Second Chance, Chapter 32
Warning:
This story is copyrighted by the author known as David Lee and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without explicit permission.
This story contains descriptions of love and sexual fulfillment between people of the same gender. If possessing or reading this kind of material is illegal where you live, please leave this site at once.
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Chapter 32
Most young people look forward to spring break whether they're going to a warm beach or simply hanging around the house or the mall with no homework for a week. The boys at the Brady/Larson household were among the second group. No one was going anywhere. Blake simply couldn't afford it unless it would be a visit to his parents' house and that wasn't a place he wanted to go. Rob was keeping himself on a tight budget since he knew that he had to stretch his settlement money if he was going to get a good education and provide for his son. Eric and Josh were saving what they had for college and for summer outings – possibly a trip with Dane and Colt. They had once thought about a spring break trip to Mexico but their dads were concerned about the rash of kidnappings and shootings that were attributed to drug dealers. Even tourist places like Cancun and Cozumel were considered unsafe by some.
Josh planned to use part of his vacation painting and Eric was hoping to do a bit of writing during their week of freedom. Both had a few other projects that needed attention as well.
Eric's car was running hot and he had an appointment on Monday with the Mitsubishi dealer to have the thermostat checked. If the weather got nice enough, the boys were going to thoroughly detail their vehicles inside and out. They'd kept them washed often to prevent corrosion from ice-melting chemicals, but it was time to do a more meticulous job including the application of a good coat of wax if the temperatures permitted.
The garage at the Mitsubishi dealer had estimated about a 45 minute wait. However, they hadn't anticipated having to replace the water pump. They had to send someone to another supplier to get the part. Poor Eric had to wait for a couple of hours. Fortunately, he'd brought his laptop so that he could spend the time writing.
Another positive note was that the car was under warranty and he wouldn't have to pay a cent for the repairs. He called Josh to tell him that he'd be delayed and not to wait lunch.
Josh took a break from painting to start a load of sheets in the washer. He grinned as he noticed the telltale stains on the bottom sheet. It was almost a shame to remove the memory marks of the fun they'd had the past week. He sniffed them before putting them in the machine.
Later, as he was making up the bed again, he spotted a piece of paper on the floor under the bed. He read it with a frown.
At dinner that night, Eric recounted the details of his long wait at the garage. His dads joked that there must have been at least been a couple of good looking mechanics to help kill the time. Josh didn't seem to think that was humorous and the adults quickly changed the subject.
The rest of the evening passed fairly quickly and soon it was nearing bedtime.
The boys were propped up in bed reading and Eric was thinking about getting amorous, but Josh seemed preoccupied as if he had something serious on his mind.
"What's up, Babe? You've seemed like you're somewhere else all evening."
"I was wondering about this card with a phone number on it that I found when I was cleaning in here today."
Eric took the card knowing it was Reese's number.
"Oh, it's nothing. I forgot to throw it away."
"Is some other guy wanting to jump your bones?"
"Nah, it's a kid from my writing class who wanted to get together to study." Eric said as he tore the card in two.
"Well, why don't you invite him over during break? Maybe he'd like to sleep over with you."
"Josh, why are you talking like that? I'm not going to sleep with anyone but you."
"Because I don't like being lied to, damn it!
"Why do you think I'm lying?"
"Because I know that's Reese's number and you've been seeing him. Is that where you were when you said the repairs on your car took longer?"
"No, of course not!" Eric insisted. "Why don't you believe me?"
"Why should I believe a liar?"
Eric felt like a deer caught in the headlights. How could he explain to Josh what had happened now that he'd tried to be evasive? Then a thought came to him.
"How do you know that's Reese's number unless you've been contacting him? We never had his cell number." Eric exclaimed.
"I just know. He wants to have sex with you, doesn't he? If you're not doing anything with him, why did you keep it a secret?"
"Has he been hitting on you too? How come you didn't tell me either?"
"Just shut up and get the fuck out of my room!" Josh yelled.
"This happens to be my room. If you can't stand me then YOU get the fuck out!"
Josh left slamming both closet doors that separated their bedrooms on the way. Eric turned face down on the bed and cried. In the adjoining bedroom Josh did likewise.
Eric stumbled to the bathroom early the next morning. He hadn't slept well at all. It had taken him hours to fall asleep and then he'd awakened many times berating himself for not being totally honest with Josh. What had possessed him? He didn't want anyone else. Josh was his soul-mate. How would he repair the damage? Could it be repaired?
Rob was at the sink shaving. He raised his left eyebrow at the shape Eric was in.
"What happened to you? Did you get hit by a truck on the way in here?"
"Shut up, okay; just shut up!"
"Whoa, I didn't know it was that time of the month. You'd better take a Midol before you go postal!"
Eric stormed out of the room after peeing. He didn't even stop to wash his hands, which was unusual. A minute later, he came back with tears in his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Rob. Please forgive me. I seem to be messing up everything lately."
"Apology accepted. Are you having a lover's quarrel? I saw Josh earlier and he looks worse, if that's any comfort."
"He does? Well, I've ruined everything. He hates me. I don't know what I'm gonna do."
"Do you want to talk about it? I'll help if I can."
"No, that's okay. I don't want to involve you too."
When Eric went down to the kitchen to find something for breakfast, Josh was sitting at the table finishing a bowl of cereal. Rob was right in his assessment; Josh looked like hell – maybe even worse than Eric.
Eric decided to try to talk to him.
"Josh, please let me explain. I love you. I don't want anything or anyone to come between us."
"Yeah, well you should have thought about that before you got involved with Reese."
"I'm not involved! I'll swear it on a stack of bibles."
"Like that would mean anything!" Josh retorted. "I'm going up to shower – ALONE. When I'm done, you'd better get ready too. We're due at Wade's house to visit Dane and Colt at 11:00."
Eric had forgotten that their college friends were in town for spring break. He was going to have to pull himself together and put on a happy face because he didn't want to put a damper on their vacation.
Neither of the boys spoke a word on the way to the Johnson/Mills' house other than to talk about which street to take. At one point Eric reached over to hold Josh's hand, but Josh quickly pulled it away and told Eric to watch the road.
Eric was looking at the street through tear-filled eyes. He swallowed hard in an attempt to maintain his composure.
"Josh, please..."
Josh shook his head and kept looking straight ahead. Eric's heart felt like it had been wrenched from his body like an Aztec youth being sacrificed.
"I hope you guys are hungry." Colt said as he ushered the boys into the foyer. "My step-dad cooked up a storm as usual. He wanted to be here to serve lunch, but he had to take Ethan for his check-up and it will be at least 1:00 before they're back. Ethan's reward for being cooperative with the doctor is a Happy Meal, much as our dads aren't into junk food."
"That's okay." Josh said. "We could wait `til then if you want because we ate a late breakfast."
Eric simply nodded.
Dane and Colt talked enthusiastically about the possibility of them all going canoeing and camping together sometime in the summer. They had emailed and texted on and off about it since Thanksgiving.
Eric's and Josh's responses today were tepid at best. The older guys knew that something wasn't right.
"Okay," Dane said. "It's in the 60's outside, but it's freezing in here."
"It feels okay to me," Josh answered, not getting the point.
"He means that since you two came in, the temperature's dropped 20 degrees." Colt countered. "What's wrong? And don't say `nothing'. We went through a rough period once and we're not letting you out of this house until you come clean!"
Eric started to tear up again. He felt like such a wuss. What would these older, more mature guys think of him? Josh was trying to keep his cool too, but was finding it increasingly difficult to do.
"Josh, you start. Don't keep anything back." Dane insisted. "You can't get healed until you get all the infection out of the wound."
"Okay. Here's the whole story. You remember we told you that Blake kicked Reese out when he caught him screwing around with another guy. Well Reese has been screwing around with my guy and so I'm throwing him out. The problem is that we live in the same house, but at least we have our own rooms."
"It's not like that at all!" Eric spoke up. "I'm innocent."
"If you're so innocent, why did you lie? What did you have to cover up?"
"I didn't want to upset you. I knew you'd act just like you are."
"What's that supposed to mean? How am I supposed to act when the guy I love is fucking around with someone behind my back?"
"Whoa! Time out! You'll each get to tell your side, but you need to do it without going ballistic." Dane exclaimed. "Colt and I are going to ask you some questions and tell you a story about us. Then I want you to consider very carefully how you feel before you lash out at each other and make the hurt deeper.
Josh, how do you know that Eric is messing around? Do you have any hard evidence? Did you catch them in the act?
While you're considering your answer, I'm going to tell you about how I jumped to a wrong conclusion about my husband after we'd been dating a few months. Looking back, I'd like to kick myself for not listening to him and believing in him. It was a lack of trust, but in working it out, we learned a lesson that has served us well. We even helped an adult couple in their relationship because of it.
Anyway, I walked into a rarely used bathroom at school to find Colt with another guy wrapped around his back reaching for his dick. Colt was moaning contentedly. What was I supposed to think?"
"He was cheating on you wasn't he?" Josh stated without hesitation.
"No, he wasn't. However, that's what it looked like to me and I wouldn't let him explain. The other kid, who later became a good friend, thought that Colt was available and that he could hit on him. The guy's meds were messed up and he acted impulsively."
"I got a hardon the day before when this other guy, Joel, and I were in the locker room." Colt said. "I should have told Dane about that when it happened, but I was afraid that he'd be angry with me. I didn't mean to lead Joel on, but that was what happened.
When I felt arms around me as I stood at the urinal with my dick hanging out, I assumed it was Dane. That explains why I was snuggling back against Joel's chest and sighing contentedly. Dane and I often tried to sneak off to that restroom to play around after lunch."
"You snuggled back into Joel? You never admitted that!" Dane joked in mock dismay, bringing a slight smile to the faces of his audience.
"Dane reacted something like you have," Colt said to Josh.
"He's being kind. I wouldn't listen at all. He tried to explain, but my mind was made up. I knew what I'd seen and I wasn't going to let anyone tell me I was wrong. Then our mutual straight friend, Trent, got us both to his house under false pretenses and kicked my butt verbally."
"We had great makeup sex!" Colt grinned. "I'm still sorry that we had the fight, but like Dane said, it's made us closer in the long run.
Okay, Josh, it's time for you to answer the questions."
"I found the paper with Reese's phone number and Eric lied about whose it was. No, I didn't catch them together. But Eric was gone a long time at the garage after going in for a simple change of his thermostat."
"So that's it?" Dane asked. "You're ready to throw away a perfectly cute, awesome guy because of that? Where is your trust?"
"Like I said, he lied about the number."
"He already told you why he didn't want you to know whose number it was. I don't think you have much of a case against him. In this country, a person is considered innocent until proven otherwise.
Now, Eric, let's hear your side."
"One day at the mall, Reese hit on me in the sporting goods store. I told him that Josh and I weren't available. He stuffed the card into my pocket with his number on it and told me to call him. I never did. I should have torn it up in front of him. I suppose that I was flattered that a college guy would be interested in me. I'm not very wise or experienced. I'll admit that I was tempted for a moment, but I didn't give in. Honestly, Babe, I didn't call him. Look, Christ was tempted too, but he hung tough. Doesn't that count for something? Please forgive me for lying. I really thought I'd spare you and me both by not telling you."
Josh looked down at Eric who was now kneeling before him. He saw the sincerity in his lover's eyes and it began to thaw his hardened heart. He took Eric's hands in his and pulled him up to a standing position. Then he hugged Eric so hard that it was a wonder someone didn't end up with a cracked rib.
Dane and Colt embraced the two boys as well. They had traces of moisture in their eyes remembering a similar moment in their lives several years ago.
"I won't keep any secrets from you in the future," Eric sobbed.
"I won't jump to conclusions," Josh cried. "And, yeah he did hit on me too and I didn't bother to tell you. I withheld information too. I won't keep any secrets from you either."
After a few minutes, both boys were smiling once more. The poisonous suspicions had been purged from their hearts, washed away by their tears. They'd been replaced by the certainty that they really did love each other.
"Would you like to use the guest room before lunch?" Colt grinned. "It's only 11:05. That would give you 55 minutes to make up."
"We'll be fine, won't we Eric?"
"Yeah, I think I have a plan for together-time tonight as long as Josh will trust me out of the house for a couple of hours."
"I'll trust you from now on. Promise you won't break that trust."
"I won't, Baby. Believe me, I've learned my lesson!"
"Never forget our four words for success in a relationship - love, trust, honesty, and sex!" Dane reminded them. "I can see the love and guess about the sex. You need to continue to work on the other two. It's too bad that Reese and Blake couldn't have."
"It's going to be okay for Blake," Josh said. "He and Rob are a great couple. I honestly do feel bad for Reese. He's a good looking stud and he's an okay guy I suppose even if I did want to kill him yesterday.
The guys got back to their summer plans. Eric and Josh participated eagerly this time. They asked Colt and Dane if it would be possible to spend at least a day at Mazo Beach since Colt had mentioned it. Dane said it would be fine as long as they weren't uncomfortable being naked in public. Eric said he'd have no problem since Josh kept him nude most of the time in the studio, but that Josh might wimp out. That led to a bit of good-natured teasing. It was evident that the boys were elated to be back together.
During and after lunch, a number of other topics came up. The more that Eric and Josh were with Dane and Colt, the more they liked them. It was as if they'd been buds forever.
Roger and Ethan came home around 1:00 and Ethan was eager to have the guys all play with his trains. They went up to the attic toy room as soon as Ethan could get them to accompany him.
Of course, everyone thanked Roger for his bountiful spread. He was pleased to receive their words of praise. He brought out a brownie for each of them to eat while they entertained Ethan and packed a paper plate of the treats for them to take home.
Author's notes: I've been reading a story that several of you have recommended. It's in the college section and it's called "Beloved" by Don Hanratty. I loved his story "Working it Out" and if you've read his work, I'm sure you love his writing too.
Thanks to those who've written since last posting: John McD, Harry T, Polar, Rutabaga, Bill K, Tom A, Baruch, Chea, Louis, Mark (and Charlie), Carroll, Jim C, Paul R, Polar, and Rad (my "adopted" son).