Subject: DYLAN’S SENIOR YEAR AT COLLEGE Chapter 11 DYLAN’S SENIOR YEAR AT COLLEGE Chapter 11 by Donny Mumford Danny and I look at each other with startled expressions, like, ‘Uh oh!’ when we hear a key rattling in the apartment’s front door. I recover almost at once, mumbling, “That’s Rob, obviously,” and Danny mutters, “I knew that.” It’s like we both experienced a guilty moment because of our buddy sex activities the past two hours. Damn though, there’s no reason in the world we should feel that way… Rob, Danny, and I are the Three Musketeers of buddy sex… no problem bro! Rob comes in looking hot. I mean hot as in sweaty, but ‘hot’ in the sexy way too. Danny’s closest to the front door so those two do a cursory quick one arm hug ‘hello’ with Robby saying, “What have you guys been up to?” Danny shrugs and I say, “Oh, nothing out of the ordinary. Rob makes a ‘face’, muttering, “I suppose that says it all.” I go, “Uh huh,” and then ask, “How’d the mentoring go with that freshman, what’s-his-name?” I’m in the kitchen holding three frozen strip steaks as Rob says, “His name is Carl Snowdon and, um, I guess we had a good session.” Walking into the kitchen now, Rob takes off his baseball cap and then leans over the kitchen bar for a quick kiss ‘hello’ with me. Danny goes, “Christ! You two are like an old married couple.” Rob says, “Yeah well, we’re practicing to be a young married couple. Do you have a problem with that?” Danny mutters, “Touchy,” and, holding up the steaks, I go, “Whaddaya think about steaks on the grill for dinner tonight, Rob?” He grins, “Sounds great! What can I do to help?” I go, “I’ll think of something.” Danny’s right though. That kiss we did was more from habit than affection but then, what’s wrong with that? Danny goes, “So, Rob, you’re saying that scholarship kid, Snowdon, is an okay dude then? I heard the Coach say something about the kid acting like a prima donna and then Troy Braxton said…” Rob interrupts him, “Who the fuck cares what Braxton says? And the Coach never said Carl was a prima donna! Carl’s okay. He was nervous, that’s all.” Danny shrugs, “Whatever you say,” and Rob adds, “The kid just wants to know how things are done around here and what he can do to, um, fit in. You know, like any new guy, any freshman.” Huh, it’s a bitch I didn’t check this kid out! Ya know… when I was at the ballpark this afternoon. Putting the steaks in the microwave I hit the defrost button, casually asking, “What’s he, um, look like? This new kid.” Danny goes, “He looks heterosexual, Dylan. That’s all you really need to know,” and I mutter, “Don’t be a jackass, Danny.” Rob chuckles and goes, “He’s young looking obviously, um, I don’t know, I guess he looks even younger than his age and, um, he’s a nice looking redheaded kid. I wasn’t exactly staring at him, ya know. Mostly he’s an awesome shortstop and a freakin’ natural hitter! For his size, he was bombing a lot of balls over the centerfield fence, if you can believe that. Come to think of it though… he does remind me of someone; the way he looks I mean.” Because he seemingly has to be touching someone, Danny got behind Rob and he’s now massaging Rob’s shoulders, asking, “Oh yeah, the kid’s a slugger, huh? Hey, ya feeling any muscle aches after that first practice, Rob? My leg muscles feel stiff.” Rob shakes his head, “No, nothing yet. I’m feeling good.” and Danny winks at me, saying, “I’m a little sore but, ah, I’m not so sure it’s because of baseball practice.” I make a face at Danny. He shrugs at me and grins as he says to Robby, “If this new kid is so good aren’t ya worried he might take your starting spot in the lineup?” Moving away from Danny’s massaging hands and giving him a frowning ‘look’, Robby says, “Nope. Coach told the kid he’s our shortstop of the future. Sure, Carl’s gonna get to play in some games and pinch hit. Next year though, if all goes as planned he’ll be in the lineup every day as Merrimack’s everyday shortstop.” I ask, “How big is this Kyle guy?” Robby chuckles, mumbling, “It’s Carl, babe, not Kyle. He’s got a nice build on him, like yours actually but shorter than us.” Rob sits at the kitchen bar now, asking, “What will we have with the steaks?” and I get a flashback to last Friday night when Rob threw a shit-fit that his Mom was gonna have macaroni and cheese with our steaks. Trying not to grin, I mutter, “I’m thinking we’ll have that Kraft boxed macaroni and cheese.” He goes, “What? With fucking steaks? You gotta be shitting me!” and I laugh out loud and then tell him, “Yeah, I was kidding. We’ll have baked potatoes and I guess the sweet corn on the cob we bought yesterday. Plus a salad.” Rob blushes, mumbling, “Oh, you said that mac and cheese horseshit because of Mom, um, last Friday, huh?” I go, “Noooo,” and he grins, muttering, “Smart ass.” With the steaks defrosted and the potatoes baking in the oven, we all get a beer and then Rob and Danny shuck the ears of corn on the balcony; two ears each. The guys talk baseball as I’m cleaning the gas grille smiling to myself and occasionally glancing over at those two hot sexy boys. Yeah, it makes me smile to myself knowing how lucky I am to be intimately involved with those two cutely handsome studs! Later, Danny and Rob work together making a salad for dinner while I grill the steaks. Then, putting the sizzling medium rare steaks on a platter I take them inside where I see the guys have made a salad large enough for six people. I don’t mention that because it’s encouraging they want to help. Oops though, it appears one of them sliced an entire purple onion into the salad. Jesus! Halfway through dinner, Danny asks me, “How’s the salad taste, Dylan?” I try not to but laugh anyway. He wants compliments about his part in putting together a friggin’ salad? Danny’s like, ‘What’s so funny?” I go, “Oh nothing but were you in charge of the onions by any chance? He nods, “Yeah, I love those sweet purple onions, why?” Rob goes, “You put too many in the salad obviously and anyway Vidalia onions are the really sweet onions. Right, Dylan?” I nod, “Yep, definitely.” He’s right, so why didn’t I put Vidalia onions in the shopping cart yesterday? That was a hectic day but I thought Rob and I handled it really well… except for the onions. After dinner, none of us feels like drinking more beers so we hang around on the balcony smoking cigarettes and bullshitting for a while. When we get bored doing that we go on campus to smoke cigarettes hanging around bullshitting with other guys for a while. When we’ve had our fill of that Rob and I leave Danny on campus and drive back to the apartment where we’re in bed by eleven, both of us glad these first two disjointed days on campus are behind us. Everything considered though it’s been a good start to our senior year. Tomorrow we’ll have three short introductory classes and then this weekend we’re free to do whatever we want. And then, finally, our senior year starts ‘for real’ on Monday. Lying in bed on our backs in the dark Rob and I talk quietly. I’m telling him about Danny’s well thought out plans for a job after college. Well, it’s actually a career more than just a job. I’m impressed at the forethought and preparation Danny’s already given to life after college. Rob goes, “Yeah well, Danny goofs around a lot for sure and seems to be in his own little world at times but he’s no dummy like some people think.” I mutter, “I never thought he was dumb, he’s…” and I stop because I think I was about to go overboard praising him. Robby doesn’t notice as he reaches over and squeezes my arm, saying, “You and I also have plans for after we graduate, right?” I go, “Of course, but I was a little bit surprised Danny’s plans were so comprehensive, that’s all. He never said anything about any of it until I asked him today.” Rob goes, “No, he’s mentioned stuff about his future before but without making a big deal out of it.” I’m thinking about how sexy hot I thought Danny was this afternoon and then Robby gets my attention. He pulls at the hairs that have grown over the top of my ears, mumbling, “Whaddaya thinking about, babe?” I shrug, “Nothing,” and he goes, “Nothing, huh? I’m curious about something,” and he yanks on those hairs over my ear again, adding, “You and Danny had almost two hours in the apartment after practice so why didn’t you ask him for a haircut? It’s been like a month since your last one.” Nag, nag, nag! I go up on an elbow looking down at him, saying too loudly, “Hey, first of all, it hasn’t been a month! And anyway, you’re not my barber now so you don’t get to make helpful suggestions along those lines.” I’m getting a little pissed-off that he keeps mentioning that I need a haircut. Is it him imitating his Dad nagging Rob about the same thing? He apparently decides not to be serious now because he switches to his funny cartoon voice, saying, “I must disagree… as your official boyfriend I do get to tell you things like that.” Ignoring the fact Rob’s trying to make a joke out of it, I go, “Why all this interest in my hair? Seriously! Do you have a haircut fetish or something?” He says in his normal voice, “A what? Haircut fetish? Is there actually such a thing?” Wishing I hadn’t mentioned that, I lie down on my back again, mumbling, “How should I know.” He says, “Ah, listen, I’m not trying to be bossy, Dylan. It’s just that I don’t understand why you get defensive when I mention you need a haircut? Hell, you never used to avoid haircuts. I thought you liked getting your fucking hair cut.” I shrug, muttering, “I don’t know. Maybe it’s because Danny wants to give me a flattop haircut. And, I’ve told you that about a hundred times already, duh!” Getting a little testy himself, Rob goes, “So what? You had a flattop for over a year at Framingham High.” I go, “That was then and this is now. Goodnight!” I turn away to sleep on my side, hoping Rob goes to sleep too. A minute later he’s up on his side behind me, but not to go to sleep. Instead. Patting my shoulder he says with some humor in his voice, “I’m sorry if I upset you. Jeez, it’s just that for a guy, such as yourself, who has had some of the most outlandish haircuts known to mankind I don’t get why it’s all of a sudden such a big deal for you.” Hmmm, taking a deep breath, I mumble, “I don’t know either.” Rob grabs my shoulder to roll me back so I’m lying flat on the bed again. He says, “Okay, forget the fucking haircut. Hmmm, how should I put this? Um, how about some sexy messing around?” When I don’t immediately respond, he adds, “Or did you and Danny overdo it?” I go, “We didn’t overdo anything!” Robby goes, “Still pouting, huh?” I say, “No, I’m not fucking pouting. Whatever gave you that idea?” Ya know what? Maybe Rob’s getting back at me for mocking his long-hair style this summer. I’ll bet anything that’s it! Rob mumbles, “Okay, you’re pissed off I mentioned your hair again, right? Well, I just like looking at you when you’ve had a fresh haircut. So kill me for that! Um, and you’ve said to me at least fifty times that a fresh haircut is a cool preppy look. That’s all I’m saying.” Oh man, I hate when Rob uses my own words to win an argument. I can’t come up with an immediate retort so Rob says in a conciliatory manner, “We both always look, um, neat with recent haircuts. Is that so unusual?” I mumble, “Yeah, it is! I mean for college students anyway. You’re right though about all those fucked-up haircuts I’ve had in the past. Some of them from you by the way.” He laughs and then goes, “Well fuck, I was just learning to cut hair back in the day. I don’t have a natural aptitude for it like you, which by the way is why I stopped doing it.” I mutter, “Most people don’t have a natural aptitude for anything but they persevere until they’re good at, um, whatever it is, um… you know.” He says, “Oh no, are you saying you’re still mad that I resigned my post as our gay group’s barber.” I go, “Don’t be absurd! That’s not it at all. I just want to get some sleep.” He’s a persistent fellow though and he brushes the hair off my forehead with his fingers, mumbling, “Okay but when are you going to ask Danny for a haircut,” and I snort out a laugh. I couldn’t help it. I’m like, “What a ballbuster you are!” He snuggles up to my side and puts his arm across my chest, murmuring, “It doesn’t need to be Danny, ya know. And since you think Golden Summers also sucks as a barber, plus he’s not doing haircuts for the team this year anyway… go to a barbershop.” Go to a barbershop? Oh no! What a terrible idea! I couldn’t do that; not without Willie with me to tell the barber what haircut to give me. Unthinkable! Haha! I say, “Nah, it’s a pain in the ass going to a barbershop. I’d need to wait for some woman barber who doesn’t know what the fuck she’s doing to say, ‘Next’ and then she’ll take a mere five minutes to do the same shitty job of haircutting that Danny will take a half an hour to do… and she’ll expect not only twenty dollars but a tip on top of that. No thank you!” Rob laughs and asks, “How do you know that’s what’ll happen? You never go to a barbershop.” With no good response to that, I’m now thinking about my haircut fetish. Yeah, how’d I forget that? Letting Danny cut my hair is actually a sexual turn-on. If I just go with the flow and relax, a boner will surely follow and maybe more… heh heh. Yeah, having Danny fucking with my hair should be cool and sexy but it’s still the fucking flattop that’s the problem. Looking over at Rob lying next to me in the dark I can just make out his shiny blue eyes looking into mine as I say, “Ya know, I admit it is stupid of me to be making a mountain out of a molehill about this haircut. I think it must be me pushing back at your incessant nagging.” He snickers, muttering, “Hey! I’m not nagging. Not any more than you did with my long hair.” Jumping on that comment, I shout, “I knew you were getting even with me about that!” Rob snickers again, muttering, “Noooooo, not me. I wouldn’t do that.” I go, “Ha! Thinking about that for a second, I mumble, “Anyway, Danny’s not a bad barber now that I think about it and unlike you, he kızılay escort likes doing it which is why he’ll be much better at it than you ever were.” He mutters, “Bull shit! I got damn good at it. I simply don’t care to do it any longer, that’s all. Been there, done that.” I grin while saying, “You didn’t totally suck as a barber I guess. I’ll tell you one thing though and it’s that I’m done with letting Danny talk me into stuff.” Rob goes, “Thataboy! Put your fucking foot down!” Nodding my head, I mutter, “Goddamn right!” and Rob says, “So, you’ll ask him for a haircut tomorrow then?” I laugh out loud again, and then yell, “Stop fucking nagging me! I wanna get to sleep!” Robby isn’t letting me go to sleep though. His hand goes under the covers and he rubs over my bare chest and then down across my stomach. The small callus pads below his fingers scratch sexily while the palm of his hand is so smooth. The contrast gives me shivers. His hand eventually, of course, slides under the waistband of my underpants now giving me more shivers and my body shakes a little. He murmurs, “Ah ha, you’re falling under my spell,” as his fingers drag around my smooth groin. My shoulders shudder and he says, still murmuring in a whispery voice, “Now that you’ve agreed that I’m right about you desperately needing a haircut and you’ll be asking Danny for one the second you see him tomorrow morning, it’s time for some sexy playing around with your ex-barber?” His fingers flick at my already firm cock. Letting out an exasperated breath, I then can’t help snickering and muttering, “I might just be interested in that, Robert, but first I need to reiterate, making it crystal clear to everyone involved that I am not letting that barber-in-training give me a flattop haircut and you need to agree with me wholeheartedly about that!” Robby grabs my genitals, saying, “Yeah well, that’s something you need to discuss with your personal barber and not with a lay-person such as myself.” I can’t help but chuckle at the funny way he said that. Rob didn’t use to be funny… I’m finally rubbing off on him I guess. Fondling my privates now, Rob continues using his whispery voice, “You remember my pledge, don’t you, baby? The one about how I’m gonna keep you incredibly sexually satisfied.” I go, “Uh huh,” and Rob says, “Well, pass the lube tube then and let’s get to it!” Reaching over and behind me in the dark, I knock the tissue box off the nightstand before feeling and then grabbing the KY container. Holding it up I show Rob it’s empty. He drops the whispery voice exclaiming, “Oh balls!” I go, “yeah, we used the last of the jelly last time.” Rob sputters, “Dammit! I had you right where I wanted you too… heh heh, under my control.” Pulling his hand out of my underpants Rob gets out of bed to stumble in the dark to the bureau. As I grin he rustles around his toiletry items until he finds the Astroglide and then tosses it to me. It bounces off my outstretched hand. It’s pretty fucking obvious that Robby’s hornier than I am. Well yeah, after Danny had his way with me… ya know. Picking up the Astroglide and acting cool, I’m like, “Whaddaya want me to do with this?” He grins, “You brat! Figure it out.” And then, as he’s getting back in bed, he says, “Lube up your ass, dummy, and then do the same for my limp noodle.” I’m squeezing lube on my fingers, mumbling, “Is this your idea of foreplay?” Rob laughs and says, “You dealing with my noodle will do for tonight’s foreplay.” Huh, I’m not horny, but I’m getting really invested in this now. I’ll take a wild guess here and assume we’re not going to be doing lover’s sex tonight. Pushing my hand under my boxer shorts waistband in back I spread the slippery lube around and inside my asshole as Robby watches me in the dark. We can make out each other from the campus light pole not too far from the bedroom window. I can see Rob has a cute smirk on his face. There’s also some ambient light from the half-moon tonight. Earlier Robby surmised correctly that Danny and I had some buddy sex together and now Robby wants his turn. Actually, I’m very glad he does. Now that I’m over my stubbornness about getting a haircut I’m ready to move on to more relevant matters like lubing Rob’s ‘noodle’, as he called it. I get lots of the lube on my hand before pushing my hand under and up the left leg of his boxer shorts and then get my fist around his soft fat dick. Just the head protrudes above my fist. My fist and the shaft of his limp penis are the same widths. No! That’s not an accurate description, Hmmm, it’s that the width of my hand and length of his penis are the same, um, with the head of his cock sticking above my… oh, fuck the description! I slide my fist up and over the head and then my fist comes completely off his cock and he goes, “Hey!” I mumble what Danny’s always telling me, “Be patient, we’ll get there,” and I pull the foreskin off the head and then twist and rub my forefinger and thumb around that fat cock head until Rob’s back arches off the mattress a bit. Grinning at the look on his face I’m aware of the awesome sensations coming from his penis compliments of my fingers. When his sex organ begins stiffening up I begin stroking the foreskin on and off the slippery fat head until the shaft gets so hard it extends in length and the foreskin can’t reach to cover the head now… perfect! And I know how great that feels so I’m not surprised to see Robby grunting and flopping on the mattress a bit as I ask, “Is this enough foreplay?” and he gets an arm behind my neck to pull my head over to the side of his. With his wet lips on my ear, he murmurs, “It’s fun joking around with you, Dylan, but I need to tell you how much I love you. And, to ensure you don’t forget that, I’m going to tell you that a lot this year.” I mumble, “Yeah, you can tell me that as many times if you want,” and I stroke his cock fast a few times and he goes, “Ummmm, oooh, that’s good… that’s good! Stop!” Oh fuck, it’s fun getting Robby all jacked-up and hot to trot. He pushes at my hand, grinning and saying, “I said, that’s good! Are you deaf?” Chuckling, I let go of his boner and it sticks straight up in the air as hard as a steel pipe. Rob pulls on it himself a few times while grunting, and then muttering, “Can you get on your stomach?” I go, “Well, duh, yeah I can do that… I think.” He mutters, “You’re the cutest brat I know. Turn the fuck over!” Jeez, my dick kinda got firm from stroking Rob’s and I’m not even horny! Oh man though, I love me some sexy play with Robby, especially when he’s hornier than I am! Flopping over on my stomach I stay up on my elbows watching Robby pushing covers off himself and then, still holding his boner in his fist, he hops over to get in between my legs. He’s chuckling and saying, “You’re gonna really get it now, mister smart ass pretty boy. Push that cute ass of yours up; I mean business this time!” I go, “Oh no! Be gentle with me.” Laughing, Robby moves around getting his knees spread while pushing my legs further apart and then he roughly pulls my boxer shorts down past my buttocks and his fat boner head hits my asshole. It feels slippery and kinda cold. All joking stops now because I want to feel his super fat, hard cock up my ass. It’ll be a totally different experience than earlier with Danny. Rob’s is a much fatter penis obviously, but mostly it’ll be more special because it’s Rob’s penis and he’s attached to it. We have a long history of doing this together and I happen to be in love with him, and that makes everything better… it really does! I’m also feeling great anticipation now too. And I don’t need to wait long either. My anticipation is cut short when Rob immediately leans forward and I go, “Aaaah!” as that hard fat cock head slides tightly inside my body. Robby goes, “Ummmm,” and leans forward some more to force an inch of the hard shaft in there too and then he takes a deep breath before asking, “You okay?” and I go, “Uh huh.” My stretched anus burns but it’s not too bad. Sometimes it hurts more than this and sometimes less although I don’t know why that is. Robby’s moving a little, adjusting himself and then I go, “Ooooh,” as he pushes the rest of his hard cock up my ass and leans against my buttocks while making a noisy breathy sound and then he’s snickering a little, mumbling, “Goddamn, I love doing this with you, Dylan!” I grunt, “Me too,” and he’s like, “Ooooh fuck, my cock feels so good in your ass. Better than anything!” I go, “Uh huh,” as the pain and burning sensation fade and now I adjust my position a little, pushing my ass up a little more with Robby taking hold of my hips as if he’s afraid I’m trying to get away. Fat chance of that happening. When we’re both settled and comfortable he starts with some easy humping that goes on for a minute or so and his cock moves tightly but smoothly back and forth in my ass and it’s all good. As I said, I don’t ‘need’ sexual relief because Danny took care of that some hours ago but it’s not a matter of ‘needing’ sex most of the time anyway. Rob and I have sex regularly and that takes care of the ‘need’ and after that, it’s usually more a matter of sharing this extremely pleasurable experience together because it simply feels really, really good! Rob gets his hips moving faster now but still smoothly and then after a little bit of that he gets into some harder thrusting and that’s when the familiar sounds of males fucking begin, “Slap, slap, slap, slap,” cool sounds of our bodies slapping together. I also hear some quiet moans from Rob as I’m getting into a mantra of, “Um, um, um, um,” with each fast hard thrust up my ass and now it’s feeling way better than just ‘good’, it’s feeling fantastic and I can tell Rob’s in a race to climax so maybe it is ‘need’ for him tonight. Oh yeah, it’s a ‘need’ thing for Rob tonight for sure as the pounding gets even faster and harder. My orgasm perks up and then it builds quickly. That happens no matter that it’ll be my third or fourth climax today. My nuts are always ready to do their job of churning out some spunk which ignites my climax burners and it’s merely another day at the office for those two energetic nuts. Oh God, this feels so fucking good and after another minute or two, I switch from my “Um, um,” mantra to some whining sounds of desperation-pleasure needing to climax. And a climax is building so perfectly but it keeps building and building when I now need it to erupt and then finally… climax! I squeal at the cum that’s pumping out my wickedly hard cock although that fast-moving streak of cum doesn’t get far. Nope, the front of my boxer shorts blocks it and the next streak too. Robby pulled my underwear down in the back but the front stayed pretty much in place and is now wet with cum. That’s a small concern initially as I shiver at the sexual pleasure of climax, the zipping pleasure that’s almost painful in its intensity for the few seconds it lasts and then the wet cum shots that are soaking my underpants cool off quickly and becomes a concern. My boxers wetness stick to my shaved groin and the inside of my right thigh. Not all that pleasant but I’m still sensing some late sizzles from that orgasm that helps keep my mind off my wet underpants. Rob’s tight against my buttocks now, his climax a quick one too as he humps and makes a scary breathy sound while shooting a lot of cum up my ass. “Ooooh, fuck, Dylan… Ummmm, oh man, ooooh that felt good! Damn!” I’m lying flat on the mattress shivering again with some goosebumps forming now. Jesus, there’s something very different, something very special about orgasms that happen that fast. During my freshman and sophomore years, Tracy was the king of fast fucks. I mean, this was like three minutes to climax, and that is definitely quick, but back then Tracy and I would both climax in a minute to ninety seconds. Awesome climaxes! Also the same thing with that kid in Georgia who has the two-inch boner. He’d make me climax that fast too. While it’s happening, the fast climaxing, it’s fantastic but afterward, it’s like… that was too fast… I wish it had gone on longer. Rob pulls his dick out of my ass and then hops off the bed, exclaiming, “That was something special, baby! Holy shit! Too fast for sure but really hot, huh?” I go, “Yep, you’re right on both counts.” He says, “Just stay there. I’ll get a washcloth to wipe the cum off your ass,” and then I hear, “Ow! Fuck! I just stubbed my toe on the Goddamn foot of the bed!” I snicker and then mutter, “Be careful. Turn a light on.” He doesn’t as he continues on his way to the hall bathroom in the dark. Taking a deep breath I’m thinking…’It’s super fun living together and being able to have some quick sex whenever we feel like it. That rocks!’ Rob’s back from the bathroom with a damp washcloth, saying, “Damn, that was a good quickie fuck, huh?” I nod, “Yeah it was.” I’m still lying on my stomach feeling my cum squished against my groin and leg while Rob’s cum is drooling out of my rectum. I’m on my stomach so Rob swipes at my ass a couple of times with the washcloth and then I get out of bed and take the washcloth from him. Pulling off my underwear I wipe my own cum off my belly and leg. Rob’s putting his boxer shorts back on and I’m like, “Damn, when did you take your shorts off?” He goes, “I’m fast, babe. Um, do you need a clean pair of boxers?” I go, “Yeah, I guess.” I dump my wet underpants near the hamper and Rob gives me a ‘look’ so I pick them up and drop them IN the hamper. Shrugging at Rob I take the clean underpants he’s holding out to me and put them on. We both wipe the bottom sheet a bit with tissues getting random cum spots up and then get back in bed. Robby drags me over to cuddle a little, murmuring, “Are you still mad at me about nagging you?” I go, “Nah, I wasn’t mad.” He squeezes me around my shoulders, saying, “So, um, you’re gonna mention the haircut to Danny then, right?” I go, “You’re like a fucking bulldog! You won’t let go.” He squeezes me tighter saying in his funny cartoon voice, “That’s right, kolej escort and I’m not letting you go either.” I can’t help but chuckle and then mumble, “Okay! I’ll ask Danny. Maybe tomorrow,” He goes, “Good,” and we settle in with a sigh… and soon fall asleep. Friday morning Rob and I sleep so late we need to rush doing everything. We’re not grumpy about it though, quite the opposite actually. We’re feeling good because everything is under control and taken care of satisfactorily. And we make it to class on time too, so no sweat. It’s a huge class in a large lecture hall. The course title is The History of Rock and Roll. So yeah, baby! Haha! It’s 4 credits and obviously an extremely popular course. We registered late so we were shocked that we could still enroll in this course. They expanded the size of the class at the last minute though because this lecture hall became available. The ‘Rock and Roll’ introductory class is a ten-minute job and, no, there will be no attendance taken in this class. We’re outside with two hours to kill until our second class. Since we left the apartment in such a hurry we didn’t even have coffee. Actually what happened was we took a piss, washed our hands and face, brushed our teeth and threw on some clothes while making fun of ourselves at how dumb we were not to set an alarm for this morning. I’m wearing slightly wrinkled cargo khakis and a faded Merrimack hoodie sweatshirt from freshman year. I’ve got sneakers on my feet with Ryan’s old Merrimack baseball cap on my head. Rob’s dressed about the same except his sweatshirt is the one from last year’s baseball team, and it’s not a hoodie. I mutter, “Let’s get breakfast somewhere.” Robby goes, “Awesome idea!” As we walk to the pickup, he asks, “Did you see that guy on the aisle across from us?” Of course, I saw him! A really good looking guy with bedroom eyes and an indescribable, but unmistakably sexy air about him. Sexy and aloof. I go, “What guy?” Rob says, “You didn’t see him? Sexy motherfucker with an LGBT rainbow flag insignia on his backpack.” Oh, I didn’t notice that! I go, “Point him out during our regular class. Um, which day do we have that class?” Rob’s like, “You don’t know our schedule yet? It’s a Tuesday and Thursday class at ten o’clock.” I nod, “Yeah, I remember now.” Rob wants to look at the preview of our next introductory class, which is called ‘Leadership: Theory and Practice’. Yeah, a preview of an introductory class, go figure! Anyway, I’m driving Rob’s pickup so he can ‘review’. We’re going to the closest place for a good breakfast which is a Friendly’s restaurant. I like the Pancake House better but that’s a fifteen-to-twenty-minute drive to Salem, New Hampshire and I’m not ‘up’ for that. As I’m parking near the Friendly’s restaurant Rob gets a ‘ping’ on his cell phone. He mutters, “That’s probably our buddy, Danny.” He pulls his cell phone out of his pocket. Looking at it, he mutters “Oh, it’s, um…” and I hear him hitting the keys quickly and then his phone gets put away. Getting out of the truck, I’m like, “Well, was that Danny?” Rob shakes his head, “Um, no, it was Carl asking if I can meet him an hour before practice. He wants to go over some ‘signs’ and, ah, other stuff I guess.” Inside the restaurant, a lady gives us a huge phony smile and asks, “Table for two, boys?” When we’re seated, I’m like, “Ya know, you won’t be able to meet that nagging freshman kid because our Managerial Finance class is at two o’clock.” He sounds exasperated, muttering, “I know that! That’s what I basically texted to Carl… jeez!” I go, “Why so snippy?” He shakes his head, “Was that snippy? Sorry if it was. What are you gonna get for breakfast?” We have pancakes, breakfast link sausages, and coffees. After taking our time eating we’re still back on campus and standing outside the building for our next class with a half hour to kill. Rob’s talking to some guy I don’t know. The guy is like a casual acquaintance of Rob’s and not important enough to introduce to me. That sounds awful to say but the guy just asked Rob a question and he’s not like a teammate or a friend or anything. Glancing around I spot Danny yucking it up with a couple of guys near the front door of this big academic building. I wander over and when Danny sees me he leaves the two guys to meet me halfway. One of the guys he was talking to yells after him, “You’re crazy, ya know that, Monday!” Danny flashes the ‘bird’ over his shoulder and those guys chuckle. Danny has a big smile on his face as he’s saying, “Yo, Dylan baby. Looking good you cute motherfucker you,” and he gives me a big hug, asking, “How’d your first class go?” I shrug, “It was our History of Rock and Roll class. How do you think it went?” Danny says, “Oh man, that’s a tough one alright,” and he laughs, adding, “I took that snooze-fest course last year.” I’m like, “Um, I’m still wondering about this new kid Rob’s dealing with. What’s he like?” Danny goes, “What new kid?” I go, “The kid on the team Rob’s mentoring… or whatever the fuck he’s doing with him.” Danny nods, “Oh, Carl? Is that who you mean.” I’m like, “Yeah, Carl. He just texted Rob about getting together an hour before practice today.” Danny’s dressed for a day at the shore. He’s wearing his summer league baseball team cap, on backward, and he’s got shorts on with a friggin’ t-shirt and hightop sneakers. It’s too chilly for that outfit. Actually, he looks like a cute kid in high school on his way to the beach. Yeah, Danny still looks young, unlike so many of our contemporaries. He says, “Well, babe, how the fuck would I know what that kid’s like? I’m an outfielder, dude. We got our own clique. Fuck the infielders.” I mumble, “I thought you said…” but he enthusiastically interrupts, “Hey, Dylan, how about you and me in the outfield on the summer league team, huh? We were an awesome defensive combo out there! Da bomb, huh?” Oh man, getting a straight answer from Danny ain’t easy. I go, “But didn’t you say this guy, Carl, is straight?” Danny says, “Oh, wait a fucking second! I meant to mention something to you. Robby said he can’t drive me back home to drop Mom’s car off on Sunday, but he said you could use his pickup. So, you’ll do it for me, right?” What’s he talking about now?” I frown and he goes, “Ya know, follow me home on Sunday and give me a ride back.” Oh fuck, I’m supposed to meet Pony on Sunday. Plus, what happened to the question I asked? I’m like, “Um, I can do it early Sunday morning, okay? I’ll do it then,” and Danny frowns, “Early? Dude, we’ll be partying Saturday night! Ya know, getting up early on a fucking Sunday morning isn’t what I had in mind. What’s the name of that old guy’s song? The guy who can’t sing… um, it’s that song, ‘Sunday Morning Coming Down’. Do ya know the song I mean?” Shaking my head slowly I’m like, “Who,” and Danny gives me a tight hug, hugging me so tightly he’s grunting, saying, “How about we start the drive back home on Sunday about one o’clock?” Letting go of me, he says, “One o’clock is early for a Sunday morning.” Somebody calls over to us, “Yo, Monday!” and Danny turns around and gets a big smile on his face, yelling, “You homo, Barns!” and he says, “Catch ya later, Dylan.” He walks over to this guy, saying, “They let you come back for the senior year, huh? I can’t believe that shit, dude!” and they hug and then slaps hands in some practiced complicated manner while laughing and then doing another quick hug. Robby comes over and says, “Let’s go inside, Dylan.” Danny and the big goof who called to him are punching each other and laughing. Fucking idiot jocks! Christ! Rob and I sit close to the front, which is Rob’s preference unless I put up a big stink about it. I don’t feel like doing that for this short introductory class though so we’re the closest students in the class to the female professor when she calls things to order. Without paying the slightest attention to what’s being said I think about the way my dick got feeling stiff when Danny was hugging me three minutes ago. Even considering the silly outfit he was wearing and the fact I couldn’t get any information out of him, I still got sexually aroused being that close to him. This could be another pheromones situation all over again. Yeah, except why the hell would our animal scents just click-in this summer and not before? I can’t figure that out. It’s stupid but I glance at the forty-some students behind us for a second to see if Danny’s here, although I know he doesn’t have any of the same classes Rob and I have this semester. I know that, but I looked anyway. He must have a class in this building or why the fuck else would he be outside the door? Now I feel Rob’s eyes on me so my eyes go to the side and see he’s giving me a ‘look’. Obviously, it’s because I’m not paying attention. I give him a bit of a challenging ‘look’ right back and he shakes his head looking back at the professor. Fuck, I know it’s important to get good grades this year. I know that from the ‘talk’ Mr. Dickers had with me but this is an introductory class. Oh fuck it, I suppose I’ll listen… although I could just read Rob’s notes later. The class lasts almost a half hour and I can already tell this class is going to be a struggle. This is NoDoz territory. The lady professor is a monotone speaker who acts as though teaching is a huge pain in her ass. Some professors are like that. They want to be a college professor but they hate the actual teaching part, which is obviously the whole reason they’re getting paid. Walking out of the class Rob goes, “Oh man, she is boring!” I go, “I’ll say. What time is our last class?” Rob shakes his head slowly but refrains from saying what I know he wants to say, which is something about me not even knowing when our last class is. I go, “I know it’s in the Frazer building and the course is ‘Gender and Society’ but I forget what time it starts. So sue me.” He goes, “Fuck, I didn’t say a word. The class is at two o’clock.” Looking at my watch I go, “Oh yeah, that’s right. I mentioned that to you when your little buddy texted you outside Friendly’s restaurant.” Robby lights a cigarette, muttering, “He’s not my little buddy. I’ve spent an hour or so with Carl because Coach Davis told me to.” Ignoring that, I mutter, “We’ve got forty-five minutes to kill. I’m not hungry so I guess we’ll eat lunch after this last class.” Rob nods, “Yeah, but it’ll be a quick lunch because then I have practice.” Oh Christ, here we go again. From now until Thanksgiving Robby will be spending most of his free time doing baseball related stuff. I light a smoke using Rob’s cigarette as a lighter and ask, “Did anything get resolved about the team buzz-cut party?” Rob goes, “Yeah, Coach immediately shot down that idea.” I mumble, “Guess he has a brain in his head.” Rob says, “Yes, it was a dumb idea. Let’s grab a Coke or something in the Quad.” I’m like, “I’ll text Danny,” and Robby nods, “Sure,” and as we walk I text Danny that we’ll be at the Quad.” No text back from him though. It’s very chilly and clouding-up today so inside we get in the line for coffees. As we’re sitting at a table with our steaming paper cups of coffee, I’m like, “Do you think we’re addicted to coffee?” Robby mutters, “I don’t know. We’re probably addicted to a lot of things. Listen, we need to work up a schedule for our college homework or home-studying… whatever ya wanna call it. The time we’ll spend on that shit at the apartment or library,” and he takes a tablet of yellow lined paper from his backpack. I’m like, “Now? Are you saying we gotta do it now? And why in the name of God would we need to go to the library?” Rob mumbles, “Only two questions at a time. Okay?” And then he doesn’t answer either of them as he uses a ruler to separate the page into seven days, saying, “Depending on each day’s class schedule, um, like some days we should get up at nine o’clock and put in an hour or two…” and he goes into this long tirade about a homework schedule. I chirp in occasionally but mostly it’s like Rob’s had this schedule thingie on his mind for a while. Schedules are good and I sincerely want to work at the fucking courses we’re taking, but can’t this wait? I’m not really into getting this serious… not this soon. I wonder when Chubby will make up his schedule for putting in time away from class? Um, maybe never… I let Rob go on until he asks, “How ’bout Sundays? Should we have a day totally off from anything to do with college work?” I shrug and then say, “This schedule is putting the horse before the cart. I mean the cart before the horse or however that goes,” and Rob goes, “Whaddaya mean?” I’m like, “Why not wait for a week or two to see what our workload is for each course?” He nods, “Yeah, that makes sense but we’ll use this first outline as our guide and whenever possible we’ll leave Sundays blank.” Saturdays too, but I’ll fight that battle later. For our last class, the professor doesn’t even show up. Instead, he has a flunky of some sort pass out copies of what’s expected of students. We’re out of there in three minutes. Robby mutters, “This is awesome,” as he sticks the handout in his backpack. He says, “I’m gonna head down to practice early,” and he hands me the keys to his pickup along with his backpack. “What are you gonna do, Dylan?” I shrug, “I don’t know. Um, go back to the apartment I guess. Text me when you want me to pick you up.” Rob pats my arm, saying, “If you get bored, why not come on down and watch us throwing and hitting the ball around?” I nod and mumble, “Maybe, um, have a good time,” and I start walking toward the parking lot thinking, “Yeah, what am I gonna do?” Sitting in the pickup with the motor running, just for the hell of it I text Hayden at Duke University. Yeah, amazing as it seems to me, I do miss him and his big dick. No, I just added that part about his big dick to amuse myself. Well, I do miss that but mostly I miss Hayden… the person. Never thought I’d say that, but there it is. Hayden texts right back saying he’s in between classes and then he sends a selfie. maltepe escort I stare at it not hardly recognizing him. He has a really short haircut. Goddammit! That pisses me off royally! Goddamn him! I would have loved giving him that haircut myself. He said he was going to let me give him a short haircut before returning for his senior year. Motherfucker! I jam the car into drive and do a short wheelie pulling away without even answering his text. Driving into the complex three minutes later I hear a ping on my phone and then another one. Probably Hayden wondering what the fuck is wrong with me? Coming to my senses, sort of, I park the pickup in our parking lot and realize, without even thinking about it, I drove directly here without running into a dead end. Hot shit! Progress! I can find my way home on my own… yippee! Quite an accomplishment for a twenty-two-year-old. Before getting out of the pickup I get my cell phone out, calm myself and text Hayden: ‘You look awesome with that haircut. Did you buy some pork chops at the butcher shop where you got your haircut?’ He texts, ‘Haha,’ and we text back and forth for ten minutes. I had a childish and jealous reaction initially because I wanted to do his haircut. Yeah, if I was outside instead of in the pickup I could have stamped my feet like a six-year-old girl and screamed. Lucky for me I wasn’t outside. I’m over my jealous fit about some random barber getting to cut all that curly hair off Hayden’s head. I’m happy to see Hayden’s doing fine although his fourth text included a selfie of him and his roommate, who ironically has hair almost as long as Hayden’s was the last time I saw him in person. It was at the Labor Day cookout. His roommate is not cute or good looking, by the way, but they’re both laughing in the picture so I’m glad they’re enjoying each other. The guy looks gay although I’d be hard-pressed to describe why I think that. I mean, other than the fact Hayden told me the guy’s gay. Maybe that influenced me into thinking the guy looks gay. Inside the apartment, I drop Rob’s backpack on the sofa and then give a thought to returning the slipcover that doesn’t fit the sofa. Rejecting that idea immediately as too boring and too big a pain in the ass, I text Chubby hoping we can hook up but he’s obviously not doing the cell phone thing today. Freshman year was the best for me and Chubby because he was sharing the apartment with Rob and me and we did lots of things together. Of course, Chub didn’t know John Beverly back then. Being rational about it, this is probably a good thing, this separation from Chubby. I need to get used to it because I’m almost positive next year he’s going to be going for his Master’s Degree at some university out of town someplace. And that blows! Lying on the bed I text Danny but again get no reply. Maybe he went to early baseball practice too. After ten minutes of trying to think what I want to do and rejecting the idea of getting a beer at Butch’s Sports Bar where my old buddy John Smith and I used to have lunch. That would be dumb since it’s way past lunchtime. With nothing better to do, I decide to watch baseball practice and check out this guy Robby’s mentoring. Rob’s always mentoring somebody it seems. Back outside I realize I should have put a jacket on because the unseasonably warm temperature of the past few days has turned into a windy, gray, chilly September day more like an October day. Too lazy to go back to the apartment for a jacket I drive to the ballpark and wander down to sit in the bleachers like I did yesterday. There are only a few hardy souls in the bleachers today. The official practice has just begun with stretching and running. It looks like about forty guys in the outfield stretching or running but they’re too far away to see their faces clearly. As I’m putting my hoodie up I think I see red hair below the cap on one guy, and I know that’s Rob beside the guy so the redhead is obviously this Carl asshole. The official start of fall practice isn’t until tomorrow so today most of the guys are wearing regular clothes instead of their uniforms that they’ll have on tomorrow. Rob and Danny look sexy in their baseball uniforms. Getting frustrated I can’t get a closer look at that Carl person, I’m thinking about Pony now. His real name, of course, is Daryl Ponti, and his last name is the reason for his nickname, I suppose. He’s at a viewing or funeral today and tomorrow for his Grandfather so I feel for him. Oh man, that can’t be any fun for Pony. My only experience in that regard was when I went with Connor to his mentor’s viewing and funeral. Ugh! Anyway, Pony’s supposed to arrive on campus Sunday sometime and I’m wondering if he has someone meeting him at the airport. I don’t want to text him now because he might be at one of the two unhappy functions I mentioned, so I’ll let him text me. That’s if he needs a ride from Logan. Pony’s a lot of fun and it’ll be cool hanging out with him, especially at times like this. I’m looking forward to hooking up with him because, for one reason, he insists on being a ‘bottom’ boy… heh heh. Yeah and I’ve been noticing lately a developing interest in myself for ‘topping’. Yep, that interest has perked-up lately in the back of my mind. The other day I almost stuck my dick up Robby’s ass when we were wrestling on the bed. I can’t think of another side sex buddy who would allow me to ‘top’ other than Pony. Danny wouldn’t even consider it and, while Robby would, I don’t want to give up even one time being the bottom for him. That’s my number-one favorite sex; Rob fucking me. Nothing is as good as that! Oh good, here come the players from the outfield. They break up into the infield, batting, pitching, and outfield positions and then the coaches get things started. After watching for ten-minutes I spot the redhead who has to be the one Rob’s taking under his wing. He definitely has red hair, and he’s shorter than Robby, and he’s like gum on Robby’s shoe. Wherever Rob goes that kid goes too. They’re walking in toward home plate and therefore getting closer to me. Jeez, Carl has that pretty shade of light red hair. Too bad it’s not closer to orange like my cute friend Sonny’s hair. At the bat rack, Robby’s showing the kid his bats and no, not that one. Carl swings each one a few times. They’re all of a sudden laughing now and Rob gives the kid a hug. Just a quick hug but it appeared so natural and Carl definitely leaned into Rob. A straight guy stiffens up and doesn’t lean into another guy’s hug! That’s a known fact! So, why’d Danny say the guy was heterosexual last night at dinner? How does he know? Robby turns and pulls Carl’s arm to get him looking at someone. It looks like he’s pointing to one of the coaches and then Robby spots me in the stands and gives me a big smile while saying something to the kid. Carl looks over and they both wave at me. Little hand waves. Oh fuck, looking at him full-face like this Carl appears to be about fifteen and he has a really nice smile too. They turn away and walk toward the batting cage, both of them carrying bats. I feel weak. How hot would it be to have that kid as a buddy sex partner? Oh man, a young looking piece of ass like that brings back some memories alright. Hmmm, probably brings some memories back to my over-sexed boyfriend too! Danny was sure the kid is straight, right? Speaking of Danny I see him fucking around with three guys near first base. None of them look like they’re doing anything except bullshitting and then all of them are laughing again. Danny naturally has his arm around two of their shoulders. Touchy/feeling Danny can get away with all his touching because he’s been doing it forever and guys have come to expect it… like I’ve come to expect it. Fuck though, Danny must be freezing in his shorts and t-shirt. I’m cold and I’m wearing this sweatshirt with the fucking hood up! What a nut he is. Now Danny’s sprinting to the outfield with his glove. He’s like a wild puppy with boundless energy. Haha, his hat just blew off his head. He stops and another guy picks the hat up for Danny and now they’re laughing. It was the same thing at the summer baseball league, Danny knows or at least speaks to everybody. I’m back looking at Rob and Carl now. Huh, Carl just went in the batting cage. The same pitcher I saw at the tryouts is pitching now and he throws hard too but Carl hits the first pitch. It makes a loud “PING” sound heard all the way over here. Guys look in that direction and see the ball sail over the fence just like Robby was saying this morning. It’s the only ball that Carl hits out of the park though. Huh, Robby doesn’t get in the batting cage. Instead, he walks Carl over to the dugout and starts going through a loose-leaf binder explaining stuff to the redhead. I wish Carl would take off his hat so I could see what kind of haircut he has. I’ll bet anything it’s one of those terrible SuperCut specials. Rob and Carl disappear into the clubhouse and I decide it’s time to get the hell out of here. I’ve seen Carl now, which was my reason for coming down here in this cold weather. I’m not exactly thrilled about what I saw but it is what it is. If Carl is gay I might have to be wondering what Rob’s mentoring consist of in its totality. Fuck it though. As I stand up I see Danny waiting for his turn in the batting cage and I call to him. He turns around with a big smile on his face even though he has no idea who just called him. He’s a very friendly guy. He sees me and jogs over, asking, “Did you call me, Dylan?” I nod and walk down to the first bleacher and then hop down to the field. I’m like, “Yeah, it was me. Who’d ya think it was?” I pull my sweatshirt off and hand it to him, saying, “You gotta be freezing your ass off, Danny. I’m heading back to the apartment so you can wear my sweatshirt.” He holds it for a second before mumbling, “Really?” and I go, “Of course, really! Put it on.” He doesn’t hesitate further putting it on and chuckling, saying, “My nuts are the size of peas I’m so fucking cold. Thanks, Dylan,” and he takes my hand and looks serious, saying, “Thank you,” to me again. After a second he adds, “That’s really nice of you.” We look into each other’s eyes for half a second, him still holding my hand. He then smiles and says, “Ya know what? I could love you. Ya better watch out,” and he lets go of my hand to jog back to the batting cage pulling the sweatshirt’s hood up as he jogs. Not sure what just happened, I watch Danny jostles a guy and rubs the guy’s head knocking the guy’s hat off. Then Danny butts in line near the front, exactly where he was when I called him. He puts his arm around whoever the big angry looking guy is who complains about Danny butting in and two seconds later they both laugh at something. Huh. Danny knows every-fucking-body. As I’m walking back to the car I feel funny about the way Danny looked at me and said that thing about ‘love’. He’s never remotely mentioned anything like that before. Not in any way except in a joking manner. Gee, I get a funny shivery feeling. Sure, I love Danny I guess, but as a friend. I’m not sure he meant it that way. And it’s funny, not haha funny, but odd funny that I even said to myself right now that I love him as a friend. I didn’t realize I did until just now. I mean I’ve sort of known him for three years, but it’s only been the past three months that I got to know him as a friend. Well, I’m being way too dramatic thinking there anything to that brief encounter and, fuck, I’m cold! I start running to the pickup and hit the pickup’s ‘key’ button that unlocks the doors before I even get there. As soon as I get in the pickup I start the heater running. Hugging myself and looking out the windshield, I think it looks like it’s gonna rain. Those poor guys will practice right through a rainstorm. Pulling away I think again at how glad I am I didn’t make the team. Not that there was ever a chance I would. Back at the apartment again I get undressed and take a long hot shower. Rob and I left too quickly this morning for either of us to shower. My cell phone is ringing when I get out of the shower so I curse under my breath while walking dripping-wet carrying a towel to answer the phone. It’s Robby saying he’s ready to be picked up and then he’s like, “Um, would you be pissed off if I invited Carl to dinner?” Oh, so this is why he called instead of texting. I’m like, “Tonight?” Obviously, he means tonight but I said that to give myself time to think. Robby goes, “Yeah, tonight. Whaddaya think I mean?” I go, “Why?” and he says, “Well, Carl’s roommate got kicked out of college before the semester even started. Their dorm room is in the athletic’s dormitory of course but nobody there knows what happened. Anyway, Carl’s sort of on his own and I thought…” Hmmm, this will give me a chance to closely check this kid out. He can’t be as deliciously young and cute as I thought he was from that quick view I got of him this afternoon. I go, “Sure, what the fuck. Bring him over. It’s our responsibility as seniors not to haze and humiliate freshman but to help the little fuckers out. Right?” Robby chuckles, “Thanks, Dylan. I knew it’d be okay but I wanted to check first to be sure.” We end the call and I stand here in the bedroom drying myself, thinking, “Hmmm, Danny’s probably right that Carl’s straight, but it’ll be interesting to see for myself. The kid has gotta be eighteen, right? Or what if he skipped a grade… to be continued… Donny Mumford thinat20@yahoo donnymumford@outlook ======================================================== Hoping some readers may be interested, there are books of mine published and available on zon. Anyone who has Kindle can download them for next to nothing. The books are usually around ten dollars. They are about a 19 year old gay boy (Oliver) who has a far different life than Dylan’s. And there is a new book, ‘Mike, his Bike and Me’. Please at least check them out by typing my name on zon. Information about the story in the books can be found in some detail there. Thank you. Donny Mumford ======================================================== Hey guys, how about making a small (or large, go for it!) tax deductible donation to nonprofit Nifty. They could use your help covering the expenses inherent in maintaining a free story site this size. 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