This is a gay love story which is pure fiction and fantasy. None of the characters portrayed relate to any known person.
Warning - it contains explicit m/m sex.
The Pink Retreat
When Josh's father got home that evening from work, having had his usual three pints of beer at the pub he frequented every day, he immediately sensed something was different about the house. It was quiet and even though he knew his son was no longer living there, he expected to hear his wife in the kitchen or the television on in the living room.
He peered into the living room and threw down his jacket which was his usual way of dumping his clothes since he expected her to hang them up for him, but the room was empty. Even that looked different but he couldn't put his finger on the reason why. He then walked into the kitchen expecting to see her in there and seeing the room was empty he looked out of the window into the small garden but there was still no sign.
"Where the fuck is she?" he said out loud.
It was then that he noticed the note on the table with the ring resting on it. He read the note, crumpled it up and threw it across the room along with the wedding band. He couldn't believe she had left him and his anger quickly rose. He stamped into the living room and looked in there in the hope that perhaps she was in there all the time. It was then he realised what was different. Several photos and ornaments were missing. All that was left was one of them on their wedding day. He picked it up and threw it across the room. The glass shattered as it hit the wall. He picked up other ornaments that had been left and threw those across the room. They too shattered as they hit the wall. He then kicked the low table in front of the fire and it too went toppling over spilling the papers and items on it onto the floor.
He stamped upstairs and went into the main bedroom. He slammed open the wardrobe doors to find it empty of her clothes apart from a few old items she had decided to leave behind. He tried the chest of drawers and that too was empty.
Finally he looked into his son's bedroom but of course that too was devoid of any signs that his son had lived there apart from odd items of rubbish he'd left. In anger, he picked up a wooden chair and threw it at the window. The chair splintered and the glass window pane cracked but he was beyond caring. He then crashed downstairs and emptied almost every cupboard throwing the contents around the room. China and glass smashed as it hit the floor or the walls.
By the time he finally calmed down, the house was trashed and looked as if a bomb had hit it. He'd even punched and kicked holes in several doors. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat down amidst the chaos.
All his crashing around had alerted the neighbour next door who wondered what on earth was going on. The walls in these houses were not that thick so it sounded as if a murder was taking place! The neighbour immediately called the police and by the time things had calmed down they were knocking on the door.
"What the fuck do you want?" Josh's father exclaimed seeing two uniformed police officers standing there.
Seeing the state he was in they moved inside the house and found the shambles. Having now drunk yet another can of beer he continued his abusive tirade and told them where to get off. They eventually arrested him for verbally assaulting a police officer and took him down to the police station to cool off.
Luke's mother heard several weeks later that the council had evicted him from the house because of the damage he'd done. He also drank even more and eventually lost his job so with nowhere to live and no job he decided to go and stay with his sister up north. She had little sympathy for the man saying that if he'd kept his dick in his pants all those years ago he wouldn't be in this situation.
He eventually got a job as a street cleaner and she told him to find somewhere else to live. He finally moved in with a local prostitute he'd met at a bar but had to put up with men continually using their bed. Some while later, he died from injuries he received during a brawl at a pub. He died alone and was buried with nobody in attendance. His sister certainly wasn't bothered!
Somehow a message got through to Jane who then sent an email, which she had now learned how to use, to tell Josh that his father was dead. Josh read the email without any feeling apart from a sense of relief that he definitely now would never see him again.
Meanwhile, Luke and Josh spent the weeks following the start of their new life together studying for their end of year exams. It was important they both passed them in order to continue on to the final year. They worked well together and despite the temptation to kiss, cuddle and have sex, they both buckled down to what they had to do. Luke enjoyed having someone else to keep him company even though they were both engrossed in their work. Josh too found it comforting to have someone to talk to whenever he needed to do so. He still missed his mum but their calls and eventually their emails made up for the lack of day to day direct contact. He also played his clarinet much more since he no longer had to worry about his father shouting abuse at him. Ann often asked him to play her pieces after their evening meal, which he was delighted to do. One of his favourite pieces was `Stranger on the Shore' by Acker Bilk.
"How do you reckon you got on?" Josh asked when Luke had completed his final exam.
"Okay; think I should pass especially as a large proportion of the marks are from course work which I know I've done okay in. How about you?"
"Yeah, much the same really. Found the theory exam fairly easy really and like you I know my course work is okay."
They had another week before the end of term but with all the exams over there wasn't much on so they only attended when they felt they had to do so. Their eighteenth birthdays were the following week. Luke's was on the Monday and Josh's on the Thursday.
Luke's mum had asked them both what they wanted to do to celebrate this momentous occasion and they opted for a slap up meal at a posh restaurant with just the three of them. This was arranged for the Friday after Josh's birthday since Ann was away for another long weekend from the next day. Luke and Josh each invited a friend they had got to know on their course. Both were gay and were good fun. They also invited Tristan who'd they met in the gay bar in Soho. They'd met up with him several times for a drink but nothing else had transpired. He was a nice guy and they had become close friends.
On the morning of Luke's birthday, Josh gave him a big kiss and wished him `happy birthday' before giving him a birthday suck, as he called it. When they got downstairs Luke's mum gave him a birthday kiss.
There on the breakfast bar was a large present wrapped in brightly coloured birthday paper with a smaller package sitting on top plus several envelopes.
"These all for me?" Luke giggled as he sat down beside the pile.
"Don't think anyone else has a birthday today" his mother replied laughing. She always enjoyed Luke's reaction to presents. He never seemed to lose the excitement of a five year old and she thought it was rather endearing.
Whilst Luke tucked into his cereal he began opening his cards. Since he only had one other relation apart from his mother, there was only the one card from Hugh which he always enjoyed receiving since he was an artist and either did a hand painted card for him or found one which was very artistic.
"Wow" Luke exclaimed when he found a cheque for two hundred and fifty pounds inside Hugh's card. The note inside said `use the enclosed wisely but gain pleasure from whatever you use it for'.
Ann was always amazed at how generous Hugh was with Luke but since he was now a successful artist she assumed he could afford such generosity. She knew Hugh was gay but they never talked about his sexuality although she had no problems with it. His father on the other hand had not been so happy that his son was never going to produce lots of grandchildren although he too seemed to have accepted his son's sexuality by the time he died. His mother had died when he was quite young so never knew.
The next card Luke opened was from Josh. It contained sloppy words and he giggled as he read them.
"Thank you" he said smiling across the breakfast bar to where Josh was sitting.
The third one was from his mother and fairly predictable in its format and the other two were from friends. One was from a gay college friend called Ryan and the other rather surprisingly was from Tristan which he thought was rather nice.
When he'd finished eating his breakfast and the dishes had been pushed to one side, Luke set about opening his presents. He was intrigued as to what was in the large parcel but decided to open the smaller one first which he noted was from Josh. He had no idea what Josh had bought him so when he opened it to find what looked like a gold and silver bracelet he was overcome with emotion. It wasn't actually gold and silver since that would have been way above Josh's financial means, but it looked the real thing even though in fact it was a polished silver and gold stainless steel.
"It's beautiful" Luke exclaimed as he held it up and then placed it round his wrist, "Thank you, I love it" he added as he walked round to where Josh was sitting and gave him a big hug and a kiss whilst his mother looked on. She was used to these two showing their love for each other and she rather liked it.
Josh was grinning from ear to ear. He was so chuffed that his lover liked what he'd bought. It was the first present he'd ever chosen himself. In the past, his mother had always helped him choose presents so the pleasure was even more enjoyable.
Luke then pulled the larger parcel towards him, which he noted was his mother's present, and slowly pulled off the wrapping paper. Josh and Ann glanced at each other as he did so and shared a secretive smile. Josh knew that Luke would be so excited when he saw what it was.
"Oh my god" Luke exclaimed when he'd pulled off sufficient wrapping paper to see the writing on the box he was now uncovering. He continued feverishly ripping the paper until the box was completely unwrapped. He then unfastened the end and pulled out what was inside.
"Oh mum, this is just brilliant, it's the very one I wanted" he exclaimed as he held the shiny black laptop in his hands.
"You've got Josh to thank because I didn't have a clue but he gave me all the details so I could order the one he knew you wanted.
"Thank you so much mum" Luke cried out again and took his mother into his arms and kissed her several times. He then went round to Josh again and thanked him too giving him more kisses as well.
"It's got the processor and the RAM you said you wanted" Josh finally managed to say.
"I can't believe this, thank you so much" Luke continued saying as he opened the laptop up and looked inside, "this is so much more powerful than my present one so I'll be able to do so much more".
"Perhaps you can now complete the garden design program you said you were going to do for me" Josh giggled.
Luke looked at him and grinned, "Yeah, I can; ooh I love you both so much" he said yet again and gave Josh and his mother another big kiss.
"Okay, enough of all the kissing" his mother laughed, "why don't you two go off and play with your new computer whilst I get on with things here" she said in the hope of getting some peace and quiet.
Josh meanwhile had been slowly clearing the breakfast things away and packing the dishwasher so by the time Luke had cleaned up the wrapping paper and placed it in the recycling bin, breakfast was finished. Luke picked up his new laptop and Josh collected his cards.
"Shall I put these up in the living room? Josh asked as he followed Luke out into the hall.
Luke nodded as he hugged his new computer under one arm and the box under the other.
When they were both upstairs in their own rooms, Luke took Josh into his arms again and kissed him.
"I love you so much" he said rubbing his groin against Josh's, "I want to make love to you here and now" he added feeling his own organ growing as it rubbed against Josh's equally growing tool.
Josh just giggled and slipped his hand down to feel the bulge inside Luke's trousers. Without saying anything he quickly unzipped Luke's trousers, unfastened the belt and the fastening round the waist and slipped them down Luke's legs. All the while they were kissing and exploring each other's mouths. They were now both fully erect and their cocks were straining to be released. Josh plunged his hand down inside Luke's scanty briefs and grasped the large hot organ.
"Mm, that feels so good" he managed to mumble in between kisses.
Luke was now unfastening Josh's trousers and he too soon had his hand round Josh's thick organ. It didn't take long after that for them both to be stark naked and romping on the sofa.
Because they often had sex in both the bedroom and the living room, they had a bottle of lube in both locations. Luke grabbed it from its hiding place and quickly lubricated himself and the hole he was about to invade. Before thrusting his rampant organ into Josh, he first fingered him for several minutes.
Josh loved being fingered, especially by Luke since he knew just the right spot to hit. It wasn't long though before Josh had Luke's hard organ inside him and he liked that even more.
"Oh yes, that is gorgeous" Josh moaned with delight as he felt the long hard organ move back and forth.
Whilst Luke was busy thrusting away, his mobile rang.
"Shit, who's that?" Luke commented as he reached over to pick up his mobile which was on a table nearby.
"Hi birthday boy, happy eighteenth"
"Hi Tristan, thanks" Luke replied whilst still moving in and out of Josh, "thanks for your card, it was very nice of you to remember".
"Well, you're only eighteen once" Tristan chuckled, "so what you up to then?"
As Luke continued thrusting, Josh was groaning and moaning with delight.
"Are you doing what I think you're doing?" Tristan asked laughing.
"Yeah, we are" Luke giggled.
"You lucky bugger, give him an extra one for me and see you both on Saturday; in the meantime, have fun!" Tristan replied before he hung up.
Just at the point of ending the call, Luke reached his climax and filled Josh up with a load of lovely hot cum!
"Oh god, that felt so good" Luke exclaimed as he bent over Josh's chest and kissed him. "Hope you realise you've just had sex with an eighteen year old!" he added giggling.
"Yeah, it definitely feels better with an eighteen year old cock!"
"Are you happy?" Luke asked Josh after a while, their bodies still connected together.
"Of course I am" Josh replied somewhat surprised at Luke asking the question, "I'm living with the guy I love and at the moment I've got him inside me!"
Luke laughed, "No what I really meant is do you miss your mum?"
Josh looked into Luke's blue eyes for a moment before answering.
"I do miss her but now she's on email and we communicate each week its okay."
"Good, because I'm very happy; and I love having you here living with me".
They kissed and hugged each other tight before finally disconnecting.
"Think I'd better ring Hugh and thank him for his generous present" Luke said once he had climbed off Josh who then watched him standing naked whilst he called his cousin.
"Hi Hugh, its Luke, just wanted to thank you for your birthday present; it was very generous of you"
"You're very welcome Luke; I like to spoil my favourite cousin."
It always amused Luke when Hugh said this since Luke was his one and only cousin but he rather liked being spoiled!
"So do you know what you'll spend it on yet?" Hugh then asked.
"Think I'll use some for an external hard drive I want plus some software and some coding books" Luke replied.
"Wow, all sounds very technical to me but make sure you buy something to spoil yourself as well."
Luke assured him he would.
"And how's young Josh" Hugh asked since he knew that Luke and Josh were close friends.
Luke explained that Josh was now living with him and his mum since he had been thrown out of his home by his father.
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that; I take it Josh's father couldn't cope with his son's sexuality."
"Something like that" Luke replied, "but his mum is okay with it; she's left the sod and gone to live with her sister down in Cornwall".
"Good for her" Hugh replied chuckling, "anyhow give Josh my love; I take it you'll be bringing him to Ditchling when you come down in two weeks' time."
"If that's okay, yes"
"Of course, you can't leave him at home all on his own; besides, I want to meet this gorgeous guy of yours."
"Hugh wants us both to go to the cottage in two weeks" Luke told Josh when he came off the phone.
"Oh yeah, forgot you were going down there."
"Well, I was going to ask him in any event but having him bring the topic up is even better."
"Brilliant, looking forward to seeing your Pink Retreat" Josh giggled casually playing with his now soft organ.
"Yeah, Hugh always likes young guys round him so be prepared for plenty of attention, "who knows, since we'll both be eighteen by the time we go down we may even get to have sex with him!"
"Luke Palmer, you are a sex maniac!"
"Look who's talking! In any event, you wait till you see Hugh, he's a stunner!"
They spent the rest of the morning sitting naked at Luke's desk setting up his new computer. He had various bits of software to install and his email to set up so it took most of the day having had a break for lunch, for which they slipped their clothes back on!
That evening, Luke's mum put on a meal for them both even though they would all be going out for the slap up do on the Friday which was the day after Josh's eighteenth on the Thursday. After their meal, Ann asked Josh if he'd play something on his clarinet for them. He never minded doing that since it was always good to practice.
"You really are good" Ann congratulated Josh when he'd finished a couple of pieces, "have you ever thought of taking it up professionally?"
Josh said he didn't think he was good enough for that so never had. It was probably because his father was always knocking him back despite the encouragement from his mother.
College had finished so the two lads found other things to do at home. In any event Josh still had his gardening work to do and Luke was still reviewing new software for the company that retained his services. In addition, he was in the process of designing a new game he had thought up as well as doing the garden design program for Josh.
When they weren't working, they went out and enjoyed themselves.
On the Thursday, it was Josh's eighteenth so it was Luke's turn to wish him a happy birthday when they woke up and to give him a birthday suck. When they went downstairs for breakfast, Josh noticed some cards sitting beside his plate plus some gifts. Ann wished him a happy birthday and gave him a big kiss.
"Your mum asked me to give you one for her as well" she smiled as she gave him another one.
Jane had written to Ann soon after the breakup of their family to thank her for taking Josh in to her home and making him feel so welcome. Since then they had often contacted each other to keep in touch.
"Are you going to open your cards?" Luke asked as Josh was eating his cereal.
Josh grinned and opened the one which he recognised as being from Luke.
"Thank you, its lovely" Josh replied reading the sloppy message inside.
He then opened the one from Ann followed by his mum's. Another card was from Pam and John and inside there was a message that said "you'll find our birthday present in with your mum's". The final card was from Tristan wishing him a very happy eighteenth birthday.
Once he'd finished his breakfast, he then picked up one of the packages still sitting in front of him. It was from Luke and he was dying to open it to see what he had bought.
Once he'd opened the small box he gasped and just looked at the contents for a moment. He then lifted out a gold neck chain and held it up.
"It's beautiful" he croaked between tears. Nobody had ever given him such a beautiful present before.
"Here, let me put it on for you" Luke said jumping up and going round to where Josh was sitting.
Once again Ann watched on enjoying the tenderness between the two lads.
"There" Luke said once he'd fastened the gold chain round Josh's neck.
Josh pulled him down for a kiss and their mouths locked for a few moments.
"Open this now" Luke told Josh as he gave him the remaining present on the breakfast bar. Ann smiled to herself since she knew why Luke was urging Josh on but said nothing.
Josh opened the other package and found inside some vouchers for driving lessons. He'd often thought about learning to drive but had not been able to afford the lessons let alone a car or a motorbike.
"Wow, mum has paid for driving lessons" Josh said excitedly before opening another envelope which he recognised as being his uncle John's writing. He then read out
"Josh, when you've passed your driving test come down to Cornwall and there will be a car waiting for you. It's not a new one but it should get you around okay once you've finished your college and are working. Love John and Pam. PS the car is a Peugeot 107."
Josh was too overwhelmed for words. Not only was he going to be able to learn to drive but he would also have a car of his own. He just couldn't believe it and burst into tears. Luke had known what the gift was since Jane had spoken to him without Josh knowing. He guessed that Josh would find it all too much. He was so used to being treated badly by his dad that he found it very hard to take it in when people were so kind to him. Luke just hugged him and let Josh's tears flow. Even Ann was becoming emotional at the sight of this young man being so overcome.
"I just can't believe this" Josh finally managed to say as he wiped his tears away. He looked at Ann and then at Luke with a grin that had spread across his face.
"You deserve it Josh" Ann was now saying as she patted his hand across the table.
"There's more to come" Luke then said once Josh had calmed down.
Josh looked at Luke wondering what he meant. Luke then took his hand and led him into the living room with Ann following on behind. There on the dining room table was another large present which was over four feet long. Josh looked at it wondering what on earth it could be. Leaning against the table was another smaller box.
Luke led Josh up to the table for him to read the label affixed to the large box. It read `To Josh on your 18th birthday, love from Ann'.
Josh turned to Ann and felt more tears beginning to form in his eyes. He then looked at Luke and for a moment just stood still.
"Are you not going to open it?" Luke giggled.
Finally Josh started pulling off the wrapping paper and as soon as he had taken one piece off he saw what it was. His heart almost stopped when he read what was on the side of the box – `Yamaha P95 Weighted Digital Piano'. He put his hands up to his mouth and gasped.
"An electronic piano" he gasped again before removing more of the wrapping paper until it was finally unwrapped.
It was all too much. He once again burst into tears and moved over to where Ann was standing. She held open her arms and he collapsed into them.
"Thank you so much Ann, I've always wanted a piano, this is unbelievable, thank you so much" he sobbed as she hugged him and kissed the side of his head.
"It was your mum who gave me all the details of what to get" Ann was saying as Josh turned his head to once again look at the box just to make sure he wasn't dreaming all of this.
"I'll help you get it out" Luke was now saying as he led Josh back to the table.
Between them they pulled the package out from inside its box and un-wrapped the instrument. It looked just beautiful in its sleek black case and its white keys.
"This is from me" Luke was now saying as he passed over the other package.
"But ..." Josh faltered as he felt the gold necklace round his neck, "you gave me this".
Luke grinned, "Yeah, well, thought you were worth it! In any event you had to have something to stand this beauty on" Luke was now saying as he helped Josh unwrap the other box which contained an X stand for the electronic piano to sit on.
They lifted the piano onto the stand and stood back to admire it.
"I take it you can play the piano Josh" Ann said laughing, "Your mum said you could".
Josh nodded grinning, "Yes, mum taught me the piano before I took up the clarinet; this really is brilliant; thank you both so much; I just can't believe it all" he said hugging Luke tight up to him.
"Come on, let's plug it in and hear you play" Luke said excitedly as he unwrapped the power lead and plugged it into the nearest electrical socket.
Soon the instrument was live with small LED lights to show it was ready to use. Luke pulled up a dining room chair and Josh sat down. He hadn't played the piano for a while but he always remembered the piece his mother had taught him and which he had played for his final piano music grade exam. It was Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 2 in B-flat minor and was one of his favourite pieces.
The music just flowed from him as if he'd played it hundreds of times. Luke and Ann couldn't believe what they were hearing and both had tears in their eyes by the time he had stopped. He was nowhere near the end but what they'd heard had told them that this young man knew how to play the piano and was not using his talent to the full.
"Oh Josh, that was so beautiful" Ann finally said placing a hand on Josh's shoulder whilst he sat there admiring the instrument.
"You can record what you play and then play it back" Luke was saying excitedly, "so you can accompany yourself when you play your clarinet".
Josh just grinned. This was the best birthday he'd ever had despite the fact that his father hadn't even bothered to send him a birthday card.
Luke then told Josh that he and his mum had decided that even though it would be nice to keep the piano in the living room it was probably more convenient to have it in their room upstairs.
"It's very portable so we can bring it down whenever you want" Luke continued sounding just as excited as Josh was at receiving the gift.
"You can decide Josh" Ann finally intervened, "if you'd rather keep it down here then we'll find room for it somehow, otherwise you can keep it upstairs".
Josh nodded and just sat and looked at the instrument. Was he dreaming this? He kept touching it just to make sure it was real.
When Josh's emotional feelings had finally subsided he decided to ring his mum and thank her for the driving lessons and to speak to Pam and John.
His mum wished him a very happy birthday and said she was so glad he liked her present. He then told her about the piano, which of course she knew about since she had advised Ann what to get.
"Would you like to hear it?" Josh asked.
Of course she did so Josh played some more Chopin whilst Luke held the phone nearby. Luke could hear Jane gasping at the sound and her son's ability to just play off the cuff.
"That was beautiful son" she said when he stopped playing and took the phone back from Luke, "you really are talented you know, do keep it up won't you?"
Luke assured her that now he had a piano he would do and also practice his clarinet more. Perhaps he would even think about joining a local amateur orchestra.
He then spoke to Pam who wished him a happy eighteenth birthday, before finally speaking to John.
"So young man, let me know when you've passed your test and we can arrange for you and Luke to come down to visit and collect your new car."
Josh thanked him profusely and said he would arrange his driving lessons immediately.
Finally, Luke and Josh carried the piano upstairs and rearranged the furniture in the living room to accommodate it. The room was plenty large enough to get it in without any problem. It would certainly be perfect for Josh to practise on and record pieces to accompany his clarinet as Luke had suggested.
As they had done three days earlier when it had been Luke's birthday, they were soon naked and making love. This time Josh was in the dominant position when Luke's mobile rang. When Luke saw who it was he giggled.
"Tristan; I think he has a webcam in this room and knows when we're at it" Luke laughed as he passed the phone over to Josh to answer.
"Hello birthday boy" Tristan said once he'd checked it was Josh who'd answered, "Happy birthday mate" he then added.
Josh thanked him for calling and for his card. Luke was grinning at him and making groaning noises.
"Are you and Luke at it again?" Tristan asked just for a laugh.
"Yes, we are" Josh replied laughing, "you've caught us at it again!"
"God, you guys just never stop do you; you lucky bastards; give him a big one for me and I look forward to seeing you both on Saturday."
When Tristan had rung off, Luke and Josh burst out laughing.
"Brilliant" Josh exclaimed as he came off the phone from the local driving school where the vouchers were valid, "They have had a cancellation so I can have my first lesson when we get back from Ditchling provided I've got my provisional licence by then".
He knew it was going to be a long process but the sooner he started the better. He went straight on the net and applied for his licence online. It looked as if he would receive this well before they came back from their time with Hugh.
They spent the rest of the morning working out how to record Josh playing the piano and then to play it back so he could use it to accompany his clarinet. By lunchtime they had mastered what to do so in the afternoon, Josh recorded some pieces for him to use.
On the Friday evening Ann took them both out for a slap up meal which they all enjoyed immensely. She had told the restaurant the reason for the celebration so when they arrived they found the table suitably decorated with a notice saying `Congratulations to Luke and Josh on their eighteenth birthday'.
"Don't forget that I've got to go away this weekend so won't be around for your party tomorrow night" Ann announced at the end of the meal, "I have a meeting with a client in Manchester that I can't get out of I'm afraid but I don't suppose you guys will miss me will you" she grinned.
Luke and Josh assured her they could cope okay since there were only three guys coming – their two college friends, Simon and Ryan, and Tristan. When they finally got into bed that night, Luke said the party would be even better with the knowledge that his mum was not downstairs!
The next chapter of 'The Pink Retreat' will be available shortly. I welcome comments so feel free to do so by sending me an email.
Don't forget that Nifty needs donations to host stories like these. See the Donate link to make your donation. Thanks.
Other stories by Adam Stewart: Moving Forward Love at Last Gary's Story Finding Ryan The Advert Number Twenty Five Life After Ryan The Tangled Web