Tommy and Tanner Chapter 10
Warning:
This story contains scenes of love and sexual interaction between males of similar age. If the reading or possessing this material is illegal in your country, state, province, county, municipality, etc., please leave this site immediately and do not proceed further. If you are under the legal age to read this, please do not do so. It is not my intention to offend anyone or to get you in trouble.
The author retains the copyright, and any other rights, to this original story. You may not publish it or any part of it without explicit authorization from me.
This is not my first attempt at writing fiction. My longer stories on Nifty include: "Always and Forever" (March 25, 2004), "Jacob and Jacques" (May 30, 2004), "Zeke" (August 29, 2005), "Tales from Bentonville" (November 16, 2008), and "Second Chance" (September 24, 2010) under "High School" and "Someone to Watch over Me" under "Beginnings" in the gay male section. There are a few short stories also: "Brad and Alan's Canoe Trip" (April 22, 2004 under "Camping", "Of Angels and Dragons" (November 8, 2008) under "Camping", "A Christmas Tale" (December 22, 2009) under "High School", "Brazil Affair" (October 1, 2010) under "Beginnings" and "Seth's Gift" (October 10, 2010) under the Science Fiction/Fantasy category.
I am now listed on Nifty under the category of "Prolific Net Authors" which will make it easier for you to access earlier stories. Some of these stories are also posted at: www.storylover.us along with those of other writers that may interest you.
My only reward for contributing to Nifty is your emails. Please write if you like the story. Please include the name of the story in the title of your email because my email service sometimes puts them in the "spam" file.
Finally, thanks and hugs to Tom and David (boxerdude) who edit for me so that there are fewer mistakes! They not only proof-read, but make other valuable suggestions.
David (dlee169@hotmail.com)
Chapter 10
Lee turned out to be a charming guest and a great conversationalist. Teri was absolutely captivated by him and asked him to stay in touch. She even set a date with him to return, so that he would know that her invitation wasn't simply a polite social gesture.
Tanner didn't learn any more details about his grandparents in talking to his newly discovered uncle, but he did feel a certain kinship with the young man.
Lee seemed to be genuine, and not a con-artist as Tark had originally feared. He also appeared to be a hard-working, successful guy who wouldn't have ANY ulterior motive in trying to connect with his nephew. Lee's qualities helped to mitigate some of the information Tanner had learned about his forebears.
Given the full, and somewhat disrupted, schedule during the previous summer, Tark hadn't had the chance to take his sons on an extended camping trip like he'd done often in the past. This year, they would all be old enough to handle canoeing, as well as camping, since the older ones had some experience in scouts and Tucker would have that opportunity soon.
The only way Tark would be able to work it in this summer was if Tommy and Tanner farmed out some of their lawn work so they could go a week or so after scout camp ended. It was either that, give up scout camp, or possibly give up their money-making little lawn business completely.
The boys didn't like any of the alternatives, especially the latter ones, so they called a few friends to see who could do their mowing while they were on vacation with their dad and brothers. (Tark planned to keep up the yard work while the boys were at scout camp.)
Andy readily agreed to substitute for them and Mason volunteered to help him. Andy was eager to earn a little spending money and Mason, who didn't need the income, was enthusiastic about working with Andy. Knowing what they did about Mason, Tommy and Tanner were hesitant to hook them up in this way. They tried to ascertain what Andy knew about Mason's reputation without saying anything specific.
Andy picked up on what they were doing and quickly assured them that he had heard the rumors about Mason, but wasn't going to let that stop him from working with the boy. Andy was taking self-defense classes so that he could ward off anyone who tried to bully him or who attempted to make an unwelcome advance. Inside his head, he was thinking that it might actually be fun to get a blow job from someone who was considered an expert by some of the athletes at school. He wondered if he'd have the nerve to see it through.
"How would you guys feel about inviting Lee to go on our all-guy campout?" Tark asked as he and his sons discussed arrangements one evening.
"It would be cool if you'd include my uncle," Tanner smiled. "I know he doesn't really have any family since his adoptive grandpa died. I think he misses that. I'd like to get to know him better."
"I'm in favor," Tim spoke up. "He's a nice guy and we should do our best to make him feel welcome."
"Isn't he gay?" Tuck frowned.
"He said that he is." Tark replied evenly. "Do you think it would be right to exclude him because of his orientation?"
"I guess not, but we'll be naked sometimes won't we, and what about sleeping arrangements?"
"You know we always go skinny dipping when we can," Tark smiled. "I'm sure he's not going to make a move on a boy your age. We can take three small tents and he can bunk with me. Of course that would leave you with Tim and he may not want his little bro sharing with him."
"You'd better let me tent with you!" Tucker exclaimed, looking at his oldest sibling.
"Sure twerp. You can share with me as long as you wash your feet and don't eat too many beans at supper time." Tim joked.
"Well Tommy, you're the only one who hasn't spoken on the subject."
"Oh, I'm fine with it. I'd like to get to know him better too and ask a few questions." He blushed, thinking that he'd made a bit of a faux pas.
"Good. I'll call Lee tonight. We've been assuming things; perhaps he'll be busy or won't want to join us."
As Tanner had predicted, Lee was very pleased about being invited to camp with them. However he had some reservations.
"Uh, are you sure everyone will be comfortable with having a gay man along?" he asked.
"Sure! Let me tell you how the discussion went. Tanner is excited about getting to know you better. Tim, my eldest and most macho, said he thought it would be great. Tucker, my baby, is just entering puberty and is probably a little concerned about his orientation, so he's a bit skittish. Tommy said he'd like to ask you some questions, and from the way he blushed, I suspect they might have to do with sexual orientation."
"Wow! They seem pretty open."
"They'd better be! That's how we're trying to raise them. Don't be surprised if they ALL quiz you a bit about what it's like being gay. I hope they'll be tactful enough not to embarrass you."
"How should I handle their questions?"
"If they're too personal, just say so. The boys will back off. Otherwise, simply try to think of what you wish someone had told you at that age and level with them."
"I'm glad you trust me to do that. How can you be sure I'm not a pervert who preys on young boys?"
"I think I'm a pretty good judge of character, Lee. Besides, I know you'd have to be thoroughly vetted in order to work as a counselor with kids. You were probably scrutinized more closely than we teachers were."
"We are checked thoroughly, and you're really cool, Tark! If you weren't straight I'd ask you out. Oops, I hope I haven't overstepped and queered the deal, so to speak."
"Love your sense of humor, Lee. If I were gay, I'd certainly accept the invitation. I'm kind of flattered that you'd find me attractive. I'm quite a bit older."
"You're fit and good looking. I'm not hitting on you, but I do appreciate daddies."
"You go for guys who have children?" Tark asked, somewhat confused by the jargon.
"No, it's a term we use for guys who are 40 or over and I assume, given your oldest boy's age, that you must be in your late 30's like Ralph would be. That is, unless you fathered Tim as a teen. If I didn't know you had teenage boys, I guess you at about 25 like me."
"Thanks for the compliment and for explaining the lingo. I'm 42, actually."
"Ah, the answer to life, the universe, and everything!" Lee chuckled.
"If you're into The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, we'll get along famously." Tark laughed in return.
"Oh, I also have to warn you that this is a group of young heathens. They'll want to be naked whenever they can get away with it. I'm not sure how comfortable Tuck will be at this age, but the older boys have always loved skinny dipping and have no shame whatsoever. Tanner has embraced it too since living with us. We don't mention it in front of Teri, though I suspect she knows."
"Thanks very much for including me in this bonding experience, Tark. And thanks for trusting me to be nude around your naked boys. I'm going to talk to my boss tomorrow about taking vacation days on those dates."
During the week that all the boys were away at camp, Tark and Teri were looking forward to a kind of second honeymoon. With the house empty, and both having a bit of free time, since neither was teaching summer school, they could do a few crazy things that they rarely got to enjoy during child-rearing years.
On Sunday night, they made love on the patio under a nearly full moon. It had been years since they'd done anything like that out of doors. As proper as Teri was normally, she became a tigress when Tark pleasured her orally under the stars. In fact, she even left scratch marks on his back when he brought her to her second orgasm with his tongue. Tasting his own cum on her had been an unexpected turn-on for Tark.
They made love in the middle of the day on Monday and Tuesday, but their hot romantic encounters came to a temporary halt on Wednesday when they had an unexpected visit from Tark's father just before noon.
Fortunately both Teri and Tark were dressed when he rang the doorbell.
"Dad, what a pleasant surprise! Are you here alone?" Tark greeted him.
"Yes, I am. I had some business to attend to in Chicago and thought I'd take a chance on dropping in unannounced on the way home. Have you had lunch?"
"We were just thinking about what we might eat," Tark said with his head turned away enough that his father couldn't see him flicking his tongue at his wife who was having a difficult time keeping a straight face.
"Let me treat you to lunch at that little place you like to take the boys. I hope we can find a private booth because I have a number of things to tell you."
They rode to the restaurant talking about nothing more serious than what the boys were up to. Tark was curious about what his father would have to say, but figured he'd learn soon enough. He was neither surprised nor displeased at his mother's absence. It would be great to enjoy his dad's company in a relaxed atmosphere.
Once their orders were taken, James began to fill his son and daughter-in-law in on what had been transpiring in his household.
"You remember, of course, how we couldn't come at Easter time because your mother wanted to be in Paris. I readily agreed because I felt it would have been a burden for both of you during the holiday even if we'd have stayed in a motel. Cynthia can be a bit much – insufferable, actually.
When we went on to Monte Carlo she spent a lot of time, and a good bit of money, at the roulette wheel. I went to the beach instead because I hate to waste money on gambling. Anyway, she met some supposed aristocratic man about 20 years her junior. He's known as Count Noah Romanov. I'm not sure how he came up with that unlikely combination of names, but I like to think of him as Noah Count; you know, like no-account!" James said, stopping to laugh at his own pun.
"I have a bad feeling that mother lent him money or something," Tark interjected.
"Worse than that, or maybe better – depending on your outlook. She moved to Reno the minute we got home in order to get a quick divorce. I didn't tell you anything, thinking that she'd come to her senses and be embarrassed about the whole thing. However, the divorce just became final.
One advantage for me, and disadvantage for Mr. No-account, is that she was willing to settle for very little money. After all, her aristocratic lover has a villa in the Tuscan countryside as well as other homes scattered around the world.
Because I'm not a very gullible person, I had a detective agency do a little investigating. The villa is actually owned by a descendent of the Pazzi family and is frequently rented out to help finance its upkeep. It appears that Count Romanov is a fraud. Cynthia will probably be turned out on the street the moment he discovers that she's not independently wealthy.
Now, don't frown like that, Tark! I won't leave your mother destitute. I have a trust fund set up for her so that she will be able to live comfortably, as long as she isn't extravagant. She doesn't know about it and won't unless she contacts me. Either way, I have no intention of taking her back. I hadn't realized what a royal pain in the ass she is until I've been free these past few months!"
After lunch, Teri excused herself to use the restroom and Tark asked his father if he'd like to stay a few days to keep from being lonely.
"I love being with you guys and the boys, but I'll come back sometime when they're home. You and Teri need time alone to maintain your marriage. If I were your age and had a wife as pretty as Teri, I'd be getting laid every single day the boys are gone. I hope that's what you're doing!
"Uh, maybe not every day, Dad. Even I may need a little time to recharge." Tark blushed, not being used to such a direct conversation with his father on the subject of sex.
"Make all the love you can now; rest when you're my age."
"I'll keep that in mind, Dad. I think you're becoming a randy old goat." He grinned.
"Well, I hate to think of myself as being old, but I'll accept the `randy' part. I'm not going to blow my money on some floozy, but I won't rule out, um, dating a bit. I hope you don't think me foolish."
"Nope, I think you deserve to have fun. Just don't get anyone pregnant!"
In the afterglow of their coupling later in the afternoon, Teri and Tark discussed James' news.
"Tark, you don't seem broken up over your parent's divorce."
"Why should I be? Mother has never been a particularly warm, caring individual. Remember her performance at Christmas?"
"Yes, but she IS your mother."
"In the biological sense, but she was never motherly. I was something she possessed that she could show off to her friends – the perfect little gentleman."
"I can't imagine you as a perfect little gentleman."
"Oh, I was until I got tired of playing that game. Then one day when I was about six, I came walking into the living room during one of her society teas naked as the day I was born and asked if someone could wipe my butt."
"You didn't!" Teri giggled, picturing the look of consternation on his mother's face.
"Oh, but I did! That was the last time she made me come down to perform for her guests."
"So, the boys' propensity for nudity is genetic."
"Nah, I think it's just a guy thing and probably most guys prefer to be naked until some female is successful in taming them."
"But, back to your mother, you must have some kind of familial feelings for her."
"Not as much as I do for Beulah. She was the one who put Band-Aids on my cuts and held me when I was sick. Mother may have thought of her as a housekeeper, but to me she was Mom."
"Oh Honey, we've been married nearly 19 years, why haven't you told me this before?"
"Guys aren't supposed to let things like that bother them."
"That's not what you tell the boys. You tell them it's okay to let their feelings out and to cry when they need to. I've seen you interact with them as a sensitive, tender man."
"I know, and I mean it. I want them to grow up differently than I did. I'm really trying to be more open too. You're the one who's changed me and I love you for it."
"I wish I could make it all better for you."
"How about a second helping of dessert," Tark grinned as he began to tongue his way down past her bellybutton.
"Can't you think about anything but sex?"
"No. Is that a problem?"
"Uh, not at the moment. Oh, please don't stop what you're doing!" she gasped.
When Teri and Tark picked up the boys from scout camp, there was no missing that the two of them looked very happy and relaxed. Tucker probably didn't notice, but the older boys did and suspected they knew the reason.
"I think they've been getting it regularly," Tommy whispered to Tanner and Tim.
"I agree," Tim giggled. "They've probably spent the whole time in bed."
"We probably shouldn't talk that way about our parents, but I think it's hot imagining them in bed," Tommy admitted.
"You are such a pervert!" Tanner laughed.
The boys had a week to rest up from scout camp and get ready for their trip with their dad and Tanner's Uncle Lee. The first thing they did was dig out what they would take for clothes. Tark suggested that they should leave their better shorts home and pack things that were expendable. The boys all had pairs of ratty boxer type swimwear with liners in them which would eliminate the necessity of taking much in the way of underwear. Since it was an all-guy outing, they wouldn't care how ratty they looked or if they didn't have too many changes. They could always wash the day's sweat out of their trunks in the river.
Tim's supervisor at the pool wasn't thrilled to have her best lifeguard miss another week in peak season, but didn't fire him because he was a reliable employee. In return, Tim worked extra shifts to fill in for kids who were on vacation and subbed on a moment's notice for the ones who didn't show up.
He also took extra care to see that everything was ship-shape when he left. His attention to detail did not go unnoticed.
Tommy and Tanner did their best to get all their mowing obligations up to snuff before they turned the job over to Andy and Mason. They took the other two boys along on some of the bigger jobs so that they would know how things were supposed to be done.
Tark had done pretty well in keeping things up, and Tommy couldn't fault him for not spending quite as much time and effort as Tanner and he did. He grinned when he thought about why his dad hadn't spent more hours on the lawns. He didn't share that with Tanner, thinking that the mention of his dad having more interest in sex than yard work might remind him of how his father had died.
Tark had planned their trip well and had arranged ahead with a company that rented canoes at a reasonable rate. They provided a shuttle service so that he could park his vehicle at the place where they would end their journey. The outfitter could have included the use of all the equipment needed, but since the guys had tents, sleeping bags, and cooking gear, it seemed like a wasteful expenditure to go for the more costly package. Besides, this would make them more flexible in case they wanted to change their plans.
He had taken a similar trip on the shallow river in his younger days with a couple of fraternity brothers so he knew approximately where campsites were along the route. His friends and he had loved the area, and the chance to go skinny dipping and sun in the nude at the well-screened campsites. Knowing his bunch, he assumed they would feel much the same.
On Sunday, a week after the boys had returned from scouts, they all loaded up in the minivan with three small tents, sleeping bags, coolers, and food. Some of their equipment had to be strapped on the roof rack in order to have enough space for everyone to sit comfortably. Tark and Lee made some joke about looking like the Joad's on the way to California. Tim got it because he had seen the movie in his English class when they studied The Grapes of Wrath, but they had to explain it to the rest of the boys.
The boys waited somewhat impatiently with the canoes for Tark to come back with the shuttle driver after parking the van at their destination point. Lee had brought along two Frisbees which proved to be a great way to fill the time. Tossing them around acted as a kind of icebreaker with Tucker who was still a bit standoffish with him.
Some other people, including a couple of teenage girls, a teen boy, and a small boy, were also waiting for their drivers to return and Lee invited them to participate. Tanner was impressed by the show of friendliness on the part of his uncle.
No doubt the girls were impressed by more than Lee's sharing. They couldn't help but assess the boys who seemed athletic and who were dressed in apparel that gave some hints of their masculine attributes. Tanner's swimsuit had a hole in it pretty close to the crotch. Of course it revealed only the white liner underneath, but it did cause the girls' eyes to stray in that direction.
One of the mothers had a small digital camcorder which she used to capture scenes of their play. She exchanged email addresses with Lee, promising to share the video with him.
The kids were all so engrossed in their activity that the time passed quickly and they felt almost reluctant to quit. The mother of the small boy thanked Lee for helping entertain her restless son.
"You play with them so well; you must have children of your own"
"In my real life, I'm a children's counselor. So far I'm single."
"Well, I'm surprised some young lady hasn't snagged you. You'd be a perfect father."
"Thanks," he said, "I hope to raise a couple of kids when I find the right person to do it with."
The three canoes were divided up among the six with Tark and Lee sharing one. Tommy and Tanner were together, and Tim had Tucker with him.
Of the boys, Tuck was the most thankful that he'd been to scouting camp a couple of weeks before. He had signed up for the canoeing activity where he'd paid close attention, knowing that he didn't want to look like a fool in front of his older brothers. Tim noticed how proficient he was in handling his position at the front of their canoe and complimented him on it. Tuck ate that up like candy.
Tommy wondered if Tanner would want to change partners to have some time for bonding with his uncle. That was fine with him. As much as he'd like to spend every minute of every day with Tanner, he knew it would be selfish to do so. It was not all that long since the anniversary of Ralph Lead's violent death and Tanner needed support from as many directions as possible. When he mentioned switching around, Tanner was pleased.
Tark steered his canoe toward a large flat area on the right edge of the river around noon knowing that his boys would be ready for a refueling stop. They all dug into the sandwiches, chips, and fruit. Tark had prepared the sandwiches ahead to save time on the river and to help the boys pace their eating by providing a specific number.
When they were ready to head on, Tommy asked his dad if they could switch canoes so everyone could have a chance to be with someone else for a while.
"Are you and Tanner unhappy with each other?" Tark asked with a slight frown.
"No, I think he should get to talk to his uncle some," Tommy explained.
"Capital idea! I'll suggest a rotation. You can be with Tim and I'll take Tucker."
Author's notes: Thanks to all who emailed since last posting. They include: Rutabaga, Don R, Bill T, Ott, Walt S, Jim C, John McD, Bert H, Bill K, Wayne, Trish, Paul J, Mark H, Jim W, Gabriel S, Paul R, and Paul F.
I'm home again! It's beginning to warm up in Iowa. We were in the 60's today!!!
David