“You’re out of your fucking mind!” I practically shouted at Jeff but he just laughed in return.
“C’mon, Bret,” came his retort. “Don’t be such a wuss.”
“Getting stoned in a fuckin’ graveyard in the dead of winter isn’t exactly my idea of a fun night,” I said. Surely he’d listen to reason.
“But look at this place,” Jeff countered. “It’s quiet, it’s spooky, it has a sort of eerie beauty to it. No one’s gonna come looking for us here. We’ll have the whole place to ourselves.”
“Just us and the ghosts,” I laughed. “But seriously, it’s fuckin’ freezin’ out here and there’s six inches of snow on the ground.”
“And we won’t even notice it once we’re high,” Jeff replied.
He had a point there but we could easily freeze to death if we got stoned enough. By the time I thought of this, he was already out the door and I could hear his feet making crunching sounds in the snow. Reluctantly, I left the warmth of the car and went after him. I knew what Jeff was like all too well and he’d just smoke the joints without me if I let him.
Running carefully to catch up, I found him sitting on a stone bench that he’d cleared of the snow and covered with a wool blanket.
Motioning for me to sit down, Jeff unzipped his jacket and took out a reefer, lit up and took a deep drag. I sat down next to him but, damn, even with the blanket, the bench was fucking cold! Jeff passed me the joint and I took a drag on it, being careful not to inhale too deeply. I wanted to pace myself and I wanted to be sure at least one of us was sober enough to get us back to the warmth of the car.
After we finished off the first joint, Jeff took out another and we passed it back and forth, too. By the time we finished off our second joint, I was pleasantly buzzed but Jeff looked like he was stoned out of his mind.
Turning toward me, Jeff got a curious look on his face and then he smiled, leaned forward and kissed me on the lips. I was shocked! Everyone knew I was gay, ’cuz I was out and proud. I’d been out since middle school and, except for an occasional negative comment, most kids respected me. It prolly didn’t hurt that I had a black belt in karate and could take almost anyone down.
Jeff Lowery was one of the most popular boys at school. He was the captain of the football team, the class president and a straight-A student. He had a reputation as a ladies’ man, playing the field but never settling on just one. Although I’d known him for years, he was little more than a close acquaintance and certainly not someone I’d think of as a friend. I’d wondered why he’d asked me if I’d like to go out for a night on the town with him. Perhaps this was his idea of a date.
As he pulled away from the kiss, he had a goofy grin on his face. “You don’t know how beautiful you are, Bret. You’re so graceful and handsome — you have an inner strength I find irresistible. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted in a guy.
“I don’t know how you manage it,” he continued, “being out and all. I could never do that. My teammates would beat me to a pulp if they knew.”
“Somehow I don’t think anyone could beat you to a pulp,” I replied. “You’re all muscle!”
“I’ve been in a lot of fights over the years,” Jeff challenged, “but if enough of my teammates jumped me, I wouldn’t stand a chance.”
“Maybe you should take up karate, like me,” I suggested.
Laughing, he said, “I don’t have the agility for karate…”
“That’s fucking bullshit,” I countered. “You have the ability to dodge a field full of two-hundred-pound football players with ease, pass the ball with pinpoint accuracy while in the midst of being tackled, and jump over a hurdle of linemen to score a touchdown. Somehow I think you have enough agility to learn karate.”
“It won’t help me with the ’rents,” he said sadly, “and it won’t give me a place to stay when they throw their son out on the street because he’s gay. No, coming out for me is not an option.”
There wasn’t much I could say to that, so instead I said with a smile, “Let’s not worry about any of that for now. Let’s just enjoy the night.”
Before I knew what was happening, Jeff was on me again, his tongue probing my mouth. He was one sexy guy and I could hardly resist. Soon our zippers were open and we were face-to-face with each other’s private anatomy. I’d had sex before but no one had ever given me a blowjob like Jeff did that night.
I guess the pot was stronger than I’d thought, ’cuz I musta blacked out.
I woke up to find myself sitting alone in my car, out in the graveyard of all places. I had a vague recollection of getting high with someone else and maybe of having sex with them, but I couldn’t remember for the life of me who it was or where we’d gone. I couldn’t fathom why I’d driven to the graveyard afterwards.
One thing was for sure — I couldn’t stay there. It was snowing heavily and the wind was howling. Even after starting up the motor, running the defroster and using the windshield wipers, I could barely see out the window. It was the start of a blizzard and I needed to get out of there.
At first my tiny Honda Fit seemed to be stuck in the snow but, after rocking it back and forth a few times, it finally pulled free. I had to drive real slow and even though we only lived a few miles away, it took me over an hour to get there. Man, I was so glad when our house came into view!
Unfortunately, ’cuz it was the weekend, we didn’t miss any school from the blizzard. Classes began at the regular time on Monday morning.
The place was all abuzz when I arrived and the big news was that Jeff Lowery, the captain of the football team, was missing. He hadn’t been seen since he went out on Friday night. That was really weird — Jeff’s a popular guy and I couldn’t imagine him ever going off somewhere alone.
Jeff didn’t show up the rest of the week and everyone thought he might have run away, but then the weather started to warm up and the snow started to melt. On Friday morning, we were all shocked to learn that his body had been found in the graveyard by a neighbor walking their dog.
The following week we all learned that Jeff had died of hypothermia about a week before his body was found. Apparently, he’d smoked enough pot to get the whole fuckin’ football team stoned. I wondered why Jeff would have been out in the graveyard tokin’ it up alone — but then I remembered that I’d been in the graveyard around the time he disappeared. I’d gotten high on pot that night. Could I have been with him when he died?
Shaking my head, I realized just how ludicrous that thought was. Jeff and I traveled in different circles. We had absolutely nothing in common.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I think they found his body over here,” Pete Jenkins said as we walked through the graveyard. He was pointing to a stone bench that was hidden from view by a cluster of trees and shrubbery.
It was an unusually warm day for early March and we were both dressed in nothing more than shorts and T-shirts. Pete was my best friend and had been for more than twelve years. I’d had a huge crush on Pete when I first realized I was gay but Pete was straight as could be, and so I’d learned to control my emotions and love him as I would a brother. For his part, Pete accepted me from the moment I came out to him. Our relationship was the epitome of friendship.
When Pete suggested we check out the graveyard to see where Jeff Lowery had died, I thought it was a bit strange but Pete had a fascination with the supernatural, so I was more than happy to go with him to check it out.
There was something unsettling about the stone bench however, and I was overcome with an overwhelming sense of déjà vu.
Suddenly, Pete turned to me with the strangest look on his face I’d ever seen. It almost didn’t look like Pete. The look was one I’d have characterized as lust. Before I realized what was happening, Pete leapt forward and pressed his lips to mine. His tongue invaded my mouth and I swore I felt his erection against my thigh. Never in my wildest dreams did I think Pete would be interested in me like that. I’d long ago sequestered my romantic thoughts toward him — but now he was expressing his towards me! I was in heaven. I kissed him back.
Soon our clothes came off and our passion accelerated to levels I never knew were possible. We made love, not just sex but love, for nearly three hours in that little secluded patch in the graveyard.
After our breathing had returned to normal and we lay next to each other, side by side, cuddling in the afterglow of the awesome sex we’d just had, Pete turned toward me with a very strange look on his face. It was more the look he had when he was angry or annoyed.
“I don’t know what came over me, Bret,” he began. “It was almost as if I wasn’t in control of my own body. I mean, I’ve always loved you in a way but I never felt anything sexual until today.
“I’m not gay,” he continued, “and I don’t have any desire to have sex with any other boys. Before today, I never had any desire to have sex with you but something came over me. Like I said, it’s almost as if I was possessed or something. I couldn’t have stopped myself if I’d wanted to. I have to tell you, though — that was the best sex I’ve ever had in my life! No girl has ever made me feel that way — ever. After today, I don’t think I could ever have sex with anyone but you. I — I want to be with you, always.”
“But you’re straight!” I countered.
“I know — but I’m in love with you and that’s all that matters.” As if to emphasize his point, Pete then kissed me tenderly on the lips. His kiss felt different than the impassioned kisses of earlier. This kiss felt as if it was from his heart — and his very soul.
We spent perhaps another hour with each other in the graveyard, just making out, but it was starting to get chilly so we reluctantly got up and reached for our clothes. As I started to get dressed, I felt a strange sensation come over me, as if I was no longer in control of my own body. It was as if someone or something had taken over and my mind was along for the ride.
A voice came to me from inside my head and I heard the words, “You left me here to die.” I recognized the voice — it was the voice of Jeff Lowery! “You left me here to die but you don’t even remember it, do you? I loved you, Bret. I loved you with all my heart. The sex we had was the best sex, ever. Obviously, I meant nothing to you. You left me here to die.
“Now it’s your turn to know what it’s like to lose the one you love. Now, vengeance shall be mine.”
I couldn’t stop myself — I felt my body lunging forward toward Pete. I wanted to stop myself — I tried — but I wasn’t in control. With a black belt in karate, I could kill with a single blow. I cried tears of grief, realizing I was about to kill my best friend, the boy I loved with all my heart.
I watched as Pete turned toward me at the last moment. I cried out in anguish as a look of horror took over his face on seeing my bare foot flying through the air towards his neck…