Date: Sun, 28 Jun 2009 15:08:16 EDT From: Bwstories8@aol.com Subject: Castaway Hotel: Grandreopening - Chapters 5/6, 7/8 Castaway Hotel -- Grand Reopening by BW Copyright 2009 by billwstories Chapter 7 -- First Contact. **Author's Note:** Please read the disclaimer in Chapter 00 before you read this. The day passed by quickly. It began with me enrolling Danny in school. After filling out the required forms, I had my secretary call his old school, to make a verbal request to have his records forwarded. They asked her to fax them a written request, which she quickly did, after coming to get my signature, as both his legal guardian and school principal. His old school informed her that once they received the faxed request, they would put everything in the mail before the end of the day. That would be more than adequate for our purposes. I was very busy all day long, and Danny found it very hectic adjusting to his various teachers, classes and the other students. When the school day was over, the boys waited in the library until I was done and then I walked there to meet up with them. We went straight from there to the car, in order to make our run to the mall. Ricky made sure he helped Danny pick out the 'right' bikini briefs and then I let Danny pick out his boots. After that, we picked out their dress clothes and a few other necessities, before we left for home. After pulling into the driveway, the boys bolted from the car and headed straight for Danny's room, so he could put his things away. I didn't see them again for quite some time. After Danny and Ricky ran up to their rooms with the packages, they began putting away their new things. Since Ricky didn't have as much to put away, he finished first and rushed back to Danny's room. Danny was just finishing putting his things away when Ricky made a suggestion to him. "Danny, why don't you try on one of your new pair of underwear now?" "Why?" Danny asked, uncertain as to why Ricky wanted him to do that. "I want to see how they look on you," Ricky explained, simply. "You've seen me in mine and I want to see you in yours." Danny nodded that he would do it for Ricky and quickly ripped opened one of the three- packs of briefs. Ricky went over and shut the bedroom door, while Danny took off his shoes and jeans, and then he took off his other briefs, seemingly unfazed that Ricky was in there with him. "Wow," Ricky exclaimed, "you've got a bigger wiener than me." Danny looked up with an air of superiority and smiled at this younger brother. "I should have a bigger one. I'm older than you are. How big is yours?" "Not as big as that," Ricky told him, while staring at Danny's 5.75" circumcised penis with a well formed mushroom head. There was also a small patch of dark pubic hair at its base. "Do you want to see mine?" Ricky asked, thinking it only fair. Danny nodded his head in confirmation, so Ricky quickly unsnapped his pants and slid his jeans and briefs down in one fluid motion. Now, he stood in front of his brother displaying his 4.5" cut cock, surrounded by such a fine dusting of light blond hairs that his pubic area still appeared to be hairless. "See, they look almost alike," Ricky commented, "but yours is bigger." "Yes, I see that," Danny replied, but then he waited a second before continuing. "Can you shoot yet, Ricky?" "Do you mean the white stuff?" Ricky asked, in an attempt to clarify what Danny wanted to know. "Yes, that's what I mean," Danny confirmed. "Can you?" "Yeah," Ricky informed him. "I did it for the first time a little over a month ago." Danny studied Ricky for a few seconds, wondering if he should ask the next question that was on his mind. After several awkward moments of hesitation, he finally found the courage to do it. "Have you ever done it with another boy?" Danny wanted to know. "No, never," Ricky told him. "Your the first other boy I've seen like this." A sly grin crept across Danny's face when he heard Ricky's confession. "Do you want to try to do it together then?" Danny persisted, hoping Ricky might be tempted to give it a shot with him. Ricky had to think about the offer for a second or two, before he made up his mind and answered. "Yeah, why not?" he responded. "It might be fun." Happy with Ricky's acceptance of his proposal, Danny suggested they should both lie back on his bed, and before long, they were both sporting erections. Slowly, they began working their hands up and down their rigid poles, seeking the relief Ricky had only sought in private, before this moment. After about a minute, Danny turned toward his new brother and asked, "Do you want to touch mine, Ricky?" At first, Ricky looked shocked that Danny had made such an offer. Seeing Ricky's expression, Danny was worried he had gone too far and Ricky was going to turn on him now. Just as Danny was about to jump off the bed and head for the door, Ricky finally responded. "Can I?" he uttered. "You wouldn't mind?" Danny's body visibly relaxed after he heard Ricky's response and realized everything was going to be okay. "Heck, no," Danny assured him. "You can even jerk me off, if you want to." "Really?" Ricky muttered, not believing his ears. "You'd let me do that too?" Danny just nodded his head in reply. Extremely excited by this possibility, Ricky reached his little hand over and wrapped it around Danny's ample dick. It was clearly the first time he had touched a penis other than his own, but he felt comfortable doing it. Danny's penis was hard, yet it was still slightly soft to his touch, and it felt very warm to him. Carefully, he let his slightly trembling hand start to move up and down the fleshy surface, just like he did to himself, when he wanted that special feeling. He enjoyed the way his hand glided up and down the smooth surface of Danny's love muscle and he turned his head to look at Danny's face. He wanted to make sure Danny was all right with him doing this. When he saw Danny had his eyes closed and seemed to be enjoying the feeling, Ricky went back to concentrating on what he was doing. While Ricky was absorbed with masturbating his older partner, Danny reached over and started stroking Ricky's own hard-on. Suddenly, Ricky became aware of this and how good it felt, so he looked over and smiled at his brother. "Feels good, doesn't it, Ricky?" Danny inquired. "Oh, yeah. It sure does," Ricky informed him, in sort of a moan. "It feels even better than when I do it to myself." Ricky had this far away look in his eyes, as the increased sensations began to spread throughout his body. "I thought you'd think that," Danny confirmed. "Just relax and it will get even better." The boys continued to pump each other's joystick, but the pace kept getting faster and faster, as they headed toward their first mutual orgasm. As they got closer and closer to their climax, both boys were beginning to moan, but it was hard to tell which sounds came from whom. After a few more hectic minutes of activity, each of them began to arch his back in anticipation of ejaculating. Soon, streams of white jism were spurting from the slits in Ricky's prick. "Oh, oh, oooohhhhh," Ricky groaned. "Don't stop, Danny. Keep going. Don't stop yet." With that encouragement, Danny's fist continued to work on Ricky's sausage, while Ricky resumed doing the same to him. He had stopped briefly, during his ejaculation, but now he continued his effort, until Danny shot his load too. He kept that up until the last drops of cum dripped onto Danny's pubic area and they both fell backward, totally exhausted. * * * * I had been waiting for the boys downstairs and dinner was nearly ready. I didn't see them around and they didn't respond to my calls, so I went upstairs to look for them. I was surprised to find the door to Danny's room was closed and was about to knock on it, when I heard some groaning coming from within. Then I heard Ricky say something, although it wasn't in his normal voice. Besides his speech sounding slightly higher pitched and a little ragged, he also sounded winded. I had my suspicions about what was going on inside, so I opened the door and walked in. There on Danny's bed were sprawled my two naked sons, covered in spunk and panting. They jumped up and looked at me, their eyes as big as saucers, as I entered the room. "Just get cleaned up and come down to dinner," I told them. "We can talk about this later." While they were scrambling about Danny's room, I started back down to the kitchen. I was still a little concerned about what I saw, but only because I wasn't sure if one of them had been taken advantage of. I shoved those thoughts into the back of my mind and began to take the food into the dining room. While I did that, I mulled over how I was going to approach this and what I planned to say to them, after we finished eating. I had dinner on the table by the time the boys got downstairs. They walked into the dining room, with each of them glancing up at me and then down at the floor. Their nerves were totally on edge and both looked very sheepish. I suspected they had discussed this with each other before they came down to see me, so I knew I would have to reassure them about their fate, or neither of them would be able to eat. "Boys, we will discuss what happened after dinner, but right now, the food is ready and I don't want it to get cold before we eat. Please don't worry, though. You're not in trouble and I'm not mad at you. I just want to discuss the implications of what you were doing." I gave each of them a big hug, but they both remained very rigid. They did begin to breathe again, possibly for the first time since they had come downstairs. "Relax, sit down and enjoy your meal," I urged them. "I don't want you to starve or get indigestion." Looking slightly more relieved, but knowing it wasn't over yet, we all sat down at the table. The boys' eyes kept darting around the room, as they would first look at each other and then at me, and I knew they weren't totally sure what to expect when we discussed the situation. Even though I had tried to reassure them, I think they were still waiting for me to start screaming at them, or worse. When that didn't happen, they did begin to settle down even more, but I could tell they were still on edge. After finishing our meal, the boys cleaned up the dishes, while I put away the leftovers. There was more than normal to put away, I guess because their appetites weren't quite up to normal this evening. When everything was done, I broke the long silence. "Let's move into the living room to have this conversation," I advised them. I could see the panic begin to register on their faces again, but they hesitantly followed me into the living room. I sat on the sofa, and after a few moments, they came over and sat down on the same side of me, so they could remain next to each other. Danny sat closest to me, almost as if he was trying to protect Ricky from my wrath, and I could tell he was ready to accept the blame for what had taken place. That impressed me and I wondered if he felt he would be held responsible for what happened anyway, just because I knew he was gay and he was the older of the pair. I hoped that wasn't the case. "Look, guys, I understand what you were doing and why," I tried to reassure them. "There is nothing wrong with a little sexual exploration and experimentation. Everyone does it at one time or another, but I just want to make sure you both agreed to it and that no one was pressured into doing anything he didn't want to do. Danny, as you're the oldest, I hope you weren't taking advantage of Ricky." Before Danny could respond, Ricky answered me. "He didn't, Dad, honest. I was the one who talked him into taking our clothes off, so we could see each other's wieners." I chuckled to myself at his childish terminology for the male organ. Before the boys noticed my amusement, Ricky continued. "We both wanted to try it. Really!" "Dad, that's not exactly true," Danny corrected him. "I was the one who talked him into giving each other a hand job. I guess it was wrong for me to do that." "Not necessarily," I corrected him. "If you both agreed to it, then I don't have a problem with some harmless experimentation. I just don't want either one of you forcing the other into doing something he isn't ready for. I also want you to know you can discuss anything with me, alone or together. I'll answer you as honestly as I can, and if you want, I'll advise you as to what I think might be best for you. Afterward, you can heed that advice or not, but I think it's important that you are exposed to options you might not otherwise consider. I also want to warn you that you must be more careful than you were today when doing these things. You don't have to worry about me or about doing things at home, unless there are others around. You MUST, however, be more cautious at other times or in other places. I think you can both guess what types of problems you might have encountered if someone else had discovered what you to were up to." They both nodded their heads very forcefully in agreement. "Okay, is there anything you'd like to ask me now?" I offered, giving them the opportunity to question me about whatever they might want to know. They peeked at each other, before they looked back at me, and then they both shook their heads, letting me know they couldn't think of anything at this time. "Well, if you think of anything later, you can ask me then," I advised them, "but for now, why don't you boys go get your homework done." "But we finished our home work while we waited for you in the library," Danny informed me, looking a little perplexed. "Then go have some fun, but stay out of trouble," I suggested, which made them both look at me oddly. I guess they both wondered if that meant I thought they might try something else, but I guess they quickly figured out it was just a general, harmless comment. "Thanks, Dad," they both told me, before giving me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. After doing that, they went off together and headed toward my office. It looked as if they were planning to get on the computer for a while. I heard Ricky talking to Danny about what happened as they walked away. "See, I told you I thought dad would be cool about it," he explained, and I hoped that was a good thing, not that he thought he could get away with anything he wanted. Before too much longer, Danny came back out and asked to speak with me. "Dad, there's two things I want to ask you," he began. "Okay," I responded. "What is it you'd like to know?" "First of all," he continued, "do you think I should tell Ricky about me... you know, that I'm gay?" "That will have to be your choice," I advised him, "but I don't see any reason why you shouldn't. I think Ricky's already showed he's very open to different things, and he's proven it to you by doing what you boys did earlier." "I suppose, but I'm still not sure I'm ready to do that yet," he informed me, while thinking about my words. "If I do decide to tell him, though, I want you to be there with me. Okay?" "Sure, if that's what you want," I advised him, hoping my response would make it easier for him. "Was there something else you wanted?" "Oh, yeah," he replied, "it's really the reason I came to see you and what Ricky thought I came to do. Would you let us download a messenger service, so I can chat with my friends? A couple of them have emailed me and asked if we could chat instead." I did have a messenger service on my computer that I used with my older children, but it wasn't the one they were asking for. Understanding that their friends must all use this other service, I thought about it a minute, before I answered him. "Well, I guess I don't see anything wrong with you being able to chat with your friends, as long as you both promise me you won't get involved in with chatting with strangers or go into any chat rooms. However, if I do this for you, I'll also set up some parental controls. If you're unhappy with that, or if you try to get in and mess with those controls, then the deal's off." "Don't worry, Dad, we won't," Danny told me. "I promise I won't do those things and I know Ricky will promise too." Having received his assurance, we went in to make sure Ricky agreed too, and once he did, I had them sign off from everything they were doing. At that point, I sat down at the computer and began to get things ready for them, making sure to warn them that they weren't to download ANYTHING without my permission first. They both assured me they understood. By the time I finished getting things ready, I noticed it was getting late, so I informed them they'd have to wait until tomorrow night to chat with anyone. They took a few minutes trying to convince me to let them sign on and just say a quick 'hello', so their friends would know they weren't going to be able to chat until tomorrow evening. Instead, I offered a compromise of sorts and told them I'd allow them to send off an email to their friends, giving them that information. They weren't exactly thrilled with my suggestion, but I think they understood that was the best they were going to get, so they agreed. After sending out their email, I told them it was time for bed. Once they'd finished their nightly preparations, we all gathered in Danny's room and I read them another chapter from the book. Once I'd finished, I had them say their prayers, with each of them inputting something to the joint effort, and then I sent Ricky off to his own room. I stayed behind, to tuck Danny in first. "Thanks for earlier, Dad. I thought you were going to get real mad about what we did. I also want to thank you for not telling Ricky I'm gay, either. I'm still not sure how I'm going to do that, but I want to wait until I am more sure he's not going to hate me first." "The decision is entirely yours," I confirmed, "but give your brother a little credit. I think he's shown you he loves you a lot and that he has an open mind. In fact, I believe he loves you enough to accept you for who you are." "Yeah, you're probably right, but I'm still not ready to tell him yet." "Like I said, it's your decision, so you make sure it's what you want to do before you do it then. However, for now, I want you to put this out of your mind and get some sleep. Sweet dreams and I'll see you in the morning." "Good night, Dad, and I really, really love you," he added, touching me deeply. "I love you, too, son," I replied, "and I'll see you in the morning." I kissed Danny on the forehead and then made my way to Ricky's room, to say good night to him. I tucked Ricky in and wished him sweet dreams too, and then kissed him on his forehead, before I left his room. Once I had finished there, I went back to my office. I signed on the computer and started setting up the parental controls. I wanted to make sure neither boy got into anything he wasn't ready for. Once I finished that, I began surfing the net, in search of information I concluded I was going to need sooner or later. I used some search engines to locate what I was looking for, took some notes, and then thought about how I would handle it, when the time came. By chance, I found some other things I felt might also be appropriate, but now I would just wait until the right moment arose to dig into my bag of tricks. Castaway Hotel -- Grand Reopening by BW Copyright 2009 by billwstories Chapter 8 -- Research and Recreation. Over the next few days, several things happened. The boys continued to bond even more closely, they grew more accustomed to living with me and understanding what I expected of them, and Danny began to become more comfortable at school. Some of the students even went as far as to ask him how he and Ricky came to live with me, so he merely told them I took them in because they didn't have anywhere else to go. If any of the students began to push for more information, he would always manage to find a way to avoid telling them more than he wanted to. If anyone said anything he felt was negative or inaccurate about any of us, he would quickly take to the defensive and let that person know we were all happy with this new arrangement. I was very impressed and proud of the way he handled himself. That weekend, Danny finally came looking for me, as I suspected he eventually would. He waited until Ricky was busy watching some Saturday morning cartoons, before coming into my office. "Dad, can I talk to you?" he asked. "You MAY," I emphasized, hoping he would make a mental note of his grammatical error. He began swallowing hard, trying to find the courage to continue. "Dad, how do I find out things about being gay?" he finally asked. Before I answered him, I got up and closed and locked the door, because I wasn't sure he wanted Ricky to accidentally walk in during our conversation. "Do you know what kind of information you're looking for?" I inquired, after turning around. "I just want to know what it's like for other kids my age who are gay and what types of things they do," he told me, very factually. "Well, I thought you might eventually want to know such things," I told him, "so I did a little research already. I've written down some information that might help you." I reached into the drawer of my desk and pulled out a sheet of paper. "This is a list of sites that have information about being gay or have stories about gay teens. I've read the stories I have listed, and they are the only ones I felt would be acceptable for you at this point. They will give you the writer's idea about what it's like to be gay, or how he wishes it was, but don't take it as gospel. I think it will help you, but it could also give you some false impressions, if you aren't careful. We will talk about each story as you read them, to make sure that doesn't happen." "Wow, Dad!" Danny exclaimed. "You did all this for me?" "Yes, I did" I advised him. "If I'm going to help you, I need to know as much, if not more, about this stuff than you do." "Thanks," Danny offered, simply, "but what's in these stories? "Basically, they're stories about gay teens and they have a considerable amount of information about being gay," I explained. "Some of them are pretty graphic and won't leave much to your imagination, but they should help." Danny smiled at me, letting me know he appreciated my effort." "I really want to thank you for doing all of this, Dad," he advised me. "I kind of figured you'd help me out, but I didn't think you'd do so much." "Well, if you think something is worth doing," I told him, "then it's worth doing well. That means you should give it your finest effort and do whatever it takes to do the best you can possibly do." He smiled and nodded in response. "I do have to offer you a warning, though," I continued. "I don't want you to think that having sex with a partner is done only because it's enjoyable. I want you to understand that having sex is something you should only do with someone you love and trust. I'll expect you to learn the difference between love and lust, and hope you will only do these things out of love." "I know what love is," he told me, "but what's lust and how do I find out about it?" I knew he was not being a wise guy and was serious about wanting to know the answer to his question. "Maybe this will help," I told him. "Lust is kind of what you felt earlier, when you and Ricky messed around. You were only doing it because it felt good to you, not because you cared about one another." "But I like Ricky a lot," he protested. "Yes, you may LIKE him, maybe even LOVE him," I corrected, "but I don't think you are IN LOVE with him. That's what makes the difference. You were only looking to enjoy those special feelings sex can give you and you weren't doing it just to please your partner." "I wanted him to feel good too," he objected. "But were you doing it mostly for him or yourself?" I asked him. He thought about this for a few seconds. "I guess mostly for me," he admitted. "That's what I thought," I told him, "so that would have been lust. When you can tell me you did it more for the other person, then that would be 'being in love'." I think I had made my point, as I saw a flicker of understanding cross his face. A few seconds later, he spoke again. "Can I start reading one of those stories now?" he wanted to know. "You won't be able to get on these sites using your sign on," I explained, "because the parental controls will keep you out. I've burned the stories onto a CD for you, though, and I'll leave it here in the top drawer of my desk, where you'll be able to get to it, when you want to use it. Just make sure you're careful about reading them in private, for now, at least until you tell Ricky about yourself. He's smart enough to realize they are gay stories and he'll put two and two together, if he should catch you in the act." "Yeah, I know," Danny confirmed. "When you want to check out any of those other sites," I continued, "then you'll have to let me know. You won't be able to get to them on your own, so you'll need me to sign on to one of them for you, and then we'll view it together." I'm not sure that's exactly what he wanted to hear, but he nodded his head in understanding. "Okay, Dad," he told me, "and thanks for the help. You're really great. You know something else?" he asked, but didn't wait for me to respond. "I love you more each day and I'm beginning to think the best thing that could have ever happened to me was when my father threw me out of the house, so I could end up living with you." "I'm not sure I'd go that far," I warned him. "I'm sure down deep you still wish you were at home with your family." "I miss my mom," he conceded, "but I'd rather live here. I love it here." "I love you being here too, Danny," I informed him, "and you never have to doubt that. Here, I'll sign on for a few minutes now and we can check out one of those sites, if you want." After he signaled he did, we surfed together for about twenty minutes, before I left him to read some of the stories on his own. He smiled and thanked me again before I left, and I locked the door on my way out, before pulling it shut behind me. I almost ran Ricky over when I turned around. "Sorry, Dad. I was looking for Danny," he explained. "Do you know where he is?" "Yes, I do," I advised him. "He's working on something in the office and doesn't want to be disturbed right now." "Oh, okay," he said simply. "I actually wanted to talk to you anyway," he added, grinning at me. "In private, if you don't mind?" "Why would I mind?" I asked him, rhetorically. "Let's go into the living room, where we can be alone." I guided him there and we sat down on the sofa. Once we were settled, I could tell Ricky was having trouble getting up the courage to ask me what was on his mind. I thought I should help jumpstart his effort. "Ricky, whatever it is, it's all right," I advised him. "Just go ahead and ask." He studied me for a second and considered how he wanted to go about doing this. When he finally made up his mind, he started to speak. "Dad, I'm confused," he began. "I liked what Danny and I did the other day and I think I want to try more things like that. Is it weird that I feel that way?" "No, Ricky," I told him. "Boys your age tend to find sex exciting, especially the feelings they get from it. So, it's not weird." "Does it make me gay?" he asked, next. "No, Ricky, it doesn't," I informed him. "Many boys your age experiment with sex with other boys and a great many of them turn out to be straight. They get married, have children and don't do anything else with another guy after those early years." "How do I know for sure, you know... whether I'm gay or not?" he continued. "It's difficult to answer that question," I told him, "because there are no specific things that say 'I am gay.' You have to consider a lot of factors. First of all, do you prefer looking at naked guys or girls?" "Actually, I haven't seen many pictures of naked people," he confessed, "but my wiener's gotten hard when I see anyone without clothes on." I had to chuckle at his comment. "What about when you masturbate?" I pressed. "Are you thinking about a penis or a vagina and breasts?" "I know what a penis and breasts are, but what the other thing you said," Ricky asked, looking confused. "It's the name for the girl's genital area, where your penis is on you," I explained, and a look of understanding crossed his face. "So, which do you think about when you masturbate?" "You mean when I jerk off?" he asked, and I nodded my head in response. "I'm not sure. I don't think I've ever thought about that. I guess I just think about the feeling I'm going to get when I shoot that stuff from my wiener." "Well, from what you've just told me," I told him, "there isn't enough there to say one way or the other. You might even be bi." "What's that?" he asked, his eyes opened about as wide as they could go. "Bi, which is short for bisexual, means that you find enjoyment from being with either sex. That means you enjoy doing things with girls AND boys." "Oh," he replied, beginning to understand. "Do you think I should try more things with Danny then?" "Only if that's what you want to do," I told him. "Have you talked to Danny about this?" "No, not yet," he answered. "Maybe you should," I advised him. "He's the only one who can tell you if he might be WILLING to do those types of things with you. I can't speak for him, but I suggest you sit down and discuss the possibility of further experimentation with him, if that's what you want. Then you two will have to agree if it's what you BOTH want to do. Other than that, if you have questions about the specifics of doing certain things, then I'm willing to answer those questions for you." "I don't have any more questions now, Dad, but thanks." He gave me a hug and went to his room. Nothing more came up from either discussion, so when Saturday afternoon rolled around, I decided it might be time to take the boys out to have some fun. I had thought about what types of things we might do at various times, but never discussed my ideas with the boys, as I wanted them to be surprised when we finally did them. Determining this might be the appropriate time to do one of these things now, I called them together. "Okay, guys," I announced. "There are a few things we need to do. First, I need to run to the store quickly, so I want you to hurry up and get ready to go with me." "What are we going to do after that, Dad" Ricky asked me. "You did say there were a FEW things we needed to do." I was impressed he had picked up on that. "You'll see soon enough," I explained, "but we need to get going." Without further comment, the boys did as I asked and it wasn't long before they joined me in the car. I had packed a small duffle with some things in it and threw it into the trunk, before we drove to the mall. Once there, I led them to the department store we had visited on our previous visits, when I bought their clothes. Without saying a word, they followed me to the boys department again, but this time they had no idea what we were going to pick up. Once we got there, their curiosity got the best of them. "What are we doing here?" Danny asked. "Well, if we're going swimming," I informed him, "you'll need something to wear, unless you don't mind swimming naked in public," I teased. "We're going swimming?" he asked, excitedly. "Yes, you boys do know how to swim, don't you?" I asked, possibly a little late. It never dawned on me earlier that one or both of them might not know how to swim. "I do," Danny quickly advised me. "Me too," Ricky added, allowing me to breathe a little easier. "Okay, then let's pick out something suitable," I told them. Eagerly, they started looking at the different style of swimwear and before long they had several possibilities picked out. After a little more discussion, and prodding from me, they selected a couple of basic, but attractive suits. I made them take them to the fitting room and try them on, because I wanted to make sure they fit the boys correctly. After inspecting them on my sons, I agreed they would do fine, so we took our selections to the checkout. After leaving the mall, I drove to the local YMCA, where they had a lovely pool. We went into the locker room to change and the boys were chatting excitedly throughout the entire process. Once we had finished, I locked up all of our things in the same locker, and then we showered quickly, before we went out to take a dip. The water was nice, even though it seemed to have more than its share of chlorine this time. The boys seemed oblivious to this fact and began to splash around. I watched from a safe distance, just to assess their swimming prowess and to make sure neither of them were having problems. Although it was apparent that Ricky was a just a novice swimmer, Danny took to the water like a fish and it was clear that he'd either swum a great deal before he came to live with me or he had taken lessons. Before long, I saw Danny giving Ricky some pointers, so I watched as Ricky tried to incorporate Danny's suggestions into his own crude style. I was surprised at how quickly he seemed to catch on and was pleased by this interaction. Danny was a patient teacher and Ricky an eager student, and it was just another opportunity for them to become even closer. After a while, I decided they were all right on their own, so I began swimming laps and doing a little workout of my own. I swam hard for about forty minutes, before I stopped to rest. As I sat along the edge of the pool, I watched the boys some more, fascinated by how well they interacted. I guess seeing them getting along so well, it made me wonder. What was the chance of finding two boys who took to each other so rapidly? Maybe it was fate or possibly it was due to the loneliness and sense of isolation they felt before they came to live with me? Regardless of the reason, I felt truly blessed. I allowed the boys to swim until they wore themselves out, and I continued to swim from time to time, taking rest breaks in between. When they finally became exhausted, we went back to the locker room and took a good warm shower, to rinse the chlorine and perspiration off of our bodies. After we dressed, I took them out for some ice cream, a treat I felt we would all enjoy. We had certainly burned off enough calories during our swim, so we didn't need to worry about splurging. After thinking about it, I guess I should have said 'I' wouldn't have to worry about going overboard and adding to my waistline. We all ordered what we wanted, but the boys devoured their sundaes in about half the time it took me. They were patient and waited for the 'old man' to finish, teasing me about how elderly people had to 'gum' their food, so it took them longer. I was almost ready to bite them both, to prove to them I didn't have to 'gum' anything, but I was able to resist acting upon that urge. I guess my restraint was partially due to the realization that Social Services might frown on me doing something of that nature and end up taking the boys from me. Seeing I didn't want that to happen, it served as a catalyst to behave appropriately. Instead, I just THREATENED to bite them both, which helped to shut them up rather quickly. When we got home, the boys were a little tired, but they thanked me for everything. Not wishing for my time with them to end, I suggested we could play one of the board games I had in the rec room, from when my older children were younger. I'm not sure Danny and Ricky were very thrilled with this idea, seeing they had never spent much time playing any board games before, except for a few educational games they played at school. However, after a little coaxing, they finally agreed. I think it was more to humor me for taking them swimming, than because they wanted to actually do it, but regardless of their motivation, I hurried out to grab one of those games. I didn't want to give them time to change their minds. I chose the game 'Life,' which I remembered my children always seemed to enjoy playing. I had participated with them on many occasions, so I felt I could remember enough of the rules to teach Danny and Ricky how to play. We set the game up on the dining room table and I quickly explained the basics to both of them. Once that was done, we began playing and they seemed to take to the game quite quickly. There were some awkward moments for Danny, however, such as when he came to the part about getting married and having children. Instead of reacting to that situation, he treated it for what it was, a game, and merely did what was expected. I was proud of him. In fact, Danny ended up winning, but we all had a good time. Once we picked everything up, I asked the boys what they'd like to do next. They both thought about this for quite a few minutes, whispering between themselves, but eventually they gave me a reply. "We all have hiking boots now, so could we go out for a hike?" Ricky asked, for the both of them. "Yes, that sounds like an excellent idea," I agreed. "In fact, I have a bunch of sleeping bags and a tent in the attic, that my children and I used to use. If you want, we could hike out in the woods and camp out for the night." "That sounds cool," Danny told me, with Ricky nodding in agreement. Now that I had their approval, I went to gather up everything we'd need, while I had them change into something more appropriate. Once I had all the required items downstairs, I had them help me fix something we could take with us to eat. When we finished preparing those items, we loaded all that, and a few additional snacks, into my backpack. Next, I helped them hook their sleeping bags onto the backpacks I'd brought down for them to use and then did the same with my own. I also hooked the tent beside my sleeping bag, as I was prepared to carry the additional weight. All that was left to do was for me to run and change my clothes, which didn't take very long. Before we left, I also filled three one-gallon jugs with water and each of us grabbed one of the containers, as we went out the door. 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