Disclaimer: The following story is a work of fiction. If you are offended by descriptions of homosexual acts or man/man relations, please exit this page.
TALES FROM THE RANCH Copyrightc 2003 by Tulsa Driller 7. All rights reserved.
This is a story of men who have two common interests. You will see that they love the land where they live and work, but it is also the story of young men who love other men and their coming of age in a culture of prejudice and misunderstanding. It is a story, which deals with difficult and often disturbing issues but, nonetheless, issues which must be confronted in today's world.
This is a work of fiction and in no way draws on the lives of any specific person or persons. Any similarity to actual persons or events is entirely coincidental. This work is copyrightedc by the author and may not be reproduced in any form without the specific written permission of the author. It is assigned to the Nifty Archives under the terms of their submission agreement but it may not be copied or archived on any other site without the written permission of the author.
PLEASE: In a perfect world AIDS doesn't exist. My characters have unprotected sex. I hope you use proper precautions because I'd like you to be around the read the last chapter of this story.
Tales from the Ranch Chapter 48: How Do You Tell Who is Gay?
Eddie and Tom couldn't decide if they should go ahead and eat, or get the meal to a place that it could be quickly finished and served after Jeremy arrived with Matthew. Finally they decided that they would hold dinner. The only thing that would need to be done at the last minute was to steam the fresh green beans.
Eddie fixed drinks for them and they sat at the kitchen counter to talk about the change that was about to hit their lives.
The first question that came up was if Matthew would be able to attend school the next day and if there would be a problem about his school records. They didn't know the extent of his injuries, or if that was going to be a problem. Certainly since they were both teachers, it shouldn't be any problem to get him enrolled in the high school. They both knew Betty Armstrong.
The second question was trust. Jeremy had said that Matthew's father was a successful businessman and if the mother could "do volunteer work" while hiring a housekeeper/nanny for the three children, the boy probably had had most everything he asked for. Regardless they would have to reach an understanding with him about what he could and couldn't have and if he was used to fancy clothes, the state wasn't going to pay for them. Jeremy had suggested that his mother was trying to cooperate - whatever that meant.
The third concern was that Matthew would have to be warned about being "openly gay" to his new friends here and that it also wouldn't cause a problem with Tom and Eddie and their relationship with others in town. Many of the teachers had an idea that the men might be a gay couple, but it had never been an issue. However, that could change. and not necessarily for the better.
After sitting and talking about all the various aspects of the impending change, they realized that decisions were going to have to be made as they went. Certainly they would do everything they could to make Matthew comfortable and give him ground rules, but whatever plan would evolve would be tailored to Matthew's needs - and on the spot.
Finally, the meat loaf was out of the oven, the potatoes baked (having fixed four) wrapped in foil, salad torn and in the refrigerator and green beans ready to steam with some bacon and onion, flavored with rosemary.
They were enjoying their second leisurely drink when the doorbell rang.
Eddie and Tom leaned together for a kiss and a hug. Nothing needed to be said.
Jeremy was standing in front of the door with the 15-year old teen next to him. The boy was about 5'7" and probably weighed 155 pounds. He had light brown hair, closely cropped, that could be combed, but not a lot. He had a bruise on the left side of his face that went from his eye to his jaw. It looked ugly. Immediately, both of the men wanted to find his father and give him a matching bruise.
"Come on in," Eddie greeted Jeremy and Matthew.
"Thanks," Jeremy said, ushering Matthew into the front hall.
"Eddie Thompson, Tom Bryant, this is Matthew Rhodes," Jeremy said.
"Welcome to our house, Matthew," Eddie said.
"Yes, welcome," Tom echoed.
"Thank you. Do I call you Mister Thompson and Mr. Bryant?" Matthew questioned.
Eddie and Tom looked to Jeremy for guidance. They hadn't thought about this.
"I think, at least to being with, that would be proper," Jeremy told them.
"That's cool," Matthew said, shaking their hands.
Both Eddie and Tom were impressed with the boy's appearance. They wondered if he was into gymnastics from the development of his body. That would be great. They had a nice workout room with good equipment in their basement.
"Have you had anything to eat for dinner?" Tom questioned.
"No," Jeremy said. At least I didn't and I'm not sure what Matthew had at the Hall really qualified as food." He laughed and Matthew joined him.
"Well, I think Tom may be able to help both of you out if you don't mind salad, meatloaf, baked potatoes and green beans," Eddie proudly said.
"Wow, that sounds okay to me," Matthew responded.
"You probably know that I don't always get to eat when I want to," Jeremy said, "and that sounds really good."
Eddie boldly said, "It will probably take about 20 minutes to finish up the meal and we're having a drink. Matthew, we can't give you any alcohol, but we have about a half-dozen kinds of soft drinks. Come on to the kitchen and you can look in our refrigerator."
The four men moved to the kitchen.
"Jeremy?" Eddie questioned as Tom opened the refrigerator for Matthew.
"I'm supposed to be 'on duty', but I sure wouldn't turn down a scotch, that is if you have any."
"Not a problem. Water or soda," Eddie asked.
"Soda, if you have it," Jeremy said.
"That's my drink," Eddie laughed. "Of course I have it."
Matthew chose a Dr. Pepper and sat on one of the bar chairs at the counter of the kitchen where Jeremy was sitting.
Eddie gave Jeremy a drink and freshened the ones he and Tom had. Tom was finishing up the food preparation in the kitchen.
"This is a neat house," Matthew said. "The house my family lives in looks like a museum on the first floor - and the second floor isn't much better."
"Thanks," Eddie said. "We like it because it's comfortable, although Tom seems to think that I have to put magazines back in their drawers when I'm through looking at them."
"Are you guys really gay?" Matthew asked as if he couldn't believe it.
"100-percent pure and certified Texas Faggot," Eddie said, and then realized that maybe he shouldn't have.
Tom was horrified.
Jeremy laughed. "See Matthew, I told you that you weren't alone in this world."
"Neat," Matthew said. "See, I've had these feeling about other guys, but never had a chance to do anything about it until a couple of months ago. Then my friend, Gary, and I forgot to lock my bedroom door and my younger sister walked in on us while we were sucking each other off. Then all hell broke loose because she told my father."
"Oh, no?" said Eddie.
"Yeah, he didn't even ask any questions, he just started in kicking my ass all over the house. Well, you can see what he did to my face. I had a bloody nose and that really pissed him off. Said I couldn't take being hit like a man should. When I fell on the floor, he kicked me. Cracked two ribs. Then he picked me up by my shirt and kicked me out the front door. I have a bruise on my ass, too."
There was silence in the kitchen for what seemed like five minutes.
"Matt went to the neighbor's house and he took him to the emergency room because of his nose bleed and also because he complained about his ribs hurting because his father kicked him. The emergency room is required to make a police report. They arrested Matt's father, but the judge is a family friend and he allowed him to post minimum bail, so he was never in a cell," Jeremy clarified.
"Dear God," Tom said.
By this time, they were ready to sit down to eat. Jeremy was pleased that Tom asked them to join hands for a blessing.
Before Jeremy left, the three grown men unloaded Matthew's 2 suitcases and the two boxes of personal belongings that he had asked for and his mother had packed.
"Matt, I think you will get along fine here with Eddie and Tom. They are good men and will watch out for you and help you to adjust to what you have discovered about yourself. If you need me for any reason, call the '800 number' on my card. Remember, I care about you and will be following up to see how you are getting along."
"Gee, thanks, Mr. Houser. You've really helped me to feel better about myself. Don't worry, I think I'll be okay here."
"I know you will be."
Tom and Eddie showed Matthew to his bedroom and the adjoining bathroom, then told him to come back to the kitchen after he freshened up so they could give him a tour of the house and talk about the next few days.
Soon Matt (as they found out he preferred to be called) was back in the kitchen. Tom and Eddie were just finishing up putting things away and loading the dishwasher.
They sat on the high bar chairs on either side of Matt.
"Okay, Matt," Eddie started. "This is our first time to have someone like you under our care, so we don't know if we're following the rules, because we haven't read the book, yet."
The three of them laughed.
"But," Tom said, "We need to find out more about you and also more of what's happened in the last few days. Then we'll tell you about us."
"Okay. Well, I have a younger brother and sister. I'm 15 and my sister is 13 and my brother is 12. Usually my parents are pretty cool about things but they're not around all that much. We have a lady who lives in our home that really takes care of us. Her name is Mrs. Fremont and she cooks, cleans and sees to it that we get to the school activities and things we are involved in. Sometimes we don't see our parents for two or three days. My dad works as a business consultant, whatever that is, and flies all over the country. My mom prides herself on doing "volunteer work" so I'm not really sure what either of them do, but we live in a nice house and generally get about anything we ask for.
"The only problem is that they insist that the three of us go to Mount Olive Christian School, which is run by our church. They only have enough accredited teachers to be able to maintain a certification that allows them to keep the doors open. The rest of the staff is generally people that should only be allowed to be volunteer assistants. By and large they can't help you work an Algebra problem that is different than in the textbook. Forget about history and chemistry. If you want to talk about science, they can quote Bible verses left and right that have nothing to do with the subject, believe me.
"A couple of my friends and I have been jerking off together since we were about 13 and lately we've started to do more than just jerk off. We've started making the other feel good. you know; jack each other. and one of my buds and me recently started sucking each other. The fourth time we did it was at my house. and as you know, we got caught by my sister."
"I can understand that," Tom said.
"Why? Did that happen to you, too?"
"No," Tom laughed. But we were scared to death that we would get caught."
"What about you?" Matt asked Eddie.
"Pretty much the same thing. I was in Boy Scouts and our patrol was pretty tight. We went from circle-jerks to helping the other to finally sucking each other. Some of the other patrols knew what we were doing but it wasn't a problem because they were doing it, too."
"Okay, let me ask you this," Tom said.
"What?"
"Well, we need to get you started in school here. I don't know if Jeremy told you, but Eddie and I are both on the faculty here at Stephen F. Austin Middle School. I teach history and Eddie is a coach in the school and also runs the Little League Baseball program in the summer. We can get you enrolled with no problem and get you started in school here without your records from your old school."
Matt nodded.
"I guess our first question is about you going to school tomorrow - or would you rather wait until Monday?"
"I don't care. My face looks like a mess," Matt said.
"We understand and both of us would be supportive if you want to skip tomorrow," Eddie told him.
"Why don't you take the day off and relax and gather your thoughts. Do you have your school books with you?" Tom asked.
"Not all of them. A couple were in my locker at school. I'd completed my assignments and my papers are in those books," Matt said.
"What subjects are you taking? Tom questioned.
"Geometry II, Chemistry, English Lit III, Journalism, Phys Ed, Computer Lab and Mixed Chorus. I wanted to get into the debate club, but didn't pass the entry test."
"What is your grade average?" Eddie wanted to know.
"It's supposed to be a 3.7, but who knows how I'd stack up against kids that go to 'real schools'?" he said.
"You might have a point there, but I need to warn you that you will probably be tested to see where you best fit. Are you prepared if they decide that you might not really be a junior?" Eddie asked.
"Yeah, that's not a problem. I'm probably ahead of the kids in some classes, but I know I'm behind in others. My class is small. There are only 19 of us that are juniors."
"Have you ever attended a public school?" Tom asked.
"No. I think my parents contribute a lot to the church and wouldn't send me and my brother and sister anywhere else."
"Is your church affiliated with any denomination?" Eddie asked.
"No. Not really. I think it used to be the Assembly of God and then later it was the Church of God, out of Anderson, Ohio. Then something happened and it became 'independent' for some reason," Matt stated.
"That's not a problem. Eddie and I are members of the Episcopal Church. We'll be glad to help you find a church to attend that you are comfortable with, that is if you want to attend church."
"I don't care. I sang in the choir at our church and was in the school chorus and glee club. It's a lot of fun, but I don't have to do that."
"Our church has a men and boys choir. You are welcome to attend with us on Sunday, if you want, then we'll introduce you to our choirmaster. If you have any interest, he'll be glad to audition you."
"Cool."
"Okay," Tom said. "We are having a Halloween party on Saturday evening. There will be about 25 people here, all in costume. A lot of the people are gay, but those who are straight are friendly and supportive of Eddie and me. It will be a chance for you to meet some people that will be good for you to know. There will be five high-school kids here, but not all of them are gay. However, they are good kids and will see to it that you are introduced to others who could be helpful for you to know."
"That's neat. What about a costume for me?" Matt asked.
"We can come up with something. You can think about what you might want to be and we can work on that tomorrow and Saturday."
"What are you going to be?" Matt asked.
Eddie laughed. "I'm going to be a ballerina in a lavender tutu, and Tom."
"I'm going to be 'Mr. Clean'," he laughed, then added, "In Eddie's case a 'tutu' becomes a 'four-four'."
All three of them laughed.
"Neat. I'll have to think about this. I've never been to a Halloween party. Our minister thought Halloween was evil and the work of the devil," Matt told them.
"He would be surprised to find out that it's really part of a church celebration. Halloween means 'All Hollowed Eve' and is the night before All Saints Day. That's the church celebration for all the Saints, major and minor," Eddie said.
"Actually, the merchants have taken over this holiday, just like Christmas, and the original intent of the celebration has gone by the wayside," Tom added.
"I didn't know that. Boy, Rev. McLain only wants you to know what he believes," Matt said.
"Sounds like someone else we know," Tom giggled.
"What?" Matt asked.
"Oh, we have a local 'do gooder' that got caught. He preached against homosexuality for one thing, then got caught having sex with a 10-year old boy," Tom told him.
"I heard something about that. It was in the paper and on TV. Rev. Jimmy. I don't remember his name."
"Jimmy Bob Jones," Eddie suggested.
"Oh yeah. That's the one," Matt said, excitedly.
"We'll tell you more about it later, but his story isn't over yet." Tom said, smiling.
"Okay, I've told you guys a bunch of stuff about me, what about you?"
Tom and Eddie told Matt about their teen years, on up to present day.
After they were through, Tom reminded them that it was past 10:30.
"I generally go for a long run every morning, starting about 6:30. Do you want to go with me?" Eddie asked Matt.
"Not tomorrow. My ribs still hurt too much."
"Sorry, I forgot about that. No need to cause more of a problem than you already have."
It's 'k," Matt said. Actually I like to run, but I'm pretty sore in the ribs and my back." He pulled up his knit shirt. Tom thought he was going to be sick and Eddie paled noticeably.
"Geeze," Tom said. You poor boy. Do you have anything to rub on your skin to relieve the pain?"
"Yeah, I do. It burns a little bit when it's first on my skin, but then it's a nice warm feeling."
"If you need help applying it, let us know. I'll wake you up about 7:30 before we leave for school. Then I'll come home and we'll have a sandwich about 11:45. Okay?" Tom asked.
"Sure. Thanks for letting me stay with you. You seem like nice guys and I'm glad to find out that I'm not the only one who likes other guys. I've just never had the chance to meet other people like you two before."
"We'll be here to support you. Remember, we haven't read the book on taking care of young men like you, so we're all going to learn together," Eddie said, giving him a hug.
Matt brightened. His parents never gave him hugs.
Ray's evening with John left him a little frustrated. However, he didn't know that John was equally so. Each was afraid to make a move to let the other know they would welcome a touch or more. certainly more.
Both were attracted to each other. Ray definitely thought John was a hunk and John thought Ray was much more mature in his outlook on things than Nolan. Certainly Ray seemed to be a successful businessman.
They spent their time over dinner talking about Ray's business, his partners, the projects they had completed and the future of the company. They were going to have to expand, as they had received two huge contracts, neither of which they had actively pursued until the prospective clients had demanded they submit a bid. They had built their company carefully and slowly, always completing work before the promised date and doing quality work. Now they had to expand and needed qualified people to fill a number of positions if this was going to work.
From what Ray had told him without actually making an offer, John had a good chance of working his way to being a foreman very quickly.
Ray's interest in John was two-fold. The first was as a potential employee who could be trained and promoted, but Ray also saw something in John that triggered his hormones. He would have to be extremely careful in his dealings with John and not let his dick make decisions that his brain should be deciding. In other words, his bed should not be part of any offer he made to John as an employee.
If an employment offer were forthcoming, there were a number of things John had to think about. The first was that he had only worked for the Bar-W and Dale for about seven weeks. Although he and Dale hadn't really discussed it, he thought he might have a chance at becoming a foreman, however, there wasn't much chance for advancement beyond that. Dale was only about 5 years older than him, so certainly he couldn't expect to take his place anytime soon. And, Dale didn't seem to be in any hurry to put anyone in his former position as Crops Foreman. After all, winter was coming along soon and although they would be working each day, it would be repairing and maintaining equipment. They didn't need a supervisor for that. Besides, Michael and Pat had been there since last spring, so they might be considered first if a promotion was to be made.
Then, there was the upcoming move from the Starlight Motel to the new crew quarters at the ranch. It certainly was a nice place to live for men like him, but there was the problem of Nolan. He was supposed to be living at the dorm at Western Junior College, but was spending the nights with John. He couldn't very well move him to the ranch. Dale was a straight as they came and he would never approve of moving ones boyfriend - let's face it a 'fuck buddy' - into ranch housing.
Jason woke up just before the alarm clock by their bed buzzed. The pups, Brandy and Ginger were now allowed to sleep on the same bed as the boys. They were immediately awake as soon as Jason moved. He got really tickled as they wanted to play, but were determined to wake up Kevin, who came to almost instantly as the pups started pawing him and licking his face.
"Now that you are awake, you can take them outdoors this morning," Jason told Kevin.
"Aw, Jase. please?" Kevin said with a little whine in his voice.
"I've taken them out every morning since we've had them and I don't mind doing it again, but you're supposed to help with them, too. That was part of the deal of getting two dogs. Besides, you're going to have to do it tomorrow morning anyway, since I'm going to the camp-in."
"Oh. okay," Kevin said, crawling out of the warm bed. He pulled his boxers on and went to the door. "Come on, pups," he said as he opened the door into the hall.
The dogs could jump off the bed, but they hadn't quite mastered the art of being able to jump up and clear the end of the mattress.
"Don't forget you have to take them outside, then give them a treat, feed them and put them back outside for a few minutes."
"I know that, Jase," Kevin said as if Jason thought he didn't know what to do." He clapped his hands. "Come on Brandy, come on Ginger, let's go outside."
The dogs jumped off the bed and followed Kevin down the back stairway to the kitchen.
Jason decided to put everything in his knapsack he would need for the camp-in at Scott Maxwell's home that night. Scott had told him that they wouldn't need much since they would be sleeping in his basement; there were two double beds in the room he usually shared with his brother, Derek, who was a year older.
Derek, who was almost 18, was supposed to spend the night with some of his football team friends at "Watt" Watson's house after their game that night.
The other boys who planned to attend the camp-in were Davis Horton (16) and Dustin Fields, who was 14. Although the purpose of the camp-in was to work on achieving the next rank and also work on merit badges, that wasn't all Scott and the others had planned.
With his mother's permission, Jason had asked Mrs. Wood if she would buy some cookies for him to take for snacks. Mrs. Wood knew that Jason was hoping for some of her good chocolate chip cookies, so told him she would make an extra batch for him to take along. He was thrilled that she volunteered to do that, not knowing that his mother had already made the request on his behalf.
It was cool that morning and Kevin hadn't bothered to put any shoes on. By the time the dogs were ready to be fed, he was cold since he'd worn only his boxers.
Mrs. Wood was in the kitchen when he and the dogs went back inside. She was surprised to see Kevin as this was the first time he'd had the morning routine of taking the dogs outside and caring for them. "Good morning, Kevin, I didn't expect to see you this morning."
"Hi Mrs. Wood. Jase said I have to share with helping because it was my idea to get two dogs."
"He's probably right there," she said as Kevin put their food bowls down in the enclosed porch off the kitchen. "You boys hurry up. I'm fixing French Toast for you and it will be ready in about 20 minutes or so."
"Yum," was the reply.
When Kevin and the dogs arrived back upstairs, Jason was ready to get in the shower. "Hurry up and shave, silly, I'm ready for my shower."
Kevin loved to be teased about shaving, since neither he nor Jason would be doing that for several years.
"Be right with you," he said putting the pups back up on their bed.
Forrest was just ready to drop the morning paper in front of Joey's door when he opened it to let Mitsy out.
"Hi, Joey. Right on time, I see," Forrest giggled.
"Yeah, we do seem to meet here most mornings, don't we?"
"Say, could I get a glass of water?" he asked, stalling for time. He thought Joey was cute and was fascinated by his hairy legs and chest. He only had a little bit of hair above his navel, except for his armpits. Joey was probably two years younger and had more hair on his body than anyone he'd ever seen in that state of undress.
"Sure, come on in. I need to wait for Mitsy because she'll scratch the door to get back in."
"No prob, I was late leaving to pick up my papers and didn't get a glass of water before I left home."
About that time Mitsy came bounding back up the stairs and led the way to the kitchen. At the same time Dale and Craig's bedroom door opened and they both stumbled out, wearing only their boxers. Forrest couldn't keep his eyes off Dale.
"Morning Forrest. I thought we heard voices out here. I didn't know that you were here," Dale told him.
"Hi Dale, hi Craig," Forrest said, trying to be polite, but still wanting to stare. I'm sorry I didn't mean to wake you up. I just asked Joey if I could have a glass of water."
"That's okay. If he was the perfect host, he'd offer you a glass of orange juice, but since he didn't, I will," Craig laughed and Joey was embarrassed.
Mitsy came back from the kitchen, sat down in front of Joey as if to say, "Well, where's my breakfast?"
"Come on, do you have time for a glass of juice?" Craig questioned.
Forrest's schedule wasn't that tight and he had time. Certainly he would take the time, even if it meant riding his bike like crazy to make up the time he hoped to spend here. Since he lived with his grandmother, he didn't have much chance for interaction with men and these three certainly tweaked his interest. Forrest had no thoughts about whether he might be gay or not, he was just interested in these men, especially Dale and Joey - and Joey had provided a couple of masturbation fantasies, starting with the time he saw him open the door to let his dog out and wasn't wearing any clothing.
Craig poured each of them a glass of orange juice while Joey was feeding Mitsy and washing out her water dish. He flipped the switch on the coffeemaker.
"How long have you been delivering newspapers, Forrest?" Dale asked.
"I started when I was in the seventh grade, so I guess I've had this route for over 4 years."
"How many papers do you throw each day?" Dale wanted to know.
"About 147 during the week and 192 on Sunday," Forrest replied.
"How large of a territory?" was the next question.
"About 7 blocks long and 8 blocks wide," he said.
"Wow, that's a lot of area," Joey said.
"Yeah, it's almost a square mile, but there are several apartment buildings and two retirement homes that get quite a few papers."
"What do you do in bad weather?" Craig asked.
"Deliver the papers," Forrest said.
"Do you have help. someone to take you around the route?" Dale questioned.
"No, just me and my bike. Of course, when it's raining the papers have to be put in plastic sacks and tied instead of just rolled with a rubber band.
"What about when it snows?" Joey asked.
"I've been lucky. Since I've had the route, I think there have only been three days that the snow made it hard to get around and I had to walk the whole way."
"Bummer," said Joey.
Forrest looked at his watch. "I've still got one more street to go, then have to get home and shower and fix Grandma some oatmeal. Her day nurse doesn't come in until 9 o'clock. Thanks for the orange juice, Dale, Craig and Joey. I really appreciate it."
"You're welcome," Dale said, the others agreeing.
Joey took him to the door, telling him that he would see him at lunch.
Dale and Craig were going back to their bedroom. "What do you know about Forrest?" Dale asked Joey.
"Not much. He's a junior and is a Boy Scout, but can't be active because he takes care of his grandmother. I guess she has to stay in bed all the time. A nurse comes in everyday to help take care of her and prepare some meals, but I think he does a lot of odd jobs to earn money to help buy her medicine."
"That's terrible," Craig said.
Dale agreed. "He seems like a nice boy and I'm sure he doesn't have much time to be himself, have friends and grow up as a normal young man."
"Do you know what happened to his parents?" Craig asked.
"No, but I'm sure I can find out without any problem. I only met him on Tuesday," Joey said.
"See if you can find out how much he earns on his paper route," Dale told Joey.
Craig poured coffee into the three mugs on the counter. "Hey, if we don't get started, we're all three going to be late."
The three went back to their bathrooms to start their morning routine of starting the day.
"Well, we certainly all got the once-over from Forrest," Craig teased.
"Yeah, I noticed him staring at Joey, especially," Dale laughed.
"Do you think he's gay?" Craig questioned.
"I have no idea. He's a good kid, though, I can tell that. It's too bad that he's saddled with adult responsibilities and not out of high school yet," Dale said.
"And. are you going to take him under your wing, too?" Craig teased. "You know that we can't right all the wrongs of the world by ourselves, don't you?" he said, giving Dale a kiss and sharing shaving cream with him.
"No, that's not my intention, but obviously he works hard and if I hear of something better, I'll be glad to put in a good word for him," Dale said, pinching Craig's nipples, and then turning to enter their shower machine.
Forrest was elated. Not only had he gotten a really good look at Joey, but at his brother/dad, too. And Craig. That was a bonus. It was better than the showers after Phys Ed, but he could only imagine what their boxers covered up, although he remembered that Joey didn't appear to be circumcised. Well, it made his day get off to a great start. He had to ride at double speed to finish his route in time to get home and be ready for school, but it was worth every minute of the chance to admire their bodies.
Dale took Joey to school as he was on his way to the Bar-W. He remembered that morning that he needed to take the urn containing Joe's ashes to St. James. The small congregation of about 25 people was saying the Agnus Dei as Dale entered the chancel. He slipped around the corner into the transept where the mass was being said in the chapel of St. Mary, taking a seat in the rear row of chairs. He wasn't sure if he should go to communion or not since he hadn't been there for the consecration prayers, let alone the beginning of the mass. Morris Johnsmore caught Dale's eye and motioned for him to stand in line in front of him as people lined up to go to the communion rail. Dale left the box containing the urn on a chair and shook Morris' hand as he joined the line.
As soon as everyone had received communion, Fr. George finished the mass with the congregation saying the corporate Prayer of Thanksgiving. He then blessed the congregation before saying, "The mass is ended, go forth in peace."
"Good to see you, Dale," Morris said.
"Thanks. I forgot about the morning mass and Fr. George told me to bring the urn containing my father's ashes to the church this week. We're having a private burial tomorrow morning."
"Yes, I somewhat knew about that. His name has been on the intercession list all week," Morris told him.
"Really?" Dale questioned. "I didn't know that, he wasn't a member here, of course."
"That doesn't make any difference, Dale, we can pray for anyone. Even Jimmy Bob Jones is on the list."
"Wow! That really surprises me," Dale said.
"The man may have been wrong and committed an unforgivable sin, but that doesn't keep us from praying for him and that he becomes a stronger person."
"I hadn't thought about that," Dale replied.
About that time Fr. George came back to the chapel from the side passage to the chancel.
"Dale, it's good to have you here."
"I'm sorry, Father, I honestly forgot there was a morning mass in the chapel. I wanted to bring the urn with Dad's ashes to you."
"Don't worry about it, Dale. Thank you for dropping them by. I'll put them here in the chapel until tomorrow morning. You fellows be here at 9:30 and I've taken care of everything with a short service here in the chapel and at the gravesite."
"Thanks, Father George. Joey and Craig and I really appreciate your doing this for us."
"Dale, don't apologize. This is the reason I'm here and that St. James exists. To help those in need, whatever that need may be," Fr. George replied.
"I understand. You and Paul have really helped all three of us. We appreciate being part of this congregation and I can't wait until I'm baptized and confirmed."
"Me neither, Dale. I'll see you in the morning."
Dale shook hands with Fr. George and Morris, and then left to go to the ranch.
Dale had asked Craig to call Dennis Masters, who worked at The Electronic Home, as he was going to be busy. The Bar-W was going to have visitors from two other ranches today. One was the owners of the Windy-Hills Ranch close to Lubbock. They were interested in buying about 300 yearling heifers for their breeding ranch. The others were the owners of the High-Spurs Ranch close to Del Rio. They were bringing two trucks and wanted to buy 50 mares from the horse operation.
Craig waited until about 10 a.m. to call Dennis, who answered on the second ring. He identified himself and exchanged greetings.
"We would like to talk to you about your views on Williamsport having a first-class computer store," Craig told him.
"What do you mean by the term 'first-class'?" Dennis asked.
"A store that offers not only sales, but training classes in the various software packages they would sell, office furniture such as computer desks, knowledgeable personnel and a service department that stands behind the product without the customer having to ship the computer somewhere else to get it serviced," Craig told him.
"Are you thinking of opening something like that here?" Dennis asked. He was excited.
"Believe me when I say that it's just a thought at this point. We would have to put a proposal together to see if the money was available to start it, but we realize that Best Buy and Sears can only sell what their warehouses and buyers ship to them. I think, if I'm right, that your owners aren't sure that they really want to be in the computer business," Craig said.
Dennis responded. "Yes, you are right about that. Although sales have been good, they aren't doing any advertising and certainly can't do anything beyond selling the computer. The so- called 'training classes' are really just informational workshops. We demonstrate some of the software packages, but it's really an overview and just shows the customer a little of the potential of the program they might buy."
"Do you think the computer business is going to grow?" Craig asked.
"Man, you would have to be dumb to think it isn't. Everybody thinks that they should be able to buy a computer, take it home, pull it out of the box, plug it in and go to work. The only catch is that 75% of them have absolutely no idea what they might want to do with it. They learn to play a few games and that's the end of the learning process. But you would be surprised at the number of people who's use of the computer is limited that are ready to buy the next newer model, just to say they have it," Dennis laughed.
"So you think that if this was promoted right, someone could make a lot of money and have a lot of happy customers, too?" Craig questioned.
"Oh yeah. If The Electronic Home had any competition, they would close that department out so fast that it would make your head spin. And. I'd love the chance to work for a company that actually was in the business to stay and help it grow. There are all kinds of possibilities for sales and any other associated products you would offer. Everyone needs paper, disks, ribbons, and software. Also, a lot of people would love the opportunity to go to a store to buy a modem, or extra memory, video cards and other accessories. They can only do that by either going to Austin or by mail order right now. They want to be able to go to a local dealer and find someone who can recommend the best thing for them to buy and tell them how to install it."
Craig was hearing what he hoped to hear, but it just sounded too easy. Everyone seemed to be saying, "Open the doors and be sure to make your bank deposits everyday."
"Listen, you said you might be free this evening. Could you come over here for drinks and a bite to eat and the four of us could talk about this idea?" Craig asked.
"Sure, I'd be glad to. What time and where?" Dennis asked.
Craig gave him the information and they decided at 6:30 was a good time for Dennis to arrive.
Craig needed to figure out what they were going to do for dinner. Well, they could have their old standby - steak and baked potato with salad.
Joey's day went really well. He ate lunch with his best new friends. He couldn't believe how fortunate he was to have made such good, fast friends so quickly. Bryce, Hal, Bret, Forrest and Daniel. He really felt that he could count on any of them, but especially Forrest, Hal and Daniel. He wasn't completely sure about Bryce at this point. He seemed to be a good guy, but sometimes said things without thinking them through.
After the warning bell rang, they were on their way to their first afternoon class. Bret took Joey by the arm. "Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Sure. What's up?" he asked.
"Mr. Thompson, Eddie, called last night and invited me to their Halloween party tomorrow night. Do you know anything about it?" he questioned.
"Yeah," Joey said. "My Dads and I are invited. Why?"
"Well, according to what he told my mother, the Juvenile Court took a young fellow to their house to stay with them. He's 15 and his Dad kicked him out of their house because he told them he was gay."
"Bummer," said Joey.
"Well, I'm invited to the party because they wanted some other guys his age to meet him and introduce him around to some of our friends," Bret said.
"That's cool," Joey replied.
"Is it?" Bret asked. "Do you think that they think I'm gay?"
"Well." Joey said. "I guess they could wonder the same about me. I mean, you know that Dale and Craig are gay and that I live with them. Not everybody that has been invited to the party is gay, although most of them are. There are going to be some other teachers there, as well as a few other students. Don't worry about who's gay and who isn't. This is supposed to be a fun time. If they didn't think you and this guy, they are taking care of, wouldn't get along, they wouldn't have invited you," Joey told him.
"Yeah, but they must think I'm gay or they wouldn't have invited me to the party to meet him," Bret said, worriedly.
"Hey guy, everybody needs friends. You needed some friends the other night and Eddie and Tom let you stay at their house. I've just moved to Williamsport and didn't know anybody here except for my Dads, Dale and Craig. This week I've met you and Bryce, Hal, Daniel and Forrest and you are all great guys. I could care less if any or all of you are gay or straight. You are just neat guys to have for friends," Joey told him.
"Yeah, I guess you are right. I've never been to a Halloween party, except when I was really little and went trick or treating. What are you going to have for a costume?" Bret asked.
"I'm going to be a male genie. Craig is going as Cinderella and Dale is going to be Prince Charming."
"You're kidding, right?" Craig is going as Cinderella?"
"Yeah, we found a really neat formal and all the accessories for him to wear."
About that time the second bell rang to signal that class started in 3 minutes. Joey had to hurry to get to his history class and Bret had to run to make it to Geometry II.
Joey met up with Daniel in the Computer Lab class. As might be expected, the only communication Kent Korte had with the class was to read the names of those who hadn't bothered to log on to his bulletin board the previous day. Both Daniel and Joey groaned at the idea of the "day's lesson" Mr. Korte presented them with. That's all it took to get a passing grade in his class.
"Thanks for covering for me on 'operation bulletin board'," Joey told Daniel.
"Hey, not a problem," Daniel told him. "We were working on your program during class and I know you don't have a way to do it from home."
"That's right," Joey said. "And. I think maybe I may have figured out the problem with the date calculation in the program."
"Cool," Daniel told him. "I worked on it last night, but don't think I'm any further than we were when class was over yesterday."
"Here's my idea," Joey said, opening his notebook.
Daniel looked at what Joey had written.
"See, you have to put this statement in parenthesis or I don't think the computer understands what is supposed to happen."
"You're right. I didn't think of that, but it's a separate instruction that's part of the date calculation," Daniel said. "You ought to be teaching this class."
"Let me type it in and see what happens." Joey typed a corrected statement and deleted the line of code that was not working. He typed the "Run" command. The program started and asked for three inputs. The principal amount, the interest rate and the loan term. The "I = P R T" formula appeared to have worked. Joey whipped out a pocket calculator and checked the figures. The answer was off by .003 cents.
"Alright!!" Daniel said, giving Joey's palm a slap.
Daniel ran the program again with different figures. Again the answer was within a fraction of a cent.
"Man you solved that with no problem. I didn't catch the part of putting the date calculation in parenthesis, but you are right. The computer doesn't understand the formula otherwise and hangs up."
For the next 25 minutes, Daniel and Joey took turns testing the program. One would type the information into the computer and the other would check it with a pocket calculator. The difference was never more than a fraction of a cent.
The boys congratulated themselves on a job well done. Daniel was proud of Joey because he had figured out the requirements of the program without any prior experience. He couldn't have done that by himself.
The next challenge was to see if they could write a program without any help from each other or the textbook they had each purchased from The Electronic Home.
Craig called Dale after lunch to advise him that Dennis had accepted the invitation to eat dinner with them at their condo and would be there at 6:30.
"Could you prepare steaks and baked potatoes?" Craig asked.
"Sure. Why don't you get some nice ribeye steaks at the grocery, cut about an inch and three-quarters thick," Dale said.
"Not a problem. What do you want to go with it?" Craig asked.
"Why don't you get some zucchini and yellow squash, onions, tomatoes and fresh mushrooms and we can fix that as a side dish to go with the baked potatoes?" Dale said.
"What about dessert?" Craig questioned.
"See about either a cake or pie at the bakery and get some vanilla ice cream. I don't remember how much we have," Dale said.
"Okay, I'll see that we have everything on hand," Craig told him.
"I love you," Dale told him before hanging up.
"I love you more," Craig said, realizing neither of them would ever win this argument.
Jimmy Bob was bored. True to his word, Gus Douglas made arrangements to get his personal belongings from the house where he and his wife had lived. The church owned the house and the locks had been changed. Against his will, Bret Jenkins agreed to meet the two men at 10 a.m. He didn't want to have to face Jimmy Bob, whom he felt had betrayed him and taken advantage of him and his son, Bret Junior.
Bret was sitting in his car on the driveway when Sam Arn and his charge, Jimmy Bob Jones parked behind him. He reluctantly got out of his car to face the person he never wanted to see again.
"Hello, Jimmy Bob," Bret said, reaching out to shake his hand.
"Thanks for meeting us here, Bret. This is my attorney, Samuel Arn. The court appointed him to try to help me."
Bret and Sam shook hands and they turned to go into the house. He unlocked the door and stepped aside so they could enter first. Nothing had been touched since the locksmith had been there to change the locks. The house smelled musty.
Sam spoke up. "I'd appreciate it if you would watch what we take, to make sure nothing belonging to the church is removed, unless you approve of it."
"Oh. umm, okay, I guess," Bret said.
Jimmy Bob headed toward his bedroom and the closet where he got out two big suitcases and handed them to Sam, who put them on the bed. Jimmy Bob then started opening dresser drawers and pulling out underwear, socks, handkerchiefs and other things he wanted to keep, such as cufflinks and miscellaneous items.
Hanging in the closet were a couple of dozen shirts and a like number of expensive suits, along with ties and several pairs of shoes sitting on the floor. There was almost no casual clothing.
Jimmy Bob had little to say to either Sam or Bret as he laid things out on the bed. Bret did notice that Jimmy Bob had a large roll of bills he took out of a box in the closet and put in his pants pocket. He didn't want to make a fuss about that. The amount couldn't have any significance as to what he had already taken. It didn't dawn on him until after they were through and had parted company that he should have asked Jimmy Bob to repay the $100 he had loaned him. By the same token, maybe this would be the last time he would have to deal with him.
For his part, the roll of bills Jimmy Bob had stashed in the box only amounted to about $1,600. There was another $3,200 in pockets of suits and pants, but Jimmy Bob didn't remember he had left the money there. It would be discovered later.
Bret was standing, watching. It was a strange experience to watch this broken-down man whom he used to consider to be a real leader of the fight against sin. This man almost had a vacant look in his eyes as he went about retrieving his personal belongings.
Bret felt sorry for him. But only for a minute. Sam Arn didn't have anything to say either. No one wanted to intrude on the other's thoughts.
Finally Jimmy Bob had the two suitcases filled and took 6 of his favorite suits and 8 dress shirts to go in Sam's car. Bret carried one suitcase, Sam the other and they divided the suits between them. Jimmy Bob carried the shirts and followed Sam to his car. Bret carried what he had to the car after locking the house.
"Thanks," Sam said, shaking Bret's hand after closing the trunk lid.
"You are welcome," Bret answered.
Jimmy Bob didn't say anything and Bret didn't offer any words to him, either. It was almost eerie after what they had been through together over the past several years.
Although Jason was excited about the camp-in at Scott's home, the day went pretty quickly. He had two tests and as always on a Friday, Tom Bryant's history acted out a play dealing with some aspect of Texas history. Jason didn't have a part in this little play, but it was close to his interests and Tom asked him to tell about the quarry at the Bar-W furnishing stone for the Texas capitol building.
Jason had some old pictures that belonged to the Williamson family and his mother had them copied so Jason could show them at school. He actually stood and talked for almost 10 minutes with only a minimum of notes. Tom was proud of him, and he was proud of himself.
Matt was awake when Tom knocked on his bedroom door and told him to enter.
"Good morning," Tom said, "did you sleep well?"
"Really good. This bed is a lot more comfortable than the one I sleep in at home."
"Glad to hear that. Listen, there are containers of milk and orange juice in the refrigerator and I left a package of muffins on the counter. The microwave is next to the stove if you want to warm them up."
"Okay," Matt said, stretching and then throwing the covers back so he could get out of bed.
Tom looked at Matt, who had slept in his boxer shorts. "How are the bruises this morning?"
"I don't think they are as sore. That salve seems to help a lot."
"Okay, bud. Eddie and I are ready to leave for school. The newspaper is on the kitchen counter and if you want to watch TV, it's in the downstairs den. The remote control should be on the coffee table down there. I'll be home about 11:45 and we can have a sandwich together, okay?"
"Sure," Matt said. "I'll look forward to it."
"We left some books on the kitchen counter about teenage boys discovering their sexuality. You might enjoy reading them. Maybe they will answer some questions for you."
"Neat. Thanks, Mr. Bryant. I'll see you before noon, then."
"Okay, Matt. Enjoy your day off and I'll see you later," Tom told him. 'Oh, by the way, there are four empty drawers in the chest so you can put your things in there. There should be plenty of hangers in the closet for you. We can figure out where to put your other things later."
"Thanks," Matt replied.
Tom and Eddie started their short walk to school and mainly talked about their party the next evening, going over a mental list of things they needed to have for refreshments and prizes for best costumes and games they had planned.
Matt wasn't shaving everyday yet, but soon would need to. He was well past puberty, but not fully developed. He had learned to workout at school, as the coach was one of the few good teachers there. The coach had been a gymnast and had gotten Matt interested, along with several other boys. They had not learned difficult routines, but were good at what they could do with the limited equipment they had at their disposal.
He looked at himself in the mirror and liked what he saw except for the bruises. There was a mirror on the back of the bathroom door and he could position it so he could see his backside reflected in the big mirror over the counter. He winced. The bruise on his left buttock wasn't as sore as his ribs and back, but looked worse.
After brushing his teeth, he climbed into the shower enclosure and turned the water on. It was warm almost immediately and he adjusted the temperature to warmer than usual. The pulsating hot water massaged his bruises and seemed to melt some of the soreness away.
Matt dried himself with a large fluffy towel and then put on a clean pair of boxers. After that he put his underwear and most of his folded clothes away. There were other things that he hung up and was surprised to find that his mother had packed two pair of dress slacks and his suit. Also, his books he thought were at his school were in one of the large cardboard boxes. He didn't know if he should continue working in those books, or not. He'd have to remember to ask what Tom Bryant thought he should do when he saw him at noon.
He made his way to the kitchen. There was a glass sitting out, along with a plate, butter dish and silverware.
There were three books as Tom had promised. "You Are Not Alone", "Am I Gay?" and "A Guide for Teen Boys". The first book had a cover picture of two good-looking teens with their arms around each other's shoulders. He would start with that book after he had a bite to eat.
Matt ate two muffins, along with a half glass of milk and a glass of orange juice. He washed the dishes and utensils, finding a place to put them after they were dried. Being curious, he wandered through the house, impressed with the comfortable furniture and the view into the backyard. There was a pool at his house, but nothing like this. This one was smaller, but had landscaping all around it and looked like it belonged there. He'd have to remember to ask Mr. Bryant if he could swim this afternoon.
Going back to his bedroom (it felt strange to think of it that way) he pulled on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, putting on a pair of Nike athletic shoes. He went back to the kitchen, picked up the books and made himself comfortable in the living room.
Matt was still reading when Tom came home for lunch.
"Hi, how's your morning been?" Tom greeted him.
"Great. Thanks for letting me read these books, they sure answered a lot of questions I didn't even know I had."
"They are good books. As you can see, they have been well- read as we've counseled other boys like yourself," Tom answered. "Are you ready for a sandwich? We've got turkey or roast beef, or you could have a combination."
"The combination sounds good to me," Matt answered.
"Great, that's what I'm going to have. Come on to the kitchen with me and we can visit while I fix the sandwiches."
Matt followed Tom to the kitchen and as Tom worked on fixing their sandwiches, he peppered Tom with questions about everything from living in Williamsport to questions about being gay. This included religion and Matt was surprised to find out that the priest at Tom and Eddie's church was gay and that his lover was the organist/choirmaster.
"They will be at the party tomorrow night," Tom told him.
"Wow! I can't imagine Rev. McLain ever going to a party of any kind," Matt told him.
Tom laughed as he set out plates for each of them with a club sandwich for each; made with wheat bread, turkey, roast beef and Swiss cheese with lettuce and tomatoes. There was a serving of potato salad and some potato chips.
"Help yourself to a soft drink in the refrigerator and I'll take a Coke," Tom said as he put glasses next to the plates, along with a napkin.
Matt got two cans out of the refrigerator, handing Tom one and then opening the other for himself after they sat down.
He was still playing twenty questions, although Tom was sure it was more like a hundred and twenty by this time. However, that's the reason Matt was here with them. to ask questions and get honest answers.
All too soon Tom's lunch period was over and he had to get back to school.
"Is it okay if I swim in the pool?" Matt asked.
"Sure. It's only 3 feet deep at this end and just is 5-1/2 feet deep at the far end. So, don't try diving," Tom warned.
"Not a prob," Matt said. "I'm too sore to do that anyway. I just want to splash around a little and lay in the sun. Is it okay to skinny dip?"
"That's not a problem. The fence and shrubs keep anyone from looking unless they are determined to see into the yard," Tom laughed.
Matt was horrified. "You mean the neighbors might look?"
"I don't think so, the people on both sides and the back are older people. I don't think they will climb a ladder to peer in," he snickered.
"You had me worried. I can wear trunks if you think I should, I've just never had the chance to skinny dip before," he explained.
"Do as you please. If Eddie and I are by ourselves, we don't wear trunks."
Matt immediately visualized Tom and Eddie without swimwear. He wondered if he would get to see them that way.
"I'll be home about 4 o'clock. Eddie doesn't get home until about 5:45 tonight. Have you done any thinking about a Halloween costume?" Tom asked.
"Actually, I have. What about either Kermit the Frog or Miss Piggy?" Matt asked. "Is that too crazy?"
"No, I don't think so. Let me think about it this afternoon. Miss Piggy might be easier than Kermit, but we'll have to go to the costume shop after I get home."
"Cool. I don't really care. They would both be fun," Matt told him.
Tom left to go back to school. Matt washed the dishes left in the sink and put them away. Then he went to his bedroom, shucked his clothes, got a towel out of his bathroom, then picked up the book he was reading as he made his way to the pool.
Dennis arrived at the condo promptly at 6:30. Joey greeted him at the door and escorted him to the kitchen where Dale and Craig were working on their dinner. Dale had fixed a marinade for the steaks and was wrapping the potatoes in foil while Craig was starting to prepare the salad. Joey had chopped up the vegetables for the side dish to be served with the meal. Dale had been showing him how to dice and cut everything so it would all cook in about the same amount of time.
While Dale was working with Joey, Craig acted as bartender, fixing their usual gin for he and Dale. Dennis opted for a Coors beer and Joey wanted a ginger ale.
Dennis took the opportunity to ask Joey how his Computer Lab class was coming along.
"That book you sold me, 'Basic Programming Made Easy' has been a big help. Mr. Korte didn't think much of it, but he's not interested in anything except his bulletin board. Anyway, my friend Daniel and I used the program to calculate a person's age and made it work. Then Daniel used that example and changed it to a program to convert temperatures from Fahrenheit to Celsius."
"That's good," Dennis said.
"Yeah, it was neat. Then I used the same example to compute simple interest on a loan amount. I had a problem with the date calculation and then discovered that part of the statement had to be in parenthesis, otherwise the computer stopped."
"So now you are experienced in Basic programming?" Dennis asked, as much to tease him as anything else.
"I bet that Daniel and I know more about it than Mr. Korte," Joey laughed.
"I don't doubt that," Dennis told him.
"Anyway, thanks for recommending the book. We'd be lost without it," Joey said.
"You are welcome. Actually I had bought a few books for the various programs, but the manager at The Electronic Home won't allow me to buy any more. He's afraid they won't sell and he'll be stuck with a few on hand."
Craig came back to the kitchen with their drinks on a tray and handed them out, putting two bowls of nuts and party mix on the counter. When Dale wasn't looking, Joey picked up Dale's glass and took a big sip of gin. He choked as the burning liquid hit his tongue and he involuntarily swallowed it. Then he started coughing, tears running down his face. Craig was pounding him on his back.
Dale had a twinkle in his eyes. "I think Joey just lost his virginity," he laughed.
Craig and Dennis laughed, although Dennis didn't know about the original joke.
It took Joey a minute or two to regain his composure and get his breath. "Jeez, how do you guys stand to drink that stuff? It's awful!
"Watch out for Joey, he's a mean drunk," Dale teased.
Craig and Joey laughed, but Dennis wasn't sure what his reaction was supposed to be. He finally decided that it was good fun and joined in the laughter.
"This is a really neat kitchen. I'll bet you can prepare some really great meals here," Dennis said, looking around at the equipment and arrangement of the room.
"Would you believe that we're just learning to cook?" Craig asked.
"You're kidding?" Dennis said. "I'd think with this equipment you could do anything."
"Oh, we can do basic stuff, like steaks, baked potatoes and other simple things. Actually, we're taking a cooking class at Wyler's, but have missed a couple of them. It's helped us a lot, but Craig's mother taught us more last weekend than the three sessions we attended," Dale told him.
Joey spoke up. "Grandma taught us how to bake bread and cinnamon rolls and a bunch of other stuff."
Dennis was really confused. Joey and Dale looked like brothers. He'd heard Joey call both Dale and Craig, 'Dad' and Joey had just referred to Craig's mother as 'Grandma'. This was an unusual family, to say the least.
"Excuse me for asking, but are you fellows all related to each other?" Dennis asked.
"We know it looks confusing, but it really isn't," Dale said. "Joey and I are half-brothers, our father died two weeks ago today and Joey came to live with Craig and me."
"We're domestic partners," Craig said. "I hope that doesn't bother you."
"And Craig's parents have welcomed me into their family with no problem," Dale proudly said.
"They like for me to call them 'Grandma' and 'Grandpa'," Joey told him.
"That's neat," Dennis said. "I haven't even told my own parents that I'm gay. I don't know if they could handle it."
"It's not the same for everyone. Some parents have a real problem with it and others don't. I don't know what to suggest," Craig told him.
Dale and Joey had finished chopping the vegetables and were starting the cooking process, as they would need to be simmered to cook off the extra liquid. Dale turned the steaks over and announced they were ready to go sit in the living room and visit.
Dennis felt very comfortable with these men. He hadn't known many gay people before and those he'd known in school were "swishy, militant, or looking for quick sex" and none of those options appealed to him. These men seemed perfectly comfortable with their sexuality. He wondered if Joey were gay, however, he didn't seem to have a problem with his "Dad's" being gay.
They talked about the computer business and Dennis reiterated what he and Craig had discussed that morning on the telephone.
Dale had the same thoughts as he'd had before. 'This was just too easy. If there was a lot of money to be made in this effort, why wasn't there already a computer store here?' It sounded good, but they would definitely be playing with someone else's money.
Finally, the big question to Dennis: "If you had the chance and the financial backing, would you open a large store here?" Dale asked.
There was no hesitation on Dennis's part. "Yes. If the store was run right and had knowledgeable people in charge, there is a ready market for the products and related services."
"You indicated that the owners of The Electronic Home weren't really interested in the computer business?" Craig questioned.
"That's right. They aren't prepared to offer what the public really wants and needs. They probably would close out the department if another store was to open, regardless of the size of it."
"What would you do if that happened?" Dale asked.
"I would hope that I could get a job with the new store," Dennis said.
"What does your computer experience consist of?" Craig wanted to know.
"I have an associate degree in Computer Science from Western JuCo. I'm working on a full degree at the University of Texas in Austin and am working on my hours in Cobal programming right now. I attend classes there on Friday morning and afternoons and on Monday night."
"What about your experience with personal computers?" Joey asked.
"I could probably teach WordStar and WordPerfect, Lotus, Quattro Pro, Peachtree Accounting and teach dBase usage, but I'm not sure I could program with it, however, it's a pretty simple database application for businesses."
"Mr. Korte couldn't even answer a question about WordStar yesterday. The girl who was at the next workstation to Daniel and me was trying to make the margins wider and had accidentally set them to full-justification. She asked him about it and he just told her that she was probably trying to do something the program wouldn't allow. After he left, Daniel looked at her problem, found the bad command, deleted it and everything went back to the way it was supposed to look."
"I've heard other horror stories about his ability to teach," Dennis laughed. "It makes you wonder how he got the job."
"I was told on good authority that they had an instructor hired and he was offered more money to teach somewhere else at the last minute. School was ready to start and they hired Korte, probably without having a chance to check out his credentials," Dale said.
By this time he and Joey needed to finish in the kitchen so Dennis went with them while Craig freshened drinks.
Their discussion continued through the excellent dinner and finally Dale asked him, "I'm certainly not sure what might happen in this venture, but if it should come to pass, what type of position would you apply for?"
There was no hesitation on Dennis' part. "Outside sales. I wouldn't want to be sales manager, but I'd like to call on business accounts and sell them new computers and supplies they would need to run their data processing departments. I think I'm smart enough to design systems and could probably set up a network server and workstations; certainly with some additional training on my part," he told them.
"Thanks for telling us that," Craig said. "We have no idea what we will end up doing, but everyone we've talked to says 'go for it'..."
"But we still have a lot of questions that have to be answered before anything at all is set into motion," Dale added.
"So, we'd appreciate it if our conversation tonight could be kept confidential. If anything should happen, we'll let you know and try to see to it that you have a shot at the job you want," Craig told him.
"I understand," Dennis said. "I certainly won't say anything, but I am definitely on the list of those who want to encourage you."
"Well, we have some thinking to do. Our banker has been helpful and also encouraging. He's in investments, so we know we can trust him. It's just a big step for us to take and things have moved pretty swiftly since we first talked about this," Dale said.
"Hey fellows, thanks for dinner and the chance to get acquainted with you."
"Thanks for coming over to talk to us. We're really glad to get your input on this," Craig said.
"Good luck. I don't know that I can answer many of your questions, but I'll be glad to talk to you," Dennis told them as he shook their hands and went out the door. He waved as the elevator doors closed and the three men went back inside.
"He's a neat guy," Joey said as they started to the kitchen to clean up and put leftovers away.
"Yeah. I think he's okay," Dale agreed.
"He impressed me. I think he is a hard worker," Craig told them.
Jason went home with Scott Maxwell and Kevin went to Terry Jenkins house as his mother was going to take the two boys to the Bar-W Ranch as soon as Terry's sister, Sally, got home from school.
Scott's mother greeted the two boys and offered milk and cookies. While they were enjoying the snack, Dusty Fields and Davis Horton arrived with their backpacks and snacks they brought along for later in the evening.
The boys were excited about the fun of camping, if it could be called that since they would be in the comfort of Scott's bedroom. It really was a sleepover under the guise of a Boy Scout activity, although they would be working on merit badges and preparing Dustin for his First Class rank and Jason for his Tenderfoot rank.
Scott had almost all of his requirements completed to receive his Eagle award and Davis was working on his as he'd completed his Life award in the spring. Davis had just turned16 in August, Scott would turn seventeen on November 3rd. Dustin had just turned 14 and, of course, Jason would be 12 next April.
They started a review of Merit Badges that Jason and Dusty were working on and Scott signed off on the Knot-tying badge for Jason, along with Animal Husbandry, Physical Fitness and Plant Identification. Jason would still have to prove himself in front of a panel of the Scoutmaster and three senior scouts, but that was a formality.
Dustin had completed his requirements for an Archery badge, along with Morse Code. After Jason saw the demonstration of Scott, Davis and Dustin talking to each other in a dark room, using flashlights, he thought that would be neat and decided that would be one of the next badges he would work on. Maybe he could get Kevin to help him and they could learn Morse Code together. That would be neat.
Of course, all of the boys were qualified, or soon would be, in the time-honored Scout ritual of sex. They would practice that this evening, but no Merit Badges could be earned for that activity.
They came back out of Scott's bedroom after the Morse Code demonstration and it was time to start the charcoal grill so they could have burgers for their evening meal. Mrs. Maxwell had prepared potato salad, both apple and cherry pie and provided the condiments; pickles, lettuce and tomatoes and onions, along with the buns. The boys had each contributed $10 to help in the cost of the Friday evening meal, along with breakfast and lunch on Saturday.
Finally it was time to go to bed and they flipped coins to see who would sleep where. Scott and Dusty would share one bed and Jason would sleep with Davis. That was fine with him; they'd had a good time with each other on the camping trip the month before.
Scott suggested that they play strip poker like they did on the camping trip. All agreed. Since Jason and Dusty didn't know how to play real poker, they decided to play the "low score loses a piece of clothing" game where each was dealt three cards and the total value for each card was added up. Each card was counted as its value, all face cards counted 11 and aces counted 12.
The stakes were that the boy losing all of his clothing first had to make the winner cum and was supposed to do it anyway the winner wanted it done. The second one without clothing had to do the person who won second place. Then the boys were supposed to switch and do the person who had gotten them off.
After determining that each boy had the same number of clothing items, the game started with Davis dealing the first hand. He had low score and lost the first piece of clothing, which was a shoe.
The game went back and forth, pretty much staying even. Finally Davis was the first one to lose all of his clothing, followed by Dustin, then Jason with Scott being the winner. Davis had to make Scott cum and Dustin had to make Jason cum, although he couldn't shoot anything. The two bigger boys watched as Jason and Dusty started on each other. They started kissing and rubbing the other's bodies, then fondling each other's cocks.
"Eewww! They're trading spit," Davis said.
"Don't knock it until you've tried it," Scott told him. "It really feels good and I think it makes me cum quicker. I talked my brother into trying it and he thinks so, too."
"I don't know," Davis said.
"How about just giving me some tongue on my ears, then work down to my jaw and throat and go on to my nipples. Just paint me with your saliva," Scott said.
"Well. I guess as long as I don't have to kiss you on the mouth. I feel really funny about this, though," Davis said.
"Trust me, you'll enjoy it and I'll do the same thing to you when it's my turn," Scott told him.
They both were watching Jason and Dusty, who were clearly enjoying the sensations they were causing each other. The agreement was that Dusty was supposed to get Jason off, then they trade, but all of a sudden Dusty slipped around and took Jason's cock in his mouth. Jason immediately moved around and started licking Dusty's 5-inch cut cock, then put it in his mouth.
"Look, they're 69ing and act like they enjoy it. I always thought that would be gross to do with a girl, but somehow it doesn't look like it would be too bad to do with another guy," Davis said.
Scott and his brother, Derek, had been sucking each other off for about the last three weeks, but he wasn't about to tell Davis that.
"Do you want to try it?" Scott asked hopefully. He wouldn't mind sucking Davis. Their cocks were both about 6 inches where Derek was quite a bit larger than that, or it seemed so, anyway.
"You won't tell, will you? What if somebody found out? They could make a lot of trouble for both of us," Davis worried.
"Well, I'm not about to tell," Scott said, and I don't think that Jase and Dusty are about to tell anybody else, either."
Both Jason and Dustin were too engrossed in what they were doing to pay any attention to the two older boys.
All of a sudden Dustin realized that he was going to cum and he didn't have time to warn Jason. By now Jason had played around with the others enough to know that something was about to happen as Dusty's dick was getting harder and he could feel it swelling up. With no further warning, Dustin started shooting cum. Jason wasn't really prepared for the hard blast that hit the back of this throat. His first reaction was to gag, but was able to swallow. The second wave seemed even bigger than the first. Jason was determined that he wasn't going to lose any of it, but he was having trouble breathing. In his haste to take a breath, he almost choked, but recovered. About that time he realized that Dustin's magic tongue was doing its work on his own cock. He stiffened and had a dry orgasm, but it didn't last much more than the time it took Dustin to fire a third round.
Dustin had never shot as much cum as he had with Jason sucking him.
Scott and Davis were fascinated at the show they were getting. Both were idly playing with themselves, but not trying to stroke to an orgasm.
"Wow! Dusty came in Jase's mouth. I wonder if that tastes gross?" Davis said.
"Haven't you tasted your own cum?" Scott asked, like it was nothing unusual. Actually he hadn't done that until the first night of their camping trip the month before.
"No, it feels all slick and it doesn't always smell good," Davis answered.
"Well, try a little drop sometime. You might surprise yourself," Scott answered.
In the meantime, Jason had drained Dustin dry. He was proud of himself for having been able to swallow everything he had been given. They swung around to kiss each other and Dustin could taste his own cum on Jason's tongue. Somehow that seemed erotic to him.
"Thanks, Jase. That felt awesome."
"You're welcome. You made me feel good, too. I can't wait until I can shoot. It must be an awesome feeling."
Again, Davis was watching the two younger boys. He decided that if they could suck each other, then it was okay for him and Scott to try it.
They had just barely started on each other when the door opened and Derek came into the bedroom. He had forgotten that Scott was having a camp-in for his patrol. It looked like he had hit the jackpot.
Davis was wishing that he could fall through a crack in the floor. He was humiliated and was trying to find his clothes to put them on.
"Hey, Davis. It's okay, man. Derek isn't going to say anything about what we're doing. He'll probably want to join us," Scott said.
"Hey, bud, I'm sorry. I was supposed to stay over at Watt's house tonight, but we lost what should have been an easy game with Naloma and nobody wanted to party. I can still go over to Watt's house if you want," he said.
"What do you guys think? Shall we let Derek stay here with us?" Scott asked in general.
"Will you really play around with us?" Dustin asked.
"Yeah, will you?" Jason added.
"Sure. It'll be fun with all of us, won't it, Scott?"
"Yeah. Is it okay with you, Davis?" Scott questioned.
"Well, I don't mind playing around. I've sure learned a bunch of new stuff already and we just came down here about 40 minutes ago," Davis answered.
"I have a feeling that you are just getting started," Derek laughed as he took off his shoes so he could take his Levis off.
Jason felt great about being allowed to participate in something with older boys who treated him as if he was their age. Derek was a senior in high school and was already 18. His body was more mature. His cock was larger than Scott's at 6-1/2 inches and he had a light dusting of hair on his pecs. He was almost a man.
"What have you guys already done?" Derek asked of no one in particular.
"Jason and Dustin have already sucked each other off and I think that Davis and I are ready to do the same."
"Well, here's what I'd like to do." and Derek started into his idea for round two.
(to be continued)
AUTHORS NOTE: Hello everyone. Thanks for reading this chapter and I hope it was satisfactory to all of you. I know there is a lot going on in the story, but Dale, Craig and Joey are still the main players. They just need other people to interact with and keep the story moving along.
I appreciate any and all comments about the story. I try to answer all email, but some gets missed, especially when a couple of dozen have arrived since I was last on the Internet. You may write to me at TulsaDriller7@aol.com. I enjoyed hearing of your experiences as related to this story.
Thanks to both Paul Daventon and Joey Tuvok for their help in editing and catching obvious errors. Their efforts keep me alert.