Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2001 09:21:15 -0700 (PDT) From: Mike Wilson Subject: Summer at the Lake Part One This story is entirely fictional. Parts two and three are completed and will be posted shortly. Comments and critiques are welcome. Summer at the Lake Part One Billy Douglas got up shortly after the sun rose and stared out at the beauty of Shavehead Lake. He loved waking up early and enjoying this time of day when it seemed as if he had the entire lake to himself. Billy had arranged to stay nearly the entire summer at his parent's cabin and the seventeen-year old loved every moment of it. He headed outside and began to stretch for his morning run. As he began jogging toward the woods, he thought briefly of the route he'd run today and then took off. What Billy loved most about his morning runs was the way his mind would just let go. He didn't worry about anything, didn't think about anything. Often he didn't even feel his muscles or have any sense of time. Running allowed his mind to be completely free. After his run, Billy grabbed a towel and a huge bottle of water, took off his tank top and headed out to the deck. He had gotten into a habit of sitting out after his run, enjoying the view of the lake and working on his tan. As the warm sun beat down on him, Billy felt his entire body relax. He even began to doze off. He didn't know how long he had been there when he heard a voice nearby. "Excuse me." Billy opened his eyes and was confused for a moment about why there was guy standing at the edge of the deck. Aside from the occasional folks walking by on their late evening strolls around the lake, Billy never saw visitors or strangers here. "I'm sorry to bug you it's just . . . . Well, I was wondering if you had any coffee?" Billy looked more carefully at the guy who was talking to him and thought they were probably about the same age. This guy was wearing a white Adidas t-shirt and blue Umbros. And he wanted coffee? What? Who the hell wanders from cottage to cottage at 7 a.m. looking for coffee? Finally he spoke up. "You mean coffee to drink? Now?" "No, I'm just looking for coffee to make a cup. See, I'm staying at my Uncle's house a few doors down and I guess I thought they'd have coffee here and so I didn't buy any when I was in town last night and it turns out they don't and . . . . Wow, I sound like an idiot. My name's Kyle, I should have introduced myself." "I'm Billy. And I'm pretty sure my folks have coffee inside. Come on in." "Thanks a lot," said Kyle as they headed inside. "I know this seems really stupid, but I've gotten kind of addicted to the stuff and tend to get a headache without my morning caffeine fix." "No problem. Here ya go." Billy took the Starbucks bag out of the refrigerator and handed it to Kyle. "My parents are kind of coffee freaks so I'm sure they will bring up more special blended roasted frappa-mocha-latte beans on their next trip." Kyle laughed. "So you're up here by yourself, also?" "Yeah. Well, at least during the weekdays. My folks come stay here most weekends but otherwise they've let me have the whole place which has been great. I really like it cause there aren't many people here during the week. By the way, which house is your Uncle's?" "It's about three doors down. I'll show you," Kyle said as they headed back outside. He walked to the edge of the lake and pointed. "See, it's sort of back in the cove, but you can just make out the new deck that he and his, um, roommate built this Spring." "Oh sure," said Billy. His family often talked about the house where Kyle's Uncle lived because it always seemed like there was work going on there, but nobody knew who owned the place. "Your Uncle must keep to himself. We've never met him." "Yeah, well . . . they're kind of private. They like to come out here and just escape. Anyway, thanks a lot for the coffee. I'm sorry to disturb your nap." "I wasn't napping," Billy said. "I just like to rest after I run and sometimes, well, the sun gets a bit bright so you close your eyes and relax a bit. It wasn't a nap." He was trying to sound indignant but his own sly grin clearly betrayed him. "My sincere apologies," Kyle said sarcastically. "Hey," he said, changing subjects "do you run every morning? Cause I really need to get back on my routine. It seems like this entire summer I've been just been sitting on my ass. Do you think I could join you some time? I mean, I'd understand if you'd rather run alone. But you know, if you wouldn't mind, I'd really appreciate being able to join you sometime." "Did you know you ramble a lot when you ask questions?" Billy said giggling. "Sure. You can join me tomorrow if you want. Although I'll warn you, I like to run early and I don't like to talk while running. If that's OK, come on over around six." "Great! I'll see you tomorrow then." Kyle had a huge smile on his face as he walked away. As Kyle rounded the bend toward his Uncle's house, Billy felt like he had just heard a really great joke or danced to his favorite song. He couldn't help but keep a smile on his face. As he peeled off his shorts and stepped into the shower, he realized he was also hard as a rock. * * * * * The next morning Billy got up and was pleasantly surprised to see Kyle standing out at the edge of the lake, enjoying a long slow stretch. He couldn't help but notice Kyle bending over, the black nylon pulled taught across Kyle's butt. "Morning, coffee boy!" Billy said, trying to focus on something other than Kyle's body. Kyle stood up "Morning, Billy! You know, I was thinking this morning that you're probably in a lot better shape then me. I mean, it's been a while since I've been running and I don't want to hold you up or anything. So, you know, if you'd prefer to run separately or something you can just tell me where to go." "Don't be silly. I'm sure you'll be fine. If you get tired, just let me know and we'll turn back. Just promise me you won't ramble like that while we're out there." They both laughed. As Billy was stretching he realized he could care less how far they ran today. In fact, he could care less if he ran at all. Mostly, he just liked being around Kyle. After all, he thought, he had been away from his friends for a while now, so it was great to have someone near his own age around the place. Soon they headed out toward the road and Billy led them around part of the lake out past several nearby cornfields. Neither boy said anything as they ran. The only sound they made was just the soft rhythm of their feet against the road. As his mind started wandering, Billy couldn't stop thinking about Kyle. He didn't know why but everything the guy said seemed to put a smile on his face. But what was really weird was he couldn't stop thinking about how Kyle looked. He had known the guy for all of 24 hours and already he seemed to have a picture perfect memory of his dark hair, his round face, his perfect tan. The more Billy thought about this the more confused he became. He didn't know anything about Kyle and, he said to himself, he certainly shouldn't be thinking about his tan. Or his butt! "Billy! Hey Billy!" Kyle hollered. Billy turned around and looked at Kyle. They were both covered in sweat. "I think I'm ready to head back," said Kyle. "You must really like to run. We've been out here over an hour already." Billy looked around. He could barely recognize where he was because he had only gone this far once before. He had been so consumed by his own thoughts that he had just kept running and completely forgotten that they would have to turn around and go back. "Man, I'm sorry, Kyle. I wasn't paying attention and just kept running ahead. I just got to thinking about stuff and sometimes I get a little caught up and forget where I'm even going. Are you completely exhausted?" "I'm OK. But do you think we could maybe walk for a little while as we start back?" "Yeah. That's a good idea. Actually, I'm pretty sure we can take a shortcut through the field up ahead and not have to go back the same way we came here. I'm really sorry for running so far." "Don't worry about it," said Kyle. "I guess I'll be able to walk again in a week or two." He winked at Billy. They walked in silence for a long time, across the field and into the woods. It was Billy who first started talking. "So what's your story, Kyle?" "I thought you didn't like to talk out here." said Kyle with his usual goofy grin. "I don't like to talk when I'm running. This is walking. Two entirely different things. Now how old are you? Where do you live?" "I see," said Kyle. "Well, I live in Schaumburg and I'm 18. I just graduated from high school and I'm going to Northwestern next year. What about you?" "I'm just going into my senior year and I'm 17. I live in Love's Park, just outside of Rockford. I haven't decided about college yet. It's like one of a million things I'm trying to avoid thinking about this summer." "I know exactly what you mean. When I told my parents I wanted to spend time at Uncle Eric's cottage they kept asking me 'what are you going to do?' 'aren't you going to be bored?' and I told them that was the whole point. I just wanted to get away and not do anything, not think about anything. Ya know? Sometimes I just feel that everyone has these huge expectations and . . . well . . . it's just nice to get away sometimes." Finally the lake was in view and the boys headed down the steep bank toward the road. When they got to Kyle's Uncle's cottage Kyle asked Billy, "So, are you busy this afternoon?" "Well I'll have to check my appointment book . . . let's see rest, shower, lunch . . . yeah, I think I might have some time this afternoon. Why?" Kyle laughed, "Well, I was thinking maybe we could go skiing or something. You know, if you aren't too busy and didn't have other plans or anything. I mean, I'm not that good but I'd be happy to drive the boat if you like to ski. Do you ski? Would you want to go out this afternoon? On the lake, I mean?" "Yeah," said Billy. "I'd love to go out with you this afternoon. Skiing." * * * * * Over the next few days the boys met every morning to run and spent their afternoons together swimming or water skiing or fishing. After their run on Friday, Kyle had suggested that they go into town that evening and rent a few movies. Billy thought that was a terrific idea since his parents didn't even have a television at their cottage. Spending an evening at Kyle's Uncle's house sounded like fun. Spending more time with Kyle sounded even better. At six that evening, Kyle drove them into the nearby resort town and they found a few movies that they both wanted to see. Then they ordered a pizza and started the trip back to the lake. As they were approaching the lake, Kyle asked, "Are your parents coming up this weekend?" "No," Billy replied. "My little sister is going to camp so they're with her. I guess they'll be here next weekend. Why?" "No reason. Just curious." They pulled into the driveway at Kyle's Uncle's house. Billy walked inside and couldn't believe how nice the place was. From the outside it looked like any other cottage, but inside everything was gorgeous and brand new. In the living room there were huge, floor to ceiling windows over looking the new deck and the lake beyond. On the fireplace there was a picture of two men together. "Is one of these guys your Uncle?" Billy asked. "Actually, they're both my uncles. Well sort of. The one on the left is my Uncle Eric. He's my Dad's brother. The one on the left is his partner, Uncle Tim." "So you mean they're like, a couple?" asked Billy. "Yeah. They've been together since I was like three or four and they're both really nice. In fact, it was their idea that I come up here this summer. At my graduation party they told me anytime I wanted I could come up here, maybe bring a friend, whatever. It's the best graduation gift I got." "I'd definitely agree with that. Come on, the pizza's getting cold. Let's put in the movie and eat." They sat down next to one another on the couch and put the first movie into the entertainment center. Kyle immediately started fast-forwarding through all the previews. "Wait a minute!" said Billy, "I want to see those. Give me that remote!" "See what? What remote?" Kyle smiled as he held the remote control in his left hand away from Billy. Billy leaned over started reaching for the remote. Soon they were wrestling on the couch laughing and fighting for control of the little device. Kyle wound up on top of Billy and soon had him pinned. He held each of Billy's wrists over his head and looked right into Billy's eyes. They were both smiling and out of breath when, surprising even himself, Kyle quickly lowered his lips to Billy's and kissed him. Billy squirmed under the kiss and panic went through his eyes. He pushed Kyle off and looked at his new friend. His heart was beating at a thousand miles and hour and he didn't know what to do or say. All of a sudden Billy felt like he was going to cry, like he couldn't keep it together anymore. He got up and quickly headed for the door. The color had drained from Kyle's face. He was yelling after Billy as he headed toward the door. "Billy! Wait! I don't know what I was doing. I'm so sorry." Billy kept walking and said, "I have to go Kyle. I just . . . I have to go now." It was all he could do to not burst into tears right there in Kyle's house. As soon as he was out the door, Billy ran as fast as he could to his own house. Once inside he slammed the door and burst out crying. He hadn't cried like this since he was five years old but he couldn't control himself. Wave after wave of tears overwhelmed him and he didn't know why. When Kyle's lips touched his he felt more joy, more love than he had ever felt in his entire life. But that didn't make any sense. How could he possibly be in love with Kyle? A guy? What would people say if they saw the two of them kissing? He felt so confused. He didn't know what to do. Eventually the immediate terror diminished and his sobs were reduced to a constant rhythm of sniffles. He needed to think. He needed to clear his mind. He needed to run. Before the sniffles had even gone away, Billy put on his running shoes and started out into the night. Although it took a while for him to find his rhythm, he was able, as usual, to let go while running. He was able to focus his thinking. And all he could focus on was Kyle. As he ran further and harder he remembered that moment when their eyes locked on the couch and he had felt as happy as anyone could possibly be. He knew that he laughed more when he was with Kyle. He smiled more. He thought about how soft Kyle's lips were and how much he wanted to feel Kyle next to him again. While he still didn't understand what this meant, he began to realize that he didn't really care what it meant. All that mattered was telling Kyle how he felt. Instead of running back to his own cottage Billy turned around and started heading for Kyle's place. He started thinking about what he was going to say, but didn't have the words to express those moments of terror that sent him out of the house just hours ago. He ran right to Kyle's and knocked on the door. No one answered. Billy knocked on the door again, much louder this time. He didn't hear anything. He pounded on the door and started shouting, "Kyle! It's me. We need to talk." "Just go away Billy," Kyle replied without opening the door. "I made a stupid mistake and I don't want to talk about it right now. You'll only make me feel worse. Just go home." "But Kyle, it wasn't a mistake. I was just . . . surprised. I didn't know what to do so I ran away in a panic. Would you let me come in? I really need to see you now. I need you to know you didn't make a mistake." Slowly the door opened and Billy saw that Kyle had been crying, too. "Kyle, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you. I just was . . . well, I just felt . . . ." Running out of words, Billy put his hand on the back of Kyle's head and kissed him. This time, neither of them pulled away. When they finally released one another, Billy put his head on Kyle's shoulder. "Kyle, ever since I've met you I've felt so happy. Every time I see you I want to smile. I get excited every time I hear your voice. I think . . ."Billy raised his head and looked into Kyle's beautiful eyes. "I think I love you." "I know I love you, Billy Douglas," said Kyle as he leaned in for another kiss.