Date: Tue, 24 Aug 2010 16:36:28 -0700 (PDT) From: Shiloh Creek Subject: The Boys of Twillingate Shore: Chapter Three - Most Noble Creatures The Boys of Twillingate Shore Written by: Shiloh Creek Email Address: tbotsauthor@yahoo.com _____________________________ **DISCLAIMER: I own the rights to this story 100 %. This story contains strong sexual content between minors (boy-boy, boy-teen), mature language, and some violence. If you are offended by this sort of material, please do NOT read any further. If you are underage (<18; <21 in some areas), please do NOT read any further. All characters, main setting, and places or people mentioned in this story are completely, 100% fictional. If you find similarities between this story or any characters in this story in comparison to some place or someone in real life or other stories you may have read anywhere else, these circumstances are purely coincidental and do NOT reflect the intentions of the author of this story.** **SECONDARY DISCLAIMER: This specific chapter describes a fantasy involving a particular character from a movie, who is in fact a real actor. The use of the character in this story is purely for fantasy purposes. I do not know this person in real life, not do I make claims about this person in any way. This is a fantasy and does NOT reflect the main setting of the story itself or the author's intentions. ** - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hey everyone! Okay, so here's the third chapter for you. Before I say anything about it, I just want to thank everyone once again for your emails and words of encouragement. I know I haven't responded to some of your messages, but just know that I've at least read all of them. I hope to reply more as time moves on. Anyway, I just want you guys to know that I appreciate your messages and suggestions. This third chapter is really beginning to set the tone for the story. Things are about to get interesting for young Logan as he begins to make a new life for himself in this middle-of-nowhere town. Not to mention, things between Logan and Cody are about to become... interesting, let's just say. I hope you enjoy this chapter. As always, comments and criticisms are more than welcome. NOTE** Remember, this IS the year 1998 in which this story is taking place. You will read a few things in the next few chapters and think "wow, this author's far behind," but no, the story itself is set in 1998, so just keep that in mind as well. ** _____________________________ Previously... "I love you, Jesse," Logan said weakly between sobs. Finally, Logan felt one last beat of Jesse's heart. A few seconds later, the machine flatlined. The beeping became one steady, continual hum. Jesse's breathing ceased. The life floated out of his body in a split second. Logan's crying increased as the realization took over him that his brother now gone forever. Logan let go of his brother's hand, turned around, and buried his face in his father's chest, crying with all of his might. Richard, too, was crying softly. - - - - - - - - - - - - "Mmm, yeah, something from the last summer we came out there," Logan said with his arms crossed. "About three years ago, I guess?" "What is it?" Cody asked. Logan sighed deeply and then let the words come out. "I remember seeing you and my brother kissing each other behind the barn." Cody's eyes widened suddenly. The two boys stared at each other in total silence for what seemed like forever. Logan couldn't believe he had just let those words slip. He had never spoken of it out loud to anyone before, not even Jesse. - - - - - - - - - - - - "Logan, I have something for you," Richard said. Richard handed the pocket watch over to his eleven year old son, hoping this would help smooth things over a little. Logan grasped the pocket watch from his father's hand carefully, initially surprised at the heaviness of the trinket. "Does it work?" Logan asked as he analyzed the finely carved artwork of the piece. "Well, not anymore," Richard said. "I haven't been able to find the right battery for it in years. Open it up." Logan unhooked the clasp of the pocket watch and opened it up. His eyes widened as soon as she saw what was inside. It was a black and white picture of Logan and Jesse that had been taken when Jesse was fourteen and Logan was eight. They were both sitting on a white platform with a white background, several white sheets on the platform. Both of the boys were completely naked. Jesse was sitting with his legs spread and his knees bent, staring up at the camera with a bright smile on his face, his body angled in just the right way that his private parts were hidden behind his leg. Logan was sitting Indian style beside his older brother, his hands and one of the sheets positioned in a way that they covered his private parts as well. - - - - - - - - - - - - The back door opened swiftly. Logan turned around in his seat and looked towards the back door as this mysterious person entered the house. A thin man wearing a plaid shirt tucked into a pair of tight blue jeans was facing the other way closing the door behind him. He was wearing a cowboy hat and boots. The thin man turned around. Logan's eyes widened in almost apparent terror. "Hey, Ruth, sorry I'm late for lunch. I was just –" Cody Haynes walked into the kitchen and stopped in mid-sentence as he noticed Logan sitting there staring up at him. "Cody..." Logan said. "Hey Logan," Cody said simply. "Huh...?" _____________________________ Chapter Three "Most Noble Creatures" "What's wrong with the two of you?" Ruth asked as she saw the two boys staring at each other so strangely. "You both look like you've seen a couple of spooks." "Oh... um... sorry, Ruth," Cody said simply. "Yeah, um... I - I guess I just forgot Logan was already out here. I knew that, since you didn't come to church last night, but I guess I just forgot about it." Ruth chuckled. "Well, c'mon over here and sit down!" Ruth said enthusiastically. "I made your favorite: roast beef sandwiches from left over roast. I even made two sandwiches for you this time. I know how much you love my pot roast." "Oh yeah, awesome! Thanks, Ruth." Cody walked past Logan and sat down on the other side of the table from him. The older boy caught Logan's eyes unnervingly as he began to munch down on the sandwiches Ruth had prepared for him. Ruth continued eating her own lunch, paying no attention to sudden uneasiness that was now floating throughout the room. Logan stopped eating completely, now feeling somewhat nauseous. He just sat at the table awkwardly, staring down at his plate, trying now to avoid any eye contact with Cody. "Logan, honey, I forgot to tell you; Cody here works the farm for me," Ruth said to her grandson before taking a sip of her diet coke. Logan looked over at his grandmother and then over at Cody. "He works for you?" Logan asked. "Yes he does, and he's terrific at it," Ruth said with a grin on her face. "I hired him to mind the animals for me after your grandpa passed. He's been a real help to me." "Ah, you know it's no problem, Ms. H," Cody said. "I love working with the animals." "Glad to hear it," Ruth said. "Because I was thinking; how would you like to teach Logan here how to mind the animals? He can help you with the feeding at least. And maybe you could teach him how to ride the horses." "Yeah, sure, I'd love to do all of that," Cody said. "As long as Logan's up for it, I don't mind teaching him that stuff." "What do you think, sweetie?" Ruth asked Logan. "Would you like to help Cody mind the animals? And he can teach you to ride the horses?" "Sure, I guess," Logan said apathetically before taking a bite of an apple slice. "Great!" Ruth exclaimed. "I have some projects I'd like to have finished around here this summer, like re-painting the barn and I'd like to re-stain the dock and the picnic deck outside. Cody, since you boys are out of school, I would absolutely love to have you work more and help me with those projects. With Logan here, we can get a lot done. I'll pay you by the hour as always." "Sure, Ruth. I'll be here anytime you need me." "And Logan, I'll pay you by the hour as well, okay?" Ruth said to the younger boy. "A worker should always be compensated, no matter what his age or size." "Okay, Grandma, sounds good," Logan mustered up. Logan caught Cody's stare and suddenly shot him the evil eye. Cody looked away awkwardly and focused on his lunch again. A few minutes ago, Logan thought he had the whole summer to do whatever he wanted. Now he was beginning to feel like an employee of his grandmother's just because Cody was here. "I have a feeling you boys are going to get a long just great once you get to know each other a little better," Ruth said. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Logan climbed into the passenger side of Cody's old, rusted Chevy. He had changed into a pair of old blue jeans, a yellow t-shirt, and a pair of old sneakers that he didn't care about, knowing he would have to come into contact with animals. Cody climbed into the driver's seat and closed the door. Logan's grandmother stayed inside to tend to her parakeets in the sunroom. Cody was instructed to take Logan to the barn to show him the horses and then to see the chicken coop, the turkey pen, the cattle field, the larger field used for the horses, and then the smaller field used for the goats. Logan had of course already seen all of this before, but Ruth wanted Cody to go over his methods of feeding and caretaking with Logan. Cody fired up the ignition of the old, beat up truck. To Logan, the old ignition sounded like a wounded moose trying to pull its foot out a large mud hole. There were no words spoken between the two boys. Logan remained completely still and silent, careful not to accidentally make eye contact with Cody. A few minutes later, Cody drove up to the huge, familiar barn. The barn used to be a bright red color, like something out a farmer's paradise painting. The once vividly red paint was now a pinkish color, with many areas in which the paint was completely stripped off, revealing the blue-ish rusty corrugated metal exterior underneath. Things had certainly changed within the past three years. Logan now understood his grandmother's desire to re-paint the barn. After Cody parked the truck, he got out of the truck and headed towards the main barn door, without saying anything or even waiting for Logan to catch up. Logan got out of the truck and walked briskly to catch up with Cody. They both walked into the large barn. Logan remembered it well. Two-thirds of the huge barn was used to store all of the power equipment, animal feed, tractors, and other necessary farming tools. The other one-third of the barn was used as a shelter for the horses. Logan hadn't seen it yet, but he knew there was a separate, smaller barn behind this one, which was big enough to contain the rest of the animals on the farm if necessary. Mostly though, that second barn was used for storage as well. Logan looked around the interior of the barn, having forgotten just how big it was inside. "Wow," Logan said, now trying to make conversation with Cody. "I actually forgot how big this place was." "Yeah, it's pretty big," Cody said simply without looking Logan's way. "Okay, I keep the chicken feed, goat feed, and turkey feed over there in that corner. That first barrel of food is for the chickens, the second one for the turkeys, and the third one is for the goats. The goats have already been fed. They don't get fed again till tomorrow. The chickens have also been fed today. I feed them a second meal every Tuesday and Thursday and Saturday. Other than that, they only get fed once a day too.." Cody continued to go over his normal feeding routine with Logan. His voice was calm, but far too uncomfortably halfhearted for Logan's taste at this point. Logan understood Cody was still angry about what had happened between the two of them back in Baton Rouge several months before. Nothing had been said about it as of yet though. Logan refused to be the first one to bring it up. Logan followed Cody around the barn, through the horse shelter, over to the second barn, over to the chicken coop, then to the turkey pen, then over to the cattle field, then to the horse field, and then finally to the smaller goat field on the far eastern side of the farm. At each destination, Cody explained his routines to the younger boy, beginning to sound a little more human as time passed. Logan appreciated that especially. By the time Cody was finished going over his daily routine with Logan, an entire hour had passed. When Cody was finished talking, they were still at the goat field. Cody walked over to the goats' feeding area to check on how much they had eaten since he fed them earlier that morning. While he did that, Logan leaned up against the metal fence, watching the goats play around with one another in the field. The goats, as funny as they appeared, seemed to be at peace with themselves out there in the field. Each of them already understood their lots in life; they knew what their parts were. They may be stuck in one field behind four fence walls their entire lives, but as long as they had each other, why would they care? Logan found himself envying that sort of naivety. He desired for nothing more than to understand who he was in this life, what his purpose was, why he was here at all, why Jesse was no longer here and would never be here again. Logan felt that cloud of despair begin to hover over him once again as he thought about Jesse. He thought about the goats some more though. The black goat on the far left had a leafy twig twisted around one of his horns that he couldn't shake off. Logan chuckled as he watched the goat struggle endlessly with that stupid twig, shaking his head like a maraca. As he watched more and more, his chuckle turned into more of a soft laugh. At this point, Cody walked up and stood beside Logan, leaning up against the fence himself. "Oh, you looking at Elroy over there?" Cody asked with a chuckle. "That stupid turd always manages to get something caught on his horns. Keeps him occupied I guess." "That's his name? Elroy?" Logan asked. "Yeah. That goat was your grandpa's favorite. Elroy was born a few months before your grandpa died. He was born with problems in his legs. He couldn't walk very good. Sometimes not at all. Your grandpa let that damn baby goat stay in the house till he could learn to walk by himself." "You're kidding. My grandpa? That's hard to swallow." "Yeah, you're telling me. Paul showed more compassion for that stupid goat than he did for anything or anyone else I ever saw him around." "Hmm..." Logan grunted simply. "Well, it's about time for me to get back home," Cody said. "I'll drive you back to the house. Just tell Ruth I'll be here same time tomorrow morning. You'll be able to help me out with the feeding tomorrow." "Okay, cool," Logan said simply. The two of them walked back to the truck together, once again without saying a word to one another. The atmosphere between the two boys was still centered around awkwardness. Logan had hoped that by talking as they had, the uneasiness would simply vanish, but it didn't seem to help all that much anyway. They got back into the truck and then Cody drove Logan to the house. Once they arrived at the house, Logan got out of the truck, shut the door, and then Cody drove off down Henderson Road, the same road his father had left on earlier that day. Cody hadn't said goodbye or anything. He just left. Logan was beginning to wonder if his dad had made it to Portland by now. Surely he had. Would Cody talk to him tomorrow at all? Was he still that mad about what had happened? Logan walked back inside the house where his grandmother was sitting in her recliner watching the news. Logan informed her that Cody had gone home and would come back the next morning at the same time as usual. That's when Ruth told Logan he'd have to wake up at six in the morning to help Cody feed all the animals. Logan wasn't particularly fond of that idea. With that, Logan headed upstairs to work on his bedroom. He still hadn't unpacked most of his stuff yet. He and his dad had carried all of his boxes into his new bedroom (what used to be his dad's bedroom when he was a kid) shortly after they arrived the day before. Since then, he had only unpacked his clothes and placed them in their respective places such as the closet or the dresser. About thirty minutes later, as Logan had already dragged everything out of the boxes, Ruth came up and helped him clean up and place everything where it all needed to go: toys in the toy-box, books and movies on the shelves, Logan's television set on top of the empty space on the dresser, his VCR next to the television, the rest of his clothes either in the closet, dresser, or dirty clothes hamper, his toiletries in the bathroom which was connected to the bedroom, and the miscellaneous items wherever they saw fit. It took them a little over three hours to get the bedroom straightened up completely. Once they were finished, it was already close to five o'clock in the evening. Ruth and her grandson stood at the doorway of the bedroom, admiring their teamwork to get the bedroom all unpacked, organized, and then cleaned up. "Why, look at this," Ruth said happily. "I think we did a good job here, grandson." "Yeah," Logan said. "It looks really good." "You hungry, baby?" the woman asked sweetly. "Yeah, a little." "Well, how's about I cook us up some spaghetti and meatballs? That sound good to you? And maybe some garlic toast." "Sure, I love spaghetti! That's my favorite." "I know it's your favorite. That's why I bought enough to make spaghetti for a thousand starving marines." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Logan thoroughly enjoyed the evening with his grandmother. Ruth was like no other grandma anyone could ever imagine. Ruth, at sixty-two years old now, was a very fun person to hang out with. She was a quite conservative woman by nature, but she was fun to talk to and she loved having fun, especially with her grandchildren. After she and Logan ate spaghetti and meatballs in the living room together while watching an episode of Friends, the two of them went out on the speedboat while there was still daylight to be used. Ruth drove the boat at its top speed over the lake's water, Logan sitting on the cushioned bench holding onto the railing for dear life, praying she wouldn't hit a wave hard enough to flip the boat at damn near fifty miles per hour. They drove over the water for a good fifteen minutes, putting them pretty far away from home. Ruth drove the speedboat into an isolated cove and then anchored it. Logan could see other people out on the lake boating, tubing, water-skiing, and a couple of people were even parasailing. No one was in this large cove though. It was just the two of them here. Logan and Ruth grabbed a few noodle floats out of one of the cubbies and then they both jumped into the water off the stern of the boat, each of them holding onto three noodles. Ruth placed the noodles under her in a way that she could sit on them and float. Logan had his three noodles latched under his arms so he could float on them. It was so relaxing to just float in the water, listening to the cranes and doves overhead, the distant roaring of speedboats and jet-skis out in the main waters. Logan wished his dad was here with them on this beautiful evening. More than that, he wished Jesse was here with them. He was glad to be having such a good time with his grandmother, just the two of them, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something important was missing. He knew that important thing was his brother. "Have you enjoyed yourself so far, sweetheart?" Ruth asked, still floating on top of her three noodles, her whole body moving in rhythmic motions up and down along with the small waves. It looked sort of funny to Logan, but he suspected he looked much the same on his own three floaties. "I really have, so far," Logan said truthfully. "I guess I didn't really think I would at first, but I've had a good time so far." "Honey, what was the deal between you and Cody earlier?" Ruth asked curiously. "I mean, the two of you seemed to get along fine the other times you were out here. And you boys talked to one another at Jesse's funeral." "Uhm, we just don't really know each other all that well, Grandma," Logan lied. "I think we'll be more talkative around each other later on." "I sure hope so, cause Cody's a very nice boy. He and his family were always very close to me and your grandfather and they still are close to me, and I would really like to see Cody take you under his wing a little, teach you how to do a few things that you didn't have opportunities to learn back in Louisiana." "Oh. Well, like I said, Grandma, I'm sure we'll get along okay later on." "You'll pretty much have to anyway," Ruth said. "You two'll be spending a lot of time together this summer since he works for me and you now live here. Speaking of the Haynes', I invited Cody, his parents Linda and Jack – you met Jack in Baton Rouge at Jesse's funeral – their thirteen year old daughter Katherine and Cody's girlfriend Darlene all over for dinner on the houseboat for Friday evening. In fact, I think I may ask them to just stay overnight and we can all just sleep on the houseboat for the night. Then we can spend Saturday on the water. Doesn't that sound nice?" "Yeah, sure, Grandma. That sounds... nice." Darlene, Cody's girlfriend. Cody had a girlfriend. Not surprising, Logan thought to himself. He knew Cody was completely the type of guy who would always have a girl at his side. After all, according to his grandmother, he was the star quarterback of his football team at the school, not to mention one of the most popular, good-looking boys there. And he was just too handsome not to have a girlfriend. She's probably a beautiful, but skanky girl, Logan thought to himself. The kind of girl that everyone thinks is all sweet and innocent, but is actually a closet slut. Logan was beginning to wonder if this whole houseboat idea was such a good one. Being stuck out on the open waters all night Friday and all day Saturday with Cody? And his girlfriend? Something about this idea just sounded too depressing to Logan. Most likely, Logan would be stuck having to entertain Katherine, Cody's thirteen year old sister who probably closely resembled a horny toad, while Cody and his girlfriend sat on the lower deck of the houseboat making out fiercely, much like a couple of aroused lovesick bunnies. Logan and Ruth floated in the water for another hour just talking about anything and everything. They had discussed the school situation in which Logan would be starting at the only school in town where every child in Twillingate Shore from pre-k to twelfth grade attended, since there weren't enough kids to have more than one school anyway. They had also discussed Logan's dad's plan about taking them to Europe next summer, how lovely that would be and how relaxing. They talked about everything really as they floated in the lake water next to the boat. Finally, the sun was beginning to set. Ruth suggested that they head back home, since they both had an early morning coming up. Ruth and Logan climbed back into the boat, put the floaties away, and then Logan sat down on the bench, ready to grab a tight hold of the railing once again for the boat ride home. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Logan's grandmother turned in for the night after the two of them finished watching a movie together in the living room. After Ruth went to bed, Logan stayed up for a little while longer, deciding he wanted to watch another movie before bed. He walked over to his grandmother's movie shelf and began to browse through the tapes. He noticed a few DVDs sitting in the top corner of the shelf. His father still hadn't bought a DVD player yet. He said they were still far too expensive. He didn't know his grandmother had one. Logan glanced over at the entertainment center. Sure enough, there was a big DVD player sitting next to the VCR. Too bad there were no movies in DVD that Logan could possibly stand to watch. All the movies on DVD that his grandmother owned seemed to be the old type movies that only grandparents would watch voluntarily. Logan resumed looking through the VHS tapes once again. He came across a VHS copy of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. "Oh, hell yeah," Logan said out loud to no one in particular. Logan grabbed the movie and deposited the tape into the VHS player. As the movie's beginning credits started, Logan popped some kettle corn and poured himself a glass of Coco Cola. Once he was settled with his snacks and drink, he plopped down onto his grandmother's huge, comfortable sofa and watched the movie, munching slowly on the popcorn and occasionally sipping from his glass of cola. He had always loved Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, ever since he was a toddler. He knew it was one of Jesse's favorite movies as well. They had once owned their own VHS copy of this movie, but they had watched it so many times over the years that it eventually wore out. Logan softly sang along with all of the songs, as he knew every word to each song by heart, particularly the scenes in which the "oompa loompas" chanted their tunes of screwed up morality advice. As he watched the movie, he began to wish Jesse was with him watching this. He knew, in some strange way, that Jesse was in fact with him, watching the movie and singing along with the songs, just as Logan was doing. That comforted him on some level, no matter how weird or creepy it could potentially seem to others. At the very end of the movie, when Willy Wonka, Charlie, and Grandpa Joe are in the "Wonkavator," Logan noticed something that he had never before seen, something that he figured he would have caught at some point during one of the thousand other times he had seen this movie. When Charlie (Peter Ostrum) leans in to give Willy Wonka (Gene Wilder) a hug inside the "Wonkavator," the waistband of Charlie's underwear is perfectly displayed. Logan couldn't hardly believe it! He had never noticed this before! He grabbed the remote control and pressed the rewind button. He paused the movie at the moment in which he could see Charlie's underwear again. There they were! Charlie's underwear was completely visible! Logan couldn't tell what kind they were though, not that that mattered. Logan felt a sudden stirring inside his shorts at this mesmerizing sight on the television. He recognized this stirring very well. Jesse had explained the concepts of erections and masturbation to him about a year before. At that time, Logan still wasn't able to fully enjoy masturbation, but Jesse had told him several different ways in which it could be done so that he could start doing it as soon as his body would let him. About a month before Jesse died, Logan had finally achieved orgasm. He remembered being so excited about it that he ran across the hall to his brother's room with his pants down just to show Jesse the very thin, but present stream of cum that had spurted from his own small, preteen penis. Jesse said he was happy for him, but that he would "beat the crap" out of him if he ever came into his bedroom again with his pants down like that. Feeling as if he could no longer contain himself, Logan stopped the movie and pressed the rewind button. He quickly turned off the television set, set his empty popcorn bowl and drinking glass in the kitchen sink, turned off the lights downstairs, and headed upstairs towards his new bedroom, careful not to make too much noise that would disturb his grandmother. When he got to his bedroom, he closed the door and locked it. As soon as his door was locked, Logan turned on his bedside lamp and began to shed his clothes. He stripped his t-shirt and white undershirt off in one motion and dropped them to the floor carelessly. He kicked his shoes and socks off, not concerned about where they landed on the floor. Finally, he unfastened his jean shorts, pushed them down to his ankles, and then kicked them off onto the floor as well. Now wearing nothing besides his small, white, Fruit of the Loom briefs, he leaped onto the bed and landed on his back. He made himself comfortable on the bed and immediately began to rub his little boner through the white, cotton material of his briefs. As he rubbed his penis through his underwear, he closed his eyes and fantasized about being inside the "Wonkavator" with Charlie, alone – no Willy Wonka or Grandpa Joe to interrupt them while they floated in the air together. He imagined placing his hand onto Charlie's crotch. Charlie was looking back at him and smiling, without saying a word. Logan continued to rub his little member through his briefs as he fantasized. He imagined unfastening Charlie's jeans and then pushing the jeans down to the boy's ankles, leaving him in just his own white briefs and the blue long-sleeved shirt he had been wearing in the movie. Logan imagined getting down on his knees in front of Charlie Bucket, his eyes now level with the boy's crotch, which was pouching very nicely within the confines of his briefs. Logan imagined leaning in and kissing Charlie's crotch through the cotton underwear. He imagined sucking a little at the pouch. Deciding it was finally time to get down to business, Logan imagined hooking his thumbs into the waistband of Charlie's briefs, and then pulling them down without hesitation, Charlie still smiling down at Logan brightly. Logan's fantasies began to run wild with him. He could no longer take it. Logan clasped his thumbs into the FTL waistband of his white underwear and quickly pushed them down to his ankles. Without wasting any time, Logan immediately grasped the small shaft of his boner with his right hand and began to stroke it fiercely, still letting his imagination run free. The sensation was so utterly amazing; Logan knew this session wouldn't last very long at all. This sparkling new fantasy of his was something he felt he would be able to recycle and use for another session later on. "Auhhhh...oohhhh...ggggoooodd..." Logan mumbled as he continued to stroke his member with intensity. Logan felt a tiny bit of slightly viscous pre-cum streaming from his piss slit down into his right hand and over his shaft, helping to naturally lubricate his boner. This extra measure only intensified the sensations Logan was already experiencing as he jacked his hard penis up and down with his right hand. Logan's eyes were still closed. His preteen fantasies were still at work one hundred and ten percent, which would assist him in achieving orgasm pretty soon. Little beads of sweat were beginning to collect on the nape of his neck, dampening his longish hair as he masturbated. Logan looked down at his raging hard-on as he stroked it ferociously; it was a reddish color now, no longer white and fleshy as the rest of his skin looked. Logan closed his eyes again, allowing his fantasies to take him over once more. At last, Logan's hormone-driven fantasies sent him over the edge, causing his orgasm to not only take place, but to do so at an obnoxious level of power. Little droplets of cum erupted from his small boner like bullets out of a paintball gun. The first several droplets landed on Logan's chest between his two small nipples. Several more droplets landed sporadically on the boy's bare abdomen. The last couple of droplets spurted out and flowed down the length of his shaft, collecting at his pubic area and around his scrotum, which had not yet begun to develop any hair. Logan continued milking his penis, his mouth opened slightly in complete ecstasy, his breathing becoming heavy in order to catch up with his now fatigued young body. Once the pleasurable sensations subsided completely, Logan ceased the stroking and then opened his eyes. He was shocked at how much cum he had produced this go-around. He wasn't sure if he had ever shot this much before. He wished he had someone open-minded around that he could share this exciting news with. But he knew it was probably better not to talk about it out loud anyway. Within a few seconds of looking at the mess he had made on himself, he began to feel different about himself. He was suddenly no longer excited about sharing the news with anyone that he had achieved such a big, powerful orgasm. He actually felt guilty in a way now, as if he had just committed some horrible, unspeakable deed by masturbating. They spoke out against masturbation in church. Logan was beginning to wonder why. Was he meant to have these feelings of self-reproach? Was it a natural post-ejaculatory emotion instilled by God Himself? Was that why the churches were constantly speaking out against masturbation? Logan felt somewhat disgusted with himself now, even though he had no idea why. Logan leaned over the bed towards the floor and grabbed one of his discarded socks which lay carelessly to the side of his bed, careful not to let any of his boyjuices come into contact with his bedspread as he leaned over. Once he had retrieved the sock, he lied back down and began to clean himself up. He wiped the cum off his chest, his abdomen, and then he wiped the sock around his hairless pubic region, making sure he cleaned every last bit of the white, sticky mess. Once he was cleaned up, he reached down and pulled his white briefs back up. He got up from the bed, walked over to his dresser and retrieved his pajamas and a clean pair of briefs. Afterward, he went into his bathroom to take a shower, still feeling somewhat dirty in a way; and not just because he had spent the evening swimming in the lake either. He turned on the water of his shower and adjusted the water temperature to his liking. Once he was satisfied with the heat of the water, Logan stripped off his dirty underwear, threw them into the hamper next to the toilet, and then jumped into the shower. He cleaned himself in the hot water of the shower very wholeheartedly, still feeling unclean and ashamed of himself. Logan's shower lasted for about twenty minutes. He had let his body saturate in the steaming water after he had already soaped himself down twice, hoping that the hot water and soap would rinse these feelings away. He couldn't put a finger on it, but he felt sickeningly guilty, as if he had committed a serious crime and now would face jail time for it. He started thinking about the spiritual aspects of these feelings once again, still wondering if a higher being had personally implanted these emotions in Logan's mind. Feeling silly for thinking such things, Logan finally got out of the shower and dried off. Once he was dry, he put on a clean pair of white briefs. He started to put on his pajamas, but decided against it since he would end up just taking them off in a few minutes anyway to go to bed. He hadn't slept with pajamas on since he was about seven years old, so he wasn't about to start again now. With his pajamas in hand, he walked back into his bedroom, placed his pajamas back in his dresser drawer, grabbed Jesse's blue monkey from the dresser, and then he climbed into bed. He snuggled up under the covers, the rather cold feeling of the clean sheets reacting with his hot skin, sending shivers up his back after having just soaked in the hot water of his shower for half an hour. Once he was comfortable in his bed, he could feel the thrall of sleep beginning to work its magic on his young body. He used his remote control to turn on the television set. There was an episode of I Love Lucy on. He had always loved this show. He remembered watching several episodes at the hospital before Jesse passed away. He placed the remote back down on the nightstand, turned his bedside lamp off, and cuddled with the blue monkey as he allowed Mr. Sandman to do his job and put him to sleep for the night. Within a matter of three or four minutes, Logan was fast asleep, the television still playing, Jesse's blue monkey cradled in the boy's arms, the rhythmic breathing of the eleven year old boy becoming heavier and deeper. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - The next morning was brutal for Logan. He felt drowsy for the first several hours of the day after his grandmother got him up at six o'clock in the morning, only a few hours after Logan had actually gone to sleep in the first place. Cody had come over for breakfast, as he usually did on the days he worked for Ruth. Logan wondered why Cody didn't join them for breakfast the day before, but then he realized it was probably planned that way since Richard was there and preparing to say his goodbyes before heading to Portland. During breakfast on this bright morning, Ruth and Cody were both wide awake and ready to start the day as they sat at the table eating their breakfasts happily. Logan, on the other hand, sat at his end of the table during breakfast with his forehead resting flat on the hard surface of the table, his long, blond hair swooped over both sides of his face, shielding his eyes from the bright light of the sun coming in through the kitchen windows. After breakfast, Ruth, Cody, and an exhausted Logan got into Cody's old Chevy and drove down to the barn to start the normal morning routine. On the very short drive down the road to the barn, Logan was leaning his head in the corner between the seat and the window, still striving to get whatever sleep he could muster out before having to become a farmhand against his will. When they arrived at the barn, Cody parked the truck and immediately got out, ready to start the feeding. Just another day on the farm for Cody. Ruth stayed behind trying to awake Logan, who had already fallen back asleep successfully just within the two minutes it took to drive from the house to the barn. "Well, Logan, honey, I'm gonna have to get the hose out on you if you don't get up," Ruth threatened. "Now, I told you you'd have to be up by six, and you stayed up to watch movies all night anyway." Logan just grunted some random words inaudibly. "C'mon, boy, get up!" Ruth said as she attempted to shake the boy awake. Finally, Logan woke up and slinked out of the truck with Ruth. His grandmother told him to shadow Cody so he could get a good feel for how the feeding routine was to be carried out. Ruth headed over to the chicken coop across the way to collect any eggs that had been laid overnight. Logan joined Cody in the horse section of the barn. Cody was beginning to feed and water each horse in their individual stalls. He told Logan to follow his example and start watering and feeding the horses in the stalls on the other side of the aisle. Still only half awake, Logan began to follow suit, feeding and watering the horses on the opposite side of Cody. By the time Logan finished with his side of the aisle, Cody had long finished watering and feeding his horses and was now cleaning up, making sure the feed was properly secured where rodents couldn't get into it and that the water hose was turned off. Logan took mental note that Cody was still not really talking to him. He only spoke to him when it had to do with the feeding routine, and that was it. Cody was wearing a pair of blue jeans, a maroon novelty t-shirt tucked into his jeans, a pair of cowboy boots, and cowboy hat, and a belt with a embroidered buckle on it the size of Cody's hand. Cody's longish blond hair was all wavy, the tips hanging out freely from underneath the cowboy hat. Logan thought it looked really... sexy... in weird way. Logan's hair was long, but not as long as Cody's. He was beginning to think about growing his hair out like that. Logan wondered what he would look like in a cowboy hat. He figured he wouldn't be able to pull off wearing a cowboy hat though. After all, he was far too much of a city boy. He wished Cody would talk to him again. Perhaps he should be the one to start up a conversation though. After all, Logan thought, he was the one who had started this whole ordeal with Cody in the first place, so he should be the one to apologize and make things better. He decided he would try to bring it up if he got a few moments alone with Cody that day. A few hours passed. Cody had taught Logan hands-on how to feed the horses, the goats, the turkeys, and the chickens. Then Cody taught him how to clean the different animal sections, all the utensils used to feed the animals, and then where to put everything after they used them. Cleaning was what took the most time and effort, Logan noted. Ruth had long since collected all the fresh eggs from the chicken coop and then she walked back to the house to store the eggs and start doing her normal housework. Cody and Logan had been alone for a while now, but Logan hadn't yet gathered the needed courage to talk to Cody about what had happened between the two of them back in Baton Rouge. Once the boys were finished feeding the chickens, Cody said it was time to feed the cattle out in the field. Cody drove the truck behind the barn where he had stacks upon stacks of cattle feed bags. He and Logan stacked four of the sixty-pound bags of feed into the bed of the truck. With that, Cody drove the truck into the field towards the cattle. Logan took note of the cows out in the field. They all knew Cody's truck. They were following in the general direction of the truck. They knew Cody's truck meant it was time to eat. Logan thought that was interesting how cows knew such things. Once Cody had all of the cows in the field following him as he coasted through the field slowly, he stopped the truck and got out. Logan followed, not sure what they were about to do. Cody jumped up over the side of the truck bed, opened one of the sixty-pound bags, and picked it up as easily as he could have picked up an inflated beach ball. The older boy was rather slim, with small arms, but he was very strong, Logan noticed. Cody dumped the entire bag of cattle feed over the side of the truck, letting all of it pile up on the ground. The cows rushed to feed as if they would never see food ever again. "Logan, you might wanna climb up into the bed with me here," Cody warned. "I'm about to dump another bag where you're standing, and trust me, you don't wanna be standing there when the cows see the food." "Oh, okay," Logan said as he climbed over the side of the truck bed. Once he was in the bed of the truck, he grabbed one of the bags of feed as best as he could and opened the top of it for Cody out of courtesy. Afterward, he caught Cody's eyes and grinned lightly at the older boy, hoping to finally begin smoothing things over with him. "Thanks," Cody said, almost with a tremor of surprise in his voice. Cody picked up the bag that Logan had just opened and then dumped it over the side of the truck where Logan had been standing only a minute before. Cody was right, Logan thought. The cows stampeded to the pile of food when they saw it there. They immediately began to push each other out of the way for just a few bites of the feed. As the cows began to eat, Logan opened the top of the third bag for Cody and then tried to push it towards the older boy. He was sure he weighed more than the bag of feed, but he realized it wasn't by more than about twenty pounds maximum. Logan was very small for his age and he knew it. But regardless, he tried to scoot the bag closer to Cody. Cody chuckled in actual appreciation of Logan's efforts to move the bag closer to him, picked up the bag as if it weighed nothing, and then dumped in over the back of the truck for the cows. By the time they finished feeding the cows, Cody said it was time to let the horses out of the stable for a little while. Logan was actually looking forward to this part. He didn't particularly care much for feeding, watering, and cleaning up after the horses at seven o'clock in the morning, but he was sure watching them run around freely in the field would be the highlight of this whole farmhand experience. Logan and Cody got into the truck while the cows continued to eat the cattle feed. Cody slowly drove the truck away, careful not to startle any of the cows that were still eating. Cody drove back to the barn and then they headed together back to the horse stable. When they got to the barn, Cody explained what all needed to be done to let the horses out into the field safely. First off, Cody opened the gate to the large horse field. He told Logan to close the gate that led from the barn entrance yard to the horse yard. Logan did what he was told without question. Afterward, Cody explained step-by-step what was to be done in order to safely release a horse to the pasture from their stalls, while he tied quick-release knots in a few large ropes using a fence post for support. Cody told Logan to stand aside out of the way while he brought the first horse out of the stall, and just watch closely to see how to release the horse once they made it past the gate to the field. Logan stood to the side when Cody walked out of the stall with a horse at his side, basically leashed by one of the ropes he had pre-tied. Cody walked the horse slowly towards the open gate, talking to the horse in a childish, but soothing voice. He walked the horse a little ways past the gate, and then stopped. Cody petted the horse softly, saying "good girl" over and over. Finally, Cody released the rope, setting the horse free into the large field. Logan half expected to see the horse jerk away in excitement and run off in freedom. Instead, the horse simply trotted away peacefully towards the open field, knowing she had plenty of time and space in which to enjoy her freedom without pissing off her owners at the same time. Cody headed back towards the barn to retrieve the next horse. "Did you see how that was done?" Cody asked as he walked towards the barn. "Yeah," Logan said. "Looks kinda hard to do." "Takes a lot of practice, but I could have you doing this by yourself as soon as next week as long as you do what I tell you," Cody said before disappearing inside the barn. From inside the barn, Cody began to talk again. "Hey, just stay there and watch me do it one more time. After that, you can walk with me and help me with the rest of them." "Okay," Logan said loud enough for Cody to hear. Logan walked over towards the fence that overlooked the horse field. He leaned up against the fence and watched as Cody came out of the barn, another horse at his side awaiting its freedom to run around the field for a little bit. Logan watched the whole process once again, finding Cody's farming experience and wisdom to be a turn-on in a way. Logan hadn't thought about it that way before though. He was seriously beginning to wonder about himself as he leaned over the fence watching the older boy release the second horse. After Cody released the horse, he walked back into the horse yard from the field and motioned for Logan to follow him. The younger boy stood idly by as Cody gently tied the quick-release knotted rope around the third horse's mouth. Once the horse was secured, Cody brought the horse out of its stall and began to walk. Logan followed closely behind Cody. "Here, hold my hand while we walk the horse to the field," Cody said, sticking out his hand for Logan to grasp. "Just in case the horse freaks out and we have to jerk out of the way for anything, you know?" "Oh, okay then," Logan said simply. Logan placed his hand into Cody's nervously and wrapped his fingers around Cody's large hand. Cody wrapped his fingers around the smaller boy's hand and then they continued walking the horse towards the field. As they walked, Logan tried to imagine what they would look like to some stranger who was walking by, a younger boy holding the hand of an older teenage boy. It couldn't look normal. Logan found delight in the secure feeling of having his hand held by Cody though. Although he knew it was for a practical reason, he couldn't help but feel special, as if Cody had chosen him above all in some ways. Cody's hand felt kind of sweaty, but reliable and protective all the same. They walked the rest of the way to the field hand in hand, with the horse to their side. When they made it to the field, Cody released Logan's hand, told him to step aside, and then he released the horse to go play in the field for a little while. The two boys walked back to the barn and repeated the whole process over again: tying the horse, walking the horse to the field hand in hand, then releasing the horse out into the pasture. This process continued for what seemed like an eternity until all nine horses were safely released into the field to play. After all the horses were released, Cody closed the gate and locked it, then the boys walked over to the fence staring out into the horse pasture. Cody and Logan stood side by side, both of them leaning up against the fence overlooking the horse pasture. Both boys were watching the horses run around gracefully, each of the horses likely praising Mother Nature for the chance to get out and enjoy the fresh summer air for a little while. "Horses are so beautiful," Logan said as he stared off dreamily into the field. "They are God's most noble creatures," Cody said, reinforcing Logan's statement. "Hmm, makes sense," Logan said. "They're all, like, graceful and stuff." The two boys stood in silence, both of them staring at the horses in the field. Logan knew this was the time to bring up what they needed to discuss. There would be no better time on this day than now to do so. As the words began to flood inside Logan's mind, his heart began to pound harder out of fear and anxiousness. He couldn't believe how nervous he was now to talk to Cody about it. He certainly hadn't been nervous to bring it up as abruptly as he did back in Baton Rouge. "Cody...?" Logan started. "Yeah?" Cody acknowledged without taking his eyes off the horses. "Umm... I was thinking... I was thinking that, you know, that like, we should... you know... ... you know?" Logan stumbled all over his words. Cody slowly turned his head around to face Logan, a confused expression draped across his face. "No, Logan, can't say I do know," Cody said simply. "Might help if you actually said what you mean, you know?" "Yeah... I know," Logan said. "It's just that... well, this is kinda hard for me to say is all. I mean, I was thinking about what I said to you... you know, back in Baton Rouge? The thing about my brother and you? You know..." "Yeah, I remember," Cody said. "I know you do. Who could forget something like that, right?" "Well, what is it that you wanna talk about?" "Uhmm, well, mostly, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what I said about you and... and my brother, you know. I was kinda, like, out of my mind that day? So, I just wanted to tell you that. I'm sorry, I mean." "Oh. Well, Logan, I'm glad you said that. I really am, but just so you understand, I wasn't upset that you brought that up. It was just the way you brought it up." "What do you mean?" Cody took a deep breath. "Logan, I'll have this conversation with you, but on one condition. You can't get all pissy on me and you can't go blabbing about this stuff to anyone else." "That's two conditions." "Fine then, those two conditions. Okay?" "Fair enough, I guess. Tell me everything. I promise I won't get mad or anything." "Okay. Well, you already know me and your brother were close back when we were younger. I mean, I don't doubt that you saw us kissing. We did that... a lot, actually." "Seriously?" "We sure did. To be honest with you, we did a whole hell of a lot more than that too back then." "What, like sex stuff?" "Can you handle this kind of talk? For real?" "I can handle it just fine," Logan said. "You and Jesse did sex stuff together?" "Almost every time we saw each other, yeah," Cody said. "Well, like, what kind of sex stuff?" "You really wanna know?" "Well... yeah." "Everything. We did everything together. Whatever we already knew about and whatever else we could think of, we did it." "When? I mean, when did ya'll start doing that?" "Oh, we started a long, long time ago. Actually, we started playing games like `doctor' when we were like eight. After that, our little games turned into... well... I guess it turned into a sort of love." That word. Logan suddenly got quiet, thinking about Cody's use of that particular word. Cody used that word to describe what he felt for his big brother. How come Jesse had never mentioned anything about this before? When he was still alive, Jesse and Logan talked about everything together; or at least, Logan thought they did. "You love Jesse?" Logan asked. "What? Oh, well, yeah, I loved Jesse. Not really in the way you're thinking about it though. Jesse was more like... well, we were more like brothers; you know, the way two close brothers love each other." "Brothers don't do sex stuff with each other." "No, you're right. But what I mean is, that's what our love for each other was like. It wasn't like the kind of love you have for a girlfriend or a boyfriend. Me and Jesse, we liked doing the sex stuff with each other. But it wasn't because we were in love with each other. The sex stuff... well, this sounds weird to say, but... the sex stuff was mostly just fun to do. You know, like, it was something we could do with each other as good friends without having to be all ashamed about it and shit later on." "Oh. Well, if you put it that way, I guess it makes more sense. But Jesse never talked about it with me." "That's because it was a secret. Did you always tell your secrets to Jesse?" "Almost all the time! I mean, there were a few things I didn't tell him about. But that's because I knew he wouldn't care." "Well, either way, people keep secrets from each other sometimes. And that's not really a bad thing, to be honest with you. I mean, what if Jesse told you about what me and him did together? What would you've said?" Logan shrugged slightly. He hadn't thought of it this way before. "I dunno," Logan said simply. "But I know I wouldn't've hated him or anything." "Do you think Jesse would've hated you if you told him all of your secrets?" "Jesse wouldn't hate me for anything. Just like I wouldn't hate him." "Well, there you go. Secrets aren't a bad thing to have. Sometimes, it's better to keep things secret. Keeps you out of trouble for one thing. And it keeps people you love from getting hurt, you know?" "Yeah... did you and my brother ever talk? Like on the phone or anything?" "Nope. Last time I saw him or even talked to him was three years ago when you guys spent the summer here." "Did you miss him?" "Well... yeah... in a way, I guess. I mean, Logan, like I said before, Jesse and I weren't in love. We were just really good friends is all, who just happened to like having sex with one another." "Oh. Well, anyway, I just wanted you to know that I'm sorry for the way I said that stuff to you in Baton Rouge. I mean, I think you're a cool guy, and I really don't want you to be mad at me anymore." "I'm good if you're good," Cody said with a grin on his face. "Okay. I'm good then." Cody stuck his hand out towards Logan for a handshake. Logan grasped the older boy's hand and they shook on it. Once again, Logan felt that feeling of security as his hand was wrapped under Cody's. As they shook hands, Logan looked up into Cody's green eyes. Logan couldn't get over how much this older boy reminded him of Jesse. Not only did Cody resemble his brother in a strange way; Cody also had a tendency to act like Jesse in ways: certain phrases he would use, or different ways he carried himself. After they shook hands, they leaned against the fence, and continued in silence to gaze at the horses prancing through the field, free as eagles. The sight was spectacular and peaceful all the same. Logan imagined himself as one of those horses, sprinting without restraint through a wide open field, the Oregon forests and mountains in the backdrop behind the limits of the land. Logan stood watching this, feeling like a very lucky person suddenly. He was now able to see nature's beauty every day if he wanted to, without ever having to pay for it. "Well, it's already half past noon," Cody said, looking down at his wristwatch. "I bet Ruth's already got lunch waiting for us by now. You ready?" "Sure, I'm starving," Logan said. With that, the two of them turned around and headed towards the truck. "Yeah, I'll bet you're hungry," Cody said as they walked towards the truck. "You didn't hardly touch your breakfast this morning. You looked like a little midget zombie." "You calling me short?" Logan asked. "If the shoe fits." "God, you even sound like my brother sometimes." "What?" "You know, you kinda look like Jesse?" "Yeah, we got that a lot back in the day. Some people thought we were brothers or maybe close cousins or something." "You sometimes sound like him too. He used to call me a midget and stuff like that." "Well, who wouldn't?? You're tiny for eleven years old." "Shut up! I'll grow up when I damn well ready." Both boys chuckled as they climbed into the truck. Cody drove them back down Henderson Road to the house for lunch. When they got to the house, sure enough, Ruth had already made sandwiches and they were sitting on the table for them. As the three of them ate lunch together, Cody regaled the woman with the story of Logan's learning to do the farm work. He said Logan did a great job in most of the areas, but just needed some more practice is all. Cody further said that he could probably start teaching Logan to ride a horse by the next week. Ruth seemed impressed with her grandson's progress. She had secretly worried that Logan wouldn't be able to handle the sort of work Cody and herself were so used to. She could recall the summers in which Jesse and Logan stayed with her; Logan especially would always avoid doing work outside. He seemed to be coming along very nicely now though. "Well, Logan, I'm glad to see that you're enjoying yourself here," Ruth said. "I knew having Cody teach you this stuff would make it easier since he's closer to your age. More so than I am anyway." "It was fun actually," Logan said. "I can't wait to learn to ride the horses. They're all so pretty." "They sure are," Ruth agreed. "You know, horses were always your grandpa's favorite animals. In fact, he took me to a horse race for our very first date." "He did?" Logan asked. "Oh yeah... your grandpa loved anything to do with horses," Ruth said. "Cody, what're you planning to do after lunch? You going home for a while before letting the horses back in?" "I don't know," Cody said. "I was actually kinda thinking about going swimming for a while. It's hot outside today: all muggy and crap." "Oh, I know, it's very humid today," Ruth agreed. "Well, I was gonna see if Logan would like to come swimming with me," Cody said. "Oh sure!" Logan said. "I'll go with you." "You boys can take the speedboat out for a little while if you want to," Ruth offered. "It's not windy at all, so the water should be relatively calm." "Okay, thanks Ruth," Cody said. "I'll go to my house after lunch and change into my swim suit." After lunch, Cody left to go change into his swim suit. Meanwhile, Logan went upstairs to his bedroom to change into his own suit. In his bedroom, Logan grabbed his flowery blue and yellow swim shorts from his dresser drawer. He took his clothes off except for his white FTL briefs. He had to wear his underwear under his swim shorts, because the shorts themselves were far too loose. Otherwise, he would be exposing too much skin. He pulled his swim shorts up and looked at himself in the mirror of his dresser. He began to wonder if the shorts were getting bigger and bigger over time. They seemed even more loose today than they did the day before when he and his grandmother went out on the boat. There was far more underwear showing this time; the top of the hemmed fly was almost exposed. Logan pushed the underwear down until all that was left exposed was the elastic waistband, just so it wouldn't look so weird. Then again, it would be just him and Cody. Perhaps he could get away with not wearing underwear under the swim trunks at all. Cody probably wouldn't care. After all, he was a guy himself. After thinking about it for a few seconds, Logan decided against it. He figured it would just look a little too racy to wear these swim trunks without underwear under them. He made a mental note to ask his grandmother for new trunks when they went to town for anything. Logan put on a t-shirt, slipped on his flip flops, and grabbed one of his beach towels from his bathroom. With that, he was ready. He headed downstairs to wait for Cody to come back. Cody arrived at the house a few minutes later wearing a clean, white, sleeveless shirt, a pair of red and white flowery swim shorts, and flip flops. He wasn't wearing his cowboy hat anymore. He had a beach towel slung over his shoulder. Logan thought he looked a lot like a surfer now, a teenage boy more fit to hang out on the California beach instead of a lakeside town in the middle of Oregon. Logan thought he looked really handsome this way though. His arms looked bigger now that they weren't covered by shirt sleeves. The skin on his arms and legs were tanned quite nicely. "You ready for this?" Cody asked. "Yeah," Logan said. "Well, why don't you boys grab some drinks and snacks from the houseboat before you go," Ruth suggested. "Cody, I have an ice chest sitting next to the refrigerator on the houseboat. You can take whatever ice is in the freezer and put it in there. There's plenty of drinks in the fridge." "Okay, cool," Cody said. "C'mon, Logan, let's get this show on the road. Ruth, we'll be back in about three hours I guess. By the time we get back and get dried off and stuff, it'll be about time to get the horses in." "Sounds okay to me," Ruth said. "You boys just take your time and have fun." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Cody anchored the speedboat in a small cove about ten miles away from Twillingate Shore. To Logan, it felt as if they had been riding forever, but Cody was persistent about going to this particular cove. It had taken them over half an hour to reach this particular cove, but when they arrived at the cove, Logan fully understood why Cody wanted to go there. The cove was far from any of the nearby towns, so there was no one in the cove except for the two of them. Not only that, but most of the cove itself – considering its small size – was shaded by the huge trees of the forest surrounding it. Logan noticed a wooden diving raft that was anchored towards the middle of the cove. He wondered why a diving raft was here in the middle of nowhere. Perhaps someone lived close to this cove behind the trees and they had placed the diving raft there? Cody anchored the boat in a very shady area of the cove between the diving raft and shore. The afternoon was scorching, but the shade of the trees cooled them down a little bit. "So what do you think?" Cody asked. "Nice little area, right?" "Yeah," Logan agreed. "There's like no one around." "Well, this is the spot me and my friends usually come to when we wanna get hammered and stuff," Cody admitted. "Hammered?" Logan asked, not familiar with the term. "Drunk." "Oh. You like getting drunk?" "Not really. But you know how it is. If your friends get drunk, then you have to too. Otherwise, you get called a pussy and get thrown overboard." "They sound like good friends." "Yeah well... you ready to jump in?" "Sure!" Without hesitation, Cody stood up from the driver's seat of the boat and stripped his shirt off. Logan sat entranced by the sight in front of him, watching this display as if it was all happening in slow motion. Cody lifted the white sleeveless shirt over his head, let it fall to the ground, and then he shook his head a little, the older boy's longish blond hair flipping around and back into place. Cody's chest was perfect, flawless, sexy in a way. Less tanned than his arms and legs – a farmer's tan really, but still somewhat tanned anyway. His torso was very slim, but much more muscular and built up than Logan would have ever imagined. He figured that came from working as hard as he did on the farm every day. He hoped to look like that himself someday. He sat staring at Cody's body in astonishment, checking out the brownish dime-sized nipples, the older boy's belly button that had little tufts of blond hair circling it and then traveling downward in a line under his swimming trunks, the otherwise smooth, hairless skin of his chest and sides, the broad shoulders, the muscular upper arms. Cody tried not to let his mouth fall, but it felt as if he was losing control of the muscles in his jaw. "You okay, buddy?" Cody asked. "Huh?" Logan asked in a daze. "I said, are you okay?" "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just got kinda dizzy or something." "Well, c'mon, get your shirt off. Let's jump in. Time's a wasting." Logan stood up from his seat and lifted his shirt over his head. He let his shirt fall to the floor next to Cody's shirt. Logan looked down and was painfully aware that the top of his white Fruit of the Looms were exposed due to his overly loose shorts. He felt a little embarrassed now. Surely Cody wouldn't care though. After all, they were both just guys hanging out and having a good time. Who cared what was exposed? Logan glanced up suddenly and caught Cody staring at him and then looking away quickly, as if he knew he had just been caught doing something wrong. Logan felt a sudden catch in his chest at the mere thought of Cody staring at him. He shook these thoughts off, realizing he was probably reading more into this than what it truly was. Logan actually felt scrawny and useless in comparison to Cody. Cody was so lean, sexy, and muscular while Logan was tiny, skinny, and so helplessly non-muscular. Logan felt like a breakable toothpick in comparison to Cody. Logan crossed his arms instinctively, trying to hide his bony chest and flat, practically concaved stomach. "These stupid shorts are so loose," Logan stated, basically just to find out what Cody would say to that. "So I noticed," Cody said. "Your tighty whities are showing bad." "I know. I need to get some new swim shorts. These things are like getting bigger every time I wear them." "Eh, it's just the two of us here right now, so who cares?" With that, Cody stepped over onto the stern of the boat and then leaped off fearlessly into the deep water. Logan looked over the side of the boat and there was no sign of Cody. He had completely disappeared under the water. And he wasn't coming back up. The water was already beginning to settle where Cody had splashed in. Logan was becoming worried. Finally, Logan saw the silhouette of Cody's body under the water, swimming gracefully towards the wooden raft in the middle of the cove. Cody reappeared at the surface a few seconds later, took a deep breath, and then swam the rest of the way to the raft. When he reached the wooden raft, he climbed up onto the floating raft and stood up. Water poured from his wet shorts and his drenched hair, making a splashing sound as it hit the wooden planks. Cody looked over at Logan who was still standing on the boat. "Hey! What're you still doing on that damn boat!?" Cody asked loudly. "Get in! The water feels great!" "Okay, I'm coming!" Logan said loudly enough for Cody to hear him. Logan stepped over onto the stern of the boat, took a deep breath, and then jumped into the water. He sliced through the surface of the water with poise and fell about six feet under water. The initial coldness of the lake water shocked Logan as he began his ascent towards the surface to catch his breath. He figured the water in this area had been in the shade so long now that it had cooled down considerably. Once he broke the surface, he swam over to the raft where Cody was sitting with his legs dangling in the water. When Logan reached the wooden raft, Cody held out his hand to help Logan out of the water. Logan grasped the older boy's hand and tried to pull himself out of the water and onto the raft. As soon as his swim trunks made it out of the water though, they were already so wet and heavy as Logan pulled himself up onto the raft that they fell down effortlessly. Logan caught the shorts around his knees, his white (almost transparent) briefs now completely exposed to Cody. Logan was now totally humiliated as he half naked body was exposed to Cody this way. Cody started laughing at Logan. He rushed to climb up onto the raft so he could pull his shorts back up. Cody was sitting there laughing so hard that it seemed as if he couldn't breathe. Logan stood up on the wooden raft and pulled his shorts back up, but they were so heavy that they just started to fall down again. "What the hell!?" Logan said angrily, causing Cody to laugh even harder. "I swear, I just wore these damn things last night and they were fine! They were loose and all, but they weren't this freaking loose!" "Hahaha!! I-I think your shorts are possessed or something!" Cody said, trying now to get his laughter under control. Logan got over his anger and started to laugh at himself. "C'mon, it's just the two of us here," Cody said, his laughing finally subsiding a little bit. "Just dump the shorts and swim in your underwear." "What!? I don't think so, Cody Haynes!" Logan protested. "Oh come on, now, I've already seen you in your underwear once, so it's not like you're hiding anything now, right?" "Cody, I'm not swimming in my underwear!" Logan said. "Hey, I'll do it too," Cody said. "I'm wearing underwear under these shorts as well." "You'll do it too then?" "Sure! It's not like anyone's gonna come up and see us. Even if someone did, they wouldn't think anything of it." "Hmm. Okay then. I'll do it only if you do it." "Fair enough." Without giving it a second thought, Cody stood up, hooked his thumbs into the waistband of his swimming shorts, and then pushed them down. He was wearing white briefs too. Hanes briefs. Logan thought his heart was going to beat out of his chest as he witnessed this sight in front of him. Cody was about the sexiest sixteen year old boy Logan had ever known before. His physique was absolutely amazing. Logan could almost see Cody's penis through the almost transparent material of his briefs. He knew he'd have to get into the water really soon, or not only would he be exposed in just his underwear, but he'd have a nice visible boner to go along with it. "Alright, I got down to my underwear," Cody said. "Your turn." "Oh okay." Without barely even touching the loose shorts, Logan pushed them down to his ankles and stepped out of them, now standing in front of Cody in nothing but his wet, white Fruit of the Looms. He knew Cody could probably see his penis through his wet underwear. He felt somewhat embarrassed, but he knew there was nothing to be embarrassed about. After all, Cody was just as exposed as Logan was now. "There!" Cody said. "Not so bad now, right?" "I guess not," Logan said. "I mean, it's kinda weird, but that's okay." "Shit, me and Jesse did stuff like this all the time back in the day," Cody said. "There were times we even swam naked." "Well, I don't plan to do that anytime soon," Logan said. "You know, we're both wearing wet tighty whities, buddy. We're practically naked already anyway," Cody said with a chuckle. "Even so, I'm not getting anymore naked than this," Logan said determinedly. "Okay, buddy, okay," Cody said with a slight chuckle. Cody stood at the edge of the raft and then jumped into the water again. Feeling that familiar stirring inside his underwear, Logan knew it was time to jump in himself. Without any hesitation, Logan jumped into the water as well. The two boys swam together for the next several hours. They spent a considerable amount of time climbing up onto the raft and diving back off. They had a splashing contest in the water, seeing who could make a bigger splash, but eventually it turned into a splash fight between the two of them. Cody, being the bigger of the two boys, dominated the younger boy in the splash fight without much strife, but Logan didn't give up too easily. After they were tired of doing that, Cody swam back to the boat and retrieved some noodle floaties for them. With that, the two of them floated on the noodles in the water between the boat and the raft for almost an hour, just talking about anything that came to mind. They talked about horses, movies, the upcoming weekend on the houseboat, Cody's approaching junior year of high school, Logan's approaching seventh grade year of junior high (which would be in the same school as Cody's school anyway), and anything else they could come up with. It was the most fun Logan had had in a long time. A few days before, he would have never imagined himself swimming in the lake with Cody, just the two of them, in nothing but their underwear no less. But Logan no longer worried about being exposed to Cody. There was something about this older boy that intrigued him, something he didn't quite understand. Cody was able to give off that vibe of security that Logan had been yearning for since Jesse's death. Logan felt comfortable with Cody. There was something more to it than that though. He felt an attraction towards this older boy, a lure of some kind that Logan wasn't particularly familiar with. He found himself sneaking glances at Cody's body, his perfect skin, that handsome smile. He felt his heart fluttering within the confines of his chest, as if his beating heart had metamorphosed into a butterfly. The sound of Cody's voice made his head spin. The sight of Cody's body made his chest tighten in excitement. As the two boys floated on the noodles in the calm waters of the cove, Logan found himself longing to touch Cody, to feel the smoothness of his teenage skin under his fingers. He wanted Cody to hold him close, maybe run his fingers through his wet hair. And perhaps even... "I think it's about time for us get back to the house," Cody said as he looked down at his waterproof wristwatch. "We gotta get those horses in pretty soon." "Okay," Logan said, feeling somewhat disappointed that their swimming time had to be cut off like this. "Can we do this again tonight?" "I can't tonight, dude," Cody said. "I have plans tonight. But we can probably do this again tomorrow after we finish feeding the animals." "Awesome," Logan said. "This's been a lot of fun." "Yeah, it really has. You're a cool kid, Logan." "Thanks. I know." Both boys chuckled. With that, they swam back to the raft, grabbed their swim suits, and then swam back to the boat together. They grabbed their towels and began to dry off, both of them still just wearing their underwear. Logan wrapped the towel over his shoulders and sat down on the padded bench, feeling cold suddenly. Cody wrapped his own towel around his waist and then sat down next to Logan on the bench. "We didn't even touch those drinks and snacks we brought," Cody said. "Nope. But we can keep them around for tomorrow when we come back." "Yeah, that's true," Cody said. All of a sudden, Cody started laughing. "What's so funny?" Logan asked. "I still think it's hilarious how your shorts fell down like that," Cody said. "Shut up," Logan said jokingly. Both of them laughed about it. "Oh well," Cody said. "Good thing we both look good. We can get away with hanging around in our underwear like this and most people wouldn't care." "Yeah, well, you're the one hiding under a towel right now," Logan said daringly. Cody just looked at the younger boy with a peculiar grin on his face. This grin of Cody's almost frightened Logan in a way. There was something mysterious in this grin, something that made Logan's heart begin to pound heavier. Cody stood up from his seat in front of Logan, unwrapped his towel, and let it drop to the ground. Cody stood there in front of the younger boy, wearing just his wet Hanes briefs. Logan stared at the older boy's body in amazement. What caught Logan's eye was Cody's wet crotch. He had a boner, a huge boner. And Logan could see it almost perfectly through the transparent material of the older boy's briefs. Cody reached down, placed his fingers on the shaft of his hard-on through his underwear, and ran his fingers lightly over his shaft a few times. Logan watched in complete fascination, his own penis coming to attention within the confines of his little briefs. "It's big, huh?" Cody said as he continued caressing his boner through his underwear using his fingers. "It's a monster," Logan said softly. Cody smiled and then chuckled. "We really need to get going," Cody said simply. With that, Cody turned around, grabbed his swim trunks, and pulled them on. Without saying another word, Cody walked over and sat down on the driver's seat, getting ready to launch the boat for the ride home. Feeling somewhat confused, but yet as horny as he had ever been in his entire life, Logan grabbed his shorts and his t-shirt from the floor and put them on. He saw Cody's white, sleeveless shirt laying on the floor. He picked it up from the floor, walked over to where Cody sat on the driver's seat, and gave the shirt to the older boy without saying a word. "Thanks, bud," Cody said as he reached over to take the shirt from Logan. The boys' hands touched as Cody tried to take the shirt from Logan. Instead of taking the shirt, Cody wrapped his fingers around the younger boy's hand and gently pulled him closer to his body. Logan let out a surprised gasp when Cody pulled him closer, his heart pounding wildly, his head flooding with thoughts of what could possible happen between the two of them. Cody gently ran his fingers over the smooth, tanned skin of Logan's hand and his forearm. Without fear or anxiety, Cody slowly brought Logan's small hand up to his lips and kissed the boy's fingers lightly, each one of them individually. Logan stared down at what Cody was doing to him, his mouth hanging slightly ajar, his breathing becoming harder. Afterward, Cody suddenly released Logan's hand. "I can't do this right now, Logan," Cody said simply. "I'm sorry. Let's just get back to the house, eh? We can come swimming again tomorrow." Logan didn't respond. He felt totally bewildered, wondering if what had just taken place had actually happened. Perhaps Logan was simply daydreaming. But he wasn't. He knew he wasn't. Feeling somewhat like a fool, Logan walked back to his seat and sat down. He couldn't believe what had just happened. Not only had he tried to hit on Cody – a boy over four years older than him – he had just been rejected, which felt horrible. Several minutes later, Cody brought the anchor up, secured everything so nothing would fly out during the ride, and they took off towards the main waters for home. _____________________________ END OF CHAPTER THREE NEXT: Chapter Four – "Beautiful Boy" _____________________________ Preview of Chapter Four: At the grocery store, Ruth bought some steaks, hamburger meat, a few odds and ends food items, and some drinks for the weekend. When they got to the checkout lane, there was a young female cashier standing behind the register. She saw Logan's grandmother and waved. "Darlene, this is my eleven year old grandson, Logan Henderson," Ruth said. "He'll be turning twelve on the second day of August. Logan, honey, this is Darlene Chase, Cody's girlfriend going on, what...? A year and a half now?" "It'll be a year and a half next Thursday," Darlene said. "It'll be a year and a half next Thursday," Logan copied her in his mind, mocking the girl with all his will. - - - - - - - - - - - - "God, it's so nice out here this evening," Darlene said, her arms draped over Cody's shoulders, Cody's arms wrapped around the teenage girl's torso. "Yeah, and you know what makes it nicer?" Cody asked. "A pretty evening with the prettiest girl," Cody said. "Awe, isn't he just the sweetest thing?" Darlene asked rhetorically. Darlene leaned in and kissed Cody on the lips. Logan watched in revulsion from across the table, his upper lip curled in disgust. He tried not to make himself so obvious, but he couldn't help it. - - - - - - - - - - - - "You know, I think my sister's got a crush on you," Cody pointed out. "I'm not really into going out and dating and stuff yet," Logan said. "You'll get there eventually. You'll come across some hot chickadee and your heart'll jump up into your throat." With that, Cody patted Logan on the back gently, as casually as a friend would do to another friend out of kindness. Only... Cody patted the boy's bare back and then left it there. Logan wondered what was going on now. Cody gently rubbed Logan's naked back, his hand pressed flat against the younger boy's smooth skin. A few seconds later, Cody gently pushed Logan's body against the backrest of the couch. Logan and Cody stared into each other's eyes, neither of them daring to say a word. Cody placed his hand on the boy's knee, which was partially covered by the leg of Logan's blue shorts. _____________________________