Freshman Year Roommate, Part 10
Everyone is over 18 years of age
Life couldn't be any better, or so it seemed to me. I started my school year with the straight boy who I was tolerating. He wasn't bad, and I was working around his drunken partying and bringing girls back to the room. Or at least trying. Now I was wondering if this gorgeous man's mixed success with girls and the heavier drinking he used to do was driven by things he was trying to deal with. Things of which he may not have been consciously aware.
I already cared very deeply for him, so as I realized these things, I wanted to be sure I was as supportive a boyfriend as I could be, as he worked through who he was and what he wanted. Don't get me wrong. I was very happy for what we had, and the sex was better than I even knew was possible.
At the same time, we were in college for a reason. Happily, that was going pretty well. Neither of us was looking like we'd be valedictorian, but we liked our classes, or at least most of them, and we were getting good grades.
Before long, we were approaching spring break. Lots of our friends were talking about what to do. A bunch wanted to head for warm beaches or some other "in" location. I'd heard talk about various places in Florida and the Carolinas. Others were going to Caribbean islands. Really, none of it sounded interesting to me. Everyone who was doing that seemed to be interested in hookups, so I didn't see any reason to go.
"John?"
"Yeah?"
"What are you going to do for spring break?"
"I haven't given it much thought."
"Not going to chase hot chicks in bikinis in Florida or somewhere?"
He smiled, slid over--we'd both been sitting in our chairs, doing classwork--and kissed me. "Bikinis don't seem to do it for me anymore," and he kissed me again.
"So what are you going to do?"
"Maybe I should go to New York."
I smiled and said, "yeah, that tropical New York heat to kick off the spring! And what would you do there?"
He got this very serious but sweet look on his face and said, "I just want to be with you. As it says in the bible, 'whither thou goest, babe."
"It says 'babe' in the bible?"
"In my copy it does."
I laughed and kissed him again. "Okay, I guess I'd better let mom and dad know I'm bringing a guest."
He practically bounced out of his chair with excitement. It was so adorable. This strapping stud bouncing like a little kid. I hoped he'd never lose that pure joy in his soul.
"But hey, one thing." Ooh, this sounded serious. "You have to show me your favorite New York places. Let's make this a fun trip."
Okay, not so serious. I smiled at him. "Of course! I'll love doing that! We can only scratch the surface of New York in a week, but we'll have fun!"
"Anywhere with you, I'll have fun! It's a deal."
I called home that night, and I talked to mom. She sounded surprised, but she also was happy I'd become real friends with my roommate. If she only knew!
This turn of events had me thinking it really was time to come out to my parents. I'd told John that I thought they might already have suspected something, but I wasn't sure. Well, considering how friends said they could see it by looking at us, and how mom and dad always could see through my bullshit, I was feeling like the time had come.
I had good parents, and I figured they'd be fine with my being gay. Still, thinking it and being sure were two different things, so I was nervous.
When we got home, I tried to play it cool. My parents knew about John but still thought of him as the Texas jock soldier-to-be, and while I knew the time had come to share more of my true self, I was worried and really wasn't in a huge rush to tackle that.
Mom and dad had a nice, family dinner in mind for our first night home. That would let the whole family meet John. Did I ever mention that I have a brother and sister? At 18, I was the middle kid. Actually, about to turn 19, but that's beside the point.
My sister was a junior in college, and my brother, Glenn, was a junior in high school. My sister, Lori, was on break the same week as me, and she'd come home, too. So I guess the dinner welcomed both of us back, as well as my "friend" John.
As we got there, my parents gave me a big hug, and they welcomed John warmly. Dad gave him a big handshake and said, "John, welcome. It's a pleasure to meet you!" John said, "The pleasure is mine, sir." Ah, my Texas soldier had such good manners. To my mom, he said, "An honor to meet you, ma'am."
I mean, I was raised to be respectful, too, but he looked like he was practically standing at attention.
Mom told him she was thrilled to meet him and welcomed him in. "Jess speaks so highly of you. It's wonderful to finally meet you."
We soon were sitting down to dinner, all six of us. Mom and dad at either end of the table. John and me on one side of the table, Glenn and Lori across from us.
Mom had prepared a big spread with dad's help. There was more in front of us than six people could eat, but that never mattered at our house, at least not for a special occasion.
As we sat and ate, the chatter didn't stop. How was school going? What was John studying? What was ROTC like? Was your family in the military? And Lori, how was your school going? Glenn, how is high school? We all got plenty of attention, whether we wanted it or not.
As the meal wrapped up, mom announced that she'd made dessert, and we all groaned. But mom was a great chef, and we all had some. A French Silk pie. Rich chocolate with whipped cream on top. Ugh, too much, but who could say no?
Then dad started talking about where John could sleep. Dad said, "John can have Glenn's room."
Glenn looked put out, but he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut. John said, "That's alright, sir. I can crash in Jess's room."
Dad said, "no, you're a guest in this house. You should be comfortable."
John said, "I will be. Please don't worry about that."
Dad stood his ground. "No, that's not right."
I heard John take a deep breath. Uh oh, I knew that deep breath. He did that when he was steeling himself for something. "Sir, I'd rather stay with Jess, if that's acceptable. Nowhere else would be as comfortable for me."
Dad looked a little confused.
"Sir, I'm in love with your son, and I don't want to be apart from him."
John had blindsided all of us, me included. To this day, I wish I'd had cameras on everyone's faces. If I'd been drinking anything in that moment, I would have done a world-class spit-take, sending my drink shooting across the table at my siblings.
There was about three seconds of dead silence. Then I broke it, saying, "well, I guess that takes care of my worries about telling mom and dad that I'm gay."
Mom sputtered for a second. She was looking at John. "You're in... you're... umm, well..."
Dad laughed and said, "Well, I guess sharing his small bed might not upset you?"
John smiled and said, "we'll manage."