John in Produce © 2019
By David Lee
John wasn 't sure where he would end up sleeping on Saturday night; still, he felt he 'd made the right decision. He couldn 't live the life his parents expected of him. He had to be his own person. Though he hadn 't planned to make the break just yet, it seemed fate, or something, had made the choice for him. It had been a long time coming, and the reasons for it went back nearly half his lifetime.
From birth, John had been forced into a very sheltered life. His parents were convinced that the "world " would taint their children and had thus decided to home-school them so their environment could be carefully controlled. The kids weren 't allowed to associate with much of anyone outside their church and family.
A neighbor boy had invited John to join Cub Scouts when he was eight, but his parents didn 't want him involved in the organization. His father had heard tales of sexual play between those boys when they got together out in nature. Although he did think that outdoor activities were important, they needed to be done with a Christian group.
Thinking back on his childhood, John felt it was ironic he 'd first discovered his lust for boys while at a church camp for a week at the age of 12. It was restricted to all males in order to prevent any immoral temptation which might occur with the presence of the opposite sex.
The facility was in a secluded wooded area and was quite primitive. Showers, like those used in military maneuvers consisted of black plastic bags of water with spigots, hung on a framework overhead to be warmed by the sun. To save on water, the procedure was to get wet, soap up, and rinse off. It was effective and efficient. It also meant there was no privacy. For the first time in his life, John was exposed to a bunch of other naked boys, and he loved it!
During his first shower there, another boy, Daniel, caught his eye. Both stared a little too long and began to get hard in the process. They spent the rest of the day hanging around together. After dark that night, they left their cabin at the same time to "take a walk. " Once away from the rest of the group, Dan ran his hand over John 's bulge. It was the most exquisite feeling John had ever experienced. A few minutes later, he had his first manually induced orgasm, and had helped his new friend achieve the same.
The following day, the boys were divided into groups by age and were taught lessons on how they should behave as their bodies developed in their teen years. In John 's group, the leader railed against the sin of "self-love. " At first, John felt like the man was aiming his words directly at him, as if he were aware of what had transpired the night before. He began to feel guilt over what Dan and he had done. But when their eyes met, Dan gave him a sight grin, and he felt better.
John smiled at the remembrance of that encounter eight years ago, as his mind came back to his present predicament. Having been caught last Sunday, by his father, jacking off wasn 't the worst thing which might have happened. It could have been his mother! At least men tend to understand another man 's needs, so it might have passed with only a sense of embarrassment. However, it turned into a major issue because his father had caught sight of what was inspiring his massive load – gay pornography on his laptop. It could mean only one thing; John was into guys, and that WAS a mortal sin.
There hadn 't been a big scene. John hadn 't been thrown out of his home immediately. He 'd been given a week to consider his sinful actions and change his ways. However, if he didn 't confess before the little congregation of their church on the following Sunday and renounce the gay lifestyle, he would no longer be welcome in his father 's house.
So, little by little, he 'd carefully packed everything he cared about into the trunk of his car during the week. Before leaving for work at Fareway that morning, he 'd put the last of his clothes into his vehicle and left his house key on the kitchen table along with a note bidding his family goodbye.
Needless to say, John 's temperament at the store was less cheery than usual as he restocked the cooler shelves with lettuce and other fresh produce. He did smile at an elderly lady who asked him to pick out a bunch of fresh parsley from a shelf she couldn 't reach easily. She 'd left her reading glasses at home and was having difficulty distinguishing it from cilantro. She thought he was the kindest boy who worked there.
Then, his mind went back to pondering his situation. Though he hadn 't lived on campus, he 'd made a few acquaintances at college the past two years. While none were close friends, he hoped one of them might let him couch-surf until he could find a permanent housing solution. He should have been more diligent in searching for a place to lay his head tonight. After not being able to get hold of Kyler or Jaxson, he didn 't know whom else to contact. He 'd have to try calling someone during his breaks or he 'd have to sleep in his car over in the Walmart parking lot.
It was nearly noon when John saw Dave enter the store. Dave was probably in his early 30 's and had always been friendly. A couple of years previous, he 'd commented on John 's hot haircut. John had quickly said his girlfriend liked it that way. He wasn 't sure what had prompted him to tell the fib, unless he 'd felt threatened in some way. He certainly wasn 't ready to come out to the world, and Dave had sounded as if he thought John looked sexy. John wondered if Dave was gay until he spied the wedding band on his left hand. Of course, that didn 't mean he wasn 't married to another guy. John 's church was always in a snit over gay unions. They refused to use the term, marriage.
His attention focused on the present again when Dave spoke.
"Hey John, what 's up? You don 't seem like yourself today. Is something wrong? "
John thought for only a split second before admitting that he was down.
"I 'm sorta on the outs with my parents, and I 'm not sure where I 'll sleep tonight. "
"Excuse my prying, but is this a one-day thing, or is it likely to continue? "
"It 's forever, as far as I know. "
"Wow. Look, I know you 're a good dude. You 're welcome to stay with me. I live only five minutes away. "
"That 's really kind, but you don 't know me that well. "
"I know you 're a good worker, and I know this store wouldn 't keep you if you weren 't honest. What else do I need to know? Whatever it may be, we can discuss it tonight.
"Are you going on lunch break soon? "
"Um, yeah. "
"Why don 't you join me in the café next door for lunch. I 'll buy. We can discuss your situation and I 'll do my shopping on a full stomach, so I won 't end up buying everything I see. "
"It 's really kind of you to feed me. It 's even better to have someone to talk to, Mr., um, I guess I don 't know your last name. "
"It 's Erickson, but you 're welcome to call me, Dave. I only know you as John because of your nametag. "
"Oh, yeah, I 'm John Johnson. Pretty lame, huh? "
"It sounds fine to me, John. Here 's my phone number and address. Please put it into your phone and then, if you don 't mind, add yours to mine. I 'm all thumbs when it comes to technology. "
John smiled as he did what was requested. It took him very little time.
"I have a house with three bedrooms and a three-stall garage. I can put you, and your car, up easily without disturbing my life in any way. Will you get off in time for dinner, or do you work late? "
"I 'm off at 5:30 tonight, but you shouldn 't have to feed me. "
"It 's no problem. I 'd rather cook for two anyway instead of eating leftovers for half a week. "
"What about your wife? "
"Oh, I thought you knew. She died in the car crash that put me in the hospital for a month last summer. "
"Oh crap! I didn 't mean to bring up a painful memory. "
"It 's okay. You didn 't know, and I 've adapted to the single-life again in the past 11 months. "
"Anyway, here 's a key in case I 'm not home when you get there. I should be, but just in case. "
"Thanks! "
"Before I go shopping, do you have any food allergies or strong dislikes? "
"I eat about anything and everything, or so I 've been told. "
Fareway 's famous thick-cut porkchops were on sale at a ridiculously low price, so Dave bought six (the limit) and had them wrapped in packages of two. If John 's stay should become as extended, as he hoped it would, he 'd have some meat in the freezer. He found several other cuts at a good price and stocked up even more for quick meals. As he walked through the rest of the store, he filled his cart with pasta, canned tomatoes, and frozen Italian meatballs. He 'd always liked cooking, and the prospect of making things to share with someone else brought him joy.
As he was puttering around the kitchen, Dave glanced at the screen on his phone from time to time as it got close to when he expected John. Before long, the image of John 's car was picked up by his security camera, and he pushed the button to open the third garage.
John realigned his car to pull into it when he saw it was empty.
"I figured if you have a laptop or anything of value in your car it would be smart to protect it. This is a good neighborhood. Therefore, we get our share of the have-nots coming to help themselves to our stuff. "
"Thanks! Everything I own is in here. I parked near a security camera today at the store to discourage anyone from ripping me off. "
"Here 's a garage-door opener for you so you can come and go as you please. Keep the key I gave you and I 'll grab a spare for my ring. Let me show you to your room so you can get settled while I grill the rest of our dinner. "
"Oh, I need to put this in the fridge first, " John said. "I know you love our watermelon and I noticed you didn 't buy one today. I hope it 's okay for dessert. "
"It ' perfect! Somehow, I spaced it off. "
About 20 minutes later, Dave was taking up the chops to let them rest while he put the remainder of the food on the table. During that time, John had brought in clothes for the next day, and his few pieces of electronic equipment. He didn 't bring in too much because he didn 't want it to look like he was moving in.
Dinner tasted great to both, and they ate slowly, making conversation. John savored each bite as if he were the prodigal son being given a feast by his loving father. He complimented his host several times. Dave loved knowing he 'd eased John 's day.
As they were enjoying the watermelon for dessert, Dave asked if John had gotten all settled in.
"Um, well, I didn 't bring everything in so I 'll be ready to go to wherever I end up. "
"I was hoping it would be here. You could have moved it all into you room. "
"I didn 't want be presumptive. "
"John, when I extended the invitation, I assumed it would be for as long as you needed it. "
"I 'm not sure I can afford to live here. "
"Why not? I 'm not going to charge you anything. "
"But, I have to make my own way. I owe you! "
"In that case, I 'm sure we can figure out someway you can earn you keep. "
For a split second, John wondered if Dave would ask him to pay with his body. It wasn 't something he would find unpleasant; he could almost picture himself in bed with the man.
"If you help with the upkeep of the house and yard, that will be enough, Dave continued. "Since I 'm off from teaching for the summer, I don 't have a problem with the mowing and such. In the winter, I could use help with clearing the walks and driveway. "
"I can weed the flower beds when I 'm not at work. I don 't have any summer classes. Um, you cooked, so I can start earning my keep by cleaning up. Go sit in the living room and watch TV or something. "
"Nah, it 'll go faster if we work together. Besides, you 've worked all day and I haven 't. "
Dave invited John to accompany him to church the following day, but John declined, saying he 'd had enough of religion for the past 20 years and was going to take a break. If Dave was disappointed, he didn 't show it. In his mind he was certain that John would like his church, but he didn 't push the issue.
John spent the time Dave was gone moving the rest of his things into the bedroom his host had provided for him. As he did, he counted his blessings. Dave had provided him with a way to not only survive, but to thrive. He wouldn 't have to quit school, and he wouldn 't be on the street. He wondered what was in it for the man.
Dave hadn 't asked him for sexual favors like he 'd momentarily thought he might. Dave hadn 't hit on him in any way. John had reconciled himself to that possibility and had been surprised that he hadn 't been afraid of it. Dave was kind and gentle. If he were to make love to John, it might be an okay experience – even a desirable one.
When Dave arrived back at the house, the two prepared lunch together. They read part of the Sunday Gazette while their food settled, and then decided to go for a run on the trail. They might have gone biking had John not forgotten to take his, in his haste to leave his family 's home. He didn 't think his family would likely let him have it now, even though he 'd purchased it with his own money.
Dave thought it might be worth driving by their house to see. When they pulled into the drive, the garage was open and Mike, John 's younger brother was there.
"Hey Johnny! Did you change your mind? Are you coming back? "
"Nope, I dropped by to see if I could get my bike. "
"Sure. I don 't think anyone knows you didn 't take it, and they 're not home. They went to see Grandma in the nursing home. "
The bicycle fit easily in the back of Dave 's SUV, and they were eager to get on their way. Before they left, Mike gave his brother a hug and whispered in his ear that he cared about him. John was moved to tears.
"You don 't really know about me, do you, Mike? "
"Dad said you 're a queer, " Mike responded sotto voce. "If you are, it 's your own business. You have to be who you are. Is that your boyfriend? "
"I wish. No, he 's just a very nice guy who is letting me live at his house. "
"Well, you have someone in your family who isn 't upset with you, " Dave ventured as they drove home.
"Yeah, Mike has always been my bud. I 'm a bad example for him to follow. "
"Nope, you 're a good example. You 're industrious and hard working. You always have a kind word and a pleasant smile. That 's a rare quality these days. "
For the next couple of weeks, life went along without a lot of highs or lows. John seemed happy to be living at Dave 's home, and Dave was pleased to have the company.
John was kind of a homebody when he wasn 't at work. He didn 't seem to have a lot of friends and didn 't go out by himself.
On Friday night of the fourth week, he didn 't come home at the usual time. Since he often ate something at the store and worked until 9:00 on Fridays, Dave didn 't begin to worry until an hour later. Then, he tried John 's cell but got no response.
By 10:30, he really began to fret, but he chastised himself for doing so. John was an adult. He wasn 't Dave 's responsibility, and Dave shouldn 't be minding his business!
Dave 's cell phone rang about 11:30. He saw it was John 's number and hastened to answer.
"Can you gu-give me a ride? "
"Sure, where are you. "
"Clanshy 's Keg. You where isht 's at? "
"Yup. It 'll take me 15 or 20 minutes, but I 'm heading out the door. "
"You here to get this drunken kid? " the officer asked.
"I 'm here to pick up John, if that 's what you mean, " Dave replied.
"I should run him in for public intoxication, but if you get him off the street, I won 't. He hasn 't caused a disturbance, but he 's plastered. "
"Thank you, sir! Mom and Dad have enough worries without having to bail him out of jail, " Dave fibbed. "At least he was smart enough not to try to drive. Will his car be safe here overnight? "
"It should be if it 's locked. This is a decent neighborhood.
"If you 're smart, and have a sack in your vehicle, you 'll give it to him so he doesn 't puke all over your leather seats! "
Dave nodded, and retrieved a plastic bag from the back seat which he used for trash. He gave it to John after he 'd buckled the guy in his seat.
"I 'm sho shorry! " John slurred.
"No need to apologize. Thanks for calling instead of putting yourself or anyone else at risk. "
"I 'm shusch a bad boy. "
"You 're not bad, maybe a little naughty, but that 's not my business. "
They rode in silence for about 10 minutes until John 's stomach turned on him. Thankfully, he didn 't miss the bag.
Dave tied up the sack and put it directly into the garbage bin in the garage before helping John into the house. He steered his young companion to the main bathroom where he helped him clean his face and wash out his mouth. Before they were through, John had to hug the porcelain convenience and empty the rest of his stomach.
After another cleanup, Dave led John to his room where he stripped the young man to his underwear and helped him into his bed.
"Thish room is shpinning! "
"No, it 's just in your head. Have you ever been drunk before? "
"NO! I hate it! "
"Okay, I want you to lie on your side because if you puke again and you 're on your back, you could choke on your own vomit. "
"I 'm shcared! What if I turn over? "
"I 'll come around the other side and hold onto you. Would that be okay? "
"Yesh! "
And so, Dave stripped to his underwear held his young housemate until they woke up around 6:30 AM.
"I 'd better call the store and tell them you 're sick, " Dave suggested.
"Nope, Saturday 's their busy day and Ralph is on vacation. I 'll take a shower and pull myself together. "
"Ok, you do what you think is best. I 'll make toast and tea if you want something on your stomach. "
"Thanks! I think I can keep that down. You got any Motrin? "
"Open the door to the linen closet and look on the wire rack. "
"You look remarkably better! " Dave complimented.
"I still feel like shit, but that 's the price of being an idiot! It won 't happen again. "
"Wanna talk about it, or wait until later? "
"Later will be soon enough. "
"I 'll drive you to work. "
"Nope, I inconvenienced you last night. I have to take responsibility now. "
"Well, I don 't think you 're in good enough shape to bike that far and your car 's still at the bar. So, let me do this. Call when you 're done, and we 'll go pick it up. "
"Okay. "
John toyed with the idea of taking a cab to the bar where his car was parked, but changed his mind when Dave texted to say he would be buying groceries around 5:00 so he 'd be there to take him. It would be a waste of money and energy not to go with Dave since the store was nearly halfway to Clancy 's.
John looked exhausted at the end of his workday. He 'd pushed hard despite his hangover. In a way, he was punishing himself for his bad behavior. He felt he should tell Dave the extent of it. He wasn 't looking forward to that conversation. He knew Dave probably wouldn 't be angry as much as disappointed. God, he wished he could undo the past 24 hours. That being impossible, his next best move was to try to atone.
He was quiet on the way from the store to Clancy 's parking lot. He simply couldn 't think of anything to say.
Dave figured John 's head was probably aching, and he didn 't encourage conversation. Instead, he had a disc playing in his vehicle 's sound system called, "Jazz for Quiet Times. " It was light and lyrical, calming but not heavy. John found himself relaxing to the sounds.
As Dave busily worked on dinner preparations, John offered to help where he could. He cut up lettuce for their salads and set the table. Dave was going to tell him to sit and rest instead but sensed he needed to be of use.
"Hair of the dog? " Dave asked, taking a bottle of wine from the fridge.
"I 'm not sure what that means, " John blushed.
"It 's an old remedy for a hangover. A little alcohol to ease the symptoms, like tapering off instead of going cold turkey. "
"Okay, I 'll have a little. But I don 't want to become an alcoholic! "
"I won 't push you to drink. As you know, I don 't imbibe regularly. "
John filled one goblet and put about half as much in the other. He handed the full one to Dave.
"Here 's to better days, " Dave toasted.
Over dinner, they made polite conversation, talking about everything but what was on John 's mind.
When the kitchen was put to order again, they moved to the living room.
"Please forgive me for what I 've done, " John pleaded as he knelt beside Dave 's chair. "I promise I won 't let you down again. "
"You don 't need my forgiveness, " Dave said, putting his hand on John 's shoulder. "You haven 't done anything to me. If you need to do penance, it 's got to be so you can forgive yourself. Many of us have drunk too much in growing up. Perhaps tying one on is a rite of passage. "
"Right now, it feels more like a "wrong " of passage, " John said with a slight grin. "But there 's more, and it 's worse. Please let me tell you without interruption because I won 't be able to do this twice. "
"Okay. "
"You know the cute guy, Chad, who takes care of dairy and frozen foods? "
Dave nodded.
"He asked me to have a drink with him after work. He said they wouldn 't be likely to check my ID because I look older than he does, and he 's a regular there.
"I 'd never had even one beer before and I thought it was time. Being out of the repressive household I grew up in, I wanted to experience some things I 'd been kept from. "
Dave nodded his agreement.
"Anyway, we were back in a dark corner and I had a little buzz on. That 's when Chad felt my dick through my jeans. It took me back to the time someone did that to me at camp. Naturally, I got hard right away. The alcohol took away my inhibitions and I couldn 't ask him to stop.
"After five minutes of that, he suggested we go to the men 's room and I followed. When we got there, he pulled me into the stall and squatted on the seat so only my legs showed below the partition. Then he unzipped my jeans, pulled out my dick and sucked on it until I blew. It was so intense I almost lost my balance.
"While I was zipping back up, someone came in to use the urinal. I was shaking for fear of getting caught, but the guy washed his hands and left pretty quickly. I unzipped again and took the chance to wash off my dick before I went back to our table. Chad followed in a couple of minutes.
"We were having a second beer when a guy came in that I remember seeing with Chad in the past. He accused Chad of being unfaithful and they left. After that, I felt even worse because I 'd not only done a bad thing but I 'd been part of making trouble between them. So, I kept on drinking, trying to numb my senses.
"Okay, I 'm done. Now you can yell at me! "
"Why would I yell at you? Chad took advantage of your innocence. He 's the one who was unfaithful. He 'd have done it, and probably does, with someone else if not you. "
"But I wanted to save myself for someone I care about! Now I 'm damaged goods! "
"I 'm sure you 're not the only guy to get a blowjob from someone you 're not in love with. Sex of that sort isn 't all that much different from jacking off or having a wet dream. You didn 't share your heart. "
"Does your church have a confessional? "
"Nope, most of us mainline Protestants don 't confess to a priest or any other human for that matter. It 's between God and us. We do say a prayer of confession during the service. We all say the same words, but each of us is thinking about how we 've fallen short in our lives. "
"I 'd like to go with you tomorrow. I have to get this off my chest. "
"You 've just fessed up. Simply thank God for forgiveness and say that you 'll do your best not to repeat whatever it is you feel guilty about. "
"Will you forgive me? "
"Sure, if there were anything to forgive. "
"But see, there is. I 've been sorta hoping you might come to care for me, " John confessed as the tears ran down his cheeks.
Dave put his fingers under John 's jaw and tilted his head up until their eyes met.
"Don 't you think I 'm a little old for you? You deserve someone as young and adorable as you are. "
"Do you think I 'm adorable? "
"Absolutely! You 've always been one of my reasons to shop at Fareway. I mean, their meat is excellent, but the produce isn 't as fine as what 's at HyVee. "
"Please hold me! "
They moved to the couch and cuddled.
John woke up in Dave 's bed on Sunday morning with a smile on his face. It was a new day in his life. Feeling Dave 's arms around him was like a dream come true. No, they hadn 't had sex. Dave had resisted John 's offer of oral sex because he said they needed to explore their affection for one another before having their minds clouded by lust. John wouldn 't have minded a little bit of overcast, but he was happy for whatever his host had in mind.
They went to church together, and John used the time of confession as Dave had suggested. He felt lighter from the experience. Maybe religion wasn 't all like his old church had been.
After sleeping together for two weeks straight, Dave agreed that they were close enough emotionally to take their relationship to another plateau. On that Saturday night, they watched a short clip of two guys engaging in what Dave called, "the most egalitarian form of sexual pleasure " – giving and receiving head at the same time. John almost came from viewing the video.
The experience with Dave made the blowjob with Chad seem like nothing special. In the afterglow, Dave asked how John felt about commitment.
"Do you think you 're ready to build a life with me? "
"Oh, yeah! I never want anyone else. "
"What if I ask you that again in a year? "
"The answer will be the same. I 'm yours. "
"Cool! "
--------------------------------End-----------------------------------
Thanks to David (Boxerdude) for editing this chapter.
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If you enjoyed this tale, I 'd love to hear from you. Please write to me at: dlee169@hotmail.com
David Lee