Dan and Tommy's Story Volume 3 Coming Out

Plans

"Do you really think we could do it?" Tommy asked. He couldn't stop thinking about the possibility of living with Dan, sharing a bed, breakfast, and life with the man he had loved in some form or fashion for as long as he could remember.

"Probably." Dan looked apprehensive. There was something real in the idea of sharing a space with Tommy, his nearly secret boyfriend. While he was coming to terms with the fact that he grew to love Tommy in that way, not many people in either of their lives knew that they were so much more than friends.

Seeing the anxiety obvious in his mate, Tommy grew concerned. "What's that for?" His heart started to tighten in his chest. "Do you not want to get a place together?"

"Tommy, I love you. I do want to live with you." The words that seemed so right in his head felt fumbled as they passed his lips. "That makes it real."

The tightening he felt growing a few seconds ago seized his heart. "This is real!" Tommy snapped, his words were harsh and short.

That wasn't what Dan meant, "No, I- I know baby." He looked into Tommy's once soft now icy and cold blue eyes, "We are real and I love you for real." Dan cupped Tommy's face, his touch feather light against Tommy's warm skin, and played out the hypothetical conversation in his head.

'Mom, me and Tommy are gonna get an apartment in Ann Arbor.'
'Can you afford a two-bedroom apartment dear?'
'We're getting a one bedroom.'
'Oh... OH! Oh dear!'

He sorted his words the best way he could. The thought of hurting the heart of the man he loved pulled his own heart to the pit of his stomach. "We would have to get a two-bedroom or tell our parents we are more than friends baby. My whole heart wants that!" Exhaling the anxiety of the conversation he just had in his mind, "My mind shuts down at the thought of it."

As much as Tommy wanted to understand, honestly, he did understand but the rejected feeling was there anyway. "But last night you said..."

"I know, I know what I said Tommy." Pulling Tommy into him, the other man's face nuzzled into Dan's neck. "I meant it. All of it. Ya wanna know what I did today?" Tommy's head signaled a no against Dan's skin. "I told someone about you." He hoped that it would mean something, anything to Tommy, giving him some kind of comfort at that moment.

"You what?" Tommy wailed, pulling back to look at Dan, his eyes like saucers with his mouth gaped.

"Yup." Dan replied, his neck stretched up in a semblance of pride. "On my tour, Simone... ah, my student ambassador. We were talking, ya know life, hopes and dreams, and stuff and I told her I had a boyfriend." He knew it wasn't exactly how the conversation happened, but he thought it was true enough.

Elated, fears fading just like that Tommy confirmed what he just heard. "You told her you had a boyfriend! Oh my god, Dan I fucking love you!"
Coiling his arms around Dan and squeezing the breath out of his lungs, Tommy bounced against him while squeals of happiness filled the room. "You did it!"

* * * * *

Settled into the hot tube a short time later, with no care that they were both wearing basketball shorts, the boys figured they would make use of the amenities before checking out the next morning. The hotel's indoor pool atrium was empty except for the two of them. Dan sat across from Tommy in the long narrow tiled tub, bodies leaned back with their legs interlocked beneath a veil of frothy warm water.

"We should find an apartment with one of these." Tommy waved his arms, floating over jets on either side of his body. "Some places have pools and workout rooms... and other things for the residents."

Raising his head off of the tile to look at Tommy, "Definitely!" Dan smiled at the idea. "I think we should tell our parents." his smile faded to a more serious look. "I mean, they're gonna find out anyway right?" The question floated over the bubbles for a few seconds before Tommy responded.