THURSDAY, MAY 7

The Rear Admiral pulled away from the curb and looked into his rearview mirror. Lewis was still standing in place on the sidewalk. Turning the corner, George lost sight of Lewis and worried his son would turn and leave, rather than join his friends to go to the gym and then school. Dr. Meijer had been a godsend this week. After meeting with Lars every day, George was confident Lewis was ready to face school, even if his son would face backlash from his behavior the previous week. "It's going to be hard to concentrate on work today that's for sure," George said to himself.

Lewis felt apprehensive. It wasn't so bad going into the Meijer residence. He'd made peace with Michael and the fences were mending with his brothers. But Lewis didn't know how everyone at school would react. He'd learned from the Meijer boys the rumors swirling around East Harbor Middle School. It was going to be a rough day setting things straight and taking shit for not living up to all his talk. It also weighed on Lewis' mind that Trajan was expected back to school this day too. As far as he knew, no one had spoken to Trajan since the hospital. If it wasn't for George calling Giovanni and Trish, he wouldn't have even known Trajan would be at school. It wasn't for a lack of trying. He tried to talk to Trajan so they could figure out what they would tell their classmates. He figured if they got their stories straight, they could minimize the embarrassment. But no matter how many times Lewis called or texted, Trajan remained silent.

Before Lewis realized it, he was at the front door opening it. Zach welcomed him and the chaos of all the boys getting ready and eating made Lewis feel at ease. They all said their greetings making everything seem normal. He let out a big sigh.

"I made French toast this morning," said Lars. "I have plenty of eggs and bread left to make some more if you'd like some."

Lewis smiled. "Yes, please."

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"How is mama?" asked Giovanni. It was early in East Harbor. The time he would typically be taking Trajan to the gym to meet his friends. In Italy, however, it was already late afternoon. After his father died, his mother moved back to Paestum to be with family. It worried Giovanni and his brother Luigi that their mother, with her health issues, lived so far away from a healthcare system they wished for her. Paestum, a community of less than a thousand residents, was an hour and a half south of Naples and better known for its ancient ruins than its modern amenities.

His cousin filled him in on his mother's condition and her stubborn insistence that nothing is wrong. It wasn't that she was on her deathbed, but she was having trouble getting around. A serious fall and she'd have to wait at least 30 minutes just for an ambulance to arrive.

"I will talk to Luigi. With the restaurant, I don't think he or Marne will be able to come, but Trish and I should be able to make it once school is out."

Trish overheard her husband and was concerned. She brought him a cup of coffee and sat next to him at the kitchen table.

"Thank you for calling. Much love. Ciao!"

"Who was that?" asked Trish.

"My cousin Sofia. She called to tell me she was worried about mama."

Trish nodded. She loved Giovanni's mother, but knew she was a bull-headed terror when you crossed her. It was hard on her when she lost her husband, but it had been hard on Giovanni and his brother since she moved back to Italy. "Are you thinking of going to Paestum to help her out?"

"Yes," answered Giovanni. He took a sip of his coffee. "I think it is time to help mama get her affairs in order. Maybe even get her some help or some sort of assisted living arrangement."

"You're willing to give up your status as the 'golden child'?" laughed Trish.

"I gave that up when Luigi opened his restaurant. With papa's restaurant still open, two restaurants in the Seattle area were as good as an entire franchise in mama's eyes." Giovanni joined Trish in laughter.

"What are you two laughing about?" groused Trajan. He crossed the kitchen and grabbed a box of cereal and a bowl.

"Your grand mama is having problems and your father is thinking about going to Italy to help her," explained Trish.

Trajan stopped and gave them a look as if they each had two heads. "And that was funny?"

"No," answered Giovanni. "You mother was making fun of me thinking I'm going to get your grand mama to change her ways."

With a shrug, Trajan retrieved the milk and a spoon and set about eating his breakfast.

"Maybe we should all go," Trish thought out loud. "We could visit Naples and Sorrento and even take Trajan to Mount Vesuvius and the ruins of Pompeii."

"And it would be good for him to see the rest of the family. They haven't seen him since he was a toddler," added Giovanni.

"You do realize I'm sitting right here," stated Trajan.

"Well, what do you think?" asked Trish. "How would you like to go to Italy after school's out?"

Trajan looked at his parents with a sour look on his face. He answered flatly, "I think it would fucking suck."

----------------------     

Isaac poured the boiling water over his Maple and Brown Sugar instant oatmeal and added some raisins. Taking a seat at the breakfast bar on the kitchen island, he contemplated the difficult conversation he needed to have with his mom. He felt he needed to exert more independence and was convinced his mom wasn't ready to let him. Ever since his diagnosis, she'd babied him. Before, when he was "normal", he played soccer and baseball and went to school like all the other guys. Now he often felt like a prisoner in his own house, only allowed to leave when escorted by the warden.

What confused him, and gave him a glimmer of hope, was being allowed to go to the movies and dinner with Jaden, Alex, and Josh. Frankly, he was shocked when his mother said he could go. He'd readied himself for the disappointment and planned out how he would explain it to Jaden. Maybe, just maybe, it was the right time to ask.

"Morning," grumbled Elijah. The 15-year-old hated waking up in the morning. "Why are you always the first one ready and eating breakfast? You don't even have to leave the house to go to school?"

Isaac shrugged and took another bite of his oatmeal. He had more important things on his mind.

Elijah grabbed the necessary items for his morning cereal and took the seat next to Isaac at the counter. Today's choice: Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

Erica's voice echoed down the hallway and into the kitchen. "Amelia! Hurry up and get your breakfast. I'll drop you and Elijah off at school."

"Rah! Mom!" whined Amelia.

Elijah and Isaac heard Amelia's brush drop to the counter next to the bathroom sink and her stomping down the hall to the kitchen. They snickered knowing the look their mother had given Amelia after her little fit.

Amelia entered the kitchen and glared at her brothers. "It's not funny."

Elijah and Isaac glanced at each other and laughed louder. Amelia knew they were laughing at her. It wasn't the first time this very scene played out. It still made Elijah and Isaac laugh and their laughing still made Amelia angry.

She grabbed the box of granola and a strawberry yogurt and started to sit at the counter. The only available seat was next to Elijah and she stopped short. Their eyes met. She recognized the look on Elijah's face as his memory flashed the scene he'd witnessed during Isaac's sleepover with Jaden the previous week. She knew what he was thinking. Flushed with shame and embarrassment, Amelia hurried into the dining room to eat her breakfast. Elijah turned back and stared at his cereal focused on finishing his breakfast as quickly as possible.

"What's with you two?" asked Isaac, watching Amelia rush to the other room. "You guys have been acting weird around each other for like a week."

"It's nothing," mumbled Elijah.

Erica strode into the kitchen while trying to slip the nut onto the post of her right earring. Looking around, she only saw two of her children. "Where's Amelia?"

"She's in the dining room," offered Elijah, his attention still directed to this cereal.

Mothers notice things. This morning it was the empty chair beside Elijah. "Is something going on between you two? You've been acting strange around each other." She poured some coffee in her tumbler and screwed on the lid. Checking the time Erica announced, "Brush your teeth and be in the car in 10 minutes. If you're late, you'll be riding the bus."

"Can I ride with you today?" asked Isaac.

"Sure sweetie." She stopped and gave Isaac a kiss on the crown of his head before heading back to her bedroom to get her purse and car keys.

Before the 10 minutes expired, the fourth car door shut and the Moores were off to the Mallway to drop off the oldest and youngest of the children.

Erica slowed as they approached the Mallway. Other parents were dropping off their children and students were crossing Maple Street on their way to the Middle or High School. Elijah and Amelia sighed and gathered their things for another school day. Isaac, on the other hand, excitedly scanned the faces of the students around the Mallway. There! In the group of boys passing in front of the Majestic.

The car stopped and the first one out was Isaac. "Jaden! Jaden!"

Jaden looked over and saw the familiar face--a face he hadn't expected to see. He turned to his friends, "It's Isaac! Come on!" He dashed across the grass. Reaching Isaac who was heading across the grass to meet him, Jaden dropped his bags on the ground and lifted Isaac into a hug. Isaac's laughter was music to his ears and his friend's arms wrapped around him was the best hug Jaden could imagine.

He set Isaac back on his feet and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "What are you doing here?"

"You said you were gonna workout with your friends this morning so when mom brought Elijah and Amelia to school, I was hoping I'd run into you." The other boys approached from behind Jaden. "Hi Alex!"

"Hey bro!" greeted Alex. The boys bumped fists.

Michael brushed past Alex and introduced himself with a hug. "Hi Isaac. I'm Michael. And this is my brother Lukas."

Lukas also gave Isaac a hug. "Great to meet you, Isaac. Jaden talks about you nonstop."

"At least you don't have classes with him," joked Sam. "He talks about you all through classes too."

"I do not," argued Jaden, his reddened cheeks telling the truth.

"I'm Sam, by the way, and this is my boyfriend, Gregory."

"What's up, Isaac," said Gregory, offering his fist for a bump.

"And this is my boyfriend, Christian," introduced Michael, "and our friends Lewis, he's the red head, and Scott. And these two hotties are our new friends from Montana. This is Craig and that's Oliver. If their dad gets a new job, they'll be moving here."

Craig and Oliver greeted Isaac. They'd been in East Harbor for a few days now, and they still found it fascinating how normal it was to be gay. Not that they thought being gay was not normal, but here it didn't seem any of the gay boys ever had to think twice about what they did or who saw. Craig was still skittish and surveyed his surroundings to make sure someone wasn't coming to beat them up. At the same time, the openness and comradery of the boys here in East Harbor made him feel warm and welcomed.

Michael looked from Jaden and Isaac to the other boys. "You guys can run ahead and get breakfast. Jaden and I will be there in a bit."

Lukas and Lewis knew Michael wanted to ask Isaac about Christian's birthday party, which was still a secret from Christian.

"Yeah," said Lukas. "I'm starving."

"Uh...yeah. Com'on." Lewis awkwardly followed Lukas' lead, but the deception wasn't apparent to Christian.

Michael told Christian to save him a seat. With a hand squeeze and a peck on the lips, Christian said bye to Isaac and headed to the Middle School with the other boys.

Turning back to Isaac when the others were out of ear range, Michael asked, "So are you allowed to come to the party?"

"Yes!" said Isaac excitedly. "But they haven't decided if I can spend the night or not."

"Well, I talked to my dad about it this morning," explained Michael. "He said your family, even your brother and sister, are welcome to come to the party to meet everyone. And he said Craig's dad will be back from San Diego and staying with us this weekend. He's a doctor, a really good one. Maybe that will reassure them that you'll be safe."

"I'll tell them," said Isaac enthusiastically. "There's no way they can say I won't be safe."

Erica couldn't hear what the boys were saying, but she assumed all the boys were friends of Jaden's and they all seemed to welcome Isaac. She watched for several minutes before Jaden and the other boy followed Isaac back to the car.

"Hi Jaden," she said, "it's nice to see you again."

"Hi Mrs. Moore," said Jaden with a huge smile. "Thank you for bringing Isaac. It's the best surprise ever!"

"Mom," said Isaac, "this is Michael Meijer, Dr. Meijer's son who invited me to his boyfriend's birthday party on Saturday."

Michael reached his hand in the open window, "Nice to meet you, Mrs. Moore."

Erica shook Michael's hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you too, Michael."

"My dad would like to invite your entire family to the party," continued Michael. "I hope you all can make it."

"Thank your father for the invitation. I'll speak to my husband and see."

"See you Saturday Isaac." Michael gave his new friend a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "I'll see you at school Jaden." He gave Jaden a hug and kiss and headed to school.

"I've got to get to school too. See you soon." Jaden's kiss wasn't on the cheek, and it wasn't a peck. Jaden headed to the middle school, waving as he crossed the street.

Isaac watched until a school bus stopped in traffic blocked his view. He got back into the car and shut the door. That's when he realized his mother must've seen the kiss. He looked at Erica and she was clearly as embarrassed as he was. She put the car in gear and headed home.

"Mom?" asked Isaac.

"What honey?"

"I want to go to school."

"Isaac..."

Isaac began laying out his case. "Mom, you've seen how cool all the other boys are. I'm doing all my physical therapy and I'm all caught up at school, so I won't be behind the other kids."

"Maybe next year. There's only two weeks left of school."

"That's perfect," argued Isaac. "If school is too much, I only have to make it through two weeks and then we have all summer. If I start Monday, I only have to make it ten whole school days before summer. I can do it, mom. I know I can."

Erica didn't have a good argument. She knew her worry was her own overprotectiveness. At a loss, she played the only card she had left. "I'll talk to your dad."

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The day had gone pretty well so far. Lewis managed to avoid talking about the La Jolla Farms incident and he'd avoided Trajan almost all together...until now. He took a deep breath and blew it out as he entered the cafeteria for lunch.

"Hey Lewis," called out a voice.

Lewis turned in time to see Jordan flip his brown bangs out of his eyes. "Hi Jordan. You buying today?"

"Yeah. Mom was packing leftover tuna casserole, and I passed. I can hardly stand it fresh out of the oven. There's no way I'm gonna chance it the next day." The boys laughed as they took their spots at the end of the lunch line.

Trajan packed his lunch and was at the table when Lewis and Jordan arrived. Following Lewis' lead, the boys took seats next to Lukas and Scott and farthest away from Trajan. Immediately, Lewis regretted sitting with his friends.

"How many guys were there?" asked Will again.

Trajan proceeded to embellish the story of what happened in La Jolla Farms, captivating those at the table who had supported the efforts to blackmail Mark. They engaged Trajan in his storytelling which egged him to tell even greater tales. Nervous about returning to school to face the music, Trajan found a contingent of students who believed the rumors that made him and Lewis out to be heroes. On his way to school, Trajan dreaded the day's down time when students could ask him questions. By lunch, he found classes to be a nuisance because they interrupted the telling of his exploits into the underbelly of the criminal world.

As Trajan entertained his fans, the other boys sat quietly, tolerating Trajan's victory lap even if it was unearned. While they were irritated by Trajan's soaring ego, Lewis wasn't taking it nearly as well. Every word Trajan spoke grated on his nerves. Lewis hardly recognized the story Trajan told. When Trajan got to the part where Mark couldn't get the car started and the shootout, Lewis had had enough.

"Trajan," he tried to say calmly but his quavering voice betrayed him, "shut the hell up." All eyes at the table turned to Lewis.

Will broke the silence. "Com'on Lewis, you were there. You guys were awesome!"

"Yeah, I was there, but apparently Trajan wasn't," shot back Lewis.

"Lewis," whined Trajan, begging his friend not to correct the stories he'd been telling.

Lewis slammed his sandwich on his plate. "What? You want me to go along with Mark being a hero. I've gone along with that just like you asked at the hospital. Yes, he did push us into the swimming pool. When the police came over the wall, we were between them and the Boss and his men. We were caught in the middle and we were bound to be shot. If Mark wasn't luckily facing in the right direction, he would never have seen the police in time and all three of us could be dead right now."

Lewis stood and walked away. Trajan got up and followed. The boys watched as Trajan caught up to Lewis and grabbed his arm. Lewis yanked his arm away and shoved Trajan against the wall. The table emptied as Lukas and the gang ran to make sure a fight didn't ensue.

Lewis was right in Trajan's face. "You see this? You see the burn marks on my face?" Most had healed, but some were still scabbed over. "They're burn marks from the gun powder from the bullet that was meant for you! You weren't even paying attention when the Boss came up. He was coming to kill you and I pushed you over into Mark's side saving your ass. He then pointed the gun at my face. Right in my face. He only missed me because the police shot him first. We're not heroes. We're just dumb, stupid kids who are lucky to be alive!"

When he ended, Lewis was trembling with fear and anger. Trajan simply stood there staring Lewis in the face. Eventually, a pair of hands took Lewis by the shoulders and turned him around. "But now you're safe." Christian embraced his childhood friend and let him cry out his emotions.

"I'm sorry," said Trajan, trying to make Lewis feel better. "I didn't know. I'm sorry."

That's when Lukas interjected. "Trajan, bro, you've got to take others into consideration. Be aware of what's going on around you. It's not always all about you. Things you do and the things that happen around you effect other people too."

"Mrs. Trance is coming," announced Will. "Com'on Trajan let's go back to the table. Most of the boys followed, but Lukas, Michael and Christian stayed with Lewis waiting for their principal.

----------------------     

Frances Vance sat quietly in the new waiting room of Dr. Meijer's office. It wasn't a place she'd ever thought she'd find herself. Jack was such a wonderful boy. He'd never caused any problems and got good grades at school. A therapist's office was never even on their radar.

As Frances gazed out at the water fountain and attempted to dry her tears without smudging her makeup, she beat herself up for being part of Jack's trauma. She and Kellen never imagined that her brother-in-law was a threat to their family. The brothers were so close. Hell, Jack was named after John. They only called him Jack to avoid confusion. One question kept running through her head. 'How could we have been so stupid.'

She and Kellen were devastated. After days of crying and beating themselves up, both were numb. They felt lost. They viewed the world differently now. If John, Kellen's dear brother John, could deceive them so completely, which other beliefs about the world are they completely mistaken? Though in the same house, Kellen and Frances were on their own personal journeys, dealing with this betrayal in their own personal ways.

Frances didn't see the shadow of the boys pulling up and parking their bikes. She allowed Jack to ride his bike to school so he could ride it to the appointment. The bell on the door broke Frances from her trance. "Derek! What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to support Jack," he stated matter-of-factly. Looking at Jack, he took his boyfriend's hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Did you have a note to leave school?" she asked.

Derek just shook his head.

Frances searched her purse for her phone, happy to have something else to think about, even for just a moment. While the boys took seats in the window, Frances called Derek's mother. "Judith? This is Frances... Yes, thank you... Well, I'm at Dr. Meijer's office for Jack's appointment and Derek showed up. No, I'm glad he's here for Jack, but I think he snuck away from school... Yes, I don't want him to get into trouble for trying to do the right thing... Okay, I'll catch up with you later. Bye."

They heard Dr. Meijer give his current patient's family some final directions as they said their goodbyes before they exited out the back of the office to the parking lot. About the same time the rear door closed, Lars greeted the next family, the Vances.

Showing them into his office, Derek walked up to Dr. Meijer. "May I come in too?"

Lars looked to Frances and Jack. Jack looked up to his mother who nodded her head. "Right this way, Mr. McCall."

Normally, Derek would have laughed or made a joke. Today, however, he was all business, and that business was his boyfriend. When Lars returned with a coffee for Frances and a refresh of his own, Derek and Jack sat expectantly while Frances seemed a wreck. Lars wondered how her husband was handling things.

As he handed Frances her coffee, Lars got down to business. "Well, Jack. I'm sorry to hear about what's been happening. How are you doing?"

"Fine," offered Jack flatly.

'Hmmm...' thought Lars. 'This may be more difficult than I thought.' He could ask Jack about the specifics -- when it started, how long it had been going on, what all his uncle did to him -- but law enforcement already asked all that and Frances had the police reports shared with him. Jack wasn't being evasive; the boy was simply over answering the same questions repeatedly. Time to take things in a different direction.

"Do you miss your uncle John?"

Jack looked startled. The boy looked towards his mother then back at Lars uncertain how to answer that question.

"Frances," said Lars, "would you mind if I spoke to the boys alone? I know it is typical for underage patients to have their parents in the sessions, but I think Jack might be more comfortable talking about John without you or Kellen in the same room. Besides, Derek is here and I'm expecting another visitor here anytime now. With that, they heard the bell on the front door ring.

"I...uh...I guess I'll wait outside." She got up and headed to the waiting area. When she opened the door, she almost walked into a boy standing there with his hand raised ready to knock. "Oh! Sorry Michael. I think they're waiting for you." She stepped around the lad and made her way back to her previous seat.

Michael stepped into the office and closed the door. "Is she okay?"

"She will be," said Lars. "I'm going to go talk to her for a moment. I'll be right back. Michael crossed the room and gave Jack and Derek each a hug before taking the open seat next to Jack.

"Frances," said Lars before taking a seat next to the forlorn woman, "are you and Kellen alright?"

"No, not really."

"I can imagine that you both feel confused and betrayed, much the same as Jack does right now." Lars handed Frances a business card. "He's a friend of mine. He works with parents and families. I think it would be great for you and Kellen to go see him while I'm working with Jack. Then, eventually, the three of you can go together...unless Derek decides he needs to be part of that too."

Frances laughed and looked at the card. "I think you're right. I think both of us felt like we would get past this but we're both wandering along our own paths, neither of us making any progress. We're only getting farther apart."

"Why don't you give his office a call while I'm in there with the Jack," suggested Lars.

"I will," said Frances with a smile. "Thank you."

Lars smiled and returned to his office. "So, Jack, if you are uncomfortable with Michael being here, I'll send him back to school. But since you are familiar with Michael's story, I thought he might be someone you could talk to about what your uncle John did."

Jack looked at Michael and smiled. "He can stay." Jack reached out and held Michael's hand similarly to the way he was holding Derek's.

"Now that your mother's in the waiting room, tell me, do you miss your uncle John?"

Jack teared up and nodded his head.

"It's alright to miss him, Jack. You love your uncle John."

Jack nodded again, "But it's all my fault. If I'd just done what John wanted...if I just did sex stuff with him and kept my mouth shut, then nobody would be sad, and he wouldn't be in jail."

"Really, Jack?" asked Lars. "No one would be sad? Not even you?" Jack looked at the floor to avoid making eye contact with Lars. "Jack. You deserve to be happy too. You deserve to have your boundaries respected, not ridiculed. You deserve the respect from your uncle that when you say 'no', it means 'no'."

Tears streamed down Jack's face. Michael got up and hugged Jack and Derek squeezed Jack's hand tighter. "I felt the same way, Jack," said Michael. "I felt the same way."

"What do you mean?" asked Jack.

"I blamed myself for everything that happened to me too." Michael leaned back and looked Derek in the eyes. "I took me a long time to realize the shame of all of that stuff was making me feel guilty. None of it was my fault, but the shame made me feel guilty."

"But I did that stuff with Uncle John. I did it," admitted Jack, trying to explain why it was all his fault.

Michael bit his lip and thought for a second. "Jack, how much do you pay for your mortgage?"

Jack looked at him and asked, "What's a mortgage?"

"How much do you pay for your house each month?" explained Michael.

"I don't know. Dad does that."

"How much do you spend on groceries each week?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "Mom buys the groceries. Why are you asking me these things? It's all grow-up stuff."

"Exactly," said Michael. "Adults take care of kids. Kids don't take care of adults."

"Well, yeah," agreed Jack wondering why everyone thought Michael was so smart.

"So, who's the adult, you or your Uncle John?" asked Michael.

"You know the answer to that." Jack was suspicious of where Michael was going with this line of questioning.

"And so do you Jack. You aren't the adult. Your Uncle John is the adult, and it was his job to take care of you. To love and protect you. Did he do that?"

Even Lars flinched with the directness of Michael's question. He hoped Michael could deliver the tough love messages. Lars had witnessed how much better Michael responded when those messages came from Alejandro or Christian.

Jack looked away and mumbled, "No."

"Did he tell you to keep it a secret?" asked Michael.

"Yes."

"Why?"

Jack answered, "So I wouldn't get in trouble?"

"Are you in trouble? Or is your Uncle John in trouble?"

"He is."

"So, he asked you to keep a secret so he wouldn't get in trouble," corrected Michael.

"I guess."

"Besides, even if you did everything he told you to, that wouldn't have protected everyone."

"What do you mean?" asked Jack.

"When you were at his apartment, even if you did everything he said to do, he would have still hurt Derek, Josh, and Alex too. Right?"

Jack nodded.

"Your Uncle tried to make you feel like it was your decision, that you were responsible, and that you were at fault. But that was never the case. He did that to try to control you." Michael paused to let that sink in.

When he felt Jack was ready to hear more, Michael asked, "Do you think you could have protected the other boys from your Uncle John?"

"I tried."

"But it didn't work?"

"No, he was too big."

"And could you protect yourself from him?"

"I told him I didn't like it. I told him to stop."

"But he wouldn't, would he?"

Jack shook his head.

"So, whose fault is it?" asked Michael.

Jack whispered, "Uncle John's."

It was the first of many times Jack would have that conversation before he would internalize it and absolve himself of responsibility for what his uncle had done to him and the family.

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A car horn blew as a boy on a red Trek mountain bike carelessly cut across South Santa Fe Avenue and into the Los Junior's parking lot. The boy gave a cursory wave as a form of apology, though he thought he'd given the pissed driver plenty of room and didn't know what she was upset about.

Locking the bike to a handicap parking sign, Trajan took off his helmet. Glancing around the parking lot he found what he was looking for. He entered the restaurant and headed to the patio. Trajan approached the table in the back corner of the patio, he greeted Mark with a "hey". Honestly, after the text exchange, he wasn't positive Mark would even show up. Taking the seat next to the older teen, Trajan added, "Glad you showed up."

"Well, you were right about one thing," said Mark, trying to justify why he'd disobeyed everyone's demand he stay away from Trajan, "we need to talk."

"Yeah," agreed Trajan. "I wanted to thank you for saving my life." It occurred to him, he needed to thank Lewis too.

"Thank me?" asked Mark incredulously. "If it weren't for me, you would have never been to La Jolla Farms, let alone be there during a police raid."

"Yeah," said Trajan. "You grabbed me and kept me safe as all the bullets were flying. I felt the way you held me. The way you looked at me in the coach's office. You care. You like me. And I like you too." He placed his hand on Mark's thigh and gave it a squeeze.

Mark was hit by a flash of the bus ride back to East Harbor when the boys had set him up. He looked around to see if any of the other boys from the lacrosse team were hiding anywhere. Mark shifted in his seat and attempted to remove Trajan's hand, but he was unable to without making a scene. Trajan held it firmly in place. "Trajan, we're in public."

"No one can see."

Trajan noticed the waitress approaching and moved his hand when he took the menu. The boys ordered drinks, a plate of nachos to split and Trajan ordered a burrito. He turned to Mark once the waitress left to place their order. "Look, I like you too. I was thinking maybe we could date or something."

"Or something?" wondered Mark. He was flabbergasted by Trajan's question, but he also had to give him a bit of credit. It took guts for a middle schooler to ask a college student to go out.

"Yeah, you know -- hook up or be fuck buddies," offered Trajan.

"Dude, are you listening to yourself?"

"What?"

"Trajan," said Mark, lowering his voice and looking around to see who might be within earshot, "I'm grateful that you've kept me out of jail. I truly am. But we really shouldn't be seen together. Your parents...both our parents are really suspicious of what went on the first time you went to that house. They've heard the stories your friends told the police after they overheard me talking to you. If your parents find out we're together, they'll call the police or sue me and my family. No matter what you say happens when we're together, I can get in trouble just being around you."

Mark shut up and played like normal when the waitress returned with their drinks and nachos. "I'll have your burrito here in a minute or two. Can I get you anything else?" she asked.

The boys shook their heads and waited for her to enter the restaurant.

"Com'on, I know you like me." Trajan groped Mark's crotch causing the older boy to jump and knock his silverware off the table and onto the concrete patio.

"Stop that," pleaded Mark. The two fussed with Trajan teasing Mark and Mark fighting off the boy's playful advances until the waitress returned with the burrito. She gave the two an odd look then hurried back to the restaurant.

Mark's nerves got the best of him. He was certain the waitress was on to them and was going to call the police or something. "Did you see the look she gave us? You're going to get us caught."

"Chill out." Trajan took a bite of his burrito.

"Look Trajan. I do like you. You're a cool kid. I'm sorry I used you to meet the demands I recruit a young party boy. I should have never done that to anyone, especially someone as young as you. It was really stupid, but I thought I could protect you and make sure you never went there again and get caught up in everything."

Trajan continued to eat and listen to Mark.

"But the second trip to La Jolla Farms was your idea. I was trying to protect you from yourself. You look at what you want and don't take consequences to you or to others into consideration. Yes, I saw the police coming and got the three of us into the pool. But I also got us all into the car and couldn't get it started. If it wasn't for the police, all three of us would have been killed right there in front of the house."

"But we didn't. And now that is all over, I think we should be boyfriends. You're smoking hot and all I can think about. I like jack off thinking about you every time."

"Are you even listening to what I'm saying? First, your parents don't want me around you and would call the police if they knew I even met you here today. Second, you're underage. Even if none of this ever happened, I would go to jail if we were dating -- especially doing the things you have in mind."

"I won't tell."

Mark took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. "I know and I thank you. But I almost got in trouble without you saying anything. Now that everyone is suspicious and have heard the stories of what happened the first time I took you to La Jolla Farms, you don't have to say anything for me to get in trouble."

Mark stood and pulled $40 dollars out of his pocket. He didn't have any smaller bills. Dropping the money on the table for the meal and tip, he scooted past Trajan before turning to add one last comment to the middle-schooler. "You're a cute kid. Maybe when you're 18, if you're still interested, maybe we could go out. See you around."

Trajan watched as Mark walked away.

----------------------     

"Are you sure no one is home?" asked Sam as he followed Gregory into the Fielder residence.

Gregory turned and locked the door behind them. "Yeah. Mom said she took the afternoon off to get her hair done and run errands. She said she'd be getting carryout for dinner which means she won't be home to cook. That should give us a couple hours at least."

It wasn't uncommon for the boys to be together after school. If it wasn't lacrosse practice, they were at one home or the other. Sam's mother, Gladys, was a stay-at-home mom and when she was giving Alex baking lessons and there was no lacrosse, she made sure Sam was safe at Gregory's, or she took Sam with her. If Gregory would be home after school, Gregory's mom Maria would work from home in the afternoon. In other words, the boys rarely had freedom after school to alleviate their sexual tension and they planned to take full advantage of it.

"First things first," said Gregory, "let's grab a snack." The boys went straight to the kitchen and raided the pantry. Long ago Maria started keeping Sam's favorite snacks in stock as well as her son's. Gregory tossed an unopened package of Archway Soft Frosty Lemon cookies to Sam and grabbed the Oreos for himself.

With glasses of milk, the boys sat at the kitchen table and hungrily scarfed down their favorite treats. Gregory burped then added, "If we sit here and stuff ourselves with more cookies, we won't have time for the important stuff."

Sam stuffed the last half of his cookie in his mouth and sealed up the remaining cookies while Gregory did the same with the Oreos. Gregory took the cookies back to the cupboard while Sam rinsed their milk glasses in the sink.

Sam bent over and placed the glasses in the dishwasher when Gregory grabbed him from behind. "Damn Greenfield. You are so fucking sexy." Sam rubbed his ass against the pocket rocket in Gregory's pants. Gregory moaned then turned Sam to lock lips. They forgot about heading to Gregory's bedroom. Their clothes dropped to the tiled floor as they undressed each other. In moments, the two seventh graders were down to just their ankle socks and tennis shoes. Gregory turned Sam and held him from behind and licked the side of Sam's neck. That always got Sam going (as if he needed to get going any more than he already was). Gregory pinched Sam's nipples eliciting a squeak from the blond before nudging him to bend over.

Maria Fielder's day was like a comedy of errors. Right off the bat, the client thought their morning meeting was 30 minutes earlier than scheduled. At lunch, the restaurant gave the Doordash driver the wrong order leaving the office with two Chef salads to feed eight people. She grabbed the wrong paperwork to get her passport updated and went to her gynecologist's office when her appointment was with her family doctor. But Maria took it all in stride. After years of stressing about stupid things, Maria learned to let things roll off her back. That's why she was so valuable in the office. When others would fall into blaming and driving their BMWs (bitching, moaning and whining), Maria sought ways to add value and found solutions.

With her afternoon plans were wrecked, she could have chosen to go back to the office. She had plenty of work to keep her busy. Instead, she decided to treat herself to some leisure time at home. Maria pulled her Nissan LEAF into the driveway and entered the back door. Maria walked through the laundry room to the kitchen entrance. Her gasp was drowned out by the soft moaning of her son and his lover. The scene before her was etched into her memory before she could avert her eyes.

Maria was amazed that the boys were still oblivious to her presence. She was speechless and knew she shouldn't just let this go on. To get the boy's attention she cleared her throat.

"SHIT! MOM?" screeched Gregory.

"OH MY GOD!" shouted Sam.

In a flash, both boys made a dash to the safety of Gregory's upstairs bedroom.

Maria laughed and set her bags on the counter. Retrieving the boys' clothing the scene she witnessed flashed in her memory. Sam bent over kitchen table, his young manhood bouncing proudly as it leaked onto her tiled floor. Her son behind Sam on his knees, face buried in Sam's cute ass while he prepared his stiff rod for their ultimate act of love. There are just some things you can't unsee. Things a mother never needs to see. "It's time for Chaz to have another conversation with Gregory."

----------------------     

Splashing and laughter echoed off the walls of the YMCA's indoor pool. Everyone was having a joyous time, but no one more than Isaac and Jaden. It was Isaac's day to do his physical therapy work on his own and Jaden offered to help.

Erica watched her son. She'd never seen him work so hard and Isaac enjoyed every moment of it. Jaden's patience and caring for Isaac never ceased to amaze her, especially in a boy so young.

"Let's swim to that corner over there." Jaden pointed to the corner in the deeper end. About halfway there, the water would be too deep for either boy to stand.

The concern showed on Isaac's face. "That would be my farthest yet and I'm already tired. I don't think I can make it."

"Can I show you a trick?" asked Jaden.

Isaac liked the cute look on Jaden's face. His boyfriend obviously had something he wanted to show him. "Okay...sure."

"Okay," said Jaden with a smile. He reached out and placed a hand behind Isaac's back then reached below to lift Isaac's legs from behind.

"Whoa!" laughed Isaac as Jaden maneuvered him into position. Knowing how nervous Isaac was about floating, or rather sinking, Jaden held him high in the water. "Now float on your back. I'll hold you up."

Isaac smiled to himself with the touch of Jaden's hand on his bare skin. Trusting his friend, Isaac relaxed, and Jaden lowered him into the water. Jaden adjusted his hands landing one right on Isaac's butt causing both to giggle.

When Isaac giggled, he felt is body begin to sink and he tensed up waving his arms and legs.

"Relax, I've got you," said Jaden. Jaden's voice reminded Isaac that Jaden would keep him from sinking. His trust in Jaden won out and Isaac stopped struggling. "Now straighten your back and relax your entire body." Isaac stretched his body raising his hips and reached out to the sides with his arms. He didn't realize when Jaden lowered his hands a couple inches breaking contact with Isaac's body.

"Isaac, you are completely relaxed. Now stay relaxed and feel that you are floating. My hands are right here but I'm not holding you up." Jaden used his fingers to let Jaden know his hands were close by but didn't use them to support Isaac. "Now on the count of three, I want you to tighten up all your muscles. Don't bend your arms or legs or anything. Just tighten the muscles. Okay? One...two...three."

Isaac did as Jaden requested and felt his body sink. Surprised by that outcome, Isaac immediately sought the bottom with his feet so he wouldn't go under. Jaden's hands, however, caught him and pulled Isaac's body into his. "I got you."

Isaac put his arm around Jaden's shoulder and started to calm again. "What happened?"

"When you tense up, your diaphragm pushes up against your lungs giving them less room to hold air," explained Jaden. "The less air in your lungs, the lower your buoyancy, and you sink."

"Then why did you tell me to tense up if I was going to sink?"

"Well," began Jaden, "when you swim, like when you are trying to walk laps in the water, I noticed you really tense up your body and fight the water. That causes you to sink. It's good when you are walking because it keeps you on the bottom making walking easier. But when you swim, float, or tread water, it makes you work harder to stay afloat. If you relax, you can use your buoyancy, you can kinda float through the water. That will make swimming easier on you. You won't get so tired so fast."

"Oh...Why didn't you ever tell me before?"

Jaden laughed. "This is the first time we've hung out like this!" Both boys laughed and Jaden let Isaac settle back onto his own feet. "So, this time, don't focus on battling the water and trying to swim as fast as you can to the wall. Instead, think about floating and take easy, relaxing strokes with your arms. I'll be right beside you in case you get tired. Okay?"

Isaac nodded and faced the corner Jaden indicated earlier. Taking a few deep breaths, Isaac pushed off the bottom and used a frog stroke keeping his head above water so he could breathe and see where he was going.

Jaden treaded water and used a side stroke to stay right alongside Isaac. "Relax, don't struggle or try to go fast. Nice and easy... Nice and easy..."

It took about 10 or 12 feet, but Isaac caught on to what Jaden was telling him. Instead of struggling to keep his head above water and racing to get to his destination so he could stand or grab the wall, he was calm and in control. His gentle, easy strokes steadily moved him towards the corner. He didn't have to rush, he wasn't scared he would sink, and he wasn't getting tired like he usually did.

"You're doing it!" cheered Jaden. He turned onto his stomach and matched Isaac's frog stroke.

When they reached the corner, Isaac was ecstatic. He grabbed Jaden into a hug and kissed him on the lips. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Jaden just smiled and hugged Isaac back with one arm while holding them both up with the other.

Erica watched the showing of love and gratitude and sent her own feelings of gratitude out into the universe.

----------------------     

"Wow!" gasped Riley Jenkins, East Harbor's sophomore star distance runner. He was just put to the test in the 3200 meters against two eighth graders from Montana and lost. "And you guys are going to be going to school here next year?" He asked between pants.

Craig was also working on catching his breath. He only nodded. Oliver had a bit more time to recover and answered, "I think so. It depends on Craig's dad getting a new job down here."

"If that's the case, I'm sure the coach wants to know who he needs to call to give your dad a reference," joked Riley. The boys would have laughed but they were still sucking oxygen from their run.

Two of the sprinters overheard Riley's comment and joined them. "Riley may have been joking, but I don't think he was far from the truth," offered Jamar. The team's 4x100 team just wrapped up their practice and saw the new guys' time trial against Riley.

"Yeah, man," added Xavier. "Coach was acting like he just won the lottery. He was running his old fat ass around showing everyone the stopwatch. What kinda time did you run?"

Oliver offered, "About nine minutes." The actual time didn't mean anything to the sprinters. Anything over a minute seemed pretty slow to them.

Riley put it into context for the speedsters. "You know that distance runner at regionals last year that blew everyone away?"

"Yeah. Yeah. What was that kids name?" asked Jamar.

"Jonas Collins," answered Riley. Craig and Oliver looked at each other recalling their encounter with Jonas the previous week. "Well," Riley added, stepping over and putting his arm around Oliver's shoulder, "my man Ollie here just smashed that jerk's time."

"Yes!" cheered Xavier pumping his fist. He stepped over and offered that same fist to Oliver to bump.

Craig asked, "So I take it you guys don't like Jonas either?"

"You guys know Jonas?" asked Riley fretfully. He thought he may have insulted a friend of Craig and Oliver and alienated the new boys instead of ingratiating himself to them.

With a laugh, Craig explained, "Yeah, we ran against him last week. Your assessment is correct. He's a jerk." Craig didn't continue his story leaving the East Harbor runners hanging.

Riley just had to ask, "And...what happened? How did it go?"

"Well, Jonas only beat me by four or five seconds," stated Craig.

"Oh," said the boys in green and gray. They were hoping someone put Jonas in his place.

Then Craig continued, "But Oliver beat him by about fifty or sixty yards." The boys cheered and congratulated Oliver.

"What you guys? Freshmen?" asked Xavier. Being a freshman himself, Xavier was hoping to have these guys anchoring distance events for the remainder of his time East Harbor High School.

"Nah," said Oliver with a cheeky grin. "We won't be freshmen until next year."

"No shit!" laughed Jamar. "I wish I could have seen the look on that asshole's face when a middle schooler kicked his ass!"

"Well, I don't give a fuck about Jonas anymore," declared Riley. "He's graduating and we won't have to deal with him anymore."

"And with the three of you, we've got ourselves a bona fide distance team that can pull its weight on the team," added Xavier.

"You guys underclassmen?" asked Oliver.

They nodded.

Jamar then stated what the coach and the rest of the team had on their minds. "If you guys end up here, and run three or four events, we've got a chance at state the next two or three years."

The boys heard another celebration and saw the head track coach showing some of the other coaches the time Oliver just ran. Looking around Craig and Oliver saw the students finish practice for their events and head their way to congratulate their soon-to-be new teammates, hopefully.

----------------------     

Lars never considered himself a man of habit other than his coffee. He always found change to be simple and natural. Zach moving in, bringing Michael and Matthew into the family, Carol working from East Harbor -- it all happened recently, and he felt like he hadn't missed a beat. But having an office away from the house was taking some getting used to. He couldn't run to the kitchen to refill his mug of coffee. Working down on the Mallway, he wasn't able to fold a load of laundry during a break. And perhaps most importantly, he missed seeing Zach when the grad student was home studying. Yes, sometimes Zach studied in his office across the hall from Lars', but other times Zach preferred the home office and its proximity to the well-stocked kitchen. But perhaps what weighed on Lars' mind the most was not being needed at home.

The home office was originally a practical move. Lukas was young and it was convenient for Lars to be home and available to his son after school. Now the boys were more independent, old enough to be home without supervision. 'Hell,' thought Lars, 'Matthew's got his own car. This time next year, Simon and Lukas will have their learners' permits.' He looked forward to the future, Zach graduating and joining his practice. It would free up more time for them to spend together. But Lars already missed the boys. They would be graduating and moving on with their lives. He would miss the chaotic mornings and having all the sporting and music events that kept the boys busy.

As Lars strolled down Maple Street, his thoughts were interrupted by the voice of a young teen boy.

"Hi Dr. Lars!"

Lars looked up to see Alex coming his way. "Hi Alex," greeted Lars with a smile. He'd asked Alex to just call him Lars since he saw the boy much more frequently hanging out around the house than as a patient. Alex somehow translated that to be Dr. Lars instead of Dr. Meijer. Lars decided not to bother trying to correct him. "How are you doing today?"

"I'm doing pretty good. Had a good week so far I think," answered Alex thoughtfully. "How are you?"

"I'm doing well. Thank you for asking."

"So, I asked mom a question and she just acted weird and told me to ask you."

"Okay," answered Lars. That explained why Alex had watched for him and ran down the street to meet him on the way home. "What was the question?"

"Well, when John came into the bedroom all gross and stuff, he was wearing this silver metal thing around his junk and..."

"Alex," interrupted Lars, "let's wait until we get to the house and have this conversation." Lars looked to see who may have overheard their conversation and hurried the boy into the house. The last thing he wanted to be doing was having a conversation about sex toys and such with a 13-year-old boy in public.

Once they entered the house, Lars approached Alex's question. "So, Alex, why do you think your mother didn't want to answer that question?"

"I dunno," said the boy. "At first I thought maybe she didn't know. But after thinking about it, John wanted to do sex stuff and maybe my mom was embarrassed to talk about sex stuff with me."

"You, young sir, are very perceptive." Lars reached the dining table and gave Zach a kiss. One of the things he and Zach had agreed upon was to be completely honest and open about their love and relationship around the boys and their friends -- especially the boys that were coming out. They wanted the boys to see a normal, healthy relationship between two men instead of leaving it up to what the boys saw on TV or in movies.

Zach removed his ear buds. "Hi, honey. How are you doing Alex?"

"I'm good," Alex answered.

Lars entered the kitchen to turn on the warming oven and pour a cup of coffee from the pot Zach brewed up for him. "Alex, why don't you ask Zach your question."

"Are you sure?" asked Alex.

"Sure," said Zach. He grabbed his bottled water. Before he took a drink he asked, "What do you need help with."

"Well, during the, uh, you know, last week, John came into the room naked with the shiny, silver, metal thing around his junk."

*sssspppptt*

Zach started coughing and scrambled to wipe the water off his laptop and books. Lars burst out laughing and Zach gave him a look of disbelief. Zach knew he'd been set up.

Lars came around the island and gave Zach a kiss on the head. "Maybe we should leave Zach to his schoolwork. Let's have a seat on the couch and I'll explain." He handed a water to Alex, and they got comfortable for their talk.

"That device was called a 'cock ring'. They can be placed around the base of the penis, or in some cases, a man can place his penis and testicles through the device. I think that sounds like the way you described how John Vance was wearing one that night."

"Yeah," agreed Alex. "But it looks kinda stupid. Why would anyone want to wear something like that? You could like, bust a lip or chip a tooth or something."

This time it was Lars' turn to choke on his drink. He set the mug down and placed his hand over his mouth while he coughed up coffee to clear his airway.

"Are you okay?" asked Alex.

Lars nodded and grabbed some Kleenexes to dry his hand and the coffee table. "Sorry about that. Let me see... Some men like to wear them to...um... So, some men like to show off their junk. When they are wearing clothing, they wear a cock ring to make their, uh, junk push forward under their clothing."

"They are trying to show off their dicks?" asked Alex.

Trying to walk a fine line. On one side, he wanted to help the boy put what he had seen into context and correct any misconceptions Alex may have formed. On the other hand, he didn't feel it was his place to teach sex education without explicitly speaking to Alexis first.

"Well, that, or just a bulge to make what they have seem bigger." Lars was getting a bit uncomfortable with the conversation. He didn't know Zach was totally engrossed in the conversation and enjoying Lars' discomfort immensely.

"Then, if John was going to be naked with a boner, why was he wearing one then?"

This time it was Zach's turn to burst out laughing. Lars turned and gave Zach his "look" and Zach just laughed harder.

"What?" asked Alex, thinking Zach was laughing at him.

"Don't worry Alex, he isn't laughing at you. He's laughing at me." Lars turned his attention back to Alex. "For some guys, they just like it. They like the way it looks. They may like the way it feels. For others, they need to use one to maintain an erection. The way blood circulates through your penis, it can let blood flow in and slow the flow out helping to maintain the erection. I can't tell you why John was wearing one, but what you saw him wearing was a cock ring."

"Okay. Thanks Dr. Lars."

"Let's head to the kitchen and start your baking lesson."

"Already?" asked Alex, getting up to follow Lars into the kitchen. "I haven't even gotten to tell you about my week and Josh and school and..."

"We'll have plenty of time for that. Today, I'm going to teach you how to bake bread. Baking bread is a multi-part process. We'll have time while we are letting the yeast and bread rise and then again while the bread is baking."

"Cool!" Baking bread sounded like fun, and it seemed more practical than baking desserts all the time. Not that his friends minded at all.

----------------------     

Matthew arrived at the San Diego Force Training Facility in Poway early. He wanted to take his time preparing mentally and get a feel of the place before practice started. At least that is the story he told everyone when he announced his plans for the evening. The reality was, he was nervous. He knew his dad would tell him the pressure he was feeling was self-imposed and he knew his dad was correct. But Matthew wanted to pick up where he left off back in Forest Grove. He wanted to perform in practice the way he did when he tried out for Coach Davidson. It was a lot to live up to even if he was the only person with those expectations.

He stopped by the table to check in and was handed his new team bag. The weight of the equipment bag surprised him. When he found a place to sit, he admired the navy-blue bag with the team logo in sky blue on the side. Inside the bag he found his uniforms, practice jerseys, and a booklet introducing each of the players on this year's team, team rules, and practice and game schedules.

He refolded the white and light gray pairs of pants and placed them back into the bag. One at a time, he held up the game jerseys. First, the white jersey with the team logo and numbers in sky blue with navy outlines. Then the sky-blue jersey with navy lettering with white outlines. And finally, the navy jersey with sky-blue numbers with white outlines. He was happy he was able to get the number 21 again. Turning it around, he ran his fingers across the name: Meijer. When he folded the jersey and returned it to his bag, he noticed his first and last name and number embroidered on the handle. With his bag back in order, he opened the booklet and started looking at the team roster.

"What's up singer-boy?"

Matthew looked up to see his friend, Dylan Delvecchio. Reaching out to bump fists, Matthew asked, "Dude, really? When are you gonna get over that?"

"Never," laughed Dylan. After Dylan pitched at Matthew's makeshift try-out for Coach Davidson, Dylan looked up Matthew and found out he was in At the Majestic. Since then, the teasing hadn't stopped. Dylan joined Matthew on the bench. "What do you think of the roster?"

Matthew shrugged his shoulders. "I don't really know anyone. I'm just trying to learn names."

"Yeah. I need to do that too." Dylan pulled his book out and flipped to the roster. "Some new team was created up north in another league and poached a bunch of players. Coach Davidson and Coach Cook have spent the high school baseball season recruiting new players."

"I'm seeing some other sophomores on the team. Are the coaches planning on a rebuilding year so we can be competitive next year?" asked Matthew.

"Not from what they are telling me. Most of the new guys are star players from other teams' younger divisions. Between you and me, Coach Davidson told me he thinks most of the replacements are upgrades over the player who left."

"Cool. Looks like we've got a lot of power hitters and a lot of guys who can pitch," mentioned Matthew.

"Well, that's mainly for their high school teams. During this season, most of those guys won't throw many, if any, innings. We'll have our starting rotation and bullpen of relievers. But it's always good to have some extra arms around in case of injuries and big tournaments." Dylan turned the page in his book. "And you see all these guys who play infield and outfield? They'll be assigned more specific roles within the team. Only a few guys will play more than one or two positions during the season -- though it might not be the position you play the last season. We'll all be more specialized on the Force. But like I said, we'll have a few utility players that will move around to keep them in the lineup so we can put other guys in that aren't skilled at multiple positions."

Matthew was taking it all in and welcomed Dylan's introduction to the other returning players on the team. He felt even more comfortable meeting some of the other new players. It looked like an interesting mix of guys, but he noticed one thing they all had in common: they all seemed very serious about baseball.

----------------------     

Christian took a deep breath and exhaled. With dramatic flair he clicked his mouse to start the Adobe Media Encoder's final rendering of all their videos. "This will be finished in about 40 minutes and then we'll be all done. He spun around in his desk chair to look at all the other things he and Michael built and collected for their honors presentation. Michael was placing the last poster into its frame amid the stacks of equipment and materials that had over run the band's social media studio making it unusable for recording videos to post online.

"How does that look?" asked Michael holding up the final piece of artwork in its new frame.

Christian laughed. "It would look better if you weren't holding it upside down."

Michael looked around the front and saw the poster was upside down and rolled his eyes. "Well, at least the poster is right-side up in the frame. I never want to do this again."

"You don't mean that," said Christian knowingly. "When we get our grades for this, you'll be so excited you'll want another project to start working on. Besides, you liked the challenge of pulling this off as much as I did."

"That is true," agreed Michael. He walked around the table and perched himself on Christian's knee. "I'm so happy you were my partner for this project."

When they broke their kiss, Christian added, "I hope to be your partner for a lot more things too."

Michael rested his body against Christian's. "Me too," he said. The boys rested in that position for a while, waiting to get their second wind.

"I think we need to get this stuff downstairs and make sure it all sets up correctly before we go home for dinner," suggested Christian making no move to remove Michael from his thigh.

"Before we do that," said Michael, sitting up to look at Christian's face, "I want to talk to you about something."

"What's that?"

"Well, I know Lewis kinda spilled the beans about your birthday party this weekend," said Michael.

"It wasn't like anyone was keeping it a good secret. Mom and dad wouldn't let me have a birthday party for some unknown reason. When I asked everyone what they were doing this weekend everyone had plans, but no one knew what their plans were. It was getting pretty obvious. Besides, I know how to make Lewis talk. He really didn't have a chance."

"Thank you for choosing Lewis and not me. You always have a way of making me talk too." They both laughed before Michael got serious again. "Well, it's your birthday party I want to talk to you about."

"Okay." Christian wasn't sure where this was going, but it was someplace Michael wasn't very comfortable going.

Michael decided to just get to the point. "What have you heard about sleepovers at our house?"

Christian was excited about the sleepover. "Everyone says they are tons of fun. I could kick myself for bailing and not staying over before."

Michael looked away then back to Christian. "Do you know what goes on at the parties?"

"Yeah. Tons of food. Swimming and the hot tub. Then movies and staying up late."

Biting his lip, Michael tried to get to the point. He was certain Christian had heard about the fun boys had at his house but didn't want to just throw it out there. "Do you remember when Curtis said he thought he might be bi?"

Christian thought a moment. "Yeah. I was kind of surprised about that."

"Well, he spent an evening with Derek and Alejandro and that opened his eyes to the possibilities."

"Really? When did that..." Michael saw the moment Christian realized what Michael had been trying to get at and just nodded his head slowly. "You mean at..." Michael just continued to nod his head.

"Some of the guys like to mess around at the parties. We usually go to one of the bedrooms while the guys that don't hang out in another room. There's no pressure or anything, it just happens, and people can do what they want."

"So, the gay guys go to one room and the straight guys go to another? Like some big boy orgy or something?"

"Well, yeah, but it's not that simple. Some of the guys that mess around are straight or bi or just curious. And all the guys don't just go to one room. We kind of just break off into different groups and go to separate rooms. In some rooms, all the guys might be messing around together. In other rooms, the guys might pair up with a partner or two." Michael blushed upon saying all of this. He realized how slutty it could all sound, but they were a bunch of hormone-driven teens and tweens and it kept them out of trouble.

"Okay. So, we can just go to your room," stated Christian.

"We could," agreed Michael, "or we could join the others."

Michael watched Christian's cheeks flush at the thought of joining the other boys. "Look, I'll be happy with whatever you want to do. I love you. But I know you've never messed around with anyone else. I thought this might be something you'd want to do and if we talked about it ahead of time, you could think about it. I didn't want you to get blindsided."

Christian's mind swirled with thoughts and questions. He was curious about who did what to whom and which straight boys were joining in. Well, there was Scott and he'd seen how everyone jumped on Trajan about outing Scott. Perhaps it was better not to ask about that. And why was he so interested in all of this? He wondered if he was curious to be in on the gossip about the events, or because thinking about a bunch of naked boys was turning him on? Was he committed to monogamy or was he just shy about having sex?

What was going through Christian's mind was obvious to Michael. The younger boy just watched and waited for his boyfriend to process everything. When Christian made eye contact, Michael continued. "I know it's a lot to take in. We'll talk more tomorrow after school. Until then, let's set up all this crap and make sure we're good to go for tomorrow."

"Thanks," said Christian leaning forward and giving Michael a kiss on the lips. The two boys looked around at all the stuff they needed to lug down to the auditorium to set up. "So, remind me again why we thought it was a good idea to store everything up here instead of down in the auditorium?"

Michael sighed. "Yeah. What were we thinking?"

"And how are we getting this to school tomorrow?" asked Christian.

"It's too late to get help for today. We can make a bunch of quick, small trips up and down the stairs. It will be faster than trying to carry a lot at one time. Tomorrow, we'll get everyone who shows up to work out in the morning to stop and carry something for us."

"Good idea," agreed Christian. "Let's get started."

----------------------     

When Lars took a seat at the dining table, Zach looked up from his books. Following his partner's line of sight, Zach saw Alex and the glow of the oven light cast on the dark-haired boy's face. Keeping his eyes on Alex, Zach said, "I know that line of questioning Alex put you through about the cock ring was not what you'd planned on for this afternoon. Hilarious, but unexpected. But you were the one honored with that."

"I know," said Lars smiling to himself.

"And that's one of the things I love about you," added Zach. "You've built so much trust with Alex, he came right to you with his questions. No shame. No embarrassment. He trusts you completely. That trust has led to his comfort in being vulnerable and sharing everything with you. And his ability to do that inner work in the safety of your care is why he's back on the right path." Zach reached over and took Lars' hand in his.

*crack*

The backdoor slammed catching Lars and Zach's attention. Glancing towards the back hallway, they watched Carol round the corner to join them at the table. Her arms full of paperwork and her laptop, she dropped her work at the end of the table opposite Zach and went for the pot of coffee.

"Rough day?" asked Lars.

"No," she said, noticing Alex watching the bread rising in the oven. Considering what she wanted to say and Alex's presence, she just stated, "Your sons."

Lars and Zach cracked up. Despite the fact this wasn't the first time Lukas and Simon's extracurricular activities left Carol discombobulated, Lars couldn't help to think it served her right after all the times the boys left Lars in a similar state while she was on the road working.

"Carol," called Alex motioning for her to approach. "I made bread with Dr. Lars. Look how fluffy it got! According to the timer, it should be ready in about 45 minutes."

"Alex, those loafs look incredible. If they are half as good as all your other baking, they should be fabulous." She gave the boy a side hug then looked at Lars and Zach.

"On it!" called out Zach, opening the browser on his laptop to order dinner. All three adults completely forgot to start something for dinner so their agreed upon backup plan was executed. "What sounds good? Any requests?"

"Something we can have fresh baked bread with!" suggested Alex excitedly.

"I think that sounds like a fantastic plan," says Carol. "What is the place that does family style meals? We can order chicken and dumplings, meatloaf, some sides and have homemade bread with it."

"I know where you are talking about. I think I saw they deliver via Uber Eats."

While Zach worked on placing the order, Alex joined the adults at the table. He sat pleasantly listening to the adults' banter. The teasing was funny, but Alex didn't understand what it was all about. A smart kid, if he were paying attention to what was being said he could have figured it out. Instead, he was daydreaming about seeing Lars in much the same manner he'd seen John Vance. Zach, also similarly adorned, came and went from his daydream, but Lars played centerstage to the young teen's imagination.

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The Force's first practice was a team building exercise integrating the newest players to the Force family. The boys introduced themselves by playing their positions in the field and each took a turn at bat before any formal practicing took place. It also informally introduced the players to the positions they were likely to be playing during the season.

The former Force players were surprised to see a new player first up in center field. Hearing he was a sophomore, they had high expectations of this hot shot playing up a level. Then again, they had a surprising seven sophomores on the new roster and each sophomore was expected to live up to the Force's level of play, even if they were playing up.

Matthew showed off his speed, defensive acuity, and the best outfield arm they'd ever seen. The next shock was Matthew's. The team had 10 players with infield experience, but only two, sophomore Tait Karlson from Ramona High School and Matthew, were experienced third basemen. After taking a few grounders, he was once again feeling the "hot corner".

Matthew's friend Kingston Liniak came to the plate and was peppering the field with hits to nearly every position on the field. Kingston had been the teams MVP the previous year and was most likely not playing this season with the Force. He was with the team until he was confirmed to be moving up to the Force's entry into the Southern California Collegiate League, or if he'd be switching over to the Inland Valley Bucs where many of his future University of San Diego teammates were playing. There was, however, an outside chance that he'd remain on the U-18 team seeing how his late birthday allowed him to qualify for their roster one more year. But Coach Davidson expected Kingston's collegiate coaches would want him facing tougher competition before his freshman season as a Torero, the University of San Diego's mascot meaning "bullfighter".

As with many other team practices, when the coaches were satisfied with the players' "at bat", they designate he's running on the next hit. Kingston eyed an inside fastball and drilled a hot grounder down the third-base line, barely inside the bag. Most of the team and their coaches had seen Kingston drive balls into the left-field corner and with his speed, round second before the ball hit the cutoff man. Jose Mendoza, a junior left fielder who'd been in the Force organization since Little League, broke for the third-base line with the crack of the bat then held up in surprise.

There was an audible gasp when the third baseman's cat-like reflexes had him in position to lunge and short-hop the ball with a backhanded grab. Matthew looked the ball into his glove and watched the exchange to his throwing hand. He took a moment to set his right foot in the turf then step with his right foot towards first. In one fluid motion, he moved from the position of catching the ball to the follow through on his throwing motion. Matthew snapped his hips to get extra zip on his throw to first beating Kingston by half a step. The team whooped and hollered at Matthew's defensive play and Kingston tipped his cap to the younger player.

Coach Davidson saved Matthew as the final batter. Not expecting Coach to save a top hitter for the end, Matthew surprised the team by putting them to the test. Once Matthew had warmed up like the other hitters, Coach Davidson put baserunners in place to set up situational pitching, defense, baserunning, and batting. Selecting a baserunner for Matthew, the Meijer boy simply stood in the box to work the pitch count and swing the bat. Keeping the players not fielding engaged in the baserunning got the team focusing more seriously on the staged game situations.

Matthew settled in and played "small ball" just as he'd been taught. Instead of playing home run derby once some boys were on base as the other players known for their slugging percentage had done, Matthew focused on hitting the gaps and moving the baserunners around the diamond.

The fielders worked to defend against Matthew's bat. Shots down the right and left field lines moved the outfielders closer to the corners opening lanes between the outfielders. When the pitcher could get Matthew to put the ball on the ground, the hits were sharp forcing the infielders to make plays just to knock the ball down. Matthew was by no means perfect however his accuracy caused the runners to get lazy and to take off on contact without checking to see if the defense made a play on the ball.

The coaches had the players correct each other. The one thing the Force organization preached was eliminating stupid mistakes, like baserunning mistakes. This was something Coach Davidson decided was important to start in the first practice.

"Okay, two out in the bottom of the 9th inning. We're down by two runs with runners on first and third. Go!" shouted Coach Davidson.

Liam Myers, a lefty from San Pasqual High School, was on the mound. Expected to be one of the aces for the team, Liam heard the situation and dug deep to get Matthew out. He first missed with a curveball low and outside. The pitch was right where he intended, Matthew just didn't bite. His changeup was a work-in-progress, but he called off the other pitches until Adrian Macias from Carlsbad High School called the pitch Liam wanted. The throw got away from Liam and Matthew had to skip or take it in the ankle. For the third pitch, Liam tried to get Matthew to bite on an outside fastball only to earn a 3-0 count. A high fastball walked a runner and loaded the bases. There was no need for Coach Davidson to set the stage for Matthew's next at bat--the players were shouting and in game mode.

Matthew knew Liam was going to hit the strike zone. If not because of the simulated game situation, because of the look on Coach Davidson's face. He gathered himself he stepped back into the batter's box. He ground his right toes into the dirt and adjusted his helmet. Planting his left foot into the box, Matthew tapped the bat to the plate. Matthew guessed Liam would throw a fastball over the plate. He just needed to time it out. Taking a slow half swing before drawing the bat over his right shoulder, Matthew decided he would sit on a fastball or take the pitch.

With the bases loaded, Liam didn't worry about holding runners on base. He returned to his bigger windup giving Matthew a better idea of what was to come. Liam rocked back and planted his left foot adjacent to the rubber and pushed to deliver the pitch. Keeping it low, Liam delivered his best fastball just inside the strike zone.

The runners took off on contact but the sound of the ball leaving the bat caused them to slow and watch the ball. The line drive continued to rise. The outfielders stopped to watch it sail over the left-center field wall. The base runners cheered and circled the bases.

"Last at bat!" shouted Coach Davidson. "Tied game, two-outs, no base runners." He stepped back and watched.

This time Liam worked the count to 1-2. One more strike would end the day's game simulation and allow him a sense of redemption. The players on the field encouraged Liam while the boys off the field cheered on Matthew. Matthew had watched three straight pitches waiting for the one he wanted. When he saw the rotation of the threads, he knew he had the pitch he wanted. Stepping towards the plate, Matthew took an inside out swing slicing the ball towards right field. He stepped out of the batter's box and watched with the rest of the team. Coming off the bat with even more spin, the ball curved towards the first-base line crossing into foul territory as it dropped behind the home run wall.

Coach Davidson smiled.

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FRIDAY, MAY 8

"Damn! What's all this shit for?" asked Scott jokingly. No one other than Christian and Michael had seen all the stuff they'd built and collected for their honors project.

Amazed at the number of things to carry, Curtis added, "I saw Ta'Leah and Shawn's project. I don't think they understood the assignment."

"It's more likely these two are overachieving," laughed Lukas. "Glad everyone is helping. I think we can get it all in one trip."

"Yeah," added Gregory, "but it would have helped if we didn't have our school and sports bags to carry too."

"You do know we are standing right here?" said Christian emotionlessly to be funny.

Michael said brightly, adding to Christian's attempt at humor, "Besides, you can leave some of your stuff here and can pick it up when you help us carry this all back after school!"

The other boys faked laughed, all in good nature, as they lined their sports bags along the wall and slipped their backpacks over both shoulders to free their hands.

When they got everything to the middle school gymnasium, everyone stayed to help Michael and Christian set up their booth while they munched on their breakfasts and protein shakes.

"Oooh! Look at this!" said Sam to Gregory. He tapped one of the touchscreens. Sam used the touchscreen to play various videos clips.

Christian stepped back and looked at their "booth". They had four curved cages covered in black mesh. They set the curves up to form two s-shapes. The s-shaped walls were set up across from each other with the top of one "s" parallel to the bottom forming a curved room between the two open curved sections. Each of the curved sections featured a round table in the open area.

Michael walked up and put his arm around Christian's shoulder. "I think we're ready. I tested everything and it is all in working order."

Christian turned his head and looked into Michael's eyes. "I didn't know what I was getting into when Mrs. Harmon paired us together for this project. I mean, I knew you were cute and smart and all, but I've never completed a project for school that I've been this proud of. You made me imagine bigger, dig deeper, and think differently. I'm so happy you are my partner and I hope we're always partners for everything forever."

Giving Christian a peck on the lips, Michael replied, "I love you too."

The eighth-grade honors projects were a big deal at East Harbor Middle School. The seventh- and eighth-grade social studies classes would spend their class periods visiting the booths and hearing their classmates' presentations. Parents and special guests were invited to attend during the first lunch period to give the honors students a break for lunch during the second lunch period.

"We're next," said Christian nervously. Mrs. Harmon invited local media as well as professors from several regional universities and colleges to judge the students' work. Michael fixed the bowtie he'd picked out for Christian while the blond fidgeted. Michael was much more comfortable in front of people, and he was only feeling the butterflies from the excitement of finally getting to show off all their hard work. Christian felt like throwing up.

As the crowd of adults approached, Christian felt better when he saw his parents. He smiled and waved. Anna motioned for him to breath and Christian nodded then took a deep breath and blew it out forcefully.

Mrs. Harmon motioned for everyone to stand where they would best see the beginning of the boy's presentation. "Our final presentation is for honors Social Studies. This is Christian Olsen and Michael Meijer."

Christian started. "We originally were going to study the Electoral College and the election of 1876 which was decided when congress awarded the final few electoral votes. Rutherford B. Hayes won by a single vote. However, when we started looking into this election, we found similar contentious elections throughout history--even as recently as the Bush-Gore election in 2000."

"With the Electoral College and the role of Congress in some elections, it raised the question, 'What is democracy?'" continued Michael. "Yes, there is a clear definition, but that definition is blurred when put into practice. Since the advent of democracies, the true nature of fairness in voting has varied from country to country and even election to election."

Christian continued just as they'd rehearsed. "So, our project morphed into an investigation of the history of democracy on a global scale. We'll start with the question 'What is a democracy?' and its variations around the world and throughout history. Then we'll look more closely at the democracies and so-called democracies around the world today."

Michael picked up from there. "We'll finish with a study of the modern threats to democracy. For example, how things such as freedom of speech, one of the bastions of a true democracy, can also be the most dangerous threat to destroy it."

The boys explained how to engage with their "interactive experience" and invited the adults to enter.

While the other presenters headed to the cafeteria, Christian and Michael were still engaged with the adults answering their questions about the boys' research and conclusions. Meanwhile, Mrs. Harmon oversaw the question-and-answer session and the proud parents stood by waiting to congratulate their sons -- all five of the parents.

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Christian descended the stairs and joined his parents on the couch in the Olsen living room. "I'm gonna spend the night at Michael's tonight. Is that okay?"

Michael came down the last few stairs and waited in the archway to the living room. The boys had dinner with Anna and Kris before retreating to Christian's bedroom to talk about the events of the day. It was getting close to bedtime when Christian decided he wanted to stay at Michael's that night, even with his birthday sleepover the following night.

"What do you think, Kris?" asked Anna.

"Well, the boys were here all evening and it's not a school night." Everyone knew they were going to say 'yes', yet the Olsen parents felt it was their prerogative...rather, their obligation to give the boys some grief. Michael and Christian just looked at each other smiling as they rolled their eyes. "Yeah, I think he can spend the night at Michael's."

"Thank you!" He kissed Kris and Anna on the cheek then hopped off the couch to grab the overnight bag he left in the foyer and put his shoes on.

When Christian exited, Michael entered the living room to thank Mr. and Mrs. Olsen for dinner. "We'll see you tomorrow at the birthday party." Michael gave them a bright smile when Christian took him by the hand and led him to the door.

"Love you!" called out Christian. "See you tomorrow!" Then the door slammed shut as Michael and Christian took off running all the way up Maple Street to the gray brick home with navy blue shutters.

The boys greeted everyone and hung out for a bit, but it had been a big day and they were both ready for some quiet time. On their way out, Craig and Oliver decided to join them. Minutes later, the four eighth graders were stripped to their underwear and relaxing on Michael's bed and chatting.

"Dude," said Craig shaking his head, "I knew you two were smart, but that project you two did was killer." He rolled over so his chest, not back, pressed against Oliver's naked torso. It never occurred to Craig that he'd ever be so comfortable being intimate around others. This week in East Harbor had forever changed him and there was no going back to the old, fearful Craig. They were heading home on Sunday. Craig vowed to never let this feeling go, even if he never returned to East Harbor.

Oliver kissed Craig's hair and stroked his back. "Yeah, you guys rocked it. It was like going through a museum or something." He knew Craig was already starting to miss East Harbor and dreading their return to Bozeman, so he added, "Maybe next time you'll get to partner with Craig on a science project."

"Yeah, that would be cool!" agreed Michael. "Just think of what the three of us could do!" He was reclining with his head in Christian's lap. Michael held Christian's left arm across his chest while Christian ran the fingers of his right hand through Michael's hair relaxing the younger boy. "I hope we're in the same science class next year."

"I hope you are both here for school next year," said Christian. The boys from Montana would forever be part of the East Harbor gang, even after they returned home. "I'm happy you guys are gonna be here for my birthday tomorrow."

"Me too," said Oliver. "You and your friends are pretty awesome. As a matter of fact, all the guys here in East Harbor seem really nice."

"Even with that incident between Trajan and Lewis?" asked Christian.

"Shit happens," said Oliver. "The way you guys didn't take sides and tried to help them work things out was awesome. That wouldn't have happened back home. I think it's an East Harbor thing."

"Yeah," agreed Michael. "I'm really happy I moved here too."

"Oh yeah," said Craig. "I forgot you weren't from here. Where are you and Matthew from?"

"Oregon. The Portland area," stated Michael, eyes closed and completely relaxed.

Craig realized Michael's culture shock in moving to East Harbor was similar to what he and Oliver experienced this week.

Michael added, "Christian isn't from here either. He and Lewis are from Lemoore."

"Where's that?" asked Oliver.

"About halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, but inland," explained Christian. He was also amazed at how comfortable he felt sitting in his underwear with other boys in the room.

The four boys chilled quietly for a while before Oliver broke the silence. "You guys are three years apart in age?"

Michael was quick to answer. "Only for 43 days. I'll be 12 next month." The boys chuckled at Michael's defensive tone. Michael playfully pinched Christian's arm.

"What about you guys?" asked Christian attempting to move the conversation onto something else.

"We're both 14," answered Craig. "My birthday was back in November and Oliver's was in September."

"So how was track practice today?" asked Michael. "Are the high schoolers getting use to the fact that the new track studs are only eighth graders?"

"We're not Sabers yet," noted Oliver. "But I hope we are. The guys on the track team seem really cool, even about us being a couple."

"Yeah," said Michael, "this place is really something. I used to get bullied at my old school too. I couldn't believe how nice everyone was here. Even the bully here turned out to be a good guy."

Craig raised his head to look over at the other couple. "You got bullied here? In East Harbor?"

"Yeah," admitted Michael, "but you'd never know he was a bully now. He was just having a hard time and acting out. Now he's cool."

"Who was it?" asked Oliver.

Michael looked to Christian. He wasn't sure it was something he should tell or not. Christian answered for him. "It was Lewis."

"No way!" said Craig. "He like, hangs out and sits at your lunch table and everything."

Christian told the story of how he and Lewis were besties at an early age then were separated and miserable -- each struggling with the loses in their lives. Michael talked about his history with Lewis and what turned their adversarial relationship to a friendship.

Craig felt a closeness to Michael. Following the band on social media, he'd heard online rumors about Michael's traumatic past and that he and Matthew were adopted. He now knew those stories were true and his heart bled for the younger boy. 'That's why Michael seems to understand me so well,' thought Craig, 'he's experienced it too.' Wanting to be closer to the boy, Craig reached over and held Michael's foot which was only inches from Oliver's hip. Absent-mindedly, he started to massage the sole of Michael's foot with his thumb.

What Craig was doing wasn't apparent to anyone until Michael moaned his approval of the foot massage. Craig and Oliver both looked over to Michael and noticed the tent in the front of his boxer briefs. "You'd better watch it," said Christian quietly. "Michael really likes foot massages."

Craig watched as his hand continued working over the ball of Michael's foot. After Christian's warning, Craig considered what he was doing, but only for a moment. His response to Christian was to run this thumb along the arch of Michael's foot pressing deeply. Michael moaned louder.

Christian stroked Michael's chest and rubbed his thumb over his boyfriend's small, erect nipple. Michael made small mewing sounds as the hands pleasured his body.

Oliver stroked Craig's back while he watched Craig work on Michael's left foot. Since Michael was enjoying it so much, Oliver took the right foot in his hand and caressed down the inside of Michael's foot then up his calf and up his shin and back again, feeling the fine, blonde hairs on the 11-year-old's lower calf.

The intimacy the boys enjoyed was finally broken when Michael stirred. He sat up and spun around so he was on his hands and knees. He crawled over and put his face next to Craig's. Craig looked into Michael's eyes then leaned up to kiss the boy.

Christian watched the two kiss as Oliver stroked Michael's back then down the back of his thighs and back up again. He never decided just exactly what he wanted to do about the sleepover for his birthday but watching Michael with Craig and Oliver was quickly helping him make up his mind. Michael leaned up just far enough that Christian could see Craig turn his attention to Oliver's nipple before Michael leaned over to kiss Oliver, blocking his view of Craig again. His focus moved to the connection between Michael and Oliver's lips. He could tell tongue was involved. A trickle of slobber dribbled from the corner of Oliver's mouth. When Michael shifted his position, spreading his knees far apart, Christian's attention was drawn to the fingers inside Michael's briefs, reaching under the boy's balls searching for something. Contact. Michael groaned in need into Oliver's mouth. The outline of the older boy's busy fingers could be seen beneath the multi-colored pinstriped material. Michael reached out his hand to Christian.

Christian rose to his knees and approached. He followed Michael's directions and moved to his boyfriend's right, one knee on each side of Oliver's outstretched right leg. Michael turned his upper body to kiss Christian. The two quickly entered a deep, passionate kiss. Eyes closed; Christian didn't see Oliver tug Michael's boxer briefs down to his knees. Twisting and dislodging Craig from his chest, Oliver swallowed Michael's cock causing the boy to shiver and moan.

Craig opened his eyes and the substantial bulge in the front of Christian's briefs caught his eye. Seeing what Oliver was doing to Michael, Craig considered it a greenlight to do that same. First, Craig pulled Oliver's adult-sized cock out over the top of the elastic band of the briefs. Holding it in his right hand, he used his left to extract Christian's thick piece of man meat from its restrictive material. What Craig revealed surprised him. Both Christian and Oliver were large and uncircumcised, but that is where the similarities ended. Though Christian was even bigger than Oliver, Oliver had a small bush of black pubes and his darker, veiny cock and balls looked as adult-like as any cock and balls Craig had seen in the gay porn, he and Oliver snuck a look at. In comparison, Christian's equipment was the same color as the rest of the Norwegian boy's fair skin -- all but the pink head peeking out the foreskin. Even Michael's smaller bits were darkening as they matured. If it wasn't for the size in Craig's hand, he'd have easily thought it was the cock and balls of a much younger boy. Moving in closer, he could see the start of a very blonde bush just starting to come in. The hair was still very fine and almost transparent.

His comparison of the two slabs of meat only took Craig seconds. It was followed by him practicing his sword shallowing skills on Christian. Just moments later, Michael grabbed the back of Oliver's head and shook through an intense orgasm. Christian and Oliver held him tightly, so the boy didn't fall over.

The boys paused their activities for a moment to create a pile of underwear on the floor and moved to the middle of the bed. Hands and mouths exploring nooks and crannies of whatever body was convenient.

Michael found himself in his favorite position: on his back with a cute boy between his legs. This time it was Craig. Michael pulled his knees back offering himself to the older boy. Christian reached under the pillow and handed Craig the bottle of Astroglide.

"I...I never..." stuttered Craig.

"It's time you did," said Oliver, taking the Astroglide from Craig. He squeezed some on his hand and reached between the boys to lube up Michael's hole and Craig's meaty five inches. While Oliver put another dollop on his fingers and closed the cap and set the tube aside, Christian reached down to help Craig find his way to Michael's hole. Michael reached forward to pull Craig to him by the hips when cock and hole aligned. When Craig started to slide in losing his virginity as a top, Oliver slid two fingers into Craig's hole.

When the fingers grazed Craig's prostate, Craig shuddered and groaned. The sensation of the fingers and of Michael's rectum as he bottomed out caused Craig's eyes to roll back in his head. Oliver's fingers were active causing Craig's movements to be jerky and spastic. The sensory input from his front and back short circuited his brain. The brain interference was so severe, the boy thought he was experiencing the greatest fuck ever. Michael would disagree with Craig's analysis, but he understood completely.

Craig and Oliver never made it back to their bed that night. With eight drained balls and two very satisfied holes, the boys collapsed in a tangle on Michael's bed and slept soundly dreaming about what the future would bring.