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http://donate.nifty.org/donate.html **Additional Note:** There will be sexual scenes throughout this story, but it won't be predominately sex. If that's the type of story you are looking for then make another selection.
The following week went basically the same as the last, and Cheryl, Noah, and I would play a game after we finished dinner. That changed slightly on Friday, because after we ate Cheryl said she wasn't in the mood to play a game. This came as a bit of a surprise to Noah and me, seeing it had become part of our nightly routine, but it was her choice. I didn't think she was too tired, since she'd only been working at 7-Eleven and had given up her house cleaning jobs, so I concluded she merely had something else she wanted to do instead. She suggested that Noah and I could still do it without her, so he grabbed the Battleship game and followed me over to my side of the house.
After playing it a couple of times, we decided to see what was on TV instead. We found a movie we agreed to watch, and when it ended we decided to turn in. It didn't mean we went right to sleep, though, because Noah and I sucked each other off before turning in.
When Noah and I woke up the next morning, I went out to the kitchen to fix breakfast, since Cheryl had already left for her shift at work. As soon as we finished eating, we hopped in the car and headed out to pick up the other boys. They were waiting for us at the park and eagerly got in the car, and then I drove them back to my place to participate in the mystery I'd come up with for today. Once they'd solved it, we changed into our swimsuits and took off for the state park.
I let the boys swim in the regular area again, and we'd been in the water for about a half hour when our attention was drawn to a minor commotion out on the lake. An older couple in a rowboat were acting panicked and talking loudly, and then the man extended one of the oars out farther in the water. That's when I noticed a small head struggling to stay afloat, and then it suddenly disappeared under the surface.
When that happened, I quickly turned toward the boys and spoke. "I want you four to head back to shore and wait for me there."
I saw a couple of mouths begin to open so they could argue with me, but I cut them off before they had a chance to speak. "Just do it!"
I said it forcefully enough that they merely turned and started making their way out of the water. Once I was sure they were going to do as I'd requested, I swam under the buoy and made my way out to the boat. It wasn't long before I reached the location where I thought I'd seen the head disappear, and the older couple was shouting at me as I approached. They were talking fast and at the same time, which made it very difficult to understand what they were trying to say, so I decided to avoid wasting time with them. Instead, I dove beneath the surface and attempted to find the person I'd observed go under.
It was difficult to see very much as I'd slipped beneath the surface, so I began reaching around with my arms so I might find the person that way. I continued doing it until I was forced to surface and inhale another lungful of air, and then I dove down again and began the process anew.
This time I happened to brush against something, so I grabbed a hold of whatever it was. It felt like an arm, so I dragged it to the surface with me. When my head popped out into the open, I hoisted up what I had grasped in my hand so it was above the surface too, and that's when I realized the arm belonged to a young girl. It was obvious that she wasn't breathing, so I knew she needed CPR, but how would I do it. I was just about to try giving her mouth-to-mouth right there when I felt someone touch my shoulder. When I turned to see who it was, I discovered that one of the lifeguards had swum out to assist me.
"Let me take over," he said, as he took the girl into a rescue hold and began swimming back to shore. I veered off slightly and headed to where I saw the boys waiting for me, as the lifeguard carried the girl onto the beach and began CPR. When I was approaching the boys, I noticed one of the female lifeguards had gone over to assist him.
"You saved that girl. You're a hero!" Sam gasped.
"I'm not a hero. I merely did what needed to be done. I just hope the little girl is going to be ok."
"She must not have known how to swim," Gus observed, "and that's why you had to save her. I'm glad you're teaching us how to swim so that won't ever happen to one of us."
"I hope not either, but you'll still have to be careful. Just because you know how to swim doesn't mean you can't drown, so don't do anything foolish."
"Ok, we won't."
"Can we go over and see if she's ok?" Noah followed, looking concerned.
"No, they don't need a bunch of people standing around gawking at what they're doing. If you haven't noticed, the other lifeguards are trying to get everyone else to move away from that area."
I had just finished saying this when we heard the blare of a siren in the distance. It gradually grew louder as it drew closer to the park, and we watched as it drove in and pulled up as close as it could to where the lifeguards were working on the girl. The EMTs jumped out of the vehicle and carried their gear with them as they went to help, and before long they'd taken over working on the girl. A few minutes later we heard a cheer go up from those closer to the scene, which appeared to indicate the girl was breathing again. We watched as the EMTs placed her on a gurney and loaded her into the ambulance, with the older woman accompanying them and they drove off.
I was talking to the boys and answering their questions when someone tapped me on the shoulder. When I turned around to see who it was, I discovered the older man who had been in the rowboat was standing behind me.
"I wanted to thank you for saving my granddaughter before I left to go to the hospital."
"I'm glad I was able to help and that she seems to be ok."
"The EMTs said the doctors would have to check her over to make sure there isn't any long-term damage, but she was breathing again and seemed to know my wife and me, as well as what was going on."
"How did she fall into the water?" Noah blurted out.
"It was an accident. My wife and I had agreed to share the rowing duties and we were just switching places when we either rocked the boat and she fell out, or one of us accidentally bumped into her and knocked her overboard. I thought I could reach the oar out far enough for her to grab a hold of, but she disappeared underwater before I got it to her."
"I'm glad Uncle Brian was able to save her," Noah followed.
"Yeah, he was a hero," Glen chimed in.
"He certainly was, and I'll be forever grateful to him for saving her life."
"I already told the boys I'm not a hero. I'm just a guy who did what needed to be done."
"If I'm not mistaken, I think that's the definition of a hero," the old man replied as he reached out to shake my hand.
He wanted my name and phone number so he could let me know how his granddaughter was making out. He asked me to wait while he went over to ask one of the lifeguards if they could get him a piece of paper and something to write with. When one of them retrieved those items for him, he returned and asked me jot down my name and phone number. As soon as I gave the paper back to him, he said he'd be in touch, and then he took off for the parking lot. We watched as he got into his car and headed to the hospital to catch up with his wife.
Shortly after he left, I noticed that he'd left rowboat were they'd come ashore. He obviously felt it was more important to check on his granddaughter rather than waste time returning it, but I knew it should be returned to the rental area. I was worried that some kids might try to use it to go out on the lake and was concerned that it might lead to another 'accident', so I asked the boys to help me carry it back and turn it in. The rental location was on the other side of the swimming area, and after thinking it over I felt it would be easier to carry it, rather than trying to row there.
As soon as they agreed to help, I put Noah, Gus, and Sam on the opposite side, while Glen helped me. Together, we lifted the boat up and started to carry it back to the rental area, but we had to stop a little over halfway there and take a brief rest. We did it because the boys were complaining that their arms were getting sore, and when they were ready to continue, I had them switch sides with Glen and me. That way they could use their other arm to carry most of the weight, even though they were using both arms as before.
When we turned the rowboat in, the guy at the counter attempted to give me back the security deposit. "No, it's not mine. It belongs to the guy who followed the ambulance to the hospital. Don't you have his information so you can return the money to him?"
"We checked his ID, but I only wrote down his name, since it was a local license."
"Don't you have a way of getting the deposit back to him?"
"I could turn it in to lost and found, along with his name, and hope he comes back to collect it, but the money will probably disappear before he shows up."
"Ok, give it to me then. He's going to call to let me know how his granddaughter is doing, so I'll get his information so I can give it back to him."
"Thanks. That will probably work out better for all of us."
I didn't like doing this, but I felt it was the best way to make sure the money got back to its rightful owner. Now that things were starting to calm down and returning to normal again, I asked the boys if they wanted to swim a little longer or if they were ready to leave.
"Swim!" they all shouted, so I put the rental money in the plastic bag that I used to carry my money, and then we waded back into the water.
We spent the next hour splashing about and having a good time, and every now and then the boys would make a comment about what I'd done. They kept insisting that I was a hero, although I tried to get them to stop saying this, and they also thanked me multiple times for teaching them how to swim.
When we finally decided it was time to leave, we headed back to my house to change, and then I took them out to eat. After we finished our meal, I took the other three back to their apartments, and they said they were going to tell their moms that I'd saved a little girl today. I tried to talk them out of making a big deal out of it, but I could tell they were still going to do it, so I merely said goodbye and watched them disappear into the building.
"You should be proud of what you did," Noah said as we were leaving.
"Oh, I am, but I just don't think you boys should be making such a big deal about it. The lifeguard was heading out to do the same thing I did, so he would have saved her if I hadn't gotten there first."
"Yeah, but you did get there first, and he might not have been able to find her like you did."
"We were just a little closer to where it happened and noticed what was going on before anyone else did. The lifeguards were busy watching the swimmers and weren't really paying attention to anyone out in a boat, so I saw what was happening before they did and got there first. Even so, he was really the one who saved her, because he gave her CPR and got her breathing again. I just pulled her out of the water."
"But she wouldn't be alive if you hadn't done that, so why don't you think you're a hero?"
"Probably because I don't think what I did was a big deal. I didn't dodge bullets to save a wounded buddy, and I didn't run into a burning building to save a stranger. I just swam out and located a little girl who couldn't swim."
"I still think you're a hero," he shot back, not giving in.
When we reached the house, Noah took the soccer ball out to the backyard while I started my weekend chores. He came inside before his mother got home, and then we both went over to say hello when she arrived.
"Did you have a good day?" she asked.
"Yeah, and Brian saved a little girl from drowning?"
Cheryl's expression indicated she was not only shocked, but also impressed. "Why doesn't that surprise me? And it also lets me know you're in good hands when you're with him. So what happened?"
I spent the next couple of minutes explaining the earlier events, along with trying to downplay the embellishments Noah kept trying to add to the story.
"Mom, don't you think Brian's a hero too?"
"I do, but obviously Brian doesn't, so I think we should honor his feelings and leave it up to him."
"That sucks, but I'll do it if that's what he wants."
"I do, so let's get ready to go on our run."
A couple of minutes later we started out, and I think we ran faster than usual this time. I attributed this to the fact that we were still slightly pumped up over what had happened earlier in the day, and when we returned to the house we jumped in the shower, changed into clean clothes, and went over to eat with his mom. In order to keep Noah from talking about what had happened earlier, I started another conversation.
"So how was your day at work?"
"The same as usual. Nothing exciting ever happens there."
"That's a good thing, though, because it means you weren't robbed, someone didn't run into one of the gas pumps, and no one drove off with a hose still attached to their gas tank."
"Yes, I guess that's one way to look at it."
"We're almost done eating, so what would you two like to do next?"
"Let's play Trouble this time," Noah suggested.
Cheryl and I agreed, and we did that a couple of times before we decided to see what was on TV. We found a movie to watch and did that until it was time to turn in, and before Cheryl left I told her I was going to fix breakfast for all of us in the morning. She protested briefly, but finally gave in, and then she returned to her side.
After Noah and I went through our nightly ministrations, we sucked each other off. I was just about to cuddle with him so we could go to sleep, but he wanted to talk. "Why won't you admit that you're a hero?"
"Because I don't feel like one?"
"Why not?"
"Look, I can't explain it to you, so you'll just have to accept it's what I want," I answered, and then I draped my arm across his body as we drifted off to sleep.
Shortly after we woke up the next morning, I got everything ready to fix breakfast for all of us. Then, I sent Noah next door to see if his mom was up yet. I told him not to wake her if she was still asleep, and I would fix his breakfast first, if he was hungry. He said he'd let me know after he checked on his mom.
Cheryl returned with him a few moments later, and she was already dressed, so it appeared she'd been up for a while. Seeing I wasn't sure how long that had been, I apologized for making her wait.
"Nonsense. It's no different than when I make breakfast, because you two sleep later than I do.
I didn't realize she had been waiting for us every weekend before we ate together, but I'd talk to her about it later. For now, I merely gave her the choice between having scrambled eggs or an omelet. She and I both chose to have an omelet, while Noah opted for the scrambled eggs. I told him he could make toast for himself if he wanted, and I also prepared sausage links to go with it.
When we finished eating, Cheryl and I both started working on our usual chores, while Noah took the RC car outside. After he got tired of doing that, he came inside again and asked if I was ready to take him to the high school.
"Let me see if your mother wants to join us again," I said before heading next door to see what she wanted to do. "Would you like to go with us?"
"Sure, I'd love to do that again."
We all hopped in my car and I drove to the high school. Cheryl was eager to do the same things she'd done when she came with us the last time, so Noah would pass the ball to one of us and we would pass it back so he could take a shot at the wall. Cheryl also played defense on him so he could practice his ball handling and dribbling skills, and when we finished I drove over to subway so we could all get a six-inch sub for lunch.
"You know we have food at home," Cheryl teased as we were getting out of the car.
"I know, but this way you can relax and there won't be as much to clean up afterward."
When we got to the house we sat down together to eat, and we also chatted about what we'd just done at the high school. After we finished and tossed the wrappers away, we rinsed out our glasses and cups before Noah followed me over to my side. He wanted me to suck him off quickly before I started doing my chores again, so I relented. After he enjoyed his orgasm, he went to the living room to watch cartoons.
I had just started working again when my phone rang. "Hi, it's Stuart Bellinger and I just called to let you know how my granddaughter is doing. The doctor said she's going to be fine and it doesn't appear as if there will be any long-term effects due to what happened."
"That's good to hear, because I was concerned seeing she'd been underwater for a few minutes."
"Yes, and the doctor said it was a good thing the water wasn't as warm as it will get later in the summer, because the cooler water temperature probably prevented her from suffering severe brain damage."
"That's great news and I'm glad to hear it. By the way, I returned the row boat you were using and they gave me your deposit. They said they didn't have a way of getting it to you, and since I returned the boat and told them that I'd be speaking with you later, they gave me the money to give to you. How would you like me to do that?"
"Why don't you just keep the money and buy the boys who were with you a treat."
"No, it's your money, not ours."
"But I want you to spend it on them. Consider it my way of saying thank you for saving my granddaughter."
I didn't want to argue with him over this, since it wasn't that much money, so I merely assured him I'd use it as he directed.
After we ended the call, Noah wanted to know who I was talking to.
"It was the man from the rowboat. He wanted to tell me the doctor said his granddaughter was going to be fine."
"Then you are a hero, cuz you saved her life."
"Why is it so important for you to think I'm a hero?"
"Cuz me and the other boys all know you are, and not just cuz of yesterday. You've been kind of saving us too, 'specially me. We wouldn't be doing as good in school, and I wouldn't be thinking about playing on the soccer team, and none of us would know how to swim if it wasn't for you. We all think you're a hero, and we just want you to know that too."
I was slightly choked up listening to his response, so it took a moment before I could croak out a reply. "If it's that important to you, then I'll agree that I'm a hero, but not a superhero. And I want you to agree that you won't spread this around, and you won't tell anyone else about what happened either."
"Why not?" Noah looked upset that I'd said this.
"Let's just keep it between us. I'm just not comfortable being thought of as a hero."
I could tell Noah wasn't happy, but since he knew I was going to let him think of me as a hero it seemed to placate him. After several minutes of awkward silence, I suggested it was time that we went for our run. He raced over to tell his mother what we were going to do, and then we headed down the driveway and out onto the street.
We didn't do much talking as we jogged this time. We usually carried on a conversation as we made our way around the route, but only when we were jogging, not sprinting. However, tonight we ran in almost total silence. I wasn't exactly sure why, unless he was all talked out, but I felt I'd find out eventually. While we were cleaning up, I finally got my answer.
"I'm glad you agreed that you're a hero, but I don't understand why you won't let me tell anyone else. I'm proud of you and want to tell everyone else."
"The reason is personal and I'd rather not discuss it."
"Is it something I did?"
"No, it doesn't have anything to do with you. It's just something that happened when I was as young as you, and because of it I'll never think of myself as a hero."
"Can you tell me what happened?"
"No, and I'd rather you dropped this and let it go."
Once we finished washing up, we changed and went over to have dinner with Cheryl. She seemed to be in a particularly good mood, so I decided to ask her about it.
"You seem to happier than usual tonight. Is there any particular reason?"
"Yes, I guess there is. I was doing some cleaning earlier and realized how much better things are for us now. The apartment is much nicer than living in the trailer, and it's easier to keep looking good too, and I'm much happier living here. I also had a good time at the school with my son and realized that I'm getting to spend more time with him now, than before."
"I'm glad you think this is working out for you."
After we finished eating, we decided to play Sorry, and then we all agreed to go over to my side to see what was on TV. I went first, thinking they would follow, but when I got to my side they weren't behind me. I figured they'd probably just gone to take care of something first, so I turned on the TV and began scrolling through the cable guide to see what was on. I had done that for a couple of minutes before they showed up, and Cheryl merely said that she'd decided to go to the toilet first, and Noah said he'd just waited for his mom.
Even though I didn't say anything, I thought it was a bit odd, seeing Noah was always so eager to spend time with me. However, we sat down on the sofa and discussed what was on until we agreed on what we were going to watch. Noah sat between us and took turns leaning against his mom and me, and then he would start the process all over again. Like I said before, other than switching back and forth from one side of the house to the other, it was almost as if we were actually a family.
When the show we were watching ended, Cheryl said goodnight and returned to her side. As soon as she'd left, Noah grabbed my arm and started pulling me toward the bedroom so we could suck each other off. He was definitely a little horn-dog, but probably not any worse than most boys in that age group. I wasn't about to complain, though, because I was getting off more often than I had in ages, other than by my own hand.
The following week went pretty much the same, as Cheryl finished her last few days working full-time at 7-Eleven. I decided to ask her about this before dinner on Friday evening, while Noah was out in the backyard playing with the soccer ball.
"So how does it feel, now that you won't be working at the 7-Eleven during the week?"
"I'm a little sad in a way, seeing I've been doing it for so long. I started there shortly after my husband died, but I'm looking forward to working at the factory now and making more money. It's not like I won't be working at the 7-Eleven any longer, since I'll be there on the weekend, but it won't be the same."
"I just hope you don't regret the change."
"I doubt that very much, seeing Noah and I will be better off. How could I possibly regret anything, if I have more money and a nicer place to live?"
"I only hope you'll continue to feel that way."
"I'm sure I will, but now it's my turn to ask you a question. Noah told me that you said you were hesitant about thinking of yourself as a hero, but he doesn't understand why. He told me you said it was because of something that happened when you were younger, so do you want to tell me about it?"
"Not really. It's just that one of my best friends got hurt really bad because of me."
"Really? What happened?"
"I don't want to think about that day again, and I certainly wasn't about to admit what I'd done to Noah."
"You mean it was that bad? Did you do it intentionally?"
"No, I didn't, but it was my idea that caused him to get hurt really bad."
"Well, if it was just an accident, then you shouldn't feel guilty."
"Maybe you'd feel different if you knew what happened." I hesitated for a couple of minutes as I thought about how much I was willing to tell her. "Ok, this is what happened. We were both twelve at the time and we were out riding our bikes. There was a really big hill that was fairly close to where we lived, and I talked him into riding over there so we can race down it. We weren't supposed to go that far away without permission, so he didn't want to do it, but I dared him. I knew he'd go with me if I said he was scared and dared him, and that's when it happened.
"We were about halfway down the hill when he lost control of his bike, veered off the road, and was thrown off. He landed on a bunch of jagged rocks and said he couldn't move, so I tried to help him get up. That only made things worse, because he'd broken his back. He's been in a wheelchair ever since."
"I'll bet he doesn't blame you."
"That's what he said too. He claimed it was his fault for letting the bike get away from him, but that wouldn't have happened if I hadn't dared him to go. I wasn't able to look him or his parents in the eye after that, even though I would go over to visit him nearly every day for the next few years. I guess I did it because I felt so guilty, but our friendship was never the same afterward. We kind of lost touch when I went away to college, so I don't really know what happened to him after that. His parents moved away from the area and I never found out where they went, so I couldn't ask them about him either. I still feel really bad about what happened, and it's the reason that I'll never think of myself as a hero. Heroes don't end up hurting their friends like that."
"I disagree, but I can see why you didn't want to tell Noah. I won't say anything to him either, but knowing this will make it easier for me to deal with him if he brings it up again. I'll merely explain that sometimes there are things in our past that we'd rather not talk about and he should respect your feelings about this."
"Thank you, but I have to admit that telling you this actually helped me too. I've never been able to talk to anyone about what happened, except for my parents, and it felt good to get it off my chest."
After we finished talking, I went over to my side to change. I was surprised that Noah hadn't heard me arrive home and come in to go on our run yet, so after I changed I went out to get him.
"Wow! Is it that late already?"
"Yep. Time flies when you're having fun."
"Yeah, I was practicing soccer."
Now that he was ready, we took off on our run. As soon as we got back, we showered quickly and then went over to eat with Cheryl. Afterward we played cards for a while, and then we watched a little TV before turning in.
The rest of the weekend went pretty much like the last one. I picked the boys up on Saturday and they solved a mystery I'd arranged first, and then I took them swimming. Fortunately, I didn't have to save anyone this time.
Cheryl was unusually hyper on Sunday, and I assumed it was because she was nervous about starting her new job at the factory the next day. She didn't even calm down after we took Noah to the high school to practice his soccer skills, but I knew this wasn't a bad thing. She was just experiencing a little uncertainty about making this change. I knew she was excited about it too, because she'd admitted that things were going to be better for them, and I hoped her feeling that way would never change.
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E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions, or other 'constructive' comments or advice may be sent to: ErastesTouch@aol.com - but please put the story title in the subject line, so it doesn't get deleted as junk mail.
My other stories:
http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/different-points-of-view/
http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/a-throw-away-kid/
http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/the-guardian/
http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/chance-of-a-lifetime/
http://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/all-the-worlds-a-stage/
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Although the boys in these stories sometimes have unprotected sex, I strongly urge all of you out there to be smart and protect yourselves from various sexually transmitted diseases by using taking appropriate precautions before engaging in sex.