"You got a letter from some place called Taft High School," Peter said, as he sifted through the mail.
"That's where I went to high school," Reed said. He craned his neck to see the letter. "What do they want? A donation?"
Peter shrugged and slit open the letter. Reed puffed on the controls of his wheelchair so that he could come closer to Peter and get a look at the letter too. Peter held the piece of paper so that Reed could see it.
"It's the ten year reunion," Reed muttered. "God, has it been ten years already?"
"Time really flies, huh?" Peter said with a smile.
Reed inhaled to back his chair away. He hadn't thought about high school in years and he wasn't sure he wanted to now. A lot had changed in ten years. Ten years ago, Reed had been like any other high school student. Then in college, Reed broke his neck in a car accident and was paralyzed from the shoulders down so that he could no longer move his arms or legs. It was like being born for the second time. Sometimes Reed felt like he was eight years old, instead of twenty-eight.
"So do you think you're going to go?" Peter asked. Peter was a nurse whom Reed's parents had hired when he had first come home after his accident. Now Reed was living away from his parents, and had several other assistants to help him with his daily life, but he maintained a special affection for Peter. Peter had been around for the duration of Reed's new life, and had helped him to get through a hard time.
"I don't know…it'll be really strange going back there," Reed sighed.
"Here's the way you ought to think about it," Peter said, logical as always. "If you weren't in a wheelchair, would you go to the reunion?"
"I probably would," Reed decided.
"Then you ought to go," Peter said.
Reed couldn't help but smile. Peter saw disability as just another part of life, and believed that Reed should try to do everything he would have if he were able bodied. As a result, Reed found that he hardly ever thought about his disability anymore when Peter was around. "Will you come with me?" Reed asked.
"Are you kidding?" Peter laughed. "I wouldn't miss it."
Peter got Reed ready for bed before the nighttime nurse was due to arrive. This consisted of brushing Reed's teeth, washing his face, pulling off his sweatpants and sweatshirt (Reed usually slept in his boxers), and arranging his body in bed. Peter was more adept at it than any of the other nurses, since he was used to Reed's body. Reed looked forward to Peter nights more than any other nights.
There was a downside to Peter nights, however. From the moment he met Peter, Reed became completely infatuated with him. Peter was ten years older than Reed and very good looking. It didn't hurt that Peter dealt with very intimate parts of Reed's body. Unfortunately, Peter was not gay, and was in fact married with two children. Reed figured it was just as well, since Peter would never be interested in a paralyzed man anyway.
Reed discovered he was gay back in high school. He had fallen hard for his best friend Matt, but never worked up the nerve to tell him about it. Reed and Matt spent every second together, and so often Reed would have an almost overpowering urge to lean forward and kiss him, but he couldn't do it in the end. In college, Reed came out of the closet, and had a great two years until his accident took him out of commission. Reed had not been involved in a relationship with a man or woman since the accident.
Reed was pretty sure that if a romantic situation arose, he would be able to perform. Often when Peter was changing his underwear, Reed's penis would become erect, much to his embarrassment. He couldn't feel his erections, but he still got a thrill to see it. Also, he still had his mouth and his tongue, and he knew he was pretty handy with those. All he needed was a sexual partner.
As Peter lifted Reed into bed, Reed thought about how great it would have been if he could have been going to the reunion with Peter as his lover instead of his nurse. Even though Reed could not feel most of the parts of his body that Peter worked with, he was always turned on by the sight of Peter's hands on his body. Peter had very slender and nimble fingers.
"What are you thinking about?" Peter asked as he pulled Reed's sweatpants off his thin legs.
"The reunion," Reed answered truthfully.
Peter grinned as he straightened out Reed's lifeless legs on the bed. "We're going to have a great time."
Peter lifted Reed's sweatshirt up over his head. His arms naturally lifted up with the motion of the sweatshirt, then Peter pulled the arms out of the sleeves. He laid Reed's arms at his sides. Reed remembered vaguely how upset he had been when he had first been paralyzed and watched his body parts being pulled this way and that without his control. Now, after eight years, it was second nature to him.
"Comfortable?" Peter asked.
"Yes," Reed answered.
"Don't worry about the reunion," Peter said. "You're going to have a great time."
Reed smiled.
Reed woke up early the day of the reunion. His eyes fluttered open at six in the morning and he nearly jumped out of bed. As usual, his body had shifted during the night and was pressed up against the bars along the side of his bed. He had woken up to the floor on his face before they had decided he needed bars on his bed.
Peter wasn't set to get there for another hour and Reed was hesitant to call for the nighttime nurse. Instead he lay in bed thinking about the day ahead of him. He hadn't heard from any of his high school friends since graduation, and he wondered what had become of them. He wondered who were the doctors, the lawyers, the teachers, who had gotten married, who had children. He thought about Matt and wondered what he was doing right now, and if he would be at the reunion. He certainly hoped so.
Reed heard the door to his room opening and figured that the nighttime nurse was coming to check on him. Instead, he was surprised to see Peter's face at the door.
"What are you doing here?" Reed asked, happily surprised.
"I thought you might wind up waking up early," Peter said with a grin.
Peter pulled Reed's body away from the edge of the bed and lowered the bars. It was still too early to get dressed for the reunion, so Peter tugged Reed's sweatpants on over his thin legs and left on the undershirt he had slept in. He placed Reed's arms on his shoulders for leverage, then hoisted him in to the wheelchair. Even though Reed wasn't heavy, he was heavy enough that most of the other nurses couldn't get him into the chair without help. Peter was the only one who could.
Peter strapped Reed in, then adjusted his legs in the rests, then his hands in his lap. Reed liked to have his hands folded together in his lap, where they were least likely to get into trouble. "I smell eggs," Reed commented.
"You win the prize," Peter laughed. "Magda is cooking up a mountain of eggs."
Reed blew on his controls to direct his chair to the dining room. When he first started using a sip-and-puff chair, he thought he would never be able to navigate through a door without bumping into the sides, but now he was an expert. He didn't even have to think about it anymore.
Reed parked his chair in front of the dining hall table and Peter sat next to him. Usually Peter put a napkin on Reed's chest, but it didn't seem necessary now that Reed was only wearing an undershirt. Magda placed a large plate of eggs in front of Reed, as well as a cup of orange. She placed a long straw in the orange juice so that he would be able to reach it. Reed leaned his head forward slightly and took a sip of juice. Over the past eight years, he had regained a lot of control over his head, for which he was grateful.
There was, of course, no way that Reed could eat by himself. Peter took a small amount of egg on the fork and held it toward Reed's mouth so he could take a bite. It was yet another ritual that Reed had thought he'd never get used to, but it had become commonplace. "Delicious," Reed told Magda. He leaned forward and caught the long straw in his mouth so that he could take a sip of orange juice.
After breakfast, there were several rituals to go through. First, Peter took Reed to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Peter put toothpaste on the brush, then scrubbed Reed's upper and lower teeth. He then offered Reed water, which he used to rinse out his mouth. Afterwards, Peter helped Reed with some stretches to keep his muscles from completely deteriorating. As a quad, both Reed's arms and his legs needed to be moved periodically or else there was a risk of amputation. Even though Reed couldn't feel his arms or legs, he didn't want them removed. So every day, Peter lay him down on a table and stretched out his limbs for him.
Afterwards, Peter pulled off Reed's undershirt. Reed's arms fell limply off the table and Peter picked them up and placed them at his sides. He pulled off Reed's underpants, but left on the condom catheter that collected his urine. Peter used a washcloth to bathe Reed's body. First he got his body full of suds, then he used a water spray to rinse him off. After doing the front of Reed's body, he turned Reed on his back and repeated the same process.
The last thing Peter washed was Reed's penis. He removed the condom catheter and carefully ran the cloth up and down Reed's penis. This was what often gave Reed an erection, much to his embarrassment, but Peter was always the professional and ignored it. In some ways, Reed was pleased to see his penis responding. For the first few years after his accident, the sexiest guy in the world couldn't have gotten him hard, but now it seemed like his sexuality was reemerging. Too bad there was no one to share it with. After Peter cleaned Reed's penis, he put on a fresh condom catheter and hooked a fresh legbag to Reed's thin thigh.
"Ready to get dressed?" Peter asked.
"I guess so," Reed replied, somewhat nervously.
Peter got out Reed's good suit from the drawer. He first pulled the pants over Reed's legs, but he had a little trouble doing the buttons. "Your gut's getting big," Peter teased.
"Hey, it's your fault," Reed said. "You're the one who feeds me."
"Well," Peter retorted, "starting tomorrow, you go on a diet."
Peter picked up Reed's white shirt. He lifted one of Reed's limp arms and pulled it through the arm of the shirt. He pushed Reed's upper body off the table so that he could pull the shirt under him, then pulled his other arm through the sleeve. Reed watched Peter's nimble fingers do all the buttons and tuck the shirt into his pants. He repeated the process with Reed's jacket. "We'll do the tie once you're in the chair," Peter decided.
Peter lifted Reed into his wheelchair, then carefully tied the tie around his neck so that it wouldn't be too tight. He adjusted Reed's collar and arranged his hands in his lap. "Ready to take a look?" Peter asked.
"Ready as I'll ever be," Reed replied.
Reed directed his chair toward the only full-length mirror in his house. He stopped in front of the mirror and inspected his image. After eight years, he was certainly used to the sight of himself in a wheelchair, but it came as a shock to see himself in something other than a sweat suit. He was pleased to see that at age 28, he still looked good. One might even say he was very handsome, except for the faded muscles in his body. Back in high school, girls used to fall over themselves for him. In college, guys were lining up for a chance to make out with Reed.
"Looking good," Peter commented.
Reed grinned. "Let's go."
Peter and Reed arrived at the reunion right on time. As Reed saw his old high school growing closer, he wondered if it wasn't a mistake to come here. He didn't want all his old high school friends to see him like this. Then again, he really didn't care what his high school friends thought. They were all jerks, anyway. Everyone but Matt.
Matt. Reed really hoped he'd show up. He couldn't wait to see him again.
Peter turned to Reed, who was sitting in the passenger's seat of the car. "You ready?"
Reed nodded, too nervous to speak.
Peter got out of the car and walked around to open the passenger's side door for Reed. Reed's wheelchair was folded up in the extra large trunk and Peter brought it alongside the car. Peter unbuckled Reed's seatbelt and immediately Reed started sinking in his seat. Peter grabbed him and lifted him into the wheelchair and strapped him in. He placed Reed's hands in his lap and adjusted his feet in the footrests.
"Okay?" Peter asked.
Reed blew on his the mouth controls and the chair moved forward. "Yep."
Unfortunately, it turned out that Reed's high school wasn't wheelchair accessible. There was a fairly long flight of stairs leading to the entrance. It was hard for Peter to pull Reed's chair up a long flight of stairs by himself, so he looked around for help. A young man was approaching the stairs.
"Excuse me," Peter said to the man. "There's no ramp to get into this building and we need help getting up this flight of stairs. Do you mind…?"
"No problem," the man said. He looked over at Reed. "Reed?"
Reed looked at the young man and the memories came flooding back. "Hey, Jim," he said. Jim had been on the track team with Reed. A decent guy, as far as Reed could remember.
"Shit, Reed," Jim said. "What happened to you?"
"I had a car accident a while back," Reed explained.
"That's a shame," Jim commented. "You were one helluva runner."
Peter took the back of Reed's chair and Jim took the front. It always made Reed feel uneasy to be carried up a flight of stairs. He was always worried that someone was going to drop him, although they never did. His arms fell out of his lap during the ride, but Peter made sure to replace them at the top of the stairs.
Thankfully, the reunion was on the first floor, so there were no more stairs to worry about. It was in the old cafeteria, which still stank of fishsticks like Reed remembered. As he wheeled into the cafeteria, he felt Peter's comforting hand on his shoulder.
A pregnant woman came running up to Reed, her eyes wide. "Reed! Do you remember me?"
"Martha, right?" They had gone out a couple of times junior year. Reed couldn't remember if they had made out or not, but he figured they had.
"Yeah," Martha nodded. "What happened, Reed? I heard you had a car accident."
Reed nodded. She had probably heard it two minutes ago from Jim. "Back in college," Reed explained. "I'm paralyzed from the shoulders down."
"Wow," Martha breathed. "Geez, Reed. I had such a crush on you in high school."
"Oh, yeah?" No kidding.
Martha looked up at Peter and held out her hand. "I'm Martha."
"I'm Peter," he said. "I'm Reed's nurse."
"Hey, Martha," Reed said, "have you seen Matt Jenkins around here anywhere?"
Martha shook her head. "No, I heard he wasn't coming. But Reed, you have to meet my husband."
Reed groaned inwardly and followed Martha.
Matt Jenkins got dressed and undressed for the reunion three times, trying to decide whether he should go or not. His memories of high school were unpleasant. He had spent most of his time pretending to be someone he wasn't. If he went to the reunion, it would just be another day of phoniness. He didn't think he could stomach it.
Matt wouldn't have given it a second thought except for one thing: Reed. Matt hadn't seen Reed since graduation, but he thought about him all the time. Matt and Reed had been best friends in high school, but Matt had wound up falling for Reed. He never told Reed about it and he always regretted it. Three years after graduation, Matt gave Reed a call at home, prepared to tell him everything, but Reed's parents explained that he had been in a bad accident. When they told Matt what had happened, he hung up the phone immediately.
After ten years, Matt was still pretending. He was still not openly gay and his few homosexual experiences were meaningless one-night stands. He hated himself for it, but he couldn't bring himself to come out. Maybe if he had been able to tell Reed, everything would have been okay, but that wasn't the way it worked out.
Matt put on his suit one more time and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked good. He looked older, of course, but he lifted weights and jogged, so he was in good shape. He had a good job and he had done well for himself. He had nothing to be ashamed of.
"Fuck it," Matt declared. "I'm going to the reunion."
When Matt arrived at the reunion, he immediately saw all the people he had wished he'd never see again. Janie, who he kissed behind the school gym. Dave, who beat the shit out of him freshman year. Angela, who knew all the answers in math class. Matt heard people calling his name, but he ignored them. He was looking for Reed.
Matt saw Reed's wheelchair before he saw Reed. It was a large, imposing chair that dwarfed its user. Reed was sitting at a table with a man that Matt didn't recognize, talking softly. Matt felt his knees go weak as he approached the table.
As Matt got closer, he could see that Reed hadn't changed much at all in appearance. He still had the same deathly handsome face and he was still slim like he always was. Matt remembered how girls had always been hitting on Reed back in high school and how irritating it had been. But now Reed's slim body was motionless. The only thing keeping him in the wheelchair was a strap. Matt had expected to be freaked out by Reed's body, but instead he was intrigued. Reed's body had always been an object of sexual obsession for Matt and now he felt his underwear growing tight.
"Hey, Reed," Matt said, trying to sound casual.
Reed's blue eyes lit up. "Matt!"
Matt grinned. "Great to see you again, buddy."
"I'd shake your hand, but…" Reed looked down at his paralyzed hands.
Impulsively, Matt reached out and took one of Reed's hands. He gave it a solid pump and replaced it in Reed's lap.
The man who was talking to Reed reached out his own hand to Matt. "I'm Peter. I'm Reed's nurse."
Matt shook Peter's hand. "Good to meet you."
Peter stood up. "I'm going to go get some food. I'll leave you two alone to talk."
Matt took Peter's seat. He couldn't take his eyes off Reed's motionless hands and legs. He couldn't see Reed's legs because of the pants, but he could see how thin they were and the points of his bony knees. It took all of Matt's self-restraint to keep from reaching out and touching them.
"So what have you been up to?" Reed asked.
"I'm a lawyer," Matt said.
"You're kidding," Reed laughed. "I never saw you as a lawyer type."
Matt shrugged. "I always loved to argue. How about you?"
"Things have been pretty crazy," Reed said. "I wanted to be an artist, but that kind of went down the toilet. Right now I'm living off my parents and disability, but I'm going to go back to school and get a degree in computers. Eventually."
Matt hung his head. "Reed, I'm sorry I didn't come visit you after your accident."
"It's okay," Reed said. At the time, he had been hurt, but in retrospect he understood.
"It's not okay," Matt said. "I should've visited you. We were best friends."
Reed nodded and didn't say anything.
"How is it?" Matt asked. "I mean, how is it being a quadriplegic?"
"I'm used to it," Reed said. "I don't really give it much thought anymore. When I was first paralyzed, I was a real jerk. I was mad at everything and everybody. But Peter has helped me a lot in getting over it. It's just one aspect of my life now. It's just too bad I don't get to have sex as much as I'd like to." Reed grinned a little. "How's that for luck? Two years after I come out of the closet, my dick gets paralyzed."
Matt's jaw fell open. "What?"
"Sorry," Reed said quickly. "Too much info, huh?"
"No, I mean…" Matt shook his head. "What were you talking about…coming out of the closet…?"
"I thought you knew," Reed said. "I'm gay. Good looking guy like me… how could I be straight?"
"Shit," Matt muttered.
Reed raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
"Well," Matt said hesitantly. "Back in high school, I kind of…I had a thing for you…I mean, I was fucking in love with you."
Reed froze, staring at Matt. He looked down at his paralyzed hands. "Yeah, me too. But I guess now…"
"Let's go have sex," Matt said. "Right now. We'll find an empty classroom."
Reed's eyes widened. "Are you serious?"
"Shit, yeah." Matt stared into Reed's eyes. "I have never wanted anything so badly as I want to fuck you right now."
Reed looked down and saw that his pants had started to bulge. Matt. Matt, after all this time. "Okay, let's go do it."
Reed was so excited, he was having trouble steering his wheelchair. His mouth shook over the controls and he bumped into the door on the way out. His foot slipped out of its footrest, but he ignored it as it dragged slightly along the ground. They came to a classroom a few doors down and Matt found that it was unlocked.
Inside the classroom, they just stared at each other for a minute. It was up to Matt to make the first move. Matt bent down and pressed his lips onto Reed's. He felt Reed's tongue responding to his own, and he became so hard it was painful. He reached down and undid Reed's pants, practically ripping them open. Reed's penis, curved and circumcised, jumped out of his pants. There was a tube snaking out of his penis and Matt stopped.
"That's my catheter," Reed explained. "I need it to piss. You can take it out."
Matt took the tube in his fingers and began to pull it out. It was longer than he had thought it would be, going all the way to Reed's paralyzed bladder. He kissed Reed's penis, licking it up and down.
"Can you feel this?" Matt asked.
Reed shook his head. "No, but I've got a good feeling all over."
Matt undid the buttons on Reed's shirt and began to lick his chest. Reed's chest had a small amount of hair on it and his stomach bulged slightly. Matt caressed the smooth skin, as he shoved Reed's dick as far down his throat as he could. He could barely breathe, but it was the best sensation he had ever felt.
"Matt," Reed said. "Please…I can't take it anymore…let me suck your dick."
Matt grinned. "Sounds good to me…but how are we going to work it?"
Reed looked around the room. "You can put me on the teacher's desk, then get on top of me."
Matt wheeled Reed over to the desk. He hesitated, trying to figure out the best way to pick Reed up.
"Put my arms on your shoulders for support," Reed suggested. "I can keep them there if you put them there."
Matt put Reed's arms on his shoulders, then grabbed him from behind and lifted him onto the table. In the process, Matt fell on top of him and their bodies pressed together. "Reed," Matt breathed. "I've been waiting for this for so long."
"Me too," Reed said with a grin.
Matt lifted his upper body and undid his pants. His dick, long and straight, teased Reed from only inches away. Matt picked up Reed's hand and caressed his penis with it. Giving in to the desperate expression on Reed's face, Matt brought his penis close enough to Reed's mouth so that he could touch the tip with his tongue. Then Reed surprised him by bending his neck and fitting the entire head in his mouth. Matt groaned with pleasure and laced his fingers through Reed's soft hair.
Matt didn't have much experience, but Reed gave the best head he had ever had. In only a few minutes, Matt exploded inside Reed's mouth. So much cum came out that it overflowed over the sides of Reed's mouth and dripped down his cheeks. Matt collapsed on top of Reed, breathing hard.