Behind the Chain-Link Fence

I looked down at his nakedness.There was no movement except for the cum that slowly dripped from his ass.I saw some scratches on his legs from having pulled him over the fence.My mind drifted to earlier...

Late September on a cool, sunny day, I stealthily covered the neighborhood.Blonde hair and five years old, he was sitting on some toy in his yard.He saw me as well and got up and ran over to me.I think his smile is what made me like him immediately.Only the chain-link fence around his yard kept him from giving me a hug.

“I’m Ronny.What’s your name?”

“I’m Tyler,” I told him.

“Want to be my friend?” he asked.

I got down on my haunches.“Sure I do.”His blue eyes sparkled in the sun.

“Will you marry me?”

I found the question strange but interesting.I remember thinking that it made my peter feel strange even at the age of nine, well almost ten.“I don’t have a job.You shouldn’t get married if you don’t have one.Do you have a job?”

“No.I’ve got chores, but I don’t get paid.My daddy says that kids shouldn’t get money for doing the things they do to help.”

“I’ve got chores, too, but I don’t get paid either.When I’m ten, I’ll start to get an allowance, but my sister says it won’t be much and that I should save it for things I want and not spend it on candy.”

“I wonder if I’ll get one of those when I’m ten.”

He didn’t.I found out that his family was barely making things, as my parents called it.I continued to walk by, usually once a week, on my way to the park.We watched each other grow up.We never really hung out in the same groups, but I would stop and toss a football or baseball with him.He would ask from time to time about marrying him, but when he reached the age of ten, he would laugh after he said it.

When he was about twelve, I asked him to go with me downtown, and I bought him a cheeseburger and some fries.He seemed rather down, but he would only tell me that things were tough for his parents; his mom’s hours were cut back.He had started looking at the future, and I don’t think he could see much.He said his grades were OK, and he just didn’t see college as a possibility.I mentioned that I had an uncle who had decided at the last minute that he didn’t want to go to college.He became a welder just to have something to do until he decided what he wanted to do.

“He makes more money than my dad does, and he makes this weird art.He’s happy, so it worked for him.”

“I guess I never thought about other jobs,” he looked up at me rather strangely.“But you know,” he smiled, “I don’t want you to be the only one working when we get married.”He winked at me.

I felt myself get hard.Stop, I told myself.He’s a kid; you’re almost an adult.

I hadn’t shared with him the feelings I was having for other boys.I didn’t want him to stop liking me.

Every few months, I took him to get a cheeseburger under the excuse that we needed to get away from our usual surroundings and talk.On our last visit before I went away to college, he told me that he would miss me.

I wanted to cry because I would miss him, too.I wasn’t going far; I’d still be in Texas, but it was a nine hour car trip, so I wouldn’t be back until Christmas.

“Will you be honest with me?” he asked.

The question terrified me, but I decided that I would be.“Yes.”

“I’ve got several questions.”He turned and looked out the window.

That scared me even more.“I’m ready.”

He smiled, but his lower lip quivered.“You’ve never had a girlfriend, right?”

Oh, shit, I thought.Don’t make me say it.I’m not ready.“That’s right.”

“Are you gay, Tyler?”

Fuck a duck.I did my best to fight back tears.“Yeah.”I could feel my eyes getting wet.

“I thought so,” he said.

What the hell did that mean?

“It’s OK,” he added.“Thanks for telling me.”

“You’re welcome.”What?Did I really say that?I said ‘you’re welcome’?

Ronny looked up at me.His eyes seemed misty as well.I guess it was as difficult to ask as it was for me to answer.“You’re my best friend, you know.”

“Yeah?And you’re mine.”

We walked back to his house without talking.I wondered where our futures lie.We stopped in front of the chain-link fence, and he hugged me.He’d never done that before.

“Please stay safe.I expect you to be at my high school graduation.”

“I will be, and I’ll see you before then.”

He turned and walked into the house without turning back to wave.

During my first semester, I wrote Ronny a letter, but I didn’t get an answer.I told him what day I’d be home, and I let him know that I wanted to take him to lunch to celebrate Christmas. When I got back home, I found out that Ronny had gone to stay with his grandparents.My mother had talked to his mother.They weren’t sure if Ronny would be back.His mother wouldn’t give his address to my mother.I spent most of Christmas vacation in my room feeling sorry for myself.

The next three and a half years of college I spent studying to get a 4.0 gpa.I got asked out a few times, but I almost always declined.A few guys told me they wanted to blow me, so I let them, but I felt empty afterward.Each time I wished I’d just gone back to my room to jack off.I went to a party my junior year.I’m not sure what was in the punch, but I ended up fucking someone, and I’m pretty sure someone fucked me.My ass was really sore the next day, and I was terrified for the next six months because I didn’t know if either of us used a condom.After multiple tests that came back negative, I felt some relief.I was told I should start PreP just to stay safe.

Stay safe.That’s what Ronny had asked me to do.I decided that I didn’t need it.I wasn’t going to be fucking anyone.

I graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Chemical Engineering.I should have been happy.I already had a job at a glassworks plant just outside of my hometown that was set to start August 1.But I was filled with emptiness.I walked every day past Ronny’s house to the park and then to downtown where I would eat a chicken breast and broccoli.I didn’t want a cheeseburger unless he was sitting across from me eating one as well.

On one of those days, I was watching my feet.My laces were tattered; the soles were worn, and I was wondering whether I should shop for some new sneakers when I heard someone say, “Hi.I’m Ronny.What’s your name?”

I turned and looked.A lanky man with the most handsome face stood up from a chair on the porch.He walked over to the fence.

“I’m Tyler,” I said.A tear ran down my cheek.

“Do you want to be my friend?”

“Of course I do.”

The sunlight reflected off the tears in his eyes.They had the most magnificent sapphire sparkle.

“Will you marry me?”

I grabbed him and kissed him.“In a heartbeat,” I answered.I pulled him over the fence.He pushed his forehead against mine.

“I’m eighteen now,” he whispered.“Will you make love to me?”

“I nodded,” and he led me to his bedroom.