Chapter Five

Shifting Tides

"How the hell don't you have it in stock? It's the most popular damn kids toy of the year!"

The guy paced frantically back and forth beside the counter, rubbing his scruffy chin. The toy in question was some rescue team truck, far from the most popular toy of the year.

"Relax man, I'm sorry, but we just don't carry it," I said to him. "I don't think I've even heard of it before. You can check Amazon or something, I'm sure they have it."

He laughed with disdain. "Well, his birthday is today, so if they have an option to ship within the next hour I'd be very appreciative to hear about it."

I narrowed my eyes. "With all due respect, sir, we don't carry it here, and that's the end of it. It's really not my problem." I hated being confrontational, but he'd been freaking out about this for a few minutes now, and I was getting tired of it.

"Fuck!" he shouted, slamming a fist against the counter. I flinched and stared at him cautiously. After a few moments of silence, he apologized. "I know it's not your fault, it just really sucks for me."

I nodded uncomfortably, not entirely sure what else to do. 

The guy turned around, rubbing his eyes with two fingers, before turning back. "And you're sure you don't have an extra one lying around in the back?" He sounded almost desperate.

"We don't," I said confidently, shaking my head. "I would know."

He sighed. "Oh, his mother's gonna be pissed. How the hell am I supposed to make my kid happy?"

"I'm sorry, but it's not my problem. If you want my opinion, there's more to happiness than gifts," I offered.

I was ready for him to leave, as it was clear there was nothing more I could do for him, yet he seemed to want to continue to waste my time. After a few more minutes witnessing his seven stages of grief, he was finally able to get his shit together and leave.

Several hours later, I heard the store bell's familiar jingle, and Nico slipped inside. I was on my phone, and set it on the counter, ready to give him my full attention. He carried a skateboard, and it's awesome design took me by surprise: two dolphins creating a yin-yang symbol. Looking over at me, he dropped it on the floor by the entrance, and his small frown transformed into a relieved grin.

"Hey mister shopkeeper," he said in a playful tone, and made his way over with an exaggerated skip, in cool skate shoes that tapped merrily against the floor.

"Hello little boy, are you lost?" I asked him, going along with it, but still cracking a smile.

He giggled, and came over to me behind the counter. With no one else in the store, I gave him a big, tight hug, lifting him off his feet. He slipped into a childish fit of laughter as I kissed his nose.

"What brings you in today? Looking for some magic gear?" I opened a drawer and fumbled through it. "Perhaps a 'tech deck'?" I asked, pronouncing it stupidly, and pulled one out, waving it in front of him. He giggled again, knocking the toy out of my hand. "Come on, you seem like the type," I teased, picking it up and putting it back into the drawer. "Cool skateboard, by the way."

"Thanks," he said. "I'm just bored. I wanted to come see you since everyone else doesn't want me around."

I frowned. "No one wants you around? What do you mean?"

"Well," he began, plopping himself onto the counter, "I was at the skatepark earlier, and I just wanted to hang out and skate, but this stupid bitch Rosa—"

"Hey!" I interrupted.

"Sorry, but she is. She and her friends told me to get lost, so I did." He kicked his legs back and forth, and I noticed he had some dark smudges on them.

I folded my arms. "She's not hitting you or anything, is she?"

"No way," he said, holding his hands up. "She's more of a psychological terror."

"How do you know her?"

He nodded. "She goes to my school," he said, and looked at the ground. "She hates me."

"Why? Just a bully?"

"Yep," he laughed, "pretty much. I was skating by myself, and she comes up with her lame posse and is all like, 'What are you doing here, weirdo?'" he said, feigning her latina accent. "'Get lost, freak.'"

I had to laugh at the accent, but when he puffed out his cheeks, I realized he wasn't trying to be funny. "Oh. I'm sorry. That sucks." I massaged his knees through his cargo shorts, while he continued to restlessly kick his legs around.

"Yep! It does! Like, I'm skating nowhere near them, yet they come over just to bully me. Some life they have. God, I hate them," he fumed. "They always go after me every time they see me. Stupid bitches."

"Well, why not ignore them and keep skating?"

"Because... because I don't even want to be around them in like a twenty mile radius! They make me feel terrible. Maybe I should get a restraining order. Got any connections?"

"Sorry, dude." I patted his cheek, and he dropped down from the counter.

"It's fine," he said, latching onto my side. "Rather be with you anyways."

A woman came into the store, so I had to send him away for a bit, and he busied himself looking through our postcards. After she left, he came back to sit on the counter again, and immediately launched back into his story.

"And after all that I went to the beach I guess just to swim or something, but all the peeps there are looking at me like they don't want me to be there either! So I left, and went to see my mom at work. But she's busy..." He looked lazily around the shop. "Kinda like you are..."

"Yeah, us adults are pretty boring and responsible. But I'll make it up to you?" I offered.

He looked up at me. "Tonight?" he suggested, placing his hands together, eyes wide and irresistable.

"Yeah, sure, I guess I can. Did you have something in mind?"

"I dunno..." he trailed off, looking up in thought. "What do couples do for fun?"

I thought for a moment. "Do you want to get dinner together?" I whispered.

He gasped, jaw agape. "A date? With me?"

I laughed at his reaction. "Yeah, I guess so."

"Yesss!" he hissed, pumping his fist. "I've never been on a date. Wait, I know the best place, and we can walk there from here!" He was practically jumping up and down.

"Alright," I said, chuckling, "well I've still got about two more hours here, so you're welcome to hang out."

"Cool!" He hopped off the counter. "So what's up with you?"

"Um... well, just been here I guess. Had some crazy dude come in earlier screaming about his... poor parenting skills."

"Oooh, I love crazy dudes. You should have taken a video."

"Hehe, yeah."

The door jingled again, and a few people came inside. I looked Nico over, and smirked. "Hey, you look like the kinda guy who wants to play Minecraft under the counter until I close up."

He chuckled. "Oh please, I'm not that lame," he said, but immediately took his phone out and made his way behind the counter.

I laughed. "No funny business, though," I whispered.

"What kind of guy do you take me for?" he responded, crawling under the counter and purposefully brushing up against my leg.

"I don't know what I want," Nico whined, drumming his shoes against the fake grass of the outdoor seating area. A big, angled umbrella shielded us from the bright sun that hung low in the evening.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused, taking the menu away from him to look at myself. "You're the one who wanted to come here."

I thought it would be strange going to a restaurant with a young kid; I anticipated suspicious looks from everyone, but nobody seemed to care. Even our waitress made no mention of it. It's possible they all thought we were related, not that we looked alike in the slightest. Still, I was happy to find we were the only ones sitting outside.

"Hey," I said, showing him the menu, "how's this look?"

"Ohhh, soy-based orange chicken!" he exclaimed, licking his lips, and smiled over at me. "You know me well."

"Just be careful," I cautioned. "All that soy might turn you into a girl."

He narrowed his eyes, feigning annoyance. "Oh, Logan," he chuckled. "You know nothing of my people."

I grinned. "I've actually found you to be more of a carnivore than I once thought."

"Can't resist the finest sausage in town," he said, biting down on the end of his fork seductively, and we both laughed.

"I'm just glad to be here with you tonight," I said with sincerity.

"Me too. I'm really happy and excited to be on my first date with you." He smiled. "Thanks for taking me out."

He looked perfect sitting there: smooth, golden skin completely free of any blemishes, shaded from the strong sun that was responsible for his coloring. His hair was neatly combed, and I realized he must have styled it in the bathroom when we first arrived. I thought back to my life without him, and wondered how I never gave him a second thought when I left him those few years ago. His simple presence made me happy, an emotion I hadn't felt strongly for some time.

"I'm not sure why I haven't told you before, but I'm sorry for letting you down when I left that summer," I said. "I didn't have a chance to say goodbye, but I should have made one. It would have saved you a lot of heartache, and I just feel so bad about it now. I didn't know. I'm sorry."

He sat quietly, thinking about what I said, before speaking up. "It's okay," he said clumsily, his voice quieter. "You made up for it."

"Yeah, but, I want to continue making up for it, for the rest of the summer."

I had been thinking about him a lot during my nights, and how I really felt. We had a bond that I really hadn't shared with anyone else to this degree before. Though he had his moments of immaturity and imperfection, those were part of what made him so special, and I knew he would grow into an amazing person. It seemed like even in the short timeframe things had been going on, we had already improved each other, and I was optimistic about our future. I realized I wanted to be clear with him about how I felt; the time finally felt right.

"I don't know how the hell you managed it, you rascal, but I'm yours. I think I love you Nico; I really don't know what I'd do without you now." I looked into his eyes, which were wet with tears.

His voice was shaky when he did speak up. "You... really love me?" he asked with a sniffle.

Seeing his intense emotional reaction made me choke up, too. I placed my hand palm up in the middle of the table, and he placed his hand in mine. Gently, I caressed the back of his hand with my thumb.

"I do. I love you."

His chest shook, and he began to softly cry, little tears falling past his smiling mouth.

"I love you, too," he said between breaths, and my tears began to fall as well. Hand in hand, we shared our tears of joy for several minutes.

"You've always been so nice to me," he finally said, still sniffling. "I don't deserve it."

"Of course you do," I assured him. "You're such a great kid, you deserve every ounce of love. And you're so beautiful." I began softly stroking his arm. "Like, a week ago I would never have described a boy as beautiful, but you're different. I'm so lucky that you found me again. I never knew until now, but I was missing something in my life, and it was you."

"It's crazy because I always dreamed of being with you, for years." He paused, in thought. "Now that it's finally come true, it's better than I ever imagined."

I pulled my hand away when I noticed the waitress coming. She took our orders and went back inside, leaving us alone again.

"Hey, I want to know something," I said, turning to him.

He looked up curiously. "What?" he asked, cute and innocent.

Even after our wonderful discussion, I knew I had to get to the bottom of the whole buttplug situation. "The... toy you have. Where did you get it, and who gave it to you?" I asked.

He smirked, and leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms. "Well, I got it for Christmas. Probably my favorite gift ever, besides my phone."

"From who?" I didn't want to be too pushy, but I needed to know.

"Uh... Santa?" he said, raising an eyebrow like it was obvious.

Santa? I blinked. Like, his mom? He was definitely too old to still believe in that... right? I decided to play it cautious anyways, and not reveal the truth about Santa if he still did.

"So, you got it for Christmas? From Santa?" I reaffirmed.

He nodded, "Yep," then motioned for me to lean in, which I did. "I have it in right now," he whispered, then pulled away, giggling, and winked at me mischievously.

I groaned internally. If it really was his mom who got it for him, I truly didn't know if I had more or less to worry about. Why the hell would Grace get him something like that? It didn't seem likely to me that it would have come from her. It could have been another relative that got it for him. But again, who?

I was unsure how to directly ask him if he meant Grace. "Don't you think that's a little weird of a gift for Santa to get you?"

"Nope," he said unconcernedly, and looked around, fidgeting with his napkin. "I wanna order."

"Me too. What—"

"Hey, did Parker text you?" he interrupted. "He wanted your number really bad so I gave it to him."

I opened my mouth to say more, but then thought back to Parker's messages the previous evening. "Oh, yeah, he did, last night. Why? Have you been talking to him?"

"Yep. He was messaging me a lot and then wanted my Snapchat. Then he video chatted me and played some songs on the violin." He fiddled with his knife, sticking it between the prongs of his fork. "He has a lot of trophies in his room." 

"Yeah, I kinda remember that. He's pretty competitive, got into a nice school recently. He's always been sort of an over-achiever."

Nico looked at the ground. "Do you think I'm dumb?" he asked hesitantly.

"What? No way!" I said emphatically.

He looked uncertain. "At school I only get, like, Bs and Cs. Mom doesn't really care, but I kinda wish I could do better."

"I don't think you're dumb at all, Nico. Grades don't really matter too much, and they definitely don't determine whether you're smart or not."

"Oh. Guess so." He put his head in his hands, as if he had a bad headache. "I don't want to go back to school next week. I hate it."

I frowned. "C'mon, it can't be that bad."

"The teachers don't like me and I still don't have a lot of friends. And Rosa is gonna make my life shit like she always does."

Oh yeah, she went to his school. "God, what's her deal anyways?" I asked.

"She saw me jacking off under my desk last year, and then she started calling me a freak and a weirdo, and told everyone."

"Oh, Nico," I facepalmed, "you really need to that sex drive under control." It seemed to be more of a problem than I'd previously thought, and I already thought it was quite a problem.

"But I can't help it!" he groused. "She has no idea what it's like to be a boy..."

"I guess you're right, but in class dude, really?"

"Well, I don't do it anymore," he reassured me. "It'd be too messy now."

"I can't believe you'd do something that ballsy," I said, shaking my head. "Actually, no, I totally can."

"Hehe, balls," he giggled, and I glared at him. "What about you, Logan? When did you start jacking off?"

"Er, I don't know. Probably sometime around your age, maybe older."

He stared, eyebrows raised, waiting for me to go on.

I cleared my throat. "Well, we sorta learned about it in health class, and I thought it was weird. All my friends would make jokes all the time, so I went on the internet to learn how to do it." I leaned back in my seat, recalling the memory. "It's easy, once you know how it's done," I sang to the tune of "Jerk It Out" by Caesars, a song I associated with it during those years.

"I don't get it," he said.

"It's an old song. Nevermind."

"You're weird. Nobody likes old songs."

"Yeah, well, I'll show you some time, and you'll rethink your position on that."

"Nah," he said with certainty, shaking his head.

Our food came and we shared a lovely, romantic dinner together, full of cute stares and loving compliments. He shared his worry about returning to school the following week, and I did my best to keep his mind off it.

I was determined to cheer him up, and our date certainly seemed to have helped, but I knew there was more I could do. After dinner, I told him we could go back to our secret beach to watch the sunset together, and his face lit up—a sight I couldn't get enough of.

I parked in the same spot as last time, and we took our shoes and socks off to avoid getting them all muddy and sandy during our descent. As we began the rough trail down to the beach, I spotted two bicycles partially hidden behind a tree. I thought it was unusual, but it wasn't implausible that other people used that spot too.

It was nearing sunset, so we had less light to work with than the previous time. Even so, descending the trail was much easier this time around, as Nico had experience from the last time. He still pretended to struggle at times, I think just so I would reach out and steady him; that boy loved physical contact.

At the beach, there were two boys on the shore around Nico's age, possibly a little older, dressed in only bathing suits, digging a huge hole in the wet sand. They were both blonde; blonder than Nico, and one was noticeably bigger than the other—likely a year or two older, possibly his older brother.

As we emerged from the trees, the younger-looking kid noticed us and tapped the other on the shoulder. They both turned to face us, knees and hands on the ground next to their hole.

"Nico!" the younger boy said, smiling.

We made our way over to them. It turned out he was a classmate of Nico's named Lucas, and was accompanied by an older friend named Landon. Nico introduced me to them, and we shared a chuckle at the idea that we each thought we were the only ones who knew of the spot.

Lucas had a very flamboyant gay voice, which I found to be as silly as much as absurd, but he was a very nice kid with a lot to say, and cheerful attitude. Landon had an older, more mature and half-broken voice. It was harder to get a read on him due to him having a lot less to say.

We learned that the hole they were digging was simply due to boredom. Nico asked if we could join them, but Landon seemed hesitant on letting us join them. When Lucas gave him a pleading look, he eventually yielded.

We shoveled sand while casually chatting. After getting bored of digging, the three boys decided to jump into the water. Nico, in his usual brash fashion, stripped down to his boxers to swim in. The other two didn't care, and well, boys will be boys.

I didn't want to swim with them because truthfully, I was too anxious to take my shorts off, so I let them swim together while I sat in the sand, thinking about other things.

If it was true that Grace had given Nico a buttplug, I would have been furious. Even though him and I had done some definitely inappropriate stuff together, buying sex toys for a child—your own son—was more than crossing a line. I didn't know if I wanted to even confront her about it, as I knew how hot-headed she could be, but I also didn't even really know if she was the one responsible. Still, I felt I had a responsibility to Nico, and I wanted to keep him safe and happy, just like I was doing now.

Well, sort of. The older boys were throwing Nico around in the water, quite easily, because of his light weight. He was all smiles though, and caught my glance and threw a thumbs up, which was enough to reassure me. Seeing him happy was what made me happy, and thinking that there could be some kind of abuse going on at home made me thoroughly unsettled. Even if the buttplug was something he wanted and requested, someone buying that for him was not okay, I told myself.

I decided to bring it up with her when I took Nico home after the beach. After all, she was an open person, and we had talked about things in a sexual nature before the few years ago when she would come visit the store without Nico.

The boys played in the ocean for a half an hour before getting out, Nico yawning as he made his way to me, stretching his arms over his head; a completely hairless beauty. The sun had set, so Lucas and Landon said farewell, and quickly headed up the trail back to their bikes.

Convinced that no one was around, I gave Nico an intimate kiss, pulling his wet, salty body to me. Surprised, he closed his eyes and kissed me back.

"Have fun?" I asked as he caught his breath.

"Yep! I wanted you to come swim with us, though."

"I had some stuff to think about. It's cool that you found your friends down here, though."

"Lucas isn't really my friend, er... I just haven't really ever talked to him. But he's cool. Maybe we can be friends when school's back," he said wistfully.

I watched his expression switch to worry at the mention of school, so I quickly tried to lighten the mood.

"I was thinking we could go back to your place and," I smirked, "finish up our date."

He grinned. "I like the way you think."

We climbed the trail back up to the car, Nico not bothering to get dressed and instead opting to carry his clothes with him. After making it back, I toweled him and his feet meticulously, making sure to get rid of all the sand and water before allowing him in the car. He hummed as he allowed me tender access to his body, and after getting him clean and dry, allowed me to slip his shorts and shirt back on.

The air was thick with anticipation as we drove home, both of us prepared for another amazing evening. Nico's phone rang, and he picked it up. It was a video call, and he held the phone out in front of him.

"Hi," Nico said as the video connected.

"Hey," I heard Parker say through the phone. "Did you just shower?"

"Uh, no, but I see why you might think so," Nico replied, feeling his wet hair.

"So what are you doing?"

"Just came from the beach."

"Oh." He paused. "Are you in a car?"

Nico smirked and turned the phone towards me. I noticed, and waved to him, not taking my eyes off the road.

"Hey Parker!" I said loudly, even though he could definitely hear me just fine.

"Oh! Hey..." he replied, then went quiet.

Nico turned the phone back. "So, what's up?" he asked Parker.

"Nothing really... I was thinking that... I actually, uh, gotta go," he said, and promptly hung up. As the phone beeped, Nico turned to look at me, his face twisted in the same confusion as mine.

"What the hell?" I blurted out with tense laughter.

"He's kinda weird, right?"

"Not usually that weird. Guess I don't know him that well anymore."

I spent the rest of the drive thinking about bringing things up with Grace. Unsure how I'd be able to bring up such a thing to her, I began to feel anxious about seeing her.

When we eventually pulled up to his house, I parked on the sidewalk and stared forward past the steering wheel. My excitement about the evening had changed over the course of our drive into worry, and I knew I wasn't ready to face Grace—not yet.

Nico got out of the car, taking his skateboard with him. He looked back at me through the open door as I made no effort to get out. "Coming?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I think I’m gonna head home, Nico. Something's been on my mind all day and... I just need some time to think about it."

He frowned, placing a hand on the roof of the car. "Really? But I already have a boner!" he said, motioning to his pants.

I smiled. "I'm sorry for getting you excited, we can do it some other time. I really just need some time to myself."

He sighed. "You're really bad at dating me."

I could tell he was joking, but there was a hint of truth there. Laughing, I said, "Yeah, I know. I hope it was a nice first date, even if it was anticlimactic. Really though, I'll make it up to you, we can do whatever you want."

"Well, just so you know, I really wanted the climax. But whatever, it's fine," he said, and rolled his eyes. "Bye, Logan," he said sweetly, waving, before heading up the driveway.

I waved back, before driving off into the evening.

Nico: I still want my climax

Sitting up in my bed, I glared at my phone, still incredibly full from dinner earlier. I had been busy contemplating my options for bringing the issue up with Grace, unsure of how to proceed, when Nico's message came in. While I recognized that Nico's toy was not completely my business, I felt I had a certain responsibility to my boyfriend to keep him safe. Now, though, it seemed he was horny, which also fell under my jurisdiction.

Me: It's too bad I can't provide a helping hand

Nico: Yeah, you can 🙄

Me: Meant irl

Nico: Got any porn.....?

I couldn't help but laugh, surely he knew that I wouldn't be the right person to ask for gay porn?

Me: Sorry dude, but I don't really know any you would like

Nico: You are seriously so dense sometimes..........

Crap, he meant Logan porn. Of course. I shoved my shorts down a little and rubbed myself for a moment. When I was nice and hard, I took a nice dick picture, and sent it over. Simple, but surely effective.

Nico: Oh yeah!!!!

Nico: Can I see your muscles?

His boyish crush was incredibly cute, and I thought the innocence of a young boy infatuated with muscles was endearing. Happy to please, I set the phone up to take a timed photo, where I posed shirtless, flexing against the wall. A minute or so passed, and I received a notification that he had replayed my image.

Nico: 🤤

Nico: You're so hot

Nico: You're like a model

Nico: Can you pose like a model

Nico: ?

Chuckling to myself, I set up the phone again, and after pulling my shirt off, leaned against the wall with one leg bent up against it. I tilted my head towards the ground and pushed the front of my hair up with one hand. Sitting back down and reviewing the photo, I found it kind of cringey, but sent it anyway.

I received a response in the form of a video, a downward angle of him completely naked in his room, rapidly jerking his dick and moaning huskily.

"Unh... you're so fucking hot, Logan," the speakers blared, and I hastily lowered the volume. "I want you to... unf... fucking... stick it in m—" he said, the video cutting him off abruptly.

I was starting to realize he was quite the dirty talker, something I certainly wasn't, and while I was happy to let him imagine us having sex, I knew I had to be firm with him if it was something he seriously wanted. I knew my limits, and I didn't want to put him through that kind of intensity. He'd have to wait many years for that, if our relationship even lasted that long.

That was another big thing I knew I had to consider. I wasn't sure how long our relationship would last, or if it would even continue once I left the state. If anything, it would be incredibly difficult to keep things going as I most likely wouldn't be back to visit until Thanksgiving, and who knew if I would even have the time to get to see him then.

If we were to keep our candle lit however, how long could it possibly last? Surely he would seek other partners in his teenage years, be it at school or otherwise locally. Was I destined to be just a short, hot fling that he had in his earlier years? What did I really mean to Nico? And did I actually like boys, or just him?

Another video arrived from him, pulling me out of my thoughts. It was his penis again, hard as granite and pointing fiercely towards the camera. He brought the phone around, bringing its focus onto his ass, and he lifted his legs to allow for a better view. This time, there was no tiny red heart covering his anus, and so his little pink opening filled the view.

Pulling on one cheek, he dipped his fingers into his butt crack, making circles around his hole, before pushing his index finger inside. He groaned, pushing further until his first knuckle was fully enveloped, then the video ended.

I'm not sure why I was surprised to find that he liked to finger himself, especially considering how much he seemed to enjoy his plug. Maybe it was because I had never fingered myself before, and had not put much thought into it. I still found it incredibly arousing, and felt myself stiffening in my shorts.

Nico: I'm imagining my finger is your cock

Nico: Tho it's totally not as big lol 🤣 but you know what I mean

Not wanting to ruin the moment by shooting down his fantasy, I instead decided to enliven it. I got on my bed and hastily tugged my shorts off, followed by my underwear. Grabbing my dick, I lined it up perfectly for a portrait photo, showing off my six and a half inches, and sent it.

Me: Imagine away

I didn't hear back for a few minutes, and I had a feeling he was probably too busy pleasuring himself. I took the time to go lock my bedroom door, and surely enough, another video came in.

It was captioned, "Crap lol", and I grinned in anticipation. He had set his phone down against his pillows, facing him on the bed, perfectly nude except for some white ankle socks. Pulling his hands away from the phone, he lay down on his back, his naked dick and droopy balls in center view. He started masturbating wildly, moaning loudly and boyishly. I hoped for his sake that Grace wasn't home to hear his hormonal symphony.

All it took was around twenty seconds of him moaning and groaning before he excitedly exclaimed, "I'm cumming, Logan!"

I watched as he pushed his hips upward, firing a squirt of semen into the air which fell back down onto his pubis. His balls tightened  and he exhaled, sitting up, as another spurt shot out. He pushed down on his shaft with one thumb and, with another groan, another clear jet, splattering onto his phone's camera, slightly blurring the view for me.

"Oh!" he cried, the simple exclamation making his overwhelming euphoria known. Through the blurry frame, I could make out his body continuing to writhe as the last few teensy spurts dribbled from his dick and onto the bed. Gradually, he let go of his drained penis, taking a few moments to return from his orgasm. He grabbed the phone, staring into the camera with his mouth wide open as he poked at his ejaculate.

"Shit!" he whispered, and the video ended.

The whole event was as hilarious as much as hot, and after taking a second to giggle at his misfortune, quickly replayed the video and came incredibly hard in tandem with him, though taking care to cum onto my stomach and not on my phone. I flopped down onto the bed, completely spent, feeling my phone vibrate beside me. After a few more moments to myself, I checked his message.

Nico: Sooo the replay means it was good? 😋

Me: Amazing cinematography

Me: Loved the special effects

Nico: All practical, baby 😏

I sent him a picture of the cum splattered across my stomach with the caption, "Audience gives it a 10/10!"

Nico: 🍆💦😍🎬

Tuesday was hot. Not because Nico was around—he actually wasn't—but because it was hot. Real muggy and unpleasant. Even the beach population was rather thinned out. Fortunately, we at least had a ceiling fan, because I absolutely would have gone home were it not the case.

The day was not a busy one, likely on account of the heat. I spent much of it on my phone, dreaming of taking a cold bath and simply wasting my time until I was free to go back home.

I was alone in the store when Grace walked by the window. We noticed each other simultaneously, and she immediately went to come inside. I knew I probably wouldn't get a better opportunity to talk to her about my concerns without Nico around, and decided right then that I would voice them. If I wasn't already sweating, I would have broken into a cold one.

"Grace," I said, disguising my anxiousness, "nice to see you."

"Hey, champ. How's the business?" She came up to the counter, seeming relieved by the cool air.

We talked for a few minutes before I finally worked up the nerve to bring it up.

"So... there's something I needed to ask you... about Nico."

She gave a motherly laugh. "I heard you two went on a date last night. Have I ever told you how sweet you are, Logan?"

Humbled by her compliment, I blushed. "It's kinda serious, though."

Her smile dwindled, and she took a more upright posture.

I cleared my throat. "So, jeez how do I say this?" I continued, pulling nervously on my fingers. "The other day, Nico was telling me he had a... sex toy, um, and that really confused me you know, because he's only twelve, and I didn't know where he would have got it."

Grace folded her arms as she listened, matching my sincerity, but not my nervousness.

"He sort of said that it was a Christmas gift, from uh... Santa. So I was just kinda wondering about that, because it was a little odd to me."

She nodded, and took a breath. The inside of my head pounded, tension building.

"And he told you about this?" she asked, staring through me.

I hesitated before answering, "Yeah."

"You know I know you're lying, right?"

"Huh? Grace, I'm not—"

"Logan, how do I say this... I know what you've been doing with my son."

I was speechless, and my mouth felt suddenly dry. As the panic flooded in, I started to feel dizzy. "I... I don't know—" I began to say.

She grabbed my shoulder. "Logan, relax. It's fine. But I need you to be honest with me. You know about his toys because you've seen them, and not because he told you about them."

"Toys? There are more?"

"Yeah, sure, I got him a few over the years. Kid's got a libido like, well, a teenager."

"Sorry, but why the hell would you buy him sex toys? You see where I'm coming from, right? It's kinda fucked up."

Her expression turned sour, and she withdrew her hand. "My son swallowed your cum, Logan, what makes you the judge of what's fucked up?"

The panic came back, and I turned away. "How do you know that?"

"I don't know what your family is like, but with us, everything is shared and open. Nico is always excited to tell me about what you two get up to. Listen, I know for most people, nudity is 'unnatural' and sex is 'evil'. I am not one of those people. I believe in healthy, sexual freedom. When you left Nico all alone without a goodbye, the one thing that brought a smile to his face for the longest time was a good ol' dry cum."

I gave her a look of astonishment and confusion, and she laughed.

"For about a month he barely left his room, and when I was finally sick enough of his moping, I taught him how to jerk his dick. And a lot of nights, I did it for him, to get him to bed," she said like it was the most normal thing in the world.

I wasn't really sure how to take that knowledge. "Uh, isn't that incest?"

"No, Logan, we're not having sex, and it's not for my pleasure. What's wrong with happiness at the cost of a tissue?"

I pondered that.

"He's a good kid, and he deserved some happiness. You know that."

I sensed some lingering resentment from my abandoning of him, and decided not to argue further. "Sure Grace, yeah."

"So when Christmas came around, I did what any good parent does and got him some toys. And maybe more unconventionally, some lube." She laughed, but I didn't. "And believe me, when his plug's in, that's when he has his best and longest orgasms."

I grimaced. "Alright, my mistake, let's talk about something else."

"Hey, you're the one bringing it up," she said, then chuckled."Well, guess it's time to get to why I'm here, and surprise surprise, has nothing to do with sex toys." She cleared her throat. "It's lunchtime, and I'm buying."

"Oh," I said. "Sure, Grace. Like old times."

She brought me to a local sandwich shop a small walk from the clothing store she worked at, and bought us both sandwiches. I thanked her, and we walked down to the beach and found a nice bench to sit at. We enjoyed our lunches in the sun, talking about life over the past few years. I hadn't heard what she'd been up to, so it was nice to get filled in about what had been going on.

"I've been doing these yearly music festivals with my two girlfriends. You know how it is with me. Anyway, it's coming up this weekend," she said, finishing the last of her veggie pesto sandwich.

"You want me to watch him?" I asked, between bites.

"Well, I don't want to make you do anything, but you're certainly welcome to. I never get him a sitter, he's always fine alone when I go to these. I mean he can cook for himself and knows to contact our neighbors about anything he can't deal with himself." She paused and lit up a cigarette. "You're welcome to stay with him, even spend the nights. I know he would be thrilled, and I think you two would enjoy some alone time together," she said, a sparkle in her eye.

"I mean, if I have your blessing, no reason to say no." I was actually giddy inside, but tried not to show it. Even though she seemed cool with it, I didn't want her to think I was too excited.

She smirked. "Great."

I finished up my sandwich and we said goodbye, both returning to our stores. Even though it was only Tuesday, I was ready for the weekend, now more than ever. I spent the afternoon fantasizing about the memories it would bring, but also about the unusual relationship it seemed she had with her son.

Nico: Hey

Nico: You there

Me: Hey!

Me: Sorry was in the bath

Nico: And you didn't bring your phone?

Nico: What kind of guy are you?

Me: A guy who's into relaxing I guess?

Nico: In other words A WEIRDO

Me: Lol

Nico: Mom says you're staying over on the weekend!

Nico: AND SHE'S NOT GONNA BE HERE

Nico: I'm gonna explode

Nico: Why can't it be Friday already?!?! 😫😖

Me: I'm excited too

Me: We can finally read news articles and listen to old music together!

Nico: Shut up

Nico: I'm gonna make a list of stuff we can do

Nico: Actual fun stuff 😪

Me: Oh cool like filling out paperwork and wearing a suit

Nico: 😑

Me: Seriously though, can't wait

Me: Got a question for you

Nico: ?

Me: Your mom's never done anything that made you uncomfortable right?

Nico: What are you talking about she's the most uncomfortable person ever

Me: Lol I mean like done stuff with you that made you feel weird or not good

Nico: I think when she grounds me I feel weird or not good

Me: Alright

Me: Nothing else?

Nico: Not really

Me: Okay good just making sure

Nico: Watcha doin

Me: Getting ready for bed, you?

Nico: In bed but I'm not going to bed

Nico: Playing Minecraft 🐷

Me: Silly boy

Nico: Yeah I built my school and then blew it up with TNT

Me: You're gonna make a great terrorist when you grow up

Nico: It's my dream

Nico: No one can stop me HAHAHAH

Me: Haha

Me: Gonna try to get some sleep now good night

Nico: I love you!!

Me: Love you too 💕

Nico: Good night but also I love you more

Me: Impossible

Nico: I'll show you

Nico: This weekend

Me: Okay lol good night

Nico: Bye