Date: Tue, 28 Jul 2020 15:20:49 +0000 (UTC) From: Albert Collins Subject: You were there -- Part 5 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! Thank you to those of you who wrote with comments and feedback. This chapter is a bit longer than others, and it concludes Diego's first day at Green Oaks. I expect that the past of the story will speed up somewhat after that. Nothing carnal is going to happen between the characters just yet, but it is going to happen, I promise! Of course, comments and constructive criticism are always welcome! albert.c87@yahoo.com Oh, yeah, and please, donate to Nifty: donate.nifty.org *********************** You were there -- Part 5 Luke was waiting outside Frank's office, pacing back and force. When Diego eventually emerged, Luke anxiously grabbed his hand. "How did it go??! Diego, are you okay??!!" Luke asked nervously. "Yeah, thank you, Luke, everything's okay, and I am fine, honest," Diego replied softly. Luke looked at Diego suspiciously, searching his face for any sign of trouble. "Thank god, doesn't look like he's been crying. Looks like it really did go okay," Luke thought to himself. Luke relaxed and the worried expression on his face was replaced by a customary wide smile. "All righty, then! Let's go to the terrace and chill with the others for a bit," Luke suggested. Diego followed Luke into the clubhouse and to the terrace outside. All the other kids and Margie were already there, sitting and talking, and Frank joined them in a few minutes as well. The terrace was facing south and offered a superb view of the hill below and the pond and the forest beyond. Diego slowly walked to the wooden railing at the end of the terrace and leaned on it, enjoying the view in front of him. He heard Luke walk up next to him. "Cool, right?" Luke said. "Yeah ...," Diego agreed softly. Luke walked behind Diego and gently scooped his hands around him, placing his hands a little wider than Diego's on the railing. Luke leaned into Diego slightly and rested his chin next to Diego's temple. Diego closed his eyes, completely forgetting about the magnificent panoramic view in front of him. The feel of Luke's hair, his smell, his weight, his breath, the light touch of his fingers touching Diego's. It was soothing, it was peaceful, it was comforting, it was just so ... Diego did not know what it was, could not describe it, he just knew that he did not want this feeling to end, wanted to hold on to it, to this moment with Luke as long as he could. And this time Luke didn't move away, Luke stayed with him. Diego's eyes watered and he exhaled a slight sigh of relief and satisfaction. He opened his eyes and was able to start enjoying the view again. The boys stayed in this position for about five minutes before Luke finally stepped back and separated from Diego. Diego turned around and gave Luke a shy grateful smile. At that moment Toby approached them and tugged on Luke's arm. "Luke, Luke, come, I wanna show you my new magic card trick! Come, you promised!" Toby urged. "Sure thing, buddy, a promise is a promise!" Luke said, smiling, and then hugging Toby and lifting him up. "Come on, me and Diego would love to see your magic card trick!" They walked to one of several tables on the terrace. Diego and Luke sat down in large reclined chairs, and Toby stood in front of them and produced a deck of cards. "Okay," Toby declared shuffling the deck, "behold my magical mind-reading powers!" Luke giggled and watched on. Toby put the deck on the table and told Luke: "Okay Luke, cut the deck, cut it in half at any place you want." Luke proceeded to cut the deck and placed two smaller piles on the table. Toby took them both and said: "It was totally fair, right? I didn't tell you were to cut the deck, you did it yourself, right?" "Yep, right, totally fair," Luke confirmed. Toby proceeded to place one of the two piles perpendicular on top of the other and said: "Now, Luke, lift this top card here, where you just made the cut, and look at it but don't show it to me! And then place it back." Luke and Diego looked at the card. It was Ten of Clubs. Luke put it back. "Now, using my great magical mind-reading powers I am gonna guess which card it was!" Toby declared. He put two fingers to his forehead and scrounged his face, forcing Luke to giggle again. "Was it ... the Ace of Spades??!" Toby asked triumphantly. "Err, no," Luke replied perplexed. "Wait, what?? It wasn't the Ace of Spades??!" Toby asked, crushed. "No, sorry, Toby, buddy, it wasn't. It was the Ten of Clubs," Luke replied consolingly. "Diego saw it too, right Diego?" Diego nodded. "Shoot, the stupid card trick doesn't work! I was sure I learned it right!" Toby shouted in frustration. "I am sorry, Toby. Do you wanna try again?" Luke suggested. Toby tried three more times but each times he failed. By the end Toby was close to tears, and Diego saw that Luke really wanted to tell Toby that he guessed right but didn't want to lie in front of Diego. Luke hugged Toby and put him on his lap. "Hey, buddy, you may still have my piece of chocolate cake tonight! A promise is a promise! Okay?" In the meantime Diego observed Toby's card trick carefully and he thought he understood what the trick was about and what went wrong. "Hey, Toby," Diego said, "I think I have an idea of what went wrong with your card trick and how to fix it. Come on, I'll show you." Diego took Toby by the hand, led him a few steps away from Luke and started whispering something in Toby's ear. Luke strained but could not really hear anything except something like "shuffling it right". "Okay, Toby?" Diego asked out loud. "Yeah, thanks Diego!" Toby replied with a huge smile. Diego returned to his seat and, in return to Luke's questioning glance, shrugged his shoulders. "All right, ready? This time it's gonna work!" Toby declared. Toby proceeded to repeat his card trick. When Luke lifted the card and showed it to Diego, it was Three of Hearts. Toby proceeded to do his best impression of telepathic powers and asked: "Is it the ... Three of Hearts??!!" Luke's jaw dropped. "Yes, yes, it was!" Luke shouted. "How did you do that??!" Toby repeated the trick two more times and each time he guessed the card correctly. Luke was flabbergasted and Toby was beaming. Diego did not say anything but he smiled observing the performance. "Toby, my man, that was great!! You are a magician!" Luke declared. "You may have not only my today's cake but tomorrow's as well! But now, Toby, Diego, you guys just gotta tell me the secret of how this works! You gotta, please!" Toby gigged and looked at Diego. "Diego, should we take pity on the former unbeliever?" Toby asked. Diego nodded, smiling slightly. "Okay, Diego, you tell him, please," Toby requested. "It's pretty simple, actually," Diego started explaining. "You first pick a specific card, like the Three of Hearts here. You put it on the top of the deck. And then shuffle the deck in front of the audience but making sure that the card you picked stays as the top one. Then you ask somebody from the audience to cut the deck. You ask them stuff about the cut being fair and such -- that's just for misdirection, to divert their attention. You then put the two piles one on top of the other perpendicularly, so that the top pile is the one that was at the top of the deck before cutting. And so the top card there is still Three of Hearts, see. And that's the trick!" Luke sat back digesting Diego's explanation. "Wow! Wait, but what went wrong with Toby's trick in the beginning?" Luke asked. "Well, he wasn't shuffling the deck carefully enough. The trick won't work if you don't keep the top card of the deck fixed when you shuffle," Diego explained. "Wow!! And you figured all that just by watching Toby??!! I mean how the trick works and what Toby's been doing wrong?!" Luke asked incredulously. "Well, yeah, sure. It's just a matter of careful observation and paying attention, I guess," Diego answered modestly. "Oh! My! God!" Luke enthused. "Toby, buddy, great work, and I do owe you those two slices of cake! Diego, you must have a brain like the size of Jupiter! That was really amazing!" Luke gave Toby another hug, ruffled his hair and broke down laughing. Toby then walked to Diego's chair and leaned in for a hug as well. "Thank you, Diego, really, thanks a lot!" Toby said, smiling. "You are welcome, Toby," Diego replied, returning Toby's smile. Toby run off and they heard him excitedly addressing Frank and Margie: "Hey, Mr Frank, I gotta show you this magic card trick Diego helped me with! It really works, I swear!" Diego and Luke spent the rest of the morning lounging and chilling out on the terrace. Diego tried to stay close to Luke and observed the other kids. Everybody seemed to be friendly and to like each other. They seemed to like Diego too, although he mostly kept silent and didn't engage much. Diego and Luke watched Ritchie and Luke play several games of backgammon. Richie won two out of three. Then Rafael played one game against Luke and won. Diego felt slightly upset but Luke looked absolutely his usual happy self. Lunch in the dining room was a quieter and lighter affair than breakfast, with a delicious squash soup being the main entry. Diego still sat at the corner of the table, next to Luke, but Luke could see that Diego was beginning to relax a bit more and that the hunched furtive frightened look of a cornered animal that he often had earlier was beginning to dissipate. "Hey, Diego, whaddya say you and me take a boat trip across the pond now? And explore the woods on the other side? How does that sound?" Luke suggested to Diego as they were leaving the dining room. Diego hesitated. He was still not sure if he really wanted to go anywhere, do anything, be anything. Wouldn't it be better to curl in a ball in a corner somewhere, close his eyes and forget that the world even exists, that he exists? Diego sighed. But then he looked up at Luke, felt Luke tugging on his hand with his warm palm, saw that sweet beautiful friendly grin on Luke's strong face, felt the happy energy flowing through Luke's fingers. No, he couldn't say no to Luke now. He had to come with him. Yeah, it'll be good. It'll be good. "Yeah, sure, Luke, sounds like fun," Diego said at last. "Okay, super!!" Luke exclaimed excitedly, giving Diego a quick hug. "All right, let's go! You are gonna love it, Diego, I promise!" Luke texted Frank to let him know where they were going. The boys first stopped by their room as Luke wanted to change his T-shirt since the one he had on got dirty during their time at the barn in the morning. He put on a tight fitting athletic white t-shirt with short tight sleeves and a picture of a black bear in the front. The boys headed out and started walking down the hill towards the water below. As they approached the pond, Diego saw a long wooden pier running along the sore. Several row boats of different sizes were tied to it, as well as a couple of motor boats. Danny, Devon, and Rafiq were already there with their fishing rods, sitting on the pier with their feet just above the water and watching their bobbers intently. "Hey, Luke, look here, I already caught a yellow perch!" one of the twins shouted excitedly, noticing Diego and Luke, and jumping up to meet them. "Great, job, Devon, buddy!" Luke congratulated him, giving Devon a hi-five. "What ya doing? You gonna fish too?" Devon asked. "No, I am going to take Diego rowing. Show him 'round the pond at the forest," Luke answered. "We'll fish with you some other time." "'Kay. Bye Luke, bye, Diego," Devon waved to them. Danny and Rafiq waved to them too. Luke got into one of the smaller row boats, painted dark red, with a white rim on top, and Diego followed him. Luke took the front, oarsman's, seat, with his back towards the bow, and Diego sat facing him. "Diego, dude, you can swim, right?" Luke inquired? "Oh, yeah, sure, I can swim ...," Diego answered in surprise. "Okey-dokey, just checkin'. We've got our life vests," Luke pointed to the vests in the back of the boat, "and I'm always here to save you in case of trouble, buddy, he-he! Still, good that you won't need savin'! Anyways, I don't think the pond gets deeper than like 12 feet anywhere and its pretty shallow most places ..." Luke untied the rope holding the boat to the pier and fastened the oars in the oar-locks. "Okay, Luke boat express is ready to sail, chu-chu!" Luke exclaimed with a laugh and started rowing. As they moved away from the shore, Diego started to look around. The pound was quite wide at the bottom of the hill, with the edges of the forest still far away. The hot afternoon June sun shone brightly at the still surface of the pond, making it shimmer like a brilliant mirror. Diego was amazed how light and smooth the boat's gliding along the surface of the water was. He looked up at Luke. As usual, Luke was grinning back at him, while also concentrating on rowing, moving the oars in steady powerful strokes. Luke's tight athletic shirt and short cut-off tight jean shorts nicely complimented his wiry figure. Diego thought he could see the muscles move underneath the tanned skin of Luke's exposed long arms, and the picture of the bear moving at the front of his t-shirt emphasized Luke's flexing chest muscles. The boy looked so absolutely ... beautiful! Diego felt his face flush. Fresh beads of sweat started forming above Luke's brow. They looked so shiny against his skin, so beautiful, so sweet, so delicious ... Diego felt his shorts tenting up. Wait, what the hell was he thinking??! Why was he thinking what he was thinking??! Diego shook his head and looked down in shame. He looked up, and Luke's friendly open beautiful face was still there, staring back at him. Luke gave Diego a wink as he continued rowing. Diego blushed but did not avert his gaze. Daman it all, he din't care! It didn't matter. Hey needed it, he needed Luke, Luke's friendly smile, the sparkle in his beautiful green eyes, the comfort of his strong wiry arms. Didn't matter what it meant, does't matter what it meant, it was okay to look, he was going to look. He needed it. It was okay. It was okay. Diego continued watching Luke as the boat glided along the water. As they got closer to the other side of the pond, the pond narrowed, the forest grew closer and the water around them changed. It grew darker, more mysterious, with more leaves floating on the surface and more stems of grass popping up above. Diego stetted to pay attention to his surrounding. He heard voices of birds coming from the forest, rustling of leaves of trees. A family of ducks slowly floated past them. Suddenly there was a loud splash next to the boat, causing Diego to jump up with a start: "What was that?! A fish?" "No, silly, look!" Luke laughed. "It's a snapping turtle. Lots of 'em here." Diego watched in fascination as a large turtle, looking a bit like a dinosaur, swam away from them towards the shore. In a few moments the boat reached the shore. They docked at a small wooden pier and Luke tied the boat to it. "All right, Diego, welcome to the enchanted forest, he-he!" Luke exclaimed, jumping out of the boat onto the pier. Diego slowly followed him. They started out into the forest along a wide well treaded path. About a hundred feet in, Luke suddenly stopped, looked around and jumped into the bushes. "Ah, here, it is! Wild raspberries!" Luke shouted. "Diego, come, you gotta try some, many are quite ripe already! But watch out for the thorns!" Diego spread out the brunches and carefully followed Luke into the bushes. Luke was already busily picking up red berries from long green branches covered in small thorns, and stuffing them into his mouth. "Here, Diego, dude, try some!" Luke stopped and offered Diego a scoop, while continue to chew. "Ah, thanks, Luke," Diego slowly took the berries from Luke's hand. Fresh pink raspberry juice was dripping from Luke's mouth on his chin, as he stared at Luke with his usual wide grin. "Mmm, delicious!" Luke said, continuing to smile, with the juice still dripping on his face. "Oh, my god, he looks so ... so ...," Diego's thought trailed off. He ate the berries Luke gave him and carefully picked out a few more. About five minutes later the boys got back to the main trail and continued into the forest, moving further away from the pond. Diego was following Luke slowly, looking around, taking in the surroundings. The forest did not seem to be very old, with lots of young trees and not too overgrown, but he could also see older, gnarlier trees here and there Luke turned way from the main trail pretty quickly and they moved into a denser, shadier area. The ground grew damper, grassier, with more sprouting ferns and mossy logs. Luke was telling him something but Diego found that he lost track of what Luke was saying and was just following the sound of Luke's voice. Suddenly they came upon a clearing in the forest, a large open grassy area forming a gentle small hill. In the middle of that hill there stood an enormous old willow tree, with gnarly branches extending in all directions. The giant thick trunk of the willow separated into two main branches about five feet above the ground, with a u-shaped bridge between them, almost giving the impression of two trees merged together. "Wow!" Diego said, looking on in awe. "Yeah!" Luke agreed quietly. "Ain't that something?" Luke walked to the willow and sat down underneath it, with his back against the trunk, hugging his knees. Diego sat next to him. The ground next in the area next to the trunk was more bare, mostly devoid of grass and flowers. Diego felt an ant start crawling up his arm. "That's my absolute favorite place in this forest," Luke spoke at last, "kinda my special place. Do some of my best thinkin' here," Luke grinned at Diego, " and some of my best reading too. Sometimes I spend hours here reading a book." "It's so quiet here, so ... peaceful," Diego said pensively. "Yeah, man, my thoughts exactly!" Luke exclaimed. "I'm sure this willow is the oldest tree in this entire forest." "Like the Old Man Willow in the Lord of the Rings?" Diego suggested. "Yeah, like that," Luke agreed. "Only no, this willow here is good, it's got a good soul, a friendly soul, it's not gonna try to throttle us with its roots or something!" "Yeah ...," Diego agreed. Luke slid down onto the ground and lay on the grass on his back with his arms outstretched. Diego followed his example and lay down next to Luke in the same position. The long leafy brunches of the willow were still completely shading them from the hot afternoon sun. The wind was gently rustling the old tree's leaves. Diego closed his eyes. "It's like the tree is whispering something to us, telling us something," Diego said slowly without opening his eyes. "Wow, you hear it too, Diego?" Luke asked, raising himself up on his elbows and turning to Diego. "What do you think it's saying?" After a pause, Diego replied softly, without opening his eyes: "That it's okay not to worry. It's okay to relax. It'll watch over us ..." "Yeah ...," Luke lay down again and lay there quietly, listening to the willow, looking at its leaves gently dancing above him in the wind. When Luke finally turned his head and looked Diego, he suddenly realized that Diego was asleep. "Good," Luke thought to himself, "he needed that. Thanks, willow!" Luke sat up and looked at the sleeping Diego more closely. Diego was breathing steadily and his mouth was slightly opened. The usual haunted, withdrawn, furtive expression on Diego's face were gone. His beautiful soft, tender face now looked peaceful, content, unclouded by worry, almost happy. Luke felt a lump form in his throat. It suddenly occurred to him that he understood the story of the Sleeping Beauty a little better. Maybe it wasn't just a dumb children's story. Maybe there was something to it. And the Sleeping Beauty, maybe she wasn't just sleeping, maybe she was dreaming. Dreaming of a happier time. And of someone to share that happiness with. Luke looked at Diego's face again, at the boy's soft tender slightly parted lips. How good, how sweet it would feel to kiss him! Luke almost groaned and then mentally chided himself. "Yeah, right, trailer trash Prince Charming, that'll be the day! Still, a boy can dream, right?!" Luke's gaze traveled down Diego's body, to the boy's knees and legs below his cargo shorts. Luke marveled again at the warm deep brown color of Diego's skin, its perfectly smooth texture, its freshness, its light moist sheen. Luke's eyes moved further up, towards Diego's crotch. If Diego's ankles were so damn sexy, what could he be concealing there ... "Damn it!" Luke scolded himself mentally. "Some Prince Charming you are, ogling your Sleeping Beaty like a fucking pervert!" Luke looked at Diego's face again. He noticed that a cloud suddenly passed over Diego's peaceful face, like a shadow of pain, grief and fear. Diego started moving his head from side to side slightly and whimpering something inaudibly, incoherently. His body seemed to tense up, twist a little. Luke crouched next to Diego and gently squeezed Diego's left hand between his palms. "Come on, Diego, come on, you can get through this, come on, man, come on!" Luke prayed silently. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on Diego's hand between his palms, caressing it with his fingers very lightly. In a few moments Diego's hand relaxed and felt lighter under Luke's touch. Luke opened his eyes and looked at Diego's face again. He saw that the shadow had passed and Diego was breathing peacefully again. "Thank god," Luke thought, "thank god." He released Diego's hand and sat back. Just a moment later Diego opened his eyes and woke up. He sat up and rubbed his eyes slowly. "Wow ... I guess I dozed off ... Sorry about that ...," Diego said with a guilty expression. "No problem, Diego, no problem at all, dude!" Luke beamed at him. "You really needed that. And the willow really did its job, lulling you to sleep, he-he!" Luke pointed up at the tree. Diego gave him an uncertain smile back. Diego stretched his arms out and flexed his shoulders. "Yeah, I guess you're right, I did need that. Funny thing how this old willow put me right to sleep ..." Diego looked around with a more inquisitive glance. "Hey Luke, you ever come here at night?" "Yeah, I do!" Luke almost shouted. "It's my favorite time here. Officially, we are not allowed, not without adult supervision, but a few times Mr Frank gave me a special d-i-s-p-e-n-s-a-t-i-o-n. On account of me being so responsible, he-he, and so persuasive!" Luke giggled. "I really love watching the stars from here," Luke continued in a more serious voice. "There's no light from the buildings and the houses here, so you can see everything real clear like. Marc -- that's one of the councillors here -- taught us all about different constellations and stuff, and how to navigate and keep direction using the stars ... I love this stuff." "Wow, that's very cool!" Diego complimented. "I love astronomy but you'll have to teach me how to find different constellations in the sky. That'd be something ..." Diego paused as if deciding whether to allow a memory from his past life to surface, to share that memory with Luke. "See," Diego continued quietly, "I used to love reading about stars and planets and galaxies ... There's lots of these telescopes now that are looking for planets around other stars. And they got so much data, way more than they know what to do with ... So they post it online, and anyone can look for a new planet in this data. Anyone, even kids. They have instructions and stuff, how to look ... I used to look, only I haven't found any ..." Luke sat up and stared at Diego bug-eyed. "Diego, are you fucking kidding me?!! You absolutely have to teach me how to do that!! Man, if we find our own planet, I'm gonna lose my freaking mind!!" Luke emitted a delighted whooping sound. Luke looked at Diego in awe again. "Like I said this morning, you've got a brain the size of Jupiter, dude, I swear to god!" Luke exclaimed with a giggle. Diego just shook his head and smiled. He suddenly remembered something Luke said earlier that morning. "Hey Luke," Diego said quietly. "Something I wanna ask you." "Yeah, sure thing, shoot," Luke encouraged. "Earlier today, in our room, something you said, about Green Oaks ... You said that all kids here are orphans ... Is that true?" "Yeah, man, yeah, it is," Luke replied. He sat down on the grass and hugged his knees again. Diego also sat down, facing Luke, with his legs outstretched. He looked at Luke questioningly. Luke sighed slightly but decided to continue. "Take Devon and Danny," Luke started explaining. "They are originally from Philly, I think. Their dad got shot when there were very little. Their mom tried to raise 'em on her own. Managed for a while but then the drugs got her. She OD-ed. They were the ones who found her at the end, I hear. It was bad ... So eventually they ended up here." Luke sighed again as Diego listened on in shock. "There's Ritchie, our future sumo champion. His dad died a long time ago, heart attack. Bad genes, I guess ... His mom had a good job, some sort of fancy bank, so they were doing good for a while. But then she got breast cancer. Yeah ... Ritchie was the one to take care of her ... When she died, I guess there weren't any close relatives left to take care of him ... I hear there's an old grandma somewhere in a nursing home ... So Richie ended up here too." "Wow ...," Diego said quietly. "I had no idea ... And Rafael?" "Ah, yeah, Rafael ... He's from Boston, originally. His mom died in childbirth when Rafael was born. Fucking rotten luck and it gets worse ... His dad was a dock worker. Raised Rafael by himself, worked his ass off day and night. Then got killed in a job accident. I hear a container fell on him ..." "Wow ... That's awful!" Diego exclaimed. "Yeah ... So Rafael's here now too. Then we've got Toby. He parents were shot by some fucking junkie over a fucking wallet and a cell-phone. Killed over a fucking cell-phone and a fucking twenty bucks, man, how sick is that! ... Luckily Toby wasn't there ... Still, that's how we got him ..." "Wow ... And Rafiq?" Diego asked. "Oh, yeah, Rafiq ... He's sorta special case, I guess," Luke explained. "He's from Iraq, like I said earlier. His mom and dad were real well-educated folks, both college professors, I think. And they worked as translators for our troops there. So those terrorists, those ISIS guys, they killed 'em. So we, I mean our soldiers, got Rafiq out, and now he's here in America ..." "But, why here at Green Oaks?" Diego asked. "Won't he be better off with a Muslim family?" "Oh yeah, that. See, that's what they've done for him at first. Set him up with some Muslim foster family, somewhere in Minneapolis, I think." Luke explained. "And ...?" "Guess they weren't too smart about it. People started blabbing their mouths. Everybody found out who Rafiq was and what his parents did back in Iraq. Guess the ISIS people found out too, 'cause somebody shot up his foster parents house. Nobody got killed but they had to get him out real quick. So now he's here, with us. Probably just for a short while, till they figure out what to do next. He does not go out much, mostly stays here at Green Oaks. Guess we are kind of trying to keep him under wraps ..." "Wow," Diego thought to himself with a start, "Rafiq, he is like me ... Wow ..." "Yeah, man, we all got our sob stories here ...," Luke continued pensively. "And ... you?" Diego asked cautiously. "Who, me? Yeah, me too." Luke confirmed. "I'm a hick from western Pennsylvania. Grew up in a trailer park, in the farm country over there. My mom and dad, we had our trailer, and a patch of land out there. Grew up some stuff, had us some chickens and pigs. Dad wasn't that much of a farmer, though. Liked the bottle too much for that. Was drunk most of the time that I remember ... Beat me and my mom up whenever he could ..." "He beat you up??!!" Diego exclaimed in horror. "When he could catch me. Which wasn't that often," Luke smirked. "See, I was pretty fast even then, when I was small. And he could not stand up straight most of the time, the drunken bastard." "And your mom?" "My mom, she was a good friend of the bottle too. Not a complete sot like dad but still ... They made a good pair ... And on top of that ... on top of that she was I guess what you'd call the trailer park's 'lady of the night'. Not that she only did that at night ..." "You don't mean ..." Diego said with even greater shock. "Yeah, she was a whore, man, and dad, my dad, he was her pimp. Yeah, we were quite a family ... Gave new meaning to 'trash' in 'trailer trash'," Luke kicked the ground with his foot. "Come on, Luke, don't talk like that!" Diego pleaded. "It's cool, man, I don't care. Made my peace with it a long time ago," Luke replied. "Anyway," Luke continued, "as I got to be around nine, dad began saying that it was time for me to start pulling my weight, to bring some dough home. That I was ripening up to be one juicy fucking morsel. And that there were plenty of guys and gals out there who'd be willing to pay good money for sampling me. That's when I knew it was time for me to get outta there. No way I was gonna sell my ass for those drunken fucktards, no fucking way!" "Oh, my god, Luke! Did they every made you ... Did you ever have to ..." Diego's voice trailed off. "Nah, it never came to that," Luke kicked the ground with his foot again. "See, a short while later, when dad was drunk out of his mind and playing with his fucking gun again, he shot my mom. Shot her in the head, killed her instantly... She was pretty drunk too so she didn't see it coming ... Then the sheriff's deputies came and had a good old shoot-out with dad. And they got him, they did, right between the eyes. Served the fucker right, he got what he deserved ..." Diego got up, walked behind Luke, who was still sitting on the ground, leaned forward and hugged him gently. "I am so sorry, Luke," Diego whispered, "I had no idea ..." "Thanks, man, thanks," Luke replied, without getting up, squeezing Diego's arm. "But I am good, really, I am. Like I said, made my peace with it a long time ago ..." Diego sat down next to Luke, leaning on Luke's shoulder. "Anyways, after that I got out of there real quick," Luke continued. "Became a street kid for a while. Lived by thieving and scrounging. It was tough but I managed ... I got tougher too ... Got caught by the cops a few times, been to juvie a few times, always escaped ... Bounced between a few foster homes, usually escaped ... Then I ended up here at Green Oaks two years ago. That was my lucky break, that's when I knew I hit the jackpot. For a few years anyway. Been here ever since ... So, that's my story, trailer trash Luke!" Luke looked up at Diego with a cheeky grin. Diego wrapped his arm around Luke's shoulder. "I am so sorry, Luke. I am so so sorry!" Diego whispered with tears welling in his eyes. "Thanks, Diego, thanks, man," Luke said smiling, "but really I am okay, I promise, nothing to be sorry about. Like I said, I made my peace with it a whiles back. Now I am having a blast living here at Green Oaks! And even better, I just got this cool new roommate!" Luke laughed merrily and Diego could not help but smile with him. "Well, Diego, whaddya say we head back to base? They'll be serving dinner soon ...," Luke suggested. "Yeah, sure, Luke, thanks," Diego agreed. The trip back went quietly. Diego was trying to process everything that happened today, everything he learned from Luke, everything Luke told him. As Luke was sitting in the boat facing Diego, rowing, smiling his usual friendly and happy smile, Diego was looking at the muscular brown-headed boy with new eyes. How could Luke, who had seen so much grief and ugliness, who's had so much bad stuff happen to him, be so happy, so full of life, so carefree?! How could he be so willing to share his happiness and his friendship with Diego, a strange mental case cry-baby kid he just met?! Diego's mind could not process it, could not comprehend it. But looking at the goofy friendly grin on Luke's strong open face, Diego realized that he didn't care. He was lucky, so lucky to have found Luke. And he was going to hold on to him with everything he had. By the time they got back to the clubhouse, it was still half an hour before dinner. Luke noticed that Diego was getting listless, his shoulders were slumping, his gaze getting cloudy. Margie was in the dining room, setting up the table, and Luke run up to her. "Umm, Ms Margie," he tugged on her hand. "Ah, yes, Luke, honey, what is it?" she asked. "Ummm, see, Diego, it's his first day here and ... He's real tired and ... Would it be okay if we skip dinner and just get something to eat in our room tonight?" Luke looked at her pleadingly. Margie gave Diego a look over and turned back to Luke. "Of course, Luke, honey, of course, you are right!" Margie hugged Luke and kissed the top of his head. "You boys run back to your room. I'll stop by later and bring you some sandwiches and something to drink." Margie hugged Diego as well, and the boys headed back to their room. Diego shot Luke a grateful glance. He realized that he was quite exhausted and getting through the dinner would have been quite a strain. Once they got to their room, Diego slowly sat down on his bed. He was feeling more and more overwhelmed, and the events of the day, his first full day at Green Oaks, his first full day as Diego, were catching up to him. He closed his eyes and shook is head slowly. Then he quickly felt Luke sit on the bed next to him, felt Luke's strong warm hand wrap around his shoulder. Luke rubbed Diego's shoulder with his palm lightly, and Diego leaned and rested his head against Luke's shoulder. The boys sat silently for a few minutes. "Luke ...," Diego started quietly, "thank you for today. I just ... Thank you." Diego looked down. "Any time, Diego, any time, man, any time!" Luke said warmly, hugging Diego's shoulder tighter. Diego stood up and turned towards Luke with a shy smile. "Well, now I'm suddenly feeling quite hungry!" Diego said guiltily. "Don't worry," Luke giggled, "Ms Margie is probably gonna bring us more food than we can eat in a day!" The boys started changing in their PJs for the night. Luke put on his customary white A-shirt with flannel pants, and Diego decided to wear a similar outfit. Diego forgot to worry about modesty in front of Luke, and Luke got his first glance of Diego's smooth chest and equally smooth lean thighs. "Damn it, how can he be so absolutely fucking beautiful!" Luke thought to himself, while changing into his own PJs and hoping not to throw a woody. "And when am I gonna have time to beat off tonight?!" Luke looked at the bathroom's door but decided to just go without that evening. "It'll be plenty of time for Diego to discover what a pervy jerk-off addict his new roommate is. No need to scare the poor kid just yet!" There was a quick knock on the door, and Margie came in, carrying a tray. "Here, boys, I brought you some sandwiches, some fruit, cookies and a jug of milk for the supper," she explained, putting the tray down. "Diego, honey, I really hope you can get a good night of sleep tonight. I know that Luke will take good care of you. You are both good boys!" Margie kissed both Luke and Diego on their foreheads. "Good night, kids, sleep well!" "Good night, Ms Margie!" Luke and Diego replied as she was exiting the room. Then Luke got up. "Now, Diego, dude, what do you say we give these yummy sandwiches the treatment they deserve?" he suggested. "Sure," Diego nodded with a slight smile. The boys brought the food Margie left them to the coffee table and ate it while sitting together on the couch. As they finished, Luke yawned and stretched his arms out, like a cat. "Well, Diego, my man, I am beat, I think it's time we put in, right?" "Yeah, sure ...," Diego agreed, sounding uncertain. Luke went to his bed and started getting ready for the night. He turned off the ceiling light, living on only the two night lights next to his bed and Diego's. Diego slowly walked to his own bed. He looked at Luke, who was just getting into his bed. Diego sat on the edge of his bed and fiddled with his pillow. "Hey, Luke," Diego called quietly. "Can I ask you something?" "Yeah, sure, man, what is it?" Luke replied, lifting his head from his pillow and looking towards Diego. "Ah, I know it's gonna sound weird but ... Could I still sleep with you tonight? Please?" Diego's pleading eyes explained much more than he could put into words. "Sure thing, buddy, hop in!" Luke replied right away. Diego turned off his night light and slowly walked towards Luke's bed. Luke turned on his right side and Diego nestled next to him. Luke threw his left arm around Diego's torso and pulled him closer. With a slightly audible sight of relief, Diego melted his body into Luke's and closed his eyes. The first day of his new life was finally over. He got through it okay. He survived. He was safe. He met an amazing beautiful new friend who was looking after him. Maybe, just maybe, things would work out here. Yes, Luke will make sure of that. Luke will take care of him ... Luke ... Diego allowed sleep to overtake him. After quietly switching off his night light, Luke gently held Diego's body close. He lay in the darkness, listening to the smaller boy's breathing, feeling his heartbeat, the smooth moist cool tender silkiness of the skin on Diego's chest under Luke's palm. Luke's eyes watered and he felt his own heart beat faster. Luke knew right then and there that come what may, he was going to do everything he could to protect this precious parcel, to keep this wonderful sweet boy happy and safe. Luke smiled, sighed deeply and drifted off to sleep.