Date: Sat, 23 Mar 2013 13:08:29 -0400 (EDT)
From: ErastesTouch@aol.com
Subject: Different Points of View, chapter 18

Different Points of View - by Erastes
Copyright 2012 by Erastes
Chapter 18 – The End of Innocence.

On Friday afternoon, which officially began the Labor Day weekend, the boys
came down to my house toting a small duffle each, which contained the things
they would need for the next couple of days.  I was thrilled that they were going
to be spending this time with me and I think the boys were looking forward to
being here too.  Jared might be a little disappointed though, because I doubt
there would be the slightest possibility for us to have any sexual contact, unless
his devious mind could come up with a way to do it without his brother becoming
aware of what he was up to.  As a precautionary measure, I was going to take
the first chance I got to tell Jared that he shouldn't attempt anything risky,
because I was definitely afraid he might.  In the end though, I was just happy that
they were going to be around here for a couple of days.

Once the boys put their things in the guest room, the next thing we did was to
change into our swimsuits, so we could hop in the pool together.  Once we
changed, Jared brushed Boo-Boo next, so he could join us too, otherwise Boo-
Boo would whine, pitifully, and that would ruin the fun for the rest of us.  Boo-Boo
loved spending time in the water and didn't mind occasionally getting bumped
around or hit by the ball when we were playing volleyball, although he would take
a nip at it whenever that happened.

I was actually looking forward to doing this, because I had fallen out of the habit
of getting in the pool unless the boys were here, because I was spending most of
my waking hours working on my story.  Since the exercise was definitely good for
me, I was hoping that this would get me back in the groove of working out on a
regular basis.  I was now determined to make time to maintain a daily exercise
program as well, because I needed to take care of my body, as well as my mind
and my bank account.  I would work this into my daily routine and exercise first
thing each morning after waking up, before I shower, dress, eat breakfast and
start my writing regimen for the day.

After our time in the pool, I drove the boys down to the diner, so we could have
dinner with their mother, because even though they were staying with me, I didn't
want her to miss out on having this time to spend with her sons.  I treated
everyone to this meal, although Sherry made sure we got her discount on the bill,
and it was nice to watch the boys interact with their mom during this time.  When
Sherry's dinner hour was up and she had to start working again, I drove the boys
over to the local cinema complex to watch a movie, but I made sure it was one
that I didn't think their mother would be interested in seeing with them.  I enjoyed
this time with the boys, as they sat on either side of me in the theater, and I'd
occasionally feel one or the other, or sometimes both, leaning against my
shoulders.

When the movie ended, we headed back to my place and talked some more
about school and their classmates, before we turned in for the evening.  As it
turned out, both boys asked if they could sleep with me, seeing I had a king-size
bed, and after discussing this with them for a few minutes, I finally agreed to let
them do this.  I felt that having both of them in there at the same time would be
safe enough and concluded it would be like a parent allowing his children to join
him in bed.  This seemed very important to each of them, so I didn't see how I
could say 'no' and break their little hearts.  Besides, I wanted to feel them
cuddled up against my body almost as much as they wanted to be near me.

That night was uneventful, although I did enjoy it when one boy or the other
would snuggle up against me during the evening and throw his arm across my
chest.  This constant contact, however, actually kept me up much that night,
because I would wake up to see if something was wrong each time this
happened.  Then I'd watch the boys sleep for a while longer and enjoy feeling
their bodies pressed tightly against mine, because it made me feel good knowing
that they felt safe and secure being here beside me.  Of course, Boo-Boo helped
to keep me awake as well, since he continually walked over my body, as he
moved from one boy to the other.

I know Jared had some sort of sexual dream or urges during the night, because I
felt his hand cautiously exploring my nipples, and then my genitals, at one point,
but I didn't let him know that I was awake or that I knew what he was doing.  It
was nice to see that he realized discretion was the key to our continued
relationship and didn't try doing anything more overt, since it seemed he was
trying to keep his brother from finding out what he and I had been doing together.
You see, at this point neither of us was aware that Josh had already observed
one of our sessions and was fully aware of some of the things we'd been doing
with each other, because he hadn't mentioned this fact to either of us.  He had
kept very mum on this point, so we were totally oblivious to the fact that he knew
Jared and I had been sharing sexual favors.

The next day we spent more time swimming, and of course Boo-Boo was part of
this as well, and then I took the boys out to play miniature golf again.  They were
getting pretty good at this now and forced me to start concentrating on what I
was doing, so they didn't leave me in the dust.  After we completed the course
and tallied up the final score, we discovered that Jared and I had tied, but Josh
was only one stroke behind.  This left everyone feeling good, because both boys
had done so much better than on any of our previous outings, so I stopped to
treat them to an ice cream, before we headed back to my place.

Once we got there, I urged the boys to begin getting things ready for the rest of
the weekend, since we'd be very rushed from this point on.  First, I had them lay
out what they planned to wear on Sunday, when we went to the amusement
park, and then we packed up some things we thought we might need along the
way or in case of emergency.  This meant we packed some snacks to take with
us and put some drinks in the fridge, so we could put them in the cooler before
we left in the morning.  I also had them pack a change of clothes into a satchel I
was using for this purpose, just in case one of them had an accident, like falling
or sitting in something, as well as for any grosser reasons.

Once we finished doing all of those things, I took the boys down to the diner
again, so we could have another meal with their mother.  I think Sherry was
surprised to see us again, although I could also tell she was pleased, so we sat
at the table and waited to order, until she was able to take her break.  As soon as
she sat down, the boys told her about their day, as well as the preparations we'd
made for tomorrow, and she seemed quite pleased.  I think we were all looking
forward to the next two days together.

When we got back to my house, we decided to take Boo-Boo out for a walk next,
since he'd be left alone at home tomorrow while we were on our trip, and when
we finished, we took another swim, with Boo-Boo racing ahead of us and diving
into the water.  We had a good time doing this, but once we got out and dried off
later, we decided to turn in for the evening.  It was actually still on the early side,
but I hadn't slept well the night before and we planned to leave before sunrise the
following morning, so we would be at the park when it first opened.  The boys
understood this and didn't complain, but this might also have been due to the fact
that we'd had a busy day and they were tired.

When the alarm went off a few hours later, neither boy budged, so I had to rouse
them myself.  Even though we'd gone to bed early, they still weren't eager to get
out of bed, but I did manage to get them showered and dressed, while assuring
them they could finish sleeping in the Tahoe on the ride to the park.  Once I got
both boys into the back seat and strapped in, I gave them pillows to use so they
could lean against the windows or each other as I drove.  After I loaded
everything else into the Tahoe, I picked up Sherry at her house and she noticed
that her sons were already off to dreamland again.  She merely chuckled, got in
and we were on our way, and then she and I chatted as I drove.

The boys slept for nearly the entire trip and only woke up when we stopped to
use the restrooms.  After going to the toilet and downing a small carton of orange
juice, the boys went back to sleep and stayed that way until we came to a stop in
the amusement park's parking lot.  Now, they were wide-awake, and once we
entered through the main gates, they grabbed a map and began checking out the
lists of rides.  They quickly determine which ones they wanted to go on and
planned out what order we would ride them.

Jared and Josh were soon dragging their mother and me from one end of the
park to the other, as they located the rides they wanted to try out.   Sherry and I
joined them on the first couple of rides, with Jared riding with me and Josh going
with his mother, but she and I weren't as thrilled with the rides as the boys were.
In a very short time, I realized that as I got older the twirling, whirling, rising, and
falling of the rides merely made me want to lose the last meal I had eaten and
didn't seem to be as big of a thrill as it once had been.  I think Sherry had drawn
the same conclusions, so we chose to skip some of the later opportunities and
remained on the ground as much as possible, except when the boys insisted that
we join them on a particular ride.

This frantic pace continued throughout the day, with the exception of a meal
break we took around midday, which was followed by a relaxing time watching
one of the shows that were going on, as we gave our food time to digest.  Other
than that, we let the boys do whatever they desired and gave them every
opportunity to enjoy the park and tire themselves out at the same time.  Don't get
me wrong, Sherry and I were having a wonderful time too, but most of our
pleasure was in watching the two boys enjoying themselves, as we reveled in
their youthful enthusiasm and enjoyment.  No matter how much this day might
end up costing me, it was worth every penny just to be able to see the boys
having so much fun.

As dinnertime approached, we asked the boys if they wanted to stay at the park
to eat or if they had been on enough rides for one day and wanted to go
somewhere else for dinner.  After talking this over and debating it for a while, I
could tell they both wanted to stay and make at least one more round on the
rides, so we decided to find someplace where we could sit down and enjoy a nice
meal.  After looking around for quite some time, we finally found a place that
offered more than just the fast food type of items we had eaten earlier.  The
menu here offered BBQ chicken, beef and pork, as well as sausage and
peppers, which seemed to be a step up from the hamburgers, hot dogs and pizza
we'd had for lunch.  They also offered a selection of salads too, so we settled in
for a leisurely dining experience.  Once we finished, we went to watch another
show next, to give our meals time to settle first, and then the boys dragged us off
for another go at the rides they'd enjoyed the most.

The boys wanted Sherry and I to go with them on a couple of the roller coasters,
another ride that rocked back and forth before it swung over the top, and one
more trip on the double-Ferris wheel before we left.  Although the Ferris wheel
wasn't going to be too bad, we knew the roller coasters had a lot of ups, downs,
twists and turns, as well as a couple of nasty loops, and the rocking motion of the
other ride could end up giving our stomachs some trouble as well.  Even though
we tried to explain this to the boys, while hoping they would take pity on us, they
didn't seem to care if one of these rides caused us to barf on them along the
way.  They merely reminded me that I'd made them bring a change of clothes, in
case something like this were to happen, so I guess I had no one else to blame
for what they were about to put us through.

This time Josh wanted to go with me, so Jared went with his mother, but I was
convinced they had intentionally picked the most horrendous of all the rides for
us to start this round on.  It was the worst of the roller coasters, that not only went
very high, but it lurched, jerked and turned us on our heads, which meant Sherry
and I had all we could do to keep our meals where they belonged.  I think the
boys got more than a little sadistic delight out of watching us turn a pale shade of
green and suffer in this fashion, because they allowed us only a brief respite
before they took us on the next ride.  They justified doing this by telling us that
the closing time for the park wasn't very far off, so we had to hurry, if we were
going to accomplish all they still wanted to do.  For their sake, since it definitely
wasn't for ours, Sherry and I sucked it up and followed them to the next location.

Over the course of our remaining time there, we not only rode on the rides I'd
previously mentioned, but they also took us on a couple of others – one that
catapulted us into the air, before letting us plummet back to earth, and another
that whipped around on a circular track and snapped us from side to side, nearly
giving us whiplash.  Sherry and I tried to be good sports and stoically suffered
our way through these torturous forays, while noting that the boys seemed to be
getting some enjoyment from watching our agony, while they also reveled in the
pleasures they received from the rides themselves.  They were having such a
good time that I almost felt sorry for them when we heard the announcement that
the park would be closing shortly, although Sherry and I were relieved at the
same time.  After listening to the boys do some grumbling and groaning about
this, they selected one last ride for us to go on, and obediently we followed them
to this final tribulation.

As we endured being tortured yet again, I gave my best theatrical performance of
a person in severe agony and the boys laughed and chided my dramatic abilities.
When the ride finally ended, I pretended that it had turned my legs to jelly and
staggered and stumbled along, as we made our way back to my vehicle.  Since
the boys actually began to worry that I wasn't going to make it on my own, they
quickly moved to either side and attempted to help me walk across the parking
lot.  Sherry was nearly splitting a gut laughing, while watching me milk this
situation for all it was worth, and the boys did their part, although I felt they were
both pretty sure that I was faking it.  Once we reached the Tahoe, I made a
miraculous recovery, so we hopped inside and headed for home.

I thought the boys might sleep on the way back, but they were still too wound up
for sleep, so they kept telling their mother and I stories about everything they had
enjoyed while we were at the park.  After recounting which rides were the best,
which were the lamest and which ones were merely ok, they then regaled us with
an animated account of what Sherry and I went through and how we looked on
some of those rides.  Sherry had turned around in her seat, so she could watch
them do this, and I kept glancing at their antics in the rearview mirror.  They were
totally going overboard with their animated account of what had happened and
definitely tried their hardest to crack us up or make us defend ourselves in the
process, which meant they got very silly while doing this.  Even with these
exaggerations, it was wonderful to watch how much fun they were having
imitating our previous discomfort and they managed to keep this up for the entire
ride home, only letting up when I pulled into their driveway.

Immediately, Jared asked if he could spend the night at my place, since he said
that he wanted to spend some time with Boo-Boo and pointed out that there
weren't going to be very many opportunities for him to do this until next summer,
now that school had started.  After listening to his impassioned plea, his mother
relented, since she could tell how much it meant to him.  We were surprised
when Josh told us he was going to stay home with his mother, seeing it seemed
that he seldom let Jared and I spend time alone like this recently, so we happily
accepted his decision.  Even before I had even backed out of their driveway, I
realized that Jared was already making mental plans for what we were going to
do.  Therefore, as soon as he took Boo-Boo out for a quick walk, he came back
inside and began to explain what he expected next, before grabbing my hand
and dragging me off to my bedroom.

"Jared, will you slow down?" I pleaded.  "You don't have to be in such a hurry.
We're alone and have all night."

"But we haven't had an opportunity to do anything in a very long time!" he blurted
out, "so I really need this bad."

"I know," I sympathized, "but we're alone now and the doors are locked, so no
one will be slipping in without our knowing it.  We can take our time and definitely
don't have to rush.  Ok?"

Jared looked at me and smiled, while giving me a look that told me he trusted my
judgment, so I affectionately reached out and tousled his hair.

"What do you say to taking a shower together?" I asked.  "It was a long day and
we probably don't smell too fresh right now."

He grinned at my comment.

"Yeah, you're probably right," he agreed.  "I did do a lot of running around
earlier."

I guided him to my room, but when he began to take his clothes off, I grabbed his
hands and stopped him.  He quickly stared at me, while flashing a surprised look.

"Let me do that for you.  Ok?" I asked, only to get a devilish little grin in response.

"You do whatever you want to me," he quickly offered.

This let me know that he was open to all kinds of possibilities at this point, while
possibly even hoping for something different tonight.  I quickly brushed those
thoughts aside for the moment and returned to the task of removing his clothing,
which I did with as much love and tenderness as I could muster.  I had no
intention of rushing or hurriedly ripping the garments from his torso, even though
I was anxious to get to the treats contained within.

"You're always so gentle with me," Jared commented, which let me know he
appreciated my efforts.

"Gentle, huh?" I responded.

I had just removed his shirt and unbuckled his shorts, when a devilish thought
entered my mind, so I decided to act upon it.  At that point I pushed him onto the
bed and began to tickle him, mercilessly.

"How about this?" I asked, as he roared out in laughter.  "Is this gentle enough for
you?"

Boo-Boo must have thought I was hurting Jared, because he began barking and
going crazy.  At the same time, Jared was fighting to break free from my grasp,
while also trying to catch his breath, in between fits of laughter.

"Ok, ok.  I changed my mind," he managed to gasp out.  "You're not ALWAYS
gentle."

"Oh, you don't think so?" I asked, while continuing to give him my tickle torture.

I continued doing this for a few seconds more and then I bent forward and kissed
him on the forehead.

"Sorry," I explained, after doing that, "but I just couldn't let your comment pass
unchallenged."

"That's ok," he countered.

As soon as those words were out of his mouth, he placed both of his hands
behind my neck and pulled my head down, so he could give me another kiss.
Soon, I felt his lips parting and his tongue snaking its way against mine, as he
probed to gain entry into my oral cavity.  Willingly, I opened my mouth slightly
and allowed his tongue to slip between my parted lips, and now I felt it roaming
the moist interior.  Before long, we were taking turns sucking on each other's
tongues, but it quickly became apparent that Jared wanted more.  As soon as we
finished removing the remainder of our clothing, Jared slowly climbed on top of
me and began grinding his midsection against mine.

His rock hard penis was now rubbing vigorously against my own, while we
continued our passionate kiss, and the friction he was creating was astounding.
This little guy was dry humping me like a rabbit in heat and thrusting his hips into
my groin, as he continued grinding our erect masts between our bodies and
against one another.  With the energy he was expending, it didn't take very long
before his body stiffened and he was shooting warm jets of semen between us,
but he continued his grinding, until his body fluids began to become a sticky film
coating both of our abdomens.

After this happened, he merely lay on top of me and allowed himself to enjoy the
intense feelings from the orgasm he had just experienced, but when he came
down from his high, he remained where he was and began kissing me again.

"I love you so much," he stated, before he began kissing me some more.

I had never doubted it for even one minute, since he had a way of letting me
know this, without having to speak the words.  Lovingly, he looked me in the
eyes, before he lifted his body and glanced down at the mess between us.  While
he was doing this, he realized something else.

"You didn't shoot, did you?" he wanted to know.

"No, but that's ok," I told him.

"No it's not," he insisted, as he slid down my body and began stroking my penis
back to life.

Within seconds, my napping manhood began to respond to his gentle touch, and
then he took it into his mouth, making it obvious that he felt obliged to return the
favor.  Immediately, he began to nod up and down on my shaft with the same
eagerness and energy that he had used for his own release moments before.
Within a couple of minutes, I was spewing my own load and Jared was
swallowing it as quickly as he could, but some of my love juice managed to
escape and glide down his chin and onto my body.  Once he had drained me of
my fluids, he lifted his head and smiled at me, so I pulled him forward to give me
a chance to clean off his face.  Slowly, I licked the extra cum off his chin and
neck, but this caused him to giggle a little, so when I finished doing that, I pulled
him against me again and held him in my protective embrace.

"This is nice," he told me, in a low purr.

I knew what he meant, because I was totally relishing the moment, while we
continued to stroke and kiss each other, as we shared our love.  We never did
take our shower and eventually fell asleep in each other's arms.  We ended up
spending most of the night in this position, so when we awoke the next morning,
we had a hard crusty film coating our stomachs.  Finally realizing what we had
done, we quickly showered together and cleaned each other, as we removed the
traces of last night's love making session.  I knew I cared far more for Jared than
what I had previously considered safe, but at this point there was no turning
back.

We had no sooner stepped out of the shower than the phone began to ring.  I
had a feeling I knew who was calling, even before I picked up the receiver.

"Hello," I answered.

"What time do you want to pick us up?" the familiar voice wanted to know.

"Good morning, Josh," I greeted the caller.  "Can't you at least say hello first
when you call?"

"Sure.  Hello, Bob.  When are you going to pick us up?" he repeated.

Even though he had taken my hint, I'm not sure if he caught on to the meaning of
what I was trying to teach him.  Realizing this, I decided to answer him
nonetheless.

"Well, Josh, it's 8:00 now, so how about around 10:00.  That will give us time to
have breakfast, load up the Tahoe and then pick you and your mother up.  We'll
be at the park early enough to take Boo-Boo for a good walk first, eat our picnic
lunch and go for a boat ride, before the fireworks start.  How does that sound to
you?"

"Great!  I can't wait for you to get here," he agreed.

"We'll be there in a couple of hours then," I assured him.  "See you then."

"Ok.  Bye," was his simple reply.

Jared wanted to know what that was all about, so I told him and then we went
downstairs, so I could fix us both some breakfast.  After we ate, we went and
loaded the cooler of drinks into the back of the SUV and tossed a couple of light
jackets in for later, before lifting the rowboat up on the roof rack and strapping it
down.  That last part turned out to be a bit of a struggle, since Josh wasn't here
to help us this time, but we still managed to get it done.  Once we had everything
in place, Jared grabbed Boo-Boo, along with his harness, leash, doggy bowls
and puppy chow, and then we drove to his house to pick up his mother and
brother.

They were waiting for us, so we quickly helped them load their things into the
Tahoe too, including the picnic lunch Sherry had fixed for all of us.  Once
everything was in place, I reminded them to bring a light jacket as well, in case it
cooled off when it got dark, and then we headed to the park.  When we arrived
there, we parked near the lake again and then everyone agreed we would take
Boo-Boo for a walk, similar to what we had done when we came for the Fourth of
July.

This time we took a much longer walk than before, because Boo-Boo was now
older and eager to investigate more of these new surroundings.  Jared was being
quite generous and let Josh take the leash for part of the time, since he wanted
to walk Boo-Boo too, and I could see that Josh appreciated this small gesture.
Another difference was that Boo-Boo didn't stop to mark the area quite as often
as our previous time here, possibly because he realized we were just visiting and
wouldn't be at this location for very long, but he did stiff and investigate nearly
every inch of our little journey.

When we finished our little hike, the boys helped me take the rowboat off the
Tahoe and put it in the water, and then they helped their mother take her seat.
We planned to do this for about an hour, while making the most of what was left
of the morning.  This activity was designed solely to allow us to spend time with
each other, as well as to give them a chance to have a little down time before we
ate.

The boys didn't ask to try to row this time, but we still had a few laughs along the
way, and what happened was this.  When we first started out, Boo-Boo was
content to lie at the boys' feet and would merely nudge them from time to time, to
get them to pet him.  However, after a half hour of inactivity, Boo-Boo decided he
wanted a little more action than we were giving him.  The boys were busy looking
over the side of the boat and staring into the water, to see if they could spot any
fish, while Sherry and I were chatting.  Before any of us noticed, Boo-Boo stood
on his hind legs, so he could look over the side of the boat, and then he leaped
into the water.

We all turned and looked when we heard the splash, wondering if a fish had
jumped out of the water or someone had thrown something at us from the shore,
and we all began laughing when we saw Boo-Boo happily doggy paddling along
beside us.

"Dang, I thought he fell asleep," Jared said, as he started calling his puppy.

"Obviously not," I pointed out, "and since none of us were paying attention to him,
he decided to entertain himself."

Before responding to Jared's calls, Boo-Boo swam over to a twig someone had
tossed into the water and then swam back toward the boat, proudly carrying it in
his mouth.  Triumphantly, he lifted this prize for his master, as he swam up
beside the boat.  Seeing this, Jared bent over the side, scooped his pet up, lifted
him into the boat and set him down between us.  Immediately after being placed
back in the rowboat, Boo-Boo began to shake the accumulation of moisture from
his fur and managed to cover the rest of us in a spray of doggy water.

The boys roared with laughter when this happened, especially after seeing the
shocked look on their mother's face as she received more than her share of
these droplets.  After everyone settled down from this little episode, I rowed the
boat back to shore and the boys helped me carry it back to the Tahoe.  One we'd
strapped it onto the roof rack again, we began unloading the coolers and other
items containing our noon meal.

While we were doing that, Sherry took Boo-Boo and went over to the restroom to
wash up before we ate, and when she came back, I took the boys to do the same
thing.  While we were gone, Sherry unloaded the cooler and set everything out,
so it was nearly ready when we returned.  Once we got back, I had Jared put
some of Boo-Boo's puppy food and water into his bowls, so he wouldn't bother
us while we ate.

This lunch was a little different that the last one, because this time Sherry had
packed crackers, cheese, grapes, raisin bread, cold fried chicken, raw
vegetables (celery, broccoli, cauliflower) and dip.  In addition to all of that, she
had also packed both banana pudding and cantaloupes for dessert.  It was a
wonderful meal and a nice change of pace, but I think Sherry was trying to let us
all know that we should be eating healthier than we had been doing, by including
more fruits and vegetables in our diet.

After we had all eaten our fill, Sherry and I sat and talk, while the boys went off to
play with Boo-Boo.  They were doing this near the lake, but without being close
enough to entice the puppy to dive in again, while also keeping a very close eye
on him this time.  It was a beautiful sunny day, and Boo-Boo appeared to be
happy as he ran around and stretched his legs.  The boys would sometimes run
ahead of him or quickly move off in another direction, so Boo-Boo would chase
after them.  Seeing they had more energy than we did, Sherry and I happily let
them do as they pleased, while we relaxed and chatted about a bunch of different
topics.

We covered a variety of items, from current events to local situations, before she
finally added her thoughts about the changes she had noticed in her boys as of
late.  She told me that she thought I'd been a fantastic influence on both of them
and thanked me for everything I had done for her sons, before adding that she
hoped I'd remain in their lives for quite a while to come.  I assured her that I had
no plans to move from the area, and as long as she and the boys wanted me in
their lives, I'd be there for them.  She thanked me once more, before the boys
came back extremely excited and carrying something in their hands.

"Look what Boo-Boo dug up!" Jared exclaimed.

I took the item from him and examined it.

"It appears to be a rabbit's skull," I told them.  "It probably died of natural causes
or was killed by a predator, but the head was left behind and decayed, before
getting covered over or trampled into the mud.  Boo-Boo's keen sense of smell
most likely alerted him to its presence, so he dug it up."

"You should have seen him," Josh added.  "He was digging like crazy and
throwing dirt all over the place."

"Yes, dogs certainly like to dig," I advised him.

At that point Jared announced that he wanted to take the skull home with him,
which didn't set to well with his mother, but she was pretty good at accepting the
types of things the boys like to do.  After a brief hesitation, she agreed to let him
keep it, but only if she could first boil it in water when they got home, to kill any
germs or anything else it might still be attached to it.  Jared quickly agreed to this
stipulation, knowing it was most likely the only way his mother would give in.

After storing the skull safely in a plastic bag and putting it in the SUV, I asked the
boys what they wanted to do next.

"There's no one here to play with this time and there's not much else to do," Josh
began to complain.

"Yes, it's not quite as warm out as it was on the Fourth," his mother countered,
"so it looks like many people decided to do something else.  They'll probably all
show up for the fireworks later though."

"Would anyone mind if we went somewhere else in between and took Boo-Boo
home first, before the fireworks started," Jared asked.  "He didn't really like being
here for them the last time."

"What would you think about maybe taking in a movie then?" I posed.

They all thought that was a good idea, so I took everyone home first, so we could
clean up a bit and put Boo-Boo in his cage, before we headed out for the cinema
complex.

The boys wanted to see a comedy that was playing, and even though it was
geared toward a slightly younger crowd, Sherry and I agreed it would be
acceptable.  After purchasing the tickets, I bought everyone drinks and popcorn
and then we sat near the back of the theater, at my insistence, and waited for the
movie to begin.  Even though this film was meant for a younger audience, Sherry
and I still found parts of it funny, while the two boys thought it was absolutely
hilarious.  I don't think I've ever heard the two of them laugh so frequently or so
loudly, and I was glad they were enjoying themselves like this.

When the movie was over, I took them all out for some ice cream next, before we
drove back to the park for the fireworks display.  To avoid the traffic afterward,
we parked along the street and didn't enter the park again, and merely leaned
against the SUV, as we watched the colorful aerial display.

As soon as the last of the fireworks had exploded, we got back into the Tahoe
and took off for home.  When I dropped them off at their door, everyone thanked
me and then I helped them carry their things inside.  I could tell Jared wanted to
go home with me, but seeing he had school the next day, he knew better than to
ask.  I watched them all wave at me from their door, as I backed out of the
driveway and drove back to my place, exhausted and ready for some much
needed sleep.  Once I was in the house and ready for bed, I suddenly realized
how lonely this place seemed again.  Having the boys around had livened things
up while they were here, but then it made it seem even lonelier when they
weren't around.  With school back in session, I knew I'd better get used to being
alone most of the time, since the boys would most likely only be joining me on
the weekends.

I was just getting ready to get into bed when the phone rang.  I had no idea who
would be calling at this hour or for what reason, so I hurried to the phone and
picked it up.

"Hello," I answered, while waiting to see who responded.

"Hey, Dad.  I just thought I'd call to say good night," I heard the familiar voice say.

"Jared, thank you and that's sweet, but how did you know I wasn't sleeping
already?" I questioned.

"Just figured you wouldn't be yet," he replied.

"Well, I almost was," I admitted.  "I was just getting ready to hop into bed when
the phone rang."

"See, I knew you'd still be up," he retorted, before giggling.

"Well, I guess your heart was in the right place," I conceded.  "Does your mother
know you're calling me?"

There was a hesitation on the other end of the line.

"Not exactly," he admitted, timidly.  "She and Josh went to bed already, so I
sneaked out of my bedroom to use the phone."

"Well, I thank you for that, but now you'd better get to bed too," I suggested.  "I'll
see you next weekend."

"Night, Dad," he quickly added.

"Night, my boy, and sweet dreams," I offered, but as I was getting ready to hang
up, he spoke again.

"You too, Dad.  I love you," he chimed in.

"I love you too, sport," I assured him.

After I'd hung up the phone, I thought about how special it was that a teenage
boy would think to call me, just to wish me a good night, even after spending
most of the day together.  I knew I loved this kid, but he just kept proving to me
how special he was in so many different ways.  However, I would have to speak
to him about being careful when doing things like this, because I didn't want him
to throw up any red flags that might make his mother suspicious about our
relationship or cause her to question what was going on between us.

The next morning I woke up fairly early and started the day the way I had
promised myself I would.  After putting on my swimsuit, I went out to the pool and
began swimming laps and had a fairly good workout, before I raced back upstairs
to shower quickly, dress and then head back downstairs.  From there, I walked
down to the road to collect my mail next, since I hadn't done that on Saturday
afternoon, since we'd been out, and I happened to be doing this just as the boys'
bus was passing by.  I saw Jared and Josh eagerly waving at me through the bus
windows and thought it was pretty nice that they didn't let peer pressure prevent
them from acknowledging me in this manner.  I quickly waved back, before they
disappeared from sight, and then I went back into the house and headed into the
kitchen to fix my breakfast.

Once I'd finished eating and cleaned up the mess, I went out to my computer and
checked my email next, because I hadn't done this all weekend.  When I opened
my account, I found something from both my agent and editor.  After reading
their emails and noting that they were returning the chapters they'd been working
on, I carefully read their suggestions, added or changed what I thought was
necessary and then opened the next chapter to work on.

Even though I hadn't done much over the weekend, I had been on a roll before
that and was fairly invigorated with new ideas, because of the time I'd spent with
the boys this past weekend.  Being highly motivated, I wrote all day long and only
stopped for a very quick lunch and a light dinner, before quitting for the night.  I
was extremely please with how much I'd gotten done and would soon be sending
the next chapters on to my agent and editor.

The rest of the week went much the same and passed by fairly quickly, so before
I knew it, it was Friday afternoon.  I didn't even realize how late it was when my
front door opened and Josh and Jared walked in, carrying their overnight bags.
Even though they had left some clothes and a few other items at my place, they
always brought their homework along, as well as anything else they thought they
might need while they were here, so they wouldn't have to keep running back
and forth, between their place and mine.  They had called during the week and
arranged to stay with me both tonight and all day tomorrow, but then they would
return home on Sunday, so they could spend the day with their mother.  It was
almost as if we were a divorced couple and I had custody of my kids on the
weekend.

The boys were in a good mood when they arrived, and because the weather was
only slightly cool, they wanted to go swimming the minute they showed up.  I had
no problem with this and it sounded like a good idea to me too, so we all put on
our trunks and Jared quickly brushed Boo-Boo, before we hopped in the pool.
The boys said they wanted to race, so I decided it would be best to do this first,
before I got tired out doing other things.  We completed three or four races before
I bowed out, and then the boys raced a couple more times, before we decided to
get out and rest for a brief time.

While we were relaxing, the boys filled me in about their week at school and told
me about everything they had done.  I was fairly certain they were embellishing
many of the details, so they could impress me about what assignments they had
completed and the grades they had received on them.  They also shared other
tales about some of the things their classmates had been involved in, some of
which were quite comical, as the boys imitated these students and some of their
teachers, but I was also shocked by how some of their classmates had acted.
Some of the things they had done were funny, while other things seemed quite
brazen and rude, so I was glad Jared and Josh hadn't taken part in this.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed it when they filled me in on their week, and after
they finished, I decided it was time for us to clean up and go out for dinner.  I
figured we'd stop by the diner again, so Sherry could see the boys too, and we'd
wait for her to take her break, so she would be able to eat with us.

Sherry was surprised, but pleased to see us again, and we only had to wait ten
or fifteen minutes before she was able to finish up with her current customers.
However, that gave us time to decide what we were going to order.  By the time
she sat down at the table with us, we knew what we wanted and gave our order
to our waitress, one of Sherry's coworkers.  As we waited for our meals to arrive,
the boys began to tell their mother some of the same stories they'd shared with
me, and soon they had her laughing at their tales.  This continued until our food
was delivered and then they calmed down a bit while we ate.  After we had our
dessert, we said good-bye to their mother and made our way back to my place.

As soon as we got there, I had the boys do their homework and then I checked it
over for them.  Once I felt our meals had settled, we changed into our swimsuits
again and Jared grabbed Boo-Boo, so we could go outside for another dip in the
pool.  We wouldn't be able to do this for much longer, since I'd be closing it up for
the year in another couple of weeks, so I let them take advantage of it while they
could.  Once they dried off and got dressed again, we watched TV for a while,
before we went to bed.

As soon as the program ended, the boys grabbed Boo-Boo and we headed
upstairs.  They immediately went into my room, without asking first, but since
they did it the last time they were here, I think they felt they could do this every
time.  I immediately spoke to both of them about this, since I didn't want them to
think they could just do this whenever they wanted, because I was afraid about
how their mother would react, if she knew they were always sleeping with me.
The boys responded by saying that she never asked them where they slept, so
they didn't see it as a big deal or foresee any problem, and I didn't argue the
point further.

When Josh went into the bathroom to pee and brush his teeth, I spoke to Jared
in private, to remind him not to do anything foolish while his brother was in the
room.  He assured me that he wouldn't, and then when Josh came back, Jared
went to the guest bathroom and I went into mine, so we could do the same thing.
When we returned, we stripped down to our underwear and Jared picked up
Boo-Boo and stuck him between us, as we all settled in to sleep.  Nothing sexual
happened that night, and I think both boys just wanted to be close to me,
because they were cuddled up against me on either side throughout the entire
night, with the puppy roaming around from one open spot to another.

Since it was chilly on Saturday, the boys decided that they didn't want to go
swimming, so they scrambled to think about what else they wanted to do.  I was
somewhat surprised when Jared suggested that we see what college football
games were on and told him that I didn't realize he liked football.  He said he did,
but his mom wouldn't let him play because she was afraid he'd get hurt.  When I
asked Josh if he wanted to do this too, he said it was okay, but he preferred to
watch the pros on Sunday.  This was something else I hadn't previously known
about them, so I asked if they might want to go with me to watch their high school
team play sometime.  They immediately said they didn't, because the high school
team wasn't very good, so I scrapped that idea for now.

Since there were games on nearly all day long, we stayed home to eat tonight,
but I knew Sherry wouldn't think anything about this, since I realized she didn't
expect me to bring them down every night.  After telling them their choices and
asking what they'd prefer, I went out to the kitchen and started preparing
something, and when it was done, I allowed them to come out, fix a plate and
then take it back with them, and we ate using the TV trays, so they wouldn't miss
any of the game.

It was getting late by the time the last game ended, so we went directly up to
bed.  The boys immediately asked if they could sleep with me again, and since
they had asked, I said it would be ok.  I knew why Jared wanted to do this, but I
thought possibly Josh just didn't want to be alone, and we all settled in again,
with Boo-Boo marking out his spot.

Sunday morning I got up, I fixed breakfast for them and then watched as they
walked home.  I started feeling sad after they were gone, but acknowledged that
this wasn't my day to be with them.  I knew I'd have to keep busy so I wouldn't
miss them so much, so I sat down at the computer and began to work.

During the rest of the day, as well as the following week, I got a lot done on my
story and emailed off chapters to both my agent and my editor.  By Thursday
afternoon, I was already starting to look forward to seeing the boys again, when
my doorbell unexpectedly rang.  Since I wasn't expecting anything, I couldn't
imagine who might be there and opened the door.  I was shocked to discover two
uniformed police officers.

"Robert Cox?" the larger one asked.

"Yes," I responded timidly, since I was uncertain as to why they were here.

"Would you step outside please?" he asked next, and I did what he wanted.  "We
have a warrant for your arrest and you have been charged with sexual abuse, for
having sexual contact with a minor.  You have the right to remain silent..."

The officer's voice droned on, but I don't remember hearing anything he said
beyond that point.  Once he had finished reading me my rights, the other officer
slapped a pair of handcuffs on me, patted me down, led me over to their patrol
car and helped me into the back seat.  The rest of the time that followed was a
blur and I don't even know if they locked up my house before we left and drove
down to the police station.  Once there, they took me inside and I knew my life
had now changed forever.


I would love to hear your feedback concerning this story.  Please email your
comments to: ErastesTouch@aol.com    Please place the story title in the subject
line, so I don't accidentally delete it as junk mail.  Thank you.