This is a fictional story dealing with love and consensual sexual activities between males.  If you are not of legal age, reside in an area where viewing such material is illegal, or are offended by homosexuality and/or homosexual themes leave this site now. 

The author retains all rights to this story.  No reproductions or links to other sites are allowed without the permission of the author.

Note: Thanks to Tim for feedback on the draft chapters.  I owe special thanks to Robb and Rock for doing the final proofreading and catching all those silly little errors I missed.

FINDING FAMILY

by Jeff Allen

CHAPTER 10

I awoke the next morning before the alarm.  After quietly making my way into the bathroom to relieve my bladder and brush my teeth, I peeked into Trey's room.  All three boys were still together on the floor.  The night had been warm, and the covers were down around their ankles.  Their naked bodies were stretched out side by side.  Both Ryan and TJ had an arm thrown over Trey.

I backed up and knocked on the door.  "Time to get up, guys.  We're leaving the house in fifteen minutes."

As I packed clothes for the day into my gym bag, I heard muffled voices from the other room and then the sounds of three teenagers emptying their morning bladders into the toilet.  I started the coffee pot in the kitchen and waited.

The guys came down stairs just as the snoring of the coffee pot signaled that the coffee was ready.  TJ and Ryan wore their clothes from the day before which would be fine for running.  Trey had on running clothes and carried a gym bag.

I poured coffee for everyone.  Ryan added milk and sugar to his, but the rest of us took ours black.  Five minutes later we had TJ's and Ryan's bikes loaded in the back of the Volvo and were on our way to town balancing the coffee mugs on our laps.

I was pleased with the turnout for the morning run.  All the returning team members were there plus eight new guys who looked like freshmen.  Joe May had already assigned lockers to the new kids.  TJ put Trey's gym bag in his locker and headed outside to start stretching exercises. 

As we stretched I told the team how glad I was to see them and asked everyone to introduce themselves for the benefit of the new team members.  I'd been right about the eight new guys.  They were all freshmen.  As we ran, I was pleased to see at least one of the returning team members running with each of the new guys.  Ryan ran with TJ and Trey.

After the run, I reminded the guys that school started in three days along with official soccer practices after school.  I gave my little speech about working together as a team and caring for teammates both on and off the field.

During the shower most of the guys took the time to come over and tell me how sorry they were to hear about my brother and his wife.  I was touched, and had a hard time keeping the tears from my eyes.  Several of the guys took time to talk to Trey also.  I knew they were saying the same things to him that they'd said to me as it was obvious that Trey was having a hard time holding his emotions in check.  TJ hovered around protectively.

As I dressed, I noticed Trey and TJ talking with Joe May.  Joe nodded his head and then Trey went over and moved his stuff into the empty locker next to TJ's.

After breakfast at the Mountain Café, TJ offered to show Trey around the town.  I slipped Trey a twenty to cover any expenses and I headed back to the high school to work on getting my room ready for the start of school. 

Ginger came into my room in mid morning.  She told me all about a girl she'd met at one of the bars in Charlotte over the summer.  Her name was Jenna Rawls, and she was a senior in math education at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.  I knew Ginger'd met someone she was very interested in.  She'd told me that much when we'd talked on the phone from California, but talking with Ginger in person allowed me to see the look on her face when she talked about Jenna.  Ginger was falling in love.  She didn't know it then, but she was falling in love.  We ended up talking the rest of the morning and through lunch so I didn't get a whole lot of work done in my room.

TJ delivered Trey to my room in the mid afternoon.  Ryan had let Trey borrow his bicycle for the day, and TJ had taken Trey all over the town.  Trey asked if TJ could come back to the house for dinner and to spend the night. 

I started to say that he'd have to check with his parents first, but TJ headed me off.  "I already checked with Angela, Coach.  She said it was fine with her if you could put up with me for another night."

Back at the house, the boys stripped off their clothes almost as soon as we got out of the car and headed for the pool.  After dinner, the guys headed upstairs while I worked on more lesson plans for the start of school.

If Trey had a nightmare that night, I sure didn't hear it.  When I peeked into his room the next morning to wake the boys up, he and TJ were spooned together in the middle of the bed.

Trey, TJ, Ryan, and I were leaving the locker room the next morning after the team's conditioning run when we were approached by a nicely dressed, handsome man who looked to be in his mid-forties.

"Coach Arnold?"

"Yes?"

"I'm George Baker, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church here."

I extended my hand.  "Nice to meet you, Rev. Baker."

"You too, Mr. Arnold.  Our son, Elijah, is one of your new freshmen."

"Yes.  He's doing well, Reverend."

"Thank you.  He's excited about playing soccer at the high school this year, but that's not the reason for my visit."

"It isn't?"

"No."  He looked toward Trey.  "Is this your nephew?"

"Yes.  Trey, this is Rev. Baker."

They shook hands.

"The family resemblance is very strong.  You two could pass for brothers."  He paused before going on, "Ricky Jordan is a member of our church.  He told me about the loss of Trey's parents, and he asked for your names to be added to the church prayer list.  I came to offer my personal condolences and to let you know that I'm here if either you or Trey feels the need to talk to someone."

Rev. Baker's concern seemed sincere.  "Thank you.  We appreciate your concern and that of the Church.  Trey will be seeing a grief counselor in Charlotte beginning tomorrow."

"I'm glad to hear that.  It's important to have support at a time like this.  I'm sure your counselor will help a great deal, but if either you or Trey needs to talk with someone in a hurry, please get in touch with me.  Ricky Jordan thinks very highly of you, and Elijah said you were `cool' so I'd be happy to help if needed."

"Thanks, Rev. Baker.  We'll remember that."

I took the boys to the Mountain Café again for breakfast before heading back to the high school for some faculty meetings.  Trey spent the day with TJ and Ryan.  I didn't see him again until late in the afternoon when he showed up in the door of my classroom.

After dinner that evening, we talked about how to divide up the household chores.  We decided to alternate days on cooking and dishwashing but to use a weekly schedule for doing the laundry, dusting, vacuuming, and cleaning the bathrooms.  Yard work and pool maintenance would be a team effort.

Trey slept through the night without a nightmare.  The next morning we met the team for the morning run and then headed down to Charlotte for Trey's first appointment with his new counselor.

Dr. Diane Goddard was a plump, middle aged woman with frosted blond hair.  She greeted us in her outer office and then to my surprise ushered both of us into her inner office explaining that she wanted to talk with both of us for the first visit.  She asked several `get to know you' type questions.  At the conclusion of the session, she said she wanted to see Trey every week for at least the first month.  We set up the next month's appointments with her receptionist and then grabbed some lunch before heading back to Carterville.

We pulled in to Carterville in the mid afternoon.  The old Volvo was running on fumes so I wheeled into the garage where Donnie Micheaux worked.  While Trey pumped the gas I went looking for Donnie.  I found him cleaning up one of the garage bays.  He smiled broadly and greeted me with a hug.  Five-month-old Grant Micheaux was asleep in an infant carrier.  Donnie told me that his wife was working afternoons and evenings at the Mountain Café so he was in charge of the baby.  He also told me that Leigh was pregnant again.  The new baby was due in mid March only ten months after little Grant's birthday.  Of course I congratulated him, but he didn't seem that excited about the new arrival.  My heart went out to him.  He would have two children by the time he was barely nineteen.  It was a tough way to start an adult life.

Trey wandered in after he had finished gassing up the car.  I introduced him to Donnie and little Grant.  Donnie asked how the soccer team looked for the coming year.  We talked soccer and sports for a few minutes before Trey and I headed out to the house.

It was Trey's turn to cook that night.  The chicken was a little under done, and the vegetables were a little over done, but he was proud of having produced the entire meal.  I hoped he would become a better cook.  He did.  It took a while, but he did.

School started the next day.  We quickly got into the routine.  A morning run, breakfast in the cafeteria with the team, teach classes, attend teacher meetings, conduct afternoon practice for the team, go home, cook dinner, eat, do school work, go to bed, and get up the next morning to start the whole process again

The team was another strong one.  While we'd lost Karl Henson, Donnie Michaux, and Larry Bledsoe because of graduation, the new seniors and juniors stepped up and took over the lead on the team.  I was pleased that Trey and TJ were also taking leadership roles, and I saw real promise with some of the new freshmen on the team like Elijah Baker, Isaac South, and Caleb Stuart.  I had the three of them in my freshman government class also.  Of course I'd met Elijah's father who was the Presbyterian minister in town.  Caleb's grandfather was the county sheriff.  The Sheriff's distinctive red Crown Victoria was often parked nearby during soccer matches and practices, and I noticed Caleb and Elijah often rode home together after practice in the Crown Vic. 

Isaac South was an interesting kid.  I got the impression that his family didn't have a lot of money.  His clothes were older and not always clean.  At the first of the year he didn't seem to hang around with any of the other kids in the freshman class, but he was a totally different kid on the soccer field.  He played as if every practice and every match was for the world championship.  The other guys on the team respected him for his determination and accepted him as readily as they had accepted Trey.  Christopher Harris, one of the juniors on the team, learned that Isaac was walking about five miles each way to get to practice in the morning and home again in the evening.  He started picking Isaac up in the mornings and running him home in the evenings.  At the start of the school year, Isaac was bringing his own bagged breakfast instead of buying it from the cafeteria like most of the team.  What he had in the bag was never very substantial.  Usually an apple or a couple of biscuits.  I took that as another sign of his family's economic difficulties.  By the third week of practice I started noticing guys giving Isaac extra food off their own plates.  He always said `thanks' and took it.

The team sponsored another apple sale for Homecoming using the apples from my orchard.  There were a lot more apples that year because TJ had spent time pruning and taking care of the trees.  They raised $3,650 for the American Cancer Society that year. 

Trey met with Dr. Goddard in Charlotte on Wednesdays for the rest of August and the first couple of weeks of September.  After that we only went down twice a month.  Joe May, bless his heart, took care of soccer practice on those days, and I never detected any hard feelings from the guys on the team that I wasn't there all the time.  We had another 8 and 3 fall season.

Trey not only fit in with the soccer team he also seemed to fit in to Carter County High School with ease.  He enjoyed his classes; he had an instant group of friends in the guys on the team, and he seemed to have attracted the attention of several girls at school.  It may have helped that he was a darn good soccer player, but I'd like to think the team and the other kids at school would have accepted him just as quickly if he'd been the biggest klutz in the school. 

TJ and Trey became almost inseparable.  TJ ate most dinners with us.  In fact, he was there often enough that we rotated him into the cooking duties.  Ryan tagged along about half the time as well.  On the weekday evenings when TJ was over, the guys would work on homework for a while after dinner.  On those rare occasions when he wasn't staying the night, I'd load them in the car to go back into town.  TJ'd taken his driver's training course over the summer, and Trey was doing his that semester on Saturday mornings.  Most of the time I let TJ drive in, and Trey would take the wheel on the return trip.  On the weekends, TJ almost always stayed overnight on Friday and Saturday as well as many Sundays.  On the other hand, Trey had only spent one night at TJ's house.  He told me that Angela Ladd had spent the entire time castigating TJ and Ryan for some perceived misdeed.  He vowed never to go back to the Ladd's. 

After the first couple of weekends with both TJ and Ryan in residence and the boys all being jammed into Trey's bed, I picked up a couple of fouton chairs for Trey's room.  The chairs opened into single beds.  TJ and Trey continued to share the bed.  Ryan used the fouton most of the time, but every once in a while I would see him snuggled in with the other two in the morning. 

TJ turned 16 on October 20.  His parents didn't forget that birthday like they had his fifteenth.  He got his driver's license in the morning before school.  The next day he showed up at the morning run driving a Jeep Wrangler.  He explained that the Jeep had been his stepsister's, but since she was going off to college the next year his parents had decided to buy her a new car and let TJ have her two-year-old Jeep. 

TJ was delighted with the Jeep, but I wondered when he'd realize that what had happened was that his stepsister had gotten a new car for `his' birthday.

When soccer season was completed in mid November, we continued the morning conditioning runs and started the after school study hall in the old gym like the year before.  I didn't expect all of the guys on the team to be at the morning run and the after school study hall every day.  It was out of season after all, but most of the guys were there most of the time.  That's why it was so obvious to me when Isaac South missed the morning runs for a week.  He still showed up for the after school sessions, but he seemed more withdrawn than usual.  I knew that Christopher Harris was still picking him up in the morning because I'd seen them arrive at school together in time for Christopher to join the group for the run. 

Over the weekend I made up my mind to ask Isaac why he wasn't at the morning runs, but that Monday he was back running with the group in the morning.  He seemed happy to be back with the group.  That morning in the showers, Christopher Jordan came over and put his hand on my arm to catch my attention.  When I looked up he used a motion of his head to draw my attention to Isaac in one of the showers across the room.  His back was covered with bruises that hadn't quite cleared.

I walked over and asked him where he'd gotten the bruises.

He looked down at his feet and replied, "I was stupid and fell off the porch.  It's no big deal."

That afternoon he seemed more animated and social with the guys after school than he had been the week before.  I put the question of his bruises out of my mind.  I wish I hadn't.

That was the week of Thanksgiving so it was a short one.  Trey and I were by ourselves on Thanksgiving Day, but we were going to have company for the rest of the weekend.  Angela and John Ladd were taking a holiday weekend shopping trip.  TJ and Ryan were slated to stay with us.  The way the arrangements had been made had become a familiar pattern.  Angela had called and basically informed me that the boys needed a place to stay over the weekend because she and her husband had plans.  I didn't really mind.  TJ stayed over with us most weekends anyway.

Trey and I were watching a football game Thanksgiving Day afternoon.  Suddenly he reached over, grabbed the remote, and turned off the TV.

"Hey, what was that for?"

"Uncle Parker.  I need to talk to you."

"Sure, buddy.  What's up?"

*****************************

TREY'S PERSPECTIVE:

There's no way I could ever begin to describe what it was like to lose my parents and my best friend in that landslide. 

I was asleep in my bed.  I remember hearing the sound.  Like the roaring of a river.  Then I was thrown out of bed, and the house was moving, and the mud was everywhere.  When the mud stopped moving, I was all alone.  Naked.  Covered with mud.  I yelled for mom and dad, but they didn't answer.  Someone in a uniform, I think it was a policeman, found me.  I remember he took his shirt off and tied it around my waist and led me toward a bunch of flashing lights.  I don't remember anything after that until I woke up in the hospital.

Uncle Parker was there when I woke up.  He told me that mom and dad were dead, and later he had to tell me that my best buddy Gustavo Araujo and his family were all dead too.  He held me while I cried.  I didn't know it was possible to cry as much as I did that day.

I must have moved through the next few days in a total fog.  I remember leaving the hospital with Uncle Parker and Andrew Gordon, one of my dad's partners in the law firm.  Mr. Gordon had arranged for one of those temporary apartments for Uncle Parker and me.  We sat at the kitchen table in the apartment and Mr. Gordon explained some of the provisions of mom and dad's will.  Uncle Parker was my guardian.  I knew that meant I'd be moving to North Carolina to live with him.  I almost choked up with that news.  I mean, I guess I knew I'd have to go with Uncle Parker, but I hadn't really thought about leaving Los Angeles and all my friends.  We arranged the funeral for mom and dad.  I asked that the funeral time be arranged so I could go to the funerals for Gustavo and his parents also.

The night after the funerals, I had The Dream for the first time.  I was trapped in the mud and couldn't get out.  I felt like I couldn't breathe.  It turns out I was just caught up in the sheet on the bed, but I felt like I was going to drown in the mud.  Uncle Parker came into the room and helped calm me down.  He climbed into bed and held me.  Just before I went back to sleep, he tried to get out of the bed, but I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him closer.

I woke up later in the night.  I'd kicked the covers off us, and Uncle Parker was lying on his back next to me.  I hadn't realized he was naked when he got in bed with me earlier.  God, he looked so much like my dad, I almost started bawling again.  He had one arm behind his head which exposed the thick hair in his arm pits.  He had a lot of chest hair, just like my dad, and it tapered down to a line of hair running down his abs to his dick.  The hair around his dick was thick, and his dick was lying off to one side.  I'd seen my dad naked plenty of times; Uncle Parker could have been his double except that my dad's hair had been mostly gray (prematurely) for as long as I could remember.  Uncle Parker's hair was still dark brown, but there were some streaks of gray around the temples.  I thought it looked hot on a guy that was only 23 or 24 years old.

I had The Dream almost every other night for a while.  Uncle Parker always came in and held me until I calmed down from the dream and went back to sleep.  The first couple of times it happened he was naked when he came in to calm me down.  Being naked with me in the same bed must have embarrassed him because after the first couple of times he was wearing boxer shorts when he came into my room.  It wasn't like he was all that shy about his body.  We saw each other naked plenty of times usually before or after one of us took a shower.  The nightmares were horrible.  I relived the terror of the mudslide every time, but I did like it when Uncle Parker was in bed with me.  I was sort of disappointed when he started wearing the boxers.

The doctors at the hospital had wanted me to talk with a shrink about losing my parents.  When I told Dr. Zimmerman about my dreams, he told me that the dreams were an expected part of my mind trying to deal with losing mom and dad.  He said the dreams would become less frequent.  One part of me was glad to think that I'd be able to sleep at night without waking up in a state of terror, but another part of me really enjoyed having Uncle Parker in my bed.  I didn't tell Dr. Zimmerman about that.

Uncle Parker and I got along really well.  He was more like an older brother than a parent.  I started looking forward to moving to North Carolina with him.  I guess I was wanting to get away from the constant reminders of my loss that I saw in Los Angeles.  The beach where dad and I played frisbee.  The soccer field where Gustavo and I played.  My friends, who all acted like I was some fragile piece of china every time they saw me.

One night, a little while before we were supposed to leave for North Carolina, I had The Dream again.  It wasn't as bad that time.  I knew the dream was starting and woke myself up before the mud covered me.  I tried to get back to sleep, but I was afraid The Dream would start again.  I got out of bed and went into Uncle Parker's room, and he let me into his bed.  I slipped in next to him and snuggled up under his arm.  I pressed my body against his and realized he was naked.  My dick started to get hard against his hairy thigh so I pulled back a little hoping he hadn't felt it.  I went to sleep right after that and didn't dream at all the rest of the night.

A couple of days before we were supposed to leave for North Carolina, Uncle Parker suggested that we go hiking for the day.  I told him I knew just the right trail.  Dad and I had hiked  it several times.  After about two hours on the trail we came to a beautiful spot over looking a small valley, and started eating our lunch.  That was when he told me he was gay.

Suddenly I understood what had been going on in my own mind for a couple of years.  My thoughts flashed to the last night Gustavo had slept over at my house.  How I had suddenly popped a boner when he got out of the shower with the water still running down his naked body.  I thought about the time in the locker room after soccer practice when Jeremy Long had patted me on the butt supposedly to congratulate me for my goal, but his hand had lingered just a little too long on my ass, and I'd started to get hard.  I thought about how I'd jerked off that night thinking about Jeremy in the shower.  I thought about my lack of interest in girls and about how much I enjoyed it when Uncle Parker slept with me because I'd had one of my nightmares.

Uncle Parker was looking at me.  I looked away.  Was I gay?  We'd spent several nights in the same bed, but he hadn't done anything.  I thought gay guys were always ready to have sex with any other guy.  Was I that ugly?

Neither one of us said much on the way back to the apartment.  When we got home I went into my room and stayed there the rest of the night.  I had to think.  I thought maybe I was gay, but I didn't want to be that way.  Uncle Parker was gay, but he hadn't tried to do anything with me.  Did that mean he really didn't want me?  Why did I get boners seeing him naked in the bathroom after his shower?  What would Mom and Dad say?  Oh, God, what would Dad have said if he had known before he died?

I know I was in a bad mood for the next couple of days.  Uncle Parker kept trying to get me to talk.  I felt sorry for him.  It wasn't his fault I was in a bad mood, but he acted like it was.  When we got on the plane to go to North Carolina, which would be my new home, I looked out the window to watch the brown California hills disappear as we gained altitude.  I looked over at Uncle Parker.  He took my hand, and somehow I knew everything would be all right.

It was getting dark when the plane landed in Charlotte.  Uncle Parker explained that it would take us about two hours to drive to Carterville.  We collected our luggage and headed out of the terminal to catch a shuttle to the long term parking lot where he'd left his car almost a month before.  As soon as we stepped out of the air-conditioned terminal building I broke into a sweat.  California nights are cool and dry.  This night seemed as humid as a steam room to me.  I was wringing wet by the time we got to Uncle Parker's car.  I could tell it was going to take a while for me to get used to the humidity.

Because it was dark, I couldn't see much of the country side as we drove.  When I stepped out of the car at my uncle's house . . . my new home . . . I noticed the difference in the temperature and humidity from Charlotte.  It still seemed darn humid to me, but the cooler temperatures in the mountains made it bearable.  Maybe I could live here after all.

Uncle Parker showed me around the house, then we carried the luggage upstairs, and he showed me the room that would be mine.  I got unpacked while he made some phone calls to his friends and to a woman named Ginger Watson who he'd talked with on a regular basis while we were out in California.  I'd assumed that Ginger was my uncle's girlfriend, but since he'd told me he was gay, I knew she was just a good friend.

I didn't have any trouble getting to sleep that night.  I was tired from the travel and the excitement of being in a new place.  The next morning we had some coffee and then took a run down the road.  It was a warm, sunny day and the intense green leaves of the trees lining the road and packed densely together up the side of the gentle mountains almost hurt my eyes.  I'd been in the Southeast before at my grandparents house in Atlanta, but that had always been at Christmas time when the trees didn't have their leaves.  I almost tripped a couple of times during our run because I was looking at all the trees and mountains and not paying attention to where I was putting my feet.

When we got back to the farm, Uncle Parker showed me around the outside.  While I liked the old barn and the big bushes running from the barn to the house which he told me were rhododendrons, I really liked the big pool that was out in back of the house.  There had been a pool and a hot tub at our house in California.  Gustavo and I had spent a lot of days lazing around the pool and soaking in the hot tub.  We did it naked when my folks weren't home.  I'd always gotten a thrill being naked with Gustavo.  That should have given me some indication I might be gay.  Guess I'm not too bright.

Later we went into town and met Joe May, Uncle Parker's assistant coach, for lunch.  I liked Mr. May immediately.  He seemed open and friendly, although I thought it would take some time to get used to his accent.  During lunch Uncle Parker told Mr. May that he wouldn't be able to coach the soccer team because we would have to travel down to Charlotte during the week for my sessions with a counselor.  Mr. May wouldn't accept that.  He told Uncle Parker that he would take care of practice on the days we had to be gone and that the team needed him.  I had liked Mr. May when we'd met; I really liked him after that.

Uncle Parker showed me around the town after lunch.  Carterville was the largest town in Carter County, but I was used to Los Angeles so it seemed awfully small to me.  Oh well, at least I wouldn't get lost trying to find my way around.

When we got back out to the farm, Uncle Parker spotted two bicycles leaning up against the garage.

"We've got company.  Come on, I'll introduce you to TJ and Ryan."

They were cleaning out the pool.  I just stood there with my mouth open.  The older boy looked like he was about my age, and he was drop-dead gorgeous.  He had sort of longish medium brown hair with gold highlights from the sun, hazel eyes, and a great tan.  When he and Uncle Parker hugged I could see that they were the same height.  His well muscled and tanned legs extending out of his shorts had a good covering of hair that had been bleached almost blond by the sun.  I felt a twinge in my cock.  One more sign to me that I was probably gay like my uncle.

The two boys were clearly related to one another.  The younger one was about four inches shorter than his older brother, but he had the same brown, sun highlighted hair and hazel eyes.  His build wasn't as muscular, but it was still respectable.  When he smiled I caught a flash of silver from his braces.

Uncle Parker, TJ and Ryan kidded one another about all sorts of things.  It was clear they really liked him.  I wondered if they would like him as much if they knew he was gay.  Ryan said something about using the pool.  Uncle Parker told him to go ahead, and to my amazement Ryan peeled off his clothes and jumped naked into the pool.  As he ran for the water I noticed that he had the same dark tan all over his body, and he had a big cock and balls for a kid who probably wasn't even in high school yet.

TJ must have seen me watching Ryan,  "Don't worry.  We go naked in the pool all the time.  No one can see so there's no problem.  You can wear a suit if you want.  It doesn't make any difference, but it feels a lot better in the water if you're naked." 

TJ then stripped off his own clothes and stood facing directly at me before turning to dive into the pool.  I got a good look at his body.  First I noticed he had an all-over tan like Ryan.  They must have spent a good bit of time in Uncle Parker's pool.  Second I noticed that his dick was darn large!  The sun had bleached highlights into his hair, but the hair around his dick was dark and thick.

I thought about it for another minute or so (actually I had to let my cock settle down a little) and then I shucked my clothes and joined TJ and Ryan in the pool.

TJ and Ryan ended up staying for dinner and overnight.  I hadn't met their folks yet, but from the bits and pieces of conversation between Ryan, TJ, and Uncle Parker, I got the picture that neither TJ nor Ryan got along too well with their mother.  Well, she was Ryan's mother but really TJ's stepmother.

At bed time, we made up some pallets on the floor.  TJ and I had hit it off pretty well, and we wanted to talk a little longer so we let Ryan have the bed.  I turned out the lights and climbed under the covers of the pallet next to TJ.  All of us were naked.  We'd spent most of the afternoon and evening that way, and I'd gotten to the point that I wasn't paying much attention to TJ's and Ryan's dicks anymore.  It didn't make any sense to put something on to go to bed.

That night I had The Dream.  I got tangled in the covers of the pallet, and I guess that triggered the nightmare.  Once again I was back on the hillside where our house had been trying to get out of the mud that threatened to suffocate me.  Uncle Parker came in and held me.  I'd been getting better at handling the dream, but this time I couldn't deal with it.  I buried my face in the hair of Uncle Parker's chest and just started sobbing.  I was embarrassed to have TJ and Ryan see me that way, but I couldn't help it.

With my face buried in Uncle Parker's chest and my body pressed up against his, I was vaguely aware of TJ sliding his body around mine from the other side.

I heard him whispering softly to me,  "It's okay, man.  You're safe.  You're safe here.  Go back to sleep."

VERY early the next morning, Uncle Parker told us it was time to get up.  When I stretched out and opened my eyes, I realized that I was sandwiched between TJ and Ryan on the pallet.  We all had morning woodies.  I tried to hide mine, but TJ and Ryan just got up and walked into the bathroom to pee like it was the most natural thing in the world.

When TJ came back in from the bathroom his dick had deflated a little, but it was still proudly sticking out at a forty-five degree angle.  Suddenly I was again embarrassed at having TJ and Ryan see me having a nightmare.  I wouldn't have been surprised if they didn't want to have anything more to do with me.  I started to say something, but TJ shrugged it off and said it was no big deal.

I was a little nervous about meeting all the guys on the soccer team that morning, but they were real nice to me.  It was clear that they liked Uncle Parker a lot.  I found out quickly that, as a coach, he worked us hard, but he and Mr. May did almost everything we did.  It wasn't like my coach back in California who just stood on the sidelines and yelled at us.

After practice, TJ showed me all over Carterville.  We saw a lot of high school kids hanging out around town, and he introduced me to everyone we met.  Most of them seemed down to earth and friendly.  It wasn't Los Angeles, but it was a pretty town with some really nice people.  I thought I might like it.

I asked TJ to come back out to the house with us and spend another night.  He checked with his stepmother, and Uncle Parker said it was okay.

TJ and I slept together in the bed that night.  We slept naked and cuddled up against one another.  I didn't have any dreams that night, and when I woke up TJ was still spooned up against my back with his hard cock pressed against my butt.  I got hard instantly and almost had an orgasm.  Maybe I really was gay.  I had the sudden realization that if I was gay then there wasn't much I could do about it.  I settled against TJ's hard cock and went back to sleep.

TJ and I became best friends.  I still missed Gustavo.  After all, we'd known each other our whole lives.  Sometimes I could picture his face as clearly my own reflection in a mirror.  Other times, I could hardly remember what he looked like, and that made me very sad.

**********

TJ and I were in most of the same classes, and there was always someone else from the soccer team in my class as well.  The guys sort of took me under their wings and introduced me around.  Several of the girls flirted heavily and paid a lot of attention to me.  I liked most of them, but not in a sexual way.  Still another sign that maybe I could be gay.

In early October I got paired up with Laura Finch for a project in my English class.  Laura was a pretty girl with long blond hair, big boobs, and a reputation for being on the easy side.  She'd been one of the girls who'd flirted with me at the beginning of the school year.  We met a couple of times in the library at lunchtime to work on the project.  I learned that her older sister, Leigh, was married to Donnie Micheaux.  The weekend before the project was due we made arrangements to meet on Saturday after driver's education class to finish the project.  She told me we'd have to go over to Donnie and Leigh's apartment to work because she had to babysit her nephew while Donnie worked downstairs in the garage and Leigh waitressed at one of the local restaurants.  Little Grant was an angel and went to sleep for his nap soon after we got there.  It didn't take us long to finish the project and then Laura put the moves on me.  Before I knew what was happening, she had my pants down around my knees and my dick in her mouth.  In a flash we were naked and she was putting a rubber over my hard prick.  She guided me inside her, and we started fucking.  There I was living every teenage boys dream being seduced by a big boobed blond, but it really didn't do all that much for me.  I almost lost my erection a couple of times.  When that happened I'd picture Uncle Parker, or one of the guys on the soccer team naked in the showers, or TJ with his arms wrapped around me when we slept together, and I'd get hard again.  Laura had two orgasms before I was able to pop my load into the rubber.  Afterwards, I got dressed as quickly as I could and called Uncle Parker to come back into town to pick me up.  I left the apartment, went downstairs, and talked with Donnie Micheaux while I waited for Uncle Parker to show up.  While we talked I studied Donnie's handsome dark features and brilliant smile.  It gave me a hard-on, and I knew for certain I was gay.

A week later TJ told me he was gay.

It was a Saturday night, and he was staying out at my house like he did most weekends.  We were lying in my bed facing each other in the dark and just talking like we did most nights when he stayed over.

"Trey, would it bother you if I was gay?"

"Are you telling me that you're gay?"

"Yes.  Does it bother you?"

"No.  I think I'm gay too."

"I kinda thought you might be."

"Why'd you think that?"

"You don't mind me touching you.  I know there are some `sexy' things that happen on the soccer team, but most of the guys there are straight.  They may play around a little in the locker room or shower by slapping an ass or grabbing at someone's dick, but I can't imagine most of them letting me spoon up against them in bed like we do."

We were silent for a minute or so.

"Does your uncle know?"

"No."

"You should tell him."

"I . . . I don't think I'm ready to do that yet."

"He'll be cool with it."

"I know."  Uncle Parker was gay.  He'd have to be `cool' with my being gay.  "I'm just not ready to tell him yet."

"Have you ever played around with another guy?"

"No."

"Not even with Gustavo?"

"No.  I liked seeing him naked, and I saw him naked a lot, but when we slept together we always wore boxers in bed."

"Do you want to try it?"

"Try what, wearing boxers in bed?"

"No, asshole, playing around with another guy?"

"Yeah."

I felt his hand moving across the sheet toward me.  His finger tips touched my chest and slowly moved down my stomach to move lightly across my hard cock.  My cock jumped, and I drew in a quick breath when he touched me.

"Do you like that?"

"Oh, yeah!"

"Then I think you'll really like this."

I felt him shift under the covers.  He grasped my prick with his hand and then I felt something warm and wet on the head of my dick.  Oh, God, it was his tongue!  He slid his mouth down over my shaft and then back up again.  I moaned and moved my hips to try to thrust my dick back into his mouth.  He rolled me over on my back and began moving his mouth up and down on my cock while he reached up and played with one of my nipples at the same time.  I was lost in the new sensations.  It was already ten times better than being with Laura Finch.  All I could do was run my fingers through the soft hair of his head as he gave me a mind-blowing blow job.  I came without warning, but TJ swallowed all of it and then kept his mouth around my cock as it started to soften.

**********

Over the next month TJ showed me lots of things two guys could do with one another.  He was a good teacher.  I was an avid learner.  I got pretty darn good at taking TJ's rod down my throat and swallowing his load.  I loved the taste of his cum!  Being horny teenagers we did the deed two or three times a night when he stayed over with us.  Since he stayed over three or four nights a week, we got a lot of sex.

TJ kept after me to tell Uncle Parker.  I knew Uncle Parker was gay so he wouldn't have a problem with me being gay, but how did TJ know that Uncle Parker would accept me?  Did he already know my uncle was gay?  Had they had sex?  If he'd had sex with TJ, why wouldn't he have sex with me?  I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer.

TJ's persistence finally wore me down, and I agreed to tell Uncle Parker.  It was Thanksgiving Day.  We were watching a game on TV.  I decided it was time to spill the beans so I reached over and used the remote to turn off the game.

"Hey, what was that for?"

"Uncle Parker.  I need to talk to you."

"Sure, buddy.  What's up?"

"Uncle Parker, when you told me that you were gay.  I was really kind of snotty to you for a couple of days.  I'm sorry."

"That's no big deal, buddy.  I know it was probably a shock to you.  I'm just glad you accepted me, and it only took a couple of days to do it."

"Well, I was upset, but not because I had a problem with you being gay.  My problem was that I wasn't sure about myself."

"What do you mean?"

"It made me wonder about me.  I wasn't crazy about girls like my other friends.  I really liked being around other guys, and I really liked it when you held me when I had those dreams.  I wanted you to like me . . . I mean really like me."

"Trey, I love you.  You're my nephew."

"I know, and I love you too, but I wanted you to love me in a different way."

"Oh."

"It took me a while to figure it all out, but I'm gay too."

He looked at me for a moment and then broke into a sly grin.  "Have you and TJ had sex?"

"Yes.  We started about a month ago."

"Okay.  I wondered about that.  I've seen the way you two curl up with one another when you're sleeping.  Are you going to be boyfriends?"

"TJ's my best friend, beside you of course, but we're not boyfriends.  We've talked about it a lot.  We love each other as friends.  He's been great to me, and we've been having a good time, but we don't love each other in that way."

"Have you two had anal intercourse?"

"No.  We've talked about that too, and we both want to save that for someone who'll be special."

"Okay.  I'm relieved.  You know you have to practice safe sex?"

I smiled, "So do you always practice safe sex?"

He grinned back, "Yes, I do.  I always have.  I want you to promise me that you'll be safe also."

"I promise.  I have another question for you."

"Yeah?"

"Can I snuggle with you while we watch the game?"

He smiled as he opened his arms to me.  I scooted over on the couch and leaned up against him.  He folded his arms around me.  I grabbed for the remote, and turned the game back on.

(To be continued)