Two Against the Odds © 2022
By David Lee
In the musical, South Pacific, there is a love song involving two strangers who connect across a crowded room on an enchanted evening. This evening was anything but enchanted. It was a chilly, overcast, late Saturday afternoon in November with a light wind which made it even more miserable.
The basement room in the Lutheran church was moderately full, but there were a number of unoccupied seats at several tables. Enrico didn't have to choose the one near Bryant. He did so because their eyes had met and he felt a connection. He believed the guy would prove to be someone he could trust and who might help him find shelter for the night.
Rick, as he preferred to be called, was a naïve 16-year-old whose mother had wanted him out of her hair and had told him to go live with his father's brother in West Palm Beach, Florida. She'd arranged with Uncle Beto to take him in because he needed to be with his own kind.
Her main motive seemed to be that after the boy's father had inexplicably disappeared three years ago, she had a new boyfriend who didn't want to raise someone else's kid. Evidently, his mother cared more about her man than she did about her only son.
Traveling a long distance to stay with someone he barely knew wasn't the worst of it. His mother had sent him off with practically nothing - a few changes of clothing in addition to what he had on his back. There was very little money to be had -- not enough for even a bus ticket to take him to his destination. (Beto hadn't been informed about that detail.) Rick would have to hitchhike or hop a freight train for a good part of the trip. Without street-smarts, it was a daunting proposition.
Had he lived in a larger city, he might have contacted some local social agency to help him out. The small town where he had resided didn't have such organizations, and he wasn't savvy enough to know how to go about getting aid anyway.
Cedar Rapids was the largest city he'd even been in, and it was only a stop along the way.
Setting his plate of food down on the table, he introduced himself.
"Hi, I'm Rick Cruz. May I join you?"
"Help yourself, Dude. You can call me Sam Smith."
"Smith is pretty common. Is that your real name?"
"Nope, I don't give that out to people I don't know. Maybe you shouldn't either. It's a dangerous world we live in."
"Thanks for the advice. I'm pretty clueless, I guess. You seem to be wiser than I am. I was hoping you might know of a place I can sleep tonight. I'm not from here."
"Are you a runaway? I don't want to get in trouble with the law."
"Nope, my mom's sending me to Florida to my uncle's place but there's not enough money to take a bus all that distance. I'll have to try to hitch rides, I guess."
"Hmm... I've been thinking about going south to get out of the cold. It might be better to be living on the street in Florida than in Iowa this time of year. Maybe we could team-up so we'd have each other's backs."
"That would be awesome!" Rick exclaimed. "You really are smarter than I am about stuff."
"Not smarter, just more experienced. You seem like a good kid; I don't want you to go through the crap I did to survive.
"If we're gonna do this, we need some plans and a cover story. To start with, we'll pretend to be brothers. Since I'm Sam Smith, you could be Shawn or something like that. We should start calling each other by our assumed names so we don't slip up in conversation with someone.
"Our story will be that we're traveling to our uncle's home in Florida, so that part is true for you. We were displaced by a tornedo which killed our parents, and we don't have any other relatives to help us. I'm 18, so I can be responsible for you, and they can't put us in foster care or whatever."
"That sounds good to me. I've been wondering how to dodge the cops and the whole social system. I don't like living on the street, but I don't want to end up in a group home either. Our Uncle, Beto Cruz lives in West Palm Beach, in case anyone asks you. I'll give you his contact info so we could have someone call to verify who we are. He could be our mother's brother instead of my father's since we're named Smith."
Having said that, he handed Sam a piece of paper with his uncle's address and phone number written on it.
"Good thinking, Shawn!" Sam complimented him, as he slipped the paper in his pocket to deal with later.
"Thanks. I want to be of help. So, what's next."
"About sleeping tonight, I gave a helping hand to a student named, Phil, today who said there's going to be a kind of `sleep-out' tonight. A bunch of kids who go to Coe College are going to make cardboard shelters and stay outside to make them more sensitive to the needs of people like you and me. He said materials will be provided by an appliance store nearby that gets things in big boxes. Someone will be passing out hot chocolate and rolls before we go to bed and there'll be a breakfast in the morning. I think we could blend in since most people are wearing masks."
"That sounds good. I guess cardboard is better than nothing, and I'll feel safer there than around a lot of bums!" Rick exclaimed.
"We can stay warm enough. I'll share my sleeping bag; that is, if you don't mind bedding down with a bum."
"I didn't mean that you're a bum!"
"It's okay, I'm teasing. But I suppose a lot of people in this town would put us both in that category," Sam said.
"Hi, Sam, glad you decided to make it," Phil greeted them. "Who's your sidekick? I was hoping that you and I could share a box tonight."
"Oh, sorry. This is Shawn, my little brother. I would love to have shared with you, but I have to look out for him. I hope you understand."
"Sure. No hard feelings. Let me get you guys set up with cardboard and duct tape. Some faculty members even loaned us a bunch of throw rugs to help insulate us from the ground."
It wasn't long before the two boys had created a small shelter for themselves. Sam chose to erect it between one of the buildings and some evergreen shrubs. He figured the location would help in case a stronger breeze blew up in the night.
Since there wasn't anything else to do, they decided to take their coco and roll into their nest and talk for a while until they got sleepy enough to call it a night.
Sam's sleeping bag wasn't big enough for them to crawl inside and zip it up. However, with several layers of cardboard and a rug under them, it acted as a comforter to retain their body-heat.
Shawn (Rick) enjoyed the necessity of being in close contact with Sam's body. It had been a long time since anyone had shown him affection in a physical way. He felt safe and cared-for. As a result, he slept reasonably well for the most part. He did rouse once in the middle of the night but went right back to sleep when Sam put an arm across his chest and snuggled closer.
For his part, Sam had the best night he'd experienced in quite a while. He liked having someone to care for. It gave him a sense of purpose. He'd had a dog when he was younger and had often cuddled up to it for comfort when his father had spanked him. Having a "little brother" was a lot more fulfilling because a human can respond verbally as well as physically. Sam slept well too.
In the morning, "Sam" and his "brother" awoke feeling pretty good despite having slept on the hard surface of the ground with little padding. Older guys might have gotten up unsteadily with stiff joints, but teenagers are more resilient.
Phil greeted them as they emerged from their makeshift quarters.
"Come with me to my dorm to freshen up. Then we can go to breakfast."
"Um, won't other students figure out that we don't belong here?" Shawn asked.
"I'm the RA for my floor and I have my own bathroom, so that won't be a problem. As far as the cafeteria goes, there are enough students enrolled here that no one knows everyone. We can keep our masks on until we actually eat. If we sit in the back corner, I don't think anyone will question your presence. Breakfast is free for everyone because of this special event. They won't be checking ID's."
Sam and Shawn were elated to be able to shower and feel thoroughly clean. In sharing the bathroom, there soon were few secrets between them.
"It's probably a good thing to be naked together," Sam observed. "I wouldn't have known about your foreskin. That's a detail brothers would know. If I'm questioned about our kinship, I can give that tidbit as proof. As you can see, I got snipped a little, but not as much as most guys who are cut. I have just enough skin to preserve sensitivity when it's soft. Yet, it retracts some when I'm fully erect. Some doctors did that at the time I was born. We can say that our parents decided against any form of circumcision by the time you came along.
"As my brother, you would know that I like to groom, so I keep my pubes shaved."
"Man, you think of all the details."
"We have to if we're going to fool people into believing we're real brothers. I see that "Phil" is cautious too. There's a paper on his desk with the name `Robert Ryder' on it. I'm guessing that's his real name."
"Why would he lie about it?"
"Probably because he's involved in some activities that the school might frown upon."
"Drugs?"
"Nope; something else. I'll explain later when we have more time."
"So, what are you guys going to do the rest of the day?" Phil asked, hoping they might hang around and repeat what Sam and he had done yesterday.
"We're gonna hike to the truck stop at the south end of town to see if we can hitch a ride to Florida, or somewhere closer to it than we are now."
"That truck stop is a hell of a walk from here. How about I drive you there? I still feel like I owe you something."
After they'd eaten, the guys got their promised ride. It was a little over five miles from the college, so it saved them a lot of time and energy.
In the gas station/convenience store, they purchased a few snacks which they thought would stave off hunger in the coming hours. They talked as they checked for things that were less expensive and would stick with them, settling on sausage sticks and peanut butter-filled crackers.
Shawn questioned why Phil had been so nice to them.
"He really appreciated my helping hand, I guess, Sam said. "You probably know what that means."
"So, you got him off?"
"See, you're savvier than you pretend to be."
"If it wasn't drugs you guys were doing, I suspected it might be sex. It's none of my business, but how did you managed to do it? Did he invite you to his room?"
"It was in his car in a downtown parking garage. He's too careful to bring guys to his room on a regular basis. I was surprised that he let us in today, but I guess Sundays are safer with fewer people awake early. I'm sure he's deep in the closet."
"Did he do you in return?"
"Nope. He offered, but I hadn't had a shower recently and the idea of him smelling my dirty dick turned me off. I suppose that sounds weird."
"Not to me, it doesn't. I feel a lot better with a shower and clean underwear!"
"Me too. By the way, thanks for loaning me a clean pair. I'll return them when I can wash out the ones I have."
Before long, Sam had arranged a ride for both of them at least to St. Louis which would get them closer to their destination. He was pleased with the deal he'd made but didn't know how Shawn would react.
"Um, I found a 30-something guy who will take us and pretend we're his nephews. He drives for himself, so he's not violating any company policy against having riders. I promised him a massage when we reach St. Louis. You may want to find something to do while I'm giving it."
"Is that because it'll include a happy ending?"
"Probably. Again, I have to say you're not as naïve as you first appeared. He's going to take a shower and he'll treat us to one too. We may have to share."
"I'm good with that. I don't think I want to be too far away from you any of the time. What if he decided to ditch me, and you couldn't stop him?"
"I'd stay with you if he did that. I won't abandon you. I've made a commitment to get you to your uncle's place and I'm not going back on that as long as I'm alive to see it through."
The driver introduced himself as Allen Holmes. Since his name was displayed on a certificate in the cab of the semi, the guys knew he was telling the truth. There was a photo of a woman and some kids. From it, they deduced that he was a family man.
Sam told Allen that their last name was Smith and that their mother had been into having their first names start with the same letter, so she'd named them Sam and Shawn.
It turned out that Allen's sister was married to a man whose name was Roger Smith, so it worked out fine if anyone questioned about his "nephews."
He would continue to Nashville the following day but would have to sleep the required number of hours to be legal to drive. If they wanted to go the extra distance with him, they were welcome to share the sleeping space as long as they didn't mind being a bit crowded. In return for his massage, he would buy Sam's dinner. If Shawn wanted to participate, he could have a free meal too.
Sam didn't like the idea of Shawn being involved in anything that was likely to turn sexual, so he decided to give him money to buy his own dinner. He didn't want his "little brother" to be pushed into the life he'd been forced to live.
The drive to St. Louis took several hours, and the boys napped some of the time. It was a sunny day, and the warmth made them drowsy. Usually, one of them stayed awake to keep Allen company. He was on the road alone a lot, and thus, he seemed starved for conversation.
In chatting with him, Sam learned that he was married to his high school sweetheart, and they had three kids. He talked at length about his older boy who was only in kindergarten but able to read at the first-grade level. Allen was proud of his children.
Allen appeared to be living an ordinary life. Sam wondered why he was interested in having "massages" but didn't feel it was any of his business. He certainly didn't want to bring up a subject which might mess up the deal he'd made.
About every hour and a half, they stopped at a rest area to stretch their legs and use the facilities. Allen said he needed to pee often because he drank a lot of water to stay hydrated. He knew some drivers who didn't stop much and ended up with kidney problems as a result. He also kept a plastic bottle in the cab in case he got desperate when a facility wasn't available.
Eventually, they arrived at a huge truck-stop where they could safely park for the night. It had coin-operated showers and a fairly large cafeteria. The convenience shop was loaded with all kinds of things an over-the-road driver might need.
It was a bit early for dinner, so Allen proposed that they shower first, have their massage time, and then eat. That appealed to Shawn who thought he might figure out a way to earn his dinner without doing something Sam would forbid him to do. He was eager to save up enough money to take a bus at least part of the way. Allen appeared to be trustworthy, but Shawn was leery of what could happen to them if they ended up hitching a ride with someone who was a predator. Sam was even more cautious because of his previous experience.
Allen divided up the quarters into three piles, keeping a few extra ones for himself so he could shower longer. When the boys were out of earshot, Shawn suggested to Sam that they shower together to save part of the money for necessities later. Sam complimented him on his thrifty thinking. Shawn grinned, knowing he had an additional motive.
Because one set of coins wouldn't buy a lot of time, they soaped up quickly. As they were rinsing off, Shawn wrapped his arms around Sam, pressing his crotch tightly against his companion's, moving his hips in a circular motion to stimulate them.
"Are you sure about this?" Sam asked in voice husky with desire.
"Yeah, I want you!"
"You don't know me well."
"I know you're kind and caring."
"You don't know what I've done."
"I don't care! Let me do this for both of us."
Sam then embraced Shawn and participated fully. It was no more than a few minutes before they reached their climaxes. There was just enough time left to rinse the evidence from their bodies. Impulsively, Sam kissed his young buddy. Shawn responded in kind. He wanted to tell Sam that he loved him, but he thought it might be over the top. It wasn't realistic to talk about love when they'd known each other only a short time. Still, he knew what he felt in his chest at the moment. In fact, he'd sensed an emotional connection when their eyes had first met in the church basement.
Since Allen was still in the shower, Sam and Shawn used the waiting time to wash out a couple of pairs of underwear in the public restroom nearby, drying them under the electric hand-dryers as best they could. Seeing that they were still somewhat damp when Allen emerged from his shower, the guys decided not to put them back on. They wrapped them in a couple of paper towels and slipped them into their backpacks. They would spread them on the floormat to dry overnight.
Author's notes:
Thanks for reading this story. If you enjoyed it, please feel free to contact me a dlee169@hotmail.com and let me know. Your emails are the only reward I receive for writing. If you put the title of this tale in the subject-line, I'll be able to find it if it ends up in the spam box.
Thanks to David S for editing. He finds the typos and missing words! He also makes valuable suggestions.
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Thanks,
David