[Aethi]

Sorry about the delay, again. I'll try and have these up more often. I'm going slow with the sexual action, but a bit of it comes into play in this chapter. Not necessarily sexual, but... ah, hell. You'll see. Anyway, I'll stop rambling and let your read it!



Chapter Two
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It was already dark outside, and, indeed, a thin layer of snow was on the ground. There were small cries from around the neighborhood as children ran around, playing in the slick roads and slippery grasses. Parents smiled and happily watched their children play, sipping warm drinks and talking about the holidays. A few families were in their houses setting up decorations for Christmas, and even a few were braving the night itself to set up decorations outside.

The little red sedan had a teenage boy entering its door. His nose was red and his lips stretched across his face in a bright smile, accenting the blue eyes – which were clearly excited – nicely. And within a few minutes, the car was out of the neighborhood, going to whichever destination it was meant for next.

Kyle leaned back into seat and let Jonathon’s rock music get him in the mood. He was excited to see everyone (except perhaps Felix); it had been months since they had seen each other. Admittedly, everyone besides Tyler and Kyle went to a party a few weeks ago, but this was going to quite a fun reunion for those two.

Jonathon’s car pulled into his neighborhood and subsequently his driveway. Two other cars were in the driveway already and the front porch lights were on. The two quickly jumped out of the car, and their feet left clear imprints of the light dusting of snow. Jonathon shivered and ran up to the door, as he was wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Kyle got inside quickly as well, a grin formed on his countenance.

He got into the door and saw Anthony and Sebastian laughing at something on the Apple laptop that was on the kitchen table and assumed Ethan and Tyler were elsewhere. He took off his coat and shivered. Waving, he said, “Hey.”

Anthony looked up and said, “Hey, Ethan and Tyler are in the basement if you want. We’re heading down there in a bit, but we wanted to see this hilarious video first.” Sebastian greeted Kyle as well, but it was nearly unintelligible from snickering.

Jonathon grinned and went to see what the two were talking about. He was dressed very lightly for winter: shorts and a t-shirt. He always did dress oddly; Kyle had seen him in jeans and sweatshirt at the peak of summer and shirtless and wearing shorts in the heart of winter.

Kyle kicked off his shoes and quickly made his way to the basement door. The group of friends spent most of their time in the basement. The large audio system was down there, and a high quality 57” TV was down there.

When he got down there, he saw Ethan and Tyler were playing on the Xbox. They didn’t notice him, so Kyle crept forward silently, and suddenly grabbed onto the back of the plush couch and jumped up, vaulting over the couch and landing in the vacant spot between Ethan and Tyler.

Ethan yelled in surprise. He started to laugh, and managed, “Hey Kyle.”

“Hey!” Tyler said and side hugged Kyle. It was a bit of a joke they had since there were a few rumors that Tyler was gay, none of which he explicitly denied or confirmed, though Kyle had his suspicions about his friend.

“Hey guys,” he said, a bit of laugh bubbling through.

“We were just playing the Xbox, though apparently Anthony and Seb want to play poker later tonight. I’m game for that. You?” Ethan said. The last word came out hesitantly and his eyes flickered to Kyle.

“Sure,” Kyle responded lightly. “I think I have my wallet with me.” Their rules of poker were slightly altered: everyone placed down the same bet at the beginning of the game, and whoever won received 80% of it, and second place received 20% of it. The bets were usually around ten to twenty dollars.

Ethan grinned and said, “Awesome.” He continued to play the game, his hand barely twitching to operate the controller. His green eyes and black hair were interesting combination, and serene smile was on his lips.

Tyler looked over to Kyle and offered him his place, but Kyle politely declined. He enjoyed video games just as much as the next lazy guy, but he also enjoyed watching.

A few minutes later, Anthony, Seb, and Jonathon came downstairs. Jonathon said, “Felix is going to either come later or not come at all. His parents are a bit mad at him for something, but he won’t say what.”

Ethan sat up and faced the group. “Damn, that sucks. Are we still on for the poker?”

Anthony said, “Yeah, if everyone wants to, we can. How about a bet of $30 since there are so many of us?” His suggestion was agreed upon, and so he went to get the poker chips.

Jonathon grinned at Kyle and said, “Enjoying yourself?”

Kyle nodded. “I am. It’s nice to see everyone again.”

“Yeah.”

A minute later, Anthony came back. He started to set up and the group got their chairs. Ethan was nice enough to get everyone a drink. Someone went to turn the lights up.

“Hey, I have an idea,” Tyler piped. “How about whoever wins the round can pick a player, and that player has to do whatever the winner wants?”

Chuckling, Kyle said, “I’d be up for that. Would make it a bit more interesting.” Jonathon and Seb agreed with him, so Ethan and Anthony had no choice but to go along with it.

The game started with Anthony being the dealer. The group had decided upon playing 5 card draw, a simple enough version. The bets were slow at the beginning, and the group spent ample amount of time getting through the first round. Eventually, it was Seb who won the game. He picked Jonathon, and his dare was simple enough: remove a piece of clothing. Jonathon chose his socks.

Kyle found his eyes darting to Jonathon’s feet; he couldn’t stop looking at them. A smidgen of embarrassment was entering his mind, and he tried to focus on the game. He kept in the round, his hand was good enough: a pair of kings. However, he lost the round. The winner was his friend Jonathon.

Grinning, Jonathon looked at Ethan. “Ethan, take off your shirt.” Doing as he was told, Ethan promptly removed his shirt revealing a muscled stomach. His skin was tanned, and he had a strip of hair going to his waistline from his cute little belly-button. Kyle couldn’t help but notice that only he and Tyler were stealing looks, but Jonathon was grinning to himself.

The next few rounds went to other people. Anthony and Sebastian both lost their shirts as well (both of whom were also in good shape, though they were fairer than Ethan was), and Jonathon finally lost his as well. The rules were amended for one game, where Jonathon had to hug Ethan. Finally, Anthony won. He grinned and looked at Kyle, and said, “It’s your turn. Take off your shirt.”

Kyle removed his shirt, though slowly. His bare chest revealed a body that had a hint of tan in it, though it was mostly pale. His stomach was flat with his muscles just barely visible. He didn’t feel nearly as embarrassed as he usually would have. In fact, he almost felt bad for Tyler, the only one who was still shirted.

The next winner was Ethan, and he had Tyler remover his shirt. After that, Kyle won. Not sure what to do since everyone was shirtless, he blanked. Eventually, he looked at Tyler and said, “Take off your socks.” Tyler grinned at him and obliged quickly.

Kyle realized something new about himself at that time.