I was in the habit of looking at Tom... just looking. I couldn't help myself. It's like when you see something so interesting or so beautiful that your eyes keep going back to it to study because they seem on their own to enjoy the looking. I wouldn't even be aware of it. We would be studying in the room and he would look up and say, "What, Ace?" and I would realize that I had been staring at him. I'd just smile and return to my book and, without looking, I knew he was chuckling to himself and shaking his head. He knew what I was doing, and he liked it, even though sometimes it made him blush.

He had started calling me Ace. I didn't know why. I didn't mind. I liked nicknames. Like my brothers calling me Wee Willie, Tom's calling me Ace made me feel loved in some way. Every time he called me Ace I felt like he was putting his arm on my shoulder, or patting me on the ass as I walked by. Besides, I would have had to hurt him if he had called me Billy. I hated being called Billy. It made chills run through my body. Ace seemed to fit me in some way. I liked it.

Tom wasn't much for talking about how he felt. Not like me. I couldn't shut up about how much I loved him. So, the moments when he did tell me became very important. Usually it was after lovemaking. That made it all the more special:

"You know, Ace," he said while he softly caressed my cheek as I looked up into those blue eyes, "when I finally gave in to the fact that I must be gay, I wondered what it would be like to love. I had pretty much figured all the other stuff out by that time. I knew life would be tough, and I thought I was ready for that." (I took his finger, and pulled it gently into my mouth. I loved to suck his fingers.) "I knew, too, that I would lose some friends and maybe even lose part of my family. That would be hard, but I knew it happened. I had the sex figured out, too. I had magazines. I had seen most of what went on. I thought I could probably get into sucking dicks, but taking one up the ass,... no way." (He laughed. I smiled. I'd just had... his.) "It was the love thing, though, that got me. Everything I had read about love had to do with a man and a woman. Every couple I had ever seen was male and female. People talked about falling in love and how that felt. I understood. But how would two men love? How would you kiss another guy? How would that feel? I thought sex would feel really good, but love... I wasn't so sure." I leaned in and kissed him. He kissed me back. There was a comfortable silence before he went on.

"Then I met you, Ace, and there it all was. It was all so natural. There were no awkward moments. There was just love. I didn't even think about it. You were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, and when you smiled, I melted. Thinking about you made me, not happy, but ecstatic... for no reason at all. All that worrying.... I remember the first time I held you. I was afraid you would break, not because you were fragile, but because you meant so much to me. I wanted to hold you forever and to protect you from everything. Suddenly Romeo and Juliet weren't just two stupid kids from Italy." I almost laughed. He put a finger to my lips. I knew he was serious and I wouldn't have hurt him for anything. "And they could just as easily have been us. We loved each other just as much as they did. Finally, I understood it. I really understood it - all of it. I understood love, and that I could have it, and that you had given it to me." A tear ran down his cheek. Then one ran down mine. "But almost more important, Ace, you had allowed me to give love to you. You took it in. All of this love I had inside... you gave me a place to put that love. I could almost feel you holding it tight and keeping it warm inside you. I hadn't ever even thought about that part, Ace. But that's the best part, isn't it, the part where you get to love someone else?"

"Nothing sounds corny now, Ace. It all makes sense, and I know that. Even if you ever feel like you have to leave me, I'll always have your love. You gave it to me as a gift, and I won't ever give it up. And, if we split, and I'm lucky enough to find someone else, part of the love I give him will be the love you gave to me." He looked at me for a time with tears in his eyes, then pulled me close and held me. "I love you so much, Ace...."

He broke down completely. He was the one of us who wasn't emotional, so you know what happened to me. I was a basket case. I don't know how long we held each other and cried. I just know that it drained from me every ounce of emotion I had. I was exhausted, and so was Tom. We fell asleep, and when I awoke, it was dark.

I crawled carefully out of bed, so I wouldn't wake him. Knowing Tom, after what he'd said to me, he'd need to sleep for days. But I would treasure that moment all of my life. No matter how bad things got, those words would keep me going... keep me loving him. He could never take them back. They were mine now. I gave myself time to study my love for about five minutes more. His black hair was messy, some of it falling loosely over his eyes. The blankets were down around his waist, so I could look at the muscular chest, the dark nipples, and the smooth skin disappearing beneath the covers. I watched him breathe and I wanted so much to kneel down beside the bed and gently play with those nipples with my tongue. I would do that to wake him. He loved it. But, right now, I didn't want to disturb the magic of loving someone so much that I really had nowhere inside to contain the feelings. They seemed to fill the room and enfold us both.

It was late. The dining hall would be closing. He would be ravenous after all that sex and all that emotion. The nipples were calling me. I could almost hear them. I knelt down and rested my head on his chest. So warm and soft from sleep. Maybe I wouldn't wake him. Maybe I'd just stay here all night. No, the spell had to be broken. I gently started to swirl my tongue around the left nipple. It hardened immediately. There was a little stir beneath the covers from its owner. Did I hear a soft moan? Then it was on to the other one...even sweeter than the first. Nipple play would not be enough for this young lover tonight, oh no. Slowly I began to lick down the wonderful body of my lover. Oh, god, this was heaven... tasting, feeling the soft skin, and knowing the prize that lay ahead. I moaned as I licked slowly, mmmmm. I reached his navel and spent some time there, swirling, tasting, teasing, and coaxing a little laugh from my love. I didn't so much hear a laugh as I felt one vibrate my tongue as I took one last swirl around his navel. Then it was on down into the warm darkness beneath the covers.

What was this? Legs spread? Hardening dick? Was my lover too sure of what would come next? Was he sure it would be him? A little teasing was in order here. Instead of following that wonderful trail down to the object of my affection, I bypassed it altogether, flipping off the covers and landing at the toes. "You son of a...." Now came from my lover's lips. Quite a change of attitude, no? And what of the hardening tower of love? Gone. Lost. Not to worry. I carefully replaced the covers so that the chill would not disturb the pleasure I was about to give. Then I took each toe in turn, sucking it, gently, seductively, until my lover could stand no more.

"For god's sake blow me, Ace. I'm dyin' here."

Such sweet words from my love. He could not be denied. Slowly up the legs I licked. There was something about licking hairy legs that turned me totally on. My dick had been hard from the beginning, but now it threatened to burst. Up, up I licked until, what was this? Soft, undulating orbs of flesh? Mmmmm. I took each in turn, enjoying the loose flesh that covered each, and swirling each around in my mouth as my love fully squirmed in his bed. Finally, when I thought he could wait no longer. (Because, he told me, if I didn't hurry up and get that dick in my mouth he was going to put it there for me...such a romantic.) I plunged full-throttle down to the base of the object of my love, making my love scream so loudly that I thought everyone on the floor must have heard him.

Rubbing his anal sphincter softly, I began slowly to move up and down on the wonderful shaft, tasting each wonderful inch. Could it get any better than this? Yes, it could. Without knowing it, I had positioned myself in such a manner that my love could reach my own love pole and began sucking it even as I was sucking his. It was such a surprise that I nearly bit down on the object of my affection. The love making then became less lovemaking than pure ravenous sex. The thrusting and sucking and moaning and groaning became faster and louder until in unison our bodies stiffened and our penises erupted like geysers into the mouths of our lovers at exactly the same time. I couldn't get enough of his sweet love juice, nor he of mine, and we sucked one another until the last drops of ecstasy had been sucked from our love tools. Then we each collapsed with a long lover's sigh.

"Holy shit, Ace. You never blew me like that before. I don't think I'll be able to walk for days." He was always the romantic.

"You're not so bad yourself, muscle tongue." Me too. "You ready for dinner?"

"You got more?

"I mean at the dining hall, shithead."

"Well, we've had the appetizers, we might as well."

Then, after a long, hard, naked kiss, we got dressed and went to the dining hall to eat. We had to stop momentarily at the door while I wiped a bit of appetizer from the corner of his mouth. I don't know that there was ever an afternoon quite like that one. Whenever I have time, and am alone, I always sit down in my favorite chair, lean my head back, and relive that day just one more time.