Tommy and Tanner Chapter 57
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," "Seth's Gift" (October 10, 2010) under the Science Fiction/Fantasy category, and "A Technological Christmas" (December 23, 2011) under "Beginnings."
I am 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.
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.
Finally, David has a new site that is hosting a number of authors. It's at: www.saberpeak.com. My first story, "Always and Forever," is posted there.
David (dlee169@hotmail.com)
Tommy and Tanner, Chapter 57
The nurse at the desk on the morning shift grinned broadly when Lance introduced himself as Michael's third cousin on his paternal grandmother's side. She recognized it as a ruse of course, and it reminded her of something her teenage son might cook up.
"You do resemble each other a bit," she joked. "I think you have the same ears. Thanks for checking in. You fit the description of the young man Dr. Bryant said to expect."
Lance blushed as he turned to go down the hall to 508. When he got there, Michael was being helped back into bed.
"Are you here to protect me from my tormentors?" Michael said by way of greeting.
"Are they mistreating you; sticking your butt with shots?" Lance asked.
"We are trying to corral this young man," a nurse smiled. "He doesn't want any help, and we can't risk having him wandering around on his own and falling."
"They won't even let me pee by myself!" Michael grumbled. "And I have to wear this gown that leaves my cute little butt hanging out in the breeze."
"Your mother hasn't brought any underwear for you and I'm sure you don't want to wear the sweaty jock you had on when they brought you in."
"True that!" Michael admitted. "Maybe Lance will take off his undies and loan them to me."
"Tsk, tsk," the nurse teased. "What would your mother think if she knew you were suggesting that in polite company?"
"Where's the polite company? You're the one offending my virgin ears by talking about sweaty jocks," he countered, with a grin.
"What will I do for fun when you're released?" the nurse laughed heartily. "I hate to see young people injured, but you guys certainly brighten my day. Well, I think you're done for a while until they come get you for the scan to see if there's anything in your head."
"She's a lot nicer than the one at the desk last night," Lance ventured after the nurse had departed. "The one out there today is great too."
"They've all been good to me." Michael agreed. "There was a male nurse named Dan in earlier who is really good looking. I'll be he's in the gym every day."
"Was he cuter than I am," Lance asked, blushing at his boldness.
"To quote my mom, `no, Baby, I wouldn't trade you for Banderas.'"
Both boys blushed, although it was harder to tell on Michael. They looked into each other's eyes for a few seconds before Lance opened his mouth.
"Michael, I started to tell you last night..."
"I know, Lance. I feel the same."
Lance didn't hold back this time, but after a quick glance to check if the coast was clear, he kissed Michael on the lips and backed off to see his reaction. Michael didn't hesitate as he pulled Lance's face close and kissed him back with passion.
"Oh God, Michael...!"
"Yeah, for sure!" Michael agreed, taking Lance's hand in his.
"I don't know what to say."
"You don't have to SAY anything. I'm reading your mind just like you're reading mine. It's all so new. I never knew it could be like this." Michael sighed. "You wanna crawl up here with me?"
"They'd kick me out if I did, and I don't want that."
"Me neither, but I'll bet I could talk them out of it if they tried to."
"How?"
"I'd tell them we were practicing to go camping," Michael grinned.
"Huh?"
"I'll say we're sharing a tent," he snickered, pointing to the projection his hardon was making in the sheet.
"We could get by with only one tent pole as long as you stayed hard," Lance giggled, getting into the spirit of it.
"Or you could face the other direction and we wouldn't need one at all..."
"I'm not sure I could hold up my end of it," Lance blushed. "That's a big pole you have, Mr. Bryant, Sir!"
"It's respectable, but I'm not concerned about statistics; I'm looking for someone who could care for what's inside," Michael said, moving his right hand (and Lance's along with it) to his chest.
Lance removed his hand in order to slide it under Michael's gown, bringing it to rest over Michael's heart. He loved feeling the steady rhythm and was beginning to chub up from the skin to skin contact.
"Premed student, or just playing doctor," Nurse Dan asked, catching them as he entered the room.
Both boys resembled deer caught in headlights. They didn't know whether to shit or go blind, as the old saying goes. Michael's "tent" collapsed immediately and Lance withdrew his hand in a flash.
"I, uh..." Lance stammered.
"I apologize for interrupting a tender moment. I should have knocked. Please forgive my flippant remark."
"Thanks," Michael sighed.
"I'm taking you down for another MRI and your friend may go along if you wish."
"Thanks, I could walk on one side to steady him." Lance declared. "Uh, we're buddies on the football team together..."
"That would be helpful if I were making him walk. He gets to ride, but you can push the wheelchair if you like. By the way, I'm Dan, as my nametag says, and who might you be?"
"I might be Antonio Banderas, but my name is Lance," he answered, beginning to feel more at ease.
"I can see the resemblance, so I'm glad you cleared that up," Dan played along. "We won't necessarily have to hold Michael up, only make sure he has someone to grab onto if he begins to fall as we get him into the wheelchair. That is, unless he wants to LEAN on his football buddy, which would be quite understandable."
The three of them headed down the hall, boarded an elevator reserved for patient use, and started down to the ground floor. Since they were alone and wouldn't be overheard, Michael decided to test the waters.
"Do you have a boyfriend, Dan?" He asked bluntly.
"Yup," Dan grinned. "How did you guess?"
"You were so cool when you found us, um, touching like that."
"It was sweet, and I really am sorry that I didn't follow protocol and knock. Had I known the situation, I certainly wouldn't have barged in."
"That's okay," Lance spoke up. "I'm glad it was you instead of one of those types who would have a cow and kick me out."
"People here are pretty cool. It IS the 21st Century after all.
You guys been dating long?"
"No, we only just talked about how we feel."
"Young love is so tender." Dan sighed. "Please don't ever keep secrets from each other if you want it to last. I lost my first love that way.
Ah, here we are - ground floor."
The boys were waiting to hear about the results of the test when JJ came rushing into the MRI lab.
"I am so sorry for abandoning you!" Michael's dad exclaimed. "You won't believe what happened. You knew that Mom was taking Damon to his football game this morning, but you thought you could count on me to be here on time. I had a work-related emergency that made me late. Some misguided animal rights people broke into my lab during the night and set all the rats free. We managed to round them up after the police finished up their investigation. All are unharmed except for one that must have been stepped on by the very people `rescuing' them. She has a broken leg, but we've taped her up and she seemed well enough to nurse her babies. Those people don't realize that we treat them well! They live better than lots of house pets! I just don't understand..."
"It's okay, Dad. With Lance here I didn't even miss you a lot, bad as that may make you feel. Is your research safe?"
"Yes, I keep several backup copies on flash drives and discs. I'm glad Lance was here to take my place. I guess I didn't scare you off last night, huh?"
"What did you do, Dad?"
"He sorta told me how he thought you felt about me. Don't be angry with him because I might not have ever gotten up the nerve to tell you if he hadn't. I mean, it's scary to chance being rejected and lose a friend."
"So, I kinda played cupid?" JJ grinned.
"Da-a-ad! This is very embarrassing."
"That's why God gives us children, so we can mortify them."
"You're surely following God's plan then," Michael cocked his left eyebrow. "I can't even begin to tell you how embarrassed I am. Words fail me! How could you do such a thing?"
"Words NEVER fail you, Son. Maybe it was Divine Providence," JJ speculated. "I don't know why I brought any of it up to Lance on the way home last night. It might have had something to do with the way you were looking at each other when I came back from the waiting room. Or maybe after the scare you gave me on the field, I wasn't thinking clearly. It really wasn't my place to tell him that you lit up every time you mentioned his name."
"You told him that?"
"He did," Lance confirmed. "It made me a little uncomfortable to be talking to your father about stuff like that, but it gave me hope at the same time."
"See, I said it was providential," JJ nodded. "I thought about what could have happened to you and realizing how fragile life is; I didn't want you to miss out on being close to another guy if that was your destiny. I love you too much for that."
"Thanks for understanding, Dad. I'm glad you still love me, knowing I'm gay, and I'll shut up about you telling Lance because it's turned out to be a good thing."
"You know I love you and want you to be happy."
"Does Mom suspect?"
"We've talked about it, and she's behind you too."
Michael squeezed his father's hand and Lance's at the same time. He blinked back a couple of tears of happiness and smiled broadly.
"I hope my dad turns out to be like you," Lance sighed.
"I trust he will, but if it doesn't go well, and you need a place to live, you can count on us, even if you and my son don't end up being a couple."
"Wow, that's way cool," Lance exclaimed.
"The doctor's ready to confer with you," the receptionist announced, effectively ending their conversation.
Doctor Meeks was very pleased with Michael's progress. By comparing the current image with the one from the previous evening, it was evident that the blood and spinal fluid had not only stopped seeping in, but had lessened in volume. This meant that they would not have to drill a hole to drain it and Michael could go home as soon as the paperwork was complete. If he had any sudden symptoms, he could be brought back to the hospital quickly because it wasn't a long drive.
Michael was elated.
"Did you bring clothes so I don't have to go home in my sweaty uniform?" he asked.
"Yup. I raided your bedroom and brought jeans, shirt, socks, shoes, and those skimpy briefs in your bottom drawer."
"You went through all my drawers?"
"No, I'm kidding, but I did bring those white Calvin Klein briefs that you love to wear around the house. If you have skimpier ones, I didn't see them."
"Thank heavens!" Michael exclaimed, giving his brow an exaggerated wipe.
JJ invited Lance to follow them home by way of Chiggi's where he picked up several hot Italian roast beef sandwiches and lots of their famous soggy French fries. He didn't purchase any soft drinks, saying there was plenty at home to drink.
Tessa put together a tossed salad in an attempt to mitigate the amount of red meat and carbs they'd be eating. She couldn't understand how boys could eat all that and not gain an extra ounce, but she knew that kind of diet wasn't good for their arteries in any case. She would speak to Julius about that later, in private.
The boys all ate heartily. Michael made a big deal out of how deprived he'd been of real food in the hospital.
"It's not like you were in there for a week," Damon said. "I was hoping it would be for at least a month so I could take over your room."
"Why would you do that? You've got the biggest room," Michael teased back. "They love you better anyway."
The brotherly bickering went back and forth for several minutes, each boy claiming the other had it better. It was easy to see that Damon loved his big brother and was relieved to have him home.
Michael asked Damon to show Lance to his room, and he'd join them in a couple of minutes. He wasn't gone long, and when he arrived, he asked Lance if he could spend the night.
"I talked Mom into it and she wants to talk to your mom, if you want to, that is."
"I'd love to. You know I wanted you to come to my place for an overnight and that would have happened last night if you hadn't been hurt."
Michael sent Damon down to tell their mother that Lance would like to stay over.
A few minutes later, Tessa rapped on the doorframe before entering Michael's bedroom where Lance and he were playing a video game. Michael paused it as he greeted his mother.
"So, what's the plan?" he asked.
"Lance will be staying over the weekend and possibly a little longer," Tessa said. "I have the gist of the story, but Janelle wants you to call home, Lance, rather than to hear it from me."
Lance looked worried as he quickly pulled out his cell to confer with his mom. His face changed expressions several times before he ended the call. When he was done, he filled Michael and Tessa in.
"Mom says that Jordan's court-appointed lawyer pled that it was a hardship on Jordan to be incarcerated because of his `uncaring and unresponsive' family. So, he got the judge to let him out on his own recognizance. No one informed my parents that he was loose. Anyway, when they got home from Dominick's, Jordan's car was missing along with the emergency cash they'd hidden in the house and an antique gun Dad had bought at a show some time back. There was also a note saying that he had some scores to settle and he'd be back.
They weren't able to call me earlier because the police were still there. She and dad are packing to go to a downtown hotel until they can get the locks changed or Jordan is caught again. Though they think he's skipped town, they want me to be very careful and are really relieved that I'll be here. She thought we might want to hide my car just in case."
"I'll pull my car into the drive and we'll put yours in the garage right away," Tessa offered. "Then I'll take you and my sons to Target so you can buy a few changes of clothes. Your mother doesn't want you seen anywhere near the house or them. She wants you to get whatever you need and she'll reimburse me when things settle down."
"Wow, that's awfully nice of you, Mrs. Bryant."
"It's the least I can do! I know she'd do the same for Michael if things were reversed. And you may call me by my first name if that works for you."
"Thanks, but that doesn't sound quite proper to me. May I call you Miss Tessa, like kids do in the South?"
"That would be fine. How did you know I'm from the South? I hope my accent didn't give me away completely. I've tried very hard to lose it!"
"No, Michael told me you were a refugee from Alabama," Lance grinned. "He said it's like a foreign country."
"It was a rather hostile place for people of color at one time, but not so much anymore. My grandmother had to put up with a lot. Today at least, we don't have to ride in the back of the bus.
Enough of my background, we need to get things for you before the afternoon gets wasted away. Save your money and don't buy toothpaste or a toothbrush, we have plenty of those supplies from dental visits.
Michael, are you sure you're up to going?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
Tessa left the boys on their own in the store while she shopped in the grocery department. Lance was careful to limit his purchases to two pairs of jeans and three shirts. In case of an extended stay, he bought several pairs socks and underwear which he'd need to change daily.
"Here's some camo briefs that would look good on you," Michael suggested. "I have some like them and so does Damon."
"Yeah, they're cool," Damon agreed. "But white looks best on us chocolate types and I think black looks good on white boys."
"Damon, are you checking out boys in the locker room?"
"I notice who looks good. That doesn't mean I'm perving on them like you do!"
"I don't perve on the guys," Michael retorted. "I'm around naked guys a lot with sports and it's impossible not to see what they look like."
"You don't exactly look away when someone's bare-ass. I've seen you lookin' at guys when we're at the city pool."
"It's a known fact that all guys check each other out. It's a natural instinct!" Michael insisted, sounding slightly irritated.
Lance stayed out of the discussion, not knowing what to say or how much Damon knew about his older brother's attractions.
After he'd picked up a pack of Evolve briefs that had one camo and one olive drab pair, he grabbed a three-pack of bikinis and stuck them in the cart under the jeans. Then they went to find Tessa on the other side of the store.
Tessa had gone through the checkout line and asked Damon to watch her cart while she ran her credit card again for Lance's things. She figured it would be easier to have a separate bill to give to Janelle when the settled up later.
"I should wash these before you wear them so the dye doesn't irritate your skin," Tessa offered.
"Don't worry about it, Mom," Michael said quickly. "He and I can run them through later with some of my things. We can make up a load of whites with his new socks and some of Damon's and mine. These are a different brand, so we won't get them mixed up."
"That would be great, but I don't want you to overdo."
"Lance and I can do it then," Damon spoke up. "I don't mind."
"Well, aren't you boys sweet? Maybe you could do that every week and not just when we have company," she grinned. "I can use the extra time to prep for next week's classes."
After dinner, Damon and Lance took care of washing the clothes while Michael actually took a nap. He hadn't slept as well as he might in the hospital even with the pain medication. It seemed like someone was always waking him up to check on him. The afternoon outing had taken more out of him than he had expected.
"We do some of the laundry to help our working mom, but that's not our only reason," Damon said when he and Lance were alone. "We both have some sexy undies that we don't want her to see anyway, and helping out gets us brownie points at the same time."
"That's cool. I do some of that too."
"Are you in love with my brother?" Damon asked point-blank.
"Uh, w-what do you mean?" Lance stammered as he turned bright red.
"I mean do you really care for him, or are you only after his big dick?"
"I like Michael a lot. We're teammates as you know." Lance said as he regained his composure.
"But it's more than that, isn't it?"
"Damon..."
"Look, I know he's gay. I don't think I am, but I KNOW he is. You don't seem shocked like you would if I'd told you something you didn't already know. You look and act straight, but I'll bet he wants you for a boyfriend."
"How would you feel if we were, uh, together?" Lance asked.
"You're cool. I'd be okay with it. You wanna play some video games while you wait for sleeping beauty to awaken?"
By the time the laundry was all done and folded, Michael was awake and raring to go. Damon was kind of disappointed that he was, because he had been enjoying Lance's company. He wasn't jealous, but he really did like hanging around with Lance. He hoped that nothing would get messed up between Michael and his potential boyfriend.
Although Michael had napped for over an hour, his mother still advised him to go to bed early. He didn't put up much of a fuss, because he reasoned that going to bed didn't necessarily mean going to sleep. He didn't mind the prospect of having time with Lance in private. Yet, it did frighten him in a way. He wondered just what Lance would expect from him.
"Momma should know I got caught up on sleep already tonight," Michael complained. "I know she means well, but I don't like everyone telling me what's good for me."
"Miss Tessa knows best," Lance admonished, with a slight grin.
"You know that was a stroke of genius."
"What?"
"Callin' her `Miss Tessa'. She rants about shallow southern manners, but truth be told, she loves stuff like that. I could see it in her face that you made major points with her."
"Your whole family's been nice to me," Lance declared. "It's not just your parents; Damon indicated, in so many words, that he was happy we're boyfriends."
"Did he...? Are we...?" Michael searched Lance's face expectantly.
"He did. I don't want to push you, but I'd like us to be boyfriends."
"Me too, but I wish my family would stop talking about my love interests behind my back. I can't believe they've all assumed we're lovers when we've never come out or done anything. You must think you've got hooked up with the strangest bunch in town."
"How is that weirder than having a brother who threatened your parents and is on the run from the law? After hearing all that, I thought for sure your dad and mom wouldn't want me hanging around."
"But, you're not like Jordan, and if they've noticed how I talk about you all the time, they have to know I care. Let's crawl in bed and continue this after the lights are out." Michael suggested.
The boys stripped to their underwear and got between the sheets. Michael took Lance's hand in his as they talked about how they felt.
"Is it okay if I cuddle up to your back?" Michael asked nervously.
"Yeah, that would be good," Lance replied.
Being cradled in Michael's strong arms felt comfortable, natural, and erotic to Lance. He realized what he'd been missing while dating girls. If he'd had doubts about his sexual orientation, this moment seemed to clarify everything. Like JJ had said about Michael, he had to be what he had to be.
Author's notes:
Dear readers, as always, I want to thank all who send me words of encouragement. I've heard from the following this week: Rutabaga, Bill K, Danny A, OZ, Rick S, Walt S, Bill T, Ott H, Bert K, Tim K, Roger L, Bob Z, Vern U, Wayne, Jim C, Douglas and Lawrence, Gary McC,
JTR, Anthony B, Jim W, Trish R, JJ, Steffan F, and Paul R. If you emailed and aren't listed, I apologize for the oversight.
Thanks to a link from Paul R, I found another link which has the following illustration. I think it's awesome and should be posted on all websites where "traditional" marriage is being debated: An illustration of biblical traditional marriage: http://i.imgur.com/Ii2VC.jpg
I can hear people stammering around trying to prove that those scriptures don't apply, but the ones about men lying together do. Ah, how people pick and choose...
BTW, the latest poll in our state says that 56% of the voters do NOT want a constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriages. How's that for progress?
David