by Jerry Cole
“Until Forever Comes”
Jerry Cole
© 2021
Jerry Cole
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This book is intended for Adults (ages 18+) only. The contents may be offensive to some readers. It may contain graphic language, explicit sexual content, and adult situations. May contain scenes of unprotected sex. Please do not read this book if you are offended by content as mentioned above or if you are under the age of 18.
Please educate yourself on safe sex practices before making potentially life-changing decisions about sex in real life. If you’re not sure where to start, see here: http://www.jerrycoleauthor.com/safe-sex-resources/.
This story is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner & are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. Products or brand names mentioned are trademarks of their respective holders or companies. The cover uses licensed images & are shown for illustrative purposes only. Any person(s) that may be depicted on the cover are simply models.
Edition v1.00 (2021.01.20)
http://www.jerrycoleauthor.com
Special thanks to the following volunteer readers who helped with proofreading: Bob, Jim Adcock, Julian White, Richard Singleton, RB, Big Kidd and those who assisted but wished to be anonymous. Thank you so much for your support.
Interested in FREE Gay Romance Books?
Thank you for downloading my book. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it. Without readers like you, I wouldn’t be able to do what I love. As my way of giving back, I started the Jerry Cole Reader Club & you are invited to join.
Benefits Include:
10+ Free M/M romance books
Updates on my latest releases
Discounts on new release ebooks at launch (up to 65% off retail!)
It’s also your chance to connect with me. No spam, I promise! Membership is free. No obligation to buy anything & unsubscribe anytime. You will receive your free eBooks immediately after subscribing, sent via email.
Click Here to Download Your Free eBooks!
Download your free books today!
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter One
Bryce Taylor should have been excited to see Sydney. It was after all, his first time ever seeing the largest city in the state and indeed, the country. Oh sure, he’d seen movies that featured the great metropolis, and he’d seen enough photos to boot, but he’d never actually seen the city in the flesh... until now.
It really was something else too. From the direction that the school bus was approaching the city, Bryce had a perfect view of its iconic outline; skyscrapers so tall that they pierced through the clouds and kissed the sky above; more buildings in a single block than the entire town in which Bryce grew up; and of course, Centrepoint Tower right in the middle of it all, that lightning rod that the rest of the city seemed to gravitate around.
Yet despite the awe that the city inspired, despite its grandeur and beauty and foreignness, all of which Bryce did appreciate... he still couldn’t get excited about seeing it. But that was just because of how alone he was feeling.
It was a high school excursion that brought him to Sydney for the first time. At seventeen years of age, Bryce and the rest of his grade eleven classmates were being treated to a once in a lifetime trip to Sydney for three whole days. Again, this might not seem like a big deal to some. But it had to be taken into account that Bryce came from a small town some nine hours north of Sydney, with a population of roughly five thousand people. To him and the rest of his friends, Sydney wasn’t just another city, it was the entire world.
Technically, Bryce wasn’t actually alone. The bus he was on held sixty kids, all his age, all brimming with unbridled enthusiasm at the sight of the city, and many of whom Bryce counted as his closest friends. In fact, right in front of him sat Alan Ezzy, his redhead best friend who he’d been close with since preschool. And two seats over was another good friend of his, Zac Hayes. And right in front of Zac was a third close friend, Cameron Porter.
Bryce had plenty of friends, all of whom were as close as any friend at his age could be, but that didn’t help with the loneliness. Especially when considering who it was that his friends were sitting with.
“Sitting alone, Bryce?” Mr. Scrivner stood in the middle of the aisle, leaning against the back of the seat as he indicated to the empty one beside Bryce.
“I like to stretch out,” Bryce joked.
“Mind if I...” Mr. Scrivner indicated to the empty seat.
“No -- of course not.” Bryce shuffled over so that Mr. Scrivner could climb on in.
Tall, lanky and with a head that was comically large for one so skinny, Mr. Scrivner was also awkward and made sure to look as such as he fell into the seat next to Bryce. “Comfy,” he nodded as he settled in.
Bryce nodded but didn’t say anything. He was still feeling down, so he turned his attention again to the city. The bus was fast approaching, and soon they’d be in the city’s great belly. It should have been the most exciting day of Bryce’s young life.
“She’s gorgeous, isn’t she?” Mr. Scrivner indicated to the city. “I still get a little gobsmacked whenever I see her. Heck, some of these buildings have more people in them than our entire town.”
“You’ve been here before.” It wasn’t even really a question. Bryce liked Mr. Scrivner enough. He might have even been his favorite teacher. But right now, Bryce didn’t feel like talking.
“Aye, plenty of times. But it doesn’t change...” Mr. Scrivner trailed off for a moment, as if reminiscing on better times. He then gave his head a shake and focused back in on Bryce. “You must be excited though? Don’t think I haven’t seen you boys planning all the shenanigans you’re getting up to – as a teacher, I have to ask that you try and keep it civil and within the manner that’s expected of you... relatively anyhow,” he finished with a cheeky wink.
Bryce didn’t bother humoring Mr. Scrivner with a feigned chuckle. He just wasn’t in the mood today. Instead, he dared a glance toward his friends, and their new companions, and soon found himself glaring.
Mr. Scrivner noted the glare immediately. “Ah yes... these are um... it’s not easy being a... I remember when I was...” Mr. Scrivner gulped and sucked through his teeth awkwardly as he tried to think of how to steer the conversation without crossing a line. “Honestly, Bryce, I'm surprised you’re not among... I mean -- I’ve seen you and Ms. Beniz talking in class... a little too much for my liking,” he chuckled and winked.
“She’s just a friend,” Bryce sai
d quickly and dismissively.
“I see.” Mr. Scrivner nodded his understanding, but the look behind his eyes suggested he didn't believe it. Why would he? No one else ever seemed to.
Liana, or “Miss Beniz” as Mr. Scrivner liked to call her, was another close friend of Bryce’s, but that’s all she was. He told anyone who would listen that he didn’t see her like that, but few believed him. After all, the two got on well, enjoyed one another's company like best friends, and where Bryce was attractive, he was told on many occasions that Liana was too.
But the fact he didn’t even find her attractive should have been all the argument Bryce needed. And it wasn’t that she was ugly, because she wasn’t. She had dark curly hair that Alan fawned over. She had big green eyes that Cameron used to wax on about daily. And her ‘tits,’ as Zac called them, were the biggest in the year.
Bryce didn’t know why he wasn’t into Liana, but he wished that he did. If he was into her like he should have been, then he’d be sitting with her right now, holding her hand, maybe putting his other on her lap as he joked, she laughed and the two gushed. That was what all his friends were doing. Alan, Zac, Cameron and every other boy on the bus, just about, was seated next to their girlfriend having just the best time ever.
It had started about a year ago, when Zac began dating a girl called Imogen. When news broke of this, Zac was the big man on campus. Every other boy was beyond jealous that he got to kiss her whenever he wanted, touch her boobs, and ‘finger blast her’ as Zac lovingly referred to it. He was king.
Bryce never really got what all the fuss was about.
But soon all the other boys were pairing off with girls. Cameron started dating Sally Fitz, Alan began to go steady with Michelle Dent, and every other boy seemed to find himself a girl. Every boy but Bryce.
At first it wasn’t so bad. During school hours, the boys still hung with the boys and the girls with the girls. Every now and then one or two would sneak off for some lunchtime romance, but it was negligible. Weekends varied, and Bryce was always too busy after school anyway. So, the fact that Bryce wasn’t dating anyone, and all his friends were, had never been an issue.
And then this excursion happened.
This excursion to Sydney was to be the equivalent of a relationship adrenaline shot for the entire grade. All his mates, and their girlfriends, were using this trip to Sydney as an excuse to throw their relationship into overdrive. Where the girls thought it was going to be the height of romance, the boys prayed that it would lead to sex.
Bryce thought that his friends were a little too eager for this so called “sex,” to happen. Each friend to the last thought that Bryce was just jealous.
“It’s happening. It’s one hundred percent happening.” It was the night before the excursion, and Bryce, Alan, Cameron and Zac were camped out on Zac’s living room floor -- a mass of pillows, blankets and mattresses -- as they got ready for bed. The next morning was the trip to Sydney, which meant that sooner rather than later, this sex was going to occur. “She is so wet for it you would not believe it.” Zac had then thrust his hips into the air as if to show the boys how it was done.
“You’re right,” Cameron had responded apathetically from across the room. “We don’t believe it.”
“Go fu—
“Come on, Cam.” Alan had slapped Cameron excitedly across the arm. “Unless you think Sally isn’t going to put out? You said she was going to!”
“I said I hoped – still do. But I’m a realist.”
“A fucking pessimist,” Zac grumbled. “Yo, B. What about you?”
If this were a high school movie, Bryce Taylor would have been the ‘cool’ one in his group of friends. Not only was he the most athletically gifted – surfing mainly, and cricket when it was the right season – but he was also the smartest, and the tallest, and the most well liked among others in their grade. He was personable and got on with everyone, boys and girls alike.
Physically too, Bryce was a cut above his other friends. Where Zac was overweight, Cameron was far too skinny and Alan had red hair paired with the whitest skin in the country, or so the boys always claimed. Bryce though, he was tall without it being too much. All the surfing he did widened his shoulders, filled out his arms and tanned his skin. And where his facial features were still developing, his jaw was sharp, his cheekbones high and his teeth were big and white. He was a looker and ‘the most handsome boy in school,’ his mum claimed.
That night though, Bryce had been happy to sit to the side of the room and be ignored. Whenever girlfriends came into the equation, he liked to stay silent, otherwise they would all circle back to their favorite topic: why is Bryce single.
“I don’t know,” Bryce had shrugged and pretended to adjust his covers.
“Of course he doesn’t,” Cameron had smirked. “Bryce wouldn’t know a pussy from a piece of fruit.”
“He would too!” Alan had argued in Bryce’s defense.
“How?” Cameron rebutted.
“I still think you should ask Liana out,” Zac had then climbed to his feet to speak up. “Dude, have you seen her tits.”
“Her tits!” Alan had howled.
“God they are something – I would motorboat those things every night before bed if I was with her.” Cameron had then pretended to motorboat the air right in front of him.
“And she likes you!” Zac had continued. “You’ve seen her talking to him,” he said, nodding to Cameron.
“She would so say yes,” Cameron had agreed.
“She turned me down,” Alan had muttered. “Maybe she wouldn’t?”
“Yeah, but you’re butt ugly,” Zac then blew through his lips. “Bryce is a S.T.U.D. -- even Imogen thinks he’s the best-looking guy in our year.”
“At least now we know who she’ll be thinking about tomorrow night when you two fuck,” Cameron had joked.
“Yeah! Go fuck yourself!” Zac shouted.
“Can your mum join in?” Cameron then shot back.
From there it devolved into a mass of yelling, shouting and play fighting as the favorite topic of why Bryce was single quickly became forgotten. Bryce, of course, was grateful for this. Although he knew his friends didn’t mean anything by it, he really, really hated when they brought it up.
The simple truth of the matter was that Bryce just wasn’t into girls. Not yet anyway. He knew he would be one day... or at least he was pretty sure he would be one day. Because that was just what happened. One day you didn’t care, then the next you woke up and found girls hot. It had happened to all of his friends, so it was bound to happen to him.
He just wished it would hurry up already. Bryce had been fine not being into girls when his friends weren’t. But right now, on this bus, forced to sit alone as each of his friends paired off with their female counterpart, he was reminded of how out of touch he was. What the heck was wrong with him?
“Are you excited for today?” Mr. Scrivner tried next as Bryce continued to stare out the window. The bus was just entering the city now, with the tall skyscrapers shooting up all around them like blades of grass.
“Huh?” Bryce half responded as he craned his neck upwards to try and see the top of some of the buildings. It really was incredible how big they were.
Mr. Scrivner nodded his understanding. “I’ve heard you plan on moving down here when you graduate? Have you given any thought to what you might do? Mr. Glee says you’re one heck of a writer.”
“Oh... yeah, maybe.” Bryce shrugged his non-committal response. “I’m okay.”
“He says you’re better than that. He told me you’re the best writer he’s had in over five years – your story about the loneliness of being Emperor Palpatine from Star Wars apparently moved him to tears... or so he claimed.”
Bryce was a good writer. In fact, he was better than good. He was also of an age now where he had to start thinking of his future seriously, and what he was going to do with himself. If he’d had his way, his absolute dream, he’d be a sportswrit
er. He had no idea how he’d go about becoming one, but he loved cricket more than life itself and if he was able to write about it as his career... that to him was the epitome of happiness.
Unfortunately, this was never going to happen. He was a good writer; he knew that about himself. But that didn’t matter.
Bryce tried his best to sound upbeat. “My parents – you've met them, yeah? They want me to study accounting – Sydney Uni is apparently pretty good. I might go there... I think.”
Mr. Scrivner furrowed his brow. “This is true. It’s a very good school.”
Bryce nodded. “And it makes sense,” he spoke quickly as if trying to convince himself. "Accounting is a good job – that's what my dad says. Good steady job with a high-income ratio.”
“All right. Well... if you ever want to talk about it... or anything at all...” Mr. Scrivner looked like he wanted to say more but stopped himself. Rather, he sighed and then got to his feet. “But that’s for another time. We’re almost there – and Sydney waits for no one.” A second later and he was striding down the bus to speak to the driver.
Their destination was a shopping center called Harborside, located right on Darling Harbour. No one really knew anything about it, except for one kid called Josh who claimed he had been there before as a kid and that it was the biggest shopping center he’d ever seen. But Josh was also a known liar, so everything he said was taken with a grain of salt.
“All right! Listen up!” Mr. Scrivener shouted from the front of the bus. “We’re almost there – quiet!” He paused and waited for the excited rumblings of the kids to soften. “When we do arrive, we’re giving you a lot of leeway here. More than some think we should. The time is now—” he checked his watch. “—eleven in the morning. This bus will be leaving from this exact same spot at six o’clock sharp and not a second later. If you miss it, I hope you like Sydney because you’ll be staying here. Understand?” A dull “yes” greeted him. “Good!” He beamed. “Now, try and have fun will you. If that’s not too much to ask.”
