The Man from Swift Current
By: Russ Nielsen
(© 2011-2012 by the author)

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

Chapter 47
Felipe and Greg

The rest of the semester went pretty quickly between our studies and our afternoon workouts with Felipe and Greg.   Felipe and Greg started joining us at our condo for study sessions.   Felipe helped Rick and I learn Spanish and Greg and Rick tried to help me with my calculus.   I don’t think I will ever be good at math no matter who helps me try to learn it!

One evening after we had been studying, we sat around the kitchen table chatting about our classes when Greg’s cell phone rang.   It was his Dad.   He stood up and walked into the front room to talk.

When he returned, he looked really upset.   I asked, “What’s wrong, Greg?”

Greg replied, “I hate the fact that my parents think that just because they are religious that I am, too.   Dad called to chastise me for not attending regular bible study with a friend of his who lives near here.   His friend is a minister at his church and Dad wants me to help with their youth group.   Dad wasn’t happy when I told him I wasn’t interested in studying the bible anymore and he threatened to cut off the money for my room and board if I didn’t obey him.”

“What are you going to do?” Rick asked.

“I guess I have to go to bible study twice a week because I don’t have any money to pay for my room and board.   I have a full ride scholarship that covers tuition, fees and books,” Greg said.

“Have you thought of getting a job to pay for your room and board?” Rick asked.

“Yes, I have.   I would have to move out of the dorms and share an apartment with several guys in order to make ends meet,” Greg said.

Felipe said, “I would be willing to share an apartment with you if you decide to move off campus.   I can talk to my parents about it.”

Greg thought, “I would love to move in with Felipe but not as roommates.”   His thoughts made him blush.   Out loud, he said, “Don’t do that just yet.   Let me investigate a few other options first.”

I could see that the two guys were attracted to each other but weren’t ready to admit that they wanted to start a relationship.   I kept watching the looks they gave each other as we continued to discussion Greg’s situation.   A little plan started to form in the back of my mind about how I could get the two together.   I looked over at Rick and gave him a sly little smile.   Rick caught my eye and said, “What are you up to now, Glenn?”

I gave him my most wide-eyed, innocent look and said, “Me?   I am not doing anything.”

Greg stopped in mid-sentence and looked over at us, “What’s going on?”

“Nothing, Greg.   It’s just that Rick thinks I am plotting something and wants to know what it is,” I said smiling beatifically at my lover boy.

 Felipe laughed, “Glenn is definitely planning something because he never grins like that unless there is something going on in that head of his.”

Rick reached over and started to rub the inside of my thigh.   He grinned, “I know how to get Glenn to tell us what he is thinking.”   His hand moved to my junk and started to massage me until I was squirming in my chair.

I looked at him and said, “Rick, stop.”   Of course, I didn’t want him to stop but I didn’t want to tell him anything.   I grabbed his hand and pulled it away.   I stuck my tongue out at Rick and exclaimed with a big grin, “I’m not telling you!”  I got up and raced out of the kitchen with Rick not far behind me.  

I managed to gain the refuge of our bedroom before Rick caught up to me.   He grabbed me around my waist and pulled me close to him.   I looked up into his eyes and started to laugh.   “You caught me but you can’t get me to tell you anything!”

Rick gave me a wicked smile.   “Really?”   He began his assault by capturing my lips and kissing me passionately.   Then he lifted me off my feet and put me down on our bed and began caressing my body until I was begging him to fuck me.

Rick stopped abruptly leaving me completely unsatisfied.   “Rick, don’t leave me this way!”

Rick grinned, “Okay, then start talking.”

I gave him a rebellious look.   He started to walk out the door when I finally gave in and said, “Okay, I will tell you but you have to shut the door.”   Rick closed our bedroom door and then sat crossed-legged on the bed next to me as he listened to my plans to help Felipe and Greg get over their shyness and start dating each other.

When I was finished, Rick laughed, “Is that all you were plotting?”

“Yes, honestly, that is all I was up to and nothing more.   Will you help me get them together?”

Rick laughed, “Alright, I will help you only because I can see they are very much attracted to each other.”

Rick got up to leave but I grabbed his hand and looked up at him smiling, “You promised you wouldn’t leave me unsatisfied if I told you what I was planning.”

I pulled him back onto the bed and Rick proceeded to keep his word.   When we returned to the kitchen, Greg and Felipe were laughing and joking around.   Greg looked up and said, “Glenn, it looks like you got what you wanted!”  I blushed but didn’t respond.   When I didn’t say anything, Greg asked, “Rick, did you get Glenn to tell you what is going on?”

Rick grinned broadly, “Yes, I did.”

Felipe laughed, “I am sure you did, Rick.   Can you share what you found out with us?”

“No, at least, not yet,” Rick said, laughing at the guys’ expressions when he told them, “no.”

*** ***

One afternoon a few days later, we were lounging around the condo after we had been to the gym to lift weights since we weren’t eager to start on our homework.   I asked Felipe, “When did you first know that you were gay?”

“I have known I wanted to have sex with guys since I was 13 years old.   I had to be very careful not to let anyone know because in Mexico they will kill you if you try to approach someone or look at them in the wrong way.   The machismo thing is very real and even a slight insult will get you beaten up, if not murdered out right.   One of my best friends laughed at one of the guys in the street one day.   Later that day, that same guy stabbed my friend and killed him,” Felipe said.

“Didn’t the police do anything?” I asked in horror.

“No, they were paid off by the guy’s family.   The police there are very corrupt.   They are poorly paid and take bribes to increase their income,” Felipe explained.   “It’s a fact of life that has become part of our existence, unfortunately.”

“How did you manage to hide your interest in guys?” I asked.

“I avoided being alone with other guys.   They seem to sense that I was different and would bully me.   So I became very adept at hiding from them.   I was never able to express myself so openly before I moved to the United States to study.   You and Rick are truly amazing!   You are open about your love for each other and don’t care who knows it.   I want to find someone to love me the way you and Rick love each other and who won’t be ashamed of being gay.”

Rick and Greg had joined us during this part of our conversation.   Rick asked, “Have you ever had sex with another guy?”

“No, I’m still a virgin.   I want my first time to be with the guy I love.   I’ve been searching but haven’t found anyone, yet,” Felipe said, the longing and loneliness showing in his face.

Greg said, “I’m the same way.   I want my first time to be with Mr. Right.   I don’t want to waste time on someone who wants me just to get his rocks off!”

“Greg, when did you know you were gay?” I asked.

“I was 15 when I finally figured out I was really into guys.   Before that, I just wasn’t sure who I was and what I was interested in.   I was pretty much a loner during high school.   I was always afraid someone would find out I was gay and I didn’t want to get beat up like a couple other guys at my school.   The rest of the school constantly harassed them until one of them committed suicide.   Then they all pretended that they hadn’t done anything wrong.   That it was his own fault for getting depressed and taking his own life.”

Felipe said, “That’s really sad.   Was he a friend of yours?”

“Yes, he was my brother,” Greg said his eyes bright with tears.   “He blew his head off with a shot gun.   I was the one who found his suicide note and called my Dad to hurry home so we could find Dylan.   I went looking for him everywhere in the house and couldn’t find him when I heard a shot outside.   I ran out the back door and found him on the patio lying in a pool of his own blood with the whole back of his head blown away.”

I put my arms around Greg and pulled him close as the tears started coursing down his cheeks.   Rick and Felipe came over and wrapped us in a group hug.

After a few minutes, Greg stopped crying and gained control of himself.   “Sorry, guys.   I haven’t thought about Dylan in a long time.   I was 14 and he was 15 when he died.   So it’s been six years now but it still hurts when I think about it.   I’ve often wondered if I had been a few minutes earlier if I could have stopped him from doing it.”

Greg smiled at us, “Thanks guys for listening to my sad story.  I’m sorry for bringing it up.   I don’t usually share such personal things with people.”

Rick clapped him on the back, “No problem.   We just got to know you a little better that’s all.   The only thing is don’t be such a drama king, okay?”

Greg laughed, “That’s the first time I’ve ever been accused of being a drama king!   You should know by now that I’m pretty reserved most of the time.   I don’t like to bring attention to myself.   I’ve found that flying under the radar screen has its advantages.”   His face had brightened considerably.

We were all sitting close together on the couch after Greg’s emotional breakdown.   The close contact with such beautiful guys was causing some movement down below.   I looked over at Rick who seemed to be having the same problem.   I caught Rick’s gaze and grinned.   Rick’s eyes grew wide as he realized why I was grinning.   He looked at my crotch and then looked at the other two guys whose shorts were starting to tent.   Rick’s eyes met mine.   He returned my grin and nodded at me, understanding my unspoken question.   I moved closer to Felipe and reached over to pull him close to me.   I leaned forward and kissed him on the lips.   At first, he stiffened in my embrace then he started returning my kiss.   He opened his mouth and we began French kissing.   I heard Greg’s gasp as he watched me and Felipe.  

We broke off our kiss and I looked at Greg and smiled signaling Rick to do the same to Greg.   The look on Greg’s face was priceless as Rick started kissing him.  It didn’t take Greg long to respond to Rick’s kiss though!  

I kissed Felipe, again.   After some pretty serious tongue action, I pulled back and asked, “How was that?”

Felipe’s eyes had gotten as big as saucers and his cheeks were flushed.   “That was great!   I’ve never been kissed like that before.   Will you kiss me, again?”

I pulled Felipe closer to me and kissed him, again.   This time I ran my hand up and down the inside of his thigh.   I moved my hand up and gently grabbed his package and started massaging his dick through his jeans.   He quickly hardened under my touch.   Felipe pulled back and looked at me in wonder.  

“That feels so great!” he exclaimed.

Rick broke off kissing Greg and asked, “Well, Greg.   What do you say to that?”

Greg was smiling from ear to ear.   He looked like a kid at Christmas who had just gotten everything he’d asked for.   “That was the best kiss I’ve ever had.   In fact, that was the first time I’ve been kissed by a guy.    I can’t believe you and Glenn are willing to let the other kiss someone else.”

Rick said, “We only allow kissing.   I’m still very jealous of anyone who touches Glenn but we agreed that we could kiss you guys if the opportunity arose.”

With that, Rick switched places with me and pulled Felipe into a passionate kiss while I came over and pulled Greg to his feet and embraced Greg as I kissed him.  I could feel that Greg’s piece was still hard through the cloth of shorts.  I got so hard it hurt.   When Rick and Felipe surfaced for air, I walked over next to Rick and put my arms around Rick.

“Rick, I need you right now!” I said, my extreme condition giving my voice a sense of urgency.

Rick laughed as he could see what a state I was in, “Okay, lover boy.”   He stood and squeezed my package.   “Is this why you need me so badly?”

“Stop teasing me and help me take care of it.   Please,” I begged Rick.

Rick turned to Greg and Felipe, “If you will excuse us?”

They both laughed at my state of emergency.  The wet spot on my shorts was getting bigger to my embarrassment.   “Of course, we’ll be in the kitchen studying,” Felipe said.  

Rick led me into our bedroom where we helped each other strip out of our clothes and Rick pushed me down on the bed.   He prepped me and then captured my lips as he satisfied my need for him.

*** ***

Greg looked up from his books as we entered the kitchen a while later.   “I’m sorry, Glenn.   I didn’t intend to turn you on so much.   I know how much you need to study.”

I was surprised at the apology.   “Don’t apologize.   I was just as much as fault as you were.   Besides, I got what I wanted,” I turned and leaned in to kiss Rick.

Rick laughed and said, “Yes, you did but now we have to pay the price for taking a break.   Back to studying, you know we have exams tomorrow.”

“You are such a spoil sport sometimes, Mr. Lernier,” I said trying to be serious but not quite able to pull it off.   I laughed and said, “Thank you, Babe, for a wonderful time.   I needed the break and Greg and Felipe just helped me decide what kind of a break I needed.”   I squeezed Rick’s hand and smiled at Felipe.

Greg laughed, “I see that I’ll have to be careful around you, Glenn.”  

Felipe said, “Yeah, I can see that I will need to be careful, too.   I don’t want to spoil our friendship.   Thank you for sharing with us, guys.   Maybe Greg and I can practice kissing each other so we won’t endanger our relationship with you two.”

Greg eyes opened wide in surprise when he heard that.   After a moment he said, “I’d like that Felipe.”  

Felipe smiled and reached over to take Greg’s hand.

Rick said, “Okay, guys, it’s time to study.   You can flirt with each other some other time.”

Greg smiled and said, “You’re such a killjoy, Rick.   Can’t you let us at least hold hands?”

Rick replied, “Only if you can study and hold hands at the same time.  I know for a fact that Glenn can’t concentrate on his books if he’s touching me.”   He kissed me, again, before continuing, “Glenn seems to have only one thing on his mind – sex!”

“That’s not true!   I do have other thoughts besides having sex with you, just not very many of them,” I said grinning broadly at my lover boy.

When we had finished studying Greg and Felipe left to go to Greg’s dorm.   We had just finished washing up the dishes when Rick’s cell phone rang.

Answering it, he said, “Hello, Melodie.”

“Rick, I wanted to let you know what happened to your family in court today.   They all will be spending some time in jail for what they did.   They pleaded guilty to 2^nd degree criminal damage to property.   The judge sentenced them to one year in jail and four years of probation to include 2,000 hours of community service. ”

“Thank you for calling me about my family.   Where will they be serving their time?”

“They will serve their time in the Georgia State Prison near Reidsville.   I’m sorry, Rick.   I know that it’s hard to believe your family has turned against you and is serving time in prison for attempting to murder you and Glenn.”

“Why weren’t they tried for attempted murder?”

“The prosecuting attorney didn’t think he could get a conviction since it’s not considered a hate crime if the motivation for the crime is based on sexual orientation.   If it had been motivated by racial prejudice, they would have been tried under the hate crime statutes.”

“Do you mean to tell me that if they had murdered us that they could have gotten away with it because we’re gay?” Rick asked.

“There is a possibility that they would have been able to prove they were justified in killing you based on their religious beliefs, especially if you were flaunting your sexual orientation in a manner that provoked them.”

“Is our justice system so messed up that committing murder is justified because someone gets offended because we show each other affection in public?”

“I’m afraid so, Rick.   Please be very careful how you and Glenn display your affection for each other in public.   There are a lot of religious zealots out there who wouldn’t give a second thought to erasing you from off the face of the earth.”

“Then why did they get any jail time at all?” Rick asked.

“They caused a lot of damage to your apartment.   The damages were over $10,000 so that is why they were charged with 2^nd degree criminal damage to property.”

“Thank you for calling, Melodie.   Please let us know if anything changes,” Rick said.

“Good-bye, Rick,” she said.

“Good-bye,” Rick responded.

I could tell he was pretty shook up by the news he had just received.   He pulled me into his arms and said, “Just hold me, Glenn.”

“Come with me and let’s lay down on the bed,” I said pulling Rick into our bedroom.   I could feel him start to shake as the shock of hearing Melodie’s news started to settle in.

It wasn’t long before Rick was sobbing in my arms, “Let it all out sweetheart.   I’m right here.”

Between his bouts of crying, Rick related to me the entire conversation between him and Melodie.   “Why do they hate me so much that they are willing to go to prison?” Rick asked.

“I can’t tell you, Rick, because I don’t know.   It doesn’t make sense in today’s world for such hatred to exist in a nation who claims to be as civilized as yours.   It reminds me of the Dark Ages in Europe.   Maybe the United States has returned in some ways to the days before the rule of law and the ascendancy of reason took hold of western thought.   There are so many myths about gays out there that one would believe that we are devils with horns and tails walking the streets preying on little children and trying to recruit every male in society to become gay.   There is so much fear and misinformation that it makes me ill just thinking about it.”

“But it doesn’t explain how my Dad would willingly take part in the destruction of our apartment,” Rick said.

“Remember you told me that your mother was extremely fanatical as is her family?  It could be that she threatened him and that’s why he went along with it,” I said.

“I hope you’re right.   I know my mother will never accept me but I had hoped that my Dad would be more reasonable,” Rick said looking me in the eyes looking for some ray of hope that at least one member of his family would accept him as gay and me as a life partner.

“Maybe after serving some time in jail, your Dad will have a change of heart and will come around.   I don’t hold much hope that your Uncle George or any of your mother’s family will change their minds,” I said.

I continued to comfort Rick the best way I could until he fell asleep in my arms.   I carefully got out of bed and took off Rick’s shoes and socks and covered him up with a blanket.   I thought to myself, “The best thing for Rick will be to get some sleep.”   I was so upset about the news we had received that I needed to talk to somebody.

I pulled out my cell phone and called Uncle Dave.   I related to him the events of the evening.   “What can I do to help Rick?”

Uncle Dave said, “Just be there for him.   Make sure you let him know that you love him.   Remember it’s the little things that matter.   Show your love to him in every word you speak to him and every little action you take.   That’s how you will be able to help him.   Try to encourage him to forgive them for their rejection of him.   It will hurt him more to harbor hard feelings against them than to let those feelings go.”

“How can we forgive them?   They have hurt him so much.   It just makes my blood boil thinking of how self-righteous they are and that they think they are the perfect examples of what Christian people should be.  I can’t ask Rick to forgive them when I can’t do it myself and they aren’t even my parents!”

“I understand your anger and frustration but you need to remember they are human, too.   They aren’t perfect and neither are you and Rick.”

“I know that, Uncle Dave.   However, I can’t forgive them for hurting the one I love.   I have seen the misery in his eyes and the deep wounds he carries in his heart and soul.   Rick is such a gentle and kind person.   He doesn’t deserve to be treated this way” I responded trying to restrain the anger I felt.

“But you still haven’t got the message, Glenn.   You need to let go of the grudge you are holding against Rick’s parents so you can help Rick heal from the deep wounds he has received from them.   Try to put yourself in their shoes for a second.   How would you feel if your only son showed up with his male lover and you discovered it by walking in on them?”

“I don’t know how I would feel, Uncle Dave,” I said.

“Think of the disappointment they felt seeing their dreams for their only son destroyed.   Even your own parents struggled with that when Randy told them he was gay.   Remember how angry your Dad was?”  Uncle Dave said.

“How could I ever forget?” I responded with feeling.

“Glenn, you need to be the strong one in this situation.   Try to overcome your anger and your hurt feelings and help your partner to overcome his.   I promise that you will both be better human beings and you’ll be much happier.   It’s a huge burden to carry around that kind of anger and hatred towards another human being.   You will have enough difficulties without adding the burden of bad feelings to the list.”

“Thanks Uncle Dave.   I just needed to talk to someone.   I promise I’ll try to let go of my hard feelings for Rick’s family,” I said.

“Good.   You know I will always be here for you when you need me, Glenn,” he said.

“Good night, Uncle Dave.”

“Good night, Glenn.”

I returned to our room and stripped off my clothes and climbed in beside Rick.   Rick unconsciously pulled me close to him.   I laid my head on his chest and was soon fast asleep as well.

To be continued...

Posted: 05/25/12