Dear Readers,
This is my first of many submissions in this series. We'll uncover more interesting moments during Brett and Travis's first year at school as the plot unfolds. Please stay tuned for more, and feel free to vote and/or contact me if you like the story.
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Brett felt sick to his stomach. He'd spent his last night at home partying with friends until 7am and arrived back at his mom's house with a few hours to spare for last minute packing before departing for freshman move-in day at Princeton. It was an unbearably hot day and he was sandwiched in the back seat of his stepdad's station wagon between a large trunk of his clothes and his stereo system. He always got car sick, and he was still slightly hungover, but he suspected the nausea had more to do with feeling anxious about moving to college.
Brett had never even visited Princeton before accepting their offer to attend. He was a bright kid from a public school on the outskirts of New York City. As the scenery along the New Jersey Turnpike and Route 1 turned from smokestacks to suburbs he couldn't fight the distinct feeling he'd made a huge mistake. He imagined the typical Princeton student to be a preppy, know-it-all geek. Brett himself, while being smart, cultivated a definite non-conformist image. He was about 6 foot 1 with spiked bleached hair, earrings in each ear, and a wardrobe of Goodwill steals that could best be described as eclectic, and at worst downright grungy. As much as he worked hard to look unique, what he didn't realize is that he didn't have to try hard to be eye-catching. He had piercing blue eyes, broad shoulders, scruffy face, furry chest, and a killer smile. Brett had mostly put together his unique look as a way to deflect attention from his terrifying secret: he was gay. He'd known it ever since he was 14 when he'd traded hand jobs with his best friend Wilson. Wilson was the only person who knew Brett was gay, and even though he was straight the two had remained very close friends. Before they'd left, Wilson had encouraged him to come out at school.
"What have you got to lose, man? It's a fresh start," Wilson encouraged.
"There's no way! That school full of stuffed shirts? I'd be an outcast immediately," Brett replied.
"I hate seeing you have to live a lie. I mean, what if you find someone that you want to... you know..." while Wilson was totally cool with Brett's sexuality he still sometimes winced at the thought of actually saying the words.
"Butt fuck?" Brett blurted out.
"Geez, B! Gimme a break!"
"Just kidding, man. I guess I'll deal with that when it comes up. Although, I doubt they even have gays at Princeton. I'll be the only one."
"I'm going to come visit you once you get settled in and get you laid, I promise it!"
"Alright. It's a deal. And I'll keep an eye out for hot chicks for you too." Not that Wilson needed much help. He was slightly shorter than Brett, one year younger, but with natural dirty blond hair, and a more muscular smooth body.
Brett smiled at the thought of his best friend's assurance that he'd get him laid at Princeton just as his stepdad's station wagon pulled up to the guard booth at the entrance to campus. The nausea became instantly worse. The next two hours were a blur of parking, unpacking, saying goodbye to his parents, and meeting two of his three new roommates. Van was a surprisingly laid back guy from Nashville who'd brought along an acoustic guitar and was going to host a radio show on the campus station. Charlie was a shy kid from rural upstate New York who was already in the pre-med program, on the football team, and was volunteering for campus ministry. Wasn't it the first day? How did these guys already fit in here? Brett would come to learn that so much about Princeton would be based on who you knew. These guys clearly knew the right people. They seemed nice and treated Brett with respect, but he wasn't sure he'd be fast friends with either of them and they seemed somewhat uncomfortable with his different outward appearance. They had arrived first and had claimed the larger bedroom for themselves. Brett retreated to his new smaller bedroom and started to unpack while he awaited the fourth mystery roommate.
As he started unloading his second hand wardrobe treasures into the closet he put on his new Radiohead album and tried to chill out. But his heart was racing and he still felt nauseated. He'd never felt more alone in his entire life. No one here would ever accept him for who he was, and he started planning his escape. He considered calling Wilson to come pick him up. He felt like he was going to hyperventilate when he heard someone shout, "Hey Radiohead!" It was coming from just outside his ground floor window. Brett went to the window and looked to see who'd called him without even knowing his name. A guy about his height with buzzed light brown hair, deep brown eyes, and a lean muscular frame stood just a few feet away on the grass outside the window. He was wearing board shorts and a white sleeveless T-shirt and Brett could see he had very big biceps and a small patch of trimmed hair under each arm.
"What's up?" Brett asked.
"This Holder Hall?" the stranger asked.
"Yeah, what number are you looking for?"
"32. How the heck did they number these entryways? You need a Princeton degree to figure it out." The stranger had a sense of humor. They both smiled and Brett felt something stir within him that he'd never felt before. He'd always known in theory that he was gay, but this was the first time he'd actually stood in front of a real live guy that was turning him on. Lost in this new heady emotion, Brett stood there for a few seconds soaking this all in before realizing that he must look like a total idiot standing there mute. Finally he responded, "This is our room. I mean, this is 32 Holder. I'm your roommate. There are two other guys here, but we're sharing this room." He realized he was rambling but added, "I'm Brett."
Luckily the stranger was nice, or nervous too, and offered, "Travis," with a head nod.
Brett extended a hand through the open window to shake Travis's but just then he realized that Travis had been holding a box of his stuff the whole time. That only made him seem stronger and even more masculine to Brett. The two exchanged an awkward laugh over not being able to shake hands and Brett said, "Here let me take that."
"Thanks!" Travis said as he handed Brett a box that felt like it was full of bricks. "Be careful, I've got a couple of weights in there."
"No prob. I can handle it," Brett lied.
"I'm just gonna run to the car and get some more of my stuff. Be back in a second."
Brett's head was swimming. He'd known he was going to share a room with a guy, but he just figured that guy would have been a total nerd. How was he going to room with Travis who was a total hunk? Over the next few hours the 4 new roommates got acquainted a bit more, headed to dinner at the dining hall, and did a little more unpacking in their room. Brett learned that Van's parents were divorced and very rich (which was why their common room was so well furnished). He learned that Charlie was perhaps the nicest guy he'd ever met (he'd never even had a drink before!) and that Travis was a brilliant kid who'd skipped a grade in high school, was only 17, had been captain of the swim team back home in rural Virginia, and was there on an ROTC scholarship. Brett wondered to himself, "Could this guy be more hot OR more straight?" As it started to get late everyone started to prepare for bed. Van and Charlie went into their room and Travis and Brett retired to theirs where it was decided that Travis would take the top bunk. He'd have to get up early many mornings for ROTC and having to leave the top bunk to turn off his alarm across the room would make certain that he'd not just hit snooze and fall back to sleep. Brett was so nervous about changing in front of Travis with his perfect body that he just took off his distressed jeans and quickly hopped into the bottom bunk in the t-shirt he'd worn all day and his boxers. Travis pulled off his shirt and shorts and stood in the center of the room in a heather gray pair of CK boxer briefs. Brett felt like he was going to explode. He couldn't decide whether to stare at Travis's beefy tanned calves and thighs covered in a thick mat of light brown fur, or the inviting bulge in the pouch of his CK's, or the perfectly formed round globes of his manly ass, or his well-sculpted torso with a little patch of hair between his small perfect nipples. Quickly Brett decided that it was probably safest not to stare at all and turned to face the wall as Travis said, "Good night, Brett."
"Good night, Travis."
"See you in the morning, bud."