Taking Off the Mask
Chapter 14
Love takes off the masks that we fear we cannot live without
and know we cannot live within. James Baldwin
I was in the clouds the rest of the week. After kissing him in his bedroom, we were growing much
closer. He sat with us at lunch each day, and he would come by my locker after school and ride
home with us. The Three Musketeers were now the Four.
On Wednesday night, my mother and I ate dinner alone. Janet was at a friend’s house and wouldn’t
be home until late. As I was making a salad, my mother looked over at me and smiled.
“Someone’s in a good mood,” she said happily. “What’s that tune you’re humming?”
I hadn’t realized that I had been humming. I had to stop and think, and then I realized that it was the
song that Dion said he liked when I asked him earlier in the day what kind of music he listened to.
“Just a song Dion told me he liked,” I responded. She looked over at me and gave me a puzzled
look. I then remembered that I had never mentioned Dion to her.
“And who is this Dion?” She smiled. “Is he the reason you’ve been walking around with a smile on
your face all week?” I could feel my face begin to blush. This only made her laugh louder. She
placed the food on the table and we sat down.
“Spill it,” she insisted after we began to eat. “Who is this Dion?”
As we ate, I told her about Dion. She was happy that he was Nurse Dorothy’s son. She became
worried when I told her about how he had been affected by his brother’s death, but she seemed
satisfied when I told her about my discussion with his mother.
“He sounds like a wonderful young man,” she said after I told her about him. “When do I get to
meet him?”
“Friday,” I said. “Nurse Dorothy invited us to a barbecue.” I told her about our invitation to dinner.
She said that she was going to call Dion’s mother later and see if there was anything she could
bring.
“So you like him?” She asked.
“I think I more than like him,” I replied. My face began to redden. It seemed strange to be
discussing liking another boy with my mother. I knew she accepted me being gay, but I wasn’t sure
if she was prepared for me taking the next step and having a boyfriend.
“I want you to be careful, James,” she warned. “You two are very young. Don’t jump into anything
you’re not prepared for.”
“I learned my lesson with Donovan,” I replied. “This time I’m not making any mistakes.”
She rose and opened up her arms. I stood and embraced her. “Have I told you lately how happy I
am that you’re my son?”
“Not in the past couple of days,” I laughed. “But it’s still always nice to hear.” She squeezed me
tightly.
After cleaning up the dishes, I went upstairs to my room to work on my homework. An hour later my
mother knocked on the door and entered.
“I called Mrs. Carter,” she informed me. “It’s all set for Friday. I’m making a peach cobbler to take
over there.”
“Peach cobbler?” I said excitedly. “You haven’t made that in ages.”
“I also invited Dion for dinner tomorrow night,” she said.
“But we’re going there Friday,” I said. “You’ll meet him then.”
“I know,” she replied, “but I want to meet him without a lot of people around.”
“You want to interrogate him,” I answered. “I told you he’s not like Donovan.”
“I just want to be sure you’re not jumping into anything too fast,” she replied.
“I’m not, Mom,” I insisted. “You have to trust me.”
“I do trust you, James,” she patted me on my leg. “There’s nothing wrong with me wanting me meet
my son’s boyfriend.”
“Promise me you won’t say or do anything to embarrass me,” I begged.
“I’m your mother,” she laughed. “Of course, I won’t.”
“I’m doomed,” I moaned into the pillow. She laughed on the way out the door.
I didn’t see Dion the next day at school. I went past his locker several times, but he didn’t show.
I was beginning to worry about him because I thought he might have gotten sick and couldn’t come
to school.
“What’s wrong with you?” Jackie looked across the table at me as we ate lunch. Interestingly, Roy
hadn’t joined us either.
“Have you seen Dion today?” I asked worriedly. She shook her head.
“Where’s Roy?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” she replied. “I haven’t seen him all day, either.”
Just then, Roy and Dion came walking into the cafeteria. Roy had his arm thrown around Dion’s
shoulder, and Dion was smiling broadly. His eyes lit up when he saw me.
“I did it, James,” he said excitedly. “I think I’m going to make the baseball team.” I laughed as he
did a little dance beside the table.
“The coach was really impressed,” said Roy. “We stopped by his office after second period and he
took us out to the baseball diamond and had Dion try out.” Dion sat down closely beside me.
“He thinks I can be a starting pitcher.” Dion was hardly able to contain his excitement.
“Coach Weaver thinks he has one hell of an arm,” exclaimed Roy. “With me as the catcher, we’re
going to make a good team.” He reached over and fisted Dion.
Dion and Roy went to the cafeteria line to get a bite to eat. Jackie looked over at me and smiled.
“I can’t believe the change in Dion,” she said. “He’s nothing like he was a week ago.”
“I know,” I responded. “Can you believe it?”
“Yes, I can.” Jackie smiled warmly at me. “He’s really in love.”
“No he isn’t,” I said embarrassedly.
“Are you kidding?” She exclaimed. “His eyes light up every time he sees you.” She reached across
the table and held my hand. “I guess we both found someone special.”
“Yeah,” I replied. “I guess we did.” We looked across the cafeteria as Dion and Roy stood in the
cafeteria line talking animatedly to each other. Jackie squeezed my hand tightly.
After lunch I walked Dion to his fourth period class. I hadn’t seen him all day and I just wanted to
spend a little time together.
“Are you still coming to dinner tonight?” I asked.
“I guess,” he replied. “I’m nervous, though. You sure your mother won’t mind?”
“Are you serious,” I laughed. “She’s dying to meet you. I told her all about you last night.”
“You did?” He looked questioningly at me. “What did you tell her?”
I looked around to see anyone was looking. “I told her you’re my boyfriend.”
He grabbed my arm and stopped me. “She knows you’re gay?”
“Yes,” I said. “She’s known for about two weeks.”
“And she doesn’t care about us seeing each other?”
“No,” I insisted. “She’s happy for us.” He gave me a disbelieving look.
“I have an idea,” I said. “Why don’t you spend the night?”
“I can’t,” he said. “Tomorrow’s a school night.”
“So?” I replied. “You can walk to school with me and Jackie.”
“I’ll have to ask Momma,” he responded. I handed him my cell phone. He took it and walked away a
few feet. I could hear him trying to persuade her to let him spend the night. Finally, he hung up
and walked back over to me.
“She said it would be alright, as long as your mother calls her later.” Just then the bell rang. We
ran to Dion’s class; he entered just as the teacher was closing the door.
“I’ll call her,” I said excitedly as I tore off down the hall. I was going to be late for my class, but I
didn’t care. Dion was spending the night with me!
We all met up after school and headed to Mickey D’s for something to eat. When I told Jackie that
Dion was spending the night with me, she raised an eyebrow. I began to blush, knowing what she
was thinking.
I suggested that she and Roy come over after dinner and we’d play a game. Roy said he’d pick up a
movie at Blockbuster and bring it. We argued for ten minutes on what we’d watch. Jackie insisted
on a love story, but we wanted a thriller. Jackie sulked when we voted on it. Of course, she lost.
She tried to make Roy feel guilty by not siding with her, but he said that guys had to stick together.
He dropped me and Dion off at Dion’s house. Nurse Dorothy said that she’d drive us back to my
house. She was looking forward to seeing my mother again. As soon as we walked through the
door, I heard the pitter patter of feet bounding down the stairs.
“James!” Marky shouted. I opened my arms and he jumped into them. “You wanna throw a ball?”
“Sure,” I said, much to his delight. “We’ll throw a ball while Dion gets his things together.”
“Where’s he going?” Marky asked.
“He’s spending the night with me,” I said. His face lit up.
“Can I stay at your house, too?” He asked excitedly.
“Not tonight,” I said. His smiling face immediately turned to a pout. “But maybe the next time.”
I laid him on the ground and started tickling him. He squealed and tried to get away.
“Stop, James,” he screamed. “You’re making me pee my pants.” Dion and I started laughing when
he stood up and had a wet spot in the front of his shorts. Tears started to well up in his eyes.
I reached out and took him back into my arms. I put him down quickly when I felt the front of my
shirt get wet. Marky started giggling.
“My pee’s on your shirt.” He pointed out the wet stain and started laughing. Dion laughed, and
then grabbed Marky’s hand, leading him upstairs.
“I’ll be back in a minute,” he stated. “Momma’s in the kitchen if you want to go see her.”
Nurse Dorothy was happy to see me. We chatted casually while waiting for Dion to come back
downstairs. After a few minutes, it dawned on me that she was interrogating me like I’d warned my
mother not to do with Dion. I guess she was trying to make sure that I was a good match for her son
as well.
He came down a few minutes later with a bag containing his clothes. Nurse Dorothy questioned him
about what he’d packed. When she was satisfied that he hadn’t forgotten anything, we went
outside and got into the car.
Dion started to climb into the back seat with me, but Marky jumped in first and plopped down beside
me, wrapping his arms around me. Dion laughed, and got in the front seat. Sitting in the backseat
with a five year old for a twenty minute drive across town can be an experience. He had me singing
every song he’d learned in the pre-school he attended. Surprisingly, many of them I remembered
from when I’d attended years earlier. I guess some things never change.
When we arrived at our house, he went running in and ran up to my mother. “Are you James’s
mommy?”
“Yes, I am,” my mother replied while she knelt down and spoke to him. “And who are you?”
“I’m Marky,” he said proudly. “Do you have any milk and cookies?” Nurse Dorothy started to scold
him, but my mother said it was alright. She poured three glasses of milk and set out a plate of
chocolate chip cookies. Marky grabbed a handful and started eating.
My mother and Nurse Dorothy headed into the living room with Marky in tow. I grabbed the two
glasses and the plate of cookies.
“Come on,” I said to Dion. “I’ll show you my room.” I lead him upstairs and into my room. He walked
around and stared at the posters on the wall. He then looked over the books I had in a bookshelf.
He stopped when he came to my computer.
“This is yours?” He asked. I nodded my head. “Cool.”
I walked over to the door and closed it, and then I leaned against it. “Come here.” I held out my
arms. He walked across the room and gave me a hug.
“Why are we over here?” He asked.
“I don’t want Marky running in and seeing us doing this again.” I then leaned in and gave him a
kiss. We kissed passionately for several minutes. My cock was hard as a rock. I pushed it into
Dion. He responded by pushing back into me. We stood grinding our erections into each other.
I reached down and started stroking him through his pants. He moaned into my mouth, and then he
reached down and grabbed me. I thought I was going to erupt.
“Hey, let me in!” Marky tried to open the door, but our weight against it prevented him from
entering. “What are you guys doing?”
“Damn,” exclaimed Dion. He kissed me one last time, and then walked across the room and sat on
the bed. I watched as he rearranged his cock. I did the same before I stepped away from the
door and let Marky enter.
“Why wouldn’t you let me in?” He asked, as he bounded into the room and started looking around.
Dion looked over at me and smiled. Marky found the small basketball and hoop I had attached to the
wall. Soon we were playing a game of HORSE.
“Marky,” Nurse Dorothy hollered up the stairs. “It’s time to go.”
He begged her to let him stay, but she told him he couldn’t. I felt so bad when he grabbed me
around my waist and started crying. I promised him that he could come back and spend the night
some other time. He stopped crying and cheered up.
“Promise?” He asked.
“I promise.” I said. He gave me a final hug and then ran down the steps and into the car.
Mom went all out to prepare dinner. Janet was eating dinner at her friend’s house again, so it was
just going to be the three of us. For once, I wished that Janet was here because it would have
prevented my mother from embarrassing me.
Dion and I set the dining room table while my mother finished up in the kitchen. I couldn’t believe
all the trouble she went to just to impress Dion. She had prepared a pork loin in a pineapple sauce,
asparagus tips, scalloped potatoes and homemade rolls. We only ate like this at Christmas. She
also announced that she had made an apple pie.
The interrogation began as soon as we sat down. She wanted to know everything about him. She
asked questions about his family, his growing up and his school work. She was pleased to find out
that he was an excellent student with a high GPA. In a way, I was glad she had questioned him.
I learned more about him during dinner than I had in the month we had known each other.
She didn’t mention his brother who had been shot. I had told her the night before that it still
bothered him and that he didn’t like to talk about it. He became embarrassed when she asked him
when he knew he was gay. I choked on my milk when she boldly asked him if he was still a virgin.
However, I did wait anxiously for him to answer the question. I was relieved when he finally
confessed, after much prodding by my mother, that he was.
I guess in fairness to Dion, she related my rather uninteresting history. She related every
embarrassing story about me since I was born. Dion was amused by her narratives. He had to stop
her several time because he was laughing so much.
By the time we had finished the pie and ice cream, we both knew about each other pretty well. In a
way, I think this was her intention. She was making us see the other person, and then realize if we
were interested in what we saw. In her own subtle way, she had both of us remove our masks and
let the other see what was behind.
After dinner, she went to her office, leaving cleaning up to me and Dion. Again, I enjoyed the
closeness of working with him. We would rub up against each other, or reach out and gently touch
as often as we could. I remembered back to the first time we spent together during detention just a
few weeks earlier.
I looked over at Dion and watched him putting dishes in the dishwasher. I could feel the tears
welling up in my eyes. He looked over at me and stopped.
“What’s wrong?” He asked worriedly.
“It’s more like what’s right,” I responded, wiping the tears from my eyes. “I think I’m falling in love
with you.”
I watched as tears appeared in his eyes as he walked over to me and wrapped his arms around me.
“I love you, too.” He whispered in my ear. I pulled back and kissed him gently.
“Hrrumph.” We jumped apart when we heard my mother clear her throat behind us. I know my face
was turning a scarlet red. She looked at me and grinned. “I thought you two were just a little too
quiet in here.”
“Mom!” I screamed. “I think you sit around all day trying to think of ways to embarrass me.” She
walked out of the kitchen, laughing all the way back to her office.
After cleaning up, we went into the living room to watch television until Jackie and Roy arrived.
Dion sat closely beside me, resting his head on my shoulder as we watched a program on MTV.
I closed my eyes and enjoyed his warm body next to mine. I wondered if my life would always be as
happy as I was now feeling. Mr. Wilbur said that he and Paul shared twenty six years together
before Paul died. I hoped that Dion and I could do the same.
One thing still puzzled me, however. It had bothered me for weeks, and I wasn’t sure if Dion would
want to talk about it.
“Can I ask you something?”
“I guess.”
“There’s something I don’t understand. When we had detention, you were there for stealing food
from the cafeteria. You never did tell me why.” After witnessing the look on his face, I realized that
I may have been wrong in asking him. He sat up, and I thought he was going to move away. He sat
there for several minutes before speaking.
“As you’ve seen, Momma doesn’t have a lot of money. There’s still four of us at home, and then
there’s Marky. He’s my older sister’s boy. Momma takes care of him after he gets out of preschool
until Cheryl picks him up at 7:00 and takes him home.” He paused and I wasn’t sure if he was going
to finish telling me.
“When he’d come home in the afternoon he’d always be hungry. Sometimes I fixed him a bowl of
cereal or something, but most of the times there’d be nothing for him to eat.”
“So you took food for him?”
“I know it was wrong, but I couldn’t stand to hear him cry because he was hungry. Each day I’d
manage to take something- an apple one day, a banana the next. Then one day Mr. Marshall caught
me.”
“So you ended up in detention?” He nodded embarrassedly.
“He was going to suspend me, but after talking to Momma, he just gave me a week’s detention.”
“Was she mad at you?”
“No.” I watched as tears formed in his eyes. “She felt bad because she didn’t know that Marky
came home hungry. She said I should have told her. After that, she’s always made sure we have
cookies and milk after school.” I took his hand and squeezed it tightly. After a long kiss, we laid
back into each other and continued watching television.
Jackie and Roy arrived around 7:00. We sat on the living room floor and played a game of
Monopoly. Like he was when we played Sorry with Mr. Wilbur, Dion was ruthless. I thought he
would help me out, but he didn’t. I begged him to sell me some property, but he refused. He
landed on Boardwalk and Park Place, and within an hour had wiped all of us out of money.
We next decided to play a game of Spades. He and I were partners. Roy was a good player, but
Jackie sucked at bidding. I thought by about the fifth hand, they were going to break up. It was
comical to watch them argue back and forth. They soon started kissing every time they made a bid.
After a while, Dion and I started kissing, even if we lost. It felt good to be able to show him affection
without worrying how someone would feel about it.
Jackie and Roy left around 9:30. Mom came out of her office and we went into the kitchen for
another piece of apple pie. She kept looking at us and smiling. I think she was genuinely happy to
see us together. I considered us two of the luckiest boys in the world. Both our mothers knew we
were gay, and they both approved of us being together.
We kissed my mother goodnight, and then we headed to my bedroom. Dion looked around the
room; I think he was trying to figure out where he was going to sleep.
“You can sleep with me,” I said. “The bed is big enough for both of us. Or I can make up the couch
downstairs, and you can sleep there.”
He hesitated a moment, and then said, “I can sleep with you.”
“You don’t snore, do you?” I kidded.
“No,” he said. “You don’t pee in the bed, do you?” We both began laughing.
“If you feel something wet, it won’t be pee.” I sat on the bed and laughed hysterically. We laughed
a few more minutes and then Dion asked if he could take a shower before going to bed. I told him
the bathroom was across the hall.
He surprised me when he began to undress in front of me. I watched intently while he removed his
clothes and folded them over the back of a chair. Soon, he was standing before me in just his
boxers. My dick was throbbing inside my pants.
His body was beautiful. His dark skin was illuminated by the light of the lamp at my computer table.
He had a light dusting of hair on his chest with a nice trail going from his belly button to the top of
his underwear. His legs were hairy and muscular. He had the body of an athlete, although he had
never played sports.
“Damn,” I said admiringly. Our eyes met and the world seemed to stop. I let my eyes continue to
roam over his body, and then return to his handsome face. He just stood there, letting me enjoy
him. Finally, he turned and disappeared from the room.
I wanted to pull out my cock and jack off while he was in the shower. He had turned me on, and I
was in desperate need of relieving myself. I decided to wait, though. I was hoping that maybe we
could masturbate together after we got in bed. All I had to do was get him as turned on as he had
gotten me.
I heard him turn the shower off, and a few minutes later he walked back into the room. I was hoping
that he would be naked; but he had put his boxers back on, and was toweling off his wet hair.
He walked over and sat down beside me, letting our legs touch. “Are you going to take a shower
now?”
“Yeah,” I said nervously. I knew he was waiting for me to undress in front of him, like he had done
for me.
I stood up and removed my shirt over my head. My heart was pounding inside my chest. Dion was
staring at me. I could see the anticipation in his eyes. He watched me intently as I unbuttoned my
shorts and let them drop to the ground. Unlike Dion, I wear tighty whiteys, so I knew he could see
my erect cock poking out through the material. I looked over and his eyes were fixed on it. I
watched a he took a gulp and swallowed. I could also see his erection poking through the opening
of his boxers.
Finally, I took a deep breath, and pulled my underwear off. I was now standing naked before him.
I watched as his eyes roamed over my body. I could tell by his reaction, that he was pleased with
what he saw. I reached down and stroked my cock a couple of times, and then turned and walked
across the hall to the restroom.
Once inside, I leaned against the wall, trying to catch my breath. My heart was almost beating
outside my chest. I couldn’t believe I had just stripped naked in front of Dion. My cock was still
throbbing. When I showered, I had to be careful not to wash it too vigorously for fear of cumming.
After toweling off, I tip-toed back to my room. I had the towel wrapped around me, because I’d left
my underwear lying on the bedroom floor. When I entered, Dion had turned off the lights, and one
of my candles was burning on the bookshelf. I squinted my eyes and reached for my underwear.
“Don’t put them on,” whispered Dion. I looked and saw him lying naked on the bed. His cock was
hard and extended almost to his belly button. He opened his arms, and I walked over and lay on top
of him. He wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly. Our cocks were grinding into each
other, and I could feel him breathing heavily into my neck.
“Do you want to do this?” He asked nervously. I leaned back and looked into his eyes, which were
wet with tears. I leaned in and kissed him. He moaned and thrust himself into me. We kissed
passionately for a few minutes, and then he rolled me over onto my back, while he lay beside me.
He kissed me again, and then let his tongue travel down my body. He’d stop occasionally and
admired me.
I let out a soft moan when he started nibbling at my nipples. He licked around them, as he reached
down and wrapped his hand around my stiff cock. I grabbed his hand and stopped him.
“I’m almost ready to cum,” I warned him. I had been edging ever since he had stripped in front of
me. I knew it wouldn’t take much to make me cum.
He smiled, and then leaned down and engulfed my cock into his mouth. He gagged slightly, but
then continued to suck me. It took about a three minutes when I felt the cum begin to rise from my
balls. I reached down and lifted his head off my cock.
“Oh, God,” I moaned, as the first volley of cum shot out. Soon, several more blasts erupted onto my
stomach. Dion continued to gently stroke me until I finally stopped shooting. He leaned in and
kissed my stomach, and then my nipples. He then brought his mouth to mine and kissed me deeply.
I kissed him, lost in the feelings that were surging through my body. He leaned down and took a
towel and cleaned the cum off my stomach and cock. I couldn’t move. I remembered back to when
my mother had asked what it feels like when two people have sex. There was no way I could
possibly describe what I was feeling.
Dion lay beside me, and threw his arm over me, holding me tightly. I could feel his cock poking into
my leg. I reached down and wrapped my hand around it. He turned and lay on his back, while I ran
my hand up and down his large cock. My cock was about six inches long and average width. His
was about an inch longer than mine and much thicker.
Wanting him to feel the pleasure he gave me, I leaned over and started licking his chest. I loved
the feel of his hair against my tongue. Unlike my smooth nipples, his had a small amount of hair
circling them. I rolled my tongue around them, as he squirmed on the bed. He had his eyes tightly
shut, and was reveling in the feeling I was giving him.
I ran my tongue down his chest, nibbling gently at the hair. I let my tongue travel the thin trail
leading to his black, thick pubic hair. He moaned and gently grabbed the side of my head, and led
my mouth to his stiff cock. Like me, I knew he probably was close to cumming. I stroked his cock
several times, and then placed my mouth around his cock head. I could hear him moaning softly, as
I got used to its thickness. I slowly let my mouth suck him deeper. After several minutes, I could
feel his cock swell inside my mouth.
“James,” he whimpered. “I’m going to cum.” I started to pull off, but he erupted into my mouth.
He lifted his body, and shoved his cock deeper, shooting off another blast. Realizing I liked the
taste of his cum, I began to swallow quickly. He soon relaxed, and his body went limp. I knew he
was feeling the sensations that I had felt earlier.
With my hand still stroking his cock, I scooted my body beside him, and leaned in and kissed him
gently. He pulled me on top of him and kissed me passionately, shoving his tongue into my mouth,
tasting the remains of his cum.
After a minute, I pulled away and lay my head onto his shoulder. He continued to wrap his arms
tightly around me.
“I love you,” he whispered softly into my ear.
“I love you, too,” I whispered back. We must have lay there about five minutes holding each other,
saying nothing. We didn’t have to. We had removed our masks and were laying completely
exposed to each other. Tears welled up in my eyes, and I started crying into his neck.
“What’s wrong?” He lifted my head and looked into my eyes.
“Thank you,” I said tearfully. “For taking off your mask.” He tightened his arms around me and didn’
t say a word. I think he somehow understood what I was saying.
After several minutes, I got up and crept across the hall to relieve myself. On the way back to bed,
I handed Dion his underwear, while I put mine on. I was afraid my mother might stick her head in the
door in the morning, and I didn’t want her to see us naked in bed together.
Once in bed, I lay on my side, and Dion wrapped his arm around me and pulled me into him. I
relaxed his arms and fell asleep. We must not have moved throughout the night, because when my
alarm went off, we were still in the same position.
I guess my mother figured she’d impressed Dion with the dinner the night before, because for
breakfast we had a bowl of cold cereal and orange juice. I tried to avoid eye contact with her,
because I was afraid she would be able to tell that Dion and I had had sex the night before. I also
wasn’t sure if she had peeked in the room and saw us spooned together in bed. If she did, she
didn’t say anything.
On the way to school, Dion and I walked side by side with our arms touching most of the way. Jackie
kept looking over and staring at me. I knew her well enough to know that she had something to say,
but was holding back because Dion was with us.
I didn’t have to wait long. As soon as Dion headed off to class she pulled me aside. She looked into
my face, making me feel uncomfortable.
“Something’s different about you,” she said. “I can’t put my finger..Wait! I know! You’re in love.
Look at you. You’ve got it bad.”
“Shut up, Jackie,” I said embarrassedly. She grinned and studied me some more.
“You did it too!” She said excitedly. I looked around to make sure no one had heard her. My face
was turning red as she continued to look at me. “Oh, my God, James! You and Dion had sex!”
“Would you shut up, Jackie,” I insisted, “before someone hears you.”
“So you don’t deny it?” She grabbed my arm and pulled on it.
“Jackie, I can’t tell you when Dion and I have sex.” I whispered.
“So you did!” She squealed. “I knew it!” She grabbed my arm and led me down the hall to my first
period class. She kept looking over at me and giggling. I know my face was as bright as a
Christmas tree bulb.
We met after school to go to Dion’s house for the barbecue his mother had planned. I could tell by
the way that Roy kept looking at us, that Jackie had opened her big mouth and told him about me
and Dion having sex.
Roy dropped me and Dion off at my house. Since my mother and Janet were going, we decided to
ride with them and show my mother how to get to his house. Roy was going to wait for Jackie while
she ran in and changed clothes, then they would meet us there.
Marky came running out to the car as soon as he heard the car doors slam shut. “James,” he
shouted, as he ran out and jumped into my arms. I picked him up and gave him a big hug. He
looked around and saw my mother, then wiggled out and ran over to her.
“Did you make me some more cookies?” He asked her as she bent down and gave him a hug.
“I made you something even better,” she said. “How about a peach cobbler?”
“What’s peach cobber?” He asked. We all started laughing. Dion picked him up and we headed
around the house toward the backyard.
Nurse Dorothy was already at the grill, barbecuing chicken and ribs. My mouth started watering
when I got a whiff of the smoke rising from the grill. I looked around and saw Mr. Wilbur sitting in
his wheelchair under a shade tree. I ran over and knelt down, giving him a hug.
“I am so glad you’re here,” I said excitedly. I hadn’t expected Nurse Dorothy to invite him.
“It’s good to get out of that damn room for a change,” he said. “Besides, Dorothy wouldn’t take no
for an answer.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re here.” Just then Dion walked up and wrapped his arm around my waist.
“Hello, Mr. Wilbur,” he said. Mr. Wilbur noticed his gesture, and then looked up into my eyes.
“Hello, Dion,” he replied. “It’s good to see you boys together.”
“Dion!” Nurse Dorothy shouted from the back porch. "Would you come help me bring out the iced
tea?" Dion gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.
“I’ll be right back,” he said as he trotted off towards the house.
“I’m not imagining what I just saw, am I?” Mr. Wilbur asked after Dion left. I sat down on the ground
in front of him.
“What did you just see?” I knew what he was talking about, but I thought I’d tease him.
“Two boys in love,” he said wistfully. “It’s written all over both your faces. It reminds me of two
other young men a long time ago.” I leaned in and gave him a hug.
Tears welled up in my eyes as I spoke softly. “He did it, Mr. Wilbur. He took off his mask, and I’m in
love with the boy behind it.”
THE END