Like Father, Like Son

Chapter 12

Copyright / Disclaimer

Copyright 2001, Duke Price

This story contains descriptions of sexual acts between boys of similar ages. If this is not to your tastes or is not legal in your locality, please leave now! The story and its associated characters are entirely fictional and any resemblance to people, living or otherwise, is purely coincidental. Please bare in mind when you read this, that portions of this story takes place in the early 70's. That was a time before HIV/AIDS. If you are going to engage in sex, remember to please be safe!

Like every other author out in cyberland, I would love to hear what you think of my story. My email address is priceduke@netscape.net

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Con

"Come on, Ryan, I'm going to take a shower!"

He followed me to the shower and sat in the corner on a chair next to some magazines. He seemed lost in his own thoughts. "Whatcha thinkin’ about?"

"Oh, nothin’ much, I'm tired!"

I quickly undressed and hopped in the shower. He still wasn't saying anything and I peeked out of the shower to see what he was doing. He was sitting there reading a ‘Good Housekeeping’ magazine. "I didn't know that you like to read 'Good Housekeeping'?"

He didn't look up at me and he sounded a little irritated. "I don't usually but I'm reading about how to cook someone's goose!"

Trying to lighten the mood and chuckling, I said, "Oh, I hope not mine!"

I heard him mumble something and I said, "What?"

Then Ryan said, "I'm going to get you some clean clothes!"

"OK, thanks, buddy!"

I finished showering and when I opened the shower curtain I found my clothes lying on the floor but no Ryan. I quickly dressed and started looking for him. I found Andrea and him talking to each other in the den. As I entered they quit talking. Glaring at me, Andrea got up and exited the room.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing. We should get something to eat."

"Ok." I followed him to the kitchen where the rest of the family was sitting.

Grandma said, "Michael, sit down! There's a chair over by Johnny!"

Grandma pulled the chair out for him to sit. Michael smiled and sat down. "It's great to have our family back together again!"

"I'm sorry for scaring everyone! I won't do that again!"

Grandpa said, "Don't be like your old man and hold things inside. You will only hurt yourself and the ones that love you!"

"I know that now, Grandpa! That's why I won't do that again!"

Michael said, "And that goes for you too, Paula. I don't want to see you running off. What's the rush in getting back to Green Bay? I think everyone needs to be together right now!"

Dad said, "I couldn't agree with you more. Paula, please stay here. We can all go back together!"

Mom smiled and said, "Ok, I'll stay!"

After dinner we all got into our swimming trunks and hopped into the swimming pool. Michael and Grandpa gave us tips on diving. "Come on, Johnny, show us how it's done!"

Ryan continued to be quiet and kept his distance. Dad finally got out of the chair and performed a really bad back somersault. Mom got up and said, "Let me show how it's done!" After what looked to me like a perfect dive everyone applauded as she climbed out of the pool.

Ryan was quiet the rest of the day. He'd answer my questions but wouldn't offer any conversation. That evening I wanted to get him out of the house where we could be alone. "Let's go out on the front porch where we can talk in private!"

I grabbed Ryan's hand and went out the front door. It was dark outside and it took my eyes a while to adjust. Damn, someone is already out here. Whoever it was they weren't saying anything and we must have startled them because they sort of jumped when I said, "Dad, is that you?"

"Hi, Con…Ryan!"

"Beautiful night!"

"Yes it is!"

"See you guys later! Come on, Ryan, let's go in the back!"

We sat down next to the lit pool and stuck our legs in the water. "What's the matter, Ryan?"

Ryan just sat there looking down at the pool. I put my hand on his but he pulled his away. "Come on, babe, talk to me!"

He didn't say anything so I pushed a little harder. "Please tell me what's bothering you! I love you, babe!"

With fire in his blue eyes he finally broke the silence. "You have a funny way of showing it!"

"What?"

"Showing me that you love me! Running off like that! Did you give any thought as to how I'd feel about that? Not knowing if you were dead or alive? Having to go to the morgue to identify your remains? Do you have any idea of what you've put us all through?"

Oh boy, I'm in trouble! "You're right, that was really a stupid thing to do!"

"I don't know if I can ever get that boy's face out of my mind and I keep picturing you in that body bag!"

I just sat there and let him continue to vent. He went on to say, "I thought we could always talk to each other about anything…that we felt that we could help each other out whenever one of us was upset! Three days ago, you obviously didn't see me as someone who could help you work through this problem! Sometimes I wish we never became a couple because all we do now is suck face. We don't talk like we used to."

Oh god, now I'm scared! I felt like crying. "Ryan, please listen to me! I am sooo sorry for running off! I wasn't thinking how it would affect you all! Please forgive me! I promise that I will talk to you whenever something bothers me! Please don't say that you don't want to be a couple anymore! I'll do anything! I'll even stop sucking face if that's what you want! I need you, Ryan! I need your friendship! I love you…I have for a long time,… way before we became a couple!"

Ryan sat there absorbing what I had just said, then he broke the silence and said, "Con, sometimes I wonder just how you feel about me. I mean I've always been pretty up front with you, but you are always making some wisecrack about me. It's like you're hiding something from me and then when you ran off it's like…I'm not really sure where I stand with you."

"Oh, Ryan, I tease you because I…I am afraid to let you know just how much I truly love you. To be so deeply in-love with you is quite unsettling. I feel completely out of control!"

I must have struck a chord because he finally looked me square in the eyes and said, "How do you think I feel! I feel the same way! This whole love thing is scary! I've never been in a relationship like this before! Do you think it's easy for me to open up my soul to you! You know, Con…it all boils down to one thing…TRUST! Do you trust me, Con?"

"I do trust you, Ryan, with my whole heart and soul. It's not easy telling you everything because it…well it makes me vulnerable!"

"I know exactly what you mean! Because if you wanted to, you could make my life miserable!"

We sat there in silence. Then I said, "Ryan?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm willing to take the risk that is involved in having a successful loving relationship! I know in my heart that you would never do anything intentional to hurt me! And I hope that you know that I would never do anything intentional to hurt you. Can you forgive me for what I've done!"

Ryan gazed into my eyes and said, "OK."

Not sure of what he meant, I said, "OK…you forgive me or OK… you are willing to take the risk that is involved having a successful loving relationship?"

"All of the above."

I closed my eyes, relieved that he wanted our relationship to continue. It wasn't until that moment that I realized just how fragile our relationship is. "Ryan, I want our relationship to last and from now on I will tell you everything that's bothering me, no matter how stupid or serious I think it might be."

Ryan smiled and gave me a big hug. "I love you, Con!"

"I love you, Ryan!"

"Con, you have to talk to your sister! She's very upset! She was worried sick about you and now I think she's just angry!"

"Thanks, Ryan, I'll talk to her. And thanks for helping me understand how much I've impacted not only you but my family as well!"

Nodding in agreement and with a very serious look on his face, he said, "You'll talk to her now?"

"I'll talk to her now."

"Good!"

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to go in search of food. I’m starving!"

I reached over and kissed him on the lips. "Well, while you scope out the kitchen, I'm going to find Andrea!"

I found Andrea by herself in the den watching TV. "Andrea, can I talk to you for a minute?"

She frowned at me and said, "Sure."

"I just want to tell you that I'm sorry for running off like that. I promise that I will never do that again!"

"You better not or I'll kick your ass! Do you have a clue as to how worried we were?"

"I do now and I hope you can all forgive me!"

She gave me a hard punch to the shoulder. "There, I forgive you now."

"Oww, you didn't have to punch me!"

"That was for Ryan. He was beside himself. You better not ever do that again or I'll kick your ass!"

"Thanks, Sis!"

"Oh, and you better be doing some major kissing up to Ryan!"

I gave her a very brief hug and said, "Ok, Sis, thanks!"

I got up to see if Ryan found any food. Sitting in the kitchen was Mom and Grandma who seemed to be doting on poor Ryan as he was filling his face with food. All of their attention was focused on him until they heard me come in.

Mom said, "Hi, honey. Care to eat something? Poor Ryan hasn't eaten anything since you bolted on us."

Well, that's all it took for me to break down in tears. I folded my arms and laid my head on the table. "I am so sorry for running off!"

I felt someone wrap their arms around me and kiss my cheek. Without looking I reached my hand up, expecting it to be Mom but it was Ryan. I quickly sat up and turned to give him a big hug. When I quit crying I found that Mom and Grandma had left the room. "Come on, Con! We all forgive you! Just don't do that again!"

"I won't, I promise!"

Ryan started wiping the tears off of my face and said, "I do love you, you big lug, and I want us to stay together!'

"I'm so happy to hear that! I'm not sure if I could bear to lose you!"

"Well, stop worrying, I don't want to lose you either!"

"OK, I'll stop worrying!"

"Good, now help me eat this food! I can't eat it all."

I sat over next to Ryan and dug into his food. As we were shoveling the food into our faces we would ever so often look into each other's eyes and smile.

After eating a ton of food I patted my belly and said, "I'm really tired, buddy. Let’s go sack out on the couch!"

Mom, Grandma, and Andrea were in the den watching some chick flick. I sat right next to Ryan and as I began to nod off I heard Grandma say something like, "Ryan, I think you should know that those Devon boys can be a real handful!"

I snuggled up to Ryan even more and despite being nearly asleep I said, "I heard that!"

I heard some snickering but I was so exhausted that I just didn't have the energy to open my eyes to see who was laughing. The only thing that mattered was that I was next to Ryan as I quickly drifted off to never-never land.

When I woke up I found the both of us on the floor. I was lying next to Ryan with a blanket over us. I snuggled up to him and kissed the back of his head. I could hear him breathing as he slept and I could feel his stomach rise and fall with each breath. I couldn't sleep anymore and so I got up and sat on the couch and watched him sleep. He kicked the blanket off and I just looked at him from head to toe and just marveled at his beauty. His shirt had come untucked and I could see his belly button. His loose fitting Levi’s looked so sexy on him. Even his toes turned me on. This is going to be tough, not sucking face all of the time. I can't keep my hands off of him!

I heard a whisper, "Con."

I looked up to see Dad motioning for me to come over to him. Whispering, I said, "Morning, Dad!"

"Good morning, Son! Let's go out on the porch."

We sat in the porch swing and he said, "Son, I'm concerned about Ryan!"

"How so, Dad?"

"Well, did he say anything about going to the morgue?"

"Yeah, he said that he can't get the picture out of his mind."

"That's what I'm afraid of, Son. I think that was very traumatic for him. I know it was traumatic for me! We really thought it was going to be you in that body bag!"

"Oh, god! I have really screwed up, Dad!"

"Well, not only that, but what are his parents going to say when they find out what happened? If I were in their shoes I would NOT be very happy about what happened!"

"I'm beginning to see your point. This is not good…not good at all!"

"Son, calm down!"

"Dad, they may not allow him to see me anymore!"

"Well, no matter what the consequences may be, we have to tell them!"

"Dad, I think we should ask Ryan how we should handle this!"

"Well, I think you're right, we should talk to Ryan first but I firmly believe that it's my responsibility as a parent that we let them know what happened."

"OK, Dad! I make one stupid mistake and the ripple effects just keep spiraling outward!"

"Son, I can guarantee that they won't be happy about what happened but if we don't tell them now and they find out later, well, then they will lose all trust in us. We're better off telling them now and pray that they are understanding!"

"Dad, yesterday, I really thought I was going to lose Ryan, but after doing a lot of talking I think we are going to be OK. Now this, I could very easily see his parents forbidding him to see me!"

"Con, calm down. They're reasonable people. We've known them for a long time now! I think we should probably take him home today!"

Whining, "TODAY!"

"Yep, the sooner, the better!"

I sat there thinking about how we are going to tell his parents and envisioning their reaction. "I'm going to lose him, Dad! I just know I'm going to lose him!"

"Calm down, Son! What you need to do is to make sure that he's OK."

"OK, Dad!"

"Hang in there, Con!"

I got up and went back into the den and continued to watch him sleep. Finally after a couple of hours went by he woke up and smiled at me. "Hi, babe!"

"Mornin’, Ryan!"

Frowning, he said, "You look troubled!"

"I am, Ryan! I spoke with Dad this morning. He said that we need to go back home today and talk to your parents about what you saw at the morgue."

Looking concerned, "Why?"

"Because he said that if the tables were turned he would expect your parents to do the same. If we don't tell them, they will never trust my Mom and Dad again."

"Not only that, he said that it was a traumatic experience and that he's worried about you!"

"But I insisted on going into the morgue!"

"Yeah, but he says that he is the responsible adult and they may not feel that it was appropriate for you to have been exposed to that!"

"Ok, well, I'll get my things together!"

We all showered and packed our luggage. Dad spoke to Michael and said that he's flying back today. He said that he'd come back to give him a hand when he was ready to move to Green Bay. Then he mumbled something and said goodbye.

We drove to the airport. Michael met us there. He was smiling but it looked forced and he seemed a bit of sad. Dad didn't look very happy either. We followed Mom out onto the tarmac but Dad lagged behind. After reaching the plane, I turned around to see where he was when I noticed that was still talking to Michael. I watched as they hugged. Michael patted Dad on the back as he made his way towards us. Mom said, "Come on, Con! Help me with this luggage!"

"OK, Mom!"

I dreaded going back home! Before I knew it, we were back in Green Bay. Ryan and I were last to get out of the plane. I gave him a kiss before we got out.

We drove to our home and dropped Andrea off. Dad called Ryan's parents on the cell phone to let them know that we'd be there in a few minutes and that we needed to discuss something with them.

Ryan let us in the house. His parents greeted us at the door. "Hi, Paula and John! Hi, sweetie!"

Ryan's mom always called me that.

They invited us into the living room. Ryan sat down next to me on the floor.

"What did you need to discuss with us?"

"Well, Sarah…Tom, we need to tell you about something that happened in Iowa. Something concerning your son."

Tom said, "What happened, John?"

"Well, you'll eventually find out, so we might as well tell you, Paula and I are getting a divorce."

Sarah said, "Oh dear! We're sorry to hear that, but how does this concern Ryan?"

Dad went on to tell the whole story. "…unfortunately, Ryan saw the badly beaten body of a young man that fit Con's description."

Sara looked horrified. "Ryan, you poor boy! Are you OK?"

Ryan started to cry. I put my arm around him to try and comfort him.

Wiping the tears from my eyes, I said, "You see, this was all of my fault. If I hadn't been so stupid, this would never have happened!"

Finally Ryan said, "It wasn't so much seeing the body but just the idea that it could have been Con! I would have been devastated if he'd died."

Ryan and I embraced each other on the living room floor in front of God and everyone. Then I noticed that there was a deafening silence in the room. No one was talking. You could have heard a pin drop! I opened my eyes only to see a concerned look on Mom and Dad's faces. Ryan must have noticed the silence too because we both pulled away at the same time. I wiped the tears from Ryan's eyes. Sniffling, Ryan said, "Mom…Dad, now that I know that he's OK, I’m going to be fine now!"

I turned around to look at his parents and they had the same look as my parents did. It was more of a look of apprehension. They were fidgeting and kept making nervous glances at my parents. I looked at Ryan and he had this look of concern as well because I think he realized that we were showing outward affection for each other. But then his look of concern turned to one of determination. "Mom…Dad, I have something to tell you. I've known for a very long time…YEARS…that I'm not like other boys. Umm, I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm gay and I'm in-love with Con."

Sara and Tom started smiling nervously and kept glancing at Mom and Dad as if trying to gauge their response to all of this. Sara said, "Well, that's fine, Son, we've known that for a quite a while now! I hope Paula and John don't see a problem with that?"

Mom and Dad sat straight up in their chairs and looking very relieved, said, "No, no, we don't see any problem with them being a couple."

There was an obvious a huge sigh of relief within the room.

It was very obvious that Sara and Tom were very relieved and said, "Would anyone care for a drink?"

I looked at Ryan and he had a huge smile on his face. I gave him a big hug.

Sara came back with some white wine and said, "I don't know about you all, but I'm so relieved that this is out in the open! I was so worried about how you all would react. We've known for a long time now that Ryan has liked Con. All he does is talk about him! I think they make a cute couple! How do you guys feel?"

Mom said, "Yes, I think so too! We've actually known for a few months now and we were also worried what your reaction may be. I have to admit it was a bit shocked at first! Now I've gotten used to seeing them together."

Sara said, "So, Ryan, you were afraid to tell us?"

"Yes, Mom."

Tom said, "Well, it's out in the open and I think that they look great together! Don't you, John?"

"Yes, they do, Tom! I told them that they need to be careful when outside our home. I don't want them to get into any trouble!"

"Oh, yes, I couldn't agree more! Boys, if you want to, well you know, make out, we'd prefer that you do that here or at the Devons’."

We shook our heads in agreement. Ryan jumped up and gave his parents a big hug. Then Sara motioned for Con to join in the group hug.

After having a nice talk with Ryan's parents, Mom and Dad said, "We have to head back home. It's been great talking with you all!"

Sara said, "Thanks for coming over, we are so relieved that this is all out in the open!"

Ryan said, "Mom, can Con stay here?"

"Sure, if it's OK with his parents?"

Mom said, "Sure, no problem!"

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