Author's Note: Having established the tradition of starting with a few comments here, I am loathe to break it, but, really, at this stage, you will just need to read the story.

Life is Merely a Game

Nicky's cabin, it turned out, was only a few doors down from Joshua's place.

Ricky could see where Nicky got his beauty. His mother was gorgeous. Like Nicky, she had the exotic combination of fair skin with very dark eyes and hair. She had those same dark red lips, but her hair! It was long, all the way down her back, and worn in a braid. She wore a loose, natural linen blouse, the frilly-the kind they called a "peasant blouse", and she wore a long, flowing, print skirt of fine, thin, fabric. It was a very old fashioned look. She reminded Ricky of a way he had seen Native American women dress.

When he told her this, she smiled graciously, saying it was an old European look too.

Over iced tea, at their cabin, they talked and talked. She was from Beirut, a native French speaker, and she was Christian. Her family had left when "the troubles" started in the eighties. She was on sabbatical from Cal, were she taught and researched various aspects of international law. She was, Ricky could tell, from a wealthy family. She simply had the casual grace, confidence, and manners of old money. Ricky knew all about that.

She had met Nicky's father in New York. Nicky was born in America, and was an American citizen. But they had returned to Greece, where Nicky grew up in Athens. His grandfather, on his father's side, owned a hotel, and his father was often away. Nicky's father owned several ships, and he was always traveling here and there to buy raw goods cheaply and selling them where he could get good prices.

Ricky did not ask her about the separation. That would be altogether too forward. He did ply her with questions about language. Though she spoke English with virtually no trace of an accent, she said that she had learned Arabic and Greek as a child. She also said she spoke "passable" Hebrew but was not "particularly literate" in that language. Like Nicky, she was fluent in Italian and had recently been, "expanding my skill in Russian." She was enchanted by Ricky's fascination with Latin and suggested that once he started studying ancient Greek, he would "fall forever in a beautiful dream!"

Nicky was elated to inform them both that he would be teaching Ricky Greek and Italian.

She asked him about himself and his family. Ricky could tell she was pleased that he could trace his lineage back, many, many generations to the European roots of both his mother and father's sides of the family. She loved it when Ricky told her that he and Nicky had gone tubing and that Nicky was as "elegant as an otter" in the water, so Ricky felt very safe with him on the river, for the river could be dangerous.

She was delighted by the squirrel meat as well. When she asked how best to cook it, Ricky suggested that roasting it over coals was the best. Ricky liked to make a marinade of garlic, honey, sesame seeds, and soy sauce. She suggested he cook it then, for they had these things, and though they had no charcoal, there was plenty of dry wood about.

She had already made hummus and an olive dip earlier in the day, but for the feast, she would make "flatbread" while Ricky and Nicky gathered wood and got a fire going in the barbecue pit on the deck.

Outside, among the old apple trees across the road, Nicky confided, "She likes you! I must warn you! My mother is very particular about my friends!"

"I am glad to hear this." Ricky had found himself enunciating things clearly for Nicky. He tended to speak slowly, not using so much sloppy California country slang. He had noticed Nicky seemed to cock his head when Ricky drawled the lazy contractions of his casual Central "California-nese."

After that excellent meal, enjoyed at the table with wine, even for the boys, though it hardly more than a gulp, Ricky suggested that he and Nicky go to Doc Jameson's lot because that was where all the kids would be, and Ricky could introduce Nicky to their community. Nicky's mother thought that was a splendid idea.

On the way there, Nicky did the cutest thing — he held Ricky's hand.

He must have seen Ricky's look, for he said, "I know, I know! But in Greece and Italy and in the Middle East and other places, men and boys and girls and women who are just friends hold hands!"

Ricky made a wry expression. He wasn't comfortable with it. He would catch shit. Nicky must have sensed that too, for he then looped and arm into Ricky's and walked along jostling him. "There! Now were just a couple of 'jocks!' Ho-kay? Right?"

It was "right." Fuck them all! This is pure joy.

Usually kids outgrew "kick the can" by the time they were about twelve, but the population dynamic at the river community had shifted once again. There were a lot of little kids, and their older siblings were generally happy to play with them. Thus, there seemed to be more teenagers playing instead of distancing themselves and trying to act cool.

Nicky was ecstatic. "How do you play? How do you play?" He shouted, running into the middle of the game. "I want to play! I want to play!"

A couple of little kids said it was basically like hide and go seek, but if the person hiding could kick the can before the person who was "it" tagged them, they were "free". But if you got tagged. You were "it."

Ricky knew other variants. This was a fast paced version that didn't require everyone to be found before the next round, and if the person who was "it" was a small child, he or she could have a partner. This was where the older siblings came in.

Nicky loved being "it." He purposely let the little kids win. Within an hour, he knew everyone there, and everyone there knew him. He was "popular."

Ricky could not get interested in the game. But he enjoyed the high-spirited voices of small children. He sat on the railing at the Jameson cabin and watched, chatting with Susie and Jackie. Susie was apparently on speaking terms with him again. Somehow.

Ah! She is watching Nicky, Ricky observed to himself. She was interested in him.

He thought, Always the fucking angle, huh, Susie?

Soon there were a group of girls surrounding Nicky. They all wanted to know about Greece. Nicky insisted he did not know much. Athens was dirty and smoggy, but rising up above, was the great Temple of Athena, and in the shops, you could find anything that was made anywhere in the world. He told them that his favorite place was his little island. He fished for octopus with an uncle. He served coffee to the guests, tended the flowers, cleaned the pool, and washed dishes in a little hotel, but he knew many nasty fisherman's songs! And these he sang in Greek in a very pleasant voice, refusing to translate except to say that they were all about sex!

Nicky managed to extricate himself from the females by saying to Ricky, "We should go. It is getting dark. I promised Mama I would be home by dark."

He said it like, "Ma-MAH."

Nicky, usually so ebullient, was positively frigid to Susie. To Ricky's astonishment, he even said, "The first time I saw you was when you insulted your cousin. You did not even ask my name. But now you are nice to me? In Greece, we have a saying about people like you, but you do not want to hear it."

Ricky enjoyed seeing this aspect of his new friend. Nicky had a fierce side! Ricky had not thought it was possible to love someone so much.

Susie looked like a trout our of water. He mouth gasped. Her eyes bulged. The other girls laughed loudly. Susie was not at all liked by any of the females.

This sudden and amazing outburst of Nicky's prompted Ricky to take him aside and ask him about it. Nicky only shrugged, saying "'He who is unkind to a stranger is accursed by the Father of Gods, who protects the good-hearted traveller.'"

After Ricky had checked in with his father, Nicky complained, "I thought there would be more boys!"

Ricky answered, "They are off fishing or with their girls, I imagine. You still have not met my little brother, but he has a new friend, I think. We could go fishing tomorrow, if you like. Trout bite at dusk until dark. That's the best time."

"Because that's when the bugs come out and the birds can't see them. Right?"

"Also, the water is still warm," Ricky added.

"I bet I can catch some in the swimming hole tomorrow. I'll bring my goggles!"

"You mean with your hands?" Ricky asked.

"Yes! I saw where they were! I will catch them!"

Ricky was looking forward to that. He told him, "My brother Patrick does that. He is very patient that way. I have never been able to catch a fish with my hands."

After visiting with Ricky's father, Ricky grabbed his overnight kit, laptop, and guitar. At Nicky's place, they found his mother reading in a rocking chair on the deck. She had arranged a "reading station with a lamp, a shelf, and a table. Ricky sat on the deck and played his guitar while Nicky sang.

Ricky sang too. He had learned several new songs by that time, and he was always rearranging classical pieces into a version suitable for guitar. But Ricky wanted to learn all these completely new songs that Nicky knew. From the melodies, it was not difficult to find the chords.

Like many cabins in that community, there was no television, but Nicky's mother had the internet hooked up or turned on. She needed it "for her research and communication with colleagues." The consequence of no television was that, once one got over the withdrawal, there were many such warm gatherings.

Ricky grew hungry again, as he often did a few hours after dinner, but it always awkward to ask for food when he was at friend's house. He had overcome much of his shyness, but he still hesitated. Finally, while sitting there with Nicky and his mother he thought of a polite way to do it. He asked, "Nicky, do you usually have a snack before bed?"

"Oh yes! I like cookies and milk! You want some? I mean, the milk is all boiled in the U.S., but it's better than nothing, and we went shopping before we came up, so how about we make us a plate?"

His mother asked, "Are you two about ready for bed?"

"Yes, Mama," Nicky answered.

"Well," his mother said, "You should shower. You both smell like the river."

Nicky sniffed an armpit. He said, "I smell OK."

"Nicky?" His mother said. She pronounced it, "NEE-kee."

"Yes, Mama," Nicky answered, contritely.

They sat in the kitchen, eating cookies and drinking milk. Ricky took the opportunity to text Joshua, hoping to catch him home alone, but he was out and about riding with his friends. Ricky was hoping to introduce Nicky to him via a v-chat. Nicky was constantly hopping up, scooting around in his chair, and swinging his legs. Finally, sliding very close and talking in a conspiratorial low tone, he told Ricky, "Mama likes to stay up late, and she likes to sleep in the mornings, so I was thinking, if you like, we could play in the shower! She won't hear us!"

Nicky beamed cutely at the brilliance of his plan.

Then, in typical Nicky fashion, flicking from subject to subject without transitions, Nicky asked, "So your cousin Susie? What is with her?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," Nicky answered, "Why is she acting like she likes me?"

Ricky caught the intonation. Nicky thought she was faking it. He wanted to pursue that. "What makes you think she was 'faking?'"

"Because she was always trying to draw attention to herself rather than find out about me."

"Oh. That. Yeah. She saw you were popular, I think. She always goes for the most popular guy."

"Strange," Nicky mused.

Ricky, referring to that glorious snub Nicky had given Susie earlier, "What you said? That packed a punch! Thank you. She will not forget that. She's not all bad, really. Don't hate her just because she insulted me. Like I said, I think she likes to nab who she thinks is the most popular boy. I thinks she's in this state of total war with the other girls. It is often that way with girls. They do not understand that life is merely an agown. They take it too seriously."

Nicky nodded in happy agreement, but then he asked, "'Nab?'"

"Grab, take, catch, steal."

Nicky nodded, swinging his feet, chewing. "So she thinks I am the most popular?"

"I think so. I mean, shit, you are the hottest boy in the world!"

Nicky smiled. He burped loudly and unselfconsciously. He said, "I think I am going to enjoy this vacation! Who are you texting?"

Ricky took the opportunity to tell Nicky about Joshua, saying he wanted to set up a "v-chat." Interestingly, Nicky was as naïve about that technology as Ricky! Joshua had yet to text back since he had told Ricky he was out, but Ricky knew that Josh would be interested in Nicky, who was, likewise, interested in Josh..

After their snack, they went to Nicky's room. It was to one side of the cabin. Small, it was mainly occupied by a large bed in a heavy wooden frame. The master bedroom was one the opposite side of the cabin with the main room was between. Nicky's room had sliding glass doors that opened out onto the deck, and on the opposite side, there was a small bathroom with a sink and a toilet and a shower.

As soon as they entered the room, Nicky said, "I usually sleep wearing only my giant t-shirt. What do you sleep in?"

Ricky told him that when he was alone, he wore a pair of big, loose boxers, but when he was with someone, he slept nude.

"OK! Let's both sleep naked together!"

"Does your mother come into your room without knocking?"

"Not any more."

Nicky was tearing off his clothes and letting them lay wherever they landed. Ricky had to resist the urge to chuckle. It seemed that Nicky was purposely making a mess. He trotted into the bathroom.

Ricky followed. Nicky plopped down on the toilet, farting loudly, which made him laugh as he announced, "I have to take the biggest poop! Have you ever fucked a melon?"

Once again, Ricky was dumfounded. The way Nicky was, first, so completely unashamed of anything, and then, the way he would shift the subject so radically.

"No, Nicky," he answered.

"You should try it! It is great! The Moroccans say, 'A woman for babies, a boy for pleasure, and melon for ecstasy'; except, they are wrong. A boy is a lot better than a melon! I totally fucked your ass today. It was much better. Did you like it?"

"It was great. I want to do it again."

"We can do it in the shower. And you can fuck me again. And we can suck each other's cocks. And get all soapy and rub against each other. And kiss! Do you need to make skatá? 'Skatá' is how you say 'shit' in Greek."

"Oh, I thought the word was 'kakos.'"

"No, that mean's 'bad.' But it is like the word 'kaka,' In Italian, it is 'cacca' also, but spelled with 'c's, so I can see why you would think that."

Ricky did need to make "skatá." Nicky wiped himself, completely unembarrassed. He studied his bowel movement, smiling, before he flushed it. Ricky gathered he was pleased. He also noticed that Nicky's effluvia had hardly any odor at all.

Nicky fussed with the water as Ricky sat on the toilet himself. It took a while to get it going. It was a new place. He felt self-conscious. He and his brother Patrick would use the bathroom together, but then, they had grown up with each other.

Soon, they were wrapped in each other's arms and kissing in the shower. They soaped each other down, and rubbed each other's soapy bodies together each other again. Ricky had forgotten the condoms, as he was still prone to do on occasion, so he suggested they just squirm together. He loved Nicky's hard, gymnast's body, all slippery with soap, and Nicky, apparently, loved Ricky's body the same way.

They did not come, however. Nicky said, "Let's save our sperm fishes."

Again and again Ricky was amused by Nicky's entirely innovative vocabulary and his mercurial changeability. Ricky was frankly satiated by the day's sex, so he was glad Nicky wanted to "save" their "sperm fishes."

They both used a blow dryer on their hair. Neither liked to sleep with wet hair. It messed up the pillow, and it made their hair a mess in the morning.

Then, Ricky brought up his earlier hint, "Have you ever shaved your ass and balls?"

"I tried that once, but I got a rash and itched. It was not good!"

Ricky remembered that Nicky had earlier suggested that he knew how to do it, but he clearly did not.

"Ah. Yes. But I've learned how to avoid that. I can show you."

"Would it turn you on to shave me?"

"It would!"

"Then let's do it!"

Ricky showed him. The trick, according to Ryan, was to first clean really well. "Razor bumps" were caused by bacteria being driven into the pores of the skin by a close shave. So first one thoroughly cleaned. He and Nicky had done that in the shower. The next trick was to go with the grain of the hair, not against it.

He showed Nicky that, using the razor and soap in his kit, holding the shaft of Nicky's roaring erection as he shaved the base. He fondled his hard, tight, high riding balls as he shaved those and his delectable taint, and spreading Nicky's firm butt cheeks as he shaved around his hot-pink, cutely puckered anus.

Nicky was not exactly "furry" around his anus, but he had many little dark hairs there. In fact, though Nicky was a half year his junior, he was hairier in general.

Ricky was very careful and very delicate as he shaved him. He followed the shave with an alcohol based aftershave creme, warning, "This might sting a bit, but not much. I kind of like the sting."

Nicky only commented, "It does not sting."

Regarding the stubble on his legs, Ricky asked, "You use electric clippers there?"

Nicky nodded. Ricky noted that. There were electric clippers at his own cabin.

When it was done, Nicky caressed the area curiously. "I like it! He exclaimed."

"Now you do me!" Ricky commanded.

Nicky seemed to follow Ricky's technique perfectly and laughingly. "This is so gay!" he commented.

Ricky agreed.

They showered again, carefully keeping their hair dry and scrubbing each other's shaved areas very well indeed.

It all worked as Ryan said. Neither developed rashes or bumps. Being gay came with technical skill. They did not teach this stuff in school.

But in the mean time...

From the bedroom, with the lights off, they could still see the orange glow of Nicky's mother's lamp. Nicky suggested they "rest."

Ricky checked his messages. Still no Josh. He slipped under the covers and Nicky joined him, giggling, "This is so fun! I love to sleep naked with boys! Don't you?"

"Oh yes."

"I fucked you twice," Nicky commented.

"It was hot." Then, imitating Nicky's syntax, "You are a good fucker of me!"

Nicky snuggled up next to Ricky, laughing in a husky, butch way.

When he asked Nicky if he had thought of a "Challenge," Nicky, tracing his fingers along Ricky's necks, said he had not.

Nicky was moving constantly, sighing and giggling. Ricky felt the same way. They talked and laughed together long into the night. Of particular interest to each other were their stories about the guys they had been with. Finally, they talked about that.

"You started when you were eleven? Nicky? I don't believe it!"

"Why do you not believe it?"

"It's an expression. It means, 'I find that extraordinary!'"

"Oh. Would you like to hear this story?"

"Yes!"

Nicky ceased his endless movement. He snuggled up in Ricky's arms.

While Nicky talked, the light of the rising bright moon shone in through the sliding glass door leading to the deck. Below them, the river murmured.

"It was my cousin Paulo from Neopolis — you say 'Naples.' There are many Greek families in Italy and Sicily still. Did you know that? 'Neopolis' means 'New City' in Greek. It was a Greek colony before the Romans made it theirs. Did you know that?"

"No."

"Yes. Italy and Sicily used to be Greek — ah, parts of them, but, anyway, Paulo comes to my island for the summer. He is thirteen at first, but he becomes fourteen. I am going to our room in the attic, and he is playing with himself there! He is in our bed next to the window, and he has the lamp on. I ask, 'What are you doing Paulo?' For he has covered himself, and his cheeks grew rosy red... How do you say?"

"Blush," Ricky answered, observing how Nicky was using the present tense to tell about something that happened in the past, a style known to Latin students as the tense of the "historical present."

"Yes, and I ask him that, and he says I must not tell! I do not know why I must not tell, but I say, 'OK!' And he shows me! It is 'masturbarsi' in Italian, but we say, 'fare una sega.' Every language has many ways to say things about sex! But, anyway, he shows me. He has hair! His cazzo is about ten centimeters."

Nicky held up his thumb and index finger to show how big that was. It looked about four inches to Ricky.

"To me," Nicky continued, "this is a great, big, hairy dick!

"Mine is only eight centimeters then, like this!" Again, the visual — about three inches.

"So he shows me how to do it, and I am asking, 'Why?' And he says it feels good and stuff comes out, not pee, but sperma, so I say 'I want to do it!' And he thinks I mean that I want to do it to myself, but I want to do it to him! So he lets me! And sperma comes out! He puts some on his fingers and sticks one in my mouth. He is not being mean. He is just playing, but, Skatá! I do not like it!

"Later, I like it, but then, I do not..."

Ricky laughed. "That same thing happened to me!"

He and Nicky giggle together over that. Nicky continued, "But I love the way his big cock feels in my hands, and I love the way his balls feel. And I love making him squirt!

"So I try this new thing with myself, but nothing happens. Then, he does it for me, and that feels better, but then, he shows another new thing! He sucks it! And this feels best, and I have my first orgasm! It is amazing! I think I will faint! I want to do it again, but he says, 'Go to bed.'

"But do you want to hear this funny thing, Ricky?"

"I do want to hear a 'funny thing,' Nicky!"

Nicky writhes against him. Stories with Nicky always came with physical motion.

"OK! As I am laying the bed, it is dark, and in the night he says, 'Do you remember playing with my cazzo when we were small?' I do not remember this! He says, 'Yes. In the bath. Several times.' He says he feels guilty, for he sucked my little dick, and I sucked his! But here is the 'funny' thing: I do not remember! I have been sucking cock since before I could remember!"

"That is funny, Nicky! But this tells me that you did not think it important."

"Yes! And we do it again the next day, only this time, I try sucking him, for I wish to do this, and this I love, but he makes me stop, and he sucks me again, but I do not come. Then, I make him squirt with my hands, but I also suck it more, and this time the taste does not surprise me. He tells me that sperma has power, and I must not waste it.

"But I did not tell you, my Paulo is handsome. He keeps his black hair trimmed neatly, and combs his hair in a part, and he is always nice to me all the times he has seen me. He always hugs me and kisses me.

"And he lets me kiss him more then! He loves me, and I love him. He is my first lover!

"We play together all summer. We are careful. He says no one will understand, and I do not wish him trouble, so we are careful."

"Did you fuck?"

"Not that summer, but back in Athens, I was always trying to touch and kiss boys, and I was often spurned, and I got a reputation. Do you know what that is?"

"Yes. It is a problem for gay boys."

"Yes. So I had little satisfaction and much trouble. I was always trying to get boys to show me their phallós, and I kept trying to kiss boys. Paulo had warned me. He was right, so I began to look for agória — that means 'boys,' but not little boys — who will keep the secret, and I found two in my dancing class... But that is another story! The next summer, Paulo returns to our island, he knows new things, like ass fucking, so we do that a lot. It does not hurt me. We all have little dicks then, though Paulo's has grown two centimeters. We fuck and fuck! Also, he has a friend from Italy who comes to stay. He is a handsome blond like your Collin, with brown eyes, and the three of us fuck and fuck. We go to the beach a lot for this. I am twelve then, Paulo becomes fifteen on the island in the summer, and his friend, Tomás, is fourteen.

"When I return home, I know my lesson, so I do not pursue the boys at my school, I find other places. In Europe, there are places where young people can drink sweet drinks, eat pastries and crackers and cheese, listen to music, and dance. Here, in America, you do not have these things! Only sometimes I do find boys from school at the teen places! I was always the young one then. So there are ways; there are ways.

"I was learning this. Also, I was learning that there are men who only like young boys, and they will pay much money!"

Ricky was shocked by this confession. He asked, "Did you do that? Take money for sex?"

"Oh, no, Ricky! I come from a good family! I do not need money! In Greece, we say, 'The boy who takes money for sex is a lost boy.' But I learn that there are boys who do, and these boys are sometimes fun for me to play with. Many, I find, do not enjoy gay sex. It is work for them. It is like going to the factory or hauling nets. It is merely a job. They would rather be with girls. Did you know that?"

"I have heard that, yes."

"On my island, last summer, before we moved here again, there is one of these who works in the hotel, aaah, but he is not interested in girls! OK? This is Enrique. He is Sicilian. Very brown with smooth skin, his face is like a girl, but he has a big, hairy cock! Everyone calls him 'Cici.'" Nicky pronounced it, "CHEE-chee."

"I see him going to some rooms some nights with some men, and I approach him, saying that I find him comely, and should he have a quiet night with no ugly old men to pay him money and he might wish to amuse himself with me, I would be glad of it."

Once more, Ricky enjoys Nicky's capacity for expressive phrasing. He says nothing, letting Nicky continue.

"At this time my room is by the big pool. It is the old gardener's shed, and it has the pumps and filters. He visits me there often that summer. He always uses a rubber with me. He is careful. He brings me presents. It was he who gave me my ankle bracelet. I like it best because he did not buy it; he made it. I told you he was the son of a sailor, but I did not tell you he was orphaned by the sea. He taught even me many knots, and I know knots! I like him, but in his heart, he is sad.

"This last summer, there would sometimes be a young man in the company of his parents, vacationing. Also, in the harbor, there are many fine yachts. I am always seeking those, ah, Germanikós? German looking boys! Like you! And these I would invite to the beach, my cabin, or a sail in my skiff Friday. I will tell you more, later. Now I am sleepy."

With a long sighing breath, he whispers, "I love you, Ricky. You are perfect for me. I have been looking for you my whole life!"

Then he is silent and still.

Nicky is asleep!

Ricky had meant to reciprocate with his own stories.

Nicky began to snore very cutely. Ricky was usually irritated by snoring, but Nicky's snoring sounded sweet.

The Challenge

When Nicky woke up, his Ricky was gone!

He looked around in the pre-dawn gloom, then heard a tiny noise from the kitchen.

Hah! OK!

He turned on his bedside lamp. Where were his clothes? Huh? Folded on the dresser? He would have to tell Ricky not to do that. How could he find anything?

It was the same in the bathroom. His towel, instead of being on the floor where he had left it, was hanging up.

Still, Nicky thought, at least his mother would not have to tell him to pick up. Ricky, as Americans said, was "scoring points."

Once dressed, Nicky joined Ricky in the kitchen. He had made a pot of tea, and he had sliced some fruit. He had found the croissants too.

Nicky kidded him. He thought about the words for a while before he said them. He said, "You are just one of those good 'wifey' sorts of boys, are you not?"

Ricky sat down next to him and sipped his tea. He appeared to ignore the comment. He said, "I could not find coffee. I was thinking we might go hunting. Do you like to shoot guns?"

"I do not know. I have never shot a gun. My mother would not like it!"

"It's fun, and surprisingly challenging, but never mind then. Some other time after I have talked with her about it. I was just trying to think of something you and Collin and I could do together."

Then Nicky brightened. Ah hah! The Challenge!

Nicky suggested, leaning very close, almost whispering in Ricky's ear, "You remember the agown I suggested? The 'Challenge?' I have it now! Here it is! Let us have gay sex with this boy, Collin! He could fuck us in the mouth and the ass while we took turns being in the middle! How about that!"

Ricky said, remaining very close, his lips almost touching Nicky, "What makes you think Collin would be interested in that?"

Nicky, not to be dissuaded, answered, in Ricky's ear, "Just think about how hot our sex with each other would be after we played with him! Would you not like that? He knows you are gay. I know he is cute, so that means you do too. So? What is it? Is he one you yearn for, but he will not yield? Or?"

"Or — nothing, Nicky, Ricky whispered. You are breaking the rules!" Ricky looked very stern when he said that. Nicky had not seen that look before.

Now he was curious. "'Rules?' What 'rules?'"

"'Gay rules.' It is very... er, impolite to try to get someone to tell you about someone else who may wish to keep things to himself."

Nicky nodded, he knew all about that, of course, but he said. "So that answers that. You and him do have it happening. But you can not talk about it because he will not let you! I completely understand!"

"No!" Ricky said, with a hiss. "You do not get it! If you got it, you would stop asking me about him and me that way."

Nicky shook his head. "But I have stopped because now I know! The only thing I am wondering now is how far does he go? There are different things that straight boys will do or not do. How about him? Anyway, the challenge stands! Take it, or make me lose! You do not want to make me lose, do you? This is a good challenge! Also, would it not be fun to suck his dick together with me? Or! We could take turns, and watch each other! Or! One of us could lick his balls while the other sucked!"

Ricky's expression then looked pained. But Nicky saw his idea intrigued him, for he looked at Nicky and smiled his secret smile. Hah!

Nicky sighed, "I am just trying to make fun for us! I thought you and me were a team! Are we not the gay ones? Let's be gay together! I bet we can both 'nab' a lot more dick together than we could apart. Come on! Let's gang up on them! It will be fun!"

Ricky sighed. "I promised Collin I wouldn't tell anyone. Don't you understand promises Nicky?"

Nicky noticed that by these words, Ricky had admitted that he and Collin did things together. "Of course I do! But you can tell me!"

Nicky saw that Ricky was not going to change his mind. His look was adamántinos... 'adamant!' "OK then. Well ask him then! He will not mind, I wager. I will not tell on him and you!"

Ricky only said, "Collin would consider that I betrayed him if I told you anything."

"I already said, 'OK!' OK? I only told you to ask him!"

"Sure, Nicky. I'll ask. I was going to ask him anyway without you even saying something."

"See?" Nicky exclaimed. "The Challenge, Ricky. The Challenge! We are so gay together! We think alike!"

Nicky loved the way Ricky smiled at him when he said that. Yes. It was understood.

Nicky's mother was delighted by Ricky's breakfast. Ricky had asked, "It was not too forward and intrusive to invade your kitchen?"

"Heavens no, Darling. My lovely boy can hardly be bothered by milk and cereal, so you do us all a favor."

Nicky offered, "He likes to cook, Mama. He is like an Italian man that way! I really love him!"

Nicky's mother laughed at that, but she looked at Ricky intently. It made him uncomfortable.

Ricky knew it then. She knows!

Back at the Boone cabin, they looked in on Patrick in the boy's tent, but Patrick was not there. Ricky then took Nicky inside to greet Ricky's father, busy at his computer.

The two found Collin still asleep in the gazebo. His new girlfriend, Susie Q, was nowhere to be seen. Collin had rearranged things, making the whole floor of the gazebo one, big, soft bed.

Collin, in only his usual white briefs, lay alone amid the thrashed covers of an unzipped sleeping bag.

Ricky had never seen him sleep so late. It was already after nine in the morning.

Ricky only pretended to be quiet as he grabbed his swimming shorts, but Collin, never a deep sleeper, woke up, and after quickly looking around, rubbed his eyes and groaned. He greeted Ricky and said, "Hey," to Nicky, who was shuffling his feet outside the Gazebo, looking down, with the dappled morning light painting him prettily.

Nicky smiled nicely and gave Collin a quick wave, but he stayed apart, giving them privacy, and, allowing, Ricky supposed, time for them to talk without eavesdropping.

Ricky was pleased that Nicky, once he was properly clued in — not always an easy task — was sensitive to social cues.

Ricky asked, as he took off his clothes, "How'd it go with Susie Q last night?"

Collin groaned, "I need to stick with the easy, slutty ones!"

Ricky chuckled as he slipped on his shorts. He asked, "Yeah? What happened?"

Collin sighed, "After all that, when it came the moment, she was all, 'If you cared for me, you would wait!'"

"So did you fuck her anyway?" Ricky asked, thinking, Well I got me an 'easy, slutty one'.

"Nah. I just don't need the baggage! I mean, for a while, I tried. I even got her willing. Finally. I had to pet her and kiss her, and she was all trying to get me to say the 'L' word, but fuck that! I basically told her — not acting mean — that I was sad that she had led me on, and it was just for fun, and if she wasn't into some fun, she shouldn't stay. And that freaked her, and there was another whole scene, but she left. I made her leave!

"Yeah, I was getting so sick of her shit, I was thinking, 'Man, I can't wait to be alone so I can sleep!' She was just making me tired. So I just lay down and closed my eyes, saying I was tired, and when she woke me up, I acted surprised, saying, 'You better go to Cicilia's before your parents figure out you're not spending the night with her.'"

Ricky shook his head. He said, "So you made her cry?"

"I wasn't trying to," Collin confided. "I was trying to show her something beautiful. She made herself cry because she's in a fucking girly fantasy world!"

Collin said the last with such a funny intonation, Ricky laughed loudly. "So now what? You and her? Is she gonna be thinking you owe her a white wedding with all the king's men kneeling as she walks the aisle before you even get to see her little pussy!"

"Exactly," Collin agreed. "I just know she'll be a lousy fucking lay! I thought she was interesting. She's funny and smart. She's gorgeous! But she's really not ready for sex. I'm gonna tell her that. I'm gonna tell her that she should wait for a guy who is more her type. I'll let her down easy, but I'm done with her. How about you two?"

"Nicky and me are very compatible. We fucked the shit out of each other several times each!"

Collin laughed. "Well, I'm glad to hear that at least one of us is scoring!"

Ricky nodded, "And Nicky is convinced that you and I got it going on. His only question is what we do."

Collin looked at Nicky suspiciously, who was some fifteen feet away, and who was then playing with a stick, treating it like a sword. He looked back at Ricky with a questioning look.

Ricky said, "I didn't tell him shit, I had to make him shut up with the questions, but the very instant we high-fived over him, he was convinced, and then he was all, 'Let's be gay together with him! He can do what he wants!' And I was all, 'Shut the fuck up!' And he was all, 'Let's ask him!' So finally I told him I would."

Collin looked at Ricky with that cool, confident look he would get that turned Ricky on so much. He said, "So that's what you're doing? You're asking if I want to bang a couple gay boys?"

Ricky answered, "We'd get you off good, Collin." He noticed Collin's cock in his tighty-whities seemed a little thicker.

Collin was smiling his evil little smile. Ricky, sensing the opening, plunged on, "We're not prissy little bitches in a 'girly fantasy world!' Guys know what guys like!" You don't have to buy us flowers or call us ten fucking thousand times!"

Ricky, though he knew he had him, played it more. "No wedding dress. No 'How come you didn't call me?' And, 'You never take me out and spend lavish sums of money on me!'"

Collin looked at Ricky with a flash of amusement, but he said, "I'll bet you two have talked about this more than you are letting on."

"I never outed you, Collin, if that's what you mean. The things we've done stay between us. But the thing, is, and I am realizing this now, is you have hit the 'gaynet.' A lot of times, we can just tell. Nicky sensed it right away."

Collin nodded that quick nod of his. Then he said, "Well, I gotta piss. But Nicky? Is he cool? I mean really? Does he know the score?"

"Yes," Ricky said. "He seems childlike, but he is wiser than he appears at first, and he is not fragile; I mean, look at him, Collin! He is a mini muscle stud!"

Ricky watched Collin look Nicky over, appraising him with half-lidded eyes in that cool, suave, Collin way. He looked back at Ricky with his face blank and said, "Good. Fine. He is cute. Let's us three grab some inner tubes and have us a nice little ride together!"

"You better be nice to him, Collin! No fucking biting!"

"Of course," Collin casually said as he pulled his shorts over his bulging underwear.

Collin then slipped on his sandals and padded off to to bathroom.

Nicky came rushing up, singing out, "Well? Well?" Ricky dug out some more rubbers, noting that he was almost out of his stock and would need to ask his father for some money to buy more.

"Hoo-yah! It's on!" Ricky beamed. He held up a hand for a high-five.

Nicky slapped his hand, chortling. "Three-way! Yes, yes, and YES!"

Ricky then advised Nicky about how to play Collin without pushing Collin's boundaries. Nicky appeared to soak all that up, but Ricky was fully aware that Nicky would try push those boundaries because that was what Nicky did. Trying to stop him was like trying to rope a tornado.

Ricky wasn't worried. Collin, he was sure, could handle Nicky.

Collin found Nicky a little irritating at first.

First, while on their way up the road to their spot, Nicky was trying to skip while carrying an inner tube on his shoulders, but, since he was trying to do that while also trying to stay in between the other two, and also constantly tugging up his shorts, which kept slipping down, he freqently jostled the other two. To Nicky's credit, he seemed to figure out that this bothered Collin.

So then he dropped back and played with his inner tube by rolling it ahead of him. The tube kept banging into either him or Ricky. This made Ricky laugh, but not Collin.

Again, to Nicky's credit, he then dashed ahead to the lead and played that same game.

He's such a puppy!

Collin was annoyed with Nicky's constant chatter and activity, but he could see why Ricky liked him. Ricky could be so sad and serious. Nicky's cheerfulness brought out Ricky's happy side. They were complementary types.

Then too, Collin was an only child. Ricky was always around kids. He had much more tolerance.

Once on the wider, open part of the road, Nicky walked with them, insinuating himself in the middle. To Collin, he said, "So Ricky told me you're a 'one hundred percent top.' Not me! I like everything! The only thing I am is one hundred percent gay!"

Nicky seemed to find his own joke extremely funny, for he laughed and laughed.

"Good," Collin said, once he had Nicky's attention, "so you'll like 'everything' we do."

Ricky laughed at that.

Nicky remonstrated, "You guys better not be planning on ganging up on me!"

"Actually," Ricky said to him, "we're not planning anything... Other than you and me showing our buddy a good time."

To Collin, Nicky said, "I like to suck dick, and I like to get fucked too! Did Ricky tell you?"

Collin laughed, "Do you that as a pickup line, Nicky?"

"Uh huh! Ah... Sometimes! But did Ricky tell you?"

"No," Collin answered. Then, rethinking it, he said, "Well, yes, in a way. He said you guys 'fucked the shit out of each other.' But I figured it out anyway; otherwise, Ricky wouldn't be so into you."

Ricky shushed Nicky, saying, "Let's not attract so much attention with noise and motion, Nicky."

Nicky was quiet then. His feelings appeared unhurt.

They walked along quietly then for a while until they neared the place they would need to veer to the left. They were by the ruins of an old, caved in, stone cabin. Ricky told them he wanted to scout ahead to see if anyone was up the road who might see them veer into the woods.

This was Collin's first time alone with Nicky.

Nicky wasted no time. He happily announced, "Did Ricky tell you I thought you were kalós? That means 'beautiful' in old Greek."

Collin looked at him and smiled. He said, "No. Ricky has not really had a chance to talk with me from the instant he met you."

Nicky smiled. He said, "Well, I do think you are most kalós! I was thinking that it would be really fun if Ricky and I both sucked your dick — together! You want to try that? There is a fun way! He and I are face to face, and you fuck between our mouths!"

Collin smiled at him. He tried to keep his expression benign as Nicky smiled back. Nicky then shocked him by casually reaching forward to give Collin's junk a gentle grope! "Hey! Hands off the merchandise, dude!"

Though he protested, Collin did not really mind. He thought it funny. But he would not show Nicky that.

Nicky laughed brightly, unabashed. He said, "Just checking to see how much my ass is going to be stretched. You have big balls! I do not think I will be able to suck on them both at the same time! Ricky and I will have to share them! I like your belly button in your flat tummy. Which do you like better, 'cowboy' or 'reverse cowboy?'"

Collin had no chance to answer, for Ricky came back then, he said it was safe, and as they walked with Nicky in the middle, Nicky told Ricky that Collin wanted them to suck his dick together!

Ricky looked at Collin with that slutty look he could get, and Collin had to adjust his hardening dick as they walked.

When they arrived together at "Ricky's Spot," they all dropped their tubes. Collin was planning on using the tubes to concoct some interesting fucking positions.

However, Nicky and Ricky had their own ideas, for they were immediately on him, rubbing up against him, petting him, and trying to sneak in their gay little kisses. Their heads banged each other in this effort, and it made them laugh. Perhaps, feeling Collin's diffidence, Ricky and Nicky, each with an arm around him and each other, shared a girly kiss with each other.

Collin had really wanted to avoid all the "kissy kissy" stuff, but he'd learned that kissing really got Ricky hot, and after that, he was down for anything! Also, despite himself, he simply wanted to be included. So he hugged them to him, and let them grind their lower parts into him, and he let himself be kissed.

He even kissed back, a little, to encourage them. It was a small gesture, but it excited them greatly. Even a couple of little pecks on their cheeks worked.

He kept seeing the other two sharing these fleeting, excited glances with each other. There was something about the way those two looked at each other! He could not exactly pinpoint it.

Ricky began to unbutton the fly of those short, shorts he always wore. He had taken to wearing his Speedo under them. Collin had noticed this yesterday, but he had said nothing, but he had also noticed Nicky, rather than strut around in his little bikini, had taken to wearing Ricky's style of cut-off jeans over his swim suit. Ricky's shorts were tight, Nicky's shorts were a loose. So when Nicky also unbuttoned his shorts, he dropped them easily and kicked them away before Ricky had his off.

Nicky slipped his fingers into the waistband of Collin's surfing shorts and began to fiddle with the drawstring while Ricky bent over to slip off his shorts. Ricky gave Collin a twinge of jealousy for the way he looked in his sky blue Speedo with his great tan and that big dick of his roaring up and to the side. Ricky reached forward to fondle Collin's rising junk, and with the other hand played with Collin's butt.

There was no fighting them.

He was going to have to let them touch him where they wanted, or he was going to have to walk away, and he was not walking away.

He was enjoying their attention. He was turned on. It was fine.

Nicky had no trouble with Collin's drawstring. He reached down to untie his own at the front of his bikini. It was Ricky who pulled down Collin's shorts. Collin was thus the first one of them nude, and this excited him. He was the star of the show!

Ricky cupped Collin's balls with one of his big, strong hands and stroked Collin's cock with the other while leaning in to kiss him again. He wanted to be kissed then. In a moment, Ricky's lips were replaced by Nicky's, so instead of tipping his head up to Ricky, he tipped his head down for Nicky. He felt Nicky's hard cock flipping against his own, and looking down, saw that Nicky was using a hand on his own to do this. Collin decided not to protest.

These guys will get their gay moves in!

Nicky's cock was almost the same size as his, but not quite. Collin was glad of that. He would have hated to be the one with the smallest prick. Ricky, of course, had always been well-hung. Even as a little kid, he was bigger than the other little kids.

Ricky, out of his Speedo, joined in the dick-flicking and kissing. Three pricks danced together and three tongues twirled against each other. Collin stroked the strong backs of his two lover boys.

His worst fears were realized.

He was having a fucking sausage-fest!

And he liked it.

Fuck it!

They were talking about him like he could not hear.

Ricky said, "Let's have him lean against the log while we blow him, huh, Nicky?"

"Yes! Maybe you could lift one of his legs up, and I could come up from the bottom while you come down on him from the top!"

Collin had always wanted to get two girls to fight over his cock; instead, he had two boys cooperating over his cock. Holding his hands, the other two walked him over to the old, silver fallen tree, the very place he and Ricky had cavorted the first time.

Gently, laughing, they leaned Collin against the old tree trunk and fell in along his sides with their hard pricks pressed against his hips or groin, their arms behind him, their hands on his cock and balls, kissing him. They kissed and kissed, those guys did. His lips, his cheek, his neck.

Then Nicky was on his knees between his legs, giggling while he rubbed his cute face in Collin's crotch. Nicky said to Ricky, as Ricky kissed Collin and stroked his cock, "I like his fat snake, Ricky!"

Ricky comments, "You will like getting fucked by it! Collin really fucks well!"

They keep talking about him to each other, like he is deaf. It is funny.

Then, Ricky kisses and licks his way down Collin's naked chest before joining his boyfriend on his knees, having a fine time with a gay blow job.

First, they take turns. One is sucking while the other waits, and then they alternate. They do this very quickly. They keep their hands busy too, stroking his legs, petting his belly, and playing with each other.

Again, they are looking at each other while they do this. Ricky can definitely suck Collin's cock more deeply and quickly than Nicky, but they are both better than any girl he has ever been with.

Then it hits him! They are not so much having sex with him as they are with each other!

Their action changed as Nicky then started sucking on Collin's balls while Ricky commanded his cock, but they soon switched that up again.

Then Nicky suggested, looking up at Collin, "How about you fuck between our mouths, Collin, like I told you about?"

Neither waited for his answer. In fact, Collin had not said a word. This was also a difference. It was usually Collin who called the shots, but these guys knew their business. It was a refreshing change. Collin relaxed and enjoyed the ride.

The two got on either side of his slobbery wet, very hard prick, and Collin pumped himself between them. Collin could see that this gave them the chance to be really face to face with each other, and both Ricky and Nicky giggled, sparing one hand each for Collin and one hand each for each other.

Yes. These two are actually having sex with each other. More than with me!

Collin didn't mind. It was fun. He almost came right then.

He did not want to come just yet, however. He wanted some boy pussy! For Collin, it was all about the fucking. Everything else was foreplay.

In particular, he wanted to fuck Nicky.

Ricky must have sensed this, for he suggested, as he got up, "Nicky! Lay on top of me and let Collin fuck you from behind!"

Ricky then dig into his shorts and pulls out a rubber to pop on Collin. He does this all with his mouth!

That is a new trick!

He hands Collin the small plastic bag he used to keep a little lube, looking him in the eyes in a way that says, "You be nice to him, Collin! I'm warning you!"

Collin gets the message.

Ricky then lays back on a tube while Nicky flops on top of him, squirming cutely and laughing in Ricky's face, kissing him a, like, a dozen times all over his face. Nicky looks back over his shoulder, smiles happily, and wiggles his hot little butt at Collin.

It is a hot little butt.

Collin moved into ass fucking position. He noticed Nick had a bit of stubble around his little red ring. So he shaved there too? Like Ricky?

Must be a gay thing, Collin fleetingly mused.

He squeezed a bit of lube on the tip of his latex encased prick and kneeled behind the two bouncing boys. Nicky had spread his thighs across Ricky's, exposing his hole and giving Collin a view of their balls pressed together. The two were really enjoying each other!

Nicky's ring was just the right height. He rubbed the tip of his lubricated prick on his anus and then did a test probe. His cock slid in fairly easily, but Collin had learned that with anal, one could not immediately begin pounding. You had to warm it up. You had to get it loose. Ricky, he had found, very much enjoyed having a cock snugged up in him without any pump action at first. He would give Nicky the same treat.

He was not as tight as Ricky. His boy hole was smooth and slippery. He was able to drive himself in balls deep with no trouble. Once there, he fell on top of him and rocked his hips. Nicky sighed loudly. Satisfied that Nicky could handle it, he began with short, strokes, keeping it deep. He loved the way Nicky's butt cheeks felt against him.

Nicky did not moan or whine. He took everything Collin could give him easily. Collin's fuck motions served to grind Nicky into Ricky while the two kissed passionately. Seeing that, Collin grabbed Nicky's hips, and keeping himself deep, used Nicky's body to grind against Ricky, making Ricky purr in that funny way he had.

He then gave Nicky a good, long-cocked, pounding, making Nicky squeal so much that Ricky had to shush him!

All too quickly, Collin was ready to come again, so he switched it up so that Ricky was in the middle. With Ricky, he had to be a little more patient. His ass was extremely tight! So he fucked him slowly and gently for many minutes. All the while his two friends laughed and kissed each other, sharing their secret smiles and looks.

Again, the other two were more into each other than him.

Still, it was fun.

Yes. Ricky has one tight ass!

Collin loved the way Ricky made these sweet, effeminate moans when Collin fucked him. He saw Ricky get goosebumps and the hair on his back and arms stood up. Ricky definitely enjoyed getting fucked!

Collin, feeling an eruption coming, gave Ricky the fiercest pounding he could muster. It was great. Collin dumped a massive load. It was, once again, a remarkable orgasm.

Collin pulled out, flopped against the log, and flicked off the rubber.

He watched them.

Nicky and Ricky played together for a while. It seemed they put on a show for Collin, for both of them would often eye him and smile cutely.

At first, it is mad sixty-nine, rolling around, growling, grunting, and moaning. Rather than making it last, it seems like they were both trying to come. It is Nicky who comes first, just about raping Ricky's mouth! Ricky is on his back, neck arched back, and Nicky is holding himself up by his arms, fucking Ricky's mouth like a jackhammer!

Ricky, Collin has seen, has remarkable stamina.

It is Ricky's turn to play top then, and he fucks his boyfriend hard, facing him with Nicky on his back. The whole time, Nicky is sucking the come from Ricky's mouth. They collapse together happily then, and for a few seconds, completely ignore Collin.

Then Nicky was extricating himself from beneath Ricky and saying, "Hey Kalós Paíthos, you want to make a boy sandwich? You know, let Ricky suck you while I fuck him?"

Collin noted that Nicky had not consulted Ricky. He got the feeling that Ricky would do anything Nicky wanted and that it went the other way too.

"Nah," Collin said, scratching his sweaty balls. "I'm cool. You two can go at it, if you want, but I need to wash. I'm starting to get itchy."

They were good sports. Collin wasn't surprised when Ricky, getting off Nicky said, "Let's all hit the river, huh?"

As they washed up, Ricky, a little aways from a cavorting Nicky, who wanted to swim underwater and hunt for fish, thanked Collin. "You're a good sport, Collin. That was really important to Nicky."

"I know the score, Ricky," Collin replied. "You and him are more into each other than you are into me. I'm happy for you. You got lucky."

Collin sighed. I really need a girl who can love me like Nicky loves Ricky.

Drifting downstream in their tubes, Collin watched two lock their legs onto each other's tubes and form their own little raft, floating together. They even did this through the roughest rapids with Nicky facing backwards and Ricky doing the controlling with his strong arms. Little Nicky was fearless about water!

Those guys! They were both such water dogs!

Purposely, Collin let himself drift apart from them. Collin was not upset with himself. How could he be? Why should he be?

He sighed again. Things had just not been going right with the girls.

He remembered how Ricky had described the first time he thought he might be gay. He had been jacking off, thinking about this chick in a girly magazine, but then, suddenly, he was thinking about fucking this cute boy at school, and he had come so hard he thought it would hit the ceiling! He said he had felt terribly guilty and ashamed, and he had even tried to hide such thoughts from himself, but it kept happening. He would try to hit on girls. He would try to not think of guys when he fapped. Finally, he had resigned himself to the truth, but he was not happy about it.

Collin, on the other hand, had no need to fight off erotic thoughts about other guys. He fantasized about girls, and girls were constantly in his thoughts. Yet he had always known that he was capable of seeing the beauty in males. Ricky had even pointed out that Collin had those weightlifting magazines, and he appeared to be a connoisseur of masculine form. Ricky had told him that he had a sneaking suspicion about him even years ago. Collin could admit that. Several times, testing himself, he even tried to imagine sex with a guy while jerking it, but this soon changed to pussy.

These two! Look at them! They are so happy!

Then there was that other night with Ricky.

Yeah, he'd gone over to "the other side." A couple times. Feeling Ricky's big cock throb in his hand as Ricky shot come. Then too, there was all that rubbing their dicks together. And kissing.

Collin did not think he was "going gay." He thought of it as just being honest with himself, being a whole person, and shedding some pent up anger with himself.

He wanted to talk some more to Ricky about it. Collin had a good relationship with his mom and step-father. They could talk. But not about this. Ricky was the only one Collin trusted with this information. Ricky would not lie to him; he would not judge; and, he would keep the secret.

When they arrived at the swimming hole, Ricky wanted to chat with some of the adults on the beach. Both he and Nicky were chilled, so they wanted to sit in the sun. Staying on the rocks, he was alone with Nicky again. He told him something that was on his mind.

"Nicky? Can I ask you a favor?"

"Huh? Sure!"

"Ricky told me you kept asking him questions about me, and you figured out a lot of things without him saying anything because you saw his reactions."

"Yeah?" Nicky studied him with a frank, open, curious expression.

"Well, I'd appreciate it if you would not pester Ricky about me any more. Can't we have our privacy? Please?"

Nicky shrugged and looked away.

Collin added, "You are not being fair to him. He will not lie, so you force him to reveal things he's promised not to tell."

Collin saw that Nicky was not entirely cheerful about everything then, for Nicky gave him a dark, angry look. "Why? Collin? What secrets are you trying to hide?"

"That's my business. Isn't it, Nicky?"

Nicky looked at him for a few moments, frowning, and then, suddenly, he smiled brightly. "OK! That is just. I will let you and Ricky keep your own stories together. You were his friend first. Yes. That is fair!"

Collin held out his hand. They shook.

Ricky, meanwhile, was trying to walk back to the rocks, but he kept getting stopped by children who wanted to play with him. This was something about Ricky that had always fascinated Collin — the way small children were instinctively drawn to him. Collin had the funniest thought then: Ricky would make a great dad!

One by one, all of Collin's prejudices against gay guys were slipping away. The truth was different than what he had been programmed to believe.

He and Nicky simply sat in silence on the rocks for a while until Nicky began to fidget again. Nicky said something about "fish," and then he was in the water with a splash.

When Ricky returned, a minute or so later, he explained to Collin that Nicky was determined to catch a fish with his hands. He kept diving in and sneaking up behind the fish at the upstream end of the hole. Over and over he tried, only to emerge dripping to sit next to them, shivering, saying he had to "warm up."

He was expecting to see Susie Q. He was hoping he would, but she never showed up. There were only a few girls there at all. He ignored them. Let them come to me!

Ricky was very quiet. He could be that way sometimes. He wasn't distant. He wasn't upset. It was more like he was listening to music that only he could hear. You could talk to him. He would listen. He would sometimes go, "Huh?" that way he did when he didn't understand something or he hadn't heard you.

Mainly the two watched Nicky, who was very entertaining, and Nicky, obviously, loved attention. He wasn't obsessive about it. He wasn't jealous. He just liked it. It was simply fun for him.

Nicky reminded him of an otter.

He was all play, but he was deadly serious about fishing. He was actually starting to get frustrated and even a little upset by his failure. He said that he could use goggles, a snorkel and weight belt, that the water was deep there, and a lot of luck was involved because it all depended on where he submerged first.

A little later, Collin saw Ricky and Nicky whispering together. They were definitely a couple, those two. Collin sighed. Ricky was lucky. Nicky was perfect for him.

Collin grew sad. He would be leaving soon. In a couple days his time there would be over. Ricky would stay with his second cousins and his grand aunts and uncles, but he and Ricky's brother Patrick would be going back down the hill.

Nicky, then sufficiently warmed up, announced, "Watch me catch a fish!"

He was successful this time.

He came up out of the water with a twelve inch wriggling trout, and when he climbed the rocks, he even put it in his mouth!

All he needed was whiskers! Collin started calling him the "Otter Boy" after that; this made Ricky laugh, for he called him the same thing.

Ricky, not to be outdone when it came to being an attention hog, said, "Watch me eat it!"

They had gathered a bit of a crowd.

Nicky handed it to him, and still alive, Ricky grasped it and ripped off the skin with his teeth and tore the living flesh right off the quivering fish!

"Gimme some of that!" Nicky demanded.

For a few seconds, Ricky and Nicky were ripping the raw fish meat off the bones with their faces together and the fish between them. It reminded Collin of how they had sucked his dick together. They even had those same, laughing eyes.

The kids around them were all making "eww" noises the whole time. Ricky and Nicky enjoyed their disgust. Soon they were rubbing their bellies and burping loudly.

Those two!