RENEGADES & OUTLAWS

By Pink Panther

I disclaim, we disclaim, everybody disclaims! Right, that’s got that out of the way!

Thanks for all the feedback; the response has been most encouraging. More is always welcome, of course. Please send your comments to archimedes294@hushmail.com and I’ll reply as soon as I can.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Ryan let himself out through the front door, setting off on the short walk to Ashley’s house. He and Ashley weren’t close friends, but they sat together in class and got on well. With Josh away in Italy, there weren’t too many people Ryan wanted to hang out with, so he’d asked Ashley if it would be okay to come round. They’d arranged to meet at Ashley’s house before going to the pool.

Ryan walked up the path and rang the bell. A few moments later Ashley appeared, tall like Ryan, but very slim, with short, sandy-fair hair, bright blue eyes and freckles. .

“Hello Ry!” he said, smiling broadly. “You’ve brought your swimming things then?”

“Yeah,” Ryan confirmed.

“We’ll be going in about an hour,” Ashley told him, “for when they get the mats and rings out. Squeak’s here; we were just going to have a kick-about in the back garden; want to join us? The brat’s off down the road playing with his little mates,” he added, referring to his seven year old brother, “so at least he won’t be pestering us.”

“Yeah, sure,” Ryan responded.

He wasn’t really into football, but having pretty well invited himself he couldn’t easily say no. In any case, he’d spent far too much time on his own the past few days, playing his guitars and reading; a casual kick-about wouldn’t hurt him. The boys strolled into the back garden. Darren, another of their classmates, known to almost everyone as Squeak, was engaged in a game of ‘Keepy-Uppy’. Though smaller than Ryan and Ashley, he was quick, agile and a skilful footballer.

They began by just kicking the ball from one to another. Ryan’s limitations were quickly exposed, his kicks never going quite where he’d intended them to. Ashley was much more accurate, finding his target almost every time, but Darren was the star, controlling the ball with ease, even when Ryan had over-hit or misdirected it.

Darren collected a pass from Ashley then began running towards Ryan, the ball seemingly attached to his feet by invisible elastic.

“He’s going for goal!” Darren announced, looking up and grinning. “Will the big defender be able to stop him?”

Ryan tried, he really did, but Darren was far to quick and skilful, sending him the wrong way before neatly skipping round him and planting the ball in the five-a-side net that was positioned at the edge of the lawn.

“He shoots; he scores!” Darren said triumphantly, grinning all over his face.

Ryan didn’t mind being made to look like a carthorse; his skills were in his hands and his fingers; Darren’s were in his legs and feet. In any case, Darren was one of these kids who always smiled no matter what. He wasn’t naughty exactly, but a bit cheeky and very daring; he was always getting into scrapes of one sort or another. Ryan liked him a lot, just like everyone else did, even the teachers.

The game continued. For once Ashley misdirected a pass, the ball running directly between Darren and Ryan. They both went for it, but inevitably Ryan got it hopelessly wrong. He took his eye off the ball, missing it completely, his foot crunching into Darren’s right shin.

“Owww!!” Darren protested, hopping around on his left foot. “Referee!!”

“Definite yellow card there!” Ashley adjudged. “Maybe even a red!”

“And in defence we have Ryan ‘Chopper’ Clark!” Darren commented, a big grin on his face. “Shit! I’m going to have a right bruise there!”

“Sorry, man!” Ryan apologised. “I didn’t mean to. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, but I’m glad you’re only wearing trainers!” Darren responded, still hobbling.

They wandered back into the house

“I’m just going upstairs to put my swimming shorts on,” Ashley announced.

He reappeared a few minutes later.

“It’s quarter to eleven,” he said, checking his watch, “we might as well go now.”

They set off for the pool. Ryan was looking forward to it even more than usual, the swimming pool the one place that he could simply have fun. It didn’t even seem to matter that Josh wasn’t there. It did not disappoint. Playing war-games on the floating mats, swimming lengths, diving from the springboard, jumping from the five metre platform; they did it all.

At quarter past twelve they finally got out of the water and headed for the changing room. Ryan was very tired, but felt happier and more relaxed than he had for several days. They trotted into the showers and turned on the water.

“That was wicked!” Ashley commented, smiling.

“Yeah, man,” Ryan agreed. “I always enjoy coming here, but that was the best.”

Five minutes later they collected their clothes from the locker and began to get changed. Ryan pulled off his shorts and started to get dry. Once again he was back on stage, this time playing ‘Red Baron’ with Billy Cobham’s band.

“We’re going to get chicken and chips from the KFC,” Ashley told him. “Then we’re going back to mine. Want to come?”

Ryan was in the middle of a searing guitar solo and didn’t even hear him. Darren looked him right in the eyes; he wasn’t there. Darren couldn’t tell exactly where he was, but it was definitely somewhere else.

“Ground control to Ryan!” he barked. “Ground control to Ryan!”

“Uhh, what?” Ryan said, jerking himself back to reality.

In front of him, Darren already had his underpants on, but Ashley was still naked, his boy-parts completely exposed. Ryan’s penis began to stiffen in an instant. He grabbed his boxer shorts, pulling them on as quickly as he could; he just hoped his friends wouldn’t have noticed.

“I was just saying we’re going to get chicken and chips from KFC,” Ashley repeated. “Then we’re going to play video games back at mine. I asked if you wanted to come.”

“Oh, yeah, thanks,” Ryan said absently.

“Are you okay?” Darren asked. “You looked like you were on another planet or something!”

“Yeah, sorry, I’m fine,” Ryan said, hoping that his cargo shorts were now hiding his full-blown erection. “I was just thinking about something.”

“I never do that,” Darren said, smirking. “It’s bad for you!”

0 o 0 o 0 o 0

Ryan spent the afternoon with Darren and Ashley, playing computer games. It was okay, but he wasn’t that interested. He didn’t have any games himself; his mum didn’t approve and in this instance he was quite happy to go along with what she wanted. He had enough sense to know that he couldn’t have everything, and there were always things he wanted more, clothes, guitar strings, an i-pod; the next item on his wish-list was an electric guitar. He’d no idea when he’d get one; from what his mum had said it wouldn’t be soon.

After a difficult day at work, Rachel had returned home in a scratchy mood; Ryan knew the signs all too well. After dinner, he retreated to his bedroom, keen to stay out of her way. He didn’t want to get into an argument over nothing; that was what usually happened. At nine o’clock, he went to bed. He was tired and desperately wanted to go to sleep, but the thoughts and questions racing through his brain made it impossible.

The incident in the pool changing room had been weird. He’d done as he always did, switching off and imagining he was somewhere else as soon as he removed his swimming shorts. But they’d snapped him out of his trance, or rather Darren had. And the moment he’d found himself looking at a stark naked Ashley, he’d got a hard-on. Why? Did that mean he was gay?

He certainly enjoyed having sex with Josh, but that was different; he’d never thought of it as being gay. Being sucked off was the most fantastic feeling he could imagine; surely anyone would have enjoyed it? And nothing had changed, not really; he and Josh were mates just like they’d always been. Oh, he’d been happy enough to return the favour, but that’s what mates do, isn’t it? And it wasn’t as if Josh could squirt in his mouth. Would it have made any difference if he could? Ryan wasn’t sure.

So was Josh gay, Ryan wondered; he guessed that he probably was. There was that business about chatting to an older guy online and letting the guy watch him wank off. Then there was the fact that Josh had started it all; it just wasn’t like him to take the lead like that. Finally there was the time when Josh had tried to touch his bum-hole. That was definitely gay. But none of it mattered; he didn’t care if Josh was gay. They’d been mates for as long as he could remember and as far as he was concerned they always would be.

Ryan had stopped him when he’d done that, just moved his hand away; it was all he’d had to do. But he hadn’t stopped him because he didn’t like the way it felt; he was worried about where things might be heading. Afterwards, he’d been tempted to try touching Josh there, but he hadn’t because, well, he couldn’t really explain why. It was all very confusing.

He wondered if Josh would get a hard time at High School if the other kids found out he was gay, or maybe just if they suspected he was. He hoped not, but there were some rough kids at the High School who hardly needed an excuse for picking on someone. That was where he and Josh were so different. He was big for his age and pretty strong; he could stand up for himself if he had to. Josh couldn’t; it was as simple as that. He speculated that it might have been better if Josh had gone to the boys’ grammar school; he’d have been safer there.

Ryan’s thoughts returned inevitably to the pool changing room. The image of Ashley standing naked in front of him just wouldn’t go away. So did that mean he wanted to have sex with Ashley like he did with Josh? His throbbing penis answered that question. Ryan wouldn’t tell him though, not then, not ever; if anything was going to happen, Ashley would have to make the first move. He reached into his boxer shorts and began to masturbate, pictures of Ashley sucking his cock flashing through his brain.

0 o 0 o 0 o 0

Mark let himself back into his apartment. It was gone midnight and he was tired. Tired but happy, the holiday could hardly have gone better. Over the course of two weeks he’d been with six different boys, all between the ages of twelve and fourteen, (though little Nico had looked no more than eleven,) all slim, all cute in their different ways, and all very fuckable, even thirteen year old Dimitri who’d never taken it before.

Dimitri was the cream of the crop, no question about it. He had only begun working the street at the beginning of the summer holiday, some three weeks earlier. Nico was prettier, but with his shock of straight blond hair and his beautifully slim physique, Dimitri was as cute as buttons; he was a really sweet-natured kid too. His slim, uncut four inch penis and his beautiful little bum were just the icing on the cake.

His first few punters hadn’t insisted on going all the way, but Mark had. It had been almost three years since he’d popped a boy’s cherry; it was too good an opportunity to miss. Dimitri had squealed when Mark’s penis first entered him, but he soon got used to it. He actually got to like it; by the time Mark was due to return home, he couldn’t get enough.

Strangely though, if there was one boy that Mark would have chosen to bring back home, had such a thing been possible, it wouldn’t have been Dimitri, it would have been Viktor. Although poor, Dimitri’s life was okay. He had a home, where he lived with his mum and his younger brother, and he went to school. He’d started working the street because he was always horny and could use the money.

By contrast, Viktor had nothing. He lived on the street, which meant he was always dirty. He was slim to the point of being skinny, and although nearly fourteen, his balls hadn’t dropped properly; his voice was still high and squeaky and he couldn’t get an erection. Mark had met him on his very first evening. He’d been very passive; Mark had found it hard to get much reaction out of him.

But he was a wonderful fuck and clearly available, so Mark had arranged to meet him again. The following evening Viktor was actually been early, waiting patiently at the appointed meeting place wearing a new pair of trainers, bought with the money Mark had given him. He turned up the next evening too; then he disappeared. He’d bought some glue and hidden himself away to get wasted, that’s what the other boys said. It seemed Viktor always did that when he had money and had run out of things to spend it on.

Hearing that made Mark feel very uneasy, even though the boys said Viktor often did it; kids died sniffing glue. Mark just hoped Viktor wouldn’t; he didn’t want to be the one who’d provided the means for the kid to kill himself. Viktor had re-appeared a few days later. Mark didn’t have sex with him again; by that stage he was spending his evenings with Dimitri, but he couldn’t get Viktor out of his mind. If only he could have taken him back to England, he could have looked after him, had his medical problem sorted out, got him off the glue-sniffing, he could have given the kid a proper life. Of course, it was never going to happen.

0 o 0 o 0 o 0

Ryan paced around the house, unable to sit still. Mark had just returned from his holiday by the Black Sea and was on his way over. Finally the front doorbell rang; Ryan rushed to answer it. Mark was standing there, guitar case in hand, looking well-tanned and fitter than ever.

“Hi, Uncle Mark!” Ryan said enthusiastically, his eyes sparkling. “Come in!”

He led the way through to the back lounge where Rachel was working on the computer, brother and sister exchanging routine pecks on the cheek.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Rachel commented. “He’s been driving me up the wall for the past week!”

“So what’s that all about?” Mark questioned, looking at Ryan.

“Dunno,” Ryan said, shrugging.

“Is Josh coming round?” Mark asked, hoping to catch another sight of Ryan’s horny little friend.

“Nah, he’s in Italy,” Ryan said. “Doesn’t get back till next weekend.”

“That’s been the problem,” Rachel said. “Josh seems to calm him down somehow; he’s always so irritable when Josh isn’t here. When I’ve come home from work I’ve hardly been able to get a word out of him.”

Ryan held his peace. He wasn’t going to say that Rachel hadn’t been full of sweetness and light either; that would just have caused another argument.

“Surely you’ve got other friends you can hang out with?” Mark queried.

“Yeah, I’ve been hanging out with Darren and Ashley all week,” Ryan said, “but it’s not the same.”

“Meaning?” Mark continued.

“They’re good kids,” Ryan said, “but they’re into football and computer games and stuff.”

“I see,” Mark said, nodding sagely. “Anyway, how did the concert go?”

“Pretty good, thanks,” Ryan said quietly.

“He played wonderfully,” Rachel said. “The best I’ve ever heard him; credit where credit’s due, I was really proud of him that day.”

“Well done!” Mark said, ruffling Ryan’s hair. “I knew you could do it. So what d’you want to do today?”

“How long are you here for?” Ryan asked.

“All day,” Mark said. “Your mum’s even invited me to stay for dinner.”

“Cool!” Ryan breathed. “So can we go to the pool now then do some jamming afterwards?”

“Sounds like a plan!” Mark said, smiling. “Actually I’ve got a couple of new tunes I want to teach you.”

“Great!” Ryan said, “I’ve just got to get my swimming things. Darren and Ashley will be at the pool; I said we’d probably see them there. I don’t think you’ve met them before.”

He hurried upstairs.

“We’ll see you later,” Mark said quietly, giving Rachel another peck on the cheek.

0 o 0 o 0 o 0

“So have you been giving your mum a hard time?” Mark asked as the car glided along the road.

“Not really,” Ryan protested. “When she came home on Tuesday I could tell she’d had a bad day at work; she nearly bit my head off and I hadn’t even done anything. So I just kept quiet. After dinner I went up to my room and played the guitar; I didn’t want to get into another argument, that’s all.”

“Fair enough,” Mark sighed, reflecting that it wasn’t anything he hadn’t heard before. “So what’s the latest argument been about?”

“Oh, I want to go to Newton Valley High School,” Ryan said. “Since they started specialising in the performing arts they’ve had a whole new wing built with a theatre and a recording studio and rehearsal rooms. The exam results are good and there are lots of kids go there that do the sort of thing I want to do. Josh is going there, but mum says I’ve got to do the exam to go to the grammar school. I was wondering if you could talk to her for me; get her to change her mind.”

“Well, I would if I agreed with you,” Mark said gently, “but I’m with your mum on this one.” He glanced across; Ryan was looking crushed. “Let me explain why,” he continued. “First of all, the new facilities at Newton Valley are for community use; outside school hours anyone can use them. Second, if you’re a good player, and you will be, guys at the High School are going to want to work with you, whether you go to school there or not. Third, I happen to know that a couple of the top guys on the London jazz scene went to the boys’ grammar school. I was chatting to one of them only a few months ago; he was singing the praises of the education he got. He went to the Royal College of Music at seventeen; that’s a year early, so they have to be doing something right, yeah?”

“I guess,” Ryan conceded.

“As you know, I’ve pretty much looked after your musical education up to this point,” Mark went on. “Now let me ask you if I’ve ever let you down.”

“No,” Ryan admitted.

“Ever promised something I didn’t deliver?” Mark asked.

“No,” Ryan repeated.

“So I’m asking you to trust me on this,” Mark said firmly. “I’ll make sure you don’t miss out; that’s a promise.”

“Thanks,” Ryan said a little sheepishly.

“There is another reason too,” Mark said. “You’ve always been pretty much top of the class at primary school, right?”

“Yeah,” Ryan said, grinning. “I like being the best.”

“Right!” Mark said, giving him a quick grin. “Now I know you’re not into football, but I’m sure you know which is best out of the Championship and the Premier League.”

“The Premier League is,” Ryan told him.

“So which would you rather be, top of the Premier League or top of the Championship?”

“The Premier League, of course,” Ryan said.

“Exactly!” Mark said. “And that’s the difference. The High School is like the Championship; it’s good but it’s not the best. The Grammar School is the Premier League; there are lots of very bright kids go there and if you want to be the best you’ll have to work very hard. That’s what you need, and that’s why your mum and I want you to go there. D’you understand?”

“Yeah, thanks,” Ryan said quietly.

And he did understand; he understood because Mark had taken the time to explain it to him; his mum hadn’t.

Mark parked the car in the leisure centre car park. They collected their things and made their way inside. There was no sign of Ashley or Darren, but it was almost twelve o’ clock; Ryan guessed that they’d be in the pool already. As they got changed, Mark took the opportunity to check out the naked Ryan. He smiled to himself; the boy was as beautiful a specimen as any of the Ukrainian boys he’d been with, and very well developed, considering he was still a month short of his eleventh birthday.

He stashed their clothes in one of the lockers and they trotted through to the pool. Ryan spotted his friends immediately.

“There’s Ashley and Darren, over by the diving boards,” he said excitedly. “Ashley’s the tall skinny one in the red and black shorts; Darren’s the cheeky looking one in the bright blue shorts, only everyone calls him Squeak.”

They walked across, the boys casually slapping hands.

“This is my Uncle Mark,” Ryan said proudly, “the one who teaches me all the good stuff on the guitar.”

Darren and Ashley quickly said their hellos. Mark took stock; Ryan’s friends were nice looking boys, though nothing exceptional. Ashley was something of a freckle-monster, but tall for his age and beautifully slim; he seemed like a nice kid too, quiet and polite. Darren was smaller, but had a wonderfully cheeky grin, eyes that didn’t miss a trick and a sense of energy about him, definitely a fun kid to be around; the nickname Squeak seemed to suit him perfectly. Mark hoped he might be able to check them both out later.

Mark and the boys played together for almost an hour. After the diving boards, they moved onto the floating mats. They all enjoyed themselves, the ever-daring Darren especially. Being small and light, it was easy for Mark to lift him high in the air before dropping him backside-first into the water, much to Darren’s delight.

Mark looked up to check the time; it was two minutes to one. Ryan swam across to him.

“Are we going now?” he asked.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Mark responded. “Your mum will have lunch ready for us.”

“Darren and Ashley need to go into the village to get something to eat before they go home,” Ryan said. “Could we drop them off?”

“Sure,” Mark agreed, “as long as they’re ready to go the same time we are.”

The four of them trooped back to the changing room and into the showers. Mark allowed himself a little smile; his plan to check out Darren and Ashley seemed to be working. They collected their clothes and began to get changed. There was an interesting reversal of roles, Mark noted. In the pool, Ashley had seemed shy and diffident, while Darren was confident and outgoing. Now it was Darren’s turn to be shy, carefully wrapping a towel around his waist before removing his shorts and putting on his underpants. Ashley, on the other hand, was delightfully unselfconscious, stripping off right in front of him.

Mark glanced across at the naked Ryan, who appeared to be away with the fairies. Mark had noticed him looking like that before when they were getting changed. It seemed a bit odd, but at least it meant the boy wouldn’t notice him peeking at Ashley. And peek he did. Although tall, Ashley’s boy-parts were nowhere near as developed as Ryan’s, his marble-sized balls still tightly drawn up in their sac, his flaccid, uncut penis barely three inches long and not much thicker than a pencil. On the positive side, the boy’s long slim legs were absolute perfection and were topped by the most wonderfully fuckable little bum. Mark considered him very desirable.

“So are you hoping to get into the grammar school?” he asked.

“Yeah, but I’ll have to pass the exam first,” Ashley said modestly.

“Hmmm, Ryan’s got to go through that too,” Mark commented.

“Oh, he’ll walk it,” Ashley said. “He’s really clever.”

“So what about you?” Mark queried.

“I do okay,” Ashley said quietly. “I’m pretty good at maths; me and Ryan are about the same at that, but he’s better than me at writing. Ryan says you did maths at Cambridge University.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Mark agreed.

“Wow!” Ashley responded, his eyes widening. “You must be really clever to have gone there!”

“It was down to hard work mostly,” Mark told him.

He gave the boy a few mental arithmetic questions. Ashley answered them all perfectly; he barely hesitated.

“That’s very good,” Mark said, smiling. “You seem to have the basics nailed down pretty well. So try this: if a hen and a half lays an egg and a half in a day and a half, how long does it take for one hen to lay a dozen eggs?”

Ashley thought for a few seconds.

“Is it eighteen?” he asked cautiously.

“Well done!” Mark congratulated, giving the boy a broad grin.

“That’s silly!” Darren protested, giggling. “How can you have half a hen?”

“Well, you just imagine you’ve got half a hen,” Ryan said, now with his cargo shorts on and apparently back with them again.

“Ryan tells me you’re into football,” Mark probed, continuing his chat with Ashley.

“Yeah, I’m not all that good though,” Ashley said. “Darren’s much better than I am. My main sport’s running.”

Mark nodded; the boy looked every inch a runner.

“I used to run a bit of track when I was at school,” he said, “four hundred and eight hundred mainly; never trained for it though.”

“I like cross-country best,” Ashley told him.

“At least you’re better at football than ‘Clogger’ here!” Darren commented, giving Ryan a playful dig in the ribs. “We were only having a kick-about in the garden,” he added, pointing to his right shin, “and look what he did to my leg!”

“I’m sure it wasn’t intentional,” Mark suggested, surveying the evil-looking bruise.

“Nah! Just clumsy!” Darren said, giggling.

They were ready to go.

“So what about you, young man?” Mark asked, turning his attention to Darren. “Will you be going to the grammar school?”

“Nah!” Darren said, grinning. “I’m not a brain-box like this pair. My mum teaches at primary school. She says even if I got in I’d struggle to keep up; says I’ll do better at the High School. Suits me anyway; they don’t play football at the grammar school, they play rugby instead.”

They strolled out into the sunshine and piled into the car for the short journey into the village. A couple of minutes later, Mark stopped the car outside the post office, Ryan stepping out so that his two friends could escape from the back seat.

“Thanks for the ride!” Ashley said, smiling.

“Yeah! And thanks for the fun in the pool!” Darren added enthusiastically.

Ryan got back in and closed the door; the car glided away.

“You’re very lucky, having friends like those two,” Mark commented. “They’re great kids.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Ryan said guardedly.

“It’s important that you have some friends who aren’t into music,” Mark continued. “It makes sure you keep your feet on the ground.”

“Uncle Mark,” Ryan said nervously. “Is it okay if I ask you something?”

“Yes, of course,” Mark assured him.

“You won’t tell mum what I’ve said, will you?” Ryan queried.

“No, that’s fair enough,” Mark agreed.

“Well on Tuesday I went the pool with Darren and Ash,” Ryan began. “I was getting changed afterwards, you know, just minding my own business, and I realised they were asking me something. I suddenly noticed Ash had got nothing on; I was looking right at, you know . . . his dick. Straight away mine started to get hard. I just got my boxers on as fast as I could; it was well embarrassing!”

“Well, you’re certainly not the first boy that’s had that happen,” Mark assured him, “and you definitely won’t be the last. It’s perfectly normal; don’t worry about it.”

“It doesn’t mean I’m gay, does it?” Ryan queried.

“No, absolutely not,” Mark stated. “You’re body’s changing very quickly at the moment; you’ve got hormones flying round like nobody’s business, you’re getting feelings you’ve never had before, and your dick goes hard at the drop of a hat, usually for no reason at all. It’s just part of growing up. What is different for you is that these changes are happening quite early. Most boys don’t start to go through this until they’re twelve or thirteen, but anywhere between ten and fifteen is considered normal, so you’re not a freak or anything; you’re just going to be something of an odd man out for a while. Don’t worry about it; the other boys will catch you up in a couple of years or so. And being big for your age does have its advantages, certainly when it comes to playing the guitar. Most ten year olds wouldn’t be able to get their hands round the stuff you play.”

“Thanks, Uncle Mark,” Ryan said quietly.

He was reassured to an extent, but he hadn’t told the whole story. He didn’t dare consider what his uncle might have said if he’d known about the stuff he and Josh got up to.

“So this ‘minding your own business’ thing,” Mark queried. “What’s that all about? You looked like you were in a trance back there.”

“A few months ago,” Mark said, trying desperately to hide his embarrassment. “Mr. Stevens, that’s the headmaster, saw me with a hard-on when I was getting changed after a swimming lesson. He said I should try imagining I was somewhere else, doing something I really like, so that’s what I do; I imagine I’m up on stage playing my guitar.”

“Well, that’s pretty sensible advice,” Mark observed. “Mr. Stevens sounds pretty cool for a headmaster.”

“He was about that,” Ryan conceded.

“So when isn’t he?” Mark asked.

“Oh, I’ve been in trouble with him a few times,” Ryan said, squirming in his seat.

“And what was that about?” Mark enquired.

“Arguing with the teachers,” Ryan admitted, almost through gritted teeth.

Mark wasn’t surprised; he knew how strong-willed Ryan could be.

“Well you’ll get no sympathy from me on that one,” he said firmly. “They’re in charge and it’s not for you to argue with them, even if they’re wrong.”

“So what are these new tunes you want to teach me?” Ryan asked, changing the subject.

“A couple of ballads,” Mark said. “ ‘In a Sentimental Mood’ by Duke Ellington and ‘Round Midnight’ by Thelonius Monk; they’re quite a bit more difficult than anything we’ve attempted up to now. They use some pretty strange chords you haven’t met before. So are you up for that?”

“Course I am!” Ryan confirmed. “Let’s do it!”

0 o 0 o 0 o 0

Munching his chicken burger, Ashley was deep in thought. Ryan had gone all spaced-out again. He’d have liked to have tried snapping him out of it to see what would happen, but he could hardly have done that with the boy’s uncle there. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the incident a few days earlier. The moment Darren had got him back from Planet Zog or wherever he’d been, Ryan’s dick had started to get hard. Ryan had tried to hide it, pulling on his boxers as fast as he could, but the way it had been sticking up had made it pretty obvious. In truth, Ashley hadn’t seen as much of Ryan’s burgeoning penis as he would have liked, but from the bulge it had made in the boy’s boxer shorts, it was clearly quite big, certainly much bigger than his.

So would Ryan be interested in messing about, Ashley wondered; that would be very exciting! He really wanted to ask him, but couldn’t think what to say. That was a problem; Ryan was okay, but he was quite likely to snap your head off if you said something he didn’t like. And he wouldn’t like anyone suggesting he might be gay; Ashley felt quite certain of that. So he’d have to leave it; saying something just wasn’t worth the risk.

0 o 0 o 0 o 0

Mark lay naked on his bed, replaying the day’s events. He’d spent the afternoon with Ryan, working on the new tunes. As he’d expected, Ryan had struggled at first, but the lad had shown the same steely determination he always did, and by the time they’d finished he was well on his way to being able to play them properly. Ryan was a remarkable young man, Mark reflected; if he set his mind on achieving something, he just wouldn’t be beaten.

And what a morning he’d had! He’d expected to see Ryan naked again, but Ashley had simply taken his breath away. Mark couldn’t understand it; his holiday trips usually kept those feelings at bay for a while, but Ashley had blown that right out of the water. It wasn’t that the boy was anything special to look at, but there was just something about him; as far as Mark was concerned, the kid was as sexy as all hell. He wrapped his fingers around his penis and began to stroke. Settling into a well-practised rhythm, the fantasy began to unfold.

He was kneeling on the bed, smearing KY over his penis. In front of him, the naked Ashley was lying on his tummy, a pillow under his hips, his legs spread apart. He lowered himself into position, guiding his cock onto Ashley’s puckered entrance. The boy squealed as he thrust it in. He quieted the lad, pushing steadily down until he had the boy completely impaled. Then he started, fucking him remorselessly, savouring the velvety tightness of the boy’s virgin bum. Gradually, Ashley’s quiet whimpers became interspersed with moans of pleasure. He fucked him harder, deeper; thrusting repeatedly over the boy’s knobbly prostate. His orgasm was getting close, his breathing becoming harsh and ragged. He thrust in one final time . . . . . .

Mark’s penis jerked violently in his hand, several volleys of spunk spurting over his chest and tummy. He lay back, gasping for breath. It was crazy; he could have fantasised about any of the boys he’d fucked during the previous two weeks. Instead it had been about a boy he’d only just met who hadn’t given the slightest indication that he might be interested; the chances of his fantasy ever becoming reality were between negligible and zero.

In any case, what was he thinking about? He’d always been careful not to get too close to any of Ryan’s friends because of the risks involved, so why was he considering it now? The answer was frighteningly simple. The boy had got him hooked; it was a long time since he’d wanted anyone as much as he wanted Ashley.