College in the Desert

CHAPTER IX-College in the Desert AUTHOR: Barry Mattison

WEBSITE/EMAIL: http://storiesbybm.webs.com stories@barrymattison.com

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INTRODUCTION:

This is a fictional story about how two young guys met at college, started a friendship that eventually became a long relationship, and endured all the good times and the bad times of that relationship over the coming years. The characters in "College in the Desert" are all fictional and any semblance to real persons--living or deceased--is purely coincidental.

DISCLAIMER:

This fictional story is written for the gay reader in particular and describes scenes of male nudity and sexual acts between two or more guys that some readers may find inappropriate and/or unsuitable for their reading. Please do not read any further if you find such reading offensive or if it may become property of anyone under the age of 21. This is copyrighted by Barry Mattison with permission to publish given to the Nifty Alliance Archive and is exclusively for the readers of this website. Copying, distribution or re-publication of this writing in any other web site, private or otherwise, is a violation of local, national and international copyright laws and will be pursued to the fullest extent allowable by law.

CHAPTER NOTE:

I hope this chapter starts to bring things back into line and slow us down. I (and a very observant reader to whom I'm very grateful) felt that things were getting too complicated, there were too many people involved, and I was losing the direction the story really needed to be going in. So we're going to get back to the outline and move on.

CHAPTER IX

The last chapter ended in somewhat of a pickle for Doug and Juss, but Doug handled it well by setting a boundary for Kenny and themselves without disrupting their relationships. This had been one of Kenny's problems in the past – no boundaries. Kids need them as they grow up, even though it seems as though they spend more time fighting them than following them.

In this case Kenny had woken the boys up in the middle of the night by crawling into bed with them. Everybody was totally naked. Both Doug and Juss were uncomfortable with the situation and suggested that they all slip on some underwear and go back to bed.

Kenny just wanted to fall asleep, so he pulled on the small pair of boxers and then we all climbed back into bed. Only this time Juss and I cozied up together and Kenny warmed himself against Juss.

So there we were, the three of us all cozy, snuggled up together, and dozing back off to sleep. Who knows where this would lead, but we were all so tired that sleep was more important.

I just needed to get some sleep after such a long day. And sleep we all did! None of us even opened an eyeball until around eleven-thirty the next morning.

I had been dreaming about things being different than they were, and had been. The details were getting a little hazier now as I became more awake, but the bits I could remember revolved around Juss and I having our own place...none of this past stuff had ever happened; I remember meeting someone at some hike, and then the last thing as I finally stretched and cleaned the sleepers from my eyes was that we were students at the university. I couldn't remember any more, and even that faded after a while as I tried to open my eyes and see where I was. I looked at the alarm clock and it was after twelve noon. OH SHIT! Class started at one o'clock today for both of us. I panicked instantly.

"Hey Juss, wake up! School! We've gotta' get going. The alarm never went off or I didn't set it, but we need to scramble. I also told Tim to meet us at school this afternoon at the student union at twelve forty-five."

Fortunately, Juss was a quick riser, as was I. I flipped over to give him a quick kiss of buffalo breath and found myself staring at Kenny.

"Whoops...forgot about you. Sorry about that. I looked down and saw a decent sized tent in his boxers. Hmmm...morning woody huh. Anyway, we are going to have to rush out for school because we overslept – Justin's fault – Jeff and Don will spend the day with you. We'll be quiet and let you go back to sleep."

"Uhhh huh...." and he was back out light a light had been switched off. I wished I could fall asleep that fast. I kissed him on the forehead and slipped out of bed. Juss had already beat me to the shower where I joined him. We soaped each other up, and of course, up went the morning flagpoles. But we didn't have time to play around so we rinsed each other off, jumped out, toweled dry, and dressed.

I knew it was going to be a hot one today so we both decided to go commando in shorts and light polo shirts. Neither of us wore socks during the summer and today I decided to wear my good sandals that were comfortable enough to walk about the campus, but cool enough to lay about the green during breaks and feel comfortable.

I peeked my head in Jeff's room to see if they were up yet...they were...but I interrupted; I had to let him know that Kenny was theirs until we got back from school.

"No problem. See 'ya later."

I bounced down the stairs just as Justin was putting our book bags together and grabbing the car keys.

"Ready to go Doug?"

"Ayuh, let me just grab a breakfast bar to eat on the way and I'll meet you out front. Want one?"

"Okay."

We made school just in time to meet Tim. Justin headed for his first class and Tim and I ran for mine – Music Theory – across the campus green.

When we got there the professor and my professor from performance class were talking about something, so I figured at least we didn't miss anything, and, they hadn't missed me. Wrong!

"Doug, would you come down front please for a moment," the professor asked.

I thought, great, almost the end of the semester, great grades, and now I'm going to get nailed for something I probably didn't even do. I stood up and quickly walked down the steps of the conference hall, not wanting to piss him off more than he might be all ready. Most of the students in this class were in the same classes, so they had been present for the performance.

"Doug, your professor and I were discussing your performance exam and how to score the results. The results meaning your excellence in not only the deliverance of your performance, but the interpretation and understanding of the music and the musician that wrote it. I was just advising your theory professor that I have completed your grade in performance class early and am making some recommendations to the department dean for you. So you have an early out in my class and your grade has been turned in."

I was stunned and a little embarrassed. I looked at Tim and saw a big smile on his face and the faces of some of the students, even a few of the guys.

I shook the hands of my professors and thanked them for the honor, then walked back up to my seat.

After class a few of us were standing around talking about notes from today's class. A few of the girls shook my hand and one of my good friends, Shirley, gave me a tight squeeze to congratulate me for getting the early out of the performance class. Most of the guys slapped me on the back and said, "good job Doug", and one of the soccer jocks even gave me a hug. I looked around real quick to see if anyone noticed, but nobody seemed to have seen it happen, or at least cared if they did.

I was "out" to a lot of people, but didn't make a big deal of being gay. In fact, most people thought I acted more on the straight side if anything, especially having Tim around. Everybody knew by now that he was a bodyguard and accepted that fact and never questioned anything further.

"Thanks everyone for the kudos on the class. I'll see you in the next class later today," I said to my friends in passing, as Tim and I headed across campus to the student union.

I had a little time before class and Justin would always meet us there until class started, plus we usually got something to eat while we were killing time.

"Did you see the soccer jock from the front row hug me?"

"Yeah. That's a little unusual isn't it for a jock?"

"I guess so, not only that, he called me handsome. I'm getting a fan club of straight guys. I guess he was straight because my gaydar didn't go off."

"What's a gaydar?"

"Am I the only gay person you know? You really don't know what gaydar means? Put that thought on hold for a few until we get settled at the SU, okay?"

"I guess I can do that, but don't let me forget about it. I;ve been thinking about a lot of things since meeting you watching how you interact with others. I don't usually say much about how I feel to other people, but our situation is a little different and I feel more comfortable around you."

"Thanks for the confidence. I'm pretty easy to talk to and a good listener so say whatever you feel like. We'll keep walking and talking."

"Well...I've been thinking about your personality compared to mine. I've had a few problems at home lately, but I'll tell you about those later sometime, bit I notice like...for instance today, you deserve to be rewarded for everything you do for others and I'm glad the professor rewarded you with your grade a little early. Plus you've got hot groupies now," he added with a smirk. "What's Justin going to say about that?"

"Brat," I muttered as I playfully punched him in the shoulder. "He's got his own fan club. Did you see all those trophies he has at the Dojo? My babe is amazing."

"You know, that's what amazes me about you. You just get an honor like that, and instead of running around and telling everyone about it, you talk about your lover and how amazing he is. I wish I had the same attitude about life, about people, that you do."

"I think you do Tim. Look, everybody is different in how they think, how they react to external stimuli, and how they display themselves to others. I go through life my way because that's how I feel inside; I almost always look at the 'glass half full' as they say. In many ways, from what I've seen so far, you do the same based upon what you believe in and all that. I think you are kind, gentle, loving, very loyal, and always want to do the right thing at the expense of your own self. I have no doubt you would give your life for me or anyone else if the situation arose. You need to give yourself credit for all that and realize that you have value, your wife has value, and your family has value. But most importantly, you have to believe in yourself and have confidence in who you are before you can reach out to others and place them ahead of yourself, otherwise all you think about is yourself. Can you follow what I'm trying to say."

"Sort of. I'll have to sift through all that in my mind."

"Good. I think it will help you make a determination about Kenny. He's welcome at our house until somebody says otherwise, but I'm thinking that you might take him and arrange for custody if your parents are so bad that they are kicking him out for being gay. Speaking of that, I haven't heard from Don, Sr. yet. I'll call him when we get in the SU and sit down."

"My wife and I were talking about him last night and we're not sure what to do to help him out."

"Let's see what Don says first."

We stepped into the student union and found a quiet corner, as if that was possible, and I placed a call to Don.

When he answered he went right into what he'd done about the situation with Kenny.

"I have a name list of all the kids involved in the incident with Kenny, the coach and the principal. Basically the problem is one that is pervasive throughout the schools and I'm not sure what I can really do about it. It goes back to the parents and how they raise their children to treat others; then there's the whole attitude about sports being the 'end all and be all' in school. The 'jocks' are always given preference over the other kids and tend to bully them around, and the coaches and administration tend to overlook it because they don't want some pissed off father in their face because their star football player son got kicked off the team for roughing up one of the kids for being gay.

I know it's not right, but it's a big machine that's hard to stop. I did get one concession out of the principal though. It turns out that the coach has a record of this happening at other schools where he's coached, hence the reason he gets moved around the district so much. I threatened the coach with arrest for harassment and promoting underage violence if he didn't come up with a program to stop bullying and implement it within ten days. Since this is just about the last place he can teach, I think he'll do it. I gave him the name of someone who specializes in a good program like that and hope he takes up my advice. I don't think he liked the thought of his picture spread across the front page of the local paper for being arrested and losing his job. The kids that participated in beating up Kenny have been instructed to help him with the project to get extra credit since most of them aren't going to graduate without some help, so it's a win-win for them.

Tell Kenny he'll be staying at your house until this issue is settled, or he can also stay at his brother's house if he wants him to. He'll have a tutor daily to keep up with his school work and CPS has given me authority to oversee his care while they investigate his family."

"Holy smokes Don, you went all out. We'll wait and see what happens and of course Kenny's welcome to stay with us. He loves it there so far. What about the sentencing for Joe and his buddies?"

"That's this afternoon, so I'll be calling you back about that as well. So, after all that news, any questions?"

"Jeez no Don, and again, thanks for doing so much. Maybe we can finally have our lives back again. I'm still waiting to hear from someone about putting Steve's retirement party together too."

"Okay, I'll find out if there's any info on that when I call you this afternoon or evening. Actually, why don't I stop over after everyone is home and that way I can tell the rest of the guys the news all at once."

"That's a great idea. How about dinner, bring your wife. Come over around six-thirty and we'll eat about seven or so. Sound okay?"

"Perfect. I'll let you know if anything changes, but if you don't hear from me, plan on it."

"Great. See you then. Bye"

"Bye."

As I hung up with Don, Juss walked in and sat next to me. This was one of those times when I really needed him just to touch me and tell me everything would be all right. He must have sensed something was off today because right away he looked into my eyes, reached over and picked up my hand, and kissed me. It's uncanny when you have such an intimate relationship that one or the other person is so tuned into your moods and feelings that they can tell what you need and do something without thinking about what others might say.

"I love you," he said. "8312," I said right back to him – he would know what it meant."

"You two are amazing," Tim said. You haven't even known each other that long, in fact I think I'm now a believer in love at first sight, you look at each other and don't say anything, yet you know right away what's going on; You speak some jibberish numbers and the world comes to an end and waits for you two to stop and get off the train. I don't understand what it is, but even Jeff and Donny are the same way. How come I don't have that with my wife?"

"It's hard to answer that for you without knowing you and your wife better," said Justin. That reminded me to tell Juss that Don and his wife were coming over for dinner this evening.

"Tim, why don't you and Kathleen – right – come over too so we can meet her?"

"I'll call her and ask her. Can we bring Billy over too? "

"Of course. We have a playroom, remember."

"Let's grab something quick to eat, get this last class over with, then beat feet for home so we can get things ready for dinner. I'll call Jeff and let him know what's up so they can be prepared and get dinner started on time. Let's invite Steve and his wife too."

Justin took a quick order from Tim and I as I handed him some money with the "my treat" attached to it I called Jeff to tell him what was up and also see how Kenny was doing.

"Hey Doug, what's up?" Jeff answered.

I told him what Don had said and about all the other plans. He said that he would take Kenny and Don with him to the store, do some quick shopping and have everything ready.

"Don't worry about a thing Doug, we'll have it all prepared and ready to go. We've been lounging about most of the day anyway and Kenny has been in the pool all afternoon. He loves it here, of course, and we love having him stay with us. The tutor called and it's all arranged for him to start tomorrow with her, so that's taken care of."

"That's good," I replied, "one less thing to worry about. Will she work around your job and my school until some decisions are made?"

"No problem."

"Okay, see you later. We're going to eat and go to our last class and then get home. Expect us around five and guests around six-thirty."

"All right, talk to you later. Bye. Kisses."

The three of us sat and gulped down our lunch and then after a hug and a kiss, Justin left for his math class and Tim and I headed for my Ethics class. I liked the class, but found it a bit challenging, not because of the subject matter, but because most students didn't like to talk in class and I thought their answers were too short, not pertinent, and most of them could care less about ethics. But I was a little older than most of the others in the class, I'd worked before going to school, and I felt that first, most of the student's were taking this class because they thought it was an easy class for a few credits and second, they probably didn't even know what ethics had to do with the rest of their lives. I really liked the class and loved to get into some short debates with the professor once in a while, but today was not one of those days and fortunately, she did not call on me to speak.

With the class ended and little time for us to get home, Tim and I headed for the parking lot to meet up with Justin. We both had keys, but we always waited for each other. I called Jeff to see if he needed anything from the store, but he was all set. While we waited the few minutes for Justin to show up, Tim had a question for me.

"You said you'd tell me what gaydar meant"

"Oh boy, that's not too hard to explain. You know what radar is, like on a ship or a plane. It's able to detect things in the dark, or pick people out of a crowd like the FLIR on the police helicopters. Well gaydar is sort of a 'sixth sense' that supposedly gay people have to be able to pick other gay people out with. It's funny, but it does work sometimes, but I think it's based more on being observant and noticing little nuances about gay people than a sixth sense. But that's just my opinion."

"I'll have to work on that one."

"You do that. If you develop it you might be gay, or at least bi-sexual though because straight people don't usually exhibit the signs of having it, so I'll be surprised if you do."

Right then Justin turned up, breathing hard after running from the other end of campus. "We need to plan our parking better based on our classes. That's a long run from the other end of campus in the early evening."

"Works perfect for me, I only have to walk a quarter of a mile to the car." That got me another smack in the shoulder.

Tim said goodbye to us both and gave us a hug as he headed for his car. There was a lot on his mind and I was wondering if he would show up for dinner or not. We'd just have to wait and see. I had a feeling that he was having some problems on the home front, but didn't know how to talk about them. Why do men have this stigma placed on us that we can't talk about things that bother us. We're supposed to keep them buried deep inside and just deal with them. I think that's why the divorce rates are so high, along with crime rates and suicide rates. Maybe he would feel comfortable enough to talk to me soon and let things out. Not that I was an expert or anything, but part of my first degree was in counseling and life had taught me much about being hurt and how opening up helped heal a lot of wounds. I left this as another "we'll see" thought as Juss and I headed home.

I know where our problems existed and didn't exist because my motor mouth hardly ever stopped with him. I loved him so much that I never stopped telling him that. I firmly believed that if you tell someone something enough times with conviction, eventually they will believe it in their heart. In this case, he didn't need me to tell him because he already knew it, but I told him anyway, and every chance I got.

"I didn't have time to tell you about this dream I was having last night, and I wanted to tell you what I can remember."

He interrupted me and told me that he was having dreams at night as well.

"Me first," I said.

"No, me first."

"No...me,...okay, you go first, I'll never win this."

"Well, I can't always remember most of my dreams, but it was something about us living in our own place – away from here – just the two of us, no more problems with bodyguards or any..."

"WAIT! You won't believe this, but I had the same dream. We're still going to college together and something about going on a hike."

We were both getting excited now at the thought that we could be so close as to be having the same, identical dream. We had never discussed any of this before; it was almost creepy the way we were on the same wave length. We both knew that something was going to change in our lives at some point, maybe soon, maybe down the road, but change was coming.

Right at that moment we had never felt as close to each other as we did then. Hands reached out at the same time and fingers greeted each other as his long, slender fingers intertwined with mine in their own embrace of love as we connected. If we didn't have a car with the shifter on the floor and a big box of junk between two bucket seats, I would have been sitting in his lap at the moment. But we were just pulling into the driveway and waiting for the door to open, so we would have to make up for it when we got inside.

As the door slowly opened, there was Kenny, Jeff and Tim, all itching to tell us news about the trial.

Juss and I looked at each other...oh well, family first. But later...and tonight Kenny had to sleep in his own bed.

Following the usual routine with the door and security all the guys trailed us in as we sat down on the couch and waited. I snuggled up to Juss and put my hand in his lap, conveniently close to his crotch. I just couldn't get enough of him today.

Anyway...Jeff told us the news.

"Don called this afternoon. We're finally free from this mess! The Court really wanted to make a statement with all of these guys that gang activity would not be tolerated at all back in our town. Joe was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole in 40 years, but he'll never get it; the other two in the truck – life without the possibility of parole – and the rest involved in the shooting at the old house, death sentences...every one of them. All the ones involved were major players in the gang and the police feel that this has broken up the gang enough for them to clean up at least the majority of the rest of the leaders. Don said that as we speak they are conducting raids in three major cities and arresting as many as they can.

He thinks that once things cool down and they get a feel for the effectiveness of their actions, then we'll be safe once again and won't have to be looking over our shoulders all the time. Won't that be great?"

Both Justin and I stood up, but it was Jeff and I that hugged with tears streaming down our cheeks. This was what we had been waiting for so long and had suffered for. Memories flooded each of our minds of hospital days and nights, of the shootouts and death, of days of hiding in the house with the drapes drawn and hours spent in the bunker because we heard noises outside. All those memories came flooding out in buckets of tears as we held each other tightly. We had been through so much, but we had survived it all, and we had won this game at least.

I couldn't speak very well, but I leaned back a little and looked Jeff in the eyes, those beautiful green eyes I hadn't paid much attention to in quite a while.

"We made it buddy. We made it. I feel like so much weight has been lifted off my shoulders. All those memories are flashing through my mind right now, from the jacuzzi, the hospital, waiting to see if you would live or die, everything. I don't know if I can tell you in words enough how much you mean to me. Even though I'm meant to be with Justin, you will always be my first and last love for what we've been through and I just want you to know that."

"I feel exactly the same way about you. You were the one that gave me the will to live when I died in that hospital. I've never forgotten that and never will. So much has happened since then. It seems like we've grown apart a little and I think that's natural since we both have our own lovers now and with the news today, can probably even have our own lives at some point. But you're always inside of me bro and I love you. So no matter where we are or what we do, nobody can separate the twins, ever."

"Can we join now?"

Both Donny and Justin were standing near us, patiently waiting. They each needed to claim their life partner and finally make the distinction as to who was who. I felt like I was being handed off in a marriage ceremony or something when I reached out and gently lifted up Justin's hand. Bringing it to my mouth, I kissed his princely hand and then brought him to me, forever mine now, free and clear, no strings attached.

Jeff and Don had already slipped out of the room and gone to their bedroom I presumed...exactly where Juss and I wanted to be right now. Only one slight problem prevented that from happening and I was thinking about how to solve that when I suddenly remembered we were having guests. Oh no, not again!

Kenny was standing there, lost in a world of grown ups, Jeff and Donny had just headed to the bedroom, and we wanted to do the same. Now we had to act fast.

I ran upstairs to catch Jeff before things got "out of hand" to remind him we had guests coming while Justin went into the kitchen to check and see if the guys had anything done yet. Fortunately they had the whole dinner prepared except for a few odds and ends, like setting the table, prep on the veggies, things like that.

Justin met us at the bottom of the stairs. Jeff was still tucking his shirt back in and had this rather unusual look on his face, but all I could do was shrug my shoulders and get going on the broccoli.

"What time is it," Jeff asked.

"Six o'clock," I replied, "and everyone is supposed to get here around six forty-five or so. Why don't you show Kenny how to set the table and whatever else he can help with."

"Hey Jeff, what do you want the rest of us to do?"

"Well, if you can get all the snacks out and ready, turn on the outside lights and light the barbecue that would be perfect."

It seemed like it was only a few minutes before the doorbell rang and our first guests arrived. Soon the house was filled with laughter and people talking. Don and his wife, Don, Jr. with his wife and son, Steve with his wife, and Tim, his wife Kathleen and son, Billy. The kids were all down in the playroom keeping themselves occupied on the pinball games and other non-educational things, and the adults, well, we were all talking about the events of the day and the finality of the trial and how it was going to affect all of us so much.

I think that the happiest people in the room were the two newest couples, Jeff and Don, and Justin and I. Right behind us were the wives, finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel when their husbands would be coming home more often at night and their families would be back together. Jeff and Don had put together quite a feast...an unending barbecue of steaks, ribs and chicken all surrounded by lavish dishes of potatoes, veggies on the barbecue...everything; of course, the beer was nice and cold and there was water and soda for the kids who were now cramming as much food into their faces as they could so they could get back to the game room.

We had a nice evening together getting to know everybody, especially the wives, thanking them profusely for their part in putting up with the long nights without their husbands while they babysat us through this whole mess.

I was standing back watching our old friends and our new friends when Tim came up to me and asked if he could have a word.

"Sure. Let's go out by the pool." On the way through the patio doors I told Justin I'd be out back with Tim for a few minutes by the pool.

We sat at the edge of the jacuzzi with our shoes and socks off, jeans rolled up, feet swishing in the hot water for a few minutes before Tim finally worked up the nerve to start talking.

"I've been thinking about what you said when we were walking at school, about me respecting others, putting them before me, that whole thing you talked about. I haven't said anything to anyone about this, but my wife and I have been having some problems lately and I kept thinking it was always her problem. You know, she wasn't doing this right or that right...then she would not want to have sex with me because of something that was wrong with me...we've been both blaming each other for everything. Anyway, something you said about understanding yourself first and knowing your own problems, faults and weaknesses in a relationship and then looking at your partner the way you do – as the most amazing person on the face of the whole earth, the way you do do with Justin – no matter what's happening with you – was like turning on a light bulb for me.

I'm not saying everything is perfect all of a sudden, but I went home and Kathy and I talked for a long time, I mean a real heart to heart talk, and we've started to repair some of the burned bridges between us and...we have decided that another saying of your's and the other fellows, that family always comes first, is more important than anything. We decided that we want to take Kenny into our home and apply for temporary custody.

So, what do you think of all that?"

"I'm flattered that something I said sparked you to make some changes in your life for the better, but most of all I'm so happy that you and your wife are working towards getting close again. I'm sure you miss those early days of your marriage."

"Yeah, we do, and I want them back more than anything, especially after seeing the way you and Justin love each other so much; your love seems to come so natural to you two, so easy. I want that with my wife."

"Keep working at it and keep those thoughts in your mind and you'll have it faster than you would expect. The feelings of being in love all the time are so great; that doesn't mean that there won't be problems, but make this promise between yourselves...that you'll never let the sun go down on an argument...that's what gets us through some sticky things occasionally. That one promise to each other will solve more problems and keep the love in your life...making up is more than half the fun."

"Thanks bud. I haven't known you that long, but you, Jeff, Don and Justin have all had a big impact on my life just when I really needed it. I wonder if Don knew what he was doing when he assigned me to this big mess."

"You stinker," I laughed out loud as I reached out, grabbed him around the waist and tickled him. Too bad I forgot he was sent to protect me because he quickly flipped me around and I found myself facing the ground with my hands behind my back like I was under arrest.

"Okay, I give, I give!" I said, "you win you cheater."

"You going to behave if I let you up?"

"Yes sir."

"Okay then," he said, sounding just like a rough cop.

He picked me up, brushed the grass off me, then turned me around and looked me in the eyes. He had the softest, sweetest look in his face as the moon struck his already gorgeous features. Without even thinking he put his hands on both my shoulders, pulled me towards him, and gave me a long, deep kiss.

"That was a thank you for everything, but don't expect another. People will think you turned me gay."

"Jeez, I guess so! No more huh? Oh well, make sure Kathy gets a lot of them and you'll live happily ever after, and don't forget Billy either. If anybody saw us we're both gonna' have some splainin' to do as Mr. Ricardo would say."

"Si."

We headed back up to the house and joined the rest of the group just as Don, Sr. and his wife and Steve and his wife were getting ready to head out. Both Don and Steve would be back tomorrow to evaluate Tim on the job so we'd be seeing them early.

"Well, where have you guys been?" Jeff asked.

Justin spoke up and said that we had told him we would be out by the pool talking...he gave me a sly little look and winked. I had a feeling I had some making up to do later, man was I looking forward to that.

Anyway, we all escorted Don, Steve with their wives out through the front door. On the way to the cars Jeff and I thanked everyone for coming over.

"It was nice to meet you," we all said as hugs were spread all around. Again I stood back and looked at everyone standing there in a group. Each of these moments when I did this were like photographs in my mind for the future.

As the cars pulled away and we turned around to go back in, Tim and his family were on their way out.

"We're going to head home too and let you guys get some rest after this long day. Kathy and I have been talking this evening about Kenny and I'll talk to you tomorrow about what we're thinking of asking. What time are we meeting at school?"

"Class is at nine o'clock tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll meet you at the usual place." Goodnight guys and thanks for a great evening. And thanks for the chat Doug."

"My pleasure buddy. And take care of this little munchkin, will 'ya," I said as I patted Billy's curly-haired head."

"Did you have a good time in the gameroom?"

"Wow did I! You have the neatest house and the coolest playroom. Can I come over again?"

"You can come over whenever your parent say you can and Kenny's here to play with. Does that sound okay with you?"

He looked up at Tim, who looked at his wife, who looked at Tim, who looked at me, who finally said "It's okay with us, but only once in a while. We don't want to bother the guys."

"Okay!" and off he went to the car.

"Goodnight guys and thanks again for the evening. It was wonderful."

"You're welcome, see you tomorrow Tim. 'Nite"

We waved as they drove off and walked back into the house.

"Well," Jeff said, "who's up for cleaning?"

Strangely enough, nobody spoke up.

How about if we just put away the things that need to go into the refrigerator, cover up anything else, pile up the dishes, and leave the rest until tomorrow. How's that sound?

Strangely enough, everybody said okay. We all jumped in, even Jenny, and soon had all the food put away, dishes rinsed and piled in the sink. At least it wouldn't stink and didn't look too bad.

Juss and I had one last thing to do before climbing into bed, that was a short talk with Kenny. Jeff and Don were already trudging up the stairs as we started up behind them. They were waiting at the top for us when we dragged our last heels up over the top step.

Almost simultaneously we blurted out "I'm exhausted," then laughed at ourselves. I gave Jeff one last hug, putting my head on his shoulder and he put his on mine. We said nothing and neither did Justin or Don. They knew what was happening and that we were no threat to either relationship. I slipped away from Jeff and into Juss' arms and together we walked Kenny into his bedroom to have a little talk. We needed to set this boundary with him before it became a problem.

"Listen Kenny, last night we let you get into bed with us because it was your first night in a strange place and you didn't know us at all. But we have to set what's called a boundary with you for the good of all of us. Your parents should be doing this with you over other issues, but right now, this is an issue that they don't understand and are even making you hurt inside about. It's not normal for a young man of your age, gay or not, to be sleeping with his or her parents. For the time being we are sort of representing your parents in a way, partially because we understand what it's like to be gay and in a relationship. It's not that we don't love you already because we do, and we want you to stay with us for as long as needed or until someone decides what will happen. But even then, you're still part of our family and always will be."

"Do you understand so far?"

"Yes Uncle Doug."

"Good. So tonight I'd like you to try and sleep in your own room for the whole night and not be scared. We're just down the hall so nothing is going to happen to you. Think you can do that?"

"I'm so tired I think I could sleep anywhere tonight. I'll be okay and I understand what you are telling me. I know that you and Uncle Justin need time together too. When do you think I'll find someone to be with?"

I looked at Juss and was at a loss for words.

"You've got a little more growing up to do before that happens Kenny, but in the meantime you never know when you might find a special friend who is gay that you can spend time with and learn more about life with."

"Wow, I didn't even think of that. Thanks Uncle Justin. I love you."

"We both love you," Juss said as we both kissed him on the forehead and said goodnight.

"Door open or closed?" I asked on the way out.

"Mostly closed please. Good night. Love you."

I 'mostly' closed the door on the way out and we headed to our room. Once inside Juss closed the door, I crashed on the bed – arms full out – and Juss walked over and slowly laid down on top of me. He felt like he weighed about two hundred pounds, but I didn't mind as he started to undress me, shirt first.

As tired as I was, my cock started to react to his sensual touch on my now bare chest. His sexy hands, the ones that turned me on just by looking at them, were now pushing the long, slender finger attached to them up my sides towards my nipples. I could feel the hair rise on my arms as something else kept rising. Oh how I loved that man of mine. Following those fingers was a wet tongue that stared at my belt line and was now halfway up my chest, headed for...

...

I guess we know where the next chapter is starting.

Thanks to everyone for your support and Happy Holidays. I'm putting that Camping story on hold for just a bit until I write the next chapter just to make sure things don't fall off the fence again.