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 11

When they got back from New York, they got word, officially, that Matt had taken ownership of Seth's properties. With that, Seth and Jenny officially moved to Dan's house, and Matt, also physically, moved out of his parents' house and into the condo that was just a couple of blocks from the Square. Linda was finally experiencing empty nest, which she'd been able to avoid when he was in Peru, as he officially still lived at their house. Since Seth was leaving most of his furniture there for Matt and Matt was moving Dan's furniture back into the house from storage for Seth and Jenny, all that was needed was some stuff for the kitchen and bathroom. Nick bought most of that, though, saying that he'd be using the stuff some, too. Seth, Ron, and Jimmy all chuckled when he said that, leaving it alone.

The semester started in the middle of the month, and while Nick was enjoying the classes he was taking, Matt found himself, most evenings, wanting to cry. The stress of his final semester caused him to fly off the handle. Most everyone just took it, but Nick was the only one who wouldn't. He put Matt in his place a couple of times, telling him that he loved him but that he had to stop carrying on at people like he was. Matt apologized, got his forgiveness and then spent a month making up for it.

On Matt's birthday, Seth and Jenny hosted a huge party at their house. He got a few gifts, but Nick said that his would have to be combined with graduation, which, for Matt, was coming in a few weeks. For the rest of the semester, he was broke as shit, proudly telling everyone that he was saving money for Matt's graduation gift.

The week before the finals, Nick asked Becky to go with him to Dr. Bishop's office with him. He wanted to talk about his future with both of them. He made the appointment with Dr. Bishop's office and showed up, professionally dressed at the time he said he would be there. Becky joined them a few minutes later, and the three of them sat around the table. Nick explained that he thought he'd wanted to do engineering, to study architecture and then apply what he'd learned, but he'd learned so much more in Becky's sociology classes that he wanted to do something that would combine the two.

"There is actually," Becky told him, "a very specialized branch of sociology that deals with architecture. It's a graduate-level thing, but I think that to best prepare for that, if that's what you want to do, is declare a double major in both engineering and sociology. Then consider graduate school in sociology. Kevin?"

"I agree," Dr. Bishop said. "Doing two majors will be stressful, and it will probably cause you to be in school for a fifth year. Then grad school would be another three to four. You gonna be able to handle that, Marine?" he smiled at Nick.

"Yes," Nick answered, confidently, strongly.

"Then do it," Dr. Bishop smiled.

"K..." Nick returned the smile. They did some paperwork, and Nick shook both of their hands, and left.

"Becky..." Dr. Bishop started. "I wouldn't be surprised if he graduated with a 4.0."

"I know. He is one of the best students that I've had in a LONG time. I was starting to get discouraged until last semester. Kevin, he writes better than some of my graduate students."

"I read his paper on the military, last semester," Dr. Bishop stated. "He was respectful and articulate."

"Would you expect less from a Marine on a mission?" Becky inquired.

"Well, no," Kevin answered as they had a cup of coffee together.

For Nick, though, that wasn't the only thing that was on his agenda for the day. He had lunch with Matt, most of whose stress was gone after Spring Concert, which was held the previous week. He was nervous, and something was on his mind. They'd been together long enough for Matt to pick up on things. He asked Nick about it, but the response was that he was thinking about school. He did tell Matt about declaring his major, and that, thankfully, helped deflect a little bit of what was going on, of those things that Nick had on his mind.

As Matt, almost regrettably, had to get to get to his very last regular class before exams, Nick, who'd finished up his classes the day before, walked back to his apartment and climbed into his car. He started it up, listening as the engine revved a couple of times before pulling it out of the space. Having lived there for almost a year, he knew well the streets, the twists, and the turns of town. He made his way, eventually, to the small building that housed Matt's companies. He pulled into the first available space and sat there for a second.

"He's here!" one of the women in the office who'd been watching the window yelled through the office. Ron walked out of his office.

"Is Matt with him?"

"No," she smiled. "I can't believe it's happening. Our little Mattie..." she said as a tear of happiness came down her face. "Gee! Now I'm gonna have to fix my makeup!" Ron laughed as she walked past him.

"Anybody else?" Ron joked.

"I will in a second," another of the ladies said as the rest of the ladies laughed.

A second later, Nick climbed from the car and walked toward the door. He didn't know why, but he was shaking. It was as if, once that moment was past him, there would be no turning back. Walking inside, Ron started off, as usual, with a joke.

"Your rent's late," he smiled.

"I will get that to you as soon as I get my May Term check," Nick had learned, through months and months of dealing with Matt's father, how to respond to such things.

"I'm not gonna waive the late fees no more!" Ron said as the moment touched him so that he walked over and gave Nick a hug. Nick could hear him sniffling a little bit a moment before he pulled away and wiped his eyes. It was at that moment that the lady who'd joked a moment before started to cry. "Sorry about that," Ron turned serious for a moment as he addressed Nick.

"It's fine," Nick smiled, understanding that they loved the same man, but each for very, very different reasons and in very, very different ways.

"So you're here for this," Ron said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a box. "I had to tell Linda why I wanted it, so be forewarned that she's probably gonna give you a talking to the next time she sees you."

"She's not gonna say anything, is she?"

"Nah..." Ron smiled. "She's as twisted as I am," he explained. "She'll get a kick out of seeing Matt's face."

"OK..." Nick smiled.

The phone rang a second later, and the crying lady answered it. "Landry Properties."

"Is my husband still there?" Linda asked as she walked out of her building and to her car.

"Yes ma'am. And Nick is here, too," she said, getting the guys' attention.

"GOOD!" Linda said as she picked up the pace a little bit to get to her car. "Tell him not to leave. I'll be there in 10," she instructed as she climbed into the car.

"Yes ma'am," she said as they said their goodbyes, and Linda started up her car. "Linda said not to go anywhere," the person working the desk told Nick. "Now. I'm going to the lady's room. I'll be right back."

"OK..." Ron said as she stood from her chair and walked toward the back of the lobby and down the corridor to the lavatory.

Linda pulled up in record time and jumped from the car. Anyone who saw her might have thought she was a crazy woman, but that moment was what it was. She pulled open the door and saw the guys standing there, and she lost it completely. She was smiling, but there were huge tears flooding her face like a rainstorm on the plains. She extended both arms and wrapped them around him.

"Nick. I want to say something to you, but I want you to know that it's gonna sound a lot worse than how I intend, OK?"

"Is it about how Patrice would be responding to all this?" Nick smiled.

"Yes..." Linda pulled away and looked at him. "She would so proud of the man you've become, and she'd adore Matt because of the way that he makes you light up just by mentioning his name." He did, indeed, in that moment, smile more widely than he had in a very long time.

"I would hope so," Nick said.

"So who all knows?" she inquired. "Cause I don't know if I can keep from telling Becky."

"Seth, Jenny, Ron, you, and Janelle," Nick answered.

"Add Jimmy," Ron said. "Sorry about that... he's my Seth!"

"How did Janelle react?" Linda asked as Nick smiled at Ron.

"She was elated," Nick smiled.

"Awesome! Tell her to plan on coming up next Saturday for Graduation."

"Yes ma'am," Nick told her.

"OK. I'm gonna go home and look through Matt's photo albums for hours on end," she said. "I love you Nick, and I'm so happy for you... for you both!"

"Thank you, Linda," Nick said as he took the moment to reach down and wrap his arms around her.

A little while later, Linda actually did leave, but only after hugging all the women in that office. Nick went away a short time later, stopping at a shop in town and dropping off what he'd picked up from Ron. He then went to Matt's place and started fixing the dinner that they'd share that evening, as they did most evenings. When Matt got home, they ate, hung out for a bit, and went to Jenny and Seth's so that Seth and Matt could play Wii in Dan's old den and so that Jenny and Nick could sit back and make fun of the men that they both so loved in the world.

At around nine, Nick and Matt returned to Matt's place to turn in for the evening. They both found themselves so tired from their respective days that they lay there for a moment and talked before turning out the lights and cuddling up to each other. Nick hadn't shaved his chest in a couple of weeks, and the stubble that Matt felt rubbing against his back was one of the most amazing feelings that he'd ever known. He joked, as they fell asleep, that Nick should just trim the next time, and not shave it off completely. Nick, unable to say no to his requests of that nature, said that it was annoying but that he would keep it a few days longer, just for Matt. With a kiss on the back of his neck, Matt smiled and closed his eyes.

Nick woke up early the next morning and headed for the gym. It had become a regular thing for him again, and he was enjoying the way that he felt each day after leaving. He was full of energy, most of it very good for Matt as well. They came to the weekend, and both guys sat around Matt's place studying. Matt had a couple of exams at the first of the week, but Nick didn't have his last final, including the one for Becky's senior-level sociology class that he was taking, until the next Friday.

The next week, they took off on Monday evening, once Matt's graduation was secured with his passing the final exam of his undergraduate career. In days, as he consumed copious amounts of tequila, he explained that he would earn his B.F.A. in vocal performance. Nick couldn't stop laughing and smiling, for Matt was, without a doubt, the most amazing creature he'd ever met. He was sweet and smart, funny, and damn talented, when it came to the use of his mouth. Go ahead. Take that in any way imaginable.

"Seth..." Matt said, though, as Nick and Jenny went back to the bar for drinks.

"Yes?" Seth, who'd taken a vacation that week to get ready for Saturday, said as he was just as drunk as Matt was.

"I'm gonna marry that man one day. And you're gonna be the best man," Matt told him through his drunken haze.

"Was there another option?" Seth smiled.

"Hell no!" Matt said as they chinged their glasses and chugged the last few drops of margarita in the bottom of the glass.

"So I need to start thinking now about the song. It's gonna be a good one," Seth promised. "Have you thought about the song for me and Jenny?"

"I'm thinking "Ice Ice Baby"," Matt smiled.

"Ooh! That means that I could make yours 'Good Vibrations'," Seth smiled. "You loved that song."

"I should have known that I was gay back then, cause that man is HOT," Matt said.

"Hot as Nick?" Seth asked.

"Hell no. Not even close, but hot, none the less," Matt said as they returned.

"Y'all talking about us?" Jenny asked as they returned to the table.

"Yes," Seth said.

"I just told Seth that you were hotter than Marky Mark."

"Ooh!" Nick smiled. "If I didn't have the hottest boyfriend alive, I would so hit that."

"I know, right!" Matt said as Nick sat down and the two chinged.

They all went back to Matt's condo, as weird as it sounded for everyone to say, even still, and basically passed out in their respective rooms. Nick woke the next morning for and feverishly studied for an exam that afternoon. It was Matt's turn, by his own summation, to prepare dinner for Nick. Matt told him that it would do little more than ward off starvation, but Nick seemed to enjoy it all the same.

By the time Saturday arrived, Nick was happy to have finished his second semester with a perfect score. All A's put him on the Chancellor's List once again, an honor that made Janelle very, very happy. She beamed with pride for him as the three mothers fixed sides and the dad's drank and grilled out.

Matt's nerves were such that he didn't sleep at all that night. Nick called himself staying up with him, but, in all honesty, he was nervous as well. They eventually did go to sleep, though, only to wake a couple of hours later at the sound of Matt's alarm sounding far too early, at six in the morning. As he sat up on the side of what might as well have been their bed, Nick rolled over and looked at his back.

"We should just randomly take a vacation next week, since you don't have classes until the week after next," Matt told him as he smiled.

"You are so handsome," Nick responded, forcing Matt to look at him.

Smiling, Matt turned and looked at him, the muscular upper body lying mostly exposed beneath the white sheets that lined their bed. "And to think, you still think I'm beautiful, even though I'm not wearing makeup!" Nick laughed. Matt just stopped for a moment and looked at him.

There was nothing about that man that he didn't love. He was a gallant individual, even more so that he'd ever thought in the past. Each day, he did something that impressed Matt on so many levels. Regardless of how simple the act was, it was still amazing. He made might smile, which few people had ever really been able to do.

"You OK?" Nick asked, concerned but also knowing that Matt was fine.

"Yeah. Just thinking."

"About?"

"It's gonna sound corny," Matt told him.

"No it's not," Nick said, assuring him with his facial expression and with the gentle touch of Nick's hand against his leg, a leg that he'd crossed as he sat up on the bed. He got this shit-eating grin on his face before continuing, "It's OK to love me. I'm a loveable guy."

"Yes you are," Matt responded as Nick smiled. He leaned down and kissed Nick on the lips. It was just a peck, but it spoke volumes of how he felt. Nick's response, in kind, said all the same things, though, that he felt for this man who was sitting before him. "So what'd you get me as a graduation gift?" he smiled.

"You're gonna have to wait till tonight on that one," Nick told him.

"OK. I just thought I'd ask."

"Was there something in particular that you were wanting?"

"A handjob," Matt smiled.

"You get to have my ass anytime you want, and you want a handjob?" Nick responded, knowing that Matt was joking. "OK. Go start getting ready, and I'm gonna fix your graduation morning breakfast."

"Yes sir," Matt said as he stood off the bed and walked into the bathroom.

Nick climbed out of the bed as Matt was walking into the bathroom that was attached to what had formerly been Seth's bedroom. As Matt turned on the shower, Nick pulled a pair of gym shorts over the trunks that he'd worn to bed. One of Matt's things was that he always sung in the shower, especially when he was happy. Nick smiled, thinking that it was nice that Matt could actually sing.

Matt stayed beneath the hot flow for a few minutes, and when he climbed out, he quickly wrapped a towel around his body. "Nicholas..." he called from the bathroom, in what Nick called his 'Matt is horny' voice.

"Yes?" Nick called from the kitchen as he cooked some eggs on the stove.

"I've got a problem that only you can fix," Matt told him.

"Come here," Nick smiled as he pretended like it was an inconvenience.

Matt walked into the kitchen wearing just a towel. A naughty grin was on his face as he let it go and fall to the floor. Nick looked at the clock: it was 6:30. "You got two options," he started. "One... we can do this, and you can barely get to campus on time, or two... you can go get dressed, and then I can really lay it down tonight. I'm talking the whole nine... anything and everything your heart desires." He walked over to Matt, wrapping his hands around Matt's erect member. He squeezed and stroked it a few times as Matt stood there, enjoying the moment. "Seriously," Nick whispered as he leaned into his boyfriend, his mouth just millimeters from his boyfriend's, "...anything..."

"Nick..." Matt whispered. "I got myself about half-way to the goal in the shower."

"So are you about to..." Nick inquired.

Matt threw his head back and took a single deep breath, holding it as his orgasm powerfully shot from deep within him. Nick didn't let go of him for a moment, as his body shivered, aching with pleasure from the release. With a smile on his face, Nick tugged once more to get the last little bit of Matt's juice from within him. As he turned his gaze back to Nick, Matt was smiling, reaching down to kiss his boyfriend as Nick freed his body from the strong grip. When Matt released him, Nick reached his hand up and licked the little bit of goo that was there.

"So go get dressed," Nick told him as he smiled, reaching to grab Clorox wipes to clean the mess that had gone onto the floor.

"Yes sir," Matt said as he turned. Nick looked up for a second as Matt walked away, finding himself in a bit of a predicament as Matt returned to what was, by default, their room. When the floor was clean, Nick returned to his food prep. Matt returned a moment later, wearing suit pants and buttoning a shirt. "This OK?" Matt inquired.

"You know I'm gonna say yes," Nick smiled.

"It smells so good in here," Matt said as he walked behind Nick and wrapped his arms beneath his and around his body. He kissed the back of Nick's neck, teaching him a bit of a lesson. That was one of Nick's spots, and Matt, all the well, knew it.

"Matthew!" Nick laughed.

"Yes?" Matt said as he allowed his hands to traverse the crevasses and caverns that existed between the muscles of his midsection. His huge hands slipped beneath the waist of the trunks he was wearing, running the through his pubes and slowly massaging his way down Nick's tightening shaft.

"This is payback, isn't it?" Nick inquired.

"Yes," Matt said. Nick could almost feel the smile that was wiping across his face as Matt kissed the back of his neck again, pulling himself away from Nick as Nick just shook his head.

"Do graduations always make you this horny?" Nick asked as Matt took a piece of bacon cooling on a rack beside the stove, and put it into his mouth.

"Considering I've spent the last two with you..." Matt smiled as he walked out of the kitchen and back into their bedroom to finish getting ready for the day.

When he next returned, he was wearing a black suit with a freshly pressed white shirt. His shoes and belt matched perfectly, and the red and blue, striped tie around his neck was knotted perfectly.

"Now... do I seriously look OK?" Matt asked as he stood in the doorway of the kitchen, turning to give Nick a three-hundred-sixty degree view.

"You look awesome," Nick said as finished off the plates, handing one to Matt. They went into the living room, rearranged since Seth's departure, and sat on the sofa to eat.

"I should have eaten before dressing," Matt said as he tried not to spill anything on his suit.

"Please... if I'd not made you go get dressed, you'd still be trying to get into my pants," Nick smiled at him.

"Can you blame me, though?" Matt rhetorically asked. "Have you seen your backside?"

"I can't say that I have," Nick noted. "Is it as nice as yours?"

"I'm so gonna get your name tattooed on my ass, by the way," Matt told him.

"You should get 'Property of Mr. Russo'," Nick suggested.

"Don't let me get drunk and remember that... for it will happen," Matt told him as he put the last bite of eggs in his mouth.

"I won't let you do it while you're drunk," Nick smiled, finishing off the toast that he'd fixed. "OK. I'm gonna go get dressed. See you in 20."

"Don't jack off in the shower," Matt told him.

"Yeah," Nick smiled. "Graduations don't make me hot. Well. Let me just say that when mine gets here, you better be ready for it."

"Oh I will..." Matt winked.

"Nice..." Nick said as he went into their room.

Matt took their dishes into the kitchen and put them into the dishwasher. It was only a moment before Nick came back into the kitchen. "So guess what..."

"What?" Matt asked.

"My suit pants... at my place..." Nick told him.

"Do you want me to run get them?"

"No. Jenny and Seth are gonna run by there," Nick said. "I'm such a dumbass sometimes."

"Nicholas! Never say that again," Matt told him.

"But..."

"NO BUTS!" Matt said. "Never. No man can finish his freshman year with a 4.0 and ever get away with calling himself that."

"Yes sir..." Nick smiled, turning to walk back to the bedroom. "By the way. Those tight blue trunks you bought me... yeah. I'm wearing those today."

"We're gonna do this all day, aren't we?" Matt smiled.

"Probably," Nick said as he shut the door to their bedroom.

It wasn't long before Seth and Jenny were arriving, dressed to the nines for a day on The Grove. Jenny, carrying some pants and an overnight bag that Nick had asked her to bring from his place, gave Matt a hug and quickly rushed back to their bedroom. Seth and Matt stood around, in all the parts of their suits but their coats.

"You doing OK today?" Seth asked, knowing that Matt wished that Dan could have been there to see that day.

"Yeah," Matt smiled as they walked over to sit down and wait on their significant others to finish preparing for the day.

"Cool..." Seth smiled.

"You OK?" Matt asked.

"Nerves about the wedding," Seth told him.

"Second thoughts?"

"Oh no," Seth smiled. "I'm just worried that she's making more compromises for my benefit than she should be. It is supposed to be her day, after all."

"Right..." Matt smiled. "As long as the two of you realize that it's about loving each other, then does any of that really even matter?"

"You have a point, I guess," Seth smiled. He looked at Matt's eyes, and there was no idea of what would be happening later that evening. "So I talked to Mom a little while ago."

"Uh huh..."

"And she talked to Othermom about six this morning."

"Oh goodness..." Matt smiled.

"Yeah. According to Mom, Othermom was pulling a Claire Huxtable going around talking about my baby this and my baby that," Seth told him.

"Nice," Matt smiled.

"Oh! Did I tell you that I saw Ms. Sanchez at the bank yesterday?" Seth inquired.

"No! How is she?" Matt responded, remembering fondly the lady who'd taught music, Spanish, and about three other courses at their high school.

"OLD!" Seth smiled. "Older than I always remembered her being. I told her, though, that you were graduating today, and she said for you to come by and see her in a couple of weeks, that she's retiring at the end of this year."

"Oh cool," Matt said. "I'll have to get my resumé together, then."

"Exactly what she was thinking," Seth turned and grinned.

"You're man's getting pretty for you," Jenny smiled as she walked into the room, taking a seat on the loveseat.

"Like he has to try," Matt grinned.

"Y'all are so cute!!!" Jenny said as she stood. "So what's the plan for tonight?" Jenny inquired, knowing full well what the plan was.

"Dinner at Mom's at six..." Matt started.

"Then the three of us are taking you to get tanked," Seth told him after Jenny and he shared a look.

"Then you could probably convince your boyfriend to give you head," Jenny added on.

"I'm not trying to tell business or whatever, but I could forego graduation and just stay at home, in bed with that man, all day long... ALL day long," Matt told him.

"Othermom would be PISSED," Seth told him.

"Yeah..." Matt smiled. "Do you realize that I'm the last generation of my family to come to Parsons?" he asked, looking at Seth.

"See... here's the deal on that," Jenny started. "You and Nick got to have a couple so that Seth and me have a kid to spoil, given what I know is gonna happen when we have a kid!"

"It's not like they're not trying," Seth looked at his fiancée.

"Twice... sometimes three times a day," Matt said as Nick walked into the room, dressed in his black suit. "Speaking of his hotness..."

"What?" Nick asked, smiling, as he looked up to find the three of them looking at him.

"Matt was just talking about the process of two gay men making a baby," Seth joked with him.

"He and I keep trying," Nick added as everyone in the room laughed. "OK. Matt. You've got to be on campus in 30 minutes, in your robes."

"Yes sir," Matt said as he climbed up and walked into what had formerly been called his room to put on the last of the day's vestments.

While he was in there, the parents, all five of them, arrived at Matt's place to all ride, and get a seat, together. As Matt walked out, wearing the gown and holding the cap in his hand, Linda started to cry again. "My baby..." she said as she walked over. Seth, along with the dads, were trying to hold their snickers in. Becky and Janelle heard them, though, and corrected the whole lot.

"I just can't believe it..." she said. While Matt was sure that she was just emotional because of graduation, everyone else knew that it was a combination of that and what all would be going on at their house that evening.

"OK. Pictures and then we've got to get to campus," Ron said. "I paid an undergrad to hold the seats, and he's not gonna be able to hold off the bitches for long." Becky and Janelle pulled out cameras and took a picture first of Linda and Matt. It was followed by Linda, Matt, and Ron, and then one with Seth and another with his parents. There was a picture of him and Nick taken, and then one of him and Jenny. The final picture was of Matt and 'the Moms'. At first, Janelle didn't come up, but Matt insisted on a picture with all those that were a part of the group called 'The Moms'.

After that picture, Ron and Jimmy began attempting to move people toward the door, just as they'd done the previous year at the termination of Seth's undergraduate studies. It was easier then, though, as there was on fewer mom and two fewer 'kids'.

They finally did make it to the two cars, but getting from Matt's place to campus was murder. Given their contributions to campus, though, they had a parking reserved at the Law School just near the Grove, where the morning's festivities were taking place. Matt went to join the other graduates from the College of Liberal Arts, while the family took their place at a group of seats that had been 'reserved' by an undergrad that was behind on his rent and needed a way to make up what he lacked of his May rent. They took their seats and the guy again thanked Ron for his help.

"Do you know," Linda turned to Nick, "how hard it is for me to keep it inside?"

"Thank you, though," he said as she patted his leg.

"So the next one will be Nicky's!" Becky pointed out.

"I know! Maybe we'll have grandkids by then!" Linda said as Nick blushed

"I bet they're trying hard, Linda," Ron said as Nick blushed and as Jenny and Seth laughed.

"We've already had this conversation once today," Seth explained.

At 8:30, the graduates began to march in lines onto the Grove. Ron pulled up the video camera that he'd brought with him and got it turned on just as Linda spotted Matt walking toward a second of seats reserved for graduates. At nine, on the nose, the ceremony started with speeches and such from various officials of the university. At 9:45, Anderson Cooper, the year's guest speaker was invited to address the Parsons University class of 2009. For a good half hour, he talked about spending time in Mississippi growing up, and how his family was a divided one, with half the members being fans of EMU and the other half of Parsons. With a smile, he admitted that he was always drawn to Parsons. As advice to the grads, he talked about never forgetting their college days but always looking toward the future, toward the next goal, toward the next adventure that life threw at them.

After the speech was over, the provost called on each dean to present their graduates. When the College of Liberal Arts was presented and Matt, on whom they'd all kept their eyes, stood, Linda stood, cheering and screaming for "her baby" despite the fact that they'd been asked not to do so. Matt looked back to see her jumping up and down, though he couldn't quite hear her for all the other cheers that were being directed toward the crowd. At the end of the ceremony, when the degrees were again officially conferred, Matt himself felt a little bit of pride as the graduates stood and applauded, along with their friends and family, for each other.

The day wasn't over, though, as there was another ceremony at which they would receive their diplomas. After Matt made it back to his family, several other singers came over to him and gave him hugs. Linda wanted a picture with all of them, since she'd known most of them for years. All the girls, though, also wanted a picture with Nick. They posed sexily next to Nick as the circle of moms crying greatly expanded as others' mothers came over.

Afterwards, the whole group went to Ms. Geneva's for lunch. Matt had sent her an invitation, but she'd responded by telling them to come to have a meal on her. When they got there, she insisted that Matt put his gown and cap back on for her. Crying and telling him about how she remembered the first time she'd met him, she reminded him of the pride that Dan would be feeling if he were there. She told them to have a seat as people were bringing out huge platters of food and setting them on the table so that they could eat family style. For the first time that Matt could remember, Ms. Geneva sat beside him and joined them for the meal. Of course, she flirted with Nick the whole time. When Seth jokingly asked if he was chopped liver, she said no, but that she was giving him a day off. He laughed and thanked her.

As they were leaving, she handed him a small box that she insisted he open right then. The picture that had been hanging for years behind the cash register of him and Dan, one of what she called her most prized possessions, was sitting in the box. Attached to the back was a receipt from where she'd made a thousand dollar donation to the American Cancer Society in Matt and Dan's names. As Matt shed a tear, Ms. Geneva told him that it felt fitting to make a donation since Matt had more money than anybody else in town.

After a hug, she shooed them all out, saying that she had to work to help pay for that donation. Only Seth and Jenny, who handled her accounts, knew that she probably had as much money as he did, having saved every penny her entire life, taking money out only to send her kids and a few of her grandkids to school and make all her family's dreams come true.

The family returned to campus a little while later for the afternoon ceremony at which Matt would actually receive his diploma. As it started at two in the Parsons Coliseum, there again were speeches and things said, but when the diplomas were actually being handed out, there was again cheering through the room. As Matt walked across the stage, Linda made Ron stand up so that they could both cheer for the child that their love had produced. Ron, who was never stoic but who rarely showed emotions, beamed with pride as a single tear came down his cheek. He could still remember the pregnancy and how Matt wasn't supposed to even be there, not withstanding the fact that he was receiving his degree from the university that had been so important to his maternal family for generations.

That ceremony, too, came to an end filled with happiness and in all the glory and tradition embodied in the halls and quads that comprised Parsons University. As they walked outside, into the sun, Matt knew that he was no longer a student. Consciously, he had graduated. He was an alum, and he knew that. But in that moment, as he stepped from the Coliseum with his family, he felt like he was a part of the history of that place even more so than before. It was a good feeling, though, as that place had a way of telling him that he was to go out into the world, filled with hope for the future, and do something that would bring honor to him, to that place, and to all the people who had traversed the grounds of such an important place over the century and a half since the university's founding.

They slowly walked to where they'd parked and finalized plans for the evening's festivities. Seth and Jenny were going to go home for a little while, as they had a couple of things that they needed to do before the party. Everyone else was going right over to Ron and Linda's house, including Matt and Nick. Ron, Jimmy, and Nick immediately started on the grill as Becky, Janelle, and Linda worked on a bottle of wine that Linda'd been saving for a special occasion. Matt, though, was presented with his first graduation gift of the day and was sitting in their office on the second floor of the home.

"Dear Kid..." the letter started.

I'm sorry that I couldn't be with you on this day, but please know that I am somewhere, watching the event from that great place where all the other alumni gather after they pass... that big Parsons football stadium in the sky. We're all watching and cheering for you, Matt. Anyway. I hope that this day is filled with great happiness for you. I love you, Kid, and I'll always be with you.

              Pa

Matt refolded the single page and put it back in the envelope before sitting there for a moment. Part of him wanted to cry, but another part of him didn't. It was good to have the memories of this powerful man, but it was also good to celebrate that he'd lived more than that he wasn't there to celebrate with them. There was no gift of any monetary value left inside the envelope, but that paper alone, in Dan's handwriting, to him, was priceless, its value immeasurable by conventional means.

As Matt came back downstairs, there was a smile of contentness on his face. The letter was in the back pocket of the shorts that he'd changed into, sticking out. As he walked into the kitchen, Linda pulled down a bottle of rum and handed it to him. He turned it up, and, after placing it back down on the island in the middle of the kitchen, proclaimed that the party was starting. Linda and Becky were happy that he'd not been upset by the letter, giving Janelle a very condensed version of Matt's relationship with his grandfather that explained why his reaction was important to them.

By the time Seth and Jenny had changed and gotten to the house, the party was in full swing. Nick was the only one that was still relatively sober, but he explained to them when Matt wasn't around that he had to keep his wits about him if his plan was going to work. Seth agreed to be his comrade in arms that night, laying off the sauce. Jenny said that she wouldn't have anything until after dinner, just so that she wouldn't accidentally slip and say something in a moment of non-lucidity. Nick thanked her, a smile on his face.

At around six, they all assembled inside, in the dining room, for the huge family dinner. They stood and said grace, quickly, since most of them had a good buzz going, and sat to enjoy the meal that had been prepared in Matt's honor. As the time passed, Nick grew more and more nervous. He barely touched his meal, which wasn't an uncommon thing to see when Nick had something on his mind. By his own actions, his own choices, his life was about to change forever, and every time that he looked at Matt, he knew that it was going to be for the better. After dessert, though, Ron, Jimmy, and Seth were encouraged by their significant others to clean the kitchen. Nick offered to join them, but they all refused it, noting in their action that Nick had to prepare himself for what was about to pass in that huge house among the nine of them.

The guys got finished at around 7:30 and joined the rest of them in the living room. "So I was gonna get you a stripper for your graduation, son," Ron told him, "but Nick and your mom said no."

"Damn..." Matt joked as Nick laughed, trying to act offended.

"So here's your gift from me," Janelle said, handing him a small box. He opened it and thanked her for the hockey puck and the donation to the American Cancer Society, the same charity to which Ms. Geneva had made a donation in Matt's name.

Becky and Jimmy gave him a bottle of syrup, maple syrup, and had made a donation in his name as well to the ACS. Linda and Ron gave him a French/English dictionary, which made him laugh. "I'm sensing that there's a theme to these gifts, but I'm a little buzzed and haven't yet figured it out."

"Your plastered, just admit it," Seth smiled.

"Yeah. OK. I'm plastered." Matt thought for a second. "CANADA! If Seth and Jenny's gift has something to do with a beaver, I'm gonna piss myself."

"Here ya go," Seth smiled as he handed Matt a gift bag. Inside, there was a vintage dirty magazine that he'd acquired online. As soon as Matt saw the cover, he busted out laughing.

"Dude! This is priceless!" Matt said as he and Seth gave each other a fist-bump.

"What?" Linda asked as Matt handed him the bag.

"If you handing that to anyone else's mom, I'd be blushing right now," Seth told him as Linda pulled it out of the bag.

"SETH!" Linda said as she, Becky, and Janelle all laughed.

"I think I used to have that one," Ron said as Linda handed it to him. Opening it to the centerfold, he went on. "Yeah. I used to have that one. Ms. December brought me a LOT of comfort and joy!"

"And this is where I get it from," Matt grinned as he looked at Nick.

"Thank you Ron," Nick fired back as Ron smiled and held up his bourbon to tell Nick that he was welcome. "So now it's time for my gift," Nick said as Jenny handed him another small box. Matt took off the paper and pulled out a sheet of paper that was printed of a travel website.

"Nick..." Matt smiled. "I love it," Matt told him as he reached over and hugged him, thanking him for the vacation that Nick was taking him on. "Hence all the stuff related to Canada."

"Right," Nick smiled. "There's another part of it, though. Seth?"

"On it," Seth said as he stood and walked over to Linda and Ron's huge entertainment system. A song started to play as Nick stood, holding out his hand for Matt. Matt stood, having a feeling that he finally knew what was coming. As the singer hit her first notes, Matt recognized it to be Donya Ouenca's "I will be."

"Listen to the words," Nick whispered into his ear.

The first verse said things that Matt understood to be what Nick wanted to say to him in that moment. The second verse put into words, as best as words could, what Matt thought of him. "I will be...all that you want...and get myself together...cause you keep me from falling apart...and all my life...I'll be with you forever...to get you through the day...and make everything OK..." the chorus went, strongly after the second verse and into the powerfully constructed bridge.

As the final chorus came up, Ron put his hand on Linda's shoulder. She'd been able to hold in her tears up to that point, but that touch was just what she needed to go over the edge. As the song came to an end, Nick wrapped his arms around Matt.

"I love you..." he whispered as Seth grinned, holding Jenny's hand.

"So how do you like your song?"

"My song?" Matt inquired.

"Yeah," Jenny answered as Nick smiled. "The first song that you're gonna dance to as husbands."

Matt looked at Nick as Nick smiled, pulling another box from his pocket in which were two rings. One was old, having been worn for over five decades daily by the same man. It was cleaned, and the other was the exactly identical to it, only brand new. Nick took the older one out and put it on Matt's hand. It was way too big, but that didn't seem to matter.

"Wait..." Matt looked at it for a second, taking it right off his hand to look at the inscription inside. "Holy shit," Matt said as he started to cry, realizing who the first owner of that ring had been.

"So what do you say?" Nick asked him.

"Pa's ring..." Matt managed through the intense emotions coursing through him like a stampede of bulls on an old western dirt street. "Of course..." Matt told him as he reached up, not giving two shits who was in the room, and kissed him on the lips.

"My baby..." Linda managed.

"This is why you've been saying that all day!" Matt found himself saying a second later. "And hence the trip and all the Canada-related stuff, including beaver...which, Seth, I love you for that!"

"Congratulations..." Seth said as he walked over, took Matt away from Nick for a moment, and wrapped him into an embrace.

"I still haven't decided on your song yet," Matt told him.

"No worries," Seth said as he released him from the embrace.

"So how much time do I have to plan this thing?" Matt joked.

"None. Monday morning," Nick told him. "In anticipation that you'd say yes, I made all the arrangements. We fly up tomorrow, check into the hotel, get a good night's rest, and then we come back to Mississippi on Wednesday as a happily married couple, even though Mississippi will just say that we're roommates."

Matt, at a loss for words, kissed him on the lips again. "We have to do another ceremony down here, though," Matt thought for a second. "I've got to have Seth there as my best man."

"Got that covered," Seth said as he and Jenny pulled out their passports.

"Hell," Ron started, "we're gonna be there too. Only we're staying in a different hotel. We've heard stories about how loud y'all get!"

"DAD!" Matt smiled and shook his head. "I'll have to go to the ATM and get some cash out tomorrow."

"No," Nick told him. "This is my thing. I've got it all covered. Even our spending money."

"In fact," Jenny said. "You're to give us your credit cards. All of them!"

"Seriously?"

"Seriously!" she said as she took his wallet and removed everything but his ID and the cash that was in there. She put them in her shirt, right in the strap of her bra, knowing that Matt wouldn't go in there.

"So I guess I should go pack," Matt smiled as he turned to Nick. "Or have you taken care of that for me, too."

"Why do you think it took Jenny so long in our room while I was getting ready?" Nick told him.

"You're too much," Matt smiled at him.

"That's not what you said two nights ago," Nick joked as everyone in the place laughed.

A little while later, the party was disbanded as everyone else had a lot of stuff to do to get ready for the trip. Nick and Matt went home, arriving there just before ten o'clock. There were all kinds of graduation parties and such going on around their place, but it was their trip that was all on Matt's mind. As he and Nick got ready for bed, Matt couldn't help but think about how amazing Nick was. When they climbed into bed, each of the guys on his respective side of the huge king-sized bed, Matt discovered that, as he came off his buzz, there were some questions that he had. Nick answered them all as honestly as he could. Matt turned and looked at him at one point, though, staring at him in the darkness of the room, a darkness only broken by a streetlight outside that shined onto Nick, sort of giving him an angelic glow.

"So my last question..." Matt asked him as Nick looked at him, the light reflecting against his skin.

"OK..."

"Why won't you let me pay for, at least, part of it?"

"Matt. That would make sense. It really would, but my reasons are good, too."

"Try them on me."

"Matt. I love you for you, not for your money. I wanted to prove to you that you mean more to me than anything. So by me paying for it, I hope that it will show you that I'm committed to you, to us."

"If it were about money, we wouldn't be here, right now," Matt told him. "I might be a nice country boy, but I'm not stupid enough to let you get at me for that reason."

"Right..."

"And you're a Marine. Marines aren't like that," Matt told him.

"Not as a general rule," Nick said as he snuggled closer into Matt, wrapping his muscular leg across Matt's. Nick could feel Matt smile as he put his arms around Nick's waist.

They were quiet for a moment as Nick put his forehead against Matt's. "You make me so happy," Matt whispered.

"Ditto," Nick told him.

Matt adjusted his head so that he could kiss Nick. For a few minutes, they shared gentle pecks on the lips, Matt's small, firm lips, pushing up against Nick's full ruby red lips. As Nick concentrated his affection on Matt's lips, his hands were slipping around Matt's smooth, slim waist, to his back. Both guys could feel each other more in that moment than ever before. All of the glorious imperfections of Matt's body were right there beneath Nick's huge fingers; Matt could feel every single hair on Nick's legs and on his arms.

Their kissing went from smooth and sweet to hard and passionate after just a few minutes. They both got more and more aroused by all that was going on between them, to the point where Matt pulled Nick close enough so that their erections were pushing against each other. Matt could, through his own manhood, feel the throbbing and twitching of Nick's.

When he was ready, and not a moment before, Nick pulled away, temporarily, and pushed Matt onto his back. He kissed him once more on the lips before savoring the flavor of his body. He played, orally, with Matt's nipples for a second, stopping between them to bury his face in the little patch of hair that was there. He planted a couple of kisses before moving further down his smooth torso, kissing his belly button before descending even further down and into what Matt always jokingly called "The Promised Land". Holding Matt's erection down with his thumb, Nick held his tongue rigidly, running its underside against the top side of Matt's cock. All Matt could do in that moment was audibly moan, throw his head back, and close his eyes as he enjoyed the moment.

Nick had, long before, embraced the fact that he was a cocksucker. He loved sucking dick, but none that he'd ever enjoyed was as nice as Matt's. It was long and thick, the kind of long and thick that would intimidate most people. Nick saw it as a challenge, one that he and Matt both enjoyed to no end. As he reached the head, he had to stop himself from trying, as usually in vain, to swallow the entire thing. He ran his tongue along the top, though, and then down the underside, savoring the way that it felt against the very tip of his tongue.

A moment later, he found himself licking all around Matt's balls, enjoying the hair that Matt refused to completely shave off. He loved the way they felt against his lips; he loved the way that they smelled. Matt, unable to hold off anymore, reached down and took his own manhood into his hands. Nick put his hands on Matt's wrist, though, and pulled him away. It was as if Nick was saying to him that it was off limits to him in that moment. To appease him, though, Nick moved back up, wrapping his right hand around its base and his lips around its perfectly shaped head. Matt was already dripping gobs by that point, and Nick was enjoying every single bit of it as he began moving more and more rapidly along Matt's shaft.

As Nick had long before learned how to breathe while giving the world's most amazing head, Matt had also learned that Nick was driven wild when Matt put rubbed his always nearly shaved head as he was in the middle of the act itself.

Matt knew after a few minutes that the end of round one was coming, but he didn't want it to be over just yet. "Nick..." he said after releasing the tongue that he was biting, trying to stave off the inevitable. "OH!" he said as Nick pulled back the second after he began to shoot. Nick quickly swallowed most of it, waiting a second before moving off Matt and licking up that which had slipped past his lips.

"How was it?" Nick asked, like he did every time.

Matt leaned his head up and looked. "It was great," he smiled as Nick moved to lay beside him.

"Good. You've got five minutes of recovery, and then you're tearing it up," Nick said as he kissed Matt after making reference to his own ass.

"Yes sir," Matt smiled as he kissed Nick, pushing him after a second, onto his back. Their bodies pressed against the other's was enough for Matt to be reinvigorated.

They kissed for a bit, though, enjoying the physical and emotional warmth of the other on that hotter-than-normal May night. Nick could sort of sense when Matt was ready for round two, and, with that, he lifted his legs. Matt moved himself into the appropriate position as Nick grabbed some lube and a condom from the bedside table.

As always, Matt entered into him slowly, pushing his way deep inside him as he assumed what was their usual starting position. What was different, though, was that Matt, looking down on him, knew that this wasn't like every other time they'd had sex. Even though they didn't have the paper in their hand, they were bonded together, and that made it, for Matt, so much more than it had ever been before. Sure, Nick was still tight, despite having been broken in more times than either of them could count, but the fact that he was making love to his future husband was, above any other, the single most amazing feeling that he'd ever experienced.

Nick was certainly enjoying it as well, looking up as sweat dropped from Matt's body onto his. Never had he imagined that he would find someone like Matt, especially so soon after Corey had passed, but he was certainly glad that a chance meeting over the previous summer had led to what they had between each other. Nick had never really trusted anyone completely, but, other than his aunt and cousin, Corey and Matt were the only two people who knew who he really was, from the inside and out.

For almost an hour, they pounded at each other, filling the room with all the sounds, the feelings, the smells, the emotions that the two of them could experience. By the time it was over, Nick was close. He'd touched himself a couple of times, but he didn't want to finish too long before Matt did. Knowing Matt, though, he knew that Matt would start drastically increasing speed as the moment of no return approached. When he did, Nick reached up and started stroking himself. It didn't take long for one of the most violently satisfying orgasms in his personal history came flowing from deep within him. Being that he clamped down on Matt, Matt found himself unable to resist the second orgasm of the evening. With one final thrust deep into Nick's body, he began to fill the head of the condom with millions of his potential future children.

"Oh god," Matt said as he slowly slipped from Nick's body.

"Yeah," Nick smiled. "That never gets old!"

"I just hope I can still do that when we're old," Matt told him.

"We'll get you some Viagra if we have to, Matt," Nick joked as Matt stood from the bed and removed the condom.

"Got a drop left. You want it?" Matt joked as he stood beside Nick, who'd turned his head for the last little bit of Matt's creamy center. Shivers were sent all through Matt's body, as Nick enjoyed himself immensely.

Nick carefully stood from the bed, hoping that his load wouldn't drop onto where they would be sleeping in a little bit, and walked, with Matt, into the bathroom. They showered, spending more time kissing each other than actually bathing, and returned to the place where they'd just made such amazing love. Spent for the evening, they climbed into bed and next to each other, with Matt cuddling his chest against the back of the most amazing man that he'd ever encountered.

To be continued...

Posted: 07/22/11