Adulting

Scotty’s story

“What the hell are you two doing here?” I asked Mom and Pop, elated, yet shocked to see them.

“You didn’t think I’d stay away from my baby when he’s less than 6 hours away from home” Mom said hugging me. “Now, about these clothing optional pools…”

I just laughed and said, “Just giving the boys what they want.” Mom rolled her eyes and shook her head. “I can’t believe you’re really here!” Damn! Mom and Pop had driven down from Wisconsin to support us. Who the else had parents that would drive six hours to support their kid promoting a gay resort chain at a gay Pride event?

“Well, we wanted to see you, so we road tripped” Pop said. “Plus, I wanted to spend a little time at the Casino” he smiled mischievously as he spilled his ulterior motive.

“I wanted to see you too. I just didn’t expect to see this much of you” Mom said shaking her head again as she looked me up and down. I just stood there in just my tight shorts with my ass cheeks hanging out.

I immediately threw my best friend under the bus “CHIP PICKED OUT THE OUTFITS!” I exclaimed.

Just then Brad, Chip, and Alec came back to the booth from canvassing the festival grounds and saw my parents “Mom and Pop??!! What the hell are you doing here” Brad yelled hugging them both with all his might.

“Oh look, another one of my naked children” Mom said as my nearly naked husband embraced her. Whether Mom liked it or not… Brad looked fucking hot! We all did. Next, Chip gave Mom a hug as Alec shook Pop’s hand. He had met my parents at our reception in January. “Nice uniform choice, Chipper” Mom said giving him a stern look, He just laughed.

Aaron finished booking the group of guys and came over to join us. “This is a surprise; I haven’t seen you two since when? Parents’ weekend during the boy’s sophomore year maybe?”

“It’s nice to see you again, Aaron” Pop said with a big smile as he shook his hand.

“You must be so happy having Chip right next door” Mom added.

“It’s been awesome!” Aaron retorted, “Are you staying the night? You’re welcome to stay with us.”

“That’s a generous offer, but I’m looking forward to staying at the casino and getting my gamble on tonight” Pop laughed.

“I work for one of the big casino/hotel’s, please let me set you up with a room.”

Mom and Pop looked at each other and shrugged “That would be fantastic! Are you sure it’s no trouble?”

“Absolutely not! I never get a chance to use my comps because everyone I know lives here” Aaron laughed. “I finish up here in about two hours, why don’t we meet back at the booth then, and I can take you over and get you settled, and you can hit the casino if you want.” He got a huge smile out of Pop with that statement, then my parents went off to explore the festival. The rest of us went back to work.

I had never been ogled, groped, or propositioned so much in my life. I swear we were all hit on constantly. We all had several offers for ono-on-ones, three-ways, foursomes, even more-somes! One group of hot leather daddies invited the four of us to come be the “paid entertainment in their playroom.” I had no idea what they were thinking, but HELL NO!

It was a wild day and so much fun. So many diverse lifestyles on display with no shame or fear. It occurred to me that I had never even been to a Pride event before, or really any gay event. I mean, I was at The Resort every day, but that was different, it was more controlled. I went from closeted frat boy to married with teenagers in less than a year, and Brad pretty much took the same leap. Now, here we were in this sexually charged environment, half naked with hot guys all over us. We had what Chip called the “Fresh Meat Factor.” We were from out of town, not part of the same old tired crowd of gay boys. No one had ever run into us at the bars or seen us on hook-up apps… we were new meat and that made us a hot commodity according to Chip. Alec agreed with him but added “Of course that and the fact that you’re both hot as fuck.”

I started to wonder if maybe I missed out on something by settling down so quickly, maybe I should have taken some time to explore myself after I came out. Shoulda’, woulda’, coulda’ I guess. But I loved my life.

When it was time to shut it down for the night, the rest of our team left the park and me and Chip locked up. We got a text from Alec telling us to meet everyone at a little Italian place walking distance from the festival grounds. There was no way in hell I was going out to eat wearing that “uniform”, so we stopped at the SUV to change into the street clothes we had brought with us then walked over to the restaurant.

Alec was right, EVERYBODY was there. My parents, Chip’s dad and Brendon, Alec’s Moms’, Alec, Brad. They were all sitting at a huge table in the middle of the place laughing and enjoying each other’s company. Pop was the first to see us walk in “Speak of the devil…” he said making the whole table laugh. “Brad was just sharing stories about your parenting skills. I hear the boys are giving your brother and Randy a run for their money.”

I laughed at Pop’s comment as I walked behind Mom and gave her a hug ““Well at least we got our lawn mowed out of the deal” I responded as I took the seat next to my husband. Alec introduced me to his moms, Laurie and Rhonda just as the waiter stepped up to take our order. Once we ordered, our parents went back to swapping stories. This was really a fun crowd. Such a diverse group of parents, yet they found so much common ground. We were all talking and laughing and having a great time when the gentleman sitting with his wife at the table directly behind me and Brad started talking loud enough for us to overhear… I’m pretty sure that was his intention.

“We were lucky to get a table, every restaurant down here is full of queers celebrating gay Pride.” The man said putting an emphasis on the last two words. Brad and I exchanged glances as we both listened in. The man followed up his statement with “Nobody’s throwing me a parade for being straight, that’s for damn sure. So, they fuck guys. Who cares? I just wish I knew what they’re all so damn proud of.” I leaned back in my chair and started to turn my head toward the gentleman and his quiet, mousey wife. No one else at our table had heard the conversation or noticed me turning around. Brad grabbed my leg hoping to stop me, but it was too late. I had made up my mind.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation,” I said politely with a smile on my face as I held out my hand, “I’m Scotty by the way.” He shook my hand tentatively; it was obvious I had caught him off guard. He wanted us to hear him but wasn’t expecting a response. “Was that a serious question? Do you really want to know what we’re proud of?” The man was stone faced and his wife turned red and sunk down into her seat a bit, I’m guessing this wasn’t the first time her blow-hard husband had embarrassed her in public. “I’d be happy to answer that question for you sir.” He didn’t say anything at first and by now the rest of the table had turned their attention to me.

I had put him on the spot, and he wasn’t about to lose face by backing down. A smug look crossed his face “Yeah. I would really like to know why you’re so damn proud of the fact that you fuck guys.”

“Well…” I started in a quiet voice with a smile on my face. The others at the table were all starting to look my way as they became aware of my conversation with the stranger, and Brad’s grip on my thigh had tightened to the point of painful. “It’s not about being proud of the fact that we fuck guys, it’s about being proud of the fact that even though in several states we can still be fired just because we fuck guys or denied housing just because we fuck guys, we persevere. It’s about being proud of the fact that even though we deal with bigots, zealots, and even average Joe’s at restaurants looking down on us and treating us as second-class citizens, we find the strength and courage to be who we are.” I interrupted my little lecture and introduced Brad “Oh, this is my husband” I said pointing over my shoulder with my thumb. “Brad this is… I’m sorry I didn’t catch your name.”

“Michael” he said sheepishly as he shook Brad’s extended hand, and his wife sunk down a little further looking like she wanted to die.

“Nice to meet you, Michael” I said before continuing. “Brad here was drugged and abducted by his religious father and some other men from his church earlier this year in hopes that they could force him to pray the gay away and turn him straight.” Michael’s eyes grew wide at that statement. “I’m proud of the fact that Brad persevered and had the strength and will to get his three brothers away from his abusive father.” I paused to reach back and grab my drink, taking a sip before I continued in a casual tone. “I’m proud that the LGBTQ community has made enough progress that the law saw fit to give him and his gay husband custody of his brothers so we could give them a safe home where they can learn acceptance and proudly be themselves without fear.” Michael just sat there staring at me, the smug look had melted off his face as I quietly continued to rant about what I was proud of. I motioned over my shoulder with my thumb again, “I’m proud of my friends two moms on the other side of this table who, despite sneers and jeers from the community and family members a couple of decades ago committed to raise a wonderful, smart strong son together. I’m proud of my best friend’s father who at age sixteen stepped up and raised his son by himself. I’m proud of my straight parents who love me, my gay brother, our husbands and the families we have collected along the way unconditionally.” My voice remained calm and conversational, and my eyes remained locked with his.

By this time the look on his face was… well... let’s call it humbled. “I’m proud of my best friend for learning how to love himself when society had him convinced that he should feel like worthless trash because he was gay. I’m proud of the sixteen-year-old we’re raising for having the courage to come out instead of living in fear of his father and god punishing him for being gay. I’m also proud as hell of him for resisting suicide when things were at their darkest. I’m proud of the straight teenagers we’re raising for accepting their gay siblings without hesitation or conditions. I’m proud of my friends, family and neighbors, gay, straight, or other oriented for rallying around us no matter what. I’m proud of the uncountable number of people who fought for my right to marry the one person I was meant to be with. I am proud of those who went before us and did everything they could to ensure that I could live this incredible life with my incredible husband, surrounded by family and friends who I love. THAT is the Pride we celebrate.” He didn’t say a word, he just listened. His wife sat there not knowing what to do. “As for being proud of who I fuck… well look at him. Yeah, I’m pretty damn proud that he chose to love me.” I looked back at Brad who was grinning at me through his shock. I was so engrossed in my little rant that I had forgotten about the group of people sitting at the table with me. They were now looking at me in various stages of shock and awe having just listened to me air their dirty laundry to a stranger.

Pop was the first to speak “Well that was a mouthful” he said with a proud smile on his face as he lifted his glass and nodded.

“I’d add my two cents, but I think you pretty much covered it” Rhonda added.

Michael sat there for a moment and then said “Um…. Thank you. I stand corrected.” His voice was quiet, and his tone wasn’t snotty, or mocking. He actually sounded sincere.

The waiter showed up with our food and I turned my attention back to my friends and family. Within a minute or so we were eating dinner and back to joking, laughing and enjoying each other’s company as though the confrontation with Michael never happened.

When we finished dinner, I looked over to Michael’s table and noticed they had left quietly. We all reached for our wallets and started arguing over who’d pay as Rhonda tried to flag down the waiter for the check. It turns out that Michael had covered our check on his way out and left a hefty tip. Brad kissed me on the cheek and said, “It looks like maybe you got through to one guy.”

“Changing hearts and minds one at a time” I said as I kissed him back. After that we said goodnight to Mom and Pop who headed back to the casino while the rest of us headed home. It was late and I was tired, so we went right up to our room, stripped and got into bed.

“I can’t believe you fucking just rattled that off. Where the fuck did that come from?” Brad asked as I spooned his naked body and wrapped my muscular arms around his lean, swimmer’s build.

“Pent up frustration” I said speaking quietly. “Every chamber meeting, every community meeting, every time I tell someone where I work, every time I talk to local officials about permitting, I hear ignorance and judgment. After such a great day of being surrounded by so many people who were so happy to just be themselves, his comment just got to me. Besides… he asked a question; He deserved an answer.” I kissed Brad’s neck when I finished speaking and he grabbed my hand and kissed it.

“I’m most proud of you” Brad said, “I know I’ve said it before, but you stood by me when no one else would have. You could’ve walked away at any time, instead you stayed, and we made it work for everybody. We cobbled together a family and you helped give my brothers a better life. I’m proud that you chose to love me too” he said as he turned back to kiss me.

We kissed passionately and I rubbed my soft manhood up and down his ass crack as he pushed back into me. I was hard within minutes and our innocent rubbing turned into lust-fueled passion. He spit in his hand, then reached back and lubed my dick with his saliva. That and the little precum forming at my slit was the only lube he got. I entered slowly and steadily pushed forward, encouraged by his moans. Oh my god he was so fucking right without any real lubrication. It was like a damn vice grip as he contracted his anus around my rigid shaft. I slowly moved in and out just enjoying the incredible sensation. Brad pushed back building a rhythm with my slow pumping. We were both moaning quietly doing our best not to awaken Chip and Alec down the hall. We slowly made love, both of us just enjoying the intimacy. The warmth of our bodies and the skin-to-skin contact was everything to me in that moment.

God, I loved him, and my little rant from earlier made me realize that every crazy thing that happened to us just brought us closer together, made us stronger, and solidified our relationship. His father trying to turn him straight pushed us together, his efforts to keep Brad from his family drove us to be closer to them, getting custody of his brothers motivated us to build our own family. Throughout our entire relationship, not ONCE did I ever think about going in the other direction. NEVER did I think about leaving. I ALWAYS saw us together. Period. Every hurdle was just another challenge that we would face together.

Now here I was balls deep inside of the only man I ever loved. The only man I ever wanted to love. The one I had every intention of being with until death. Sex was meaningless, love and intimacy were everything to me. That’s what turned me on, and I shot hard and deep inside of Brad as I whispered with passion and sincerity “I love you more than life itself.”

Brad shot his load with me as he whispered back “Was there ever any doubt that I feel the same. Goddammit I love you so much, Scotty.” I stayed inside of him until I was so soft that I just fell out. I held him like that all night long until we woke up in each other’s arms on Sunday morning. We got up early and took a shower together. I finished first, when I got out of the bathroom there was Scotty laying on the bed waiting for me, wagging his little nub of a tail. I put on my uniform and pulled my sweats over them. Scotty waited patiently on the bed for me, then led me downstairs.

“Good morning” Chip chirped as he poured me some coffee. He was dressed up in a sport coat and tie.

“What’s the occasion?” I asked.

“I’m going to church with Grandma Shirley. Alec will ride with you guys down to the parade and Dad will meet your parents at the hotel and walk them down. We’ll all meet at the Parade. Alec’s Moms are already down there holding us a spot. You guys are picking up breakfast on the way. After that, we open the booth and go back to it. Rickey and Kirk will be working the booth with you, me and the interns for the rest of the festival.” Chip rattled off.

“Sounds like a plan. Let’s hope today goes as well as yesterday” I said, savoring my first sip of coffee. “Hey, thanks for everything. I couldn’t have pulled this off without you.”

Chip smiled at me, “I can’t believe we sold so many memberships and trips! This was supposed to be about exposure, I didn’t expect the sales.”

“I know! I got texts from both Matty and Jordan last night, they’re both happy as pigs in shit. That should give me job security for a few months” I laughed.

“I’m excited about the rest of the tour and am so glad we get to travel together for a few events. I’m also psyched about working a couple events with Matty.” He responded.

“You’ll love him. He’s great to work with and smart as fuck.” I said. Then I decided to get a bit more serious, I felt I owed him an apology for last night. “Hey, Chip. I’m sorry I aired your dirty laundry in public last night.”

Chip laughed “Are you kidding me? You’re proud of me. Nothing wrong with that.” Then he smiled at me “I’m pretty fucking proud of you too, Whoops.” With that he said goodbye and headed to pick up his grandma. I sat in the kitchen alone with Scotty the dog for a few minutes before Alec and Brad joined me. Once everyone had their coffee, we locked up the house and headed to the parade, stopping on the way to grab a bunch of breakfast sandwiches and coffee.

“So where are your moms sitting?” I asked Alec as we walked down the parade route and through the crowd.

“Oh, you’ll see ‘em” Alex said with a laugh and a smile. Sure, as hell, about two blocks up there they were, and you could NOT miss them. They were in the perfect spot with a rainbow tent and several camping chairs set up. They had balloons, and streamers in all the colors of the rainbow marking their area. They had three big flag stands each flying a different flag: An American flag, a rainbow flag, and an equality flag. They saw us coming and stood up from their chairs and started cheering. They grabbed the food and coffee from us and put them on the waiting table next to the Bloody Mary bar. These two went all out and it was hilarious “This is their Superbowl” Alec said. “They’ve done this every year since I can remember. The parade used to be a much smaller thing and the route was in the historic district and went past our house. They would set up on the flat roof and we’d watch from up there. Over the years more and more friends would gather with us. When the parade got bigger, they moved it downtown and moms staked out this spot in front of their friends building. Friends know where to find them and will stop by all morning to visit. They live for this day every year.

“Hey Scotty!” Rhonda yelled summoning me to her lawn chair with a wave.

“Good morning, Rhonda, I love the set up.” I said as she grabbed my cheeks and planted a big wet kiss my lips. Laurie gave me the same treatment.

“You handled that guy well last night. We’re proud of you” she said. I smiled and thanked her. “Laurie and I have been extremely active in politics, fighting for gay rights for more than two decades. We go to DC twice a year to lobby for legislation that helps advance LGBTQ Equality. One thing we learned is that the most effective way to change hearts is to attack the problem one bigot at a time. Your parents were telling us about Brad’s family…”

Laurie interrupted “And how you punched his father. I would’ve loved to see that” then they both chuckled.

Rhonda continued “And taking in those kids! They also told us about Seth and how you and your friends have helped him accept himself and even rebuild a relationship with god that makes him comfortable.” She paused and looked at me “Scotty, you’re the next generation, and we’re so proud of you.” They both stood and hugged me. As we were hugging Aaron and Brendon arrived with my parents. It was a blur of hugs after that. All of our parents had just latched on to each other and become friends.

We had an incredible spot for the parade. The parade came right at us with the St Louis Arch as the backdrop. American and rainbow flags lined the streets and waved with pride. It was very breathtaking, almost majestic. I just watched the people as the walked around without inhibitions. Gay, straight, trans, bi, kids, adults, seniors… it looked like any other parade with the exception of the tiny group of protestors on one corner being ignored by the crowd. I looked over at Mom and Pop, they seemed so incredibly comfortable in the middle of this diverse crowd. Everyone seemed comfortable and just happy to be whoever or whatever the fuck they were. THIS. This is what I wanted for Seth, Kevin’s kids, any kids we may or may not have, and the next generations beyond that. A world where no one gave a shit who you slept with. A place where love wins.

I thought back to when I first came out. My biggest fear was that admitting I was gay would change how the world saw me. Change who I was inside. I thought everyone would just see me as “gay Scotty,” some gay stereotype version of who I used to be. It was Kevin who told me that only I get to decide what part being gay will play in my life. I’ll be damned if he wasn’t right. There I was, living a life that I literally could not have imagined. A little over a year ago I was a closeted frat boy. Now? I’m an out and proud gay man, married to the man of my dreams, raising three teenagers that I love more than life itself, and surrounded by people who love and support me. I am not defined by my sexuality.

I am adulting the hell out of my gay life!

###

Eli’s brand new, shiny teal Bronco pulled out of the driveway. Brad and I stood there with our Cam, Ann, Danny, Randy, Kev and their kids waving goodbye as Eli and Brian drove away in the over-packed vehicle taking Seth to Wisconsin for his first year of college at Kevin and Randy’s alma mater. I was gonna miss the hell out of that kid. Brad and I wanted so badly to take him, but the three of them wanted one last adventure together. We got that. The last two and a half years had been totally unexpected and wonderful. I got to spend know Brad’s incredible family. But now the three little scared boys that came to live with us were adults and making their own way in the world.

Brian was starting his third year at ASU when they got back from their road trip to Wisconsin. He was acing it. He had just moved into an apartment off campus with some friends, was getting incredible grades, and dating a smart, beautiful girl that we loved! Plus, we still got to see him at Kev’s every week for Sunday dinner. Eli was working on an apprenticeship and studying to be an electrician. In his words, he didn’t want to go to school for four years before he started making bank. He was still living with us (paying rent of course), just bought his first car, and was dating… well everyone! He seemed to have a new girl every week, and why the hell not? He was an outgoing smartass and cute as hell. He was basically a straight, younger version of Brad. What woman wouldn’t want him. And Seth… Seth was off to Milwaukee to start college, 2,000 miles away. I felt better knowing that Mom, Pop, and Kev’s friend Jeff were all close by. He was an awesome kid. He and Cam went from puppy love to best friends. They helped each other come out and discover who they were, then decided they were better as friends than boyfriends. There were a couple of months of heartache and awkwardness, but the found their way back to being great friends. Cam was leaving for school in Chicago the following week, just a couple of hours away from Seth. They had plans to hang out at least once a month. I doubt it would happen, but it makes them feel better about being apart.

As for me and Brad? Shit, I was twenty-five, he was twenty-six and we were already empty nesters. Even though Eli’s was still living with us, and Brian came around to do laundry, raid the refrigerator, and party with his pals in our pool the place was going to seem empty without Seth.

Danny, Ann, and Cam said goodbye then turned to walk home. “We need to get baby Scotty home” Kev said as he walked over to his Range Rover and fastened Scotty snug in his baby seat. Randy chased Matty down across the front yard and scooped him up, lifted him over his head and blew a raspberry into his belly making him giggle. “If you guys get lonely these two are always ready to hang with their favorite guncles!” Kev said as he shut the back door. Brad and I helped them finish packing up the boys, then they headed for home, leaving the two of us alone.

Once everyone was out of sight Brad took my hand and led me through the house and out to the pool. When we got to the back yard, we turned to face each other, and wiped the tears from each other’s eyes, Brad kissed me and said, “get naked and let’s pick-up where we left off almost three years ago Mr. Nicholls.” Then he flashed me that dimpled smile that had changed my life forever. I smiled wide, we both stripped and jumped into the pool started splashing around like a couple of kids.

Our new life together had just begun… all over again.

The end for now…

Author’s Note:

Thanks for following Scotty’s from a frat boy whose only worry in life was coming out of the closet, to a responsible, out and proud married man helping three teenagers find their way in the world. Just like Kevin stepped down at the end of Exploring My True Self to let us hear from Scotty, Scotty’s handing the baton to Seth. Watch for my next series Losing My Religion. All your emails and comments are extremely appreciated. Thanks to all who have reached out. OH YEAH – they were able to salvage my data. It looks like I have the original versions of chapters 53, 54, and 55 that have never been posted, the posted versions were recreations of the originals. If anyone is bored wants to read the three original chapters to see the differences please e-mail me and I’ll share them with you (I have not personally gone back and compared, I just know they’re a little different).