Chapter 2

Eric's Birthday

When Hyde saw Donna and Jackie run into the Vista Cruiser to talk about Eric and Kelso, he presumed, it best

to go into silly mode, make arm-pit noises and carry Fez around the Forman backyard in an acceptable

non-homosexual way. Eric's birthday was just around the corner and Kitty was planning one of her trademark

parties. Sure, Mrs. Forman was slightly quirky, but Hyde wished he had a mother like that. It hurt Hyde to see

the pain in Eric's eyes; Forman was never good at camouflaging his pain like Hyde was. Laurie was coming home

from the University of Wisconsin so that was good news for Hyde in that her appearance would keep Kelso

occupied. Donna and Jackie were probably talking about birthday presents, and what kind of present do you get

your boyfriend? Hyde knew he was getting Eric some cassettes for the new cassette player that Red was going

to buy for the Vista Cruiser. Some Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith. It wasn't fair that Donna and Jackie were able to

have these conversations when Hyde loved Eric more than Donna ever possibly could and all he could publicly

give him were some cheap "borrowed" re-shrinked wrapped cassettes.

When Kelso was downstairs fawning over the newly arrived Laurie who was wearing just a University of

Wisconsin sweatshirt and Fez, of course, also loved the free show and Eric was busy telling Laurie to put some

pants on and that if she told Kitty that Eric was too old to be having a birthday party, he might consider letting

her use the wagon, Hyde walked out the basement door and up the stairs. He saw Kitty exiting the Toyota and

carrying 2 paper grocery bags. He pushed open the sliding kitchen doors for her.

"Thank you, Steven."

"You're welcome, Mrs. Forman."

He said he was going to leave, but that wasn't the truth. He hated to lie to such a sweet woman, but it had to

be done. Red was still at work, his hours were being cut at the plant to part-time due to the popularity of

Japanese made cars like the Toyota that Mrs. Forman just parked in the driveway.

Hyde quietly sprinted up the stairs to Eric's room and closed the door. It only took five minutes for Eric to come

upstairs and open the door.

"Ssh," Hyde put a finger to his lips and kissed him, "I waited all day for that."

"Hyde! My Mom's home." And so was Laurie, if she found out about them, they might as well pack their bags and

move to Canada now.

"I know that she is. I opened the door for her."

"It's not 2 a.m." Eric scolded

"Do you think I'm going to tear off your clothes and make passionate love to you right now?"

"That would be nice/That would be nice." They said in unison

"Yes, yes!" Eric laughed

"Here's the plan for tomorrow night…."

"You act like I can't….."

"You'll deviate…."

"No, I won't…."

"Forman! After you get your present from Donna whenever that is. I can tell her and Jackie are planning

something, kiss her goodnight, and meet me in your room."

"You always think well under pressure, Steven."

"It's called survival. I'll see you in here at midnight…."

"You want to be here for my birthday………."

"And I will be giving you your birthday whacks!"

Hyde could hear Mrs. Forman coming up the stairs, "I'll take the window. Later, Forman."

Steven Hyde slyly smiled on the inside, he knew exactly what he was going to give Forman for his birthday, and

there was no way that Donna could compete with it.

11:50 p.m.

Hyde thought Laurie would never leave. Why would she need for Red and Kitty to go upstairs for the night when

she was over 18? He had to quietly laugh when he saw Eric sleeping in his bed. This was going to be good.

Hyde went over to Eric as he kneeled down to brush the hair out of his eyes.

"Forman, wake up." He kissed him to accomplish this task.

"Hmm. Steven. Why are you here so early?" He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Relax, your parents went to bed later than you!" He was such a prude, that Hyde found it very endearing.

Eric propped the pillows against his back so he could sit up.

Hyde looked at his watch as he straddled himself over Eric's body.

What if he puked again? He better do this right.

Hyde took Eric's hands and kissed them, "If at any time you get scared, man, you can tell me to stop, and I will."

Eric's heart started beating at a more rapid pace. "I'm okay."

"Good." Hyde watched the 2 hands on his watch meet at the 12 position, "Happy Birthday, Eric." He kissed him

on the lips and as he kept going down, Eric realized just what Hyde was giving him for his birthday present as he

felt Hyde take his pajama bottoms off.

Eric closed his eyes trying so hard to forget that Red and Kitty were in the same house. What if there was a fire?

He stopped at Eric's stomach; he thought his heart would stop beating completely.

"You sure, man?"

"y-es, y-es." He replied in his usual twitchy way when he was nervous over a situation. Eric needed to do

something with his hands so he put them on Hyde's shoulders and went in a soothing back and forth motion.

He wondered what Hyde and Donna both saw in him?

Eric's eyes fluttered as Hyde satisfied him orally, he didn't want him to stop, oh God, he didn't want him to ever

stop. Forman wondered what his penis tasted like. He got nervous thinking what if he had to reciprocate the

act?

Hyde was too confident to Eric. Did he do this before? There's no way this was his first time giving a blow-job.

Oh, shit.

Eric tried to stop himself from mentally unraveling…his body was going to do the most embarrassing thing in the

world. It would make the revealing to Hyde his love for him and running upstairs to the throw up seem mild in

comparison.

He wanted to die.

After:

"Don't look at me," Eric turned to his side and put the blankets over his face. "I don't want you to see me."

Hyde snuggled tighter next to him and wrapped his arms around his lanky frame.

"It's okay, Forman…you held out longer than I thought you would…but I bet you started thinking!"

"You're too good, Steven….There is NO way, I could've been your first."

"Does it matter? I'm with you now."

"I guess you have a point."

"Thank you."

Eric thought he heard the sound of a car door slamming in the driveway.

"Is that Laurie? Please check…."

"Fine," Actually Forman did make sense as Hyde went to the window for a looks-see, "No, it's just Donna's cat

knocking over your Dad's garbage can."

Hyde picked his clothes off the floor to get dressed.

"You're leaving?"

"Yes."

"Are you coming back at 2?"

"I don't think so. What happened to that being our regular time?

Hyde reached for his sunglasses that he put on Eric's desk. "Relax, Forman. I'll be back for your party later.

Remember, what I told you about Donna's gift?"

"I'm not stupid."

"I didn't say you were, Eric. I just wanted to get home before Edna………"

"Oh. I'm sorry."

It was a parental thing. Eric let out a small sigh of relief that it had nothing to do with him.

Hyde went over to kiss him on the lips, "Happy Birthday, Eric. I love you."

"I love you, too, Steven."

"Remember," he whispered softly into his ear, "I swallowed."

After Eric's party:

A scented candle? He supposed it was a cool gift. What was Eric going to do now? He wanted to kiss Donna,

then he didn't, then he had to remember it was all an act and it would be okay to kiss her. But you think Hyde

would have shoo-ed the gang out of the house instead of all of them hiding in the kitchen. Did he want to see

Eric make a fool of himself?

He had to get rid of Donna. He blew out the candle.

"What's a matter, Eric, you don't like the gift after all?" Donna asked

"No. It's cool. Thank you."

Why wasn't Hyde getting rid of them?

He didn't want to pretend anymore. It was awful. His mother thought he was too young for Midge's gift of a hot

shaving cream dispenser. His father bought him an 8-track player for the Cruiser, when he specifically asked for a

cassette player and Kitty heard the request wrong, but demanding that because she wrote it down that it was

what he wanted. Steven got him some cool cassettes that they couldn't play in the car until Red returned the

8-track to mostly likely Bargain Bob's and exchanged it for a cassette player. Kitty came home drunk because she

couldn't handle her baby-boy growing up.

"Michael!" Jackie looked at the clock, she didn't want to break curfew, "Take me home, Michael!" She slapped him

across the arm.

"Fine. Damn, Jackie, that hurt!" He was so going to break-up with her the next time he had a chance. Kelso knew

that Laurie was coming onto him earlier in the basement.

Thank God! Eric thought. Eric noticed Jackie giving Donna a "better luck next time" look.

"I had a nice time at your party, Eric. Who's the whore you or Donna?"

He had no time to deal with Fez' grasp or lack thereof of the English language, he just wanted Fez to go home

with Kelso and Jackie.

"He's too funny." Donna said

"We'll I'm beat," Eric replied standing up to stretch and hoped that Pinciotti got the message. "Talk to you

tomorrow, Donna, bye." He gave her a faint kiss on the cheek for the sake of appearances.

Eric made his ungraceful exit not giving Donna a chance to respond. He could hear her walk away back to her

house.

"That was smooth, Forman."

"You weren't helping keeping the gang here!"

"Ssh! Keep your voice down…they're all gone." Hyde held Eric's hands and grabbed the gold paper birthday

crown off the kitchen table and placed it back on Eric's head.

"Thank you for the cassettes."

"No problem…I don't suppose we can steal any of Red's beer?"

"He's got the ears of a hawk."

Hyde laughed. "That's eyes."

"You know what I mean…."

"This shirt looks sexy on you, it makes you look like you have muscles, not much, but some."

Eric blushed.

"But it would look even better on the floor in your room….and I just realized something, Forman."

"What is it, Hyde?"

"I didn't give the birthday boy his birthday whacks yet! It's still your birthday………."

"You have to catch me first…" Eric ran to his room with the urge that Red and Kitty could catch them at any time.

It was very thrilling to the new 17-year-old.

"I got you!"

Hyde whispered in the doorway to Eric's room as he playfully slapped Eric across the bottom.

"That's one! 16 more to go!"

This was much better Eric thought then pretending to love every move Donna Pinciotti made of late. Yes, he

loved her as a person, as a friend. But, he didn't love her in the romantic sense. Not the way he loved the man

giving him his birthday whacks. The man he couldn't love in public because society, fuck society, his parents and

friends wouldn't agree with their life decisions. Well, maybe, Fez would.

"Steven," Eric fell backwards on his own bed, "You still didn't answer my question…"

"Which was?" He swore Forman talked more than Jackie if that was at all possible.

"Why did you keep everyone here?"

"Eric, what was I supposed to say," Hyde took his shirt off, "That they better leave so I could fool around with

you?"

"I see."

Steven had an answer for everything.

"Good. Now let's go to bed."

"This was the best 17th birthday party ever." Eric exclaimed as he received the most romantic kiss of his short

life from the person that he most wanted it the most from.