Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2013 21:43:02 -0400 (EDT)
From: ErastesTouch@aol.com
Subject: Different Points of View, chapter 14

Different Points of View - by Erastes
Copyright 2012 by Erastes
Chapter 14 – The Party.

After our few days together, Jared continued to be content spending the majority
of his day at my place.  It was still mostly under the pretext that he was working
for me, so Josh didn't tag along during the times he thought Jared would be
working, but Josh did like to join us on the weekends, when he thought we'd play
more than work.  Jared and I did get a lot of the work done that I had wanted to
accomplish, such as painting the trim on the house and washing the exterior
windows, and we even began to repaint some of the rooms inside the house too.
One day while we were working, I asked Jared to go down to the mailbox and
collect my mail, because I was expecting something important to arrive, so he
hurried down and brought back the contents.  As he handed it to me, he looked
at me strangely and posed a question.

"Your last name is Cox?" he asked, amazed.

"Yes, with an 'x'.  I thought you knew that," I confirmed.

"No, I didn't, because your books all say your name is Bob White," he pointed
out.

"Yes, but that was strictly my publisher's idea.  He thought I should use a 'nom
de plume' or a pen name, since I was writing for children and young adults," I
admitted.  "He felt that my surname might create some problems, as well as a
rash of jokes, so he asked me to choose a name that was less likely to evoke
that type of response.  After thinking about it, I ended up choosing the same
name as the bird, Bob White, not Robert White, although its name is written as a
single word."

"Yes, it probably was for the best that you changed it," Jared agreed, "because
your name is kind of a funny and I could see the kids at my school making jokes
about it."

He tittered after saying this.

"Why?  Don't you like my name?" I questioned.

"Me?  Of course I do.  I've never met any Cox I didn't like, especially yours," he
joked.

After saying this, he burst out laughing, because he thought he had just made
that joke up.  If only he knew how many times I had heard it, or another similar
joke about my last name, while I was growing up.

"So you've got two Cox then?" he asked next, smirking.  "One in your pants and
another for your name?"

He began to laugh again.

"Yeah, and if I got married, I could have a bunch of little Cox too."

After hearing my comment, Jared was nearly rolling around on the floor in
hysterics, so I thought it would be best to get through all of these jokes
as quickly as possible.

"I attend all the Cox reunions, and when I get there I find big Cox, little
Cox, old Cox and young Cox.  We have skinny Cox and fat Cox; smart Cox and
dumb Cox, and I think we even have a blind Cox.  If anyone in my family
starts drinking, then that Cox might end up half in the bag.  We have Cox
that smoke, but there are non-smoking Cox as well.  We have rich Cox and
poor Cox, and some Cox are supported by other Cox.  We have athletic Cox,
couch potato Cox, dancing Cox, singing Cox and artistic Cox.  Some Cox
prefer to stay at home while other Cox enjoy hanging out."

"I know my cock prefers to hang out around you," he choked out.

After saying this, Jared was nearly hysterical and could hardly breathe, let alone
say anything else, so I gave him time to work his way through all I had just
thrown at him.  By the time he calmed down again, I thought we had probably
eliminated most of the future jokes about my surname, unless Josh, or even
Dean, learn about it and also found it humorous.  Once he had finally calmed
down, I continued and added one final thought.

"Now do you see why my publisher thought it might be best for me to use a pen
name?  Any more questions?"

He didn't have any.  After this little session with Jared, I didn't hear any more
references to my last name again, so I was glad I overdid it at that time and we
got through this all in one session.

Jared's birthday was just around the corner now and he'd be turning fifteen soon.
His birthday was on July third, so I figured we could really do up the holiday
weekend with a big party for him one day and then celebrate the Fourth on the
next.  When I got in touch with his mother to inform her about what I wanted to
do, I discovered that she didn't have both of those days off from work.
Unfortunately, she would have to work on Thursday, but she'd have Friday off for
the holiday, since the diner would be closed and she was taking the night off at
the bar.

After learning this, I figured I could make some minor adjustments to my plans,
so she would be off for the party too, and then I asked her if there were any other
young men Jared might wish to invite.  She said she couldn't think of anyone, but
she'd ask Josh, to see if he knew if Jared had any special friends.  If Josh didn't
know of anyone either, then she'd ask Jared directly, without letting him know
why she wanted to know.  She would be very discrete, since she didn't want to
ruin the surprise that I was going to be holding a birthday party for him.  I thought
her suggestion would solve my problem nicely, so I thanked her for her help.

Even though I continued working out the details for his party, Jared kept coming
down to my house as usual, which meant I had to be really sly in order to pull
everything together without him catching on.  I had to put away all of my notes
and anything else that might tip him off before he showed up, because I wanted
this to be a total surprise.  With any luck, none of the others would give this away
either and we'd all have a great time.

The following Saturday, Jared and Josh came down to swim again, so once we
finished working out in the pool, the boys decided they wanted to watch a movie
and insisted that I watch it with them.  I had no problem with doing this and let
them choose what they wanted to see.  They selected an older film, 'Homeward
Bound – The Incredible Journey,' which is about two dogs and a cat that crossed
the Sierra Mountains to return to their home.  It had plenty of exciting moments,
great scenery and some clever wisecracks between the animals, since we could
hear everything they were saying to each other.

We all enjoyed the movie, even though I had seen it several times before, and
when it was over Jared told me that someday he wanted to have a dog too.  He
said he knew his mother couldn't afford to buy the food and other things it would
need right now, but he hoped eventually they could afford it, because he really
thought he'd have a lot of fun with a dog of his own.

Once the movie ended, I asked the boys what they wanted to do next, and Jared
said he'd like to play miniature golf again, if that wasn't asking too much.  I told
him it wasn't and asked Josh if he wanted to play too, and he said he'd love to.  I
thought this was an ideal activity and something we could all do together, so
when we got there, we each picked up a golf ball and putter.  We let Jared go
first, followed by Josh.

Josh did fairly well when it was his turn, but I could see he was more
independent and less likely to accept advice than his brother, so I gave him only
as much assistance as he seemed to be interested in accepting.  Due to his
independent streak and stubbornness, he struggled at various times, but both
boys seemed to enjoy themselves.  I had the lowest score this time, with Jared
coming in second, but we didn't want Josh to feel badly that he'd come in last.
Therefore, Jared and I both made sure to emphasize to him that we had more
experience at this than he did, but he'd still done fairly well.

It was approaching dinnertime when we finished, so I dropped them both off at
their house.  That way they would be there when their mother came home to
have dinner with them and neither boy had a problem with this.  They did,
however, ask if they could come down to my house after their mother went back
to work, and I told them that would be fine.  After we had settled that issue, they
thanked me for taking them miniature golfing and reminded me that they'd see
me later, before they went into their house.

I got a call shortly after I got back and it was from Sherry.  First, she thanked me
for taking the boys out earlier, but then she had some information for me.  She
told me there were two boys that Jared was friendly with at school, but there was
also another boy, who was also Josh's friend, that Jared also hung around with
at times.  I thought she might be referring to Dean, but it turned out to be another
boy, so she gave me each of their names and phone numbers and left it up to me
if I thought they should be invited.  I told her I would take care of it and thanked
her for her help.  I now had a good idea of what I was going to do for Jared, so
now I just had to get it all of this organized and set my plan into motion.

It just happened that Jared's birthday was on Thursday this year, but Sherry had
to work on that day, as usual, so I talked to her about waiting and holding his
party on Friday instead.  She would have that day off, because of the holiday, but
she didn't want to put his party off until then.  She was concerned that the other
boys wouldn't be able to attend on that day, especially if their parents had family
plans for the Fourth, so she thought holding it on his birthday would be best.  I
then offered to hold it the Sunday before his birthday, since that was her normal
day off, but she didn't seem to like that idea either, so I reluctantly agreed to hold
it on Thursday.  I had decided, however, that I would figure out a way to work her
into this celebration, since I didn't want her to be left out.

During the period in between, I concentrated all my efforts into figuring out how to
resolve this dilemma, when suddenly an idea came to me.  It seemed simple
enough, yet it had been extremely difficult to recognize at first, but isn't that the
way it is with most problems?  Putting my plan into motion, I called the diner
where Sherry worked and spoke to the owner, so I could ask if he would be
flexible with Sherry's dinner break that day and let her take it after we'd showed
up.  I told him that if he would do that for us, then I'd make a reservation to have
Jared's party at his establishment.  That way his mother could join us for her
son's celebration, but her boss would also be earning our business.  He said he'd
be happy to do that for us, although I assumed he was probably happier to know
that I'd be paying for several meals that he might not have otherwise sold.
Regardless of his reason, I had a partial solution to my problem.

I also called the phone numbers Sherry had given me and talked to the parents
of the boys, so I could explain what I wanted to do.  I not only asked if they'd
allow their son to join us, but I also gave them the details about what we'd be
doing and that we would be gone for most of the day.  For many of them this
wasn't a problem, but one parent informed me her son wouldn't be able to attend,
because they had already made plans for that day.  It seemed that they were
going away for the holiday weekend and were leaving around noon on Thursday,
so she thanked me for inviting her son, as she offered her regrets.  I had
arranged for the other boys to be dropped off to meet up with Josh at his house,
and then they would walk down to my place, because I was planning to have
Jared come down earlier, to help me with one of my projects.

As Jared's birthday approached, I merely asked him to come down that day,
because I had a chore I needed his assistance with.  Although I could see a little
disappointment registered on his face when I asked him to do this for me, since
he thought I had forgotten it was his birthday, he agreed to help me, nonetheless.
His reaction also helped to convince me that he was totally unaware of my real
intentions for him.  His brother had more of an idea that I had something planned
for Jared, because I had him contact each of the boys to give them specific
instructions for attending, which he was happy to do.  He was aware of some
parts of my plans, but only a small portion of them, so most of this would be a
surprise to him as well.

That morning, Jared obediently pedaled down to my house and we immediately
set about doing a small job I had dreamed up to distract him.  Once we had
completed that minor chore, which had gotten us both dirty, I suggested that he
go upstairs to shower and change into one of the outfits I had purchased for him,
after explaining that I needed to run to the store.  I told him while he was doing
that, I would be doing the same thing in my bathroom and then we'd run to town
and pick up a few supplies.  He agreed, but he also wanted to mess around a bit
first, hinting that it was his birthday and it could be my gift to him.  I countered
that I was pressed for time right now, but suggested we might be able to do
something later.  Of course, he wasn't exactly pleased with my response.

Regardless of his disappointment, he responded like a good little trooper and did
exactly what I'd asked.  I followed him upstairs and sped through my shower, so I
would be downstairs to greet the others when they arrived.  This way, I would
have everything set up and ready to go before Jared came back down to join me.

Shortly after I got downstairs, Josh and the other three boys showed up and I
explained what I had planned to happen when Jared came down and joined us.
A couple of minutes after that, I heard the shower turn off, but then I had an
unsettling thought.  I hoped Jared got dressed before he came downstairs and
didn't come down naked, in an effort to entice me into a little midday action.  It
was definitely too late to worry about that now, without spoiling this surprise for
him, so I just held my breath and waited for him to appear.  Fortunately, when he
started down the stairs he was completely dressed, even though he appeared
more than a little forlorn when I first spotted him, but that was only until we all
screamed 'Happy Birthday!'  Once we did that, he looked down and noticed us
waiting for him in the foyer.

Initially, he had been startled when we shouted out and jumped slightly, before
that special grin of his began to spread across his face.  Soon, he was beaming,
because he now realized that I had arranged this little surprise for him, and then
he came bounding down the remaining stairs to greet the others.  The four boys
surrounded him and wished him another round of 'happy birthday,' and then
Jared looked at me and smiled broadly.

"You're sneaky," he blurted out.  "I thought you had forgotten all about my
birthday.  How did you set this up without me finding out about any of it?"

"Oh, I had a little help," I confessed, as I pointed at his brother.

"Josh knew about this and was able to keep it a secret?" Jared asked, somewhat
startled.  "Josh is never able to keep a secret and always gives it away before the
time comes.  He even does it when we plan something nice for Mom and always
manages to tell her beforehand, so it's never a surprise."

"Well, I kept this secret, didn't I?" Josh responded, mildly indignant.

It was quite apparent that he was annoyed that Jared had spilled the beans
about his less than admirable trait, especially in front of the rest of us.  Instead of
making a scene over it though, he used it to turn things back on Jared.

"I guess I showed you that I can keep a secret," he stated, defiantly, "even if it
was for a brother who doesn't really appreciate what I do for him."

Jared was now the one feeling badly about what he had said, so he went over
and placed his arm around Josh's shoulder, as his way of letting him know that
he meant no harm by his comments.

"Hey, I did the same thing when I was your age," Jared confessed, in hope that it
would make Josh feel better.  "I didn't mean anything by what I said, but I was
just amazed, that's all."

"I know, but I made sure I kept this secret, so I could surprise my big brother,"
Josh announced, while smiling at Jared.

I could see this comment touched Jared deeply and Josh's recent actions and
comments had gone a long way to bringing the boys closer and more
appreciative of each other.  That's when I decided to step in and bail them out,
before they embarrassed themselves in front of the other guests.

"Ok, let's go out and load up in the Tahoe," I suggested.  "I've got some plans
made for today, so we need to get going."

As we headed out to get into my SUV, all of the boys wanted to know what I had
in store for them, but I wasn't about to tell them.  I wanted this to be a surprise
and there were multiple parts to my little scheme.  Once they were all buckled in,
I drove off toward town, with Jared and Josh immediately recognizing where I
was going.

"Hey, we're going to the miniature golf course, aren't we?" Jared wanted to know.

"Oh, could be," I replied, without committing myself totally.

Suddenly I could hear the boys whispering, as they made plans to pair up and
play against each other.  It was going to be Jared and his friend, Austin, against
Josh and Dean, which meant I got to pair up with Jared's other friend, Steve.

"What do the winners get?" Jared asked, showing his competitive nature again.

"How about the winners won't have to pay?" I offered, in jest.

"We have to pay?" Austin asked, mildly concerned.

"No, he's just teasing," Jared explained.  "He's just trying to make it so he doesn't
have to come up with a prize."

The boys all laughed.

"Ok, so how about I buy the winners a meal," I offered, knowing I was going to do
that for all of them anyway.

Jared eyes searched my face, as if he were trying to read if I was being serious.

"You don't have to do anything like that," he countered, while looking as if he
thought he had backed me into a corner.

"It's not a problem and I really don't mind," I assured him.

"Then it will only be at McDonalds or someplace like that and not at that fancy
restaurant again," he stated, adamantly.

"Oh, it won't be at the restaurant," I agreed.

"We don't have to do this and have winners," Jared offered, one final time.

"No, I don't mind at all," I confirmed.  "In fact, if you boys hadn't thought about
doing that, then I probably would have suggested it anyway, just to make things
more interesting for you."

After I'd told him this, Jared smiled and took a deep breath.

"Ok, if you're sure, Dad," he replied.

He was smiling at me and I didn't know if he realized the slip he'd just made in
front of the others, or even if they had picked up on it.  Both of his friends and
Dean knew I wasn't really his father, but no one made a big deal about what he'd
said, so I thought possibly they hadn't noticed his faux pas, as I had done.

We arrived at the miniature golf course in short order and the boys seemed
excited about competing against one another.  After we had picked up our
putters, golf balls and a scorecard, the boys began trash talking with each other,
in hopes of intimidating their opponents before they took their turn.  This didn't
bother me, however, since it was all being done in a friendly manner, so I didn't
try to stop this from going on.

The teams played pretty evenly over the first several holes, but on the very
difficult eighth hole, Jared made an extraordinary putt and got a hole-in-one.  The
others weren't as fortunate and encountered various problems with their putts,
and I had my share of problems too.  This catapulted Jared's team into the lead,
but that didn't last very long.  On the tenth hole, Dean got a hole-in-one and
brought his team within one stroke of Jared and Austin, but my team wasn't
doing so well.  It must have been the first time Steve had ever played, so he was
having a rough time, although he still seemed to be enjoying himself.

The pressure was on for the remainder of the contest between the other two
teams and things were going nip and tuck as we came down the homestretch.
The lead was going back and forth, but more than half of the time the two teams
were tied.  We were now approaching the final two holes and I could see how
hard each team wanted to win this competition.  Josh and Dean were up by one
stroke at this point and it was easy to tell that Jared was pushing hard to take the
lead back.  However, he wasn't the one that helped his team get into a position to
win, because his putt was errant and left him in an awkward position to sink his
second putt.  Fortunately for him though, his brother did almost the identical
thing, but then Austin made his second putt, while Dean missed his.  Jared and
Josh each scored a three, which deadlocked the overall score once again, as we
came up to the final hole.

Luckily, this wasn't one of those courses that had a final hole meant merely to
collect your golf balls.  This course had a final hole that the boys could actually
play, which gave them a chance to break the tie.  The tension was so thick you
could have cut it, as each boy stepped up to putt.  You could see the
determination on each of their faces as they took their turn, because each one
hoped to get the ball close enough to the hole so they would be able to sink the
second putt, but there was also a chance that they might even get lucky in the
process and make a hole-in-one.  The problem was, things don't always go as
planned.

Austin had honors, so he putted first.  He didn't make a bad putt, but it wasn't all
that good either, because he still had a long putt to score a two.  They let Dean
go next and he did only slightly better than Austin, because he also left himself a
lengthy putt for a two.  Jared followed with a pretty good putt and left himself only
about a two-foot putt for a two, but Josh did even better and his ball ended up
only a little over a foot away from the hole.  Steve and I opted to wait until the
other two pairs had finished, so we wouldn't inadvertently interfere.

The two who were farthest from the hole putted first and they both missed their
next putts, but then put it in the hole for three.  This meant either Josh or Jared
would wind up determining which team won.  Jared was the next to go and made
a shaky putt, because the ball was heading slightly off target and only caught the
edge of the cup.  It looked as if it might stay on the putting surface, but then it fell
into the cup, which put the pressure on Josh.  I thought this was going to be a
very easy putt for him to make, so the teams would end up tied, but surprisingly
his putt went slightly to the left of the hole, with his ball ending up about an inch
from dropping in the cup.

As Jared and Austin celebrated their victory and started spouting trash to their
opponents, I began to wonder if Josh just made a bad shot or whether he might
have actually missed his putt intentionally, so his brother would win.  I wasn't
able to tell by the expression on his face.  I had seen him make other putts more
difficult than that one, but this putt had much more pressure and he didn't appear
distraught about losing.

Steve and I quickly finished the hole next, and then as we were turning our
putters and golf balls in, Jared, Dean, Austin and Steve each said that they had
to use the restroom.  I told them to go ahead, so they ran off and left Josh and
me standing alone.

"Hey, I thought you were going to make that last putt and it was tough luck that
you missed," I told him, giving him an opening.

"Oh, well.  Crap happens," he said, grinning at me.  "I guess Jared can consider
that as one of my birthday presents to him."

After he said this, he winked and confirmed my suspicion.

"That was pretty nice of you," I told him.

"Well, it is his birthday, and I could see how much he wanted to beat us," Josh
admitted.

"Just the same, I'm proud of you," I told him.  "Not every brother would have been
so nice."

At that point Josh and I decided to use the restroom too and we entered just as
the other four were finishing up.  After we had completed our business, we got
back into my SUV and set off once again, but this time, I took them over to
Wendy's for a quick lunch.  Jared thought this was his winner's prize, except
everyone got fed.

Once we finished up there, we headed to our next destination, but this time the
boys weren't able to guess where we were heading, at least until we eventually
got there.  I'm not sure if Jared recognized where we were going either, since he
was the only one who had been here before, at least that I knew.  He had been
too busy talking to the others while I was driving and didn't realize where we
were until someone made a comment, but that worked out well.  Even though I
had to drive for an hour just to bring them here, it was worth the trip, because I
had made arrangements for us to go to the karting center and have the longest
track to ourselves for an hour.

This was going to cost more than if I had just brought the boys here and paid for
us to get in, but I didn't know how good some of them would be at this and didn't
want to have them trying to compete, while also watching out for people we didn't
know.  This way, the boys could take their time getting used to the karts and the
track without any pressure and still have a good time.  You see, I didn't want
them to worry if they weren't very good at this, because even though I knew
Jared had done it before, I figured this was probably the first time for the others,
since this wasn't really close to where we lived.  As I would later discover, this
turned out to be a correct assumption.

When we got there, we had to wait about ten minutes until those currently on the
track finished their runs, so during the wait, one of the attendants explained to
everyone how to operate the go-karts.  We then waited for the other attendant to
get the final three people off the track and then we had it to ourselves for the next
sixty minutes.

I don't know if they usually allowed private parties to reserve the track, but I had
offered to pay the equivalent of two-dozen customers during that period of time,
in order to entice them and make sure they weren't losing any money.  I think this
was far more than their average hourly attendance for this time of day, so
calculating the profit they were going to make from this situation, the owner
jumped at the chance to make some extra cash.  I think that overrode any
concern he might have about upsetting any other potential customers, and
besides, they could always go ride on one of the other two tracks.

When the final straggler had gone, the attendants had six go-karts lined up and
waiting for us to use.  I could see the boys were ready to get started and very
eager to try their hand at driving these miniature racecars, but I suggested they
take a couple of easy spins around the track first.  I wanted them to get familiar
with the layout and also get a feel for how the go-karts operated, before they
begging me to let them race.  I also suggested that once they were comfortable
driving the karts, then we could discuss what they wanted to do next.  The boys
all seemed to think this was a good idea, so we started out somewhat slowly, as
we made our first lap around the track and navigated through the myriad of twists
and turns.  After one additional lap, the boys began to build up their confidence,
as well as the speed they were driving at, so before long they felt they were
ready to begin racing.

I suggested we race in pairs first, so there were fewer vehicles on the track to
cause problems, and this would also allow them to concentrate on what they
were doing with only one other driver to have to worry about.  Jared and I went
first, with Jared winning that race.  Ok, maybe I didn't try my hardest.  Josh and
Dean went next, with Dean barely nosing Josh out at the finish line, but only
because he managed to get the inside position on the final turn.  Then Jared's
two friends raced, but I don't think anyone was paying attention to who won that
race, except for the two of them.

After that Josh and Jared raced, with Jared winning again, and then Dean raced
Austin and I raced Steve.  Dean lost this time and I won, but now the boys all had
more confidence with handling the karts and were ready to take on a bigger
challenge, so I agreed to let them race three at a time.

The first of these races was between Jared and his two friends and Jared
managed to win once again.  Then I raced against Josh and Dean, and since
Dean had already beaten Josh, and Josh had been nice enough to let Jared win
at miniature golf, I kind of fixed this race.  Once Josh broke into the lead, I cut
Dean off and kept him from passing me, so Josh won the race.  He was thrilled
and I was glad that I had been able to do that for him.

Since our time at the track was winding down, everyone wanted to race together
and I reluctantly agreed.  I was worried about one of them having an accident,
but since there were plenty of safety precautions, I didn't feel anyone would get
injured, even if an accident happened.  Luckily, that's exactly what happened, as
the crowded track caused more than one run in with one of the safety barriers,
but no one got hurt.  I'm not sure if the boys actually let Jared win the first group
race, but that's how it worked out.  Since I had started in the back that time, as a
handicap to even out my driving experience advantage, I got boxed in and was
never able to challenge him, so Jared crossed the finish line first.

About the same time that everything had calmed down after that race, the
operators told us we had time for one more spin around the track, so we all went
again.  This time, they put Jared and me in the front, and I tried my hardest to
beat him, but about halfway through, he was able to cut me off, just as we were
going into one of the hairpin turns.  I was never able to get ahead of him again
after that and Jared was thrilled.  In fact, he was so excited about having won this
time that he was pumping his fists into the air after he crossed the finish line and
was all smiles as he removed his helmet.  Everyone was busy congratulating
him, after we had pulled the karts off to the side.

Actually, this was working out great and I couldn't have planned it any better,
because Jared had managed to win each of his races, as well as being on the
winning team at miniature golf.  I could tell he was having a great birthday so far,
which pleased me tremendously, but it wasn't over yet.

>From there, I took the boys over to a nearby bowling alley and we bowled two
games.  Of course, I had the high score each time, but Jared had done quite well
too.  The thing that I was really happy to see was that Steve, who had done so
poorly when playing miniature golf and only so-so on the go-karts, did very well
bowling.  This made him feel a lot better and raised his status amongst the
others.  He confided in me later that he often went bowling with his family, so I
was glad we had accidentally chosen something he was good at.

During the ride back, the boys all seemed to be having a really good time
recalling all of the things that had taken place at the track, bowling alley and
miniature golf course, and I think they assumed we were heading to my place
next.  They all seemed kind of surprised when I pulled into the diner instead, but I
think they merely suspected we were stopping to check in with Jared's mother.
When I told them to hop out and come inside with me, they all seemed puzzled,
but they did as I instructed.  Shortly after we entered the diner, we were led to the
back, where they had placed a collection of tables together for us to use.  I think
the owner figured we would be less likely to disturb the other diners from this
spot, in case we wanted to let loose and the boys got a bit rowdy while
celebrating Jared's birthday.

Sherry came by after we were seated and told me I was very sneaky to have set
this up with her boss without telling her first.  This statement confused her sons,
especially when she informed them that she'd be joining us in a few minutes,
after the last of her current customers had finished up.  As she was walking
away, another waitress came over to take care of us.  She gave us each a menu,
filled our water glasses and asked what else we wanted to drink.  I told the boys
to get whatever they wanted, while I ordered a coffee for myself, and then we
looked at the menus, while we waited for Sherry to join us.  The drinks were
brought to the table before Sherry got back, but once she returned, we were all
ready to order.  Once our waitress had written down what we wanted, the boys
began to fill Sherry in about everything they had done before we arrived here.

Sherry smiled and gave me that motherly 'you've certainly outdone yourself
again' look, once she learned about our exploits.  I could tell that she was
actually pleased for her sons, especially Jared, as she listened intently to every
detail the boys told her.  She laughed when they told her how Jared had won the
last group race and guessed that I lagged behind on purpose, but that wasn't the
case, because it was the one time that I had actually tried to beat him.  By the
time the food came, the boys had told her pretty much everything that had
happened, so we talked about other topics while we ate.

Once we finished our meals, the waitress came over to clear the table and I
whispered to her as she took my plate away.  Everyone began to question me
about what I had said to her, but I played dumb, which wasn't very hard.  They
were still trying to get the information out of me when she returned, carrying a
birthday cake with fifteen lighted candles on top.  I think they now had their
answer about what I had told her, as they focused on Jared and the cake that
had been place in front of him.  I had ordered this through the manager, when I
made the initial reservation, and now I suggested that we sing 'Happy Birthday'
to Jared, so he could make his wish and blow out the candles.

After a very loud and raucous chorus of the song, Sherry told Jared to make his
wish.  Instead of doing so, he turned to her and spoke.

"I don't have to," he replied.  "I already have my wish.  I've got a really special
Dad now."

He looked over at me after he said this and I think Sherry and I almost burst into
tears, because we both knew what he meant by that comment. We did somehow
manage to maintain our composure though, as his two friends began to catch on
to the depth of our special relationship.

After making this pronouncement, Jared blew out the candles and we had him
cut the cake.  The waitress had already returned with a serving tray with dessert
plates to place the pieces of cake on, but she also had a bowl of ice cream for
each of us.  Each bowl had two scoops of vanilla ice cream in it, but she also
placed a pitcher of chocolate syrup and two other bowls on the table, one with
strawberry topping and the other with pineapple topping in it.  This way the boys
could make their own sundae and select whatever flavor or combination of
flavors they might wish to have.

When we finished our desserts, I slipped away to pay the check and tip the
waitress, since I didn't want to take the chance of any of the others seeing the
bill.  I knew Sherry could probably find out how much it was later, if she really
wanted to, but I hoped she wouldn't go to that extreme.  Now, it was time for us
to say good-bye to her, because she still had to finish her shift, and I took the
boys to my house.

I had made sure that Josh had informed all of the boys to either bring their
swimsuits with them or wear them under their clothes, and they all did the latter,
except for Josh and Jared.  Although we'd have to wait for a little while before I'd
let them go in the pool, I let our three guests watch TV while Josh, Jared and I
went upstairs to change.

"I think you'd better put on your trunks this time, instead of one of the Speedos," I
suggested, and both boys nodded their agreement.

After I changed, I grabbed a bunch of towels to take down with me, so they'd be
there for the boys to use to dry off when we were done.  Once we came back
downstairs, we joined the others watching the show they had settled on, until I
felt it was ok to get in the pool.  When we did, we played volleyball as teams, with
Josh and Jared being on my team for the first game.  Once that one ended, Dean
and Steve were on my team, and by the time that game was over, I figured it was
time to take everyone home.

I gave each boy a towel to dry off, and then the three friends slipped their clothes
on over their swimsuits, while Josh, Jared and I went upstairs to change.  When
we came back down afterward, I led everyone out to the Tahoe and had each
boy give me directions to his house, so I could drop him off.  As I pulled up in
front of each residence, that boy would thank us for inviting him and tell us what
a great time he'd had, before he wished Jared 'happy birthday' again.  Each one
also told us how glad he was that he'd been included, so I decided that if they
weren't Jared's close friends before, it looked as if they were now.

As soon as we'd watched the last boy enter his house, Jared turned to me and
spoke.

"Thank you for everything, Dad.  This was the best birthday ever," he gushed.

"Thank your brother too, because he was the one who helped me find out about
your friends, got them lined up to come and passed my messages on to them," I
informed him.

After hearing me say that, Jared turned in his seat and faced his brother, who
was sitting in the back.

"Thanks, Josh, and I hope I can help to make your birthday as great as this one
was," he announced.

I was watching Josh through the rearview mirror and saw the he was beaming at
his brother's acknowledgment.

"You're welcome, but I had a really great time too," he shot back.

Sherry had already agreed to let the boys spend the night at my place, seeing we
had plans to get together again the following day, to celebrate the Fourth of July.
I was going to take them to the local park in the late afternoon, where we'd have
a picnic and do many other things while we were there, including watching the
fireworks display that would be held, once it got dark.  I couldn't remember if
Sherry had invited me to join in her family's outing or if I had managed to barge
my way in, but I was going to try to make sure they all had a wonderful time.

When we got back to my place again, both boys thanked me one final time for
the fun day, but then Jared whispered a little something extra in my ear.  He did
that to let me know that he'd pay me back later for the great time and then
reiterated, in his normal voice, that this was the best birthday he'd ever had.
After Jared made that comment, I looked at Josh and told him we'd do something
special for his birthday in November too, and he smiled when he heard me say
that.  It let him know that I wasn't about to only give Jared such special treatment
and I think it made him feel even better.  In fact, Josh and I seemed to be
growing closer every day as well and I was glad he wasn't feeling left out or
slighted.

It was now time for me to give Jared his present, so I grabbed a bag off the end
table, pulled out the package inside and handed it to him.  When he opened it, he
discovered a box set of the 'Hunger Games Trilogy,' which I had wrapped the
night before.  He then thanked me for the gift and then I excused myself and left
the room briefly.  When I returned, I was holding a chocolate lab puppy and
Jared leaped up from his seat when he saw me holding this wiggling little bundle
of energy.

"You got me a dog too?" he asked, rhetorically.

That's when I explained that he could leave the puppy at my place and care for it
here, so it wouldn't become a burden for his mother.  I would supply the food,
toys and anything else the puppy needed, plus I would pay all vet bills, as
required.  This way, he could enjoy the puppy when he was with me and his
mother wouldn't wind up being strapped with any responsibility or financial
burden for the dog.

I had also purchased a cage for it to stay in whenever we were away and that's
where the puppy had been while we were gone for the day.  The cage had lots of
room for it to move around in for now, but it was also large enough to
accommodate it later, since I knew that it would grow to be a good size.  Jared
fell in love with the puppy right away and soon he and Josh had come up with a
name for it.  They had decided to call him Boo-Boo, although I had no idea why.
They weren't ready to explain why they had selected that particular name, but I
was sure there was some sort of a story behind it, possibly even a slightly
naughty tale.  I merely smiled, as I watched the two boys frolic with their new
playmate.

After tiring each other out and taking the puppy outside to relieve itself, the boys
decided they wanted to watch the 'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the
Black Pearl' movie next, so I found it on Netflix and got it started.  Then, we sat
together on the sofa and I had a boy cuddled up against me on each side, with
the puppy curled up on Jared's lap.  At one point, we paused the movie so Josh
could go to the toilet, so Jared and I took that opportunity to take the puppy
outside again, since it wasn't housebroken yet.

While we were out there, I inform Jared that we might not be able to do anything
later, with Josh being here too and he stated he knew that, but figured he could
slip away for at least a few minutes during the night, without Josh being any the
wiser about what might be going on.  I told him we'd have to be very careful if he
did that, because I didn't want anything to happen that might jeopardize what we
presently had, and he said he'd be careful.  He also said that he didn't think Josh
would even mind, seeing he was feeling close to me now too, but I told him there
was no way I wanted Josh to get involved in these activities, if he thought he was
missing out on something.  Shortly after that, we went back into the house and
Josh was waiting for us.  Before long, I had my arms wrapped around both boys
again, as we watched the remainder of the movie.

When it ended, I suggested we all head to bed and both boys were more than
ready to turn in for the night.  It had been a long day and I think we were all
exhausted, so no one objected.  I had them take the puppy outside one final time
to do its business and then I told them they could either take a shower tonight or
do it in the morning.  The boys opted for the morning, and I didn't mind whichever
choice they made, because I could see how they might think a shower would
somehow perk them back up and not allow them to readily fall asleep afterward.
The boys went to their room, the one across the hall from mine, hopped into bed
and placed the puppy between them.  After I went in to check on them and
kissed them both on the forehead, I went in and crawled into my bed alone.  I
was pretty sure I wouldn't be that way for the entire night, but I just hoped that
Jared was cautious if he decided to come in and join me for a while.

Around 2:00 a.m. I awoke, when I felt someone crawl into my bed.  It was Jared
and almost immediately he gave me a huge, wet kiss.  I eagerly joined in and
slipped him my tongue, but I also allowed him to gently suck on it, before I
returned the favor.  I could already feel his hand beginning to work its way down
my chest, until he was able to massage my genitals and had me in a highly
aroused state within a matter of minutes.  Knowing we should probably be quick
about this, if we were going to do anything at all, I began to run my palm over his
penis too.

Sensing the urgency of the situation, Jared swung around and placed his
midsection above my head, and I began to slip off his underwear, to get at my
prize.  He proceeded to do the same thing to me, and soon we were in a frantic
sixty-nine position, slurping eagerly at each other's fleshy straw.  Jared must
have been highly aroused, probably from thinking about this moment all evening
long, and soon he was filling my mouth with his watery boy cream.  Even though
there was a momentary pause in the attention he was giving to me, as he
enjoyed his own orgasm, he soon continued his ministrations and redoubled his
efforts to get me off as well.

When the time came, my ejaculation exploded from my tiny slit and sent several
volleys of hot cum down Jared's throat, but he never let up or missed a beat in
the process.  Silently he drained me of all my juices, devouring most of it, and
once the forcefulness of my climax began to subside, he teased the final few
drops from my penis.  Once I was completely drained, he swung back around
and cuddled up against me for a while, but we both knew this couldn't last for
very long.  We only stayed this way for a few more minutes, before he got up and
headed toward the toilet, on his way back to the other room.  After that, he took
the puppy outside one final time and then we both went to sleep, very contented,
after having enjoyed Jared's special day to the max.


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