Graduation

Crawling into Jack's bed at eleven thirty p.m., Ennis felt like it had been a good day, all things considered. It sure had him tired out though. This trip to Glendora was a lot different from his previous visits. After meeting so many new people his head was spinning. He'd worried for weeks about meeting one person in particular, and when it actually happened, he felt foolish to have stressed about it for so long.

The door slowly opened a crack. The table lamp gave off a soft glow and he could see Jack's profile, but he didn't come in. He could hear him speaking in hushed tones to someone. After a moment he picked up on the soothing voice of Jack's mama. They'd been talking for hours already, long before he had even arrived, so he didn't know what they could still have to say now, going on midnight. Shit, was he jealous of Jack's own mama? He smiled. She was one nice lady. She'd made him feel at ease from the moment they were introduced, insisting he call her Joann, or even Mom, if he wanted. She'd loudly whispered near Jack's ear so that Ennis could hear, he's a handsome one...you did good. She was a live-wire like Jack. After all, her flight had just gotten in a few hours before he arrived, and she was still up and going strong. Hell, she should be beat by now. It'd be going on three a.m. if she was still in Florida.

Eventually Jack stepped inside, shut the door, and let out a deep sigh. He figured his fella must be dog-tired. While he was driving down, Jack had attended his graduation practice, and then rushed to the airport to collect his mama, and after that, everyone else had begun to arrive, so he'd been on the go all day. Still, Jack looked at him and flashed a devilish smile.

Jack approached the bed pulling off his tee-shirt. "Alone at last," he murmured.

He couldn't help but welcome Jack into his arms. Clutching at each other, his heart raced, and they shared a hungry kiss. After all damn day with only a hug to go on, he put the apartment full of people out of his mind and kissed his man good. His hands roamed over Jack's strong, muscular shoulders as his tongue played in Jack's hot mouth. He felt Jack's body respond...the hard bulge pressing on his thigh.

Suddenly Ennis' body stiffened and he tried to put the brakes on. "Wait, wait," he panted.

"What the fuck?" Jack whispered. He reached to turn the light off, and then was back pressing his body tightly to Ennis'.

The scent of Jack's aftershave worked like an aphrodisiac. He could feel his resistance fly out the window. It had been almost two long months since he'd had Jack, and he just couldn't stop.

"Get your pants off," he instructed.

Jack pulled back and undid his belt. The jingle of the buckle sounded so sensual that Ennis couldn't help but let a small moan escape. He quickly pulled his pajama pants down over his erect dick. Soon, they were both naked and ready.

"Gotta be quiet," he panted near Jack's ear. Then he went straight for Jack's neck, trying not to suck too hard.

The sounds of their kissing and sucking seemed loud enough to wake everyone. "Quiet," Ennis cautioned.

They slowed it down some which muffled the sound. He appreciated that Jack was willing to go slow, both for privacy's sake and his sake - Jack was known to get a little carried away now and then. He wasn't aware of how the lube showed up, but Jack was slicking up his fingers to prepare him.

Their joining felt perfect, it was like heaven. He had to fight hard not to moan and groan for all to hear as the intense satisfaction of Jack rocking into him brought him to completion. After a few more thrusts he could feel Jack unload, and he was relieved when he kept his mouth shut. The only sound that Ennis heard him make was a faint sigh.

Ennis hoped like hell that he wouldn't encounter anyone when he slipped out the door to take care of business in the bathroom. He pulled his robe tightly around him and made a beeline down the hall. Jeff and Mrs. Twist's doors were closed, and there wasn't any sound coming from the living room where Jeff's cousin, Cliff, was sleeping on the couch. He returned in no time to find Jack waiting on the bed, still naked. He handed him a wet cloth.

Ennis put on his pajama bottoms. "I guess Heather wanted to stay at the hotel with her folks, huh?"

Jack reached for his night-clothes. "Yeah...you know, I'm not exactly sure what's goin' on there, but I don't think Jeff and Heather are as close as they were."

"That's too bad," Ennis said.

"Yeah, I kinda thought that by the time Jeff was ready to head off to Colorado she'd be goin' along, but she's stayin' behind, and they're gonna have a long distance relationship."

"Is there any reason she can't go?"

"Not that I can see. I guess one, or neither of them, are ready to take the next step."

He crawled into bed and Jack snuggled up next to him. "I'm glad we're ready to take the next step," Ennis murmured, drifting off to sleep feeling fully content.

...

Ennis could tell that Jack's mother was the kind of woman who loved having people around to do for.

Her short stature didn't slow her down as she moved around the stove tending to breakfast. Jack towered over her, so obviously he must have taken after his daddy in that area. Her eyes were blue though. Not the intense shade of Jack's...paler, but warm and expressive.

"These pancakes are the best, Mom," Cliff said.

"Thank-you, dear one," Joann answered.

Ennis hadn't thought that he'd be comfortable calling Jack's mother, Mom, when she'd suggested it, but hearing Cliff use the name made him more willing to give it a try.

"We should have had your mom living here all along, Jack," Jeff said. He raised his coffee cup to his mouth.

Jack laughed and took a couple more pieces of bacon from the platter. "Mom, aren't you gonna sit down and eat?" he asked.

"Oh, I will in a minute," she answered, brushing back the bangs of her light brown hair that was sprinkled with grey. She scurried back to the stove, returning with another stack of pancakes.

Joann placed her hand on Ennis' shoulder. "Ennis, our quiet one...are you getting enough to eat?"

"Yes, ma'am," he said.

Joann waved her finger at him. Before she could speak he said, "I mean, Mom."

Her smile lit up the room. He was surprised at how young Jack's mom looked and acted. She was in her early sixties and didn't seem to have any health problems to slow her down. He knew from Jack that this hadn't always been the case. When she lived with Jack's old man she was anything but vibrant. Her husband's passing and her decision to relocate had made all the difference.

Joann bent down and kissed Jack on his cheek. "You be sure and eat plenty. You have a big day ahead." She looked at Jeff. "You too, dear."

"Yeah, we'll have to start getting ready to go pretty soon," Cliff said. He quickly finished the last bites of his pancakes and downed his coffee. "I'll head into the bathroom now if no one else is ready."

"Go ahead," Jack said.

"Yes, go on, dear," Joann said.

"I'm gonna be awhile. I wanna have another one of these delicious pancakes," Ennis said.

"Me too," added Jeff.

Joann looked at Jeff. "We could have invited your folks and sister for breakfast."

"Oh, they're probably having the continental breakfast at their hotel. 'Course it doesn't hold a candle to this."

"We'll all be having lunch together after the ceremony anyway," Jack said.

They finished up their breakfast and Jack helped his mom clean up the table and load the dishwasher while Jeff, and then Ennis, took their turns in the bathroom.

...

Jack started to get nervous while waiting to take his seat in the stadium with the rest of his classmates. He didn't expect to feel any jitters; he'd worked so hard for so long to reach this point. Knowing that his mother and Ennis would be watching him walk out to receive his diploma filled him with so much excitement and pride, but also nervousness. He sure hoped that he wouldn't trip, or that his cap didn't fly off in the breeze. He felt so lucky that his mother and Ennis had genuinely seemed to like each other, and now the two most important people in his life would be sitting side-by-side in the audience. It almost made him choke up.

An excited voice snapped him out of his thoughts. "Jack!" He looked over to see Leslie, the girl he was paired up to walk with, coming his way. He heard the clacking sound of her heels and hoped she'd be able to walk once they reached the grass field.

"Hey, Les," he greeted, giving her a hug. "I thought high heels weren't allowed because of damage to the turf."

Leslie looked amused. "These are pumps, not spikes."

"Oh, yeah...of course they are."

Leslie laughed.

Jeff wasn't far away, but he was busy talking with fellow graduates. He wondered if Jeff was nervous too. He was going to miss him when they went their separate ways.

The graduation ceremony wasn't all that was causing frayed nerves. It was everything that lay ahead. It was all good, and he looked forward to it, but it was new and different, so it was a little nerve-wracking. His mother would fly out on Monday, and after that, he and Ennis needed to rent a u-haul to transport Jack's furniture. Ennis would have to make two trips to and from their new house, one with the u-haul, and then to tow his trailer to Don's summer cabin until he decided what to do with it in the long run.

He thanked their lucky stars that Ennis had gotten the job at Yosemite Trails. Ennis had been over-the-moon when he'd called to give him the good news a week after their trip in April. His first day on the job was quickly approaching. He now knew why Ennis had been so uptight about those interviews, because he had one coming up soon which was making him a little nervous. He wasn't one to pray, but he sure hoped he'd get the job.

Suddenly Jeff was next to him. "Hey, buddy, time to line up, Leslie's waiting." He patted Jack on the back. "It's show time."

They all took their places and watched as the dignitaries proceeded into the stadium followed by the faculty, and then it was the graduate's turn. He couldn't hold back his smile. As soon as he was close enough, he began scanning the audience. Heather and her folks, and Jeff's family, would be sitting with Ennis and his mom, so surely he could pick someone out. He wasn't having any luck until he heard a couple of very loud whistles and shouts. Looking in that direction, he heard more hollering, and sure enough, he found his group. Heather and Cliff stood up and whistled again for good measure.

Up ahead in the line, Jeff caught his eye and motioned with his head to make sure that he had seen. Ennis was sitting by his mom looking classy and handsome in his white dress shirt. His mom wore a bright pink dress. He waited until they looked right at him and then he waved. He saw his mom pat Ennis on the shoulder and wave back frantically. Ennis held his hand up in acknowledgement. He hoped that Ennis wasn't too overwhelmed by the whole experience.

At the end of an hour and a half, everyone had received their degrees. He was elated. It had been such an overwhelming feeling to walk up on stage and shake the hand of Mr. Hill, a distinguished member of the board of trustees. He accepted his diploma with pride and smiled enthusiastically as the camera flashed. Hearing the applause of the crowd, and knowing that part of the clapping came from Ennis and his mom, was an awesome feeling.

After the recessional to the football field, family and friends converged on the graduates to share hugs and kisses and give congratulations. The best hug he received was from Ennis, and when he heard I'm real proud of you, whispered for only his ears, his heart was full.

...

Ennis tried not to let Jack know that he felt uncomfortable. He'd agreed to this, so he was going to make the best of it. After all, it was Jack's day, and this is what he wanted...a celebration lunch with his mother and friends. And, it did seem like a great restaurant. Ennis liked the name, The Golden Spur. But, counting himself, there were eleven people at the table, most of them he had just met, and a crowd that size wasn't to his liking at all. On the other hand, sitting next to Jack was. Yeah, he was happy with Jack by his side. And all of these folks had been real nice, and hadn't treated him like he didn't belong.

He noticed that Jeff and Heather seemed like they were getting along just fine. He wondered why Heather wouldn't be following Jeff to Colorado, but that was none of his business. He had enough going on in his own relationship.

Everyone at the table was well aware that he and Jack were a couple...that they were gay...he was gay. He was out in public with his man sitting next to him. This would be his life from now on...he'd be living as a gay man, so he'd best get used to it. He wanted so much to be like Jack...confident and brave...able to say right out I'm gay if the situation warranted it, just as Jack had last summer to Lureen.

They would be living together, working - probably making new friends - there would be no way to hide the truth. What would his boss think? His co-workers? Not everyone was like these folks at this table. He looked around the restaurant, focusing on different people. What did they think when they saw a gay couple? What did the waitress really think? She'd been polite when she'd taken their drink order and served them their drinks, but was that just an act, or was it real? Not everyone was like Jeff, Jack's mama, and the rest here to celebrate with them. His daddy sure hadn't been, K.E. wasn't...they weren't the only ones. He took a drink of water. He thought about Don and Dorothy, Lureen, and the crew from last summer. He needed to remember the accepting, open-minded people, and not dwell on the ignorant, hateful ones.

Jack leaned toward him. "Everything okay?"

He smiled, remembering the reason he was there. "Great...this is a real nice way to mark the day."

"I'm glad you wanted to come," Jack said.

Jack's smile was contagious. Ennis smiled too, and he opened his menu to take another look. "You decide what you're havin'? All of a sudden I'm real hungry."

"What are you boys going to order?" Jack's mom asked, looking around Jack's shoulder toward Ennis. "You be sure to eat enough, especially you, Ennis."

"What's that supposed to mean, mom?" Jack asked.

Joann made a funny face. "Well..." She patted Jack's arm. "Ennis is a little thin, don't you think? And, you're just about right." She laughed softly.

Jack patted his mom's hand. "I think Ennis is just right."

"I know you do...I know you do." Joann winked.

Five minutes before, Ennis hadn't felt like he could eat a bite, but now, thinking about that grilled shrimp he'd seen on the menu, he was going to order that and enjoy every bite. Whatever else was rattling around in his fool head could wait. Today was Jack's graduation day, and they were going to celebrate in style.

To Be Continued...

"Sierra Sunrise" will be the title of the sequel, which will post during the summer.