Two young, good looking boys stood together inside their dorm room at a small liberal arts college in Central Maine wrapped in a warm embrace. One of them was Aidan Simmons, who stood nearly six feet tall with a slightly muscular build that accompanied his dark brown hair and green eyes. He was the more relaxed and carefree of the two with an easy sense of himself and his surroundings, although at this moment he was anything but calm.
The other boy was Logan Temple, who was from California and at first glance had struck Aidan as a "surfer dude" with his faintly curled dirty blond hair and very slender frame. He stood a few inches shorter than his roommate and always smelled of something tropical, which Aidan later found out was the body wash Logan used. He, too, was feeling anxious and somewhat sad.
Over the course of their freshmen year of college, these two boys had discovered they shared much in common, from being born just a few days apart to watching porn and jerking off. Amid all the changes and discoveries that year, Aidan and Logan had bonded in ways few boys ever do, and from that came a deep affection for one another.
Months earlier, Logan had come to terms with his feelings for Aidan and admitted honestly and openly that he was in love with his roommate. Aidan had taken a little longer to find his way to the same place as his friend, but that had happened just as their freshman year was coming to a close. Unfortunately, Aidan hadn't yet been able to convey his feelings to Logan. He had tried, but the words just wouldn't seem to come out of his mouth.
Now, their freshman year of college had ended and both boys were about to depart. Although their separation would only last a couple weeks, as they had arranged to spend the summer together, they were still reluctant to distance themselves.
They shared one last, lingering and tender kiss goodbye from the sanctuary of their dorm room. Both boys had knots in the pit of their stomach. Neither could help feeling the imminent absence of the other in a very acute and profound way.
When their lips parted and they stared into each other's eyes, Aidan smiled and tried again to convey how he felt about his best friend.
"Logan, I...I...oh, Christ," Aidan began, as he wanted desperately to tell Logan he loved him, that he was in love with him. He wanted to say it -- needed to say it -- and yet the words remained elusive. At last, all he could manage was, "I...I'm going to miss you so much."
Logan exhaled and bit his lower lip as tears filled his eyes. "I'm going to miss you too. I don't want to leave." A single tear slowly spilled down his left cheek.
Feeling himself grow weak in the knees, Aidan pulled his friend into a tight embrace as he placed his warm mouth on Logan's lips. For several more minutes, hearts beating fast and as one, the two boys remained locked together kissing.
"I have to go," Logan said when they had separated. "I'm going to miss the shuttle."
Nodding quickly, Aidan released his grip and bent down to begin gathering his belongings. "I'm not staying here alone. That would feel...I don't know. Weird."
The two roommates headed out the door quickly and made their way to the main parking lot by the Student Center to await transportation. Logan would be taking the college shuttle down to Portland, Maine and then a 747 that would fly him out to San Francisco, while Aidan would grab a quick sandwich in town while awaiting the arrival of his mother and a long car ride back to his home in Massachusetts.
With a final handshake and a nod, the boys parted with promises to keep in touch through texting. Logan hopped on the shuttle and plopped down in the third seat from the front on the left-hand side. From there he could watch Aidan slowly shuffle his way into town and he chuckled to himself.
As he looked out the window to watch his friend walk, Logan realized again just how much he cared for Aidan -- how much he loved Aidan and how much he was in love with Aidan. He had never felt this way about anybody in his life. Up until he met Aidan, Logan had never even so much as seen another guy naked much less messed around with one. But, whatever it was about Aidan -- his genuine attitude, his infectious personality and dazzling smile, his gorgeous body and fabulous penis -- Logan had lost his heart. He knew it, and all he could do was hope that at some point Aidan might feel the same way. As it was, Logan was just happy to have Aidan as a roommate and someone to fool around with. For now, that was enough.
The very next day, as Aidan began two weeks of quality time at home with his mother before flying out to the west coast for the rest of the summer, Logan started looking for summer employment for both of them. By some miracle, Logan's father had been gracious enough to allow Logan to drive his third car, a silver Lexus Hybrid worth almost $100,000 that he had paid cash for. One of many financial acquisitions his father loved to boast about.
Logan lived in the Hillsborough Heights section of San Mateo, about 25 minutes south of San Francisco on the west side of the Bay in Silicon Valley. He lived with his mother and father in a very luxurious 5-bedroom Colonial-style house on Ascot Road with a perfectly manicured lawn and hedges that bordered a circular driveway. From his bedroom at one end of the second floor, Logan could just make out the Bay in the distance and had spent many long and lonely nights watching the lights come on across town as the sun's lingering rays shimmered across the water.
Coming home was never easy for Logan, especially as his father was frequently absent and his mother was always imbibing alcohol and prescription pills. Honestly, she was never around either -- at least not in any socially conscious sort of way. Logan also had two older brothers, but he hardly ever saw them either as they hated to come home just about as much as Logan did. However, as the youngest and still in college, Logan didn't have the luxury of living on his own yet.
As he drove around the neighborhood keeping an eye out for some kind of easy summer employment, Logan eventually got onto 82, or the El Camino Real, which was one of the two major thoroughfares that bisected the Bay Area on the west side. He shortly exited off the highway and made his way to the nearest Starbucks he could find.
It was a place Logan had visited numerous times before, situated in a strip mall between Le Boulanger and Noah's New York Bagels right near San Mateo central park on 4
th
Avenue -- or Dartmouth Road to all the locals. Just pulling in the parking lot brought back nice memories for him. This had been one of the places he escaped to when he needed to get out of his house and away from his parents. It also happened to be the place where he had gotten laid the first time -- with Bridgette Conway, right in the backseat of one of his father's earlier cars.
Walking inside the establishment, as the cool air hit his face, Logan instantly saw a sign on the entrance door advertising HELP WANTED. Underneath was written, "Summer only," and he immediately decided to inquire.
The place was busy but not packed, pretty much the way it always seemed to be at any Starbucks. When he inquired about a job he was referred to the manager in the back. Logan waited to grab his Java Chip Frappuccino, then headed down the short hall that led to the manager's office in the rear of the building. A tall man with broad shoulders, a military haircut and a look of absolute authority rose to greet him.
"Sit down," the gentleman directed as he sat back in his own seat. Logan sat in the only chair available, which was right in front of a spotless desk. He looked up to see the man's eyes boring into him. "My name is Mr. Sallow. Brian Sallow, and I'll get straight to the point. I'm only interested in summer help. If you're looking for something else you'll have to keep on looking." He fixed a stern gaze on Logan as he waited for an answer.
"That's fine," Logan replied, rather weakly and feeling considerably intimidated.
