Second Chance, Chapter 37
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.
My previous stories may be quickly accessed by searching for my name under the "Stories by Prolific Net Authors" heading which is found under the "Information for Readers" spot.
You may write to me at dlee169@hotmail.com. I'll do my best to answer promptly. Please put the title of this story in the "subject" line when you email.
For the full disclaimer and additional info, please read the statement that precedes Chapter 1.
As always, I thank my editors Tom and David for their proofing my work and giving me suggestions and lots of positive feedback. They're an integral part of this effort.
Chapter 37
Aaron was feeling less stressed at school as the week wore on. He told Sam that he thought he didn't need a bodyguard in the halls anymore, but would enjoy his company between classes if that was okay with him. Sam grinned and said that he could spare the time and would continue whether or not there was a threat to Aaron's safety. However, he might not be able to keep it up every period because one of his classes was on the other end of the building and he had to run every day in order not to be tardy.
On Thursday, Aaron nearly jumped out of his skin when Casey Hall joined him on the way to the math class that both were in. None of Aaron's friends were around and he feared that he might soon be road-kill.
It wasn't that Casey was any bigger or necessarily stronger, but he WAS Jake's brother and probably had it in for him.
"What do you want, Casey?" he asked warily, keeping an eye out for an escape route.
"I just want to apologize for what Jake's been doing to you and tell you that I'm not anything like him. I think you're cool and I secretly loved it when you beat him in swimming. He can be a real asshole. I know that a lot better than you do! I hope you and I can be friends in spite of everything."
"Whoa, I figured you'd want to smack me down because of what happened last Friday. I'm not sure why you'd want to be my friend."
"Didn't you see the news last night? Didn't your parents say anything?"
"What?"
"My brother and his buddy, Dalton, took my parents' car and left us tied up in the kitchen for over 24 hours."
"Shit! How did you get to the bathroom?" was Aaron's first concern.
"I didn't have to shit, thank God, but it was a terrible experience. Dalton was all hopped up on crack or something and was crazy as fuck. He held a gun to my head. I figured my brother wouldn't kill me on purpose, but I wasn't sure what Dalton might do!"
"Wow! I'd have messed my pants," Aaron exclaimed.
"I wet mine, but please don't tell!"
"Hey it's our secret; though you're taking a chance telling me something I could tease you about. It's cool that you'd trust me."
"I wanted to share something I'm ashamed of so you'll know I DO trust you and I'm serious about being friends. The guys you hang out with are a lot nicer than Jake's buddies. I'd like to be around you and them. I'm not gonna turn out like him."
"Good! So where's your brother now?"
"No one's sure, but the car was found in Missouri and the cops are concentrating their search in that area and following up on a report of a stolen car around there."
"Jeez, you brother is likely to get sent away to juvie or something."
"Prison, more likely. He's over 18. I hope he's gone long enough for me to finish high school and get away from him."
"Was it that bad living around him?"
"Worse! He can be really mean. It's like he enjoys it."
"I used to feel sorry for myself being in swimming and stuff with Jake, but you had to deal with him all the time. I guess I didn't know how good I had it with Dylan. He can be a wet blanket – minding my business, but he's an okay brother most of the time.
By the way, did you get the answer to number 15? My dad tried to help me because Dylan wasn't home. But they didn't teach math like that when Dad was in school."
"Yeah, the answer is 42 and I'll show you how to work the problem while Mr. Conklin's taking roll if you want to sit next to me."
"That would be great! Maybe we could study together sometime. I mean, if you're not afraid to be around a gay boy. I don't bite. I might enjoy nibbling a little," Aaron snickered.
"Easy Boy, I like you, but I'm seriously not into guys – like THAT way. Besides you have Sam."
"We're pretty close, but we haven't talked about going steady or anything. But I promise I'll be good. Dylan says I have to stop being what he calls `over the top'. He blames me partly for the run-ins with your brother."
"I don't blame you. As I said, Jake's an asshole!"
When Sam came to walk Aaron to his next class, he frowned at the sight of Casey and him talking together.
"Hey Sam, this is Casey, Jake's little brother and he's nothing like Jake!"
"I know who he is. Nice to meet you, I guess," Sam responded, not completely convinced.
"Sam, be nice! He said he's not going to steal me away from you – as if you'd be broken-hearted."
"That's good, because if he did, I'd have to kick his ass like I did Jake's."
"My hero!" Aaron exclaimed in an exaggerated matter. "You really DO like me."
"You kicked Jake's ass!" Casey said in disbelief.
"He did; I was there," Aaron attested.
"But, you can't weight any more than I do. Jake's at least 50 pounds heavier."
"Ah, the bigger they are; the harder they fall." Sam grinned. "I have been taught how to use my opponent's weight and movements against him."
"I'd love to learn that!" Casey declared enthusiastically.
"He's teaching me," Aaron said. "Maybe you could learn too."
"Would you teach me too, Sam."
"I'll consider it if Aaron isn't harassed for the rest of the term. You tell Jake's friends to lay off. Okay?"
"I'll do what I can," Casey promised. "But remember they're not MY friends."
Eric was looking forward to Saturday more than he did most weeks because he would be turning 17 that day. It wasn't quite as special as 16 and 18, but it was another step toward being an adult. He supposed that he shouldn't be wishing his life away, but he could hardly wait to be of age so that he could go to college with Josh and start their life together in earnest and not have to worry about interference from his mother.
Josh had been conspiring with their dads in planning a surprise party for the occasion. It wouldn't be a lavish affair, but it would be a time to get a group of their buddies together for pizza, games, and a sleep-over. He wasn't sure how they were going to pull off the surprise part. Josh had to think up some kind of excuse to get Eric out of the house long enough to have the other kids assemble.
So far, he had invited Dylan, Garret, Damian, Luc, Aaron, Sam, Blake, and Rob (of course). Aaron had toned his act down a lot since hanging around with Sam. Now that he had a friend, his crush on Eric had disappeared. Josh figured that despite the age range of the guests, they all had enough in common to be compatible. There were enough beds and air mattresses to give everyone a comfortable place to crash when they got tired.
He had told the guys not to bring any gifts. Cards would be okay, but he didn't want anyone to feel obligated to bring a present. That way, they could always celebrate each other's birthdays without having to spend money on something the recipient wouldn't necessarily want. Everyone agreed that it was a good precedent to set.
They all said they'd be able to come and were looking forward to a late afternoon and evening of fun. Rob suggested that Josh could take Eric to the mall for a bit of shopping or a special hair styling or something to keep him out of the house long enough for everyone to assemble and put up a few decorations. Josh decided to treat Eric to a hair appointment with Corray. Corray would love it!
Eric awakened on Saturday morning to the awesome feeling of having his nipples sucked. His morning wood got even stiffer as he reacted to Josh's ministrations.
"You'd better let me get to the bathroom if you don't want wet sheets!" Eric exclaimed as he reluctantly climbed out of bed.
Josh went with him to pee as well. After they'd relieved their bladders, they brushed their teeth and got into the shower together. They had planned to make love when they returned to their bed, but they couldn't keep their hands off each other and both blew their loads on the tub enclosure.
After rinsing off the evidence and toweling dry, they hurried back to their room. Ben rapped on the door a moment later saying that breakfast would be served in half an hour for anyone who was interested.
Rob was already in the kitchen when the boys came down. Robbie had gotten his daddy up early as usual. Rob looked sleepy but happy.
"Did you sleep alone, or did Blake keep you up all night?" Eric teased.
"Yeah, I was alone. There was a late wedding reception that Blake got to work and he didn't want to disturb us when he came home. He also feels that he should sleep in his apartment often enough so that his housemate won't get suspicious. I think Zac already suspects that we're more than casual acquaintances, but we don't want it to be too obvious for a couple more weeks. That's when Blake has finals and will be officially done at Bethel. Then we don't care who thinks what!"
"Not to change the subject, but how's that new car running?" Josh asked.
"It's awesome! It's so quiet that you hardly know it's running and I really do feel like it's safer for Robbie with the extra airbags. It has only 15K on it and it should last for many years if I keep it serviced properly. The best thing is that Mom made sure I knew she wasn't trying to buy my love and that it came with no strings attached. I'm feeling closer to her than I have in years. She's made a lot of changes for the better this winter. I guess I've probably matured a bit too," he laughed at his admission.
"You seemed quite grown up when you came to us," Ben joined the conversation. "Scott and I had no idea we were getting such a gem when we invited you to live here. And, you've given us the joy of being grandparents as well."
No one had said anything about Eric's birthday all morning and by lunch he was wondering if they'd forgotten. It was then that Josh told him they were going to the mall in a couple of hours because he was treating Eric to the new hair style that he'd been thinking about.
"Are you doing it too?" Eric asked.
"Yeah, I made an appointment with Corray for both of us. He's going to do what he would have done after swim season if our hair had been long enough. That is, unless you don't want to."
"I'm up for it as long as we still get to look like cousins," Eric grinned.
Corray was delighted with the chance to style the guys' hair as he wanted. He knew they'd both look "scrumptious" when he was done. He had high hopes of gaining customers among the high school crowd once they saw his handiwork.
Each of them stayed while the other was being worked on. They remembered an earlier time in the mall that had led to an unhappy misunderstanding. Neither of them wanted to revisit that scene.
The results were awesome! Corray had been right in his prediction.
Eric wondered why Josh was bringing him in by the front door instead of the back when they returned home, but he had little time to think on it because the whole bunch of his friends yelled: "surprise" as they entered the foyer.
The wide grin on his face was captured by several cameras over the course of the next few hours including the video camera. These pictures would always be particularly special because of his cool haircut and his awesome friends.
The guys played "Monopoly" for about an hour, pausing only to chow down on pizza. Their laughter made Ben and Scott happy that the boys could take pleasure in ordinary activities with friends with no alcohol or other controlled substances. It was good clean fun.
Robbie enjoyed all of the attention he was getting from everyone. He'd become quite outgoing in recent weeks, but still favored Garret over the other visitors because of having seen him more. Scott was attending to Robbie's needs that day in order to allow Rob to be a carefree kid with his peers.
The young men had been back to their game for about half an hour when the front doorbell rang. Ben opened the door to see a man and woman that he didn't know.
"May I help you?" he asked politely.
"Let me in! We've driven all the way from Chicago to see my baby on his birthday."
"I'm sorry, but you're not expected." Ben replied.
"Since when does a mother have to make an appointment to see her only son?" Tina demanded.
"Since you don't have custody or visiting rights." Ben said evenly.
"And who are you?" Ben asked of her male companion.
"I'm Antonio, the boy's stepfather. You'd better let us in or it's going to get ugly," he said as he shoved through the doorway.
"Mother what the hell are you doing here? I thought you kicked this scumbag to the curb before you went into rehab. Did you actually marry him?"
"That's no way to treat your mommy. And yes, we got married in Vegas last week. We've come to take you home with us."
"There's no way I'm going to go with you! Whatever made you think I would?"
"Hey Tina, I thought you said the kid wanted to come back."
"He does; he will when he sees the hot new Beamer convertible I'm buying for him."
"Mother, you're drunk! You're ruining my party and you'll have to leave."
"I just had a couple because I knew how you'd treat me. I needed to ease the pain. You're my baby and you're treating me like shit!"
Eric shook his head sadly.
"We're not leaving till we're good and ready!" Antonio insisted. "Who's gonna to make us?"
Sam stepped to the front of the group of guys who were standing there trying to figure out what they should do.
"It is in your best interest to leave quietly before Mr. Larson calls the police. If necessary, I'll remove you myself."
"Yeah, you and whose army, shrimp?"
"I need to warn you that I'm a black-belt and I can handle you alone."
"Fuck you, kid!" Antonio yelled as he lunged at Sam.
The next thing Antonio knew, he was on the floor looking up at the lean sophomore.
"Would you please leave quietly now?" Sam asked.
"Hell no! I'm gonna sue you for assaulting me."
"Would you care to review the video that I'm shooting to record this whole scene?" Josh asked. "It will prove that you threw the first punch – even if it didn't land on Sam."
Josh's proof knocked the wind out of Antonio more than the fall had. He pulled himself up and took Tina by the arm, escorting her out the front door.
"I'll be asking for a restraining order to keep you both from further contact with Eric," Ben called to their departing backs. "Do not harass him or us again!"
After the adrenalin had begun to drain from Eric's bloodstream, he felt like crying. He bit his lip to maintain his cool.
"I'm totally embarrassed, guys. They really screwed up a great party. I don't suppose you'll want to stay here after that scene."
"Heck yes we're staying! You can't take responsibility for drunken adults even if one of them is your mother. It's her problem, not yours. You didn't do this and you can't control her actions." Dylan insisted. "Remember how Rick's lawyer used the `impaired judgment' defense to try to get him off the hook for shooting me? Well it didn't work there and it doesn't work here either. She's the one at fault. We won't let her or her husband spoil your day or our fun."
"I agree," Damian spoke up. "This is a fine party and it's not going to be ruined by a slight interruption. I'm ahead in our game and I'm not about to quit now. What kind of role model would I be for the black youth of the next generation if I threw in the towel that easily?"
"Don't get uppity, Damian, or us mafia types will have to smack you down," Luc joked in return.
"Settle down, my round-eyed companions, or I'll have to teach you a bit of Asian discipline." Sam quipped.
Their good-humored clowning around got everyone laughing. It probably wouldn't have been that funny any other time, but it was a great stress reliever after the confrontation they'd just been through.
Before long the boys were back at the game using all of their skills and luck to amass paper fortunes motivated by make-believe corporate greed. When Eric got down to his last $100 in play money, he conceded to Damian.
"Dude, I'm sorry. I should have let you win; it's your birthday." Damian said trying to keep a straight face.
"Hey, I won big-time because I'm surrounded by my best buds." Eric smiled. "It doesn't get any better than that!"
"Anyone for a popcorn break," Scott asked. "We can have that first and then eat birthday cake or go straight to the cake."
The boys opted to go for the cake. They sang to Eric and then he took a big breath and blew out the candles. Only the candles didn't stay out. Slowly they relit.
Eric was laughing so hard that he could hardly get enough breath to try again. This time, he managed to extinguish a few of them completely, but the rest had to be taken off the cake and doused in water.
"Which member of my so-called `loving' family thought that one up?" Eric giggled.
"I didn't do it; no one saw me. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!" Rob grinned.
"Thanks! I love you, Bro." Eric said as he gave Rob a hug. "I love all you guys."
There was no lack of rooms or comfortable places to sleep, but most of the guys laid their sleeping bags down on the floor of the den. The exceptions were Blake and Rob who went upstairs to be near Robbie. Since everyone had accepted them as a couple, no one seemed to give it a second thought.
Garret would have enjoyed sharing a bed with Luc, but neither wanted to come out publicly yet. Dylan and Damian were both straight as arrows, so there wasn't anyone there they'd want to sleep with. The only boys who zipped their bags together were Aaron and Sam. They didn't make any big show about it; they merely got in lying side by side on their backs holding hands under the covers.
The guys talked for a little while after the lights were out, but soon drifted off. The last to fall asleep were Sam and Aaron who were, by that time, holding something beside each other's hand. Their sharp intakes of breath as they climaxed weren't heard by anyone else. Fortunately, Sam had thought to bring Kleenex to bed with him...
Sometime in the night, Eric had a bad dream involving his mother and Antonio. He cried out. Josh awakened and kissed him gently as he would have had they been alone. They went back to sleep holding hands.
Author's note: Thank to: Rutabaga, Bill K (sorry, I omitted your names last time!), Dan C, John McD, Henry P, Karserus, Burch B, Vann, Gary McC, Rich C, Jim We, Paul R, Baruch, Blake (Of Angels & Dragons), Carroll, Rad, Lee A, Paul L, Jim C, and Ed S who emailed since last posting. I appreciate your encouragement. Heard from Tim P recently too. Love you guys - you too, Polar! I'll hear from you right after I send this, most likely.