The Metamorphosis of Jeremiah Long, Chapter 37
Warning:
This story contains scenes of love and sexual interaction between males of similar age. If the reading or possessing this material is illegal in your country, state, province, county, municipality, etc., please leave this site immediately and do not proceed further. If you are under the legal age to read this, please do not do so.
The author retains the copyright, and any other rights, to this original story. You may not publish it or any part of it without explicit authorization from me.
I have written several other stories. My longer ones on Nifty include: "Always and Forever" (March 25, 2004), "Jacob and Jacques" (May 30, 2004), "Zeke" (August 29, 2005), "Tales from Bentonville" (November 16, 2008), "Second Chance" (September 24, 2010), and "Tommy and Tanner (October 21, 2012)under "High School" and "Someone to Watch over Me" under "Beginnings" in the gay male section.
My short stories include: "Brad and Alan's Canoe Trip" (April 22, 2004 under "Camping", "Of Angels and Dragons" (November 8, 2008) under "Camping", "A Christmas Tale" (December 22, 2009), "Wyatt's Thanksgiving" (November 20, 2012)under "High School", "Brazil Affair" (October 1, 2010), "A Technological Christmas" (December 23, 2011), and "Patrick's Christmas (December 19, 2012) under "Beginnings," I have one story in the Sci Fi/Fantasy category called, "Seth's Gift" (October 10, 2010).
"Banana Splits" was added under "adult friendships" (September 17,1013).
You can easily access most of my tales by going to the "Author" button in Nifty's home page and scrolling down to David Lee. Some of these stories are also posted at: www.storylover.us and www.saberpeak.com.
My only reward for contributing to Nifty is your emails. Please write if you like the story. Please include the name of the story in the subject line of your email because my email service sometimes puts them in the "spam" file.
Thanks and hugs to Tom and David (boxerdude) who edit for me so that there are fewer mistakes! They not only proof-read, but make other valuable suggestions.
Your donations to Nifty are appreciated to keep this a free site for us and for you.
David (dlee169@hotmail.com)
The Metamorphosis of Jeremiah Long, Chapter 37
Because their wedding was so close to Christmas, it seemed pointless not to spend the holiday in Iowa. So, Spence and Billy stayed with Sonja as did Grandpa Ed.
Quarters were a bit cramped in the three bedroom condo, but it all worked out. Spence and Billy had the guest room, and Grandpa slept in one of the twin beds in Eddy's room. Eddy was so pleased to have him visiting that he overlooked the older man's snoring, using his earplugs from swimming to keep from being awakened in the night.
There would be a fair crowd at the Mason-Hart home for Christmas, but not as many as they had originally expected. David and Amanda flew up from Florida, but only Sean and Tyler made the trip from Switzerland.
Marilyn said that she and Gabby were traveling to the south of Spain to have a break from the cold weather. She had complained that Iowa wouldn't be any warmer than Switzerland, or at least that was the story Sean told.
His relatives didn't buy it. The forlorn look on Sean's face couldn't all be attributed to a long flight and the resulting time change. Something else was afoot
"I guess it's a good thing that we've kept the major company holdings in our names," David said to Amanda as they were preparing for bed a couple of nights before Christmas. "You know I'd planned to give him controlling interest next year so he wouldn't feel like simply a well-paid employee."
"I'll bet our daughter-in-law doesn't know that," Amanda responded. "If she did, she'd be here now making sure everything looked normal. Do you think she has a, um, friend in Spain?"
"Much as I hate to find fault with the woman I used to think of as a daughter, I wouldn't be terribly surprised. I've felt that she wasn't particularly affectionate toward Sean the last time we saw them.
Davy was happy to see his uncle and cousin, and just as pleased that Gabby wasn't there. He assumed that she was probably as intolerable as ever. Aunt Marilyn wasn't a whole lot better than her spoiled daughter in some ways. Both were more interested in money and social position than they were in family.
Tyler had become a lot more loveable since their trip to Florida the previous year. He didn't act snobbish, and seemed to enjoy participating in whatever his cousins were doing. In other words, he acted like part of the family.
Joe and he slept together the first night, but that was liable to change when Mark was around. Most likely the boyfriends would be sleeping together at one house or other some of the time during vacation, at least after Tyler had gone home.
After taking his shower, Tyler came into the bedroom they shared clad only in a towel. He quickly dropped that on the floor, taking his time rummaging through his suitcase apparently searching for his boxers. In the mean time, he was putting on quite an exhibition for his young cousin.
"You've grown a lot in a year," Joe said by way of making conversation.
"Yup, I'm four inches taller and I've gained more than half an inch where it counts," Tyler giggled. "And look at my pubes! I wouldn't be shy about going to a nude beach this year."
"You have no reason to be, that's for sure," Joe complimented him.
"The only problem is that with all the hormones in my body now, my dick seems to have a mind of its own. It's hard to keep it down."
"If it's HARD, you can't keep it down," Joe joked.
"Yeah, it's HARD to keep a HARD man down," Tyler agreed. "You like it; you can touch it if you wanna?"
"No thanks, I'm going steady with Mark."
"Darn, I was afraid you'd say that. Don't you guys fool around with anyone else? It can be fun with a bunch of other boys."
"I'm sure it is, but we're committed to each other."
"I wouldn't tell."
"Perhaps not, but what do you think commitment means? We trust one another and we are true to one another."
"I don't see how fooling around with a cousin would count. It's not like we're gonna get married. Guys our age just like to get off."
"Go to sleep, Tyler. It ain't gonna happen!"
Their conversation was at an end as Joe turned his back and began to drift off. Tyler waited; listening to the rhythm of Joe's breathing patterns until he was certain that his cousin was asleep. Then he carefully reached into the fly of his boxers to feel his dick.
"So help me, Tyler, you're road-kill!"
"I wasn't doing anything," Tyler said shakily.
"The hell you weren't; I'm going to sleep on the futon in the basement and you'd better pray that no one asks me why."
"Please don't tell on me! I'm not gay; I'm just horny."
"No one said you were gay, but it makes you sound less believable when you keep denying it. What's the old saying about protesting too much?"
"Well, I'm not gay, but a whole bunch of guys play around at school. We're not afraid to prove how far we can shoot and how fast."
"I'm sure recreational sex is fine for some, but not for Mark and me. Now, are you going to keep your hands to yourself or do I need to go?"
"I'll be good; I promise."
Tyler seemed subdued in the morning. The family assumed it was from having difficulty adjusting his sleeping pattern in a different time zone, and part of it was. The rest came from worry that Joe would tell the other boys how he'd acted. He hadn't intended to do more than show off his dick, but somehow he'd stepped over the line because of thinking with IT instead of his head.
"Hey Tyler, are you okay?" Davy asked after lunch. "I know that jet lag can upset your whole routine. Feel free to nap if you need to. We won't talk about you when you're asleep."
"I'm not tired right now. Do you think we could talk alone?"
"We are alone now, aren't we? Jon should be at the mall at least another hour buying my Christmas presents. I spent that much time yesterday shopping for him."
"Okay, I guess it wouldn't matter; he'll hear it soon anyway. I'm worried about Dad. I overheard my mother having a conversation on the phone just before we came. It was with some guy named Ramon as nearly as I could tell. She said something about coming into a lot of money soon and I don't know what she meant. I thought I heard her say something about insurance money. I wonder if Dad's divorcing her and she plans to get a big settlement. Maybe Dad will have to cash in his insurance policy. But what if..."
"Does she have any rich relative who might have left her a fortune?"
"She did have an uncle who died about six months ago. I suppose it might take at least that long to settle an estate. I don't think he was rich though."
"Did it sound like she was planning to share it with this Ramon guy?"
"It was difficult to tell. She did say `we' when she talked about traveling and stuff, but she might have been talking about Dad and her."
"I don't know. If she chose to go to Spain instead of coming here for Christmas, that doesn't sound like she and your dad are exactly lovey-dovey."
"Yeah, I guess."
"And, `Ramon' could be Spanish. Uncle Sean looks like someone kicked him in the gut, or lower. I hate to think the worst, but it doesn't look good to me. Have they been fighting?"
"They don't yell or anything when I'm around, but since I'm in boarding school, I don't see them all the time. It could be that they're screaming when I'm away."
"There weren't any big scenes when my dad left, as far as I can remember. But, I was pretty young when they divorced," Davy said.
"Your dad's awesome! Why would anyone want to leave him?"
"I suppose the fact that he's gay might come into it somewhere," Davy grinned.
"I never thought of that," Tyler admitted. "He seems so normal."
"Does that mean the rest of us act queer?"
"NO-O! You and Jon and the others gay kids I've met seem like everyone else. I guess I have some stereotypes of how gay men are supposed to act and talk, and none of you are like that."
"You probably know more gays than you think you do, because not everyone acts fem just because they're not hiding in the closet anymore. Some guys do, but it's not my place to judge them."
"I sorta envy you guys because you can mess around with other guys and not get into trouble."
"How do you figure that?"
"Neither of you can get pregnant!" Tyler said.
"That's true, but if guys mess around with each other, and aren't careful, they can end up catching some nasty stuff. It doesn't have to be AIDS; there are a number of strains of STD's that are now resistant to drugs. Some of those can mess up your life. By the way, have you been vaccinated against stuff like HPV?"
"What's that?"
"It's a virus that can cause women to get cervical cancer."
"So, what does that have to do with guys?"
"For one thing, you could unintentionally pass it to your wife or girlfriend. For another, it can cause some mouth cancers. So if you lick the goodies of someone who has it, you could get it too.
You should get inoculated against hepatitis A and B as well. Hepatitis B can mess up your liver big-time."
"How would you catch that?"
"Rimming is one way you could get exposed."
"What's rimming?"
"Um, that's licking someone's butt hole."
"Eew! Why would you do that? That's disgusting!"
"Don't knock it till you've tried it."
"Do you and Jon...?"
"No comment. But you'll find that lots of things aren't disgusting when you're with someone you love. Straight guys lick their girlfriends in places I wouldn't care to go."
"I wish I could live with you guys. Every time we get together, I learn so much! I need a big bro."
"I can be your big bro long-distance. With Skype, texting, and everything, we can talk about anything you like as easily as if we were next door."
"It's not the same. Maybe Dad will get a divorce and come here to live."
"You don't seem too disturbed by the idea that they might split up."
"Meh, I don't see them that much and Mom's always ragging on me when I do see her."
"Jeez, Tyler, when did you start talking like an American?"
"I am American! Just because I've been going to school with a lot of kids who think they're superior doesn't mean I have to act like them. In fact, some of them are beginning to loosen up too. I think I may be a bad influence," he giggled, "or maybe it's a good influence."
"It's cool to see the changes in you. You seem to be comfortable here and in Europe too. Maybe you'll become a diplomat and bring everyone together someday.
But, back to where we started. Have you mentioned Ramon to Uncle Sean?"
"No, do you think I should?"
"It could be a risk for you, but I think I'd do it if he were my dad. What if Ramon is planning to do the unthinkable?"
"Yeah, if something happened to Dad and I hadn't warned him, I couldn't live with myself. Um, could you sorta talk to him first and tell him I may have overheard something and see if he wants to talk to me?"
"Sure, I'd be willing to do that."
Davy tapped lightly on the door of the bedroom his uncle was using while there. When Sean responded, he went in and closed the door behind him.
"Uncle Sean could we talk a minute," Davy asked.
"Of course; what's on your mind?"
"I don't mean to pry, but I get the feeling something bad is going on with Aunt Marilyn not here and all. You look like Santa left a load of coal in your stocking this year."
"I'm never good at poker because my face is too readable," Sean smiled wanly. "Yes, things aren't exactly great at home."
"Does it involve someone named Ramon?"
Sean gave a start like he'd been shot. "Where did you hear that name?"
"I heard it from Tyler who overheard his mother on the phone with this guy."
"Shit! Um, sorry about that."
"Shit works for me, if that's how you feel."
"That's the name the private detective gave me when I had him check on who she's been seeing behind my back."
"Do you think Tyler should be in on this conversation?"
"I'm not sure. He's probably not ready to know that his mother's been having an affair."
"He's already figured it out, more or less. It might help if you and he could talk. In fact, he asked me to feel you out about it."
"Okay, I guess it would be best to clear the air. I don't want to alienate him by keeping silent about things he has a right to know."
Davy hit a couple of keys on his phone and Tyler appeared at the door almost immediately.
"Come in, Son. I understand you've aware of some family secrets that I was trying to shield you from. I was only trying to protect you."
"I know Dad, and I appreciate it. But I want you to know that I think you're the greatest and if it comes to a custody battle, I want to stay with you if you want me."
"Of course I want you!"
"I don't want anything to happen to you!"
As father and son cried in each other's arms, Davy slipped out of the room.
"Davy, I want to thank you for interceding on Tyler's behalf," Uncle Sean said after he'd asked his nephew to join them a few minutes later.
"It's no big deal, I only did what I'd want someone to do for me," Davy smiled.
"Well, to us it IS big. Tyler and I have never been closer than we are this minute, right Son?"
"Absolutely. Like I told you, I was worried that something bad might happen to Dad after I overheard Mom saying she might be coming into a lot of money."
"Tyler's been concerned about the million dollar life insurance policy that named Marilyn as sole beneficiary. I've recently changed it so that it cuts her out and leaves it to my children with Dad and the bank as executors and administrators of my estate. She can't touch it! I haven't told her that yet, but I guess I should. I honestly don't think she'd have me killed off despite how our marriage has been the past several months."
"I wouldn't like to believe Mom would do that, but I don't trust the guy she's evidently been seeing. What if Ramon is after money instead of being in love with her and wants to get rid of both of you?"
"I don't know Aunt Marilyn well enough to judge and I certainly don't know anything about this Ramon character, but I do think it's a good idea to remove any temptation that might put you in jeopardy, Uncle Sean."
"Yes, I'm going to send her a text immediately."
"Knock, knock," Jon called through the open door. "Joe and I want to make another quick run to the mall and if you guys want to go, Davy will need to drive because he's related to everyone but me. We don't want to run afoul of the law, as Jim would say."
"You know we've talked about solving that legal problem by getting married so we're all related," Davy giggled.
"Are you serious?" Tyler exclaimed, wide-eyed.
"We do plan on getting married in a couple of years, but we have discussed doing it earlier." Davy said. "I suppose we'll wait until we're 18."
Before long, the four boys were headed for the mall with instructions to stop at the supermarket on the way home to pick up three cans of jellied cranberries that Brock had forgotten to buy.
The extended family attended the early Christmas Eve service shortly after having eaten a light supper. The elder Harts felt that going to the one which ended at midnight might be rough on Sean who seemed not to be adjusting to jet lag as well as he normally did.
When they arrived back at the house, Sean seemed to have more energy than he'd exhibited since he arrived.
"I know this is supposed to be a joyful holiday and I'm not trying to put a damper on it, but I need to let you all know what's going on." Sean stated when they'd all gathered in the family room for a bit of Christmas cheer.
"The boys can stay or go as they please because they're already aware of what I'm going to say."
"We'll stay for a while," Davy offered, sitting on the floor with Tyler between Joe and him and Jon on his other side.
"Thanks guys," Tyler whispered.
"You all know I've been out of it on this trip. It's not from jet lag. Marilyn and I have been going through marital difficulties. She really is in Spain, but not because of the cold temperatures in the Midwest. According to the private investigator I hired, she's in Barcelona with another man. Gabby isn't with them, but is in Zurich with a friend from school. I had my lawyer prepare the divorce papers shortly before coming here, but I didn't want to spoil Christmas for Tyler or any of you for that matter, so I wasn't sharing the news. Somehow Tyler already knew and we had a discussion about everything this afternoon. Our talk and tonight's lovely service have left me more at peace with the decision I've made. I'll break it to Gabby in person when I get back home. I don't know how she'll react, but I know where my son stands."
"I'm with you for sure Dad!" Tyler agreed.
Everyone expressed their sympathy for Sean's plight and promised to lend whatever support they could to help him through it.
After that, Amanda went to the kitchen to prepare eggnog and cookies for all to enjoy in front of the fire. Before they partook, Brock called Todd to tell Jim and him it was time to join them. Since Jon was staying the night, Brock felt he should at least spend part of Christmas Eve with his dads.
That night when Tyler crawled into bed with Joe, he lay on his side, facing away and almost clinging to the edge of the bed. He had acted as if he didn't care if his parents got divorced, but in truth he was upset. He was worried that some judge would force him to live with his mother and that would be a very difficult situation to say the least.
Turning away from Joe served two purposes. He could hide his emotions from his cousin and he could avoid making a fool of himself like he had a couple of night before. Joe could sense that Tyler was silently shedding tears, so he scooted over and snuggled against his back.
"It'll all work out eventually," Joe advised. "Your parents' problems don't have to become yours too. I'm sure it doesn't seem that way right now, but you'll feel better when you get back to school with all of your friends. Your mother may try to make you feel guilty for sticking by your dad, but you have to do what's right for you."
"Thanks," Tyler sobbed aloud, no longer able to hold his emotions in check. "You don't have to hold me because I don't want to make Mark jealous."
"He won't be. He understands that we're family. If he were here tonight, he'd be cuddling you from the other side."
"Are you sure?"
"Yup! I sent him a text earlier telling him I'd probably be doing something to make you feel better."
"He really trusts you then."
"He does. If you turn over on your stomach, I'll give you a backrub. Mark says I'm good at it, but what does he know? He's never had a professional massage."
"Me neither, so whatever you do will be awesome."
Joe straddled Tyler's body with a leg on either side of his hips. Had it been Mark, they would both have been naked, but Joe wasn't taking any chances of raising Tyler's hopes or his boy parts.
At first, Tyler was stiff, almost rigid, but little by little he began to relax under Joe's ministrations. Joe spent a lot of time working on Tyler's neck and shoulders where his stress seemed to be centered.
After several minutes, Joe worked on Tyler's legs, beginning at his feet and moving up slowly to his calves and eventually his buttocks. Tyler flexed his hips, rubbing his hard appendage against the bed and began to whimper as a warm feeling permeated his whole body, radiating from his groin. He knew he should stop and should warn Joe to stop touching his body, but his jaw seemed to be paralyzed by the extreme pleasure.
With a small cry, Tyler began to fill his boxers with several squirts of watery cum. He quickly put his hands between his dick and the bottom sheet, afraid he'd get in trouble for soiling it. He didn't know how Joe was going to react.
"Here's some Kleenex," Joe offered. "Mark does that too, but mainly when I play with his butt and balls. I didn't get as um, personal, as I do with him, but I seem to have tripped your trigger anyway."
"I'm sorry!" Tyler cried.
"Don't be. I knew it could happen and I could read your body language when it was building up, but I didn't stop because I thought you probably needed it. So, do you feel relaxed?"
"I feel awesome, since you're not mad at me, but what about Mark?"
"He already said it was okay with him if you got a `happy ending' as long as I wasn't sucking your dick to make you cum."
"So, will you tell him tomorrow about what happened?"
"Sure, and I hope you do too."
Christmas Day was lazy and relaxed for everyone but Brock who got up early to put the turkey in the oven. However, since almost everything else had been made ahead, he slipped back into bed as soon as he'd accomplished the task. Brent was there waiting to give him an early morning Christmas present. They both napped for an hour after that.
There were a few things, like preparing the potatoes in the pressure cooker and making the gravy, that were fairly last minute. The men had those under control so that Amanda didn't have to lift a finger.
Todd and Jim arrived about half an hour before dinnertime to see if they could help, but were shooed out of the kitchen as Amanda had been. The adults had time to sip on their glasses of wine before sitting down to a traditional feast.
Later in the afternoon, Davy and Jon invited Bradon, Micah, and Mark over to exchange token gifts and have a little party of their own in the apartment downstairs. Everyone brought a small gift for Tyler as well. He was beginning to feel close to all of them and wishing, even more, that he could live here.
The next day, Sean and Tyler caught their flight to Chicago where they would transfer to another in Frankfort on their way to Berne. It would be a long trip, but both were happy that they'd had the time with family and each other. The rest of their family went home to straighten up the house before allowing themselves to relax.
Author's notes: I hope everyone has started off to a good new year. I heard from the following since I last posted: Paul R, Wayne, Bill T, Douglas and Lawrence, JJ, Tony W, Ott, Walt S, Bill K, Jim W, Tom A, Roger L, Vinnie (Second Chance), Trish R, Roger L, Rad, and Mendy D. Thanks for the emails.
If you haven't already discovered it, you might want to read "Father and Son Outing" by Hans S. and Paul S. There are something like five chapters posted in the "camping" section on Nifty, and there are three to go, if I remember correctly.
Also, the link below is to a short piece on "family." It reminds me of how my characters often view the word.
http://www.upworthy.com/how-changing-the-definition-of-one-word-might-make-tv-shows-worse-but-real-life-better-5?c=upw1
Love and peace,
David