Perilous Journey 2

PERILOUS JOURNEY - 2

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[Author's Note: Thanks for joining me on another adventure! I look forward to hearing from you and comparing thoughts. And, say, where would we be without Nifty...especially when the times are rough and the crazies are out in full force? Will you join me in making even a small financial contribution to the Archive in order to keep this site free and, as it has always been, an important part of our lives? Thanks again, friend!]

This story contains descriptions of sexual contact between males, both adults and teenagers. As such, it is homoerotic fiction designed for the personal enjoyment of legal, mature, adults. If you are not of legal age to read such material, if those in power and/or those whom you trust treat it as illegal, or if it would create unresolvable moral dilemmas in your life, please leave. Finally, please respect yourself and those around you by practicing safe sex.

CHAPTER 2

(Revisiting Chapter 1)

"Rob!" the man said sharply. "It's time. I can let you out here. Tomorrow is Sunday, but there will be people around who can point you towards transportation. In any case, it will take you a while to reach the bus stops, or the train station in Timothy. Or...Big Guy...you can accept my invitation." A certain yearning came into his voice as he added, "I'd be truly delighted to have your company." Silence reigned for just a moment. Then thickly muscled arm worked its way out of the youth's blanket to be laid across the driver's shoulders. A young voice said quietly, "Thank you, sir. Invitation accepted. Much obliged."

(Continuing Our Story: The Houseguest)

"Ok, Muscles. Let me open the garage door and we'll be able to get out of the car without being swept away by the storm." (There was a pause as the door opened, the car entered the garage, and the door swung shut.) Awesome, sir!" "So, Robbie. Welcome home. Grab your knapsack and any clothing behind the seats and let's get into the house!"

Passing through a mud room, the duo suddenly found themselves in a spacious old kitchen. Clearly, a great deal of renovation had taken place, for while everything looked to be original, everything in fact represented the very latest in technology. Even though the storm was howling around the house as if it would reduce it to rubble, inside the picture was one of quiet beauty, warmth...and stability.

"Are you ready for one of my 'signature' breakfasts, Rob?" Thayer asked, half-joking. The lad answered slowly. "Normally, sir, I can eat anything...at any time. Right now, however, I'm just about out on my feet." Grinning somewhat wanly, he added, "Breathe on me and I'll crash! Feed me and I'll just disintegrate. Would you be offended, sir, if I took a rain check?" "Not at all, son," Thayer responded. "I understand fully. Believe that I'll make it up to you in the morning!" With a soft smile, he said, "Let's get ourselves upstairs where I'll show you your room."

Guiding the youngster with a hand placed lightly on his shoulder, Scott took his young guest into a bedroom the likes of which he had experienced only in his wildest dreams. In every respect, it was a room that had been decorated for a young man. Everything was perfect: the colors, the furniture, the pictures, books on the shelves, a lamp illuminating a small desk that seemed ready to welcome the next assignment. The boy looked around, excited and pleased in equal measure.

"May I make a suggestion?" Thayer asked. "Sir?" "While I put some fresh linen on your bed, get into the bathroom and take the hottest shower you can manage. Really soak some very sore muscles, and you'll feel a million times better in the morning. Just leave the dirty clothes on the floor. We'll get to them tomorrow." "Yes, sir," the youngster said obediently and turned away, unbuttoning his shirt as he went. As he closed the bathroom door, he mumbled something like "Thanks for taking care of me, Coach." His voice was strange. In fact, he seemed a little...spacy.

Finally - the water having been turned off for a short period - the door opened and the youngster reappeared. Whereas his head was draped by a very large towel as he continued to vigorously dry his hair, the remainder of the lad's spectacular body lay open to Scott Thayer's stunned gaze. No mental exercises were necessary to tell him that he had rarely seen so perfect a specimen of male physical development. The fact that he was barely eighteen was irrelevant! The fact that redheads rarely reach such heights of beauty was equally irrelevant. One factor in his appearance, of course, seemed to be the "bronzing" of his skin as it was exposed to the sun for long hours over years in his father's fields. (It also suggested that he often worked in those fields in the nude. That is, his lower torso, crotch, genitals, buttocks, and upper thighs showed little of the "dead white" color that so often detracts from a redhead's physical appearance.) Hair? He was not a hairy creature, through one could see a small amount under his arms, above his genitals, and on his forearms. Like the extremely light hair on his calves, however, its importance seemingly lay in occasionally bringing a soft red "glow" to his skin, complementing the unique color brought about by significant exposure to the sun. Naturally, Scott could not tear his eyes away from the young man's equipment. Like the rest of his body parts, his penis and low-hanging scrotum were both substantial and perfectly shaped. Indeed, they seemed to beg to be caressed, tasted, and held in one's memory of the supremely beautiful. His opinion, expressed earlier stood: Physically, the young man was heavily muscled and tautly defined. Nevertheless, Scott Thayer's intuition and long experience also told him that he appeared to be one of those rare individuals who was simultaneously intelligent and sensitive.

Thayer snapped out of his daydream when Robbie stumbled as he approached him. Appearing to be increasingly out of it, the naked youth allowed himself to be guided to his bed and made comfortable. He was asleep before his head ever touched the pillow. Later on, as Scottie sipped a good Scotch, he wondered if the youngster had concocted a great act as a defense against being physically hassled. Considering all of the evening's variables, he concluded that this was unlikely. Given Robbie's inexperience and marked naïvité, chances were he probably had yet to develop that level of subterfuge. His mixed feelings towards adult males also came into play. Hatred for his father warred with a desire to be accepted, even loved...if only for a moment by a nameless high school coach who had simply been doing his duty as a human being. The fact that as yet it didn't appear he had consciously defined, let alone accepted, his own sexuality only stirred the pot. (Though not the only determinant of long-term sexual adjustment, this is not uncommon among isolated males.) Then too, having just been tossed out of his home, such as it was, he felt he had nothing to hold on to, externally or internally. It was probably best to conclude that he had just pushed his physical stamina a bit beyond its limits and his system had exacted a penalty. Given his age and condition, he should be fine In the morning. Before turning in, he did check on the young man. Light snoring suggested that all was well.

The Professor had already turned in and was on the very edge of sleep when the storm seemed to peak. The winds roared and shrieked around the old farmhouse. The rain intensified until it was truly an "aerial flood". Suddenly there was an enormous crash and the house shook to its foundations. Hard on its heels, he heard another crash next door in the boy's room followed by manic scrambling around, bumping into things, and a little "strong language". He had just thrown his covers back so as to climb out of bed, when the boy's door slammed open and he ran wildly into the hall. His voice suggested he was terrified. He switched his light on and called softly for Robbie who burst into the room wild-eyed, sweating, and thoroughly shaken. Without being asked, he hurried over to Scott's bed and knelt down at its side. Sobbing, he choked, "Oh God... What happened? Are we going to be ok?"

"I suspect so, my friend," Scott said quietly, gently rubbing the rigid hairs on the back of the youth's neck. When we go out in the morning, my guess is that we'll find that an enormous old oak was uprooted in the storm. Probably flattened one of the old sheds out there... At least it didn't hit the house, for if it had we would have had a century's supply of toothpicks!" Scottie switched to softly rubbing the top of the redhead's wide shoulders from one beautifully rounded deltoid muscle to the other. The youth crouched dejectedly, simply staring at the floor. "Oh, God, I am such a loser," he moaned. "I might as well leave now. If I were you, I wouldn't want to have anything to do with me either! I hate myself!"

"But you are not me," the Professor retorted quietly. "Tell me, Muscles, how many times have you be on an overnight at a friend's house and had something unexpected happened when it was dark...when you didn't know where anything was?" "None, I guess," Rob answered. "My folks never let me go anywhere overnight - or have anybody at my house, either." "Does that make you a loser, a wuss?" Thayer continued. "No, but there's so much more," the big teen choked. Scott could feel the tears on his face. "Tell you what, Robbie. Why don't you lie down here beside me for a few minutes? When you've settled down a bit, you can go back to your room and still get some sleep. It's already your birthday, you know. Later on we'll have a lot to do and even a few surprises." "Already my birthday? Yeah! (Pause.) You really don't mind?" Robbie asked. Scott turned the light off with one hand and twisted a reddish curl that lay on the back of Robbie's neck with the other. Finding the lad already on his way up into the bed, he pulled the sheet over both of them and moved a little closer as the lad lay facing the wall. He continued toying with a loose curl that lay against his neck until he heard him sigh softly and whisper as if he were asleep, "Thanks, Coach". Feeling the youngster's whole body relax, he realized his houseguest had fallen asleep.

Professor Lawrence Thayer was in the midst of an existential crisis. He knew damned well that he was harder, thicker, and longer than he had ever been - and he had had some high ol' nights! If he ever turned onto his back, he could rent out the tented sheets for snowboarding. He also felt himself giving off nearly as much heat as one of the Titanic's great boilers fully stoked. He almost moved his hand, but stopped dead when he sensed a conversation going on in his head, "Not a muscle, you queer. Not a muscle..." a gruff voice demanded. "Not now and maybe not ever! The path of this youngster's journey remains to be set." God he hated it when his conscience ganged up with his mind and defied his balls!

(The Morning After the Night Before)

Still not able to force himself into dressing, Scottie stood at the kitchen counter, whipping up a batch of his incomparable pancakes. Suddenly, he realized that he was trapped by two heavily muscled arms. Not unwillingly, he found himself drawn back into the warm, naked body of a second male. In addition to liking it, he was nervous about how the boy had taken his first invitation to bed. "Come on, Robbie, he growled. You can see that I'm fixing your breakfast." An honest-to-God four-year-old giggle prefaced the big brute's reply. "Yes, sir. Looks good, smells good, feels great! But, sir, isn't it possible to find something around here to cover my nakedness?"

Continuing the verbal jousting, the Professor growled, "I suppose it's possible though, personally, I love the present scenery. Didn't you say you liked going around in the altogether?" "I did! I did!" the youth giggled "If you're a messy eater like me, however, it's just too damned dangerous at breakfast. Too easy to get burned! Help!" "Well, ok..." Thayer grunted. Be a spoilsport if you insist. You're in my college son Josh's room. There's all kinds of clothing in the closet and in the chest of drawers. Use what you need."

Feeling his captor's arms freeing him, Scott padded over to a chair. Following the bouncing butt and magnificent thighs with lust-filled eyes, sensing an increasing crisis developing down below, he slumped down into the chair and lowered his face into his hands. In any case, Robbie returned all too soon clad in a pair of tight shorts, an equally tight T-shirt...and a thoroughly lewd smile! "You're a tease," the Professor complained. Innocence incarnate, the youth drew back in simulated horror. "No, no, no...sir. I just wanted to thank you for your kindness last night. I never slept more soundly!" Innocently, he added, "My conscience is as pure as the newly driven snow." At that point, Thayer threw up his hands, sighed loudly, and surrendered the point. Clearly, this youngster was more complicated than he appeared at first glance. One moment he acted like a rube or a stereotypical jock. The next? Like most academics, Thayer really loved verbal jousting. It was just that he wasn't exactly used to losing to his younger students, especially when the boy's personality continued to defy his understanding!

After a nice breakfast and a short pick-up session, the good Professor suggested that his guest might enjoy a tour of the house. For some reason, the idea seemed to really appeal to the youngster who immediately found himself following Scott up and around every part of the old house. Opening a heavy door in a part of the lower basement that had obviously undergone extensive renovation, for instance, the young athlete's eyes really lit up. The two men found themselves on the edge of a large swimming pool that was seemingly well built and well maintained. It has several rather interesting features, Scottie claimed proudly. For instance, a section of the house wall, can be raised which extends the pool into the yard. I haven't used it for several years, but maybe now... The lad's host also grinned and pointed to a door on the far side of the room. "An elevator," he laughed, "but I thought you'd get more enjoyment out of the treasure hunt. Interested in a little swim?" "Oh, yeah!" Rob responded. "I love water, but almost never get to enjoy it." Hesitating, he looked at his host, hooked a thumb in the waistband of his shorts, and asked, "May I, sir?" Given a slight nod, his shorts and shirt were instantly tossed onto a chair.

Scottie expected the youngster to immediately dive into the pool, but this didn't happen. Rather, he stood quietly near his host and said, "Sir, I have a feeling that I haven't acted as well as I should have...as I could have. Could we just sit on the edge of the pool for a few minutes and talk?" "Sure, Muscles," the Professor replied quietly, rolled up the cuffs of his trousers, and sat down, dangling his lower legs and feet into the water. He patted the cement immediately next to him, whereupon Robbie joined him...carefully. Indeed, he proceeded so carefully as to ensure that their shoulders and thighs touched!

"Professor Thayer," the younger man began with considerable nervousness, "I've never met anyone whom I respected as much as I respect you. In fact, I've never met anyone who seemed to think I was worth more than a varmint ready to go after the stock. I don't know... You also seem to trust me in ways that even my dad doesn't...and it feels good." Turning his eyes towards his host, his face was tense with earnestness. "It feels real good, sir!"

Trouble is," Professor, "he continued. "I've got other feelings - and they're really confusing me. "I'll tell you a secret that I've never told anyone before. (Pause.) I don't trust anyone in this world. No one, sir, not one...even myself! I've wanted to, but I've never been able to let my defenses down and put myself in a position where they could really hurt me. That's not the end of it. When I look at you...when I think of you...I get funny feelings. Our pastor says these feelings are really evil...that they say I'm in danger of going straight to hell. Truth is, however, when I look at my life in the last couple of years, I think I may already be in hell! I'm miserable; I make others around me miserable. Sometimes I think that I'm a danger to others. I think that maybe I should have done what I thought of doing when I left my father's house last night." (Pause.) Scott's arm squeezed the boy slightly to encourage him finish his thought. "I should have just jumped off that bridge into the darkness and the wild water," he continued, "and stopped all of it...the confusion, the pain, and the danger to others."

"But then," Scott interrupted lightly, "you wouldn't have gotten to chow down on all those pancakes and the bacon, right?" Turning more serious, he added, "And you wouldn't have met a friend who's willing and able to help you work through your confusions, right?" The lad's sturdy body stiffened slightly as he said, "You are still my friend...after all I've told you?" Scott grunted thickly, "Yep", and kept right on going. "And you wouldn't have been here to get an invitation to stick around for a while...as long as you want to...to help me with the farm, make some decisions about your life, and have more fun than a barrel of monkeys?" In a move that surprised the academic - whose body just didn't work all that easily - the lad's right leg swung over the man's legs, leaving him kneeling, facing his declared friend, and looking directly into his eyes. "Wouldn't Josh object to a brother?" Robbie asked sharply. "They can really screw up getting close to your dad." Though his mouth was as dry as the Sahara and his tongue felt like a petrified log, Scottie knew he had to answer. "No, son," Josh wouldn't object. He isn't here." Like a Nile croc, Rob's teeth were sunk deep and he couldn't let go. "Where is he, sir?" (Pause.) "Hopefully, son, he's in a better place than this," Thayer whispered. "Angry and confused after I had kicked him out of the house, he died in a terrible automobile crash on his way back to college. Straight, he couldn't continue to accept my homosexuality. As much as fought against it, I couldn't stop trying to show him my love, as I felt it...as I understood it. (Pause.) God, I really blew it."

Silence reigned for a couple of minutes. Banishing a feeling that he was on a steep slide, heading straight down to the fiery reaches, Rob leaned forward, tightly holding on to Thayer with both his knees and his arms. Kissing him lightly on the side of the forehead, he mumbled, "People can really screw up, can't they? I don't know what in hell I am...sexually, but if the invitation is still open, I'd like to stick around for a while." As the Professor's body shook with silent sobs that tore at his soul, the youth purposefully fell backwards, tumbling both men into the pool. For a little while, they just allowed the cool water to soothe their pain and refresh their hope.

Lunch was a delight. Initially threatening to make Rob drive the Porsche, the duo settled on his receiving instruction as soon as events allowed. Scott took them to a little inn located in the lower reaches of the Alleghenies that overlook the Northeast Corridor. [Author's Note: The Alleghenies are the eastern U.S. mountains of the Appalachian chain in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, & West Virginia; They divide the coastal plain from the Ohio River country to the west. The Northeast Corridor refers to that part of the coastal plain that stretches roughly from Washington, D.C. to Boston, Mass. It contains several of the largest and most important cities in the country.] Robbie established his credentials as an omnivore, and that on dishes that were not all that familiar to him. He was near overcome by the small chocolate birthday cake, the top of which was jammed with eighteen flickering candles, the college waiters who provided superb service (including singing the Birthday song!), and a beautiful Italian gold chain.

When the duo returned home, Scott had two horses brought over from the property next door where they were stabled. They spent the rest of the afternoon riding through the hills and valleys that made up Thayer's extensive property. Before returning to the house for supper, they spent a while on a hill that had a magnificent view of the Alleghenies as they towered over them in the near distance. Robbie received a second birthday present, a fine Canadian wilderness knife in stainless steel with a walnut wood handle engraved with gold inlay, plus a leather sheath.

There was relative quiet on the way home. Both men were feeling somewhat tense about how far...and how fast...they had come and the obligations they seemed to be assuming. They continued to talk about their dreams and how they perceived events and people in their lives. Supper was simple, but tasty. Afterwards, Rob gave some evidence that he did in fact enjoy wandering around in the "all together". Scott Thayer enjoyed every minute, especiallly the lad's showing up at side of his king-size bed at the moment he climbed in between the sheets. With a perfectly straight face, Rob proclaimed that his "bones" told him another nor’easter was bearing down on them and that he needed protection. Scott suspected that the kid really wanted nothing more than to be held, but he couldn't refuse him succor. After all, as legend has it, it's dangerous playing games with a meteorologist!

(To Be Continued)