Date: Mon, 8 May 2017 20:21:55 +0000
From: Douglas DD <thehakaanen@hotmail.com>
Subject: Aiden  Chapter 49

Welcome back. Part One of Aiden is almost finished. You do get the bonus
of an extra read since I split Chapter 50 into two parts. I will have more to
say about Part two when I post Chapter 51. In this chapter, Aiden gets to
know Darnell better, which he considers a good thing. But, he also learns
that Autumn wants to get to know him better, which he does not consider to
be a good thing.

Please donate to the Nifty Archive and keep this source of stories
producing.

CHAPTER 49
ALMOST 10

Instead of a somewhat busy week, Aiden had a very busy week. On
Sunday, he went bike riding with Phil and Larry. They rode east on the new
bike path to the Mayfield park at the east end of the lake, then followed the
trail that ran alongside the railroad. The highlight was getting a "shave and
a haircut" whistle blow from an oncoming CCP&P train. While the three of
them stopped and gave the locomotive engineer enthusiastic waves, Larry
and Phil's waves became even more enthusiastic when they recognized
Eric Simmons as the engineer. Eric was a former Mayfield baseball player
and was now a student at Stanford. He loved trains and had worked for the
railroad the past three summers.

"Well, I'll be damned," Larry said. "The turkey passed his engineer licensing
test."

"Did you think he wouldn't?" Phil chuckled.

"No, but it's not done until it's done. I wonder why he didn't tell us he's been
operating trains?"

"Because he can be a modest, maddeningly quiet SOB at times."

As Aiden watched the train roll by he wondered how he could get to know
that former player better. He knew Eric was a friend of Marty's, so maybe
that would be his in. He wanted to find a way that didn't involve going
through his dads. His motivation was a sudden desire to ride in the cab of
the locomotive.

Monday consisted of Aiden working with Gordy as bat boys for the Yard
Goats during their home game at Mayfield and then working solo on
Tuesday as the Goats played in Yelm. The Yard Goats won the Monday
game 7-4 and Nick McCall pitched a two-hit shutout in a 4-0 Goat win on
Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Aiden rode his bike into town and had lunch at Gordy's
house along with Miles, Rusty, and Muddy. Not long after the boys finished
lunch, Trent and Collin, who had become good friends, rode by. Rusty saw
them and ran out of the front door of the house, yelling for them to come
back.

That started an afternoon of croquet in the back yard. Rusty and Gordy's
team had a game that evening and Flo Lansing, Gordy's mother, insisted
on them not playing games that were strenuous, especially since Gordy
was slated to be the starting pitcher.

The other boys thought that was stupid. Except for Aiden, they all had
mothers and understood how they behaved, so they reluctantly accepted
their instructions. Larry said that Flo tended to be a "helicopter mother" at
times, hovering over Gordy when she should have eased off and let him be
a boy. Before leaving, Rusty reminded everybody that Saturday was his
birthday and to come to his party.

"Remember, I have company coming," Aiden reminded Rusty.

"I know, and I said he was invited to my party," Rusty said.

"I was just making sure."

Aiden rode home for dinner and they returned to town with Larry to watch
Gordy's game. Miles and Muddy were also there. Aiden's best friend
pitched well, but his team lost 4-2. After the game, Aiden rode home with
Gordy and his parents and spent the night. They cuddled up naked in
Gordy's bed, but nothing sexual happened between the two friends.

On Thursday, Trent and Collin rode out to Aiden's house. They played
Whiffle ball and skinny dipped for a while with Larry's approval.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Friday was the day Tyson and Darnell were expected. While Tyson taught
his noon class, Darnell wandered around the campus. He bought a snack
and a fruit juice at the Student Union. He met his father just before one.
They went to the faculty parking lot, got into Tyson's Lexus, and headed
out for Interstate 5.

"How long before we get there?" Darnell asked, not for the first time that
day.

"That ETA hasn't changed since the last time I gave it to you. If everything
goes smoothly, we should be there around six. If traffic is bad, and seeing
as we are hitting Friday rush hour traffic, it could be more like seven," his
father replied patiently.

"I'm going to be really hungry by then," the ten-year-old complained.

"Which is why there are sandwiches and drinks in the cooler strapped next
to you." As per Washington State law regarding children under twelve,
Darnell was belted in the back seat.

"I can't wait to see Aiden again. Thank you for taking me, dad."

"Hey, my motivations are not entirely altruistic," Tyson chuckled. "You get a
chance to spend a weekend with a new friend and I get a chance to spend
one with a pair of old friends."

"What's alturasisitc mean?"

"The word is altruistic. Looking up a word like that is one of many reasons
your dad gave you a smart phone."

Duly chastened, Darnell sulked for a few seconds, and then pulled his
phone out of his pocket.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

"When are they getting here?" Aiden asked, not for the first time that
afternoon.

"That ETA hasn't changed since the last time I gave it to you. If everything
goes smoothly, they should be here around six. If traffic is bad, and seeing
as they will be hitting Friday rush hour traffic in the Seattle area, it probably
will be more like seven," Larry answered patiently.

"I'm going to be really hungry by then," Aiden sighed.

"That's why there are sliders and lemonade in the kitchen," Phil answered.
"Perfect for tiding everybody over."

Aiden made it into the kitchen in an instant. He ate his pork slider and then
parked himself in his lookout seat at the front window. "I can't wait to see
Darnell again," Aiden chirped happily.

Tyson called just minutes after Aiden perched himself. Phil answered the
phone. "It looks like our ETA will be about quarter after seven," Tyson
informed them. Phil passed on the message after hanging up.

"Well, you warned me. I guess I'll go up to my room and do my baseball
stats," Aiden said. He set his book down on the chair and told his dads he'd
be back at quarter to seven. He sped upstairs and booted up his computer.
He looked up Marty's box scores for the previous two games (he'd gone 3-
for-8 with a run scored, 2RBI, a walk, and a double. The Everett Aquasox
had won both games).

After doing his stats, he opened Word and went to work on a story he was
writing. He was finding out that he liked writing. He was not only learning
better English, but his typing skills were improving as well.

When the clock on his desk read 6:43, he shut down his computer and
went downstairs. He wished he could get comfortable and strip down to his
underpants, but he knew the rules. He also knew that probably before the
night was over, he and Darnell would both be stripped down to their
underwear anyway. He sat in his lookout chair, opened his book, and
started reading where he'd left off, his eyes on the alert for any cars
approaching from the west. Aiden calculated that Darnell and his father
could be arriving any minute.

At five minutes after seven, a blue Lexus came from the west. Aiden
jumped up from the chair, set his book down on the seat, ran out of the
front door, and hit the driveway just as the car pulled into it.  He reached
Darnell just as his visiting friend got out of the car. Aiden gave him a big
hug, which Darnell had not been prepared for. His previous visits with the
Millers had not prepared him for Aiden's enthusiasm when he got himself
worked up. When Aiden let Darnell go, the boys giggled, exchanged
punches, and went up the stairs into the house. Within seconds they were
in Aiden's room, which Darnell dutifully admired.

"That must be Horace up there," Darnell said as he pointed to the shelf
above the desk.

"Yep, that's my donkey," Aiden replied proudly.

Darnell looked around the room. "Where am I going to sleep?" he asked.

"I've got a big bed."

Darnell broke out into a big grin. "Cool!"

"I like to sleep naked."

"Double cool."

"And I like to just wear a t-shirt and underpants when I'm home, and just my
undies if it's warm enough. Oh, and I always wear socks."

"You mean your dads don't mind?" Darnell asked skeptically.

"Nope. Sometimes I even sit in the big room naked, but I don't think we'll be
able to do that."

"That's okay. It's comfy just being in undies."

And with that, the boys stripped down to t-shirts, underpants, and socks.
Aiden was wearing his orange and black briefs while Darnell had Seahawk
boxer briefs on. Just as they got comfortable, they were called down to
dinner. Tyson didn't have an issue with his son eating at the dinner table in
his underwear. He understood his two old friends well enough to know they
didn't have an issue with it either, especially since Aiden and his dads were
obviously completely comfortable with the boys' dinner wear.

After dinner, Aiden and Darnell joined their dads in what was currently
being called the TV room. They sat together on the loveseat while Phil and
Larry sat on the couch. Tyson was given the recliner. Being given the
favorite seat of Phil and Aiden made him an honored guest, indeed.

The Mariners game was on television and they watched it with varying
degrees of interest. Larry and Aiden were probably the most interested
viewers. All three dads noted that there was no artificial distance on the
love seat between Aiden and Darnell. Their bodies touched with an
innocent intimacy—it was like they had been friends for years. One of the
many things Phil and Larry had learned about their son was that he was a
very tactile boy. He loved touching and being touched by both his dads as
well as by his best friends.

The Mariners were playing the Astros in Houston, which was two time
zones away. After the game ended with a 7-5 Mariner victory, there was
time for Scrabble. Aiden and Darnell said they wanted to be a team.

"Darnell's dad is a college teacher, my daddy is a high school teacher, and
dad is, well...well..., he's really smart." Phil successfully hid his laughter as
Aiden struggled to find an appropriate compliment. Aiden and Darnell made
a good team, finishing second to Tyson. Larry was third and Phil finished
fourth.

"Maybe it's time for me to go to school," Phil said. "It sure seems to work for
all of you guys."

When bedtime came, Tyson was given the tucking in honors by the two
boys. After the boys called him in he looked around Aiden's room, admiring
its neatness, organization, and its sports theme. He managed to give
Horace a compliment as well.

As Tyson pulled the blankets up to the chins of the two boys he couldn't
help but notice their naked torsos. He wondered if that nakedness
extended to their groin area. He kissed both boys on the forehead, a
gesture that Larry told him Aiden enjoyed—he already knew his son liked it.
After turning out the light and closing the door, Tyson decided that the boys
weren't naked. They were nine and ten and simply weren't ready for
sleeping with another boy in the nude. Tyson could not have been more
wrong.

"What do you want to do?" Aiden asked as soon as he heard Tyson walk
away.

"I want to see your wiener," Darnell said matter-of-factly.

Aiden elected not to say anything about Darnell's use of the word wiener,
although after the sexual things that had happened at Chase's house, he
was surprised at Darnell saying wiener instead of cock, or dick, or even
pecker.

Without hesitation, Aiden pulled down the sheets, exposing their little
erections in the darkened room. Aiden quickly reached over to his desk
lamp, turning it on. He looked at Darnell's boner and grinned.

"Did you like it when we kissed at your cousin's house?" Darnell asked.

Aiden nodded enthusiastically.

"Want to do it again?"

"You mean like do it now?"

This time Darnell nodded enthusiastically.

Nothing else needed to be said as the boys instantly turned to face each
other and then locked lips. Aiden was the more experienced of the two and
his tongue quickly snaked into Darnell's mouth as the boys' smooth, warm
bodies touched from chest, to cock, to legs.

Darnell had only kissed the one night he spent at Chase's house—it had
been a life-changing experience for him. He couldn't wait to do it again, but
was afraid to try it with any of his friends in Bellingham. On the trip to
Aiden's house that afternoon, his thoughts were often on his kisses with
Aiden and the hope Aiden would be willing to kiss again. In this case, he
was not afraid to bring up the topic of kissing.

The boys instinctively started to rub their hard little cocks against each
other. Darnell remembered Hatcher and Chase shooting their cum, with
Chase shooting it on him. He wished Aiden could shoot cum—he'd like
having it on him.

Darnell pushed his three plus inches harder against Aiden's smaller boner.
It felt incredibly good, but he wanted to do it even harder. Aiden didn't resist
when Darnell started to roll him on his back and then lay on top of him.

Things were happening so fast, Aiden felt as if he'd lost control, but he
didn't care. Darnell was on top and humping Aiden hard, his lips pushing
against Aiden's, his tongue winning the wrestling match in Aiden's mouth.
Darnell was far from the shy sexual innocent who'd had his first orgasm at
Chase's house. While he'd shown a couple of friends what jerking off was
about, nothing had gone beyond doing tentative masturbation together.

But now, Darnell was the sexual aggressor, looking for what he hadn't
experienced since his inauguration into the erotic world of boys at Chase's
house.

As Darnell pounded on him, grunting and groaning, Aiden wondered if this
was what fucking was about. For some reason, he'd spread his legs open
and Darnell's boner had slipped between them. Darnell was now fucking
Aiden between his legs, his sweaty body stuck to Aiden, his saliva all over
Aiden's mouth.

"Uhhh, I'm having a...uhhhhhhhhhh...," Darnell tried to eek out. Aiden felt
his friend's body shake and shiver as Darnell pushed against him as hard
as he could. "Oh, wow, wow, wow, that was awesome, Aiden."

Aiden rolled his body and the bigger boy slid off of him. Aiden wanted some
lotion so he could finish himself off, but he didn't need it. The feel of Darnell
putting his fingers around his cocklet was all Aiden needed to have an
orgasm of his own. "Yeah," he agreed, "that was really awesome."

He got out of bed and grabbed a towel out of the dirty clothes hamper. He
wiped off his face and some of the sweat on him. He handed the towel to
Darnell who wiped saliva off his own face and dried off some sweat.

"I'm glad you're my friend, Aiden. I was thinking about doing this all day."
Darnell was on the cusp of puberty and sex was moving up on his list of
important things to do.

Aiden agreed it was fun and thanked Darnell for being his friend too. Aiden
turned off the desk lamp and pulled the covers up over himself and Darnell.
The boys maneuvered themselves until they felt comfortable cuddling.

As Aiden closed his eyes with his arm wrapped around Darnell, it occurred
to him that he hadn't thought about how he was messing around—doing
sex stuff—with a black boy. He thought about Phillip from "The Cay" and
how prejudiced he had been against black people at the start of the book.
He thought about how Phillip learned to trust and love Timothy. He
snuggled up even tighter against Darnell, wondering how somebody could
feel the way Phillip had felt just because of the color of a person's skin.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Aiden woke up first the next morning.  He looked at Darnell, who was
sleeping on his right side, facing Aiden. Aiden was fascinated by the beauty
of his smooth, dark skin. He was happy that Darnell had become his friend,
and even happier that Darnell's father had been willing to bring him to
Mayfield for a visit. Darnell fluttered awake as Aiden admired him.

"What are you looking at?" Darnell yawned.

"I'm looking at you—I like how you look."

"You look pretty good, too, but can't spend time looking at you because I
gotta pee really bad."

"Yeah, I kinda have to go, too," Aiden giggled.

"How does somebody have to kinda go pee? I either gotta go or I don't."
Darnell started to crawl over Aiden. "And I gotta go. BAD!"

The naked boys got out of bed and padded out of Aiden's room and across
the hall to the bathroom. They stood side-by-side at the toilet and let their
piss fly.

"Did you believe Chase and Hatcher when they said they pee on each
other in the shower?" Darnell asked as their piss streamed into the toilet.

"Yep. Chase peed on me in the shower once."

"For real?"

Aiden nodded as his stream subsided to a trickle.

"Was it gross?"

"Yeah, but not real gross because the shower washed it off and down the
drain. Still, I could smell it for few seconds while it was on me and that was
totally gross."

The boys finished and shook themselves. "Who gets to shower first?"
Darnell asked.

"Nobody," Aiden replied. "We get to shower together."

"Cool," Darnell grinned. Within seconds the water was set and the boys
were in the shower together. "Hey, at least we know we can't pee on each
other since we just did it."

"Nope, but we can wash each other." Aiden grabbed the soap and was
soon washing Darnell's back and butt. He then turned his friend around and
washed his chest, belly, and genitals. After Aiden finished, Darnell returned
the favor. While the shower was erotic, it wasn't sexual. The boys were
content with being touchy feely.

After turning off the shower and drying off, they went back to Aiden's
bedroom. Aiden quickly made his bed while Darnell hunted through his
overnight bag for fresh underpants.

"I wish we could go naked to breakfast," Darnell pined.

"Me, too, but it's against every rule in my dad's rule book—probably your
dad's too. But, just underpants and t-shirt is okay."

"Or we could tear up the rule book."

"My dads let me go naked in the evening when I read or watch TV in the
big rec room. We could try it then," Aiden suggested.

"I like it," Darnell grinned.

None of the three dads commented on the boys' breakfast attire when they
came downstairs. Darnell liked the looseness of Aiden's dads when it came
to their dress code.

The big plan for the day was to go to Rusty's tenth birthday party at his
house. It was there that Darnell not only met Rusty, but he also met Gordy,
Miles, Mason, Trent, Collin, Muddy, as well as friends of Rusty whom Aiden
didn't know very well. Aiden was pleased that everybody quickly accepted
Darnell and made him feel welcome. The day was filled with games, both
indoor and outdoor, talk, laughter, hot dogs and hamburgers, along with
cake and ice cream. It was a great party—Aiden could hardly wait for his
tenth birthday party to arrive.

Aiden and Darnell were home by three. While they were gone, Tyson, Phil,
and Larry had taken the boat out and waterskied. Gordy's mom dropped off
the two boys as well as Gordy at Aiden's house. The boat was just
returning as they ran into the back yard. The three boys quickly changed
into their swimming suits and were soon in the boat, enjoying turns at
waterskiing. Darnell, who, like Aiden, lived on a lake, was an accomplished
water skier and had a collection of trophies won at age-group competitions.

Gordy stayed for a spaghetti dinner, but couldn't spend the night. He had to
be up Sunday morning for the early church service. His family and another
family had plans for the day. "My mom and dad always get in the way of my
fun," Gordy groused as he waited to get picked up after dinner.

After Gordy left, Darnell and Aiden pushed the envelope by coming
downstairs naked. That night, the envelope wasn't ready to burst as the
boys were sent upstairs to at least put put underpants on. The three dads
couldn't help but laugh once the boys were out of the room.

"Were we that bold at their age?" Tyson asked.

"I don't know about you, since we didn't meet until middle school, but I
know I was," Larry laughed.  Phil agreed that he had his moments and
Tyson confessed to enjoying being naked around the house when he could
get away with it.

"I thought we'd get away with it," Aiden lamented as he pulled on a pair of
white briefs.

"We will next time," Darnell grinned. "This was just the beginning of us
being...what did you call it?"

"Being naturists."

"Yeah, that."

When it was time for bed, Aiden and Darnell stripped naked and once
again shared Aiden's bed. Larry tucked them in, knowing exactly what the
state of undress of the boys was. He was certain there would be naked
messing around in Aiden's bed. He was wrong. The young preteen boys
were tired, but they shared a long deep kiss, with Darnell pushing his
tongue into Aiden's mouth.

When the kissing broke off they chatted a bit while petting each other's
smooth skin.

"You kiss better than Chase," Darnell observed.

"I do? For real?" Darnell nodded. "Cool," Aiden whispered. Even after
kissing, neither boy was really turned on. As they contemplated fondling
each other, Aiden slipped off to sleep, and Darnell quickly joined him. The
sex that night happened downstairs as Tyson, Phil, and Larry relived their
pubescent years.

Tyson and Darnell left after breakfast. It was agreed that this wouldn't be
the last time the two families visited. "You've got to come up and enjoy our
place in Bellingham," Tyson told Phil and Larry. "We're right on Lake
Samish. You'll love it there." Aiden knew he'd love it, because he'd be able
to be with Darnell, who was becoming a best friend, ranking right up with
Gordy, Mason, Miles, and Muddy.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Aiden missed Sammy's thirteenth birthday party on Monday, which didn't
really disappoint him. He hadn't been all that sure that he wanted to go.
When he found out that the Yard Goats would be playing a league playoff
game that day in Aberdeen, he decided that he'd rather be at his dad's
baseball game as the batboy than at a party with a group of older kids he
hardly knew. He let Sammy know he couldn't come, making it sound like it
was his dads' decision, when it actually was his own.

Aiden and Sammy were both relieved that Aiden wouldn't be attending the
party. Sammy felt obligated to invite Aiden because of the friendship
between the families. While the boys were as close as two boys with three
year's difference in their ages could be, they were nowhere near being
close friends. After inviting Aiden, Sammy wished he hadn't. As much as he
liked the little blond, he knew that Aiden wouldn't fit in with the boys and
girls he'd invited. It all ended up working to everybody's satisfaction.

The game against Aberdeen was a loser out tournament game. If the Yard
Goats won they would have to play on Wednesday and if they won that
game they'd be playing on Saturday, which meant Phil wouldn't be able to
go to Everett to watch Marty play. Aiden was almost hoping that the Goats
would lose. Almost. Aiden didn't know that Larry and Phil had decided that
if the Goats had to play on Saturday, they'd let Aiden invite a friend to take
his dad's place.

After the Goats beat the Aberdeen Pilots 7-2, Phil talked to Aiden on the
drive home about what would happen if the Goats won on Wednesday or
lost on Wednesday. A loss by the Goats meant they would play on
Thursday in a loser-out game. Winning that one would have them playing
on the weekend as well. Aiden surprised Phil by saying he wanted Mason
to go if his dad couldn't; Phil had expected Aiden to pick Gordy.

"Mason never gets to go anywhere," Aiden explained.

"He might not be able to go on this trip, either," Phil reminded his son.

"Well, then my next pick will be Gordy."

"Don't forget it could be me going on that trip."

"Oh no." Aiden gave Phil a look of mock horror. "Not you!"

Phil broke out into loud laughter, "It's always nice to be appreciated."

Aiden gave some thought to the situation and then said, "If you go, it
means the Goats won't be in the finals."

"So, which way do you want it?" Phil asked.

"Go Goats," Aiden replied with his signature grin.

After they got home, Phil received surprise number two, which was
Mason's mother approving the trip. Phil requested that she not say
anything to Mason in case the Goats lost on Wednesday and Thursday and
got knocked out of the playoffs.

That night, after Aiden had been tucked into bed, Larry chided Phil for
planning to go to Everett the same weekend as his division playoffs, even
though he knew it wasn't his husband's fault.

"It would be nice if our league commissioner had a clue," Phil groused,
shaking his head. "The printed division schedule had everything being
played this week with no weekend games. Then two weeks ago, Carter has
one of his many oops moments and moves the league playoffs up two days
after some of the coaches complained about squeezing all of the league
tournament games into one week, so the division schedule got all changed
around. Not that you didn't know all of this."

"I had to give you a hard time about it, though. In truth, it really sucks. At
least he didn't extend the league playoffs to a week or so later, or they
would have run afoul of our cruise."

"He couldn't do that, because the league constitution sets the first weekend
in August as the last weekend to schedule games. I'd like to see that
changed to the last week in July."

Larry nodded and said, "I'd like to see Carter Bass replaced as
commissioner. This is the second time in the last three years that the
schedule has been fucked up."

"Speaking of fucking, I don't think we're going to have a visitation tonight."

Larry gave Phil a sexy leer. "Well, then, what are we waiting for?"

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Tuesday was a day Aiden hadn't been looking forward to. Autumn
Kellogg's mother had called the week before and set up the dinner at her
house that she knew everybody had been waiting for. She would have
been astounded if she knew that Aiden had been hoping everybody had
forgotten the promised dinner.

The day started out like any other lazy summer day, though. Gordy and
Miles biked to Aiden's house. The boys spent the afternoon swimming and
kicking a soccer ball around after they tired of swimming. Soccer camp was
the next week and they were prepping for it.

"I wish we could play naked soccer after skinny dipping," Miles complained.
The boys had gone skinny dipping, but had soccer shorts and trainers
available poolside to wear after they got tired of swimming.

"That would be fun unless you got hit in the nuts with the ball," Gordy
giggled.

"I'm too quick to get hit there with the ball. I'd be getting out the way," Aiden
bragged.

"In your wet dreams," Miles said.

"What's a wet dream?" Gordy asked.

"I dunno. John says that all the time," Miles replied, referring to his now
thirteen-year-old brother.

The boys had fun playing, swimming, giggling, grabbing snacks, and
drinking lemonade until four when Gordy and Miles prepared to leave.

"I can't believe you gotta have dinner with Autumn," Miles told Aiden.

"It's because we got that stupid A on our project. And I still gotta have
dinner with her at the Centerville Cafe. I hope nobody remembers about
that," Aiden lamented.

"You know Autumn is gonna remember," Gordy said. "They never forget
stuff like that."

"I gotta agree with that," Aiden said sadly.

After Aiden showered, Larry worked on getting his hair to look like it had
seen a comb at least once during the summer. Aiden was in just his
underpants and was very fidgety. "Maybe I can stay home because my hair
exploded," he suggested. "We could tell her my whole head exploded and
my brains are all over the place, stuck to the walls and to the ceiling and
everywhere." He looked up at his daddy, who implored him to stand still.
"But, that won't work," Aiden babbled, ignoring his daddy. "If I don't got any
brains, I would probably like eating dinner at a girl's house—so I better
keep my brains in my head." He turned slightly, frustrating Larry even more.
"But, I should have said if I don't HAVE any brains, cuz I got enough brains
in my head right now to know I was wrong, right?"

"Whatever you say, son." Larry was having difficulty following Aiden's
babble. Larry looked over his son and muttered, "I think this is good as it's
going to get. You will be getting a haircut before our trip."

"I hate haircuts."

"Sometimes life is just plain tough," Larry philosophized.

"Whatever."

Aiden dressed in a polo shirt and his newest shorts. "No way I am going to
wear long pants on a hot day so I can go see a girl," he insisted. "They're
almost new and they're clean and they look good to me." Since Larry
couldn't dispute the boy's reasoning, he simply nodded his head in
agreement.

As much as Aiden resented being at Autumn's house for dinner, he was on
his best behavior. He knew his dads would probably place him on
restriction for life if he wasn't. Autumn's mother kept gushing over Aiden
while Autumn was always giving him looks and silly grins.

"How old are you now, Aiden?" Autumn's mother asked.

"I'm almost ten," Aiden said with surprising shyness. Usually, he bragged
about his age and his impending birthday.

"I'm already ten," Autumn said haughtily. "My birthday was in May and I had
a big party. We weren't friends then, or I would have invited you."

Aiden wanted to say, "I didn't know we were friends now," but he kept his
mouth closed.

"When is your birthday, Aiden?" Autumn's mother asked.

"It is September first."

"Are you having a party? Autumn just loves parties." This was her way of
seeing if she could finagle an invitation for Autumn.

"Yes," Aiden said flatly. He didn't take the bait, mostly because he didn't
realize he was being manipulated.

Autumn's father asked Aiden if he played sports, which got Aiden to open
up a little. He loved talking about sports—it was probably his favorite topic.
After they finished dessert, which was apple pie a la mode, Aiden
complimented Autumn's mother on the good meal and thanked her for the
invitation. The compliment was sincere—Autumn's mother was an excellent
cook. The thanks for the invitation was politically correct politeness. Even
though he was having a better time than he had expected, he still wasn't
very happy about being there and was more than ready for an excuse to go
home.

"Well, Vic and I are going next door for a cup of coffee with Harold and
Alice," Autumn's mother said. "We'll be back in an hour and will give you a
ride home."

"I can call my dads," Aiden volunteered. He didn't want to wait an hour to
go home, and he certainly didn't want to be alone with Autumn for an hour.
He remembered what had happened last time he was alone with Autumn—
and her mother had been in the house that time.

"Oh, it won't be a problem at all. You and Autumn will have some time to be
better friends." She looked over at her husband. "They might even start to
become boyfriend and girlfriend. Wouldn't that be sweet, Vic?"

"Yes, dear," Vic said even though he thought his wife was being incredibly
stupid. He knew she was trying to shove Autumn on poor Aiden in an
attempt to create a puppy love relationship, which she would find adorably
cute. He remembered being almost ten—the last thing he wanted then was
to have a girl shoved on him. However, when he was almost twelve, that
became a different matter. Still, it would be nice to have a boy around to
talk sports with, he thought.

"Do you want to come up to my room?" Autumn asked as soon as her
parents left.

"Not really," Aiden said with blunt honesty as he calculated how quickly he
could run through the front door and then call his dads for a ride home.

"Just for a minute. I got a really cool new soccer poster." Aiden knew that
Autumn was one of the star players on a girls' soccer team and that she
had soccer posters on her wall. He wondered if the new one was a guy's
soccer team. He decided to stay just long enough to take a look, but not
long enough to get involved in the show-and-tell of his last visit.

The poster was of Real Madrid, a men's team. "Those guys are so hot,"
Autumn gushed. Aiden wondered how anybody could be so gushy.

Aiden thought the men on the team were good looking in an athletic way,
but he didn't think of them as being hot. Deciding he'd spent enough time
looking at guys in soccer uniforms he was ready to leave the bedroom.

As he turned to go, Autumn stepped between him and the door. "If I get
invited to your birthday party, can I bring Brittany? She's my best friend."
She was referring to Brittany Jordan, who was a fourth grader. "Maybe
Carolyn, too. She's my other best friend."

"I guess. But I don't know if I'm going to have any girls at my party." It was
his intention not to have any, but if he did he had nothing against Brittany,
but he thought Carolyn was stuck up. Shana Masters, Autumn's fifth grade
friend, was another matter altogether. Aiden was beginning to realize that
he was being manipulated, and he was getting his hackles up.

"Oh you have to have girls. You're going to be ten." Aiden didn't see the
relationship between his age and inviting girls to his birthday and was about
to say so when Autumn said, "Remember what we did last time you were in
my room?"

Aiden nodded. He remembered, although he wished he didn't.

"Do you think this time I could see your thingy?" she asked boldly. The first
time they'd played show-and-tell in her room, Autumn had been the
aggressor while blaming Aiden for being nasty when he dropped his pants.
This time, she was the aggressor possessed with the idea of being the
naughty one. She was ten and was starting to feel the onslaught of puberty.

"I think I gotta go."

"Please? I won't tell anybody. Just really quick like."

"Like you didn't tell anybody last time," Aiden pointed out.

"I never said a word. I swear Shana was just guessing because she knew
you were in my bedroom. I won't even say that much to her or to anybody.
Besides, me and Shana aren't friends anymore."

In an attempt to entice Aiden to undress, she pulled off her shirt—she was
wearing a training bra. "I'm starting to get boobs," she said when she saw
Aiden's surprise look. The training bra came off and was dropped to the
floor. Aiden strained to get his first look at a girl's boobs, but to him her
chest still didn't look much different than a boy's.

"You can take off your shirt if you want," she said.

If Aiden knew the word déjà vu, he would say that was what he was
experiencing. The thing that surprised him was that his pecker was getting
hard looking at the topless girl with boobs that weren't boobs. Without
thinking he pulled off his polo shirt.

"Now your shorts," Autumn commanded as if she was orchestrating the
scenario to her liking.

"No. You take your shorts off first." Aiden had no intention of being bossed
around by a girl.

Autumn knew what she wanted—she wanted to see a boy naked—and
would do what it took to get it, so she quickly pulled down her blue shorts,
revealing her panties. They were white with angels on them, complete with
wings and halos and a harp or two. Aiden thought there was no way those
panties were appropriate for the naughty girl standing in front of him.

He knew he was stuck. Every instinct in him told him to pick his shirt up off
the floor and walk out—but a corner of his boy brain wanted to see what a
naked girl looked like, although not as badly as the girl wanted to see a
naked boy. Before he knew it he'd dropped his shorts and stepped out of
them. He was now wearing just his teal and blue briefs, as well as his
shoes and socks. His boner pushed the front of his briefs out a bit.

"Have you ever kissed a girl?" Autumn asked.

Aiden shook his head.

"I could teach you."

"I know how to kiss," he said.

"How?"

"I can't say."

Autumn shrugged. She had no idea what Aiden was talking about. "Okay,
then we can kiss, right?"

"I don't want to kiss." Aiden liked kissing boys—he had no desire to kiss a
girl.

"Just a quick one." She leaned in and pecked him on the lips. It was all
Aiden could do not to say, "Ewww, gross." Autumn leaned in again and
kissed him harder. Fortunately for Aiden, she didn't try to French kiss him.
But the two underwear clad children were locked in what appeared to be a
loving embrace. In her wildest dreams, Autumn's mother never imagined
that her ten-year-old daughter would try to seduce the almost-ten boy when
she left the two of them alone.

"How come your underpants are sticking out?" Autumn asked.

"Because my penis is in them," Aiden explained, as if she was too stupid to
understand. She certainly didn't understand boners. He thought about
saying cock for shock value, but decided to use the proper term for, well,
for his cock.

Instead of asking Aiden to pull down his briefs, she started to yank them
down. Aiden squeaked out, "NO," and backed away, the front of his briefs
hanging up on the head of his hard cocklet. He took control of the situation
by pulling down his underpants on his own, sliding them to his knees.

"Happy?" he asked.

Autumn's answer was to pull down her panties, revealing her hairless
pussy. Aiden was both excited and disappointed by what he saw. Excited
because what they were doing was a different form of naughtiness and
disappointed because there was nothing to see—no hard cock, no balls,
just what looked like a slit. He had a rudimentary idea of what a girl's
sexual organs were like—his dads had been giving him a sexual education
after all, mostly as answers to his questions.

The all but naked boy and girl stared at each other, neither one daring to
move. Then Autumn flopped onto her bed and opened her legs, revealing
her secrets. "That's so you can see me better," she told him. "How come
your thingy is all hard like that?" While she'd never seen a boy naked, she
had had a few quick glimpses of a boy's penis and even her father's a
couple of times.

"It happens when boys get excited."

"Do I make you excited?"

"No," Aiden said, even though that wasn't entirely true. While the situation
excited him, Autumn herself did not, or so he told himself.

Although Autumn was disappointed in Aiden's answer, she kept plowing
on. "Do you want to lie on my bed naked with me like adults do?" Autumn
asked.

Aiden sat on the bed, untied his shoes, and yanked off his underpants,
making him naked except for his socks. He then lay down on the bed next
Autumn; the two preteens were facing each other. Aiden could now see two
very small bumps forming on the girl's breasts.

"Take your socks off so you're all naked like me," Autumn directed. "Then
we can kiss and you can feel my boobs."  She was doing almost exactly
what Shana Masters had told her to do after she got Aiden alone in her
bedroom. Because Shana Masters would be going to middle school in a
few weeks, Autumn thought she must know all about what to do with boys.
Shana had even gotten naked with her and showed her how to kiss. This
time she wasn't going to be shy—she was going to French kiss him just like
Shana had showed her.

Aiden felt stiff and nervous. He lay a little over a foot away from Autumn,
wishing he was a mile away from her. Autumn was saying something to
him, but he only made out the last part. "...and after we kiss with our
tongues we can be boyfriend and girlfriend." Aiden felt his heart thumping—
he knew he was afraid.

And then, suddenly something happened in his mind. For the first time in
his young life, Aiden felt true empathy for another person. It was like he
knew exactly what the person had been thinking. He now understood why
Gordy had been scared when they messed around, at least until recently.
He understood why Gordy got naked with him and his friends and got
boners, but didn't want to mess around. He was naked on a bed with a girl
in her bedroom, he had a boner, but he was afraid to do anything. He was
curious, but he didn't want to do the things she wanted to do. All he wanted
was to leave. He was afraid, just like Gordy had been afraid.

"...and remember to take your socks off." Autumn was still talking, but most
of it had been incomprehensible jabber.

"I gotta go," Aiden said, almost in a panic. He sat up on the edge of the bed
and reached down for his underpants. He quickly pulled them on and then
grabbed his shorts.

"What are you doing? You can't go. You have to stay; we haven't really
kissed yet."

Aiden ignored her and put on his shoes. "I gotta go," he repeated. He
couldn't find his shirt, then saw it on the end of the bed. He grabbed it,
pulled it over his head, and stood up. "I gotta go," he said again and started
for the bedroom door.

"Aren't you going to be my boyfriend?" This wasn't going at all the way
Shana said it would go. This was where she said Aiden would get really
nasty and naughty, just like he did the first time he was in Autumn's
bedroom, because he was boy.

"Maybe later," was all Aiden could think to say as he scurried out of the
bedroom. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and called home. Phil said
he would be at Autumn's house right away to pick him up.

As he went into the living room he turned and saw Autumn right behind
him, still naked. She was now shedding tears, which made Aiden feel
badly—but not badly enough to change his mind about what he was doing.
He was about to step out of the front door when he caught a glimpse of
Autumn's parents turning onto the walkway to the house.

"Go to your room, quick—your mom and dad are coming." Autumn ran
back to her bedroom and Aiden left the house. "Thanks for dinner, Mr. and
Mrs. Kellogg, but I gotta go."

Mrs. Kellogg noted Aiden's mussed up hair and wondered how it was boys
of that age couldn't keep their hair combed. "Is everything okay, Aiden?"

"Yep, but my dad is coming to pick me up." Aiden didn't mention that his
dad was coming because he'd called him.

"Well, thank you for coming, Aiden. The day was very special for Autumn.
She likes you a lot. You're a very nice boy and very polite."

"Thank you," Aiden replied as Phil's pickup arrived. Aiden got into the back
seat of the crew cab, relieved that he'd been rescued.

"Did you have a good time?" Phil asked. Aiden sat back and said nothing. "I
guess your silence means no."

"The food was good." Aiden wondered if Gordy had wanted to get away
from being naked and messing around when they were together the way he
had just wanted to get away from Autumn. He was never going to be alone
in a girl's bedroom again, he decided. It was way too scary.

"Dad, did you know girls are really stupid and scary at the same time?"

"That does not sound like a good combination."

"Nope. So, how do they ever get boyfriends and get married and have kids
if they are that way?"

"People grow up and things have a way of working themselves out," Phil
answered.

"Like with you and daddy?"

"You could say that. Only it worked out in a different way for us."

"I love you and daddy just like you are," Aiden said. He closed his eyes the
rest of the way home, lost in his own confusing thoughts.

That night after his tucking in, Aiden pulled Horace off of his shelf and sat
him on his bed. He thought about taking Horace downstairs and sleeping
with his dads, but decided Horace would be enough company while he
sorted through his thoughts.

What he decided was that he would never again talk to Gordy about getting
a blow job until after Gordy brought up the subject. When Gordy was ready
to do it, he would do it, and until then he would stop making his best friend
embarrassed and uncomfortable.

He kept thinking of how he felt in Autumn's bedroom. For sure he would
never get naked with a girl and mess around because she wanted him to
do it. If he ever did it again, it would be because he wanted to do it. He felt
the same rule should apply to Gordy. Aiden now understood that just
because he got naked and got a boner didn't mean Gordy wanted to do
what Aiden wanted him to do. While he didn't realize it, Aiden had matured
a little as a boy and even as a young man that day.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 On Saturday morning, Aiden, Mason, and Larry boarded the luxury tour
bus that was loading at the high school. The bus was full of excited
Mayfield residents who would be taking the trip to Everett to watch
Mayfield's favorite son, Marty Carlson, play for the Everett Aqua Sox.

The Yard Goats had qualified for the league playoff finals, so Phil would not
be going. Mason would be going in his place. The little nine-year-old was
excited beyond belief. He couldn't believe that Aiden had picked him to go
on the trip. Never in his life had he dreamed of having friends as good as
the friends he had now.

He also couldn't believe that his mother was okay with him going, even
though it would mean his missing church on Sunday. He had good friends,
his mother was being really nice to him, and Aiden Miller, one of the best
athletes and one of the smartest, most popular kids in fifth grade at
Lakeview Elementary School, had picked him, Mason Johnson, who
couldn't even kick a soccer ball in the right direction or hit a baseball when
Aiden made him his friend.

And now he was going to watch Marty Carlson play pro baseball and he
was going to be able to tell him about how he caught the ball in the outfield
and how he scored a big run for his team. He might even tell Marty how
singing to Aiden from the outfield helped him pitch better.

Mason was sitting next to Aiden and across the aisle from Larry, who was
one of his favorite adults in the entire world. Without realizing he had done
it, Mason leaned his head against Aiden's shoulder and sighed. For Mason
Johnson, life that day was truly good.

Next: Summer Blossoms