Thatcher Hall Ch. 01

Joey Alvarez has been my best friend since the sixth-grade talent show. I did a dramatic reading. He did a magic trick. Neither went well. We bonded over the shame.

Joey is loud. Joey is short, dark-haired, and built like a confident fire hydrant. Joey has never lowered his voice in a library once.

Growing up, my older sister's closet was our playground. We would raid it on Saturdays and I'd stage full fashion shows in my living room. Joey announced. I walked. My mom judged, holding up scorecards she made from paper plates. I never got above an eight. Joey said she was biased. She said my hems were sloppy. She was not wrong.

We did everything together. Over summer breaks we would sneak into Chautauqua for sold-out shows, got kicked out most of the time. Hiked the Flatirons at four in the morning to watch the sunrise, then fell asleep and missed it. Painted our faces for every Buffs game, even though neither of us understood football.

Joey was the first person I told I was gay. Eighth grade. His locker. I was shaking.

He said, "Obviously," and handed me half his burrito.

That's Joey.

* * *

The night before I flew east, he came over to help me pack. By "help," I mean he lay on my bed and critiqued every item I folded.

"You can't bring that," he said, pointing at a slip dress.

"Why not?"

"Because I'll miss it."

"You'll miss the dress?"

"I'll miss you in the dress. The dress is a symbol, Eli. Keep up."

He was staying in Boulder, and I was going two thousand miles away to my father's alma matter. We'd both been pretending that was not a big deal. We were both bad at it.

Before I got in the car to the airport, he hugged me so hard that my sunglasses fell off.

"Call me," he said into my shoulder. "Not a thumbs-up. An actual call."

"I'll call."

"You won't."

"I'll try."

He pulled back and fixed my curls, which did not want to be fixed. His eyes were wet. So were mine.

"Go be fabulous somewhere new," he said. "And if you meet someone, I want details. All of them."

"Deal."

He walked off before I could see him cry. I saw anyway. He's a terrible actor. Always has been.

* * *

For the record, here is what Thatcher Hall was about to get.

I am not shy. I am careful. There is a difference. I have a rule. Joey and I wrote it on a napkin the summer after graduation, right after a boy who seemed perfect turned out to be the very opposite.

I am five-ten, 140 pounds and thin. After coming out to Joey, I came out to my parents, both incredibly supportive, mom said she has suspected. Soon after, I began dressing like me, my usual outfit is short shorts and a crop-top.

My blond hair is my best feature, it is shoulder length and curly and has a mind of its own. I stopped fighting it years ago. We have an understanding.

From across a room, people usually assume I am a girl. Up close, some still do. I have never minded. Honestly, it is a compliment.

And I am smooth. Everything below my eyebrows, gone. I was never very hairy to begin with, but I am thorough. I wax. Joey said I am high maintenance, I say it is a lifestyle. I enjoy the way it feels and the way it looks. Strutting naked in front of the mirror, admiring my smooth package, then turning and spreading the ass cheeks of my bubble butt.

I have one curious body feature; my nipples bigger than most guys. Noticeably. At least one-half inch and really stick out. When aroused they double in girth, so I always cover them up, people stare. Joey says they are bumptious and quite pretty.

And I have a rule.

Joey and I wrote it on a napkin at a diner the summer after graduation. Right after a boy who seemed perfect turned out to be the opposite. He had great hair and terrible intentions. I found out the second part too late.

There are three things I need to know before any physical intimacy. Even a kiss.

Their middle name. If you will not tell me something that small, you will not tell me anything big.

Their worst fear. Everybody is scared of something. The ones who say they are not are the ones to worry about.

And what kind of kid they were in eighth grade. Because the way someone talks about who they were, and how they treated people back then, tells you a lot about who they are now.

Three things. No exceptions. Joey still has the napkin. He laminated it.

People think that is a lot. It is not. A kiss is a door. I like to know who is on the other side before I open it.

* * *

Getting back to Thatcher Hall, my father stopped on the sidewalk and looked up at the building. "Good old Thatch" he said. Then he smiled, just a little, and grabbed a suitcase. That is as sentimental as Dad gets.

I was more focused on the stairs. Four flights. Two suitcases. One garment bag I would die before letting touch the ground.

Thatcher Hall had history. It also had no elevator. Priorities, I guess.

Room 402-B was bigger than I expected. Two beds. Two desks. A microwave sitting on top of a mini fridge that was humming like it had opinions. A shared bathroom linked us to the suite next door. Four guys, one shower. My skincare routine was already filing a complaint.

My parents left after lunch. Mom hugged me twice. Dad said, "Make good choices," like he had made several bad ones here.

My roommate's side was claimed. Lacrosse stick against the wall. Duffel bag on the bed. A tub of protein powder big enough to live in.

Marcus. The jock.

Great, I thought. I escape Boulder for the Ivy League and land a himbo in a jersey.

I met the suitemates before I met my roommate.

The bathroom door swung open while I was unpacking, and two guys wandered through like they had lived here for years. It had been maybe forty minutes.

"Neighbor!" said the first one. Tall, lanky, sunburned nose. Wearing gym shorts so short they were basically a rumor. "Charlie. That's Tony."

Tony raised a hand. He had a mustache he was clearly immensely proud of and a tank top cut so low on the sides it was mostly armholes. He was holding a Solo cup. It was two in the afternoon.

"Is that...?" I pointed at the cup.

"Orientation spirit," Tony said.

"It's Gatorade," Charlie said.

"It's mostly Gatorade," Tony said.

They looked around my side of the room. The silk. The heels. The garment bag.

"Sick," Charlie said, with total sincerity. "You should come to the thing tonight."

"What thing?"

"There's always a thing," Tony said.

And there was. Every single night.

I learned a lot about Charlie and Tony that first week. They were eighteen and nineteen, friends with "benefits." Nobody knew their majors, including them. They treated the hallway like a beach and dressed accordingly. Boxers. Towels. One memorable Tuesday, a Speedo, and a Viking helmet. They drank too much, sang too loud, and knocked on our door at one a. m. to ask if we had "any cheese, like, any cheese at all."

They were annoying. They were also impossible to hate. Like golden retrievers who had discovered beer.

I was hanging another top when the door banged open.

Marcus filled the doorway. Six-two. Broad shoulders. A gray T-shirt losing a fight with his chest. He looked at me. Then at the blouse. Then at me again, slower.

"You're Eli."

"Guilty."

"And you are?" I asked.

"Marcus."

He dropped a box on his desk and unpacked like he was defusing a bomb he hated.

I went back to my closet. Slip dress. Green silk top. Heels I had paid too much for and regretted nothing.

"That's a lot of..." He waved a hand at it. "That."

"Clothes? I wear them. Big fan."

"They're women's clothes."

"They're my clothes. I just shop in a different aisle."

He snorted and turned his back. Conversation over. Or so he thought.

Here is the thing about being out since eighth grade. You get incredibly good at reading a room. You learn the difference between a guy who is uncomfortable and a guy who is uncomfortable.

Marcus was the second kind.

Because every time he pretended not to look, he looked.

* * *

That night I came out of the shower in a towel. Just a towel. My curls were doing their wet chaos thing. Marcus sat at his desk, pretending to read.

He glanced up. Froze. Went back to his book so fast he nearly got whiplash.

"Can you not," he said.

"Not what?"

"Walk around like that."

"Like a person who showered?"

"You know what I mean." His jaw was tight. "Some of us have girlfriends."

"Oh? What is her name?"

A pause. Too long. "Kayla."

"Cute. Is Kayla going to mind that you've read the same page for ten minutes?"

He slammed the book shut. "I'm tired."

He was not tired. He was flustered. There is a difference, and I have a minor in it.

The next few weeks went like that.

He said my hair products smelled "too girly." Then I caught him sniffing the air when I walked by. He called my music gay. Then I heard him humming it in the hallway. He told me to keep my stuff on my side of the room. Then he moved his desk lamp so it lit both desks.

He was gone a lot. Practice at six in the morning. Lifting at four in the afternoon. Film at seven. Some nights he did not come back until after ten, sweaty and silent, and he would drop his bag by the door and fall onto his bed face first like a tree.

One Friday, a guy from down the hall stopped by to chat. Cute. Friendly. Leaned on my desk a little long.

After he left, Marcus did not say a word for an hour. Then, out of nowhere: "That guy's an idiot."

"You talked to him for four seconds."

"Took three."

I turned my chair around. He was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling like it owed him money.

"Marcus."

"What."

"Are you jealous?"

He sat up so fast the bed frame squeaked. "Of what?"

"You tell me."

His mouth opened. Closed. His eyes dropped to my legs, crossed under a pair of very short shorts. Then back to my face. He rubbed the back of his neck like it had personally betrayed him.

"You're unbelievable," he muttered.

"I get that a lot."

He rolled over to face the wall. But he did not tell me to stop looking at him.

And my gaydar? It was not just rising anymore.

It was screaming.

* * *

Charlie, Tony, and I were in the common room, finishing a pizza and I said "We're going to be living together all year, and I do not even know your middle names. That is a crime. Lightning round, right now. I'll start."

ELI: Middle name.

TONY: Danger.

ELI: Real one.

TONY:... Francis.

CHARLIE: Wendell. After my grandpa. He is immensely proud. I am less proud.

ELI: Mine is Beaumont. Family name.

TONY: Beaumont? You sound like a hotel.

ELI: A genuinely pleasant hotel. Next... Favorite fruit.

TONY: Pizza.

ELI: Pizza is not a fruit.

TONY: Tomatoes are a fruit. Pizza has tomatoes. Science.

CHARLIE: Mango. But only cut by someone else. I am scared of the pit.

ELI: Peaches. Obviously.

TONY: Why obviously?

ELI: I cocked my head and glanced back over my shoulder at my butt. Slowly, with intention.

Charlie laughs so hard he snorts. He covers his face.

CHARLIE: Sorry. That happens.

ELI: Never apologize for a snort. Next... What were you like in eighth grade?

TONY: Insecure, a little lonely. I faked confidence a lot.

CHARLIE: Honestly, I was a jerk. I picked on a kid named Sam. I found him a couple summers ago and apologized to him.

ELI: Awkward, did not fit in anywhere. Next... Your worst fear.

TONY: Geese.

CHARLIE: Geese?

TONY: A goose chased me across a grocery store parking lot when I was nine. I dropped my hoagie. It ate my hoagie. I think about it every day.

CHARLIE: Mine is... failing. Like, my mom worked two jobs so I could be here. If I flunk biology, I do not know how I would tell her.

A pause. Tony stops chewing. He bumps Charlie's shoulder with his.

TONY: You are not gonna flunk. I'll quiz you. I'm terrible at chem, so you will feel smart.

CHARLIE: That's... actually really nice.

TONY: Don't spread it around.

Eli watches this. He smiles to himself.

Rule two. Be kind. Tony just passed, and he does not even know there was a test.

CHARLIE: Your turn, Eli

ELI: Moths. They fly at your face on purpose, and... people only seeing the outside of me. Deciding who I am before I open my mouth.

CHARLIE: For what it is worth, I decided you were funny. You opened your mouth pretty fast.

ELI: I do that.

TONY: Next question. I wanna ask one.

ELI: Fine. Go.

TONY: Eli, what were you really like in eighth grade?

ELI: Oh, he is good.

Charlie and Tony have known each other for years, they are from the same small town. When they found out they were both accepted, they made plans to be roommates in Thatcher Hall. And like I said, they are "friends with benefits" and have been at it for a bit, it seems like a normal thing for them.

The first time I saw them together, the bathroom door was open, and they were together in the shower, water running, Charlie had both cocks in one hand stroking them up and down, I heard Tony "I'm coming, I'm com..." then busting a nut, it wasn't much longer before Charlie let out a moan and sounded like he came pretty hard.

I was standing there watching them, they both had nice looking cock's, Charlie's about seven inches and cut, Tony about my size, also cut, both shaved.

Charlie came out first. He saw me. He did not even blink.

"Oh. Hey, Eli."

He reached past me for his towel like it was any other Wednesday.

"So, yeah," he said, completely casual. "It's nice to have a buddy to help with the stress, you know? We help each other out sometimes. It's not like we're gay."

Tony got out next, grabbed his towel, said, "Yeah, sorry about that, Eli!"

I gave them a thumbs up. They got out, dried off, and Charlie immediately got dressed, while Tony just sat naked on the couch and started a video game. Tony considers himself a card-carrying nudist, nudity was normal in his family, operating under the simple philosophy that skin is just more natural than cotton.

I sat on my bed for a long time.

"Friends with benefits," I said out loud to nobody.

The mini fridge hummed. It had opinions. I am fairly sure they matched mine.

A few days later. The next time. I knocked on their bathroom door, you guys decent, thought I heard a 'yeah,' opened the door, Charlie was naked sitting on the couch with Tony sitting on top of him, Charlie's dick was bobbing up and down through Tony's thighs, just under his balls, and he was masturbating Tony's cock, Charlie started to cum, and started using his jizz as a lube to finish Tony off. Both had their eyes closed as they seemed to continuously come. I slowly closed the door, they had not seen me.

I mean, it was definitely arousing, but I felt like kind of a deviant, so the next day. "We need a system," I said.

We were sitting on their couch. Tony was wearing pants, which I appreciated, since this was a formal occasion.

"What kind of system?" Charlie asked.

"A signal. Something on the bathroom doorknob. So I know not to come in."

They looked at each other. Charlie's eyes lit up.

"Like a sock."

"Sure. A sock."

"A sock on the doorknob," Tony said slowly, like he was tasting it. "That's classic. That's like a movie."

"It's very much like a movie," I said. "It's a cliché for a reason."

* * *

"My sort of straight suitemates were making this year fun, but finding my own community on campus was a different story.

"My closest friends on campus are straight, so I'm looking to expand my circle and find more of my people. The typical gay scene is not for me since I do not do clubs or hookups; I am just looking for solid, platonic connections. Figuring out how to navigate that has been a challenge, but I am putting myself out there!"

Months later a Saturday, the three of us were chilling, having a few drinks talking and having a fun time, Marcus, my roommate, was hardly ever around so the three of us would hangout some weekends. They were a lot of fun, I wanted to find out more about their "benefits" and the beer had loosened everybody up, so I just asked;

"Do you guy's mind if I ask a personal question about your 'Benefits'?"

Charlie started, "Sure, go ahead, and I know where you're going with this. So yes, I get turned on seeing a guy with a hard-on, jacking off with other guys, it's also fun to jack off a buddy, and I love cum shots. It's the watching, the visual stimulation that gets me going, it's fucking hot."

"So, I imagine you also give each other blowjobs?"

"Not really, it just seems too much, like kissing, just seems too much... you know." Charlie said.

Tony chimed in "I'm curious, but haven't tried anything like that yet, I do go down on girls, and I love when they give me head."

"Do you guys do this with just each other, or are there other guys? Again, if I am overstepping, just tell me to fuck off."

Again, Charlie "I love talking about this shit, it's just guys having some fun and getting some little blue ball relief. Tony and I were on the wrestling team in high school and senior year, after one of our final matches, all of us are in the showers and one of the guys starts peeing on everybody, he's laughing, then another guy starts doing the same."

"Tony started yelling, telling them to fucking stop, and then slapped their dicks hard to get them to stop, but what happened next was fucking hot... one of them got hard, and what happens when you see a hard dick? You get a hard dick."

"Now we've got seven hard dicks, we all start rubbing them, pretty soon we're all jacking off, we're circling around the drain in the middle of the shower, everybody watching each other masturbate, as hard and fast as we can, no one lasted long, watching all those different cocks shooting their loads. Especially this guy" pointing to Tony "his cumshot landed on another guy, so fucking hot!"

Charlie raised his beer and said "I would like to make a toast... To Circle Jerks!" We raised our beers and clinked them together.

They handed me another beer (Not a beer drinker. Like the buzz. I am polite.), the conversation took another detour, we started talked kinks, turn-on's, they wanted to know about all things gay, and all kinds of other sexual banter. This kept up until the pizza arrived. We finished the pizza and had a few more beers, it began to rain hard outside. Charlie stood up and announced;

"I've got a great idea, let's all get naked and run around outside in the rain," in that moment... it did make sense. It was just one of those things where you had to be there to understand.

We all stripped naked. I was nervous and reluctant to part with my top, they had not seen my nipples yet, and I was worried what they would think.

But the alcohol had taken over, so letting my hair sort of cover my nipples, with towels wrapped around our waist we left the dorm.

It did feel liberating as the raindrops lightly bounced off my skin and the colors seemed all the brighter, we were running, twirling, falling, and laughing. We lay spread-eagle in the dead center of the quad, peaceful, letting the rain tap gently against our bodies, eyes closed and quiet. Moments later, I opened my eyes and found both staring at my nipples.

Tony "Eli, they're so big"

Charlie followed "Man, that's so hot, you've got like... lady nips!" and he reached to touch.

Panicky, nervous, I jumped up and said, "last one back to the dorm has to get more beer," and took off.

I wanted to be the last one back; I had a new plan. Sometimes I can be such a slut. Took a quick shower and jumped into my red lace panties and a silk kimono robe which hid the panties from view. I had some Jager in the fridge, scooped it up and knocked on their bathroom door.

"Anybody home?" opened the door, they both quietly talking about me I am sure.

After a few shots, everything sort of got back to normal, laughing about the crazy shit we did in the rain, they even gestured toward my hard nips pressing against the robe, saying they looked like they were trying to escape.

These guys had been trying too hard to be tough guys, with all their talk and bravado, but deep down they were both nice teens. And they had already passed the test. So, where will this go tonight, hopefully farther than I can imagine?

Tony was admiring my nipples pressing against my kimono, and asked if he could touch them, "not yet," I said "that could be part of the game."

"What game?" Charlie said, "I'm up for anything" with Tony nodding.

"Really, anything? How about truth or dare."

"Let's do it! rules?"

"So, If someone asks you a question you MUST answer it fully and truthfully. And if dared to do something, no matter what, you MUST do it."

"Bring it on" they both said, "first, another shot."

We agreed Charlie would go first, me second and finally Tony.

Charlie's turn.

"Eli, I have only seen your soft gay cock. Tell us if you are you a show-er or a grow-er, then describe in detail everything we need to know about your hard erect cock, and lastly, when you come, are you a shooter or a dribbler?"

"Grower. My erect circumcised penis is five and three-quarter inches in length, curves up, with an average girth, gets hard as steel with a slight mushroom head which leaks a lot of precum, my balls are large and when I come, I shoot ropes of cum that can easily touch my mouth, I am a shooter. Also, I love the taste of cum."

I had their attention. My turn.

"Tony, this is something you really need to try, something new for you. I am daring you to give Charlie a blowjob and make him either come on your face or in your mouth, you may swallow if you like."

Tony protested, "Wait a minute, that's pretty hard core, seriously?"

"Those are the rules you agreed to, remember, do anything no matter what it is."

Charlie, "Wait a minute... I agree with Tony and did not know you could ask for that kind of stuff. I want my turn over again." then laughed.

Tony got up hesitantly, smiling at Eli saying, "You're all mine next turn."

Charlie stood up, aroused. Tony was naked, semi-hard and came over to Charlie, readily got on his knees, and gently pulled down his boxers, revealing seven hard inches with precum dripping off the tip.

He used his tongue to swirl under and over his dick, gathering and tasting the precum "umm," his tongue slid down to his balls, going up and down his shaft, wrapping his lips around his head drawing it in slowly. Taking a bit more, then more, hitting the back of his throat, he gagged a bit, but kept on going,

Then began stroking him with his right hand while eagerly suckling him, using the left hand to lightly cup and rub his balls and sliding one finger up and down his taint. After another minute, he began sucking and thrusting faster while his other hand was lightly brushing the underside of his balls, Charlie was almost there, sending him over the top, "Oh fuck, I'm coming, fuck, fuck..." and exploding in rapid succession into Tony's hungry mouth, about six or seven bursts. Then placing his lips back on that wonderful dick, swallowing, he continued devouring every drop of his semen. Charlie's dick was incredibly sensitive and he tried to get Tony to stop, but he remained working his spent dick, running up and down his shaft, prolonging to tease his frenulum. Tony had discovered a newfound pleasure. He was rock hard.

More Jager shots.

Tony's turn.

"Eli, I thank you for letting me understand with greater clarity how this game is played. I would like to start by daring you to let me do anything I want with your body, so without hesitation, and regardless of what it is, you will do it."

"Come, stand in front of me."

Eli got up and stood in front of Tony.

Tony was naked and hard, he slowly ran his hands over the kimono, lightly brushing my left nipple, then my right. I moaned. Then he untied the robe and opened it, while admiring my nipples, they both noticed my fully erect penis, the large head pushing itself out of my panties, so hard, so much precum.

He pushed the robe back over my shoulders, it fell to the ground. His left hand traced the curve of my back, a slow and deliberate descent that sent a shiver straight down my spine until his fingers brushing over the soft edge of my panties, sliding up and down my crack, over my little hole.

My hard pink nipples were poking out from my small areola. He desired over them, running circles around them with his finger and then using his tongue, finally suckling, twisting, and teasingly biting each of them, the pleasure was undeniable, I was almost there. Moaning. He could tell. He stopped. He pulled away.

Tony slapped my ass as hard as he could. I was back.

Scoldingly; "Eli, you may only come, when I say you may come."

"Next, ask Charlie to come over and start pleasuring your dick."

I did as ordered.

Tony moved around my back; his erect penis was sliding along my ass cheeks. Charlie was eye level with my purple head and started slowly licking and tasting the precum, then gradually pulling down my panties and letting them fall to my ankles.

His tongue started descending up and down my shaft and circling my head before taking my glans into his mouth, he kept sliding up and down, his tongue manipulating the underside of my shaft, gradually taking in more, slowly working a little deeper each time, finally he was deep throating me gradually.

Then grabbing my ass cheeks, he pulled me toward him, exposing my tiny pink bud to Tony from behind, Tony put some lube on his dick and started sliding his dick head over my tiny hole, going faster and faster, I was almost there "Oh fuck, I'm close, fuck, umm...". Tony stopped.

This time he slapped my ass so hard it left a handprint. I was back.

Then said, "Eli, this next time, I'm going to let you come." Slapping my ass again, even harder this time.

Tony was softly rubbing my hole with lube and lubing his cock, slowly sliding his finger in and out. He began sliding his cock up and down against my hole, then pushing firmly against it, more, a little more pressure, back and again, his head slipped inside.

He started with slow gentle stokes, then started thrusting faster and faster.

Charlie was now standing in front of me, with both our cocks in his hand masturbating us, our cocks were pointed towards each other. We got into the rhythm with Tony fucking me from behind, the force increasing.

Both were playing with my nipples, each pinching and twisting my nipples with a deliberate heat that blurred the line between sharp pain and a deep, aching pleasure. I felt it coming, starting deep in my groin.

I knew there was nothing I could do to stop it.

Tony was almost there, thrust after thrust "I gonna cum... fuck... fuck.." and then I could feel his warm load relentlessly filling my ass, which swept me past the point of no return and I started coming so intensely, shooting thick ropes of cum on Charlie's dick, and almost instantly feeling his warm loads hit my balls, both of us spilling massive cumshots nonstop.

Breathing hard, we all just stood there, our brows fell forwards and touched. Tony leaning his head into my curly mess of hair from behind. Breathless, our chests continued heaving.

* * *