Stories from The Real Story Safe Sex Project from Jeff Erno and Robin Reardon

The Real Story Safe Sex Project, spearheaded by Brent Hartinger, is gathering up stories and blog posts promoting condom use. Many talented authors have contributed stories to this worthy project. We'll look at two stories a week until I have them all, but there may be new ones along any minute!

Every author has a different take on this message, and everyone has something valuable to add. Please read and forward the stories to anyone and everyone you know who needs to protect themselves, male and female alike. Thank you, authors, for making these stories free to all. Because that old ounce of prevention is really worth a pound of cure, or a ton of battle.

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 "My life is worth more than a few minutes of anyone's pleasure."

Alessandro Lupo (Alex) is a sixteen-year-old gay foster child who has been moved from "home" to "home" in New York City. Isolated by circumstances and by the protective shield he's surrounded himself with, he wanders the streets of the West Village and gravitates toward Stonewall Inn, where the 1969 riots planted the seeds of the gay civil rights movement. Having been raped at his previous foster home, he worries about HIV and about ever being able to enjoy sex.

Alex, whose parents had both been Italian, feels his lack of  family keenly. As he wanders the city streets, he scrutinizes people who might also be Italian. Alex is short for Alessandro,
which means defender of men; Lupo means wolf. But Alex feels fearful most of the time--fear not just of Derek, the other foster teen in his current home, but also of life in general--and wishes for the courage of his 19th century countryman, Giuseppe Garibaldi, with whose statue in Washington Square Park Alex has imaginary conversations.

Then Alex meets two people who represent polar opposites: one who validates the low opinion Alex already has of himself; and another who helps him see himself in an entirely new light and teaches him that his life is worth more than a few minutes of anyone's pleasure. 
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Robin Reardon gives us a lovely glimpse inside Alex's head, showing his growth not only in his sexual maturity but his value of himself. Find at Amazon.

 Travis McDonald is fifteen and has never been in love (other than a wicked crush he harbored on his eighth grade sex ed teacher, Mr. Myers). When Jeremy Loper asks him to hang out, Travis's heart is all a flutter. He and Jeremy really hit it off and soon become boyfriends, but when they decide it's time to take their relationship to the next level on Jeremy's sixteenth birthday, Travis is faced with a harsh reality. Can he support his boyfriend at a time he needs him most, or is the situation just way too scary for Travis to deal with?
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 This story takes a look at a partner's decisions and how they impact a lover. Peer pressure at both it's worst and best.

Find at Amazon


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Find these and all the stories in the Safe Sex Project here. Enjoy, be happy, be safe.