Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2003 17:52:13 -0400 From: Jamie Haze Subject: DOOBY rhymes with Scooby - Part 10 DOOBY rhymes with Scooby Part 10 By Jamie Haze Dooby and Christian were greeted with organized bedlam when they walked into Tom's house Tuesday afternoon. Tom found a production company, small and struggling, to produce and direct the cooking show infomercial. An infusion of cash on signing the contract ended the one man company's struggle, replacing that with dedication to his one and only client. Tom and Charlie were dressed in business suits and watched the hustle and bustle centered on the kitchen and the big island counter from the great room. They shared frowns; the taping of the first show was not going well. Dooby and Cory were as unhappy as they looked. The problem was that the show was scripted hurriedly by the director and they were reading their lines from prompters or trying to. After an hour of taping and three dumped batches of potentially perfectly good brownie mixes, Dooby exploded, "Fuck this, we can't read this bullshit, Cory doesn't talk that way," he read one of Cory's lines in sing song; "Oh boy Dooby, those Mother Dubois brownies look scrumptious!" He glared at the director, "No one talks like that, where'd the writer dig up the word scrumptious, out of Martha Stewart's ass? This is uncooked mix, it looks just like shit," he dipped a finger in the bowl and sucked on it provocatively, "but it tastes great," he added with a grin at Cory. He appealed to Tom and Charlie directly, "Can't we just do it the way we did it first?" Charlie looked up at Tom waiting for a decision. Tom sighed and nodded his head. He made a slicing motion across his neck at Kevin and Christian standing behind the director, both looked equally frustrated. Kevin grinned at the back of the director's head, "Shitcan the prompters. Let them ad lib it like they did last week. We'll run through the whole show twice without interruption," he emphasized interruption when the director began to sputter a protest, "that will give you enough to edit everything down." There was a clatter of baking pans; Dooby found three new ones and began to pour the discarded batter into them, "Tonight we eat brownies! There will even be enough for you Uncle Tommy, if we do two more batches. You should see a dentist about your sweet tooth you know," he joked. Tom laughed, "Now that's the old Dooby we want to see." Charlie nodded his agreement. The director mumbled a comment to the camera man and Kevin heard the word nepotism, "I think you can just call it a day buddy, maybe go back to the dinner theater and direct something." "You can't fire me, I don't work for you," the man snapped back. "That's true," a young man said from near Tom and Charlie, "you worked for me, now you don't. I guess I can do what little directing that needs to be done and I'm doing the editing anyway, SO," he didn't need to finish the sentence. While the director stomped out Tom introduced Charlie to the production company's owner, Scott. Charlie shook hands as he walked to a sofa. He picked up an odd looking vest and a contraption with a camera mounted on it. It looked like a back brace for someone who suffered from a severe orthopedic problem, except he settled the padded hooks on his shoulders so the camera was in front and locked into the vest. He explained before anyone could ask, "This thing is called a Steadicam; I leased it and brought it along because we'll need it when the boys go shopping later. I was thinking that using it now might be a neat twist, to make the show just a little like a home movie. I'm going to dip and dive in and out of the action, like catch Dooby and Cory's facial expressions when they're goofing on each other while the other cameras are fixed on what their hands are doing. Little snips here and there will make the show different from all the other cooking shows, of course it's already unique, a pair of jock teenagers who enjoy cooking. This is going to be a boomer when it gets syndicated." "Syndicated," Tom and Charlie repeated the word in surprise. Charlie frowned, "I doubt it. It's only intended to show in our market areas and it's an infomercial hyping private labels mostly." Tom grasped the potential, "Yeah but if it went big time, the national brands would want in too. Coke likes the idea of the boys sucking on cans of theirs already; remember they're going to pay us for exclusivity. If the boys drink anything on camera it's a Coke product. Think about it Charlie, if this was syndicated Spelling's goes national and we would get paid money from every station that carried it. The advertising would be built in like in movies, there's always a brand of cars and all kinds of products, even stuff like clothes and sunglasses." Dooby and Cory were listening intently. Dooby's face developed a huge white toothed grin, "National? We need a raise Uncle Tommy," Tom frowned and was about to retort. Dooby cut him off, "And don't go looking like you're having a heart attack, fair is fair." "Goddamnit Dooby, you haven't even finished the first show yet and you want a raise?" "Nope RAISES, two of them, but we'll be reasonable, after the show goes national." Tom rolled his eyes, "Okay when and if it happens, then you get raises." "ALL RIGHTY THEN! Let's get busy and finish this puppy. QUIET ON THE SET!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. "I believe that was my line." Scott grinned and stuck the camera's lens in Dooby's face. Dooby made a series of random faces and even scratched his nose with his middle finger before he got down to work. The boys relaxed. The test tape shot with the two fixed video cameras served as a rehearsal for the two complete nearly identical shows they produced in less than two hours that afternoon. They could have done it in less time but Dooby called for a halt when the oven buzzed to announce that the previous batches were baked and ready to be removed. When everyone was getting ready to leave the house to visit the store for the brief shopping segment, Dooby stopped them for a quick taste test. A comparison of brownies baked earlier in a store bakery that were to be taken out of the oven as newly baked, and which would be on sale in the bakery and those he baked using his mother's recipe. The pans were identical and the brownies in them looked exactly the same, Dooby's question was; did they taste the same. Cory got out glasses and a gallon jug of milk while Dooby did the honors with the knife. He and Cory knew which was which but the others didn't. Scott settled the steadicam back on his shoulders while the Christian, Kevin, Charlie and Tom gathered around the island counter. Dooby served them, he eyed his cousin critically, "Nice suit Uncle Tommy, did someone die I should know about?" Before Tom could answer he reached out and yanked Tom's tie, "Wow, sorry, I thought it was a clip on." Tom grabbed Dooby's wrist, "No, you little prick," he laughed, "Charlie and I finished up a deal this morning and we dressed for the occasion that's all," he looked uncomfortable giving out that much explanation so he turned the tables with a grin, "I hope you know how to tie a tie by this fall because you'll be wearing one five days a week you cute little preppy you." Charlie put a hand on Tom's shoulder and grinned, Christian covered his mouth to hide his pleased smile. He was the only other person Tom told about his new job and that was qualified with reservations concerning his ability to do it. "I guess this is as good a time as any to make an announcement. I'm retiring in a few weeks and Tommy has agreed to take over as Spelling's CEO and President, that's the real reason for the suit." Scott had the camera on Charlie and Tom, "Excuse me Mr. Spelling," he asked looking over his camera, "I was wondering if I could do a little news piece about that. I know a guy at a network, the announcement is news. It would be good publicity, plus I'll try to get a freebie for this show, I'll put it in but they might cut it, still it's worth a try." "Why would you want to do that?" Charlie asked with a grin. Scott tried to shrug in the Steadicam's harness, discovered he couldn't, so he cocked his head, "It would be a freelance piece and I'd get paid for it," he answered truthfully. Charlie gave him one definitive nod of his head, "Good answer, get as much as you can. Okay do it." "And if they use it," Tom added quickly, "you can expect a nice bonus from us too." "Ain't free enterprise great?" Charlie asked everyone with a giggle. Dooby was busy taste testing brownies while they talked. He did not look like a happy camper. Charlie noticed and the smile left his face, "What's wrong, they taste alike don't they?" "What? Oh, sorry Gramps yeah actually they do, there's a little difference, but I'd still buy them if I didn't want to bake a batch myself. We don't really have to wear neckties at that school do we? I thought all those pictures were of like seniors posing." Dooby pouted as if the dread necktie was a noose and he and Cory were sentenced to be hanged. Cory giggled with his mouth full. He backed out of Dooby's reach, "Of course preppies wear neckties, what world are you from anyway?" When he had the island safely between them, he cupped his mouth, "Earth to Dooby! Earth to Dooby!" Dooby started moving with a grin. Tom blocked him with his body, "Later, back to business. Are we agreed the brownies taste enough alike to be the same?" When everyone nodded, he started pushing Dooby toward the front door. "Come on guys let's roll, time's wasting." "Hold up there just a minute Tommy, you got them team shirts, where's mine?" Charlie asked petulantly while he pulled off his tie and unbuttoned his dress shirt. "Let's change. I'm with Dooby when it comes to ties." Dooby looked pleased. "However that's not going to get you out of wearing one to school," he added quickly and giggled when Dooby looked properly crestfallen. Tom handed out Team Spelling jerseys from a cardboard box after checking the first names stitched across the shoulders. He took Charlie to the bedroom to change and when Charlie called out to borrow a pair of shorts and sneakers, Cory and Dooby raced to their room. Charlie looked askance at Dooby's offered gym shoes, "What size are they?" "Only twelve's, that's why they're brand new, too small, Mom didn't know, I brought them for you Uncle Tommy. Before you ask I tossed the receipt with the box, then Mom said I didn't tell her they were too small and I said I did. She's still bitching about the ninety bucks down the old tube." Charlie choked, "Ninety dollars for a pair of sneakers?" Dooby rolled his eyes, "They're Nike cross trainers not sneakers. You're seriously dating yourself Gramps, gym shoes maybe, but no one calls them sneakers anymore except Dad and other old folks." Charlie saw a glint in Dooby's eyes; he knew he was being baited. He turned away to try on Cory's shorts, dropped them suddenly and tackled Dooby, carried him to the floor and sat on his chest. "Old folks? Too bad you ain't ticklish youngster I'd show you old folks." He bored in Dooby's sides with his fingers. "Oh you are ticklish!" Dooby started giggling, struggling and screaming for Cory to help him. Cory gave Charlie a gentle push on the shoulder, not sure how rough he should be. Charlie caught him with an arm around his knees and quickly had him face down across Dooby's head. He tickled Cory mercilessly. Cory screamed with delight at being tickled and from the attention of his father to be. Tom sat on the bed and watched the three wrestle. Dooby got his arms free and unseated Charlie by tickling him. Gradually, and only by acting as a team, did the boys gain the advantage and managed to pin the elderly man, but not without difficulty. Both were surprised by his speed, strength and agility; Charlie gave as good as he got. Tom called a halt when he looked at his watch, "Okay Charlie, that's enough horsing around. Damn, now I've got three kids on my hands," he complained with a laugh. Charlie mimicked Dooby perfectly, "Aw come on Uncle Tommy, we were just messing around. Next time we'll be a tag team out on the lawn so we don't break anything. It will be management against the brats!" Dooby countered with a giggle, "Nope, how about the movie stars against el cheapo management?" When the four returned to the great room, Charlie was wearing Dooby's shorts and Cory's size six gym shoes. Charlie's face was flushed; one arm rested comfortably over Cory's shoulders and his other stayed on Dooby's back. Cory and Dooby rode with Charlie to the store. They sat together in the front seat and by unspoken agreement between the boys; there were no overt or covert wandering hands. Charlie was pleased that they were acting just like he imagined other teens their age acted. He was still uncomfortable with their casual intimacies he'd witnessed on earlier occasions which labeled them as gay boys in love with each other, but he was learning that they were boys first. Everyone seemed to be in a hurry after they finished the store segment. Scott packed his equipment in his van and rushed off the begin editing the hours of video tape or tapes. He moaned that it was too late to get Charlie's sudden retirement announcement to his contact in the subsidiary of the national television station for the evening news, but made everyone promise to be up in time to see it in the morning business news watch segment of the morning news. Dooby and Cory ran to Charlie's truck after waving to Tom and Christian and barely taking time to say good by, or even joking about their plans to be alone together for the rest of the week. "I wonder where they're going in such a hurry," Christian wondered out loud." Tom shrugged his innocence, "Have you ever seen them not be in a hurry? They're probably excited about living at Charlie's. He gave them what used to be the master bedroom. Our whole house would fit in that suite with room to spare." "Our house?" Christian asked hesitantly in a soft voice. Tom reached across the console separating their seats to hold Christian's hand, "Yeah, after tonight, our house, ours forever." "Do you really think this will work? I mean us. Some straight couples split so fast, I worry." "We'll make it work. Let's make a pact, from now on if one of us has a problem we'll talk about it. We'll share everything and let's keep it exciting, no ruts, and only pleasant surprises," Tom squeezed Christian's hand. Christian nodded, "That's a deal. Would it surprise you if I said I want to have you for dinner tonight? I want to eat my fill and then some," he grinned with an eyebrow raised. Tom laughed, "Nope, great minds as they say, I was planning to have you for dinner too." He pressed the accelerator to the floor, "Man am I ever hungry." Charlie reached under his seat and brought out two velvet ring boxes before he moved the truck from its parking space. "Here guys, check these out, your mother's engagement ring and our wedding rings. I'm giving her the engagement ring tonight." Cory opened one box, the engagement ring sparkled greenly back at him, "Holy shit Dad, an emerald, a huge emerald. Mom will fall over backward when she sees this." "That's what's supposed to happen you duffus, on a bed," Dooby giggled. "What do you think engagement rings are for?" He opened the second box containing matching wedding bands. "Wow Gramps, these are beautiful. Can we get our rings at the same store? I wonder if they have the same pattern, it would be so cool if all six rings matched since we're all like one big extended family." Charlie grinned, "They more than match they fit together, try it with your mother's," he told Cory. "See how both are wavy? They lock together; mine would lock to hers except it's bigger so it's just symbolic." Dooby matched his hand to Cory's to judge their finger sizes, "Double cool we have the same size fingers so ours would lock together." He looked depressed suddenly, "Shit what are the chances of a jewelry store having four more rings exactly like these?" He answered his question, "Just about zilch. Shit, it would take weeks or months to order them." "Not if you happen to have an inspired father-in-law," Charlie laughed. "These were custom made for me by a goldsmith, an artist really who is himself inspired by cash for his creations. I had ours made last week on a rush basis after I popped the question. When you two started asking for loans to buy rings, I called him and ordered four more bands in the off chance that you might like the idea of them locking together. I guessed at the sizes but they can be resized if any don't fit. I was promised they'd be ready this evening." "Oh wow," Cory looked at Dooby shyly, "we can wear ours to bed tonight." In answer, Dooby manufactured an exaggerated protracted yawn. "I'm getting sleepy just thinking about the possibilities," he stretched, then snaked his arm around Cory's shoulders and winked before he continued, "after dinner of course. Say Gramps, what are we having anyway?" Charlie rolled his eyes and laughed, both boys were looking at him. Cory was just as interested in his answer to the question, "Trust you two to put passion aside for food, I believe I heard lasagna mentioned will that be all right?" Cory blanched and made gagging sounds. Charlie looked concerned, "What's wrong, don't you like lasagna? Your mother didn't say anything this morning." "Yeah Dad, I love it, but Mom can't cook that, the last time she tried it looked like spaghetti with a problem, a serious problem," Cory shivered. Charlie let out a belly laugh and pounded the steering wheel, "She told me that soon after we met. You're forgetting I have a cook who happens to be Italian, don't you worry about eating hers, or I suspect, going hungry either. She's excited about cooking for two teenagers. As soon as you meet her she'll be pumping you about what you like and don't like, then she'll cook whatever she feels like cooking anyway." While Cory sighed and wiped his forehead dramatically, Dooby turned serious, "Say Gramps, did you tell her about us? I mean if you didn't she's going to find out anyway sooner or later." "I had a little meeting with everyone to tell them what was happening, you know with your mother moving in and us getting married and that she would take over running the house. And I also mentioned that she has a gay son, like it or not. I asked if anyone had a problem with that, because if they did, well I'd be sorry to lose them, but I'd give them the highest recommendation." He smiled, "No one seemed upset by the news. They just shrugged and said as a group that it was none of their business, which it isn't. Lucille, my, or rather our cook just asked if you liked to eat anything different." Charlie blushed when he realized the reason he received two smirks in response. "Don't you dare say a word," he warned, "you know what she meant." He continued quickly, "Anyway, I think I told you that no one lives in, so you can be yourselves mostly when you're home, unless it happens to be during the day, five days a week, then I suggest that you just keep your hands in your pockets, your own pockets, or your door locked and save everyone a lot of embarrassment." When they left the jeweler's, each boy carried his own ring box with the rings in them after trying them on briefly. Charlie had the two for Tom and Christian in a small sack. He climbed into the driver's seat and suddenly looked in the back as if he'd misplaced something. He looked at Dooby sadly, "Dooby, my favorite son-in-law, I think you fucked up badly. If you want to get along with me in the future, you best not do it again." "What Gramps, what'd I do? I haven't done anything, have I?" Dooby asked pitifully, very sure he did do something to upset Charlie without realizing it. Charlie grinned, "Damn it, you forgot to bring along our share of the brownies!" Dooby realized Charlie was joking, "Damn Gramps, I did! Put the peddle to the metal Gramps we have to get to Uncle Tommy's fast man. He'll OD pigging out on our brownies! It may be too late already." He fished out his phone and dialed, barely containing his laughter. "Christian.............I know the do not disturb sign is out but this is important. Don't do anything until we get there, just for one minute, then we'll leave you alone. We have something for you, presents like, but you keep Uncle Tommy out of the damn kitchen, we forgot our share of the brownies.... Distract him, give him a blow job or something, I don't know.... Oh, well then get him to give you one. We're on our way. Bye." Charlie was red faced but laughing and shaking his head, "I'm going to make believe I didn't hear what I just heard." Dooby shrugged, "How was I supposed to know they were already getting it on together? They're the animals, and they call us rabbits and one track minds. At least we're waiting until after dinner, you know like real food. Do you know what they're planning on eating for dinner?" He asked Charlie seriously. "NO! And drop it right there!" Charlie roared. Dooby had to have the last word on the subject, "Okay, but understand that they're the animals, and dumb ones at that. They should know that stuff isn't filling even if it comes from someone with balls the size," "DOOBY!" Charlie shouted. ".of oranges." He finished his sentence. He and Cory traded elbows and giggles the rest of the short trip to Tom's. "I'll wait here; you give them the rings, grab our brownies and get your big mouth back in this truck." Charlie issued his orders to Dooby but his frown included his new son. "Damn Dad, I didn't say anything," Cory mumbled when he jumped from the truck, "and I'm the one with the oranges." "I can see this is going to be a long week," Charlie said to himself. "WE HEARD THAT!" Dooby shouted from the front door. "Did they like the rings?" Charlie asked five minutes later when the boys returned. Dooby was carrying a fair sized see through plastic box that was half full of brownies. "Did they ever, man, Christian especially, they put them on, and thanked us, then looked at each other, well, I guess you could call those rings stimulating. They forgot we were there. We helped ourselves, but I left them half," Dooby giggled. "Poor old Uncle Tommy is going to need an energy boost very soon. Good thing we waited until we're alone to put ours on, we wouldn't want to embarrass you or anything Gramps." Charlie rolled his eyes, "Thank you for being so considerate." The boys dropped their bags at the foot of the stairs and watched Laura greet Charlie with a protracted kiss. "Aren't you boys going to take your things upstairs?" Laura asked from the warmth of Charlie's arms. "We'll leave them until after dinner," Cory answered quickly before Dooby when he saw Dooby's lecherous grin. Dooby was satisfied with a yawn and "Yeah we're both pooped out so we'll be going up right after dinner anyway. Acting is really rough work; you know you have to be so careful of what you say all the time, plus we have to start on next week's show early tomorrow so it's out of the way for the weekend. We'll both need plenty of sleep tonight," he yawned again then sniffed the air. "Is something wrong?" Charlie asked after testing the air himself, "I don't smell anything." "Your house is too big, we can't smell Italian." Dooby sniffed again, "No wait, I've got it, this way." He took Cory's hand unselfconsciously and led them to the dinning room. One end of the long table was set for four with two places on each side. Dooby and Cory seated Laura and Charlie and went to find their dinners in the kitchen. As Charlie explained everything was ready. A big pan of lasagna waited in the oven, two long loaves of bread were covered with a towel on the counter and they found a tossed salad in the refrigerator. Both boys started yawning before dessert was mentioned. The yawns were partially legitimate due to two glasses of wine each drank with dinner. They excused themselves as soon as they finished their second helpings of lasagna and didn't start running for the staircase until they were in the hall. They didn't stop running until they were in their bedroom and the heavy door was closed with a resounding bang that Charlie and Laura heard in the dinning room. "Should we put them on each other now?" Cory asked shyly. Dooby pulled him into his arms and kissed him fiercely. Each could feel the other's erection. Dooby pulled back, "We better wait. If we put them on before we get cleaned up we'll end up spending the night in the damn shower." "Yeah," Cory agreed. They began stripping each other after reverently placing their open ring boxes on the bed. The shower was large, marble walled on two sides and glassed on the other two as befitted the master of a great house but it suddenly wasn't big enough for the two of them together. Both developed a case of modesty as they moved back and forth between the toilet closet. They avoided touching each other until the end when they actually used the space for its intended purpose, they washed each other except each did his own genitals. They laughed nervously when they discovered the towels were oversized bath sheets, more like small terry cloth blankets. Drying each other was easier, safer, the thick cloth separated fingers and hands from the bodies each longed to touch everywhere and forever. Cory took Dooby's hand to lead him back to the bed and the waiting rings. "You're on top tonight," he told Dooby. "Nope you are." The ritual negotiation began. Cory sighed, "Okay, pick a number from one to ten. If you guess it, you're the boss to start." Dooby nodded. His fingers closed on Cory's cock, "Eleven; no wait, better make it twelve tonight, man I've never seen you so hot." Dooby glanced at his still packed nylon carryall sitting on the floor. Cory giggled, lightening the atmosphere, "Don't even think about digging out your damn tape measure again. I would decide to marry a cabinet maker." He took Dooby's cock in his hand, "Nope, you lose, the number was seven, almost an eight tonight, a real diamond cutter. I'm the boss and you're on top." Dooby looked puzzled, "Why don't I ever win that damn game?" He picked up his ring. Their names were engraved inside the bands. He took Cory's hand, "With this ring I'm yours forever until death do us part." He slipped the ring on Cory's limp finger and kissed it to seal the bond. Cory placed his ring on Dooby's finger and repeated the same words and sealed it with his lips. Dooby lifted Cory's head with one finger under his chin. They kissed with a new intensity and sensitivity. Cory put his powerful young wrestler's arms around Dooby's neck and pulled himself up off the carpet. He locked his heels behind Dooby's knees. Dooby leaned back, turned and walked stiff legged two steps to the side of the bed before he allowed himself to relax his body to fall forward pulled off balance by Cory's weight. He looked down on Cory under him. After Dooby came with regrettable moaning speed the title, boss was forgotten. The game was played for fun, Dooby always allowed Cory to order him into the superior position because he wanted to please his petite muscular lover. He knew that after he finished, they would roll one hundred eighty degrees and then Cory would oblige his desire to feel Cory's behemoth deep inside his body and was often frustrated by Cory's continued caution and painful slowness in mounting him. It was Cory's slow speed that was most painful, not the entry. Of course Cory knew that once he was mounted, Dooby kept him locked there until he was satisfied that the oranges were no longer bursting with juice though never quite squeezed out completely. They were rudely awakened at ten minutes to five in the morning when the television turned on. They had gone full circle several times. Dooby snapped awake and opened his eyes to see Cory grinning down on him. Cory was still embedded but just barely. After they made love one last time, Cory put his head down on Dooby's shoulder and went to sleep. Dooby didn't complain because he was already asleep. "What the fuck?" Dooby asked, he made the mistake of moving too much to see the TV and Cory was free. "Damn," he grumbled, "when did you turn that on?" "Good morning to you too you fucking grump. Last night or early this morning while you were taking a nap break, then when you woke up I kind of was preoccupied and forgot to tell you. I didn't want to miss the morning business news so I set the timer. Dad's announcement, remember?" "Oh yeah, I was asleep? No way, I was just pretending so you'd go to sleep. You're an animal, do you know that, you're never satisfied. Just fuck, fuck, fuck all night." Dooby complained with a grin as he worked one hand between them to see if he could get Cory hooked back up again. Cory slipped free and rolled, "You were not pretending, you were even snoring, not much, just like little bubbles, I had to push your mouth closed." Dooby sat up to watch Cory's back as he half ran to the bathroom, "You could have filled it you know I would have liked that better. That would be the way to wake up, with your big cock in my mouth!" "No way!" Cory called back with a laugh, "You also grind your teeth. Get in here and shower so we can go down and make coffee." Dooby joined Cory. He looked down at himself, and then at Cory, "Hey, we aren't hard, maybe we're getting old." "Maybe we're all used up temporarily anyway." Dooby giggled, "Yeah, good thing cum is a renewable resource. We'll be up and running again by noon and we can have lunch." "We'll be working remember?" Cory answered with a giggle. "Yeah, but we've got a bedroom there and everyone has lunch," Dooby took Cory's soapy hand and held it with his so they could see their rings, "remember we're married now and on our honeymoon even though we have to work." He had another thought and started laughing, "You know if we're all limp and all, I wonder what the old guys look like. Let's see if we can find some Popsicle sticks and rubber bands to give them. Good thing I'm faster than Uncle Tommy." "Just remember that you aren't faster than Christian," Cory warned. The boys found Charlie in his library, attracted to the room by the sound of the television. He pointed them to a coffee maker with coffee ready and waiting sitting on a book shelf. The early business news came on at the top of the hour and the segment dealing with Spelling's came on within ten minutes and ran without interruption for three minutes of tape, Charlie made the announcement, Tom commented briefly then there was a voice over as the tape cut to Dooby and Cory welcoming viewers to their first show, then Dooby taking a pan of brownies from the oven and holding it tilted toward the camera. The tape cut again to the store interior. Dooby and Cory shopped while Charlie, Tom, Christian and Kevin followed them all dressed informally in shorts and their Team Spelling jerseys. The voice over concluded by saying that there was no doubt that Charlie was taking some degree of risk by intrusting his company to such a young untested but obviously dynamic team, then just before the segment faded Charlie turned toward the camera and answered, "I built this company by taking risks, if I was happy stocking shelves and bagging groceries when I was a teenager, their age," Dooby and Cory's smiling handsome faces flashed on the screen almost subliminally, "then that's what I'd still be doing, and if these young men were happy with their lives today they'd be off swimming while the world passed them by." The screen blinked back to the live show host in the studio. "Wow, Scott really came through for us didn't he?" Cory asked Charlie rhetorically. Charlie nodded, "If we had to pay him for half the cost of that kind of advertising, he'd be a rich man, but it would be worth it." He stood up and stretched, "Come on boys let's get down to the gym for our twenty minutes." Cory looked amazed, "Didn't you give Mom that ring last night?" Charlie sighed wistfully and nodded, "Of course, that was the plan." "And you mean you still have the energy to workout?" Dooby asked with a leer. Charlie giggled, "I think of her acceptance as invigorating. Look at you two; I'm surprised that you're up so early. I see you're wearing your rings." Dooby admired his gold band and giggled, "Just like you said Gramps, we could have stayed in bed, but then the world would have passed us by. Screwing around isn't everything you know," he intoned piously. Charlie's laughter echoed in the hallway, "No it isn't, but almost." When Charlie and the boys got to Tom's, Christian's car was already gone; Tom was busy straightening the kitchen, or trying to. The video cameras and other equipment were in the way. "I think I found the first tenant for one of the lofts. Our kitchen is not going to be a studio all summer," Tom moaned before he said good morning. "Where's Christian? You didn't have a fight already did you?" Dooby asked while he and Cory began getting out things they'd need for the roast. Tom grinned, "Nope, he's gone to the office, his office, he and Kevin are meeting Scott there. Scott's going to be our newest tenant; he just doesn't know it yet. We need to find a contractor to build a kitchen set overnight if possible." He saw what Cory and Dooby were doing, "Shit can taping the roast beef for today, Scott needs to finish getting the brownies edited and distributed. Cory, you can come with Charlie and I, and Dooby, maybe you can start doing some carpenter stuff with all the lumber in the basement." Dooby returned the roasting pan to the cabinet, "Yeah! Great idea! See you!" He pulled off his Team Spelling shirt, dropped his shorts, opened the door to the basement, turned, grabbed Cory and kissed him. He thrust his hips into Cory once before he pulled back and grinned, "See, just like I said, renewable. Have fun, stay out of trouble, call me if you're going to be late and don't seduce any bag boys, I'll take care of your problem tonight. Right now I have a plasma screen to earn!" He giggled and jumped into the basement stairwell. They heard him clomp on three treads before he reached the concrete basement floor with a dull thud. "What are we doing today Boss?" Cory asked Tom with a grin and slight blush which didn't come close to matching Charlie's after he glimpsed Dooby's almost instantaneous erection just before he disappeared. "We are going to catch up to Christian first and sign the papers for the old factory before you guys change your minds," Charlie answered quickly as he turned away. Tom laughed and nodded, "Yup that first, then we're going to go look at the new stores we just bought." Cory made a face, "We'll be driving all day, aren't they all in western Pennsylvania?" Tom and Charlie both laughed and nodded, Tom answered, "Your new father is full of surprises. There's a company plane." He shouted down to Dooby, "We might be late, we'll call you!" An Office Depot delivery truck was being unloaded when they got to the renovated loft building. Charlie registered his surprise at the speed of the delivery since Tom and Kevin hadn't gone shopping until after lunch Monday. Tom shrugged, "I told them that if what they had in stock wasn't delivered by eight o'clock today, that the order was canceled. It seems like office supplies and furnishings are as competitive as groceries." The contract signing took place in the loft on a half assembled computer desk. Christian was content to watch until Tom handed him his pen after he signed his name, "Here partner, your signature isn't legal yet, but it shows intent." Charlie signed his copy then pushed it toward Cory, "You too, my son, we're partners too from now on. If I sign, you sign." Cory wrinkled his nose when he saw his first name typed below a blank line, "Courtney? Can't I change it to Cory at the same time you adopt me?" Charlie laughed, "Change it to whatever you want after you reach your majority, but right now and until then it stays as is, Courtney. Look at it this way, Courtney is a power name when you get to Blair Academy; it just sounds like a pile of old money." "Maybe to them it will; to me it's a pile of horse shit." Tom giggled, "Even your partner's name will sound better in prep school; Harold W. DuBois the second sounds pretty high class too." "The second, really? He never told me that." "He's named after his paternal grandfather; trust me he's the second." Tom assured Cory, "Remember I was around when he was born." "Shit, old Dooby's French royalty!" Cory giggled, "When we get there I'll spread that around. I'll tell everyone he's the son of a Duke or Baron and he's incognito, maybe I'll make him a Prince and that he just wants to be treated like one of the guys which is why he learned to speak perfect English and won't speak French while he's here studying. He'll be scratching his head for months because no one will treat him like one of the guys, even the instructors." "Would you really do that?" Christian asked with an evil grin. "Sure, he'd do it to one of us in a heartbeat if he thought of it." "Too true, okay I'll help. We can even fuck up occasionally and call him Your Majesty or Prince Dooby. He'll laugh at first, and then he'll get pissed off when others call him that." Kevin, with a nervous looking Scott in tow came up stairs just as Charlie, Tom and Cory were leaving. "Okay," Scott moaned, "but just the loft, I don't need the office space downstairs. What do I do with it now that I'm leasing it? Where do I start? Man I don't know what to do first." Tom shook Scott's hand, "Don't worry about a thing, we'll build it out for you. The first thing you need is a set that looks exactly like my kitchen. That would be after we evict fifty years of bugs and spiders, just like we did in this one." He turned to Charlie, "It will be a couple of weeks before the remodel crews take on the new stores, and I thought we could keep them busy around here. They can cleanup all the interiors after they get done with Scott's space. The ad agency will pay us for them. Is that okay with you?" Charlie shrugged, "You're the boss. All they're doing now is make work in units around here. They're used to working fast and around normal store schedules," he lowered his voice after looking around, "when the building inspectors are sleeping," he added with a giggle. It was seven o'clock in the evening before they got back to Tom's. The house was quiet, the table was set with four places, Rob's car, and Kevin's truck were parked in front. Christian's car was in the garage and the aroma of roast beef filled the kitchen. Tom checked the pool; the surface was placid and the deck was dry. They heard the distant sound of rock music, the whine of a saw briefly, then the pop of a nail gun several times. Cory ran to the basement door, "HONEY WE'RE HOME!" He shouted down to Dooby. "Hey! Come on down and see your new shop!" Dooby invited. Tom and Charlie followed Cory. Tom had his fingers crossed and held them up for Charlie to see. Charlie smiled and nodded before he whispered, "I'll just bet the boy will reward your trust in him." Tom's mouth dropped open when he got to the foot of the stairs. The full basement was partitioned into two rooms, the largest, about two thirds of the space was vacant with cement block walls and exposed two by fours, the back of the new dividing wall. A new wide exterior door had been hung in the wall to close the shop off from the unfinished space. All three of them blinked at the intensity of the light from new recessed fluorescent light fixtures spaced strategically in the hung ceiling. Rob was fitting ceiling panels into the grid hiding thick insulation to act as sound proofing. Kevin handed him the new panels. Rob's six foot five inch height made the job easy for him. Christian had been helping Dooby finish up the work bench that traversed the new wall. Dooby was exuberant; he welcomed Cory with a casual hug, and then kept his arm over his shoulders. "Well Uncle Tommy what do you think? I wouldn't have gotten this far, but I made some changes, and I forgot about the ceiling. I called Kevin to get him to haul more shit from Home Depot. Rob was there and not doing anything so he came over with the truck, and Christian and Kevin rolled in about five, so I put them to work too. They're pretty good workers for rookies. I figured you guys would have to eat, so I put the roast in for you. It's done and just keeping warm in the oven. All you need to do is nuke some spuds and make a salad." He glanced at his watch, "Wow time flies when you're having fun. Okay guys that's enough for today. I'm starving," he looked down on Cory, "for food from the table first. Maybe we'll have time for a swim as soon as we get home to wash off the saw dust and burn up some extra energy." He frowned at his cousin, "Well, do you like it or not?" "Yeah I do, I'm flabbergasted, I may just take up wood working as a hobby now that you've done all this," Tom frowned slightly. "Tell me, where'd you get the money to pay for all this extra stuff?" "When I realized the whole basement was too big and that I forgot lights, I remembered that Dad has accounts everywhere including all the Home Depots in the area. I called him and he put my name on the account so I can just sign my name. You can pay him when I'm done." Tom nodded, "That's cool, but I'll give you a credit card to use in the future though." Dooby's chest expanded noticeably at the additional trust Tom awarded him. Charlie looked around the room nervously while Tom and Dooby talked, everywhere but at the four naked young men, all gay and all actually working creatively, apparently not stimulated by the sight of each other's athletic bodies and not embarrassed by his presence. He wondered if he and his bride to be could ever do something together in the nude without taking a sex break, or just giving up and finding a comfortable spot to spend the day in each other's arms. "Extra energy did you say?" Charlie asked Dooby, "Damn, what would it take to tire you out? Why don't you guys swim here, then we can go straight in to dinner when we get home? I believe I could use a stiff drink while I wait for you if I was offered one," he looked at Tom hopefully. "Me too," Tom agreed with a sweep of his arm toward the door. By the time Charlie and Tom reached the terrace with their drinks, the pool's surface looked as if it was being subjected to a mini hurricane with additional mega bomb blasts when one of the guys hit the water after jumping from the dive trampoline. "Come on in Gramps!" Dooby invited, "You can get in this pool without drowning and we'll stay in the shallow end to keep you company. We won't even try to duck you honest!" His grin indicated quite the opposite, before Rob got behind him, picked him up and pitched him into deeper water. Cory climbed Rob's back and held on with his arms around Rob's neck and his legs locked around his massive chest, leech-like in an effort to slow him down. Rob laughed and walked relentlessly into deeper water until he and Cory disappeared. Cory bobbed to the surface giggling, already looking for another old guy to pick on. "Don't they know?" Tom asked in a low voice after he pulled his shirt off, tossed it on a chair, and then dropped his shorts, ready to join the developing sea battle. "Nope, just Laura," Charlie grinned and began unbuttoning his shirt. "We took a dip last night after the boys went up to bed," he smacked his forehead with the palm of his hand, "I was going to order a portable spa today and I plumb forgot. Deep water is definitely not the place to get amorous," he blushed, "we spent half the night in the cabana, lucky for us the boys were occupied with their rings. Tom handed Charlie swim goggles, "Now would be a good time to show them all. Just remember the more aggressive you are, well, there aren't any rules in this pool except it's generally us old timers against the kids and since they're outnumbered they use some painful holds if you aren't careful." Charlie sat down to take off his sneakers and socks. He giggled, "They won't dare to honk me, but if they do, they'll find themselves honked right back." Cory climbed the ladder to the tramp and stood there for a moment to look for an unsuspecting target to jump on. Charlie's eyes widened. "I've seen him before, but I still can't believe that's real. That thing is lethal. How does Dooby, I mean, how do they, err, ah, I know they do, but it's a wonder Dooby's still alive. Never mind don't answer that, I was just thinking out loud," he added, turning scarlet as he stood to drop his shorts. Tom grinned, "Speaking in general terms, your new son is the most considerate and careful lover you'd ever want to get within twelve inches of if you know what I mean by that." Cory chose to join the fight between Christian and Dooby for the first rights to climb one of the deep end ladders while Kevin and Rob raced for the other. "There's my chance to get them both," Charlie mumbled and ran to the tramp. He pushed Rob and Kevin back, climbed the short ladder and jumped. He tucked his body into a cannon ball and landed inches behind the struggling laughing trio. All three looked back in surprise. Tom stood on the edge, ready to dive if Charlie got in trouble and was relieved when his head appeared. He used both hands on the top of Cory and Dooby's heads to duck them and push himself away to begin swimming slowly toward the shallows. The boys paced him, "When did you learn to swim Dad?" Cory asked. "Tommy taught me Monday." Charlie answered, carefully keeping his mouth above water, "Not bad for a beginner huh?" "Not bad at all," Dooby agreed, "but you need to relax a little and stretch out. Lift your arms higher. That will give you more pull so you'll go faster, like this, watch." Dooby demonstrated a more fluid stroke and kept his head above water since it was obvious Charlie wasn't about to get his face in if he didn't have to. He quickly pulled ahead and swam until he was chest deep. He stood up and waited for Charlie and Cory. "You can touch bottom here Gramps," he grinned, "except," he sank and pulled Charlie's legs out from under him. He surfaced, already swimming away, straight into a living wall of four old guys blocking his escape into deep water. Tom grabbed both of Dooby's wrists, "That wasn't very nice cousin. Get his ankles Christian," Tom ordered and looked at Rob and Kevin. "Let's have a contest. We'll see how far you can toss this little shit, and then Christian and I will give it a try." "Yeah," Rob agreed. "Best two out of three wins?" Kevin asked. "How about three out of five?" Christian countered over Dooby's laughing screams. Tom shook his head, "Nope let's be fair about this. I suggest seven out of ten." Christian laughed and started a tug of war with Tom using Dooby as the rope, "But what if we get good and throw him all the way across and he lands on the opposite deck, would that be an instant win?" Tom frowned and looked at Cory, "No way, we'll just catch some fresh ammunition." Charlie wrapped his arms around Cory, "I've got this one, you won't have to catch it, but maybe you should just switch loads half way through, you wouldn't want to wear either one of them out. Dooby still has some serious carpenter work to do and I hope you don't expect me to go home and tell this one's mother that he's in the hospital, not to mention the infomercials, think about the business first Tommy." Dooby struggled against being handed up to Kevin and Rob on the pool deck, but half heartedly. After they tossed him the first time he swam back willingly so Tom and Christian could have their turn. Charlie stayed in the water and practiced the stroke Dooby suggested between tosses and acted as the judge to see which team pitched him furthest across the pool. After toss number five, Cory stood between Kevin and Rob with his back to Rob and allowed his body to fall into Rob's arms. "Shit Cory," Rob complained. "You could have warned me. If I didn't catch you you'd have cracked your head on the deck." "I trust you," Cory laughed. "Yeah but I don't trust me." After Cory was thrown five times Dooby wanted to start over. Charlie climbed from the pool and sat down to sip his drink. "We better get home boys before a phone rings. We wouldn't want to make anyone mad at us would we?" Dooby flopped on a lounge nearby. He giggled, "The call wouldn't be for us Gramps, and if ANYONE got mad, they'd be mad at you. On the brighter side, if ANYONE did call, you could look forward to a long uninterrupted night's sleep for a change." Charlie raised an eyebrow, "You know Son-in-law, I could learn to hate you." Five o'clock Thursday morning was show time. Dooby woke Cory at four thirty and the race began to get showered, pull on old shorts and get down to the library. Both boys were nervous. Taping the show was fun, like making a home movie but the idea of it being seen by perhaps millions of strangers was just sinking in. Charlie had stores all over the northeast and they heard Tom talking about booking time on all the public broadcasting stations, the intensive five day campaign of advertisements placed on TV, radio and in newspapers touting the show's debut but none of that registered until the show started on the big screen television without first clicking play on the VCR's remote and they were powerless to stop the general public from watching them in their homes across almost a quarter of the country. Charlie and Laura walked in arm and arm, the coffee was made. They all sat down together on the low overstuffed sofa with steaming mugs. The show started, COOKIN' With DOOBY, wholly sponsored by Spelling's Supermarkets. Charlie kept one eye on the TV and the other on Cory and Dooby. The boys started watching the show sitting side by side with their bare feet on the coffee table in front of the sofa, but by the time the opening credits faded, Dooby had his back jammed in the sofa's corner and Cory was leaning comfortably against his chest. Dooby unconsciously began massaging Cory's pectorals and nipples. Cory and Dooby worked together like a modern comedy team, they were Rowan and Martin of Laugh In, or Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, updated, except they weren't imitating anyone since they'd never heard of Rowan and Martin or Laugh In. Charlie wondered if they knew of Dean Martin or that Jerry Lewis ever did anything but host an annual telethon on Labor Day weekend. The show progressed quickly; both boys were fast talkers and enunciated clearly. They alternately talked to each other and the camera. From the very beginning they started seeing tiny snatches of tape shot with Scott's Steadicam and little segments that should have been edited out. Dooby hollered "QUIET ON THE SET!" and Scott answered, "I believe that was my line," in a diminutive voice. Early into the first taping, Dooby was demonstrating how to crack an egg with one hand. He picked an egg from a bowl and promptly dropped it. There was a second of silence, then clearly a splat when the egg hit the tile floor. "SPIT!" was obviously dubbed in over Dooby's first word of choice. The Steadicam looked down Dooby's shorts clad legs to the floor and the broken egg, then moved up to Cory who was laughing so hard at seeing Dooby's facial expression, he rocked back and fell off his stool. Dooby looked down first, then at Cory. He rubbed his nose vigorously in Cory's direction and leaned into the camera. He shrugged with a grin, "This might be a good time to tell you about the paper towels we have on sale this week, I hope." While Dooby worked they sipped on cans of Coke and got into sports generally and Lacrosse specifically; they announced that Spelling's planned on forming a team and sponsoring a summer league. Cory repeated a toll free number that interested players without a team or a team representative could call to sign up or get more details. The show ended with Dooby removing a finished pan from the oven holding it up to the camera and then sniffing with his eyes closed. He looked very much like he was having an orgasm. The ending credits rolled up a black screen with a carefully edited group of voices; Dooby and Cory's were recognizable, Charlie's was not, "They taste alike don't they?" He asked hopefully. Dooby answered candidly, "Yeah, there's a little difference, but I'd buy them if I didn't feel like baking a batch myself." Cory shut off the television and both boys looked at Charlie hopefully without asking the obvious question. Charlie nodded once and began laughing, "What was it that Scott called the show, a boomer? I think he's right. We'll see what happens starting at seven when the stores open and by ten tonight we'll have all the first day ad sales in to look at. Yup, I think we have a boomer. You know it would be neat if you guys manned the switchboard for a few hours this morning. You asked for feed back and of course there's the Lacrosse league." He winked at Cory, "I think since you'll be working with Tom all summer, you should be the league president. It will give you a chance to exercise your organizational skills, and whenever you're in the office, have all the eight hundred calls transferred to you." Dooby started tickling Cory, "I second that motion Gramps!"