AN IMPROBABLE LOVE
Chapter Five
Dinner with his parents went well ... except for one problem. TJ's cock would begin to inflate every time he thought of Neil's visit. He had to concentrate on other things, trivial things, things that had no relevance to bodily functions and certainly not to Neil. It seemed to work. Towards the end of the meal, he said, as casually as possible, "Neil is stopping by tonight. I asked if I could hear him play and he said he would bring over a cassette of his recital."
"That's nice of him," his mother remarked. "But since when have you been interested in classical music?"
Thinking fast, TJ replied, "Actually, I was just trying to be polite but he seemed flattered."
"He's coming over tonight?" his father asked.
The reflexive alarm went off in TJ's head. Was his father merely curious or was he leading up to something? "Yes. He said he would stop by after grabbing dinner in the school cafeteria."
"Too bad your mother and I have to go out and won't get to say hello to him."
TJ was relieved. His father was not playing games again but just making a comment. TJ decided to let the comment stand without a response.
When dinner was over, his parents went upstairs to freshen up while Isabel cleared the table, put the leftover food away, and loaded the dishwasher. Just then, the doorbell rang. TJ's heart skipped a beat knowing who it was. "I'll get it," he yelled to Isabel and hurried to the door. His heart skipped two more beats when he opened the door and saw the boy he knew he loved (in spite of Neil's warning that it was too soon to think of love). "Come in, Neil." It was a deliberately formal greeting, calculated to tell Neil they were not yet alone.
He took the hint and said, "I brought the tape you wanted to hear," and then walked with TJ into the family room. Passing the kitchen where Isabel was just finishing up, he said to Neil so Isabel would hear, "My parents are going out for the evening. Can you stay long enough to say hello to them?"
"Of course."
After settling into arm chairs in the family room, TJ whispered, "I wanted to hug and kiss you at the door but..."
"I know," Neil softly interrupted. "So did I." Then, in a normal tone of voice, he said, "So how's school going for you?"
"Not too bad, I suppose. Did you finish your term paper?"
Although both boys were impatient to be alone, they managed to chat casually until TJ's parents came downstairs and into the family room.
"Neil!" TJ's mother exclaimed. "It's so nice to see you again. I understand that you're loaning TJ a tape of your recital. I can only hope it sparks an interest in classical music in him."
"With my playing, Mrs. Ryerson, it might have the opposite effect."
"You're far too modest, my boy. I've heard you play and you have nothing to be ashamed of."
"I hate having to greet and go," TJ's father said, "But duty calls. We have to go to a meeting tonight and don't want to be late." Turning to his wife, he said, "Shall we?"
"Of course," she said with just a hint of resentment for the implied command to leave. "I hope you can come by again, Neil. We'd love to have your company."
"Let's get our coats, dear," TJ's father almost barked, which triggered his wife's scowl that she unsuccessfully tried to hide.
Moments later, the door from the kitchen to the garage closed. The boys heard the garage door open, the car start and pull out, and the garage door close. The two boys grinned at each other. TJ arose from his chair, pulled Neil up from his, and was about to hug him when Neil said, "Isabel?"
"She's gone to her suite for the night."
"You're sure?"
"Yes. I saw her go up the back stairs. Right now, she's switching on the TV and changing into comfortable clothes."
That was all Neil needed to hear. He wrapped his arms around TJ's waist and pulled him tightly to him. TJ threw his arms around Neil's neck and they began kissing. Each boy felt his own cock begin to swell -- and felt the other's cock do the same -- as their tongues dueled.
As engrossed as they were in what they were doing, they both heard a sound in the kitchen -- the beep beep of the microwave as its heating cycle finished. They froze momentarily and immediately disengaged in panic. They listened intently and heard her footsteps on the back stairway. The sound of the footsteps receded and the boys heard the door at the top of the stairs close. It seemed louder than normal. Was it because of their fear-heightened senses or had Isabel seen them and deliberately slammed the door to let them know they were alone? TJ thought that both possibilities were equally probable.
"Do you think she saw us?" Neil asked.
"I really don't know."
Neil sat back down in his chair. TJ followed, sitting in his own chair. "Let's think this through," Neil began. "We can't be sure whether she saw us or not. If she didn't, everything is cool. I suppose we'll have to consider what she will say ... and to whom ... if she saw us. You must know her pretty well, TJ. What will she do if she saw us?"
TJ thought for a while before answering. "That's hard to say, Neil. When she's caught me before doing something I shouldn't, she immediately tells me to stop. With you here, as a guest in the house, she may have decided not to say anything. But if that's the case, she will talk to me later."
"Will she be angry ... or disappointed ... or what?"
"I can't be sure of that either, Neil. I do know that she doesn't share my parents' narrow minded view of homosexuality. In fact, she has a gay nephew. She told me that about a year ago with no more emotion than if she were telling me the color of his hair. She's not like my bigot parents."
"But this could be pretty serious," Neil said. "She works for your parents. They trust her to raise you according to their wishes. If they ever found out that she kept that kind of secret, she would lose her job. And at her age ..."
"I know. She's almost 55. It's tough to get another job at that age, especially since she couldn't get a reference from my parents."
Both boys sat silently considering their options. Then TJ said, "I know she loves me as much as I love her. Whatever she does, she won't want to hurt me. So I guess that means that she won't tell my parents. She knows that my father is very strict and unforgiving. He would probably send me off to some rehabilitation center to be cured. He would probably cut off all support when I turn 18. There goes my chance for college. My mother would be devastated because she's so religious. So she would suffer, too. Bottom line: I don't think Isabel will tell my parents."
"You're sure about that?"
"I have to be honest. I'm not 100% sure. But I'm mostly sure."
"Do you think she'll talk to you about what she saw ... if she saw anything."
"Yes. That I'm sure of. Maybe not tomorrow. Maybe not for a few days. But if she saw us, I'll hear about it."
"Okay," Neil began. "I'll take your word on it. But I want you to promise me that if you have any problems -- with Isabel or your parents -- you'll let me know right away. I want to help you through any problems. After all, I started it all; it would be mostly my fault."
"You may have started it, Neil, but it's exactly what I hoped for and I don't regret it for a minute. So what do we do? About tonight, I mean. You know, we planned on ... well ...." For some reason, TJ was unable to voice the word, sex.
"If Isabel didn't see us, we're safe, aren't we. If she did see us -- based on what you've said -- we're also safe. She may guess what we're doing but she won't interfere. Tonight, we proceed as planned. Later, we can talk about what to do and say if Isabel confronts you. Are you okay with that?"
"Absolutely!"
"Then why don't you finish that kiss you were giving me?"
"Let's go up to my room. We can be sure of privacy there."
"Lead the way," Neil said enthusiastically.