On the Water's Edge

The few months after Valentine's Day went by in a pleasant and love infused blur. To say that Adriel and I were going steady might sound slightly archaic but in all honesty that is exactly what we were doing. Weekdays were dedicated to school and rugby and the discreet brushing of my hand over Adriel's hand as we passed each other in the corridors. This being said, our budding romance didn't go completely unnoticed. Despite telling Rhys and Kerry that Adriel and I were going out, a few other members of the student council as well as some of the teachers had there suspicions. We decided to keep things quiet for know.

Weekends, on the other hand, were spent overwhelmingly at Adriel's house where his dad allowed us to spend time with each other. It was a magical time. The kitchen was always a mess as the two of us tried honing our culinary skills, much to his dad's disappointment as nothing we cooked ever came out the way it did in the recipe book pictures. The lounge was always filled with pillows and blankets as nights were spent watching numerous DVDs while during the day we lounged outside on the grass in the shade of the huge oak tree in Adriel's garden. His dad had only one rule: NO CLOSING OF THE BEDROOM DOOR. Adriel had explained to me in great detail and quite comically the way his dad had emphasized this rule before I received my visitation rights. I guess it was fair since, even though we wanted to, neither of us were really ready to go all the way and despite the great romance of it all, we moved cautiously when it came to anything regarding sex.

In May the entire ninth grade went camping. It was called The Finder's Camp and was dedicated to us "finding" ourselves and hence "finding" our major for the next three years. For some it would be photography, for others the cello. For people like Adriel, Kerry and Rhys it would be ballet. Our major was whatever we found ourselves to be most passionate about. Some students, like Adriel, knew exactly what they were destined for while others actually needed some help deciding, and this is where the camp came in handy. It was a week long and held at a beachfront resort, the kind that was specifically built for school camps. Basically it was a large conference hall that doubled as a dining hall surrounded by numerous dormitories and there respective bathrooms. Workshops on the various disciplines of art were held from dawn until dusk and students were welcome to attend any of the ones they were interested in. For me it was photography, drawing, and design. Although most students would only pick one major, the option to pick two did exist. The decision to pick three majors was quite unheard of as teachers usually persuaded students not to. It was best to choose one thing and excel at it than choose three that you would never master. One also had to pick two minors to supplement the major. I finally settled on Drawing and Design as it would help with my application to study architecture after school.

On the Wednesday afternoon of the week long camp I, and a few fellow art students, was sitting outside in the courtyard, which was surrounded by dorms, just waiting for supper to be served. The sun hung low in the sky and all of our workshops, being drawing and design, were done for the day. Suddenly I felt a hand squeeze my shoulder and upon turning around, saw that it was Adriel.

"You look tired," I said.

His hair was slightly damp with sweat and he was still wearing his black unitard, track pants and ballet shoes. His skin glowed orange in the setting sun and his eyes were a darker blue than normal. He gave me a weak smile and collapsed on the floor next to me. I put an arm around him and gave him a quick hug. He rested his head on my shoulder. I could get used to this I thought.

"I am exhausted, it ends up that we have to audition for spots in our major. I have no idea why they didn't tell us this before. It came as a surprise to everyone. People were stressed out of their minds."

"I'm sure you got in after just the first round though. I mean, you are like the best."

"I didn't have to audition, not for ballet anyway, because I'm already in the senior class. I did have to audition for Contemporary though."

"Contemporary? I didn't know you were going to declare a second major." I said surprised.

"What? You aren't the only one allowed to declare two majors you know," he said jokingly, nudging me gently in the ribs.

"So when did you decide?"

"This morning. The instructors urged me to do it. They said I'd have enough time for contemporary since I'm quite far ahead already with Ballet."

"Well that's fantastic," I said and kissed his cheek. Adriel froze, and so did I after realizing what I had just done.

I looked up and my classmates, some of whom I was really close to, were staring at us incredulously.

Finally someone spoke.

"So are you guys like dating or something?" asked Jared, one of my best friends and an amazing photographer. Everyone waited anxiously for one of us to say something. Adriel looked at me. I decided to say something since I was the one who had made our romantic relationship so obvious.

"Yeah," I said to the group. Adriel looked at me and smiled.

"You guys are so cool!" exclaimed Jared and we all burst into laughter, "that's great, you attractive couple you!"

Jared: ever the comedian. The rest of my friends offered their well wishes too. It was slightly weird since neither Adriel nor I had ever been in this position before. We were at a dramatic loss for words.

"Well, I am going to take a quick shower and get ready for supper. I am so tired and my legs are so sore," said Adriel, standing up and swinging his tog bag over his shoulder.

"I'll come with you," I said and stood up after him.

We entered Adriel's dorm, which was empty, and I sat on the edge of his bed. He came up to me and straddled my lap so that his legs were wrapped around me. His arms snaked their way around my neck and our lips met. I knew that his would be slightly salty after a day of just dancing. The velvety inside of his mouth was all sweet though.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door of someone alerting us that they would be entering. I immediately picked Adriel up with him still wrapped around me and carried him into the bathroom. I set him down on the edge of the bathtub and went to lock the door.

"Time for your bath," I said putting the plug into the drain and turning on the hot water tap. Adriel stood up in front of me and I pulled his sweater over his head. I slipped the straps of his black unitard over his shoulders and down his arms until the material lay in thin folds around his narrow waist. The summer months had been kind to Adriel, transforming his usually cream skin into gold.

I lowered my head kissed the side of his neck and dragging my lips to the angle where it met his shoulder. I knelt in front of him and pressed my cheek against his stomach. His fingers found my hair and he twirled them through it. I lifted his right foot and slipped off his ballet shoe. His big toe was bleeding slightly. I touched it gently and I felt Adriel's grip on my hair tighten ever so slightly.

"I'm sorry," I said not meaning to hurt him, but to sooth.

"It's okay, I'm used to it," he replied touching my cheek.

I pulled the rest of his attire down over his slender yet muscular hips and legs. He stepped out of them and sat back down upon the edge of the tub. I sat beside him and felt the temperature of the water. I ran some cold water into steaming bath until the temperature was perfect. Adriel felt the water and approved.

He stood up and removed his dance belt. He stood and waited.

"Well, I'm not going in there alone," he said and smiled coyly.

I pulled him towards me and kissed him. His expression was too innocent and adorable not to. I lunged at the opportunity and quickly undressed. In no time we were both standing naked in each other's company, something which we had never done before. I put my hands on his chest and ran them slowly down his abdomen to his hips, feeling the uncovered contours of his lithe form, my palms memorising each dip and swell of which he was composed.

"You first," he said.

I climbed into the tub and sat down in the hot water. Adriel followed and sat between my legs. My cock instantaneously rose to attention and pressed against Adriel's lower back. Adriel paused.

"I'm sorry," I apologised again.

Adriel grabbed my right hand and pulled it around his waist until my fingers brushed against something long and hard.

"See, there's nothing to apologise for," he said and let go of my hand.

My hand now rested on his inner thigh and I squeezed it gently. Adriel respond by lying back against my chest. I reached for the plastic jug that stood beside the soap holder and filled it with water. Slowly, I poured the water over Adriel's hair. He leaned back even more so that the water cascaded over his face. I did the same. We slipped down further into the tub so that the water reached our shoulders. Adriel's legs were fully stretched out while mine were bent on either side of the tub, my knees just under the surface of the water. His ear rested against my jaw and I kissed it. My hands were folded around his waist. Adriel gave a slow, satisfied sigh and by the way his breathing became deeper and slower I could tell he had fallen asleep, his head nestled under my chin.

The water had gone from hot to lukewarm by the time we awoke. We both stood up, and turned on the shower while letting the bathwater drain out. I grabbed the bar of soap on the soap holder and began lathering it all over Adriel. When he was foamy from head to toe he did the same to me. When he came to my crotch his fingers lingered. I caught the mischievous sparkle in his eye that would ever so often appear when he felt a little naughty, or sexy. He wrapped a soapy hand around my stiff cock and pushed down my foreskin before letting it slip back up over my glans. I rested my hands on his shoulders my fingers reaching each other in the nape of his neck while he caressed the length of my cock with expertise. Our eyes locked, and I knew he could tell I was in complete ecstasy. The heat of my cock burnt its way across my skin, up my neck and into my head.

All I could think about was spinning this beautiful boy around and fucking him hard, over the edge of the bathtub. But I couldn't do it, I wouldn't do it. I knew Adriel wasn't that kind of guy. He was kind, gentle and in love with me. And I loved him. We both wanted our first time to be special, to have some thought and love be put into it, not something to be done on a whim. So I stood with my feet firmly on the floor of the tub, my toes curling into the white enamel. My hands gripped Adriel's neck as I hunched over, nearing climax. Adriel's lips touched mine and I sunk my tongue in between his teeth where it met his own writhing, slippery muscle. I exploded white, liquid shrapnel all over Adriel's abdomen. I pulled him towards me and kissed him fervently.

Only after we had cleaned each other off, and Adriel was climbing out of the tub, did I notice it for the first time. I went over to him and lifted up his arm. He had a sprawling bruise over his left side that spread from the bottom of his armpit to below his rib cage. He looked at it quizzically.

"Where did that come from?" I asked.

Adriel frowned as his fingers lightly prodding the darkened skin.

"It must have happened when I fell today," he said turning to me and lifting shrugging his shoulders.

"You must have fallen pretty badly. Babe, It looks like a fractured rib to me. Rugby kids get them all the time," I said.

I put my hand on it and pressed gently.

"Is it sore?" I asked.

"Not really," he replied and smiled, "I think I'd know if a broke my rib,"

I looked at him concerned, and he knew I was feeling uneasy about his possibly fractured rib cage.

"Look, it's not sore, and as soon as we get back, I'll go and have it checked out," he reassured.

"You know exactly what to say to me, don't you?" I said, grabbing hold of his chin.

"I'm learning," he said smartly. I kissed him one more time before getting dressed and heading out for supper.

That night, as I lay in bed listening to the various sounds my dorm mates were unconsciously making, I thought about the first time I had jerked off over Adriel in our hostel bathroom. Now Adriel was the one jerking me off. I smiled at the thought and folded my hands behind my head. A lot had happened in just a year.