Elroy placed his palm on the small of Kyle's back and laughed louder this time. "Okay, let me rephrase that statement. There is no limit to what everyone but you will do for a buck."
This time Kyle laughed. "Thank you. I think that's much better."
They walked side by side, with Elroy's hand on Kyle's back, all the way to Harvard Yard. They talked about school, about a few professors they knew, and insignificant subjects that wouldn't cause any arguments. Kyle didn't seem to mind that Elroy's hand was on his back and that he was guiding him the entire way. When they reached the freshman residence and Elroy opened the door so Kyle could enter first, Kyle slipped inside as if Elroy had been opening and closing doors for him all his life. Things went so smoothly Elroy found it almost too good to be true. So when they reached the stairwell, his hand went down and he rested it in the middle of Kyle's ass. He wanted to see how far he could go.
Kyle continued to climb the stairs. He didn't stop, and he didn't flinch. Without turning, he smiled and said, "Please take your hand off my ass. I don't like it when people do that without my permission."
Elroy pretended to be innocent. "Ah well, I'm sorry. I didn't realize." He removed his hand from Kyle's ass and placed it on his back again.
When they were in their room, the first thought that popped into Elroy's head was to remove all his clothes. He figured if they were going to remain inside that night drinking and talking, he would get comfortable. He also figured he might wind up in bed with Kyle. But when Kyle saw him unzip his pants, he asked, "What on earth are you doing now?"
Elroy sent him a glance and shrugged. Kyle stood on the other side of the room, getting glasses he'd pilfered from a restaurant. "What? I'm not doing anything." He tried to sound shocked.
"You're taking off your pants," Kyle said.
"I'm just getting comfortable," Elroy said. "I like to be naked."
Kyle crossed the room with two glasses and he sat down on the floor next to his bed. "I thought we were going to hang out tonight and talk so we could get to know each other better. That's what you said."
Elroy rolled his eyes. The guys seemed obsessed with talking. "I can't talk naked?"
Kyle opened the bottle of Southern Comfort and said, "You can talk with your pants on. Pull up your zipper."
"Stop being such a Boy Scout."
"Pull up your zipper."
"But that's no fun," Elroy said. He'd never met such an uptight prissy queen in his life. "And it's uncomfortable. My nuts get all smashed in jeans. They need to breathe."
"Sit down and stop complaining," Kyle said. "I'm wearing my pants and I'm perfectly comfortable."
Elroy knew he wouldn't win this time. If he continued to pursue the issue Kyle would storm out and leave him alone. Elroy had been invited to a party that night but he didn't feel like going. So he pulled up his zipper and adjusted his balls. Then he sat down on the floor across from Kyle and folded his legs. He'd never seen Kyle drunk; he figured after a few drinks they'd wind up naked anyway and he would get exactly what he wanted.
Kyle lit a small candle and he talked about how difficult it had been to get into Harvard. He leaned back against the bed and sighed aloud. "It wasn't easy to get a scholarship. My mom and dad divorced when I was two years old. Then my dad died a year later, which made the divorce a complete waste of time … one of those ultimate ironies in life. When I was thirteen, she remarried a guy named Oscar who has a son, Jeremy, who is a few years older than I am. Oscar works in construction and Jeremy was like the all-around high school jock. My mom thought we'd be the perfect family. My stepdad wanted both Jeremy and me to join his construction business after high school and I wanted to go to college. They told me they were not going to pay tuition and that if I wanted to go to community college I would have to pay for it myself. So I started researching scholarships early and I found out there were ways to get into schools like Harvard if I worked hard enough."
Though Elroy had never had to work hard for anything in his life, he pretended to understand. "I'll bet they were shocked when you told them you were going to Harvard."
Kyle poured another drink and said, "I was the one who was shocked. They laughed at me. They said Jeremy was already making 'good money' in construction and that I was wasting my time. They said I'd wind up in construction eventually, only I'd have a degree from Harvard instead of just a high school diploma."
Elroy chose his words with care. "I'm sorry. But I just don't see you doing manual labor of any kind. I don't mean that as an insult either. You don't seem cut out for it." He didn't want to say it aloud, but he knew deep down Kyle was the soft, submissive, bottom type.
Kyle laughed. "You're right. I wouldn't know a hammer from screwdriver, and I couldn't care less."
They talked more about Kyle's family and how backward they were when it came to education. Kyle told him a story about how he'd been scheduled to receive and academic award on the same day his stepbrother Jeremy was playing football. Both Kyle's mom and stepdad opted to go to the football game and Kyle went to the award ceremony alone.
Elroy finished his drink and poured another. He felt lightheaded by then and he'd begun to slur his words. "That sucks, man."
Kyle shrugged. "I was used to it by then. Jeremy had always been the perfect one, the golden boy. He even looks like the actor Ryan Reynolds, but better. He's a darker version, and rougher looking."
"No one is perfect," Elroy said. He smiled. "Not even me, and I'm about as close to perfect as a guy gets."
Kyle let that remark pass and squared his back. "Oh, you don't know. Compared to me, Jeremy is perfect. He's what they always wanted: a son with a good job in construction, a pretty blond wife, two kids, and a brand-new pick-up truck. I'm gay, I'm not sure where my life is going, and I don't even own a car."
"They know you're gay?" Elroy said.
"I came out in my senior year," Kyle said. "I decided I might as well tell them. Get it over with sooner rather than later."
"How did they take it?"
"My mom cried and my stepdad walked out of the room. He's never mentioned it again since that day, not once. After that day, it felt like he put up an invisible wall between us. He's polite. He says hello and goodbye. But that's about it."
Although Elroy was curious about Kyle's family, he wanted to know more about Kyle's experiences with men. He remembered Kyle had mentioned he wasn't a virgin but he'd never gone into any detail. If this was true, he wanted details. "Did you have a boyfriend in high school?"
Kyle finished his fourth glass of Southern Comfort and poured another. He took a few sips and said, "I don't want to talk about that. I'm not a very sexual person. I care more about feelings and I need to have emotion before I have sex. I had a bad experience that left me confused."
That was all Elroy had to hear. Now he had to know more. He noticed Kyle's eyes were glassy and he'd begun to slur his words as well. Though he wasn't drunk, he seemed more relaxed than Elroy had ever seen him. He'd even removed his eyeglasses and set them on the bed. Elroy hadn't seen him without his glasses unless he was showering or sleeping since the day he'd tripped in Harvard Yard.
So Elroy leaned forward, reached for Kyle's hand, and said, "You can tell me anything, man. I'll never repeat it. What is said in this room tonight will never leave it. I swear on my life."
Kyle took a deep breath and exhaled. "It's just not something I feel comfortable talking about. There was one guy, just one, but it's complicated."
Elroy squeezed his hand and spoke in his sincerest tone. "You can trust me. You'll feel better after you talk about it." Oh, he was dying to know now.
Kyle looked into his eyes. "You swear you'll never tell anyone?"
Elroy crossed his heart with two fingers and said, "I swear on my life. To prove it, I'll tell you my deepest darkest secret after you tell me yours."
This time Kyle finished his drink, put down his glass, and swallowed a huge gulp of booze right from the bottle. He wiped his lips with the back of his hand and said, "I've never told anyone this before. Jeremy was my secret boyfriend all through high school. He seduced me one night and I wanted him to. I knew it was wrong, but I couldn't help it. If you ever saw Jeremy, you'd understand."
Elroy's eyes opened wider. "You did your stepbrother? Dude." Elroy had not portended Kyle's story would be this entertaining. He'd been imagining some dull story about two geeks in braces with tons of acne.
Kyle took on a defensive attitude. "It's not like I killed a kitten. We didn't grow up together. We were already in high school when we were thrown into the same bedroom. We weren't biologically related and I didn't even start it. One night Jeremy climbed into my bed and we started making out. After that, we did more and it became a regular thing. At the time, I didn't mind at all. I liked it and couldn't get enough of it."
Elroy shook his head. "But you just said Jeremy is straight."
Kyle shrugged. "I guess he's bi-sexual. I don't know. I can't get into someone's head. He would never talk about what we did or go into detail. He slept with me every night and dated girls all through high school."