his back, immediately sending him reeling in pain. “You try that again, Jimmie,” she whispered sternly into his ear, “and I will make sure every muscle in your body aches for hours. You hear me?”

“Yes!” the teen gasped. “I’m sorry!”

“Good,” Mrs. Andersson said sweetly, letting go of his arm. Jimmie breathed deeply. “Have a nice day!” she waved to him as if nothing had happened. The boy grunted and went to the bathroom to change back into his clothes. She shook her head. These boys were nice kids, but every now and then, one of them would try to make a move on her. She knew they sometimes considered her a – what did they call it? – a milf? She wasn’t sure what that meant, but she had an idea. Anyway, after years of being picked up by every sort of guy imaginable, she knew how to handle them. Washing off her hands, she looked at her schedule for who was next…Nick Angelakis. She smiled. Now he was a sweet kid…and what a body!

“Hey, Mrs. Andersson,” he greeted her, walking in with the towel wrapped around his waist.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Angelakis,” she answered back. She had watched him grow up – his sister was good friends with her son Matthew – and she could never get over how astounding his physique was for only being 14 years old. He probably didn’t realize how much men would kill to have the broad shoulders, thick chest, bulging biceps and ripped stomach that he had. “You look like you’ve been cutting lately,” she observed. The striations in his pectorals and deltoids were especially striking.

“Yeah,” Nick blushed. “Wrestling season’s coming up. I’m hoping to go out for 215.”

“Well, I wish you good luck then,” she said. “Now, get on the table.” Lithely, Nick hopped onto the massage table and stretched out, waiting for her to begin. She started with the wide wrestler’s neck; it was hard as stone – just like the rest of him – but there was an incredible amount of tightness in those muscles…a lot more than usual. “Wow, Nick,” she commented, “have you been under a great deal of stress lately?” Nick breathed softly, pausing as if he was thinking of how to answer the question.

“It is play-off season,” he finally said. But the tone of his voice told Mrs. Andersson that it was something else. She was a good judge of character – she prided herself on that fact – and she could usually tell when someone was troubled. She lightened up her fingers as she worked down the center ridges of his back, giving the boy more ease to think. After a moment’s hesitation, Nick turned his head sideways so that he could see her. The look in his eyes definitely showed distress. “Can I ask you something, Mrs. Andersson?” he asked.

“Go ahead,” she replied.

“This is just a hypothetical…but let’s say you’re in love with someone…” Nick stared blankly at the wall; Mrs. Andersson smiled to herself. “Hypothetical” meant it was happening to him; she listened more attentively. “…like, I mean, totally in love with this person. But then you meet another person who you feel exactly the same way about.” He breathed in and turned his eyes up at her. “What would you do?” Nick was completely in love with Erin – she could see it whenever they looked at each other; she couldn’t even guess who this other girl might be. I’m a massage therapist, not a shrink, hon, she thought. But he was a good kid and he deserved to at least hear what she had to say.

“Does this…second person know you love her?” she queried.

“Yes,” Nick answered immediately and then looked down at the floor. “We kissed.”

“And you’re positive this love is just as real as the first?” she went on, her eyebrows rising in interest. She really did have concern for him. After all, he was only 14 and to be asking questions like this worried her. The last thing she wanted to see was him getting his heart broken by a couple of girls.

“Definitely,” he answered again. He looked straight into her; his eyes looked so confused.

“If there’s anything I’ve learned in the past couple of years,” she began, “it’s that it is important that we make our own choices.” She felt a small tear in her eye as she heard the words coming out of her mouth; they were so true. Matthew had made his choice to be with JP and she had accepted it, even though she didn’t approve of his sexuality. They loved each other deeply – there was nothing she could say or do about it that could change that. She continued: “The only advice I can give you is to follow your heart. It may sound sappy, but it’s true.” Nick peered up at her respectfully. She could tell it wasn’t quite the answer he was looking for, but it was better than nothing.

“Thanks,” he said quietly.

Kim staggered into her bedroom and collapsed onto her bed, her backpack still slung over her shoulders. She was exhausted. She practically slept through every class at school that day and she knew she flunked that Othello test in English class. And she knew why. Ian had kept her up all night, fucking her over and over again. It was no use saying no to him; he was too big now. And it seemed he was getting bigger still – his huge muscles stayed pumped long after his workouts. Plus, he was getting more and more aggressive. Every time she tried to persuade him that she had to leave, he’d get mad…to the point where she wouldn’t bring it up anymore.

What had happened to the sweet guy she had met that one afternoon at the pool? Or maybe he never was like that. Maybe it was all in her head. Her girlfriends always said how jealous they were of her; they apparently would’ve loved getting fucked by someone as hunky as Ian Antoncelli. He was a god to them, especially now that he was the quarterback of the Varsity football team. Well, at least she’d be able to get a good night’s sleep on Friday night.

“Kim,” her mom barged into her room unannounced. “I’m going out with the girls for dinner, so you’ll be on your own tonight.” So what else is new, Kim thought. “Is that alright?”

“Yeah,” she grunted, not even looking at her mother.

“Good, see you later.” And that was it. Kim closed her eyes, cursing her life for being so messed up. Her brother was in jail, her father was constantly working and her mother was always out. What is wrong with my family, she asked herself. Using what little energy she had left, she got up and went to her desk. Her parents probably didn’t leave anything for her to eat, so she decided to head down to the pizza place in town. But as she opened the drawer, it soon dawned on her that there was almost no money in it.

“What the fuck?” she said out loud. She could’ve sworn she had at least three hundred bucks stashed in there. Now there was a measly $20 bill. Where did it all go? Don’t tell me mom is stealing from me again, she thought, unless…no, that couldn’t be it. Could it? Ian was here last night and she knew the money was there yesterday. But what would he need almost $300 for? Her head already aching, she pocketed the twenty and left. She’d figure it out later.

“Mm, how much do you weigh now?” Erin asked as she watched Nick kneeled over her nude body, expertly rolling a condom onto his massive, erect dick. He gave her a half-smirk, his dimples appearing, his eyes twinkling at her.

“I hit 210 this morning,” he answered in the hushed voice that always drove her crazy.

“Yeah,” she repeated, “210 pounds of huge, sexy meat.” Erin glided her hands up her boyfriend’s shredded thighs to his chiseled abs. Shit, every inch of him was as hard as marble…and it was getting harder. Even the tiny hint of love handles that he had during football season had gone away. That meant that wrestling season would soon start and frankly, she couldn’t wait to see Nick in that skin-tight singlet. “How are you gonna fit this thing inside that spandex,” she thought aloud, cupping her hands around his gigantic balls that no doubt were churning gallons of cum. His dick twitched as he grinned.

“I just won’t be able to think about you,” he teased. Erin pouted her lips dramatically. “But you know that’s impossible,” he added.

“Aww,” she groaned. Nick leaned down and kissed her passionately on the lips. Instantly, her entire body relaxed as his hands gently groped her.

“I love you,” he whispered. “I love you so much.” Erin thought how strange those words sounded, but then his cock penetrated into her and she lost all control. She was completely his. She reached around his narrow waist and held onto the rock-hard globes of his ass as he pumped her rhythmically. She could feel his lower back muscles shifting effortlessly back and forth, his pecs rippling against her breasts.

The heat rose between them and Erin felt Nick enveloped her in his thick arms. Suddenly, she felt like she was being lifted into the air and she instinctively wrapped her legs around his. Then, she opened her eyes and – holy shit! Nick had lifted her into the air! He was on his knees on the bed and he was completely supporting her entire weight on his pelvis while still thrusting himself into her. Erin nearly went into delirium. Fuck, he was so strong! She grabbed his concrete butt, feeling it get even harder with each stroke; it was almost superhuman. Finally, he unloaded and she screamed out in orgasm for nearly a whole minute. By the end, she was breathing so hard. Nick lowered her gently back down to the bed and then collapsed right next to her.

“Oh, my God!” she gasped. “What was that?”

“Was it too much?” he asked, looking over at her with a concerned look on his face. She shook her head.

“Are you kidding me? That was awesome!” She paused, still trying to catch her breath. “Where’d you get that from?” Nick shrugged.

“I’ve been working on abs a lot lately,” he explained, a bit sheepishly. “They’ve been getting pretty strong. I wouldn’t have been able to do that a few months ago.”

“We gotta do that again!”

“Can I just take a break first?” he smiled. Erin smiled back and kissed him lightly. As they lay in each other’s arms, she gazed into his eyes. There seemed to be a hint of…sadness?...in them.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. He quickly shook his head.

“Nothing,” he answered. Good, Erin thought. She closed her eyes and lay down on the pillow. All of a sudden, the voice of a singing angel drifted through her head.

You are the strength that keeps me walking You are the hope that keeps me trusting You are the light to my soul. You are my purpose…you’re everything.*

It took her a second to realize who it was. She opened her eyes again to see Nick looking down at her, singing. Damn, his voice was beautiful! It was full of emotion and rang through her head.

You’re all I want, you’re all I need You’re everything, everything*

Then, he stopped. A single tear rolled down his cheek and dripped onto hers; the warmth from it seemed to spread to her entire face.

“Oh my God, Nick,” she said after a long silence. “You have a gorgeous voice! Where did that come from?” Nick blushed and rolled back to his side of the bed.

“I just…felt like doing it,” he replied, a little flustered.

“No, seriously,” Erin hopped onto her side to face her boyfriend. He looked her directly in the eyes and smiled; a chill went down her spine as he did. “That’s the most amazing voice I’ve ever heard!” She paused, thinking to herself…and then she grinned, her face lighting up. “You know what? You should try out for the Spring musical,” she suggested. Nick shook his head.

“I don’t think so,” he answered.

“Oh, come on,” she persuaded. “You’d at least make the chorus. Plus, we need more guys. We’re doing Damn Yankees.” He furrowed his eyebrows at her.

“Damn Yankees?”

“Yeah, it’s about a guy who sells his soul to the Devil to play on his favorite baseball team,” she explained. “We need guys to play the baseball players. And you obviously look the part.” Nick blushed again.

“You really think so?” he asked. Erin nodded.

“I’m going to be doing it,” she said, raising one eyebrow. Nick smiled warmly.

“Alright, I’ll think about it.”

Ashley looked out the window of her apartment as Ryan drove away, having dropped her off after yet another date. Her life couldn’t be any more perfect than it was now. Her career was going somewhere, Ryan was amazing, she finally had something to feel good about. She went into the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea and then curled up on the couch to watch TV. Suddenly, the phone rang. She picked it up and answered, assuming it was Ryan calling her as he got home.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey,” the other voice returned. It was obviously not Ryan. “Haven’t talked to you in a while. Where you been?” Ashley’s mouth dropped open, her body suddenly went into a chill. She almost didn’t know how to answer.

“Brionna?”

*lyrics from “Everything,” by Lifehouse •