An Unexpected Turn

Divisions

At three o’clock in the morning Ian awoke to the crack of thunder. “It’s ok stud. Just another storm”, I reassured him, but knew he had shared my dream again. It was the same as before, rolling in the grass, laughing together and suddenly the thunderous rumble of the earth, followed by the scream of a woman. “It was more intense this time Steve”, Ian replied. It had been. I tried to think of something more assuring to say, but couldn’t, so I just held him more tightly. I was frustrated. It was bad enough that I had the dream myself, but to burden Ian with it had me feeling guilty. Why did Ian have to be burdened with my dreams? Was my love for him a curse? What was the dream really about? It was so vague that it gave me no idea how to plan for its inevitable outcome. Yes, I knew it was coming. This was no dream. It was a premonition. I was afraid, not for myself, but for Ian and the woman who was screaming. Ian pushed back into the comfort of my arms and in doing so, comforted me. He was my anchor and always will be I thought as his breathing slowed and he drifted back to sleep. I smiled to myself and slowly willed myself to match his slowed breaths. It comforted me and I too drifted back to sleep.

Ryan woke to the sudden thunder, realizing the storm had returned with the constant rain. It was once again pouring. He pulled in closer to Chad, pressing his hardening cock into his warm crack. Carl had awakened as well and pressed back into Chad for comfort, “Fuck! It’s pouring again”, he mumbled. Chad felt the two of them press in closer to him and reveled in the feeling and said, “We’ll have Noah build an Ark in the morning”, and then drifted back to sleep.

Tony and Scott arrived at Tony’s house and found it empty. As they went into the kitchen, Tony found a note from his mom. It stated that she was going to meet his dad at a hotel because the roads were getting bad, and they may not be able to make it to work if the roads flooded as they had several years back. “Well, guess we’ll have the house to ourselves tonight”, Tony said. Scott grinned and said, “Yeah, maybe Mike won’t stay too long, and we can christen your bed”. Tony grinned, but then said, “Mike’s our friend and we need to be honest with him about us”. Scott nodded, but then said, “I understand that, Tony. We’ve been friends since grade school, but you know how his dad is and Mike adores his dad. He might freak out when we tell him”. Tony took in what Scott said and realized he was right, but said, “Yeah, but he is our friend and deserves to be told the truth no matter what his reaction might be. I guess this will be a true test of our friendship”. Scott thought about it and said, “I guess you’re right. He is our friend and deserves the truth. I just hope he handles it well”.

The doorbell rang and then a voice was calling, “Where you guys hiding? I got soaked just running from the car”. Mike had arrived, letting himself in as usual. “We’re down here”, Tony yelled up from the family room. Mike ran down the steps and found Tony and Scott sitting on the sofa. He was holding his shoes and wet socks in his hand. “Dude! You’re getting the floor all wet”, Tony complained! “Sue me. It’s raining out there dude”, Mike said as he walked into the bathroom nearby. Mike peeled off his soaked clothes and called out, “Tony! Get me something to put on! I’ll throw my stuff in the dryer”. Mike was making himself at home as usual. “Gotta love him”, Tony said grinning. “Yeah, the presumptive prick”, Scott said laughing. Tony went up to his room and rummaged through his clothes and pieced together some underwear, shorts, and a t-shirt for Mike. Mike emerged totally nude with his soaked clothes in hand, “Scott, could you throw these in the dryer”? “What? Am I your servant suddenly”, Scott quipped? “Fuck you dude. I got soaked just getting in from my car. Give me a break”, Mike retorted. This was the norm of the three friends. Scott took his clothes and threw them in the dryer and returned to the sofa as Tony came back down handing Mike the clothes. “So, the ‘rents are gone for the night? Where’s the brews dude”, Mike asked?  “How do you know my mom and dad are”, Scott stopped Tony mid-sentence and said, “I’ll check the fridge”. Mike shrugged his shoulders and said, “When there was no one upstairs, I checked the garage and neither of their cars were there, so I figured they weren’t home. Then there was the note from your mom”. Scott returned with three beers and handed one to each of his friends. As he handed one to Mike, he said, “Could you put some clothes on”? Mike grinned realizing he was still holding the clothes Tony had handled him and began getting dressed, “It’s not like you haven’t seen my junk before. Nice underwear dude”, he added, referring to the dark blue Andrew Christian briefs Tony had loaned him. Once Mike was dressed, they sat down exchanging the normal banter and conversations they usually had. They’d been friends since grade school and though they rarely discussed anything serious, like politics or future plans, they were always joking and teasing each other like brothers.

After retrieving three more beers which was their third each, Tony looked to Scott for a moment, then began, “Mike, we need to tell you something”. “Dude, you sound so serious. It’s like the Steve saves the world again speech is about to begin”. The remark hit a nerve with Scott, “Mike, watch what you’re saying! The guy literally saved our lives”. Mike explained, “I’m not saying it like that. I’m just saying that you guys seem so serious suddenly, like someone just died or something”. Mike’s expression changed suddenly, “No one died, right”? A slight smile crossed Tony’s lips as he said, “No Mike. No one died, but what we want to tell you is serious”. Mike took a sip of his beer and then asked, “So what’s so serious guys”? Tony glanced to Scott who then said, “It is serious Mike. Tony and I wanted to be honest with you, once we were honest with each other. We’re gay, Mike. We’re a couple now”. Mike let it sink in for a minute and then broke out into a big grin, “You two have been a couple since we were kids, but you’re not queer. I’ve known you all my life. You’re punkin’ me dudes”. Tony then looked at Mike soberly and said, “No Mike, we’re serious. I know I dated quite a few girls over the years and even fucked a lot of ‘em, but there was always something missing, and I didn’t realize what it was. There was no emotional connection to these girls. I was trying so hard to fool myself into believing that if the right girl came along, I’d find that emotional connection. What I didn’t realize is I had already found it. I just didn’t want to admit it to myself”. Scott then said, “Mike, I began realizing I liked Tony as more than a friend when I entered puberty, but I was afraid to even admit it to myself. As time went on, I knew I really liked him, but I was scared to death that if I told him, he’d push me away and I’d lose everything, so I just kept quiet about it. Things changed after the accident and then things happened”. Mike’s voice raised, “What do you mean things happened? Why are you even telling me this? I can’t believe my two best friends are telling me they’re a couple of fags! I need to get out of here”! Mike stood up and turned to leave. “Mike! Wait! I can’t let you drive anywhere after you had those beers. Please! We wanted to tell you first because you’re our best friend. We hoped you would understand”, Tony pleaded! Mike turned back to them, clearly looking upset, “Understand? How can I understand that two people who I thought were my best friends were secretly a couple of fags! I’m disgusted”! Mike then turned back and headed for the stairs. Tony yelled, “Mike, I still can’t let you drive right now”! As Mike got to the top of the steps, he yelled back, “Fine! I’ll sleep in my car”! Then they heard the front door slam.

Mike ran to his car which was parked at the bottom of the hill in front of the property. Once again, he was soaking wet and to add insult to injury, when he stepped next to his car to open the door, his shoe filled with water. The road looked more like a creek which was rapidly flowing. He climbed into his car and then decided to climb into the back seat where he curled into a ball and began crying. He felt betrayed by Tony and Scott. They had kept this from him. He thought about all the sleepovers and the times they skinny-dipped in the lake. Changing and showering together for gym and football practice. He felt disgusted and wondered if they had been ogling his naked body all these years. The rain began coming down harder again. Mike continued crying until eventually falling asleep.

“That went well”, Tony said sarcastically. “Yeah. Maybe we shouldn’t have told him over a few beers. He sounded like his dad”, Scott said. Tony lowered his head in his hands and said, “Yeah, I was hoping Mike would take it a lot better than he did. He’s our best friend and if he took it the way he did, what about everyone else. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea”. Scott was stunned and hurt by those words, “What is that supposed to mean? What wasn’t a good idea? Us”? Tony looked up wide-eyed, “No Scott! I wasn’t talking about us. Never think that. I was thinking that maybe we should have waited for a while before telling anyone”. “Maybe you’re right Tony, but the way I feel about you and after this past week, I want to shout about my love for you all over the city”, Scott said. Tears began falling from his eyes, “I just wish Mike could see that”.  Tony grabbed each of Scott’s hands and squeezed them. Then letting one go, he reached up with his right thumb and wiped the tears from Scott’s cheeks before leaning in and giving him a quick kiss. “Scott, I think Mike will eventually come around. I think he needs time. This was a shock to him. All these years of friendship has to mean something to him”, Tony said. Scott smiled weakly and said, “I hope you’re right”. Scott then turned back straight on the sofa and leaned his head onto Tony’s shoulder, still holding Tony’s left hand in his right. Tony sighed and leaned his head onto Scott’s, and they sat there silently, listening to the rain. They soon dozed off.

Tony was awakened by thunder. His sudden move awakened Scott as well. “What’s wrong”, Scott croaked, sleep still in his voice? “Storm woke me up. It’s getting worse again”, Tony replied, then got up and walked to the bay window at the front of the house. Looking out, all he could see was rain and a vague shadow of Mike’s car. He was reassured that Mike hadn’t tried to drive home. A flash of lightning suddenly lit up the area. “Oh my god! Mike! Fuck! We gotta help him Scott”, Tony suddenly yelled out! Before Scott could respond, Tony ran out the front door. “Shit”, Scott said as he got up and ran toward the door.

Mike awoke shivering. Someone was banging on the window. “Mike! You have to get out of the car! It’s flooding”! Mike recognized the voice. It was Tony. “Leave me alone”, Mike responded and then rolled over to face the backrest and away from Tony. Tony continued to bang on the window and kept yelling, “Mike! You have to listen to me! The road is flooding! You might drown”!

Scott arrived behind Tony and was shocked to find Tony knee deep in flowing water. It looked like a river instead of a road at this point. “Mike! Listen to Tony! The water is rising. You’ll drown if you don’t get out now”, Scott tried reasoning! Lightning lit up the sky again and the thunder cracked above them as the rain only seemed to come down harder.

Even though he was soaked and shivering, Mike was stubborn and was annoyed with them. He rolled over to glare at them and yelled, “I want you fags to leave me alone”! As he rolled over though, his right leg dropped to the floor of the car next to him, plunging his leg into water and he then realized the water was almost level with the seat he was on. They were right. He needed to get out of the car right now. He climbed over the seat into the passenger side and tried to open the door. It wouldn’t budge. The rushing water was putting too much force outside the door. Tony saw Mike trying to open the door and tried to help by pulling on it from the outside. Scott plunged into the water beside him and tried to help. “It won’t budge”, Tony yelled! “Try the driver door Mike”, Tony yelled, thinking the current may not be as strong where it wasn’t trapped between the car and the bank. Mike heard him and maneuvered to the other side. Tony and Scott fought the current as they slowly made their way around the front of the car to get to the other side. Tony made his way to the other side as Mike was trying to push that door open with no success. “Scott! Look out”, Tony yelled as a smaller car floated down the road toward them. Scott avoided being crushed between the two vehicles as the smaller one smashed into the front of Mike’s car. As he avoided the car though, Scott lost his footing and slipped down onto his back and under the water. Tony grabbed Scott’s flailing arm as he was caught in the current and was barely able to hang onto him without being swept along with him. As Tony pulled a grateful Scott to his feet, they realized that the collision had caused Mike’s car to start moving with the current. They quickly moved down to the door where Mike was frantically trying to push it open. As they got to the door and began helping Mike to get it open, Mike pleaded with them, “Help me, please”! The car started to move slowly and Tony and Scott both doubled their efforts and finally the door opened slightly only to slam back shut. The car was now beginning to drift faster and Tony and Scott struggled to keep up. “Tony, we need to get the door open now before we lose him”, Scott screamed! Tony called out to Mike, “Mike, If the door opens again, I need you to push with your legs with all your might! Pull Scott”! The door cracked open again and Mike let go of the door handle and used his legs to push on the door. It opened wide enough to allow Tony to get his body between the door and the car. “Scott, pull Mike out while I hold the door”, Tony yelled! As Tony wedged his body in, Mike crawled through, and Scott grabbed him under the arms and helped him out. Scott and Mike then pulled on the door to allow Tony to squeeze back out. The car continued on its way down the street, being pushed by the smaller car. The three hung onto each other as they fought the current to get to the side where the bank of the lawn was. They finally made it and helped each other climb onto the wall at the end of the sloping front yard and out of the rushing water. It was then that they realized they were a half block away from where Tony’s house was. They made their way through the soggy lawns until they reached Tony’s front door and all but collapsed inside from exhaustion from the ordeal they’d been through.

All three were shivering and dripping wet on the floor just inside the door. Tony got up and after closing the door, went over to help Mike up, “We need to get you in the shower to warm you back up dude. You’re shivering “.  Scott helped Tony get a shaking Mike to the bathroom. Tony held Mike up while Scott turned on the water to get it warm. Mike pulled off his t-shirt, but he was shivering so badly, he was getting nowhere in his attempt to unbutton his shorts. “Water’s warm enough”, Scott said, then asked, “Do you want help with those shorts”? Tony quickly said, “No. Mike, just get in the shower. The shorts are already soaked. When you warm up and stop shivering, you can take them off. I’ll get you something to put on and leave it on the bathroom counter inside the door”, and then he guided Mike inside the shower and closed the shower door and he and Scott left the bathroom. Tony then looked to Scott and said, “You’re shivering yourself”, and then wrapped his arms around him sharing his body heat or attempting to. “Tony, your wet clothes are cold”, Scott complained. Tony backed off, “Sorry. I was trying to help, but I guess I’m freezing too. Get in my parent’s shower and warm up. I’ll join you after I get something for Mike to wear when he gets out of the shower”. Scott smiled and said, “Ok”, and then added, “Tony, I’m really proud of you”. Tony looked confused, “For what”? Scott gave him a quick kiss on the lips before saying, “For running out there to save Mike even after what he said. For saving me from being washed away when I slipped. For making sure Mike didn’t feel uncomfortable by undressing in front of us. I wasn’t even thinking when I asked if he wanted help and for looking out for us before taking care of yourself. I think Steve’s rubbing off on you”.  Tony grinned and returned the kiss before saying, “I think Steve rubbed off on both of us. I wasn’t out there alone Scott. I couldn’t have saved Mike without you”.

Scott then went into Tony’s parent’s room while Tony went into his own to get some clothes for Mike. Tony was still feeling chilled to the bone but felt the need to get Mike some clothes to wear when he got out of the shower. He grabbed underwear, a t-shirt, some shorts and then also grabbed a bathrobe in case Mike wanted to wear it. He wanted Mike to feel comfortable in his house, something which was not ever in question before this night. Tony knocked on the bathroom door but got no response. “Mike, it’s Tony. Ok if I leave the stuff on the counter inside the door”? Still no sound. Tony opened the door and asked, “Mike? Are you ok”?

Hearing a sobbing noise, Tony looked over to find Mike curled up in a ball crying. The shower was still running, and he still had the soaked shorts on. “Mike, it’s ok now. Your safe”, Tony tried calming Mike. “Safe?”, Mike croaked between sobs, “This has been the worst night ever! My best friends tell me they’re queer for each other. I almost drown. My car just floated away and now I’m back in a house with a couple of fags! Safe”? A tear rolled down Tony’s cheek hearing Mike calling him a fag. It hurt. Tony took a deep breath and sat down on the floor with his back against the shower. “Yes Mike. You’re safe here. You always were and always will be and at least you came out of this one without a dislocated shoulder”, Tony said, referring to the accident they’d had as a result of his own negligence. It was a poor attempt to humor Mike and lighten things up. It failed. “Yeah, thanks for that, but I’m not sure that was worse than this is. My shoulder healed, but tonight I lost my two best friends and my car”!  Tony heard Mike moving in the shower, apparently getting up. After hearing some rustling, the shorts and underwear Tony had let Mike wear were tossed onto the tile floor outside the shower. The sobbing had stopped. Tony then said, “Mike, your car can be replaced, and you haven’t lost your two best friends”. Before Tony could say anything more, Mike let out a sarcastic chuckle, then said angrily, “Do you think I’m going to pal around with a couple of fags Tony? Really? That’s not happening”! Tony didn’t want to hear any more and got up, saying, “There’s clothes on the counter. I’m going to go get in the shower. Scott and I will be downstairs in the family room if you want to join us”. As soon as the bathroom door closed, Mike regretted what he’d said. He was conflicted. He’d been brought up with the solid belief that homosexuality was wrong. It was an evil choice people made, a sick, disgusting choice. Why had his best friends made that choice? It made no sense to him and yet they just had risked their lives to save him while he continued to hurl insults at them. Fuck!

I was outside and it was pouring, with thunder and lightning all around and yet I didn’t feel wet. I watched as Scott waded in water and dodged a car floating down what seemed like a river and then slipped underwater. I jumped awake, startling Ian as I did, “What’s wrong Steve”? “I’m not sure”, I said as I grabbed my phone and found my contact.

Tony and Scott had finished their showers and were back down in the family room. “You seem upset Tony. I take it Mike’s still being a dick about the situation”, Scott said next to him on the sofa. Tony just nodded. Tony felt like he’d been as nice as he could to Mike and still Mike had rejected every olive branch he offered. Suddenly Tony’s phone lit up, “Hey Steve. What’s up”?

“Tony is Scott with you?”, I asked. Tony responded, “Yes, he’s sitting next to me”.  I let out a sigh of relief as Ian looked at me questioningly. “Is everything ok with you guys”, I asked, hoping I only had a nightmare? Tony hesitated and then responded, “Well, not entirely, but better than it was earlier”. I knew something was up, “What does that mean? Is Scott ok”? “Yes, Scott’s fine. I told you he’s sitting right next to me”, Tony said, then he hesitated and asked, “Why are you asking me this Steve”? “I just had a bad feeling that something was wrong”, I lied, then added, “I’m glad I was mistaken”. Ian gave me the eye. He hadn’t dreamt what I had, but he knew I saw something and was lying to Tony about it. I gave him a wink to let him know I realized his awareness. Tony rolled his eyes and shook his head smiling at Scott, “No Steve. You’re not mistaken. I’m not sure how you knew it, but we had a few issues here and we had a few close calls. Scott had a few close calls, but he’s fine now and so are Mike and I”. “So, neither of them drowned”, I said feeling relieved but then realized I’d said too much. Tony caught what I’d said and asked, “You saw it, didn’t you”? I offered, “I only had a dream Tony and was concerned. I’m glad everything is ok now”.  Tony replied, “Well, everything isn’t exactly ok, but it’s better than it was”. Tony then told me about their coming out to Mike and how it transpired and then the rest of it. I told them how proud I was of their actions and my hopes that Mike would eventually come around and then ended the call. Of course, Ian wouldn’t let me go back to sleep until I had given him every detail. Once I did, he gave me a kiss and then rolled over on his side and pushed back into me and said, “Hold me Steve”. “Always stud”, I assured him as I pulled him into me and draped my arm under his and across his chest.

As soon as Tony turned his phone off, Scott asked, “Steve knew what happened”? Tony replied, “He knew something was wrong. I’m not sure how or how much he knew, but he knew you and Mike both almost drowned. The guy’s a psychic or something”. Scott smiled and after giving Tony a quick kiss said, “Yeah he is. He’s also very humble about it. He almost seems embarrassed by it”.  Tony nodded, “Yeah, he never wants to take credit for what he does. He’s always wanting to spread the credit around. The guy makes everyone around him a better person. Regardless of everything else, that alone makes him a superhero in my eyes”.

Mike had come out of the shower as soon as Tony had left. He glanced at the wet shorts and the underwear he’d complimented Tony on just before they had come out to him. Then he looked to the clothes Tony had put on the bathroom counter for him, a white t-shirt, Hanes boxers and a pair of jeans shorts along with a blue terry cloth robe. These were clothes he’d never seen Tony wear. These were clothes Tony’s parents would buy for him that he’d never wear because they wouldn’t be remarkable. These were clothes that wouldn’t make anyone but a model look sexy in. Tony was making a point. Mike felt like an idiot. Tony had interrupted Scott’s obvious innocent offer of helping him disrobe for a shower in order to make him feel more secure after their coming out. Mike got dressed in the clothes Tony had brought him, including the robe. He still felt conflicted, but deep down felt bad about how he had demeaned his friends. His beliefs notwithstanding, he had no right to unleash the vitriol he had on his two best friends, the two best friends who, even after all he’d said, risked their lives to save his miserable one. Mike felt too embarrassed and still too conflicted to go down to the family room and join Tony and Scott. Instead, he sat on the floor at the top of the stairs out of sight, but within ear shot. When he heard Tony say about Steve, “The guy makes everyone around him a better person”, tears began flowing down his cheeks. He had not been around Steve and was obviously not a better person. He was a horrible person he felt. Why was he such a horrible person? He continued listening.

“Where’s Mike by the way”, Scott asked? Tony shrugged and said, “I don’t know. I left him in the shower. I tried to reason with him and all I got was accusations and that he didn’t want to be associated with two fags. I hope he comes around, but I couldn’t listen to him berating us, you, anymore”. Scott laughed. “What’s so funny”, Tony asked? Scott replied, “I was just thinking about how you cut me off when I offered to help Mike get undressed so he could warm up in the shower. I never even considered how Mike might have misconstrued it. We’ve never been shy about shit like that before and I never even thought about it and yet you caught it and stopped me from turning it into the big deal that it wasn’t. Thank you for that Tony, but I don’t want to feel like I’m walking on eggshells whenever we’re around Mike. I want it to be like it was before we came out to him, just us, the three amigos. I guess that’s all gone now. Maybe we shouldn’t have told him.” Tony closed his eyes and shook his head, “I know Scott. This hurts, but we confided in him because he’s our best friend. I guess we expected too much from him. You know how his dad is and that’s who raised him. I guess the term ‘The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree’ is true”.

Mike listened and felt bad about his remarks, but then became angry at the comments about his father and the inference that his prejudices were because of him. They weren’t prejudices, they were deeply held religious beliefs! Then again, Mike and his father had never gone to church except to attend a funeral or a wedding. Fuck!

“Well, hopefully Mike’s still in the house and is going to ride out the storm, but at this point, after all we.ve been through, I’m not going to worry about his feelings toward us anymore. I’m going to bed. Coming?”, Scott said. Tony kissed Scott and then said, “I’m going to check on Mike and make sure he’s ok as far as where he can sleep and reassure him that he’s safe here. I know it’s ridiculous, but he needs to hear it”.

Mike scrambled up and ran to the bathroom, because he didn’t know where else to run to in the moment. He decided to crawl into the bathtub, since it was unused and dry and curled up there pretending to be asleep.

Tony and Scott climbed the stairs and then kissed before separating. Scott headed for Tony’s room and Tony headed to look for Mike. As he entered the bathroom, he found Mike curled up in the bathtub. “Mike, I can’t let you sleep in a bathtub. The guest room is available. There’s even a lock on the door if it makes you feel safer”, ‘from us fags’ Tony felt like adding, but didn’t. Mike crawled out of the tub and glanced toward him for a moment and said, “Thanks”, and then headed for the guest room. As Mike closed the guestroom door behind him, he thought about locking it and then realized how foolish he was acting and left it unlocked.

Tony entered his bedroom and closed the door behind him. “Is Mike ok”, Scott asked? “Yeah, he was in the tub. I told him to go sleep in the guestroom”, Tony replied. “The bathtub? What an idiot! He’s really acting stupid. We shouldn’t have even told him about us”, Scott said. Tony undressed and climbed into the bed next to Scott and said, “Maybe you’re right Scott, but he would have found out sooner or later and then he might have reacted worse”. Scott rolled his eyes, “How much worse could he have reacted? He’s calling us fags, queers and disgusting”! Tony thought for a minute and then said, “True, but think how he’d feel if we didn’t tell him, and he walked in on us one day while we were kissing”. Scott couldn’t help laughing as he pictured the look on Mike’s face as he walked in on them and then grinned at Tony and said, “or fucking”. Tony laughed and said, “You’re terrible”, as he felt Scott’s hand on his crotch.

End of Chapter 31