Date: Sat, 10 Dec 2011 17:19:07 -0800
From: webbrohmer@hotmail.com
Subject: The Adventures of Pete Pants 4: The Long Hike Home

I was suffering through a boring-as-fuck day and I was stuck on a project I
should have left alone. Needless to say, I was more than happy when my
phone rang.

It was my buddy, Christian, equally bored stupid at work; he always calls
me when he's bored, rather than texting, because it allows him to avoid
work that much longer. I was all too happy because I faced the same
situation. We bullshitted away, about everything we could think of on
nothing in particular until Christian steered the conversation to Axel
Hoffman.

"We're all wondering about your new boyfriend."

"What makes you think Axel's my boyfriend? Can't I just bring a guy to a
party?"

"The votes are in; the judges have ruled. You two are a nice-looking
couple."

"We are?"

"Hell yes. Do you know how many at Sam's party ogled you?"

"No."

"Duhh. Of course not. You two were too busy throwing bones at each other in
your pants. Trust me, you two have looks and chemistry. Helped, no doubt,
by what you two didn't have, which was underwear."

I ignored the sudden heat in my face. "You make it sound like we're going
to get married."

"Don't be an idiot; everybody knows gays shouldn't get married until
they've wrestled over who's going to fuck their best man. That's too
important to resolve in a month." His tone softened. "You haven't settled
down for quite a while, Pete. You've got this drop-dead stud of a lawyer,
ten years your junior, splitting his zipper over you. You like him, he
adores you. He's everyone's fantasy about prime husband material, and
you've got him. You DO like him don't you?"

I gave him a long, drawn-out pause before I told him yes.

"And you want to see him again?"

"Just thinking about him's getting me hard."

"We'll assume that's a 'yes'. Now I'm not trying to push you into anything,
but you can be so blind to what's right in front of your nose-well, in your
case, your dick. If nothing else, just think about how lucky you are to
find someone you can share a piss toast with at your wedding reception."

Christian, bless his little heart, knows me too well.

After we rang off, I sat quietly, thinking about our conversation. More
than likely, Christian's whole purpose in calling was probably to talk
about Axel. But, in all honesty, I hadn't thought about any serious
involvement with Axel; we just....liked each other.

Before getting back to work, I checked my cell; a text had come in while
Christian and I were yakking.

Interestingly enough, it was from the meat muffin du jour himself, asking
me to call. He had some free time coming up. I work from home so I can
choose my work attire: either naked, or pants I can gleefully wet to my
heart's delight. It was summer so I was naked, but briefly wondered if I
should put on some pants, in case Axel wanted to pee with me.

When I called, he filled me in. A case he'd been working on was
cancelled-something he planned be working on all weekend. Now, suddenly, he
actually had that time free. He wasn't able to wet his pants but wanted to
take me on a Saturday hike in the Cascades.

"I'll be there Friday night," I told him, my dick stiffening as I spoke.

Much to my disappointment, Axel declined. He needed time to decompress and
buy groceries-and maybe do some laundry. Like me, he doesn't like keeping
his pants dry if he has to wear them. But he offered to pick me up 9:30
Saturday morning.

And, true to his word, he pulled into my driveway right on time-9:28, to be
exact.

Every time I've seen him so far he's gotten me hard; today was no
different: baseball cap, bill bent just so to frame his handsome, bearded
face; a short sleeved shirt, unbuttoned to show a tight blue tank top; and
baggy grey cargo shorts.

He wasn't wearing underwear, either: his big, beautiful cock visibly
stiffened down the leg of his shorts as he walked to the door.

I grabbed him as he walked in and shoved my tongue down his throat; he
sucked on it, hugging me tightly. My own erection was smashed against his
fly, since I deliberately stayed naked until he arrived. He rubbed his
mound against my log.

"Wanna stay here and wet the bed all day?"

"But, Sir, I brought a tarp and we have the great outdoors."

Good-naturedly, I pulled away. "You win; I never could compete with a hot
sunny day."

"Especially since I know places where we'll be the only men on Earth."

Having let Axel win this one, I pulled on my denim shorts and tee shirt
(conveniently folded by the door), grabbed my already-packed day pack and
followed him out.

"Don't want to waste any time; besides, I want YOU tanked up."

"Drank two cups of coffee and haven't peed since I got up."

I patted his crotch. "Good boy." That, of course, had been my own routine
as well. I knew this was going to be a great day.

As we rode out to Stevens Pass I kept thinking about our time
together. We'd met when I tumbled off my bike during a cold, windy
rainstorm, landing inches from his car. He scraped me up, fed me some hot
soup, then took me home to feed me other hot liquids. We got together
again, fucking and peeing like mating goats. Then Axel took me to the
opera.

My only problem there was that Axel looked so handsome in his tux that I
found myself in a state of near-total arousal. He was so kind as to repay
the compliment later. Our next time together was Sam's party. And now.

We get turned on just being together; maybe Christian was onto something
after all. But I couldn't think of that too much. My bladder was filling up
during the two-hour ride and I had to focus to keep the dam from bursting.

 On the other side of the pass we saw roadside turnoffs, originally used to
park construction equipment. Most of them go nowhere, but some actually
lead to trailheads.

By the time Axel found the one he wanted, I was clutching myself tightly,
clenching my teeth and bouncing my leg. Axel grunted occasionally,
clenching himself as the Subaru bounced over ruts. We jostled along half a
mile or so (feeling each jostle in my bladder) until, out of sight of the
freeway, the road just...ended, at a clearing wide enough for a few cars to
park side-by-side. Except there were none except ours.

"This is it," he announced in his chocolate velvet voice.

We moved slowly as we geared up, bladders sloshing in our guts.

"It's a nice day," I told Axel. "The day'd look a lot better with your
shirt off."

"So would you," was his only comment before peeling off his tops. He spread
his shirt across the steering wheel and stuffed the tank top into his day
pack. My own tee likewise padded my own pack.

"Now, let me get a look at you."

Axel smiled and stepped forward to allow me to run my hand over his smooth
chest and caress his muscular pecs. He'd obviously just shaved. "Ohhh,
Daddy," he whispered. "You make my pants puff."

I fondled his pole through his shorts; he was damp down there, so full he
was leaking. "Well you're making my pole poke."

I pulled him tightly to me and, right there, out in the open, under God's
blue sky and green mountains, we kissed-deep, probing kisses. Axel tasted
of coffee and sage and his beard was as soft as a rosemary branch.

He broke free to lick his way down my chest and nibble my nipples.

"For two cents," I whispered, "I'd fuck you right here."

"I've got a quarter, but that'd wear you out."

That insolence brought him a swack across his ass. He smiled. "Besides, I'd
rather do it away from the world. I know the perfect place."

"Fair enough, my muscle muffin. I want you to able to walk there
anyway. Lead on."

He grunted and clenched himself. A spasm passed through me and I, too,
grasped myself through my own wet spot.

"Need some other business first."

"Lay it on me." What he wanted was no surprise; the surprise would be the
how.

Axel knelt, sighed, and peed his pants. A dark spot blossomed across his
front and piss dripped, then poured, spilling onto the ground.

Not to be outdone, I walked to him and opened my own bladder. The tingle
burned, then heat poured down. Axel, still on his knees, clasped my leg and
rested his face against the pee spilling out the bottom of my shorts. It
soaked his beard and dribbled down his chest. I stroked his head until we
finished.

I've peed my pants countless times, both alone and with other men, but
never before has the act seemed so intimate.

He stood and we tented again. Axel laughed and blushed.

I clasped the back of his head and pulled him close. "I'll reward you for
that."

"I want us both shooting dust by tonight." He lowered his head and nuzzled
my shoulder. Even behind those sunglasses he was shy.

"Then let's get our asses in gear." I gave him another, gentle whack across
his butt. Laughing, Axel turned and started off. I followed, debating
whether to hold his hand and walk beside him or walk behind and watch his
hot cheeks move beneath his shorts.

Lust won so I followed him. The scrubby grass and plants thickened into
brambles and scattered firs.

"Huckleberry," Axel said in his soft voice. "Another month we can come back
up here and pick some."

"And smear them all over our naked bodies?"

He turned to look at me; his white teeth gleamed through his dark beard as
he smiled. "Why else would we come up here?"

We both laughed and, as he turned back, I tent-poled again. A soft breeze
cooled the sweat on my back. Summer was at its peak.

I couldn't stand it any more; I grabbed him by the back of his damp
shorts. "Stop right there."

Good boi that he was, he stopped and half-turned to me, a small smile on
his face. I wanted to stand there, looking at his smile, his sunglasses,
his cap, his muscular torso, the bulge and the piss stain in his shorts....

"Drop your pants; much as I like seeing you and smelling your pissy shorts,
I'd much prefer seeing you naked. You man enough to bare your balls for
me?"

His smile widened into a leer and, with a well-practiced move, dropped his
shorts and kicked them off. His long, smooth bone bounced up. "Better?"

"Much." Not to be outdone, I shucked my own shorts-a much-needed action
since my near-constant erection was starting to cramp me.

"Let me, Sir." He picked up my shorts. I heard him unzipping my pack and
stuffing them inside. A gentle hand caressed my butt. "Much better now,
isn't it, Sir?" His voice was as soft as the breeze.

He had me; instead of a butch, forceful assent, all I could muster was a
whimper of approval and an offer to do the same for him. Except rather than
a gentle caress of his tight buns, I dropped to my knees and tongued my way
into his asshole. Axel gasped and relaxed his buttcrack. My tongue probed
deeper, and I savored his nutty taste, mingled with the right undernote of
dried manpiss.

I pulled away just long enough for a warning. "If you touch yourself...if
you cum...I'll shove your face into the skankiest pussy I can find. Now,
bend over."

"Yessir." He not only bent over, he spread his legs, opening himself to me
even more. I kissed my way back into his tunnel and probed deeply. I felt
my cock tighten until it almost hurt. I lapped and nibbled, then licked my
lips until his scent filled my nose. Standing, I turned him around and
pulled him to me. "Time to taste your own ass."

Our tongues clashed and our stiff rods smashed between us. Axel's tongue
probed my mouth while he licked and chewed my moustache, the right way to
kiss a bearded man. Cool hands slid down my spine and stroked my own
crack. I moaned. "I could do this forever." He nodded into my neck, his
beard tickling my bare shoulder. A wind hit us and we shivered and
separated.

"It's better in the sun," he said. "A good spot's coming up."

I motioned him onward.

He started up the trail and I followed far enough behind so I could watch
his ass.

Now we were well into the spruces and cedars and the trail steepened into
switchbacks.

"This is the hardest part right here. We can rest in a short while."

I didn't see where, and the air was cool among the depths of the trees. A
breeze blew through them and we both shivered.

"Poor boy," I said. I moved up to him and slid my arm around his waist. He
smiled and his own hand slid down to my buttcheeks. We were close enough in
height to keep up and we soon fell in step together. Axel was an introvert
and didn't talk as much as I was used to, and I knew very little about him,
other than he'd graduated from Pepperdine Law School in California. Working
for a non-profit paid him less than at a big firm. He was happier but he
had to work harder and longer to pay off law school. Axel won some
scholarships but he still had debts to pay off.

He wasn't mysterious about his past; he was just not very talkative. He was
caring and gentle, so unlike the men I of my set, with their gruff and
tough butch demeanor. I enjoyed his difference and I could see one reason
why Christian, Sam, and my other buddies were so besotted with him.

We had to separate along the narrow switchbacks, but by now, warmed up from
hiking, we didn't need to be joined at the hips.

After almost an hour, the trail leveled off and I saw a clearing ahead.

The trees ended abruptly and we hiked into the open sun again. At some time
in the past, avalanches swept down this part the mountainside, taking out
trees and leaving a rock field about forty feet across. Maybe a hundred
feet below, boulders piled up on a rock shelf. Much farther in the other
direction, I saw a scar below a ledge where boulders-large ones-had come
loose. A narrow trail had been scratched across the rock field, just wide
enough for one person. Axel started across and I followed, white pebbles
granite crunching underfoot. As usual in these places, I was awestruck at
the sheer power displayed by the avalanche scars.

Once out of the trees, into the sun, the heat picked up. I hadn't realized
how hot it was until I found myself sweating under the sun against the
granite rockface.

"Almost there," he told me.

With those words, I boned up again, after having gone soft for at least
five minutes. "Where's there?"

"Niagara Falls. We're going to leap it together." He smiled. "Duhh."

"Anybody ever call you a mouthy bitch?"

"No one important; just judges and ex-boyfriends."

On the opposite edge of the rock fall, I saw a shelf, formed by a fallen
cedar and rocks. It was partially sheltered by another fallen tree and the
rest of the forest. As soon as I saw it, my peter and my brain both knew,
immediately, what was planned there.

Axel climbed onto the shelf. After dropping his pack, he fished out a small
tarp and a towel. Seconds later, me and my erection were up there beside
him.

And then I was on top of him.

Axel laughed and tweaked my nipples, sending shock waves to my iron rod. I
was ready to shoot all over him, in every orifice I could, except I had
business to take care of first.

"Gotta piss again."

Axel squirmed around between my legs and clamped his lips over my hose. I
moaned in ecstasy; God, I love the feel of a bearded mouth on my cock,
especially just before pissing. I released my stream and Axel gulped it
down, not spilling a drop. He pulled away and looked up at me, grinning, as
my flow trickled to a stop.

He smacked his lips. "Very pleasant with a slight undernote of
coffee. Hunky Man Morning Blend."

I pulled his face to mine and licked my piss out of his mouth and off his
moustache. His tongue wrestled with mine and his strong hands stroked my
rod.

"Not yet." I broke away. "C'mere."

I climbed back onto the trail, pulling him down with me. "Daddy needs a
shower."

I squatted in front of him, stroking his shaved boidick. His piss trickled
then erupted into a geyser, splashing across my face and down my torso,
dripping off my balls. I aimed his tool toward my own hot rod and moaned as
his stream spilled over me.

I heard a crunch behind me.

"Oh, shit!" Axel's stream cut off.

"Pardon me," said a deep, soft masculine voice. I pivoted on one knee as I
went limp.

Standing behind us was a tall, muscular African-American man, whom neither
Axel nor I heard approach until the last minute. Like us, though, he was
naked-spectacularly so. Unlike us, he was popping up a respectable
erection-fast.

Nobody spoke; I didn't know where to look: at his dark, stubbly face,
framed by ear-length dreadlocks, or his massive log protruding from its
dark mossy nest. My face flushed.

The visitor finally spoke. "Didn't mean to interrupt." A gleaming smile
opened in his face.

Axel had more presence of mind than I did; he helped me to my feet and
pulled me aside, to allow the fellow to pass on into the trees.

The man didn't move, however-except for his cock which now bobbed almost to
his navel. "Damn! You guys are really smokin'. I could go on but...damn!"
He chuckled and shook his head and a hand stroked his power tool.

"Pete!" Axel whispered. "I think he wants a three-way!"

"The problem is...?"

"We've barely done enough two-ways."

"Trust me, we don't need more practice." I looked back at our guest. He was
still smiling and slowly stroking. "If you want to join us, you're more
than welcome. Axel here's got a great ass-tasty and very rideable. You
might like that."

"You got it, Bro." He introduced himself as Franco. Before I could do
anything else, he wrapped me into a bear hug. A tongue squirmed into my
throat while a finger stroked my hole. "Nice tunnel." He broke free and
reached for Axel.

He received the same probing grope, but Franco slid his arms below Axel's
butt, lifting him clean off the ground. Axel gasped, then laughed and
wrapped himself around the bigger man.

"This guy your Daddy, Axel? He's in charge of you?"

"Pete's the best."

Axel's compliment made me smile and blush.

"Well, Pete, thanks for sharing."

He swung Axel around and lowered him onto the tarp and climbed on top,
before motioning to me. "C'mere, Daddy Pete; this's big enough for all of
us."

I hesitated, trying to think through some choreography.

Franco motioned me harder. "Jump in; we both got two arms. And thanks for
letting me join you."

His last comment ended my hesitation. Within seconds I climbed up among
them.

Franco lifted Axel's legs, who wrapped them around the other's
waist. Meanwhile, I positioned myself behind Franco.

"We've also got tongues," I whispered to him before lapping my way down to
his ass. His skin was thick and soft, rolling over his spine. His scent,
his taste, was musty and slightly bitter-a taste I got more of when I
reached his cleavage.

Franco grunted his approval and spread his cheeks to allow me to lick my
way into his dark canyon. His cheeks flexed and his hips moved, Axel's
moans joining his.

"Hey, Pete," he said finally. "Need your help." He told me what he wanted
and, just by chance, I had what he needed in my pack. Franco permitted me
the honor of rolling the condom onto his massive pole while he lubed Axel's
ass with his finger.

"Gotta wear these puppies," he explained. "If I don't, I'll blow out your
boyfriend's teeth when I come."

His tool was thick and bone hard; dark veins popped out in high relief
along the shaft with its nest of springy, nappy hair. The skin felt smooth
and cool, sliding nicely beneath my hand, giving me a nice toy to play
with. He had the added benefit of darker pigmentation in his crotch, as
though extra melanin slid down that beautiful torso and accumulated in the
plumbing, accentuating this feature.

Franco oohed and ahhed as I stroked and teased him to maximum
arousal. "Sheeeiit," he laughed.

"You now have my permission to bang his brains out. Since he's got so much
that'll take you a while."

"Finger fuck me," was all he said before entering. Axel threw his head back
pulled him tight with his legs. My hand right slid down Franco's hard,
smooth cheeks until I found his hole and pushed in a finger. I pulled out,
then pushed in again, timing it to his thrusts, inserting more fingers
until three were inside his dark, moist cavern.

Franco grunted his approval. My other hand slid around to those rock faces
he had for pectorals. I found his nubs and pinched, bringing another grunt.

By now, Axel was stroking his own pole, head back, mouth open, spine
arched, oblivious to everything except lust. I really wanted to shove
Franco aside and move into his parking space.

"Don't cum, Axel," Franco grunted. "Save that for Pete's pipe."

The aforementioned pipe throbbed when I heard that.

Franco thrust twice more then rammed Axel's hole, arched back and
roared. His hole squeezed around my fingers so I slid them out as he
came. He tossed his head once more, dreadlocks swinging about his face.

He popped out and panted. "Thanks, man," he said to me before he climbed
next to Axel, gathered him up in his arms and gently kissed him. "You're
one hot man...both of you are." He motioned to me. "Climb your ass up here,
too. Don't you be standing there with your dick dripping like that." He
slid over, taking Axel with him. I scrambled up behind, my dick slipping
nicely into Axel's crack. He sighed and wiggled his butt slightly, then
twisted around to receive my kiss. The three of us snuggled together on the
makeshift bed. It wasn't too comfortable, but it was serviceable. Axel
flexed his butt cheeks around my tool. I moaned quietly in rhythm with the
massage I was getting and slipped into his canyon.

I was building for an explosion Down There as Franco's hand slid down to
finger my own hole. I increased my momentum and my lava gathered.

My cock erupted, shooting jizz along Axel's crack. The backfire blew up my
insides. I wanted to burn to an enraptured death as I yelped and thrashed.

"Oh yes, Daddy! Yes sir!" Axel yelped.

"Do him right," Franco barked. He broke away from us while I snuggled up
and stroked my boi's pole. His begging became moans became whimpers. He
yowled something incomprehensible and blew, cock throbbing as his jizz
spewed over my fingers. Axel rocked and thrashed as he kept surging. I
gasped in surprise as a warm, wet tongue licked my own crack.

Spent, Axel deflated into my arms while I stayed put, still filling his
hole. Strong arms enfolded me. A body wrapped against me and a hard rod
poked my hole. The trees murmured, birds cried, the breeze cooled my body,
and three men embraced. The scent of male sex filled my nose and kept me
hard.

Finally Franco pulled himself away. "Damn! You guys burn the place up! How
long have you been together?"

Slowly I withdrew myself. "Not long enough." Axel, for his part, grinned
and blushed-all over his beautifully naked, shaved body. When I saw that,
my dick reversed itself and lifted again.

Axel raised himself to his elbows. I slid off the tarp and Franco and I
pulled him to his feet.

Franco laughed again. "You guys are a mess." We looked at each other,
covered in jizz, sweat and dirt, and started laughing also.

Axel, never missing a chance, dropped to his knees in front of me but
looked at Franco. "I can take yours too."

Franco chuckled. "You boys drained me. You're just the pair to do for me
what I need." He stepped around us, uphill, deeper into the trees.

Axel repositioned himself in front of me, both of us still sporting tree
trunks.

My bladder's pretty bottomless so I had a lot of pee left, especially after
giving such a great fucking. With very little coaxing, I peed. Axel took my
hose and aimed it all over him with a high degree of enthusiasm. He rubbed
and scrubbed his beard, his chest, his pits and his rigid rod.

After I finished, we switched places. Axel's pee erupted like Kilauea, warm
and slightly salty. I yelped in excitement myself as his scent filled my
nose. I wiped down my torso and tool. As his flow trickled, I wiped my
hands over my face, hair and beard, finishing by licking the last of him
off my fingers.

Axel pulled me up and we slurped away at each other's tongues.

"Shit!" He broke away suddenly.

"Huh?"

"Franco's gone."

I spun around. Sure enough, he was nowhere in sight. "Sonovabitch." A wave
of disappointment and anger swept through me. "I hoped he'd get his rocks
off again."

"Or at least say good-bye. Share a cigar. Something."

"I didn't even hear him leave."

Axel snorted. "Helloooo. We were busy."

"He should have crunched across the rock field coming up here too."

Axel rested his arm across my shoulder. "Guess he likes being mysterious."

I winked. "Don't forget also being hung; and handsome-brick shithouse
handsome. Did I mention hung?"

Axel flashed a smile of feigned innocence. "Can't say I noticed; I was too
busy looking at you."

I gave him an affectionate poke in the shoulder. "I'll have to come up with
a new penalty for perjury."

We looked around again, expecting to see him sawing his lumber behind a
tree. Franco was nowhere. I was still annoyed at his disappearance.

Still naked, we sat on a fallen log and shared lunch, both hoping that, if
we lingered, Franco would return.

He didn't, not while we cleaned off the tarp, packed up, and started back
down the mountain. This time, we held hands. I told him about my
conversation with Christian two days earlier.

"Never thought about that." Axel's quiet voice was quieter than usual.

"Me neither."

"I'm too busy right now...."

"I know. I don't care. That's cool with me. Really."

After that talk, we spoke very little, which didn't bother me either. I was
alone with Axel, we were naked and outdoors.

Not surprisingly, we saw no one else on our trip down. Our only surprise
was at the trailhead. Axel's Subaru was still there, but no other car
was. Franco's vehicle should have been there. Of course, it was possible he
parked farther down the road, except deep gulleys ran along each side and
were overgrown with brambles. Not a good place to park a car, and I saw no
reason why anyone would. Franco should have left something-even a
motorcycle.

Neither of us had seen any intersecting trails, so he couldn't have
accessed the trail any other way. He'd come upon us from downhill and we
were convinced we last saw him uphill. We conducted a quick search around
the car but didn't see anything that looked like fresh tire tracks.

"He certainly didn't parachute in from a helicopter," was Axel's only
comment.

Well, we couldn't spend the rest of the afternoon hunting this mystery
man. Nature was calling again.

This time, I went first, drinking from Axel's faucet, peeing as I did so
and making sure it splashed onto his shins. When he was finished, he shoved
a finger up his ass while I kept sucking and stroking myself. He came
first, jerking and yelping as he spasmed deep into my throat. I spilled my
spunk onto the ground between his feet.

We spread our shirts across the car seats and set our brazenly bare asses
back into the car.

Gravel crunched beneath the tires as Axel backed the car around-until
something behind the car went THUMP.

"Jesusmaryjoseph!" He jumped out, me right behind him.

He'd backed into tall grass and hit a signpost, not hard enough to damage
anything. The post leaned precariously close to the ground-about a 20 or 30
degree angle; obviously, it had been hit before. Because of the angle and
the tall grass, it was no wonder neither of us had seen it. He pulled the
car forward a few feet while I read the sign on it.

"Holy shit! Axel, read this!" My voice shook and my knees wobbled; I
grabbed the car's bumper for support.

"Jesusmaryjosephfuckingchrist!" He grabbed me for support, his hand
suddenly ice. We looked at each other and shuddered. I finally shook myself
back into the real world to pull away the grass and read the plaque more
carefully. We didn't read it wrong. It still said the same thing.

Axel stood beside me, clutching my hand, as we both read
it...again. Finally, I had to read it aloud to believe what I was seeing:
"In Loving Memory of Franco Tompkins, who disappeared hiking this ridge."

According to the plaque, Franco disappeared five years ago.

Arms around each other now, we stood, staring silently at the memorial. I
remembered Franco's finally words to us and repeated them to Axel: "You're
just the pair to do for me what I need."

He nodded. Silently, we ripped out the grass and weeds, then pushed and
pulled the post until it stood upright again. Carefully, we repacked the
dirt and tamped it down.

Still silent, we climbed back into the car and drove off together, leaving
him the memorial the way he wanted it.