Date: Sat, 22 Jul 2000 03:13:27 EST From: Cameron J Subject: Mile High Meeting-Chapter 8 Here is chapter 8 for those of you reading this! I appreciate all of you who have written, and I apologize if I haven't responded to everyone (although I think I have...my brain isn't functioning at 100% at the moment...LOL). Please e-mail me with comments or suggestions on how you think the story is progressing. I have a lot of ideas about events in the future, as long as I can fill in the gaps in between those times :) This story is not meant to imply anything about the sexuality of anyone, or anything written about within. It is just a piece of fiction about males who happen to like each other. If you are under 6,574 (18 years + 4 leap days) or 7,670 (21 years + 5 leap days) days old, and you shouldn't be here, then make a calendar counting down the number of days until you can legally read this story. Once it reaches zero, you can enter the above URL and enjoy! Mile High Meeting-Chapter 8 I awoke in the middle of the night to feel a warm body next to mine. I was a bit confused for a moment, but it felt really good to have someone next to me. I then remembered that I had asked Nick to sleep in here with me, and I smiled, remembering how eager he was to do so. The moonlight reflected off his blonde hair, and I just smiled as I watched him sleep. He really was beautiful, and he seemed so peaceful lying there. I watched him for a while longer, before deciding to get some more sleep. Every muscle in my body was completely relaxed, so I knew it wouldn't take long for sleep to overcome me, and it did a moment later. The next thing I felt was Nick stirring slightly as the light in the room increased with the sun rising. I opened my eyes to find Nick looking over at me, smiling. "Good morning," Nick whispered. "Normally, mornings aren't good, but this one certainly is starting off well," I replied. "So, how are you feeling this morning?" Nick asked, concerned about my ankle. "Don't know yet. I won't know until I try walking on it, and I am perfectly content to stay in bed all day, as long as you are here." "I could live with that, but I don't know about Brian. I think he wants to spend some time with us today." "It's a big bed. I am sure we can find room for him too," I said, laughing. "Well, he likes you, and he is glad we are together, but I don't think he is that happy about it," Nick said, smiling. "I suppose you are right. I guess he'll just have to stay out in the living room." "Uh huh. He'd really like that. We should probably check to see how you are doing, in case we need to get that thing looked at." "When did you become so responsible? I thought you were the least responsible Backstreet Boy." "I still hold that title, but there are certain things that I care very deeply about," Nick said, kissing me. "Well, I am certainly glad that I get to be one of those 'things' that you care about," I said, as I pulled him closer to me. I wanted to feel his body close to mine. I just stayed there for a long time, with Nick next to me, feeling his every breath on my chest. I think we would have stayed there all day, but the phone ringing interrupted us. Reluctantly, I reached over to the nightstand to pick it up. "Hello?" "Hi, Cameron. Did I wake you up?" "Hey, Brian. No, I was already awake. What's happening?" "Well, I just wanted to see what you guys were up to. Is Nick somewhere close?" "Closer than you think, Bri. Do you want to talk to him?" I asked. "Uh...yeah, I guess," Brian said, clearly shook up by my answer to his question. I handed the phone to Nick. "Hey Bri...what are you doing?" "Well, I was about to ask you the same thing. Are you...did you?" Brian asked. "Yes, I am in here with Cameron, but nothing happened," Nick replied. "Are you sure that is such a good idea?" "Brian, nothing happened. It isn't a crime to sleep," Nick said, becoming annoyed. "I know. I just don't want you to do anything you regret." "I won't. Just trust me. So, why did you call?" "Well, I was wondering if you guys had any plans for today. I thought we could hang out if you didn't." "Well, I don't think we have anything planned. It depends on how Cameron's ankle is feeling," Nick answered, looking at me. "We're going to find out how he is, and then we'll call you back, okay?" Brian agreed, and Nick said goodbye, handing the phone to me. "So, he tried to give you the third degree, eh?" I asked. "Yeah. I just wish that he would trust me," Nick said, obviously disappointed with Brian's questions. "I know, Nick, but he just cares a lot about you, and he is worried about you. He can't help that any more than you could when you saw me hurt my ankle." "I guess you're right. Well, should we test out the ankle?" Nick asked. "Well, I guess now is as good a time as any," I said. Nick then sat up, getting out of bed. I got a fantastic view of his backside as he stood up. He filled out his boxer-briefs quite well, and I couldn't help but stare as he came around the bed. The view from the front was even better, and Nick blushed slightly when he noticed that I was looking so intently. "You like what you see?" Nick asked. "Oh, yeah. I am impressed." Nick laughed, and then reached for my hand to help me stand up. I took it, and stood up, putting as little weight as possible on my left ankle until I steadied myself. I then put more weight on it as Nick held on to me. I took a few steps, and although it still hurt to walk, it was not nearly as painful as it was the night before. "I think it feels a lot better," I said, stopping to look at Nick. "I think it will be fine." "You're not just saying that, are you?" "No, I really think it isn't that bad. Your massage last night must have worked wonders," I said, smiling. "I will have to injure myself more often." "You don't have to injure yourself to get me to touch you, Cam. I am more than willing to help out anytime." "I will have to take you up on that. However, we shouldn't keep poor Brian waiting. I am going to take a shower, so you can call him if you want to see what he wants to do," I said, walking toward the bathroom. "Okay," Nick said, as he walked out to the kitchen. I took one more peek of Nick as he walked away before I went into the bathroom. I turned on the water, taking off my shorts as the water got hot enough. I stepped in, and my mind immediately wandered. I would have given anything to have Nick in the shower with me, but I thought that we would be able to do that soon enough. I decided not to waste any more time, so I finished my shower fairly quickly. I turned off the water, and stepped out, reaching for my towel. I soon realized that I forgot to bring any clothes in with me, so the towel would have to do. I wrapped it around me, and walked out into the bedroom to find Nick sitting in the chair in the corner. He looked up when he saw me, and his eyes were definitely wandering, checking me out. "Now who's staring?" I asked. "Guilty," he said. "Damn, you look good in a towel." I laughed as I found some clothes out of the dresser. "Would you like to watch me dress as well?" "Well, actually..." he began. "Soon, Nick. Soon." "I know...I was just joking. I need to get ready too." I nodded as he said that, and soon he was in the other bedroom. I quickly shed the towel, and began to get dressed. I wanted to take this slowly, but my body was definitely trying to tell me otherwise, as indicated by the erection I was sporting. I didn't know if Nick noticed, but I didn't really care. I had a feeling that he would be seeing it in the near future. Once fully clothed, I went out to the living room to wait for Nick to tell me what the plans were for the day. I heard the shower shut off, and a while later he made his appearance, his hair still slightly wet. As he sat down next to me, I couldn't resist messing with his hair, which made him laugh a little. "So, what's the scoop?" I asked. "Well, we are supposed to go over to our condo to meet Bri, and then I think we are going white-water rafting, if you're up to it," Nick replied. "I wouldn't miss another chance to get wet with you two," I said, smiling. "You two? Is there something I should know?" "Well, Brian is pretty cute, and hard to resist..." I said as Nick punched me lightly on the shoulder. "However, I don't think he quite compares to you." "Aww...nice save. Well, we've seen your condo, so now you get to see ours," Nick said. "I am sure it makes mine look, well, insignificant. After all, you boys have a few more dollars than I do at the moment. Not that I don't plan on catching up. I just haven't figured out how yet." "It's a nice place, but I think I enjoyed staying at your condo a lot more than my own," Nick said with a grin. "Ditto. Well, we should be going, I guess. Lead the way," I said, motioning for the door. We left my condo, and made the short walk over to where they were staying. Before we left, I had considered asking Nick whether he wanted to take his suitcase back to his place, but I quickly dismissed the idea. I wanted him to stay with me. I only hoped that Brian didn't want Nick back with him tonight. I knew that Brian only wanted to protect Nick, but he wasn't a child anymore, and I hoped that Brian didn't think I was trying to take advantage of him. I am older than Nick, but only by 3 years, and that didn't seem like a lot to me. I followed Nick into a building, and we climbed the stairs to the third floor. Nick inserted the keycard, and opened the door to an absolutely beautiful condo. I wasn't surprised that it was that nice, but I have to admit that I was slightly jealous. Perhaps Nick and I would have to spend a night here, if Brian would allow it. "Bri, are you here?" Nick called out as he went down the hall. "Yeah, hang on," I heard Brian say in the background. "I'll be out in a minute." I decided to walk into the living room, and out onto the deck. It was a great view. The condo overlooked a golf course, and you could see many of the same mountains in the distance that I could see from my condo. I knew that it was going to be very difficult to leave Colorado under any circumstances. Nick joined me a moment later, and he reached for my hand as he came up to me. I just looked at him for a moment, and then back out toward the golf course. We were enjoying another one of those moments where words weren't necessary. A moment later, Brian cleared his throat to get our attention. "Hey guys. Sleep well?" Brian asked sarcastically. "Yes, quite well," Nick said. "I know that you don't trust me, but I am capable of making mature decisions. We have already talked, and we are not quite ready to take that step. However, when we are, that will be our business, and no one else's. I know that you are trying to look out for me, and I appreciate it, but I don't need you to baby-sit me." Apparently, Nick had expected Brian to be this way, and he was well prepared. Brian couldn't really say much, and he just ended up walking back inside without saying a word. "Oh, great. Now's he's pissed," Nick said quietly. "Do you want me to go talk to him? I think you kind of blind-sided him there." "I don't think he wants to talk to me right now, so you can if you want to. I was just trying to stand up for myself for once." "I know, Nick. He just wasn't expecting that, and I don't think he is pissed. From the way he looked, I think he was more hurt than anything. Perhaps he is just coming to the realization that you don't need to be protected anymore. Let me go talk to him for a minute," I told him, "Maybe you should stay out here." Nick nodded in agreement, and I went inside to find Brian. He wasn't in the living room, so I walked down the hall, finding him in a bedroom. He was sitting in a recliner, with his arm supporting his head as he stared out the window. I knocked on the door, and he turned around to see me. "Can we talk for a minute?" I asked. He nodded slightly, and I sat down on the bed. He swiveled around to face me. "So, you don't like the fact that little Nicky has grown up, eh?" I said to Brian, trying to sound sympathetic. "No, that's not, well...yeah, I guess that's a lot of it. I've just been looking out for him so long that it hurts to hear him reject me so soundly," Brian said, visibly upset. "Brian, he wasn't rejecting you. He was just trying to tell you that he needs his own space. I know that it sounded a little harsh, but he loves you, and you have to know that." "I know he does, and I am really happy that you two got together, but I just worry a lot about him. I just don't want to be replaced." "Oh, come on. I will never be you, Brian. Nick and I have only known each other for a couple days. You have known each other for years, and I could never replace you. I hope that Nick and I are together for a long time, but if we aren't, you will still be there for him. "We serve completely different roles for Nick. I am trying to help Nick discover his feelings about his sexuality, and in turn, he is teaching me a thing or two. Granted, that isn't something you can do, but you are still there for everything else, like always. Our relationship doesn't change that." Brian just sat there for a moment, taking in everything I had said, and then he pulled me into a hug. "Thank you for being there for Nick, and for me. I hope you two are together forever, because Nick certainly deserves to have a great guy like you." "Oh, stop it, before you make me cry," I said, squeezing Brian tighter. We sat there for a few minutes more, collecting our thoughts before we went to get Nick. Brian stayed inside while I went out to get Nick. When I got outside, Nick looked up with me with an uncertain look on his face, and I just winked, and took his hand. He reluctantly took the cue, coming inside with me. As soon as Nick was inside, Brian came over to him, giving him a big hug. "I'm sorry I didn't trust you Nick. You've got a great guy there, so don't let him go," Brian said, pulling back to look Nick in the eyes. "I don't plan on letting him go," he said as he looked at me. I just smiled back at him. "Well, enough of this sappiness," I said. "Let's go rafting!" They both agreed, and soon we were out the door. We had a long drive to get to where we were rafting, so I volunteered to drive. Nick called shotgun (not that I would have let Brian sit up there), and soon we were off. We pulled onto the main road as Nick broke the silence. "Cameron, you told me that you weren't rich, so how do you afford a vehicle like this?" Nick asked, referring to my Navigator. "Depends on your definition of rich. I have plenty of money, but what can I say? I am greedy," I said, laughing. "So, how did you get your money?" Nick asked, still prying. "Well, my parents are both financial planners, and they made some rather wise investments. They set up a large fund for my education when I was born, and they have been putting money in ever since. I also put all my birthday money and about half of the money I made working during high school into the account. As it turns out, the returns on the money were far greater than my parents imagined, so I am now forced to cope with the problems associated with a six figure portfolio." "Well, I am glad to hear that your parents did so well. Where do they live?" "They have a large piece of land in Iowa. It isn't farm ground, in case you were wondering. It's actually quite beautiful. Not quite as beautiful as the land around here, but it is a great place to go to get away from it all. I will take you there sometime to show you...that means you too, Brian," I said as I looked at him in the rearview mirror. He nodded and smiled, before looking back out the window. Nick and I continued to talk, and the time seemed to pass quickly. We arrived at the address for the rafting company, and Nick woke Brian up as we pulled into the driveway. There were several other people there, and I began to worry about the guys being recognized, but they didn't appear to be too apprehensive about the situation. We checked in at the desk inside, and soon they were outfitting us with life jackets, and handing us oars for rowing. We conversed briefly with the other group that was waiting for a ride. It was a father with his two twin sons, and two of their friends. One of them recognized Nick and Brian, but they were all very cool about it. As it turned out, we would be put in two rafts, with the three of us in one raft, and the other five in another. We were going out at the same time, which was going to be nice as they were all friendly people. After the guides went over all the safety precautions, we were shown to the rafts. After we were all seated, we pushed off, and we were floating down the Colorado River. The first part of the river was pretty treacherous, and quite exciting. Nick was sitting next to me, but we were busy rowing to avoid the largest boulders as we went down the river. We were all having a blast, ice-cold water and all, and it appeared that the other raft's occupants were having a blast as well. After a while, and after we were all soaked, the water began to calm down considerably, and became much more gentle. This allowed both rafts to float along side one another, and we all engaged in conversation. The boys on the trip were about our age, and they were all in college. We were having a really great time, but Nick decided to spice things up a bit. Nick leaned up to Brian, who was sitting in front of him, and whispered something to him. Brian nodded, and then Nick filled me in on the details. I would be just an observer, but I wanted to know what he had planned. We had all just began to dry off a bit in the sun as Nick tapped Brian, and soon they used their oars as weapons in what was to become a water fight to end all water fights. They soaked the guys in the other raft in one fell swoop with a flick of the oars. Of course, they had to retaliate, and soon we were all drenched again. Nick couldn't quit laughing as the water flew, and soon the two guides in each raft had joined in. Apparently, Nick didn't get quite enough pleasure from soaking the other raft, so he turned to me, and decided that the one square inch of me that wasn't wet needed to be drenched. After the initial blow, I did the only thing a guy could do in my situation. I pushed him out of the raft. Nick went under briefly, but popped back up quickly with a look of shock like I had never seen before. That look sent me into hysterics, and soon everyone was dying laughing. He mouthed the words 'you'll pay for that' as I helped him back into the boat, but he then had to laugh once safely onboard again. "I thought you liked to get wet, dear," I said innocently. "Dear?" he said smiling. "Well, sweetie, you're still going to pay for doing that!" "I am looking forward to it," I said under my breath, so only he could hear. The ride ended too soon, and we were soon back on solid ground. We had to board a bus to get back to our vehicles, and it got very cold on the bus without the sun shining directly on us. Nick was shivering worse than I was, and I wanted to hold him, but thought better of it. We were soon back at the main building, and after saying goodbye to the guys in the other raft, we were back in the Navigator. Fortunately, it has leather seats, so they would be easy to dry off later. "So, now what, guys?" I asked. "First thing we are going to do is to find someplace to buy some dry clothes," Nick answered. "Sounds good to me. I am sure we can find something around here," Brian added. I drove around until we found a clothing store, and went in to buy some clothes. The lady that helped us just laughed, and told us that it seemed like half their business came from rafters who wanted to put on something dry. Soon, we were all outfitted in dry clothing. We thanked the lady, and I noticed that Brian gave her a big tip for all her help. We ended up spending most of the day in that little mountain town, looking around and shopping. Both Brian and Nick seemed to enjoy shopping quite a bit, and it showed by how full the back of my SUV got by late afternoon. We were all exhausted after a full day of shopping, and both Nick and Brian fell asleep on the way back to the condo. It was about an hour trip, and fortunately, I wasn't tired so I could drive, as neither one of them could have done it. Nick was slumped over in his seat, and eventually his head found my shoulder as we drove along. I pulled into the parking lot a while later, and woke both of them up so we could go inside. They were still about half asleep as we got inside, and we all agreed that a nap was definitely in order. Brian retreated to his room, and Nick and I found his room, which was an upstairs loft. We didn't bother to undress, and we fell onto the bed. Nick curled up next to me, putting his arm on my chest. He was asleep almost immediately, and I wasn't planning on being far behind. My last thoughts before succumbing to sleep were of the future; questioning how we would be able to keep this relationship together when we led such different lives. Fortunately, I didn't have much time to worry about it as I drifted off into a world of much more pleasant thoughts. That's it for chapter 8...I think I am going to try to speed things up a bit in future chapters (not in terms of the relationship, but in how much of a time span each chapter covers). PLEASE e-mail me to let me know what you think! I greatly appreciate those who have written already, and would like to hear from you if you are reading this... Thanks for reading!