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

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

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THREE VOICES

by Jeff Allen

CHAPTER 8

MARTY'S VOICE:

"Holy shit!"

"Son-of-a-bitch!"

"Bark! Bark! Grrrr!"

"Are you okay?" Dad asked.

"Yeah. How did that happen?"

"I don't know. I've got to go cut off the water or it will be even worse than it is now."

The main cutoff valve for the water was in the bathroom next to the hot water heater. Dad literally sprinted toward it. Along the way, he lost the towel that had been wrapped around his waist. I watched his hairy butt disappear into the bathroom.

The fountain stopped as he turned off the main valve. Marlene stopped barking and cowered against my leg. Dad walked back out of the bathroom and stood beside me. Other than the drying shaving cream on the one side of his face, he was naked as a jaybird.

Your mind does strange things when something like this happens. I remember thinking that I was glad I'd gotten my energy drink before the refrigerator decided to go through the floor. I also realized that it was the first time I'd ever seen my dad without clothes and that he wasn't circumcised. That both surprised and embarrassed me. Why was I circumcised and he wasn't? Why was I thinking about my dad's dick when the refrigerator was laying belly down in the crawl space?

Dad wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me into a hug, "Well, that was an interesting way to start the day."

"This place was treated for termites before I moved in. Maybe the exterminator didn't get them all. I'll check this afternoon when I'm out of court. The water's turned off; however, we can't take anything out of the refrigerator until we can set it upright. It's going to have to stay there for a while. Right now, you've got to get to school for your run, and I've got to get cleaned up for court. I'll put my stuff in a gym bag and finish shaving and take my shower at the school while you guys are running. I don't know if we'll be able to stay in the house tonight, so why don't you go over to Grant and Micah's this afternoon, and I'll come pick you up there? Is that okay with you?"

"Man, wait `till the guys hear about this. They won't believe it. Uh...can I ask you a personal question?"

"Sure."

"You're not circumcised and I am. How come?"

"Well, that sure came out of the blue. You're cut because I wasn't there when you were born. Having you circumcised was your mother's decision. I didn't find out about it until you were about five years old. I'd come to visit and we'd gone to a park. You needed to go, so I took you into the men's room. That's when I found out you'd been circumcised."

"Most of the guys here and back in Chicago are circumcised like me. I guess I just assumed that you were, too."

"Nothing can be done about it now. I'm not getting my foreskin cut off, and we can't get yours put back on. I'm pretty sure the equipment works about the same way whether there's skin over it or not."

I chuckled a little, "Guess you're right.'

"Okay, now that we've compared dicks, go get ready for school." He playfully swatted me on the butt.

PAT'S VOICE:

Having your refrigerator fall through a termite-eaten floor was not a very good way to start the day.

It didn't get any better for a while either.

I drove Marty to school, and while he and the rest of the guys were doing their morning conditioning run, I finished shaving and took a shower in the soccer team locker room. Afterwards, I hit the Mountain Café for some breakfast, where the waitress tripped and turned my plate of scrambled eggs and hash browns over in my lap. That meant a trip back home to put on another clean uniform for my appearance in court. I spent the entire morning at the courthouse waiting for the case to be called. It should have been a simple matter. I'd caught the guy in the river without a fishing license and with a fish on the line. Like I said, it should have been a simple matter of the guy paying the fine, but no, he had to protest the ticket. That meant appearing in court. Not one of my favorite things to do.

The case was finally called. It was short and sweet. The guy was guilty. He ended up having to pay court costs on top of the fine for fishing without a license.

When I got back out to the truck in the parking lot, one of the tires was flat. I got grease on the clean uniform pants while I was changing the tire. I dropped the flat tire off at Michaeux's Auto on my way back out to see what could be salvaged from the house.

The day that started out sunny and unseasonably warm had steadily deteriorated. By the time I got back to the cabin, it was about forty-five degrees and drizzling. Ugh.

I got a flashlight and leaned as far into the hole in the kitchen floor as I could. It looked like the floor joists had been eaten by termites. I didn't see any evidence of an active infestation, but the joists were honey-combed with termite tunnels. It was a wonder the floor hadn't collapsed long before. I went outside and used the access door to the crawl space under the house. I found an active termite infestation over on the other side of the house under the living area. The floor just didn't look very stable to me, so I crawled out of there as fast as I could. It would have been a fitting end to the day if the whole floor had chosen the time I was under it for its final collapse.

Marty and I were going to need to find another place to live. It was mid-November, so all of the summer and fall tourists were gone. That meant there would be available motel rooms, but there were two problems. One would be finding a motel that would allow Marlene to stay with us, and the second was being able to afford to pay for more than a few nights. Teresa Cannon, my lawyer, had filed all the papers necessary to vacate my child support payments to the State of Illinois. However, the courts hadn't acted on it yet. More than half of my monthly paycheck was still going to my ex-wife's bank account. Teresa assured me that the court would eventually find in my favor and would probably even order Whitney to pay back the child support she'd received after she threw Marty out of the house. Eventually didn't help pay the bills right now. I'd been dipping into savings each month to support the expenses of feeding and clothing an active teenager, so there wasn't a lot left in the account. So far, I'd avoided putting things on my credit card, but it looked like that was going to change.

I packed a couple of bags for Marty and me and loaded them and Marlene into my old Saturn. The car coughed a couple of times before the engine caught. I headed out the driveway, leaving a cloud of exhaust smoke in my wake.

I'd told Marty to go home with Grant and Micah and that I'd pick him up there. As I drove the mile or so over to the Michaeux-Ladd household, my mind was busy trying to work out a plan for where Marty and I could sleep for the next several days.

Since the lawn care season was pretty much over, TJ Ladd had more free time than he did in the summer. Lately he had been the one to bring Marty home from the soccer team's after school "study hall" or when Marty had eaten dinner with them. Maybe he or Donnie would know of some apartments or a house that I could rent until the ranger cabin was fixed...if it could be fixed.

I was relieved to see TJ's double cab Toyota Tacoma in the drive when I pulled up. Then I spotted Trey's old Volvo wagon that had been partially hidden by TJ's truck, and my relief at being able to get some housing information from TJ vanished in my guilt feelings over not having called Trey in the weeks since I'd kissed him.

In my defense, it had been a really busy time for me with the start of deer season, but I really should have at least called him. I just didn't know what I would have said. Mostly, because I didn't know what was going on inside my head...like why I had replayed that kiss in my mind almost every night since while I jerked off in the shower?

I parked my car in back of TJ's truck, took a deep breath, and prepared to go into the house to try to apologize to Trey. As I opened the car door, Marlene nosed her way out and went over to greet Bouncer and Mutt. The three dogs were busy licking noses, wagging tails, and smelling butts when I knocked on the door.

TJ answered.

"Come on in, Pat. The boys are upstairs." He gave me a quick shoulder hug, "I understand it's been a rough day."

"You don't know the half of it yet."

"You're staying for dinner. I've got some stew cooking, and there's plenty in the pot to go around."

"Thanks, that sounds really good." I inhaled the mouth watering odors filling the kitchen. "It smells good, too."

"I've got a little more to do here in the kitchen. Donnie called a couple of minutes ago; he should be home in about half an hour. In the meanwhile, why don't you go into the living room and have a talk with Trey. I think maybe you guys need to clear the air between you a little."

I swallowed hard. "Yeah, I've been a real jerk."

"That's for you and Trey to work out." He put his hand in the middle of my back and steered me toward their living room. "I'll bring you a coke."

"Thanks."

Trey stood up from the sofa as I entered the room. A half empty glass of wine was on the table next to him. Another almost empty glass of wine was sitting on the table at the other end of the sofa. I assumed Trey and TJ had been sitting and talking before I arrived.

I walked over and extended my hand. "Trey, it's good to see you. I'm sorry I haven't called."

He took my hand in both of his. His hands were warm. His touch made me feel warm all over and caused my little soldier to stir in my pants.

"It's okay," his smile was genuine but there was wariness in his eyes. "I know you've been really busy, and I'm sure you've had some things to think about. How's your mother?"

"I haven't heard a word from her since that night."

"And that's a good thing?"

I smiled, "Yes, that's a very good thing. That's one major stress factor that seems to have disappeared...at least for a while."

"Good. Marty told me that you had a little problem at the house this morning."

I smiled again, "Yes, if you can call having your house so eaten up by termites that the refrigerator falls through the floor a `little' problem."

"What are you going to do? It sounds like the house isn't safe."

"I don't think it is. I guess Marty and I will find a motel room for a couple of days until I can find us another place to live. I was going to ask TJ and Donnie if they knew of any cheap apartments for rent."

"Here's your coke," TJ announced as he came into the room.

As I turned to look, I realized that my hand was still enfolded in Trey's. He must have realized the same thing, because he quickly let go. I suddenly felt colder and missed the contact.

TJ smiled and winked at us as he set my soft drink down on the table next to Trey's wine glass. He turned and headed back to the kitchen.

Trey and I both sat on the sofa. He reached over and handed me the glass of coke.

I thanked him.

"Pat, why don't you and Marty stay with me? I know that you and I haven't talked for a few weeks. When you didn't call after a couple of days, it bothered me for a while. Then I realized that you probably had a lot of things that you were trying to work through. I like you as a friend, Pat, and if friendship is all our relationship is going to be, I'll be happy with that."

"Trey, that's incredibly generous of you, especially after I didn't call you for weeks. Are you sure about wanting us to stay with you? If we do stay, I need to pay you something for rent to help with your mortgage."

Trey put his hand on top of mine. I immediately felt the same warm feeling as before. I turned my hand over and intertwined my fingers with his.

"You can't help me pay the mortgage, because I don't have one. Brian and I made enough money that the house is paid for. You can help with the food. What were the two of you spending for food each month? I've seen the way Marty can put away food."

"Teenagers do eat a lot. We're spending around $800 a month for food right now."

"And I probably spend close to $400 or so a month. I think we might actually be able to save some money because we wouldn't have to duplicate paper supplies and things like that."

"That sounds like a good deal to me. Are you sure about this?"

"Positive."

I gave his hand a squeeze. He squeezed back.

TREY'S VOICE:

I wasn't sure what came over me. I hadn't planned on doing it, but I'd just invited Pat and Marty to move in with me, at least for a while.

Sure, I'd been concerned about the two of them when Marty told me what had happened that morning, but I didn't think my concern extended to inviting them to live in my house. That is, until I saw Pat.

When I dropped the boys off at TJ and Donnie's that afternoon, TJ had insisted that I stay for dinner. He and I had a glass of wine while his stew was stewing in the kitchen. Then Pat showed up, and I was caught. I suspect TJ had planned it that way.

TJ showed Pat into the living room. I stood and we shook hands.

We exchanged some pleasantries. I asked about his mother, he told me that she hadn't called. I asked about the problem at his house, and he told me about finding the rotten floor joists and the active termite infestation. He said his plan was to find a motel room for the night. That was when TJ came back into the room with a coke for Pat, and I realized that Pat and I were still holding hands. I had greatly missed talking with him the past few weeks, and I knew right then what I needed to do.

Pat was surprised when I said that he and Marty could stay at my house. He protested at first...weakly. Then he offered to help pay some of my mortgage. I didn't have a mortgage. I had plenty of money, thanks to the inheritances from my Grandfather Arnold and from my parents, as well as the years of sound financial management of my portfolio by Parker. I also had inherited most of Brian's assets. I was one of the lucky few that worked because I wanted to, not because I had to. While I didn't need Pat's money, I knew that it would be important to him that he contribute something to household expenses. We settled on having him pay two thirds of the grocery costs.

Having a place to live buoyed Pat's spirits, and Marty also seemed relieved that his living situation had been resolved. As usual TJ's dinner was very good.

When we got back to my house, I helped Pat and Marty move their things into the guest bedrooms. They would have some privacy because the guest bedrooms and bathroom were at the front of the house beside the garage, and the master bedroom suite was through the living room and on the side of the house facing the river. I gave them keys, explained how the security system worked, and left them to get settled in.

Neither one of them was up the next morning when I left the house for a run. Pat was up and eating some cereal when I got back. We chatted for a few minutes before he got ready to leave for the day. His plan was to first check on his house, load some more of their belongings into his Saturn, take the state-owned truck into town to pick up the tire that had been left for repair, and check on some things around the wildlife refuge. He informed me that Marty and B.B. would be spending the night with Grant and Micah. I told him that I'd take care of delivering Marty to the Michaeux's, pick up some things in town, and have a dinner ready for the evening.

Marty appeared in the kitchen about eleven o'clock clad in his boxer shorts. He opened the refrigerator door, scratched his butt, and pulled out the jug of milk.

"Good morning, sunshine. When are you supposed to go over to Grant and Micah's?"

"Oh..uh...good morning, Coach Trey. I can go put some pants on."

I chuckled, "Marty, I see you naked almost every day of the week. I'm not going to be offended if you're in your boxers."

"Yeah, I guess not. Can you get some more milk? We're almost out."

"I'm going shopping after I drop you off. Back to my first question, what time are you supposed to go over there."

"They said to come over when I got up."

"Okay, eat some breakfast, grab a shower, and I'll take you over there."

"Uh...Coach Trey..."

"Marty, since we're living in the same house, I think you can drop the `coach' when we're here. Grant and Micah don't call me `coach' all the time."

He smiled, "I can do that, Co...I mean, Trey. Thanks."

I grabbed him in a headlock and rubbed the top of his bed-messy hair.

He reached around and hugged me close. "Thanks for letting us stay here. Dad was really glad about it. He's never said so, but I think he's a little worried about the money. I know he's still paying child support to my mother. Isn't that a joke?"

"It's okay, I'm glad to have you guys here."

The grocery bill later that day was stupendous! I loaded up two carts with stuff that I knew would be necessary to keep Marty's teen-aged metabolism satisfied. I also selected a couple of really good steaks to grill for dinner. The total was a little shocking. I knew Pat would want to pay for his `share' of the groceries, so I decided I'd throw away the register tape and lie to him about the real cost.

I was nervous about dinner. Pat had eaten at my house several times, and we'd always had a great and very relaxed time. This, however, was going to be our first post-kiss dinner. I even worried about which set of dishes to use. I drove back to town in the late afternoon and picked up some fresh flowers for the table. I took a long shower and made sure every part of me was as squeaky clean as possible. I tried on three outfits. Finally settling for jeans and a crew necked cotton sweater. Damn, you'd have thought I was going to get laid or something. For cripes sake, I was only having dinner with Pat!

He got back to the house about seven in the evening. His uniform was smudged with dirt.

"You look like it was a rough day."

"Yeah. Found out this morning that the tire couldn't be fixed. Donnie's tire guys said that it looked like someone had run an ice pick or a screw driver into the sidewall. So I had to get a new tire for the truck. Then I found where someone had gutted a deer on the reserve. It was bad enough last year when the only thing being poached from the reserve was ginseng. Now, someone's taking game as well. Then I went back to the house. I pulled out some more of our stuff and put it in the car. I left the car over there and drove the truck back. Could you drive me over there tomorrow, so I can bring the car and our stuff over here?"

"You got it."

"Thanks. If dinner will wait, I think I'm going to go soak in that big tub for a while."

"Take your time. I'll get the potatoes started but wait on the meat until you get out of the tub. Leave your uniform stuff outside the bathroom door. I'll throw it in the wash while you're getting cleaned up."

"Thanks, Trey, you're a life saver."

I busied myself with the dinner preparations, picked up Pat's discarded uniform shirt and pants, threw them in the washer, and downed a glass of wine.

When Pat emerged from his bath, it was worth the wait. He was barefoot and wearing jeans and a flannel shirt. The shirt was untucked and the top two buttons were undone showing some of his dense chest hair. His dark auburn hair was still damp around his ears and neck, and there was still just a dab of shaving cream by his left ear lobe. Woof!

He sighed, "I could get used to a soaking tub like that."

"Glad you like it. Brian wanted a big tub in the guest area for his mother. She likes to soak in the tub."

"As I remember, you've got another one in your bathroom."

"Yup, Brian and I thought we should have one, too."

"Good plan. What's for dinner? I know whatever it is will be great, you're a good cook."

I put on my best `Gone With the Wind' Southern Belle accent, "Why thank you, kind sir. You do know how to charm a simple country girl."

He threw back his head and laughed. "Nice try, but you'll never be Scarlet O'Hara."

"In that case, bub, you might just have a piece of charcoal instead of a steak."

The easy banter continued throughout the meal. We talked and laughed - it was wonderful having my friend back. Afterward, we sat at the table and continued to talk. I had another glass of wine while he had a cup of herbal tea.

It was close to eleven when we finally got around to clearing the table and starting the dishes. He rinsed the dishes and I put them in the dishwasher. When the dishes were loaded, he bent over and opened the cupboard door beneath the sink to pull out the dishwasher soap.

I couldn't resist it. I took the dishtowel from the counter top and swatted his butt.

He whirled around and backed me up against the counter. "And just what do you think you're doing?"

"It was a tempting target."

"No one does that to me without paying a price."

"And just what price is that, Ranger Man?"

"This." He leaned forward and kissed me.

My knees started to give way and he pulled me closer as we kissed. His left hand was at the back of my neck while his right hand moved down and cupped my left ass cheek. I ran my right hand up under his shirt and buried my fingers in his chest hair while my left hand went under the waist band of the back of his jeans. Oh, Lordy, he was going commando! I felt his erection growing against me. He had to be able to feel my growing hardness as well. One of us moaned. I think it might have been me.

He moved his hands and grabbed the hem of my sweater. I lifted my arms so he could pull the sweater off over my head. He put his lips on my neck and slowly ran his tongue down to my collar bone. I tried to unbutton his shirt, but ended up only pulling at the buttons. One of them gave way and I heard it drop to the floor and roll away.

He lifted my ass and suddenly I was sitting on the counter top with my tongue stuck down his throat, my hands trying to find the damn buttons on his jeans, and my dick threatening to rip through the seams of my pants.

He pulled away.

"It's my phone."

"Don't answer it."

"I have to, it's my boss, or the police, or something official. I can tell by the ring."

He ran back toward his bedroom.

Damn, the man has good hearing!

Pat came back in just a minute or two. My heart rate was starting to slow down, but my dick was still painfully pressing up against the zipper of my jeans. I could tell by the look on his face that it wasn't good news.

"I have to go."

"Is it Marty?"

"No. It was the sheriff's office. The ranger cabin is on fire."

(To be continued)

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Some of the characters who play parts in this story were previously introduced in "When Love Comes" (last posted in the College section on Sept. 6, 2001), "Love of a Lifetime" (last posted in the College section on May 19, 2003), "Finding Family" (last posted in the College section on June 5, 2008), "Construction Job" (last posted in the College section on July 24, 2008), or "Swamp Rat" (last posted March 15, 2010 in the High School section). While not necessary, readers may find it useful to read the earlier stories posted on this site.  All of the Adams State/Carterville stories listed above as well as my other stories are also posted at www.crvboy.com.

Send comments to: jeff_allen15@hotmail.com

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