Love that Dare Not Speak its Name, Chapter 8
The four young men who had been working on the house in Ames all went home for the weekend. There was still a bit of yard work to do, and they were hoping Larry would approve repairing the privacy fence in the backyard. However, other than mowing on a regular schedule, the rest could be put off until a later date.
Paul and Kyle spent time with Larry determining what kind of estimate they should give to Tom Charles for painting his house. The price would vary in accordance with how close in match their color choice was to the current one. That would determine if more than one coat would be needed to make it look good.
Larry also told them they could possibly increase their profit if they gave Tom the option of a bid which included labor and materials. Larry could purchase the paint for a better price than the homeowner because he got a discount from the store since he was a contractor. The cost of the paint could go through his account and the guys could have the savings as part of their pay.
If they didn't get the job, he would try to have work for them in his operation.
On Monday, Beau and Cy went to work for Larry while Paul and Kyle drove back to Ames in Kyle's vehicle. They would mow and do a few jobs around the yard while waiting to see if Mr. Charles would hire them.
Having emailed their estimate to him at his place of work, they figured they'd hear from him soon. In checking his account later in the afternoon, Paul had his answer. They had the job, and they could begin as soon as his wife and he had decided on the colors for the house and trim. They would be going to Sherwin Williams after dinner to pick them. Thus, the guys could begin the following day.
Paul and Kyle were elated! This would give them some unexpected money toward their college expenses in the coming year. It was kind of cool to know they could earn it through their own initiative.
Having learned a lot from working on Larry's house, the two of them were faster than they'd anticipated. Despite being careful in how they did the job, they finished half a day earlier than they'd estimated.
Tom was so elated with their attention to detail that he gave them an extra $50 to have dinner on him. They did go out to celebrate but spent far less on their meal and put the rest in their bank account.
The following day, Tom's wife, Marge, came over with a couple of cold beers as a "bribe" and asked if she could tour the house to see what they'd done to the bedroom floors. The guys were ready for a break and appreciated her hospitality.
On viewing the results, Marge was eager to have all the carpet taken up in her house and have the hardwood coated with the kind of spar varnish they'd applied to the ones at Larry's house. She assured them that Tom would do what she wanted. Therefore, she urged them to come up with an estimate. If at all possible, she would like the job done while her sons were away at scout camp.
Again, Paul and Kyle contacted Larry. He said he would email them the prices he'd paid for the rental of the sander and the varnish and brushes he'd purchased. He recommended using the same brushes since they'd been cleaned out well but charge a couple of new ones to the job because of the wear and tear on the current ones.
They worked out a deal which benefitted both parties. Tom would help move all the furniture from the master bedroom, stuffing it mostly in the living room. He and Marge would sleep in one of the smaller ones while the varnish dried and rearrange things to clear out the other rooms later. They would finish with the dining room and living room. That furniture could all be moved to the garage while those were being done. Tom and Marge would book a motel room for several days while the varnish was curing so the additional fumes wouldn't bother her allergies.
The young men sweetened the deal by offering to let Marge and Tom stay with them in Larry's house, using the master bedroom. They were welcome to make themselves at home. Marge was so delighted that she insisted on cooking for everyone, and having Tom give Kyle and Paul the amount of money he would have spent on motel accommodations. The young me agreed to let her cook for them but said they wouldn't take any money for putting them up. No one was using the master bedroom currently anyway.
As it turned out, Tom had to take care of an emergency at work when the furniture in the first bedrooms needed to be moved. Therefore, Paul and Kyle had to do it. Marge might have assisted, but she had some problems with her back, and it wasn't a good idea for her to take off from work either. They would give the guys more money to compensate for taking it on.
Marge was concerned about the host of dust-bunnies which likely inhabited the carpet under her sons' beds because she generally stayed out of their rooms, but the guys assured her that they wouldn't be offended.
"You can't believe how some of the freshmen in the dorms live," Kyle told her. "If dust thou art, to dust return, is true, there's a lot of souls either coming or going in Knapp Hall."
Marge laughed at his joke and felt much more relaxed at leaving the young men with the mess they might find.
It was probably best that she wasn't there to witness what they discovered. Denny's room had the usual amount of dust one might expect in a young teen's room. There was also a rumpled Playboy Magazine under the mattress when they moved it.
Michael's room saw another matter. Under his bed was a pair of bikini underwear, a stiff wash cloth, and a magazine filled with pictures of naked men, some engaged in explicit sexual behavior.
"Wow! Look what the studs in this picture are doing!" Paul exclaimed. "We might like to try it sometime. I wonder if Michael is simply curious or if he's playing on our team."
"It's pretty raunchy stuff. I'm guessing he might be dreaming of doing some of it. It looks like there's cum-spots on the pages."
"We'd better keep this at our house, so Marge doesn't find it. She's talking about throw rugs and new curtains, so she might discover it if she's more involved later."
"Yeah, we can give it to him when he gets back. Hopefully, he'll know we didn't intend to steal it."
"I'm guessing he'll be too relieved that his mother didn't find it to care."
As soon as the floors were clear, the guys pulled up the carpet. They were pleased to find that the hardwood beneath was in even better shape than it was in Larry's house. It would take only a light sanding before they applied coats of polyurethane varnish. The product was expensive, but it would stand up to a lot of wear. It was what schools used on their gym floors.
By the time Mr. and Mrs. Charles came home, two bedrooms had their first coat, and the master bedroom and hall were clear of furniture and ready to be worked on.
For dinner, Marge served several types of salad and a watermelon she'd picked up at the grocery store on the way home from work. Tom grilled the bacon-wrapped sirloin filets she'd purchased to complete the meal.
He had a fancy gas grill which he wheeled over to use at the boys' house since they didn't own one. He said he'd be cooking on it for the rest of the week as they all ate together.
Paul and Kyle appreciated having someone else making their meals so they could concentrate on getting their job done. After dinner, they went back to sand the floors in the remaining bedrooms and hallway. They would be ready to apply varnish in the morning.
The entire project was finished by Thursday. Tom and Marge were pleased to be able to get things back to normal before their sons returned from camp.
Kyle and Paul used Friday morning to move furniture back in place, and left after lunch to spend the weekend at home. They would return on Monday to take on another house-painting job in the neighborhood. Tom's rave reviews about their work ethic had spread like wildfire. If this continued, they would likely stay in Ames for most of the summer and earn a tidy sum toward their expenses in the process.
After Paul and Kyle ate supper on Monday, they saw a nervous teenager heading their way. Tom and Marge had left on an errand to purchase rugs in colors their sons had agreed upon, and their elder son had made his way next door immediately.
"Hey Michael, how's it going?"
"Um, okay, I hope. I've got a serious question for you. Uh, are you the ones who moved the stuff in my room, or did Mom and Dad do it?"
"It was us," Paul said. "I think we have something that belongs to you."
So saying, he retrieved a plastic grocery bag from the pantry which contained Michael's magazine, cum-rag, and bikini. Mike looked in and blushed.
"I was hoping it was you. I've been panicked since I got the word that they were surprising us with the floors. I don't know how to repay you."
"Your thanks is enough. We all have to have each other's backs."
"Um, what do you mean by that? Are you like me?"
Paul looked at Kyle for approval, and Kyle nodded.
"We are," Paul admitted. "We're trying to keep a low profile too. We're well aware of how society can treat people who're different."
"Oh, man, can I talk to you guys?"
"Isn't that what you're doing now," Kyle grinned.
"Yeah, I mean no. Uh, like I'd really like to talk seriously about how you've survived being gay. I'm pretty stupid."
"Never say that you're stupid!" Kyle insisted. "You may be innocent, and that's okay. We're all kind of naïve until we live and learn more. I'm open to the subject."
"I am too," Paul added. "So long as no one accuses me of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, I'm in."
"I might not be an adult yet, but I learned that it's legal for someone over 18 to have sex with me because I'm old enough to consent. My friend Jennifer found out from her older brother who was doing a paper on sexual exploitation of children."
"So, you're not as naïve as you claim."
"Yes, I am because I haven't done it. I just know some stuff about it.
"I should probably get home. Mom and Dad won't be gone too long."
"Before you go, let me give you the combination to the lock on the garden shed so you can stash your magazine and sexy underwear there until you can find a safer place at home," Paul offered. "Please don't share it with anyone else -- the combination, that is. I'm not telling you that you can't share the other stuff."
"Thanks! I won't tell anyone, but I'll sleep better tonight."
"I think we just gained a new little brother," Paul ventured.
"I agree. I hope we can help smooth the road for him. We don't know how his parents will react. I hope we won't lose a bunch of handyman jobs if they find out we're gay. We're making pretty good money this summer on our own. I sometimes think Larry is making jobs for us when we're home. He hasn't requested our help since we've been getting offers here."
"That's a good point. But we still need to help the kid if we can. Imagine how much better young guys would have it if they knew someone a little older who could be their guide."
"True, Kyle agreed. "We should probably email our housemates to let them know. We need to make sure they're okay with telling Michael about them. It's gonna be more difficult to keep their secret now that we're open with him."
Just when Kyle assumed Larry's business wasn't busy enough to need them, they got a call asking if they could work on Thursday, Friday, and possibly Saturday of that week. They responded, saying they would drive home on Wednesday night after they finished repairing a retaining wall for people on the next block. It would be great to be with their best buds again.
Their help was needed because one of Larry's employees, Gary, had suffered whiplash in an accident. He'd been at an intersection waiting for the light to turn when a distracted driver rear-ended his small sports car. His vehicle had been totaled and his doctor didn't want him doing anything physical until more was known about the extent of his injuries. He could be idle for a period of a few days or several weeks.
After having dinner with their own parents, the pair drove to the Stephen acreage to stay overnight so they'd be available early in the morning to work. They packed enough clothes for several days in case Larry's guy had a long recovery time.
Jen would have put them up in the room they often used at her house; however, the boys had other plans. Chet and Derek were coming over, and the six of them wanted to sleep in the Airstream. It would give them all a chance to catch up, and the temperature and humidity had been dropping enough at night not to require air conditioning. The young men preferred being acclimated to summer heat rather than experiencing the shock of going from A/C to the natural atmosphere.
Thursday turned out to be a fairly warm day on the job, but the guys made a lot of progress. Larry was pleased to have two subs who already knew the business and didn't have to be trained. It put a lot less stress on him. Although he wasn't as sick from the side-effects of his treatments as he'd been initially, he still didn't have the stamina that he'd once had.
Everyone was tired and hungry by quitting time. Jen served a big supper for the six teens and invited Len as well. He was thrilled not to have to deal with cooking on top of a day in the field.
Instead of showering, the young men went skinny-dipping in the old quarry after dinner. The water was cool enough to feel refreshing, so they cavorted like a bunch of young teens who'd been set free. Of course, in reality, they were still fairly young.
When they got out, they sat naked on their towels and teased Chet and Derek about their "farmer" tans. Doing actual farming, those guys did have tan-lines that were noticeable. Paul and Kyle, having worked inside more, didn't as much. Cy and Beau had different tan lines because they dressed in old cutoffs and tank-tops a lot when on the job, and often shed the tops when it was hot. Therefore, their butts were as white as everyone else's.
"We should lie naked in the sun to even-out our color," Chet suggested. "We could use heavy lotion on the parts that are usually exposed and some number four sunscreen on our butts, so we won't look like freaks in the gym when school starts.
"I heard about a place down by the Coralville reservoir called, `bare-butt hill' where guys hang out bare-assed. I understand a bunch of university students go there in the summer on weekends. I guess it's a cruising spot, but we'd be safe as a group."
"Are you sure you don't just want to check out the eye-candy?" Beau grinned. "Derek might get jealous if you get hard looking at someone else."
"I don't mind if he gets a hardon as long as I'm the one who gets to deflate it." Derek said. "I might suck him off right in front of everyone."
"Wow! You've loosened up," Paul exclaimed.
"Yeah, I used to be really uptight. Since being disowned by my family, I don't have anything to lose. I'm gonna live my own life!"
"Good for you," Kyle chimed in.
"I have no qualms about showing my junk," Cy commented. "However, I worry about having the DNR agents catch us. I think they go down there every once in a while, and raid the place. I'd hate to have my name in the Gazette for indecent exposure."
"What you have to expose is certainly decent!" Beau joked, as he wrapped his fist around his boyfriend's dick. "But I see your point. We could do the same thing here and be safer. I know my parents won't be checking on us, especially if I tell dad we want to work on our all-over tans."
With the additional help from Kyle and Paul, Larry's crew was able to wrap up their work by late Friday afternoon and would have the weekend off. Everyone on the jobsite was pleased. The customer got his building a bit earlier than promised, and the workers would have two whole days for recreation and relaxation. They would be ready to start a new project on Monday with renewed energy.
Chet and Derek had a few things to do on the farm Saturday morning, but they joined their buds at the quarry after lunch. Beau had plenty of sunscreen available in several strengths to keep the guys from getting sunburned, especially on parts that weren't normally exposed. As a result, their sharp tan-lines moderated into transition areas which made them all happier about their appearance.
Paul and Kyle brought everyone else up to date about the teenager who lived next door to their school residence. No one cared if the guys let him know about their orientation. Each felt it was almost his duty to help the kid navigate his way through a society which wasn't particularly open to gay people. Perhaps they could help change some opinions, one at a time.
In the middle of the following week, Gary's doctor cleared him to work again. Gary was eager to be back on the job because he didn't feel he could afford to be off work for any length of time in the summer when business was good.
Larry welcomed him back but told him to take it easy for a couple of days. He suggested that the insurance company of the guy who crashed into him needed to cover his lost income, plus a compensation for pain and suffering. Gary said that a lawyer friend would be helping him get a fair settlement.
Kyle and Paul would stay on through Friday so Gary wouldn't have to work as hard until he got his strength back. Larry always looked out for his men.
The six college friends spent most of the next weekend together in the Airstream and the quarry area. Paul and Kyle started to get amorous on Sunday afternoon, and the rest were inspired by their actions. As a result, everyone got off in one way or other, basically through frottage and oral stimulation. None was ready to copulate at that point in their relationships. However, they were all losing their inhibitions of making love in each other's presence.
Author's notes: Thanks for reading this story. If you enjoyed it, please feel free to contact me a dlee169@hotmail.com and let me know. Your emails are the only reward I receive for writing. Please put the story title in the subject line in case your email goes into the spam folder.
A special note of appreciation to all who emailed me this week: Marty H, Tony C, Allen, Ott H, Mendy D, Joe W (2), Chandre B, Andy R, Ken McC, John L, Peter T, Stan, Geoff (2), Brad W, Geoff S (1), Paul R, Mike L, and Frank K.
Thanks to David S for editing. He finds the typos and missing words! He also makes valuable suggestions.
Thanks to Nifty for providing this free service. It costs the site to do it, so please consider donating to defray their expenses.
https://donate.nifty.org/
Thanks,
David
Ps: I have a chronological list of all my posted stories which I can email to you if you have an interest.