in tuxes, and Mrs. Merovsky gave me my cue for their music – the “Superman” theme. I looked up to make sure that all was well, and the very first guy out on the runway was – TODD!!

Todd Cranston – my God. My God Todd. I recognized him immediately. A full-page portrait/head shot in my senior class yearbook from when he was voted “Most Photogenic”. Senior Class President, runner-up for Homecoming King, and one of my bigger crushes. He was the source, inspiration, and rainmaker for many of my whack-off sessions late at night when my parents and my little brother and sister were all finally asleep. We graduated in May, and that June he married the captain of the cheerleading team, and their wedding portrait made it into a national magazine. What in hell was he doing up here?

I watched him strut down the aisle in his tailored black-velvet tailcoat, white tie, top hat and cane, the works – and only Todd could have pulled it off. He was drop-dead gorgeous – wavy black hair, olive skin, with snapping black eyes that made you want to dive in and drown yourself in them. A handsome, almost pretty face that one of those Italian Renaissance artists would have used for Cupid, or Mercury, or a minor devil, with a wicked grin that let him get away with anything, and a sunny, persuasive, charismatic personality that got him – and his friends – out of trouble every time – and there was always trouble to get them out of.

He wasn’t that big – 5’10” or so, and lightly muscled – he wasn’t a jock especially, but he hung out with them. His personality kept him tight with the guys, and his good looks kept him tight with the girls. He had a reputation as a cockhound, and we were all a bit surprised when he and Marcia the Cheerleader got married so quickly. I assumed that there was a pregnancy, but heard no more of it by the time I left for college.

I stared at him open-mouthed as he came down to the end of the runway, and just as he turned to strut back up, he looked down straight at me, flashed his trademark grin, and gave me a quick wink. Then he turned and was gone, back up the runway.

I was so stunned at seeing him again that Mrs. Merovsky had to cue me twice for the big Finale – where the guys in the tuxes escorted the bridal girls out onto the runway and lined them all up for the length of it, to the applause and cheers of the crowd. I finally got it going, and the show was a big success.

I changed out of my tux and back into my street clothes, and then helped break down the sound equipment and stash it in the truck, and then went in to the buffet supper. Todd and the other guys and the girls were already there, and when he saw me come in he stood up and rushed over to me, grinning delightedly. “Hey, man, good to see ya! I didn’t know you were up here!”

“I didn’t know you were either, or I’d have called.”

“Well, I’ve only been up here a couple of weeks – my Uncle Frank lives near here, and I’m transferring up here – I was too late for