Tommy and Tanner Chapter 24
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)
Tommy and Tanner, Chapter 24
Thanksgiving dinner at the Torrance family's new home turned out to be a momentous occasion and a great success. A few minutes before they were ready to sit down to eat, the doorbell rang. Knowing who would be there, Teri asked Jennifer if she would answer the door.
Jennifer wondered why she was expected to do it when she had food ready to carry to the table and other last-minute details to take care of. If she felt put out, she didn't voice any complaint. After all, she was being paid well to take on the major responsibility for dinner and was thankful for the job.
"Oh my God!" Jennifer screamed as she was pulled into the arms of her husband, Todd.
She hadn't had a clue that he was coming home from Afghanistan. They stood in the foyer kissing, hugging, and crying for what seemed like forever before they were interrupted by Brendon who had run to see what the excitement was all about.
Todd immediately scooped up his son and held him so closely that he could barely breathe. Everyone had tears in their eyes from witnessing their joyous reunion.
By the time Todd had been introduced to most of the group, Tark, James, Jeri, and Floyd had carried in the food, placing it on the two tables. (The table from the breakfast room had been set up in the parlor in order to accommodate the big crowd.)
As the host, Tark asked everyone to stand and hold hands around the two tables. Instead of saying a blessing, he asked each one to think of what they were thankful for in the past year, dwell on it for a couple of minutes, and say a quiet thank-you. No one had a difficult time searching for something that was fitting!
"I thought you'd set too many places," Jennifer said to Teri. "You KNEW didn't you?"
"Yes, and Tark and I didn't tell anyone else lest someone accidentally let it slip to you or Brendon. Todd wanted this to be a total surprise because he was afraid you'd worry too much if you knew ahead of time." Teri confessed.
"Thanks. He knows me well. I could never have concentrated on cooking. Dinner would have been a disaster."
"It's all perfect!" Jeri assured her.
"It was a lot easier since you brought the pies," Jennifer said. "I wish I could hire you at least long enough to steal your secrets. My mom died before I learned how to make a good crust."
"I'd love to teach you anything you want to know," Jeri smiled. "I'm sure you'll pick up on it rapidly. You're an amazing cook. The secret to a good crust is using plenty of shortening. Real lard is best, but I use Crisco for the sake of our arteries."
When the main part of dinner was over, all of the guests were too stuffed to even think of sampling the pies until later.
Everyone pitched in after dinner so that Jennifer wouldn't have as much to do. Teri suggested that Brendon could stay to play with the boys in the afternoon while Todd and Jennifer went home for a little "R&R." Brendon was happier to have the attention of the older boys than go home to rest. He was too young to understand why his parents might want to go home for a "nap." He could rough-house with his dad when after he was rested up.
The happy pair came back a couple of hours later for dessert looking radiant! Todd thanked Teri several times for her suggestion. His satisfied grin let her know that there'd been a lot more recreation than rest and relaxation.
One day in the teacher's lounge the next week, Peter took Teri aside to ask about their old house. He had a proposition for Tark and her.
"I overheard you say that you aren't sure when you'll be able to sell your house in this market. I have a thought. As you may recall, I entered the middle school position in January of last year so that's when I signed my lease. It will be up at the end of December and I really don't want to sign for another full year because I may be, uh, sharing a condo with a friend about 25 miles away and commuting next year," he giggled. "If I could rent from you guys for at least the rest of the school year, it might work out for all of us."
"Hmm..., I wonder who that friend could be." Teri teased. "It does sound like a win/win solution to me. We could use the income while we're waiting for the market to pick up. That usually happens in the spring and summer anyway."
"I'd be willing to let the realtors show it on short notice whenever they have an interested party if that would help you decide." Peter offered. "I tend to keep things picked up."
"That would really sweeten the pot," Teri agreed. "Tark and I don't make important decisions without discussing them with each other. I'll send him a quick email when I get back to my room. Let me give you a tentative `maybe' until I hear from him."
Within half an hour, Peter had his answer. Tark and Teri would be pleased to have him as a tenant for the price of their house payment which would be less than he was paying for his small apartment. He was thrilled.
Jennifer had been thrilled to have her husband home for the holiday. She was even happier to learn that he was home for good. Soon after Christmas he would be returning to his old job as manager of Dominick's, but his district manager had told him to take at least until then to be with his wife and son before starting back again.
Brendon was equally happy to have his dad home. Besides wrestling around on the floor like they used to do, the two of them got busy working on their HO gauge railroad almost immediately. Todd also instituted a "boys' night out" for the two of them to go out to eat once every two weeks and take in a kids' movie or go ice skating at the rink in a nearby mall. Brendon said he wanted Andy, Tommy, and Tanner to go with him sometimes. Brendon's counselor was very pleased that the boy would have strong, healthy ties with his dad and older boys.
The older boys in question saw Todd much in the light that they viewed Tark and Chris, so they were happy to be included.
Tanner's settlement for the wrongful death of his father had been delayed several times. The heirs claimed that it would be a hardship on them because they had been unable to sell the house in which the murders occurred. Prospective buyers tended to shy away from places associated with violent death. The lawyer Tark had retained on Tanner's behalf pointed to the fact that the estate was worth several million without counting the house, but that didn't sway the judge who had been friends with George Sessions. Pushing the point to have the matter moved to another magistrate would have basically put the case back to square-one, so it looked like they'd have to wait it out.
Tanner wasn't in a hurry now that Dorothy's house was theirs. That had been his main concern about getting a settlement in the first place.
The Sessions'house mysteriously caught fire around 8:00 o'clock one Saturday night and rather quickly burned to an empty shell with much of the brick and stone parts of the walls still standing. For safety reasons, those would have to be bulldozed down soon.
The fire marshal declared the fire to be of a suspicious nature and most likely arson because of the presence of an accelerant. The police were called in to investigate further. George Sessions, Jr. immediately pointed the finger at Tanner, saying that he had the most to gain from the destruction of the house.
Two policemen came to question Tanner on the first Monday of break to see if he knew anything about the fire and if he had an alibi for the time when they'd determined that the blaze was set. Chris Roberts was one of the detectives on the case. He wanted to be there, feeling that Tanner would be less intimidated by his presence than by being questioned by two strangers. He also reasoned that he might be able to step in if his partner got too carried away. Dick Banes tended to play rough. However, Chris decided he wouldn't intrude if Tanner held his own.
Officer Banes began the informal questioning with Tark and Tommy present. They were told that they should not say anything unless they were directly asked to.
"Mr. Torrance," he addressed Tanner, "we have been informed that you are one of the people who might have had a motive for setting fire to the Sessions' Mansion. We'd like to know where you were last night between the hours of 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. yesterday."
"If I had wanted to strike back for the murder of my father, I would have done it immediately," Tanner stated. "But as for an alibi, that's easy. I was with a bunch of guys ice-skating at the mall."
"How do I know they would be reliable witnesses?"
"One of them is a soldier recently returned from Afghanistan and another is Detective Roberts' son, Andy in addition to my brother, Tommy who's right here. If they aren't reliable enough for anyone, I'd like to know who would be."
"But what's to say that you didn't slip out and drive the five miles there and back without being missed by the rest?" he continued. "It wouldn't have taken long."
"I rode with Sgt. Baker and I don't have a license or car of my own," Tanner explained calmly. "Besides, Tommy and Andy were with me all the time – even when we took a break to pee."
"You seem rather smug and sure of yourself!"
"I don't intend to appear smug, but I AM sure of myself! I resent being made to look like a criminal. Perhaps you should find out where Mr. George Sessions, Jr. was that evening, or whom he might have hired to do his dirty work. He's the one who will benefit MOST from the destruction of the house. He couldn't sell it for half its value because his esteemed father killed my father in cold blood!"
"I'm sorry that I had to put you through this," Detective Banes said. "I always try to get suspects rattled so that they'll make a mistake and end up confessing. Obviously, you have nothing to be nervous about because you're telling the truth and have reliable witnesses to back you up. Please understand that this is nothing personal."
"Okay," Tanner said, shaking the offered hand, still not pleased with the detective's attitude. "I hope you get the person responsible."
Detective Roberts lagged behind while Detective Banes went to the car.
"You did fine, Tanner," Chris said gently. "I hope you don't resent me for not asking Detective Banes to go easier on you. The questions needed to be asked. I don't necessarily like how he does it. That's why I asked to come along. I also figured that since you're my son's buddy, I'd better try to keep my mouth shut or be accused of having a conflict of interest."
"It's okay; I know that's not how you operate. You haven't lost my respect. I can't say the same for Detective Banes. He needs PR training! If he wants to be respected, he needs to respect others."
The next day, the boys got a call from Brenda Frey. She asked them if they would have lunch with her because she wanted to bring some kind of closure to her son's death. All were dreading it to some extent, but felt it would be the kind thing to do.
Brenda picked up Tommy and Tanner first, thinking that Andy would be more comfortable if he didn't have to ride with her alone. They thought it would be impolite to both sit in back, so Tanner drew the short straw and rode shotgun.
Conversation was a bit forced at first, but Brenda became more comfortable by the time they got to Andy's house. Andy switched seats with Tanner so that the boyfriends could sit together. He did it by saying that he'd be less likely to feel car sick if he sat in front. The other boys knew it was a fabrication and appreciated his gesture.
At the restaurant, Brenda paid for the buffet so that the boys could get anything they wanted and wouldn't feel awkward about what they should order. Her thoughtfulness didn't go unnoticed.
Once they got comfortable visiting over their meal, Brenda got up the nerve to discuss the subject that was on her mind.
"You're probably wondering about my motive. I needed to be able to talk to the boys that Mason was closest to. He never had many close friends, but you boys were kind to him. I want you to know that I understand fully why you had to call the police when he was molesting that little boy. It was your duty. He knew that too in the long run."
"He sent us emails telling us that," Andy spoke up.
"I'm very pleased that he did. His admitting that he was in the wrong was the first step toward changing his behavior. Initially, he acted like his uncle who had molested him as a younger boy. Neither Darrel nor Lonny will ever admit that they could be wrong. It's too bad that I didn't take Mason to a motel or someplace safe from his father until things calmed down. I will never forgive myself for his death."
"Please find a way to forgive yourself," Andy said gently. "Mason wouldn't want you to live with that burden."
"I suppose you're right, but you don't know how difficult that is to do."
"I know a little about it, but not what a parent would," Andy agreed.
"We've all had some feelings of guilt," Tommy added.
"Yeah, especially when we thought he'd taken his own life." Tanner said. "We all felt that we'd missed some signs or something. Did you know that there is a big push at school on suicide prevention? We're doing it in honor of Mason, even though he didn't kill himself."
"No, I didn't know," Brenda said. "Thanks for telling me. It makes me feel that his life will have meant something – kind of like he didn't die in vain. I know that's odd to say."
"I'm glad I told you, if it helps." Tanner smiled.
Brenda went on to tell the boys about the simple family service they'd had for Mason. The group consisted of her parents and her. None of her husband's family requested to be there and she would have resented it if they had. She blamed their long history of sweeping their son's misdeeds for leading up to Mason's death. She bared her soul more than she'd intended to because they were sympathetic listeners.
By the time lunch was over, Brenda seemed completely relaxed. The boys felt comfortable too.
"Would it be possible for you to keep me posted on some of the activities you're involved in," Brenda asked. "I know it's not your responsibility to watch over me, but I'd like to feel a connection with Mason's classmates for a while – while I'm healing..."
"Sure," Andy responded. "I can send you an email now and then. Also, you can check the school's homepage for times and places of sports and other activities."
"Thanks; I'll do that.
The boys all elected to be dropped off at Tommy and Tanner's house to hang out a bit. Tucker was very happy to see them because Bobby was visiting his grandparents out of town, so Tucker had been alone most of the day. They broke out the cards and played "strip poker" using chips to represent pieces of clothing. Each guy got eight chips representing underwear, T-shirt, shirt, pants, socks and shoes. White chips represented outer clothing. A red one stood for undershirt and the blue one for briefs or boxers.
Even though nothing was taken off, Tuck was embarrassed that he lost his blue chip before anyone else had gotten down to their red one.
"You know the rules," Andy said with a straight face. "The loser has to suck the dick of the guy who has to most chips left, and that would be me."
Tuck turned pale before the others broke into laughter. He wouldn't have believed his brothers, but he didn't realize Andy had a wicked sense of humor. But, instead of pouting like he might have done a year ago, he joined in the fun.
"Pull it out right here in the den and I'll do it," he said to Andy.
When Andy stood up and lowered his zipper, Tuck had second thoughts about teasing back.
"Uh, I-I-I was k-kidding," he stammered.
"I know," Andy grinned. "So am I. But you'd better be careful who you tease with because someone might take you up on it."
"Yes Sir!" Tuck saluted.
They divvied up the chips again and played another game. This time Tanner lost and Tommy had the most left. Tanner immediately got on the floor in front of Tommy and nuzzled his crotch. When he reached up and unbuttoned Tommy's fly, Tuck got nervous.
"You're not gonna do that in front of Andy and me are you?"
"Why not?" Tanner asked. "You know we do it. We're all guys, so Tommy's dick isn't something you've never seen before."
"You're yanking my chain, right?" Tucker asked.
"Yeah, but he's gonna pay up before we go to sleep tonight," Tommy giggled.
"Okay, we'll stop teasing," Tanner said. "Anyone up for a little two on two basketball? It's warmed up enough for a short game before it gets too dark."
The minute Tommy's briefs hit the floor in their shared room, Tanner was on his knees licking his balls. He worked his tongue back toward Tommy's perineum, making the latter sigh with lust.
"Okay, I know you're trying to pay off your gambling debt, but please let me do the same to you."
The boys settled down in the 69 position in their new queen sized bed and tenderly nuzzled and licked each other. They spent quite a while on the preliminaries before going for the prize. Once their heads began to bob in earnest, they didn't have long before achieving results.
In the afterglow, they cuddled and talked.
"Think of how far we've come in a year," Tommy said. "Last year at this time we were sleeping in separate beds and messing around with different people."
"I'm really sorry about that," Tanner sighed. "If I hadn't tried so hard to prove I was straight, I wouldn't have moved out of your bed and gotten into trouble with Sibyl. Then you'd have had no reason to make out with Mason and neither of us would have been hurt like we were."
"Hey, don't blame yourself. I was old enough to know what I was doing. We can't change the past, but we can learn from it and I know we have. If you hadn't tried it with a girl, you might have always wondered if you would've liked it better. If I hadn't been with someone who used me when I thought he loved me, I might not appreciate you as much as I do. We're in a good place partly because we know where we've been wasn't. Does that make any sense?"
"Yeah, in a strange way, I think it does. I'm so glad I'm in love with you and you love me too!" Tanner said softly. "This will be my best Christmas ever."
Author's notes: Thanks to all who responded since last posting. It seems like there are new ones almost every time. This week's list includes: Jim W, Roger L, Rutabaga, Anthony B, Douglas and Lawrence, Bill T, Don R, Jeff S, Jim C, Bert H, Ott H, Bill K, Tom A, Walt S, Justin L (#102), Trish R, JTR, Paul R, John McD, and Paul F.
Part of my list got erased for reasons unknown to me. So, I hope I didn't miss anyone when I redid it.
JTR is having health issues and I'd like to ask you to keep her in your minds and prayers.
David