Dan

Dan 28: Home Again

This story is fiction. It depicts, sometimes explicitly, sex between teenage boys, between boys and men, and between boys and females, both teenage and adult. If you find such things offensive, or reading such things is illegal where you live, please read no further.

XXVII. Home Again!

Dan and Charlie drove directly to the park, parked the car and walked the two hundred yards or so to the bandstand. It was dark now, around 7:30 PM. The park was deserted. Even on a warm evening in October, it's doubtful there would be many people around, but with the rain and the cold, it was completely deserted. "This is crazy, Dan," Charlie complained. "There's no one here."

"Almost no one!" a voice came from behind a tree. "Hi, fag boys! Somehow I knew you'd come. We're gonna have a real nice time in our own private party tonight. That cool little brother of yours is all ready and waiting."

"You hurt Josh," Dan threatened, "and you've got his three brothers on your ass the rest of your life, which might not be very long!"

"Oh, my!" the voice said. "Such threats! And from a little fag boy!"

"Believe them," Charlie said. "But then, you're too chicken to even show your face! How can you be expected to..."

"No fag boy calls me a chicken!" the voice said. "Enough of this shit. Just follow me. But if you get too close, your little fag loving brother is gonna regret it. You understand me?"

"We understand. Just take us to him. We won't try anything, at least till we're sure Josh is ok."

They followed the figure before them through the various trails and paths of the park. They both tried to find distinguishing marks, something they might identify later, but it was no use. It was just a male figure, late teens or early twenties judging from the voice, but nothing else that could be used later for identification.

When they came through the little path to a clearing, both Charlie and Dan realized they were in a part of the park they hadn't even known existed. They thought they knew this whole area! They had played in these woods, years before it was a park. But this was all new to them. Directly ahead of them in the clearing was a small hut or shed; this was obviously an equipment shed of some sort, probably maintained and used by the maintenance staff of the park. There was light glowing under the equipment door. They knew this must be their destination.

"We got your little fuck buddy all ready for you," a large rough looking teen said as soon as Charlie and Dan were inside. Josh was there, standing between to pretty rough looking guys, stark naked. They could see him shiver slightly as they looked at him. "All you guys have to do is get naked, and he's all yours. We'll all just stand here and watch."

"Up yours!" Dan said defiantly. "I'm not undressing for anyone unless I fuckin' well chose to! And I'm certainly not gonna molest my brother!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry," the ringleader said. "I'm afraid I didn't make myself clear. For fag boys, clothes are not an option. Now at this point you have a choice. You can do it the easy way and simply take off your clothes, or you can do it the hard way like your fag loving brother did. He chose the hard way, and we had to cut his clothes off him. So what's it gonna be for you fag boys?"

"They'll do it, Charlie!" Josh called to them. "They cut everything off me, even my underwear!"

"You're gonna have to cut them off us," Charlie said defiantly. "But I've gotta tell ya, you're not dealing with one twelve year old kid now, you're dealing with two pretty pissed off teenagers! So come on, let's see what you got!"

"My, my! Aren't we brave! But before you get too carried away, I suggest you take a close look at your little fuck buddy. I mean, take a close look! Then tell me again what your plans are."

Charlie did look, and so did Dan. They saw a big teen with his arm wrapped around Josh's chest, the other hand holding a knife to his throat. There was another teen holding Josh's genitals in his hand, with a large knife between that hand and Josh's torso, as if to remove his entire genital package in one swift slice. "You bastards!" Dan exclaimed.

The boys were a little slower making their decision than their captors would have liked, so each of them felt the cold of a steel blade slip from neck to crotch, then down one leg. Their clothes fell away from them, shirts dangling from sleeves, jeans hanging from one leg. Again they felt the cold of those knives, and the clothes fell away completely. Except for their socks and sneakers, they were as naked as Josh. Hopefully their current state would give their little brother some degree of comfort.

"Next step in this great party," the spokesman announced. "Dan, Charlie's been pounding away on this little fag lover boy for almost a month. It's time you got your share. Fuck him, Dan!"

"You're gonna have to make me," Dan said. His voice was quiet, his demeanor calm, but unquestionably threatening.

"We can do that," the spokesman replied. "Why don't you just do what you fag boys all do anyway? We just want a little show, fag boy."

"I already told you," Dan said in that same menacingly calm, foreboding voice, "you'll have to force me, and the price will be high."

"That's ok, Danny fag. Charlie, you do it! You've probably done it before now anyway."

"Same answer, you slime!"

"I got a suggestion," Dan said suddenly.

"What makes you think we care about your suggestions, fag boy?"

"I know you probably don't. But once you hear what it is, you just might change your mind."

"Well, too bad, fag boy. We don't want to even hear from you!"

"Wait a sec," one of the others said. "It won't hurt to listen."

"He's just gonna cry for mercy, or promise us half of all the millions his fag boy friend's gonna make singing his sweet little fag ass off. We're in control now, and our fag friends aren't too pleased about it."

"We know you're in control," Dan said. "No, we're not pleased, but we're not stupid either. But I'm afraid I'm confused here. I thought this was about teaching us fag boys a lesson. I thought you heterosexuals stuck together. Ok, so you caught Josh off-guard and that got Charlie and me here. But why on earth would you harm him? He's not gay, he's never fooled around with anyone and certainly not Charlie or me. Why on earth would you want us to rape him? Isn't that like abusing one of your own?"

"So you want us to just let him go," one of the teens said in a jeering tone. "You really think we're that stupid?"

"I don't think you're stupid at all! But I'm not stupid either. I know what you really want, and I think I know how to give it to you so you won't be hurting Josh. And after all, Josh is innocent. He just happens to be a pretty great guy who likes everybody, gay or straight. Are you gonna mess him up just because he knows how to love? Dammit, man, I thought you were intelligent!"

"Dan," Charlie said, "I don't see how..."

"Shut up, Charlie," Dan hissed. "Let me do what I do best, ok?"

"So let's hear your great idea," the teen replied.

"Simple, really," Dan said. "You guys want to humiliate us. So line up in front of us. Charlie and I will get at opposite ends of the line and give you all a blow job. When we're done, all five of you will have got it from both of us. You're always calling us cocksuckers anyway, and I know from experience that you'll like it and probably never had it. In fact, the way we know how to do it I guarantee you'll like it! So we get humiliated, you have a little fun and a lot of enjoyment, and Josh, the only one here who is truly innocent, doesn't get hurt."

"No, Danny!" Josh cried. "Please, Danny! Charlie! Please don't do that!"

"No big deal," Charlie said. "We've done it hundreds of times, Josh! It's no big deal!"

"Is so!" Josh argued. "I know you done it before, but that was when you had to."

"We have to now," Dan replied.

"Yeah," another of the teens said. "You're right, fag boy, you do have to. But we're not givin' any guarantees. Do it good enough and we just might let you go in time to make that plane. But there are no guarantees. Oh, and your little fag loving brother stays here."

"Then it's no deal!" Dan said emphatically.

"There never was a deal, you dirty rotten fag! The closest you're gonna come to a deal is, if you suck us all off real good, we might not castrate that little fucker. But if you don't, we're gonna do it for sure! That's the only deal you've got going for ya. So what's it gonna be?"

"But he hasn't done anything!" Dan protested.

"Maybe we just want to make sure he never does. The question is, what happens next? Do you start sucking, or do I start cutting?"

"Put your knife away," Charlie said. "You won't be needing it."

"I'm gonna take pictures," one of the teens said. "I can't wait till I see you two fags on your knees, in posters all over town. This'll be so cool!"

"You can't, Charlie!" Josh pleaded. "Please, Charlie!"

"I really don't see that we have much choice," Charlie said. "We... we're ready. We won't give you all any trouble, only please, don't hurt Josh."

Dan and Charlie looked at each other. They were naked, kneeling on opposite ends of a line of four youths in their late teens, or perhaps early twenties. The fifth stood a few feet away, still holding Josh with one arm, a knife to his throat with the other. The brief glance the two lovers exchanged said volumes. Only lovers, people who know each other extremely well, can understand such things. In that brief exchange both Charlie and Dan knew they were doing what they had to do and would get through it. The important thing right now was to buy time until one of them could figure out a strategy, see an opening; some way to get themselves and their little brother out of this fix. They never doubted that they would get out of it, but at the moment that exit seemed elusive. They also had no illusions that what they were about to do would change the outcome in any way; but it did provide a delaying tactic. In the meantime, they had to do what they had to do.

Dan was staring into the eye of a very large penis, only inches away from his face. As many times as he'd done this, he thought he'd be used to it, but he wasn't. The look, the odor, the thought of what he was about to do was downright revolting. It was so revolting, in fact, that it gave Dan an idea. "Ya know, Charlie," he said loudly, "this reminds me of the night the dam busted. Remember that night?"

"Dan," Charlie answered, "what are you... Oh yeah, I remember! Man, what a night! Only that night the kid was involved too. Man, Terry was hot that night! Maybe we should get the kid and his keeper in on this. You wanna join us, don't you Josh? All three of us will give 'em such an incredible blow job they'll be too weak to keep us any longer!"

"I... I dunno if I can," Josh said.

"Sure you can," Charlie answered. "Just remember the night at the detention center when you did me. Open your mouth, pop it in, and suck like hell! Remember, Josh?"

"I thought so," the leader of their captors said. "You guys were gettin' it on the whole time you were there, weren't you?"

"Not exactly," Charlie answered. "We did talk about the night the dam busted though, and it got Josh kinda excited, didn't it Josh?"

"Ummmm... Uhhh... Yeah," Josh replied. "I guess I didn't know then I was gonna get to be a part of one o' those adventures. Is that what you're talking about, Charlie?"

"You got it, Little brother!"

"What's all this talk about the dam busting?" the leader demanded.

"Nothin' much," Dan replied. "It's just a figure of speech. It was... well, kinda a wild time we had in Daytona. You wouldn't understand. But if you give us half a chance, we'll show you. I promise you won't forget it any time soon."

"Yeah," Charlie agreed, "Just let Josh come down here and join us. We'll give all five of y'all a time you won't forget for a long long time."

"Damn, Craig," one of the teens exclaimed, "They're gettin' into this! They WANT to blow us! That's scary!"

"I told you, NO FUCKIN' NAMES, you idiot!"

"Yeah, I'm sorry, I forgot. But how's about it? Let's let 'em do it! This looks like it could get interesting."

"It's all a matter of balance," Dan said as the eight boys rearranged themselves. The one holding Josh with the knife released him to kneel with his brothers. Now all five were standing in front of three kneeling, naked boys. Their pants and briefs were around their ankles, and they stood with their erections throbbing expectantly.

"Military precision," Dan directed his companions.

"You got it, SIR!" Charlie answered.

"Yes, sir!" Josh replied. "I'm ready, SIR!"

"Who's gonna be the goat and go first?" Charlie queried.

"Quit talkin' riddles," Dan ordered. "Josh probably doesn't know what a goat is!"

"I know, Dan! I know what a goat is and what it means. I can be the goat if you like."

"That's not fair," Charlie said. "Let's all be the goat at the same time. All goats, no goat!"

Dan had taken a chance - a big chance! He had gambled that Charlie had told Josh about the incident with the kiddie porn artist. Charlie was incredibly proud of Dan over that incident and wasted no opportunity to relate it. This time, it seemed, was no exception. Josh was giving every indication that he understood that "dam busted" had been a signal then, was a signal now! What other reason would Josh have for agreeing, even eagerly, to Dan's proposal that he join his two brothers on their knees?

Now all Dan could do was have faith in Charlie's relationship with Josh. Dan still didn't know the little guy all that well, but Charlie seemed perfectly willing to put his trust in the newest member of their family. All this figurative nonsense about goats, balance, who would start first... would Josh understand it all and respond appropriately? Charlie seemed to think he would. And what about these goons anyway? How far were they prepared to go? They had threatened with a very ugly looking knife. Were they prepared to use it? Would they really kill someone? They had mentioned castrating Josh. Would they do it? And if they did, would they leave witnesses? Dan had to assume that this situation was every bit as serious as the one he'd faced before. He had no choice but to believe that his life, and Charlie's and Josh's, were on the line here. Did they understand that? Would they respond the way he was expecting?

Well, last time he was in a position like this, Dan had put his whole trust in a sleepy little boy he had never met, and the little guy had not let him down. Dan had somehow, miraculously, invoked a trust in that little boy that defied explanation. He was in precisely the same situation again: he had no choice. So he decided to trust them fully, and he forged ahead.

"On my count," Dan said, "the dam's gonna bust. You guys ready to get blown outa your socks?"

"We're ready," Craig said impatiently. "Just get on with it, fag boy! And lose the theatrics!"

"You guys ready?" Dan said to Charlie and Josh.

"Ready," they both replied.

Dan lowered his head, as if in prayer. He sneaked a look at his companions and was gratified that they had followed suit.

"One!" Dan called. He tensed. He could somehow feel that the other two had also tensed.

"Two!" he called again. He again dared to roll his eyes. He moved his head ever so slightly so he could see his brothers. He couldn't tell if they were with him or not. "One more second," he said to his captors. "Three dicks are gonna go down three throats, and three guys are gonna get off faster than they ever thought possible!"

"Just do it, fag boy!" Craig hissed. "Quit fuckin' around and just do it."

"THREE! THE FUCKIN' DAM'S BUSTED!" Dan screamed.

Three heads came up simultaneously, very quickly and forcefully. Six testicles got jammed into three pelvic bones, causing three young men to scream in pain and drop to their knees. Just as quickly, three naked boys were on their feet. All three drove a fist into the bridge of the nose of the boy whose penis they were about to suck, while Dan and Charlie planted a well aimed foot into the crotch of the other two. Now all five were on their knees.

"Keep 'em down!" Dan yelled. "Do whatever it takes, but no one gets to his feet!"

The five captors fought valiantly, or at least they tried to fight valiantly, but they were at a serious disadvantage. They had dropped to their knees at the pain, the surprise of the attack. Their feet and legs were tangled in their underwear and jeans, which made it difficult to recover. Now every time one of them appeared to be regaining some amount of control, one or two of these faggots was on him, punching, pummeling, kicking. "Getting us naked was the best thing you coulda done for us," Charlie said excitedly. "We got no clothes to get in our way like you stupid mother fuckers. You're goin' down, you bigoted, rotten sob's!"

Both Dan and Charlie noticed out of the corner of their eye that Josh was far from helpless in this situation. But then that figured, didn't it? He had been homeless, in the system, for almost nine years. He'd had to rely on his wits, his physical prowess, his own resources long enough that defending himself was second nature to him. He had the moves, the agility, the motivation, to do a lot of damage; he was using all he had now to keep two of his tormentors on the floor.

Eventually everyone was subdued to the point that they were no threat to anyone. The knife they had feared had gone flying to a remote corner of the shed. All five boys were lying on the floor, moaning. One was barely conscious, but Charlie kept kicking at him. "Charlie," Dan said, "that's enough!"

"Never enough!" Charlie muttered as he kicked again. It was as thought all the fury, the frustration, the hurt of the past five years, and in particular the past year, had finally found a release. Five weeks in a detention center, being helpless and raped repeatedly by kids his own age that he didn't even know were all coming to a head; and one nineteen year old bigot was going to bear it all.

"You'll kill him, Charlie!"

"I wish! You rotten, lowdown, motherfucking bastard! You'd take an innocent twelve year old kid and use him to take out your abuse on a queer. And you call US perverts! Well surprise, surprise, you lowlife asshole! This queer's gonna pay you back for both of us! You're not gonna mess with this queer again, and you're for sure never gonna bother Josh again!" Another viscous kick to the groaning teen's kidney.

"NO, CHARLIE!" Josh screamed. "Please, Charlie, NO! He's not worth goin' to jail for, Charlie! Stop! PLEASE STOP!"

Charlie stopped. Dan was about to wrap his arms around him in an effort to restrain him, but Josh's high, shrill, soprano voice was good, it seemed, for a lot more than singing. He could also make a plea that would be heard by all who cared to listen; and Charlie was certainly prepared to listen to anything Josh had to say. Charlie sank in a heap on the floor. "Take your clothes off!" he ordered weakly.

"What?" Craig said with a voice that sounded like pure terror.

"I said, take your fucking clothes off! NOW!" Charlie repeated. "We're going home now. You cut our clothes off us and we're not leaving here naked. Take your fucking cloths off before I take 'em off you! Trust me on this, you don't WANT me to undress you right now. And don't get 'em any dirtier than they already are! We've still got our pride, believe it or not! Oh, and you can keep the underwear. We don't want it."

About the time five pretty beaten, very humble teenagers were finishing undressing, the door came crashing in. "Todd?" Charlie exclaimed with surprise. "What the hell..."

"You didn't think we were gonna just let you guys go and get yourselves taken out, did ya?" Todd said as he strolled in. Behind him was the entire band, plus Jerry and Sean. "Seems we're a little late," Todd added. Maybe we shoulda just waited outside."

"Yeah, well," Dan said with a grin, "we waited for ya as long as we could, but then our secret weapon kicked in. Literally!"

"Don't tell me," Todd said. "Josh, right?"

"You shoulda seen him!" Dan exclaimed. "He was like a little human windmill! His hands and feet were everywhere! Man, Josh! Where in the world did you learn to fight like that?"

"I didn't do anything, really," Josh answered. "I guess I got kinda mad at all the things they were calling Charlie. He's the first real friend I ever had! And then he introduced me to all you other guys, and... and... well, I got too much to lose now. I'm not about to go out without a fight."

"You're not goin' out at all, near as I can see," Todd said. "Well, you guys get dressed and we'll all go home, How does that sound?"

"How did you know?" Charlie asked as he pulled a pair of jeans on. He was going without underwear; they all were. They could not bear the thought of wearing underwear that these slime bags had worn. The rest of the clothes were bad enough, but the underwear? No way!

"It wasn't hard," Todd answered. "I stopped by y'all's house tonight to drop off some music. Damn! Charlie, you already got me sayin' 'Y'all!' I figured if we're gonna try to make the big time, we're gonna have to have some original material. Long as we sing other people's stuff, we'll be just someone who sings other people's stuff. So when I stopped off, they told me what they knew. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that it was Craig Nealy and his tribe. They're a pretty sick bunch of guys. I went to high school with all of 'em. They've been using this tool shed as a hangout for years."

"Craig... Nealy?" Dan questioned. "The... the mayor's son?"

"The very same. He seems to think because his old man's the mayor he can do whatever he wants in this town."

"That sucks big time!" Dan said. "I hate that! Just when I was beginning to think that mayor was an all right guy!"

"He is," Todd said. "He knows his son is a piece of shit. But he's still his son. But you guys just go on to Daytona as planned, and leave these pieces of crap to me. I'll get word to the mayor, and a few other people around town that you guys prevented a very nasty scene here, maybe even someone getting killed. Trust me on this one, guys. These five will give you no more trouble."

"So we just..." Charlie questioned.

"Just do what you were gonna do when we showed up. Leave. Go home. Get cleaned up. I just have one question. How in the world did you get the upper hand? I mean, it was five against three, and one of the three is pretty small."

"Dynamite is small too," Charlie pointed out. "But to answer your question, well, the dam just busted. I'll explain it all to ya later. I gotta see you outside, Todd. Please?"

Todd was only too willing to see Charlie outside. It was starting to rain hard now, and it was getting colder. But Todd had some idea of what his friends had just been through, and he was anxious to make it right. He was doubly anxious to be sure they didn't think he had any part in what had happened. Truth be known, he was as anxious and unsure of himself as Charlie was. It was beginning to look as if Josh was the only one in the entire gathering who knew who he was, where he came from, and where he was going.

"I just wanted you to know," Charlie said when the two were outside in the rain, alone, "if you want to walk away from all this, I'll understand, man! I mean, you don't need this kinda shit! You're tryin' to make it with the band, trying to get ahead, even hoping for a recording contract! You certainly don't need the controversy of having a queer as your lead singer. I think you should just cut the line now, while you can. Maybe you should make Josh your lead singer. We both know he's totally awesome! And he doesn't have all that extra baggage. I really like you, Todd, and I think you've got a great band! I can't drag you down!"

"Are you through?" Todd said.

"I think so. I'm not sure what you mean."

"I mean, are you through saying all you've got to say? Because if you're not, then I'll shut up till you're through. When you are, let me know."

"Yeah," Charlie said, "I guess I'm through."

"Good. Then you won't interrupt me, right?"

"No, but I..."

"Uh-uhhh! You said you were through. Now it's my turn! I think it's you who don't understand, Charlie! First of all, I agree with you. I think I've got a good band, and we could go places. But being good isn't enough in this business. There are thousands of good bands! Many of 'em are really good! Probably better than ours! But most of them never see the inside of a recording studio. You know why, Charlie?"

"Well, no."

"Because they have nothing that makes them stand out. They have nothing that sets them apart. They have the musical skills; their instrumentalists are good at what they do; they can play, sing, duplicate, sound like this or that star. But they are not unique, Charlie! That's what makes a band, group, performer successful! You gotta have what no one else has got! And it's gotta be something that the people want! That's you, Charlie! YOU! You've got to get over this feeling that I'm doing you some big favor by giving you a chance to sing with my band. For starters, it's not MY band, it's OUR band! And that includes YOU now, Charlie! And secondly, it's not me doing YOU a favor, it's entirely the other way around. You're the one who is unique! Yes, I agree that Josh is a really great singer! But even Josh doesn't have the empathy, the deep feeling, that you have! He doesn't feel the words the way you do. I suspect he will if he spends much time with you, and if he does he will be really something! But right now it's YOU, Charlie! So don't even think about quitting. Please?"

"If you're sure..." Charlie said tentatively.

"I'm sure! I've never been more sure of anything! Now let's get you guys home! Your parents are worried sick, and you've got a big day tomorrow."

It was close to 3 AM before everyone in the Edwards household were settled in bed. Dan and Charlie were cuddled together in Dan's bed; Jerry and Sean were in the other twin bed, the one Charlie had occupied countless times as the boys grew up. Josh refused to be separated from his four heros, so he was settled in a sleeping bag on the floor of the boys' room. Well, that's where he started out. After lying awake for about twenty minutes, Josh got out of the sleeping bag and silently crawled into bed with Dan and Charlie, somehow slithering his lithe body between the other two, then all three fell asleep without a word. No words were necessary.

Saturday at the Edwards home was, as might be expected, a complete zoo! There would be a large chartered Air Canada turbo-prop waiting for the whole Florida contention at Halifax International by 4 PM. A large bus would take them all there. In the meantime there were all those people to be fed and herded; the house had to be cleaned one last time and closed up for the winter, and the steady stream of well wishers to be dealt with. Finally, through the organizational miracle that was personified in Nancy Edwards, the turbo-prop lifted off Canadian soil at 4:17 PM, with all parties aboard.

It's a long flight down the Atlantic coast from Halifax to Daytona: almost six hours in a turboprop. Air Canada had outdone themselves providing a wonderful inflight meal, plus ample snacks and drinks to keep everyone occupied. This was not normally used as a long distance plane, so it was not equipped for inflight movies. No one would have watched them anyway; everyone was occupied and entertained watching three very excited little boys doing what little boys do best: investigating and exploring; checking and rechecking; getting the absolute most out of a new and interesting situation.

Josh had met Johnny and Mark Jenkins Thursday afternoon as soon as court had been adjourned. They had taken an instant liking to each other, the little Jenkins boys making no effort to hide their excitement at the news that their new friend would be coming back to Daytona with them. Being a chartered flight, they had the run of the cabin and were taking full advantage of it as they ran from one side to the other, gazing out into the darkness.

"Johnny," Josh called, "come look! There's another plane! Man, that is so cool!"

"Check it out, Josh," Johnny called. "My dad says that's a big city down there!"

"Come look, Josh!" Mark echoed. "Man, that's so awesome! Lil cars like the ones Johnny and I got only they got real lights!"

The captain, determined to get his share of the attention, invited the boys, and anyone else interested for that matter, to the flight deck. Now another side of Josh became evident: the side that could not resist a practical joke.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Josh's shrill voice came over the intercom, "this is your captain speaking. We seem to have a slight problem here..." muffled voices could be heard, then what seemed to be the giggles of three little boys... "We are at thirty thousand feet..." Josh continued. "The problem is I don't seem to remember how to get down. I'm afraid we'll be stuck up here for a while." More giggles.

"Daddy!" Mark's tiny voice exclaimed. He had practically swallowed the mike, so his voice thundered through the cabin. "You gotta see this, Daddy! It's so cool up here! They're drivin' the plane and they can't even see! The pilot don't even use his hands. He said the computer is drivin' the plane. Come see, Daddy!"

"Bandits at twelve o'clock high!" Johnny exclaimed.

"Charlie," Clarke said, "you and Dan go get a rein on those delinquents before they take over the whole flight deck!" Of course this was welcome news to Charlie. He had wanted to go see anyway, but was too embarrassed to ask. He suspected that Clarke knew this and made a mental note to thank him later. He had never seen the flight deck of a modern aircraft, and this was going to be too cool!

"Charlie?" Josh said when they had finally settled down. Charlie and Dan were not too thrilled sharing their bedroom with their little brother on their first night home, but he was so excited he was almost literally bouncing off the walls. No way, Clarke and Nancy both said, would he ever settle down in a room by himself. Everyone had split up and gone their separate ways at the airport, but even at that it had taken two cabs to transport the entire Edwards crew home. When Josh saw the house that he would be calling home, he had gone totally ballistic! He wanted to know how many other families lived here, did they have parts of it rented out, or perhaps a whole herd of foster kids. No, he'd been told, it was just the Edwards family plus Sean and his mother, who had agreed to move in. So now Josh was in one of the twin beds in Dan's room, Dan and Charlie were in the other.

"Yeah, Josh?" Charlie answered.

"I was wonderin' about back in Truro, when we were in that old shed. I mean, what if I didn't catch on? Would they really have made me... you know... what we were gonna do... would they really make me do it?"

"Josh, I don't even want to think about what could've happened. But yeah, I think if our little surprise hadn't worked, you'd been doing that and probably lots of other things you'd rather not do."

"You've done it before?"

"Josh, I don't know if we should be talking about this..."

"Why not, Charlie? I was just wonderin' what it's like. It's not like I wanted to do it, I was just curious."

"That's a relief, little brother! I was beginning to think you were working up to asking me to... well..."

"Nahh," Josh said. "I knew you wouldn't do it with a kid. But some day I might... well... I mean if I ever do want to..."

"Just forget about it, Josh! Till you're 15 or 16, forget it! You promise me that and I'll promise you if and when you're ready, I'll be more than willing to show you anything you want."

"He'll make the big sacrifice," Dan said with a chuckle. "I will too! In fact unless your looks change a whole lot, I got a feeling half of Daytona's gonna be falling all over themselves to show you more than you care to see!"

"Dan," Josh said, "Please don't make fun of me! I was only askin'."

"Josh," Dan said, "I wasn't... oh hell, get your gorgeous little tail over here! It's late, but we gotta talk, little brother!"

There are a lot of adjectives that fit Josh perfectly, but stupid certainly wasn't one of them. It made no sense whatsoever for three boys, two of them rapidly maturing teens, to try and balance themselves in one bed while another lay vacant in the same room. Josh could see the logic, could do nothing else but accept when he was directed to the vacant bed. But he wanted to be with his brothers! WITH them! IN BED with them! No, he hadn't suddenly discovered that he was attracted to the boys he had come to love so quickly; he merely wanted to be close. REALLY close! "That's better," he said as he snuggled between Dan and Charlie.

This was the last thing in the entire universe that the two older boys needed right now: a little brother, a STRAIGHT little brother, who happened to be drop dead beautiful, who had plunked his almost naked body between them and gave no indication he planned to move any time soon. They'd had very specific plans for tonight, and those plans definitely did NOT include Josh! But, when duty calls.... and now yet another lesson: There are as many times when true love means NO sex as there are when it means... well... sex!

"Josh," Charlie said, "Dan wasn't making fun of you. He was merely pointing out that... well... that you are..."

"He thinks I'm hot!" Josh finished for him. "You do too, don't ya Charlie?"

"I think you're kick-ass fucking gorgeous!" Charlie answered. "But that's not the point. You're our brother, and you're only twelve. But where did you learn to talk like that?"

"Charlie, you can't be serious! Dammit, man, you were in that detention center for a month. You saw what goes on! That's been my life for as long as I can remember!"

"But I thought..." Dan said. Dan was totally confused, and Charlie wasn't far behind him.

"You thought I was all upset because I was kneeling on my knees in front of some teenage guy I didn't even know, about to take his big dick in my mouth. No, Dan, I'm sorry. I knew what was goin' on or I never would have got on my knees in the first place. And I'm not upset. If your plan had not worked out and we had to go ahead and do it, THEN I'd be upset, big time! I know the score, Dan. I kinda didn't understand about love till I saw you two guys. I mean, I thought gay guys just liked to do stuff with other guys. I didn't realize it involved love too. But I know now, man! Seein' you two together, and Jerry and Sean, I mean, man I hope someday I find someone like that!"

"But you said... you were asking..."

"I conned you, big brother! I wanted to sleep with you guys! I'm sorry, I'll go back to the other bed."

"You move an inch and I'm gonna have to tie you to the bed," Charlie warned. "You're fine here. But in future just tell us what you want, ok? We can deal with it."

"Dan?" Josh said. "I'm sorry. Are you mad at me?"

"I should kill you, ya little shit. But I'm too busy loving you! Go to sleep, ya little con artist! Tomorrow Sean's gonna take us all fishing. And then Monday we've all gotta go back to school!"

"Fishing? What's such a bid deal about fishing?"

"Just work with us, and listen to Sean. Then see if you still need to ask tomorrow night."

"By the way," Charlie said as they all snuggled in and got comfortable, "you will find someone some day, Josh. I don't know if it'll be a guy or a girl, and I don't think it really matters. The important thing is, you WILL find someone, probably when you least expect it. Now go to sleep! Tomorrow is already partly gone, and it's gonna be a barn burner of a day!"

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If you like this story, or for that matter if you don't, please let me know by writing to charlieje@mindspring.com