Amazingly Ordinary

By Wes Leigh

 

This is a work of fiction intended solely for the entertainment of my readers; any resemblance to any real people or places is purely coincidental. Readers who would like to chat are encouraged to contact me at weston.leigh@protonmail.com.

This story is the property of the author and is protected by copyright laws. The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent.

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Chapter Four

 

Because of his age, Kristian was only allowed to work so many days a week and so many hours a day. He'd hit his limit for the week and had to take a day off, but he didn't sit around. He worked with his mom on algebra, French, and European history. She wanted to keep going after lunch, but he begged her to give him some free time. She agreed, as long as he read three chapters from Madame Bovary. He groaned but promised he would.

Then he grabbed my hand and practically dragged me to my car. "Take me somewhere fun," he demanded.

"Where do you want to go?" I asked.

"I don't care. Anywhere. Just away from here."

So I took him to the Bosque. It's a cottonwood forest that runs along the Rio Grande. I've always enjoyed going there, sitting beneath the trees, listening to the hawks and owls as they hunt for mice and gophers. Kristian and I were sitting underneath an ancient cottonwood tree on the banks of the river, talking.

"What does Bosque mean?" Kristian asked.

"I'm not sure," I replied. "I think it's Spanish for the woods, or something like that."

"It's beautiful," Kristian said, looking around. "We have forests at home, but nothing like this. Spruce and fir are common. But these trees are incredible. So majestic. So rugged." He paused and lifted his hand to catch a fluffy ball of cotton that floated on the air. "What is this?" he asked.

"It's a cottonwood seed." I caught another in my hand and showed him the tiny seed at the center of the fluffy white fibers.

"That's a seed?" He looked up at the cottonwood tree above us. "For one of these?" he asked in amazement.

I nodded. "It's how they reproduce. They cast out thousands of these seeds every year, to float on the wind until they land on wet soil where they germinate and produce cottonwood seedlings. Most of the seeds land in the desert, where they don't sprout. Only the seeds that land near the river ever become a tree. It needs a lot of water to survive, so here on the river is where you find them."

"You know a lot about cottonwoods and ... what did you call this place?"

"The Bosque."

"Right, the Bosque. You should be a tour guide," he teased.

I shrugged. "I've lived here all my life. I guess I learned most of it in school, but I also come here a lot, just to sit and think."

"What do you think about?" he asked.

"Just stuff."

"Stuff?" he asked, with a soft laugh. "What kinds of stuff?"

"Life. School. Relationships."

"Are you in a relationship?"

Me and my big mouth. Why'd I have to mention the one thing I suck the most at? I didn't reply at first. I didn't want to admit it, not to him, not to myself.

He scooted closer and put his hand on my shoulder. "You can tell me, Johnny."

I shook my head slightly. "I can't, Kristian. I really can't."

"Why not?"

"Because you'll think I'm a major weirdo. That was what you called me, right? A dork?"

Kristian smiled bashfully. "I don't think you're a dork. I was only teasing."

I turned to look at him and said, "But I am a weirdo. I'm twenty-three. I live with my parents. I'm majoring in History because I can't think of anything I want to do in life. And I'm—" I stopped, because I'd almost said it out loud.

Kristian reached up and stroked my cheek with his finger. "What were you going to say next?"

I shook my head again. "I can't say it."

"Why not?"

I shrugged. "I suppose because then I'll have to accept it. If I say it out loud, I can't take it back and it has to be who I am from now on."

He nodded, apparently understanding what I was dancing around, trying to avoid saying. Then he looked me in the eye and said, "Johnny, I'm gay. It's who I am, and I don't care who knows. My parents know, and they love me very much. My friends know, and they don't care. They still like hanging out with me. Now you, a complete stranger I just met, know too."

I chuckled. "I sort of knew that already, Kristian. After all the things we've done."

He smiled. "And I have known that you are ..." He paused and left his sentence unfinished.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Okay. Okay. I'm gay. There. I said it. Are you happy?"

He nodded. "How do you feel now?"

I thought for a moment. How did I feel? No different really. I was still the same average guy I'd always been, but perhaps a bit more—I don't know—free maybe? I smiled. "I feel the same, but happy, somehow." I turned to Kristian. "Like I've been given permission to finally be myself."

"Like a seed that landed on wet ground. Now you have a chance to grow and become what you were always destined to be."

I had to chuckle. "Like these cottonwoods."

Kristian smiled, lighting up my world. "You can't avoid becoming what you are. You can only delay it, but eventually, the seed lands next to the river."

I stood up and pulled Kristian to his feet. I pulled him into a tight hug and kissed him on the lips. "Do you realize you are quite the sexy philosopher?"

He kissed me back and ignored my question. "What else is there to see in your town? Show me something new and amazing."

͠ ͠ ͠

We had a terrific time together, running around and seeing the sights.

The next day, it was back on set for another scene.

This time, I had to cross over a lake with Kristian riding on my shoulders. The lake was nothing more than a shallow duck pond, but for the movie, it would appear much bigger and would be filled with acid, so naturally, as the expendable zombie, my job was to get Kristian across the acid lake safely. Don't ask me how that happened or what it had to do with Canada invading the United States. It was in the script and I was just doing as I was told. The water wouldn't actually be painful, of course, but I had to moan and groan like it was eating my lower body away wherever it touched. The guys in special effects were going to add green bubbles and steaming vapors, but without my zombie agony, it would all be for naught.

This was my big scene.

So I slid down into the water and Kristian climbed onto my back. With his legs hanging down onto my chest, he scooted around until he was comfortably sitting on my shoulders. He wasn't that heavy, but there was one small problem. Actually, one BIG problem. He had a boner. And it was poking me in the back of my neck. He thought it was funny, and the entire time he was up there, he rocked back and forth, pushing his cock into the back of my head. Naturally, some of my groans weren't because of the acid that was supposed to be eating away my legs.

Still, I managed to carry him across the fish pond/acid lake and deposit him safely on the other side. Then I collapsed next to him with an anguished, "Uggggghhhh!"

Kristian stripped off his shirt and frantically dabbed my legs. Then he poured water from a canteen all over me. In the script, this was supposed to wash off the acid which was smoldering away, eating through my skin. In real life, I was having a hard time (pardon the pun) dealing with Kristian rubbing my legs.

At one point, he poured water onto my crotch, leaned over me, and squeezed my cock.

"AARGGH," I groaned, sitting up with something akin to great agony.

Kristian's back was to the camera and he grinned evilly, then worked his way down to my other legs. When he finished washing me off, he wrapped me in bandages, somehow managing to bump my junk several times, making me groan several times.

Finally, he finished caring for his wounded zombie. He leaned in and said, "I couldn't have made it without you. Now it's time for me to save you and all the other zombies."

The director yelled, "CUT! Great job with the groans, zombie guy. Terrific as always, Mr. Hansen. Everyone take an hour for lunch. We'll get back at it around 2:00."

͠ ͠ ͠

Kristian and I filled our plates and ran giggling back to his RV-slash-dressing-room to eat. We were stuffing the last bites into our mouths and thinking about ways to spend the rest of our lunch break when we heard three short raps on the door.

"Come in," Kristian called out.

The door opened and Kristian's mom, Ella Johannsen, peeked in. "Kriss. Johnny. How was lunch?"

"Good, I suppose," Kristian replied. "Nothing like your cooking, Moder."

I looked at my plate. The food had been catered by one of the better restaurants in town, so I wondered just how great a cook Kristian's mom must be to beat what we'd just enjoyed.

She accepted Kristian's compliment and asked, "Did you read your chapters from Madame Bovary?"

"I did," Kristian replied. "I'll write up my summaries tonight after we finish filming."

"That is good, Kriss." She paused and glanced at me. It was a funny kind of look, almost as if she suspected something, but wasn't going to say a word about it. "I'll leave you boys to enjoy the rest of your lunch." Then she left, closing the RV door behind her.

Kristian looked at me and snickered.

I began to panic. "Do you think she knows?" I asked.

"Knows what?"

"About ... you know. The stuff we've been doing."

"The sex stuff?"

"Yes!"

Kristian smiled. "Probably. Mom knows me very well, and she can see how you and I are getting along. Now that she suspects, she'll want to get to know you better, so be ready for the Inquisition!"

"What do you mean? What Inquisition?"

"The last boyfriend I had, Mother spent hours asking him all about his life, his family, his plans for the future. She and Father don't try to tell me who can be my boyfriend, but they definitely want to know everything about him."

"Your ... your BOYFRIEND?"

Kristian shrugged. "Don't let her rattle you. It's not like we're making plans to run off and get married already. We're just having fun. Messing around a little, like all young men our age. But if she gets too pushy, I'll have a talk with her and ask her to back off. It will be okay. You'll see."

Now I definitely felt panic rising up from my gut. Suddenly, my lunch didn't taste so good, and I thought I might throw up.

Kristian's eyes widened in alarm. "What's wrong, Johnny?"

"What's wrong? Don't you get it, Kristian?"

"Get what?"

"You're only fifteen. We can't be having sex."

Kristian looked at me like I was stupid. "Yes, I'm fifteen. In my country, I'm considered a man able to make my own decisions about who I have sex with. Fifteen is the age of consent."

I shook my head in frustration. "We aren't in your country, Kristian. In New Mexico, the age of consent is seventeen. I'M THE ONLY MAN HERE; you're just a boy. You're not just fifteen years old ... you're a fifteen-year prison term for me!"

Kristian looked at me, stunned, then tears welled up in his eyes. He leapt up and ran for the back of the RV, slamming the door to his bedroom behind him.

I sat on the couch.

Shit! SHIT!!

I've done it again.

Something wonderful happens to me, and I fuck it up. The story of my life.

 

The end of AMAZINGLY ORDINARY, Chapter Four