The Trip Ch. 03

"Well, son we know how much you love and care for Justin, so we love and care for him too." Jeff responded simply.

"Can I tell you guys just one more thing?" Josh figured now was the best time.

"You can tell us anything." Cindy said.

"I'm gay too." Josh held his breath, waiting for their reaction.

"Son, we are very happy that you are finally comfortable to tell us." Jeff answered.

"You guys knew?!" How did they know what he had only just accepted?

"Joshua you're my son, again I carried you for nine months, I knew a while ago. Your father and I talked about it and we decided that you would tell us when you were ready to."

"Thanks for understanding, thanks for everything."

"Of course son. Now go and try to salvage the rest of the trip. Your mother and I have quite a bit to do before you boys return."

"What kinda things?"

"Don't worry about it right now, you will know soon enough. I love you son and talk to you soon." Jeff said.

They all said there good byes and as Josh hung up the phone he felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He also had a better perspective of his parents. This trip had only been another get away, now it was pivotal event in his life. Josh was going over all that was happening as he sat down.

"How was the phone call?" Jason asked as he set down a plate of food.

"It went really well. They are going to take care of some things by the time we get home."

"What kind of things?"

"They wouldn't tell me. I also told them I was gay."

"How'd they react?"

"They already knew and where just waiting for me to tell them."

"See and you worried for nothing." Jason shook his head smiling amiably.

"Yeah I guess, you knew, my parents knew, it's like I am the only one who was clueless."

"Hey, I'm an observant guy." Jason offered.

They both chuckled as Josh put more food in his mouth, "Have you seen Steve this morning?" He asked as his thoughts went to him.

"He was down about a half hour before you came up."

"How was he?"

"I could tell he didn't sleep much. He didn't want anything to eat. He came down for some coffee and went back to his bedroom."

"He didn't say anything to you?"

"Not really but I could tell he was still upset. Look, I know you're still pissed at him, and you have every right to be, but you need to go and talk to him."

"I know, I'm just so mad at him for what he did."

"Understandable, but you have to talk to him. He's still your best friend."

"Was my best friend."

"Josh don't say that. Right now he's very confused. He finally admitted to the fact that he's gay and is in love with you. He needs you right now just like Justin does. Look I'll make him something to eat and you can take it to him and talk about things."

"If you insist." Josh did not like the idea, but Jason had made some valid points, but he was not going to be happy about it.

"I do. It will only take me a few minutes to whip something up."

After Jason made his special scrambled eggs with cheese and fried up some bacon Josh took it up to Steve's room. When he entered the room he noticed Steve was laying on the bed.

"I brought you something to eat." He offered.

"I'm not hungry." Steve kept his eyes closed as he spoke.

"Steve, you need to eat. You haven't had anything since yesterday."

"My stomach's not feeling all that great, I don't know if I can keep anything down. Besides I have a lot on my mind and I just need to think about things." Steve finally opened his eyes and looked at Josh.

Steve's handsome face had aged over the course of a night, the muscles drawn tight. His eyes had circles beneath them from lack of sleep, and his startling hazel eyes were horribly blood-shot. Josh had a better understanding of why Jason insisted he speak to him.

Josh sat the food on the night stand and sat on the edge of the bed. "Why don't you talk to me about whatever is on your mind?"

"Josh I think you know what's on my mind."

"So what if I do, that's what friends do they talk things out."

Steve pulled himself upright and sat beside Josh. "You still consider me a friend, even after I hurt Justin."

"Yes I do. It might take me some time to get over it, but I'm not going to throw away a lifetime of memories. I'm here because of all of those times, so talk."

"I don't even know where to start." Steve's voice wavered he was still suffering from the weight of his emotions.

"How about we start with you're gay?" Josh said calmly.

"Shit, you sound like my therapist." Steve ran his hands through his thick dirty blonde hair.

Josh did not say anything, although it was news to him that his best friend had a therapist. Finally Steve sighed and began to talk.

"I always knew I was gay. I'm a classic case of never having any interest in girls in that way, but always my interest has been in guys. No, that's not really true; my interest has always been you. I have loved you for most of my life. Even in elementary school I felt it wasn't right. I mean you never got asked are there any cute boys in the class, always any pretty girls you like. So I figured something was wrong with me. I became your friend because I just had to be near you, even if it wasn't in the way I wanted." Steve paused, searching Josh's face for some clue that he understood how much he meant to him.

"Eventually, I accepted I was a homosexual and would never date girls. I also thought I accepted the fact that you weren't gay and I could never be with you the way I dreamed. I would surf the internet and hook-up with strangers whenever I got the urge. I never tried for a relationship; I could only have that with you. But sometimes when I was fucking some guy it would get a little rough... I meant really bad, I was hurting people. I couldn't help myself, and the last one was so bad I went to my mom and told her I thought I needed help with my anger. My folks put me in therapy for anger management, but I told Dr. Driscoll the truth. He said it's all anger I have at myself for not accepting who I really am."

Steve fell silent, and the two regarded one another in silence. Josh felt for his friend's pain and loneliness. And Steve loved him, had loved him for years but Josh knew he only saw Justin the way Steve saw him. Steve was beautiful by any standard, two inches taller than Josh and two hundred pounds of muscle. His hazel eyes were flecked with gold, and despite all of the sports he played there was not a mark on his tanned skin. Steve oozed masculinity and sported chiseled model looks and Josh felt no desire towards him.

Steve dared to hope for a moment as Josh sat so close to him on the bed. He could smell him, and enticing mix Josh's sweat and bacon. Steve thought briefly of how it would feel to have Josh beneath him and his cock promptly began to fill.

"God Josh, something is really wrong with me! I thought I had it under control. I was thinking of telling my parents before I left for school."

"Do you think that your parents are going to have a problem with you being gay?"

"I know for a fact they wouldn't be. I have a gay uncle on my mom's side of the family. She always told us kids that all she wants is for us to be happy."

"Then why hide it?"

"The same reason you did. You weren't ready to admit it."

"Okay point taken, but I don't think it's that simple. I mean you suspected I was gay, but you still never said anything."

"Yeah, I didn't suspect you were gay. I kind of noticed it, the more you and Justin were together. You were attentive to him in a way you never were to anyone else. Even the way you look at him when he talks. It was all over you that you loved him. I guess I thought you were always aware you were gay, but hid it from yourself like I did. So to me that meant you chose him over me, and that drove me crazy as irrational as it sounds. I'm sorry for the way I acted and I understand if you don't forgive me right away but I hope at some point you can."

"We've been friends all our lives, I'm mad at what you did, even if I understand a bit more. I love you, but friendship is all I can give you. It kind of hurts to know you feel that way about me and I can't return those feelings. Yes I forgive you, but if something is going on with you, tell me, you can't bottle it up inside."

"Thank you for forgiving me. Do you think Justin will ever talk to me again?"

"Justin is a very caring and forgiving person I'm sure he will, but it might take him more time to feel comfortable around you."

"I really can't blame him. Do you think I can talk to him before we leave?"

"The only thing you can do is try."

"I'm sure the other guys hate me right now."

"Not at all, I think we have some awesome friends. They were all surprised that you snapped the way you did, but mostly they have all been worried."

"How's Justin doing?"

"He's still sleeping right now; he has some cuts and bruises, but I don't think it's anything serious."

"I don't even remember attacking him like that. All I remember is going in the room and seeing him sleeping on the bed and it all went blank. The next thing I remember is waking up in here alone and in the dark."

"How much did you have to drink?"

"I was mixing rum and coke, more rum than coke, but I think I had about six glasses."

"Damn Steve you really could have hurt Justin or yourself."

"I know it was a stupid. I know better than to avoid my feeling with alcohol, Dr. Driscoll warned me about it. It's a mistake that I have to live with for the rest of my life. I'm sorry I ruined the trip for everyone."

"Well, the hurricane took care of most of it."

"Yeah but I sure didn't help any."

"Well we can still try and salvage some of it."

"How can we do that?"

"Come on, grab your food and let's go downstairs."

When they got downstairs Josh noticed that everyone was in the living room except Justin and Shane.

Jason greeted Steve with a smile and told him to eat before the food became inedible. Mark clapped him on the shoulder, glad the Steve issue was settled. Josh left the three of them upstairs and he went to the basement to see how Shane and Justin were getting along. Shane was sitting in a lounge chair reading a book, and he saw that Justin was still sound asleep on the couch where he had left him.

"Is it okay to let him sleep this long?"

Shane nodded, "He's fine, and he probably needs the sleep. Let him rest, the only worry would be if his breathing suddenly gets shallow."

"Everyone is eating upstairs, including Steve. You should head up, before the big guys eat it all." Josh watched the rise and fall of Justin's chest.

Shane studied the tender expression on Josh's face as he fretted over Justin. "I'm not hungry, but I think you two can use some time alone so I'm gonna head upstairs."

Josh spared Shane an appreciative smile. All in all, for a group of jocks his friends were proving to be the very definition of the word. He slowly slid the pillow out and put Justin's head back on his lap; Justin stirred but didn't wake. Enveloped in the darkness of the basement Josh soon fell asleep.

Josh awoke with a start a few minutes later with something wet and hot pressed against his lap. He realized it was Justin and a bit panicked he shook him awake.

"Justin are you okay? Angel you're dripping with sweat."

Justin pulled away from Josh's grasp and sat up. "No, no I-I'm fine. I g-g-get night sweats. I'm sorry I got it all over you." Justin wished a hole would open up in the ground and swallow him. He was grateful to Josh, but it now he felt naked, and exposed. So much of what he had kept to himself was being laid out before his best friend and love.

"Hey, a little sweat never hurt anyone, nothing to get upset over. Why don't you take a shower and change into something less damp and clean. It might make you feel better," Josh suggested.

"In the m-middle of a hurricane? M-m-might not be the smartest thing to d-do."

Josh took Justin's hand and stood, gently tugging Justin with him. "It's the eye; it's pretty calm. If it's quick you should be fine." Josh led him to the kitchen with the guys.

"Hey Jason, do you think it might be possible in any way to take a really quick shower?" Josh asked.

"I was kind of thinking the same thing. It's been two day since I took a shower and I really could use one." Shane chimed in.

"Well, from the looks of it we are still in the eye of the storm and we might have a small window to work with before things get bad again. Let try to take no longer than ten minutes each to shower; cause who knows when this storm is going to flare up again." Jason instructed.

"Who wants to go first?" Mark asked.

"I think Justin should go first." Steve suggested which surprised everyone in the room.

Justin startled for a moment at the sound of Steve's voice. He had mostly focused on Josh's feet and had not looked around.

He lifted his head and met the eyes of the one who had abused him hours earlier.

"I'm sorry Justin. Sorry can't even begin to cover what I feel, and I can't imagine how you feel right now. When you're ready I want to talk to you... try to explain. But I wanted to say that to you."

Justin looked steadily at Steve, Steve who he never felt completely at ease around. But Steve had apologized, his father never apologized, and his hurts were usually worse than what Steve had dished out. Solemnly Justin inclined his head, a quiet acceptance of what the other offered.

"Justin you think you need help in the shower?" Josh offered.

He declined and laboriously exited the room and headed upstairs. Each step a reminder of what happened when he wasn't careful, when he let his guard down. He was exposed. How was he going to be able to date Josh with his dad acting the way he did? He knew it wouldn't be fair for Josh to try and hide their relationship, if there was one. The one thing he would not do was hide who or what he was, why would he expect Josh to do it? He knew he loved Josh with all his heart but he knew deep down inside that it couldn't work out, not with the way things were going in his life. Of course if he survived, his cancer was highly treatable, but there were no guarantees. What if his dad decided to not pay? The man literally owned his life.

His thoughts kept bouncing around like tennis balls in his head. A huge part of him wanted to try a relationship with Josh but the other part of him was saying it would never work. As he was drying off he made the decision that he was going to tell Josh that they can only be friends at this point in his life.

When he entered the room he took notice that Josh had cleaned the room up. There was no evidence of the attack. The blood was gone and the broken lamp had been cleaned up. Justin looked over at Josh, who was standing at one of the boarded windows looking through the spaces.

"Your turn in the shower." Justin said flatly.

"Okay, back in a minute," As Josh passed him he couldn't resist himself and he pulled Justin into him for a kiss. His body glistened with water and his brown hair was a magnificent mess from the towel. He was irresistible. The kiss was tender and gentle, filled with all the care Josh had for his angel. When they parted he could tell something was bothering him, but after all that had happened he was glad Justin was awake and communicative.

Josh got his things and took his quick shower. He called downstairs to let the others know they were both done. He came back to the room to find Justin was sitting on the bed and still wrapped in the towel, he hadn't moved since Josh had gone into the bathroom.

"Justin is everything okay?" He asked as he sat on the bed next to him.

"No, everything is not okay. This is going to be the hardest thing I have to tell you. I know you love me and you know that I love you, but there is no way that we can have anything more than a friendship."

"Justin, what are you talking about?"

"There is just too much going on in my life right now to try and have a relationship. I have the cancer to deal with and that is going to take up a lot of my time. Then there is my dad to deal with. There is no way in hell he would ever allow me to date and it wouldn't be fair for you to hide the relationship."

"You have one thing right, I do love you. And why don't you let me decide what's fair and not fair for me. I know you're going through a tough time in your life right now, and I want to be there with you. I want to be there when you need a shoulder to cry on or someone to vent too. You're going to need someone to look after you when you come home from the hospital. Do you really think your dad is going to be the kind of care giver that you need?"

"I don't know. But how are you going to take care of me when school is right around the corner? The recovery process is not a short or easy one."

"School can be put on hold for all I care."

"You would really do that for me?" Justin said as he started to tear up.

"Yes. There is no question about it. I want to be there with you."

"I don't know what to say. I've never had anyone say they would do something like that for me."

"Say you will give it a try. If things don't work out then at least we know that we gave it a good fight."

"If you are willing to give it a try then I can't say no."

Josh leaned in and gave Justin the softest and most romantic kiss that Justin had ever gotten. The kiss was so filled with passion Justin's cock began to swell. He started kissing Josh with the same love and passion. He opened his mouth and their tongues started to explore each other.

Justin was sporting a full erection and it was very noticeable through his towel, and by the looks of it Josh was too. This was the moment Justin had been dreaming about ever since he saw Josh walking the halls of their high school. Josh ever so slowly undid Justin's towel and let his manhood spring free. Justin followed suit. Josh grabbed Justin's rock hard cock, which by this point had started leaking pre cum, and slowly started to jerk him off. Josh still couldn't get over how someone with such a tiny frame had a massive member. All he knew was he wanted to know what is was like to have it in his mouth.

Justin let out a tiny moan when Josh broke away. He moved over the Justin's left ear and started to nibble on it. The shock waves flowed through Justin's body making his cock jump and fill more. He fought back the urge to cum right then. Josh reveled in Justin's reaction; he moved over to the other ear and teased him more. Once he had taken care of each ear he worked his way down to Justin's right nipple where he started to lick and gently bite. Justin trembled and twitched with even the slightest contact. Josh delighted in the knowledge he was giving Justin so much pleasure. He became more aware that he wanted to taste proof of that pleasure; he wanted Justin's in his mouth more than anything. He slowly kissed his way down to the neatly trimmed patch of hair just above Justin's engorged leaking dick.

He took in a deep breath, breathing in the smell of fresh soap and light sent of man, it sent goose bumps over his body. He kneeled on the floor between Justin's slim legs. He started to lick up and down the seven and a half inch shaft making sure to pay close attention to the underside of the head. He noticed that when he licked that area it caused Justin to moan and tense up. He teased him a few times before finally taking the massive mushroom shaped head into his warm and wet mouth. The onslaught of stimulation coming from his lover's ministration caused Justin to lose his breath and arch his back off of the bed. The visual stunned Josh with its sensuality, he focused his effort on seeing what other sexy things he could cause his angel to do. Josh did his best to take as much as he could in his mouth without gaging too much and each time he was able to take a little more than he did before. He was finally able to relax his throat enough to get all the way down. He couldn't believe he had Justin's entire rod in his mouth. Once he was able to comfortably take him in his mouth he focused on developing his rhythm; he added his hand and slid it up and down while he was sucking. Justin thrashed with every stroke, out of control; he was trying his best not to make any noise so the others wouldn't hear, but he was finding it very hard to do. Justin could feel he was going to explode at any minute; he stopped Josh before he broke through that point.