Date: Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:04:52 -0500 From: Andy Smith Subject: Asleep On the Beach Chapter 13 (Revised) Writer's Note: If you read Chapter thirteen posted on June 28, 2008, you no doubt read a very terrible draft rife with errors, typos, and spelling errors. My appologies - I submitted the wrong draft to the Nifty Archivest. I appologize for the glaring errors and hope you'll re-read this chapter in it's more aesthetic version. I have no one to blame but myself, I appologie, as I DO take your time and loyalty seriously. Many thanks to those of you who overlook the errors and still enjoy the story! Asleep on the Beach Chapter 13 Disclaimer: Please be advised that under aged youths are advised to not read this material; all others are welcome. Should you chose to proceed to the story below...please enjoy! Any comments are welcomed and you'll get a fairly prompt reply; andyoutwest@live.com Prologue After an afternoon of rest, then of affirmation of affection between Jason and Liam, we're closer to a family gathering of each of the boy's parents that is ripe for the possibility of turmoil. Let's open the door a crack and peer in at them...shall we? Chapter 13 The rest of the afternoon was a flurry of activity as Mom and Dad prepared the place for Lenny's Dad, and Jason's folks. The three of us boys were busy setting out this thing or the other, cleaning stuff, arranging things in order, and such like (not that Mom NEEDED any help...the place is ALWAYS spotless...but you know how Mom's are...). I found myself quickly out of energy, and had to sit around a lot. No...well...okay...SOMETIMES I would take advantage of distress and wimp-out, but as Jason and Lenny were being troopers about stuff, I REALLY wanted to be a part. Dad said it was still the lingering effects of my assault, and the toll the pain medicine was taking on my system. Then he proceeded to take advantage of my "down time" to lecture me about drugs. He said when you have those kinds of powerful drugs in your system that you just can't function normally. Actually, he used that time to remind me how important it is to stay away from "illicit" drugs (his words). I reminded him that I couldn't even tolerate a cigarette, I sure wouldn't do drugs! He, in turn, reminded ME that not very many people SET out to do drugs, or become alcoholics. He said that not having a proactive PLAN to stay off that stuff would mean a greater likelihood I WOULD get involved. I suppose that made sense, but still...thoughts of maybe getting my brains fried by drugs wasn't high on my priority list of BIG concerns just now. In the back of my mind I wanted to scream out to him... "I THINK I AM GAY AS A FUCKING PINK BRICK! I WANT TO FUCK MY BEST FRIEND! I WANT TO KNOW WHAT A DICK FEELS LIKE WHEN IT EXPLODES IN MY ASS!" Somehow I managed to keep my smart mouth shut though, and let him have his say. We have this above ground swimming pool in the back yard. It's seriously cool and Dad built it especially for ME! He's awesome like that. I know it cost a pretty good deal of money, and took an awful lot of time to build the decks and all that go with it. Jason and I helped with nearly every detail, and we loved every second of it...not as much as we did SWIMMING in it though! Sure, we all managed to find ways to go to the beach, we all loved that too, but it IS the Gulf of Mexico, IS dirty water, and IS hot most of the summer. So, having a place here where we have a bathroom and lots of cold sodas is killer too. My point is, I was FORBIDDEN to get my casted arm wet, which meant I couldn't go into the pool. Mom said it wasn't fair for Jason and Lenny to be in there without me, so none of us were going to get to go in as the adults were eating dinner! *Good grief* I HAD to think of something...and quick. Finally, a plan popped into my head. "Mom," I said using my very best whine tone, "it's NOT fair to keep THEM out of the pool just because I can't go in!" "Look, Honey," she said while cutting up the chilled watermelon, "why don't you all just stay out here and visit with us tonight?" GAG!!! This seriously isn't happening! "Mom, why don't you let me call Ray and the guys to come over? That way Jason and Lenny can have fun in the pool and I can just watch from the deck? PLEASSSSE???" I was doing a pretty good job of begging like a little kid...that old trick worked more often than not...she tended to be a bit of a push-over if I acted the age she usually tried to treat me like. "Oh, Okay...I suppose..." I erupted into a spontaneous human jumping--bean, hooped and hollered like I'd just won the lottery. She laughed and swatted at me telling me to go make my phone call before she changed her mind. Quickly, I shuffled off to the kitchen to get the phone to call Ray. I filled him in on the scoop, and got him to agree to come over and to bring Daniel and Will. "Say, Dude," Ray said just before he hung up, "you know Will may have to bring his kid bro. too. Their Old Man makes him take Brant everywhere...thinks the little dude will keep Will out of trouble." "Sure," I said, "shouldn't be a problem. I won't mention it, so if he comes Mom's not likely to kick a little kid out of the house or anything." "Great, I'll round up the hoodlums and head over. We'll be there in about 45 minutes!" This was going to be so cool. With the whole gang here, none of the adults were likely to get out of control, we could all get through the night without a big blow-up. I knew my folks would not likely push an issue, or raise a ruckus in front of a whole gaggle of people, and felt pretty sure Jason's wouldn't either. I just had no feel for Lenny's Dad, but I guessed he was cool enough...if Lenny was any indication of his attitude. Sure enough, just under an hour later Ray's car pulled in the drive. I was watching out the front window and bounded out to greet them. Ray and Will were in the front seat, Daniel and Brant piled out of the back. Each of them had on normal tee-shirts of differing colors, and swim trunks. Only Ray was wearing shoes, because he was driving. I quickly got them all headed into the house where the chaos level multiplied four-fold! Jason and Lenny came in, I guess they'd heard the ruckus, and soon all of us were in the living room and each trying to talk over the other. Five of us were crowded on the couch, and Lenny came over and just jumped in the air, turning slightly to his left diving across all our laps! We all wrestled and tickled and squirmed -- there was lots of name calling and grabbing and basic bedlam. It hurt when he landed on me, and when I twisted around to administer my own share of tickles, but it was a riot! Amidst all the confusion, I looked over and there was poor Brant standing there kinda afraid to join in. Normally, Will insisted he was just a tag along and wouldn't let him openly participate in such fracases. I could tell he wanted to join in but was afraid to rile his big Bro. Usually, though, Will ignored him if one of the rest of us pulled Brant into our activities. He seemed to be cool about it so long as WE were the ones who initiated Brant's inclusion, and NOT Brant. Lenny sat up, pulling away from the gang retaliation he was receiving for his misdeed, sat fully up on my lap. Instinctively, I put my arms around him, pulling him back onto my lap and against my chest. Everyone else was too busy with their own things to notice what I was doing, and I made sure to NOT put my hands in his lap, or to touch him anyway other than any other big kid would a little kid. I could see red welts on him from all the tickling and gouging. His shorts had ridden up exposing a lot of his thigh, and I couldn't help but rub his bare skin a couple of time...making a play at pulling his pant-legs down for him. He swatted playfully at me...but both of us were enjoing this contact. I could feel my nether regions responding to Lenny sitting on my lap, and I'm certain Lenny knew he was getting a "rise" out of me! He started a bit of wiggling with his butt onto my lap, making me go nearly instantly from a "rise" to a raging boner, much to the delight of the twelve-year old sitting atop it! I looked up and noticed that Brant was starting straight into my eyes! OMG. He knew EXACTLY what Lenny was doing to me! I tried to get Lenny's attention in a nonchalant way, but Lenny was having too much fun tormenting me to pay too much attention. He thought I was just going to talk to him about what his butt was doing on my lap...or what my dick was doing under two layers of thin swimwear. Finally, I whispered Brant's name in his ear, causing Lenny to stop moving instantly and look up at Brant. Lenny's ears sort of turned red at the tops, as I watched him begin to become embarrassed. Quickly, Lenny turned his head back to whisper in my ear. They had never been formally introduced! "Oh!" I said in a hushed tone. I looked up at Brant, who was still stuck in place staring intently at now me AND Lenny. Mind you...Lenny was still wearing that drop-dead sexy shear cotton shirt that you could see clear through. It literally left no doubt of the beautifully tanned and toned belly and abdomen underneath. It was a head-turner for ANYONE who first saw it on a kid -- especially a sexy kid like Lenny. I had NO doubt what was capturing young Brant's attention. "Hey, Brant," I said nodding past Lenny to Brant, "This is a new friend me and Jason made a few days ago. Lenny. Lenny Sanders." "Ummm...H.Hi." is all Brant could muster. He instantly turned red as he realized Lenny and I knew he'd been staring at us. He turned as if about to scatter like a leave in the wind. As he did, I noticed a slight bulge in his swim trunks that seemed a bit larger than what should be normal. I nudged Lenny up off my lap and I struggled to get out of the couch. No easy feat, as we had one of those soft couches that seemed to sort of swallow you up. Usually, I didn't care if it did, I'd just roll out of it or something. But, now I needed to get up quick, I was sore all over, and one-armed. Lenny laughed at me struggling to get up. "Shut up, Dufus!" I cried with my own laughter not so completely concealed, "give me a hand, will ya?" I held out my good arm and Lenny drug me up out of the Venus-fly-trap couch with a big grunt and extra effort. "Come on, let's go catch him," I whispered to Lenny as we re-cooped from springing free of the couch. "I think we embarrassed him. I want to make sure he's ok," I said quietly to Lenny as we made our way from the room of still rough-housing boys. Lenny pointed at my half deflated boner and giggled. "You gonna go past your MOM like that?" he laughed. "Shit," I hissed and pulled him around to the vacant kitchen. I reached into my shorts and re-adjusted myself. Lenny just laughed all the more at me. He reached over and pulled the front of my shorts out wide enough for him to stick his head sown to get a better look. "Ahh, there are my toys!" he squealed, and started to reach inside to help himself. I swatted his hand away and sternly, but quietly rebuked him. He knew I was not angry and begged for it again. To stop him I had to pull him into a bear hug. "Okay," I whispered, "stop...and I'll give you PLENTY to play with later!" "Really?" He beamed. "Sweet. Okay, but remember, you PROMISED!" He stepped up on his tip-toes and kissed me right on my lips and giggled at my reaction. I saw a flutter and looked past Lenny, only to see poor, bewildered Brant slinking away and around the corner again. Damn. "Shit," I said to Lenny again, "not again!" I pulled away from Lenny, grabbed him by the hand as I flew past him and we rushed out the back door chasing the fleeting shadow of Brant. I saw movement around the corner of the shed past the pool, and hoped it was him. Steering Lenny past all the tables, food, and a confused looking Dad, we rushed out to find Brant. He was standing behind the shed, near where the corner met the back fence. When Dad built it, he left enough room to slide odd material and stuff between the shed and fence out of sight. The roof of the shed protected stuff back there from rain, and the fence kept the rest concealed. There were bricks lining the ground between the shed and the fence to keep stuff out of the dirt and water. Currently, there wasn't anything back there, so it looked like Brant was trying to decide if he could squeeze between the fence and shed to hid from...us. Lenny collided with me as I stopped abruptly upon rounding the corner, and he couldn't immediately see what I did. Brant looked totally mortified and I honestly thought he'd commit Harry-Carey if he had only a millimeter more space and time. "Hey, little Dude," I said softly, but warmly to Brant. "Are you okay?" I walked very slowly and carefully toward him, not wanting to panic him more, or cause him to run away again. "I'm sorry `bout back there. I...we didn't mean to upset you. Ummm...are y.you mad at me Lil Bro?" Brant nodded his head no, but refused to look up at us. He tried to turn even further away from us, if that was possible. By this time, I had reached him, and tentatively I placed my hand on his shoulder, careful to not try to force him to turn around. I just wanted to make friendly contact with him. I was quickly trying to figure out how to get him calmed down, and to understand exactly why he was reacting like this. The very LAST thing I needed right now was for him to freak out and go running to Will telling him he'd seen me and Lenny kissing...and whatever ELSE he thought he'd seen me and Lenny doing on the couch. THAT would be disaster city. Talk about Forth of July's! OMG. This just wasn't turning out like I'd planned. This was supposed to be an EASY evening...not a melt down! Lenny, ever the out-going type, pushed past me and stepped between Brant and the fence. To this day, I have NO idea how he managed it. He took Brant by the crook of the arm and drug him away from me like he'd known him all his life and had come to rescue him from an evil troll (hmmm...considering this weekend...). As they walked past me Brant looked up at me as if to say... "WTF!" I heard Lenny chime in "I know you, I've seen you out at the beach. You are Will's little brother, aren't you? How old are you? I'm twelve...just turned. When is our birthday?" I stood and watched them walk away arm in arm and scratched my head in a classical "What the hell just happened?" manner. I shrugged my shoulder and made my way back from behind the shed. As I stepped around the shed, Dad walked up. Scared the living SHIT out of me! "DAD!" I shouted in surprise as we nearly collided and both jumped. I think my shout scared him more than his presence scared me! He grabbed me by the good-armed shoulder to keep me from falling and laughed as we both got our composure. "Buddy, are you okay?" he managed to ask between laughing and man-handling me playfully. "Sure," I said. "We just came to see what was upsetting Brant. I think we spooked him with all the horseplay in the house," I lied. I HATED lying to Dad, but he just let it pass...I'm sure he knew there was more going on there than I tried to make it seem. He was gracious enough to give me some space about it though. He glanced over his shoulder at the two twelve year olds. "Looks like they'll be fine now," he said. Turning back to me, "Go get all your buds from inside and get them in the pool. The rest of the guests (impling the adults), will be here shortly, and Mom and I want to go freshen up before they do. Take the boys over to the pool and we'll be out when it's time to eat and get you all some food." He pushed me toward the house and playfully swatted me on the rear end. "Liam?" I turned to see what he wanted. "You're a good son. I'm proud of you!" I blushed. "Remember to keep your arm out of the water. Keep it dry, and I'll wrestle your Mom when she sees you. Go have fun!" He winked at me and I spun to run get the gang without stopping for him to re-consider. I stuck my head in the back door and was about to holler at the guy's when Mom came around the corner from the kitchen. "Honey," she said as she spied me at the door, "you kids are going to have to quiet down!" "I know Mom," I said, "I just came in to herd them all outside. We'll be out here so you and Dad can freshen up." "Aww..." she said coming round to kiss my cheek, "You're so sweet!" I made a show of wiping her kiss off...I really don't mind her kissing me, but no self-respecting teenage boy could POSSIBLY let his mom know that. "Dad's idea," I dead-panned. "But, I'll take credit!" She swatted at me this time, which I easily ducked. She headed on to get ready, and I came on inside the door and yelled at the guy's. "Last one in the pool has to suck dick!" and just as quickly spun around to make sure I wasn't going to be the last one in! Okay...I wouldn't have MINDED being the last one in...but...THAT would be hard to explain to my lifelong friends! Some secrets just need be maintained. Dad came in and caught the door I was attempting to slam to buy more time, and he held it open as a hole gaggle of screaming teenage apes...or whatever you choose to call them passed, ducking under his arm. Comically he turned his head in an exaggerated way as each passed under his arm as if he's no idea how many would be coming out the door. Each kid laughed and joined in the fun as they came out. There were only six of us there, but we made enough noise to be a dozen! Dad hollered out to us before going inside "You heathens be careful, NO DIVING from the deck, and NO getting Liam's cast wet!" We all hooted some reply or the other, and Dad made his escape into the solitude of the house. Out in the pool we all wrestled, cat-called, played team-dunking, splashed, and had a blast. I had brought my CD player out on the deck and had some tunes going, but you really couldn't tell too much what I had playing for all the noise. Our neighbors never seemed to complain when I had my friends over. I suppose it was because they all had kids and grandkids themselves and they knew we were just having fun. We didn't party late at night...but when we were all out there, there was no mistaking that it was a wild time; no booze, no drugs, no girls...just a half dozen highly energized teenage boys having fun. I did my best to do what Dad said, and keep my arm from getting wet. This wasn't a permanent cast anyway, they said I'd have to go back in two weeks for that. They wanted to make sure all the swelling went down on my arm before they put that one on, and it would give them a chance to re-x-ray the arm to make sure it was still set properly...or so I'd been told. As I wasn't able to join in the team-dunking stuff, there was an odd man out. Lenny and Brant being the smallest and lightest were perfect riders. Lenny rode Will's shoulders, as he sure didn't want his brother to ride him. This got me to thinking about why Will was such a dick to Brant. Brant was a good kid, he wasn't a nerd, wasn't a whinny little kid, was pretty atheltic, look real good too! I just couldn't figure out what all the brotherly hostility was about. Daniel and Ray took turns with Lenny on their shoulders as they made, broke, and re-negotiated rules a thousand times. Each arguing their cause and often begging me to mediate; which I steadfastly refused, as I was having too much fun laughing my tale off at all of them. What I did find myself doing was resting in the pool, sitting on the steps that descended down into the water, keeping my upper chest and left arm out of the water. Sometimes it was hard to keep balanced with the extra weight on my left arm, and all the waves and splashing from the guys. Still, it was fun. I began to notice how really pretty Brant was. Lenny..now he is beautiful...unmistakably beautiful. But, Brant is no ugly duckling either. His nearly black hair was full of curls and that was pretty sexy. He had really kind green eyes, and an button nose that I often thought would be fun to kiss! I never did, my buddies would all have flaked out had they seen that. Also, he was just as tanned as Lenny, and a splash of freckles across his nose and cheeks below his eyes. There were a few freckles on his shoulders too. Both he and Lenny had their shirts off in the pool -- all the guys did except me and Jason. We both were wearing tee-shirts. Me, because I just didn't want to fool with pulling mine off over my head with this stupid cast on...Jason because he RARELY goes out in public anywhere without is shirt. At the pool, lake, beach, ball court...everywhere. Even when we are all skateboarding and get all hot and sweaty, most all of us at one point or the other take off our shirts...not Jason. Anyway, I was watching Lenny and Brant sitting atop their partner's shoulders fighting and warring. Occasionally one would get pushed or dragged off and go crashing under water; coming up blowing water and bubbles everywhere, splashing his opponent into retreat so they could regroup and start again. Watching them flex and bend and twist was really getting me horny. Slowly it began to dawn on me that I was nearly certain Lenny had a boner, and so did Brant. None of the other guys said anything about it, but I don't know how they could have missed THAT! "I wonder," I said to my self, "I just wonder about this little dude." I must have been adjusting myself, because the voice beside me nearly made me jump out of the pool! "Damn straight!" Ray giggled, "I'm horny as fuck too!" Looking directly at my crotch that was floating just beneath the surface, but very obviously in plain sight...my boner not easily concealable at full mast! Though thankfully, mine tended to lay flat to my belly and point just slightly to the right...still it's incredibly embarrassing to have someone STARING at your woody. I splashed him and told him to go fuck a goat...that he'd scared the bejeebers out of me. He looked around and giggled, his face very low in the water, nearly to the point where it would flow into his mouth...but not quite. I was tempted to splash his mouth full of pool water, but thought better of it. "Bet your Mom would love to hear you talk like that!" His grin was devilish, but his voice was very low and conspiratorial. "Damn," he whispered again, this time I could see him adjusting his own bulge in his swim trunks. I suppose he WAS horny after all. "These little dudes swimming and splashing, all nearly nude got me all hard a hell...I need to go beat off somewhere!" I choked and coughed and nearly slipped entirely under the water. "Whoa! Lil Dude," Ray said in an exaggerated Texas drawl while reaching over to pull me back up and keep my arm out of the water. "DUDE!" I exclaimed under my breath after re-covering from swallowing half the pool. "D.Did you say the boys were making you want to go pull your pud?" "SHHHHHH!!!!" he exaggeratedly huffed. "Damn, you wanna get the shit kicked outta me!" He was looking all around in genuine dismay, even though it was just US...OUR GANG...there. Still, I knew what the meant. "YOU said it! Not ME!" I exclaimed, seizing on the opportunity to deal out a bit of grief and make him squirm. Besides...WTF! What exactly DID he mean? "Yea, well...t.that's not what I mean and y.you know it," he protested. "Okay," I allowed, "then what EXACTLY did you mean?" "Damn-it!" he protested again, "I'm just saying I'm horny as hell and need to beat off!" Then he looked back down at my crotch. "Besides, I'm not the one sitting over here perving on the lil' dudes anyway!" he splashed water at me, but not so much to get all over my cast. I tried to dunk him, but he easily avoided my reach, and swam to the other side. I could tell he was still tenting pretty seriously even from across the pool. So, I motioned him back over to me and whispered softly into his ear. A huge grin spread over his face and he instantly scaled the ladder and shuffled out past the pool toward the back of the shed. Three or four minutes later he came back from around the shed re-tying the drawstring to his swim trunks...his cheeks had a particular red glow to them...any OBSERVANT bystander would have known what he had done behind the shed. But, all the guys just hooted at him about pissing outside when a bathroom was just inside the house! Only, I KNEW it wasn't piss he was shooting out back there! My mind raced at the thought of his dick spazing out hot jiz on the bricks behind the shed. Involuntarily, I licked my lips. As he climbed back into the pool, his erection now reduced to a respectable mid-sized bulge, he said, "A man's got to do what a man's got to do!" which brought a crescendo of rebukes and rebuttals about where was a man and the like. The rest of the time, he stayed clear of my side of the pool, but I kept noticing him looking at me and winking as if we were holding a big secret together...I guess we were. I was still trying to understand what could have brought big Ray Sanders to say something so...so gay! In a little while, Mom and Dad came outside with all the rest of the `Rents. They were each carrying food and trays, laughing and obviously fully engaged in some wild tale of some sort or other. Mom called us to get out and dried off so we could say grace and dig in. The pool was instantly emptied! Dad had Jason, Lenny and me set out little citronella torches all around the yard earlier that evening, fill them with citronella oil and light them to keep the mosquitoes away. All us guys ate at the picnic table set out on the lawn, and the adults sat around the deck table which was definitely a nicer setting. After we all had plenty to eat, Mom asked Jason and Lenny to carry out the watermelon and fruit she had chilled. Earlier, she had cut the watermelon in half making these alligator like zigzag teeth ridges all the way around the middle. Then, she scooped the meat of the melon out with an ice-cream scooper into little balls of watermelon, then she sliced strawberries in halves and quarters, after removing the stems , and had small squares of cantaloupe and honey-dew melons, and a few chunks of fresh pineapple, as well as purple seedless grapes. She took all the fruit and juggled it all up into a really cool salad - I suppose you'd call it - and heaped it back into each half of the watermelon. Jason and Lenny each carried one apiece out to the tables. One for the adults, one for us boys! Man...ours lasted like a total of TWO seconds. We were each stabbing each other's bites away from the other, trying to steal more than our share. It was great! And, great fun. We had a blast. After a while though, I really was getting pretty tired. I had managed to find my way to wander over to sit beside Mom and she stared petting me and let me snuggle next to her. I usually NEVER, EVER did this in PUBLIC, but I was tired, sore, and sleepy. A perfect time to get Mom to ply a bit of TLC. Jason's Dad was across the table and was studying me for a while. Directly he said in a oddly low voice, but very kindly, "Son, those boys really worked you over, didn't they?" I'd forgotten how badly I must have looked; black eyes, cut lips, bruises all over my torso I had taken my shirt off as the wet shirt was pretty uncomfortable. It was still hot enough that I just didn't put one back on. Dad had to help me get the wet one off because I was threatening to cut the damned thing off my body! The point is, in the light and as close as we were, he was probably just getting his first good look at how many blows I'd suffered. "Yea," I sighed, "they tagged-teamed me." I was pretty subdued. I suppose, in the back of my mind I was still just a little embarrassed that I'd gotten beaten up so badly, even IF it was by two goons a quarter-sized bigger than me...AND three years older. They were SENIORS for crying out loud. Sill. I got my ass whopped. I suppose any boy regrets getting beaten up, and your mind always tortures you with how you should have done things differently. I would re-live that fight a thousand times! "Tell me about it," he said, almost like a grandpa might have said, "every detail. Tell me everything you can remember, Son. Don't leave anything out." "Do you think that's a good idea?" Mom said as she stroked her fingers through my still damp curls. I wasn't sure just who she was talking to, me or Mr. Lawler. She leaned down and kissed the top of my hair. "It's okay, Mom," I said, turning my face up toward her, "I don't mind talking about it." I lied. But, I knew it wasn't like he asked me to tell him I was GAY or something... So, I started with me being tired and I said I had a headache from my ride and had sat at the tables to rest. I went over all the details of the ball coming bouncing off my foot, being blind-sided by a punch to the side of my face...and all the rest. Mr. Lawler took it all in very seriously, asking questions as he thought of them. I tried to provide as much detail as I could. "So, you never saw these boys before?" "Nope." "Okay," he said, leaning up on the table across his folded arms, elbow on the table. "Think back to what was the other kid doing after you flipped the first boy. What did the second boy do?" "Hmmm," I mumbled, thinking back to him, "I really dunno...no...wait. He moved back from the first kid so he wouldn't get kicked in the head as the other one went flying over my shoulder." "Good. Then what?" "Ummmm...He...He moved to my left like he was going to circle me. I remember thinking that was a stupid old trick, and I wasn't going to let him get away with it...but...that's when the first guy came moving in quick with a big hook. I had to dodge that one and I followed up with an uppercut to the throat just like you and Dad taught us." "Immediately after you landed the blow...what did you do? Think about it," he said, reaching across the table he patted my hand. "This is important." "Well...I hit him. I could feel the cartilage and ligaments moving in his throat when hit him. I could tell it was a good punch and knew he'd fall down. I was thinking about that Dad said to make a blow count if you were afraid for your life...and I WAS!" My eyes wide with fresh fear at what had happened. Mr. Lawler patted my hand, and said, "It's okay, Son...the best of us have been out flanked before. It happens. What you have to do is make yourself keenly aware of what you could have done differently in case you are ever in that situation again." "Please, stop," Mom said, "your upsetting him. This isn't the time for all this." I wiped a tear from my eye, and looked up at Mom, "No, Mom...I need to do this. I'm okay." This time I wasn't lying. I was beginning to feel some anger at what happened instead of the shame. Everyone said I'd done okay...but I felt so stupid for getting out maneuvered. I wanted Dad to be proud of me, and I wanted my friends to know I wasn't a wus. Re-living it all in this way was making me furious about the whole thing all over again. My heart was racing, and my breathing quickened. "I...I remember watching him grab at his throat, he l.looked at me like he couldn't believe a little kid could hurt him like that...and he just went down to his knees and over to his side. I thought I... k.killed him." "Good...now...think. Exactly WHAT happened next after you watched him fall and go down?" "Everything went black instantly, and I felt myself f.falling forward. I felt like I was falling before I knew I'd been hit. The other guy was behind me and he'd hit me with I guess his forearm and elbow right across the back of my head and shoulders. I tried to catch my fall with my arms, but...but...I was flipping sideways...WAIT...he.h.he must have hooked my foot with his or something because my feet were going to the right and my head and shoulders were going to the left. I mean...he hit me forward and left, but my feet were flying back and right!" "Exactly!" Mr. Lawler said militarily, and looked as though I had confirmed his suspicions. "That wrist wouldn't have snapped the way it did had you simply gotten knocked down. "Painful as all this is Liam, I want you to listen, and listen carefully. This won't be the only bully you ever have to face." By now, all the guys had gathered around, and all the adults had subdued their conversations and were listening intently as well. He continued, "This may sound cruel and heartless, I'm sorry if it does. But - life is full of bad people who want to do bad things to other, to hurt others. Most of the time they act purely out of the callousness of their own heart, and without provocation...as in your case. They'll have plenty of excuses, but evil people do evil things..." He looked around slowly to each of the boys sitting at the table, then back to me. "Your mistake was to assume you were in a fair fight." I nodded in agreement. "School kids often have this code of conduct that says `I won't throw the first punch - but I'll throw the last!' Well, you weren't in a school yard fight with a couple dozen able referees your own age and size to keep things fair. You were in combat. In combat, you don't trade blows and survive. In combat, only the strong survive. It's critically important to know the difference about who your enemy is and what are your surroundings. "Trade blows with a sparing partner. Swap licks with a schoolyard dispute. But in a fight for survival...YOU have to SURVIVE!" He paused for effect. "Now, think back to the first bad guy...you flipped him, he landed on his back. Right?" I nodded. "Okay, your very next move should have been a spin to the left...you said he circled to the left right?" Again, I nodded. "So, a spin to your left put's HIM off balance and makes YOU the aggressor. He most likely responds by coming in low...because he saw you take the other guy out high. Wait for him to commit, then bring both fists ...he clasped his fists in a classic double fisted gesture...down to push him face first in the direction he has already committed himself too...the ground. "As he eats dirt, regroup instantly for the first guy to have rebounded. Your second blow was perfect...the mistake was watching the effects. YOU KNEW what happened. You felt the effectiveness of the blow and knew instinctively you had him down. Don't watch `em stack up...keep moving. Your next blow should have been a kick to the chops of either one who formed the most immediate danger." Wow. He was good. Cruel and heartless, but good. He looked around at all us boys. "I don't want ANY of you TRYING to hurt someone. But, if you have to defend yourself...then by God DO IT!" We all jumped at his sternness. "I'm not saying you didn't fight back well...or that you wouldn't have still gotten your butt kicked by these bigger kids. All I am saying is LEARN from your mistakes, and be prepared for the next time. There's bound to be a next time. If not, you're still prepared. Better to be ready, than caught with your pants around your ankles!" That brought us all into fits of laughter, and all the guys started reliving each fight they ever had, asking for advice and what-ifs. The mood was broken...but lessons learned. After a few minutes, I looked over at him...the whole place a cacophony of noise and activity... "Thanks," I mouthed, "You're the best!" He smiled and winked. "YOU are!" he mouthed back, and winked, reached out and patted my arm, and smiled warmly...affectionately. We both got dragged away by the gaggle of activity and our talk was over. As it got later and everybody was winding down, Mom suggested to Ray it was late and he should take the rest of the boys home so they wouldn't be in trouble with their folks. So, we all gathered up the stuff and helped bring in the dirty dishes, trash, and junk from the pool area and tables. The guy's all pitched in and we made real short work of it. We all kidded and harassed each other as we worked and spirits were high. It had been a perfect night! Ray had his tee-shirt back on, and Brand was right on his hills. I found this to be interesting, and made a mental note to talk to Jason about the two of them...something was not adding up perfectly clear to me. Daniel and Will were deeply engrossed in a dispute about who had the best ERA (Earned Run Average - which best would be lowest) and OBP (On Base Percentage - which would be the highest) on the team, but were following Ray and Brant out the door as if tethered by some mystical invisible cord. Jason and I both picked up on the same thing and were giggling at how funny they looked...it really did look like they were being dragged out by an invisible thread or something. It was a hoot. As we all got just outside the door, Lenny came bounding out the door and nearly wiped us all out. "Damn, Lil Dude!" Ray protested good humouredly. "Where's the fire Lil Dude?" Lenny blushed a tiny bit but kept enough gumption to punch him in the arm and wiggle on past him nearly knocking little Brant down! "Ummm...Hey..." I overheard Lenny mumble to Brant. He noticed we were all watching him, so he hooked Brant under the crook of his elbow and drug him out a few steps onto the grass away from Ray's car. He put his mouth up to Brant's ear with his hand cupped in the classic secret-teller's gesture, and Brant started nodding his head in agreement with whatever the deep secret Lenny was sharing. A huge grin spread out on Brant's face and he turned to face Lenny and mouthed "COOL!" We ALL knew what Brant had said, even though we couldn't hear him, but hadn't a clue about what Lenny's big secret was all about. Brant and Lenny broke up their espionage and came back over to the car. Nearly everyone had piled in to the car. "Shot-gun!" cried Brant...even though the car was already full! "No shit, Sherlock!" Daniel hollered back out the passenger's side front seat, "I think you have to like...be the FIRST one here to call that Numb-nuts!" The whole car erupted in fits of giggles. "Wrong again, O Wise-Turd-For-Brains!" Ray said while leaning forward and looking out the window at Brant. "Driver decides who's Shot-Gun...and tonight it's Lil' Dude Brant here -- Hop in Brant. Back-seat there Nimrod," Ray slapped Daniel on the shoulder and the rest all hooted and hollered telling him he'd been busted. Everybody was laughing and nearly falling over themselves having a great time at each other's expense...soon enough Daniel got dragged into the back seat and Brant hopped in the front in his place. He looked back at Daniel and stuck his tongue out at him and things started flying out from the back seat at him like crazy! Ray was hollering for them all to cool-it as he put it in gear and pulled away from the drive. Once he got started though, they all calmed down and stuck heads, arms, and shoulders out of as many windows as possible and yelled goodnight all the way down the street. Once, before they got to the end of our lane, the car stopped...no doubt some "arranging" had to be done...then they pulled back out and disappeared. Wow, what a night. As we watched them pull away, I noticed that Jason and Lenny were on either side of me...VERY close, and Lenny was holding my hand with both of his! Damn. This was nice...but I was a tiny bit paranoid that someone might come out and see us. But, I reasoned to myself, Lenny was little enough to get away with holding another boy's hand in public...nobody would likely think anything of it. Still I pulled away from him just slightly -- he noticed, looked up at me - but I suppose he understood I wasn't trying to be distant, or mean. He just smiled warmly and accepted my movement. I adjusted my shorts, which were sticking to me as they were still damp and clingy. My tee-shirt was back on by then and I wasn't feeling very clean. "Let's go get changed and cleaned-up," I said to both of them. "I have some clothes you can wear Lenny, and Jason you know you have plenty here to wear." So, we all agreed and headed back in the house and up the stairs. I was still feeling pretty sore, and all the fun of the night was beginning to take it's toll on me. Halfway up the stairs I hollered at Mom and told her we were taking a shower and would be down in a few minutes to say good night. "Lenny, Honey," she called up as she walked around to the bottom of the stairs. He poked his head around the bedroom door (he was the first upstairs...and was NAKED already...as I could clearly see from my vantage point, but thankfully MOM couldn't from hers). "Ma'am?" he called back to her. "Sweetie, your Father says you are going home in a little bit. Go ahead and change, Liam has some things I think will fit you. Wear them home and I'll get them back from you later -- okay, Dear?" Geez "Yes, Ma'am," Lenny called back to her...his voice very low and sexy. Just hearing him turned me on...I know I've told you this a lot...but you'd just have to hear him talk to really know what I mean. When you look at him there is a certain expectation you'd have about what his voice would sound like...a little kid's voice...but what came out was just sooooo sexy, and low, and so...so sexy! I got up the stairs by then and by then Lenny AND Jason were naked as J-Birds! I nearly crapped my shorts when I saw them like that! They had evidentially conspired to shock me like that when they knew I was slowed down by Mom at the bottom of the stairs. They burst out in laughter as they watched my shocked expression when I walked fully into the room. Lenny jumped at me and I jumped back. Giggling, he reached for my shorts and started pulling them down. "What the hell..." I stammered, but the laughing and giggles made me relax and just go with it. If THEY weren't going to be fussy about being naked together...who the hell was I do be upset? Not gonna happen! "Let's all shower together," Lenny giggled and insisted. "Come on...it'll be FUN!" I looked over at Jason who shrugged as if to say, "Who can deny him something he's set his mind too?" Truth be told...Lenny was just so damned HOT with his clothes off...and he was obvioulsy boned up...I'm certain even Jason was having a difficult time keeping his eyes off of him. "Okay!" I said finally, as he was wrestling my tee-shirt up and off -- my swim shorts already having been snatched down and off. "Cool it a sec though...let me look to see if the coast is clear before we all streak across the hall! AND keep it QUIET for gods sakes!" I emphasized in an exaggerated hushed tone. I looked out the door with one eye, slowly pulled it open to peer out with my whole head preening around the door -- Lenny just bounded out at that point and grasped me by the hand, already had Jason in tow with the other and drug us both down the hallway with us each light-footing it and giggling the whole way. When we got to the bathroom I pushed them both in and slammed the door (a bit too loudly) and locked the door. "Damn-it!" I giggled at them, "you're gonna get us all BUSTED!" Jason started the water in the shower, Lenny fond us some towels. I just recalled that I couldn't get my arm wet and was about to tell them this wasn't going to work. Just then there was a knock at the door. SHIT! "Liam, Honey," it was Mom! Damn-it to HELL!!!! "Honey, I have a plastic sleeve and some tape here to wrap your cast with to keep it dry, Sugar." "MOOOMMM!" I whined through the door, "I've got no clothes on!" Jason and Lenny had jumped into the shower and were hiding behind the curtain...giggling their heads off! Dumb-asses! I shushed them as best I could, and wrapped a towel around my waist...THAT wasn't easy with my cast...and slipped quickly out the door keeping it as closed as humanly possible. Mom led me into the room and easily enough wrapped my arm in plastic and kissed me on the cheek, turning me back to the door and patting my toweled bottom. I blushed and gave her "the look" but she just giggled at me and herded me out and to the bathroom. Outside the door she leaned in and said loud enough for the two inside to hear, "You boys be quick and don't make a mess!" DAMN!!! I KNOW was a hundred shades of red now. Mom just pulled me by my face with her one hand towards her and she kissed me right on the lips. "Don't worry, Son...it'll be ok...you guys are just boys...no one's gonna think anything bad...besides, we're all right here in the house anyway. You boys be quick now...I think your Father has something to say to you all." Now it was my time to be in shock. WTF? I opened the door and stepped inside, locking the door behind me. I banged my head against the door lightly as I contemplated what she was talking about...and WHY she wasn't upset with three boys all showering together! Parents! How can you figure this stuff out? When I think they'll freak out - they are calm. When I think they will not notice or let something slide - all hell breaks out. Damn. I realized I wasn't hearing any noise besides the water running, I dropped my towel, stepped toward the shower and pulled the curtain back just a little. Jason was standing there with his back to me and his head raised up in the air. His hands were in front of him, and at first I thought he was jacking off! DAMN. But, then Lenny moved, or something happened, and I looked down and there he was on his knees bobbing up and down on Jason's dick! He was giving Jason a blow-job in my SHOWER! "Dude!" I gasped involuntarily. Jason jumped a bit, unaware even that I'd opened the curtain. I guess he had plenty to keep his mind off of what was happening around him! Lenny pulled off Jason's dick, and both of them turned to me ever so slightly. "Get in!" Lenny beamed at me, "we're going to have so much fun!" I won't give you any more details just now then to say that all three of us had a great time! The water got cold and we had to turn it off, and then we got cold and had to get out and dry off. We were all quiet then, as we toweled each other dry. This was sooooo stupid! And could have back-fired on us sooo bad. But, it was unbelievably sexy, and fun, and OMG I wanted to do it all night! Mom hollered up from the bottom of the stairs and told us to get dressed and down stairs. We each wrapped towels around the other and tenderly touched and groped each other through the towels. I opened the door and looked to make sure the coast was clear...it was...so we all bounded over to my room to change into some clean clothes. Just as we were pulling our shirts on...I was REALY having a hard time with my cast, wet skin and all...Dad tapped on the door and gently eased it open. He peered around the door and said, "You guy's okay in here?" "Yea, Dad," I said, as Jason reached behind me to pull my shirt down for me. "Thanks," I said to him as he pated me softly on the shoulder. "No probs!" he said, his eyes searching mine for something...I was thinking he wanted to know how I felt about what we'd just done. "Ummm..." Dad said, "You guy's come on down stairs now...we are having a family meeting." I continued to look Jason full in the eyes, "Okay, Dad...we're coming." He said okay and pulled the door shut. Jason leaned in and gave me a quick peck on the lips. "I love you, Liam," he said. I believed him. I pulled him into a hug and we embraced tightly for a couple of seconds. I felt Lenny beside me, so I reached for him, and we three got into a group hug once more. A few more seconds of this, then we all looked at each other...each knowing something big was about to happen...but none of us sure exactly what...or if things would ever be the same again. Comments welcome! andyoutwest@live.com