Date: Sun, 19 May 2019 17:59:47 +0000 (UTC) From: Tony Freitas Subject: 3,2,1 -Smile - Chapter 11 - The Riddle In the Photo This story is work of fiction and contains sexual scenes between adults and minors. Please note this story also contains minor drug use. If these things offend you, or you are under the age of eighteen and this subject matter is illegal then please stop reading. As this story is mine, please do not reproduce or submit this story to another website without my approval. Please remember to support nifty, as your donations are what keep the site going. (http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html) As always, I love to hear your feedback, good, bad, story ideas, anything really. Just send me an email to (Tony @ tfreitas62.yahoo.com). 3, 2, 1, Smile! Chapter 11 – The Riddle in the Photo "Awesome. This is perfect. Damn, you're so fucking hot," Mr. Haney said. Kneeling on an old black leather couch, I looked back over my shoulder at the wild-eyed beast of a man taking photos of me. I was dressed, if you could call it that, in parts of Mr. Haney's youngest son's old Boy Scout outfit. I was wearing the mid-calf high, army green socks with a large red stripe. As well as this, I was also sporting his son's beige shorts with a black belt which were way too small for me and my bubble butt. But that was fine as the shorts were currently open and pulled down just below my rosy red cheeks. My ass was partially exposed, because I only had on a white jock underneath, leaving just the straps to cover my backside. From the waist up I was wearing nothing but the traditional Scout's red neckerchief and army green and red hat, which I had on backwards. As Mr. Haney called out instructions for my next pose, my head was spinning, trying desperately to figure out how I got here. FOUR HOURS EARLIER; Taking a seat at the back of the bus, I put my hands to my face, as if to literally hold back my tears. It felt like I had been in a fight; like I had been punched in the gut and kicked in the head. I was hurting, I was confused, but most of all I was mad. There was no denying that emotion. I wanted to punch the chair in front of me, to yell at it. Why? The fact that Jake had lied to me was causing my blood to boil. I was angry that he kept his gallery a secret. I was livid about the photos with him and another boy. But deep down, I knew what really had me so disturbed. It was the way Jake looked in the photos. It was a level of happy I had never seen from him. It was pure, it was real, and deep down I knew it was more than what we had. Jake had hurt me, and all I could think about was hurting him back. Only one idea came to mind, and I just so happened to have his business card in my wallet. "Um, a, hi, is this Mr. Haney?" I asked, hearing someone answer the call. "Yes, this is Paul Haney, who's this?" he responded. "Um, it's, it's me, um, Blake, Blake Patterson," I said in a hushed voice. The bus was pretty much empty as it left the station. Not many needing a late afternoon ride back to Tacoma. With no one sitting around me, I felt secluded enough to make the call. "Oh, yes, yes how are we doing Blake, Blake Patterson?" Mr. Haney said, clearly mocking me a bit. "Good, I guess. I, was just um, well you had mentioned, um..." I tried to ask the question, but for the life of me, I did know how to phrase it. Every way I ran it through my head sounded wrong; Felt wrong. It felt dirty, and the words just weren't coming to make it sound right. "Ah, you're calling about my offer for a private model shoot, right?" As usual, Mr. Haney had no problem finding the words. With a dry mouth and throat, I forced a swallow, before answering. "Yes. You said you would make it worth my while?" I asked, wiping the last remnants of tears from my face and eyes. "I did say that. And I meant it. And now it sounds like you're up for it, or at least interested. We just need to work out a time and price. Let me step out into the garage where it's a little more private," Mr. Haney said. I could hear him moving through his house. "Ok, Blake. Is there a time that works best for you?" He asked. "How does tonight sound?" I asked, knowing if I waited to do this, I would lose the courage and back out. "Wow, um, yeah ok, I think I can make that work. How's 7 pm sound?" Mr. Haney asked. It was 3:45 pm and the bus ride was a two-hour long trip. I knew I'd be home in time, and I was sure I could convince my mom that I needed to go to Lucas's to finish weekend homework. "That works. Where?" I asked. Mr. Haney proceeded to give me the directions to his office, which was close to the gym and a short bike ride from my house. After hanging up on him, I realized I was so hell-bent on making this happen tonight, that I forgot to work out the details. Who was bringing the camera, what was I wearing, and how much was he going to pay me? I thought about calling him back, but I was exhausted and gently fell asleep with my head resting on the bus window. I was abruptly awoken by the sudden braking of the bus as it came to a stop in the Tacoma terminal. Shaking off the sleep, I grabbed my overnight bag and departed. It wasn't a long ride to my house from the station, but during that time my mom found a way to drill me with a million questions about the old neighborhood. I was quite shocked when my mother didn't seem to question my request to head over to Lucas'. It was 6:35 pm when we got home. I had just enough time to grab a shower, do a little body hair grooming, throw on a pair of boxer briefs, a clean pair of black jeans, white t-shirt, and a Seattle Sounders hoodie. To add to the lie of going to Lucas', I grabbed my school backpack and threw in it one of the cameras Jake was letting me use. It was already 6:55 pm by the time I had made it to the business complex. Mr. Haney was a Certified Personal Accountant, and his small office was nestled between a dentist office and a yoga studio. Being a Sunday evening, the business center was pretty much empty. The glass door was locked, but with a slight tap Mr. Haney let me in. It's when I heard him lock the door that it started hitting me just how crazy this all was. "Thanks for coming Blake. For a second I thought you might have just been fucking with me," Mr. Haney said. "What. Oh, um no, I, I wasn't fucking with you, Mr. Haney," I said scanning his office. The front of the office was typical: Short grey carpeting; a couple of chairs sitting in front of a desk. On the desk were a couple monitors, and some stacks of papers and manila folders. In the corner there was an office plant on a small round table. The walls were white with a couple of stock scenery photos of ocean waves crashing on beaches. There was a solid white door on the back wall. The office, in general, was nothing special. "No need to call me Mr. Haney. Paul works fine," Mr. Haney said as he ushered me to one of the chairs in front of the desk. "Um, ok," I said, slinging my backpack into the empty chair and pulling my cell phone from my jeans pocket before sitting down. "So, Blake, something to drink, water or soda, before we dive into this?" Mr. Haney asked. "Yes, water, please. Thank you," I replied. He reached below the desk, to what must have been a mini fridge. He came back up with two cold bottles of water. Taking the water from Mr. Haney, I opened it and took two large swigs. Wiping my mouth, I put the cap back on and set it on the desk. "So, Blake, when we last spoke, I proposed a private shoot for me. But you seemed very hesitant to even take my business. So much so, I pretty much forgot about the offer, assuming it was never going to happen. And yet here we are. Want to tell me what changed your mind?" Mr. Haney asked, taking a swig from his own water bottle. My eyes traveled to the ceiling as I pondered my answer. When I realized anger and vengeance were a bad reason to be doing this, I could only think of one other. For a second, I let my eyes lock in on Mr. Haney's facial expression, before letting my head hang down. "Money," I answered him. "Ah. You need some cash. I can respect that. I was a young teen once too. Of course, the next question is how much money, and what am I getting for it?" Mr. Haney said, staring at me like he was trying to look into my soul. "I can get one of your photo sets online for a hundred dollars the man continued. Now that's about 15 photos, and in most of them, you're only down to your underwear. With these being private for just me, I'll give you $200 for an hours' worth of your time, if you're looking to stay in a pair of briefs. If you're interested in getting naked for me, then I'll make it $500 for an hours' worth." Being in Mr. Haney's office had distracted me from the anger I was feeling toward Jake. I was so concerned and nervous for what I was about to do, I forgot why I was there. When Mr. Haney offered the options of how the shoot could go, I remembered the picture of the shirtless boy from Jake's gallery, and my jealousy came roaring back. "Five hundred for an hour works for me. I get copies of all the photos you take, and you have to promise not to share these with anyone else," I replied, repeating the practiced lines I had worked on before coming over here. The request for the photos was the main part of my revenge plan. I was going to show Jake pictures of me posing with another man, so he would know how it felt to have your heart broken. "That sounds great. And of course, I'm not sharing these with anyone. I'd like very much to stay out of prison," he said, rolling his eyes at my request. "Yeah, ok, right. That was stupid of me. So um, uh, are we doing this here?" I asked, looking around at his office. "I have a private office in the back. Figured we could go in there and make ourselves comfortable," Mr. Haney said, standing up. "Should I bring a camera?" I asked, not sure how far he had thought this through. "I was just going to use my iPhone if you're cool with that," he said. "Sure, it's your shoot," I replied. Part of me was insulted that he'd waste my time with a shit camera phone. Once inside, I took a quick look around. This room was larger than the front of the office. There was a desk, littered with books and stacks of paper and files. The mess was a striking contrast to the front of the office. To my left were three large bookshelves full of books and binders. To my right was an old black leather couch, that looked like many a person had crashed on it. Behind his desk was a small kitchenette, with upper and lower cabinets, a sink, and a door opened showing a bathroom on the other side. "I was thinking you could wear this," Mr. Haney said. I spun from scanning his office to see him holding a Boy Scout's uniform. "I figured Adam's was too big, and while Mark's is probably too tight, I figured it would work well for the picture shoot," Mr. Haney said smiling. I took the clothes and headed to the bathroom. The outfit was complete with shirt, adorned in patches and pins, shorts, belt, neckerchief, hat, and socks. It only lacked shoes. As for underwear, Mr. Haney had other plans than my boxer briefs as there was a white jock folded in with the uniform. I cringed thinking it was Mark's as well, but the whole outfit smelled as if it had been recently washed. And, so it went. I would pose for him in the very tight-fitting uniform while he took photos from his phone. Eventually becoming shirtless, with Mark's shorts around my thighs and my bare ass the focus of his pictures. Eventually, he had me bent over with my head resting on the couch cushion as I stood with my ass swaying in the air. The shorts had slid to my ankles, where Mr. Haney instructed I leave them. In his words, it looked fucking hot to see them bunched around my legs. With my head down I missed him walk up behind me. "I'm hoping a little contact tonight will be okay. I won't do anything you're not cool with, but clearly, if I just wanted some photos, again I could have easily bought them online," Mr. Haney said, as his lips kissed my bareback. His kiss was soft and warm, and it should have been a very sensual moment. But I felt disgusted and creeped out. It was almost like I was having an out of body experience. I was there, but it was someone else's body he was kissing. I must have answered him but I don't remeber. It wasn't until he responded that I realized I had said anything. "Great. I'm glad you agree." Mr. Haney said, his hands sliding over my hips to the pouch of the jock. I wasn't sure what to do, or where this was going, but I knew it was wrong. I never felt like this with Jake. It never felt like I was being used when I was with Jake, but that's exactly how I was feeling now. Pushing Mr Haney's hands away, I quickly stood, pulling the beige shorts up. "Sorry, I'm sorry; I can't, I can't do this," I said backing away Mr. Haney and into the bathroom. The whole time I was in the bathroom I refused to look at myself in the mirror, disgusted at what I might see. Upon exiting, Mr. Haney had regained his breath and was sitting at his desk. Without saying a word, I walked past him and into the front office. Grabbing my backpack, I didn't wait for Mr. Haney to come and unlock the door. I flipped the tumbler lock and took one look back before stepping outside. I saw Mr. Haney, standing but not attempting to follow me. I peddled like a mad man as I raced back home. For the second time today, the tears were flowing. Only this time I was mad at myself. Never once actually sitting down on the bike seat, the force of my pedaling had my backpack, which hung from my shoulders, swinging from side to side. My legs pumped the pedals for all I had. As my front tire hit the driveway to my house, there was a sigh of relief that I had made it home. I knew Mr. Haney wasn't following me, but I still wanted to be as far away from all of that as possible. Parking my bike in the garage I stormed my way into the house and straight to my room. I wanted nothing to do with my mom, even though I knew my actions wouldn't go unnoticed. "Are you okay Blake? Did everything go okay at Lucas'?" my mom asked from the other side of my bedroom door. Thankfully she respected my privacy and chose not to barge in. "Yeah, I'm good mom. It's been a long weekend, and I'm just beat. Sorry about letting the door slam. I'll talk to you in the morning if that's okay?" I said, noticing my phone for the first time, and the text from Mr. Haney. "As long as you're okay, we'll talk in the morning. Goodnight. I love you," my mom said. Staring at my phone's screen, I called out a few seconds later, "Thanks, love you too." The text was short: `Sorry if I pushed it too far. I didn't mean to scare you. I hope you're okay. Paul.' He had pushed it too far, but I knew this wasn't his fault. I had led him on. I told him it was okay, to the point of putting a value to what we were doing. Even though I regretted every second of it, for some reason I now felt bad for him. He was still a sleaze, who I never wanted to talk to again, but I knew he must have been worried I was going to tell someone. So, I texted him back: `Sorry I left so soon. Everything is okay, just needed to get home. Sorry. Blake.' `As long as you're okay. I understand. Paul.' Putting my phone down, I closed my eyes. While my body was exhausted, my head was still spinning. In dire moments like this, I could always count on Captain Kush to come to the rescue. It took a few hits before my mind was now matching my body; I was finally able to get to sleep. The next morning the sun pierced through the shades of my bedroom window. I rubbed the crust from my eyes, as I slowly rolled over to look at the clock on my nightstand. SHIT! Shit, I had slept through the alarm clock. It was already 9 am, a half hour past the first bell. "Fuck!" I said out loud as I jumped out of bed. Running around, I scrambled to figure out an outfit. With a dirty pair of boxers in one hand and wrinkled jeans in the other, I finally just gave up. I fell back on the bed, my bare feet still on the floor. It was too much: the photo shoots, the new school, my relationship with Jake, my secret sex romps with Lucas, the dive team, and now add into it Mr. Haney and the new boy. I couldn't do it, I couldn't stand, all I wanted to do was roll over into the fetal position and hide under my blanket. I knew I couldn't just do that. People needed to know where I was, and that started with my mom. There was concern in her voice when she answered the phone. It was never good to be getting a call from me when I should be in class. I explained that I felt sick, having slept through my alarm and that I wanted to stay home. Being that I was a pretty good student, who almost never asked to stay home, she said it was okay, and that she'd call the school. I then had to convince her coming home at lunch was not required. The next person to contact was Andrei. I texted him letting him know I was out sick and would be missing practice today. I had told Jake that I would text him when I got back from Seattle, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I spent most of the morning zoned out on the couch watching TV game shows and getting high. At lunch, I received a quick text from Lucas, for whom I told the same lie to. I suppose it wasn't such a far-fetched lie. He replied telling me to feel better soon. My head was still a jumbled mess. As late afternoon came, I found myself out of tears and weed. I decided a shower was needed before my mom got home. With my hands on the tile wall, I stood directly under the shower head. The jet of hot water hitting the top of my head, cascading down the rest of my body. The water felt good, but it was more than just sore muscles I was trying to sooth. My head ached like it had been flung around from the twists and turns of a wild roller coaster; A mental roller coaster, that left me feeling queasy, and was constantly playing a cheesy love song. I'd see Jake's face, then the great moments we've had, and it felt good. Then out of nowhere, those images were shattered by the picture of that other boy. I hated him, and I didn't even know who he was. I hated Jake too. Then, I'd think about what I did with Mr. Haney, and I'd feel sick to my stomach, and bad for how I treated Jake. I loved him so much. And around and around the roller coaster went. My mom was home from work by the time I had gotten out of the shower. I blamed my red, puffy eyes on the hot water of the shower and made up illness. My mom brought home chicken noodle soup for dinner like any caring parent would for their sick child. Tuesday came, and I made it to school. I blamed my sour attitude on my not feeling well when friends would ask. The day dragged as I tried to focus on anything other than Jake. But a text from him at lunchtime didn't help matters. It was a short text, simply asking how my weekend went and if everything was okay. I told Jake I was under the weather, and that I'd talk to him later. That short and simple text took me nearly two hours to come up with. I can only imagine what Jake was thinking on the other end of the phone as I'm sure he saw the text bubbles come and go. I wanted to lay it all out for him. Yell at him. Curse at him. Hug him. But none of these feelings were going to be expressed properly with a simple texting emoticon. However, I did contemplate just sending him the middle finger one, and at least that got me to smile for a second. Wednesday dragged on much as Tuesday had. Dive practice, however, was a nice break. Apparently, throwing yourself some thirty odd feet from a platform, headfirst into the water, tends to keep your mind focused on just that. But as soon as practice was over, I saw that I had received two texts from Jake. The first asking when he could see me next, and then one twenty minutes later asking if everything was okay between us. Reading the texts put me right back into my emotional storm. I never replied to either. Walking in from practice, I was surprised to see my mom sitting on the couch. Usually, she was in her new kitchen, either cooking dinner or whatever mothers do. "How was practice?" she asked as I walked into the living room where she was sitting. "Fine," I replied. "Is there something wrong?" I asked, again puzzled to see her just sitting there. "That's what I was going to ask you," she said, patting the couch cushion, gesturing for me to join her. "I'm fine. Just tired," I said, sitting down on the couch. "Bullshit Blake. What's going on with you? You've been moping around since you got back here Sunday," my mom said. Her use of foul language had my attention. "Really, I'm just tired. I have a lot going on, and this past weekend was probably too much," I said to her. Trying my best to make her believe me. "Blake. I know somethings bothering you. To me, it looks like a broken heart," she said. The concerned look on her face said it all. I looked up from the cushion I had been staring at, to avoid that all-knowing look only a mother can do. But when she said broken heart, my head looked up at her, and it took everything I had to hold back the flood gates. "So, it is a broken heart. Want to tell me about it?" she asked. With tears in my eyes, I just shook my head no. I hadn't a clue where a conversation like this would even begin. "Blake. You know I love you with all my heart. And I will always love you, no matter what. So, it's with that love that I must ask. Are you gay?" "Huh, wha.. what?" I asked in stunned belief. "It's okay if you are. I told you, I love you no matter what. And truthfully, I've suspected for a while now," she said, reaching out and putting her hand on top of mine. My eyes were a watery mess now, and I just shook my head yes, in confirmation. "Is Lucas your boyfriend? And did something happen Sunday evening?" she asked. My initial thought was to say no, but I quickly realized there was no harm in saying yes to this. And it could even give me someone to talk to about what I was going through. "Yes," I said quietly. "What happened?" she asked. Sniffling, I looked up at her. "He said I was his first, but I saw an older photo of him with another boy," I said, with a bit of anger and relief in my voice. "Ah, and so Sunday was you confronting him?" she asked. "No, Sunday is when I found the picture. I don't know how to confront him. I'm mad, I don't know what to say," I told her wiping the tears from my eyes. "Well, first off as your mother I do need to point out you two are only fourteen, so I can't imagine Lucas was in a deep relationship with anyone before you. But it's clear you love him. I can see that. You're worried if you confront him it will end it all. Right?" she said. Again, I just nodded my confirmation. "It's not fair Blake. To you or to Lucas'. Look, I don't have all the answers, especially with relationships. God knows I've made my fair share of mistakes. But I know, no matter what happens, you need to talk to him about it. You can't keep this to yourself. It's been eating you up sweetie, and it's only been three days. And I'm sure Lucas knows something is wrong, and it's probably eating at him too. Cause he probably has no idea what he did, or why you're mad. No matter what happens, you must be brave and face this. It might hurt bad. You two might not make it through, but I know you can heal from that. But what you're doing now, just drags it out, and makes things worse. You'll start to resent him, and he'll start to hate you for it." She said. I looked at her and was wondering if she was still talking about Lucas and me, or her and my father. Either way, I knew her words were from the heart and were true. And I knew what I needed to do. "You're right. Would you mind if I went over there tonight?" I asked, knowing she really couldn't say no after her speech. "Of course, but I'd feel better if you let me drive you," she offered. "No, I need to do this alone," I said, as we both stood from the couch and hugged. "Okay, but you remember this. Whatever happens, this will pass. You will get through this. And if you change your mind and need a ride call me. Actually, either way, you need to call me," she said. "I know. And I will," I said as I spun around to head to my room and grab a sweatshirt. Stopping, I turned to look back at my mom. "How did you know I was gay?" I asked. My mom smiled and pointed to a picture on the mantle above the fireplace. "Go grab that photo," she instructed. I picked up the photo and smiled at the memory it brought back. It was of me and my friends, taken outside by the apartment complex pool on my 13th birthday. I handed it to her with a confused look on my face. "You knew from my thirteenth birthday party?" "How well do you remember that party?" she asked. "Well, I guess. It wasn't that long ago." My birthday is on May 23rd. "I remember it like it was yesterday. You were so insistent about inviting all your friends and classmates. When the party started and all of you were in the pool, I was watching you closely. You felt perfectly fine being the only boy wearing speedos that day. And as typical with all young boys and girls, you grouped yourselves up, girls to one end of the pool, and boys to the other. Do you remember that?" she asked. "Yes, kind of," I said, remembering the pool party, but perhaps not to that detail. "All of the boys were giggling and staring at the handful of girls in their newly filled out bikinis. All, except one boy. He wasn't looking at the girls at all. I'm not sure he even noticed they were there. Did you?" she asked. I hadn't realized I was that obvious. My cheeks blushed as I smiled and looked at the hallway floor in a you-got-me look. "I didn't think so, she continued. So, I'd say it was that day that I started having my suspicions. But I never wanted to rush you on it, so I never brought it up. But tonight, was too important not to. Your happiness Blake is all I ever want. Please remember that." I came back around the couch and gave her another hug. TEXT: ME: Are you around? JAKE: Yep. What's up? U feeling better? ME: No. I really need to talk to you. Do you have time? JAKE: Sure. This doesn't sound good though. Should I be worried? ME: Too much to text. Can you pick me up at our spot in 10min? JAKE: Of course. See you there. Jake and I had designated a street corner only a couple blocks away from my house, that if I ever needed him to pick me up or drop me off in secret, we could do it there. I had grown up since the last time I had an emotional emergency with Jake. It had only been a few months, but I resisted the urge to run over to his house and just throw my sobbing self into Jake's lap. However, I was quite aware that tonight's conversation might very well lead to tears. My typical outfit after my dive practice shower was the pair of briefs I had worn to school that day, a pair of grey sweat bottoms, matching grey Nike hoodie, and flip flops. No undershirt, socks or shoes. My head was so focused on the conversation with my mom, and the one coming with Jake, that I never thought to change. Grabbing my skateboard, I thanked my mom as I ran out of the house and headed to the corner to wait for Jake. I was glad to see Jake was there waiting for me, as the cool air of the night was stinging the tops of my bare feet. I was quick to open the door and jump in. Jake leaned in for a kiss once my ass hit the seat. While I had been working up the nerve to unload on him for lying to me, I couldn't resist. It was a quick peck, but it felt good. For a second, it made me question if bringing this all up was worth potentially ruining what we had. "Where to my little cub?" Jake asked. Every once and while Jake would call me his little cub, as he was my big bear. I know, not very original, but I liked it, usually. "I guess anywhere we can have a private conversation," I said. Jake picked up on my tone, "Oh, it's that bad huh?" he said, putting his truck into drive, pulling away from the corner. Jake drove for about 10 minutes before stopping on street full of unfinished track homes. Each house was in a different state of completion, but not one was occupied. "This okay?" he asked, putting the truck into park, turning the engine off. I nodded my approval, as I ran my sweaty palms over the tops of my sweatpants. "You said... I mean, when we first started this, you said I was your first. You know, your first teen," I said, taking a deep breath. "And you are," Jake said, clearly not sure where I was going with this. The image of him and the other boy flashed in my head, and with a bit of anger I fired back, "Am I?" Jake leaned back; his face clearly confused by my accusation. Because that's really what it was, more accusing than questioning. "What do you mean, are you? Of course you are? Why would you think I'd lie about that?" Jake asked. Staring at the floorboard of the truck, I sighed, before telling Jake about my discoveries. Evidence, I knew deep down, Jake couldn't argue with. "I found your studio when I was in Seattle," I said, finally looking up at Jake for his reaction. "Oh, okay. I'm still not sure where you're going with this?" he said, still not getting it. "Inside, all over the place are pictures of you with another boy. And you don't even have to say anything, it's clear you love him. So, you lied to me. You lied about me being your first. You never mentioned the studio, and to make matters worse you hung up a photo of me in those wet soccer shorts that totally show off my junk, and never once asked if that was okay. I know a lot of people in Seattle, what if one of them saw that? I'd be crushed," I said, eyes starting to water. Jake just sat there for a second, shaking his head. I was getting madder, thinking Jake wasn't taking me seriously. But then I noticed his eyes were watering too. Of all the emotions and reactions I pictured in my head of how I this might play out, I didn't see Jake crying as one of them. It was hard to figure out what he was thinking. "I'm sorry Blake. It never occurred to me that you needed to know about that," he said shaking his head. "So, you're not even denying it. You're just upset that I found out?" I spat at him in anger. "It's not like that. It's not what you think Blake," Jake said. I cut him off before he could continue. "What is it like, then? What am I missing? What else haven't you told me?" I asked, in between sniffles. "You're talking about my past Blake. This was my life before..." Jake started to say, again only to be cut off by me. "So, because it was before you tricked me into coming here and falling in love with you, you felt I didn't need to know? Is that what you're saying?" I asked, my anger growing. "This is tough for me to talk about Blake, but I need you to listen to what I have to say. I may not have told you everything, but I never lied to you. And I never tricked you into falling in love with me," he said, clearly hurt by that last dagger. "When I told you I had just gotten out of a long-term relationship, it was, for the most part, the truth. What I didn't tell you was that it ended years before I met you. And I didn't tell you how it ended. And I didn't tell you because it hurts to talk about it, and I didn't think you needed to know at the time. I fell in love with a man twenty years older than me, and we loved each other very much. Viktor was his name, and the house I live in now, we bought together and planned to live there forever. Viktor, me, and his son Sasha. The boy in the photos," Jake said, now looking at me for my reaction. "So, he wasn't, um, one of your, models or boyfriend?" I asked trying to find the words. "My boyfriend? Oh God no. No. I mean, did I love him? Absolutely. Like a son," Jake said. Now I had more questions than answers. I was confused, and not sure how I was to be feeling. "What happened?" I asked. Jake took a deep breath before answering me. "Viktor and I found each other through photography. He was a professional photographer, and I was just a beginning hobbyist. I took a class from him, and one thing led to another," Jake said, as he recalled the past. "It was a messy relationship, to say the least. Being in construction, it was better to keep my being gay a secret. And Viktor had just accepted that he was gay, after being married for fifteen years. Add to that he was going through an ugly divorce with his wife, and there was a kid involved. So, we decided to take it slow, but everything just seemed to feel right when we were together. About a year into it we started making plans to spend our lives together. That included buying that house, opening that studio in Seattle, where Viktor did most of his work, and Sasha, who I treated now like my stepson. Life was great. I was starting to love photography, and everyone was really happy. It was then that the photos you saw were taken," Jake said. His eyes were looking at me, but you could see his head was somewhere else. "It was about four years ago that everything came crashing down. While out at a photo shoot, Viktor suffered a massive heart attack. He passed away the next day. Sasha's mom was quick to swoop in and take him. She never approved of Viktor and my relationship. She even went as far as demanding I stayed away from Sasha. So, I buried my head in work and kept mostly to myself. I almost forgot about the studio in Seattle, and photography altogether. But then I realized, it was my one way to keep Viktor's memory alive: To keep taking photos, and to keep that studio open. If that photo of you is hanging in the studio Blake, I promise you it was an accident. I sent some headshots to the manager a few weeks ago, and your photo must have been in there. I swear I never meant for your picture to be on display," Jake said, now wiping the tears away. My heart was once again broken, only this time it was for Jake, not because of him.I felt foolish that I had ever questioned him. And now I was forcing him to relive a time in his life that must have been quite painful. "I, I, I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. I just thought, you know, with the photos and all. Don't hate me," I said, starting to tear up as well. "How can I hate you, Blake?" Jake asked, putting his large reassuring palm on the back of my neck, our eyes locking in on each other. "After Viktor and Sasha were gone, I was so lonely. Yes, I had my friends and co-workers, but my heart was still in the dark. Until I met you, Blake. You pulled me from it. You put the joy back in everything. You've given me a reason to truly smile again. I should have told you about my past. I shouldn't have kept it from you. I love you Blake, and hurting you is something I never want to do," Jake said, pulling my face right up to his so I could see his sincerity. It had been just over a week since our last photo shoot, and the last time I had seen Jake. And in that short amount of time I went from feeling like I was about to lose my first true love, to now loving him even more. So, it only felt natural to show it by leaning in and kissing him. Our lips touched gently at first, tasting each other's salty tears. Our gentleness did not last long, as our passion and lust took over. I bit onto his lower lip, before opening my mouth, happily accepting his tongue. His fingers slid from the back of my neck to take a handful of the short blonde hairs on the top of my head. We were like werewolves in the light of a full moon. I got up on my knees in the passenger seat. Sliding over the center console, I straddled Jakes lap. He reclined his seat just a bit, as I removed my hoodie, exposing my chest and nipples to the warm air of the truck cab. Jake assisted me in removing his t-shirt as I began kissing all over his lips, neck, and ears. His hands were busy unbuttoning his jeans, sliding them down only as far as they needed to be. Jake broke from my kissing to quickly spit in his hand, which went straight to his recently freed monster cock. Jake put his fingers inside the waistband of my sweat bottoms and aggressively pulled them and my underwear down my thighs. "Ahh, Ohhhh, fffuuuuuCKKK," I moaned as Jake's purple mushroom head began to pierce my ring. My fingers gripped the thick patch of chest hair as I rode out the pain. With only spit for lube, Jake could only take little jabs into me with his 9-inches. When it was all the way in, I pushed off his chest, sitting back all the way on his lap and cock. "Oh, Jesus Blake. Oh damn, I love you," Jake said, his hands on my bare hips. My left hand fell back onto the dashboard, with my right hand on the driver's door window, which was now fogged up, much like the other windows. "Oh, fuck Jake, fuck, fuck me, mmmmmmm, oh yeah," I groaned as I rode my lover. Thank god we were parked in an empty housing track, as my ass hit the horn on the steering wheel multiple times while I bounced up and down on his pole. I moved my right hand to my swinging prick and began a gentle pump. I didn't need much to get that good feeling. Jake's powerful rod was doing just fine at bringing me home. Minutes later I heard Jake moan, "Oh damn". His hands pulled on my hips, driving the tip of his cock deep into me. The ridge of his tool swelled against my prostate with each load of cum pumped into me. My eyes rolled back, as my own load shot from my dick all over Jake's hairy chest. "Yes, yes, ohhhhhhh fuuuuuuccckkkk," I hissed, the lips of my boy hole clenching down on his cock with each of my ejaculations. With each of us spent, I leaned forward onto his chest, resting my head on his shoulder. I wasn't worried that my cum was now rubbing all over my chest. It had been such an animalist fuck, that the two of us needed time to catch our breaths. Jake whispered in my ear how much he loved me, as I felt his cock start to shrink inside me. With my sweats and underwear still around my calves, I ungracefully slipped off Jake's tool and spun over the center console to land back in my seat. My acrobatics brought forth a laugh from Jake. As I pulled my underwear and sweats back up, I looked over at him. "As if you could have done better," I said, laughing as well. Jake laughed a bit more, "Fair enough, my little cub." Remembering my mom's words, I quickly texted her that all was good, and I'd be home shortly. Thankfully, I had remembered to do that as it was almost 9pm when Jake dropped me off at the corner near my house. Even though it was only a couple blocks, it felt weird skateboarding home with his load trying to work its way out of me. I'm not sure what my mom was thinking when I walked in. She was happy to hear that "Lucas" and I had worked everything out and that it was just my misunderstanding. But she kept looking at my perma-grin and disheveled state with a questioning eye. And I'm sure when she hugged me, I saw her face scrunch up as if she could smell the sex on me. There was also a notable change in the tone of her voice. "I'm glad it all worked out Blake. I can tell you seem like a load has been lifted from your chest. Not tomorrow, but soon I would like to have Lucas over for dinner so I can get to know him better" she said, before ushering me off to bed. I left the room grinning, as I thought to myself, she was partially right. I had gotten that load off my chest. But I didn't get rid of it completely, and my guess is by the questioning look on her face, she knew exactly where I had put it, or I should say where Jake had put it. Thursday morning, I woke up for the first time in over a week feeling like I had gotten a full night's rest. Even Lucas noticed the marked change in my attitude and was quick to assume that I must have gotten laid. His happiness for me was short-lived though, as I informed him of our new relationship. Not wanting to wait till lunch I explained the situation I was in, and I how I told my mother we were dating. Lucas was not thrilled to be outed to my mother and even more concerned about my mom calling his. I promised him I'd make sure that would never happen and that she'd not tell anyone about him being gay. From then on Lucas started to relax about it, even joking about how I was such a jealous bitch, always accusing him of cheating. And how he must have been a tiger in the sheets because he left me glowing and smiling ear to ear. All his comments had me laughing and blushing, as we made it through Mr. Bubl's class. At lunch, I got a wonderful text from Jake. He apologized again for any pain he had caused me. He went on to say he had called the art studio and had the picture of me taken down. He also thanked me for the wonderful evening and finished with setting a time to discuss my next photo shoot. Jake and I had discussed that even though there was a valid reason for him to be texting me, or I him, it was better that after each text we deleted them from our phones. Friday went perfect. I had arranged a time to meet Jake on Saturday to do an X photo shoot, making me giddy with excitement. He said he had already figured out the theme and worked out who'd be assisting me in the shoot. Feeling I owed Lucas, I asked Jake if it could be him, but Jake said he had other plans. I asked him if it was Thomas who'd be my partner, which got a chuckle out of Jake. Unfortunately, that week's aquatic competition was hosted by my high school, which meant the swim team could stay on campus, while the divers had to meet at the community college. I was disappointed I couldn't watch Lucas and Michael swim. Having missed a practice, I was pleasantly surprised to see my scores had improved. I had slipped in my ranking as the school we were competing against had some good divers. However, in the end, we won again, with Andrei taking first place. On Saturday, I chose to leave a bit earlier so I could run over to Jake's. Having realized from the start of diving that my cardio needed a lot of work, I thought this was a good way to work it in. I had long since been given the code to Jake's front gate and was able to make it up to his front door. Jake let me in and looked me over as I waited in his entryway. I had thrown on a white undershirt, and the same grey Nike hoodie I had worn the night we talked. Below were an old pair of black soccer shorts and my running shoes, all of which was drenched in sweat. "Damn. How is it you look even sexier when you're sweaty?" Jake asked, leaning in giving me a quick kiss on the lips. I smiled coyly and shrugged my shoulders. As typical, I followed Jake to the basement studio, where I quickly noticed he had gone all out on the shoot's background scene. Sitting in front of the green screen was a kid's bed, dresser, and bookshelf. It was like the furniture from his spare bedroom, but upon getting up closer to it I could see and smell that the furniture was new, and of cheaper quality. The whole scene looked like a little boy's room, decorated in a superhero theme. I smiled at Jake, as he set up the flash umbrellas. "I'm not wearing diapers, again am I?" "Would that bother you? If I recall the last time you were in a diaper, we had a lot of fun," Jake said, winking at me. As I was thinking about the first time Jake and I had sex, he interrupted my daydream. "No diapers today. Maybe another time." Having finished showering, and with just a towel around my waist, I ran my fingers over the last two ab muscles that were starting to return from being back in sports. Jake hadn't told me to comb my hair, so I left the only part you could comb, a mess. As had become our routine, I met Jake at his laptop, and we went over my balance. Hudson Photography - BLAKE PATTERSON - Photo Shoot #10 CATEGORY #3 $150 CATEGORY #2 $250 CATEGORY #1 $500 CATEGORY #0 $1,500 CATEGORY #00 $2,000 CATEGORY P# $2,500 CATEGORY X $3,000 CATEGORY XXX $5,000 ________________________________________________ Owed = $22,100 Photo Shoot #10 = <-$2,000> Balance = $21,100 Blake's Account = $1,000 "That looks good," I said looking at my new balance and the money added to my credit card. "It's not the only thing looking good freshie," Diego said coming off the stairs into the room. I spun around with a smile at hearing the familiar voice. "Diego!" I said happily, as could be. "What no greeting for me?" Mike asked following in behind Diego. I had started running over to hug Diego when I saw Mike enter the room. Although I knew Mike, and the two of us had seen each other a lot over the last two weeks in speedos, being naked under the towel and seeing him in this setting had my shy side raging hard. "Oh, um, yeah. Hi Mike. Wow, are you joining us today?" I asked, biting my lower lip, as my eyes shifted from him to Carlos. "Well, he didn't come here to mow Jake's lawn," Diego said, laughing back at Mike, while at the same time slapping me on my bare chest as he walked by. As he got to Jake, Diego put up his hand. "Yeah, yeah, I got it, shower and teeth," he said as he walked past without even a hello. Mike walked by Jake as well, although he at least had the decency of saying "hi," as he followed Diego into the bathroom. My eyes were as big as saucers, as I scanned back and forth from the bathroom door back to Jake, in a `what the fuck did I just witness', gesture. "What??? Michael, like Diego, has been coming here for sports shoots for a while now. Today's going to be a first for him, but I'm sure he'll go with the flow. Now, go get dressed, before I have to come over there and take that towel from you," Jake said, before spinning on his stool and returning his attention to his camera cart. I walked over behind the privacy screen and immediately noticed three boxes with each boy's name and a number on it. This was my tenth shoot; Diego, was on number thirteen. Mike was on his seventh shoot. Opening the box, I saw my outfit for the day: Batman Underroos. There were a pair of blue Y-front briefs with a yellow waistband, and a grey shirt with a black bat insignia and yellow background. Along with those two items was a black bed sheet, which I suspected was to be a cape, and a black mask with ears that were cut out of a single piece of felt, like a kid would do. For a second, I thought about opening the other boxes to see what Diego and Mike were to wear. Instead, I just put on the clothes and mask and carried the sheet out to where Jake was at. "Na-Na-Na-Na Batman!" Jake sung as I walked in. As I was walking over to him, Diego and Mike came out of the bathroom in their towels. "Sweet digs Freshie. I hope I get to be Superman," Diego said. Jake was tying my cape around my neck when I heard Diego groan, "Oh come on Jake. That's fucked up. Why do I gotta be Robin?" "Just put it on and stop moaning," Jake said, before leaning in to whisper into my ear. "Wait till he sees what's happening next," Jake chuckled. Diego walked out wearing the traditional Robin gear. Solid green briefs, red shirt with green sleeves and the letter R insignia. He also wore a single black felt mask covering his eyes and a yellow sheet for his cape. Mike was wearing the Riddler's outfit. His underroo briefs were all green with a purple waistband and covered with black question marks. His shirt was also green and sported a single black question mark in the center of his chest. He also was wearing a black felt mask, but unlike Diego and I, Mike didn't have a cape. "You guys look great," Jake said, admiring his handy work. "I still don't see why I have to be the sidekick," Diego questioned. "Because Robin was shorter than Batman and the Riddler, and guess what?" Jake said with a sarcastic tone. "Yeah, I get it, I'm short," Diego said rolling his eyes. "Well great, now that you've accepted your role, why don't you hop up on the bed?" Jake asked, pointing at the mattress with light purple sheets. I watched as Diego moved toward the bed, his brief underwear stretched around his meaty thighs. The boy briefs he was wearing were doing little to conceal the teen bulge in the front. Since school had started, you could see Carlos had dropped some of his summertime pudge and looked even more solid than the last time I had seen him. Jake walked behind the green screen and came back carrying a rope. If Diego had moaned before, you should have heard him bitch when Jake started tying him up to the bed. Each wrist and ankle were bound and tied to a corner of the bed. Eventually, he quieted down, as Jake explained how the shoot would go. "Last chance boys. I've explained to each of you what we're doing here. The intent is to shoot this like a scene-by-scene comic book. But this one is going to get racy. If that's too much, you can back out now, no harm no foul," Jake said, taking the time to look into each of our eyes for confirmation. I turned and whispered to Mike, "You and Diego okay with this?" I asked, knowing their past relationship. "We're good. We're actually dating again," Mike whispered back while looking over at Diego all tied up, a smile on his face. "Okay then. Let's get to it. Mike, you stand here in front of the bed and Diego. Diego, you look desperate to escape." "I am desperate to escape," Diego said struggling against his binds. For a second, I was taken back to the tent with the Boy Scout Troop and Mr. Haney. Jake's camera shutter going off snapped me out of my trance. "Okay, Blake jump up on the desk and take your best fighting stance," Jake instructed. I did so, with my balled fists out in front of me. Click, click, click. "Now, point at Mike, like you're threatening him." Click, click, click. From there Jake had me and Mike square up so we right in front of each, looking like we were about to fight, while Diego continued to struggle. I pretended to punch Mike in the face. Click, click, click. Mike pretended to punch me in the gut. Click, click, click. Diego wiggled around. Click, click, click. And then just like that, our little kids' shoot went X-rated. Jake took Mike and had him hook his fingers around the waistband of Diego's briefs and pull back on them exposing Diego's semi chubbed cock. From there Jake had me step up, bending over the side of the bed, near Diego's quickly rising prick. "Okay Blake, go ahead and take Diego's cock into your mouth. Once he does Mike, while continuing to pull back on Diego's briefs with your left hand, use your right hand on the back of Blake's head like you're forcing him to suck his dick. "Damn Jake, that's fucking hot," Mike said. Doing as instructed, I looked into Diego's eyes before smiling and placing the tip of his cock into my mouth. Soon after, I could feel Mike's hand on the back of my head. Click, click, click. Even though he wasn't intending to, just the fact that Mike's hand was resting on my head was pushing more and more of Diego's cock into my mouth. I naturally put my hands-on Diego's bare thigh and shirt covered stomach to brace myself. "Keep going, Blake. Okay Mike, let go of the briefs and step behind Blake and act like you're about to rip his shirt off," Jake said, positioning us. Click, click, click, went the camera. Jake then had Mike rip my shirt off for real. The next shot was of me elbowing Mike in the gut and standing up. Diego, for his part, was softly moaning, until I pulled his hard tool from my mouth. From his cart, Jake grabbed a large black batman insignia. It turned out to be a sticker that he helped place onto my bare chest. After placing the sticker, Mike and I swapped spots. Now I was behind Mike, holding his head down while he was sucking on Diego's dick. From here I returned the favor and pretended for the camera to rip off Mike's shirt. His bare Asian chest was quickly adorned with a black question mark sticker. And so the scene went. Mike and I, I mean the Batman and the Riddler, fought over a helpless Robin. The next to go was my briefs, ripped off me in a tussle with the Riddler. From there, I was bent over again, as I was "forced" to kiss Diego, while the Riddler rubbed the head of his cock, which he had exposed through the front of his y-fronts, over my wrinkled boy hole. "Mmm, mmm, Uuuuhhh, ahhhhh," I moaned into Diego's mouth as Mike worked the tip of his tool back and forth over my chute. From there Jake had Mike and I swap roles again as if I had gotten the better of the Riddler. Pretending to push Mike onto the bed, on top of Diego's belly, I proceeded to pull Mike's briefs off him. Mike was now naked, with his just over 6-inch hard cock swinging freely. Like little kids would, his briefs were pulled over his head, covering his eyes as I pretended to punch him in the side of his ribs. Click, click, click. Jake then had me kneel on the mattress, each knee on either side of Diego's head, as I attempted to free him. From here Mike grabbed the end of my cape, lightly pulling me back for the camera, to halt my rescue attempt. Of course, with my hand tightly grabbing onto Diego's shirt for balance, it too was ripped off him. The action was stopped as Jake quickly gave Diego a body sticker of a large black letter R. With Diego, `Robin', now supposedly free from his binds, I was positioned by Jake, as if I had been spun and pulled by my cape right into the Riddler's crotch. Click, click, click "Okay boys. No more direction from me. If everyone is comfortable with it, you guys can take this scene wherever you want it to go," Jake said, placing a bottle of lube on the dresser next to the bed, a large Cheshire Cat grin on his face. Even though Mike had released my cape, he didn't wait for any more instructions from Jake, taking the obvious course of action with my head just inches from his rigid prick. Kneeling on the bed, he guided his cock into my mouth. We were no longer playing out the scene, and I had no intention of fighting this, but Mike still tried to control my head. As Mike grabbed at the felt Batman mask, he only succeeded in pulling it off. I was thrilled it was gone, as I had started to sweat under the poorly ventilated material. "Oh fuck Blake. Yeah, suck it. Oh damn," Mike moaned as he experienced the skills of a boy who had been learning how to suck cock on a 9-inch steel rod. As experienced as I had become from sucking on Jake's tool over the last few months, I still ended up gagging and coughing on Mike's crown, at the sudden surprise of Diego's tongue on my hole that had caught me off guard. Trying to regain my composure was tough as Diego did his best to shove his whole tongue into my hole. Click, click, click. This only lasted a few minutes, before Diego stopped his manipulations. With my eyes closed, and nose pressed firmly into the soft flesh above the root of Mike's dick, I heard a clicking noise. Even with the noise of Mike moaning, I knew it wasn't Jake's camera. As soon as the cold lube was rubbed over my wet anal lips, I knew exactly what it was. Diego had opened the bottle of lube and was now smearing it over my rosebud. With steady pressure, Diego eventually had the head of his cock past the gates of my boy pussy. I tried to moan, but it came out all mumbled, as Mike continued to plunge his dick into my throat. "Mmmrrrgghuhuhuh, uuuhhhhhhhgggg." I moaned in pleasure, even if it wasn't recognizable as such. "Oh, shit freshie. Fuck you feel good," Diego announced, his hands sliding onto my hips. As Diego found a nice rhythm, his cock plunging deeper with each stroke, I could tell he was still wearing his underroos. The visual must have been hot. Diego in his briefs, both Mike and Diego still wearing their masks. Diego and I, in our capes, as the two of them spindled me. It was enough to make my dick pulse with a surge of blood. Jake must have thought it was a hot scene as well, as I heard his camera shutter going off like a machine gun. Click, click, click, click, click. I was a bit thrown off when Diego grabbed me by the hair and pulled me off Mike's dick. But when he removed his rigid memeber from my ass and then rolled me onto my back, I understood what he was doing. Each boy re-inserted their hard-teen cocks into their designated holes. Only now my calves were resting on Diego's shoulders, and Mike's balls were now hitting my forehead. Pouring more lube into his hand, Diego started to work on my thick meat. I'll be honest, taking two cocks at once made it hard to focus on the pleasure Diego was bringing my dick. But both boys seemed to want the three of us to cum all together. They slowed down waiting for me to catch up in the feeling department. With Diego's chubby little fingers gliding up and down my fleshy tube, I was quickly approaching the point of no return. With another mangled groan, I announced my coming release from around Mike's very wet schlong. Diego used his great strength to sit up on his knees with my legs still on his shoulders. This pushed me up onto my shoulders and placed my leaking tool above me. Two more quick pumps from Diego's hand and my cock exploded a gush of white semen all over my face. Mike was next. Pulling his dick from my mouth, he blasted his load next to mine. His cum, along with my own, was warm and salty, and currently pooling around my closed eyes. Diego fought the urge to cum inside me, deciding it would be more fun to follow suit and add his load to the massive amount dripping from my face. Click, click, click. Dropping my legs from his shoulders, Diego shuffled forward. His cum hit me with such force it splashed off my cheek and forehead and into my hair. Click, click, click. I was licking what I could from my lips, but as I went to raise my hands to wipe the cum from my eyelids, I felt someone hold them down. My brain was too slow to recognize the new sound of Jake jerking off before his load was added to the collection. There was so much, it was hard to breathe with the cum covering my lips and nostrils. I heard Mike gasp and comment at the size of Jake's cock. I also heard Jake catching his breath, as the shutter of his camera must have been only inches from my head. Click, click, click. Once Jake was done, Diego let loose of the gentle hold he had on my arms. As I went to wipe the jizz from my eyes, I felt a couple fingers gently glide over my spunck covered cheek. Just as I was opening my eyes, I saw Diego smile, at the same time I felt his cum-dripping fingers push into my boy hole. "Uhhhh, oh shit, what are you doing?" I moaned, my toes curling. "I couldn't let that ass of yours get out of here without feeding it, could I freshie?" Diego said, pulling his glistening fingers from my clenching lips. Mike had pulled his underroos back on and walked up to Diego who was still kneeling at the head of the mattress. Both boys were still wearing their masks and insignia stickers as Mike seductively took Diego's fingers, which had just been in my ass, and placed them in his mouth. Sucking them clean, he released them and leaned in for a deep kiss. The whole thing had my cock chubbing, and if it wasn't for Jake telling us to go change, I know I could have gone for round two. It took a bit for all of us to calm down, but once we were, the three of us huddled around Jake's laptop. He had a picture program, that let you drag and drop photos into blank digital comic book sheets. From there the program allowed him to add words in bold and dynamic fonts next to each picture.`Bammm', `Pow!' `Crash' `BOOM!' `BANG'. There were some other words added to the not-so-comic book scenes. The final product was really cool. It was like the story of a group of boys acting out their comic book heroes before the action got the better of them and things led to innocent experimenting. Saying my goodbyes to Mike and Diego, I stayed back to help Jake clean up. While I was picking up the items that had fallen to the tile floor, I picked up the ripped Riddler shirt Mike had been wearing and stared at the still intact question mark symbol. I'm not sure why the little boy shirt made me think of Sasha. "Can I ask you a question, Jake?" I said, as he folded down the flash umbrellas. "Sure," he replied, looking over his shoulder at me in just my soccer shorts. "You don't have to answer, but what happened to Sasha? Have you seen him since his mom took him away? Do you guys ever talk? Based on what you told me he's probably early twenties by now right? Again, if it's too much, you don't have to answer," I said, firing a million questions at him at once. "Let's see, he was twelve when I took those photos. And he was just about to turn fourteen when his father passed. So, I think he's either seventeen about to turn eighteen, or he's eighteen. Sadly, too much time has passed, and I don't remember his birthday. But to answer your other question. No, I don't' talk to or see him much. Unfortunately, when his mom took him, she was very insistent I stay away. It killed me to do so, but with the loss of his father and Sasha being a naturally shy boy, I didn't want to throw him into a fight between his mother and I. So, I reluctantly obeyed her request, and for the most part, stayed away. Once he got a phone, he was able to text me, which we do every so often now. But, he's moved on from that short period in his life, and It's probably for the best. Although it is nice to see him around town occasionally," Jake said like that last line wasn't an information grenade he just threw at me. "What? He still lives here in Tacoma?" I asked, baffled by this revelation. Naturally assuming his mother had taken him far away. "Yeah, as far as I know. Actually, I think he goes to your school. Hell, you probably know him. When he was younger, he was really into swimming and diving. He might be on one of those teams," Jake said, as if the news was everyday gossip. My mind was spinning. "I haven't met everyone on the swim team, but I don't remember a Sasha. What's he look like? I wonder if Mike or Lucas knows him?" I asked, almost patting down my pocketless shorts looking for my phone to call one of them. Jake rubbed his buzzed head, and then like a light had gone off looked up with a smile, "Oh, I know why. He never really liked the name Sasha, even though it's a traditional Russian boy's name. I think I remember him saying it sounded like a girl's name. I'm pretty sure he decided when he starting high school to go by his middle name, Andrei."