Date: Wed, 05 Mar 2003 17:35:42 +0000 From: Ben nobody Subject: Berto's Roses 57 Berto's Roses By Ben Part LVII I woke up "spooning" with Berto in my arms. His back was pressed firmly against me and his ass crack cradled my cock. As I held him, I marveled at how well his body fit against mine. This felt so right! I knew it was time for us to get up from our siesta, so I pressed my lips against the nape of Berto's neck and began kissing him awake. I worked my way across his shoulder, kissing him and softly calling his name to awaken him. "Berto..." kiss; "Berto..." kiss; "It's time for us to..." kiss; "wake up." kiss; "C'mon..." kiss; "Open those beautiful..." kiss; "brown eyes..." kiss. Berto moaned softly and rolled onto his stomach. I pulled the sheet from his naked body and kissed my way down his back, then touched my lips to his side. He writhed and started giggling. "Ayee! Ben, stop! You are tickling me." He cried out. I couldn't resist. I kissed and tickled him with my fingers until he was rolling back and forth, screaming at the top of his lungs. He was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes. "Ben, please...stop." He panted. "Say `uncle'." "What?" He gasped between laughing fits. "You have to say `uncle'. That means you give up." I explained. "No! I do not give up." He said, challenging me. He tried to wriggle free of my grasp. Damn, he was strong, but I got my legs wrapped around him and managed to hang on. I mercilessly tickled him some more and he finally conceded. "Si, si! I give up! You are too strong for me. What do I say? Tio!" "Close enough." I announced, stopped tickling him and held his firm body next to mine. He turned toward me and placed his lips on mine, kissing me while he breathed heavily through his nose. "You are muy loco, Ben." He said, while bouncing my head into the soft pillow with his left hand. "I am crazy about you, Berto. Do you know how long I have loved you?" "No, tell me." Berto lay back and grinned. "I guess since the first time I saw you in the rose garden, squatting down and bent over your roses. You were a beautiful site. I could tell how much you love those flowers." "You watched me tend to the roses?" Berto asked. "Yes, many times. That's why I wanted you to teach me how to care for them as you do. Well that and..." My voice trailed off. "And what, Ben?" I hesitated a bit. "I, uh, as much as I love the roses, Berto, and I really do..." Berto nodded. "Si, I can sense this." "...The real reason I asked was so I could be close to you. To watch you and occasionally touch you while we worked. Is that wrong of me?" "No, Ben. I enjoyed being with you, too. At first, it was like having a Papa. Then, later, maybe a big brother. My feelings for you continued to grow and I fell in love with you." We were silent for a bit, then I asked, "When did you know, Berto?" "Know? Know what?" "When did you know that you loved me?" Berto thought for a moment. "I think I first began to know it when we went swimming and you thought I was drowning. You were so scared and I could tell that you cared for me. I was disappointed when I realized that you were not really trying to kiss me. I wanted you to do that." For no reason, I could understand, this caused me to blush. "I remember that night, too. I remember how your lips felt on mine. Even though I was scared and was trying to help you breathe, To feel you in my arms was a wonderful experience." Berto took my hand and brought it to his lips, kissing it gently. I pulled him to me for another sweet kiss then held him a while longer, feeling his heart beat against mine and feeling his breath on my neck and shoulder. I knew it was time for us to join the rest of the household. We roused ourselves and got dressed. I thought it was a shame for Berto to cover such beauty. We walked, hand-in-hand to the garden. Everything seemed to be in order there so we stepped into the sunroom. Jose was, once again, silently seated on the couch. I saddened me to see this handsome man, once so smiling and full of life, now so deep in sadness and torment. I saw Ricky standing just inside the door of the kitchen watching Jose as well. The love and concern he felt for his lover were clearly evident in his expression. I hoped Jose would begin healing from his ordeal soon. I heard a car pulling into the gate and walked out to see who it was. To my surprise, I saw Nathan at the wheel of Ricky's 1957 Thunderbird. I was even more surprised to see that he had a passenger and who it was. Jake! I hurried to the car and hugged him as he stepped out of the small car. "What are you doing here?" I asked him. "I wasn't expecting you for a couple more days." "That was the plan," Jake began. "But, Nathan called me and told me that Ricky was arranging a private, chartered plane to pick me up in Jacksonville. It brought me to San Diego and then both of us were flown to San Augustin. Ricky wanted Nathan to bring this car here to Santa Rosalia. Do you know what for?" "I have a pretty good idea." I answered. Nathan flashed his brilliant smile. "Ricky found out that Berto wanted to buy it from him. He mentioned it to Carla and she insisted that we drive it down and give it to him as a gift. She said that they had become very close and she wanted to do something nice for him." "He's gonna wet his pants, Nathan. He'll love it. The fact that Carla engineered the whole thing will mean even more to him. Come on in guys. Should we let Ricky tell Berto about it?" I asked. When the three of us went inside, Berto was on the phone with Ricky standing behind him, grinning from ear-to-ear. I was able to ascertain that Berto was talking to Carla. "Uno momento." He spoke into the phone then set it down. He walked past us and exited the kitchen door to the carport. We heard a high-pitched shriek followed by rapid excited words in Spanish. I grabbed the cordless phone off the kitchen wall. "Carla? Listen to this..." I held the phone so she could hear Berto joyously carrying on about his car. The other's had come out to watch him as well. Jose, curious about all the noise, made his way out as well. I even saw a hint of a smile and a faint spark in his eyes as he watched Berto get in and out of the car, open the hood, the trunk and glove compartment. He caressed every square inch he could reach, all the time chattering like a little monkey. He was supremely happy and I knew this car would receive just as much care as did Berto's roses. Finally he calmed down a bit and I handed him the phone so he could talk to Carla. "Gracias, mi hermana. Gracias." He began, then launched into a long excited speech in Spanish that I couldn't begin to understand. He talked for awhile then rang off. He turned to see his audience, then, one-by-one, hugged us all. He thanked Ricky over and over; Randy and Wade seemed as excited as he was. Jose got a long, gentle hug and Nathan got his hand pumped up and down while Berto thanked him for bringing him the car. Coming to the end of the reception line, Berto finally realized that Jake was standing there. "Jake!" He squeaked. "When did you get here?" Jake laughed as he, too received an enthusiastic hug. "I came with Nathan. "I guess we need to get our stuff out of your car." As they did so, it caused me to think. With Wade and Randy in Bob's old room, Ricky and Jose in their room, and Miguel, Jose's nurse in one of the small rooms, that left Berto's room and Manuella's room for Nathan and Jake to stay in. Berto could now move his things into my room, but I wasn't so sure Berto and I were ready to clear out his mother's room, yet. When I expressed my thoughts, Nathan and Jake looked at each other and Jake said, "Nothing to worry about, Ben. Nathan and I can stay in the same room. Nathan nodded his agreement. I looked at both of them and thought, "Ah, that's awfully convenient!" I had to admit, though, they would make and extraordinary looking couple. Almost identical in stature and build, Jake's deep tan closely matching Nathan's smooth brown complexion. My mind's eye was filled with the sight of the two of them naked and making love. "Well, okay, then I guess that's all settled. Berto, are you going to drive your new car, or what? Why don't you take Randy or Wade with you?" I could tell they admired the car as much as Berto did. Berto thought for a moment. "Si I will take them with me, even let them drive it, but I want you to go with me first, Ben." He looked at me and smiled his perfect smile. The one that always took my breath away. I knew that, when he looked at me that way, there was nothing I could ever deny him. "Let's ride, then!" I said and slid into the passenger seat and shut the door. Berto scrambled into the driver's side and started the engine. He carefully backed his way out the gate and started down the bumpy road. "Ayee!" He crowed, tipping his head back and filling the air with his happy cry. To my surprise, he didn't drive like a bat out of hell. I guess he was going to be more conservative with his speed where HIS car was concerned. I just shook my head and chuckled at the ways of youth. I had really toyed with the idea of ending this series. I have a lot of ideas and loose ends to take care of. I'm not really sure how I would end it anyway. I was rather disappointed in the lack of response to the last couple of chapters. But, not long ago, Greg wrote to me and asked if I was going to continue. I have, and you can thank him for it. It's been difficult to find the time to sit and try to be creative. This story is, and has always been, very special to me, so, for the time being, I will continue. Your comments are very welcome and my "fans" have encouraged me greatly. If you haven't already done so, take a look at my other stories on Nifty. Just click on the "Authors" link and scroll down to find "Lyle Benton". Thanks, Ben