Date: Tue, 23 May 2000 19:25:28 GMT From: Tel R O'Tales Subject: Rich Kid part 22 WARNING: This story contains descriptions of sexual acts between boys of similar ages. If this is not to your tastes or is not legal in your locality, please leave now! The story and its associated characters are entirely fictional and any resemblance to people, living or otherwise, is purely coincidental. Some parts of the story have been idealised. The author has copyrighted this story. A single copy had been placed in the Nifty Archive. Do not distribute it to any newsgroups and/or other web-sites without permission from the author. The Rich Kid Part 22 By lunchtime, I had made a phone call and cancelled one of my canoes. None of us were really proficient enough to paddle a loaded canoe, so I decided that all of our kit would go in one boat and be paddled by two of us and we would take turns paddling the other boat. We ate lunch in Mike's and my flat with our parents. It was a little crowded, but we didn't mind. It made the place feel very homely. After lunch we went through our plans one last time and father gave us each a waterproofed personal locator. He also made sure we each knew how to contact him in an emergency. We were all thinking about the river, he was thinking more about people and our ongoing threat from animal rights activists. Before we left, father took Mike to one side and had a quiet chat with him. I was a little suspicious. Mike kept looking at me and grinning. They were up to something and I wanted to know what. By 2:30 we were on the road and heading for Oxford. We pulled into a boat yard and very soon the boats were on the water and loaded up. We were ready for the off and our parents all stood there watching us as we tossed to see who got to paddle solo first. Mike was the lucky one and pretty soon he was sitting mid-stream waiting for James and I to paddle out to him. Amid cheers and cries of "bye" we were off on our great adventure. We paddled down stream and pretty soon we were leaving the city and all of its history behind us as we headed out through the countryside. It was so peaceful. There were occasional walkers on the banks of the river and a few hire cruisers as we paddled towards our first lock. We joined the queue for the lock. We were lucky; because we were quite small we could fill in the gaps and would be through quickly. The keeper beckoned us into the lock. James was a little nervous as we paddled in, but I reassured him there was nothing to get excited about. "Hello Lads. Is everything ok?" The keeper called. "Fine thank you Sir." I called back. "Good. Just keep to the left as you leave the lock. The weir stream is quite strong today." "Will do Sir." Mike replied. The water level fell and the gates started to open. We all coughed and spluttered a bit as the cruisers that were in the lock with us started their engines. Diesel fumes are never very pleasant. As we left the lock we hugged the left bank until we passed the weir stream. It didn't seem to bad, but you should never underestimate the power of water. We paddled on laughing and joking as we went. It was really great! That wonderful feeling of total freedom, but it was tempered by the thought that we were all on trust by our parents and that is something to be taken very seriously. Without that, none of us would have been able to go on the trip in the first place. We were passing through farmland now and it was now much quieter. The walkers had dwindled to virtually none, but the cruisers still chugged past us with their engines throbbing. We reached Abingdon around five. We had made good time for our first half day and were ready for a break. We found our campsite just before the bridge and eased the boats up onto a little sandy beach. After pulling the boats out of the water we went to see the campsite warden. The site was fairly big and very busy. James went back to keep an eye on the boats and after the warden had shown us where we could camp for the night we went back to the boats. There was the loaded boat, but where was James and the second boat? We heard a yell. There about 15 feet out caught up in the trees was James. His boat had capsized and he was struggling in the water. Mike dived in immediately. I grabbed the throw-line and waited for him to reach James. It only took him a few seconds to get to James, but it felt like a lifetime to me. Mike waved and I threw the line to him. I expected him to give it to James and I would pull him ashore, but no. Instead Mike tied the line to the boat and James pulled himself back along it. Mike swam back with the paddle. "You bloody idiot!" I yelled at James. "How could you do something so stupid?" James just burst into tears. "I'm.I'm sorry." He said through his sobs. "I was bored and the river looked ok from here." Keeping hold of the throw-line I wrapped my arms around James and hugged him. Despite his stupidity, I could understand exactly how he felt. If I was honest, I would have done the same thing. Suddenly James let out an almighty yelp! "Don't you ever do that again!" Mike shouted angrily as he put the paddle down. James fought hard to escape my hug, but having guessed what Mike had done I turned us around so that I was between James and Mike. Both James and Mike calmed down and we set about recovering the boat. Looking back, I don't think we will have that problem with James again. With the boats carried to our campsite and the tent pitched we all headed to the river for a swim. We had agreed that only two would be in the water at a time and the third would be on the bank with the throw-line just in case. Like all well thought out plans, things didn't quite work out and all three of us ended up in the river clowning around and splashing. We were joined by some other kids from the campsite and made some good friends. James especially as a cute girl latched on to him. With all that he had been through, he just didn't know what to do. She out swam him, she out rough-housed him there didn't seem to be anything he could do to get one up on her until his brain kicked in and he kissed her on the cheek. Oh boy! Did she swim fast as she tried to get away from him! We had a good laugh at that. It was then that a rumble from my stomach brought me back to reality and the fact that it was well past dinnertime. I left the water and grabbed my towel and shower kit and headed off for a shower. By the time James and Mike came back to our tent, dinner was well on its way. Using just two trangias, small lightweight meth's cookers, I prepared a feast fit for a king. Ok then, a good all in stew and dumplings. It really hit the spot and whilst I made the coffee, Mike and James dealt with the washing up. This trip was promising to be the best time any of us had had. After dinner we had a walk over the bridge and in to Abingdon proper. It is quite a big town and there is plenty to do for the over 18's, but for us after dark it wasn't what we had hoped. We walked back and chatted quietly. James started to appreciate how Mike and I had felt after his escapades with the boat and the tree that afternoon and promised not to do it again. This satisfied Mike and I. There was no chance to have any "fun" with all of these other tents and people around so we decided to hit the sack. We snuggled down and listened to the river lapping at the banks as sleep overcame us all. Mike and I awoke at around seven the next morning to the smell of strong coffee. James was -sitting on one of the upturned canoes with a beaming smile and a mug of coffee. The tent doors were wide open and when he saw us stir he handed us in a mug each. He could be so thoughtful at times. We surfaced after drinking our coffee and headed for a wash. The sun beat down on us and we all felt very glad to be alive. After breakfast we struck camp and made ready to leave. We said goodbye to the warden who was interested in where we were aiming to stop that night and after showing him the map we left him. James and I decided whose turn it was to paddle solo and after we had got the boats off the beach and into mid-stream he climbed into his boat and I joined Mike in the other one. The incident with the tree had shaken his confidence a bit and we would have to work on that if he was going to pass his next canoeing award with Mike and I. We stopped for lunch near Dorchester in a small backwater. It was as we were taking our buoyancy aids off that we found our next problem. All of us were showing signs of sunburn. After applying copious quantities of after-sun we donned light cotton shirts to protect us. We should have thought of this before. Lunch was a simple snack and of course coffee. James and I walked back to the lock to fill out water bottles as that night promised to be a riverside camping night, no other tents or people and unfortunately toilets. When we got back, Mike was asleep, well neither of us managed to resist the temptation as we filled two mugs with river water and woke him up with a shock. The look on his face was really funny until he vowed revenge and chased us. He caught me with ease and calmly tossed me over the side of the small bridge. I hit the water with a splash and swam ashore. James though proved a much greater challenge. He would have to use his head rather than his muscle there. James was way too fast for him. In the end Mike gave up, besides it was time we were making a move or we would end up having to paddle further tomorrow to make up the time. With Mike paddling solo and James and I paddling tandem we headed off. We paddled all afternoon through almost uninterrupted countryside. The worst bit was when we passed a cruiser hire station. That was quite frightening and probably the most dangerous part of our trip. You see most of the people driving these hire cruisers have never driven a boat before and they have to learn before they can take it away. Unfortunately, cruisers don't have a break and are much slower to respond than the cars these people usually drive and it takes them a while to learn this making life for other river users that little more dangerous. We made it by without incident and continued through the lock and passed Wallingford. We found a place to stop for the night a couple of miles further on. It was a good spot for camping, but the bank was a little too high to pull the boats out so we tied them up securely to a couple of trees and got ourselves ready for tea. We discussed about camping here for the night over tea and decided we would try a little further on. It was a good job too. We had all sorts of problems getting back into the boats. We found an almost perfect spot may be a mile further on and I phoned father on the mobile whilst Mike and James got our kit out. We didn't bother putting the tent up but strung one of the groundsheets between some trees instead. It proved to be a very good move. The air was still and it was still very hot at ten when we decided it was time to get ready for bed. "I have had a good look around and there isn't a boat or a house for miles." Mike said with a grin. I knew he had something in mind. "I fancy a swim." I said without thinking. "No! It's to dark for that." Mike stated. "Yeah." I said reluctantly realising he was right. "Get him!" Mike shouted. This threw us into total confusion. I though Mike meant for me to grab James, James thought he meant for him to grab me and in the end Mike grabbed James and after pinning him down on the groundsheet Mike whispered "Pay back time" in James ear. I just sat back and watched. It was, after all Mike who wanted revenge on James after throwing the water over him at lunchtime. After a little bit of a struggle, James was reduced to trainers. Mike had removed the rest of James' clothes and then released him. James hadn't counted on being chased around naked! All I could do was laugh. What a mistake to make! They bundled me too and before long I too was naked. Well, as you can guess, Mike didn't keep his clothes on for long either. It was a strange feeling being naked in what amounted to a quiet public place. I suppose it was more of a thrill than skinny dipping in our lake because there, no-one apart from security could see us, but here there was always the threat of someone passing in a boat or walking along the bank. It was a really great feeling though. We collapsed in a heap on our sleeping bags panting. "If you two want me to get lost for a while, I will." James said. We knew what he was saying. Mike looked at me and I returned his mischievous grin from earlier. He smiled back catching my meaning straight away. "No, not tonight James." Mike said grinning more widely than before. "You mean I can." James said excitedly. "No. That's not what we mean." I corrected as I leant over and wrapped an arm around him his chest. Mike calmly grabbed our friends family jewels and before very long James knew exactly what was going to happen. He knew he was guaranteed a show, but was going to have some fun first. With that Mike's hand slid up and down our friend who was now very excited at what was going to happen. I glanced at Mike and made my mouth into an "o" shape. He grinned and nodded back to me. I adjusted my position and Mike released his grip on James' favourite toy. I eased his skin back revealing the whole shiny end. With a very gentle, very deliberate swipe of my tongue I made James squeal with delight. I massaged his full nut sack as I repeated this action time and again. By the time I was ready for a light snack Mike had started to work on my behind and I too was starting to squeal. As Mike worked his way in to me more and more of James was being devoured until he had no more to offer me. Like a well-oiled machine, I brought James almost as much pleasure as he could handle and Mike looked after us both. James passed a comment and without breaking Mike's rhythm I knelt up and James spun round. As I went back onto all fours I realised James had a very skilful mouth as he greedily consumed me. It didn't take long for James to exhibit the early warning signs that told me he would soon be rewarding me for my efforts. I changed my target of attention and worked on what was rapidly becoming a very full and tight skinned silken package. I eased his legs up and under my arms. A gentle tap on my back from Mike warned me not to go too far. I let my tongue roam freely eliciting yet more squeals of delight from James. The moon passed from behind a cloud and I became aware of just how hard Mike had hit James with the paddle the other evening. A broad dull red stripe was still evident across James' behind. I lifted my head and looked at Mike. Why so hard I wondered? Ok, he deserved it, but not that hard. Mike looked at me with a puzzled expression. I motioned for him to look at James' bum and he did. He was expressionless. "What about this?" I asked quietly. "He asked for it." Mike replied emotionless. "Yes, but why so hard?" "Anything less and he would haven't taken it seriously." I looked back down at those two otherwise lily-white cheeks and went for gold with my tongue. James squealed one last time before I felt him tense up and his whole body shake in orgasm. I moved forward effectively taking me out of Mike's range and let James' legs relax back down on the ground. For the first time I felt real anger towards Mike. How could I really care for someone that could be so brutal towards one of our friends? I wriggled free of Mike and curled up on my sleeping bag. Just at that moment, I didn't know how I felt any more. I was in love with a strong gentle guy that had suddenly turned into a monster. Mike put his hand on my shoulder. I shrugged it off, reached for my shorts and stood up. "Can we talk about it?" Mike asked. "Not yet. Not until I work out how I fell about what you did." I said before turning and walking away from my lover. If he could do this to one of our friends, what would he do to me if I upset him? Was this a risk I could afford to take? I didn't know the answers to these questions. I sat on the riverbank my feet dangling over the edge. "What's up Ed?" James asked. "Nothing." I snapped back. "Something has upset you. Why don't you talk to me about it?" James asked. "Is it something Mike has said or done?" "Just stay out of it James." "No. You are both my friends and I hate seeing you both like this." I looked along the riverbank and saw Mike sitting like me 20 or so yards away. His head was in his hands. I lifted my arm and gently placed it on James' behind. His expression changed as though someone had turned a light on inside his head. "Oh. Its Mike having hit me that has caused this, isn't it?" James asked seriously. I looked at him and smiled as I nodded yes. He looked back down at me. "It's nothing less than my dad would have done and he's much stronger than Mike." "That's still no reason for him to have hit you so hard. We're supposed to be friends and friends don't hurt each other like that. I said to James. "Yeah, it hurt, but did I complain about it at the time? No I didn't. What I did was a stupid thing and it could have cost me my life!" James was very serious now and brushed my hand away from his behind. "If you can't accept the fact that I accepted what Mike did as justice then I am not sure we are really suitable as friends." With that James turned and walked away. "Come on friend" James said to Mike loud enough for me to hear him as Mike stood up and walked with James back to sleeping bags. I sat and watched them get into their own bags before snuggling down, wrapping an arm around each other and going to sleep. I sat there on the riverbank for ages wrestling with the thoughts going around in my head about how I felt and never really making a decision. I too went back to my sleeping bag and fell asleep out of the reach of either of my two friends. I slept fitfully and found myself sitting back on the riverbank early the next morning, which was where Mike and James found me. What little sleep I had had put things into perspective for me, but I was still unhappy about Mike's reaction to our friend's stupidity. Mike came over and sat by me. He handed me a cup of coffee. "Thanks." I said. "So tell me what I have done that you thought was so wrong." Mike told me more than asked. "The way you dealt with James' stupidity." "You mean when I whacked him with the paddle?" "Yeah." I said quietly. I was more worried about him hitting me than anything else at that point. "Why use the paddle? Your hand would have done just as well without being so brutal." "So that's what this is all about. It didn't worry you at the time." "No because I didn't know how hard you had hit him. Last night was a real eye opener for me." "So now you are worried that I might do the same sort of thing to you?" "Yes!" I yelled. He always seemed to make my feelings feel insignificant when he wanted to. "If it had been you, I would have done the same thing. You don't seem to realise that firstly WE are on trust by our parents to behave, to be sensible and above all look after each other. Secondly, his actions could have killed him. You know the dangers of getting caught up in trees as well as I do." "So you would brutalise me too if you thought it necessary?" "Brutalise! Brutalise! That wasn't brutality, that was discipline." "So discipline is an excuse for brutality is it?" "No, of course it isn't." Mike was starting to sound frustrated by now. "It is when it is done with too much force and a weapon." I yelled back at him. "Ok. I admit I was angry at his stupidity at the time and that I may have over reacted." "You can say that again." I made as if to stand up. Mike forced me to sit down again. "Yes, I did over-react. I didn't mean to use the paddle, it was handy that's all. But there was nothing else I could have done to make sure he thinks before he does anything like that again." Mike started to stand up. I put my hand and forced him to sit down again. "We have to sort this out before we go any further." I said forcefully. "What's to sort out?" Mike asked coldly. "It hasn't changed how I feel about you." "Well it has the way I feel about you. I don't know if I can spend the rest of my life with a thug." "That's up to you." Mike stood up and walked away before I could stop him. All I could do was sit there as the tears built up in my eyes and escaped down over my cheeks. Why couldn't he see it from my point of view? I still loved him dearly, but what he had done had shown me a whole new side of him and I didn't know if I liked what I had seen. "Breakfast!" James called. His voice sounded a little tense. "Coming." Mike replied. I just sat there crying. "Are you coming or not Ed?" James asked. "Not." I replied simply and stayed put. "What's up with Ed, Mike?" James asked. "He's being emotional again." Mike replied as he tried to hide his emotions. "Why? It hasn't got anything to do with what happened the other evening has it?" "That's at the bottom of it. He told me he isn't sure how he feels about me any more." With that Mike spun around and his emotions broke like a dam! "That's it! You two are going to sort this out here and now! If you can't sort out your problems like adults then I will." James sounded very angry. He stood up and strutted over to me, grabbed my shoulder and all but dragged me over to where Mike was curled up. "Now get talking!" James stormed off taking his breakfast with him. Mike lifted his head from his sleeping bag and looked at me. He looked awful, really miserable and dejected. I couldn't have looked much better. I put my hand gently on his shoulder. Before either of us really knew what was happening we were locked together in one of the most emotional hugs either of us could remember. Our tears ran down the others back as we cried our hearts out. James remade breakfast and we ate heartily before packing and continuing our trip. After passing through our second lock we moored up and went to the shops. We need more food and Mike needed to make a call. For some reason he wouldn't use the mobile. We all met up again at a teashop near the bridge. After a drink we set off again. This next leg promised to be quite tedious. For some reason, Mike kept mucking up his strokes and we lost a lot of time. James was most disgruntled about this. I didn't care. Mike and I had sorted our differences and our lives were back on track as we paddles towards our future. It wasn't until late afternoon that Mike sorted himself out. Unfortunately, it made us too late for our next planned campsite. As we approached the lock at Whitchurch, Mike steered us off across to the opposite side of the river and brought us to the bank by a pub. This was the last place I wanted to be know as I wanted to make up properly with Mike and an adult environment wasn't the place to do what I had in mind. As soon as the boat was moored Mike climbed out and disappeared. James and I looked at each other bemused. "What's he up to?" I asked. "I dunno." James answered. It was just then that I received one of the biggest shocks of my young life. Everyone in the pub leaned over the veranda and started clapping and cheering. With everything that had happened I had totally forgotten what day it was. James naturally joined in as he realised what Mike had been up to. I was so embarrassed I could have died. Several hands reached out from the bank to help me ashore. I stood up and lost my balance and fell in. This added insult to injury as I swam around the canoe and climbed up onto the landing stage. "High there sexy!" Came a yell from the bank. I recognised the voice. It was one of the guys from school. It also highlighted the fact that my shorts had hugged in tight to my body as I climbed out of the water and were now leaving very little to the imagination of the onlookers. I blushed again as I tried to sort my shorts out whilst being ushered ashore. James was waiting for me with Mike. We shared a three-way hug the moment I reached them. Much to Mike's dismay, I kissed him on the lips in front of all of our guest. It was a riverside inn, and the three of us were given 10 minutes to get showered and changed before the party really began. James made it, but Mike and I had one or two things to sort out before we joined the party, but I'll leave that to your imagination. We joined the party 15 minutes late, but no one was bothered. Least of all Mike and father. It was my mother's birthday and father and Mike had decided that I should be a symbol of the youth and vitality she used to have before her death. As a consequence I was now symbolically taking her place. It was strange because this was the first time father had celebrated mother's birthday that I could remember. The party was an amazing success! Mike and father had been scheming for weeks without me even suspecting it. Between them, they had just about everyone there that either Mike or I wanted to be around. The only notable exceptions were Tom and Mark who were out of the country. The only regrettable bit was that Mike and I were both the worse for wear that night and I missed out on "sharing" mother's birthday with Mike, if you know what I mean. * * * * * * * * * If you have any comments please email me at teller_of_tales@hotmail.com as usual flames will be ignored. I would like to thank Marc for his help proof reading the story and Chris, Trey and Marc for stirring my grey matter when it needs it. Thanks all of you.