Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2007 15:24:09 -0800 (PST)
From: Matthew Templar <matemp1148@yahoo.com>
Subject: Never Take Love For Granted - Chapter 1

	If you would like to do more with this story or any part of it you
will need my written permission because this story is copyrighted by the
author, me.  You may make one electronic copy of this story for your
enjoyment.
	Furthermore, every word of this story is fiction.  Nothing within
this tale happened to anyone who I know.  Any reference to anyone, anything
or any place, real, living or dead is coincidental.
	If there is someone that has written a law saying that you can't
read this story because of age or local laws or other such 'wisdom', then
you haven't really gotten this far into Nifty to read this anyway, right!
Write to me with the date of your legal birthday and I will...not!
	While the main thrust (try not to get excited by the graphic words
before you even get to the story) of this work is not sex, there will be
those times when it will occur between consenting adults and at least one
consenting minor.  There will never be a plethora of sexual trysts in this
story.  Though there will be some, I found myself caught up in the hearts
of the characters, not their libidos.  There will be a lot of bedroom
scenes, but their emphasis will be on sleeping and waking and things like
that, spiced occasionally with something to let the characters sleep more
peacefully.  I would ask that you wait until you have read five chapters to
see the characters and their relationships unfold.
	Finally, there is not enough room to express my gratitude to Dwight
Wilson for his dedication to resolving the problems I had with making
legible sense out of this work and then encouraging me to hit the 'Submit'
button.  Read Brad's Idol in Adult/Youth and New Horizons in Authoritarian
to know the experience he brings to my story.  Also, thanks to Roger
Bontemps for his encouraging words.

Never Take Love For Granted - Chapter One

      No, I wasn't racked with anguish.  Actually, being free from that
relationship was a godsend.  She was a bit overpowering and a neat-freak!
The bed made every morning!  My God, we were just going to be in it later
that night!  Not that anything would happen, as of late.  And if she was
going to be the bread winner, I was going to make the bread.  Well, that
was okay by me.  I was a much better cook than her anyway.  And she smoked;
I could never understand that.  Yuk!
	Yes, being free would be a good thing.  Of course, I would have to
increase my hours at the store to make up for the money she wouldn't be
paying for tuition.  I would have to find a place soon, I said, while
holding my earthly belongings in a backpack and suitcase.  Duh!
	I suppose that's why I was standing in a bus terminal on an April
morning.  I was already twenty-one and had been with her for almost a year.
She was four years older.  It really wasn't bad, as long as I would
actually go to school.  Instead I'd hang around the apartment, naked most
of the time, playing with myself and ignoring the commitments that I had
piling up.  I wasn't always late to work.  The friends that I'd said I
would do things for, but didn't, weren't even mad, were they?  That
couldn't have been why none of them had a place for me to hang out, right?
Nah!
	I thought about it.  I was young and very attractive, just ask me.
I was fit; I ran a lot; no, not from people.  I really enjoyed my time at
the gym.  It gave me time to strut my stuff naked while I peaked at
the...Oops!  I wasn't going to say dicks.  I was going to say...well, okay,
I guess I dwelt a bit, but it was really only to compare and grab ideas of
how I wanted my body to look.  No, really.
	I had a swimmer's body but with a bit more definition, since I
liked the weight room.  Tight abs and not much hair anywhere except on top.
I also had fair sized equipment that had been allowed to dip into some of
the finest at the college without complaints.  No!  Girls!  Jesh!  I have
never even considered, well, maybe some, okay, there was this one guy at
the gym.  Shit!  I just lost my pass to that gym when she kicked me out!
	Anyway, I had deep brown, almost almond shaped, eyes, and my skin
was on the olive side but would tan so easy to a dark golden that I had to
watch how close I got to the table lamps at home.  I had dark brown hair
that was pretty long, if I did say so myself.  I just didn't have time back
then, or never took the time to groom much.  It's just going to grow back.
Now wait!  I didn't have facial hair; mostly because I rarely had to shave.
I kinda liked the young look.  I think the girls liked it too.  I know I
always saw them gush over the kids with their long tresses at the mall,
when I went to the arcade a couple times a week.  The young kids were
pretty cute unless they copped an attitude, then I would rather they just
went to play in traffic.  In fact, I'd have driven them.  Oh, that was
another reason I was at the bus terminal; it was her car.
	Well, I didn't need her, I didn't need the car or apartment, and I
didn't need to go to the gym, or school, or eat, or sleep, or drink.  Wow.
That didn't leave much.  Even the savings account that my aunt and uncle
left me was gone.  I used it to buy the best computer at that time.  Wait!
It was mine!  I left it!  Great.  She'll probably just use it to set a lamp
on, after placing the proper doily on it.  Well, the rest of that money was
in my pocket, and there wasn't much left
	So, there I was, waiting for a west bound bus because I remembered
a place I stayed with a friend of mine before I met her.  We took the bus
to this small town out west and then hitched to a fork in the road and then
met up with his friend that drove us a few miles to his place in the hills,
by a nice river.  It wasn't much, but he kept saying no one was ever there.
Since I didn't know him to ask, I just knew I wouldn't be imposing.  It was
never locked and would be perfect for a week or two of solitude to think
things through.  Then it would be back to the books and school.  Still had
two years to go and at the rate I was working at it, it would only take
four.
      The bus came and I'd used most of my money to buy that ticket.  I had
a few twenties left, I think, to buy food when I got in that town.  But, I
was pretty tired.  I just closed my eyes.
      A day later, the bus pulled to a stop.
      "Hey!  Kid!  This here is Euphoria.  Get out!"  I wish I could have
sprung for the bus that offered customer service.  By the time I shook the
sleep out of my eyes and stumbled off the bus, I noted two things, my bags
were on the curb, covered in the dust the bus churned up as it left, and I
had to pee so bad I had to hold my legs together.  It was after 10 pm and
the `bus stop' was a hardware store whose sign said they closed at six.  A
quick survey of the few blocks I could see said this was not the kind of
town that had a McDonald's, and 7-11 to these folks was just an hour and
eleven minutes past the time when the hardware store closed.  There was a
block of trees in front of me that may have gone back far enough to be a
forest.  I couldn't tell in the dark.  To my left was a gas station that
may have been closed up for years.  To my right was a sand lot, or what may
have been a town park any number of years past.
      I thought I could hear a motor of some kind in the distance.  After
several minutes I could see it was an old Dodge pickup.  I knew because my
uncle had one.  There must have been something wrong with it because it was
going so slow.  I waved and an old guy pulled up and leaned out of his
window.  Before he had a chance to talk, a woman next to him, who must have
been his wife and tormentor, shouted, "Russell, don't talk to him.  You
don't know him.  He could have a gun under that jacket of his."
      "Charlotte, let me handle this," he said as he slowly swung his head
to look at her.  Then, just as slowly, he swung his head back out the
window to give me a grin like I had just given him a winning lottery
ticket.  Of course, all this took so long that I realized there was nothing
slow about the truck.
      "Son, what are you doing out at this hour of the night?  You'll catch
your death."
      It was at least 70 and was 10 pm.  Maybe if my blood ran as slow as
he drove I would have been cold too.  All I knew was that I needed to find
that fork in the road and that I really had to go!
      "Sir, if I could bother you for a lift, I would really appreciate it.
I just need to find..."
      "Don't you even give him the satisfaction of answering him, Russell.
Why, out at this hour and tempting you to let him get in the truck and kill
us both!"
      I could of sworn I heard him say, "And I'd be glad to hold you whilst
he takes care of you first," under his breath, as he swung his head back
toward me.
      There was no way she heard.  She was still ranting on.  But the old
guy just gave me the willies with that lottery winning smile again.  It was
more like he was just looking up from a girly magazine with that twinkle in
his eyes.  Great!
      "Son, you must be out of your mind to expect two decent folks to
allow you into their truck.  I have a mind to call the sheriff when I get
Charlotte home."  Why was he yelling?
      "My brother is right.  Be well served and leave this place," she said
even louder than he.
      Did I hear right?  Was he talking under his breath to me this time?
      "Stay here until I get her home.  Only take a minute.  Drive ya
wherever ya need to be, son."
      And, with that, in a cloud of dust, or a slow idle, the truck and its
two old passengers moved up the road and turned at the next street.  I
loved this!  They were right out of a vintage novel, and their whole
demeanor made me chuckle inside.  I couldn't wait to see what would happen
if he did return.  I couldn't wait...I COULDN'T WAIT!
      PEE!  I'd never make it to the corner and into the trees!  Fifty
feet!  Run you feet!
      Just as I thought I would never make it, I grabbed at my zipper and
yanked it down.  I reached inside my boxer briefs and pulled out the hose.
I stopped about ten feet into the trees that made up this corner of the
intersection and finally, let `er rip!
      "Ah-h-h!"  You don't just say it.  You feel it until it makes your
whole body tingle.  There is only one thing that feels better with the tool
in my hand, and that's...
      "Nice one, dude."
      "Wha...?" I stammered intelligently.  I was a college student after
all!  My head swept up immediately to see nothing.  The voice sounded like
a girl of about 19 or 20, perfectly clear, but boardering on the low, male
tones.  But it didn't sound like something a girl would say.
      "So, get it out of our yard.  Ya can't be pissin' on our garden."
      Now, even in the darkness and the shadows created by the street light
on the far corner, I could see that this was no garden.  Within ten feet
there were bottles, tires, old furniture and what looked like an old car
axle.  I finished my watering job, probably cut short by all the blood
rushing from my heart when she called out, and put everything back where it
should be.
      "So, what's the crop this year, ma'am," I said, trying to keep my
cool.  That's hard to do when you're caught with your pants down, so to
speak.
      "Looks like we're raisin' them little cocktail wieners, huh?"  Smart
mouth!  "Must be mighty cold out here."  Size queen!  I could hear that her
voice was just about to crack with laughter and it drew me into the game.
"And I ain't no ma'am, queer bate!"  Wow.  What a mouth.  Just then, as I
was straining to see where the voice was slandering me from, a shadow
developed straight ahead and became a pint-sized kid; but a boy, I think.
      "Hey, sorry, young man."  I could now hear that the high voice of the
boy hadn't yet changed into its full, adult voice by a long shot.  "I
didn't see the rows of crops and I had to make a decision to do it here or
in the road.  Your `garden' lost."
      "Well, now that you've killed what life was there, would you mind
taking your toy and getting lost?"  There was something about his voice
that was really struggling.  It seemed like he was using all his strength
to sound like Mr. Tough Guy.  But I thought I could hear an underlying tone
that belied his toughness, spiced with a sense of humor that made me think
he was really about to laugh and blow his whole manly charade.  He couldn't
have been more than nine or ten and he had on the ugliest striped coat that
came down to his knees with arms that hung over his hands.  His hair
covered most of his face and was tucked into the collar of the coat.
That's when he folded his arms as though he was about to really get mad.
It would have been a little less funny if his sleeves didn't swing around
him and slap his sides, causing a small cloud of dust to swim around him.
I must have landed in a dust bowl.  It looked like he was kind of skinny
but it was hard to tell in this light.  He coughed once, and I thought I
heard the beginnings of a giggle.  Tough guy, my wet dick!  I was trying
real hard not to laugh at his attempt at taking charge.
      I took a step toward him and his hands went down; he straightened up
like he was preparing to run and took a step backward.  Unfortunately, he
couldn't see the root that was there, where his foot wanted to be and fell
right on his ass!  "Umpph!"
      "`Grant!" came an angry, adult, very male voice, booming from a crack
of light that suddenly appeared twenty or more feet off to the right where
there must have been a house or garden shed.  "Get your sorry butt in here
before I hang you out there for the wolves to feast on.  Skinny little ass
wouldn't be two bites.  What are you yellin' at out there?"
      Now, I couldn't see well enough to make out much facial definition
but it didn't take night vision to see that this kid was no longer worried
about me.  He was scared of the voice that threw insults at him.  It
wouldn't have surprised me to find out that the owner of the voice also
threw his weight at the boy too.  And it certainly wouldn't have put me
into shock to see the kid add to my irrigation of his garden, from the
front of his pants, out of fright.  I think I was ready to piss again,
myself.
      "Just calling for the dog, Pa," he shouted over his shoulder.  He
looked like he was too scared to turn.  "I'll be comin' in now."
      "Best you be doin' that, tadpole.  And how many times I got to tell
you that scrawny, flea wagon isn't comin' back for love nor money.  Now,
git in here!"  The sliver of light disappeared with a door slamming, Bam!
      I was thinking that the dog made the wise move by taking a hike.
From the sound of the kid's old man and what I could see of this
terrestrial garden place, it would be a long time before there would be
either love or money to bring anything back here.
      Just as I saw the brat try to get up to go inside, he grabbed the
root to pull himself up.  But it came loose from the ground and he almost
fell on it again.  He caught himself and looked to see what tripped him,
then he seemed to jerk suddenly and gasp.  Then there was another gasp and
another, until they ran into each other and became huge sobs.  He fell to
his knees; his arms fell to the ground in front of him. His head went into
his hands as his crying escalated.  I could not imagine what had happened
to cause such an outpouring of emotions.
      It seemed like everything looked clearer to me; he even began to look
closer to me.  Then I realized my feet were moving toward him and I hadn't
told them to.  But I had to be there to find out what was causing his
actions and help to calm him down.  It wasn't like I had a choice.  My
heart was making all the decisions.
      But just as I got within a few yards of him, he looked up, gasped in
fright at me, and took off toward where the voice was a few seconds before.
I looked up in time to see that sliver of light appear and then leave for
the second time with a louder slam.
      "How many times do I have to tell you, don't slam that damn door,
Grant!  Now, git to your corner!"  That voice was definitely female and
there was no mistaken that it was laced with several beers or whatever she
was drinking.  I wasn't sure which voice was scarier or sounded the most
upset.  I didn't envy him being on that side of the door.
      I was still moving toward the place where he fell, a moment before
his escape.  All I could see was the shadowy root sticking up.  As I glared
at it I could swear the end of it looked like a...nah!  Seeing things.
Couldn't be.  I knelt down, chuckling to myself as I was careful not to
crush any of his non-existent garden crops, and moved to the side a bit to
allow more light to shine through the growth of trees from the street.
      It was!  No wonder he fell apart.  There before me was clearly not a
root at all.  It was the leg of a dog.  And it hadn't been buried there all
that long.

***

      I sat by the edge of the road with my head in my hands.  I'm sure I
hadn't been crying but, somehow, my jacket sleeves were wet, I think.  I
really couldn't focus my eyes well enough to tell for sure.  They must have
been burning from the dust.
      "Whatcha' blubberin' about, youngster?  I said I'd only be a minute."
      I hadn't even noticed the old Dodge move up the road and rest only a
few feet in front of me.  It didn't seem to faze me that he was suddenly
there.  I think it would have taken a lot more to have shocked me more than
the last few,...several...shit!  I didn't even know how long I had been
sitting there.
      "What time is it, old timer?"  I couldn't even hear me, but somehow
he did.
      "A little respect young man.  It's Russ, by the way," he said
proudly.
      "Russ?  What kind of time is Russ?"  Some college, but lots of
confusion right now over the last few minutes.
      "My NAME is Russ and the TIME is nigh on eleven.  You comin' or you
intend to be sittin' there all night?"  My head slowly rose to look him in
the eyes.  The whole dialog with the kid couldn't have taken more than
fifteen minutes.  That means I sat there bawling, I mean thinking, for
forty-five minutes.  As I tried to stand, I realized I was about as
exhausted as I've ever been.  There wasn't another emotion in my body to
give up that night, maybe ever.
      "You okay boy?  Get in here and get warm.  I'll have you wherever you
want to be in a flash. H-m."
      I was definitely really, really tired because, when I heard him say
that, I couldn't help but start laughing like I had saved up several comedy
shows in my mind for one good rolling laugh that wouldn't stop.  As I moved
around the truck and swung my butt onto the old blanket that covered the
bench, I was still laughing at his promise to me.  He just looked at me
like he was glaring at an alien and glided the old tin can forward as I was
closing the door.

***

	"Boy, you are one weird tadpole.  What the hell were you up to back
there?  Hm-m."
	Even though we hadn't talked for a few minutes, considering the
speed demon that was driving, `back there' was only a couple of blocks
back, in fact the forest was still on our left.  I opened my mouth to speak
as I turned to indicate the woods when the front of the truck flew up and
we were on some kind of ramp.  It knocked me back and scared the bejesus
out of me.
	"Compton River Bridge.  The river comes off the hill up yonder and
wanders around through Dewitt's place and under us.  Can't tell ya where it
goes after that.  Don't much care.  Hm-m."
	It must have been a good sized river because it took a few seconds
before we were headed down the other side of the bridge again.  Oh, yeah.
That only meant a hundred feet or so given the lightning clip we were
flying.  I also realized how hot it had become.
	"Does it always get this hot in April around here, sir?"
	"Russ.  Call me Russ.  It's usually this cold alright.  Hm-m.  It's
why I have to turn the heat up in the dodger.  Can't let Charlotte catching
a bug now, can we?  `Sides, if you need be, take off that jacket and relax.
Hm-m."  He swung his head around like he was making sure that I was
complying with him.
	"Why, thank you," I chuckled, and I did just that; off came my
jacket.  I even unbuttoned my shirt about half way so the sweat had a place
to drip.  I was beginning to like the old guy more and more and was
becoming more absorbed in his unique character.  His quirky `hm-m' at the
end of each sentence was like the air going out of a bagpipe.  It was the
way he looked at me that had me thinking.  Then I noticed his eyes drop to
my waist.  Just great!
	"You comfortable, young `un?  You may want to loosen somethin' else
if it's bindin' you up.  Just holler if'n you need help.  Hm-m-m."  His
eyes were on me the whole time he was talking.  I finally looked up to see
my side of the road slowly come out to meet us.
	"You might want to turn a bit before we land in that hay field," I
said slowly, knowing full well that we were going at a speed that would
have practically allowed me to get out, walk around the Dodge and get the
wheel from him before we actually got to the edge of the road.  But to him,
he looked up and jerked the truck to the left and hit the brakes hard.
	"Damn!  I almost killed us both.  What would the Gazette have said
about finding me with a half naked boy all heaped together at this hour of
the evening?"
	"I don't know.  What would they have said about us and what half of
me was going to be naked?"  He was breathing deep and looking over every
once in awhile, checking me out, top to bottom.  "You weren't thinking of
trying to get in my pants were you old timer?"
	"Now you listen to me, you young whippersnapper.  I'm not all that
old at seventy-three that I can't take you over my knee and shine your
pasty-white butt to a red glow if I've a mind to," he said, indignantly.
	"And I'll have you know my butt isn't pasty-white.  It's bronzed by
the sun gods from nude sunbathing already."  Shit!  I thought he was going
to drop his dentures.  His eyes went wide and he started stammering
incoherently for about ten seconds, then cleared his throat to go on.
	"Don't you talk to your elders with that tone, you green-horned
calf.  You haven't got the balls to...really?  Bronzed?  Hm-m-m."  I had to
laugh.  It was all I could do to keep a straight face; and I had to if I
was going to keep up this banter with this old coot that I was beginning to
like.
	"I don't really care if you don't believe me.  No skin off my..."
And I purposefully let my voice fade to taunt him on.  I wanted to see how
far he was willing to go.  I didn't even think about what it might lead to,
but I certainly wasn't worried about my virginity with him.  You could
almost see his heart pounding away in his flannel shirt and see the veins
in his forehead start to grow and pulse.  I was thinking he probably needed
that blood somewhere else about now.  What was I thinking!  The lecherous
old fart was practically on the verge of clawing his way into my clothes
and I was egging him on!
      "Son, around here we don't cater to liars.  We're proud people, but
that don't mean we're stupid.  If you say your butt's bronze you're going
to have to prove it to me.  That's it; or git out and go on your way.  I
don't let liars ride in my dodger.  Hm-m-m."  His voice was almost
crackling with the anticipation of what might happen next.  I was worried
about his heart if I followed through with his dare.  This old coot just
wanted to see me naked and I was intrigued to see how far he would take
this.
      "Well, if that's the way it's going to be, I guess I don't have a
choice."  I opened the passenger door and huffed and sputtered like I was
being forced to show him I was no liar.  I walked around to his side and
turned my back to him.  I pulled my shirt out of my pants and pulled it
over my head without even unbuttoning it.  Then I ripped open the buttons
of my jeans, grabbed the waist band on either side and pushed those jeans
and my boxer-briefs down to expose my tight, ex-gym junkie, dimpled cheeks.
I flexed each cheek to tease him. I didn't have to imagine what was going
on, I could hear him wheezing behind me.
      I swung around to see him with a fixed glare like the proverbial deer
in the proverbial headlights.  His mouth was open and drool was beginning
to run down onto his chin.  His left arm had come out the window and was
hanging limp, beside the old truck.  I was worried enough that I tried to
move over to him but I stumbled on my rolled up clothes at my feet.  I
quickly kicked off my sandals and then the rest.  I moved as close as I
could to see if he was still breathing or if the shock of seeing me naked
had been too much.  I leaned against his arm so I could reach in to feel
for a pulse.
	Oh, he had one alright!  I felt my boys being massaged by the
fingers of a very much living human being with a very much alive libido.
My mouth dropped open as I realized what I had walked into but I never once
had the sense to think about moving.  His hand was rough from years of hard
work but his fingers were as tender and loving in their task as his eyes
were when they met mine, together with a shit-eatin' grin that covered his
whole face.  He gleamed as proud as he must have with his first conquest
centuries before I was around.
	Then, slowly, that hand stopped its juggling act and smoothed
itself along my thigh and around to my cheek.  After a gentle squeeze and
making sure all four fingers traveled through the valley between my cheeks,
that hand began to climb up my back.  His arm was just short enough that it
pulled me against the warm door as it reached for my spine, continuing its
mission upward.  My whole body was tingling and I could feel something down
there trying to push away from the warm metal as that organ began to grow
out of control with excitement.  Excitement?  From this old coot?
      My arms were in the truck because I intended to open his shirt to
feel his heart, so his hand had no trouble going past my shoulder blade and
around, to rest on the back of my neck.  The feelings this was causing in
me were incredible.  There would be spots on the door to clean up very soon
if this kept up.  Just as I was opening my mouth to tell him what an old
lecher he was, he pulled my head through the window and planted his lips
over mine.  I immediately felt his tongue leave his mouth and try to make
his way past mine to see if I still had my tonsils.  I could also feel my
precum flowing freely.
	My reaction was shock, of course.  I tried to move back a bit but
he was stronger than I realized.  He smashed our mouths together until I
could taste the liquor and mint he must have used to give him the nerve for
this daring escapade.  At last he moved his hand, but for a brief second my
mouth didn't seem to want to leave his.  He finally pushed me back and
inhaled deeply.
	"I got to breathe, you know, you horny toad."  His voice sounded
like he went back dozens of years and grabbed a part of him that was a
vibrant and handsome young stud that had been forced to hibernate, waiting
for just such a chance to explode itself on mankind again.  I looked in his
eyes to find joy, a real honest to goodness joy that every man wants to
experience one more time with a person they cared for deeply.  His face
glowed, and replaced the dull gray skin of an old wrinkled man with a new
layer of living, breathing skin.  I moved back just a little more to get a
more complete picture of what was happening.  Where ever that old coot had
gone he was replaced with a man that must have been ten or twenty years
younger.  I could have sworn there were age marks on his face, but they
were gone too.  Even his hair seemed bushier, right down to the tufts of
curling silver hair leaking up from the front of his half open shirt.
	But what I couldn't avoid were his eyes.  Emerald green and
twinkling like the purest emeralds.  They seemed to sing to me about the
amazing discovery he had just made.  And their song reached in me and
pulled my heart to the surface to be exposed to his smiling face.  I was
consumed by his change.  For an instant that story about the frog turning
into the prince popped into my head long enough for me to snort once in
belief that it had finally happened.
	"You are a conniving old...why did you do that?"  I had to know
what came over him.
	"Get in, son.  Someone comes along, we'll be tarred and feathered.
It's a short story but it goes back a long time.  `Sides, you're still
naked out there and I can't get to you.  Hm-m-m!  Oh yeah, and your butt
isn't all that tan."  His eyes glimmered.
	I looked down to remind myself of my state of dress and moved to
pick up my belongings that were scattered around the truck.  With my arms
full I just got into the truck and tucked everything into my lap to protect
me.  I never once considered getting dressed again.  I was always
comfortable being naked and his eyes on me didn't change that.  For some
reason I seemed to be enjoying this.  I just had a hard time piecing
together what had happened.  How did he know I wouldn't cold-cock him for
his act of aggression?  For that matter, why didn't I?  I know!  I needed a
ride and his was the only one around?  Who was I convincing?
	"Hold on," he laughed, both hands on the wheel.  And away we idled
as fast as ever.  Some things hadn't changed, and that was okay by me.  I
was pretty deep in thought.
      "Where you headed by the way, young man, and what the hell's your
name?" asked Russ.
      "David, sir.  I like David over Dave, too."
      "Fine name, David.  My best friend was named David.  But that was
probably before your parents were a dream to your grandparents."
      "Maybe not.  My parents were much older; let's see...dad is about
seventy-three and my mother would have been seventy-seven."
      He swung his head and eyed me in disbelief.  "You can't be more than
twenty-some boy, ah, David.  You were an after thought for some surprised
parents?"
      "They never wanted children.  They made that pretty clear.  Not that
they couldn't afford them, just couldn't be bothered.  But they loved each
other very much, I think, in a reserved, respectful way.  They tried to
show me that they cared, but it was with things when they left me to travel
and things when I tried to show them how well I could do what I thought
they expected of me.  But I didn't want those things, and they never
figured out how to give me what I really needed.  We certainly weren't rich
but they did well enough.  They never asked a lot of me except that my
father pushed me into sports, even though I'm sure he never cared for them
himself.  `It's the manly thing to do, Junior,' he'd say.  I got into
swimming, but he never came to a swim meet, neither did my mother.  Not a
place for a lady.  I was on my own from the time I was old enough for
mother to spend more time doing charity work.  They were great listeners
but turned back into their papers or work when I was through talking" I
couldn't believe I was blabbering away like that to a stranger.  I was far
more tired than I thought.
      "Sorry.  I don't know where all that came from.  You were going to
tell me about you and you got blasted with me, me, me, which is another of
my bad habits.  Please, I want to know about you."  I needed to know who
this man was that thought he could have his way with me.  Actually, I
wanted to know who this man was, but I didn't know why.  I was hoping his
story would give some insight into who I was and what was going on in my
brain and my...well...body.
      "Pooh, boy.  There's far more interesting people to meet than me.
Now, where you headin' again?"  He mostly kept his eyes on the dark road
ahead but I could see him peek over once in awhile.  I leaned back into the
corner of the bench seat and the door and brought my left leg up onto the
seat between us, but I left my clothes in my lap.  As he would gaze, I'd
readjust my jeans or shirt to try to be a bit more modest.
	"I just need to get to the fork that leads up that hill, sir.  I
have a friend that has a cabin up there."
	"I see.  Young Mitch expectin' you, son?"  I started getting a
little nervous when I realized he just reminded me of our host's name from
a year ago.
	"Uh, no.  I was going to give him a surprise," I said with no
confidence that I wouldn't start stuttering at any minute.
	"Shore will be a surprise, young un.  He's still in school and
nobody's been up there since your soiree last year `bout this time. Hm-m.
You want to tell me what's on your mind?"
	My plan was blown.  Now I really had no where to go.  Here I was
sitting naked in an old Dodge with an old coot.  I was at his mercy.

NTLFG - The End of Chapter One