Nifty

On Sunday after church, Seth wandered down to Jordan's cabin and found him in the living room helping his dad hook up the TV they'd brought in the SUV. The satellite antennae was still in place on the roof, and Mr. Kelly had changed the service over online before leaving Chicago. He already knew they had internet so he expected cable to be a go as well.

"I hope there are some good channels here," Jordan said as he grabbed the remote, "Hey Seth, how was church?"

"Good actually, we had a guest preacher and he was pretty cool, and his sermon was short too," Seth laughed, "We stopped at the Dairy Stop and had burgers and shakes."

"Lucky, we had brunch," Jordan said, concentrating on the TV to see what channels were available, "this is lame, Dad, why didn't you get the same package we had back home?"

"Well, for one thing, they don't have the same package here, and for another, we don't need 200 channels. We'll have other things to do besides watch TV."

"I guess," Jordan groused, "at least we have internet. I can watch YouTube and Netflix."

"That's the spirit," Mr. Kelly chuckled, "I wonder what you'd do if we had no cable and no internet."

"There's always 4G," Jordan said grinning, "so far, so good, I have two bars most of the time."

"Yeah, there's a cell tower just across the lake," Seth offered, "but the further you get from it, the worse the service."

"Why don't you and Seth go out and get some fresh air and sunshine?" Mrs. Kelly suggested.

"Might as well," Jordan said, turning the TV off, "nothing on right now anyway."

"Thanks, I'm glad I can be second choice," Seth laughed.

"I didn't mean it that way," Jordan said giving Seth a smile, "Thank God you're here or I'd go nuts."

"Want to go fishing again?" Seth asked once they were outside.

"Nah," Jordan said frowning, "what else can we do?"

"We could go shoot some hoops. There's a court down past the RV pads."

"No basketball. All my stuff is on that moving van. Speaking of that, ugh...when it gets here tomorrow I'm gonna have to help unpack all that stuff."

"I'll come help ya, after school," Seth offered.

"Really? Cool, thanks man."

"You're welcome. Anyway, I have a basketball if you wanna play?"

"Sure, why not?"

When they got to Seth's cabin, Mack was watching a football game on TV and drinking a beer. 

"Hey guys, there's sodas in the fridge."

"Can I have a beer instead?" Seth joked.

"When you're 18 for sure," Mack chuckled.

"Aww, that's five years from now."

"By then maybe you'll be man enough to handle it."

"If you say so," Seth said rolling his eyes.

They grabbed a soda and Seth's basketball, and told Mack where they were headed, and he waved goodbye to them, but his head was in the game on TV at the moment.

"Your dad is like...super cool," Jordan said once they were outside.

"Your dad seems cool too."

"Yeah, but not like Mack. My dad was a business man...is a business man, and your dad is like...all buff and stuff.

"He works hard and gets a lot of exercise, but he eats like a horse," Seth laughed, "if he ever slows down he's gonna be as big as that horse."

"What was your mom like?" Jordan said, then winced, hoping it wasn't still a sore subject with his new friend.

"She was great," Seth said smiling at her memory, "so pretty, and kind...she loved everyone, but most of her love she gave to my dad and me. We were so happy," he said trailing off, then wiping at his eyes.

"Sorry, I can't imagine what it would be like if I lost my mom. I mean, yeah...I gave her a hard time about this move and all, but I know she loves me, and she'd never do anything to hurt me on purpose."

"Yeah, anyway," Seth said sniffing back a few tears, "it all worked out. You'll like it here, you'll see. And...you got me now," he said, jumping Jordan and practically dragging him to the ground.

They scuffled for a few minutes and that ended with Seth's arm around Jordan's neck as he led him onward to the basketball court. He didn't release Jordan till they got there, but Jordan sort of liked having Seth's arm around his neck. He and Lee used to hang on each other that way, and though he'd never admit it to anyone else, he and Lee used to hold hands when they were little kids.

Jordan smiled at the thought of that. He and Lee running through the yard hand in hand, their Easter baskets in the other hand as they hunted eggs together. They did everything together, he thought with a smile, and holding hands or hugging just came natural to them. 

He tried to remember when they'd outgrown that, and he decided they must've been about 9 or 10. He was surprised to realize it hadn't been that long ago, and he wondered what it would be like to do it now that they were older. Would it be so bad?

"Hey, goober, what's going on in that pretty head of yours?" Seth said, pulling Jordan out of his thoughts.

"Oh, sorry," Jordan said, accepting the ball from Seth and bouncing it a few times at his feet, "You ever hold hands with a girl?" he suddenly said, causing Seth to give him a weird look.

"Uh, no...why?"

"Just wondered, that's all," Jordan said, then he grabbed the ball and made his shot. The ball hit the backboard and rolled around the rim a couple times, but it fell in and dropped to the asphalt as Jordan let out a cheer.

"Dumb luck?" Seth snarled, then he grabbed the ball and walked it away from Jordan before making his shot from a few feet behind him. This one cleared the hoop and fell through the net, causing Seth to do a little dance, "That's the way...uh huh, uh huh, you do it."

They played basketball for about an hour, but it was obvious that Seth was a better player than he was, and Jordan soon got bored. He'd never been that great at any sport, but he liked baseball, and was considering Tony's suggestion that he try out in the spring. What could it hurt? and besides, it might be a good way to make new friends.

"Wanna go to my place and play some video games?" Seth offered.

"Dude, you have video games and you're just now telling me?"

"I don't play them that much, but I have a Wii and a few games. My dad got it for me last Christmas."

"Cool, I have a Wii too, and a bunch of games. You can borrow some if you want."

When they got to the cabin, the pickup was gone and Seth said Mack probably went  into town. 

"Does he leave you here all alone very much?"

"Huh? I'm 13. It's not like I can't take care of myself."

"I know, that's cool though. My folks would never leave me alone, they'd be afraid I'd burn the place down."

"Would you?" Seth asked as he led Jordan up the ladder to his loft.

"Probably," Jordan shrugged, "I'm only 12," he added in a baby voice.

"Shut up," Seth laughed, "I thought you said you were going through puberty, is that your voice changing?"

"I didn't say I was, you just assumed I was," Jordan teased.

"Well, are you, or aren't you? Do I have to take your pants down to see?"

"Nooo, " Jordan said in horror, "I am, I am, I got hair and everything."

"Everything? So you shoot the goo?" Seth said looking interested.

"Of course," Jordan said blushing, "but not a lot...yet."

"Yeah, you'll start shooting bigger loads as you get older. You can help it along though..."

"How?" Jordan laughed.

"By jerking off more," Seth said sounding serious.

"Really? That's just a myth, right?"

"Dunno, worked for me," Seth said, "I come loads."

"TMI," Jordan said shaking his head.

"Aww, come on, you know you're interested."

"Right. Just keep your big loads away from me," Jordan laughed.

"Your loss, I heard if you rub jizz into your skin it makes it softer."

"Ugh, shut up," Jordan groaned, "are we gonna play video games or talk about your jizz?"

"We can do both," Seth teased.

"Just get the game started..."

They were quiet for a while as they played, and when the conversation started back up, the talk had nothing to do with sex. They continued to play games for a while longer, but neither boy really seemed to have their head in it.

"Wanna watch a movie or something?" Seth offered, "I could pop some popcorn."

"Okay, sure...sounds good," Jordan said, saving his game and putting away the controller.

"There's some movies there on the bookcase. If you wanna pick one out I'll go get the snacks."

When Seth was gone, Jordan rifled through the DVDs on the bookcase and found one he hadn't seen, then looked around for a player, then he realized Seth must use his Wii as a player. He often did that himself, though he also had a small DVD player. 

He cued up the movie and watched the previews while he waited for Seth, then paused it at the beginning titles. Presently, Seth returned carrying a huge bowl of popcorn and two sodas. He handed Jordan one of the sodas, then suggested they lay on his bed to watch the movie.

With their backs propped against the headboard with pillows, the bowl of popcorn between them, they started watching the movie, enjoying their snack and each other's company.

"Good choice," Seth said, "this is one of my favorite movies."

"I've never seen it, so don't give anything away," Jordan warned.

"Really, it's not a new movie or anything."

"I know, but I never rented that many movies back home. Mostly I watched em on cable or on Netflix."

"I bought this one at a thrift store for 3 bucks," Seth said, "I buy a lot of my movies there. People watch em, then get tired of em, and give em to the thrift store, and they sell em cheap."

"Cool, you'll have to take me there sometime."

"Yeah, totally."

The popcorn lasted through about half the movie, and they drained the last of their sodas and tossed the empty bottles in the trash. After that, Seth decided to make himself more comfortable and he laid down on his stomach with his head at the other end of the bed.

Jordan watched him as he stretched out, noting how his pants pulled up into his crack, accentuating his perky butt, and how muscular his back and shoulders looked. He envied him his more developed body, and hoped he might soon start to build some muscles as he went forward into puberty and got more exercise at the campground.

"Are you staring at my butt," Seth teased.

"Nooo!" Jordan said, realizing he actually had been doing just that.

"It's okay if you were. I'm not shy, and I know I have a nice butt."

"If you say so," Jordan laughed, "is that something girls like?"

"Some do, and a lot of boys like it too," he laughed.

"How do you know? Have you been showing it off for the boys at school?"

"I get my share of looks in the shower," Seth said, "you know how guys are? Always curious about other guys look  and how they compare."

"Yeah, I get that. So...you have to shower naked at your school?"

"Depends on what hour you have gym class. If it's any period except last period you have to shower. If you have last period, it's optional."

"Uh, what period do you have it?"

"Right after lunch, so I have to shower, cause I have two more classes after that."

"Maybe I'll get last period."

"Aww...don't you want to have PE with me?"

"I dunno, I guess it would be okay since I already know you."

"Yeah, we'll just have to get naked together before then so there will be no surprises," Seth laughed.

"Seriously? You just want to see me naked," Jordan teased back.

"Maybe," Seth sort of growled.

"Are you gay or something?" Jordan joked.

"Something," Seth said shrugging, "I reckon everybody is something."

"What does that mean?" 

"Dunno, nothing I guess. Hey, you're missing the best part here, "Seth said, deflecting attention back to the movie.

They were silent for a while, then Jordan reversed directions and joined Seth at the other end of the bed. Seth gave him a little smile and nodded his head, then went back to watching the movie, but Jordan could tell his thoughts were elsewhere.

Little else was said after that, and eventually the movie ended and Seth slid to the floor and ejected the DVD and put it back in the case, then returned it to it's place on the bookcase. He was a stickler for keeping his room neat and tidy, and his motto was: a place for everything, and everything in it's place.

"Let's go see if dad's back," Seth suggested, though he hadn't heard his dad's pickup drive up, it was an excuse to get out of his room.

Mack's pickup was still missing, and Seth decided that his dad must've gone over to his friend Larry's who lived in Kenwood. They'd been friends since they'd moved to this area and often sat around drinking beer and swapping stories. Occasionally Larry would visit them and they'd have supper or go fishing, but most times his dad preferred to go to Larry's house. 

"Probably at Larry's" Seth said, explaining about his dad's friend, "He lives on the side of a hill and there are a lot of evergreen trees there. That's where we usually get our Christmas tree. I wonder if that's why he went there. He usually takes me with him though," he added sounding a little upset.

"I wonder if we can get a tree for the office and one for our cabin from him?" Jordan wondered.

"Oh sure, he has lots of trees."

"Dad will pay him for them, I bet."

"No need, Larry don't mind."

They were interrupted by the sound of a vehicle pulling up out front and the sound of a horn honking.

"That's dad," Seth said, "let's go see what he wants."

"Hey guys," Mack said as he met the boys out front.

"Where were you dad?"

"I was in town. You boys want to go with me to Larry's to get us a tree?"

"Yeah!" Seth said excitedly, "Hey dad, can we get three trees? Jordan and his folks need one for the office, and one for the cabin."

"Sure, do you need to stop by and ask your folks if you can go with us?"

"I'll call em, I'm sure it will be okay."

Jordan made the call, and as predicted, received his folks approval and soon they were on their way. The trip back into town only took about ten minutes, and at the traffic light they turned left and started up a steep grade, then traveled along a winding road till they came to another crossroad. At the crossroad, they turned right and traveled a mile or so further before Mack turned off onto a gravel drive that wound around and up a hill. They traveled the road till it leveled out before a two story house with several outbuildings behind it, and Mack came to a stop next to an old Ford Pickup.

The house was neat looking, but looked as if it could use a coat of paint. A broad porch ran along the entire front of the house with two doors leading out onto it, the doors bordered by two sets of double windows.

A tall slender man with dark hair came out presently and met them as they climbed out of Mack's pickup.

"Hey Mack, hey Seth buddy. Who's this you got with ya, did that love child finally catch up with ya?" he teased Mack.

"No such luck," Mack said easily, "this is Jordan Kelly, his folks bought the campgrounds.

"Hey, good to meet ya Jordan. Where ya from?"

"Chicago," Jordan said, looking the man over. He was slender, but not skinny, and looked like he had muscles in all the right places. He was handsome with dark eyes and a nice smile, even if his nose did seem to be too large for his face. His skin was a reddish color, and Jordan figured the man was Native American to some degree.

"Been there...once," Larry said, "not for me. Big cities are okay to visit, but wouldn't wanna live there."

"It's not so bad, we lived in the suburbs and it was pretty nice."

"So, what are you guys up to? Come on in and get something to drink."

"We came tree hunting," Mack said, "but I will take a beer if you got one."

"Me too," Jordan laughed.

"That's two beers and two root beers," Larry said laughing.

"They followed Larry inside, and Jordan looked around the huge front room. There was a grandfather clock near the door, and bookcase and curio cabinets with all sorts of neat items, and Jordan thought the place looked more like a museum than a living room.

"My momma, God rest her soul, collected all this stuff," Larry explained, "and I didn't have the heart to get rid of it, so I just sort of live with it."

"I think it's neat," Jordan said, examining a cabinet full of china figures, "it's like a museum or something."

"Yeah, there's lots of neat stuff here," Seth added, "you should see the doll collection upstairs."

"Yeah, my mom collected dolls too. She must have a hundred or more. They're in what used to be her bedroom now. Someday, maybe I'll donate them to a museum or something, but for now...they're right where mom left em."

Once they had their drinks, Larry grabbed a jacket and a saw, and led the three into the backyard, through a gate and into a stand of trees. They walked along a fairly well worn path, and eventually came out near a small pond. On the far side of the pond was a stand of evergreen trees, ranging from a few feet in height to 20 feet or more.

"Wow, there are lots of trees," Jordan exclaimed, "did you plant them, or did they just grow here?"

"Both, this land has been in my family for over a  hundred years, and my great great grand pappy planted a lot of trees when he first moved here. Some of the evergreens were already here and more have sprung up over the years."

"That's a nice one," Jordan said running toward a tree that stood at least 8 feet tall.

"Might be a little big for the cabin, but the office has a high vaulted ceiling, it would fit in there," Mack said.

"Yeah, I guess we need a smaller one for the cabin."

They wandered around looking at all the trees, and finally decided on three that looked nice and full, including the 8 foot tree Jordan had first spotted. They took turns sawing down the trees, and between the four of them they managed to drag them back to the house. 

Mack drove his truck around the side of the house to the backyard, and they loaded the trees, and after saying goodbye to Larry, they headed home. First stop was the office, and they found Mr. Kelly there doing some paperwork.

"Merry Christmas," Mack said jovially as he pulled the evergreen tree inside.

"Wow, that's a nice looking tree. Just right for in here, unfortunately I don't have a tree stand till the moving van shows up tomorrow."

"There should be one in the storage room," Mack said, "Seth, go see if you can find it."

Jordan followed Seth to the storage room, and as they looked for the tree stand they discovered boxes of Christmas decorations, which they pulled out and stacked by the door. Finally, after pulling out one last box, Seth located the tree stand and added it to the stack.

"Wanna help us decorate the tree?" Jordan asked hopefully.

"Only if you'll help us decorate ours."

"Deal," Jordan said, "but we might not have time to do all three trees tonight."

"True, we'll do the one in the office tonight and the ones for our cabins can wait. I have school tomorrow, and you have the moving van coming, so maybe after I get home we can decorate them."

"Yeah, that works."

It took two trips to get all the boxes, but by the time they had them moved, Mack and Mr. Kelly had the huge tree in the holder and upright. After a bit of adjusting here and there, they finally got it level, and arranged it with the fullest side out.

"We should test these lights before we put them on the tree," Mack suggested, finding an outlet and plugging the first strand in. He was rewarded by a hundred twinkling lights, and after unplugging them he handed them to the boys to put on the tree. There was one more 100 light strand, and after testing and replacing a couple of burned out bulbs, they added those to the tree as well. 

The boys plugged the lights in, then fussed with them till they were satisfied they were distributed evenly, before starting on the ornaments.

Mrs. Kelly showed up shortly after that and joined in the fun as well. She'd put a roast in the oven to cook and suggested that Mack and Seth join them for supper.

"If you're sure you have enough," Mack said, "We don't often get good home cooking. I'm afraid I'm pretty limited in the kitchen. If it wasn't for Seth I'd probably starve."

"I make a mean spaghetti," Seth said grinning, "and my omelets are epic."

"I love omelets," Jordan said, "you'll have to cook breakfast for me sometime."

"Oh, we don't just eat them for breakfast. Sometimes we have them for supper."

"Mmm...sounds good."

With everyone helping, they had the tree decorated in no time at all, and then began decorating the rest of the office. There was garland with pine cones on it,  and hanging bells, as well as a nativity scene, and a dozen or so snow globes which Mrs. Kelly arranged in the window sill.

By the time they had the decorating done, the roast was ready and Mrs. Kelly enlisted the boys help in setting the table and getting the drinks. A pan of biscuits came out of the oven last, and soon everyone had a plate full of food, and it was quiet for a while as they began to eat.

Eventually, the subject of the moving van came up, and Mack offered to help the Kellys get things situated. Seth begged to skip school and offered to help too, but Mack wasn't having it.

"Nice try, you can help after school. You won't miss that much. I'm betting the movers won't get here much before noon."

"Unfortunately, you're probably right," Mr. Kelly said, "but we don't have that much stuff. We sold a lot of our furniture since the cabin is much smaller than our old place. It shouldn't take too long to get it all in place."

For dessert, Mrs. Kelly served a store bought cake she'd picked up at the grocery store, and though not as good as homemade, there was only a few crumbs left when they got up from the table. 

The boys offered to help with the dishes, but Mrs. Kelly shooed them out of the kitchen and told them to go take care of the trees. Since they didn't have the holder yet for the tree for the cabin, they took the tree to the back porch and stood it in the corner where it would keep till tomorrow.

Eventually, Mack said he and Seth needed to get home, and after thanking the Kellys for dinner and saying goodbye, they drove off as Jordan waved to them. When he got back inside, his parents were watching TV on the little set they'd brought in the SUV. This TV was actually the one that belonged in Seth's room, but it was smaller and more manageable than the 55" TV that was on the moving van.

Jordan fell down on the ragged couch that had come with the cabin, and his mom reached over to smooth the hair from his eyes.

"Did you have a good time with Seth today?"

"Yeah, it was okay," Jordan said, not wanting to sound too enthusiastic.

"Just okay," Mr. Kelly laughed, "You two seem to be getting pretty close."

"It's not like I have anyone else to hang with," Jordan mumbled.

"So, Seth is just convenient?" his dad asked.

"No, I didn't mean it that way," Jordan said, realizing he was getting into dangerous territory here.

"I happen to think Mack and Seth are pretty nice guys," Mr. Kelly said, "and we're lucky to have them here. Not only are they good workers who will help us keep this place running, they're good companions as well."

"I know, I like them too," Jordan admitted, "I just miss home and my old friends."

"That's only natural," his mom said softly, "but the pain will ease as you get used to things here. I think Seth will be good for you. He knows his way around and he's a nice young man. I feel safe knowing you're with him. I don't worry nearly as much as I did back in Chicago."

"There are more guns here than in Chicago," Jordan laughed.

"Yes, but here they use them to shoot game, not people," Mr. Kelly chuckled.

"Are you gonna get a gun dad?"

"No, well...maybe, " he said meeting his wife's stare, "maybe a rifle, just in case I decide to go hunting with Mack sometime."

"When was the last time you went hunting?" Jordan laughed, "besides at the supermarket?"

"Funny guy huh," Mr. Kelly said, reaching across his wife and tickling Jordan who erupted in giggles.

It had been a long time since his dad had tickled him like this, or paid that much attention to him for that matter. Maybe things would be better here. When they lived in the city, his dad was working a lot, and he really didn't see him all that much. Now his dad was practically working from home, and he'd have lots of free time. Even when it got busier in the summer, his dad would still be right here close at hand so, maybe this was for the best.

"Stop...dad...or...I'm...gonna...pee...on...you," he said between gasps.

"Not on our couch, and besides, I'm way over here. You'll probably just get the pee on your mom," his dad said, not letting up at all.

"Boys," Mrs. Kelly said, shaking her head, "settle down, I'm trying to watch this program.

"I gotta go take a shower," Jordan said once he'd pulled free. Then I'm gonna call Lee."

"Tell him we said hello," Mrs. Kelly said, her attention still on the TV.

After his shower, Jordan dressed in sweats and piled down on his bed and called his best friend back in Chicago. Lee answered almost immediately and sounded happy to hear from him.

"What you been up to?" Jordan said stretching out on his bed.

"Not much, just chillin'. How're things in the sticks?"

"Cool actually," Jordan said, then filling Lee in on his day.

"Wait, you have to go out and cut your own Christmas tree? Is this like that movie, Christmas Vacation?" Lee laughed. It was one of their favorite movies, and they'd watched it every year, mouthing the words along with the actors on the really funny parts.

"Sort of," Jordan laughed, "we needed a coffin...I mean a tree..." he said, quoting a line from the movie,  then both boys cracked up laughing.

"Oh man, I wish I was there. Was their snow, and did you take the family truckster?"

"No snow, and we took Mack's pickup truck. It's this huge 4-wheel drive Chevy."

"No snow, that sucks. Does it ever snow there?"

"Sometimes, I guess, but Seth says it's usually sunny on Christmas day."

"That's whack. I love the snow. Too bad you couldn't of stayed here for Christmas."

"Yeah, I guess, but it's not so bad here..."

"Uh oh, are you starting to like it there?"

"Maybe, a little. I mean, if I gotta live here I might as well try to adjust, right?"

"I guess, but what happened to the plan to make your folks lives so miserable that they'd want to move back?'

"Well, I guess that was sort of selfish of me, and not very realistic either. They didn't do this to hurt me, they did it because they were worried about the violence back there."

"Great, so leave me here to get shot up," Lee scoffed.

"You can come live with us," Jordan offered.

"Yeah, like that's gonna happen," Lee laughed.

The conversation moved to less controversial subjects, and they enjoyed the rest of their time talking. When it was time to say goodbye, Jordan felt a little teary-eyed, then he remembered the last time they'd spoken and Lee's parting words. If he said it again, Jordan decided with determination, I'm gonna say it back.

"I gotta go man, talk to you soon," Jordan said at last.

"Yeah, I gotta go too, school tomorrow. No vacation for me. Stay outta trouble dude. Miss ya," 

"Miss you too," Jordan said, still expecting the words to come.

"Yeah..." Lee sighed, "I can't wait till summer to see your ugly face."

"Yeah, me too, hey, we could Skype or something sometime."

"Yeah, totally. I'm up for that. Maybe we can do a naked chat," he teased.

"I think that's illegal, goofball."

"Probably, okay...gotta go. Miss ya, talk to ya later...uh, love ya."

There it was, and Jordan wasn't about to let his opportunity pass to reply, "Yeah, love ya too," he heard himself say, and though he blushed, he knew it was the right thing to say.

He waited for Lee to end the call before switching off his phone, and when he did, he laid it on the bed and stared at the ceiling for a while as he collected his thoughts. Does he mean he loves me, loves me? Or that he loves me like a bro? The truth was, he didn't even know about his own feelings. He knew he loved Lee, always had, but what did he know about love? Was it because they'd always been buds that he felt this way, or was it more than that? He didn't think he was gay, he didn't really think about boys that way, or girls for that matter, but maybe this wasn't about being gay or straight or anything. Maybe it was just about having feelings for someone, regardless of whether they were a boy or a girl.

***********************************

As expected, the movers didn't arrive till after noon the next day, but by the time Seth returned from school they were gone. Everything had been moved inside and Jordan was busy putting away his stuff and arranging his room while his folks and Mack dealt with the rest. Mack had showed up as soon as he saw the van pull in and directed them to the cabin and had even helped unload the van. 

Seth went straight to Jordan's room, took one look and sighed, "Dude, what a mess," he chuckled.

"Very funny, if you don't like it, help me."

"Okay, let's start with your bed. If you get it set up, nothing else will matter. You can at least get a good night's sleep."

"Right, I couldn't do it alone, I was waiting for you."

It took the boys about a half hour to get the bed set up and the headboard attached, but fortunately all the hardware was in a bag taped to the frame. The bolts were secured with wing nuts so they didn't need any tools, and without much trouble they had the bed assembled without injuring themselves.

Seth fell across the queen size bed once they were done, and just lay there staring at the ceiling for a moment, "Wow, this is a big bed. When I sleep over, I can just sleep with you."

"When you sleep over?" Jordan chuckled, "Are you inviting yourself?"

"Well, we're best friends, right? Best friends sleep over, it's that simple."

"I guess," Jordan said falling down beside his new "best friend" and thinking about Lee once again. He thought about all the sleepovers they'd had, whether at his house or Lee's, and they'd always slept in the same bed, right up to the very last time, just before the move.

"I promise I won't molest you," Seth giggled, "at least not on the first sleepover."

"That's reassuring," Jordan said shaking his head, "so what about the second time?"

"Oh, eager to be molested, are you?"

"No. Shut up," Jordan laughed, "Ugh, I still have all those boxes to unpack. I didn't know I had so much stuff till we had to move it all half way across the country."

"What's in those boxes anyway?"

"Clothes, shoes, my games and toys, my Wii and my games, my books, my models, you know? All my worldly treasures," he laughed.

"Yeah, well...you tell me where it goes and I'll help ya. Don't forget we got two trees to decorate this evening."

"Yeah," Jordan sighed, "come on, let's get at it then."

Mack suggested since they would be busy decorating the trees, that they get some take out, and volunteered to drive into town and pick something up. They settled on chicken, and although there was no national chain chicken place nearby, there was a mom and pop place called Auntie's Chicken in the small town that had outstanding fried chicken and all the fixings.

Knowing how much food two boys could eat, he bought two buckets as well as a half dozen sides and for dessert a whole apple cobbler, which was made fresh daily at Auntie's.

As soon as Mack showed up with the chicken the boys, sniffed the air and forgot all about the Christmas tree. They were all too eager to help Mack bring the sacks in, and soon they were sniffing around the food like two hungry dogs.

"Wash your hands and I'll grab some paper plates and plastic ware," Mrs. Kelly chuckled, "you'd think you boys were starved."

"It's the smell of fried chicken," Mr. Kelly said, "I never saw a boy who didn't react that way to fried chicken. I remember when my mom used to fry her famous chicken on Sunday afternoons, we had kids from all over the neighborhood show up for dinner."

"Your mother is a wonderful cook, I only wish I could cook half as well as her."

Thinking his wife was fishing for compliments, Mr. Kelly laughed, "Dear, your cooking is outstanding, I wasn't comparing your cooking to hers."

"I know that," Mrs. Kelly said swatting at him, "but she is a very good cook."

"Mom, dad...less talking, more eating," Jordan fussed, "I haven't eaten since lunch, well...except for that sandwich about three, and those cookies..."

Mack laughed, "I'm sure you won't starve to death in the next few minutes. May I suggest we sit down and say grace?"

"Oh, sorry," Jordan said, feeling embarrassed, "yeah, good idea."

They sat around the table and Mack said a short grace, then looking up he smiled, "Thanks for inviting us into your home and for treating  us like friends," he said sounding very emotional.

"You're so welcome," Mr. Kelly said, "you and Seth are always welcome here, but it is us who feel like we've won the lottery. We had no idea what sort of problems we were going to run in to when we moved here, but with both your help, we're starting to relax some."

"Not to mention that since Jordan has met Seth, he's gone from surly to happy," Mrs. Kelly laughed, "Yes, it's us who are grateful for your friendship and help. You are both wonderful guys, and we're looking forward to getting to know you better."

"Well, thanks...thanks a lot. It's easy to be nice to nice folks, and that one," he said pointing at Jordan, "has lifted my boy's spirits too. I think they're a good match," he chuckled.

"Dad, we're right here," Seth moaned, "can we talk about something else?"

"Yeah, someone please...please hand me a chicken leg," Jordan whined, and everyone laughed.

After dinner, with greasy fingers and full tummies, the boys went off to wash up again and get back to work while the adults cleaned up the mess. They had most of the ornaments on the tree by the time the others joined them, and presently the Kelly family Christmas tree was pronounced finished.

"Grab your jackets everyone," Mr. Kelly said, "it's time to head to Mack's and do this all over again."

"We could wait till tomorrow night if you guys want," Mack said, "but the two boys vetoed that idea, and Mr. and Mrs. Kelly agreed.

"No, we hardly got to do anything with this one, thanks to the boys," I'm looking forward to putting a woman's touch on Mack and Seth's tree," Mrs. Kelly laughed.

"Well, okay then, let's roll," Mr. Kelly said, "I may not be the best tree decorator there is, but what I lack in talent, I make up for in height," he chuckled, "I can put the star on top."

"Oh, we don't have a star," Seth informed him as they headed out the door, "we  have an Angel. It was my mom's. She had it since she was a girl, and we put it on the tree every year," he said, then looking sad he added, "and she's an Angel looking down at our tree."

"Oh sweety," Mrs. Kelly said slipping an arm around the boy, "I bet she is very proud of both of you. I know it's hard, but it will get easier eventually. The pain never goes away, but in time it won't hurt so bad. And in the meantime, anytime you need a mother's hug, I'm here for you."

"Thanks," Seth said wiping at his eyes, "I'm fine," he sniffed, "Sorry...it's just that she loved Christmas so much."

"That she did," Mack said sounding sentimental, "She decorated to the max and made me help," he chuckled, "she had me climbing all over the roof to put up those dang lights."

Mr. Kelly laughed, "Yes, I know that story," he said, giving his wife a smile, "Tomorrow that will be me."

"Oh hush, you know  you love it as much as we do," she said punching  her husband playfully.

"Yes, I must admit, I do love exterior illumination," he laughed, and Jordan joined in, another line from Christmas Vacation, their favorite Holiday movie.

At Mack's cabin, they were glad to see that Mack already had the tree in the holder and ready to go. They started with the lights, some miniature, as well as some shaped like candles that were filled with liquid and bubbled when lit up.

"Oh cool," Jordan said, "these are so cool. Mom, dad, we gotta get some of these."

"They're hard to find, we've had these for  years," Mack said, but I have seen them online at Ebay and places like that. My wife loved those lights, they were her favorite," he added, but this time he was able to smile, "She said they reminded her of her childhood."

"Yeah, and now it's our memory," Seth said as he grabbed a box of ornaments,  "these are glass, so be careful Jordy. Dad brought them back with him from Germany, right dad?"

"Yes, I went there when I was working for GE, Seth was just a baby so he and my wife stayed home. I missed them so much, but when I found out that the Germans made the finest glass ornaments in all of Europe, I knew what I needed to do. Lizzy, my wife....loved those things. She treated them like her children," he laughed.

"They're lovely," Mrs. Kelly said, "you can't find this kind of quality in the US these days. Jordan, be careful son."

"Mom, I'm not going to break anything," he said rolling his eyes, "besides, I think I'll let Seth put those on. I'll just work on this other box here, they don't look as fragile."

In no time they had the ornaments in place, and after a little adjusting they finally pronounced it perfect. Mack turned out the room lights and they sat down to admire their work. Mack then offered them refreshments, but they were all still full from dinner and they declined.

They sat and visited a while before Mrs. Kelly suggested they should call it a night, and though the boys protested at first, they finally agreed as well. They said their goodbyes at the door, and Jordan and Seth bumped fists and secretly promised to text later after the rents were asleep.

Once the Kellys were gone, Mack turned to his son, "They're really nice folks kiddo, we lucked out this time. We could've had some jerks for bosses," he laughed.

"Yeah, I know, and Jordy is super cool," he said, not hiding his enthusiasm for his new friend.

"You guys are getting close pretty fast, but then you've always made friends easily, even as a little kid."

"Yeah, well...I know a good guy when I meet one, and Jordy is super cool."

"I agree," Mack said ruffling his son's shaggy hair, "I think someone needs a haircut."

"No way, old man," Seth said breaking away, "You need a haircut, not me."

Mack chuckled, "Okay, how about a trim anyway? I promise I won't make it shorter, just neaten it up."

"Maybe tomorrow," Seth said, "I'm gonna go take a shower, I'm beat."

"Okay, tomorrow then. Holler at me when you're done, I could stand a shower too."

"Or, you could just take a shower with me," Seth said easily, "it's not like we  haven't seen each other naked," he added rolling his eyes.

"That's true, but I want a long hot shower and you hog all the water," Mack chuckled, "so, go...take a shower, and save me some hot water."

"Okay, okay..." Seth muttered as he headed to the bathroom.

When he was gone, Mack went to his room and stripped down to his boxers. It had been a long time since he and Seth had showered together, though he was right, they had seen each other many times naked recently. There was no modestly between them and hadn't been ever since his wife had died. With just the two males living in the house, the clothes taboo had soon disappeared, and neither thought anything of running around in just underwear, or of being seen naked on the way to the bathroom.

He loved his son, and had no perverse feeling toward him, but he was happy to note that he was progressing nicely and had entered puberty early. He'd first noticed Seth's sprinkling of hairs above his larger penis and had found signs of his ability to produce semen on his bed sheets.

After the second time he'd had a talk with his son and suggested he use an old sock or a towel to catch his emissions. At first Seth was embarrassed and guilt ridden, but Mack hugged him, and assured him that all boys did it, and it was natural and normal, and Seth relaxed some. In fact, now that Mack had basically given him the go ahead to masturbate, his sessions became more frequent and now totally guilt free.

This was just one example of why Seth thought he had the best dad in the whole world. He knew there was nothing he couldn't ask his father, nothing that he couldn't share with him, and yet he was reluctant to share these new feelings he'd been having lately.

Feelings that he'd pushed to the back of his mind until...until he'd met Jordy. Was it possible to like a boy like some boys liked girls? He wasn't stupid, he knew what gay meant, but his knowledge of such things was somewhat limited having grown up in such a small town environment.

He wondered if Jordan had a broader knowledge of such things, being from a big city and all. Surely there had been gay boys back there in Chicago, but if so, would Jordan have known any of them personally?

Not that he considered himself gay, it was just that he worried that getting too close to Jordan might cause everyone to think he was. It was all very confusing, and he supposed part of it was because he was also going through puberty. His dad had told him about the hormones and the changes he could expect, and that being a teen was hard enough without all that stuff, but that if he ever found himself unable to handle things to please, please come to him for help. But this wasn't something he just couldn't talk to his dad about, at least not yet, maybe later.

He was sure that no subject was taboo with his dad, but he wasn't quite ready to go down this road yet. It was too early to figure things out at this point, and anyway...except for Jordy he'd never had these feelings before, so maybe it was just a one time thing.

"Done daddyo," Seth laughed as he exited the bathroom.

"Did you wash behind your ears?" Mack teased as he appeared from his bedroom wearing just his boxers.

Seth looked his dad's body over, and even though it wasn't the first time he'd seen it, he couldn't help but admire his beefy muscular frame and sturdy arms and legs. His chest was smooth, a fact that had always mystified Seth, but in a way he sort of liked it that way.

He'd seen other shirtless men, some very hairy like a bear, and he just assumed all men had hairy chests. He thought the hair looked gross on some guys and he hoped he was like his dad and smooth when he got older.

"Stare much?" Mack teased, "you like your old man's body? Wishing you were this buff?" he said making a muscle.

"Yeah, something like that," Seth said, not rattled by his father's teasing, "I just can't get over the fact that you're smooth..."

"Ah, that again. Well, I'm glad...chest hair is gross and hot. I like my smooth skin," he laughed as he ran a hand over it and tweaked his nipple, "and the gals loved it too. Your mom did anyway."

"DAD! I don't need to hear about your sex life."

Mack chuckled, "Did I mention sex at all? I said love..."

"Yeah, well...the bathroom is all yours. I'm gonna go on to bed, night dad," he said giving his dad a brief hug, "Love ya."

"I love you too son, more than you will ever know," Mack said patting him, "Sleep well. I'll wake you when breakfast is ready."

"K, night dad," Seth said as he headed off to the loft.

Mack watched with a smile as Seth disappeared into the kitchen, then went in to take his shower. Seth was his life now, and it was a good life. He loved the boy with all his heart, and though he'd thought of finding another woman and getting married again, in the end he decided he owed it to his dead wife and his only son to devote his life to Seth. Sometimes it was hard making love to his hand and not having someone to share intimacy with, but in the end he decided Seth was worth the sacrifice.

He took his time in the shower, and eventually his hand drifted down to his semi-erect cock and he began to rub it till it was fully engorged. At 7 inches, his cock was fat and uncut, and though he'd seen bigger, he thought it was a nice cock, a respectable size, and his wife had loved it.

He thought back to the first time she'd seen it and the little gasp she'd emitted. To her, a girl of 18, it was huge and scary looking at first, but once she'd got to know it, she couldn't get enough of it.

Though it would be almost a year before she took it inside her, she loved handling it and sucking on it, and Mack enjoyed pleasuring her as well. They were truly in love, even as teens, and everyone that knew them predicted they would eventually get married and be together forever.

And they would have if not for cruel fate and that relentless murderer, cancer. He tried to push the bad thoughts from his head and concentrated on the happy times they'd spent together, and he imagined he could smell her gentle scent and feel her smooth flesh against his.

He pretended it was her hand that was stroking his hard throbbing cock as he fantasized of licking her warm pink g-spot till she moaned with pleasure and release. It was with these thoughts filling his head that he suddenly cried out loudly and began painting the shower wall with his pent up juices.

His knees felt weak as he supported himself against the shower wall, breathing heavily and waiting for his heart to stop pounding in his chest.

"Dad, are you okay?" Seth said urgently from the other side of the bathroom door, and suddenly Mack realized that he'd cried out a bit too loud.

"Uh, fine son, just...hit my head on the shower head when I raised up from getting the soap."

"Are you sure, you're okay, that didn't sound like a cry of pain," Seth giggled.

"Go away wise guy or I'll start tapping on your door just when the getting gets good," he warned.

Seth was still giggling as he headed back to his room, but he had no doubt his dad would keep his promise to interrupt his own sessions if he pressed this issue. He couldn't help but wonder how big his dad's cock was though. He'd seen his dad naked many times, but he was always soft, even if it was impressive that way. He wondered what his dad thought of as he did it, his mom most likely he thought, and that made him a little sad. He thought about how hard it must be for his dad, losing the person he loved most in the world and having to resort to his hand and his memories for release.

He felt tears sting his eyes and he vowed to talk to his dad again about dating. They'd discussed it before, but his dad had always been adamant about not needing another woman in his life. Seth knew part of it was out of loyalty to his mom, but he wondered if he wasn't remaining single for his sake. Maybe he felt like he needed to devote all his time and energy to him, and that just wasn't fair. Though he would hate losing the closeness they had, and miss spending so much time together, he thought it would be worth it to see his dad happy again.

He passed up on his usual nightly ritual as he thought about his mom and his dad and his life, but eventually his thoughts came around to Jordy and he fell asleep with pleasant thoughts of his new friend.

The rest of the week passed quickly and that weekend the Church group began to arrive shortly after Seth returned from school. Jordy was waiting for him as Mack's pickup pulled into the campground and Seth invited him in while he changed clothes.

They climbed up to the loft, and Seth began to undress while Jordy tried not to stare. He couldn't but help admire Seth's more developed body, but he was surprised by the tingling in his groin that seeing him in just his tighty whities caused.

"This is going to be fun, you'll see," Seth effused, "we might even get lucky, some of those church girls are pretty wild."

"Yeah, so you said," Jordan laughed, "I just hope they don't start quoting scriptures to us."

"Nah, they're just like regular girls. In fact, I think some of em are more sexed. I think it's caused they're so repressed at home. Once they get out here in the wild they really open up...their legs I hope," he added the last part lewdly causing Jordan to blush.

"Yeah, right...you haven't even kissed a girl and you're wanting to...to get with her that way," he scoffed.

"Hey, a guy can dream," Seth said pulling on a pair of faded jeans.

"Is what I'm wearing okay?" Jordan said then, wondering if he was over dressed.

"Sure, I just have to save my school clothes. My dad gets mad if I ruin them. I have lots of old stuff. We get em at the thrift store. They're great for working around here."

It bothered Jordan that Seth had to get his clothes at a thrift store, but when he thought about it, it made sense. Why wear new stuff and risk ruining it?

"Are you ready?" Seth said as he tied his shoes.

"Yeah, just waiting on you Valley Boy," Jordy teased.

"Totally," Seth said in a Valley Girl accent, surprising Jordy, "Yes, I watch TV and movies. I'm not a total hick."

"I never said you were," Jordan said apologetically, "anyway, I like you just like you are."

"Aww...thanks. I like you too, even if you do stink," Seth teased.

"Do not, that's your upper lip you smell. Try brushing your teeth sometime," Jordy joked, and they were still hurling insults at each other as they joined Mack out front.

"There's really not too much we have to do, except keep the bathrooms clean and make sure they keep their fires in the fire rings and don't drown," Mack chuckled.

"Yeah, we laid in a good supply of firewood for them, even though we're not required to, I just like to help folks out when I can."

"Yeah, and it keeps them from cutting down the trees," Seth added.

"That only happened once," Mack chuckled, "but it was bad. The damn thing fell on someone's van and made a huge-assed dent."

They were still talking about the incident when they arrived at the designated campsites for the church group, and when the group of campers noticed them a tall grey haired man walked over to meet them.

"Hi Reverend Jones," Mack said shaking the man's hand, "I'm sure you remember my son Seth, and this is Jordan Kelly, his folks are the new owners of the campgrounds."

"Yes, I talked to Mr. and Mrs. Kelly by phone, seem like nice folks. Hello Jordan, how are you liking it here so far?"

"At first I wasn't sure, but now...I'm starting to really like it here."

"Where are you folks from?"

"Chicago," Jordan chuckled, "talk about a change."

"I can only imagine. I was born and raised around these parts, but I have visited a few big cities. I prefer the small town life, but I know there are some who find it too quiet," he chuckled.

"How many campers this time?" Mack said, changing the subject.

"15 altogether counting the adults, 8 boys, 4 girls, 3 adults.  Two tents for the boys, four to a tent, and one tent for the girls. I and my wife will sleep in our camper and our other chaperone will have his own tent. Thank you so much for reserving such a nice spot for us."

"No problem, we're not exactly overbooked this time of year. You guys lucked out though, the weather is supposed to be really nice this weekend."

"I prefer to think it was divine intervention, but we are prepared just in case that should change. We have sleeping bags, blankets, and warm clothes should we need them."

"The nights will be a little chilly, but you should be fine in your sleeping bags. We've laid in a good supply of firewood for you, hopefully enough to last the whole weekend."

"Excellent, thank you so much Mack, and you boys too. If you would like to come by later boys, we're going to roast some marshmallows and sing some songs."

Jordan thought he'd rather get a root canal than sing sappy songs around a campfire with strange kids, but Seth obviously didn't share his reservations.

"Yeah! Sounds great," Seth said enthusiastically, "we'd love to, wouldn't we Jordy?"

"Uh, yeah. Sounds fun," Seth said trying to sound sincere.

They said their goodbyes and Mack suggested the two go check the bathrooms while he checked on the few other campers scattered here and there.

"Why did you do that?" Jordan said as soon as the two were alone, "do you really want to sit around and sing Cumbayama, or whatever with a bunch of kids?"

"Not kids, they have to be at least 12 to go on the overnight, and 4 of them are girls. Do you hear me? Girls, we might get lucky dude, or at least get to hold  hands, and maybe...get a kiss."

"Are you crazy, right there in front of the preacher and his wife?"

"No, silly...of course not. We'll have to sneak back later and meet them somewhere...like maybe by the bathrooms."

"Oh my God, Seth...are you nuts? First of all, what makes you think these girls want to kiss two boys they've never met before? And, have you considered that maybe they might be older, or ugly or something."

Seth looked hurt at first, then he quickly recovered, "Come on, just do this for me, okay? If nothing happens then nothing happens, but it will be fun, you'll see."

Jordan was still grumbling as they tidied up the men's room, and when it was time to check the ladies' Seth took the lead.

"Anyone in there?" he called at the open doorway, "we're cleaning the bathrooms but we can wait if someone is in here."

"Just a minute," a definitely feminine voice said from inside, "almost done."

Seth wiggled his eyebrows and mouthed the word "Score" then giggled. Presently a cute blond girl about their age came out with a dark haired girl in tow, and they looked the boys over.

"Oh hi, who are you?" the blond girl said giving them a smile.

"I'm Seth, that's Jordan at your service," he said bowing, "you must be with the church group, right?"

"Yes, I'm Tina, that's Carol," she said motioning to her friend, "do you two work here or what?"

"Yeah, his folks own the campground," Seth said referring to Jordan, "and me and my dad work here."

"Oh nice, you should come by later and meet all the other kids," she suggested.

"For sure," Seth said grinning, "the Reverend invited us to come to the campfire later."

"To roast marshmallows," Jordy added sighing, "sounds fun," he added without emotion.

"It can be," Tina said giving Jordy a coquettish smile. She was by nature a big flirt and had even had a boyfriend for a short time earlier in the year.

"Uh, okay...we should um, get going Seth," Jordan said nervously, looking Seth's way.

"Yeah, nice meeting you girls," Seth said grinning, "we'll see you later, okay?"

"Oh I hope so," Tina said, "right Carol?"

"Yes," the other girl giggled, but blushed, clearly not as bold as her friend.

When the two were gone, Seth touched Jordan on the shoulder, "See what I mean? Those girls are hot for us."

"I don't know," Jordan said, clearly not as enthusiastic as Seth to be the object of their attention, "let's get the bathroom clean and go back to my place. I want to see what we're having for supper."

They decided the bathroom was clean enough, and after making sure there was sufficient toilet paper and paper towels, they walked back to the office. They found Mr. Kelly at the desk, but he didn't seem to be busy at the moment, and in fact was gazing out the window at the lake beyond.

"Oh, hi boys," he said directing his gaze their way, "is everything okay with the church group."

"Yeah, great dad. What's for dinner?"

"Huh, oh...I don't know. You'll need to ask your mother," he said sounding preoccupied.

"You okay dad?"

"What? Oh, yeah...just thinking," he said seeming to come back to the present.

"Okay, gonna go inside now. Good talk dad," Jordy chuckled, this was yet another line from their favorite movie.

Mr. Kelly laughed, then went back to gazing out the window as the two went through the door and into the cabin.

"What's up with dad?" Jordan asked his mom as they entered the kitchen, sniffing the air like bloodhounds.

"Mmm something smells good," Seth said, practically drooling.

"Lasagna," Mrs. Kelly said, "and as for your dad...I haven't a clue. He's been acting strange all day," she added chuckling, "but I'm sure whatever it is, he will eventually tell me about it."

"Wanna eat dinner with us?" Jordan asked turning to Seth.

"Is it okay Mrs. Kelly?"

"Of course, and your father is welcome too. There's more than enough. I'm going to make a nice salad to go with it, and there will be garlic bread."

"Let's go ask your dad," Jordan said, "how long till it's ready."

"Oh, probably around 6, you have plenty of time,"

They said their goodbyes and went off to find Mack who was back at his cabin by then. After calling Mrs. Kelly to confirm that his having supper with them was not just the boys' idea, he agreed to the offer, and even suggested that he bring dessert.

Mack's wife had a passion for baking and had taught Mack the basics, then after her death he had taught himself the rest, if for no other reason than to keep her memory alive. She loved making cakes, pies, and cookies, and his skill and joy of baking rivaled hers now.

He settled on a simple chocolate cake with hot fudge injected into the body of the cake and then topped with cream cheese frosting. He placed it in the refrigerator to cool a bit while he took a shower and got ready for his dinner date.

Meanwhile, the boys had retired to the loft, and though the delightful smells from the kitchen were hard to resist, they had some things to discuss.

"What if that one girl wants to kiss you or something?" Jordan said.

"Well, I...I guess I'll just have to hope that she knows more about it than I do."

"No way I'm kissing a girl till I know how," Jordan said frowning.

"But how am I gonna learn how to kiss a girl if I don't kiss a girl?" Seth said exposing the flaw of such thinking.

"I...uh, I don't know. You know what I mean."

"Hmm" Seth said, making a face and looking thoughtful, then suddenly he turned to Jordan and said softly, "Unless..."

"What?" Jordan said giving his friend a wary look.

"Nah, you'd just say no," Seth said looking dejected again.

"What? Tell me, I can't say no if I don't know what the heck you're talking about."

"Well, we both want to learn how to kiss, right?"

"Yeah, I guess...you more than me, but it would be nice to know how."

"And we're friends, right?"

"Yeah," Jordan said, wondering where this was going.

"And we'd never tell anyone about anything that went on between us, right?"

"Uh, what are you talking about?" Jordan said, even more confused than before.

"Okay, okay...I'm not making sense, but I think I have an idea how we can learn how to kiss without having to have a girl to practice with. What if...what if, we...well...what if we practiced on each other?" he said quickly before he lost his  nerve.

"What? No way!" Jordan barked out automatically, but the more he thought about it the more exciting it sounded. He couldn't sound anxious though, surely Seth would think he was weird if he liked the idea too much.

"Well, it was just a thought," Seth said sounding hurt, "I mean...I'd brush my teeth and we wouldn't have to use tongues," he said trailing off, "and no one would know but us..."

Jordan sat quietly for a moment, trying to figure out how best to handle this situation. It wasn't that the thought of kissing Seth repulsed him. In fact, he was pretty sure he'd like it a lot. Too much in fact, and he was more than sure that Seth wouldn't feel the same way, and there were so many things that could go wrong. What if he popped a boner while they were kissing? How would he explain that? And what if he liked it so much that he wanted to do it again, and again. Once they'd figured out how to kiss there would be no need to repeat their practice sessions. But this might be his only chance to ever see what it was like to kiss a boy, a boy he really liked.

He'd never admit it, but he'd always wondered what it would be like to kiss his friend Lee, but other than a kiss on the cheek when they were little kids, he'd never dared risk it. But Lee was a thousand or more miles away, and Seth was right here in front of him offering an opportunity that might never come again. The fact that he really liked Seth so much made the offer even more tempting, but again the fear of liking it too much, or rather showing that he liked it too much, caused him to pause.

"I mean, isn't that gay sutff?" Jordan finally said.

"Nah, not if we're just practicing for girls," Seth reasoned, "I'm not saying I'm in love with you and I want to kiss you cause we're boyfriends or anything," Seth chuckled, "I just want us to both know how to do it when the right girl comes along."

"I don't know, I've never thought about kissing a boy before," he lied, "but I guess it can't be all that different. I mean, it's not like you have a beard or anything," he chuckled.

Nope, no facial hair. Smooth as a baby's butt, and twice as soft," Seth teased, "so...how about it, want to give it a try?"

"What if someone found out?" Jordan was just making excuses now, hoping Seth was able to bat each one down in turn.

"How would anyone find out? Dad is busy baking, and I'm sure not gonna tell anyone, are you?"

"No, of course not, but what if it slipped out or something?"

"Jordy, buddy...no one will ever know but us. I swear. Who knows," he added chuckling, "we might like it and want to do it again."

"How would we do it?"  Jordan asked, almost ready to submit.

"Well, I guess we could stand up, face to face and do it, or we could sit on the bed. I never really thought about that part. How would you kiss a girl?"

"I don't know. I've never really wanted to...till now," Jordan quickly added the last.

"Let's just sit here on the bed then. I mean, if you want to try it."

"This isn't a trick is it?" Jordan asked suddenly, worried that Seth might be playing him.

"No way, I swear. I'm serious, but it's up to you dude," he said sincerely.

"Well, you start then. That way I'll know you're not fooling me."

"Okay, great, but wait. I'm gonna go gargle with mouthwash."

"Dude, you don't have dragon breath, just do it," Jordan said, eager to get things going now that he'd agreed.

"Okay, okay...at least let me pop a breath mint," he said rising to grab a pack of mints and popping one in his mouth, "want one?"

"Yeah," Jordan said accepting the offer, "mmm...minty," he said grinning.

"Okay, here goes," Seth said sitting back down beside his friend. He was nervous, but committed to seeing this through, he was just hoping he didn't embarrass himself by popping wood or moaning or some dumb shit like that.

"I heard you're supposed to lick your lips," Jordan said, doing that and causing Seth to stare at his cute small pink tongue.

Then licking his own lips, Seth leaned in, his eyes locked with Jordan's, his heart beating fast in his chest, and butterflies filling his stomach. He had no idea what to expect, but when their lips met at last he knew that nothing he could ever have imagined could equal what he felt. The softness, the wetness, the taste, the scent of Jordy filled his head with thoughts he'd dared never entertain before.

Pulling back after their initial contact, their eyes still locked on one another, they both blushed.

"Was that okay?" Seth said softly.

"I think so, but I think there's more," Jordan said feeling lightheaded and breathless.

"You mean like, um...tongues and stuff?"

"Well, if we're gonna learn how to do it right, I guess we should try that too."

"Yeah, totally. Uh, who goes first?"

"You can, and then I'll push back I guess," Jordan said, working it all out in his head, despite his actual lack of knowledge of the act.

"Okay, uh, scoot a little closer, okay?"

"Yeah, should we like...touch each other or something? Wouldn't you do that with a girl?"

"Yeah, yeah...you're right, like sort of hug each other. Yeah, that makes sense, like this," he said taking Jordan's shoulders in his hands and leaning in till their lips met again.

Seth was aware of two things right away, this kiss was much wetter much hotter, and that his dick was as hard as it'd ever been in his life.

Oh no, he thought, what if he sees? Then looking down, he realized he wasn't the only one with this problem. He relaxed then. It was no big deal. Of course his body was going to react to this sort of stuff. It was kissing for gosh sakes and kissing led to sex, and...and his body didn't know it was a boy he was kissing, right?

He returned his attention to Jordan's soft full lips, and when he offered his tongue he was surprised to find that Jordan not only allowed him entry, but began to suck on his tongue like he was starved for it.

"Mmm," Seth moaned as he continued to kiss his new best friend, and suddenly  he felt Jordan's tongue pushing back and enter his mouth. As Jordan had, he began to suck on his tongue, finding the taste, and texture of it pleasing and exciting.

He was suddenly aware that Jordan had taken his head in his hands and was kissing him harder and wetter as their tongues battled for dominance. Seth moaned lowly, remembering his dad's loud moan the night before, and realized that their experimenting and practicing had turned into something much more intense. His cock throbbed between his legs, and he was quite sure than if  he had touched it at that moment he would have made a big mess in his shorts.

Grabbing Jordan and pulling him closer, Seth continued to kiss him deeply and wetly, his excitement growing by the second. He looked into Jordan's eyes then and saw his own feelings mirrored there, and he felt such a rush of love for his new friend. But what did this mean? He suddenly thought, Do I like Jordan as more than a friend, or am I just reacting to the kiss and the heat of the moment? He feared that he had pushed Jordan into doing this, and that once it was over and they came down from their high that things might be a awkward for them both.

With that in mind, Seth decided it was time to end things and to try to restore some normalcy to the situation. Pulling back reluctantly, he found Jordan wasn't quite as eager to break contact, but eventually he relinquished his hold on Seth's head and pulled away.

"I think we did pretty well," Seth said pretending to be unfazed by the whole affair.

"Uh, yeah...I think so too," Jordan stammered, "but we could try it again if you want."

"Nah, I think we're good," Seth said reluctantly, when what he really wanted to say was, YES, YES!

"Oh, okay. Well, I just hope we don't forget how to do it..."

Seth chuckled, "We can practice again sometime just to make sure."

"Yeah, definitely."

"Boys, ready to go?" Mack yelled from the bottom of the stairs, and they suddenly realized that they'd been kissing for longer than they'd thought.

"Yeah, coming dad," Seth said, then turning to Jordan he smiled, "Thanks for doing that. I know you were kinda worried, but it worked out okay, right?"

"Yeah, it wasn't bad," Jordan said smiling. No, in fact it was great, the best thing I've ever done, he thought, but there's no way I can tell you that.

The sad thing was, Seth was pretty much entertaining the same thoughts.

 

 End Chapter Two

Next, the campfire.

Special thanks to my buddy Michael in LI for his invaluable help with editing, story ideas, and pics. Love ya buddy. Please remember Michael in your prayers as he undewent some major surgery this week.

Rob Warr

4-10-21

                                           Other stories at Nifty by Rob Warr

Christmas Eve 1975

Girls Suck, but Boys do it Better

Hollow-Weenie

Josi

Love on the Half Pipe

Loving Jake

Pudding Cups

The Gift

Trick or Treat, Smell my Feet

Viral Times