Disclaimer: This story is a continuation of the story of Kevin Foley, Rick Mashburn, and their "sons," Tim Murphy, Kyle Goodson, Justin Davis, and Brian Mathews that started in "Tim," continued in "Justin" and "Kyle," "Kyle, Part 2," and "Kyle, Part 3." It now continues in "Summer Fun." It is about gay men and gay boys living and loving together as a family, and it contains descriptions of sex. The sex is never intergenerational, though. If you are offended by descriptions of gay sex, or if the law in your area forbids you to read them, please exit the story. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy it. I appreciate feedback, and you can send it to me at brew_drinker23@yahoo.com.
--Brew Maxwell
Summer Fun
Chapter 8
(Kyle's Perspective)
That first day back at work after the Wayne incident wasn't real good for me. They all thought I was a hero or something, but I didn't even touch him except to throw his butt against that Jeep. If there was a hero at all, it was Brendan, the valet guy. He was real cute, but he was totally straight. That part didn't matter to me, though, but I had my suspicions about some guys who might have had their eye on him.
"Tyler's coming over this afternoon, and we'd like to ski," Jeff said that morning before work.
"Oh, great. That'll be fun," I said. I knew he wanted the boat for just him and Ty, but that was too good to resist.
"Well, er, Ty and I were thinking it would just be us," he said. "Can we use your boat?"
"My boat? It's our boat. You know that."
"It might be our boat, but you have the keys," he said.
"There are keys hanging on the bulletin board in the kitchen of the clubhouse, Bubba," I said.
"Oh, okay. I didn't know that," he said. "We'll just use those."
"Wait a minute. Not so fast. Have you passed the full Coast Guard inspection yet? I mean the big inspection."
He knew exactly what was going on, and he was grinning big.
"Yeah, I passed with flying colors, and so did Ty," he said.
"All right," I said. "I knew you would, bro." I was grinning full out.
"Kyle, you are a fundamentally evil person. Do you know that about yourself?"
"Yeah. I practice getting better at it all the time," I said.
"I love you," he said.
"I love you, too, but I actually love Ty more than you. Bigger dick. What can I say?"
"You little shit," he said, laughing hard.
"I think this might be a case of me getting you last," I said.
"Do you realize you're the only one who ever gets me last," he asked.
"Superior mind and a good left hand," I said, as I punched him with my left.
I grabbed him in a hug with my right, though. Jeff and I were special to each other, and we both knew it. Everybody loved Jeff, but there was a bond between him and me that the others couldn't ever have.
*****
That night we had "Come to Jesus," for sure. Everybody was in the den, including Ty. All six kids were on the floor, and Trixie was going back and forth among us. She licked me once on the face, and I shouted "stop." She jumped back and put her tail between her legs. They all got on to me for being mean to her, but she didn't lick anybody else after that. I had seen that snake she had in that mouth on the island, and I didn't want that tongue on my face ever again. Dogs don't have to lick you to show you they love you. I loved her, but I didn't lick her.
"Something happened yesterday that I know you all know about. This is going to be a kind of training session about that."
Great, I thought. I'd much rather have a training session on Friday night than shoot pool or play ping pong or watch a movie or go swimming. God, Kevin!
"This isn't going to be too long, but it's important. So don't get your panties in a wad, Kyle."
Rick and I looked at each other, and I knew he was thinking exactly the same thing I was.
"I don't wear panties," I said.
"Very funny, Kyle," Kevin said. "Go to your room."
"If I thought you were serious about that . . ."
"But I'm not, so shut up and listen. Most of you are probably going to be in high-level management at Goodson some day, and you need to think about this. By the way, if I hear that any of you has said anything about this to people at work, you're fired, and I mean it."
"We know, Adolph. Get on with it, please," I said.
Kevin grinned at me, but I knew if he had had a cow pie in his hand at that moment, it would have been on my face in a heartbeat.
"What I want to talk to you about is related to Wayne, but it's not about him. He has a disability called bipolar disorder, and it's a problem that he was born with, probably. It makes him real depressed sometimes, and it makes him real happy sometimes."
"Manic-depression," Jeff asked.
"Exactly, Jeff," Kevin said.
"I've known people with that, and they were able to keep it together and function well," Jeff said.
"And Wayne can, too, and he will. But that's not what this is about. It's about our responsibility as his employer."
"Sick or not, that fucker ain't gonna make it if he messes with Tim again," I said.
"I smell testosterone in here. Anybody else," Kevin said.
Rick, Jeff, and Ty laughed hard. I didn't know what was so funny.
"Kyle, settle down, Bubba," Rick said.
"I'm okay," I said, and I was.
"Kyle, this is especially for you," Kevin said. "There is something called the Americans with Disabilities Act, or the ADA. It basically says we have to find ways to treat employees who have disabilities fairly, just like every other employee. We have to bend the rules sometimes, too."
"Kevin, I say fire his ass, man," I said.
"Would you fire Chris because he shit on the floor," Kevin asked.
That stopped me cold because he knew I wouldn't.
"I wouldn't, and he really did shit on my arm," Justin said.
"Of course, I wouldn't fire Chris. He couldn't help doing that, if he ever did that," I said. "You know that, Kevin."
"Yeah, I do know that, and we all love Chris. But it's really no different, Kyle. Wayne has a disability that made him do what he did yesterday. How can you love and accept Chris, and hate Wayne?"
"I hate Wayne because he's a fucking destructive asshole, that's why. You don't know him, Kevin. He hates me, man, and I hate him," I said. "He trashed Tim's car, and he doesn't even know him."
"Well, you just think about this, Kyle. You love Chris, and he's the most physically disabled person I've ever met. You took care of him in some of the most private ways anybody can ever take care of another person, and you never said a word of complaint. I'm not asking you to wipe Wayne's ass, like you did for Chris. I'm just asking you to understand what disability is all about."
"I'll get back to you on that," I said.
"That's all I ask, Bubba. That you think about it."
Goddamn, I thought. What next?
*****
I'm sorry, but I resented the hell out of Kevin comparing Wayne to Chris. Chris was nice and cute and loving and fun. He had been a pain in the ass to take care of sometimes. I'll admit that. It embarrassed me at first to do some of the stuff I had to do for him, but he was always joking about it and loveable and having fun. Kevin was right. Chris was severely disabled. That's not what made me love him, though. Being himself made me love him.
Wayne was mean and ugly to people. He and I had laughed together a few times, so maybe there was something good in there somewhere, but you sure didn't see it much. He had no mercy on Stephen. Sure, Stephen was a little on the flamer side, but that didn't bother me anymore. Hell, if Chad and Gage could be some of my best friends, I could sure be friends with Stephen. Wayne was really mean to him, though.
Plus, I thought Wayne was dangerous. He wasn't a small guy, by any means. What would happen if he went berserk in the lobby with a guest? He probably didn't really know what he was doing when he painted Tim's car, but what if he doesn't really know what he's doing when he hurls somebody through the plate glass windows in the lobby? And what if that somebody is me or Justin or Jeff?
The rest of them had gone out to shoot pool or whatever. I was still in the den. Kevin came back in and sat right next to me on the sofa.
"What are you doing," he asked.
"I'm thinking," I said.
"About Wayne?"
"Yeah. What do you think?"
"I thought maybe you were thinking about me," he said.
"I was. How can you compare Chris and Wayne, Kevin?"
"I could tell that bothered you."
"It bothers me a lot, man. Chris might shit on the floor or on Jus's arm or something, but he's not mean. Wayne is mean. And I think he's dangerous, too."
"Kyle, I knew you didn't like it when I compared Chris and Wayne, and you're right. It's two entirely different situations. That was probably unfair of me, but the point I was trying to make is that we, and especially you, don't dislike people just because they're disabled. Chris loves you, Kyle. He loves all of us, and we all love him. Especially you. Wayne probably isn't capable of love when he's in one of his states. He is mean when he's like that. I know he's mean, but that's the disability, not the man. His sister told me he's quiet and shy when his medicine is working."
"So why didn't the medicine work?"
"Because he stopped taking it. It's real complicated, and there are some aspects of the situation that I really don't feel that I can go into. You trust me, don't you?"
"Of course, I trust you. That's why this is so damn hard for me to understand," I said. "If I didn't trust you, I'd just say you're full of shit and move on. I trust you, but I want to understand it, too."
"Okay. Let's look at it this way. I can do this better with a diagram. Hold on."
He got up and got some paper and a pen.
He drew two circles on the page. One was a whole circle, and the other one had a wiggly line cutting across the circle near the top.
"Okay. This is your brain." He wrote my name in the whole circle. "And this is Wayne's brain." He wrote his name in the circle with the wiggly line. "Your brain and your body make all the stuff they're supposed to make, and that's why the circle isn't messed up. Wayne's brain doesn't make this part." He pointed to the little piece at the top. "Just like you can't control what your brain and your body make, he can't control what his brain and his body don't make. Are you with me so far?"
"I'm following what you're saying," I said. "I guess Chris's brain makes all the right stuff. It's just kind of mashed in a little bit."
"Good analogy. Kind of like this."
He drew another circle that was sort of flat on one side. He wrote Chris's name in that one.
"Wayne's medicine fills this empty part up."
He colored in the little piece that was cut off by the wiggly line.
"The trick is, they have to figure out exactly how much medicine it takes to make up for this part."
He pointed to the colored-in piece.
"That's trial and error. Sometimes that takes a while to get right."
"Okay. I understand all of this, but why isn't this part filled up?" I pointed to the section he had colored in.
He sighed big when I asked that.
"Let's just say he had some personal issues that made him stop taking his medicine. When he did that--and I know you well enough to know you would have done exactly the same thing under the same circumstances--things went south. Do you know what I mean by that?"
"Yeah."
"His sister said she thought he would start taking his medicine again voluntarily, after what happened yesterday, so this part is going to fill up again soon. He won't work again at the Laguna, but I think he will be working for us again, and probably as a bellhop."
"What if he doesn't take his medicine?"
"He's on extended sick leave right now so he can get the medicine straightened out. If that doesn't happen, we can't take him back. You're right. He could be dangerous, and we can't have that."
"I feel a lot better about this right now," I said.
"Do you understand where I'm coming from," he asked.
"Yeah, I do, and thank you for teaching me this. The next thing we need to do is get this one pumped up right," I said, pointing to the picture of Chris's brain.
"Exactly. We're going to do our part for cerebral palsy," he said.
"I think we should do our part for cerebral palsy by going to see Chris this summer."
"You shit. I knew that was coming, sooner or later. Plan it out, okay? I'm thinking the first two weeks of August."
"That's exactly what I was thinking. Oh, Kevin, this is so right, man. This is going to be an awesome trip. Have you talked to Rick, yet?"
"Of course. Wouldn't you have talked to Tim by now about it?"
I laughed a little.
"You see us that way, don't you?"
"Yup."
(Kevin's Perspective)
I spoke with my brother or my sister-in-law on the phone several times a week, and a lot of times I spoke with both of them separately. I knew they did the same thing with Rick. Usually, it was a five-minute check-in, but sometimes it was a lot longer than that. On the Friday after the Jeep-painting episode, Cherie called me at the office.
"What are you doing," Cherie asked when I answered the call.
"I'm talking on the phone," I said. That exchange was a tradition with us.
I had been going through Wayne Smith's personnel folder, but I knew I didn't want to get into that with her, at least not right then.
"Do you remember Seth Adams from Mardi Gras," she asked.
"Of course. That boy our guys befriended, right? What about him?"
"His dad, Matt Adams, is going to be teaching a course in London over the next six weeks, and he asked me if I would ask you if Seth could come and stay with you guys while they're gone."
My first impulse was to say "Of course," but there were seven people in our household, and I knew the kids ought to have a say in this, not to mention Rick.
"Would he be here the whole time," I asked.
"If you'll have him. The alternative is for him to stay at home alone, with no support. His sister's at some kind of program at Duke University all summer. I suppose they could leave him at home by himself, but they don't seem to want to do that. Matt said he talks about your boys all the time, and he thinks it would do Seth a lot of good to spend time in your home," she said.
"That's pretty flattering. Kind of like Queer Summer Camp," I said.
She laughed.
"I know you're joking, Kev, but that's not as far from the truth as you might think. Evidently, just being with your guys at Mardi Gras has made a huge difference in Seth. Matt didn't say this, but I'm pretty sure he's hoping extended exposure will do even more good," Cherie said.
"I pretty well know the answer is going to be 'yes,'" I said, "but I need to run it by the others, too."
"Of course," she said. "When do you think you'll have a verdict?"
"Probably by tonight," I said. "I'll give you a call."
I went down to Rick's office and told him what Cherie had said. Just as I knew he would be, he was all for it.
"Can you use another bellhop at the Laguna," Rick asked.
"Yeah, especially since Wayne Smith is going to be out for a while. In fact, we'd have to replace him, anyway. I'm not putting him back at that hotel," I said.
"I don't blame you. Too much bad blood. Plus, I'm sure he would be embarrassed as hell to have to go back to work there," Rick said.
That night I had my little talk with the guys about Wayne and about what had happened, and then I spent some time with Kyle to help him work it out in his mind. After that, Kyle and I joined the others in the pool.
"Come around here, guys. I have something else I want to talk to you about," I said.
They came around me. Brian was holding Trixie, and he put her down for our little chat.
"Guys, Cherie called today. You all remember Seth Adams, don't you?"
They all said "sure." All, that is, except Tyler, who hadn't met him.
"Anyway, Cherie asked me if it would be possible for Seth to spend some time here with us this summer. Six weeks, in fact. His parents are going to be in England, and for whatever reason, they're not taking him. His sister is already at some kind of program at Duke University," I said.
"What did you tell her," Kyle asked.
"I told her I'd have to talk with you all," I said.
"I think it would be cool," Kyle said. "He and I have gotten to be pretty good friends through email, and I knew he wanted to come see us."
"Is he still pestering you every day," Justin asked.
"Naw. That stopped a while back. We write every week or so, though. He's made a couple of friends, too. Not just on the Internet, either," Kyle said.
"Do any of you have any objections," I asked.
"No, I don't," Tim said. The rest shared his opinion.
"I'm going to put him to work at the Laguna with you guys," I said. "He'll be able to earn a few bucks and hang out with you all at work."
"Cool," Kyle said. "Did y'all know he had some surgery on his face?"
"No. What did they do," I asked.
"Tried to make him look a little better, but he says it didn't work. They took some off his nose, added to his chin, and did something to his ears. That's how he spent his Spring Break," Kyle said.
"When's he coming," Justin asked.
"That's a good question," I said. "Let me go call Cherie. Maybe she knows."
Seth actually answered the phone when I called.
"Hello. Foley residence," he said.
"Hi, this is Kevin Foley. Is this Seth?"
"Yeah. Hi, Kevin. Do you remember me?"
"Of course I remember you. We've just been talking about you, in fact."
"Really?"
"Yeah, we were talking about you coming to see us for part of the summer. Do you want to do that?"
"Absolutely! That's fantastic," he said.
I smiled at the excitement in his voice.
"So, when are you coming?"
"How about tomorrow," he asked.
"That would be great. Are you all packed and everything?"
"Yeah. I've been here for the last couple of days. My parents are in England. I haven't unpacked my stuff here yet," he said.
"Are you driving," I asked.
"Yeah. How do I get there?"
I gave him directions. I suggested he download and print a map from the Web, and he said he would. I made sure he had our various phone numbers in case he needed them.
"Are Craig and Cherie there," I asked.
"No. They haven't come home yet. They were meeting some people right after work for a drink, and then they were going out to eat. Do you want them to call you?"
"Not necessarily," I said. "I talked to Cherie earlier today. Well, let me let you go so you can get ready for your trip. We're looking forward to having you, Seth. Kyle and the other guys said to say hello."
"Tell them hello for me, too, please. And Kevin, thank you. Thank you so much," he said.
"We're going to have fun this summer, Seth," I said.
"Oh, I know we are."
I told the guys how excited Seth seemed, and that pleased them. They wanted to go to a movie. It was almost nine o'clock, but I knew they could catch a 9:30 showing. They went off, all six of them, and Rick and I eventually went to bed.
(Tyler's Perspective)
I can't believe how lucky I was meeting Jeff on line. Not only was he good looking and very intelligent, but he was also sensitive in a good way and extremely nice. Things between us were developing well, and we considered each other our boyfriends.
I had been physically attracted to guys for my whole life. In puberty, just being around certain guys had given me an erection. At first I didn't think anything about that. My dick got hard all the time, anyway, and I didn't make the connection between my arousal and the presence of a handsome boy. When I finally did make that connection, I was terribly embarrassed every time it happened. A lot of guys stayed half-hard when we were showering and changing for sports, so I didn't really attract any attention. It was other times, when I got a full hard-on talking to some guy fully clothed, that I was embarrassed.
The random boners had pretty much come under control around seventeen or eighteen. I still got them occasionally, but I could usually figure out why. I thought about sex a lot, all the time, in fact, and those thoughts were enough to get me hard. After I came out to Jeff and he came out to me, I started seeing erections in a different light. I was a gay man looking for a sexual relationship with another gay man, and the erections seemed more like an asset, all of a sudden, than a liability.
I got hard the first time I saw Jeff. We had met at a coffee shop, and we were there to meet in person and to check one another out. We both had told each other we were looking for friendship, and I was. But I was also ready for a boyfriend, a sex partner, that could make me feel good and that I could make feel good, too. There was a lot of sexual tension during that first date. I was more than a little nervous, and the fact that just seeing him and shaking his hand could turn my dick into a steel beam added to it.
We had a few more dates after that. I got hard at the start, and I stayed that way throughout. I noticed that he got hard, too.
The first time we did anything was on Saturday, June 6th. My roommate had gone to visit his parents and girlfriend, and we had my apartment to ourselves. We watched a movie. We weren't sitting on top of one another, but we were sitting a lot closer than I would ordinarily have sat next to a guy. After the first movie, we kissed for a while, and then we stroked one another off. I know that's not all that bold or daring, but it was the first time I had done anything with another person. It was a sensation I won't ever forget. He made me come! Another guy made me come! And I wanted him to do it. And I did it to him. I made him come, too. When it was over, we agreed that we were boyfriends.
After that, I thought about Jeff non-stop. I couldn't wait for the next time we could be together and do it, and I didn't have to wait long. My roommate called me to say he was taking an extra day at home. He was having girlfriend troubles, and he had planned to be on leave on Monday, anyway. Jeff and I took advantage of his absence, and we did it in my bed. We were both completely naked, and we held one another in our arms. The warmth, the closeness, the pure tactile joy was almost too much. I figured it would be good, but it was good way beyond what I had imagined.
We didn't make love every day that week, although we did three more times.
"Why don't you plan on spending tomorrow night with me," Jeff said on Thursday.
"Will it be okay," I asked.
"Of course."
"Will the other guys tease us about it," I asked.
Those guys that Jeff lived with were awesome, but they teased one another constantly. I didn't exactly relish being ribbed by them about Jeff and me.
"I don't think so. They're very happy I'm dating you, and, knowing them as I do, I'm sure they're dying for us to do it," he said. "They're good guys, Ty."
"I know they're good guys. In fact, I've really had fun with them. I guess you haven't said anything, right?"
"Right. Kevin and Rick have a very strict rule about sex being private, and I think it's a good one," he said.
"So you guys don't talk about sex?"
"We joke about it all the time, but we really don't give any juicy details about what we do in the bedroom. At least not publicly."
I went to Jeff's house after work on Friday, and he and I took Kyle's boat out skiing. Later, Kevin talked to all of us about something that had happened at work involving Tim's car. I didn't know too many of the details of that, though. After the talk, we went swimming and then to a movie. I spent the night with Jeff that night, and he and I had fun in bed.
The next morning, we went downstairs in just our underwear. They were all sitting around the den dressed the same way we were, and it was like I had done that a hundred times. They were all pleasant and friendly, and any worry I had had about being teased was pointless. I was Jeff's friend or boyfriend or whatever, and that was all there was to it.
*****
"Have you said anything about us to Kenny," Jeff asked me Saturday afternoon.
We were in his room. He was working on the family Web page, and I was laying on the bed flipping through a magazine. Kenny was my roommate.
"No," I said.
"Does he even know you're gay," he asked.
"No, and that's going to be a problem," I said.
"Why? Does he hate gays," Jeff asked.
He stated the question as matter-of-factly as if he had asked if Kenny likes ice cream.
"Not that I know of. I mean, I've never heard him say anything derogatory about gays. It's just never come up, I guess."
"Ty, I don't have a problem with him knowing or not knowing," Jeff said. "You have a lot to lose by being outed to the Coast Guard, and I understand and accept that."
"Thanks, Jeff. I want to take my time with that," I said. "He and I are roommates, but that's for convenience, not because we're close friends. We've never really done much together. He goes home to Alabama most weekends to be with his girlfriend. During the week, he hangs out with three friends of his. I think they drink a good bit. I'm usually in bed by the time he comes in."
"You must have really been lonely," he said.
"Extremely lonely."
"Well, you're not going to be lonely anymore."
He got up from his desk, got in bed with me, and we made love for the second time that day.
(Justin's Perspective)
My prayer was answered. Jeff got him a boyfriend, and it was Ty. It's so good when people find somebody to make them happy, but when one of them is your brother and both of them are the nicest guys in the world, it's double good.
"Did you see 'em go up together," Kyle asked us when Jeff and Ty went up to Jeff's room after the movie on that Friday night.
"Is that what they were doing climbing the stairs," I asked. "Were they going up together?"
"You know what, Jus? I should break your legs," Kyle said.
"Yeah? You and what army?"
"No army. I think I can get Trixie to help," he said. "That's about all it would take."
Tim and Brian were already laughing their asses off, and I laughed, too, when he said that.
"I want a Purple Cow," I said, changing the subject.
"What the hell is that," Kyle asked.
"Haven't you ever had a Purple Cow," I asked. "It's ice cream in a glass, and you pour a coke in it. Root beer's even better, I've heard."
"That's a coke float," Kyle said. "Sure, I've had those. Where did you get 'Purple Cow?'"
"Kevin made me one the other night, and that's what he called it," I said.
"That's some more of that New Orleans bullshit talk, Jus. It's called a coke float," he said.
"Well, I don't care what it's called. It's good, and I want me one," I said.
We made Purple Cow coke floats.
"Don't you think Kevin says some strange things," Kyle asked as we were having our drinks.
"I've noticed that," Tim said. "Grandma and Grandpa do, too. And so do Craig and Cherie."
"I'm sure y'all think I talk funny," I said.
"I like the way you talk," Brian said.
"I think we all do, Jus," Kyle said. "I like the way Kevin talks, too. I like the way everybody talks."
"I think Seth talks like Kevin," I said. "Best I remember, anyway."
"He's going to be here tomorrow, isn't he," Kyle said.
"Yeah. Where's he going to sleep," I asked.
"There are two bedrooms on the third floor," Kyle said.
"He can sleep in my room. I haven't slept in there in a long time," Brian said.
"Yeah, Kyle," Tim said. "He can't be up there by himself. He needs to be on the second floor with us."
"I don't care where he sleeps, as long as you and me have a bed, Babe," Kyle said. "Do you ever use your room, Brian?"
"I do homework in there sometimes, but I never sleep in there," he said.
"You're not going to have homework this summer. That's a good place for him," I said. "I wonder if he's popped that cherry yet."
"I don't think so," Kyle said. "He would have written to me about it. He's eager to, though."
"Maybe he'll find a summer boyfriend," I said. "Maybe ole Stephen at work."
"It could happen," Kyle said. "I think Stephen's a nice guy, don't you?"
"He's all right. I don't like him touching me, though," I said.
"I've watched him when he was talking to you. He stands too close, but he doesn't touch you any more than anybody else does," Kyle said.
"Maybe that's it, but I always feel like he's getting all over me," I said.
"He likes you, sweetie," Kyle said.
I laughed. "You never quit, do you?"
"Why would I quit. You're such a good target," he said.
"He gets you as much as you get him, Babe," Tim said.
"I know. That's what I mean," Kyle said.
"You know what I want," I asked.
"What," Brian asked.
"A bowl of cereal," I said.
"That sounds really good," Kyle said.
All four of us made ourselves big bowls of breakfast cereal. I ate quite a bit of food during the course of a day, but I always seemed to be hungry. The rest of them were the same way. Tim stuck his head in the laundry room to check on Trixie. He turned on the light, but she didn't even wake up. She knew Rick was going to run her ass off the next morning, and she needed her sleep.
Back in the den, Tim said,
"Have you guys noticed how much Rick loves Trixie?"
"Yeah," I said. "He thinks she's his dog. That's a big change from that first night y'all got her."
"He told me the other day he has to take her to the vet pretty soon to have her sprayed so she won't be able to have puppies," Tim said.
"I think it's spayed," Kyle said. "But it might be sprayed. I think on TV they say spayed, though."
"Whatever it is, I think it would be fun for her to have a puppy," Tim said.
"They don't have one at a time," I said. "They have litters, like five or six or more."
"What would we do with that many puppies," Tim asked.
"You put 'em in a sack and throw 'em in the lagoon," I said. I knew we'd never do anything like that, but I wanted to get to him.
"Use 'em for fish bait, or in a crab trap," Kyle said.
He and I looked at each other and had this mental communication. I loved it when it was him and me against the little boys.
"Oh, my God! Kyle! How could you do that to a puppy," Tim said, going after the bait.
"You can eat fish and crabs. You can't eat a puppy," Kyle said.
"That's right. And you could catch a mighty big fish off puppy bait."
Brian hit me.
"What was that for," I asked. God, that guy was cute.
"Justin, how can you say such a thing," he demanded to know.
"'Cause it's true, Brian. You troll with puppy meat, and the really big ones come up. Especially puppies as cute as Trixie would make," Kyle said.
"It's a good thing Rick is going to get her sprayed, then," Tim said.
Tim was pissed, and so was Brian. Kyle and I started laughing, and Kyle wrapped his arms around Tim and put his head on Tim's shoulder.
"Get off me, you murderer," Tim said.
He shrugged Kyle off, but Kyle and I were laughing so hard we couldn't have killed a mosquito right then.
"What are you laughing at," Brian demanded.
That only made me and Kyle laugh harder.
Brian said, "Tim, we've got some sick boyfriends, I think. They think that Wayne guy is nuts. I think they're nuts, too."
Kyle and I eventually settled down.
"Do you really think we would do that," Kyle asked.
Tim and Brian looked at each other, and they knew.
"You shits," Tim said. He and Brian were laughing by then, too. "I hate both of you."
"No, you don't. Y'all both love us, but, in fact, we did get you last," Kyle said.
"How could we fall for that," Brian asked.
"We're sorry," I said.
"No, you're not," Tim said.
Kyle and I looked at one another and busted up again. Tim and Brian started laughing, too, and I knew they were having fun.
"Whoooo," Kyle said. "My stomach hurts from laughing so hard. I think I ate too much."
"How about another Purple Cow to settle it down," I asked.
"Okay," he said, and I made four more.
(Rick's Perspective)
Kevin can go to sleep when they're out late at night, but I never can until I hear them come home. That night it sounded like they were having a damn good time in the den. I started to get up and join them, but I really did want to run the next day. I knew that if I got up, there would be no way I could do that. I saw guys running in the heat of mid-day occasionally, but I knew I had about another week before it would be dangerous to run, even early in the morning. I'd have to switch to running on a treadmill in our gym pretty soon. I enjoyed the air conditioning of the gym, but it wasn't the same as running outdoors. Trixie could run along side me on the treadmill, though.
I thought about everything that had happened that week and about how great Kevin had been with it. He was spooned up against my back, and it felt good. We had made love earlier, and I had a sense that I could still feel him in me. It was a nice feeling.
We were getting another one the next day. He was "time sensitive," just like Chris had been. Six weeks, and we'd probably get to love him just like we had Chris and the others. Kevin told me he had given the go-ahead to Kyle to work us up a trip to go see Chris, and I knew it would be well planned.
I finally drifted off.