DD>From chapter sixteen While the janitor cleaned the shower room and the boys were driving home satiated from their locker room orgy, Luke was sitting patiently, along with Marty, at the real estate office waiting for the people from the bank to show up. "Thanks for coming with me," Luke said, "I needed an excuse to get out of the house so I had to use you as a decoy." "No problem. After looking at the property with you the day after Thanksgiving, it almost makes ME want to buy some land, too. It was really beautiful up there. If your wife doesn't like it she's crazy." "It's everything Maria's ever wanted … secluded cottage in the woods on lakefront property with plenty of space for growing flowers and vegetables." "You've even got enough room up there, if you clear out a little of the scrub brush , to put in a few fruit trees." "You didn't tell Trent, did you?" "No. But I mentioned it to Jared and Drew before I knew it was going to be a surprise but I told them not to say anything to Trent. I'm sure they haven't said anything." "Good. It's just as much of a present to him as it is for Maria." "I really envy you. When we used to go camping, we had to use the public campgrounds. I'd have loved to have had some private place to camp … you know, without all the RVs equipped with TVs, stereos and gas grills the size of queen–sized beds." "Yeah, people go camping but want all the comforts of home. It doesn't make sense to me." "I like the smell of wood burning when I'm cooking and the sound of a crackling fire when I'm dozing off to sleep. Although I've gotta admit, some of those motor homes had wet bars that were pretty convenient." "You guys can use the cabin any time you want. You took Trent camping enough times during the early years that it's about time for me to pay you back." "No need for pay–backs but the offer sounds appealing." Marty looked around, wondering when the bankers were going to show up. During a lull in the conversation, he got a pensive expression that caused Luke to say, "It looks like you've got something on your mind." "It's just something that's been bugging me … well, not bugging me but I've been wondering about." "What's that?" A couple of months ago, you told Trent you had … umm … indulged in … umm … some gay activity." "Yeah, back in college." "Did you tell him that just so he wouldn't think he was a freak for wanting to try it?" "Gay guys aren't freaks," Luke said, "but I know that's not what you meant." "No. I mean, you really had sex with a guy?" "Yeah. I think just about everyone does at one point or another. Haven't you?" "No. Never. Never even thought about it." "Honest?" Luke asked suspiciously. "Not even thought about it?" "Not until just recently … the last couple of months … you know, when all this stuff started happening with Harry and the senator." "And Trent," Luke added to bring it home to a more personal level." "Yeah, and umm, Jared, too." "If that's what you're upset about I'm sorry Trent got him involved, although he didn't know he was getting him involved but …." "No, I'm not upset about that." "Then what is it?" "Well, it is … and it isn't. I mean, ever since that night when you got home and came over to the house …" "And Trent revealed his little tale of woe." "Yeah. Well, I've noticed … caught actually … the boys doing some really strange stuff. I'm not sure if it's healthy or not. Hell, I'm not sure if it's even gay related or not … it's just that it's only guys that are involved." "Wanna talk about it?" "Umm, maybe if you told me … uh … about what you did in college, I could tell better if what the boys are doing is usual or unusual. Like I say, this is activity I never got into. I guess I've lived a pretty sheltered life." "First, we're not talking about drugs or mutilation or anything like that are we?" "NO!" "Good. Umm, where to begin. Uh, I was a freshman in college. That first year I was required to live in the dorm and there was a gay guy on our floor. Probably more than one but I only knew of one. Everyone knew he was gay and pretty much let him do his own thing. I mean, he never brought guys back to the dorm or anything … that I know of." "But he might have." "That would have been between him and his suite mates. We had four guys to a suite and shared a bath with the four guys in the next suite. We each had our own bedroom but the four of us shared the same living space and kitchenette area. What WE did was make our suite the TV living room and the other guys made their living room into a game room. You know … foosball, pool and stuff, oh and they kept a fully stocked bar in there, too." "So you had it pretty nice." "Usually I was only there to sleep. I was majoring in pharmacy so I did most of my studying at the library. In fact, that's where I met Alex." "Alex?" "The gay guy on our floor. He was a pharmacy student, too. We studied together a couple of times." "And then he jumped your bones." "Kinda. But not really. We were working on similar research papers and whenever he ran across a resource I could use he'd tell me about it and I'd do the same for him. This was way before instant answers via Google search so it was a tedious book searching process. Anyway, I found this obscure report in the San Francisco gay newspaper, The Advocate, that I thought he could use. It was about GRIDS … Gay Related Immune Deficiency Syndrome." "Never heard of it." "Most people haven't. If you weren't gay or a friend of a gay with the disease you wouldn't hear about it. Basically it was AIDS before 1982 but in order to get government research funding they had to change the name." "Why?" "The government couldn't … or more likely, wouldn't … fund any disease that affected only a small segment … especially a gay segment … of the population that was transmitting it through illegal and unprotected sex." "Oh." "So he asked me why I was researching The Advocate, a well known gay publication." "Why were you?" "Just ran across the article by accident. But I knew Alex was researching AIDS articles so one thing led to another and one night we agreed to hang around the chem. lab after class until everybody left …" "Why?" "To have sex." "Huh? Why not go back to your room? You said you each had your own bedroom." "But we would have to walk through a room full of straight suite mates and their friends." "Oh, yeah." "And at the time, I was straight … not even bi–curious … so I didn't want my suite mates to think I had started batting for the other team. Being gay wasn't as widely accepted back then as it is now. Even so, that first time we just exchanged blowjobs." "Whoa! In the chem lab? I mean, you blew him, too?" "Yeah, what did you expect? Besides, not much room in a chem. lab to do much else except stand and kneel behind the chem tables." "Well, when you told Trent you'd had gay sex in college, I was just thinking you were on the receiving end. And in the chem lab means you were both sober. No 'oh, I was drunk' excuses. You just agreed to do it," Marty said, shaking his head in disbelief that two guys would do it so forthright. "What can I say? I was 18, away from home for the first time, casually interested in sex … not like my sex–obsessed suite mates." "Whaddya mean?" "I could take it or leave it. As far as I was concerned, I was in college to get a degree, not to get laid. If sex presented itself … you know, some girl came on to me, I'd have sex. Well, as it turned out, after that night in the chem. lab , the same thing could be said about guys. I didn't actively go out looking for sex … with girls OR guys … you know, like, I didn't go to the tittie bars or anything." "Oh." "Hey, I'm not freaking you out by telling you this, am I? I mean, I'm not being too graphic for you, am I? I can use euphemisms if you want." I think I'd be more comfortable with the euphemisms but … "No! I asked. I want to know … I guess … because I've just never done anything like that." "Do you feel it's wrong?" "No. It's just that no one … no GUYS … ever asked me to have sex with them. And I never thought about asking THEM. So, umm, did you do other stuff? I mean, if you want to talk about it. If not, that's okay, too." "It sounded to me earlier like you had some issues you wanted to work out so maybe I'll tell you what I experienced and then you can ask me about what's on your mind if I don't mention it first." "Yeah, let's do it that way. It's just that I don't want to say anything that's gonna incriminate anyone." "You're talking about the boy's, right? Trent, Jared, Drew, and maybe Harry." "All of the above." "Well, let's see. Leaving out all the events that led up to it, umm … and you're okay with it if I just use street terms for it?" "Yeah." "As I mentioned, Alex and I blew each other. We never 69'd, though. Then I met another guy in one of my math classes. Once we got to know each other, he told me he'd like to have sex with me, too. We exchanged blow jobs a couple of times before he asked me to fuck him." "Actually, I'm kinda interested in the events leading up to it," Marty said, hoping Luke would describe some of the unusual activity he had been seeing the boys engaged in lately. "You're gonna have to hold that thought." The bankers arrived and the real estate brokers brought out stacks of papers. After repeatedly signing and initialing his name for about fifteen minutes, Luke said, "Is it true that the weight of the paperwork has to equal the weight of the buyer? If so, the next time I think I'll lose some weight first." The bankers were not amused. To help lighten the mood, the real estate agent said, "Actually, I think it's the weight of the house so don't go on a diet just yet." After the papers were signed and they were on their way to their cars, Marty said, "Carrie wants to invite Trent to Christmas dinner. Is that a problem?" "No, not at all. Marie has to work from 8 till 8 Christmas Day so we're not cooking. I'm gonna pick her up and, on the pretext of going out to dinner, I'm gonna drive her up to the cabin. I can swing around and pick up Trent after picking up Marie." "That's a two hour drive up there." "Yeah, but I'll tell her I've made reservations at this great new place to eat. She won't think anything of it." "You know, don't you, the present I got for Carrie is gonna look pretty insignificant compared to this?" "So don't tell her until after New Years. Then it won't have the same impact. But I was thinking. Do you have time for a drink?" "Uh, yeah, I guess so." "After spending this much money all in one day, I think I need to reward myself." Once they were comfortably seated in a quiet lounge near the mall, Luke ordered a Guinness and ginger while Marty ordered a Chivas, neat. "Where were we? Oh, yeah. I met Shawn in one of my math classes. You said, you wanted to know about how we met, not just about what we did?" "Yeah. I'm trying to wrap my head around all this stuff that's going on so maybe it will help me understand better." "Well, with what we're talking about, it's more like you've gotta wrap your lips around it to better understand." They both smiled. Luke smiled broadly at his quick wit. Marty smiled weakly because he had a sudden uncomfortable feeling when he envisioned himself wrapping his lips around a guy's cock. "Well, he was a pre–med and I was a pharmacy student. He told me he was having trouble with molecular biology and I told him I was well–versed in biology because I was studying the anti–toxins and antidotes many animal species can offer … most sea creatures but also things like snakes and scorpions. Anyway, he asked me to go back to his place to see if I could help him over the mental hurdle he was having with it. He was a junior and had a place off campus. It was only one room with a bath and a tiny kitchenette at one end." "Yeah, I was living in a studio apartment like that when I met Carrie. Although, I think the landlord referred to it as an efficiency apartment." "Yeah, I think they add the word apartment so they can charge more for it. Anyway, shortly after we got to his place, I realized his biology project was just a scam to get me over there. We had brought some beer with us so, after downing a couple, he started asking me all about my love life. You know, questions like … 'Have you got a girlfriend?' 'Why not?' Then he started complimenting me on my appearance, making several remarks about my impressive physique … his words, not mine. Finally he asked if I had ever considered having sex with a guy." "Little did he know, you already had, right?" "Right. In fact, when I told him that, he came right out and asked me if I'd fuck him." "Really!" "I told him I'd never fucked a guy before and that seemed to delight him all the more." "Why?" "I don't know. Maybe he thought he was getting a virgin or something. Anyway, over the next couple of years, I fucked him from time to time." "Were you still, umm …" "Sucking, Alex? Yeah. From time to time but, like I say, only when it happened. We never planned anything." "So you two weren't dating … or lovers… or anything like that, huh?" "No, not at all." "Did you ever fuck him?" "No. He only seemed to be interested in sucking. In fact, if I didn't suck HIM, he didn't care. He just loved to suck cock. I heard from a couple of other guys in the dorm that he was a regular in the men's room at the Student Union." "What's that?" "The on–campus local eatery and watering hole." "Oh." By the way Marty said 'Oh'' Luke knew he didn't have a clue as to what he was talking about. "Alex would go to the men's room at the Union to suck cock." Then remembering he was talking to a novice,he added, " he would stay in there and suck any , and as many, guys' cocks who wanted their cocks sucked." "OH,! Marty said. Luke could almost see the proverbial light bulb turn on over Marty's head. "Did that other guy, umm, Shawn … you knowǏ" "Fuck me? No." Luke raised two fingers in the direction of the bar. "I didn't think so," Marty said, justifying in his own mind that Luke was strictly a top. "That didn't happen until post–grad school. I was, um, 23 at the time. I had moved off campus by then, of course, and I met a guy I really liked. His name was Ted. In fact, he was the brother of the girl I was dating at the time." "Really?" Now that's a really funny story. He knew when his sister was having her period so one night he waited outside their house after my date with his her. As I was leaving, he offered to blow me in the bushes alongside the house. It turned out he and I had more in common that she and I did … and he was better sex, too. " Of course, by then, I was more comfortable with campus life and felt I could allow myself to date and still get passing grades. "I'm just amazed that gay sex just drops in your lap like that. I mean, how come nothing like that ever happened to me?" "Like you say, you must have led a pretty sheltered life." "That's for sure." "But maybe it was being dropped in your lap but you were too naive to know it so you never picked up on it." "You mean, like guys might have been coming on to me but I didn't know it?" "Yeah, like that. So over the three year period of going to school with Ted, we became like brothers. Then one night, we were having sex … exchanging blow jobs really … when he asked me to fuck him. I didn't have any problem with that." "Even though he was 'like a brother to you'." "Yeah. When I was done fucking him, he asked me if he could fuck me." After a long draw on his Guinness and ginger, deliberately making Marty wait for the conclusion, he said, "I told him no." Then he waited just long enough before saying, "I didn't let him fuck me until about a year later." "Oh my god, you got fucked," Marty said as a statement rather than a question, not believing what he had just heard. About then the waitress arrived with another round for them both. She looked at Marty and then at Luke and, apparently realizing there was no way either one was gay she said, "Stock market or housing industry?" With a smile, Luke said, "Both." "Sorry," the waitress said in an unbelievably sincere tone, like she might have been a victim, too. Once she was gone, Marty asked, "So, um, everything you did just involved … sex … not anything …?" "Anything … what?" "Kinky." "Describe kinky." "Well, since you didn't, I guess I'll have to. Umm, like, uh, Thanksgiving Day I knocked at the boys bedroom door. I knew their uncle Cory was in there with Harry … Carrie's brother Cory is gay, too." "Yeah, so I've heard." "Well, they were all naked." "What were they doing?" "Nothing, just talking." "Naked?" "Yeah, that's what I said, too." And you're sure they hadn't been engaged in something before you knocked? " "Yeah, I checked and there wasn't a guilty expression on either one of their faces." "Well, I gotta admit, that's a little unusual. I mean, once Ted and I were done doing whatever it was we were doing, we got dressed almost immediately." Then Luke got a pensive expression before saying, "But that was twenty years ago. Times have changed … sometimes faster than I can keep up with them, I think." "It sounds to me like you accept change a lot quicker … and better … than I do," Marty groused. "So that's what you consider kinky activity?" "Oh, no. Um, the other thing … uh, I walked in the bathroom one night … the door was open … and all the boys were peeing on Drew." "That's a fairly popular fetish and nothing new but it's not strictly gay related, either. And I imagine it's something inquisitive boys like ours would want to explore. Over the years I've have a lot of straight customers who take me aside at work and ask me if it's dangerous or not. I'm not a Urologist but I know what I've been trained to do." "Which is … ?" "Back when I was in ROTC in college we were given arctic and desert survival training. Part of the training explained that under unusual circumstances we might find ourselves without drinkable water. In such cases, we should drink our own urine … or exchange urine with other GIs." "Yeah, I read on the internet about some middle school kids lost at sea who drank each other's urine. The doctor said that's the only thing that kept them alive. If they had begun drinking the ocean water, they would have dehydrated too rapidly and died long before they were rescued 20 days later." "Exactly the same thing." Luke raised two fingers in the direction of the bar, again. "But the boys weren't lost at sea … or in the desert … they were in the bathroom." "Did they offer any kind of explanation?" "They said it was a payback for a previous 'burn'," Marty said. "That sounds like it's okay. I mean, the kids experimenting with water sports." There's that phrase again, Marty groused internally, but said, "They've also told me they … umm … I don't want you to think I'm a tattletale or anything. It's just, as parents, I think we need to let each other know what's going on with each others' kids." "I agree," Luke said. "And you're not gonna get Trent in trouble with me by telling me what he's doing. In fact, he might have already told me. Besides, he's 18 and responsible for his own actions now, anyway." "Oh, well, umm, the boys told me they have begun experimenting … with … uh …" "Gay sex?" "Yeah." "I've got no problem with that. I mean, I want my boy to be straight … or at least bisexual … but if he's 100% gay, that's okay, too. I'd love to have grandkids but if that's not in the cards for me, so be it." "I feel kinda the same way." "No you don't," Luke accused. "You want your boys to be 100% straight," "Yeah, I guess you're right." The waitress delivered fresh drinks and left quietly. "But you're learning that maybe they're not and you're beginning to lean in the right direction." "I don't even know what the right direction is." "As far as I'm concerned, it's the supportive direction." "Yeah, I guess I agree. I can't image NOT being supportive of anything my boys wanted to do. As a parent, I think I've raised them right … at least, I hope so. It's just I don't know how much of this is happening because of Harry and Cory and how much is … just …" "Marty, it's just a normal part of growing up." Then remembering Marty never went through it, he said, "Not everyone experiences everything in life. I understand that." "Like me." "Yeah, but it doesn't mean stuff like this doesn't happen. Think of it this way, you might never have listened to an opera but there are operas performed all the time … all over the world." "Yeah, I get what you're saying … " "Would you disown your kid just because he's gay? I'm not asking you to answer me. I'm just asking you to answer it … to yourself. If the answer is yes, then you know how you feel about your son being gay. But I cannot sit here and say your decision is right or wrong. Your decision it what YOU have to live with the rest of your life … or until you change your mind." "Yeah, but if I throw him out, getting him back after changing my mind will be a lot more difficult." "Which is to say, if you don't throw him out … and life becomes too unbearable living with him … you can still throw him out later." "True. But then it becomes more difficult to explain why I let him stay before deciding to throw him out." "Maybe not so difficult. The time just might provide you with a list of reasons to justify your decision." "Not that Carrie would let me do it anyway." "Has there been any other strange activity?" "No, just those two. But now I'm wondering how much is going on that I don't know about." "Sometimes, it's best if parents don't know," Luke said with a sagacious smile. "I'm beginning to believe that." When they finished the last drink, they left … Luke feeling better about spending so much money in one day and Marty about better understanding some of what was going on with the boys. Even so, he didn't engage the boys in any conversation that might lead to some kind of sex talk. As was customary with them, each one opened one Christmas present before attending the midnight church service … one of the two times a year when the whole family went to church together. The rest they would open Christmas morning before Carrie's family showed up for a mid–afternoon meal. Once again, as with every other year, Drew asked, "Why do we have a word for a meal between breakfast and lunch … brunch … but we don't have a word for Thanksgiving and Christmas meals that are served between noon and 5 PM?" And like every year, the standard response was, "Think up one." As Jared and Drew crawled in bed … one bed … Drew asked, "Are you ready for tomorrow?" Kissing his brother sweetly but with no promise of a sexual tryst, Jared said, "I pinkie promised, didn't I?" To be continued. Send comments, if you so choose, to jockhunger@yahoo.com.