Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2001 18:05:36 From: tim tim Subject: chapter 17 of coaches assistant Chapter 17 of Coach's Assistant. << what happened before>> "So, can I go now, Mike?" "Yes, you can. Did you like it, Nick? I saw you getting hard." "To be honest, Mike, yes, I liked it. But I think I'll enjoy myself even more when I do such things because I want to, not because I've been blackmailed into it." "I'm sorry, Nick, but we have some time now to figure out what to do. I think I can hold them off for another week at least." "That should give us enough time to come up with something, Mike." "OK, bye, Nick. I have to go get James." With that, he turned away and started to walk back. I started to walk in the other direction, which would lead me to my house more quickly. << So now lets see what happened next, here is chapter 17 of coach's assistant for your impressions and idea's see end of this chapter>> I just walked home really slowly, as I was in no hurry to go back to the house. I walked around even more than I thought I was doing and ended up pointed in a direction I just didn't need be going, so I turned and started to walk back in the right direction. I am not sure what happened just now. I told Mike I liked what we had done. Was that true? Did I really like it? I wondered about it for a few moments. Yes, I got excited for sure. Walking like that in the open air had given me some goosebumps and made my dick hard. But was that because of the task I had to do with Mike for the doctors or just the excitement of seeing James walk around almost naked, or what was it? I know I was right about one thing: I would have gone totally berserk if there was not the blackmail of the doctors hanging over our heads while we were doing it. But was this not a way of being unfaithful to Francis? I know it was something really different from what I felt for Francis, but in some way it made me also very excited. I knew I didn't need to have the answer right now, but I had better search for the answer before I talked about it with Francis, because he surely would want to have more of an explanation than I could give him right now. Well, I could think about it during the next couple of days, I guess. I knew I shouldn't bring it up before the weekend. Then I would have more time to spend with Francis and explain everything to him. Having made that decision, I started to walk home in a more direct way. I was not sure when I would see Francis again. We hadn't agreed on a time or date, but I decided to give him a call. I know I had to be careful if I did that, but I just needed to talk to him. Hearing his voice was something I needed now. I just hoped that he'd called already and left a message. That would make calling a lot easier. I went inside the house and looked around to see if I could find either David or Dad, or even Alexei , but none of them was home. So I just went to the telephone to see if there were any messages at the moment. There were none, and I walked upstairs to my room. I lay down on my bed and saw that the book "The Lord of the Rings" was still beside the bed. Well, if no one was home I would just do a little reading. I was not sure if Francis would be home. If David, Dad and Alexei were not back yet, that could mean that they had gotten together. I was not sure if I could deal with Francis's parents if he was not at home, so I decided to call him later and started doing some reading. I had left off at the part of the book where Frodo and his friends were at the inn of "Boterbloem." They found themselves in trouble again concerning the ring, but it ended up that it was a good thing they had a guide to lead them. I read for more than an hour. It was now 9 o'clock and still no one was home. I knew if I was going to call Francis I'd better do it now because if I waited any longer, it would be strange to call him. I dialed the number and listened as it rang. I didn't have to wait too long before the phone was answered by Francis's father. "Yes, who is this?" "Ah, this is Nick. I wanted to talk with Francis. Is he home?" "How do you know Francis?" " I am the assistant coach of the gymnastic team Francis is on." "Oh yes, and what do you want?" I was not sure where this was leading but I knew right then that Francis was not home. He would have said that already, or at least a normal parent would have. "I just wanted to know if he was home and if he knew where the Coach and Mr. Nemov went. They are still not home, so I hoped he would know." "Home! Oh, you are the son of the coach also. Well. as a matter of fact, I was just going to call the coach to ask if he knew where Francis was because he is still not home. I was a little worried that he might be staying at his house again." "Well, he isn't here, so I have no clue where they are." "If he ends up at your house, could you tell him to phone us?" "Yes sir, I will." With that said, the phone on the other end was put down. What a strange telephone call that had been! They really were suspicious about what Francis did, and they really wanted to know his every move. No wonder he had trouble staying home and problems with his feelings. I knew then that they would never accept our relationship and Francis knew it as well. Despite that, he still wanted to be my boyfriend. It made me really feel wanted and loved more then I ever had until then. Was he really prepared to jeopardize his relationship with his parents for me? I must have been far away at that moment because I didn't hear the door downstairs. Only when some one was coming up the stairs was I aware of people in the house. I knew I had locked the door, so it couldn't be a stranger. My bedroom door opened and I looked up to see who it was. "May I come in?" the voice said just before he was past the door. "Yes, of course Francis, but I wasn't expecting you." He walked towards the bed and we started to hug and kiss each other. Oh, but it felt so good to have his lips on mine, to feel his tongue slowly moving into my mouth, touching mine. Then they slowly started to dance together in rhythm with our breathing. All the feelings I had just before he entered were put into that one kiss. I just wanted to let him know how much I loved him. He deserved that. "Wow!" Francis said, "What did I do to deserve that, Nick?" "Just because you are you, Francis, and to let you know that I really love you." "Well thanks. Just let me know what to do if I want more of that." "You don't need to do anything, Francis, just being yourself is enough for me." I saw that he was a little embarrassed and he started to blush. "Do you know where David and my dad are, Francis? I haven't seen them all evening." "Well to be honest, you left so quickly with Mike after practice that we didn't have time to tell you we were going to the local basketball match this evening. "Oh! Sorry I missed that. Are they downstairs now?" "Yes. I'm not sure why you didn't hear us coming in. You really must have been in another world. They dragged Alexei in somehow. He has had just a few drinks too many. I thought that athletes never drank. Well was I mistaken about that!" "Alexei drunk?" I asked with a touch of disbelief in my voice. "Yes. Couldn't be any worse." "So what have you been up to? You were OK again with seeing Mike? I was kind of worried after I saw you leave together. I wanted to follow, but your dad got to me first." "I am fine. We had a long talk; I will tell you about it later. I first have to think about things a little. I hope you won't mind." "As long as you are OK with it, Nick, I don't mind; but please tell me if he his hurting you in someway." "No, I really am fine, Francis. I just need a little more time to consider things. I will tell you more over the weekend. OK?" "OK, if that's what you want." "Yes. By the way, did you call your parents during the last hour or so?" "No, why, did they call you?" "Well, not exactly. I called your house to see if you were there and they told me they had been looking for you and were just planning to call dad to see if he knew where you were. I don't believe they sounded too happy with the possibility that you might be here." "Oh, no. I am just about fed up. They are keeping track of me constantly. Did you know they called school today to make sure I was there? I think they are very suspicious about me being out late and sleeping here last time. I'm not sure how long I can take this, Nick." He looked at me with those great big puppydog eyes begging for help. I knew it was these times that he needed me to comfort him. But that was a position I had never been in, and I just didn't know what to say. So I just looked at him and hugged him. He put his head on my shoulder and I felt him start to cry a little. I just hugged him tighter and decided I would leave it up to him to end the hug. After a while he backed off a little and I just looked into his face. "You want to tell them?" "I'm not sure Nick. I can't live with the lie, nor with them constantly spying on me. But I'm afraid to lose them when I tell them." "Yeah, I can imagine, Francis. But whatever you decide, I will back you 100%. I am here for you, just remember that." "Yes, I know, but still ..." "And I know that David and Alexei will be here for both of us too so we are not alone. Don't forget that." "I know but still..." "Don't worry Francis, just let it happen, and if you need me just call me." "I'd better call and let them know where I am." "I think that is a good idea." He slowly turned around and picked up the telephone. He stayed with his back towards me while he called them. I heard him talk with them very quietly. I couldn't hear what they said or what he answered. I waited until he finished the conversation. It was not a very long talk and the way he hung up gave me the feeling that it hadn't been a good talk. He turned around and looked at me. "I think I'd better go home now. They were not happy at all and I don't know what to tell them." He came towards me and gave me a quick kiss on my cheek before he turned around again and walked towards the door. Just before he opened it, I said, "Don't worry, Francis, everything will turn out OK." He just shrugged his shoulders and then he said, "See you in school tomorrow." I heard the pain and sorrow in his voice. I didn't know what to do. Should I run after him or leave him alone? But before I decided on anything, I heard the outside door close and I knew I was too late. Oh man, how could I have done that; letting him go the way he was feeling. Stupid me! Here was a chance to show him just how much I loved him, and I did something like that. Damn!. Once again I heard someone coming up the stairs. I turned the other way, not sure if I wanted to see anyone at that moment. There was a knock on my door and when I didn't say anything there was another knock. Then I heard the door open and Alexei asked, "Nick, are you OK? I saw Francis leaving in a hurry." I didn't turn around and I didn't say anything. "Nick, talk to me." Yeah, talk about what, I thought. What kind of dipstick I just had been? I'm not sure if Alexei would want to hear that. "OK, if you don't want to talk now, come to my room when you're ready, OK, Nick?" I heard the door almost close. "Alexei, please..." I started to sniff a little bit and, before I knew it, Alexei was beside me. "Did you two have a fight, Nick?" "No, I don't think you can call it a fight. There's just a little bit of trouble with his parents I guess, and I let him go without comforting him. I just didn't know what to say." "What happened Nick? Tell me and let me see if I can help." I told him that I had called Francis's parents and what happened after Francis had called them. I didn't want to tell him the complete story. If that were told, Francis would have to do it himself, or tell me I could tell. "So Francis is back home now because of this. Are they always so protective of him?" "Well, they have a reason for that, but it's something I can't tell you without permission from Francis." "Do they know that Francis is gay?" "Well, sort of, but they try to hide and ignore it in the hope it will go away." "That is stupid. So Francis is going to tell them about you two?" "I'm not sure, Alexei. I only know that he is fed up with his parents spying on him. He also wants not to live with them and not to tell them about me. He said he was afraid to lose them if he told them." "Hmmm, that's not a good thing, Nick. Do you know his parents?" "No, I've never seen or met them. I have no idea how they are going to react." "Well, don't worry about it too much; there is little you can do except be there if Francis needs you." "I know that, but I'm not sure what to do then. I have never been good at being there for some one else." "Just showing you love him; that should be more than enough, Nick." "OK, thanks, Alexei, for talking with me." "You're welcome, Nick." "By the way, I have agreed with your father that I will give you an extra training session tomorrow evening after practice. I will be able to focus more on your skills and performance." "Ah, that would be nice. Thanks, Alexei. Do you mind if Francis joins us for that?" "Of course not; that's fine with me. I am off to bed now, but your father asked me if you were coming down or not. I think he just wants to talk to you." "Well, I think I will go downstairs for a half hour or so. Then it'll be time I hit the sack, too." "Good night, Nick." "Good night. Alexei." I got up, slowly trying to put myself back together a little and I went downstairs. Dad was in the living room watching television, so I joined him on the couch. "Hi there, Nick! I missed you today at the end at practice. I took David and Alexei to a basketball game. I hope you didn't mind, but we really did try to find you before we left. Francis said he saw you leaving with Mike." "Well, I am sorry I missed going with you, but you know I don't like basketball that much anyway." "I know, but still I would have liked it if you had been there. Francis went with us also and I believe I just heard him leave the house. That was quick; I thought he was going to stay for a little longer." "His parents called earlier and he called them back. He had to go home straight away then." "Were they mad at him?" "Yeah, it seemed so. I am not sure why, but they were." "You would think that he was only 12. I found it very strange the way they reacted last time he slept here. They asked all of those weird questions. Well, we'll just hope he's not in trouble because he went with us to the basketball game." I didn't know how to answer that. This was an opportunity to talk with dad about us, but I just couldn't do it. What would I say? How would he react? I know he wanted me to be more open with him, but I think being that open would be a little too much for him at this time. "If you fear that might be the case, dad, you could always call them." "I could, that's true. So, what have you been up to tonight." "I went with Mike and did a little workout at his house." "You are really getting into this working out, aren't you? I know you asked Alexei for some extra training hours for yourself this week also." "Yes, we are going to do some extra things tomorrow after practice. I hope that is OK with you." "Yes, of course. I'm glad you are getting into this, as long as you do it because you like it and not because you are trying to please me." "Oh, no! I like what I am doing, so don't worry about that." "So, how is the book, `The Lord of the Rings,' that I gave you? Have you already started reading it?" "Yes I did, and it's great! I can hardly put it down. It's really terrific, thanks." "I knew you'd love it; you have such a wonderful imagination. I knew you could place yourself completely in the story. I read it for the first time when I was your age and since then, I've read it at least once every year." "Well if you don't mind, I'm going to get back to it now, dad. I want to read a little bit before I go to sleep." "That's fine, Nick, I just wanted to talk a bit with you before you went to sleep. Sleep tight." "Thanks, the same to you." I walked back up the stairs. Dad was really trying; he never before had chatted like that, just for fun, asking how I was, what I did. Well, he had done that in the past, but not recently. I went to bed and did some more reading before I finally fell asleep. I was awakened early again and I started to wonder what had happened with Francis and his parents. I knew I had to wait until school to find out, but I wanted to call him right now, but that was totally out of the question just now. After the long night, it was at last breakfast time. I got out of bed, showered and went downstairs. David was sitting at the breakfast table and looked up at me when I came down. "Good morning, brother! How are you this morning?" I just mumbled a little bit, feeling the effects of the lack of sleep and the hours of lying awake worrying about Francis. "Not so good judging by how you are reacting, Nick." "No; I was awake early this morning and I couldn't get back to sleep." "Something troubling you Nick?" "Yes there is, but it will work out all right." I tried to say that in the most convincing way I could. "Are you sure? I saw Francis rushing by the bar down the street just after we said good bye last night after the basketball game. I thought he would have been with you for a longer time. Did you two have a fight?" Oh, god, I thought. Did everyone know we ended up not getting on well last night? First Alexei, then dad, and now David. "Well, sort of, not a real one but Francis needed to go home. His parents had called him." "Oh, good! It would have been terrible to see you two broken up so quickly." "No, we aren't separated. We will see each other again tonight after practice." "OK, that's good to hear. Well, I'm out of here. I have to pick up Katie before we go to school." "OK, have fun today, David." "You too, Nick. See you at practice." David left and I finished breakfast. It was Tuesday today; another four days to go before Alexei would go away. Another four days before I knew I had to tell Francis what was going on between Mike and me. I knew we needed his help to solve the blackmail situation. I went to school, but did not see Francis before lunch. At lunch, I sat down beside him at the table where he was sitting. No one else was there so I quickly looked at him and softly whispered, "I love you. I have a really hard time not kissing you." A hint of a smile appeared on his face. His expression said everything. He was still looking kind of sad as he had the night before when he left my room. "How did things go with your parents last night?" He looked at me and whispered back, "Not good, but I didn't tell them yet. There was a lot of yelling. I am not sure but I think they suspect something. I just don't know if I can handle this." "Don't worry. Everything will be fine." Before he could answer, we were joined by two other members of the gym team and Francis only smiled to let me know he heard me. The others stayed around so there was no way that I was able to say anything more to him. Just before the end of lunch, I remembered the extra training with Alexei. "I have to ask you something, Francis. I have an extra training with Alexei after practice and he didn't mind if you would join us." "Hey, that's nice. Anything to stay away from home a little longer is fine by me." "Having trouble at home, Francis?" one of the other guys asked. "Yep, usual stuff about being home late, not telling where I'm going and stuff. They seem to want me on their leash all the time." "I know what you mean, man. My parents are always on my back; no rest there." The bell rang and we needed to go to the next class. The rest of the afternoon went by in a flash, and I was glad that practice started. I knew I was not included in the first round, so I did some working out myself and I saw that Alexei sometimes looked to see how I was doing. When the others were cooling down, Alexei came walking over to me. "So are you ready for me, Nick?" "Yep, I am, Alexei. I'm really looking forward to this. I see what you are doing with the others. They are really making some progress." "Is Francis going to stay, or does he have to go home?" "No, he's staying, if that's still alright with you." "Yes, of course. I have also asked Mike's cousin to join us. You met him last Sunday at Mike's place. He is a gymnast in his hometown and he was very interested in having a session with us." OK, I thought, this is not going to be such a private lesson after all with both Francis and James around. "I will get warmed up a little more, and when the others are gone we can start." The others left one by one and Alexei went in to the lockers with them. Francis came slowly towards me. He surprised me by just kissing me there in the open. Still locked with our lips together, I tried to look around to see if anyone was there. I saw no one but I still found it a risk. But I just couldn't stop kissing him. Finally, when we needed to stop to get some air, he said. "Mmm, I have wanted to do that all day long. I'm glad I was able to or I am not sure if I could have handled it." "You took quite a risk there, Francis. What if some one would have entered?" "They will be in the showers now so nothing to worry about. When they are all gone we can go on with this during practice. Alexei won't mind." "I know, but Alexei invited some one else too. James, Mike's cousin." "Oh, that's a shame! Well then, come here. I just need another one." With that he pulled my head to his and gave me another long, hard kiss. Then I saw out of the corner of my eye that Alexei came walking in. He waved a little and I pushed Francis away from me. He wanted to protest, but he stopped when he heard the voice of Alexei: "The others have left and James will be here in a moment so we can start." For the next hour, we worked mostly on my and James's routines. Francis helped me as much as possible and Alexei did the same with James, though he gave me very good points also to improve most of the routines I had been doing lately. Both James and I were about the same level so it was great to have some kind of a competition going between us. Again I thought when Alexei said he wanted to do a final test to see what we both had learned, James smiled at me as if he knew what I was thinking about. While we were doing those final routines, dad had come walking in and talked a little with Alexei. When I finished the last routine, Alexei came towards me and said: "Well, I am not going to grade you both for your efforts, but I think you can be proud of what you did. You both implemented the things I told you and did improve on some points in the other things. So we better get things put away, shower and get some dinner. Do you guys want to join me?" "Yep, I do," we said, all three unanimously. I knew that after dinner Francis would go home and I wanted to have some time with him, but how? I thought about it and then I knew I had it. "Why don't you two go ahead and Francis and I will put away the stuff. I know James would love to hear some more about your championships and stuff. We have heard those things already." I saw that Alexei knew what I was doing and he agreed with it. He started to talk to James and walked with him to the lockers. He smiled just once at us before he closed the door behind him. "Nice move there, Nick. How did you know I wanted to be alone with you?" "Because I want the same thing. Do you know what it does to me when you are touching me everywhere for a whole hour and there is no way of touching you back?" "Ha! I thought I saw that you were having troubles with that. Well, I must say it felt great especially those lovely formed cheeks of your behind." My face turned red and I just leaned forward and started to kiss him. While I did that, I put my hand behind him and I started to feel his bottom so I knew we would be even on that. "Like what you're feeling, Nick?" "Yes, I do. Let's get these things out of the way first before we continue. Then we know exactly how much time we have. I know Alexei will give us some time to be together." We put everything aside and ended up at some of the mattresses in the storage area. We laid down while we where kissing. Slowly I let my hand go down his T-shirt again. I really liked his smooth, hard body. Now it was covered with sweat and that little bit of moisture felt great. The smell was even more than I could handle. I felt my dick start to join in again and getting harder by the minute. "Francis?" I said in a soft, warm tone. "Yeah, Nick?" he answered while we were just drowning in each other's eyes. "May I take your t-shirt off?" "Of course you may." I stuck my hands underneath it and I slowly started to pull it up. He held his hands over his head and slowly I saw his well-formed chest, his nice nipples and those great shoulders. I pulled the t-shirt over his head and then let it fall quickly. Going lower again with my hands, I started to feel his great chest and stomach, exploring his nipples. He moaned softly and said: "Like what you see and feel?" "Mmmmm," was all I could say at that moment. I was totally focused on his chest. Had there ever been a nicer sight to see? Those muscles, those nipples and that great hole in his stomach. Just too perfect! I slowly went down with my head and I started to lick up his sweat from his chest; then slowly I moved over to a nipple which I gently took in my mouth and sucked at it lightly. I didn't need to look up to see Francis. I knew exactly what I was doing to him when again a soft moan left his chest. I slowly let his right nipple go and went for the other one. This one I slowly started to lick with my lips, first swirling around making the circle smaller and smaller until I softly touched his nipple. I licked it once. This one was hard already and there was just a little more to bite on. "You'd better stop doing that, Nick, or I will cream my pants here and now," Francis said, not completely in one breath; he needed some time to finish the sentence. I looked up at him. "Is that not what you want, Francis?" "Yeah, I want it, but not here I think." "Well, just enjoy it a little more." And with that, I went back to his nipple and again I started to lick it slowly and then sucked on it delicately, but with some suction. Francis could not keep his hands to himself any more. With me bent a little, he slowly had put his hands behind me and was starting to touch my back and going through my hair with the other hand. That just made me feel electric all over and I started to lick and suck a little bit harder. Francis moaned again and I felt how he lightly shuddered. I knew what happened. He didn't want to cum but he just had. Knowing that and the feeling of his body and the scent of his sweat pushed me over the edge and I felt at least three or four spurts of cum leave my hard dick and soak my underwear. I stopped licking and I slowly started to back off and look at Francis. Just lying there on our sides looking in each other's eyes I knew how much I loved him. We started to kiss each other again. I knew we had to go back real soon or Alexei would not know how to keep James busy any more, and James probably would start wondering why we were taking so long. "We'd better go to the others now, Francis," I said at a moment when we broke off our kiss. "I guess you're right, Nick." We stood up and tried to get our clothes back in order. "You liked it, Nick; you didn't mind that I was cumming!" "Mmmmm, no; that was great! What did you think I was doing?" "I don't know. I love you Nick. You just can't imagine how much." We just then opened the door and walked into the lockers, expecting to find Alexei and James there all dressed and waiting for us but there was no one in the lockers. "We'd better get our clothes off and get showered. They will be waiting outside for us I think," I said to Francis. "I don't think so, Nick. Look, there are James's clothes in the corner." Then it struck me that I could here the shower going. "We'd better join them then in the shower so we can go eat. I am really getting hungry." We both undressed and walked with a towel into the shower area. We stopped when we could see the far end corner of it. There they were, both James and Alexei. Not standing apart but holding each other with their towels around their waist, kissing each other passionately. Before we could turn around and go for the private shower stalls, Alexei saw us and started to get red. He let go of James and said, "I guess we were doing the same thing you were doing inside there, so don't look so surprised." James looked back now and had a smile on his face. He was enjoying himself, I could see that. "Well, we will just get ourselves a private stall and meet you back in the locker in about 5 minutes, Alexei?" "Yes, that will be fine, Nick." We turned around and, when I tried to walk into one of the private stals together with Francis, he just stopped me. "You know I love you Nick, but I want to discover you in a different way than in a shower. So if you wouldn't mind, please let's not share one." "I thought you wanted this, but that is fine by me." I walked a little bit further and went into the next stall, a little disappointed. I knew Francis was right; this was not the way we would really enjoy each other. It would have to be too quick and that was not pleasant. I really wanted to see all of him and touch him all over but well, that had to wait. In the shower my mind went back to what we had seen. I never had thought that Alexei would be bi. I was glad I knew that; it would make talking to him a lot easier. While I showered, I heard Alexei and James walk past talking. I made sure to be ready as quickly as possible and when I came back to the lockers, Alexei and James were almost dressed. Francis was not yet to be seen. "I hope you are not too startled by this, Nick, but I never denied I like guys so ...." "No, Alexei, don't apologize. I have no problem with it. Besides, I think you have chosen one heck of a good-looking guy to kiss so go for it, I would say." While I said that, I had looked at James and saw that his face turned red completely. "Don't be shy James, I already found you very cute when I saw you last Sunday." I wanted to make sure that James understood that he'd better not mention the fact that we had seen each other on Monday also. "Thanks, Nick, and if I got it right you and Francis are an item, too. Or did I understand Alexei's remark wrong?" "No, you didn't, James. I love Nick and I want everyone to know that," Francis answered when he walked into the lockers before I could say anything. Francis walked towards me and gave me a quick kiss on my cheek. I was a little surprised that he showed his affection this openly. "Well, good for you," James answered when he saw me looking around with a slightly red face. "I think we'd better get some dinner. I know I'm hungry," I said, changing the subject as quickly as I could. The four of us went to a little Greek restaurant, which was a nice place to eat. It wasn't too big and it had nice little corners with tables for four people to relax and enjoy the food. We stayed there longer than I had expected, but the evening went very well. Francis and James hadn't known each other before, but had some of the same interests, so the conversation was good and long. Around 9 p.m. I suggested that we should leave. I knew I had to do some homework, so it would be better if we left. We were in two cars. Francis had brought his parent's car and Alexei had rented one, so Francis offered to bring James back to Mike's place and Alexei took me home. When we entered my dad was in the hall very quickly. "Where have you been? Do you know where Francis is? His parents have called several times to see if you or David knew where he was." "I am sorry," Alexei said. "This is all my fault. I took them out for dinner after practice and I guess Francis didn't call his parents about it." "Is Francis going home also? If not, I'd better call them. Do you have the number Nick?" "Yes, I have it upstairs. I will get it, Dad, and be right back." I wanted to call Francis, but he had no mobile telephone so I couldn't prepare him. If his parents were mad, the second night in a row, I'm not sure what would happen. When I came downstairs, Alexei said, "Give me the note. I agreed with your father that it might be better that I call them." "OK, just let them know that he will be home soon." "I will, Nick. Go on into the living room; I'll be there in a minute." Alexei didn't want me to be with him when he called, so I walked into the living room. It seemed like ages before Alexei joined me. My dad had gone to his room so it was just me and Alexei there. "And did you talk with them?" "Yes I did, but they are really strange people, Nick. They didn't mind that I gave him an extra training session, especially after I explained who I am. But when I told them I took him and you and James out to get a bite to eat, they started to get upset again. I hope they will take it easy on him." "Oh, no, I should have told you not to tell that James and I went along with you." "Right. I guess that is something I could have left out, but I told them, so I can't change it anymore. Do you think Francis will be in deep trouble?" "I just don't know, Alexei. They are really strange people and as I said before I am not sure what Francis will tell them. You saw how happy he was to kiss me in front of you two. I think he really meant it when he says that he wants everyone to know that he loves me." "And you, Nick? Are you ready for that?" "Well, I'm not sure, Alexei, but if it helps him to deal with his parents, I will be there for him as you suggested." "You really didn't mind that I was kissing James?" "No, of course not. I'm glad that James is the one you like. He is a really nice person. You can't believe he is Mike's cousin. They are two totally different persons." "You are right about that. So...," he quickly ended the conversation as dad walked into the living room. "And did you reassure his parents a little, Alexei? "Yes, I think I did, but they seemed to respond a little oddly when I told them I took the boys out to dinner tonight." "Well, I must say that I've had some strange responses from them also when I called last time. But that's enough about Francis. How did training go, Nick? "I learned a lot. I think I'll be ready soon to step in if someone gets injured." "You think so? Well, I am not sure about that. It is a little bit too soon, I think, but we'll just have to see." "I think he will surprise you, coach. I showed him some new routines tonight and he went through them as if he had done them 50 times or more. He is kind of a natural. I want to do some extra training with him for the rest of the week." "Do you really think that, Alexei? I never thought that he would be able to get there." I was too startled to say anything and was just looking from Alexei to my dad and back. "To be honest, I think he has more talent then some of the others who have been doing this for a longer period. I look at Mike and see that he needs to put a lot more hard work in to get where he could be now. But it'll take a while before Mike can do some of those routines. Nick, on the other hand, seems to have some natural ability to do much of the most difficult stuff. He otherwise would never have done the things he did tonight." My dad looked at me and, for the first time, I saw some pride in his eyes. "Do you agree with that, Nick? Because if so, there will be new school championships in three weeks where you can get a real place on the team if you want." "Well, maybe I could try out for them. I don't think I can get a place, but I can always try. That would give me some experience in competing as well." "That is true, and there will be official judges this time, so no one should be afraid that I will try to help you that way. Can you help him with some of his routines then, Alexei, so that he is really ready for it?" "Of course! I'll do that this week and I'll stay in touch to see how he is progressing while I am gone." "Thanks, Alexei, that would be a great help. And now I'm off to do some homework and sleep after that. Good night, Alexei, dad ..." "Good night, Nick," they both answered at the same time. As I went back upstairs, I started to think again about Francis. Would he be all right? I hoped he would be. The talk with Alexei and my dad had brought me some distraction. Did Alexei really think I was that good? I had to ask him that the next day. I had never thought of me being in an actual competition, but it had gone really well lately during practice, so why shouldn't I try it? I started on my homework and, when that was finished, I knew I'd better get to bed and get some sleep. The long practice had made me more tired than I felt in a long while. Just before I went to sleep, my mind went back to that afternoon in the practice room and Francis's nipples and him touching me. I just hoped that everything was all right with him as I slowly drifted of to sleep... I'm not sure what woke me up, but it was still dark in my room. I turned around to see if there was someone or something that had awakened me. I didn't see or hear anything and I decided that I had dreamed something. So I slowly laid back on my bed and began drifting back into sleep when suddenly there was that same sound again, like someone was sniffling, maybe even crying. I turned around and switched on the light. I needed to know what it was. Nobody was in my room, so I wondered what was happening. I didn't hear any more noise, so I slowly walked towards the door of my bedroom and silently opened it about half way, expecting someone to be sitting outside it. But nobody was there. Then there was that sound again, and this time I was awake enough to know where it was coming from. It came from outside. My window was open half way as usual. I wandered toward the window and slowly pulled the curtain aside so I could look outside. I saw a shadow sitting beside the tree that was in our garden just a little to the left of my room. Then it hit me: he was crying, but it was still too dark to see who it was. Then he shook his head a little and I knew that move by heart. Francis. Could it be him? Why was he here? I wanted to yell at him, but I didn't want to wake anyone up. I quickly turned around and looked at the clock beside my bed while I put on a t-shirt. It was almost 3 o'clock. I walked downstairs quickly and went through the kitchen into the back yard. I turned the corner and there he was. I was right. Francis was sitting against the tree with his head between his arms crying - not hard, but still crying. "Francis," I said softly when I got closer to him. He didn't seem to hear me because he didn't look up. I slowly knelt beside him and again I said softly, "Francis." He looked up then, realizing I was kneeling beside him. "Oh, Nick," and with that he started to cry even harder. This time I knew that there was only one thing I could do, and I slowly took him in my arms. I felt him crying uncontrollably, and I felt him tremble and shiver at the same time. How long had he been out here? He didn't feel too warm, I thought. It was better to get him into the house. I'd better not go upstairs because I would wake everyone else but I had to get him inside. The living room or the kitchen would be the best for now. "Come, Francis, let's go into the house. You feel so cold and we can talk in there." He looked at me and, just as he began crying again, said, "I'm sorry, Nick, but I had nowhere else to go. "Don't worry, Francis. Come on in first." Slowly we started to walk to the back door. Francis's head was resting on my shoulder most of the time. I put him on one of the chairs and I thought it was a good idea to get him a warm drink. "You want some tea, coffee or hot chocolate, Francis?" "No, don't bother Nick, I'm fine." "Well you can say that, Francis, but I hope you don't mind if I am not going to believe you. You need something warm to get a little heat back into you." He didn't respond to that, so I turned around to make some chocolate for the both of us. I looked at him a few times while I was doing that; he was just sitting there on the chair as though there was nothing left anymore; nothing he could do that would please him. When I was ready, I took the two mugs and put them in front of him on the table. Instead of going to sit down beside him, I bent forward and kissed him on his forehead, whispering at the same time, "I love you, Francis." He looked up then and smiled a little bit. "Well, that's just the problem, Nick." And he tried to sound as reasonable as he could, but there was a lot of hurt, disbelief, and pain in it what he said. I knew, of course, what had gone wrong. He had had a fight with his parents. I wanted to make sure that he knew he had a place to stay if he wanted, so he could let his parents cool down before he went back. I took a sip of my chocolate as I asked him, "Do you want to tell me about it before we go to my room to get some sleep?" He just looked down at the kitchen table and said nothing. "Come on, Francis, I'm here for you. I love you and wouldn't do anything to hurt you, you know that." "Yes, I know, Nick, but I am not so sure if I understand myself what happened tonight." "Well, you told me that talking helps, so if you want, I'm here for you and maybe you can understand what happened a little better after you tell me." "OK. I took James home and left right away. When I came home, I heard my dad on the phone with Alexei. I'm not sure why they were talking but my dad put down the telephone quite harshly and I knew then that he was not pleased with something." Francis stopped a moment to take a sip of the chocolate. "Then, when he saw me coming in, he came towards me and said, `Where have you been, why didn't you call? Must we be worried again?' " `I'm sorry, dad, but it's only 9.30 and I never call when I am planning to get home around that time. We agreed that I would call if it was going to be later than 10 p.m.' " `Well, the rules have changed. If you are going to behave irresponsibly, we want to know where you go and what you do. Got that?' " `What! You can't do that. I'm old enough to do what I want. I don't have to ask permission for everything.' " `Well, you do from now on,' was the answer my father gave me. "I looked at him and I knew we would get no further. I just wanted to make it clear to him that I didn't agree and I left as quickly as possible. So I shouted a little harder than I intended: `No, I won't. I will let you know when I am late but I am not going to tell you everything I do'." Francis continued with his tale of woe: "I walked out of there and went to my room. I shut the door behind me and sat down on my bed. I'm not sure how long I sat there, but it must have been at least a half-hour when my dad and mother were knocking on my door. " `Open up, Francis. We need to talk.' " `No, I won't talk to you now, I am going to sleep,' I answered. "It went quiet then for a while when suddenly the door, which I had locked, was opened with force. Damn! I thought, but dad opened the door and walked in. " `We need to talk, Francis. You know we had an agreement before we moved over here and we think you are not doing your best to keep it. You are spending way too much time with those friends on the gym team.' " `What?' " `You know what we mean, Francis, we just want to help you.' "My father looked at my mother and then added, ` We think it'd be better if you stopped with the gymnastic stuff and try to get some other friends and put more effort in your studies'." Francis took another sip of his chocolate and I saw that he had tears in his eyes at that moment. "I'm not sure Nick what I said then, only that we had a real harsh debate with a lot of name-calling and yelling going around. I just couldn't stand it any more and then before I knew it, I said to them, `And what if I am in love with a boy? What would you do then?' "They just stared at me then and without saying anything they turned around and left my bedroom. I was not sure why, but they left. It took them another 30 minutes before they came back. They didn't say anything to me. I tried to get them to talk, but they just didn't respond." He looked up to me and more and more tears fell from his eyes. "Do you know, I didn't see what they were doing until my mother turned and picked up something, then turned to me again. She was holding a bag with clothes for me in it. She just came towards the bed where I was sitting. She didn't look at me even while I tried to look into her face. She opened up my drawer, put some socks and underwear from it into the bag. My dad just stood there looking through me as if I was not there. My mother took the bag and walked out of my room. It didn't occur to me then what she was doing, so I followed her downstairs. I could feel my dad following me downstairs. When she came downstairs she ...." Francis broke down when he got to that point. I had started to cry also. How could they respond like that to their son? It was just impossible! I saw the hurt and the pain on Francis's face, so I walked towards him and hugged him. I took him into my arms and we just held each other until his crying changed more to a whimpering sound. "I am sorry, Nick, but I can still not believe what she did then. You know, she just got my coat, opened the door, and together with my bag she put both on the porch. She left the door open and turned around and walked into the living room. I wanted to scream. I wanted to yell. But I just couldn't. When I turned around to look at dad, he just seemed to look right past me as if I was not standing there in front of him. "I, well ... I didn't know where to go, so I just ended up in your garden, hoping to find some light burning. But it seemed that all of you were already in bed, so I just stayed outside not wanting to wake anyone at that time. You don't mind, do you Nick? I'm sorry I woke you, but I just didn't have anywhere else to go." "Don't worry, Francis, you are safe now with me." I held him in my arms as he started to cry again. We were holding and comforting each other, and I was trying to get him to feel more at ease. I couldn't hold back anymore. I wanted to let him know how much I loved him, so I kissed him and he, without any hesitation, started to kiss me back. I put every little bit of love I felt for him into that one kiss - all the comfort that was possible. "I love you, Francis, and you must never forget that. Whatever happens, I am here for you." He smiled again, though it was a little smile, but it was a start and I slowly went forward to kiss him again on those soft lips, this time tasting a little salty from his tears, but that didn't matter to me. We stayed like that for a while when a slight noise got my attention. I looked up to see who or what was making it. Someone just entered the room. When I looked up, I saw David and I happily let out a sigh of relief. I just was afraid it was dad who had come downstairs, and I just didn't know if I was up to that just yet. David walked further into the kitchen until Francis could see him also. "I'm sorry to disturb you two, but I have to get a little milk. I couldn't sleep." "I didn't wake you up, did I, David?" Francis asked, trying to sound as normal as possible. "Well, I could lie to you two but, yes, you did wake me up, Francis, and I saw you two outside before you came in. I thought you maybe could use a little help here." Francis looked at me and said, "Can you tell him, Nick. I'm not sure if I can do it again." David sat down on the other side of the table and I left Francis on his own to go and sit back at my place. For the next 15 minutes or so, I told David what had happened. I saw that he looked at Francis several times while I told him what happened. "I'm so sorry, Francis," he said. He stood up and walked towards Francis. He took him in his arms for a long hug. "I'm really sorry, Francis, but parents like that don't deserve a son like you. And you know you are welcome over here any time." I had left out the exact way of how his parents had put Francis out of the house. I was still trying to deal with that fact. It was something I just could not comprehend: that a parent would do a thing like that to their own son. "Thanks, David, but I'm not sure what your father would say if I was to stay here for a few days." "Don't worry about him. We can handle him as need be. He won't give much trouble, but that's something we'll deal with tomorrow. I think it would be best if you two would go to bed now." "I think that's a good idea, Francis. Let's see if we can get some rest before it's morning." Francis just nodded and we went upstairs trying to be as quiet as possible. I took my sleeping bag out of the closet in the hall and took it with me into my bedroom. I shoved Francis in and said that I would be right back. I walked back to the door where David just had gone in and I opened it slowly. "Thanks, David, for what you just did." "You're welcome, Nick. I am really sorry for him. He doesn't deserve such assholes as parents." "Will you be there when we ask dad if it's all right for Francis to stay for a few days?" "Yes, of course, brother. I'm there for you. I will make sure I am downstairs for breakfast." "Thanks, David." "OK, get out of here now. I want to get some sleep myself." I got back to my bedroom and opened the door. I wanted to tell Francis that he could take the sleeping bag and put it on the floor beside the bed, when I saw that he was lying on my bed sleeping already. I just smiled at him and walked to the bed to put a blanket over him. I then got the sleeping bag and put it down beside the bed. I just sat there for a while looking at Francis and thinking how unbelievably lucky I was that he loved me as much as I did him. I slept for a few hours, but woke up to the sound of the alarm clock. Francis didn't hear it and I knew we had plenty of time, so I went into the bathroom, took a quick shower and, when I came back, he was still asleep. I decided to start on breakfast so I walked downstairs. I started to set the table and put some fresh-squeezed juice in glasses. I then looked into the oven to see if the bread I had put in there was ready. I looked up when I heard someone entering the kitchen. "You're early, Nick. Did you not sleep well?" "Good morning, dad. No, not so good. I just thought I would start on breakfast instead of lying there waiting until it was time to get up." "Hmmm, I believe this is the first time I've seen you prepare breakfast. Dinner, yes, that is what I'm used to from you, but breakfast!" "Well, I'm not going to make this a part of my routine, you can count on that, too." "OK. Well, you'd better make sure everyone is awake if you want them to eat something before they go. I will watch the oven." I saw that he was looking at the table then. "Hey, didn't you put one plate too many on the table?" I looked at him, just not knowing what to say and I felt my face start to get red. <>