(pictured above is Chris)

Chapter 2   New Friends

Payton and Tommy met up with Ashton at the bookstore the next day. The two PT majors were in many of the same classes, therefore picking up many of the same textbooks and after dropping the new purchases back at the dorms, the three decided to go grab lunch together at a hole in the wall restaurant 20 minutes away from campus. Tommy and Payton wanted to see some of the city so Ashton promised a brief tour of at least part of it afterwards.

Ashton was quiet, but he wasn't adverse to spending time with people he liked. He just didn't feel the need to spend every hour with them or keep a constant conversation going. Payton was the same way and Tommy, although the more garrulous of the three, had gotten used to Payton's quiet nature and had no problem with Ashton's similar aloof disposition. Ashton was friendly and, when he did have something to say, it tended to be well thought out and because he was a man of few words, his friends knew to listen when he did take the time to say something.

The three headed out to Tommy's fully restored 1980 white Cadillac convertible. A classic car and part of his inheritance when his parent's died. It was his father's pride and joy and as soon as Tommy had his license he'd taken it out of storage and had been driving it and maintaining it to his father's standards.

Tommy had lost his parents at the age of 13, moving in with his only relative, his mother's sister, Aunt Camille. At that time Camille was single and a busy business woman running a real estate firm that employed a 14 agents. Too busy for a husband and too busy to do more than make sure there was food in the fridge for Tommy. Not that she didn't care, she just wasn't equipped to understand the needs of a young teenage boy and figured if she put a roof over his head, kept him fed and well dressed, she was doing her job.

In many ways it was actually Tommy taking care of Camille because she was always running from meeting to meeting. He made sure she stopped for food once in a while, made sure the laundry was done and that she was taking care of herself. Having been brought up by two very nurturing parents, he was in turn the same way with his Aunt and with his close friends.

Payton could remember many a time staying over at Tommy's house and his friend doting on him, making him special dishes, getting movies for them to watch, but most importantly, keeping his spirits up when he was feeling stressed out by his family. Tommy's home was Payton's escape. It was calm and quiet since it was usually just Tommy there, and the only expectation was for Payton to be himself and have a good time. It was a 'nag' free zone, Tommy used to say, so Payton spent a lot of time in his best friend's home.

Tommy

"This place is the epitome of Chicago cuisine," Ashton told us, "you've got your Hot Italian beef sandwich which is the most famous Chicago classic, the Chicago style hot dog, Chicago burger...oh and deep dish pizza is big here."

We looked at the menu of the restaurant Ashton had suggested, 'Lou M's'. Apparently everything was really good Ashton said, but I decided to have a Chicago style hot dog to see what the difference was. "I'm gonna try the hot dog," I said to no one in particular. Payton snickered. "What?"

"Nothing," he muttered.

"No Pay, what's so funny?"

"Nothing...I'm just not surprised you're having a hot dog knowing your penchant for...you know...'hot dogs'." I narrowed my eyes at my so called best friend as he air quoted hot dogs.

"You're such a child," I grumbled. He really was. He was like a 19 year old 5th grader. But, I loved him and he always made me laugh, so I couldn't complain too much. "What are you having?"

"The Hot Italian beef sandwich," he said nonchalantly.

"Oh...you're having the Hot Italian beef?" I smirked at Payton, who refused to look up, instead staring at the menu, yet I could see the corners of his mouth twitching as he fought back a smile. I looked over at Ashton who was watching us with a blank expression, but with a hint of amusement in his eyes.

"So what electives are you guys taking?" Payton asked, obviously trying to change the subject. For the first year we had to take a certain number of classes in our program and each semester an elective out of the program to keep us, I assumed, well rounded.

"I was torn between Human Sexuality and Intro to Psychology, then I found out Intro to Psych was a prerequisite for Human Sexuality, so there you go." I looked over at Payton who was smirking. "Get your mind out of the gutter for once, it's an interesting subject to study."

"Mhm...I'd rather save that type of studying for outside the classroom," Payton said in a lewd tone, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Says the 19 year old virgin," I chuckled, then regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth. "Hey, I'm sorry Pay, I didn't mean anything." But it was too late, his face fell and he looked away, both embarrassment and humiliation on his face.

"Really Pay, I was just joking, there's nothing wrong with that and you're smart to wait for the right person." I knew I could spew all the right things, but it wasn't going to make him feel any better and I felt like an ass. "I'm really sorry Payton."

"It's no biggie," he muttered and just then the waitress came over to take our order. "I knew he wouldn't want to talk about it now, but I made a mental note to talk to him later tonight when it was just the two of us. He was my best friend and I never wanted to hurt his feelings, it was a stupid comment, so I hope he would let me apologize and make sure he knew I didn't think there was anything to be ashamed about. Payton had fooled around with a handful of guys, but always got nervous to take it too far and seemed to sabotage the relationship before it got serious. Or that was my take on things. I knew part of it was living under his parents roof. They seemingly accepted his sexuality, but never wanted to talk about it or see it. Which to me, isn't all that supportive. Payton had also made a comment once about trust. He hadn't met a guy yet, that he had romantic feelings for, that he trusted enough to be intimate with. Trust was a big issue for Payton, which I totally understood.

I looked over at Ashton who was watching him thoughtfully while Payton placed his order. There was an awkward moment after the waitress had finished and left that I finally felt compelled to fill. "Ashton, what elective are you taking?"

"Environmental Studies."

He didn't elaborate, but I'd already gotten used to his succinct use of words. "That sounds cool, our High School had an anthropology class only for seniors, and there was even a section on archeology and we got to go see a dig that a local university was doing. I mean, it wasn't anything big, but it was cool to see how they do it, organizing the site into a grid and they seriously use colanders and sift through all the dirt." I found myself rambling along while the other two sat quietly and listened, I guess.

"Someone older with experience, and who you can trust, who knows what they're doing and not hurt you is the best person to lose your virginity to Payton," Ashton said out of the blue, stopping my rambling. Payton's head popped up and he looked at the other boy closely. Ashton shrugged his shoulders. He'd imparted his wisdom and was ready to move on. My eyes widened because he'd hit the nail right on the head with the trust comment. It's like he knew exactly what Payton's issue was and judging by the way Payton was looking at him, he'd noticed too.

"Where am I going to meet someone like that?" I thought he'd want to drop the subject, but Payton asked the question and now I was curiously watching the interchange. "I don't think someone like that would want to be with me anyway."

"You'd be surprised," Ashton replied. "I go to this club sometimes where there are a lot of mature, responsible men who would love to teach a young college kid a few things."

"What kind of men?" I asked, I mean, I had to look out for my best friend, "and by mature, do you mean old?"

"Smart, well educated, successful, powerful men, not necessarily old, just older than us. Established."

"Okay guys, here's your lunch!" The waitress bopped over with a huge smile and placed our orders in front of us. "I hope you like it!" She flashed Ashton a cute smile before turning with a giggle. I frowned as I watched her retreat. I didn't get a smile. Usually this hair is like a chick magnet. Not that I wanted to attract chicks necessarily, but I didn't mind the attention.

"Well, thank you both for this fascinating discussion of my virginity, but I'm sure I can figure out the problem on my own. Right now, I'll settle for my Hot Italian beef," Payton said before he dug into his sandwich. "Holy shit," he mumbled between bites, "this is awesome!" I chuckled as he grabbed a napkin to keep the juices from the thinly sliced beef covered in sautéed onions and peppers from dripping down his chin.

Ashton had ordered a burger and popped a few fries in his mouth before picking the mammoth construction into his mouth. He almost had to dislocate his jawbone to get the mouthwatering conglomeration of a huge beef patty, slab of fresh onion, thick slice of tomato, provolone cheese on what looked like focaccia bread rather than a bun, into his mouth. "Lou does the Italian style of burgers," Ashton explained when I asked him about it.

My own meal looked daunting, a large bun holding a thick all beef hot dog, yellow mustard, chopped white onions, relish, chopped tomato, pickled peppers and a huge wedged dill pickle sitting right on top. "Is all food really big here?"

"Chicagoans have hearty appetites," Ashton replied with a small smile.

"Enjoy your wiener," Payton taunted just as I wrapped my mouth around the monstrosity. I glared at him, but my glare soon turned to a look of ecstasy I'm sure as the fresh flavors of the toppings mixed with the juicy meat.

"Mmmm," I moaned, "this is fucking fab!" I think we'd just found our favorite place to eat in Chicago.

----------------

The first week of classes were great. We got to know most of the other freshman in our program and even Lane, who was a year ahead, hung out with us on the campus green in front of the PT building where all the students congregated between classes. We found that everyone wanted to be outside as much as possible while the good weather was here, because Chicago winters were supposed to be long and cold. Fall was the best season of the year in the city so it wasn't unusual to see hordes of students laying out in the grass, squeezed onto picnic tables, sitting on the large steps up to the buildings or hanging out wherever they could grab some of the warm sun. After a humid summer, Autumn was a well-received gift.

Lane introduced us to some of the other Sophomores. This guy Drew, who I recognized from the first day, always seemed to be by his side, following him around and hanging on to his every word. At first I thought it was his boyfriend, but once I saw them together, I realized it was more like Drew wanted Lane to be his boyfriend and Lane was often only mildly aware that he was even there. Lane was a big flirt and it didn't matter whether you were a guy or girl, you just had to be hot.

Drew's sister Abby was kind of a bitch, but she also had an eye for Lane and I'd seen him wander off with her once or twice this week too. I guess if I looked like Lane and could get anyone I wanted, I might be the same way, though, I don't know, when its someone you really like It's much better. I'd had a few boyfriends, but I didn't sleep with them until we'd gotten to know each other and I knew they cared about me, well except for the last one, he was my exception to the rule.

My first real boyfriend was Simeon, we dated for about eight months. Yeah, I know, weird name. He was really sweet though and he did really sweet things like send me flowers, wrote me little poems and he even wrote me a song once. He was a really good guitar player and when he sang it to me, I knew I was head over heels.

Obviously things didn't work out, but we broke up on good terms and I still talk to him once in a while. There was Lawrence after that. He was amazing, but he was afraid to come out and after a while it just got to be too constrictive. I wanted to be able to hold my boyfriend's hand in public or kiss him when we met each other in the hallway. He even went as far as to have a pretend girlfriend to keep people from suspecting he was gay. It was just too much. I was really sad for a while and questioned my decision, but it is what it is.

My last boyfriend who I went to prom with was Randy. He was my 'bad boy'. God he was so hot! He showed up halfway through Senior year, after moving from New Jersey. All black leather jacket, motorcycle, tattoos and longish jet black hair. I pined after him for 2 months before I got up the courage to approach him and he was also the only guy I ever slept with on the first date. I was so in love with him, though now I realize it was more 'in lust'. It was a hot and heavy relationship that burned out after a year; about three months longer than it should have, but neither of us wanted to be the one to admit it wasn't working out. I was working and taking classes at the community college with Payton and Randy was working at his father's business. It was one of those places that built and restored specialty motorcycles, but I knew he was itching do to something more exciting.

After we broke up Randy took a road trip across country with two of his motorcycle buddies. I think that's what he had kind of wanted to do all along after graduation, but kept postponing the trip because of me. When I figured that out, and realized that his leaving didn't really bother me, I knew it was time to break it off.

Friday night came and we were ready to let off some steam. Ashton was bringing us to his friend's party and we were excited to get off campus. The other students were great, but sometimes they all just acted a little too excited and infatuated with the whole freshman scene. I don't know if it was because we were a year older than everyone else in our class, but Payton and I had no interest in Fraternities or Beer Pong or any of the sloppy drunken parties that seemed to happen around campus. We'd kind of already done a lot of that and it was enough.

Ashton seemed different than the other freshman, he was a really interesting guy once you got to know him, really smart, but in a humble, non-pretentious and well, hot package. Not that I was romantically interested in him, but he was definitely someone I wanted to get to know and be friends with. I could tell Payton was already enamored with him, especially when he found out he rode a motorcycle and rode horses.

"Tommy, I friended Ashton of Facebook, oh my god, he's so hot! You should see him on a motorcycle. Even his sister is hot, and, well usually I don't notice girls. There's one of him driving a tractor and riding a horse, he is like a real cowboy." Payton gushed a mile a minute about our new friend while we got dressed and I had to laugh. Every time we met someone new that was good looking and interesting, Payton got a little crush on them. It wouldn't last long, the flame would die as quickly as it sparked up, but it was always fun to watch him get all excited over something or someone new, he'd start talking a mile a minute and you couldn't shut the usually quiet guy up!

"Tommy...I think I have a crush on him, is that bad?" Yup, I knew it! "I mean, I know we're just friends and that's totally cool. I can tell I'm not his type from the guys he likes on Facebook, but I thinks it's so cool just to be friends with him. He said he'd take me for a ride on his motorcycle too, that would be so awesome!! I've always wanted to ride a motorcycle. Do you think I should get a motorcycle?"

"Maybe you should stick to sailing, at least if you fall down in sailing it's just into the water," I suggested since Payton was sometimes pretty klutzy. The only time he wasn't was when he was sailing since he'd been doing it since he was little. On a sailboat, he turned into this highly competent, highly confident guy and from what his grandfather told me, he's one of the best sailors he'd ever seen. Of course his grampa Henry taught him everything Payton knows and grampa Henry has been racing sailboats longer than we've been alive.

"You should friend him too. Just, don't tell him I have a crush okay?"

"I wouldn't say anything, you know that! And I'm sure you'll be over your crush in no time."

"Yeah, I know. Lane's pretty hot too. He's got the most amazing eyes, don't you think? But he's too much of a player for me."

"Yeah, that's definitely not the kind of guy you need Pay."

"But he's cool as a friend, he's so crazy!"

"I know right!? I've never met someone like him, he's definitely a handful! But I love him!"

"Oh! Ashton just texted me," Payton burst out, "he's ready any time we are and we can meet him down in the parking lot."

"Okay Pay, just calm down, you don't want him to see you all hyper and blushing."

"You're right. Deep breaths." I watched as Payton did this little breathing thing one of our friends, Alicia, a yoga instructor, taught him. It always calmed him down and got him 'centered' as he'd say.

"Okay, I'm good. Let's go." I followed Payton down to my car and we were soon on our way. I grinned as I watched Payton hanging on Ashton's every word, as few as there were.

"You'll like Chris, he's a great guy. Sometimes a bit hyper, but just ignore it," Ashton told us as we drove.

Chris lived in a loft in a really artsy part of Chicago. I guess he was taking business classes part time while he worked for a company that set up huge computer graphics for companies or events. Like when you go to something and there is a huge screen, it's really made up of like a hundred small computer screens. That's what he does, or the business that he works for does. It sounded really cool and I was looking forward to meeting him and the other people that would be at this party.

So it was me, Payton and Ashton going. Lane had gone out to a bar, probably to hook up with someone. Once we found a place to park we walked two blocks back to the loft. Music was pounding from behind a metal door and Ashton pressed a button on the wall, which I assumed was a doorbell. All of a sudden the door burst open and there stood a tall guy, about 6' 3" with dark brown hair buzz cut on the sides and the blue/green longer hair curling together in a 4" poof on top of his head. For his height, he had more of a baby face with a really bright dimpled smile and chocolate brown eyes that were twinkling with excitement as soon as he saw Ashton. The smile was immediately contagious and Payton and I found ourselves grinning in return.

"Ash! Ashybaby, Ashford, the Ashinator! You're finally here!" he yelled, practically bouncing on his feet.

"Yeah, Chris, I said I'd be here." Ashton's reply was his usual low key tone, how these two were best friends was confusing.

"COME IN COME IN!"

"Chris, this is Payton and Tommy," Ashton said before walking in, "they're my friends from school I told you about."

"Hey guys! Glad you could come. Any friend of Ashton is...highly unfortunate. Haha, only kidding. I'm Chris." We each shook his hand.

Chris showed us around the loft. It was pretty big compared to a dorm room and filled with about thirty or forty people, it was hard to tell. We got introduced to many of them, but soon forgot their names.

"Dude, we're going on a supply run." Two older guys walked up to Chris as he was giving the grand tour.

"Alright man, cool, lemme give you some cash." Chris pulled out a handful of crumpled bills from his pocket and we each gave the guy a twenty as well. "Get some beer, a couple of bottles of vodka, that flavoured wine for the girls and a bottle of tequila," Chris directed. They had a wad of cash they added ours to so I assumed they'd collected it from the rest of the crowd as well.

"What do you guys want to drink?" Chris asked as we walked into the kitchen. "We still have beer in the fridge and bottle of gin, a couple bottles of rum and some vino. Soda's in the fridge."

Ashton went to grab a beer and Payton asked if it was okay if he made a rum and coke. I had a glass of red wine because over the last year I'd developed a taste for it. I could nurse the wine and switch to soda after since I was driving.

Payton stuck close as we started to mingle and Ashton went off to catch up with old friends. After a while I noticed Payton wander off to sit on a bar stool at the kitchen island where Chris seemed to be the center of attention entertaining a crowd of people with stories about different events he had worked on in the past year and the time he almost fell off a crane when his safety harness wasn't clipped on correctly.

The guys had come back with more alcohol and the party was in full swing when a tall and very handsome guy about our age walked in. He had long dark curly hair which stood up in every direction and dark skin. A slim, but very strong looking build and he walked, no he seemed to glide through the room gracefully with a presence that made you want to stare. A dancer! That's it, he looked like a dancer.

"TAI!" Chris came running from behind the kitchen island and scooped the new arrival into his arms like he weighed no more than a feather. Tai laughed and hugged back as Chris swung him around the room. "I didn't think you'd be able to make it now that your weekends are mostly...tied up." Chris burst out laughing like he'd made some incredibly funny joke and Tai just rolled his eyes and grinned.

"He's on a last minute business trip and said I could come tonight as long as I didn't drink too much or get in any trouble." Hmmm, talking about a boyfriend maybe? I wondered. "He'll probably check in a few times," Tai added shrugging his shoulders.

Ashton came over and gave Tai a big hug and they spoke quietly for a few minutes. I wandered over hoping for an introduction that I soon got.

"Tommy, this is Tai," Ashton said, "Tai this is Tommy, a friend from CSU." I shook his hand and after noticing his warm, charismatic smile my eyes went down to his neck and saw a thin, black leather...well, it looked like a collar around his neck. I quickly looked back up and he laughed with a knowing smile.

Payton wandered over and I introduced them as well.

"Are you in school here too Tai?" I asked.

He answered in a voice that was confident and smooth as silk.

"I go to Chicago College of the Arts, studying dancing, acting and a little singing."

"Tai's going to be a star," Chris called over, "get his autograph now before he gets too big for us." Tai blushed, and turned away, pulling off a light jacket and dropping it over a couch.

At the end of the night, after mostly speaking with Tai and Chris, we said goodbye and drove back to the dorms.

"Thanks for inviting us," I said to Ashton, "they were cool. I could hang out with them again."

"Yeah, Chris is really entertaining," Payton added.

"Yeah, Chris and Tai were the ones I hung out mostly with in High School. They're pretty cool."

"Ash, what was the leather collar thing that Tai was wearing? Was it just a necklace or did it mean anything?" I peeked over at Ashton who was looking out the window.

"It's a collar. It means he's in a relationship with...," Ashton paused for a few minutes, "you know, the club I was telling you about?"

"Yeah."

"I'll take you there sometime if you want, which will explain it better. Sometimes it's hard to describe in words."

"Okay, cool. I'm down."