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Life on the Farm

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Chapter 3

Written By: Justin Case

Edited By: Ed

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©JCPCo2001 all rights reserved.

Disclaimer: This material contains sexually graphic language. You must know the laws pertaining to viewing this subject matter, and be willing to accept responsibility for all legal ramifications by doing so. This story is about the diversities of young love and life. It primarily deals with the exchange of love between two males. If you find this material offensive, or it is illegal for you to read, leave now. This tale is fiction; any similarity to actual people, places, and events is purely coincidental. The author, his editor, and the publisher accept no responsibility for the actions of the reader.

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SoapBox®: Hello, I hope you are all enjoying this tale. It is my special gift to you all, over this holiday season. May God bless you all and keep you safe. If you'd like to write me, the address is Justin69SK@aol.com I love getting mail.

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The day had finally arrived, and he knew he was ready this time. Nothing was going to prevent Jim from getting his license; he had practiced parallel parking for over an hour the afternoon before with Carol. They had driven into town, and he skillfully managed to maneuver the Chevy van into several spots along Water Street. After each time, he would get out of the vehicle and check the distance from the granite curb to the tires, he was always within the twelve inches that was allowed.

He got out of bed early, it was only 3:30AM, he had plenty of time to be showered and into the barn. Jim grabbed his barn clothes that were rolled in a ball at the foot of his bed; the same place they always were, and quietly walked through the dimly lit kitchen towards the hallway that led to the bathroom. The only light came from the small bulb over the range; Carol left it on every night in case Jim had to go to the bathroom. Jim's bedroom was in the back of the house; you had to go through a small storage room where they kept dry goods, off the kitchen, to get to it.

Matt and his father had added the room onto the home, when Jim moved to the farm. Matt figured it would give Jim more privacy, instead of using one of the other bedrooms that were all on the second floor of the house. Matt and his dad had built the house in 1969, the year Carol and Matt had gotten married. The original home was too old and run down. Matt had worked for his father's contracting business until he got married, that's when he decided to try his hand at dairy farming. The Lapointe Farm house was the last one the two had built together.

Matt's dad still ran his own contracting business full time, but worked on the farm part time. He came every day at the two milkings and spread the manure. On weekends he would do some plowing or seeding, depending on the season. In return for his work, Matt provided his dad and mom with meat and milk. Matt's mother used the three acres in front of the house for a vegetable garden, where she grew a variety of fresh produce that she sold from a stand. Mr. and Mrs. Lapointe lived on Route 56, just across from Frigo's Store; it was a great location for the stand. Matt let his mother use the land, and in return, Mrs. Lapointe provided him and Carol with all their vegetables.

Jim was full of energy, and wide-awake, he was amazed because he wasn't one to usually rise so quickly in the morning. He closed the bathroom door before he flicked the switch to the lights, he didn't want to disturb Carol and Matt, he knew that Matt wouldn't be up for another half hour, and Carol wouldn't be up for two. The cardinal rule in the house was never to wake Carol early, Jim smiled as he thought to himself about their love for sleeping in, and figured it must be in the family genes. He wished he could sleep in too, like Carol, but had the milking responsibilities.

He studied his body in the mirror as he stripped out of his white cotton briefs. He looked at his smooth chest, and noticed how large it had gotten since he first came to the farm three years earlier. He studied his five foot eight frame; he began flexing his arm muscles and admired his biceps and triceps on his sleek arms. He noticed how long his afro had grown and remembered he hadn't had it cut since June, just before finishing his sophomore year at Central High. He stood on the scale and checked his weight, still just below one hundred and fifty pounds, he was happy with his weight, and knew it was solid muscle that came from the hard work he did.

He took a leak, and watched the golden spray as it released itself from the tip of his circumcised penis and squirted with force into the water in the toilet bowl. Jim fixated his brown eyes onto his now soft member, which was still stretched out from the morning hardness. He wished it would remain as big as it did, just after it went soft. He thought about Steve's dick, he wondered how big it was. He felt the blood surge through his body. He shook the flaccid dick off, and turned to the sink.

He quickly brushed his teeth; he couldn't get the thoughts of Steve out of his mind. He looked into the mirror again and saw his cock had become fully erect. He hadn't even touched it, it was the visions of Steve that had excited him and aroused his dick. He liked looking at it in the mirror, the six and three quarter inch hard cock looked huge when he did. He spit the toothpaste out of his mouth, and grabbed for a Dixie cup from the wall-mounted dispenser. He filled the little paper cup with water, swished some around in his mouth, and spit it out into the sink. He turned around and opened the shower curtain, adjusted the two faucets for the shower water.

Jim stepped into the white porcelain lined tub, the warm water sprayed over his sixteen year old body, he reached his two hands to his long, brown, curly hair, and turned around to get entirely wet. His cock was still raging hard, and he continued to dream about Steve. He slowly let his right hand slip down from his scalp to his chest; he lightly pinched at his nipples. He ran his left hand down the side of his ribs and let it rest on his left hip. His body was on fire, his mind was racing with thoughts of what he might do with Steve that night.

He thought about Steve and him sleeping together in his bedroom. He pictured Steve's body in just a pair of jockey shorts. He fantasized about the bulge from Steve's manhood hidden in the white cotton underwear. He pictured himself slipping the underpants down Steve's thick thighs, and tried to imagine the hard dick he would find.

He put some pressure on his right hand as he shoved it down his smooth wet belly to his aching rock hard dick. He wrapped his fingers around the solid piece of flesh, and stroked it slowly as he felt the sensations ripping through his groin. His hips began to rhythmically move in time with his thrusting hand. He slid his left hand to the large sac that held his two testicles and pulled on it. He twisted the skin that held his balls and juices, while he began to jerk his right hand up and down his engorged cock. Jim began to picture Steve and him on the bedroom floor; Jim was sucking the imagined cock of his friend as he visualized Steve take his hard on. He became engrossed in his imaginary erotic scene; he could almost feel Steve's lips on his dick, in his mind. He was close, he felt the surges of cum as they charged up from deep inside his balls. He felt the thick hot juice as it squeezed up the inside of his raging cock. With each burst of cum that erupted from the tip of his dick, he felt the tingling of his orgasm from the depth of his bowels. His legs began to weaken, his eyes rolled into the back of his head as he shot the streams of cum from his swollen prick.

He began to feel a slight guilt from what he felt were dirty thoughts, but dismissed them. He knew he felt too strongly about Steve to change. He had been trying hard for a while on giving up the feelings of shame, he only wished he could figure a way out to let them go. At the same time though, he knew some understood, while others seemed repulsed at the idea of two boys having sex together. He had thought about it a lot, he knew that Liberace was gay, and well respected, and there had been stories about Rock Hudson too. `If famous celebrities could be that way and talking about free love and sex, why couldn't people in Massena get with it?' he would tell himself. Still he knew that he wasn't ready to tell anyone about how he really felt, except for Steve, and even that was not for sure.

Jim finished his shower and kept thinking of ways to approach Steve. He decided tonight was going to be the night, he was almost convinced that Steve had the same kinds of feelings. It was from things that Steve had said, and the way he would look into Jim's eyes that led him to believe Steve would be receptive. While they were subtle, the vibes seemed to be strong, Jim reasoned with himself as he dressed. He took one last look in the mirror and headed to the barn.

"Hey, Jim," came Randy's familiar voice.

Randy was already in the milk house as Jim walked through its door. He stood near the end of the stainless steel tank already clad in his rubber barn boots. His dark eyes seemed to light up when they looked at Jim, and a smile crossed his face. Randy always felt some excitement around Jim, especially when he would first approach Jim or see him. Randy had fought for years the feelings he had for Jim. He wanted so much to tell Jim how much he loved him, to feel Jim's lips on his own, to be with Jim, truly be with him. He had agonized over his attraction, and cried himself to sleep many nights the last three years.

"Morning, Buddy. Can you sleep over tonight? I talked to Steve yesterday, he's all set." Jim seemed to bubble over with happiness.

"Yep, all set." Randy looked at Jim and the smile he had disappeared.

"Cool."

"Morning, boys. Go get the ladies, time's a wasting." Matty greeted his nephew and Randy with the same line every morning, except during the winter season, when the cows stayed in the barn.

The rest of the day flew by. Jim was totally excited about his driving test and Steve spending the night. He could barely keep his mind on his schoolwork. He hoped he didn't do too badly on the English test he had taken second period. He met up with Randy and Steve in the hub, near his locker, at the end of the school day. Tom was with Sherry and he collected the money for the beer, they both wished Jim luck on his driving test before they left. Monica hadn't shown up, and Randy was happy about that, she was really making him nervous lately.

It was a beautiful September day, the sky was bright blue with wisps of late summer, early fall clouds hanging lightly from the heavens above. The sun was bright and its warmth radiated through the windows on the bus, as the three boys sat in it waiting for it to begin the trip home. All the kids were anxiously awaiting the weekend, and full of vigor as they boarded the yellow vehicle. The energy level was high, the many cheerful voices loud and boisterous. It was a wonder the driver could concentrate, as he slipped the bus into gear, and swiftly drove it out of the school's parking lot onto the roadway.

"What time is your test?" Steve asked Jim.

"Three thirty," Jim told him as he began to feel a little nervous about it.

"You worried?" Steve wondered aloud.

"Na."

Jim didn't want to admit it, only sissies worried. He looked into Steve's dark eyes as he sat next to him on the bus. Randy had taken the very back seat on the right, while Steve and Jim sat in the cushioned one right in front of him. Steve seemed to be staring back at Jim; Jim felt a little uneasy and quickly turned towards Randy. Randy was somewhere off in space; his eyes were blankly staring out the window. Jim felt trapped, part of him wanted to look at Steve, and part of him didn't; he'd hoped Randy would divert his attention.

"Randy? What's up?" Jim asked his friend.

"Huh? Oh, nothing," Randy answered as he looked towards Jim.

Jim could sense something was bothering Randy, but he didn't want to push it. He told himself he'd ask Randy later, when they were alone. He had noticed the last few days that Randy didn't seem to be himself. He began to feel bad, because he hadn't asked him sooner, he had been too busy thinking about Steve. He realized that lately Randy and he seemed a little distant. It was as they didn't seem to share as many secrets as they used to. He kept his biggest secret from everyone, but he had always told Randy all his other deep thoughts. Jim thought he could never tell Randy about his feelings for Steve, he feared that secret would end their friendship.

The three boys walked up the three-hundred-foot gravel driveway after they climbed off the bus, each one of them deep in their own thoughts. The warmth of the afternoon sun on their backs as they slowly walked towards the house. Jim was thinking about the car that he hoped to buy, his test, and Steve. Randy was thinking about how much he loved Jim, and how badly he wanted to tell him. Steve was thinking about getting drunk later that night, and how much fun they all would have.

Jim wasn't going to be able to help with the milking, so Steve had offered. Randy wasn't too happy about it; he had done it alone with Matty before, back when they still had the dumping station too. He had known Steve practically his whole life, and knew that he was trouble. Steve had had several run ins with the police, Randy couldn't figure out what Jim wanted to hang around with Steve for. Randy didn't dare say anything about how he felt though, because he didn't want to risk his friendship with Jim.

Carol called to and greeted the three boys as they crossed the lawn, from the front porch, she told Jim to hurry, as they needed to be on time. Randy and Steve had to change into barn clothes, if they didn't, their school clothes would end up smelling like cow shit. Jim was going to take Steve into his bedroom while Randy changed in the bathroom; he had it all figured out, in his mind. He had been planning it for the past few days.

"I'll be right there, I got to get Steve some work clothes," Jim called to her as the boys rounded the house, heading for the back door.

As they walked into the kitchen, Jim told Randy to go ahead and get changed in the bathroom, he had to take Steve to his bedroom for some clothes. Jim knew that Randy's clothes were already hung in the bathroom closet from the morning. It made perfect sense to send his best friend into the bathroom while he took Steve to his bedroom.

Jim led Steve into his bedroom, and closed the door behind them. He opened his closet, pulled out a pair of Levi's overalls for Steve to wear, and a plaid flannel shirt. He handed the clothes to Steve and sat on his bed; he did have to make sure the clothing would fit. Jim carefully watched Steve, as he unbuttoned his shirt and pulled its tails from his slacks. He watched, as Steve unbuckled his belt and slipped his bell bottoms down his muscular legs.

Steve stood before him; his skin was darker than Jim remembered from gym class. Jim was mesmerized by Steve's well-defined muscular smooth chest, with the large cocoa brown aureoles that circled the nipples. Steve glanced at himself in the mirror over Jim's dresser, and flexed his arms; like Jim had done in the morning. Jim was amazed at the definition in Steve's arms, as well as his lack of inhibitions. He looked at the back of Steve's legs and noticed the fine black hairs that were sparsely placed on the muscle bound thighs and calves. The white underwear was bright against his darkened skin, Jim was enchanted by his perfectly shaped ass, and could see its dark crack shadow through the material.

"Not too bad, huh?" Steve asked as he turned and caught Jim staring at him.

"How did you get so muscular?" Jim seemed astounded.

"I work out, you ought to come over sometime, I have a bench and everything." Steve continued to pose in front of Jim, he enjoyed Jim watching him.

Steve moved his right hand to the front of his underwear and grabbed his cock through the material. He pulled the fabric around his dick, the outline of Steve's large member was so clear the ridge on the head could be seen perfectly through the fabric. Steve watched Jim intently; he saw that Jim seemed to drink in the sight of his underwear clad cock.

"Working out makes all my muscles big, even this one," Steve bragged.

Jim was speechless, he couldn't believe it, and his dreams seemed to be coming true. He wondered how far Steve might go, but knew he didn't have time to find out right then. He felt his own dick stir in his pants as he watched Steve groping himself.

"Yeah, right, yours ain't no bigger than mine. Matter of fact I bet mine is bigger. It don't count when its soft, you know," Jim said daringly.

"JIM? You ready? Let's go!" Carol's yelled from the other room.

He felt so torn, part of him wanted to stay with Steve and see how far they could go; yet he knew he had to go take his driving test. Jim was also hoping Steve would take him up on the bet, but Carol called him just at the moment Steve would have accepted it. He quickly got up from his bed and told Steve he'd see him later. He quickly walked out of the bedroom, and left Steve alone to dress. He couldn't shake the sight of his new friend standing in front of him bragging about the size of his dick. His face felt a little flushed as he walked into the kitchen.

"You all right? You look a little peaked," Carol asked him as she handed him the van keys.

"Yeah, sure. Let's go," Jim sputtered the words at her, as he walked through the kitchen and grabbed the keys from her hand.

Jim climbed up into the seat of the Chevy van, checked the rearview mirror, put the key into the ignition located on the dashboard to the right of the steering column, turned it, while he depressed the gas pedal. The engine started, he shifted the automatic transmission into reverse and backed the van up to head down the driveway. His heart was racing with anticipation of getting his license and the freedom it would bring. He turned the radio on, and the sounds of the song he hated most, `Midnight at the Oasis,' came through the speakers. He quickly pushed the channel button to switch stations, he knew about the new rock station out of Pottsdam, and searched for it on the dial. He knew he found, it when he heard Garcia and the Dead belting out the lyrics from `Bertha.' He tapped his finger on the steering wheel to the beat of the drum from the five-man band; it was an older song that came out the year he moved to the farm.

An hour later, license in hand, huge grin on his face, he could barely contain his excitement, Jim rushed through the parking lot into the motor vehicle office to tell Carol the great news. He ran up to her and flung his arms around his short stocky aunt.

"I passed, I passed!" he shrieked with joy.

"Great, let's go home and tell the others. Can you control yourself enough to drive?" Carol smiled at him, as she teased.

"Hell, yeah," Jim replied.

As they drove back up Route 56, Jim noticed the black Charger wasn't in front of Premo's. His heart sank in his chest. He feared someone had gotten there before him, he was upset. He wondered who was lucky enough to have bought the '69 Dodge with the 426 Hemi he had had his eye on. `Oh well,' he figured, `something better would come along.'

They drove up the drive to the farmhouse, Jim turned the van off, and handed the keys to Carol, he was going to go find Randy and Steve. He couldn't wait to tell them the news. He started to head into the barn.

"Jim, where you going?" Carol asked him.

"Out to the barn to find Randy and Steve. I'll be right in."

"Uh, I don't think they're in the barn, actually, I'm pretty sure Matt has them in the machine shop. Let's go see," Carol persuaded him gently, and left him no choice.

He thought it was strange, but didn't question her.

Carol walked ahead of him and opened the door on the end of the shop, "We're here, I've got the newest legal driver from Massena with me," she called out to her husband and the two boys who waited inside.

In the first bay, as you walked in the door, was parked the 1969 Dodge Charger, the one that had belonged to Nick Premo. Matt and Carol knew that Jim had wanted it, he had talked about it non-stop for a month before his last driving test. Matt decided to buy it for him, he knew that Murray was having financial problems, and that Jim deserved it. Jim had worked hard, while he was often late, he more than made up for it with his sincere efforts to learn the business. Matt also knew that Jim would do whatever it took to keep the farm going, including working the long days he did in the summer. Jim never complained, his loyalty to the farm was unwavering. Matt talked it over with Carol, and the two agreed it was a good idea.

Jim walked into the machine shop, he took one look at the car of his dreams, and tears filled his eyes. He couldn't believe it, he had just thought he'd lost it.

"Oh, wow, is this for me? Oh, Carol, Matt, you're not serious. Thank you, thank you so much. You shouldn't have, I was going to buy it. Oh, my God. Thank you both." Jim was overcome with joy.

"Well, you just better not be late coming home from school anymore, this thing has got a Hemi under the hood." Matt smiled and winked at him. "Besides, I didn't get it for you, I got it for the ladies, you know they can't wait," he teased at Jim.

Jim had a smile from ear to ear, he hugged Carol, then he looked inside the car through the driver's window. He didn't realize what great shape the upholstery was in, it looked like new. He opened the door and slowly sat in the driver's seat; he grasped the steering wheel with his left hand and the stick shift with his right. The car was an automatic, but the shift was floor mounted in front of the console between the bucket seats.

"Can I drive it?" he called out to his uncle and aunt.

"No, you have to push it whereever you want to go. Of course you can drive it," Matt quipped.

"You guys want to come for a ride? Let's take a run to Carroll's, grab a burger or something." Jim knew most of the after school crowd would be at the restaurant, and he wanted to show the car off.

"Shotgun!" Steve called.

Randy felt the stinging of jealousy, and the fear of loss, wave through his body. He began to think about the fact that now Jim would be independent. He worried that this would be the beginning of the end for the friendship they had had the last three years. He also began to see Steve moving into what he considered his territory with Jim. He quietly climbed into the back seat.

They drove into town and went to the burger joint, they ran into Tom and Sherry. Tom had pulled in right behind them. Jim got out of his car and watched Tom's face, as he saw him. Tom quickly parked, and jumped out to come look at the car. Tom was still wearing the work clothes he wore helping Bob, and the boondocker boots. Tom had an evil grin on his face as he strutted over to the Charger.

"You bought it? Shit, man, you lucky fuck," he greeted Jim with his obvious envy.

"Na, my aunt and uncle bought it for me," Jim nonchalantly told him.

"Cool, this was Premo's, right?" Tom asked, admiring the car.

"Yeah, but it's mine now," Jim proudly admitted.

"I got us a case of Gennessee, two bottles of Boone's Farm apple wine for the girls, and Sherry got us a nice three finger lid," Tom told Jim, keeping his voice low.

"Wow, we'll have a great fucking time tonight. I am going to get so freaking ripped," Jim said.

Sherry and Monica stood near the passenger side of the Charger, Steve and Randy climbed out, and the six kids walked into the restaurant. They grabbed a table just inside the door; Jim wanted to keep his eyes on his new car. They all ordered something to eat, and waited for the food to be brought to them. After they had finished, Tom told them he had to go home for a little while and would meet them at the cabin about eight.

Jim decided to take a ride out to the Grasse River with the car. He wanted to show Steve the place where Randy and he swam all the time. Before they had left, he scored a couple of joints from Sherry. He wouldn't smoke while he drove; he made it the first rule in his new car, no smoking while driving. Randy certainly understood after what had happened with Tom, but Steve seemed put out.

Jim drove the car up the dirt farm road that lined the Lapointe property, not the one from the barn that he and Randy usually walked, instead he took the one that led to the river off Wallace Road, the road the tractors used to get to the hay field that grew along the riverbank. During the early summer the other road would often be too muddy to for the tractors to pass, this one was on higher ground. He clicked on the AM/FM radio and listened to Don McLean, singing `American Pie', at eight minutes and twenty seven seconds long, it was one of the longest songs recorded. It was another older song from 1971 which Jim liked. The music from '71 often reminded him of times with his mother and father.

The three boys hung around by the river for a few hours, smoking pot and skipping stones. Jim spent most of the time getting to know Steve better. Jim was curious about Steve's past, especially how he got to be involved in sports at school.

Steve was carefree; not too much seemed to bother him. He told Jim and Randy how his father had left the family penniless. His mother worked hard to raise his older brother and younger sister, Steve told them both. His brother had graduated the year before, Jim knew him if he saw him, but Randy had known the family all his life. Steve's older brother was named Chris; he was a wrestler and had won the state championship and received a scholarship to NYU.

Steve told them about his ex-girl friend Jill, and how much his mother hated her. Steve's mother seemed to hate or dislike most people, he told them. The reason she didn't like Jill, he explained, was because a few years ago Steve had been in an accident, and lost his front right tooth, the one on top. Jill had told him he looked cool with a missing tooth. Steve's mother felt she only told him that, because Jill wanted Steve to be ugly so other girls wouldn't be attracted to him. His mother seemed to be very suspicious of other people, almost in a twisted sort of way, from what he described. Randy had offered up that Jill was just being nice, trying to make Steve feel better about the lost tooth, he knew Jill too.

Steve told them about being hit by the car, and how he went kind of crazy when he got out of the hospital. He showed them the large ugly scar on the front of his left shoulder, Jim was surprised to see it, he hadn't noticed it when Steve was modeling in front of him earlier. He went on to tell them how he and Jill's brother and a few other kids started breaking into houses for this guy name Bernie. He was angry at the world, he explained, because he had lost his tooth and had this ugly scar now. So, he figured he'd get even by robbing people. He had been caught and had a pearl handled gun with him, a gun that had supposedly been tied to a murder. Steve told them how he spent a year and half in juvey hall.

Jim was totally fascinated by the stories Steve told them, Randy was doing a slow burn on the inside. Jim finally told them they better get back to the house and tell Carol and Matt where they were and tell them they would be going out for the night. He also admitted he had the munchies, and wanted to get something to snack on.

They went back to the house and hung around in Jim's bedroom, listening to albums and telling each other stories. Actually, Jim and Steve did most of talking; Randy listened, as he hurt deeply inside. The more Steve talked, the more Randy knew why he had disliked him so much. As far as Randy was concerned, Steve was just a conceited asshole who had little regard for other people.

It had gotten to be seven forty five, and Jim told the others they should head up to the fort. Steve was the first one out the door; Jim followed right behind him, almost ignoring Randy.

Randy felt left out, he knew right then what `they' meant when `they' said `third wheel.' He couldn't help how badly he felt, for the first time he really began to feel he was losing his best friend. He ached inside, but didn't let it show, he quietly walked behind the two. Randy had seen Steve do it to other kids, and surmised eventually he would do it to Jim too, Steve would use Jim and toss him away the very minute something better came along. For the moment, Randy was convincing himself, that while he may lose Jim in the short term, it would be the long term where Jim would need Randy. Randy would be there to pick up the pieces when Steve moved on to his next victim. It was his only hope to keep his best friend.

Jim parked the car on the same dirt road they had taken earlier off Wallace Road, and walked the power lines towards the back hundred and the fort. Tom's car was already there, which meant he and the two girls would be waiting for them in the cabin.

Steve broke into a jog through the tall grass, he called over his shoulder, "Hurry up, you guys, we don't want to lose out on any of the smoke."

"You go ahead, do you know where you're going though?" Jim shouted to him.

"I'll find it," Steve yelled and kept heading in the direction of the fort.

"Randy, are you OK? You seem awfully quiet the last few days," Jim asked his friend.

"Sure, why wouldn't I be?"

"I don't know, you've barely said a word all day." Jim persisted in showing his concern.

"Well, Steve has a lot to say. You've been busy telling him about your life, before you came here, and I just been listening. I didn't want to interrupt or anything. I figured I knew you both, so I gave you two some time to talk." Randy did his best to hold back his tears.

"That's cool. I just thought something was bothering you. You'd tell me if it were, wouldn't you? No secrets, right?" Jim said, it was something they had told each other thousands of times before.

"No secrets," Randy said, then he began to run ahead of Jim; the tears streamed down his cheeks.

The six teenagers hung around in the fort, smoking pot and drinking for a few hours. Tom finally suggested they all play dark tag. He just wanted to be alone with Sherry, he figured it was a good plan to get what he wanted. Monica was all for it too, she was thinking about Randy all night and needed something to take her mind off him, he was playing hard to get, she figured.

"Why do they call it dark tag?" Sherry's voice very seriously asked.

Steve burst out laughing; Randy could barely keep himself from laughing.

"Because, Sherry, you play it in the dark," Monica told her best friend.

"Oh, I wondered what the dark thing was. Now I get it," Sherry confessed.

Jim glanced down at his Timex, it had gotten to be ten thirty, he knew he had to be up for the four fifteen milking and worried that if he didn't get to bed soon he'd be late again. He told himself, there was no way he could be late after Matt and Carol had bought him the car. He also wanted to spend some time with Steve in his bedroom. Suddenly, he realized that Randy would be there too, `shit,' he thought to himself, he wasn't going to be able to get Steve alone. How could he have forgotten that one major detail? He was so caught up in the whole thing; he overlooked that little inconvenient fact.

"Hey, guys, I don't mean to be a wet blanket, but Randy and I got to get up early in the morning. I'd rather take a ride over to Arby's, grab a bite to eat, check out the crowd, and get home to bed for like eleven thirty," Jim reasoned with his friends.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Steve piped up, he had been hungry for a while.

"Randy, you can ride with us, in Tom's car," Monica volunteered quickly.

Jim's heart picked up speed as he hoped Randy would do it, that would give him the time he wanted to be alone with Steve. He silently held his breath as he waited for Randy's reply.

"Na, 'cause you guys probably want to smoke another joint, I've had enough and Jim don't allow smoking in his car." Randy added the last part, hoping Steve would ride with Tom, he knew how much Steve liked to smoke pot, especially when it was someone else's.

"I'll ride with you guys. That way Randy can have shotgun, he hasn't had it all day." Bingo, just as Randy predicted, Steve took the bait and offered to ride in Tom's car, with the pot.

Well, there would be the next morning and skinny-dipping at the river, Jim told himself. He also figured he and Steve would be seeing a lot more of each other, now that they had become friends, and he now had a car. He was disappointed, but he got over it quickly. Tom challenged Jim to race him over to Arby's, but Jim turned him down.

The three boys pulled into the driveway right at 11:30, a few minutes later than Jim would have liked too, but close enough. Jim put out some sleeping bags on the floor for Randy and Steve. Then he offered each of them the bed, although neither took him up on it. Within a few minutes all three boys were sound asleep.

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I hope you all liked this chapter, and keep reading this tale as we meander our way through this journey together. I wish you all well.

I'd like to thank Ed for his fine job editing this story.

As always,

But not forever,

Just,

Justin

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