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by
Erastes
Copyright 2017 by Erastes
Chapter
43
- Memorial Day Weekend.
While we were eating breakfast on Sunday morning, Brad made a comment. "Since this is the Memorial Day weekend, we thought you kids might like to do something different. How would you like to spend the day at the beach?"
"Yeah!" Evan and Ashley shouted. Reid was less enthusiastic about this, since we'd done it a couple of times already, but he was still willing to go.
"Then make sure you eat enough so you're full, because we won't be eating again until we leave there," Brad advised them.
"Would you mind taking us to Venice beach today?" I asked. "I've heard a lot about that place and always wanted to see it."
"It will probably be crowded, seeing it's a holiday, but then again most of the beaches will probably be packed, so what the heck. I'll take us there, if you want."
"As long as you don't mind. I've heard it's a place everyone should visit at least once."
As soon as we finished eating, the kids went to put on their swimsuits, a t-shirt, and flip flops, but they were also told to grab a towel.
"And don't take anything you don't want to risk losing. I suspect there will be a few thieves there as well, trying to pick up a few things they can sell quickly," Brad warned. "I'll take my wallet along so we can stop and eat afterward, but I'll lock it in the SUV while we're there."
"I'll do the same, in case I want to splurge on something. I'll also take my phone."
"Good idea, and take a bunch of one dollar bills with you too, in case you want to tip any of the street performers. And be careful if you decide to buy anything, because I've heard some of the merchants and street vendors are trying to pawn off cheap crap made in China. You'll also need to negotiate the price with them, whenever you decide to purchase something."
"Ok, that's good to know and I'll keep it in mind."
The rest of us changed quickly too, and when we all met up again we loaded into the Highlander and took off. Luckily, it was a gorgeous day, perfect for spending the afternoon on the sand and in the water.
When we got to Venice, Brad got a really lucky break. As he was driving around looking for a place to park, he saw a guy walking and decided to follow him. The man eventually jumped into a vehicle and took off, so Brad grabbed the parking space before anyone else could get it.
"For once I got a break when trying to find a place to park," he sighed as he was pulling into the open spot. "This means we won't have to walk very far to get to the boardwalk."
It was the first place he took us so we could get it out of the way and spend more time on the beach. The boardwalk, which is actually named the Venice Ocean Front Walk, is lined with all types of shops on one side. On the other side are street performers, artists, and street vendors, many of whom are homeless. They show up there to sell their wares or hoping to earn tips for whatever skill they might have. During our walk we saw mimes, dancers, musicians, jugglers, a guy on stilts, and another intentionally walking on broken glass.
The kids enjoyed many of the performances, and Brad or I tipped the ones we watched the longest, but most were only temporary curiosities and we'd move on.
"I don't know if any of the rest of you picked up on this, but there seems to be people from all over walking about," I pointed out. "From the various accents I've heard, I take it some of them are from different states, while others are obviously from other countries. This place seems to be ideal for those who just like to 'people watch', because there's definitely a wide variety represented in this one location."
"What's that beating sound I've been hearing since we've been here?" Reid asked next.
"Oh, that's the Venice Beach Drum Circle," Brad informed him. "They perform on the weekend from noon until sunset."
"I guess if you're used to hearing it a lot you probably don't even notice it any more, but it was driving me nuts wondering what it was," Reid responded.
"Yes, but it was only a short drive, and now you know what's causing it," I added, as I waited to see his reaction.
It took him a while to figure out the joke, and then he playfully punched me in the arm. "You think you're funny, don't ya."
"I thought it was pretty good." I was waiting for another comeback, but Reid's attention was drawn away from me when he spotted something more interesting.
"Hey, is this what they call Muscle Beach?" he asked as we started to pass a unique area that was enclosed by a chain link fence. There were a number of well developed young men there working on the different types of weight benches, and this was apparently what had caught his eye. Some of them were busy flexing their muscles and putting on quite a show for passersby. Not only were they showing off their impressive physiques, but they were also using the weights and demonstrating how they got to be so buff.
Once we left there, we saw a Skate Park where people on inline skates and skateboards were showing off, and there were also a large number of people cruising around on bicycles. We even saw there was a doctor on duty, and he had his own little cubicle to use in case of emergencies. Eventually, we saw everything we wanted to see and Brad decided it was time to move on.
"Ok, let's head down to the beach now. We came here to spend time enjoying the sandy shoreline and the ocean, so let's get started."
The beach was fairly crowded, as we'd expected, but we moved along until we found a spot to spread out our towels. We then went to frolic in the waves as they crashed onto the shore, and Pam, Brad, and I each took responsibility for one of the kids. I noticed there were also lifeguards at various locations, but we felt it would be best to keep an eye on the kids ourselves.
After we'd spent an hour playing in the water, we thought it was time to take a break and relax for a bit. While Brad, Pam, Reid, and I were laid out on our towels, Evan and Ashley decided to play in the sand. I guess they were going to build a sand castle, or something like that.
"Before we leave, I want to take you to see the canals," Brad told me.
"Canals? I think you're slightly confused. This is Venice, California, not Venice, Italy."
"No, I'm not confused. This location was originally marshland that was developed by the owner into what he saw as the Venice of America. The canals were man-made in 1905 and immediately attracted a number of tourists and homeowners to this area. The latter group used the waterway to get around, while the tourists came here to take a ride in a gondola. After the automobile was invented and become a popular mode of transportation, the canals weren't used as much and eventually fell into disrepair. They were saved in the 1980s, but now there's only 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of canals left, compared to the original 16 mile (25.75 km) network. The area became very popular and grew rapidly, and now it contains a vast number of multi-million dollar homes."
"And we're still allowed to go there?"
"Of course. In fact, there's a walkway that was built beside the canals just for that purpose."
"Then I guess we'd better check it out," I added before someone else took over the conversation.
"Hey, come look what me and Ashley did!" Evan shouted as he came running toward us.
We weren't sure what he was talking about, but we went to see it anyway. When we got there, we were amazed by what we found, because they had sculpted an octopus in the sand. They'd shaped a big mound of sand into the head and then added two eyes and a circular mouth. But they also included all eight of its tentacles, with four radiating out in front of it, and four more extending from behind.
"This is absolutely incredible," Pam gushed when she saw it.
"Yes, it's very creative and you did an excellent job," Brad added.
"And we made the testicles too," Evan added, and we quickly noticed that he mixed up a couple of terms.
"I think you mean tentacles, and I'm impressed that you knew an octopus has eight of them," I stated, while Brad, Pam, and Reid were trying to suppress giggles.
"Yeah, I learned that in school," Ashley confirmed.
"Man, even I like it," Reid announced. "You guys did a great job!" That was indeed high praise from him.
"Thanks," they both said, visibly elated that we'd made such a big deal about it.
"I wish we could take it home with us," Evan said as he looked at it longingly.
"I'll tell you what," I offered. "Since we can't take it home, if your father will lend me the key to the Highlander, I'll run back and get my cell phone so we can take a few snapshots of it. That way you'll never forget it."
"Yeah, let's do that," he agreed enthusiastically.
After Brad handed me the key, Reid went with me as I took off to get my phone. "I nearly lost it when Evan said they'd made the testicles for the octopus too," Reid stated before finally laughing out loud.
"Yes, that was funny, and it's why I jumped in and corrected him. I didn't want him to think we were laughing at him or their work of art."
When we returned, I took several photos of the octopus, with Evan and Ashley standing proudly on either side of it in half of the snapshots. Once they saw the photos and gave me their approval, they were finally ready to leave, although somewhat reluctantly.
"I bet someone will smash it once we're gone," Ashley stated.
"That would be a shame, but you're probably right. We'll still have the photos we took of it, though, no matter what happens to it," I told her.
Once that had been settled, Brad took us to the canal so we could all see that area too, but I was disappointed that there weren't any boats available so we could go out for a ride. It was a lovely location, though, with sloping banks where the wildlife lounged when they weren't in the water. Eventually, the kids got bored watching the ducks and other birds, and they were also getting hungry. Once we realized that, we chose to leave and began looking for a place to eat.
As we were enjoying a late lunch, Brad made a suggestion. "How would you kids like to have a cookout tomorrow?"
"You mean with hamburgers and hot dogs?" Ashley asked.
"Hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken breasts," Pam replied. "I'll make a couple of salads to go with it, and we'll have cantaloupe with vanilla ice cream for dessert."
"Yeah," Evan and Ashley quickly agreed.
"And I'll figure out some activities we can do in the backyard," I offered.
"You mean games?" Evan wanted to know.
"Yes, I'll figure out some games we can play."
They were both excited as they finished their meal, but Reid wanted to know exactly what I was going to do. "What kinda games are you talkin' about?"
"I'm not sure yet, but I'll figure something out."
"Then I want to help you do it."
"Ok, that's fine with me."
When we returned to the house I gave Reid a rough idea about what I'd worked out in my mind, and he agreed it sounded ok, maybe even fun. I quickly made a list of the items I would need, and then Reid went with me when I ran to the store.
"What are you going to get?"
"You'll see."
I took a cart and stopped at the service desk to inquire where I might find some of the items. Then, Reid followed me as I made my way around the store. When I was finished shopping, I had four bean bags, a large piece of tagboard, some sidewalk chalk, a ball of yarn, a playground ball, and two Frisbees in my cart. After we checked out, he helped me load everything into the car and we headed home.
"What is all that stuff for?"
"You'll see later. Or possibly tomorrow."
"So what are we going to do now?"
"I've got to plan out and make a few things. Do you want to help?"
"Yeah, if you'll show me what to do."
"That won't be a problem."
After we took everything to my apartment, we got ready to work. "I'm going to need you to bring me a ruler, a yardstick, and a pair of scissors."
"What for?"
"Patience and you'll see."
While he was doing that, I pulled out the tagboard and yarn before I went to get a marker. Once I had those things, Reid returned with the items I'd requested.
"I want you to use the ruler to measure and cut four lengths of yarn. They need to be precisely three, six, nine, and twelve inches (7.6, 15.25, 22.9, and 30.5 cm) in length."
While he was doing that, I used the yardstick to mark the exact center of the tagboard. Once he'd cut the three inch piece of yarn, I placed one end of it on the center point, and then I held the marker at the other end and drew a circle. I followed a similar procedure with the other pieces of yarn until I had four circles on the tagboard, measuring six, twelve, eighteen and twenty-four inches (15.25. 30.5, 45.75, and 61 cm) in diameter. I then wrote '50' in the smallest circle, '25' in the next, '15' in the one after that, and '5' in the last area.
"What is that for?"
"It's the game board for the bean bag toss."
"Oh, I see now."
"Tomorrow I will lay out the other game area we're going to use, but I'll do that on the driveway after we move all of the vehicles and park them along the curb."
"What will that area be for?"
"A game called Four Square."
"Oh. I think I've played that before at camp. Or maybe it was when I was at the elementary school."
"It's very possible you could have done it at either place."
"So what are the other games?"
"I'll tell you when I inform everyone else tomorrow."
It was getting late by this point, so I told Reid to go get Evan so we could shower. "He's not sleeping with us again, is he?"
"No, he did that the night before his party and again the next night too, so that should satisfy him for a while."
"Good, cuz the floor isn't very comfortable and it was kinda hard on my butt."
"It wouldn't have been, if you hadn't been thrusting your hips up and down with so much force. Each time after you rammed your penis into my mouth, you also managed to slam your butt on the floor when you pulled it out, and that's why your butt was sore."
"Come on, I wasn't doin' it that hard."
"Just think about it. If you weren't doing it that hard, then why was your butt getting so sore?"
He merely glared at me for a few seconds. "Ok, maybe you're right, but I'm glad we'll be doing it on the bed this time."
"Me too. Now, go get your brother if you want us to be able to do anything after we shower."
He didn't hesitate and raced out of the room. Before long, he returned with Evan. "I didn't hear you come back from the store," Evan stated.
"We came around to the side door of my apartment, and then we were busy getting things ready for tomorrow."
"K, but I'm glad you had Reid come get me."
We stripped down and jumped in the shower. We washed each other quickly, dried off, and I helped Evan with his pajamas. Once we finished, I took him up to his room and tucked him in.
"Why didn't Reid come with us?"
"He's finishing up one of the things we were working on, so he'll come up later."
"K. I love you, Uncle Quinn, and thanks for taking pictures of our octopus."
"You're welcome, and I love you too, little buddy."
"Uncle Quinn, can I ask you something?" I nodded. "What's the difference between tentacles and testicles."
I smiled. I had a feeling he might ask this eventually. "Tentacles are flexible limbs that help an octopus or squid grab or hold things."
"They kinda look like big spiders in the water, cuz a spider has eight legs too."
"Yes, they do, and an octopus uses it's tentacles to get around in the water, kind of like a spider uses it's legs on land."
"Then what's a testicle?" He looked at me innocently.
"They're what is inside the sac below your wiener."
His face suddenly lit up in understanding. "Oh, you mean my nuts!" he squealed as he grabbed his crotch and smiled. "Thank you for telling me this."
"You're welcome, sport, now settle down and get to sleep. Sweet dreams, little buddy." I then kissed him on the forehead, turned off the light and left the room, chuckling as I went.
When I returned to my apartment, I found Reid lying naked on my bed. He didn't say a word, because I already knew what he wanted, so I went over to the nightstand and grabbed the dildo and lube. After I'd prepared him and the dildo, I repeated what we'd done the night before.
Reid was still having some difficulty doing it, but it didn't seem to be as bad as his last attempt, so I merely proceeded slowly. He figured out what I was doing and kept assuring me that he was fine, but I didn't want to take any unnecessary chances. Just the same, I eventually sucked him off and he was satisfied, and then he got ready to take care of me.
"You don't have to keep worrying about me. I'm fine," he insisted even after he had gotten off.
"Maybe not, but I'd rather be safe than sorry."
I could tell he wasn't satisfied with my answer, but he rimmed and sucked me off, nonetheless. After I'd ejaculated too, we cuddled together and fell asleep.
When we awoke the next morning, we discovered we were the first ones up, so I started getting things together so I could make breakfast for the family. Pam got to the kitchen a couple of minutes later, so we worked together and were ready to start cooking by the time Brad came down to join us. Since Pam didn't want to prepare breakfast in shifts, she sent Reid upstairs to wake Ashley and Evan. When they joined us and everything was ready, we sat down to eat.
"When will we be having the cookout?" Evan asked between shoveling forkfuls of food into his mouth.
"You haven't even finished breakfast yet, and you're already thinking about the cookout?" Brad teased.
"Yeah, I want to know when we're gonna do that."
"Your father and I talked it over and we've agreed that we'll cook the hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill for lunch, and then we'll cook the chicken breasts on the grill for dinner. I'll make some other things to go with them, so are you satisfied now?"
"Yeah, cuz now we're havin' two cookouts."
"In a manner of speaking," Pam agreed.
"So when will we play the games?"
"Not until later, because you and Ashley usually like to watch your programs in the morning," I replied. "I also have some more things to get ready first, with Reid's help. I think we'll play the games after lunch and keep going until we eat dinner, if that's ok with you?"
"Yeah, that sounds good."
"We might even play a bit after dinner too."
After we finished eating, Evan and Ashley headed to the family room, and I asked Brad and Pam for their keys. After I'd backed all of the vehicles out of the driveway and parked them on the street, Reid and I got busy on the next project - making the Four Square court. It would be a large square, six feet (1.83 m) on each side, broken down into four smaller squares three feet (.91 m) on each side. We also numbered the squares from one to four, and once that was set, we went back to my apartment.
"I think this will be fun," Reid said once we were alone.
"I hope so, seeing we've put so much effort into getting everything ready."
"So when are you gonna tell us what the rest of the games are?"
"Right before we begin playing them." He groaned at my evasiveness.
Reid decided to switch topics and wanted to talk about the camping trip, so I used the time wisely and we began planning the various meals. As soon as we finished doing that, I looked at each meal and determined what we would need, and then I began making a shopping list. It was turning out to be quite lengthy and made me realize this was going to be a humongous undertaking. There would be a great deal to purchase, but what else would you expect if you were trying to feed five teenagers and an adult? It was almost lunchtime when we finished, so I went out to see if Brad or Pam needed any help.
"I don't," Pam responded. "I've finished making the salads and other dishes, so there's nothing left to do." Seeing she didn't need my assistance, I went outside to ask Brad.
"No, I can handle it. You and Pam can do the cooking in the kitchen, but I'm the master of the grill. No one touches this baby but me," he stated boastfully.
Since my service wasn't required, I went back to my apartment and stored all of the items for the games near the door leading outside. All I'd have to do later would be to step through the door and grab what I needed before we began each game. Since everything was set, I sat with the kids at the picnic table as we waited to be fed. For some reason, this reminded me about the old Yogi Bear cartoons, so I looked at Reid and spoke, "Go fetch me a pic-i-nic basket, Boo-Boo."
He and the other two looked at me like I'd just lost my mind, so I had to explain the joke to them. I also said I'd go on You Tube with them some time and see if we could find any of the old shows there, so they'd know why I'd said that.
When we saw Pam carrying the salads outside, Reid and I jumped up to help her. We also brought out the hamburger and hot dog buns, along with the drinks, condiments, plates, and silverware. By the time it was all on the picnic table, Brad was adding a platter of meat alongside everything else.
It was a carefree meal and it reminded me of the many picnics and cookouts I'd been part of as a boy. I'm not sure if Pam and Brad experienced the same feelings, but that was one heck of a trip in itself.
As soon as we finished eating, Evan had another question. "When are we gonna have the cantaloupe and ice cream?"
"Are you still hungry?" Pam wondered.
"Only for dessert."
"We'll clean up and take care of everything first, and then we'll play some games. We'll take a break later to have dessert."
That was my cue, so I stepped inside my apartment and grabbed the tagboard and bean bags. "We'll start with something easy first, since our bellies are all stuffed," I began. "I'm sure you've all played something similar to this before, but we're going to play bean bag toss. As you can see, the circles have points and the bean bag must be mostly in the circle to get the points listed for it, otherwise you get the lesser amount."
I then figured a good distance to do this from, but I allowed Evan and Ashley to toss the bean bags from one line, while the rest of us had to stand farther away. The younger pair thought that was fair, but Reid grumbled a bit about it.
"Why can't I do it from the kids' line?"
"I thought you didn't consider yourself a kid any longer," I stated. "I guess you can do it from there if you want, but since you're bigger than the other two you'll have to do it on your knees."
He decided to try doing that, but after a couple of attempts he discovered the ground interfered with his arm swing. He also had difficulty because he couldn't 'step' or 'lean' toward the target as easily while tossing the bean bag, so he wasn't doing very well. That's when he decided he join the rest of us and toss the bean bags from the 'adult' line instead.
After we'd played that game a few times, I retrieved the playground ball from my apartment and took everyone out front to play Four Square in the driveway.
"Yay, he's got one of the balls like we have at school, so we won't have to use the soccer ball to play kickball any more," Ashley stated when she noticed the ball.
"Yes, but this time we'll use it for this game. As you can see, the court has four squares, numbered one to four. Squares one and four are diagonal to each other, as are squares two and three. The person in square one starts the game with a serve, which is done by dropping the ball and then hitting it on the bounce to square four. After that, the person in the square it's hit to can hit the ball into any of the squares, and then that person has to hit it to another. Now, here are some things you should know before we start.
"First, you can only hit the ball with your hand, from the wrist down, and you can do it with either the front or back of your hand, and use an open hand or closed fist. You are not allowed to catch, carry, or hold onto the ball. If you do, you're out. The ball must bounce in another players square, but if you hit it out of the playing area or into your own square, then you're out. If the ball hits the ground more than once after it hits your square, then you're out too. Any questions?"
There were a few clarifications needed before we could get started, and once those were taken care of, I had one more thing to tell them.
"Ok, I'll start in square one, the service square, and I'll also make the rulings about what is a good or bad hit until you are all familiar with the game. Once you're out, you'll have to leave the court and the other players move up to the next open square. Then, a new player will move into square four so we can start a new game. Are you ready to do this?"
They were, and we played the first of many rounds of the game. It soon became extremely competitive and I heard some trash talking going on, but for the most part it was an enjoyable way to pass the time. Once we finished, we went out to the backyard again, but this time for dessert.
Each of us got a wedge of cantaloupe with a scoop of ice cream on it, and it was a refreshing, tasty, and welcomed treat. Once I finished my portion, I went to my apartment and grabbed what we'd need to play the next game.
I returned with two Frisbees and a small kitchen timer, which I held up for everyone to see. "This time we're going to play Frisbee tag. I'll pick two people to be 'it' first, and they will try to hit someone else by throwing the Frisbee at them. If you're hit, even if it only glances off you, then you become 'it' and must retrieve the Frisbee to toss at someone else. If you are 'it' and miss everyone else with your toss, then you'll have to chase after the Frisbee and try it again. When we start, I'll set the timer for five minutes, and when it dings the two who are still 'it' will have to drop out. When we get down to having just three people left, we'll switch to using only one Frisbee and then continue until only one person is left."
"What if both Frisbees hit the same person?" Ashley asked.
"Then the second Frisbee to hit that person will be considered a miss," I answered.
I then gave everyone a chance to practice tossing the Frisbees first, and once everyone was ready, we began. We ended up playing this three times, until we had three different winners, and then we stopped so Pam and Brad could work on dinner.
Brad went to get the chicken breasts that Pam had marinated in barbeque sauce, and then he began placing them on the grill. As he was doing that, the rest of us helped bring everything else outside again, including the new side dishes. Once the meat had finished cooking, we all sat down at the picnic table to eat.
"Those games were fun," Ashley said in between bites.
"Yeah, are we gonna play those again, or something else?" Evan asked.
"I have one other game we can play, but then we'll play whichever games you liked best after that one."
They seemed happy with that, so after we ate and cleaned up the mess, I explained the final game. "This is a combination of two of the games we played earlier. This time we're going to toss the Frisbees at the game board we used for the bean bags, because the next game is Frisbee toss. We'll do this from farther away than we did with the bean bags, and you'll be given the highest points for any circle your Frisbee touches."
We did that several times, and then we played each of the other games one more time too. When it started getting late, we moved our vehicles into the driveway again, and then we went inside to have root beer floats. Once we finished those, the kids had to start getting ready for bed, because they still had school for another week and a half.
After we finished our shower, Reid and I talked it over and opted not to do anything sexual tonight. We were both tired after the long, hectic, and enjoyable holiday weekend, and he needed his rest for school, so we merely got into bed and cuddled until we fell asleep.
* * * * * * * *
E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions, or other 'constructive' comments or advice may be sent to: ErastesTouch@aol.com - but please put the story title in the subject line, so it doesn't get deleted as junk mail.
My other stories:
http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/different-points-of-view/
http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/a-throw-away-kid/
http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/the-guardian/
* * * * * * * *
Although the boys in these stories sometimes have unprotected sex, I strongly urge all of you out there to be smart and protect yourselves from various sexually transmitted diseases by using taking appropriate precautions before engaging in sex.