Three Hearts
by Andrew Todd
Chapter 1
Brice Matthews stood in front of the small school building and silently cursed his father for deciding to accept a new job and move them right before his senior year.
He had spent eleven years maneuvering the Prince William County school district in Northern Virginia; he knew who to avoid, who to befriend and how to stay out of trouble. Now, when he was a year away from escape, his father decided to throw him this curve.
Brice knew he couldn't really blame his dad. It had been just the two of them since Brice was seven and his flighty mother had decided that she was a lesbian and had moved to an island in the South Pacific. He had not heard from the woman since. Not that he missed her; she had never been the most stable person to begin with.
Brice's dad, David, was a lawyer and he did everything he could to make up for the absence of Brice's mom. Brice never asked for much. When he turned sixteen, David had insisted on buying him a car and had spent two months taking him from dealership to dealership insisting that Brice test drive over twenty models before Brice ended up selecting the black Dodge Charger that he had wanted in the first place.
David had been a partner at a large Washington, DC law firm. He was the proverbial 'little fish in the big pond'. After toiling at the firm for fifteen years, he had been offered the position of senior partner at a small but prestigious Boston law firm. Brice couldn't fault his father for wanting to take advantage of this opportunity. He would be leaving for college in another year and his dad deserved a chance at success and happiness.
After he accepted the job, David decided to move them to the small southern New Hampshire town of Weston. While it was about an hour commute to Boston for him, it was more rural and low key and he thought Brice would enjoy the community more.
For Brice, arriving in Weston in mid-August was culture shock. He was used to the hustle of Northern Virginia and DC--the traffic, the noise, the people. As he drove down Main Street in Weston, he felt like he had gone back in time. The main street was about a half-mile long and was home to a few small businesses and storefronts.
David had purchased a two-hundred-year-old farmhouse on three acres. Attached to the two-story house was a huge old barn. Brice knew his dad had grown up on a farm surrounded by animals and he missed it, so he wouldn't have been surprised if his dad had some fantasies about filling the barn with horses and other animals.
Brice's favorite thing about the big house was that he had the entire second floor to himself. His dad had taken the master bedroom in the rear of the first floor.
On the second floor there were two large bedrooms. Brice claimed one as his bedroom and the other as a sitting room. In his bedroom, he had a king-sized bed and a 26-inch flat-screen TV on the wall. In the sitting room he had placed his desk and computer. There was a 48-inch flat-screen TV on the wall and attached to it was a Blu-Ray player. Brice had spent a couple of Saturdays scouring local yard sales and had acquired several overstuffed easy chairs which he cleaned up and placed in the sitting room.
When Brice got ready for school that morning he was unsure of how to dress to fit in at his new school. He was used to the more urban feel of his old school, but he thought his standard chinos, polo shirt and boat shoes would stand out in Weston and he wanted to blend in as much as possible.
He decided on a pair of faded blue jeans and a blue button-down shirt that he wore untucked. He pulled on a pair of blue Chucks and ran his fingers through his red hair. He thought he probably should have had a haircut as he wasn't sure how his usual long cut would go over here. His flaming red hair was pin straight and fell below the nape of his neck. His bangs were long and always covering at least one of his emerald-green eyes.
His dad was long gone by the time Brice left for school.
So here he was looking at the small one-floor high school. His old school had housed close to a thousand students. His dad had told him the student body of Weston High totaled 198.
Brice opened the front door of the school and was greeted by the noise and chaos that can only exist in a high school. He saw a sign for the office and went to pick up his schedule. He introduced himself to the school secretary and she handed him his schedule and pointed him in the general direction of his homeroom.
As Brice stepped out of the office a boy came running out of nowhere and collided with him. Both boys hit the ground in a jumble of arms and legs.
"Oh, shit, man, I'm sorry, I didn't see you," the other boy said to Brice. He stood up and offered Brice a hand up off the floor. The boy looking at Brice had short brown hair and brown eyes, but what caught Brice's eye was the huge warm smile on the boy's face. He was about the same height as Brice, 5' 10", but was probably fifteen or twenty pounds lighter than Brice's 165.
"Hey, man, are you new here?" the boy asked.
Brice nodded. "Yeah, just moved here from Virginia."
"Cool." The boy's bright smile never wavered. "I'm Cody McDonald."
"Brice Matthews."
"What year are you?"
"Senior."
"Awesome, me too. Whose homeroom are you in?"
Brice pulled his schedule out of his pocket and looked at it again. "Umm, Mrs. Gillen?"
"Alright, she's mine too, she's the best." Cody grabbed Brice's arm and led him down the hallway. "C'mon, I'll show you where it is." He grabbed Brice's schedule out of his hands and looked it up and down. "Hey, we're in a lot of the same classes. That's great." He looked a second time. "Hold it," Cody said as he stopped in the middle of the hallway and the two were almost mowed down by a couple of freshmen. "Why do you have PE on here when you checked off participation in a team sport? Didn't they tell you if you play a team sport, you don't have to take PE?"
Brice nodded. "Yeah, they told me, but I like PE."
Cody's brown eyes widened. "You like PE?!?! Are you serious?! That's like state-sanctioned torture."
Brice laughed. "I like it; it wasn't that bad at my old school."
"Well here it is. Coach Turner is a prick," Cody announced. "If I could get out of it I would. What sport do you play? You don't exactly look like a jock."
"I'm not. I run cross country."
"You're serious? You like gym and you run without someone chasing you?"
Brice laughed again--Cody was a funny guy. "Yes, I like to run. I enjoy the solitude of it."
"Man, I can have all the solitude I want in my room and I don't end up cramped and out of breath."
"You should try it; it keeps you in shape and it's the kind of activity where you're really competing against yourself, trying to improve your times and distances."
"I'll pass." Cody rolled his eyes. He stopped in front of a classroom door. "Here we are," he said as he led Brice into the classroom.
The two boys grabbed a couple of desks in the back of the room and continued their conversation.
Cody kept Brice laughing as he told him about various teachers to watch out for and explained the ins and outs of life in Weston.
Eventually, their teacher, Mrs. Gillen, called the class to order and spent the next hour going over school rules and assigning lockers.
Brice and Cody ended up with adjoining lockers and after putting their belongings away Cody led Brice to their first class of the day.
Brice and Cody had all their classes together except for two periods. Brice had PE last period and French third, while Cody had PE third and Spanish last.
Cody dragged Brice with him to 'his' table at lunch and introduced him to some of his friends. Everyone Brice met seemed friendly and welcoming. So far the day had turned out much better than he expected.
Since it was the first day of school, not much actually happened in PE class. The coach spent most of the class going over his rules and assigning lockers.
After listening to the man for thirty minutes, Brice had to agree with Cody's assessment that Coach Turner was indeed a 'prick'.
After assigning lockers, Coach had the boys change into their gym clothes and run laps in the gym. Normally, Brice would have seen it as a waste of time, but since he hadn't had a good run in a few days, he took the opportunity to stretch his legs.
Most of the students in the class were taking their sweet time running around the gym; Brice on the other hand set his usual quick pace and completed twice as many laps as the next student.
When coach dismissed them to shower, Brice did a few more laps at a slower pace to cool himself down properly.
As he walked to the locker room door, he was stopped by another student.
"Hey, Dude, you're wicked fast," the boy said. He was about 6'1", blond hair, blue eyes and very muscular.
"I run cross country," Brice answered. "I like to run and since I haven't had the time in a few days, I thought I'd make the best of the opportunity."
The boy laughed, "Well, good luck with our team."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, Mr. Michaels is the cross country and track coach. He's also the math teacher. We don't have much of a team. There are maybe four or five guys that run cross country and about ten guys and girls that do track in the spring."
"Well, I mainly do it to keep in shape," Brice said. "Luckily, it's an individual sport, so you don't have to have a specific number of people on your team. You look like you are probably more of a team sports guy."
"Yeah, football."
"What position do you play?"
"Quarterback." The boy offered his hand to Brice. "Justin Cross."
Brice accepted the hand and shook it. "Brice Matthews."
"Where are you from, Brice?"
"Northern Virginia, just outside of DC."
"Well, this place must be a bit of shock to you then."
Brice laughed, "Oh, yeah. There were more kids in my class there than there are in the whole school here."
Justin nodded. "Yeah, typical small town, but it has its advantages, you get to know your neighbors and the kids you go to school with."
"I guess; it's just a whole different world for me."
The bell rang signaling the end of the school day. Most of the other students poured out of the locker room and ran for the busses.
"Shit," Justin said. "I didn't mean to keep you. You aren't gonna miss your bus are you?"
Brice shook his head. "No, I have a car."
"Good. Not too many people do. C'mon, let's grab a shower so we can get out of here."
Brice followed Justin into the locker room. Their lockers were on opposite ends of the room, so Brice walked to his locker and stripped off his shorts and t-shirt and kicked off his sneakers. He peeled off his jock strap, grabbed his towel and headed to the showers.
Brice had the classic runner's body. He was slender with long tight muscles. His torso was sinewy and not overly built.
He walked over to a corner shower and turned on the spray. He adjusted the water to get it as hot as he could stand it and stood under the spray. He was enjoying the hot water pouring over him, when he heard the shower next to him come on.
Brice stepped out from under the spray and wiped the water from his eyes. He opened his eyes and stood stunned at the vision in front of him.
Justin stood under the spray of the shower. His light blond hair was matted to his head. Brice inhaled sharply as his eyes scanned Justin's firm muscular chest and perfect bubble butt. Justin turned so that he was facing Brice and Brice's eyes were immediately drawn to the huge uncut cock that hung from a bush of curly blond hairs.
Brice turned back to his shower as he felt his own erection starting. The last thing he needed on the first day of school was to be caught in the boys' shower with a raging hard-on.
Brice quickly finished his shower and walked back to his locker before Justin even knew he was gone.
Brice dried himself and dressed quickly. He heard the shower shut off. As he was sitting on the bench tying his shoes he felt a presence standing beside him. He looked up and Justin was standing there with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. Brice tried not to stare, but his eyes we're drawn to Justin's hard, round pecs and the two perfect large nipples that topped them. Justin had a faint dusting of blond hair between his pecs, but other than that and his bush he was baby smooth. Brice's mouth went dry as he took in the sight.
"Hey, Brice," Justin said as he unwrapped his towel and started drying his hair. He said something else, but Brice missed it as his eyes fell back to the large cock that flopped around as Justin moved to towel himself off. When Justin stopped, his dick was inches from Brice's face.
Brice shook his head and looked back down at his Chucks. "Huh? What?" he asked when he realized that Justin talking to him.
"Are you headed right home?" Justin asked.
"I guess so," Brice answered. "I hadn't really thought about it. There's no homework today, so I guess I'll just head home and try to get a real run in."
Justin laughed, "You wanna run more?" He wrapped the towel back around his waist. "I was thinking, if you didn't have to rush home, we could take a ride over to Salem. There's not a whole lot around here, but they have the Rockingham Mall over there. I could show you around and maybe we could grab a bite."
"Sure. Sounds good," Brice said.
"Cool , let me go get dressed and we can take off."
"Are you driving or do you want me to?" Brice asked.
"What do you drive?"
"2011 Dodge Charger."
Justin laughed. "2001 Ford F-150--you can drive."
Justin quickly got dressed and the two boys left the locker room. Both had to stop at their regular lockers which were on opposite ends of the floor. Justin told Brice he would meet him at the front door.
Brice ran to his locker. He wasn't going to bother bringing any books home since he didn't actually have any homework. He grabbed his backpack and headed to the door where Justin was waiting for him.
They walked out into the deserted parking lot and over to Brice's car.
"Nice car, man," Justin whistled. "What do your parents do?"
"It's just me and my dad," Brice answered. "He's a lawyer. He just joined a new firm in Boston."
"Aww, he's commuting to Bean Town? You're gonna have a lot of alone time."
"He said it's only an hour commute."
Justin laughed. "Maybe in the morning," he said. "But at night it's a whole different story. He has to come up 93 from Boston and some genius decided that when the four lanes of 93 got to the New Hampshire border they would become only two lanes. It is a mess every night."
"Oh, shit. Well, I guess he'll either leave early or work late," Brice said. "What does your dad do?"
"My dad owns the hardware store on Main Street and my mom stays home."
"Do you have any brothers or sisters?"
"I have a younger sister, Jamie; she's fourteen and a freshman this year and an absolute pain in the ass. And I have a baby brother, Brayden; he's five."
"You have a five-year-old brother?"
Justin laughed, "You sound like my dad when he found out mom was pregnant again. Yup, the little guy was definitely a surprise, but he's the best. You'll have to come and hang out at my house some afternoon--you'll love him."
Justin gave Brice directions to the highway and then to Salem and the mall. The two boys spent several hours exploring the mall and then had an early dinner at a local pizza place.
It was almost seven when they got back to the school parking lot so Justin could pick up his truck.
Brice thanked Justin for showing him around and the two headed home.
Brice pulled into his driveway at about seven-thirty and his dad was just pulling in ahead of him.
"Hey, Dad," he said as he got out of his car. "Just getting home?"
David shook his head. "Yeah, I've been sitting in traffic for over an hour. This commute is gonna be a beast. I thought Northern Virginia was bad, but they've got nothing on Boston."
Brice laughed, "One of the guys at school was telling me about what a mess that highway was at night."
"He wasn't lying," his dad replied. "Are you just getting home now?"
"Yeah. One of the guys I met today took me over to the mall in Salem. He wanted to show me that there was a little bit of life around here."
"Well, that was nice of him. How was your first day of school?"
"Pretty good. Teachers seemed ok. The gym teacher is an ass, but other than that the faculty seemed ok. I met a couple of really nice guys. Looks like things will be pretty cool."
"Good, glad to hear it."
Over the next few weeks, things went pretty smoothly for Brice. He was doing well in his classes and he was enjoying his budding friendships with Cody and Justin.
Justin and Brice had no classes together except gym and had different lunch periods, so they rarely saw each other during school while Cody and Brice saw each other all day at school, but were rarely able to get together outside of classes since Cody volunteered at the local animal shelter every afternoon.
It was late-September when it struck Brice that he had never been with his two friends at the same time.
It was Friday night and he and Justin were planning to drive up to Manchester for a movie and dinner.
He and Cody were in Chemistry class finishing a lab when Cody mentioned that he had left his job at the shelter.
"Why?" Brice asked. "I thought you liked it there."
"I love the animals, but I have a rough time every time one of them has to be put to sleep," Cody said sadly. Brice immediately understood; he had learned that while he was almost always cheerful and funny, Cody was a very sensitive person as well. Brice could see how Cody would have a problem getting overly attached to the animals at the shelter.
"That sucks. But I can understand the difficulty. I had a puppy when I was little and he got hit by a car and I was shattered. My dad wanted to get me a new one and I wouldn't let him cuz I was so scared of going through that again."
Cody nodded. "The first time it happened, I tried to look at it as the 'right' thing and the humane thing for the dog, but it's just too hard for me to deal with. So I talked to Mrs. Compton, the lady who runs the shelter, and she understands. She's gonna let me be a foster owner instead."
"What's that?"
"When they have dogs that are between owners or don't handle the shelter living well, I'll be their temporary owner."
"Oh, Code, isn't that going to be just as hard on you when you have to give the dogs back?"
"That's what my mom said, but I was close to all the dogs I worked with at the shelter and I never had a problem with them being adopted cuz I knew they were going to good homes; it's the putting them down part I have a problem with."
"I guess that makes sense. Just make sure you don't get too attached," Brice said. "Wouldn't it be easier to just get a dog?"
"I have three dogs."
"You have three dogs and you're taking on this foster dad thing?"
Cody laughed and nodded. "I can't help it. I love 'em and they need me."
"I don't know if I could handle one dog."
"Oh, I'm sure you could," Cody said with a twinkle in his brown eyes.
Brice shook his head. "No, Cody. No dogs. I'm busy and my dad's busy."
"But he could keep you company."
"What do you mean 'he'?" Brice asked.
"Well, you see there's this cute little guy at the shelter who really needs a new home fast. I'd take him but my mom is giving me enough grief over the foster thing; she put her foot down about me getting another one permanently."
"Cody, I can't."
"Brice, just think about it," Cody pleaded. "You're alone most of the time. Your dad works those long hours, you need some company when you are home alone--plus he's a great watchdog. He's so friendly and lovable."
"What kind of dog?"
Cody hesitated. "Umm…pit bull…" he almost whispered.
"Pit bull!?!" Brice exclaimed. "Are you nuts?!"
"See, that's the problem," Cody argued. "Milo is a sweetheart who wouldn't hurt a fly; everyone loves him until they find out he's a pit and then they treat him like he should be on death row, which is what's going to happen if I can't find him a home." Cody had a few tears in his eyes. "I almost had him adopted a few days ago. This woman came in with her two kids, a boy and girl. The kids loved him and played with him for almost an hour. The mother was all set to take him until it came time to sign the adoption papers and she saw he was a pit. Then she just changed her mind and left. It pisses me off; she saw what a great dog he was, how friendly he was and how the kids loved him, but she left just because of his breed. That's just wrong. It's no different than someone hating a person cuz they're black or gay. It's pure prejudice."
Brice had never seen Cody so worked up. He couldn't argue with him about the prejudice thing. He had been subjected to his fair share when some people found out he was gay.
"Ok, look," Brice said as Cody gave him a hopeful look. "I'm not promising anything. But if you want to go over to the shelter after the game tomorrow, then we can check him out."
"We could go after school today," Cody said.
"No, I can't I have plans."
"You do?"
"Yeah, I'm driving up to Manchester with a friend for dinner and a movie," Brice answered. "Hey, since you're not working why don't you come too."
"Who's going?"
"Me and Justin."
"Justin? Justin Cross?" Cody asked.
"Yeah, he's in my gym class and we get together after school quite a bit."
"Seriously, you're friends with him?"
"Yeah, why?"
"He's a jock."
"And?" Brice replied. "Cody, you just gave me this impassioned speech about how judging someone was wrong and now you're doing it. Justin is a jock and the quarterback, but he's also my friend. We've had a good time the past few weeks. He's a good guy. You should see him with his little brother. They're so funny together."
"Uh huh," Cody said. "Well, if he likes little brothers I'll give him mine."
Brice laughed. "Ty is fifteen, Justin's brother, Brayden, is five--big difference."
"Yeah, it's easier to hide the five-year-old's body."
"Oh, god, you are bad." Brice grinned. "So do you want to go?"
"Maybe another time," Cody said. "I have to pick Ty up after his hockey practice. The parents are having date night. I can't wait till the little shit gets a driver's license so I don't have to be his chauffeur anymore."
Brice just kept laughing at Cody's antics. Cody had him going so hard, he almost got nailed by the teacher.
Brice promised Cody that he would pick him up Saturday after the football game and they would go over to the shelter.
Later that night, Brice brought Justin home after their night out. It was just before eleven and Justin had to get to bed since he had a game the next day.
"Here you are, bud," Brice said as he stopped in front of Justin's house. He turned the car off so they could talk for a few minutes as they often did.
"Thanks for the ride," Justin replied.
"Hey, no problem. I know my car doesn't guzzle gas like that truck of yours," Brice laughed.
"Hey!!" Justin exclaimed as he reached over and grabbed Brice around the neck. "Don't pick on my truck. That sucker was handed down to me by my grandfather."
"So he could go out and buy a sports car." Brice laughed harder as Justin put him in a headlock.
"Man, you are asking for it." Justin tried to sound threatening, but he was almost laughing as hard as Brice.
Brice was squirming in his seat trying to get out of Justin's grasp while Justin just held tighter and tighter. To distract Justin, Brice reached over and wrapped his hand around the large bulge in the center of Justin's jeans and squeezed.
Justin let go of Brice and howled. "Shit!! That hurt!" he yelled.
"Aw, suck it up you big baby," Brice responded.
Justin reached over and grabbed Brice behind the neck and pulled him forward. "No you 'suck it up'," he said as he pulled Brice's head forward and brought his lips to Brice's.
Brice's eyes bugged out when Justin locked lips with him. He figured Justin was joking and waited for him to let go. When Justin didn't move, Brice closed his eyes and returned the kiss.
Brice felt Justin's tongue along his lips and he opened his mouth to take him in.
Brice leaned back into his seat taking Justin with him.
Brice had briefly allowed himself to fantasize what this moment would be like and it was exactly how he had imagined. Justin was strong, passionate and kissed Brice with hunger and desire.
Brice felt Justin's hand graze his crotch and rub along his bulging jeans. Brice's cock was rock hard and he was afraid he was going to lose it.
Suddenly, Brice came to his senses. He was sitting along the road in front of his best friend's house, kissing said friend while his family was just feet away in the house. This did not bode to end well.
Not wanting to tempt fate, Brice gathered his strength and pushed Justin away.
"Oh, shit!!" Justin said turning towards the window. "Man, Brice, I'm sorry. I thought I was getting those signals from you. I'm sorry. Please don't be pissed."
Brice reached over and grabbed Justin's arm and gently pulled him so that they were facing each other.
Brice grinned as he gazed into Justin's crystal-blue eyes. "Jus, I'm not mad at you and you weren't misreading anything. I've been thinking about doing that with you since that day in the locker room."
"Then why…"
"Why did I push you away?"
"Yeah."
"Cuz we're sitting right outside your house and I didn't think it would go over well if someone drove by or if your parents or sister looked out the window."
"Well, you're right about the someone-driving-by part, but don't worry about my family. They've known I was gay since I was fourteen. My mom is fine with it--has been since day one. Took my dad a little longer, but he's accepted it. As far as Jamie, I don't give a shit about what she thinks and as long as my dates play with Bray, he don't care if they're guys or girls."
"Well, I'm more than willing to play with Bray and his big brother," Brice laughed as he leaned in and kissed Justin quickly.
"Man, I wish I didn't have a game tomorrow, then we could go somewhere and talk, but I need to get some sleep," Justin moaned. "How about getting together after the game tomorrow?"
"I'd love to, but I can't. I promised Cody that I would take him over to the shelter. He wants me to adopt this dog they have over there. I'm not sure if I'm going to, but he's so afraid they're going to put him to sleep I promised I would at least check him out."
"Cody McDonald?"
"Yeah, we've become pretty good friends, he's in most of my classes."
"I didn't know you and that clown were friends."
"Justin, he's not a clown. He's funny and he's a little reckless, but he's also very sensitive," Brice argued. "You should see him talk about the animals at the shelter."
Justin rolled his eyes. "He's always had a thing for strays. When we were in second grade, he brought a half-dead skunk into the boy's bathroom to try to 'save' it…that thing let loose and we had no school for three days while they aired it out."
Brice laughed hard, having no problem seeing a young Cody trying to save a skunk.
"I don't get it," Brice said.
"Get what?"
"You guys have been in school together all your lives and you're two of the nicest guys I've met, why don't you like each other?"
"Probably cuz we have known each other all our lives," Justin replied. "Look, Brice, it's the same in a small town as it is in the big city--schools have cliques and he and I have never meshed. I've always been the jock and he's always been the clown."
"Maybe it's because I'm the outsider here, but I see you both as so much more than that."
"Well, you're probably the only one," Justin sighed. "Well, I've got to get going. You are coming to the game, right?"
Brice nodded. "Yep, I'll be there, I told Cody I'd meet him after. Why don't we plan on something for Sunday afternoon?"
"That sounds good. I have to go to church with the family, but after that we should be good. We could take a run over to my grandparents' place. Maybe take a hike or go riding."
"Riding?"
"Yeah, they have a couple of Morgans--we could go for a trail ride."
"Morgans? Please tell me a 'Morgan' is a trail bike."
Justin laughed and shook his head. "No, Morgan horses, dummy."
"Pass," Brice said. "I've never been on a horse before in my life."
"Then we are definitely going," Justin insisted. "I'll pick you up around noon and we'll take a ride and pick some apples in their orchard."
"Ok, I'll make sure my insurance is paid up," Brice said.
Justin leaned in and kissed Brice quickly. "It'll be fun. I'll see ya then," he said as he got out of the car.
"I'll see you tomorrow at the game," Brice said as Justin closed the car door and climbed the front steps to the porch. He turned and waved to Brice before he disappeared into the house.
Brice drove home as fast as could and ran up to his room. He stripped and grabbed a towel and ran into the bathroom and started the shower. As he let the hot water caress his body, he closed his eyes and let his thoughts turn to Justin. His dick lengthened and hardened as he envisioned Justin's body.
Brice squirted some body wash into his hand and grabbed his raging pecker. He stroked himself while reliving the kiss with Justin. In seconds he was at the point of no return. With a loud grunt he shot his pearly white load all over the shower wall.
He quickly rinsed the wall and his dick and then hopped out of the shower and dried off.
He ran down the hall to his bedroom and slipped under the covers and quickly fell asleep.
Brice was in the stands for the football game the next day. He sat with some of the friends he had made through Justin. Most were girls whose boyfriends were on the team. They cheered loudly for their team. It was a tight game that was ultimately won by Justin who called his own number for a quarterback sneak from the two with only five seconds left in the game. He ran it in for a touchdown and the home team won 24-21.
Justin looked up into the stands several times to check that Brice was there. He discreetly waved to his friend a few times and Brice nodded back not wanting everyone to know exactly who Justin was waving at.
When the game was over, Brice ran to his car and drove over to pick up Cody.
Cody was sitting on his front steps waiting.
Brice had never been to Cody's house since this was the first time they had gotten together outside of school.
Brice got out of the car and was immediately beset by three big pit bulls.
"Hey, guys," Brice greeted the dogs. He looked over at Cody who was watching him and smiling his usual high-wattage grin. "Some help here, Code."
Cody let out an ear piercing whistle and the dogs ran over to their master. "Alright, you guys, behave yourselves," Cody ordered his dogs.
The three dogs obediently sat in front of Cody. Brice walked over and sat on the steps next to Cody.
"Ok, guys, this is Brice, he's the one I told you about." Brice laughed as Cody talked to the dogs like he would to another person. "Brice, this is Brutis, Cooper and Willy." As Cody introduced each dog, he had Brice hold out his hand so that each dog could sniff it.
After the introductions, Brice was laughing hard.
"What's so funny?" Cody asked with a grin.
"When you said you had three dogs, I expected three little dogs. Most people I know who have big dogs have one and I certainly didn't expect all three to be pits. No wonder your mom doesn't want you to adopt another one."
"Well, the little ones are always adopted. The old people or people with small kids always want a little one. Personally, I have no real use for them; all they do is eat, shit and yap all day. These guys are my buddies. They can play, they protect, they're great."
"They all seem well-trained," Brice acknowledged.
"Thank you," Cody said. "I did all that myself."
Brice looked at his watch. "Well, we better get going before the shelter closes."
"No worries," Cody said as he stood up. "I told them we were coming, so they won't close on us. 'Sides I still have a set of keys anyways."
They got into Brice's car and he drove them over to the shelter.
At the shelter, Cody introduced Brice to Mrs. Compton, who ran the shelter, and then brought him to a back room with lines of cages on either side.
Cody walked straight to a pen in the very back of the room.
"There he is!!" Cody said in a voice one would use to speak to a small child. "There's my buddy, Milo."
He opened the pen and a large muscular dog came charging out. At first Brice was nervous about the dog's size and its breeding, but Milo walked right over to Brice and sat in front of him. Brice reached down and let the dog sniff his hand and then he rubbed the dog's ears. Milo stood up and rubbed himself against Brice's legs.
Brice knelt down and rubbed and patted the dog's side. Milo rolled over and Brice scratched the dog's belly.
Cody just watched with a grin. "See, I told you he was a sweetheart."
Brice looked at Cody with a grin. "You suck," he laughed at his friend.
Cody chuckled. "Gotcha."
Brice knew he was had. He knew he was leaving the kennel with a dog. "If my dad flips out you can explain this to him," Brice said.
Cody laughed and nodded. "No, problem. I will tell him how great Milo is, that he's an awesome friend and watchdog and that you are saving his life."
Brice started to say something when his new dog started to lick his face. He just sat back and laughed as Milo washed his face for him.
Cody and Brice left the shelter with Milo in tow. Mrs. Compton had provided Brice with a leash for Milo and the boys made a quick stop at the local pet store to buy some food and bowls.
When they got to Brice's house, they let Milo run around so he could get used to the property and do some exploring. Since he had spent so much time in a pen at shelter, the dog was in his glory darting all over the place and marking his territory.
Brice and Cody sat on the swing that hung on the porch. They watched Milo cavorting all over the lawn and woods.
"Where's your dad?" Cody asked.
"He's got a big case starting on Monday, so he's putting in extra hours at the office. Actually, he'll probably spend the night in the apartment they keep down there," Brice answered. "I probably won't see much of him till this case is over."
"That sucks," Cody said. "You're all alone then."
"Not anymore," Brice laughed gesturing towards Milo.
Cody grinned. "See, I did you a big favor."
"Yeah, I guess you did," Brice acknowledged. He placed his hand on Cody's thigh and squeezed it innocently.
Cody reached over and did the same and then he leaned in and kissed Brice. Brice was taken by surprise for the second time in twenty-four hours. His mind was screaming for him to stop it, but his heart was yearning for Cody just as it had for Justin.
Cody gently wrapped his arms around Brice and kissed him. Where Justin was all passion and heat, Cody's kiss was gentle and tender. Brice became the aggressor, licking at Cody's lips until Cody allowed him to enter. Brice pulled Cody to him tightly and kissed Cody harder.
After a few minutes of kissing, Cody pulled away and leaned back into the swing. "Wow…" he whispered.
Brice looked at him. "Wow, what?"
"You're really good at that," Cody sighed.
"You're not too bad yourself," Brice said as he leaned in and gave Cody another peck on the lips.
Just then Cody's phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered it. "Hello…Hey, Mom…right now…c'mon…no, Brice has to drop me off…ok…I'm on my way." He hung up and put his phone back in his pocket.
Cody leaned towards Brice and hugged him hard. "Sorry, gotta get home. The 'rents wanna take us out to dinner tonight."
"That's ok," Brice said. "We got plenty of time."
Brice called to Milo and loaded him back into the car and took Cody home.
"Can we get together tomorrow?" Cody asked hopefully.
"Shit, I have plans for tomorrow afternoon. I just made them and I can't cancel."
Cody looked a little sad. "That's ok. I'll see you at school on Monday then."
"Yeah, let's plan on you coming over after school. You can give me some training tips for my new friend here." He laughed as Milo poked his head between the two front seats.
Cody grinned. "It's a date," he said as he jumped from the car and ran up to his house.
Brice drove home wondering all the way how he had gone from no boyfriends to two in a day.
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