They say absence makes your heart grow fonder. Apparently the same thing is true for your dick.
The longer Chad was gone, the more I found myself craving him. I missed the smell of his skin, the warmth of his touch, and the comforting weight of his body on mine. I even missed the things that had bugged me before, like the crap he'd leave lying on the ground, and the dull stuff he'd make us watch on T.V.
Even just walking around campus, I'd see guys shooting hoops, which would always remind me of him. I'd end up daydreaming in lectures, which pretty much always got me hard. I got to be adept at hiding my boners in public. I started wearing looser clothes, and I mastered the art of surreptitiously slipping my dick in my waistband.
Chad and I did talk of course, which was always the highlight of my day. I knew it was a release for him too. I could tell how much strain he was under, though he didn't usually let on. I made it my mission to cheer him up as much as I humanly could.
Most nights we had to squeeze in our alone time after I'd finished my classes and Chad had gotten back from the hospital. We usually ended up jacking off over Skype. It was always awesome to watch him pound his pud while I pounded my own. We tried to time our loads so we'd both shoot at once, though sometimes we were more successful than others.
The calls almost always ended the same way. We'd both be lying in bed, naked and wet, while we blew each other kisses and told each other good night. But those moments were always bittersweet. We both knew that as soon as we hung up, we'd each go back to being alone.
The saving grace was our support system. On one night in particular I was lying in bed, having just finished with Chad, when I got a call from Amy. "All right," she said without so much as a hello. "I guess I'm officially your consigliere."
"Say what?"
"Well," she said, "we just had Johan's intervention."
I sat up in bed. "W-what?"
"I made the trip myself."
"Now wait, I didn't ask you to do that--"
"It's fine," she said. "I had to visit Northwestern anyway. I might as well kill two birds with one stone."
I started to feel a hint of relief. "S-so... how did it go?"
"It was basically what you'd expect. We sat Johan down and read him the riot act. Then Rosie made him unlock his phone and computer, and she went through his stuff. It turned out he'd been a helluva photo collector."
"Y-you mean--"
"Apparently he'd been lurking online and asking guys for their pics. He seemed to have quite the library... at least till Rosie wiped it out."
I licked my lips. "So my pictures are gone?"
"Yeah," she said, "along with God-knows-how-many others."
"Oh thank God," I said as I felt my muscles loosen up.
"You should block him from your phone and e-mail too. To be safe."
"I did that already."
"Good boy."
I took a deep breath. "Listen, I uh...."
Amy waited for a second. "You what?"
"Well, I owe you one," I said. "Big time."
"It's fine. Maybe you can return the favor someday... but I'm not keeping score."
I nodded. "Thanks."
"Are you okay? You sound pretty glum."
"Well, I dunno if that's really the way to put it...."
"Then how else would you say it?"
"I mean... I'm okay I guess. It's just the situation that sucks. Chad's birthday is next week, but he'll be either stuck in that hospital, or hanging out by himself. Either way, it's not cool."
"I'm sorry."
"It is what it is."
"What are you getting him?"
"You mean for his birthday?"
"No, for Talk Like a Pirate Day," she quipped. "For shit's sake, Scott, what do you think I could've meant?"
"I-I guess I haven't thought that far ahead--"
"Why the hell not?"
"I just... I'm just trying to take things one step at a time." Truth be told, I was trying to keep Chad's birthday out of sight and out of mind. I really hated the idea of spending it apart. I would've done anything to take him out to a nice dinner or something, the way he'd done for me. I also felt a little guilty about Christmas, when I'd just gotten him a small gift yet he'd spent so much money on me.
"Actually," Amy said, "it sounds to me like you've got all the more reason to get him something special. I'm not saying you need to spend a lot of money, because that's not what it's about... you just need to be thoughtful."
"Okay... so what do you suggest?"
Even over the phone, I could sense Amy rolling her eyes. "Oh my God," she said. "I would think a gay guy would get this."
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"You're as hopeless as Dad! What, were you planning on getting him mop heads too?"
I scoffed. Amy was referring to a time when we were kids, when Dad had gifted Mom a bunch of cleaning supplies. He'd apparently thought this was a good idea, since we really did need them, and he'd gotten a good deal on them. But he'd never lived it down. "Now wait, I'm not that clueless--"
"Oh we'll see about that," Amy said. "What's Chad even into when he's not around you?"
"I dunno," I said. "I mean, he's obviously into basketball... and rugby I guess."
"What are his favorite teams?"
"I know he likes the Lakers, but I don't know about that rugby stuff. He told me about it once, but I don't remember the details--"
"Omigod you're a mess. What kind of music does he like? Or movies? Books? T.V.?"
I remembered how Chad had mentioned the Night's Watch. "Well, he definitely digs