A Forever Home, Chapter 3
Kain had mixed feeling about becoming an adult. Among the benefits were being able to vote and having a full driver's license that had no restrictions. Also, he would have no worries about his parents ever having anything to do with his life again.
On the negative side, he would have to register for military service, and if the draft were reinstated, he could be subject to serving in a war whether or not he wanted to. As an adult, he could be expected to support himself. That was something he wouldn't be able to accomplish without help -- the kind he was receiving from Rod. He didn't think Rod would throw him out unless he did something terrible. However, if it should happen, he had few options.
His financial insecurity was about to be remedied.
It was in the middle of the following week when a lawyer showed up at the house after school looking for Kain. He wanted to speak with the young man alone. Kain told him it would have to be a short meeting since Gabe and he would be going to work soon. He didn't dare jeopardize his job by being late.
"Mr. Kaiser, your grandmother's estate is ready to be settled because her will was simple and straight-forward. I'm the one who wrote it for her and it's been probated. There have been no claims against it, and if there were, they would fail because I made it iron-clad. No one but you is to inherit anything. Her savings were meagre, but there is a fairly large life insurance policy. She had kept up the payments even when it was difficult to make ends meet. It's to be used for your future."
"Wow! I didn't know there'd be anything. Um how much is it for?"
"The sum is $50,000 which isn't a lot in today's world. However, with some scholarships and/or loans, it could get you a college education."
"That's awesome! I hate to think what she might have gone without because of making the payments."
"Whatever sacrifices she may have made, I'm sure she felt they were small in the grand scheme of things. She told me that life had dealt you a difficult hand to play but that you were rising above your problems and had the inner strength to make something of yourself."
"She rescued me when my parents started down the path of alcohol and drugs. Without her, I might have given up and been tempted to follow them. My father beat me pretty badly before she took me in," Kain responded. "By the way, what will be left after taxes and your fees?"
"Life insurance isn't subject to inheritance taxes. As for my fees, there are none. I took this on as a way of paying her back for her kindness to me when I was growing up poor down the street from your grandparents' house. She often found little jobs that needed to be done and would pay me to do them. Without that help, I'd have gone hungry at times. She's part of the reason I made it in life. I'm intent on making the world a better place in her memory. I hope you are too."
"For sure! Thanks!"
Gabe came in from the kitchen to remind Kain that they needed to leave.
Kain shared the news of his good fortune with Gabe as the rode to the store. He would discuss it further with Rod as well when they got home again. This was truly a godsend. It appeared that he had a brighter future than he'd ever imagined. It was all because of his grandmother who had been frugal but generous. He was determined to use his inheritance wisely.
The following day at lunch Kain learned that Aiden had lost a lot of his possessions in a house fire. Luckily, no one was injured, but his family was staying with his grandparents until the insurance claims could be settled and work begun to repair their home.
"It's great to have a place to crash, but that sofa in the basement leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to getting a good night's sleep!" Aiden yawned. "I need to count my blessing, though. Even our puppy got out safely. She's been sleeping with me."
"Is there room somewhere in your grandparents' house for a twin bed?" Kain asked.
"Yeah, there's an empty room in the basement that was intended as a bedroom, but my grandparents haven't had the need to furnish it since we all live nearby."
"Would you like a good used one which I don't need anymore? It's complete with all the bedding to make it up."
"I would love it!"
"Let me text Dad and see if I could switch cars with him after practice," Gabe chimed in. "We could haul it to your grandparents' home before we go to work."
"How much do you want for it?"
"Nothing. Consider it a gift from my late grandmother. She wouldn't want to see you uncomfortable if she could do anything about it, and neither do I."
When they got up from the table, Aiden gave Kain a hug. Kain felt warm all over.
Wrestling practice brought a fringe benefit that Kain hadn't thought about. The open gang-type showers provided the opportunity to be naked with a bunch of other guys which allowed him to see more dicks then he'd seen up to that point. Back in middle school, the showers had been more private and most of the guys were shy about being seen with nothing on. Here at Jefferson, no one seemed particularly modest. Kain wasn't either. He was actually rather proud of his body.
When he was little, he'd been hesitant to show off his uncut penis. He had almost always pulled his foreskin back so he looked more like the other boys. The one time he hadn't, another kid had asked him why he looked different. Kain had skinned it back and the other boy was curious and handled it. Of course, it had become erect and he'd been embarrassed.
Now, he was pleased to be different, especially when he noticed that Gabe was uncircumcised as well. They were sharing the same showerhead because the place was crowded. They weren't the only ones doing that. Several guys who were buds were taking turns soaping up and rinsing off together. No one offered to wash anyone's back, but they were in close proximity, and it was impossible not to notice some details which they'd missed in the past.
It was the end of the week, and Coach Northrup reminded the guys that they should take their singlets home to launder.
"I know some guys like to let the sweat age on their jocks and singlets. However, we don't want anyone coming down with MRSA. It's a bacterial infection which has become resistant to many of the drugs we have to treat it. The best practice is to prevent it. By keeping yourselves and your equipment clean, you have a better chance of never contracting it in the first place.
"Some people develop a fever and break out in pimples. A strong young athlete even died of it a few years back. So, let's not take chances!"
The coach's warning was graphic enough that everyone on the team took their things home to wash.
Saturday night after getting home from the store and having a bite of late supper, Gabe and Kain retired to their room. They were feeling pretty good knowing that they didn't have to work on Sunday because it was their week to help with the meals at church.
"So, how do you feel about wrestling at this point?" Gabe asked.
"Pretty good. Thanks for encouraging me to participate this year. I know I'm not good enough to do it in college but being on the team now is cool. I'm still not great at doing the escape move Coach was trying to teach me. Could we put on our clean singlets and practice it, or are you too tired?"
"I've rebounded since eating. Let's get to it."
When Kain had first come to live with Gabe, both boys had avoided being naked with each other. Gabe felt that if he showed off his body, Kain might be uncomfortable since he knew about Gabe's orientation. After showering so closely together at school, the boys had lost whatever sense of modesty they'd had. Both of them shucked their clothes in the bathroom before sharing a quick shower so they wouldn't get their singlets dirty with the sweat they'd produced at work.
Back in their room, Gabe spread out the mat and had Kain put him into the hold they'd practiced. He explained the process he was going to use to get out of it, and then quickly made his escape. Next, he put Kain in the same hold so he could practice. Kain went limp for a split-second as if he were accepting defeat and then executed the move as well as Gabe had. Seconds later, he had Gabe on his back, pinned to the mat.
"Wow! You were awesome! Are you gonna let me up now?"
"Not just yet, I have another move to try," Kain said with trepidation.
He looked deeply into Gabe's eyes and slowly went in for a kiss. Gabe was shocked for a split-second but rapidly responded in kind.
"What was that all about?" Gabe asked, when he got his breath back.
"It's an experiment to gain empirically verifiable data."
"Now you sound like Ms. Patterson. What did you learn, Mr. Science?"
"That kissing another boy is way different from kissing a girl. We have hard evidence," Kain joked, grinding his erection against Gabe's. "Let's get out of these singlets before we get them sticky with precum."
The two young men helped each other strip and then embraced skin to skin. They lay back down on the mat where Kain pulled Gabe on top of him and arranged their stiffies between them. By squirming and humping, they rapidly approached the point of no return. Their orgasms hit almost simultaneously.
"This is so awesome!" Gabe exclaimed. "I've never felt anything like it. Does this mean more than just two horny guys getting off?"
"It does for me."
"So, you really like me?"
"Gabe, I liked you the minute you sat down by me in fellowship hall back in October. What I feel now is way beyond that. I think there's another "l" word that fits it better."
"I wish this never had to end."
"Well, it has to end occasionally or we'll never get to eat or sleep!" Kain joked.
"I'd love to have you in my bed and hold you in my arms all night but I'm afraid one of us would fall on the floor."
"I've got a queen-sized bed in the basement we could use or we could sleep on the mat here and pull our blankets over us," Kain offered.
"I think your second idea is best. I'm not sure how Dad will react if he finds us in bed together."
"Your dad will probably figure out that we're boyfriends either way. He never fussed at you when you came out, did he?"
"No, he's always been super supportive."
"Are you afraid he'll think that you've pushed me into a relationship?"
"He does know I've had a crush on you from the beginning. I even admitted that to him."
"And to Casey, as I recall."
"How did you know about that? Did Casey tell you."
"Nope. I think it was fate or predestination or something. If it hadn't been for that spider, I might have never known -- at least not so quickly."
"Huh?"
"You talked about me to your brother when you assumed I was in the bathroom. I had stopped to kill a spider because I didn't want it around to bite your baby nephew. It took me long enough that I heard the first part of your conversation. Then, I purposely eavesdropped after that."
The wrestling mat was on a carpeted floor, but the guys spread out one comforter to give them a little more padding. They laid one of the top sheets from the twin beds on it and saved the other to cover them, along with the other comforter to keep them warm.
Cuddling skin to skin was thrilling for both of them. However, they were tired enough not to get off again before going to sleep. Gabe stayed awake a little longer than Kain did. He was still on a high from having done what he'd long wanted to do, and he was counting his blessings.
The boys were up early the next morning and had dressed before going to the kitchen. Getting ready was quicker because they shared the bathroom without any concern about modesty.
When Rod saw them, he remarked about their happy demeanor.
"You two look like you're on top of the world."
"We are," Gabe grinned.
"I'm thinking about moving to the big bed in the basement," Kain said, opening up the subject he wanted to air.
"Are you getting tired of Gabe's snoring?"
"Nope, he doesn't snore, and I'm only interested in moving if he agrees to go with me."
"That doesn't sound like a good idea to me," Rod frowned. "You guys wouldn't have enough room in the little closet for most of your clothes."
Both boys began to worry about where this conversation was headed.
Rod continued: "Perhaps it would be more practical to switch the beds. The twin ones would fit downstairs with a night table between them, and the queen bed would work out with more space left over in your current room, with a little rearranging."
"So, you don't disapprove of us sleeping together?" Gabe asked with a sigh of relief.
"It's not my place to question what you do. You're both mature and responsible. Am I to understand that this signifies a new plateau in your relationship?"
"Yes, Dad. This is more than a crush."
"And I'm the one who made the first move," Kain said. "I knew Gabe was holding back because he didn't want me to feel pressured. So, I kissed him to see if the spark was there for both of us, and it was!"
"Are you planning to come out to anyone at school?" Rod asked. "I'm not pushing you one way or the other. You might want to lie low even though Jefferson has a tolerant atmosphere. It's always possible that someone might bully you."
"Do you think there are other guys like us there, Dad?"
"Of course. You aren't the only ones in a school of that size."
"You know that for sure?"
"Yup. I'm not going to break a confidence and name them, but there are boys who have entrusted me with personal information."
"I'm not gonna ask if one of them is named, Marcus," Kain grinned.
"There's no question in his case. He is out publicly," Rod agreed.
"Yeah, he's so out that I'm surprised he wasn't elected as homecoming queen," Gabe snickered. "That happened to some guy in Columbia, Missouri, according to an article I read on the web. There was a picture of him in a long gold dress. He actually looked rather pretty."
"Here we've been boyfriends for less than 24 hours and you're already looking around," Kain said with an exaggerated sigh.
"Hey, I'm not seriously looking. Besides, I'm into cute, masculine-looking dudes like you. I wouldn't be comfortable dating someone in a dress."
"Let's eat a light breakfast and I'll treat you to brunch after church to celebrate your new relationship," Rod suggested.
"Cool!" they answered together.
Author's notes: Thanks to David C, Richard B, Fred S, Mark F, Randy M, Bill T, Tony C, Bobby H, Brian F, Steve C, Joe W2, Walter S, Geoff S, Frank K, Joe W1, Tim T, Gordon, Bill T, Marty, David C, Paul R, FJB, Jim B, Ken McC, John L, Hotrod, Jim W, Charles C, Randi C, Jim B, Marc L, Rob V, Zero M, Dale W, Gene, Anonymous R, Andrew T, and Ott H who emailed me this past week.
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Thanks to David S for editing. He finds the typos and missing words! He also makes valuable suggestions.
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Thanks,
David
Ps: I have a chronological list of all my posted stories which I can email to you if you have an interest.