I make a journey to my boyfriend's house. We're going to Max's house finally. He was very hesitant at first, but he eventually gave in by the seventeenth time I told him it would be okay. Unfortunately, I was dealing with two boys who took forever to be fully convinced. As I stepped out of my house, I felt my phone vibrate. I check it, and it was Max.

Normally, I would be understanding in this situation. He's probably nervous that I'll bail on him or still think of him as the guy he was before. However, I'm not that generous as this is the twenty-fourth time today. I luckily keep my cool when responding though.

With that, I walk to Ben's house to pick him up. Just like my shower yesterday, the walk today was quite soothing. Although I appreciate and love them all, I sometimes just need time alone, away from friends, family, and even Ben. I don't have to worry about whether or not I'm not giving enough attention to anyone, or that anyone will pester me with questions. I just get to relax and think, and although I know I probably shouldn't have, I may have slowed my pace down, so I could savor the moments alone.

The solitude doesn't last however, and I make my way up to Ben's doorstep. I press the doorbell and wait a couple of minutes before I hear the front door creak open. I turn and am quickly stunned by what Ben is wearing. He's wearing a grey tank top that shows off his big arms, but the part that got me was his short that, although clean, clearly were old and didn't fit every area.

Ben notices where my eyes are focused and says with a smirk, "I thought you might like the show." He caps off his little joke with a wink.

I stumble over my words as I try to explain myself. He just laughs and says, "I had to do laundry, and these were my last shorts." He then wraps his arm around my shoulder, and we walk towards Max's home. I can't help but stare at my boyfriend's thighs as we walk. I've never seen him show so much skin, even in the locker rooms during gym class. Not that I stared at him or anything, I just may have stolen a few glances unintentionally. My eyes just dart all over the place, and they may have landed on him a couple of times. However, I'm allowed to stare at him now, however long I so choose.

It isn't long before we reach Max's house. Ben does sports, and I'm just gay, so we walk fast. No matter how distracted I got watching his thighs, and maybe some other parts.

Anyway, we ring his doorbell, and the sound of loud thuds could be heard as he made his way down the steps. I don't know if he was excited, or that's just how we walks down stairs. Either way, he quickly opens the large door in front of us.

"You came!" he shouts, his eyes locked onto me. His expression changes when he notices Ben next to me. I don't know if he was surprised he was with me, disappointed I wasn't alone, startled by Ben's shorts, a mix of the three, but his expression quickly changed back. He waves us in, and we walk hurriedly inside.

I realize I haven't taken the time to truly look around Max's house. It's pretty big, which may come from the fact that the furniture looks small. I've never learned anything about Max's home life other than he's an only child, but maybe there's more that I, and probably others, don't see.

I hear Max come up behind me. With my boyfriend's love of scaring me, I have learned how to hear footsteps pretty well.

"Is there anything that you want to do?" he asks me sheepishly.

I look behind and up at him and shake my head. I honestly had no idea for what could possibly happen today. I mean, I assumed he liked to do typical teen stuff like video games, or, uh, I honestly don't know. I don't think I do typical teen stuff, at least from what I've heard.

"Then, come with me," Max says, and both I and Ben follow him up to his room. I equally haven't gotten much of a chance to look at Max's room either. His bed is pretty big for someone like me, but he's pushing its limits length-wise. He has some small shelves against the wall filled with a mix of books, movies, and video games. He has a couple bean bag chairs in front of a T.V. that's got a gaming console hooked up to it.

"I want to talk," Max says as he sits on his bed. I stand there awkwardly for a second before he pats the edge of his bed. I sit against the corner post, and Ben does the same on the other side.

"To start," Max leads, "I owe you both an apology. Not only should I have not made those posts about you guys, but I should not have treated you like that Sammy for all those years."

I nod, "and I accept your apology. It will be some time before I can forgive you fully, but I can see you honestly want to grow as a person."

"There's more," Max says with his eyes turned down, "when I was younger, like 5 or so, I told my dad that I had a crush on this kid. This was kindergarden, so it wasn't serious. Well, he asked the name for the kid, and I told him 'Steven.'"

"Oh no," I know where the story is going without him even needing to continue.

"Yeah, it went as well as you'd expect," his eyes start welling up with tears, "he spanked me with a belt so hard I bled, and he drilled it into my head from that day forward that I had to hate gay people."

"I'm so sorry," I reach for his hand.

"I'm not done," his voice cracks, "I was about twelve when I realized that I liked boys more than I liked girls. But, my dad made me so afraid of those feelings that I was scared to tell anyone. You guys are literally the first people I've told." He starts crying hard, and both Ben and I move to give him a hug.

"I understand what it's like to come out," I whisper, "and I promise it's harder for your parents to find out than you think. I didn't tell my parents for years before coming out to them; they figured it out because look at me,but that's besides the point."

I feel Max laugh lightly, and I know I'm doing something right.

"I understand if you still want to keep this a secret," I continue, "and I promise I will keep your secret if that's your wish."

"Me too," Ben pipes up after being silent for this whole discussion.

"Thank you guys," he whispers, and we eventually release from the hug.

"I made fun of you so much Sammy because I was jealous you were so open, and I knew I could never do that."

"I undertstand, and I forgive you," I tell him looking into his eyes. They're red from crying, but there's also a new life behind them that didn't exist before.

"I want you guys to come to the party I'm throwing on Saturday," Max says, "you don't have to, but I promise that I will protect you."

I look to Ben, and he nods. I tell him, "we'll be there."

We spend the rest of the time just hanging out in his room. We watch a couple movies, play a couple games that I fail miserably at, and have much less serious conversations. This goes until we inevitably have to leave. We both give Max a hug before going, and both Ben and I walk together until our paths eventually diverge, ending with a kiss.