Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2006 00:19:33 -0400 From: Sam Davies Subject: "Harvest" Chapter 2: The Lake I had known I was gay for along time. No one else did though. I was just the average guy. It was not something I needed to hide because no one would ever have the slightest clue. I was scared to death though that somehow I would slip up and some one would find out. It wasn't that I wanted to hide, I just knew I would have the shit beaten out of me if it became public knowledge. So I played it cool when the guys called people fags or did their best limp wristed gay impression. It hurt, don't get me wrong, but what was I gonna do. Normally I just laughed along, knowing that they really didn't know what they were talking about. They just said stuff like that because that is how people talked. None of my friends really even knew any gay people (that they were aware of) ... so how could they hate them. Except for Justin. Justin was filled with hate. He hated the whole world and all the people in it. Especially homosexuals. I liked Justin though. He was such acool person once you got past his rough edges. I mean if there is anyone out there who deserves to curse life it was him. I pulled my red ford pick-up right next to his garage door and hopped out. He was lying shirtless under his suped up truck,which we affectionately called "the beast". I tried not to notice the greasy hand prints smeared all over his tight abs, but honestly it was hard not to be impressed. He was a short guy, but solid as a rock. "How's it going?" I asked. "Hmg." He responded, shrugging his head to one side as he slid out from under beneath. He has been trying to get this thing running for months. It sat atop an enormous set of new tires, and glistened with a fresh coat of paint. Everything was ready to go except for the things that actually made it... go. I didn't have the slightest clue what he was doing to it now, other then then the fact that it had something to do with the fuel line. "I am so goddam sick of this thing sometimes that I just want to push it into the lake." he sighed. "Yeah? We're all headed down there this afternoon if you need any help." I joked. He just shook his head. "Don't let it get you down man, you know that this thing will be tearin' rubber in a matter of weeks." He stood up, stuck his thumbs in the waist of his jeans, and shuffled his feat. "Yeah, I know," he said "I just want to get out of here." "Your dad giving you trouble again?" I inquired. He nodded, and turned to put away some tools. Justin's dad had been in jail for a DUI up until a month ago, and since he got out he's been a jerk to everyone. I had a feeling he was still drinking, but didn't want to ask. I watched quietly from across the garage as Justin put carefully wiped and sorted each wrench and socket he could lay his hands on. You could tell that there was something really bothering him; other then "the beast". He stopped for a second and ran his hand through his buzzed black hair. "I am just so tired of all his shit," he confided in me, "Its like he blames me for everything." "Your mom leaving?" I questioned. He glanced sideways and gave me an angry look. "Yeah." I didn't know what to say so I just walked around the truck and looked at all the work he had done. It was a beautiful thunderstorm grey with chrome highlighting. When he bought for fifty bucks last year you couldn't even tell it was a truck. I ran my hand along the thin line of edging that went around each door panel. It was so smooth and cool that it reminded me of why I was here. "Anyway, like I said, Me, Kyle and Ry are going down to the lake to take a swim. I thought you would want to come to." I said, trying desperately to lessen his unhappiness. "Yeah, I guess a break would be nice." He shut the drawer he was looking into and locked it. "Awesome, you ready to go now?" I asked. "Mhm." He mumbled. Justin never said much. He was always the quiet kid. Tough as nails and never really willing to let any one know what he thought. This was probably the result of his upbringing...which sucked. His dad raised him and worked full time at the quarry while he did it. Justin gets shit from him about it to this day. His mom took off when he was nine to go and live with some dike she met in Chicago, hence the hatred towards gays. We climbed into my truck mirroring each others actions, he on the passenger side and me on the drivers'. I turned on the radio and sped out of the driveway and down towards the lake. When we arrived Ryan and Kyle were already there waiting patiently on the dock. I beeped my horn as we pulled in and drove right down to park next to them. We strolled out onto the long wooden float that was supposed to be used for launching small motorboats. "Have you been in yet?" I asked to whoever wanted to answer. "No, we were waiting for you." Kyle responded with an attitude. I stripped off my shirt and my pants, leaving nothing but my boxers. We didn't really have swim suits, but skinny dipping was definitely not an option. I dove in to the cool water and instantly felt the refreshing chill overtake me. I swam out about thirty feet from the dock and then returned. "Oh god this feels good." I said with a huge smile on my face. I had not felt this comfortable in weeks. Ryan pulled his shirt off over his head and kicked off his shoes. He had a long slender torso, not much definition, but hot as fuck all the same. His feathery brown hair fell over eyes as he looked down to undo his belt, and he used to tips of his fingers to brush it aside. He dropped his tight jeans to reveal an even tighter pair of red boxer briefs. It was kind of funny how white he was from never having his shirt off, but what the hell, I think it made him even cuter. He grinned from ear to ear as he came running down the dock and did a cannonball into the water next to me. When he came back up to the surface he and I were both laughing hysterically. He undoubtedly had the best personality I had ever experienced. His sense of humor was only eclipsed by his never ceasing passion for life. Anyone who ever met him wanted to be his friend, and he always did his best to accommodate. Kyle and Justin were undressing on the dock quickly so they could join us in the water. I watched out of the corner of my eye as they both slipped into the water. Ryan and I swam over to great them. The sun beamed down on us from high in the blue sky. What a perfect day. The guys and I treaded water for a bit, and talked about what our plans were for the weekend. We raced to see who could swim out to the signal light and back fastest. Ryan of course was the winner. There was even a moment when I saw Justin smile. It was such a relief to just goof off. "Anyone know what time it is?" Ryan asked after we had been swimming for a couple hours. Kyle glanced at his waterproof watch, "Yeah, it's ten till three." "Oh fuck. I gotta pick up Katie from camp. Anyone else need a ride back? " Ryan complained. Katie was his younger sister. "Yeah... I got to get back home too." said Justin. "I guess I'm gonna stay here for a bit longer. Are you leaving?" I asked to kyle. "No. I don't have to be back home until dinner." he replied. The other two climbed out of the water and dried off on the dock. From my vantage point I got a view of some very pretty asses. After dressing and saying goodbye, Justin and Ryan left, leaving a cloud of dust behind them. I floated peacefully on my back and looked into the cloudless sky. You could tell by the warm breeze it was going to be hot for a while. We had been in a drought since mid-June and no one really expected it to lift for before winter set in. I closed my eyes and listened to the sounds of the birds in the woods. It was so peaceful. So relaxing. So nice not to be sweating. Then... pow! I was pushed under water as Kyle jumped onto my stomach. I struggled frantically to return to the surface, doubting I had enough breath to make it. I surfaced from the cloudy green water and looked around startled. My attacker was missing. I anxiously waited for him to surface, ready at any moment to pounce. I saw bubbles coming from about twenty feet to the right of the dock. Bingo I swam over towards him at full speed and took retaliatory action by pushing him right back into the water as he emerged to take a breath. He grabbed at my hands and after about twenty seconds I relented. "You asshole." I smiled. He grinned back at me and pushed me over into the water. Fortunately I had enough advance notice to pull on his shoulder, making him come tumbling down with me. I spread my arms out in all directions to keep him from escaping and barely caught hold of his ankle as he tried to swim away. He kicked aggressively as I pulled him towards me. Just as I thought I had him locked in my grip he spun around and grabbed me by my waist. Shocked by his actions, I was unable to respond before he lifted me out of the water and tossed me. I chuckled as I came back up into the sunlight and tried to figure out how to get him. I saw him trying to climb out of the water using the ladder over by the dock. I ran over to him, making huge splashes as I went, locked my arms around his knees and pulled him back in. We tussled in the water for a moment, and I felt his hand brush against my inner thigh. I instantly began to get a hard on. Reaching around him I grabbed hold of his ass (not by accident) but quickly lost my grip. Not willing to be the looser of the battle I tried to flee. As I swam away I felt his hand run from my neck, along the length of my back, and down the back of my leg. For just a second, I was almost certain this was on purpose. Once I could reach the silty bottom of the lake I took to running, and clumsily made towards land. I heard his splashes behind me and kept on running up past the stony beach towards the grass. I stopped just past where I had parked my truck. I could no longer hear him behind me so I turned to look towards the lake. He was nowhere in sight. I felt it was safe to rest, and doubled over, hands on my knees, trying desperately to catch my breath. Luckily by this time my erection had almost completely dissipated; especially now that I was out of the cloudy water. I should have known not to let my guard down. Bam! I saw spots as I hit the ground. When I opened my eyes I found myself laying on my back in the dry turf. Kyle hovered over me, holding himself up by his arms as if he were about to do a push up on top of my body. He smiled beautifully revealing a pearly white set of teeth. Water dripped off his chin and nose onto my chest. I looked him in the face, trying to take in just how sexy he really was. I loved the way that his dark eyebrows stood in such contrast to his fair skin and light blue eyes. I looked deeply into those eyes, and longed to know what he was thinking. He stared right back into mine, and slowly the smile began to drop from his face. He moistened his smooth lips and leaned down just slightly before rolling off of me. I lifted my head off the ground and watched as he stood up, walked down towards the dock, and began putting on his clothes. What was that. I wondered what would he have done if we had laid there just a few seconds longer. Was he about to... kiss me? I dropped my head back down onto the grass and closed my eyes, still trying to catch my breath. That was really weird. I wasn't sure what to think of it. I knew what I wanted to think, but knew that it would never happen. I stood up, brushed the pieces of dead grass off, and strolled down towards the dock. When I arrived, he was fully clothed and walking back towards the truck. "Can you give me a ride back to my place, I told Anna I would call her this afternoon sometime." he asked without making eye contact. "No problem." I responded, wondering why he felt the need to call his girlfriend right now and not when he got home later. I dressed quickly and jumped into the truck. It was an uncomfortably long drive to his house. An awkward silence seemed to have fallen between us. Clearly something (I think I had an idea what it was) had spooked him. We pulled down the gravel road towards his house. "So I think we should try and start tomorrow around like seven or so," I stated "Justin and Ryan said they got about four acres cut and bailed today, so we shouldn't have to do much work to stay on schedule." He shrugged and responded, "Okay... I guess then I'll be over to your house in the morning." I drove up to the fence that surrounded his house to drop him off. He looked in my direction, I nodded, and he got out of the truck. I watched as he walked away and thought about how quickly his attitude had changed today. One second we were romping around having a blast, and the next he is more mellow then a squash. I backed out of his driveway and began back down the gravel road. Suddenly, I felt the need to laugh. It hadn't been more then twenty minutes since we were swimming, and I was already drenched in sweat. The sun shone through the corn on the side of the road in wavy orange columns. You could just tell it was gonna be another hot one tomorrow. To be continued. ### Well, now that we've got the formalities done let's head on into the thick of it. I've got a feeling this one is gonna be good. :P Hope you all like it so far! Sam (samsam345@gmail.com)