Homefront

By: David H
(© 2011 by the author)

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

Chapter 10

The semester came to an end, and Nick found himself with a 4.0, as he'd worked hard for. Dr. Bishop was proud; the parents were all proud; Janelle was proud and reminded him of how Patrice would have felt. Perhaps most importantly, though, Nick was proud of what he'd accomplished. Matt's grades were another story.

He'd gotten the expected 'A' in both Concert Singers and the Spanish class that he was taking, but the 'Independent Study' for which he'd registered to prepare for Senior Concert still hadn't reported two days after the semester came to a close. Matt called three times a day for a few days to find out, but no one could give him any information. He couldn't discuss it with anyone except for Nick, and he was worried that complaining too much about it was weighing on his nerves. Eventually, though, Dr. Brady called him back and explained a few things.

Apparently, there were a few of the professors that were very highly impressed with his performance and wanted to pass him without question. There were a couple from whom Matt had avoided taking classes that called themselves 'purists' and wanted to instantly fail him. There were a few, like Dr. Brady, who were straddling the fence. Yes, he'd broken a couple of rules about the performance, but it was the best performance he'd ever given. They found themselves unable to overlook the fact that his voice was more powerful than it had ever been, like he was singing from not just his body, but also his soul.

The "compromise" was that each of the eleven professors present at the performance would give Matt a total of ten points. Five would be given for the technical merit of the performance. Three would be for the 'other components' of the performance, and the other two would be at the discretion of the professor. All ten professors gave him five points for the technical merit of the performance. Five of them gave him five more points, while the others gave him one or two. In the end, he had just higher than eighty points, which equaled a 'B', which meant that he'd passed. Matt was happy with it, for it meant that he would graduate on time, provided that he passed the five classes he had to take in the Spring.

The next thing on their agenda was Christmas. On Nick's side, Christmas hadn't been a big deal since 2000, when Nick and Patrice came to Mississippi to visit with the family for a couple of weeks. That year, though, Nick was home from the Corps, and Janelle wanted to pick up with some traditions that had been placed on the back burner. With that being said, she was planning a lavish, very Italian Christmas celebration that included a huge Christmas Eve meal to which she invited everyone from "The Eudora Gang" to Jackson to celebrate.

Before they could get to that point, though, life in Eudora was filled with things going on. Nick had agreed to work for Ron for a few weeks, until the new semester started, so that he would have some cash in his pocket. He ended up working harder and longer than any of the other college students that Ron had temporarily hired. To that end, Ron had already decided after a couple of days that there was going to be a bonus involved on the last paycheck he received before school started back.

For Matt, there were more issues with the house. The buyers had made the offer in September, but twice already, their financing had fallen through. They'd secured other financing, only to have it fall through as well. On the week before Christmas, Matt had told the real estate agent to relay to them a message, that he was backing out of the sale. The agent tried to warn him that he'd still have to pay the commission on the sale, but Matt wasn't hearing it. He called his father and then Jimmy to warn them of the possible lawsuit. Both men said that they would take care of it, and by the end of business, Matt had a written notice cancelling the contract that he'd signed with the agent, absolving him of any financial responsibility in the sale. He still didn't want the house to be in his name, but he couldn't sell it to someone who could possibly lose it to the bank and have it put on the auction block.

Since Nick was working and Jenny had to go to Tupelo to take care of a few things for work, Matt and Seth got together for lunch on the 19th, less than a week before Christmas.

"So are you still gonna sell it?" Seth asked as they sat at Old Venice, a swank little pizza place on the Square.

"Yeah. I've got to," Matt said as he put a piece of pizza into his mouth. "You should buy it."

"Unlike you," Seth smiled, "I can't afford two mortgages. I can barely afford one right now, with the economy such as it is."

"Then sell the condo," Matt smiled.

"I have a feeling that you're about to make an unbelievable offer on that house," Seth smiled. "But don't."

"Just hear me out," Matt thought on the fly. "Talk to Jenny. Y'all make me an offer on the house. We'll make an agreement on terms, and I'll hold the mortgage."

Seth thought about it again. He didn't want anyone to think that he was taking advantage of Matt and his powerful checkbook, but he knew he'd be doing something for Matt that was more valuable than the wood and nails that had constructed the house. "I'll talk to Jenny."

"OK..." Matt said as their conversation moved to another place.

That night, Matt and Nick were invited over for dinner, where Jenny and Matt discussed the proposed transaction. Jenny knew what they could afford, and she couldn't bear to let herself go over that amount. "Have you ever been inside?" Matt asked at one point.

"No, actually," Jenny said as Matt stood from the sofa and grabbed his keys.

"We'll be right back," Matt told Seth and Nick as he and Jenny left the condo and went out to Matt's car. They drove a couple of blocks to the house, and pulled around to the back.

Matt took her inside, and she looked around the place as if she were inspecting it for the bank where she worked. When she was finished, she winked at Matt and told him that she'd talk to Seth. Talk, that night after Matt and Nick left, they did, and they determined that they'd have to make a really, really low ball offer.

"But," Seth said. "We could sell the condo and the building I've got downtown. That would cover most of the price of the house."

"The building that you've got downtown would bring a nice penny," Jenny noted. "Seth. Let's do it."

"OK. I'll talk to Matt in the morning," he smiled. "Now come here, future-wifey. I want some love."

"Yessir," she smiled as they went about their nightly routine.

The next morning, Seth had very little to do at work, getting caught up on paperwork early in the day. At around ten, since he wasn't doing anything else, he went to his dad's office just across the Square from his. The two talked about Matt's offer, as well as the deal that they were hoping to make with Matt on the house. Jimmy grabbed his phone and called Ron. Since the latter managed the property, he would know what it was worth. Jimmy and Seth were both surprised to learn of the value of the property. Ron suggested that Seth offer Matt an equal trade, the house for the building, since their values were within a couple hundred dollars of each other. That would also, as Jimmy put it, make paperwork a whole lot easier. Seth excused himself for a moment to call Jenny and explain the offer; Jenny told him to make it happen. With that, Seth called Matt and asked him to come to Jimmy's office, which he was happy to do.

In a half hour, Matt arrived at Jimmy's office and sat down with Seth and his father to discuss things. Jimmy knew that Matt would gladly give Seth the property, but he knew that Seth didn't want him to do that. To that end, he mediated a deal between them in which Seth would sell Matt the building and his condo, both of which were valued at about $75,000 more than the house. Matt was OK with it; Seth was fine, so Jimmy had his secretary start drawing up the papers. He made sure, several times, that that's what they wanted to do, getting smartass comments from each of them in the process.

By the end of the day, the papers were filed with the Chancery Court to swap ownership of the properties, and at the beginning of the next week, Seth and Jenny found themselves the owners of the property, and what had taken months for the agent to complete only took Matt a few days. Janelle, upon finding out of the news, changed her Christmas plans and decided that it was time to invade Seth and Jenny's house in Eudora. With that in mind, Matt got the movers on the 23rd, and Consuela came to clean on the morning of the 24th. Janelle arrived in the early afternoon with tons of food, starting to mess up the kitchen before anyone else got there. Becky joined her about three that afternoon, putting on an apron. The dads arrived just before Matt and Nick, with Seth and Jenny getting there at around the time that dark was upon them.

The last one was Linda, who, by six o'clock, wasn't anywhere to be found. Ron was starting to worry; Matt was almost beside himself. They called her service, but she hadn't checked in with them all afternoon. At around 6:30, though, she pulled into the driveway and walked up to the back door of the house. Walking onto the porch, she went into the kitchen to find everyone standing there. Becky looked at her best friend and knew why she'd been late. Ron and Matt had an idea, but they'd not entertained the thought until the moment she walked through the door. With a couple of gift bags in her hand, she walked over to Seth and Jenny and handed them each something before hugging Jenny and then the man that she'd always considered her second son.

"Isn't this supposed to be a party?!" she asked, getting a smartass comment from Becky, who was working on one of the sauces for the Feast of Seven Fishes.

As she and Matt were setting the table in the dining room, Matt looked at her. "This is the first time, isn't it?"

"Yeah..." she answered.

"Are you OK with the deal?" Matt continued.

"Better than I was with the last one," Linda smiled. "To be honest, I abhorred the last one, but it was your house to sell. I like Jenny, though, and I think that this will help you and me both in the long run to overcome some things."

"You went to Pa's grave, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Linda smiled. "Sometimes a girl just needs her daddy."

"It so goes the same for gay guys and their grandfathers," Matt smiled.

"So do you think that you could get Nick to come over to the house for breakfast in the morning?"

"I think I can do that," Matt responded as they both smiled. "Why?"

"He's a part of the family," Linda told him, "and we got him a gift."

"OK," Matt told her. "You and Dad should go to church with us tonight."

"You're going to church?" she asked.

"I am," Matt answered. "Janelle asked me to go with them."

"OK," Linda smiled. "I'll talk to your dad."

"You know they're Catholic, though, right?"

"Please..." Linda joked. "We're Catholic Light!" Matt giggled a little bit.

The whole group sat to eat a little while later, gorging themselves on seven different kinds of pescal excellence, mostly prepared by Janelle herself. After dinner, Ron and Linda, along with Becky and Jimmy, presented Janelle with their gifts to her. After dinner, they complained about having eaten too much until around 10:30, when they started to get ready for church. Almost in a caravan, the whole group piled into cars and went to St. John the Divine, Eudora's Catholic church.

Nick and Matt sat next together during the service, until it came time for communion, when Nick rose with Jenny and Janelle to take the sacrament together. Matt watched as Nick knelt down in front of the priest and received the body of Christ in accordance with his faith. Matt had, long before, stopped believing in anything, but seeing Nick kneeling before his God was a moving experience.

After the service came to a close and the priest wished them a happy Christmas, they all left. In the parking lot, Janelle hugged them all before she, Jenny, and Seth went back to the condo, where Seth and Jenny were planning to stay until the end of the month, when Matt would take over ownership and, more likely than not, move himself in. Linda and Ron wished Nick a Merry Christmas before they, themselves, left with Becky and Jimmy on their ways to their homes.

"So what's your plans for the morning?" Matt asked.

Nick shrugged. "Janelle's gonna be busy with Seth and Jenny until lunch. You're gonna be busy with your parents until then, too. I guess I'll just sleep in," Nick smiled.

Matt cocked his head. "Nick. I'm not letting you spend Christmas by yourself. Come to my house."

"I'm not going to intrude on your family time."

"My parents," Matt smiled as they stood there in the cold, "consider you family. They'd be offended if you didn't spend it with us."

"They'd be offended?" Nick smiled.

"So I wanna spend Christmas with you. Is that such a crime?" Matt asked, smiling as Nick put his hands on his shoulders.

"I haven't spent Christmas with anyone since 2001. Corey went home every year until last year," Nick told him. Before he could continue, Matt leaned into him, kissing him on the lips, gently. Nick pulled away, though, placing his forehead on Matt's.

"Come home with me..." Matt whispered as the wind enveloped them in a coolness, sending shivers all over both of their bodies.

"Matt. I will be at your house before breakfast. I promise," Nick looked him in the eye. "And you know I don't often make promises, but when I do, I make sure I keep them."

"Are you OK?" Matt asked.

"Yeah. I just want to make sure that your present is perfect," Nick smiled.

"Liar," Matt smiled back.

"Love you, Matt," Nick smiled.

"Te amo, Papi," Matt countered as Ron and Linda stopped beside them.

"You coming with us?" Ron asked.

"Yeah," Matt answered. "See you in the AM," he told Nick with a kiss on the lip and turned to climb into the back seat of his Mom's car.

"He OK?" Linda asked.

"He says that he's not coming over tonight because he wants to make sure that my present is perfect," Matt said as Nick climbed into his car, starting it and letting it warm for a second as he sat there.

The holiday was bound to be strange. It had already been 'odd' in his mind, but the first year without Corey was a lot to deal with. He didn't want to burden Matt with it anymore. He did love Matt, but there were some things that he didn't approach with him, and that was one of them. He didn't quite feel like going home, so he decided just to drive around for a little while. In some of the more affluent neighborhoods, the lights were still on, and he enjoyed just admiring someone else's work as much as he did when he was little and his mother would take him out to the 'country' to look at Christmas lights.

Just after two, he walked into the quiet solitude of his apartment. He was happy to be there, to have a home, for so few people actually did. He was happy to have good friends who accepted him for who he was, again because there were some people in the world spending that holiday completely alone. He had a great boyfriend, the greatest in his mind, and it was almost as if his family had adopted him, bringing him into their fold. It was those thoughts that helped him, on that holiday, to remember both his mother and Corey fondly.

He took off his clothes and lay on the bed for a little while, setting the alarm clock and the alarm on his phone to wake him in just three hours time, at 5:30, so that he had time to shower, dress, and get to Matt's house in time for the Harper family breakfast. His dreams were weird that night, but they weren't disturbing. At 5:30, he found himself waking, though. The world was still in complete darkness, but like every other morning, he threw the covers from his body and walked into the bathroom to get ready.

He left a few minutes later and dressed in a nice pair of jeans and a long-sleeve t-shirt. He had a heavy Carhartt jacket that he'd purchased a few weeks earlier that he put onto his body before walking out of the apartment. Because it was a holiday, the parking lot was empty. For weeks, though, there'd been so little activity in the complex, he wondered if he were the only resident other than a Chinese guy that had stayed over the holiday. He stopped at Wal-Mart for a couple of things that he wanted to contribute to the meal before heading over to Harper home.

He arrived to find that Linda and Ron had only recently gotten out of bed. They joked with him about being there a full six hours before Matt would probably get out of bed. Nick smiled as Linda fixed him a cup of coffee, joking that he'd wake him up in a little while. Ron snickered, about to make a joke before Linda stopped him. Nick chuckled, assuming that he knew what Ron was about to say.

"So did you get registered for classes and such?" Ron asked as Linda joined him.

"Yes sir. I'm taking Spanish, which Matt is happy about, and a couple of core classes, then I'm taking another sociology class with Becky," Nick explained.

"Nice," Ron said as Matt came into the kitchen, yawning and wiping his eyes. His hair was a mess, but there was a smile on his face. He was wearing no shirt and the gym shorts he'd worn downstairs left little to the imagination. The cutest part of the ensemble, though, were the Santa Claus slippers that were on his feet. In what was an uncharacteristic thing for him, he grabbed Nick's coffee cup and took a sip. "We do have more mugs," Ron pointed out as Matt put it back on the table in front of Nick.

"It's OK. I trust him," Nick smiled at Ron.

"And knowing what I know about how gay guys do it..." Ron started as Nick laughed and Matt shook his head.

"RONALD!" Linda slapped him on the arm. "Don't embarrass the boys!"

"Yes ma'am," he said as Matt and Nick snickered.

"So I'm gonna get breakfast started," Linda said after they'd all sat there for a bit and talked.

"What do you want me to do?" Nick inquired.

"You could start on some bacon if you wanted to," she said as Nick walked over to the fridge and grabbed a few things.

"Hey Matt, help me with a couple of things downstairs," Ron said.

"Let me run put a shirt on," Matt told him as he climbed from his seat and slipped out of the room and up the stairs. When he returned, Linda was giving Ron instructions on what to do with what they were bringing up.

"Yes ma'am," he said as he motioned for Matt to follow him.

"OK..." she said as Ron and Matt walked downstairs to the basement.

"I'm gonna warn you," Ron told Matt as they got down there. "You're mother went a little insane on the gift getting this year."

"She does every year," Matt reminded him.

"No. She spent more money this year that she has your entire life," Ron said as they got to the place in the basement where they'd been storing the gifts. They always kept a few upstairs for decoration, but the amount of gifts she'd bought that year would have created a pile bigger than the tree that was standing in front of the window that normally overlooked the lake.

"Holy shit," Matt said.

"Hence the warning..." Ron told him as he started piling Matt up with gifts wrapped in red and blue paper.

It took each of them five trips to get everything upstairs. By the time they did, Nick was just finishing up with the bacon and starting on gravy that would be served over biscuits that Linda had popped into the oven.

"Mom..." Matt came into the kitchen.

"Yes dear?" she asked.

"Making up for lost time?" he joked as he grabbed the jug of juice that Nick had brought and fixed himself some in a small glass.

"I have two years of Christmases to give you gifts for. Don't take my fun away!" she smiled.

"Yes ma'am," Matt told her as he set the cup on the island and went upstairs to get the gifts that he'd bought for the three of them.

By the time he got down, breakfast was almost ready. There were eggs and bacon to go alone with biscuits and gravy. Linda had scored some fresh honey and some jam that was made from locally grown berries the previous summer. They put out the juice for Matt, and Nick had made another, fresh pot of coffee. In a moment, the four of them sat at the table and started serving themselves from the dishes on the table. As Nick split open a biscuit and began to drown it in gravy, he listened to how Matt and his parents were carrying on. It did his heart good to see such things. It made him feel like he actually was starting to belong some place, like he was a part of a family again. The fact that he was brought into the mix further drove home the fact that these people cared about him for him. It was an amazing feeling that he didn't feel from too many people in too many times.

When they'd finished with breakfast, Linda told him not to lift a finger, that it was Matt and Ron's job to clean up after breakfast. As Ron and Matt argued about who would take what task, Linda and Nick went into the living room. Nick sat on the loveseat while Linda began to put the gifts into piles. Nick noticed the first box for him, then the second. By the time Ron and Matt were finished, there were at least ten boxes for him, wrapped in blue and red paper with various bows and such. He had more things that Matt did, and he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. The gifts didn't stop coming, though, as Linda enlisted Ron's help in divvying up the things that she'd spent two months purchasing for all of them.

On Matt's pile of gifts was the one from Nick. Nick took one of his gifts as Matt took his. He began to carefully unwrap the paper as Matt ripped his open and opened the box. "So this is what happened to the picture," Matt said as Nick smiled.

"I won't lie to you again," Nick promised as Linda and Ron looked at each other.

"It's OK," Matt said as he handed the box to his mother, who just smiled.

"Two of my three favorite men," she said as she sat on the couch next to Ron.

Nick finished opening the first of his gifts to find that Ron and Linda's first gift to him was a year's membership to a local gym. He'd mentioned something in passing about wishing that he could afford to pay membership up for a year, but he didn't think that they'd get him that as a gift. He continued opening gifts to find a Parsons University ball cap, as well as a gift certificate to "The Locker Room" a sporting goods store just off the Square. In other boxes, there were small trinkets, also attached to gift cards for various stores around town, as well as cards to places like Abercrombie and Fitch and American Eagle, stores that he'd have to go to Memphis or Jackson to patronize.

The last box that he opened was from Matt, and while he thought he knew what it might be, he wasn't sure. Carefully, he pulled back the paper and opened the box. Like his parents, there was a gift to which he'd attached a gift card.

"I'm gonna stop saying what I want," Nick turned to Matt as he pulled the iPod from the box and removed the $100 iTunes card.

"I'm sorry that it's not as awesome as your gift to me," Matt smiled. Looking in his eyes, Nick could tell that Matt was moved by the framed picture of him and his grandfather. To his knowledge, it was the only picture of the two of them that had been so carefully preserved.

"Please. It's amazing," Nick responded as Linda motioned for Ron to get the last gift out of the office. Ron stood from the sofa and walked upstairs to the room from which they both 'worked' from home. He brought down two manila envelopes, handing them to the guys.

"Guys," Nick started. "This is too much."

"I agree," Matt said as they looked at each other.

"Just shut up and have a good time," Linda told them as Nick thought about how it would be nice to spend New Years Even in New York City. The fact that their hotel was right off Times Square was another amazing thing. They wouldn't have to go far to be right in all the action.

Of course, since they'd be there for several days, it would give Nick to share something intimate and special with Matt. He'd be able to give him a part of his world, the world in which he'd grown up. It meant that he would be opening himself up to a whole host of things, but it was Matt. Matt was worth it.

That afternoon, they went to church again, but this time, it was to St. Peter's, the church that Matt technically was a member of but that he'd not entered in some time. Nick learned that afternoon that any baptized individual could take communion in the Episcopal Church, so it was an almost religious experience when he and Matt were able to stand next to each other and receive the sacrament. The rector smiled and joked with Nick, telling him that it was obvious that he was a full-flavored Catholic before offering the blessing.

The next day, as Jenny and Seth returned to work, Matt and Nick went to Memphis to spend some of their gift certificates. They had lunch there before returning to Eudora to spend to spend the rest of their certificates and cards in the shops on the Square. They got back to Nick's place just after five o'clock, loaded under with things that they'd purchased. In all, Nick spent more money than he ever had in one day in his entire life. The newness of all those things, though, almost symbolized the new chapter in his life that was unfolding.

On the morning of the 29th, Seth took off work just long enough to drive them to the airport in Memphis. The whole time, he joked with them about not being able to go with them, but he knew, from both of them, that it was going to be a trip that would either make them or break them, as a couple.

It only took a couple of hours for them to get there, and when they did, Matt saw a side of Nick that was different. In New York, he'd always heard that one either had to eat or be eaten. Nick not only knew this, but he embraced it. From an argument with the cabbie over the fare from the airport to the hotel to the fact that the room wasn't right once they were there. It was sexy to hear him not settling for anything.

As they settled into their second room of the day, Nick explained that it wasn't that he was trying to be rude; he just wanted everything to be perfect for Matt. Matt just smiled and told him that it was just nice to be there with him. He drove home the fact by putting his arms around Nick's shoulders and gently kissing his lips.

"I could take you right now," Nick smiled as they stood there.

"I can tell," Matt smiled.

"I'm not going to, though," Nick smiled. "Not right now, anyway."

"What do you have planned for me?" Matt grinned.

"I wanna take you to Brooklyn," Nick told him. "I made a couple of phone calls before we came up, and I got in touch with a lady that lives in my old building still."

"Really?"

"Yep," Nick smiled. "You mind if we go over there?"

"Not at all, man. You've seen where I grew up. It's only fair," Matt smiled.

They took a shower and changed clothes before heading out of the hotel room. They hailed a cab that took them over the bridge and into the neighborhood where Nick had spent his most formative years. On the surface, it hadn't changed a lot, but there were new faces all around. When they got to the building, the cabbie let them out and Nick looked around.

"Right down there is where I bought my first pack of smokes," he fondly remembered. "Of course, I also got my first blow job in the bathroom at the place," he smiled.

"Nice..." Matt smiled. "What was his name?"

"Henry Johnson," Nick smiled as they walked up a couple of steps to the door. Nick looked at the directory for a moment, pressing the button next to one of the names.

"Yes?" the lady said as she came onto the intercom.

"Ms. Mancini," Nick smiled. "I left my key upstairs again."

"NICKY!" she screamed. "I'll be right down!"

There was a buzzing sound on the door. Nick grabbed it and held it open for a second as Matt walked into the small corridor that was the building's lobby. A moment later, they heard someone running down the stairs.

"Nicky..." the short, portly, Italian lady said as she reached up to put her arms around Nick's bent neck. She kissed him on the cheek as tears ran down her pudgy face. "Nicky! It is so good to see you..." she told him.

"It's good to see you too, Ms. Mancini," Nick told her as Matt stood beside the mailboxes, smiling.

"And you must be Matt," Ms. Mancini said as she walked over, greeting him as she had Nick a moment before.

"Yes ma'am," Matt hugged her.

"Nick. I'm going to fix your favorite for supper," she said. "Matt. Do you eat pasta?"

"I eat everything, ma'am," Matt smiled.

"Good!" she said as she wrapped her arm in Nick's and guided them upstairs to her apartment on the third floor of the building.

She had them sit at the kitchen table as she went to work preparing what she remembered to be Nick's favorite pasta dish. When it was ready, she filled two plates with the gooey, cheesy goodness that she called "Italian Mac-n-Cheese". When they finished their first plates, she refilled them, pleased with both guys' appetites. Her daughter, Amelia, got home from work at around 6:30, surprised to see the first guy on whom she'd ever had a crush sitting there in her mother's kitchen. Growing up, she'd almost been like a little sister to him. They'd lost touch with each other after he left, but that moment did so much for his soul. Before long, the small apartment was filled with people, all there to see Nick. His being there was like a band-aid that helped close the wound that 9/11 had opened for that building. People who had moved away but who were still in the city came out to see the man that Nick had become. There were tears, hugs, smiles, stories, memories, a million things that made Matt know that when they left, Nick would be a different person. They were complimenting his body and his choice in men, all while making fun of the fact that Nick had lost his accent.

At the end of the evening, Amelia was going to meet some friends in the city. With that, she asked if they wanted to share a cab. Nick and Matt agreed, as Matt thought that he could probably use a few more minutes with the connection to his past. As they were dropped off at the hotel, Matt pulled out the money to pay the fare, refusing to let either Nick or Amelia pay for any of it. She thanked him with a kiss on the cheek and made a joke about how Nick needed to be sure to pay him back later. With a wink and a hug, she and Nick said their goodbyes.

Returning to the room, Nick entered first. When Matt got in, though, and shut the door, Nick shoved him against the door and began passionately kissing him. "I'm about to do you like you've never been done before," he warned Matt as he lifted him just far enough away from the door to remove his coat. Matt was wearing a button down shirt that Nick pulled from the inside of his pants before ripping it open, causing buttons to fly. Nick took the t-shirt beneath it by either side of the 'v' around his neck and ripped it from top to bottom before bathing Matt's chest with kisses.

A moment later, as Matt was beginning to lose himself in the moment, Nick lifted him up and carried him to the bed as he continued to kiss Matt all over. There was nothing gentle, a moment later, about the way that Matt threw him onto the bed before taking off his clothes and joining him seconds later. In the throngs of the moment, Nick felt alive, more alive than he'd felt in a long time. He loved Matt, with all his heart, and, in that moment, he was giving himself, of body, completely to this man. There was nothing quiet about that moment; there was nothing clean. There was nothing but raw emotions playing between both of them as their physical contact brought them one step closer to singular bliss.

When it came to the end, Matt and Nick were both sweating. They were both tired. They were both smiling as Nick fell down beside him on the bed. He was sore, but in such a good way.

"I feel like a virgin on her wedding night," Nick said as they lay beside each other.

Matt smiled. "That was hot," he went on.

"I can think of only two more things to do tonight."

"What's that?" Matt turned his head to look at Nick.

"Shower and sleep," Nick smiled.

"Yeah..." Matt said as they groaned but climbed from the bed and went into a shower.

They returned to the room, dry, and climbed into bed next to each other. The next morning, they woke and dressed quickly, walking out into the snowy skies, into the cities where dreams were made and broken. They did some shopping; they did some sight seeing; Nick took Matt to Ground Zero, where they both laid a flower in memory of a woman that Matt only knew from stories and in the memories of other people. Nick was never one to publicly display his affection, but he had been what Matt needed the night of the Ball, and Matt knew that it was time to return the favor. As tourists walked by, snapping pictures, Matt scooted in even closer to him, taking Nick's arm and putting it over his shoulder. He then put his arm around his back, squeezing for a moment, to let Nick know that he wasn't alone.

"My mom would have loved you," Nick turned and looked at him. "She would have looked you in the eye, though, and said 'If you fuck with my Nicky, I'm gonna screw your world up'."

"And if my dad had been there, he would have said 'And that's why we gave Nick an industrial sized bottle of lube when he moved into his apartment. Speaking of, you need a refill yet, Nick?'."

"Your parents really are amazing," Nick smiled.

"I like 'em," Matt looked at him. "And they like you, too. A lot."

"I want a new picture for the desktop of my computer," Nick said.

"OK..." Matt said as Nick pulled his camera from his pocket. Holding it up, he took a picture of Matt, smiling and wearing his Freshman cap, as worn and tattered as it was.

"My man," Nick said as he turned it off and put the camera back into his jacket pocket.

They went to FAO Schwartz and a gourmet candy shop in the city. Matt spent a ton of money at the Virgin Megastore, and the two went to a show. On New Year's Eve, they piddled around the city for a while before returning early to the hotel. Times Square was already crowded, and by the time they showered, ate, and got back downstairs, there was barely enough room to move around. People were looking at them as they were dressed to the nines. Nick was in his dress uniform, and Matt was wearing a simple black tuxedo. At midnight, they joined everyone else in the countdown of the final moments of 2008. As 2009 was declared open, streamers and balloons, tons of glitter and glitz. Nick took him and turned him around after a moment, and, like every other coupled person in New York, the boyfriends kissed passionately. A moment later, Matt got a text from Seth, saying that he and Jenny had seen them on TV for a split second.

Nick watched the way that Matt handled things and all the people around him. Whether in Mississippi or New York, Matt was Matt, and that was a great thing, a wonderful thing, a beautiful thing. In that moment, Nick realized what it meant to truly love another human being. He'd told Matt that he loved him, and he did, but the use of that word, that simple, unassuming word, was justified right then as Nick realized that, while he'd loved Corey, it was different. There were still lines that separated them, that always would separate them. With Matt, though, there were no inhibitions. Matt had seen him at his best and at his worst, and he still loved him, immensely.

They went into the hotel around one, as soon as they were able to get through the crowd of people and back upstairs. They had a glass of champagne to toast the New Year and then climbed into bed. Nick slept like a baby that night, dreaming sweetly as Matt was cuddled into him. He woke up early the next morning, though, in time to shower and watch a little bit of the local news before waking Matt.

"Matt," Nick sweetly whispered into his ear. "Wake up, sweets."

"Huh?" Matt groggily inquired.

With a smile on his face, Nick responded. "Come on. It's time to go home..."

To be continued...

Posted: 07/22/11