Date: Tue, 26 Oct 2004 10:20:52 -0700 From: Steve Thomas Subject: Coles-Dreams - Ch. 18 This is a work of pure fiction, based on the author's feelings, beliefs, and in some cases, experience. There may be graphic sexual encounters at times between men, so if this offends you, you are invited to retreat. If you are too young or it is otherwise illegal for you to be reading this kind if story, shame on you for reading it - - please stop here. If not, - - ENJOY! Cast of Characters: Cole Alexander Stephanson IV -- Our hero Jazz -- (Jack Zachary) Coles oldest brother Diane -- Jazz's wife Rod -- Coles middle brother Igor (Iggy) -- Cole's Tutoring Pupil Cole Alexander Stephanson III -- Coles Dad Ethyl Stephanson -- Cole's mom Rex Remlin-- Rod's best friend Gus Hartwin -- Cole's Boyfriend Michelle -- Cole's old girlfriend. Dexter -- Iggy's boyfriend Ed -- Paramedic Manolo -- Paramedic Steve -- Manolo's boyfriend Diane -- Jazz's wife Randy -- Found Boy Curtis -- Found boy's brother From Chapter 17: "You -- you -- you -- told my dad -- about -- about - " Gus stammered. "No I didn't. I just told him that Cole needed as escort and we liked you so much we wanted to send you with Cole." Gus's shoulders slumped. He took another bite and at the same time, tears were dripping on his plate. He swallowed the bite extra hard, then looked into my mom's eyes, then my dad's. "Thank you Mom -- and Dad!" He said. "I love you both so much!" I nodded along with him. Chapter 18 I feel badly for Mom and Dad, but at the same time, this is the most exciting thing that I have ever contemplated. And to be going on this dream vacation with my sweet Gus! I tried not to ruin it with thoughts of just WHY they were doing it for us -- for me. Before I could turn around, it was time for finals. My subjects were harder than ever before, so I was pretty stressed about finals. But finals week there were no regular classes, so at least I was able to get plenty of sleep. We couldn't find out our grades until after the trip anyway, so I just decided not to worry about them until that time. I am getting pretty good at putting my worries into a box for later. On the Monday after finals week we boarded a big gray 747 with no writing on the side. It took us to New York, and from there we flew to London. I wanted to stop in New York so much, but we would see it after Europe. Our first stop was Frankfurt. It is really a rather sprawling city, but has the look of a town. I was impressed by the children. Even older kids looked so innocent, compared with the kids in America. Their rosy cheeks and grins for anyone were so cool. American kids seem to want to look cool all the time. Not these kids! They just were sweet and innocent. Southern Germany is so green and beautiful. And there really are castles by rivers. And they are used for tourists! I'm not sure I'd want to stay at any of them. We walked into one to check it out. Nothing was done to modernize it! And the beds were no more than cots in that one. I guess some people want to experience it as it was in the middle ages. Not me! We went to another that had been modernized. It was a lot nicer. "How much per night?" Gus asked, just as a matter of interest. "$125 American -- but only for tonight!" The attendant answered. We looked at each other and laughed! We both expected a lot more. And we didn't expect it to be free! This was our last night in southern Germany. We decided to go for it. I called the hotel we had stayed last night and said we would not be staying tonight -- and then we booked it. We went and got our stuff from the other place and drove around the rest of the day, seeing all kinds of places. Every little town was built around a little church. We ate lunch in Aschaffenburg, in a little hofbrau type inn. We had sauerkraut and sausage of some kind with potatoes and a vegetable and - - beer! I HATE beer, but we decided that - this was Germany! We had to have some beer! We found a little shop and both bought lederhosen and a shirt to go with it. Tomorrow would be Austria. We wanted to dress the part. We wore them out of the store. I know, I know! We looked like really dorky tourists! Well, I did anyway! I can't imagine anyone thought Gus did! He wore his lederhosen with no shirt! It was cold, but he insisted after I told him how hot he looked! When we got back to the castle, there was a restaurant within walking distance, and we were really hungry, so Gus put on his shirt and we went there first! They were serving American food. We decided on prime rib. Well, it wasn't exactly American style. Nothing here is as grand or rich as American restaurants fix things. But it was good! And we tried some wine from the Rhineland. I hate wine too, but I choked one glass down, then asked for some milk. The couple next to us almost puked when I asked for milk after drinking the wine! "You vill be sick!" he warned me. We walked to the castle, and it was buzzing with activity. Had we known, we would have eaten there! They had a buffet type feast served family style for all the guests! We learned that this was opening weekend after this castle had been refurbished. Supposedly the reservations were by invitation only! We had just walked in at the right time. There was a last minute cancellation. So we noshed on some of the goodies, even though we were full from dinner. There were some German Chocolate pastries that were very delicious. There was dancing to a local band -- one that fit the medieval setting. We saw another couple of guys dancing together, and no one seemed to give them a second look. So we did it too. I was a little light headed. I didn't drink that much wine, and the beer was early afternoon, so I was a little confused why I would be feeling this way. When we got back to our room, there was Champaign in a charger with ice, and several gifts from the management. German chocolate, and crackers and sausages, and also colognes for each of us. One was decidedly for a girl. We asked the room attendant about it. He answered that this was originally scheduled for a bridal suite. He apologized and brought some male fragrance to us that was from Spain. The bed was high and not very big. Probably double. It was very soft and as it was getting cold, we were happy for the extra blankets. We took pictures of each other in different parts of the room. Then we asked the room attendant to take some of both of us. He did one in front of the window, overlooking the river. Then another from outside the room looking in, and then he giggled. His English was pretty good, but had a tough time telling us what he wanted to take next. Then he had even more trouble trying to convince us to do it. He wanted us to get naked and in a loving position on the bed! Finally, Gus said, "Well, we will only get one chance to do this! If we don't like it, we can toss it -- or save it for just us to see!" So we took our lederhosen and all our underwear off and posed with Gus atop me, and looking into the camera -- and laughing. We didn't want it that way, but we couldn't stop! There was no frontal nudity, and it was from my good side, and - - Gus's butt looked so sweet! I spanked it before the picture -- just a little - to make it glow! The bedding was all white. There were even white covers, with white sheets on both sides of the covers. There was a generous variety of pillows. I chose a very soft down one that would push down to almost nothing. Gus chose one that supported his head more -- harder and thicker than mine. There was a large bath tub -- large enough for both of us. We started to get in and Gus said, "Wait! You get in -- I'll be right back!" He came back with the room attendant -- and the camera! Another pic in the bathtub! After he left, we lounged in the tub for a good 20 -- 30 minutes, then started to kiss. We washed each other off, and tickled and played and giggled like a couple of little preteen boys in the tub together! We got out and there were extremely thick and soft towels for us on a towel heater. The room was not all that warm, but the towels were very warm and cozy. After drying off, we ran to the bed and got deep under the covers. We cuddled just to get warm. Well - - maybe not JUST to get warm. Gus started to kiss me and I responded passionately. My stomach gurgled. We laughed. And kissed again. Then a huge burp came up. It tasted terrible! All of a sudden I sprang from the warmth of the bed and ran almost stumbling to the toilet. I lost all my dinner! Tears were streaming down -- I don't know why -- and I felt so sick! Guess it must have been that wine/milk combination. We hadn't touched the Champaign! I was still feeling sick, but I brushed my teeth and then we got back into the bed. Gus held me until I went to sleep. We were hugging the opposite sides of the bed when we woke up. I felt fine, but really hungry! We could have taken a train to Salzburg or driven ourselves. The room attendant (whom we tipped big!) talked us in to the train. He said the scenery was beautiful and we could see and enjoy it more if we were sitting higher and one of us was not driving. We went to the Trapp Family home/museum. We bought a CD that was the original von Trapp family Singers, doing music from the "Sound of Music" movie. From Salzburg we did drive to Lichtenstein and then Zurich. I didn't want to even touch any part of France, but we were able to sample some French pastries in Zurich. From Zurich we flew to London. We stayed across a park from Buckingham Palace. It was very cold in London. Foggy for more than half the first day. It cleared up in the afternoon for awhile. We walked past the Palace and saw the guards standing like statues. And just like every movie and TV show I've ever seen, there were children and women pestering the guards, trying to get them to smile or laugh. They didn't. I asked another tourist to take our picture with the guards. We sat down in front of them, back to back and holding hands. When we got back to our room, and were scanning the shots we got, the one in front of the guards surprised us. One of the guards was obviously looking at us and smirking. For dinner, we wanted to experience typical English food. We were sent to a thatched roofed building with a restaurant in it -- the "Dragon's Lair" or something. We ordered pork roast and potatoes. There was strawberry shortcake for dessert. I wondered where they might get fresh strawberries this time of year. Well, probably from Chile. What a disappointment when it arrived. Well so much for American decadence! And so much for English scarcity! We got a piece of sponge cake with some strawberry juice on it. That's all! Order that same dish in America anywhere and you get real shortcakes, with a mound of strawberries, and heaped with whipped cream. I know, way overboard! But that's the American way -- and I that's the way I like it! We visited Stonehenge because I have always been fascinated with Merlin and King Arthur. I have read that Stonehenge was before them, but that Merlin rebuilt it from ruins -- not so much thru magic as is told, but thru engineering -- which seemed to be magic to the simple people living there and then. It was pretty awesome. It actually felt kind of spooky or eerie or something. It was like I expected to see an elf or ogre disappear behind one of those huge stones. I didn't! I was not disappointed that we missed France, but I wanted to see Spain, and it wasn't on our itinerary either. But our next move was to a cruise boat -- not huge, but a sail boat and - - crazy fun! We stopped at Madagascar before sailing toward Italy. Our first stop in Italy was Naples. From there, we rode a train to Rome and then to Florence. All that art concentrated in one country! We were both in awe. From Florence, we took a rickety old bus to Pisa. It was in danger of falling until in the 1990's it was restored to the angle of 1970. It is closely watched now. We got an excellent picture of us standing in front of it -- leaning the other way. We rode the same old bus but back to Florence and then got another to the Adriatic Sea, where we picked up another, older sail boat. This time we sailed to Greece. Athens was spectacular. The Parthenon was so much more impressive than can be shown in pictures. We cruised to several Greek Islands. Boy, they love Americans there! I almost started to like the food before we went to Istanbul. Istanbul was the closest we got to an Arab land. Turkey is heavily populated with Arab type people. They are the most beautiful people in the world, I think! The men are beautiful as the women! Our tour guide was a shortish young Turk, with stout features, but very VERY handsome! Probably about our age. I think he was straight, but everyone there seems to flirt with everyone else! I think they are a very happy people is all. Mutlu (Happy, in Turkish) was his name. Once I figured out he wasn't flirting with us, it was easier to concentrate on the scenery! Many people consider Turkey to be the birthplace of the Christian Church. I can't see that, cuz it seems to me it started in Jerusalem when Jesus picked his apostles. Anyway, it seems strange that a land known for very rich Christian history is now mostly Muslim. We were so close to Palestine! I wanted to go there. Actually, we could have, just by postponing our flight out of Istanbul and going. But the day we were considering it, there was a bus blown up by terrorists in Jerusalem, so we decided to just get on the plane and leave that all behind us. My dad told me that years before, his next door neighbors were from Jordan. This guy grew up -- his younger years in Palestine. In 1948, his family, Christians, were forced out by the United Nations, and were promised by the Jews that their land and home would be paid for. It never was! This is one reason the Palestinians are so upset. The Jews came in, under the authority -- and force -- of the United Nations, and drove the non-Jews out, making promises that were never kept. That didn't seem fair to my dad. My response was that there are a lot of things that happen in the world. Very few are "fair". That was over 50 years ago. It seems unfair, but - - they should get over it. So we flew from Istanbul to Mexico. It made me sick looking at the air over Mexico City from the plane. I got sicker when we deplaned. We spent 2 days touring Mexico City. It was interesting, but we were both half sick most of that time. Then we got on a bus and went south past Popocatepetl, a live volcano, that they said could blow any time. We couldn't see the top because it was covered in smoke. Taxco is a silver town. It is very pretty, and it seemed like there should have been the ocean there -- but there wasn't. I bought a silly silver belt buckle with coral and turquoise (or plastic?!) inset in it. Gus made fun of me for it! Then we went further south and west to Acapulco. I wanted to stay there forever! But we could not do that, so after some beach runs, some shopping and a very scary parasailing adventure, we reluctantly got back on the bus and headed for Guatemala and Belize. There is so much history in Mexico and everywhere south. We were two weeks into the tour, and called home. Mom and Dad said to take our time, but really we wanted to be back before we ran them out of money. But we made stops at most of the major cities on the TransAmerican highway. We had to take a side trip to see Machu Picchu. It was so high in the Andes Mountains it was hard to breath. Luckily there is a hotel built there for tourists. It was the lushest, greenest place I've ever seen! It was much bigger than I expected. The Incan Indians built it as a place of protection for their people from the other warrior tribes. The Hotel sold picnic lunches, so we bought some and went for our own tour. As we made love in a remote, hidden, very green spot a world away from the civilization we were used to, I wondered if the Incas were tolerant of their gay people. I know some North American Tribes were. Others weren't. Gus wildly got himself off inside me, as we stood stark naked in a narrow green pass, as I braced myself on some ancient wall, and stroked myself off at the same time. I know we will never forget the time we "came together" at Machu Picchu! We were both way out of breath -- and happy! We collapsed on our clothing and fell asleep in the tepid air. No one bothered us until we awoke to a noisy bird fighting with a smaller rodent of some kind. As we lay in the hotel at Machu Picchu, listening to the crickets and night creatures sing, we started anew to cuddle and kiss each other. But since we were both exhausted from a heavy day, we satisfied ourselves with a very quiet and gentle fuck -- me on top this time. Our wake up call was early, as we were to ride to Chile and on to Argentina. There were so many places to see, I have written elsewhere about them. What I was most impressed with in South America was Iguazu Falls, between Paraguay and Brazil. Picture Niagara in a lush green rain forest. Now magnify it (width) many times. Iguazu is the longest fall in the world. As we traveled to it -- by bus -- they had to chop some of the undergrowth from the road as we went -- it grows so fast! (http://www.greatestplaces.org/book_pages/iguazu2.htm) New York, New York! I know I will be hated by some people for this, but - - I've seen waaaaay too much of Los Angeles. New York was like more of the same -- only worse! I don't like big cities! (Or - - I didn't! But more later on that!) Luckily Gus agreed. We went up through Northern New York to Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Upstate New York reminded me a lot of Northern California. It was beautiful. We mostly kept the top down on the car unless it was raining. It was cold, but we wore warm jackets and kept the windows rolled up to hold back the wind. My dad told me he has a rich 2nd cousin -- or something -- who, with his gay partner, has a compound in Vermont with several other gay couples. Some guy named Robert Balser. They are all gay, but they adopted a bunch of children from Russia or something. But it was out of the way, so we didn't look them up. Dad said that one of the guys got the idea to adopt these kids from Russia and to find and bring their mothers over here to take care of them. Someday I will have to come back and see how it works. When we hit the narrow New Hampshire coast, we drove north up the coast of Maine. Some wild and beautiful country. We were finally forced to put the top up on the convertible. The heavy mist was too wet. We stopped at an overlook. The Atlantic surf was crashing on some very jagged and primitive looking rocks. It wasn't raining, but it was plenty cold, with the overcast and the light mist. We got out of the car and looked down upon the rocks, the surf and the salt spray. It had a slightly different smell than the salt/oil smell of the southern California coast. Gus was standing behind me, his arms holding me tight, as if he were protecting me from something. I relaxed back onto his body, and he nuzzled my neck and kissed my neck and ears. "Cole, I wish this would never end." "I know. But my parents can't keep us like this for too long." I answered. "Oh! No, I meant -- I want us to always be as close and as much in love as we -- as I feel right now." "Oh!" I didn't mean it to sound so surprising. I was just on a different page. "Isn't that what you want?" he said, nuzzling my neck again. "More than anything in the world, Gus. At almost 21 years old most of the guys I know don't want to even think of settling down. Why are you so much different?" "Me? What about you?" "Gus," I started. Then I got choked up. "Gus -- I am going blind. I guess -- umm -- guess that -- it's still hard for me to imagine that you want to take care of me!" I started to cry. "Shit! I didn't want to do this! But -- but -- I sometimes ask myself if I could possibly be as open and accepting as you are." "I think you're being too hard on yourself, Cole. You're paranoid because you are the one who is in the situation. I feel so much love from you! If it was then other way around, I KNOW you would be here for me! I just can't imagine not being loved by you!" I turned and looked into his eyes. I looked from one to the other and back. "I know. I would be there for you! It just is so fucking -- so -- not fair!" I said exasperated "Cole! Such language!" He said kidding me. "I know -- sometimes there is no language sufficient to express what we feel. You are so much smarter than I am -- that's why you can express yourself more easily most of the time NOT using that kind of language. But seriously -- life is never fair, is it?" "I guess not. But -- sometimes I think of us -- and I am so happy that we are together. Well, I'm ALWAYS happy for that! But sometimes I am so sad that we probably won't have kids to call us daddy." "Your cousin -- or your dad's cousin, is it? Maybe we should have stopped to see them." "I don't know. I guess we're close enough that we could go back. But -- I don't think -- I -- not this trip." I took a big breath, sighed, and laid my head on his chest. He stroked my hair with one hand and with the other, he produced, from his pocket, a very masculine looking ring with a huge diamond in it, and held it in front of my nose. I stared at it for a moment, then as it was really too close to see, I reared my read back and to see it better. Then I looked at Gus. "What's this?" I asked. "It's a ring." "Duh!" I said. "Cole, I was hoping for a quiet spot like this to give it to you. I want you to think about this before you take it. I want you to tell me that you love me and you will spend your whole life with me." I was so stunned. Not by the thought of staying with Gus. And really - - not that he would want to stay with me. "Gus -- where did you get - - THAT?!" "Oh! In the last town we were in. It was at the counter. COLE! It's not real. Like, where would I get the money - " "That's exactly what I was wondering." "It's something to just put away in your jewelry box, really. It was the thought that excited me. It's not real! If you wear it, it will get dull and crappy looking really fast. But - - it means - - a lot -- to me -- if you take it. The ring is fake, but the way I feel is not!" I started laughing. He stepped back and scowled. "No -- no -- NOOOO!" I said. I just am so happy! SOOOOOO happy! And either I had to cry or laugh. I'm tired of crying, dammit! Gus, this is the happiest I've ever felt -- in my entire life! Laughing feels great! I feel a little drunk, even!" "Drunk?" He exclaimed, and started laughing too. I know he couldn't keep a straight face with me laughing. We laughed some more, and then I grabbed him and kissed him! There was no one else around, so he picked me up and laid me on the warm hood of the car. Then he crawled on top of me and kissed me deep, and our bodies made faux love to each other. We got back in the car, and I said, "When can we tell the others?" "You mean -- your family?" He said. "Don't you want others to know?" "You mean at school? I'm not sure." "I mean your family, Gus." "I -- oh! Well, um -- I dunno if I'm ready for that. M y mom -- you know -- she knows. And she says my dad probably knows. And she says she is proud of me and loves me no matter what. But - " "But?" "You may have noticed -- she hasn't gone out of her way to contact me since I've been with your family. And they're only a few blocks away. I really do think she loves me. But I think she's -- well, embarrassed to let any of her friends know. She's proud of me -- but -- not -- of THIS." "Gus. Um -- you -- um -- haven't gone out of your way to contact her -- them -- either." I said looking deeply into his eyes to see what was behind them. (Okay, I only could look in one eye at a time. But that's all full-sighted people can do anyway!) His gaze went from me. He looked far away for a moment. "I know. But I just keep seeing the pleading look in Rex's parents eyes -- that we never give away his -- well, THEIR -- secret. I think that's how my mom feels. I'm not even sure about Dad. I feel closer to my new parents!" He started the car and drove on. A big lump seemed to constrict my breathing, as I thought about how wonderful my parents are. We stopped overnight at a bed-and-breakfast. It was so sweet that night. He made sweet love to me three times. Of course I reciprocated, but it seemed like he couldn't get enough of me. That made me feel so good! We woke up and drove through New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and took a ferry to Prince Edward Island, where we stayed at a wonderful old Scottish hotel for the night. One thing I like about being a guy -- and being WITH a guy is -- I understand girls are not horny as much as guys! We had sex almost every night on our trip! We drove back to Halifax the next morning, where we hopped a plane thru Montreal to British Columbia -- Vancouver. In Canada, you are never out of the earshot from running water. You can stop anytime and listen, and water is running. This is in wide contrast to the Los Angeles area, where the rivers are in reality only dry beds that are for storm control in the winter. And even in winter they only have water when it is raining. My parents had reservations at a beautiful old hotel in Vancouver, but we had to cancel because we stayed too long in South America. The only place we could get -- because it was a weekend when we got there -- was a small motel on a not very nice side of town. We took a taxi from the airport and when we were settled in the room, I asked about some bottled water. The tap water at this place was not too good -- or at least not what I was used to. "I looked as we were coming in." Gus said. "I didn't see any here. But there's a little market down I saw the street. I'll be right back!" He ran out the door. I thought about what a great time we had had on this trip. And tomorrow we were going home. We took hundreds of pictures, and I tried to remember each place in my mind, knowing that the pictures someday would be useless to me. I got undressed, and put on the silk sleep pants that Gus bought me in Mexico. I wanted this last night of our trip to be the best! I was trying to figure out the TV -- to see if there was a music channel, because there was no radio, when there was a knock at the door. I smiled and walked over and , just in case it wasn't Gus, I only opened it a crack, with the safety latch on. In the dim light outside our room, there stood two policemen. I wondered what was going on. I knew we didn't do anything wrong. "Is your name Cole?" One of them asked. "Yeah, just a minute, let me get my passport." I didn't invite them in. "You'd better get your clothes on sir. Your friend is in an ambulance out here." I felt a piercing stab go through my chest. "What?!!" "He was in the wrong place at the wrong time, sir. He was mugged a block away. The convenience store operator called the police and we got here only to find him on the ground." "Oh my God!" I panicked. "Is he -- is he - " "He's in the ambulance and asking for you, sir. Please hurry." I had been just standing there in my shorts. I jumped into a pair of pants and whipped on a shirt and jacket. I grabbed some shoes, and socks and ran out barefoot. I cut my foot running to their car. They took me the short distance -- a block away -- where the ambulance waited. I jumped out of the police car and ran to the ambulance. There was my sweetheart lying on his back, with a bandage covering most of his face. Tears sprang to my eyes. "You've cut your foot, sir, let me - " "Is he -- um -- critical?" "If he was sir, we wouldn't have waited for you. We didn't want to, but he insisted on it." I crawled to where I could see Gus's face better and - - he could see me. I couldn't tell how much damage there was with the bandages there. He gave me a grimacing smile. "Sorry, Babe! I kinda screwed up tonight, didn't I?" He said to me. My stomach was in knots, and all of a sudden I realized that he wasn't seriously hurt. With all that pressure off, and the relief I felt, it was too much for me. I took several gulping breaths, trying no to break down, but it didn't work. He put out his arms to me. "Careful his leg sir!" the attendant said. It was then I first noticed that he had cleaned and bandaged my foot up where I had cut it running to the police car. I gingerly knelt by the folded up gurney and lay my head on his chest. He patted my head and petted my hair. That gave me the permission I needed. I sobbed only once, and squeezed out tears of relief. He just held me and patted my back. "You guys are pretty close brothers, eh?" The attendant said. We both giggled. "Yeah, pretty close!" I said. "Oh!" the attendant said. Then he lowered to a whisper -- for what reason I don't know, `cuz no one else was there. "Are you gay? Hee hee!" I took a chance. "You mean, `too'?" "Yeah! Hee hee!" "Yeah, um, I thought so." I said. "I'm Cole and this is Gus. But you already know that." "Yeah! Hee hee! I'm Kian." "You look very young Kian." "I'm eighteen!" he fired back defensively, then relented. "Actually I'm not supposed to be by myself here, but it was so busy tonight, and several guys called in sick with the flu." "Bummer!" I said. "Wow! You look about 16! Do you have a -- a boyfriend?" "Yes! Hee hee! I'm gonna see him in 1 ½ hours -- when I'm off." "Cool. How old is he?" "He just turned 19! We've been together since 11th grade." "Do your parents know?" "No way!" "Do you live at home -- with your parents." "Yes! And I hate it!" "So -- why do you stay?" "Economics." "So your parents are letting you stay in their home while you -- do you go to school?" "We both go to Douglas Community College." "Cool. Who's paying for your education?" "Hee hee! The government!" "Cool!" I said. "Is it a 2 year school?" "Yeah." "And your partner -- is he also training to be an EMT?" "No. His dad is a pharmacist. He will probably work for his dad, eh?" "Is his dad okay with your relationship?" "Dunno! We haven't told anyone yet." "You can't keep it a secret forever." I said, catching a frown from Gus's bandaged face. "Won't it be hard for -- um -- what's your guy's name?" "Nicolas -- Nicky!" "Won't it be kinda hard to work with -- and FOR his dad if Nicky is gay, and his dad doesn't like it?" "Maybe. That's why we aren't telling them." "Oh." I said looking at Gus. He looked disapproving of my conversation. "Hey! Do you guys wanna go out to a place tonight -- after Gus is finished at the hospital?" "Will he be able to leave the hospital?" "Oh yeah! Nobody stays in the hospital up here unless they are near death. But it is free!" "Where would we go?" I asked. "To a bar -- not a regular bar where a lot of drunks are. It's a gay bar. They also serve non-alcoholic drinks at a decent cost." I looked at Gus. He was bobbing his head. "I guess so." I said. "KewELL!" Kian said. "So -- are you guys about 28?" Now it was my turn to giggle. "Gus and I are both almost 21." "Oh! Hee hee! You're still boys too, Eh? Hee hee!" " `Fraid so." We pulled into the St. Paul's Hospital emergency room. Luckily there were not many patients there. They saw Gus, treated him (set his nose which was broken) and we were out in 90 minutes. When we came back out through the waiting room there were several more people there, and more coming in a long line. I saw a head pop up over the others in the line, as if he were looking for someone. He spied someone near us and quickly walked our way. This guy was young, but very sure of himself. He was 6'-6" tall and very nicely proportioned. Buff, I would say. He walked directly up to me. "Hi! Are you Colin?" He said in a melodious bass voice. "Erm -- Cole is my name!" That's it! Sorry! Kian told me but I got mixed up I guess." He flashed me a wonderful toothy grin, and he had very cute dimples. "I'm Nicolas." "Nic -- OH! Nicky!" I said. "Yeah!" he blushed. "Kian insists on calling me that! And you must be Gus -- the injured one! Man they weren't kind to you were they?" Gus's face was all discolored yellow and black and blue from the broken nose and also he was beat up pretty bad. "Thanks!" Gus said. "I needed to hear that!" "Oh! Sorry!" Nicolas said. And as if one foot wasn't enough in his mouth, he continued. "Oh!" he said looking at me. "Kian said only Gus was injured. Were you there too?" I felt puzzled only for a moment. "Wha -- oh! No, I -- my eye has been gone for awhile now." I blushed but not as deeply as Nicolas did. "Omigod!" He said. "Could I BE more stupid? I'm sorry dude! I - " "It's okay. I am getting used to it. When the other eye goes, I'll wear dark glasses so people know!" I'm afraid it came out more bitterly than I meant it. "Come with me, guys." He led us out to a car. Well, to call it a car was understating it. It's a Hummer H2, I think. But it has a Cadillac Escalade grill and looks all Caddy inside too. He opened the door for Gus, and then I got in the other side. "Hi!" Kian said, giggling. "You're full of surprises!" I said to him. He giggled again. "Pretty kewl, huh?" "I -- uh -- guess!" I said. Then Nicolas got in. "Hee hee! They're speechless, Nicky!" "Never a problem for you, is it, Kian?" Nicolas said, humorlessly. Then he looked in the rear view mirror at me. "Kian likes my car more than I do!" "It is a pretty cool car!" Gus said. "I know. But -- I feel like such a hypocrite -- or something - driving it." "Why?" I asked. "It's a fricken gas guzzler." "Heh! Bet it gets better mileage than mine!" "What do you have?" "We have a 1957 Pontiac Safari wagon." "Really??!! Kewl!" "What -- you even know what it is?" I said incredulously. "Oh yes! There were very few made. They look like a Nomad, only more ornate." "That's the one." "I'd rather have that!" Stood and leaned up closer to him, and put my hand on his shoulder. "I don't understand, dude. Why can't you be content with what you have?" "It's because his dad bought it for him!" Kian said. "Did you see the license plate?" "Kian," Nicolas whined, "Shut up!" "It says NX JNKR! Is that kewl or wut?" "What -- oh! Nick's Junker! Haha!" "It fits!" Nicolas said. "But Kian is right! Dad got it for me when I graduated first in my class. I just feel so guilty." "Guilty for what?" "If he knew about me and Kian -- he wouldn't be so happy!" "Oh." I said. "If you graduated first in your class -- excuse me but -- why are you going to a community college -- especially if your dad is rich enough to get this for you!?" "He likes my reasoning. He can buy anything he wants, but - - he appreciates frugality. I told him I wanted to stay home -- with them -- and also to go to the JC to save some pennies." Nicolas paused for a moment then went on. "Of course the real reason is because I want to be with this idiot over to my right." Kian giggled. "You must really love him!" I said, not really meaning as much as was implied. "Yeah, I do! He embarrasses me sometimes when he gets like this, but -- I guess that's part of why I love him so much too. He's silly. I can't ever be silly." "Wow!" I said. "That's pretty deep -- and intuitive of you!" "Blame it on my shrink! He explained it to me. But I got it!" "Cool. Do you know where you're going?" "Yup! The Odyssey Night Club. It's the coolest gay club in town." "You can go to night clubs at your age?" I asked. He started to answer but was interrupted by Gus. "I can't go there looking like this!" Gus said. "And besides, I'm not feeling too good." "Sheesh! I really am an idiot tonight. Insert third foot." "Hee hee!" Kian burst out. You may have a third leg -- hee hee -- but it's not quite a foot! Maybe six inches!" Then he giggled like a little girl. "See what I mean?" Nicolas said. "Be happy you only have to put up with that for one night! I get it all the time!" I actually felt kind of sorry for Kian. As silly as he seems, it doesn't seem right to belittle him like this. "Do you HAVE to leave in the morning?" Kian said, pleadingly. "Actually we don't." I said. "We've been gone for over a month, though, and we were supposed to be staying in the Four Seasons. But we overstayed in other places, and all reservations were closed there. We are not too pleased with where we are staying now -- especially after - - what happened. So we just want to get home." Nicolas pulled over his behemoth and pulled out his cell phone. "Dad? Yeah. Listen, Kian met a couple guys -- brothers -- who are traveling together. They were supposed to stay at the Four Seasons, but were late getting here. They could only find this place on the wrong side of town, and -- well, one of them got mugged walking to the store. "Yeah. Well, Kian was the EMT that cared for him. They're really nice -- from southern California. Yes I'm sure they're not GAY! They're brothers! Yeah! Traveling. Do you think you could? Call me back! K! Thanks!" "Wow!" I said. "Do you think he can get us a better place?" "Yeah! The nicer places usually hold some special rooms for special customers." His phone rang. "Yeah? Cool. Okay! Wow! WAY cool, Dad!" He stopped and turned the car around -- like on a dime! "Wow! How'd you do that?" I asked. "Four wheel steering. Yeah, I DO like that feature! So -- he just called them and they are setting up a penthouse suite for you!" "Oh! I don't think we can afford - " I said, then, "A penthouse suite - - where?" "The Four Seasons. It's on my dad! And know what else?" "What?" "If it's okay, we'll stay with you! Dad said there were two rooms in the suite and two king beds in each room. Enough for all of us -- if you wouldn't mind company. Seriously, Kian! It was HIS idea!" "And you think he doesn't know?" I said. "Oh he doesn't! He just thinks we are best friends. Of course we ARE best friends! But it's a LITTLE more than that." "This is so cool!" Kian said. "We've never stayed together all night like this except in a camping tent! We stay together all the time at each others' houses, but we can't really DO that much there." We checked in and then had to go back to our other place to get our stuff. Now that we were checked in to the Four Seasons, this place gave us the creeps! We got our stuff as quickly as we could! We stocked up on drinks (all soft) and snackies and went up to our room. Er -- ROOMS! It was more than two rooms -- there was a living room with kitchenette as well. It was obvious that Kian had only one thing on HIS mind. He ran into the bathroom and then hollered, "Hey! Look at this!" We came running. The first thing we saw was a very large tub -- enough for two -- in a huge bathroom. Then I saw it -- a TV -- in the bathroom! Cool! Then I really saw "it". I was appalled! I really think it was why Kian called for us to come in to the bathroom. Kian was naked -- like he was ready to get into the huge walk-in shower room -- with several showers on each wall. He didn't even try to cover himself up at all. I don't know that he could have! His dick hung all the way down to his knees! It must have been 12" long -- SOFT! He giggled as he noticed that I realized I was staring! I wondered if this was part of the reason Nicolas -- well, anyway, I tried not to drool. Notes: Well, what will our sweet boys do now? Will they maybe -- but naw! They are not that kind of boys -- right? Any comments may be sent to Steve at s4d@hotmail.com. Thanks and love, Steve Bottom line: Love will Rule in the end.