RENEGADES & OUTLAWS

By Pink Panther

Let us all solemnly disclaim! There, that wasn’t too painful, was it?

Thanks for all the feedback I received after posting chapter 14; that is greatly appreciated. More feedback is always welcome, of course. Please send your comments to: archimedes294@hushmail.com and I’ll reply as soon as I can.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Ryan and Ashley arrived at the gates of the boys’ grammar school. It was the day of the entrance exam. Although there were some later additions, the school had occupied its present buildings for more than eighty years. Ryan eyed the place apprehensively; the austere brown brickwork punctuated by tall, mock-Georgian sash windows, the immaculately manicured front lawn, the ivy growing up the wall on either side of the main entrance, the extensive playing fields with their succession of rugby pitches, all spoke of a different time, a time to which he felt little connection.

They were met by two senior boys in immaculate school uniform, prefects’ badges on their lapels, who directed them to a side entrance where other similarly attired boys ticked off their names then guided them to ‘Big School’, the main hall where the exam was to take place. A severe-looking man with iron grey hair and steel rimmed glasses checked their credentials then instructed them to sit down.

They sat at single desks, one behind the other, Ryan in front, Ashley behind. There were fifteen minutes to go. Ryan took in his surroundings. The room was filling up, being populated by boys from every primary school in the area, most of whom looked as nervous as he was. There were four others from Stainmoor. Chris Ashton might get in, he reckoned; the other three stood no chance.

In this room, the sense of tradition was even stronger. He could smell it, wafting from the vast honours board that celebrated the achievements of so many generations of past pupils. How would he be able to fit into a place like this? He hoped that Ashley passed the exam too so that they could face the challenge together.

They began with two reasoning tests, verbal and non-verbal, twenty five minutes for each, with the interval between just long enough for the monitors to collect one set of papers and distribute the next. Ryan knew that he’d done well on the verbal reasoning. He less sure about the non-verbal test, but was still confident, having obtained high scores on all the practice papers he’d done.

After a ten minute toilet break, they set about the maths paper. They had forty minutes. Ryan was in his element. He completed the test in half an hour, leaving him time to check all his answers. That one was a banker. A longer break followed, for which they were sent out onto the playground. The six Stainmoor boys gathered together, the three no-hopers chattering away about how hard the tests had been.

“So how did you do, Ry?” one of them asked.

“Okay, I think” Ryan said, determined not to get drawn in.

“What about you, Ash?” the questioner continued.

“About the same,” Ashley responded, taking a leaf out of Ryan’s book. “Hard to tell, isn’t it?”

They trooped back inside. There was just one test remaining, English, for which they had a whole hour. It took Ryan twenty minutes to work through the comprehension and the other routine sections, giving him forty minutes for his piece of continuous writing. He scanned the list of topics. There it was: “Write about a memorable event or occasion that you have attended.”

He clenched his fist. That was the one he’d prepared for; he was going to write about the gig on New Year’s Eve. He’d even discussed it with Mr. Stevens, so he knew all the do’s and don’ts; write in proper English, don’t get carried away, don’t put in unnecessary detail. Above all, try to help the reader understand what it was like to be there. He set to work; he knew what he wanted to write. He finished five minutes before the test was due to end. He read through it. No question, it was the best thing he’d ever written; he couldn’t have done any better. A few minutes later they were on their way home.

“So how did you get on?” he asked, once he and Ashley were away from the other boys.

“Okay, I think,” Ashley said, smiling, “better than I thought.”

“Great,” Ryan responded, smiling back.

He hoped that Ashley was right. They’d be there together, maybe even in the same form; he’d like that.

0 o 0 o 0 o 0

“How did it go?” Rachel asked on her return from work.

“Okay,” Ryan said, being as non-committal as he could.

Rachel didn’t push him. They’d get the results during the half term break; she’d know soon enough.

“Jack’s taking me to the theatre on Saturday night,” she announced, changing the subject. “Can you arrange to stop over with Josh or Ashley? Remember you can only stop over with Josh if his parents are going to be there.”

Ryan considered for a moment. Stopping over at Ashley’s house was better. They only had three bedrooms, so he and Ashley had to share. They weren’t supposed to finish up in bed together, but they always did. Josh’s house had five bedrooms, so when he stopped there, he slept in the guest room. That was no fun at all. Then another thought struck him.

“Could I stay with Uncle Mark?” he asked.

“Well, that’s not up to me,” Rachel said. “But if he’s not off playing somewhere he’ll be going out; he’s not going to want to be looking after you. He gives you more than enough help as it is.”

“Is it okay if I call him?” Ryan persisted.

“Well, you can call him,” Rachel conceded. “Just don’t get upset when he says no, understand?”

“Yeah, course,” Ryan responded.

He dialled the number. A familiar voice answered.

“Hi Mark!” Ryan said. “It’s Ryan.”

“Hello!” Mark responded, sounding surprised. “To what do I owe this privilege? Wasn’t it your exam today?”

“Yeah,” Ryan said.

“So how did you get on?” Mark asked.

“Alright, I think,” Ryan told him. “But the reason that I’m ringing is that Jack’s taking mum to the theatre on Saturday evening. I was wondering if I could stay with you.”

“Well,” Mark said, turning the idea over in his head. “We haven’t got a gig; we’re playing Thursday and Friday this week. I don’t see any reason why not; I’ve got nothing else planned. As long as your mum agrees, of course. Is she there?”

“Yeah,” Ryan said. “D’you want to speak to her?”

“Please,” Mark said.

“Mark says it’s okay,” Ryan said, passing the phone to Rachel.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Rachel queried. “You don’t have to, you know; he can always stay with one of his friends. I thought you’d be going out if you weren’t playing.”

“Yeah, well I’ve been going out with one of the girls from work,” Mark said casually, “but that didn’t work out. It seems I’m more interested in my guitar than I am in her. So I’m at a bit of a loose end at the moment.”

“Well that sounds about right,” Rachel laughed. “Okay then; I’ll leave you to sort it out.”

0 o 0 o 0 o 0

The Mercedes glided along the main road, heading towards the city.

“So what gave you the idea of staying with me?” Mark enquired. “I thought you’d prefer to sleep over with one of your friends.”

“Well, I haven’t really seen you since . . . , you know.”

“Oh, I see,” Mark said knowingly. “Well, I hope you’re not expecting to do anything exciting. I’ve been playing the last two nights; a quiet evening at home is all I’ve got planned.”

“Yeah, cool,” Ryan said, grinning. “We can listen to some music then have an early night, can’t we?”

Mark nodded; he knew exactly where this was heading. “So why didn’t you want Josh to know?” he asked.

“Cause he’d have wanted to come too,” Ryan said.

“Wouldn’t you have liked that?” Mark queried.

“Nah, not tonight,” Ryan said, giving Mark a big smile. “Josh is great, but he hates missing out on anything. It was great having him there when we were at the gig, but tonight I wanted . . , you know.”

“Mmmmm, I see!” Mark said, flashing Ryan a quick smile.

He breathed deeply. He’d been wondering since New Year’s Day whether a repeat performance was on the cards. In one way it would have been a lot easier if Ryan had just forgotten about the whole thing, let him get back to his usual routine, but that clearly wasn’t going to happen. It wasn’t that he didn’t want it; having sex with Ryan had been the most magical experience of his entire life, but it was taking him out of his comfort zone. Having Ryan stop over occasionally might not arouse suspicion, but taking the lad to his apartment on any sort of regular basis certainly would. For the moment, there didn’t seem to be any answer to that one.

“Mark,” Ryan asked. “Were you really going out with one of the girls from work, like you told mum?”

“Don’t ask silly questions,” Mark answered, grinning.

Ryan grinned back and nodded; that was exactly what he’d thought.

“You’re doing pretty well with the tunes from the Antonio Forcione album,” Mark commented, changing the subject, “especially ‘Grapevine’.”

“Yeah, well you cut all the hard bits out of that one,” Ryan said, grinning. “But I’m still struggling with ‘I wish’. That’s well hard, having to play the tune and the bass-line at the same time. But I haven’t had much time to practise them with my exam coming up.”

“We can do some work on them in the morning if you want,” Mark offered.

“Yeah, cool!” Ryan said, grinning. “I want to play them at the summer concert, yeah?”

Mark swung the car into the underground car-park and led the way to his flat.

“Keep yourself amused while I get dinner ready,” he said, passing Ryan the remote.

Thirty minutes later they sat down to eat.

“I forgot to ask you how it went on New Year’s Day,” Mark said. “You know, when you went out to lunch with Jack and his parents.”

“Oh, it was great!” Ryan responded, grinning. “Jack’s dad used to play in a rock band back in the sixties; he played bass. He said they weren’t very good, but he told me about some of the bands he went to see and that. He was really interesting!”

“That’s excellent,” Mark said, smiling. “Sounds like you wouldn’t mind having him as an adopted granddad.”

“No, that’d be way cool!” Ryan agreed.

The meal over, they snuggled up on the sofa, Mark’s arm around Ryan’s shoulder. Mark was determined not to rush things. They watched music videos, chatting intermittently about music, guitarists, what being at grammar school was like. Finally Mark checked the time. It was almost half past nine.

“So are you ready for that early night you were talking about?” he asked gently.

“Course I am!” Ryan confirmed, grinning.

Although he had left his overnight bag in the guest room, there was no question of him sleeping in there. He was going to sleep with Mark and they both knew it. He collected the bag and began to get ready for bed. Within a few minutes they had completed their nightly ablutions, both of them wearing only their boxer shorts.

“Come here,” Mark said quietly, beckoning Ryan towards him.

He gently massaged Ryan’s shoulders, the boy’s head cradled on his chest.

“You know this was never going to happen, don’t you?” he said gently.

“Yeah, you said,” Ryan answered, “about me being off-limits.”

“Yeah, well sometimes things don’t work out the way they’re meant to,” Mark said, stroking Ryan’s hair. “But are you totally sure this is what you want?”

“Yeah, definitely,” Ryan confirmed.

Mark sat on the edge of the bed, gently easing down Ryan’s shorts. Ryan wiggled his hips, causing them to fall to the floor.

“You’ve got a beautiful cock for your age,” Mark cooed. “Your balls are all there too; you’ll be able to cum soon.”

He licked his lips, plunging down on Ryan’s erect penis, his tongue exploring every square millimetre of it, Ryan’s fingers running through his hair. He gently let the boy go. Discarding their boxer shorts they snuggled up on the bed, their faces inches apart, the aroma of hot, sexy boy filling Mark’s nostrils. He eased himself closer, pulling the aphrodisiac scent into his lungs.

Ryan licked his lips, leaving his mouth slightly open. It was an invitation that Mark could not refuse. He closed in, his lips covering Ryan’s, their tongues engaged in a wonderful, sensual dance. Mark was ecstatic. Most of the boys that he’d met on his travels abroad wouldn’t kiss, and very few kissed the way that Ryan was doing.

He rolled onto his back, pulling Ryan over on top of him, the boy’s erect penis grinding into his stomach. He ran his hands down Ryan’s back and over the boy’s firm, rounded bum. Instinctively, he slid his index finger along Ryan’s crack, quickly locating his puckered hole. Ryan squirmed. Mark moved the finger away. The message was clear enough; whatever else Ryan might be up for, he wouldn’t be fucking the boy any time soon. Their lips separated.

“Wow! That was amazing!” Mark breathed. “D’you do that with Josh?”

“Yeah!” Ryan said, grinning. “The Italian kid taught him. When he came home he got me into it. It’s wicked, man! Makes me feel, you know, really horny.”

“Mmmmm!” Mark purred. “Time I got some more of that beautiful cock!”

He rolled onto his side, snaking around to bring his head level with Ryan’s tummy. He ran his tongue over the boy’s rigid shaft, licking it like an ice cream. He gently eased back Ryan’s foreskin, his tongue darting into the boy’s pee-hole.

“Oh, man! That’s awesome!” Ryan groaned. “Ohhh! Feel me behind my balls!”

Mark complied readily, gently stroking the lad’s perineum. He moved further down, taking each of Ryan’s balls into his mouth, weighing it carefully. He had little doubt that the boy’s first ejaculation could occur at any time. He moved up again, closing his lips over Ryan’s cock, sucking it steadily right down to the root. Ryan’s breathing began to shorten. Mark allowed the boy’s penis to slide out of his mouth.

“Ohhhhh!” Ryan gasped. “That was sooo good!” He grinned. “My turn now!”

He held Mark’s penis between thumb and forefinger.

“I wanna make you cum,” he announced, carefully guiding it into his mouth.

He began to suck, quite steadily at first, carefully massaging behind Mark’s balls. The pace gradually increased. Mark moaned in appreciation, his chest rising and falling, his fingers stroking Ryan’s hair. He was never going to last long; in anticipation of Ryan’s visit he hadn’t brought himself off for more than thirty six hours.

“Ohhhh!” he groaned. “I’m gonna cum!”

Ryan stayed right with it, sucking, licking and swallowing as Mark’s semen spurted over and over into his mouth, some of it escaping and running down his chin. Finally satisfied that Mark had no more left to give, he let him go.

“Fuck!” he grinned. “You came loads!”

He used his index finger to wipe the spunk off his face then sucked it clean.

“Wow!” Mark breathed. “That was fantastic!”

He slid off the bed and knelt on the floor.

“Come on babe!” he urged. “Give me that cock!”

Ryan needed no second bidding. He stood up, holding Mark’s head, driving his penis insistently into the man’s waiting mouth, fucking it remorselessly. After just a couple of minutes he shook from head to toe. He held on tight, his cock swelling and jerking until it was so sensitive he had to pull away. He sank back on the bed, totally drained. He still hadn’t cum, a minor disappointment to both of them, but they knew it wouldn’t be long until he did. Minutes later he was asleep in Mark’s arms.

0 o 0 o 0 o 0

Mark awoke to find Ryan still exactly where he was. He remembered sleeping with several of the Romanian boys he’d met, though that was going back several years. They invariably had sex before breakfast. He wondered if that was what Ryan would want. He reached down, fondling the naked boy’s rock-hard penis. He guessed it probably was. He slid noiselessly out of bed and padded across to his wet room. He returned a few minutes later, slipping quietly back under the covers.

“Where have you been?” Ryan asked sleepily.

“Just having a pee and a shave,” Mark said quietly, kissing him on the forehead. “I didn’t want to scratch you to death. Sleep okay?”

“Yeah, great,” Ryan responded. “So are we going to?”

“Only if you want to,” Mark said gently.

“Course I want to!” Ryan said, giving him an evil grin.

“Just go and have a pee first, yeah?” Mark urged.

Ryan swung himself out of bed.

“See you in a minute,” Mark cooed, playfully swatting the boy’s bottom.

0 o 0 o 0 o 0

After breakfast, they spent an hour working on Ryan’s classical guitar. Apart from a few minor glitches, the simplified version of the Marvin Gaye classic ‘I Heard It through the Grapevine’ was progressing well. The Stevie Wonder tune ‘I Wish’ was proving altogether more difficult.

“You need to slow it right down,” Mark said gently. “Just be patient; don’t expect to play it at the proper speed straight away. Get used to where your hands have to be. Once you can play it slowly, you can gradually speed it up, okay?”

Ryan nodded and began again, playing the tune at no more than half-speed. Even then there were several hesitations as he manoeuvred his left hand into some very unfamiliar positions. Mark identified some of the trickier passages. Ryan worked through each one even more slowly until he could play it perfectly.

“Well, I think that’s enough for this morning,” Mark said, smiling. “There’s still a great deal of work to do, but stick at it and you will get it right.”

“Before we go, could I see your electrics?” Ryan asked. “I saw them on New Year’s Eve, but I couldn’t touch them or anything.”

“Sure,” Mark said, grinning. He opened one of the guitar cases, “This is the Ibanez,” he said, passing it to Ryan. “It’s pretty much what Frank Gambale’s used for most of his career.” He connected it up to a small hi-fi unit, slipping a pair of headphones over Ryan’s ears. Ryan played a few rock guitar riffs.

“Sounds wicked!” he said, grinning.

Mark took the guitar from him, returning it to its case. He passed him the Gibson.

“This is my baby,” he said warmly. “Gibson SG Standard, dating back to 1963. It’s got a custom neck; the fingerboard’s wider than on the ordinary model. I paid quite a bit for it; some very good players owned it before me.”

Ryan plugged it in. He played the opening few bars of ‘Round Midnight’.

“Man! That’s fantastic!” he breathed. “It’s so easy to play and the sound’s amazing!”

He handed it back.

“When you’re a successful guitarist,” Mark told him, “you’ll be able to afford something like this.”

They set off on the journey back to Newton Oaks.

“So when will I be able to stay with you again?” Ryan asked.

“We can’t do it too often,” Mark counselled. “Your mum will start asking awkward questions; we don’t want that.” He thought for a moment. “Why don’t you and Josh come to the Crown & Anchor gig during the half term week? I don’t think that would be a problem.”

“Yeah, wicked!” Ryan enthused.

“Only we’ll say it was your idea, yeah?” Mark suggested.

“Yeah, no problem,” Ryan said confidently.

He settled back in his seat, glowing with satisfaction. That was definitely something to look forward to.

0 o 0 o 0 o 0

The half term break was approaching. Ryan sat cross-legged on his bed, working steadily through ‘I Wish’, taking it quite slowly, just as Mark had suggested. It was definitely improving, and now that his guitar exam was out of the way, he could devote more time to it. The exam had gone well. When compared to some of the other stuff he was working on, the pieces and other tests were not that difficult. Even so, he’d prepared thoroughly and as a consequence he’d produced his best when it mattered.

He checked the time. It was five past four; Ashley was due to arrive at any moment. It was strange how close they’d become, Ryan reflected. Until the previous summer holiday they’d not known each other that well, but in the intervening months they’d become almost inseparable. Ashley still hung out with Squeak; their friendship went back years, but had taken to spending more and more time with Ryan. Ashley was quiet but determined, a steadying influence, as Rachel described him. Ryan was never in trouble when Ashley was with him.

The doorbell rang. Ryan trotted downstairs to answer it, his penis hardening rapidly. Seeing each other privately only once a week was far less than either of them would have liked, but it made each encounter seem very special, one of the highlights of the week. He opened the door.

“Hi, man!” he said, smiling.

Ashley followed him up to his bedroom. The curtains were already closed. Very sensuously they helped each other undress until they were both down to their underwear; Ryan in boxers, Ashley in his customary white briefs. Ryan sat on the bed, quickly skinning them down his friend’s legs. Ashley stepped out of them. Ryan leaned forward, devouring his friend’s hard cock, his tongue flicking out to slash at the boy’s balls.

Finally, Ryan released him. He discarded his boxer shorts, stretching out on the bed. Ashley joined him. They wrapped their arms round each other, their cocks grinding together. Their lips met. Ryan loved to kiss, but kissing Ashley was extra-special, the perfect expression of their developing relationship. He found it hard to explain; having taught Ashley to kiss was certainly part of it, as was the fact that Ashley wasn’t having sex with anyone else. That was the really important thing, he decided; as far as sex was concerned, Ashley was exclusively his.

After several minutes their kiss morphed seamlessly into a sixty-nine. To Ryan, that felt even more wonderful. It wasn’t that Ashley sucked better than Josh, but a sixty-nine with Ashley had a sublime quality all of its own. They sucked purposefully, each stroking the other’s perineum, gradually building towards the inevitable climax. But there was something new, something different, the tingling in Ryan’s penis more acute than it had ever been; the sensations so intense that he could concentrate on nothing else. Almost without warning his cock jerked violently, two little jets of watery fluid spurting into Ashley’s mouth.

Ryan knew immediately what had happened. He was elated that he’d finally cum, the intensity of his first ejaculation leaving him breathless, though horrified that he’d unintentionally squirted in Ashley’s mouth. But it was too late to worry about that. He sucked feverishly on the slim boy’s penis until that too swelled, jiggled and finally went limp. Rather gingerly, they disengaged.

“Are you okay?” Ryan asked nervously. “I didn’t mean to; it’s never happened before.”

“Yeah, I’m fine, don’t worry about it,” Ashley said casually. “It was bound to happen sometime, wasn’t it? And it didn’t taste bad or anything.”

“Cool!” Ryan responded, smiling with relief. “I was worried that you’d be upset. So did you swallow it?”

“Yeah, sort of,” Ashley admitted. “There wasn’t that much of it.”

“You’re a real mate,” Ryan said as they snuggled up again.

They lay in peaceful silence, basking in each other’s closeness; they didn’t need to say anything. Ryan was happier than he could ever remember. Just for once, everything seemed to be going his way.