Date: Tue, 13 Apr 2004 15:55:22 GMT From: Pok Bepxtep Subject: Taken for Granted - 5 TAKEN FOR GRANTED written by Pok Bepxtep E-mail me if you liked the story. I can be found at pok.bepxtep@lycos.nl This story will most likely contain some provocative contents about a loving and later on sexual relationship between a young boy and a man. If you find those things offensive, then don't read them... But I don't think you do, cause you wouldn't have bothered checking out nifty's adult-youth section. It's been a very long since I've written chapter 4. For the few people still remembering 'Taken for granted', I'm sorry for not continuing in the past 4 months or so. Some personal problems got in the way of my will to write more of this story. But, as people always tell me: 'Life goes on'. And so does this story. Greetings Pok Bepxtep ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 5: Small talk The next morning, Martin woke up earlier than usual for a Sunday morning. Sundays are holy for the man. No, not for church or the anything, not that kinda holy. But Sunday's the only day he can really sleep in and spend the whole day doing nothing or having nothing to think about. The latter, the think part, will be a very big problem today, after yesterday's encounter with that boy at the bowling. It left him full of doubt of what he should or how he should be feeling. But in the end, he pretty much found a way to put the whole matter out of his mind. 'I probably won't be seeing that kid anymore, so why bother,' he thought to himself as he switched on the shower. A few toasts, eggs and a glass of fresh pineaple juice later, Martin tied his Adidas running shoes and jogged towards the park to his usual Sunday morning 8-mile's run. It was still a bit cold this early in the morning, but the rising sun promised this Sunday to be a very pleasant one. After his refreshing jog, Martin set of to his favourite coffee stand to get a warming cup of Java. He walked towards one of the benches near the entrence of the park and sat down to relax and enjoy his coffee. Not three minutes after sitting down, he saw someone familiar entering the park. The moment Martin spotted that familiar person, the thought that he'd consoled with the very morning vanished like snow melting in the sun. The young boy from the bowling alley was strolling about, wearing the same outfit as the day before, with his head down and a seemingly thick book under his arm. One glance into Martin's direction stopped him in his actions and froze him on the spot. At that moment, the two were still over 20 feet away, but Martin could clearly see that the boy was as surprised as he was. Martin didn't know what to do and the fact the boy remained standing where he was, watching in his direction, he knew the child didn't know either. Part of him was awfully curious to get a closer look and find out who that kid was. But doing that usually isn't a very smart move, as people might mistake it as Martin being one of those creepy adult men going to the park to pick up children for sex. And, even worse, the boy might see it as that too. The last thing Martin wanted to do was scare him off. So, instead of being brave, he stayed where he was, sitting on the bench, not bothering to finish his already cooled off coffee. It was still quite exciting to be wondering about what the boy would do. Martin didn't know what to hope or wish for. He realised that he was clearly attracted to the youngster. But, just like the night before, he doubted if he really wanted to be in love with a boy again, and to get attached to someone he would probably lose after a certain time. That... fear... was what kept him most from actually daring to address the young boy. But, as the irony of life always turns out, the most surprising thing of all happened. The life returned to the boy statue and slowly, like a predator sneaking up towards his pray, the child came walking towards Martin. When he'd finally reached the bench Martin was sitting on, he simply nodded and sat down, opening the book he was carrying on the page where the indicator was. 'Is this kid challenging me, or something?' Martin wondered. 'Is he expecting something?' After a few minutes of sitting there next to the him, it was pretty obvious that the boy wasn't there beside him to read his book. Martin was watching him closely, but descretely, and noticed that the reading speed was very slow. It seemed as if the boy kept reading the same paragraph over and over again. He still doubted if he should do it, but it was pretty clear that the boy wanted Martin to make the next move. Martin liked boys, that's for sure, and if a young kid was giving him signs that he wanted to get acquainted, then he couldn't go and disappoint the child, now, could he. So, he turned towards the boy and spoke the most common word of them all to get his attention: "Hi," Martin said. The boy looked up from page 93 and turned his head to Martin, trying his best to look disturbed, and replied: "Hi." Of course, Martin saw threw the boy's act and decided to go on with small talk topic number one: "Nice day, isn't it?" Again, the youngster faked his being annoyed. "Yeah, it is," he said. 'Okay,' Martin thought to himself, 'I've got his attention.' "D'you come here often?" This time, the boy no longer faked being bothered. He closed the book, with his finger between the pages he must have known by heart by now. "Not much," he answered. "I just felt like it, today." "Cool," Martin smiled, glad to see that the boy was willing to chat a bit. "I come here every Sunday morning to run a few miles. I've never seen you here, before." "Uhuh... But you've seen me before, no?" the boy asked, looking a bit shy, this time. "I believe I have," Martin confirmed. "And actually, I didn't really expect to see you again." "Oh," was the only thing the boy said. He looked down a bit, seemingly disappointed. Apparently that last remark was a bad one. "Hey, hey," Martin hushed. "I don't mind seeing you again. I'm quite glad to have you sitting next to me." Martin didn't lie, there. The longer he was with the little one, the more he enjoyed the company. There was no point in denying... He liked this lil man. This seemed to please the young lad. He looked up again, right into Martin's eyes, with the most hypnotising smile on his face. Martin was glad the ice was somehow cracked (too soon to really call it broken). It was now time to get to know a little bit more about young Mr. Cupid next to him. "So, what are you reading?" The child seemed to have been expecting that question. He turned the cover of the book to Martin to let he see what it was about. 'Lord of the Rings' it said. "Well, well!! So you're a Tolkien fan, then?" The boy smiled again, and said: "Not really! I just wanted to know what it's about. Everyone tells me the movies are so cool, but I haven't seen them yet." "You haven't?" "No. The movie theatre's too far away," the boy explained, "and I never really bothered renting them." "Why not?" "I'd have to watch them all by myself," he continued, his smile fading and looking a bit downwards. "Never anyone home, huh," Martin hushed the boy. "I know the feeling. Would you like to see them?" "Yeah. The book's nice, but I don't really like reading all that much." This was perhaps the best and only chance for Martin to invite the boy to his place, some day. He remembered what he'd promised himself not to grow attached to another boy again, but this one beside him was special. His heart told him to go for it, so he would. 'Besides,' he concluded, 'this kid must have thought the very same thing I did when he came over to me and sat down next to me.' "What if someone invited you to go and watch the movies at his place?" "That'd be cool, but no one ever invites me," the boy shrugged. "There's always a first," Martin smiled. He dove into his pocket and grabbed his wallet. Out of his wallet, he took one of his business cards and offered it to the boy. "Got anything planned for next Friday eve?" The boy curiously glanced at the card for a split second and then stared right at Martin's eyes, not believing what was happening. "Errr... no..., not... errr... really," he stammered. "Why?" "Cause I'm inviting you to come over to my place to watch the first two Lord of the Rings movies, that's why." "Huh? You mean that?" "Sure, why not?" "Cause you don't know me," was the boy's logical explanation. "Well, then, let's change that," Martin smirked. "If you take my card here, you'll know my name, which is Martin. May I be so kind to ask you what your name is?" The boy hesitantly reached for the plastic coated red and white card and took it from Martin. "Liam," he said briefly, while turning the card's text to him to read it. Martin reached out his hand to the boy who'd just introduced himself: "Pleased to meet you, Liam." The boy turned to the man beside him again, grabbed his hand and shook it lightly: "Likewise," he smiled. "So, does this mean you're coming over, next Friday?" "Dunno. I'd love to, actually. But I'd better ask my mum first." "No problem. Already glad to know you're interested. Let me know if it's okay, okay?" Liam just nodded his agreement. "I'd better go home, now," he said while getting up. "Sure thing," Martin smiled. "Glad to have met you, Liam." Liam just smiled and left, waving the hand with the card at Martin. Martin followed Liam's every move till he turned around the corner. Hoping to see Liam again soon, he also left the bench, threw the cup of now cold coffee in the bin, and strolled back home. When he got back home, he sat down in his couch, replaying the whole thing that'd just happened. At the end, he knew two things for sure: first, he'd fallen in love with Liam; second, that boy had one cute little butt!