Date: Sat, 25 Jul 2020 19:29:53 +0000 (UTC) From: Albert Collins Subject: You were there -- Part 2 Disclaimer: This is a romantic love story about love between young adolescent boys. There will be some explicit sex scenes in the story later, in subsequent chapters, but they are not the main focus of the story. So if you are looking for a story with a lot of explicit sex action, you are in the wrong place. If you like to read a sappy romantic tory with occasional kinky sex scenes, then please sit back and enjoy! Of course, comments and constructive criticism are welcome! albert.c87@yahoo.com ********************************************* You were there -- Part 2 When Diego woke up, he was still groggy and disoriented, not quite remembering where he was or what happened last night. To his surprise, the first thing Diego felt was warmth, coziness and comfort. He was being held in an affectionate embrace by two strong arms. They clearly belonged to a young person, in fact a boy. Diego's face was buried in the chest of this boy, clad in a white A-shirt and flannel pants. Diego realized that this was the boy from yesterday evening. He could not remember his name. Diego's position was awkward but he decided that he did not care, did not want to care. He closed his eyes and continued quietly, silently taking in the soothing warmth of the boy's body, listening to his steady rhythmic breathing, enjoying the safety of the boy's strong long arms clasped around Diego's back. For the first time in days, probably for the first time since his parents' death, Diego was starting to feel human again. Soothing warmth, safety, peace, comfort, compassion. Diego held his breath, not wanting this moment to end. He did not want to think about what was supposed to happen later that day, what he would need to do, which people he would need to meet and talk to, or what would happen to him in the future. He just wanted to prolong this moment of peace, gifted to him by the nameless A-shirt boy, a little longer. Eventually Diego exhaled and shifted his head, waking the boy underneath him. They both stood up from the bed, and Diego found himself starting at a pair of deep green eyes looking at him with concern. "Hey, Diego, buddy, good morning, welcome to the land of the living! I am Luke, remember, we met last night when Mr Wade and Mr Frank brought you in," the tall brown-haired boy explained. The memories of the previous night flooded back in, and Diego almost broke down crying again. "Ah, Luke, I am so sorry that I made such a mess last night, I really am..." Diego said shyly, looking down. "I did not mean to dump my problems and my waterworks on you. And thank you for being so nice to me. I really don't know what to say..." "Diego, dude, don't sweat it!" answered Luke. "I know you had it really rough. Mr Frank told me a little about your situation yesterday, and maybe when you feel up to it, you can tell me more. In any case, you are always welcome to have a shoulder to cry on, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with crying things out." With that Luke pulled Diego close and grabbed him in another affectionate hug, holding the smaller boy and gently stroking his back. Diego tensed at first but eventually relaxed. After about half a minute, Luke released Diego, held the boy's head in his hands and looked into his face. "Feeling better, buddy?" Luke asked gently. "Yes, thank you, I am okay," Luke answered, still sniffling. Luke was now able to observe Diego's eyes closely for the first time. He already noticed the night before that the hispanic boy had beautiful slightly curled up long black eyelashes. Diego's huge deep-seated eyes were mostly round but slightly elongated and had wonderful warm deep brown color, with a noticeable shade of purple. The effect of this combination was quite striking. Luke had never seen any boy, or girl for that matter, with eyes of that color before. Diego's face had absolutely clear and smooth complexion, with no traces of hair and no blemishes, except for a tiny birthmark at the edge of his right cheekbone. "Oh my god," Luke thought to himself, "the kid is more beautiful than any girl I have ever seen! Wait, Luke, boy, get your mind out of the gutter!" he reproached himself mentally. "You are here to help, not to ogle the new kid." But there was something more about Diego that Luke noticed, apart from his breathtaking beauty, something that struck Luke this morning even more that yesterday, and something that he could not quite put into words. Even with all his obvious fear, shyness and sadness, Diego exuded an undeniable aura, a strong air of magic, mystery, soft but powerful energy. Luke knew that not only did he want to help this beautiful new boy, he also wanted to unlock and understand the secret of his magic. For his part, Diego was observing for the first time the boy who had brought him back from the brink. Diego's memory from the previous evening was rather hazy, and he was now able to take a look at Luke for the first time. Luke was about 4 inches taller than Diego, with slim strong build and wiry, and even muscular physique. Diego guessed, correctly Luke to also be 12 years old, and he was amazed that a kid his age would have such strong muscular arms, chest and shoulders. Diego recognized that Luke's physical strength did not come from working out in a gym but from physical labour. Luke, being a white kid, had a much lighter complexion than Diego, but he had a deep golden tan on his face and the visible parts of his body. Luke's long hands and broad shoulders almost made him look like a gymnast. Luke had a wide open face with a pink wide shapely mouth, a straight Nubian-type nose widening and flaring up at the bottom, high well-defined cheekbones, a strong chin and a pair of mesmerizing sparkling deep-green eyes that were staring back at Diego with friendly compassion and concern. Luke's head was crowned with a mop of messy short wavy light brown hair, and his face was tightly hugged by a pair of elongated pinkish ears. Luke's eyebrows were less bushy and dense than Diego's and were arched up above Luke's eyes, as if in the expression of mild surprise. The overall impression Diego got from Luke's face was of strong masculinity, confidence, friendship and youthful beauty. But it was the palms of Luke's arms, now gently holding Diego's face, that were really doing something amazing to Diego. Luke's palms were warm and smooth, and to Diego their touch felt incredibly soothing and comforting. Diego could not really understand what was happening. He just felt waves of positive energy, carrying sympathy, friendship, comfort, and compassion, pass through Luke's hands and into his own body. Diego felt his whole body tremble involuntarily, and suddenly his knees buckled. Luke released Diego's face and caught him before Diego could fall. "Whoa, whoa, Diego, dude, you okay?" Luke asked, gently sitting Diego down on the bed. "Yeah, I am okay, thanks. Just felt a little woozy there for a moment," Diego answered shyly. "Okay, no problem, my friend," Luke replied with relief. "Listen, dude, it is only 6:30am now, and we have two and a half hours until breakfast. I'll grab a quick shower - we have a private bathroom in our room, its, that door over there. After me I suggest that you do the same. I see that you slept in your street clothes so I imagine you'll want to freshen up." "Umm, yeah, sorry, I ...," Diego started to respond in embarrassment. "Like I said, Diego, buddy, don't sweat it, no need to explain anything," Luke interrupted him. "Here, I see that Mr Frank -- that the owner and director of the center -- left some stuff here for you on your bed." They walked to the second bed which was at the other side of the room, opposite from Luke's bed. "Here, there is you towel, toothpaste and toothbrush, some mouthwash and floss," Luke continued explaining. "You don't need a razor yet, right?" "Umm, sorry, what?..." Diego replied, confused. "Relax, dude, that was a joke!" Luke said smiling and tapping Diego on the shoulder lightly. Diego managed a slight wan smile in response. "All right," Luke continued. "Here are some new clothes that Mr Frank left for you in case you want to change later." Luke and Diego sifted through several plastic bags of clothing that Frank left on Diego's bed. Apart from socks, PJs and underwear, there were also several different types of T-shirts, regular shirts, shorts, a couple of pairs of jeans, a few different types of sweaters, a track suit, a rain jacket and a few other things. Next to the bed on the floor they found some flip-flips, sandals and sneakers. Diego was amazed how much stuff Frank left for him. None of it was brand new, but everything looked clean and in good order. "Okay, man, I'll leave you to study your new wardrobe and I am gonna hit the shower," Luke declared, heading to the bathroom. Diego sat on the bed, suddenly feeling overwhelmed again. He slowly sifted through some of the clothing and picked up some stuff to wear for the day. A pair of blue boxers, some light green cargo shorts, and a long white T-shirt with a picture of a forest at the font. In about 10 minutes Luke appeared from the bathroom, having finished his shower. When Diego looked up and saw Luke, the image was even more startling than before. Luke was wearing a pair of short white boxers, some flip-flops, and a large fluffy yellow towel over his shoulder. Now seeing Luke in his almost naked form, Diego was awestruck that a 12-year-old boy could look like a complete muscle hunk. Diego was still pretty innocent sexually, and he had never had or thought about having any significant sexual experiences with boys. But now looking at Luke drying his hair, seeing Luke's strong young slim body up close, suddenly caused definite stirring in Diego's pants. Diego thought that Luke looked a bit like some of those Ancient Greek statues, or like Michelangelo's David; only Luke looked even better because his body was younger, slimmer, leaner and felt much more real and alive. Diego thought that he could almost see the bigger boy's muscles move underneath his fresh pink glowing skin. Diego saw that Luke's body was still pretty much hairless, except for a small hint of soft hair around his ankles. Another thing that caught Diego's attention were Luke's feet: They were well proportioned to his tall body but looked quite large. Diego suddenly remembered an old dirty joke he heard way back from other kids in California: "You know what they say, large feet, large ...." Diego's thought trailed off. Luke briefly disappeared back into the bathroom, but quickly came back without the towel now, rubbing some gel into his hair. "Okay, Diego, buddy, I am all done, the bathroom is all yours!" Luke said smiling. "You can grab a quick shower now too. What you are done, I can give you a grand tour of the place." Feeling rather shy and self-conscious, Diego made his way into the bathroom. He did not want to risk parading undressed in front of Luke yet, so he took the T-shirt and the cargo shorts to the bathroom with him. The bathroom had a large bathtub with an old-fashioned shower-head and and all-around curtain. Diego slowly undressed, turned on the water, and stood under the shower. He closed his eyes, feeling the hot water fall on his face and his body, washing away the tears and the sweat from the day before. Suddenly Diego felt quite overwhelmed, almost panicked. Where was he? Who was he? What was he doing here? The fear, the grief, the loss, the loneliness rushed back, and he almost broke down crying. But then Diego caught the scent of Luke that was still permeating the bathroom, remembered the soothing feeling of Luke's strong hands holding him tight the night before and this morning when waking up, the warmth of Luke's palms holding his face. The darkness receded. "Breathe, man, breathe," Diego thought to himself. "You'll get through this. You've got to get through this!" Diego quickly got out of the shower and dried himself off with the second towel. He avoided looking at himself in the mirror. He was not yet ready to face himself, to look at Diego, the new boy who was just being born, and to see how much of the old him was still there. Diego put on the boxers, the cargo pants and the T-shirt, dried off his head, quickly gelled his curly hair and stepped out of the bathroom. In the meantime Luke had been sitting at the computer desk, checking if he had any new e-mail messages that needed replying. As the bathroom's door opened, Luke turned his head and saw Diego step back into the room. The sight caught Luke's breath. Now standing there freshly bathed and illuminated by the rays of the morning's sun, Diego looked even more like a beautiful young elf than he did yesterday evening or earlier today. Diego's slim, graceful, beautifully proportioned figure seemed to Luke an epitome of perfect boyhood beauty, something timeless and eternal, and yet also tender and fragile. Diego's bare arms glowed with a fresh sheen of dark honey, and his shapely bare feet showed delectable toes and elegant arches. "Damn," Luke thought to himself, "the boy sure is fine!!" "Hey Diego, looking good, man!" Luke said out loud, smiling at Diego broadly. Luke looked up at Diego's face and suddenly saw the same haunted shadow of pain and fear that produced such an awful collapse yesterday. "Oh, no!!" Luke screamed mentally. "Diego, come here, man, come here buddy!" Luke called urgently. Not waiting for Diego to move, Luke run towards him and grabbed Diego in a tight bear hug, holding the smaller boy close. Diego slowly, silently raised his arms and wrapped them around Luke. "It's okay, Diego, I am here, buddy, it's okay, it's okay, dude, I've got you, buddy, I've got you," Luke continued saying soothingly. He firmly his right hand wrapped around Diego and lightly stroked Diego's hair and shoulders with his left hand. After a couple of minutes Luke felt Diego's body relax, and Luke released him. "You okay?" Luke asked Diego, lightly squeezing his shoulder. "Ah-ah, yeah, I am, thanks. Thank you for helping me, Luke! And I am really sorry for being such a mental case," Diego replied timidly. "Diego, dude, come here, buddy, let's talk for a minute," Luke said, sitting down on his bed and pulling Diego to sit down next to him. "Listen, Diego, man, first of all, I meant want I said before: I understand what you are going through and I want to help. I want to be you friend. In fact, I am going to be your friend! You are stuck a new friend, man, like it or not!" Luke smiled broadly and then continued: "Also, there is something that you should know about me. I grew up on a farm (I'll tell you later about this), and I am a bit of a barnyard philosopher. I may look like a dumb hick but I like thinking about stuff, I mean really thinking things through. One thing I figured is this: all young animals -- puppies, kittens, people, calves, piglets, you name it -- need lots of physical contact and affection when they are young. Us kids, we need that too. And so, I love hugging! Yeah, I am a hugger, man, your new crazy roommate is a hugger!! What do you think about that?" Diego did not say anything but smiled at Luke weakly. "Yeah, a crazy 12-year-old hugger, that's me!" Luke carried on. "You will find that out soon enough. I hug everybody: other kids, adults, dogs, cats, horses, cows, you name it! I think it helps, I really do! Maybe it's weird, but I don't care. I guess what I am trying to say is this. Whenever you are feeling down or lonely or scared, whenever one of these ... bad moments happens again, I am here for you with as many of my trademark friendly hugs as needed. Yeah, man I am gonna hug you to death, you know that now! And if you ever need more than that, like if you want a cuddle or a friendly shoulder to cry on, I am happy to help with that as well. Diego, do you get what I am saying, buddy??" Diego slowly nodded his head and replied, with a bit more confidence, looking at Luke directly: "Yes, Luke, I do. Thank you! Thank you for being my friend!" "Now, there you go, man!" Luke exclaimed happily. "Now come, give me some sugar!" With that Luke again pulled Diego in a warm affectionate hug, and this time Luke was ecstatic to notice that Diego responded and gingerly hugged him back. Luke then sat down on his bed and started to put his sandals on. "Okay, Diego my man, we have breakfast at nine, and time really flies, so we'd better get moving soon. I really wanna show you around the place! Man, you are gonna like Green Oaks, I promise!" Diego sat on his own bed and started slowly putting on the sandals that Frank left for him yesterday. "Officially this place is not an orphanage, but a long-term foster care facility," Luke continued to banter off. "It can house up to 12 boys at a time, although usually there are fewer boys than that here. Ritchie has been here for three and a half years, longer than any of the other guys who are here now. I've been here for two. Frank and Margie only take in orphan boys -- where both parents are dead and there are no other close living relatives.They are licensed by the state to care for kids between 8 and 14 years old. Mr Frank is a really good guy, he is a retired businessman of some kind, and now runs this place mostly at his own expense. They take real good care of us, but eventually we all have to leave. Officially, the idea is that the state is trying find families to adopt us but that hardly ever happens. See, most people looking to adopt kids want newborn babies, and few people want to adopt kids our age. So when we turn 15, we will be out of here and into the regular state foster care system. Still, we've got 3 years before we have to worry about that..." Diego listened quietly, sitting on his bed, taking in everything Luke was telling him. "See, we've got a huge room here, more than enough space for two kids," Luke switched gears. "We've got our our private bathroom that you've already seen, and there are two separate closets over there, one for you and one for me." "Here we've got a super-duper cool couch," Luke continued, plopping on the couch for demonstration, "and an unbreakable metal coffee-table!" Luke loudly banged on the table as proof. He then run to the other end of the room and sat at the computer desk. "Now, we've got just one computer, so we'll have to share, but that's no problem, right, Diego, dude!" "Right ...," Diego affirmed. "We've got no TV here, but there is a huge TV in the common room in the clubhouse, I'll show you later," Luke continued. "Oh, yeah, one thing you should know is, there are no video games here, no Xbox, no Nintendo, no Playstation, none of that shit ..." "Wow. No video games, for real?" Diego asked with a slight shock. "Yep, for real, man!" Luke confirmed. "Mr Frank says that they rot your brain, he-he. At first I was kind of bummed out too but now I am totally used to it. I was never all that much into video games anyway. There is so much cool other stuff here to do, dude, I promise, you'll see!" "I guess so ...," Diego answered, sounding uncertain. "Oh yeah, and another thing," Luke continued, "we don't get no them 'smart phones'. We get ordinary non-smart stone-age flip-phones, see?!" With that Luke got a phone out of his pocket and gave it to Diego. "Wow ... A flip phone ... I didn't know those still existed ...," Diego said, slowing looking at the phone. "Yep, they do!" Luke declared. "And we each get one! You'll get one too, probably later today. Mr Frank says that a smart phone makes you dumb! And looking at some of the kids at our school, he might be right, he-he! Anyways, with our flip phones we can still text, only not as quickly as those smart phone dumb-asses, so we don't do it as much. And they still got internet, but it's pretty slow, and no fancy pantsy apps that the smart phones have." "Wow ...," Diego said pensively again, handing the phone back to Luke. "Wait, how do you listen to music?" Diego asked, perplexed. "With an MP3 player, of course!" Luke declared, pulling out a small elegant MP3 player from his pants pocket. It's got 64GB storage, can connect to WiFi and bluetooth, and has quite a few apps on it. Can't make phone calls with it or text but the thing is pretty smart!" "Wow ... Flip phones and MP3 players ...," Diego mused quietly. "Yeah... We are a little like the Amish here, he-he!" Luke continued. "But, dude, you are gonna like it here, honest! Maybe we don't have high-tech toys here, but we are like free-range kids, lots of freedom here, man, I swear to god! And lots of fun stuff to do!" Luke looked at Diego and saw that there were both dressed and ready to go. "Okay, man, ready for the grand tour of the place? Let's go!" Luke said grabbing Diego's hand and pulling him out of the door. "Now, be careful with the stairs, man, they often can be slippery in the morning."