The Gus Diaries

Part 86

Graduation III
 

From the moment Dad and Pop helped me figure out how to deal with Jeff’s graduation and imminent departure for college, things have been looking up.

St. James Academy was thrilled that Dad wanted to use some of their students as featured talent in the Six Flags ad campaign. After explaining his concept about following a specific series of students, who were familiar to one another and, of course, would look good on camera, the school seemed more than happy to let him have carte blanche for his selection.

I’m sure they knew it wasn’t a coincidence that Dad asked for permission to have me accompany the seniors, but I’d bet the administration was pretty surprised when he requested the perky little brunette who, just happened to be a sophomore too. According to Dad, ‘she has a great rapport with her boyfriend’ who would also just happen to be on the trip. He wanted to capture them on film.

The school ate it up, and after selecting twelve students to follow throughout the day, the permission slips were sent out, signed and sealed.

There was no guarantee that everyone would make it on the air, but Dad and Kinnetik had to be prepared, just in case.

The Friday night following the big class trip was going to be graduation. Jeff was so excited, but I could tell he was a bit nervous too.

The day before the trip, neither of us had to be at work for a couple of hours after finals let out. As soon as I was done with my Math exam, I made a beeline for Jeff’s car.

He was leaning against his car with his eyes closed. “Hey, how did your last final go?”

“Hey, Newbie.” He grabbed me tight and gave me a fucking incredible kiss.

“That good?”

“My finals are over and I’ve got you -- not just today but tomorrow. Your Dad is terrific!”

I grinned, “Yeah, he really did come through for us, didn’t he?”

“You bet your ass he did.”

“Matt’s girlfriend is so excited that she was one of the students picked to be followed that he said their sex life has doubled. He’s getting more pussy than he ever has before.”

“That’s gross! I think I just threw up a little in my mouth.”

Jeff started laughing. “I thought you were the guy who once suspected he might be bi.”

“Yeah, well let’s just say that there’s no question anymore.” I pulled Jeff close again and licked his neck.

“Shit, that feels so fucking...”

“If you want more of that later, you’ll stop talking about hetero sex.”

“Done talking. How about more now?”

We were about to start making out right there in the parking lot when a loud voice called, “Gus, I did it!”

I rolled my eyes. “Did what, Marci?”

“I’m sure I got A’s in all my classes again.” Despite the fact that Jeff and I were holding each other in a tight clutch and he kept kissing and nuzzling my neck, she continued. “I thought the chemistry test might be too tough, but as soon as I finished, I begged the teacher to give it a once over, and he told me it looked like an A paper to him.”

She was jumping up and down and I didn’t want to step on her fun but Jeff started running his fingers over my back, and it felt so damn good. My dick started getting harder and harder by the second.

“You two had better be careful. The principal is on his way out, and I’m pretty sure that fucking in the parking lot, while hot and sexy, is still against the rules.” She adjusted her backpack and waved to us. “Bye, boys, I’m going to meet Steve at his house. Now there’s a place we can do whatever we want -- no principals observing.”

“And no curious friends, either,” I called after her.

Jeff put his hands down and took out his car key, unlocking the doors. “Hey, what happened?”

“Too much talk about hetero sex and anticipating the principal’s arrival definitely did nothing for my cock.”

I laughed and got into the car. “So where are we going?”

“I’m starving. Let’s head to the diner and get lunch.”

 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
 

The next couple of days went by like lightning. We had a blast at the amusement park. Jeff and I went on all the rides together. It was great spending a fun, stress-free day with all our friends. Whenever we were on a ride that afforded a modicum of privacy, we took the opportunity to hug each other or sneak a kiss.

The cameras followed us around a good portion of the day, which wasn’t as much fun as I’d thought, but at least it enabled Marci and me to go on the senior class trip.

Dad was so cool to watch, especially when he was barking orders at his camera crew and Uncle Ted, who kept following him, taking notes and talking about financial stuff with the park representative that shadowed them all day.

By the time I got home, after we dropped Jeff off at Grandma Jen and Tucker’s house, I was exhausted but I decided to make dinner for the three of us. It was sort of a thank you for my dads’ help and to show them how much I appreciated them both being there for me.

“Thank you, Gus. You know you really don’t have to do this.”

“That’s okay, Pop. I want to. Besides, it’s just pasta and veggies -- no big deal.”

“Well, in the cooking department I’m glad you don’t take after your Grandma Debbie. She’d be making a four-course meal and then forcing us all to eat every last bite.”

I laughed, “I know and then Dad would say...”

“...then I’d say, Deb, are you trying to feed me a heart attack on a plate and she’d just bark out her big-ass laugh.”

“Hi, Dad. Thank you so much for today. It was amazing.”

“You’re fucking right it was amazing. We got great footage, and Ted negotiated another free day for our entire family. We’ll go back to the park in a couple of weeks to fully experience the atmosphere before we add the voice over. They’ll be treating us to everything, including meals.”

“No shit! Can Jeff and I come?”

Dad smirked, “You, Jeff, Jenny, Pop, Michael, Ben...”

“I get it, we’re all going.”

“I think the family can enjoy a day together without getting into too much trouble. Besides, then Sunshine doesn’t have to cook or clean up.”

Pop walked over to Dad and put his arms around his waist. “I’m not the soul member of the Taylor Kinney clean-up committee, but I appreciate the thought. I can’t wait to get you on all those roller coasters.”

“You can go on with Jenny. My delicate body will remain firmly on the ground.”

“We’ll see about that.”

I shook my head and smiled, watching the two of them.

While we ate, I had a confession to make. “Dad, Pop, I still haven’t found just the right graduation gift for Jeff. What am I gonna do? Graduation is in two days.”

“Look, Sonny Boy, your final exams are over, you have tomorrow off, why don’t you come into town with Justin and me? You can shop to your heart’s content.”

“I’m working half a day tomorrow, but the rest is free since Jeff is working all day so he can have the weekend off.”

“Just remember, Gus, don’t buy anything that’s outside your budget. Jeff wouldn’t want that. Find him something that shows how you feel about him. If you give a gift from the heart, you can’t go wrong.”

Dad started playing with his food, and it didn’t take long for Pop and me to notice. “Dad, don’t you like it? I know I’m not as good a cook as Pop, but I thought it was pretty good.”

Dad looked up from his half-full plate. “That’s not it. The food is great. It’s just that...”

“Brian, are you okay?” Pop’s brow wrinkled with concern and he started stroking Dad’s arm.

“I’m fine. There’s something I’ve always wanted to do and never had the opportunity.”

I sat back in my chair quietly, not wanting to interrupt. It was one of those moments when I was sure they would soon forget I was even sitting with them.

“What are you talking about?”

Dad went back to pushing his food around his plate. “When you were eighteen, I think you know now that by the time you graduated, I... well, I felt something for you.”

“Brian, I remember the prom. I know you loved me.”

Dad nodded, “That’s right, I did, although I couldn’t admit it yet.”

“So what’s this all about?”

I discreetly rose from the table with my glass of water and made my way to the kitchen island to give them a little space.

“I had a gift all wrapped and ready to give you that night after your prom. It was sort of a graduation gift, but...”

“But we never had the night after the prom, nor did I ever formally graduate.”

“I never had the heart to unwrap it, hoping that someday I’d be able to give it to you and show you just how much you meant to me and for how long.” Dad stopped pushing the food around and dropped the fork onto his dish. “Fuck, you never even graduated from PIFA, so I couldn’t use that as an excuse to give it to you.”

“Brian, I’m not following this at all.”

Dad got up and disappeared into his office. He was gone a couple of minutes but neither Pop or I spoke a word. We both sensed that this was something too important to make any guesses.

He soon returned with a small package. It was obvious that it was a tray or picture or something like that in the shape of a rectangle.

Dad handed the wrapped gift to Pop. The paper was significantly faded but surprisingly not torn. Dad must have taken special care with this gift.

“Brian?”

“Open it.”

Pop slowly took off the simple blue ribbon and then carefully tore off the paper. He gasped and I felt the hairs rise on the back of my neck.

I couldn’t quite make it out, but from where I stood, I could tell it was a sketch.

“Where did you get this?”

“I bought it”

“You?”

“I never knew anyone would think so highly of me to draw me with such love and obvious admiration. I had to have it -- it was my way to keep you in my life no matter where the road took you.”

Pop’s eyes were moist. “But why give it back?”

“I wanted us to hang it together that night.” Dad looked directly at Pop, “It was my way of telling you I had, and still have a place for you in my life, and I wanted to share it with you and the world.”

Pop started wiping his eyes and so did I when I got a closer look.

Pop’s painted and sketched a million renditions of Dad in the nude, but this one was so raw, so open. It was the kind of gift I hoped to give Jeff -- something to show how much I love him.

Looking at the effect this special gift had on my dads, I slowly backed out of the room.

Pop whispered, “Let’s hang it together for the whole world to see.”

“Are you sure? I know it’s not one of your gallery-quality pieces.”

“It’s better. It’s something we both share and can share for the rest of our lives.”

I listened carefully to Pop’s words and then an idea came to me. I knew exactly what to give Jeff for his graduation.

[TBC]

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