Nudist Camp Vacation

Live simply, love generously, care deeply and speak kindly. Leave the rest to God. ;)

Nudist Camp Vacation CHAPTER 14

I hit the brakes and skidded to a halt. "BLOOD?" I shared a terrified look with Tim. His thoughts were my thoughts. But, what could we do? My heart beat hard, from fear. "The cops have an amber alert out. That means they'll be broadcasting Stevey and Paul's descriptions, as well as their kidnappers, on radio and television. They'll have all available cops out on patrol, looking for anyone suspicious. We can only hope that someone hears the announcements and sees them. That's all they can do, for now."

Tim slowly nodded.

I whispered, "Let's go to the house and get you settled." It would be hard to distract him from his worry. I could worry enough for both of us. I took his hand and kissed his fingers. "I love you, Tim!"

He looked into my eyes and he began to weep. "I love you, too, Alan!"

I reached over and pulled him close. He was terrified for his brother. I whispered in his ear, "We'll call Frank later and see if he found anything, okay?"

He sniffed, loudly. He whispered, "Yeah, okay." He leaned into my face and smashed my lips with his. It was the first time we had kissed since this morning on the boat. He kissed me desperately and I returned as much as he gave. When he let up I was dizzy with love. God, he can kiss!

Silently, I put the car in gear and pulled onto the road toward the highway. It wasn't long before we were pulling into the long driveway at the house. I pulled up to the front door. Normally, I'd pull up to the garage in the side yard, but I wanted to give Tim a first-class introduction to the house. Tim looked at the tall, anti-bellum columns as if in a daze. I almost laughed! His eyes were about to pop out of their sockets!

I smiled at him. "It's just a house."

He slugged my arm. "Yeah, just a house! If you live in a museum! This thing's HUGE!"

"It's not so big. You should have seen the other one! I moved here about a year ago. The other house was a lot bigger, but this one's got more land. It's a little over five acres."

Tim looked around and smiled then he looked at me. "Kind of private, too! You know, we could go nude here!"

I laughed. "Not quite! Nell might object! And then there's Marty. He might not object, but I don't think it would be wise to tempt his good nature!"

"Who's Nell?"

"Nell's my housekeeper, but she thinks she's my mother! I'll introduce you."

I led Tim in through the front door, carrying his backpack. Tim carried his overstuffed gym bag. Nell quickly appeared. "Oh, it's you! So, is this the young man you've been pining over?"

Did I say that Nell is not subtle? Well, she isn't. "PINING?"

"Yes, pining!"

I scowled at her. Tim smirked. Oh, well, so now he knows. "Nell, this is Tim Smith. He'll be staying here." I looked at Tim and said softly, ". . . I hope for a long time."

He smiled at me then took Nell's hand. As he spoke, he gave a short bow. "I'm very pleased to meet you, Nell."

She looked at him and melted. "Oh! A charmer! Alan, you've brought home a charmer!" Retrieving her hand, she said, "That's all right! In a few weeks we'll have him wondering where his sanity went!"

I turned serious. "Nell, we may get a phone call from either Frank or the police." She looked both shocked and puzzled. "Tim's brother has been kidnapped. Someone may call to tell us some news."

"Oh, no! Tim, you poor thing! I'll pray for him!"

Tim nodded. "Thank you, Nell," he whispered.

An awkward moment of silence passed. Nell looked at me and asked, "Where's he sleeping?" She always knew how to gracefully change the subject.

Tim blushed. I smiled and shook my head. "That's my Nell! He'll be sleeping with me, Nell."

She smiled. "Just wanted to make sure!" She looked at Tim and grabbed his hand. "Come with me, little boy! I've got candy!" She started to lead him toward the stairs.

Tim looked at me and laughed. He had a look on his face as if to say, "Is she for real?"

"Don't mind Nell! You'll get used to her!"

She looked at me, sternly. "He damn well better not!" She looked at Tim and smirked. "It's more fun if I can shock you."

We enjoyed another laugh as Nell led Tim to the master bedroom.

"This is your room. Alan will be sharing it with you." She turned to me and asked, "Alan, did you make room for Tim, yet?"

I wasn't sure what she had in mind. "No, not yet. I hadn't gotten that far." I looked at Tim sheepishly. "I hadn't thought past the weekend and that was cut short."

"Okay, then it's up to me." She looked around the room then walked over to a dresser. She opened a drawer and unceremoniously dug all the clothes out of it and dumped them on the floor. "You don't need all this in here. You've got way too many clothes, anyway!" I watched while she cleaned out three more drawers. She looked at Tim. "That'll do for a start. We'll make more room for you later." She grabbed Tim's bag and set it next to the dresser. I set the backpack next to the gym bag. Nell gave me a disapproving look as if I were giving her more work. She turned and walked into the closet and started moving my clothes around, freeing up about six feet of closet rods. "There. If you need more room, we'll knock out a wall. Now, come with me." She took Tim by the hand again, and led him to the bathroom. "Alan's got all his crap next to one of the sinks, so you can have the other one." She pointed at the empty counter as she looked at Tim. "Okay, pretty boy?"

Tim was smiling, silently. He nodded.

Nell looked at me. "Does he talk?"

Following Tim's lead, I nodded. "He talks when he has something to say."

"Nell, I think you're wonderful!" He leaned down to the short graying woman and hugged her.

She looked over his shoulder at me and said, "I think you found a keeper!" Nell pulled back from Tim's embrace and looked at his face. She sighed. Then she looked at me and said, "I know this is the weekend and I have weekends off, but I think I should make a welcome dinner for this young man. It'll be ready about six o'clock. Why don't you show him around in the meantime? I'm sure you can stay out of trouble for a few hours!"

After she scurried out the door, I took Tim in my arms and hugged him tight. The embrace lasted what seemed several minutes. Tim needed the closeness. He kissed my neck, worked up to my face, and found my lips. Greedily, I returned his kiss.

When our lips were sufficiently bruised, I whispered, "So, you want to see the rest of the house?"

Tim rested his head on my shoulder. "Yeah," he breathed.

I patted his butt, playfully. "C'mon. You can unpack later." I lead him through the second floor, showing him all the bedrooms and their attached bathrooms. We made our way downstairs and I showed him all the rooms there.

Tim turned to me and asked, "Is there a garage?"

I looked at my watch. We had some time. I grinned at him and he grinned back. He was curious. "Yes, there is." I took his hand and lead him to the door to the garage. There were four cars. Marty had put my `Vette away. There was also a white Cadillac Sedan Deville and a blue Ford 500. "The sedan belongs to Nell." Just beyond was my ominous looking jet black Suburban with dark tinted windows. It was almost a duplicate to Frank's.

"I thought you had a collection."

"Oh, you want to see my toy box!" His eyebrows raised over his grin as I led him out the back door and back to a large metal building. On the way, I asked him, "What's your dream car?"

"I think your `Vette's pretty dreamy."

"No, I mean if you could have any car ever made, what would it be?"

Without hesitation, he said, "Lamborghini Countach!"

I laughed! "You have good taste!"

"Yeah, but I'll never get to touch one!"

I was silent as we approached the metal building. I tried the door: it was unlocked. "Marty's here." I let Tim enter before me. The lights were on only in the office and in the shop. I reached over and flicked all of the lights on so he could get the full effect. As the lights flickered to full brightness, he gasped!

It's a large warehouse type building and cars and trucks are lined up in order of type (sedans, sports cars or trucks) and year. Sounds a bit anal retentive, doesn't it? I know, but that's the way I like it! There's car memorabilia on the walls and hanging from the exposed structure throughout the expanse. For a building that looks like a plain warehouse on the outside, I guess it looks pretty nice on the inside. At least it's colorful!

I admired the cars and trucks. It always gives me a thrill to admire them and remember some of the stories behind each one. They all shone like new pennies. It had been several months since I had visited my "toy box" and Marty always kept the vehicles clean and dust-free. He also took them out on a rotating schedule to make sure each one stayed ready to drive. There was a slight smell of rubber and gasoline. It was like an aphrodisiac to me. I looked at Tim. His eyes were almost falling out of his head as he tried to take it all in. I watched him with delight as he finally caught his breath.

"Alan," he whispered, "is this a museum?"

I had to laugh! "No, it's not! This is what Robert called my `toy box.' At least that's what he called a similar building at the other house. It looks like a big metal box from the outside and I keep my toys in it! So, you like?"

His eyes moved slowly to me as what I said registered. He continued to whisper. "These are all yours?"

"Yup! And you don't need to whisper. Marty will think we're sneaking up on him if you do."

"Alan! I thought you might bring Tim out here! So, which one're you gonna take out?"

"I thought we might take the white one." I nodded to the sports cars.

Marty looked puzzled. "The white one?" He turned and looked down the row, not seeing a white car. He turned back to me.

I put my finger to my lips to signal him not to talk about it. "Yes, the one on the end."

He looked back down the row and said, "Oh, yeah! The WHITE one!" He turned back to me. "It should be ready to go. It's got about half a tank. I just took it out the day before yesterday and it was runnin' real smooth!" He looked at Tim with what I determined to be envy. I think there's something about the innocence of someone's first time in such a car. Much like losing one's virginity, of sorts.

I turned to Tim. I had felt his eyes on Marty and me as we spoke. His eyes were quite wide open.

"Y . . . you mean, we're gonna take one of these cars for a drive?"

I looked at him with a big, toothy smile. I guess I'll always be a kid at heart. "You're darn right, we are! Come on! I'll show you!"

Marty followed along behind us, probably not wanting to miss out on Tim's excitement. Tim was silently gawking at the cars as we strolled past them. He was taking in each car and I didn't want to rush him. When we came to the end, he gasped, put both hands to his mouth, and tears came to his eyes! Honestly, I didn't expect such an extreme reaction! Sitting at the end of the row of sports cars was the pride and joy of my collection. It's a perfect, snow white, 1978 Lamborghini Countach. It's got a V-12 engine and puts out around 700 horsepower. I love to listen to it purr at idle and SCREAM at full throttle!

Marty chuckled as he walked to the big rollup door thirty feet away in anticipation of our departure. I walked to the passenger door and opened it. As the door swung up and forward, Tim's eyes followed its arc. He reached to the door to touch it with an unsteady hand. His hands were shaking and I saw him convulsively shivering. I think he might be having trouble believing this is real.

I stepped back. "Hop in!"

Tim's dimples quickly sunk into his face as his face-splitting smile appeared. He looked into the form-fitting interior and dropped his left leg in, followed by his compact tush, then his other leg. It fit him well! I showed him how to grab the door to pull it closed then I walked around to the driver's side and jumped in. Once we were buckled in, I cranked the engine awake. Tim's breathing was rough and rapid. His adrenaline must be through the roof! I revved the engine a couple of times, just for effect. It sounded as if it were complaining for having been forced to sleep! I popped it into gear and slowly pulled out of its stall.

By the time we approached it, Marty had the door open. He would close it after us and put the car away when we returned, but for now, the beast was awake! I pointed it to the drive that took us to the road. Once in the open, I looked to see that the empty road was clear. There was no one.

"Are you ready for this?" I asked Tim.

"Am I dreaming?"

I laughed. "Yes! This is a dream come true! My favorite car and my new love! What more could I ask?" I looked at the road again. Still clear. "Hang on tight!"

I gave the car its head and opened it up. As I shifted, I made sure to chirp the tires into second, third and fourth gears. Winding it out, I shifted smoothly into fifth. I looked at Tim. He was pressed into his seat with what appeared to be a frozen smile on his face. He shivered. As a turn approached, I downshifted and slowed, then took the 35 mile turn at 70. The car took it flat and tight, throwing Tim and me against the straps that held us.

Finally, Tim let out a gleeful, but earsplitting cry! "Yeeeeeoooooooow!"

I laughed till my sides hurt. I slowed the pace, but not at the turns on the curving back road. Finally, I found a place to pull to the side of the road. I jumped out and ran to Tim's door and opened it. He looked puzzled.

"Your turn!"

He looked up at me from his seat. "No way!"

"Way!" I laughed.

His face turned deadly serious. "Alan, I can't drive this car!"

I smiled back at him. "Yes you can! It's just like any other car!"

"Alan, this isn't LIKE any other car! It's a Lamborghini! This car is worth more than I'll earn in ten years!"

"Not quite that much, but it is nice, isn't it?"

"Nice? You call this car `nice'? This car is . . . WICKED!"

I kneeled next to the car where I could touch him. "Tim, this is just a car. It's a thing!' If you scratch it, it can be fixed. If you break it, it can be fixed. If you destroy it, it can be replaced. It's just a thing.' You're much more than that. YOU'RE what's special! I could never get the emotional satisfaction, the response, or the love I need from these things. I love you, Tim. I love you more than you'll ever know."

His eyes clouded and a tear rolled down his cheek. Without taking his eyes from me, he released his seat belts and reached for me. Pulling me up to him, he whispered in my ear, "Alan, I love you, too. So much it hurts. I love you, now and forever."

It was my turn to choke through my tears. Aren't we a weepy mess? But that's the way I like it: happy tears. We both wiped our tears and blew our noses.

I stood and gave a mock order, "Out!"

Tim knew I was forcing him to drive. The smile on my face must have given me away. Silently, he climbed out and walked around to the driver's door. He caressed the door before carefully climbing in. While we were getting buckled in and closing the doors, a car passed. I think it came close to running off the road as the driver gawked at the car. Maybe he was gawking at Tim. Maybe both? It's hard to know. They're quite a hot combination!

The incident was not missed by Tim. He smiled at me and chuckled with haughty satisfaction. He's really getting into this! He put it in gear and promptly spun the tires in the dirt. Our forward progress was nonexistent. If it hadn't been for the cloud of dust kicked up, you'd think he was just revving the engine!

I laughed! "Don't forget, there are 700 hot horses behind us! They don't want to stay under control! You'll have to ease the clutch out and slowly feed a little power to it to get it started."

He muttered under his breath with awe, "This thing sure is touchy." This time he slowly let out the clutch and gave it the slightest amount of gas. We made our way onto the road. Giving it more gas, we accelerated slowly and he shifted into second.

"Goose it."

He looked at me as if I'd lost my mind. I was beginning to like that look!

"No, really! Goose it!"

Suddenly, without warning, he tromped on the gas pedal! In a cloud of blue smoke from burning rubber, we were thrust forward! The engine redline came up fast. He must have been watching it, because he quickly flicked it into third, then fourth. It was an interesting experience being pressed back into the seat of an Italian sports car at the mercy of a madman! I giggled like a schoolgirl! I could tell Tim had just melded with the car, each molecule of it becoming an extension of his own nervous system.

The next curve quickly approaching, he downshifted and tightened the binders as efficiently as any racecar driver I'd ever seen. Tiptoeing through the curve, he gained a feeling of how fast the car could take the turn. Smoothly accelerating out of the turn, we were again launched toward the curve ahead. After several similar curves, each taken at a faster rate, he pulled into the sole gas station on the road.

When he had brought us to a complete stop, his stony face turned to me and asked, "Are you sure you want me to drive?"

I laughed out loud. "Only if you want to drive it! It seemed to me that you were enjoying yourself!"

He looked at me seriously. "Thanks a heap," he said, sarcastically. "I'll never be able to drive my Mustang, again!"

I couldn't help it! I laughed so hard I had a coughing fit!

He whined, "It's not funny! This is my dream car! Now that I've driven it, I'll never be the same!"

I'm not sure how serious he was, because I was laughing too hard! I still don't know him well enough to know if he was putting on an act. I decided to accept it as such.

Finally, Tim started to chuckle. "Look at my hands! They're shaking! This thing's got so much power, I'm terrified!"

I finally calmed down. "That's the same way I was when I first drove it! You're doing very well, I might add. Why don't you drive us home?"

"Are you sure you can trust me?"

Softly, I said, "Yes! I'll always trust you."

He smiled at me. It was that lustful smile of his. "I love you," he whispered as he leaned to me for a kiss. Both of us strained against the straps for a quick kiss. It was only then that I looked around. There were three boys who had been inside the gas station, but were now standing very close to the car. They were attracted to this Italian exotic and were examining every inch of it. I'm not sure if they saw us kiss. If they did, apparently it didn't matter to them.

Tim noticed them at the same time. He revved the engine a couple of times and slowly pulled out onto the road toward home. He slowly fed power to it until we were accelerating at full roar. He watched the boys in the mirror as he shifted through the gears.

"Are they still watching?"

"Yeah. When I was their age, I saw my first Countach. It was yellow, but I saw it accelerate just like we did just then. That was a revelation for me. Not only did I fall in love with that car, I fell in love with technology. I couldn't get enough information about what made that car tick. I hope it did the same for them." He looked at me and smiled. "This car is like a pied piper, or maybe a narcotic. It takes you away without you knowing it!"

I smiled back. As his eyes returned to the road, I saw that he was lost in thought. He was probably remembering his childhood and how he yearned for this car. He caressed the steering wheel as we returned to the "toy box" at normal, mortal speed.

He pulled up to the closed door of the building and parked it. With tears in his eyes, he said, "Alan, thank you for this. Thank you for everything, for the last two days." Then he really teared up. "Thank you for loving me."

I released my belts and leaned over and kissed him, hard. Holding myself inches from his face, I whispered, "Thank you for being persistent! If you hadn't been, none of this could have happened, and I'd still be miserable and lonely. It's only because of you that my life has new meaning. Tim, I don't just love you. I NEED you!"

He grabbed me and kissed me, desperately. "I need you, too!" he blubbered.

I smiled as I wiped the tears from his face. "You're precious and tender. You're my kind of man."

We kissed again. When we finished, Tim opened his eyes and jumped! I turned to see where he was looking. Marty was standing in front the open door with his arms crossed, a smile on his lips. He had apparently opened the door quietly enough that we didn't hear it. I looked back at Tim and chuckled.

As we climbed out of the car, Marty said, "I heard you drive up, but when I opened the door, you were occupied."

"Yes, we were. Thanks, Marty. The car's running very well!"

"Thanks! I'll put `er away."

"Thanks."

As Tim and I walked back into the warehouse, I pointed out several of my other special cars and trucks, giving a little of the history of each. "You can drive any of them, any time you want. That includes the Countach."

Tim looked at me with eyes popping and mouth hanging open. "Really?"

"Of course! Just be careful! Like I said, these are all just things, but YOU can't be replaced! I'd hate to think that one of my toys hurt you."

He smiled. "Thanks. But I don't think I could drive the Lamborghini without you. It's just too expensive a car."

"Well, it was costly. I spent about $120,000 on it about fifteen years ago, if I remember correctly, and it's probably worth at least twice that, now. But that's not important. If it makes you happy, drive it! It doesn't get driven enough as it is! Just remember, it was built to be driven hard! Don't baby it!"

He grinned wide. "You don't have to worry about that!"

We finished our tour and were walking back to the house. Tim said, "Stevey would LOVE this place! . . . I wonder if they've found out anything, yet."

"Let's find out." I pulled out my cell phone and called Frank's cell. It immediately rolled over to voicemail. "Frank, this is Alan. Call me when you can. Please tell me you found out something about Stevey! Thanks."

"It rolled over too fast. He must have been talking, or his phone's off. He'll get the message and call back, soon."

Tim had worry wrinkles on his forehead. He's too young for such tension!

"Let's go see what Nell's cooking up!"

Tim looked at me and nodded.

I put my arm around his shoulder and hugged him tight. I whispered, "Stevey's gonna be all right! You'll see."

He looked up at me then briefly rested his head on my shoulder. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I want him safe, now!"

We entered the back door of the house, and we could smell something delectable! My cell immediately rang. I jumped as I glanced at the number and thrust it to my ear. "Frank! Talk!" Yes, I'm nervous!

"Don't know anything, yet. No leads, but we're working on getting some. The cops don't have anything either. Sorry, there just isn't anything, yet."

"Where are you?"

There was a pause. "Alan, I want you to understand something. I have secrets and people trust me. I can't tell you where I am."

Frank had never been so mysterious, but I had to trust him. "Okay, Frank. Don't worry. Just find Stevey. Bring him home."

I could hear Frank swallow. "Alan, we've got to find him soon, or . . ."

His silence spoke volumes. "Yeah, I know. I've heard things. Just do it! Let me know if you need money."

"I will, later. For now, that won't do anything. Just keep it handy."

That he didn't say the word, "money" seemed significant to me, and he seemed to be speaking in code. "Are you all right?"

"Yes. I'm with old friends. Gotta go. I'll call you when there's something to tell."

"Frank? Thanks."

"That's what I'm here for. Later."

Tim was looking at me, expectantly. "He doesn't know anything, and he says the cops don't know anything, either. But, he's up to something. He's acting very secretive. That's not like him. Something special is going on. I expect we'll find out about it, later."

Tim took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he stared off into space. Absently, he reached out, put his arm around me, and put his head on my shoulder.

Suddenly, my brain kicked into overdrive. Something had been bothering me, nagging at me, all afternoon. I pictured the office at the camp and the living quarters behind it. Did anyone think to look for evidence of how they all left the house? Where was the kidnapper's vehicle parked? It occurred to me that not looking for these things was sloppy. The more I thought, the more I could picture the kidnappers being rough with the helpless boys. I cringed. My heart started beating harder and my breathing was less even. My adrenaline was kicking up to "flee or fight" mode.

"Tim, we've got to find Stevey, NOW! We wasted a lot of time with the cops and they won't actively search for them for quite a while. We're going to have to look for the boys ourselves."

He looked at me with wide eyes and nodded.

"What we're about to do could be dangerous and we could be interfering with the cops' investigation. Are you ready?"

"Y . . . Yes!" he stammered.

"Good."

Tim ran after me as I raced to the garage. I ran past the `Vette and jumped into the Suburban. Tim jumped into the passenger's seat. I hit the garage door button and started the engine. We anxiously waited for the door to open. I saw Tim examining the interior of the door and around the inside of the car.

"It's armored."

Tim's eyes popped at me and his jaw dropped.

"It's just a toy, but it comes in handy sometimes. I use it when I think I might need a little extra protection."

Tim nodded, silently, his eyes still wide.

"Hold on." Quickly, driving with authority, I drove back to the camp. When we approached the camp, I drove past the gate. After we had gone a short distance, I screeched the brakes and stopped, but stayed on the road. Leaving the engine running, I jumped out and said, "C'mon!"

Tim must have thought I'd lost my mind, but he followed me. I stepped to the edge of the pavement and squinted as I looked into the dry grass past the shoulder. Tim stepped up beside me and looked puzzled. Finally, I pointed. "There it is! See the tire tracks?"

"Yeah, what about them?"

I looked at Tim. He wasn't analyzing the situation. Again I pointed. "What do you see just beyond the trees?"

He strained to see. "Ahhhh! It's the back of my house!"

"Yes! If I don't miss my guess, I'd say this is where the kidnappers parked their car."

Carefully, we stepped closer to the tracks.

"The tracks were made by narrow tires. That means the car must have been small." I followed the tracks with my eyes. I could see where the car had left the road, where it had stopped, and where it had pulled away. "Look, Tim! When they pulled back onto the road, they continued in that direction. AWAY from the highway!"

As I looked down the road, Tim gasped! He was looking at something on the other side of the tire tracks.

"What is it? What do you see?"

He pointed. I couldn't tell what he was looking at. Gingerly, we stepped over the tire tracks. He pointed at the tall grass, afraid to touch it. I looked closer. There on the thin blades of grass was something thick and red. I knew what Tim was thinking, and I'm sure he's right. It must be blood!

Please write to me! - kenlou16@yahoo.com