Tommy and Tanner Chapter 22
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. It is not my intention to offend anyone or to get you in trouble.
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.
This is not my first attempt at writing fiction. My longer stories 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), and "Second Chance" (September 24, 2010) under "High School" and "Someone to Watch over Me" under "Beginnings" in the gay male section. There are a few short stories also: "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) under "High School", "Brazil Affair" (October 1, 2010) under "Beginnings" and "Seth's Gift" (October 10, 2010) under the Science Fiction/Fantasy category.
I am now listed on Nifty under the category of "Prolific Net Authors" which will make it easier for you to access earlier stories. Some of these stories are also posted at: www.storylover.us along with those of other writers that may interest you.
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 title of your email because my email service sometimes puts them in the "spam" file.
Finally, 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.
David (dlee169@hotmail.com)
Tommy and Tanner, Chapter 22
On Thursday of the following week, Andy was again sitting across from Dr. Moore in her office. He had made this appointment hoping that she was still eager to continue the effort to educate the students about teen suicide after yesterday's news.
"Well, Mr. Roberts, how may I help you today?"
"I want to know if you think I should pursue the plans with the student council for having a speaker on suicide prevention."
"Yes! I think it's a great idea and we should definitely do it."
"But, you heard about the autopsy on Mason Frey, didn't you?"
"I did. It's my understanding that he died of a brain hemorrhage rather than from overdosing on prescription drugs. May I assume that you know more about it than I do?"
"I hear things occasionally at home that I can't repeat, and I won't say anything that isn't public record. Dad's very conscious of not jeopardizing cases. But I can tell you that the state forensics team found only a trace of his anti-depressant medicine in his blood – like what you'd expect if he'd taken a pill in the previous 24 hours."
"Hmm... How do they explain the empty bottle that the press reported?" she asked.
"They're surmising that he may have considered killing himself but changed his mind or that he felt the drugs weren't good for him and dumped them. I guess the bathroom hadn't been used because his mom's in the hospital and the crime-scene detectives found enough of the drug in the toilet to tranquilize an elephant. By the way, they siphoned it out so it wouldn't get into the ground water."
"That explains part of it, but didn't you say before that you and some of his other friends received a suicide note?"
"Yes. Three of us got emails that made us think he was suicidal, but when we read it again, we could see that he might have been telling us goodbye because he was planning to leave. My dad said there was a gym bag with toiletries and a week's worth of underwear and socks near his bed. He may have been packing and got dizzy or too weak to continue."
"I feel so bad for the boy regardless, and for his mother. How must she feel?" Dr. Moore shuddered. "I can't imagine losing my son. But in some strange way, and I don't want you to take this wrong, I'm relieved that it wasn't suicide. Now I feel less like I should have seen the signs and intervened. I guess that sounds selfish."
"I understand completely what you're saying and how you feel," Andy smiled wanly. "I feel that way too. You're the head of a really big school and you can't know all the kids. But some of us knew Mason well. I have been struggling with his death wondering if I could have been partially responsible. Now, I don't feel it as much; sort of like I've been let off the hook, but I still wonder if I handled things like I should have in the summer."
"If you were close to Mason, you must have known that he got into trouble. I'm hesitant to talk about it if you don't."
"Is this about the incident at the pool?" Andy asked, also being wary of how much he should say.
"It is. The associate principals and I were notified when school began. How much do you know?"
"Uh, Tommy, Tanner, and I stopped him from what he was doing with the boy."
"Are those Tark and Teri's sons?"
"Yes, do you know them?"
"I don't know them well, but I do keep up on whose parents are teachers and also whose parents are cops." She grinned.
"Oops! I'd better watch my p's and q's like Grandma always says."
"Relax, I don't have you under surveillance," Dr. Moore laughed. "I expect that you'll do some of the things most adolescent boys do. I'm not out to get anyone.
But getting back to your worries, you and the Torrance boys did what you needed to by intervening. If Mason were here, I'm sure he'd eventually come to see that. So, don't feel guilty over anything you did."
"Thanks, he sorta said that in his farewell note.
I'd better get to class."
"Did you have lunch?"
"No, I thought I shouldn't use class time to see you, so I skipped."
"Here, let me write you a pass so that you can at least grab a sandwich. If you get to the cafeteria before the bell rings, you'll be first in line."
"Thank you, Ma'am. I'll do that. I'll also try to get the ball rolling on the assembly plans at the next student council meeting."
Susan Moore sat at her desk a few minutes pondering what had been said. She had been impressed at how mature and sensitive this sophomore boy was. It gave her hope for the future when his generation would be in charge.
The cooler days of October meant that the usual rituals of the homecoming game and dance were rapidly approaching. Tommy wondered why they called it "homecoming" since it was rare that you saw many alumni at the game, and the dance was only for current students, but who was he to question tradition? This year Tanner and he were not going to ask any girls to go with them. Neither felt honest about using a girl to hide their sexual orientation. Besides, they were planning to go stag with Andy and Tim.
Tim had broken up with his girlfriend, but his buddy, Chas, was still going steady. Tim said he wasn't really interested in beginning a new relationship in his senior year since many high school romances fizzled in college. It would be better to go there as a "free-agent" instead of feeling like you couldn't date anyone on campus if you had a girlfriend somewhere else. It would be awkward to go with Chas as a single, so he'd offered to drive his brothers and Andy. They were good company and, with all of them going together, he could be their cover in a way if someone thought it odd that they didn't have dates.
The whole family would be at the football game on Friday night. Teri was taking her three younger sons because Tark and Tim had to be there well in advance of kickoff. She swung by the Roberts' home to pick up Andy.
She smiled inwardly at the "Three Musketeers" who were sharing the back seat. Tuck had called "shotgun" as was his wont, but wouldn't have had any competition from the others. They were happy to be together – Andy by the right door, Tommy by the left, and Tanner in the middle.
Tommy and Tanner held hands surreptitiously, keeping them out of sight between their bodies. It wasn't that anyone in the car would have been upset, but it was more that they were sharing a secret touch. Andy reached over to tease them by holding Tanner's other hand and received a playful slap on the wrist from Tommy. That led to more horsing around.
"What are you children doing?" Tuck snickered. "Don't make me come back there!"
"You sound just like Mom," Tommy giggled. "When did you become Mr. Mature?"
"Some of us become men when we hit puberty and some will never grow up." Tuck said with an air of superiority like Dana Carvey's "Church Lady."
"And you fall into the latter category." Tanner threw in his two cent's worth.
"Boys, boys!" Teri laughed. "Behave or I'm taking you all home and Andy and I will go to the game."
"Dad's barely out of sight and you're taking up with a younger man," Tommy giggled.
"Sheesh!" Teri exclaimed. "Can't you boys be serious?"
"Don't be too hard on them; it's hormones," Tucker giggled.
"Hard-on, he said, hard-on; wash his mouth out, Mom," Tommy demanded in a feigned tone of shock.
"You're all going to have to watch your mouths when we do have little ears to hear everything you say." Teri cautioned, with a grin. "Now settle down and save some of that spunk to cheer for Tim and our team."
Her choice of words sent everyone, including Andy, into fits of laughter. She realized the minute the words left her mouth that she had made a verbal faux pas. But instead of acting embarrassed, she laughed with them.
"You masters of innuendo are a bad influence on your old mom," she claimed.
The boys did have plenty of energy left for cheering on the home team. Tim was really on top of his game and his receivers were where they were supposed to be when he threw passes. By halftime, the Cougars led seven – zip.
Between halves, the traditional ceremony of crowing the king and queen came off without a hitch. Tim seemed to be surprised to have been elected king. Melody Stack, who was elected queen, was not only pretty, but a genuinely nice girl. They really were a perfect pair. When Tim found out that she didn't have a date because her boyfriend, Bart, had dumped her for someone who would put out, he immediately decided to ask her to go to dinner with him before the dance and to spend time together after. He hoped his brothers would understand why he'd changed their plans last minute.
Both sides scored in the third quarter and at the end of that period, their worthy opponents rallied to tie the game. The fourth quarter continued with Coolidge scoring six more points, only to have the other team catch up a few plays later.
The coach was not happy with his defensive line. He called a quick time-out to chew some butt.
With only a few minutes left in the game, Coolidge junior, Bart Johnson, intercepted a pass to give the Cougar's possession of the ball again with only seconds left of regular play left on the clock. It looked like the game would go into overtime.
Conventional wisdom might have dictated running the ball and taking no chances of a turnover, but Tim made a split-second decision to go for the win. He feigned throwing to his strongest receiver and most of the opposing defense rushed to cover him. But Tim threw to Greg Paulson who had often been overlooked because of his somewhat lazy nature.
It was a long pass to a player who was virtually standing by himself. Greg easily caught the ball and ran into the end zone ahead of the buzzer. The Cougar fans all leapt to their feet cheering. Tim and a very surprised Greg were carried off the field.
Tommy and Tanner unsuccessfully attempted to make Tim feel guilty about ditching them for a pretty senior, but couldn't pull it off because they ended up laughing. Tim giggled too as he headed for his room leaving their door half open.
The two middle boys had been in a giddy mood ever since all the joking around on the way to the game. They were also feeling horny, but that was not in the least abnormal for guys their age.
They were barefoot and naked to the waist, wearing their favorite Levi's. Tanner was lying on his back having pulled Tommy down so that his back was pressed against Tanner's nipples. Tanner's right hand found its way down to Tommy's package, making it fill out his jeans very nicely.
"Are you still full of spunk?" Tanner asked, licking his ear.
"I won't be for long if you keep doing what you're doing. I'm sure I don't have to ask if you're full of it."
"Want to relieve the pressure before we try to go to sleep?"
"Uh huh..."
Tommy twisted around enough to kiss Tanner and that was the spark that ignited the tinder.
Teri was returning from the kitchen, having had a craving for orange soda (a drink she rarely desired when not pregnant). On her way, she passed Tommy and Tanner's bedroom. She was surprised, but not shocked by their amorous play and watched them a moment longer than she felt she should have. Instead of alerting them to her presence, she very quietly closed their door and continued down the hall.
The boys' lustful foreplay had its effect on Teri's mood. She couldn't quite understand why seeing two same-sex kids making out would cause her to feel hot too.
Football and wrestling often had that effect on Tark's libido – raising it more than usual. Teri had heard that men's testosterone levels rose measurably when watching football, and she hoped tonight would be one of those nights.
When she got to their bedroom, she found Tark propped up on a couple of pillows. His hopeful grin, as well as the tent he was pitching in the sheet, let her know that her wishes would be fulfilled. She made a suggestive gesture with her tongue on the way to the shower.
Tark offered to take the boys and Andy to the dance with him to spare Teri the trip as well as save gas. He was one of the chaperones on the first shift and needed to be there early. The boys could help with the last-minute setting up details and give their tickets to the hosts when the doors officially opened. He or Teri could pick them up when they were ready to go home.
The boys weren't quite brave enough to dance with each other publicly, but were considering coming out, possibly next school year if they didn't get outed by something or someone before then.
As always, there were a number of boys and girls who had come stag, so there were plenty of friends to chat with or dance with. None of the three was going to be a wallflower unless he chose to be. The boys never lacked for a partner anytime they wanted to be out on the floor.
Ava and Sibyl, who were evidently dateless too, sat at a small table not too far from where Tommy, Tanner, and Andy had located. Tanner felt it was good that there were three of them together because it discouraged the pair of girls from joining them uninvited.
Later, Ava came over to see if Tommy would dance with her, and he graciously accepted her invitation. As they moved about the floor, she informed him that Sibyl wanted to ask Tanner to dance, but was afraid that he was still angry with her.
"I think he's forgiven her for what she put him through last year, but I don't believe he's eager to be friends again. You'll have to admit it was pretty rough on him."
"Yes, I agree completely, but it would allow her to apologize to him face to face."
"Are you sure that's all she'd want of him?" Tommy asked, afraid that Sibyl might be attempting to invade his territory.
"I'm not at all certain of that. She's difficult to read – like she's not dealing with reality. Sometimes she says she's sworn off dating until college and other times she complains about how she messed up a perfectly wonderful relationship with Tanner."
"She's hallucinating if she thinks their relationship was great. I know him a whole lot better than she does. I live with him after all, and I can tell you that it's all in her head."
"Do guys talk about those things as much as girls do?"
"I don't know which gender spends the greater percentage of time discussing affairs of the heart, but I know Tanner," Tommy insisted.
When he joined Tanner and Andy again, Tommy told what Ava had said. Tanner looked unhappy and shook his head.
"I suppose I should go dance with her and get it over. Maybe she'll stop texting me."
"What?" Tommy exclaimed. "Has she been doing that? When did this start, and why didn't you tell me?"
"It's only been since Wednesday and I didn't want to upset you, like you are now. She told me she was sorry about last year and thought we could all sit together at lunch like we used to. I'm really sorry I didn't tell you right away. Will you forgive me?" Tanner said gazing deeply into Tommy's eyes.
"You know I will, damn it." Tommy answered softly. "Please don't keep things from me in the future. Dad's always says that's why he and Mom get along so well. They share."
"He doesn't tell her everything about us," Tanner reminded him.
"No, because that's confidential stuff. But he wouldn't keep it from her if some chick was chasing him. I mean he wouldn't brag about it, but he wouldn't keep it from her."
"You're right. So what should I do about Sibyl?"
"Do what you think is best and I won't judge you for it, but remember that you and I belong to each other."
"I love you Tommy," Tanner whispered as he stood up to walk to where Sibyl was sitting.
"You really do love him," Andy observed. "You trust him enough to let him wander into the enemy's camp, not knowing the outcome."
"I know him well enough that he'll go home with me and sleep in my bed at the end of the evening. Did you ever hear the old country song called, `Save the Last Dance for Me' or something like that?"
"Yeah, I think so. That's the one where the guy says she can have fun and dance with anyone as long as she goes home with him."
"Yup, that's the message."
They watched as Tanner and Sibyl danced across the floor somewhat awkwardly. Tommy would have to admit that he felt uncomfortable about how close they were. Tanner seemed to be stiff and ill at ease too as Sibyl clung to him like a leach. When the music ended, she gave him a kiss on the cheek. That was about all that Tommy could take. He wanted to go over to her table and tell her to keep her hands off his boyfriend!
Tanner came back looking chagrined.
"I didn't start any of that! I told her that I wasn't interested in going out with her or even sharing a table in the cafeteria. She just doesn't listen! What's it going to take?"
"We could tell her that you're mine," Tommy suggested with a smile.
"Then we'd be outed for sure. Are you ready for that?"
"I'm likin' the idea more and more." Tommy said with a wider grin.
As the lights dimmed and a slower song came over the speakers, Sibyl made her way toward the boys' table. When she got close, she pretty well blocked the view from anyone else in the gym.
"Tanner, come dance with me. They're playing our song."
"Nope, I'm not dancing with you again and we never had a song. I'm sticking with the one I love."
Then he made a fairly daring move for a high school sophomore. He pulled his boyfriend's face closer to his and gave him a kiss on the lips.
Sibyl gasped loudly and fled to her table. Few students took notice, and the ones who did figured that one of the boys had insulted her or told her to get lost. She did have a way of repelling people.
Tommy, Tanner, and Andy could scarcely keep from falling on the floor with laughter. The look on Sibyl's face had been priceless. They didn't fear that they'd take any heat from Tanner's action because it was unlikely that anyone but Sibyl had seen the kiss. And if anyone had, it was also likely that it would be viewed as a couple of teenagers being silly.
"We should call home for a ride, I guess," Tanner said. "I'm ready to blow this pop-stand. Andy, do you wanna see if you can stay over tonight?"
"No, I appreciate the invite, but I think Tommy's gonna want to finish what you started a few minutes ago and I doubt you'll want an audience."
"Right, and right!" Tommy snickered. "I suppose it might be hot sometime to be videoed or have someone else watch, but I don't think I'm up for that just yet."
"But I'll bet you're `up' right now," Andy joked.
"Um, maybe..."
Tark arrived a few minutes to take his sons home and drop off Andy on the way.
The rest of the weekend passed quickly and before they knew it, the boys' clock radio was awakening them early on Monday for swim practice which had begun about the same time cross-country ended. The next couple of months were going to be stressful trying to juggle studies, sports, and activities, but that was fine with the guys. They would have to make use of all their spare minutes. However, the outcome should be worth the effort and it would make the first semester continue to fly by.
At passing time between second and third hours, Tommy and Tanner ran into Ava in the hall.
"When Sibyl came back to our table Saturday night and told me what you did, Tanner, I could hardly keep from laughing. I think you may have solved your problem with her pestering you. She was shocked! But the funny thing is that when she tells it around no one believes her but me, and I'm not giving her the satisfaction of knowing that I do. I have a suspicion that the kiss was more than goofing around, but I'm not going to spread that either. I want you guys to know that you have a friend who'll stick by you if you ever need me."
"I appreciate that," Tanner nodded.
"Me too," Tommy agreed.
Then he did something totally unexpected and kissed Ava on the cheek.
Author's notes: Thanks to all who responded this week.
As you may have noticed, there are now 100 new responders since last fall. I suspect several were regular readers who hadn't gotten around to writing earlier. Thanks anyway. This week's list includes: T&T21: Walt S, Ott H, Bill T, Lawrence and Douglas, Bert H, Bob Z, Danny A, Rutabaga, Roger L, Jim C, Julio F (#98), Richard W, Tom A, Ethan T, Bill K, Trish, Caleb, Chris S (#99), Wayne, Rich (#100) (re: Zeke), Paul R, Jim W, JTR, and Mark H,
The big news since last posting, of course, is the vote in New York State to legalize same-sex marriage. The most significant part of that may be the Republican legislators who voted in favor. Things are changing! Perhaps marriage equality will go national if DOMA gets rescinded.
David