Notice:

The contents of this story is purely fictional although based on real life happenings in my life. All names have been fictionalize to protect the innocent and not so innocent. The content matter of this story concerns love and sex between males teenagers. If this is not what you like reading or it is illegal for you to read this material because of age or laws go somewhere else. This story is copyrighted by it's owner and may not be copied or published elsewhere without the owners permission.

Author's note:

Hey Peeps!

Okay I did get several emails from readers hoping to here more about Bastian McCormick's life.(see Foto in the High School Section of Nifty. If you haven't read Foto then you should read it first).

I really didn't intend to write this so soon but the idea blossomed and I wrote three chapters - not sure how many chapters I will continue to add depends on interest and email demanding MORE! lol.

 

Sam Lakes

sam_lakes at yahoo.com

Raising Noah

by Sam Lakes

Copyright © 2008 All Rights Reserved

Chapter 1 - Searching for the Beach

<Bastian McCormick>

I stayed home with Noah the first month after we came back from California. He had his own room but inevitably he’d end up sleeping in my room on the floor. So I moved his small bed into my room and thereafter he slept in his own bed. At the age of two and a half he started sleeping naked. Why I don’t know but he did and only once since that time did he wet the bed. Luckily, there was a rubber sheet under his regular sheet for such accidents. The other quirky thing he’d do is lay his clothes out on the floor neatly folded and in order – underpants on top then pants, and then shirt. Next to this neat pile of clothes would be a pair of socks and next the socks his shoes.

There are sometimes when I think he’s just an adult in a kid’s body.

There were a few times at night when he’d wake up crying. The only word I could occasionally understand was the word beach. I guess Marcy must have taken him to the beach numerous times. It bothered me because it usually took him a day or so to get back to being his happy little self.

I finally called Marcy’s sister to find out if anything traumatic happened at the beach. She told me that ‘beach’ was one of the first words he learn to say and would go around the house almost chanting ‘beach, beach’ or ‘go beach’. When she finally took him to the beach he was so excited until he got there then he ran around saying ‘beach’ like he was looking for something or someone. He ended up screaming ‘beach’ and finally Marcy brought him home. He cried for hours. We could never figure out why.

School went okay once I got back. I dropped most of my extra curricular activities much to the disappointment of the journalism teacher. I rarely took photos any more because I just didn’t feel like it. I wanted to get through this year and through my senior year.

There were times I missed Leo so bad and at those times I was lucky to have friends who would get me to talk and they would simply listen. I got over being embarrassed about crying in front of them.

Noah and I spent most of August with Edna in Estes Park. Again when Noah saw the Rockies he got excited. He called them the beach and I told him they were the Rocky Mountains.

Edna was driving us to lunch one day and we happened to pass a baseball game when Noah screamed ‘Stop’. Edna slammed on the brakes.

“What’s the matter, hun,” she asked Noah.

He pointed to the baseball game and said, “Go beach!”

“You want to go watch the game,” she asked.

“Yes, go watch the baseball game,” he said excitedly. So, we went to watch the game.

Edna was talking to me about Brady and said he was doing well, he and his partner had just adopted a child when I noticed Noah running for the dugout and right up to the coach by the time I got down out of the bleachers the coach was walking back with Noah.

“Your kid’s a hoot. Oh and by the way your friend is in Texas but Milford says he’s moving in a week somewhere. Man, I wish he’d move back to Colorado Springs. He was the best pitcher this team has ever had. It wouldn’t surprise me if he went pro one day.”

“My friend?” I asked somewhat puzzled.

“Yeah, Beech,” he said handing over Noah and then returned to the dugout.

School has started. This is my senior year and I can’t wait for the year to end. TGIF! When I got home Michael informed me that we were going over to a new contract programmer’s house tonight for dinner. He said if the guy is as good as his references say he might hire him on a permanent basis.

“Daddy come on! We’re going to see Beech!” said a very excited Noah.

“Beech?”

“Yeah, Joe Beech is the contractor and his family wife and two sons –“

“Daddy, hurwee up! I wanna see Beech!”

The first thing out of Noah’s mouth when we arrived at the Beech’s home was “Where’s Beech?”

“Well, Noah, this is Mr. Beech and this is his son Rob.”

“No, I want to see Beech.”

“Ah, you must mean my brother; he’s at the doctor’s. He’ll be home soon,” said Rob Beech.

We adjourned to the patio for dinner. Apparently, the seventeen year old son had arrived home and would be down shortly. Shortly was like thirty minutes and we had finished dinner except dessert when the most beautiful boy I’ve ever seen appeared and apologized for being late.

Noah was literally bouncing up and down on my lap. I’ve never seen him so excited and the next thing I knew he was in Sandy Beech’s arms. I glanced at Michael and Dad and they both had a surprised look on their face. Why?

Maybe it was because Noah was normally shy with strangers. Maybe it was because Sandy Beech was an Adonis. I mean Sandy’s dad and brother are big guys and on the heavy side with dark hair. Even his mom was a little weighty and easily two inches taller than him.

I couldn’t take my eyes off him and for the first time in over a year I had feelings for another guy.

I watched Sandy and Noah play in the bath and I noticed something else too. They were like two peas in a pod. They were so happy, teasing, and giggling and having fun. It was funny that Sandy’s last name was Beech and Noah had this thing about the beach.

Even stranger was the fact that I called Sandy Beech, Sandy but Noah only addressed him as ‘Beech’.

Noah continued to surprise me when he asked Sandy to lie down with us on the bed, and he gave Sandy a kiss which Sandy returned. While Noah was falling asleep I thought about Sandy. I told him my dads were a couple and I was gay. He was cool with that so I gathered my courage and asked him if he was gay. He might be but he wasn’t sure because he doesn’t ever fantasize about other guys but he doesn’t fantasize about women, but then he was sure sex with a giggly girl would be a turn off. He said other things that he thought would classify him as gay and then negate them with some thing that would classify him as straight.

And then he said, “I know I’m not bi. I’m either gay or straight – I’m not sure. But I’m one or the other. Crazy huh? Oh, oh. Don’t get your hopes up but when I first saw you were really…hot” he giggled, “but then you haven’t given me a hard on while I’ve been ogling your fine bod so maybe not.”

“God, you’re a tease!” I laughed.

“Yes, yes,” said a very sleepy Noah who was now in Sandy’s lap as he looked up at Sandy, “Beech is a tease.”

Once Noah was asleep we went to the kitchen.  I knew something was up as soon as we walked in because things went quiet. It was the quiet before the storm and the result was Sandy left after giving Michael the finger which I sort of felt Michael deserved.

Dad and Mr. Beech ran out to the garage but it was too late Sandy was gone so dad called in a favor and the cops in the area would be on the look out.

I thought Mrs. Beech was going to come apart but she didn’t. The most upset turned out to be Robert, Sandy’s younger brother.

When I asked Mrs. Beech what she was going to ask she said she was going to asked him if he was doing drugs because he seemed so different and where did he get the money to buy that bike.

“You what?” said Rob, “Mom, he’s a sports freak incase you didn’t notice. God, I can’t believe you. I think I know why he left.” Rob looked at me and said, “I think you may know too.”

“Yeah, maybe,” I replied, “We talked some but mostly he and Noah played.”

“Did you ask him if he was gay cuz it’s obvious you like him?” asked Michael.

“It’s none of your business,” I said curtly.

“Of course he’s gay,” said Rob, “I’ve known it since he was fourteen. He loved a boy called Tommy and Tommy loved him. And my brother was the happiest I’ve ever seen him but then Tommy died and so did my brother. That’s what changed him MOM not drugs. Tommy died. And for the first time in three years I saw that spark of life he had then when he saw you Bastian. I want him back, Bastian and I know you and Noah can bring him back,” cried Rob.

“I just thought it was because we moved from Colorado Spring to Dallas, that he was so upset. Why didn’t he tell us he had a boyfriend?” asked Mrs. Beech.

“He was going to but then Tommy died and he said there was no point. He said he wasn’t gay anymore and he wasn’t straight - he was dead inside.” Rob said.

I knew that feeling. It’s how I felt when Leo died. I almost didn’t realize I was crying and Dad had me in his arms in a heart beat.

“I know that feeling, Dad. You’ve got to find him, please. He makes me happy and I know Noah loves him too. If you saw the two of them playing - it was wonderful. They were both so alive and happy and-and giggling. I want him in my life dad even if he’s just a friend.”

“Bastian’s boyfriend was killed a little over a year ago. The murderer was killed in a shoot out to save Bastian. He was made to watch video tapes of that psycho murdering not only his boyfriend but several other boys,” said Michael.

Things were quiet after that as we waited for Dad to get a call which came about an hour later and Dad left to go get Sandy. Noah came out of Sandy’s room still sleepy. He had to go pee-pee. So I took him to the toilet.

“Where’s Beech?” he asked.

“He went for a ride on his bike and Grandpa Brian has gone to get him he’ll be back soon, okay?”

“Uh-huh, I wuv you Daddy and I wuv Beech.”

“I know sweetheart, I love Beech too.”

I put Noah back to bed.

When I got back to the kitchen Michael, Rob and Mrs. Beech were talking. I sat down and Mrs. Beech offered me a drink of juice.

As I drank my juice I thought about Noah and his search for beach and I remembered the incident when we were at the ball game. “Rob, does Sandy play baseball?”

“Yeah, and he’s a pitcher and a damn good one at that. He has and awesome fast ball!”

“What did Tommy call Sandy?”

“Shorty, if he wanted to make him mad. You know tease him. Otherwise, he called him Beech. But then he likes everyone to call him Beech cuz he thinks his first name is stupid.”

“When did Tommy die?” I asked.

“Right before we moved to Texas so that would have been three years ago after Thanksgiving.”

Noah was born on December 21st. He is going to be three years old this year. Could it be? It all seemed to fit. Was Noah Tommy in his last life? Had Noah found his beech?

Comments welcomed -

sam_lakes@yahoo.com