Date: Sun, 2 Aug 2020 00:59:45 +0000 (UTC) From: Albert Collins Subject: You were there -- Part 7 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! Thanks again to all those who wrote with comments and feedback! Ch 7 is a bit of a catch-up chapter since Ch 6 kind of ended in the middle of things. I'll try to make the next chapter more logically organized. Of course, as usual, comments and constructive criticism are welcome! albert.c87@yahoo.com Oh, yeah, and please, donate to Nifty: donate.nifty.org ********************************************** You were there -- Part 7 During the ride back Luke put Summer in a faster trot. Diego was sitting quietly behind his back hugging him tightly. "Good, good, he's feeling better. Hope it took his mind off that awful thing that happened this morning ...," Luke thought, enjoying the feel of Diego's steady breathing on his neck. Luke looked down at Diegos' delicate shapely palms holding on to his chest. It felt so-o good. Luke breathed in deeply. "Oops, he-he, Diego's not the only one who's feeling better," Luke smirked to himself silently, feeling his shorts tightening. "Come on, Luke, man, get your mind out of the gutter!" His thoughts traveled back to the episode at the creek when they saw the yellow rail. "Diego, what was he doing just before the bird landed on the log? That look on his face, it was so weird, so ... magical ... so ... otherworldly ... Like he was talking to someone ... or summoning something ... Heck, maybe the boy really is an elf!" Luke looked at Diego's hands on his chest again. "But what a beautiful and sexy elf at that!" As they approached the barnyard, Amber run down towards them, barking excitedly and jumping around them. Summer neighed and backed off in protest. "Hey, Amber, girl, did you miss us?" Luke called. "Come on, Amber, behave! You know Summer doesn't like it when you do that!" Amber stopped barking and followed them into the courtyard, still wagging her tail. Luke and Diego dismounted, and Diego stretched out his arms and legs after a long ride. He notices that his bum was feeling a bit less sore than after the ride to the forest. Diego Looked at Luke who was getting off his yellow cowboy boots. Diego thought about the last day and a half. This whole ride to the forest together on Summer's back. Daililies. The shrew. The bird by the creek. And yesterday ... Luke did all this for him ... Just like that ... And the day's not even over yet. Diego looked at Luke sitting on the stool, pulling the boot off. His strong neck. The soft brown locks of his hair. How could he be so ... Diego felt his chest tighten. As Luke was putting his sandals back on, he felt Diego standing behind him. Luke turned around. "Hey Luke," Diego said slowly, "thanks for letting me ride with you on Summer. And taking me to see the shrew. And to meet the yellow rail ..." "Any time, buddy, any time," Luke answered with a warm toothy grin. "So, ... do you still want to punch me in the face?" "No... no..." Diego lifted his arms slowly, stepped towards Luke and embraced him in a tentative hug. With a deep exhale Luke returned his hug, locking his arms around Diego's back. As the boys separated, Amber run to them and started jumping around Diego, barking excitedly. "Hey, girl," Diego crouched to pet her head. Amber jumped up and started licking his face. Diego laughed. The second time Luke heard that sweet melodious sound. Luke blinked and his eyes grew heavy with moisture, as the smile kept spreading wider on his face. "Okay, Luke, come on, boy, keep it together!" he admonished himself mentally. Luke turned away and cleared his throat: "All, right, Amber, girl, you gotta let Diego go, we need to get moving!" Diego stood up, and he and Luke led Summer inside the stable. Diego helped Luke remove Summer's saddle and bridle and they gave her another quick brushing. As the boys were refilling the horse feeders, Diego's stomach suddenly made a loud rumble. "Aha, look who's sorry now he didn't chomp down enough flowers!" Luke laughed. Diego smiled back sheepishly. "Don't worry, dude, I won't let ya starve!" Luke declared. "I'm sure Ms Margie left us some food. Come on, let's hurry up!" Luke stopped by Summer as they were leaving and patted her flank: "Thanks, Summer, girl, thanks for a smooth ride!" "Yes, Summer, thank you. Thank you for taking good care of us," Diego hugged the brown horse' neck and handed her a cut green apple which Summer ate gratefully. "Aw, man, come on, I'm supposed to be her favorite!" Luke exclaimed jokingly. Diego shot him a small smile. They exited the stalls and headed back towards the clubhouse. As they entered the clubhouse dining room, at the table they saw Rafiq and a tall thin gangly fair-haired man in early 30s. "Hi, Rafiq, hi, Mr Gregg," Luke greeted them. "Didn't think you'd be here, it's well past lunch-time!" "We go swimming at lake in the morning!" Rafiq declared excitedly. "Hello, Luke! Yes, I drove Rafiq to a lake 20 miles north from here that has a pretty good beach. He had a blast swimming there, didn't you, buddy?" Gregg explained. "Yeah!" Rafiq confirmed enthusiastically. "Luke, next time you go with us!" "Sure thing, buddy!" Luke laughed. "Ah, and you must be Diego!" Gregg said, turning to Diego. "Frank told me about you. I am Greg, one of part-time counsellors here. Welcome to Green Oaks, Diego! I hope Luke's been treating you well!" Diego suddenly felt shy and intimidated although Gregg seemed quite friendly. "Hi, Mr Gregg, and thank you," Diego replied timidly looking down. He then remembered the last thing Gregg said and raised his eyes. "And yeah, Luke's been good, no, great!" Diego spoke with conviction. "Has he? I'm glad!" Greg chuckled, sitting back and giving both Luke and Diego a penetrating look over. Diego looked down again, blushing. However, Luke carried on unabashed: "Hey, Mr Gregg, me and Diego took a ride on Summer into the forest today! And guess what, we saw a yellow rail!" "A yellow rail?!" Greg asked in surprise. "Yeah, we were by the creek, and it flew in and sat on a log not twenty feet away from us, I swear! It was so cool!" Luke recounted enthusiastically. "Wow, a yellow rail ...," Greg said pensively. "I've lived here for years, and I've only seen them a few times and only for a second or two. Did you boys take any pictures?" "Mmm, no, sorry, Mr Gregg, we didn't," Luke answered. "We were kinda caught in the moment, right Diego?" Diego nodded silently. "Pity... They're very secretive birds, very shy of people ... Must have been a really special moment," Gregg gave Luke and Diego another wistful look. "Well, maybe another time. Maybe that bird liked you and will come and visit you again." "Yeah, I think Diego put a spell on it or something," Luke said half-jokingly. "Diego, maybe you can summon it again?" "Sorry, donno about any spells," Diego replied bashfully, "but maybe if we -- Luke and me -- if we go there again, the bird, maybe it'll remember us ..." "Yeah, that'd be cool ...," Luke agreed. "Diego, I really like the magic card trick you teach Toby yesterday," Rafiq said. "Maybe you can teach me a magic card trick too?" "Thank you, Rafiq," Diego answered. "But see ... I don't really know any other card tricks ..." Luke gave Diego a light elbow shove. "But I'm sure I can find some other magic card trick I can teach you," Diego finished. Luke rolled his eyes slightly. "Thank you Diego! Really, thank you!" Rafiq beamed. "Hey, Rafiq, Ms Emily is coming soon, and Diego and me are gonna go do pottery at the workshop! Do you want to come and watch us?" Luke inquired. Gregg looked at Rafiq questioningly. "Too tired after swim. Go nap now. Thanks, Luke!" Rafiq answered, smiling. "That's all right, buddy, next time!" Luke grinned back. Gregg and Rafiq left the room and Diego followed them with his gaze wistfully. "Rafiq is a cool kid ... I hope they can find him a family soon," Diego said quietly. "Yeah ...," Luke agreed, "yeah." Luke went over to the fridge and brought over some roast beef sandwiches and cucumber salad. The boys quickly ate their lunch, chatting about their horse ride to the forest earlier. Suddenly Luke's phone dinged again. "Another text from Ms Emily!" Luke declared, "Says she's on her way here! Come on, Diego, chomp, chomp, hurry up, pottering awaits!" "Well, if I had me some nice flowers in this salad, it'd probably go down faster," Diego said with a small chuckle. "Ha-ha, Mr Funnyman," Luke pouted. "But seriously, Diego, we gotta hurry. I'm dying to do pottery with you, it so cool!" Diego smiled and stood up. He certainly couldn't say 'no' to that. The boys headed out of the clubhouse and down the hill. When they got to the workshop building, it was already unlocked and the front door open. As they walked in, Diego saw an elderly grey-haired woman with a kind creased face, wearing a long blue summer dress. Luke run towards her excitedly: "Hey, Ms Emily, you are here already!" She gave Luke a warm hug and kissed him on the head. "Luke, honey, great to see you! How is my favorite student doing?" "Smashing, Ms Emily! Oh, Ms Emily, this is my new friend and roommate Diego. He's gonna do pottery with us today!" Luke exclaimed. "Nice to meet you, Diego, dear, and welcome!" Emily gave Diego another warm embrace and a peck on the cheek. "Thank you," Diego answered shyly. "See, Ms Emily is another hugger!" Luke declared with glee. "Ah, I guess I am! I guess I am!" Emily laughed heartily. Diego liked Ms Emily. Somehow, despite the difference in age, she really seemed a lot like Luke, and not just because of the hugging. "So, Ms Emily, whatcha gonna do today? Make more planters? Can we watch?" Luke asked in the same breathless bubbly tone. "Ms Emily makes absolutely smashing pottery!" He continued. "Oh, sorry, I did't quite mean it the way it sounded." "That's okay, Luke, honey, and thank you," Emily laughed again and tousled Luke's hair. "No, I'm just going to paint and glaze some pieces we made earlier. So the wheel is all yours, boys! Diego, I hope you and Luke have fun, and I'll be just a few feet away of you need anything." Emily went to the corner of the workshop to paint, and Luke dragged Diego by the hand towards the pottery wheel. "All right Diego, dude, for the first one, I'll just show you how it goes from start to finish. And then we'll do something together, okay?" Luke was bubbling with excitement. "Sure, Luke, okay," Diego said quietly. He was happy to see Luke so psyched about the task and was just as good with sitting back and watching Luke do his thing. "Okay, Diego, buddy, watch, here we go!" Luke declared, as he sat down next to the wheel, pressed the pedal and sent wheel spinning. He cut a lump of fresh clay, pressed it into a ball and threw it hard at the center of the wheel. "Cool, right?" Luke grinned at Diego. Diego silently smiled back. Luke added some water and started centering the clay and then slowly building a tight cylindrical shape. Diego's gaze drifted to Luke's hands, covered in sticky gooey mud but moving deftly and purposely. "See, Diego," Luke was explaining, "the trick is not to try to push the clay too much but to create a shape with your hands. That'll tell clay where to go, like this!" The cylinder narrowed and making it appear that Luke was pushing a ring of clay upwards. "See, I'm not really pushing it! The magic is in the hands, yeah!" Luke exclaimed gleefully. "Yeah, the magic is in the hands," Diego thought. "Luke's magic hands ..." He continued watching Luke's long nimble fingers, mesmerized by the fast spinning clay. In a moment of clarity, a sudden realization hit him. "Luke, you are earthbending!" Diego exclaimed in awe. "What?" Luke asked without turning his head. "You are an earthbender, Luke! Like in that TV series, 'The Avatar: The Last Airbender'," Diego explained. "I just realized that that's what you're doing -- earthbending!. Only better 'cause you are doing it for real!" "Earthbending, ha?" Luke answered continuing to mold the clay. "Yeah, I guess I kinda am. Thanks, Diego!" Luke continued working. Gradually Diego saw a graceful tall shape of a vase emerge, with a narrow swan-like neck flaring up in an elegant lip at the top. The entire shape looked sleek, fluid, seamless. Beautiful! Diego didn't even notice that Luke was done and has stopped the wheel. "Well, whadya think?" Luke asked, grinning. "It's ... amazing!" Diego breathed out. "Yeah ...," Luke agreed. He used a wire to separate the vase from the wheel and put it on the shelf above them. "Okay, who's next?" Luke asked, looking at Diego mischievously. "Oh, no, no, not me!" Diego shook his head in vigorous denial but Luke was having none of it. "Yep, you, Diego, come here, dude, don't make me come and get you, he-he!" Luke giggled. "Seriously, Diego, I promise, it's gonna be good! I'm gonna help you all the way. Come, sit here!" Luke got up and sat Diego on the stool he had been using. Then Luke brought another stool and settled right behind Diego a few inches away, almost breathing down his neck, with his chin lightly touching Diego's shoulder. A thought shot through Diego's mind: "Oh, god, how am I gonna concentrate now?" Luke handed a fresh lump of clay to Diego and pushed the pedal again with his long foot. "Okay, Diego, Mr Jr Earthbender, let's go!" Luke directed. "You are gonna make ... a vase!" Luke paused for dramatic effect. "Don't worry, doesn't have to be the same kind as the one I made. And don't worry 'bout making a mistake --it's just clay, we can always fix it later, see!" Diego nodded silently. "Just remember what I did and try to do the same thing. I'll talk you through every step!" Luke continued. Diego took a deep breath and threw the clay at the rapidly spinning wheel. He extended his hands, exhaled and slowly touched the clay. It felt surprisingly cool, wet, sticky, pliant, almost alive. Diego relaxed a little. He tried to follow Luke's directions the best he could. It sort of worked but something still didn't feel quite right. He was still feeling too anxious, too edgy. Something didn't connect. Under Luke's guidance, Diego has created a basic cylindrical shape of his future vase. He took another deep breath and added more water to the wheel. "Okay, so, how do you push the clay to go up?" Diego asked nervously. "You don't!" Luke explained. "Like I said before, you just squeeze, and then it has no other way to go except up. See?!" Luke extended his hands forward around Diego's and squeezed the clay, forcing the cylinder to narrow. "Now you try!" Luke directed. Diego gingerly put his palms on both sides of the spinning clay shape, hesitating, not touching it yet. "Go head, Diego. I'll guide you," Luke said softly, placing his palms on top of Diego's and guiding them lightly. Luke's fingers gently nudged him further, and Luke's hot breath on Diego's back made him bolder. Diego squeezed the clay between his fingers and the twisting thinning column started rising higher in front of his eyes. "Wow ... What do I do now? How do I shape the top?" Diego asked. "Diego, just go with the flow, man," Luke answered. "Think of some shape that you like -- any shape that you like -- and try to make your fingers do the work." "Okay, okay," Diego thought, closing his eyes and trying to quiet his heartbeat, as his fingers continued to squeeze the top wet thinning ridge. "Any shape that I like." He suddenly remembered Luke chomping down daylilies. Luke's face. The twisting petals of the bright orange flower. "Yeah, that's it. That'll do. That'll do." Diego opened his eyes. The clay shape in before him was twisted. Uneven. Disfigured. Ugly. Broken. It didn't work. He failed. Diego's eyes welled with tears. His felt Luke's palms gently touch his. "Diego, dude, it's okay. You did good. But you gotta keep your eyes open!" Luke said softly. "Clay, it's got a mind of its own. You gotta watch it, or it'll run off on you. Bit it's okay, Diego, it really is! We just try again! Okay?" "Okay," Diego answered with a slight sniffle. Luke scooped off the clay off the wheel, made a new ball and threw it back at the center of the wheel. Luke scooted a lot closer to Diego now, almost hugging him from behind, with Luke's breath warming Diego's neck. Diego was already feeling calmer, bolder, more focused. "Okay, here we go, buddy," Luke said, gently guiding Diego's hands around the clay. This time Luke stayed with Diego through all the steps, quietly and gently guiding him, whispering directions and reassurances in his ear. It was only at the last step that Luke moved away a little, allowing Diego to take the lead. "Go ahead, Diego, buddy. Earthbend!" Luke breathed. Diego took a deep breath but this time he kept his eyes open and kept his focus. Just as Luke taught him, he used his palms to create a shape, to tell the clay where it should move. And this time the clay obeyed. When the wheel stopped, the boys were looking at a vase with a gently twisting elegant neck and a flower-shaped top made of three large interleaved petals. The vase surface was uneven but the effect was striking, powerful and raw. "Wow!" Luke exclaimed. "Wow!" He used a wire to remove the vase from the wheel and put it on the shelf. "It still looks kinda rough and bumpy," Diego said sounding doubtful. "Not all smooth and nice like the one you made ..." "Diego, dude, come on, are you kidding me?!" Luke exclaimed. "First off, you should have seen the ass ugly shit I made when I first started! Second, you really made somethin' here, something real, somethin' special, something 'you'! Trust me, that was some kick-ass earthbending!" Luke looked at Diego with a triumphant grin, staring at the smaller boy's brightly shining eyes. "Oh, come on, come here, man, and give me some sugar!" Luke declares grabbing smiling Diego in a huge bear hug. "Aw, Luke, we are gonna ruin our shirts with all this clay," Diego breathed into Luke's shoulder, while still smiling. "That's okay, buddy, that's okay," Luke answered, separating from Diego. "We are gonna change before dinner." He paused. "Now we just need to give your super duper vase a couple of days to dry up, then heat in the kiln, and sand it after." Diego looked at the vase again and asked: "Why don't we put it in the kiln now? Won't it dry faster then?" "Nah, doesn't work that way," Luke chuckled. "Has to be bone dry before it goes in the kiln or the water'll ruin it. Still, you'll get to hold it in a few days, I promise! We can even paint it, if you like!" Luke and Diego washed their hands, and Luke run to Emily. "Hey, Ms Emily, come, come, take a look at this cool vase Diego's just made!" Emily walked over and took a look at Diego's piece. "Wow, Diego, honey, that's an amazing piece!" Emily said, squeezing Diego's shoulder's warmly. "It got real character, presence ... Striking! That really you first time doing pottery?" "Thank you, Ms Emily," Diego replied blushing slightly. "Yeah, that was my first time. Luke's good teacher!" "That he is, that he is!" Emily laughed, hugging Luke again. "You boys are going to work some more?" Luke looked at Diego but saw that the day was beginning to catch up with him. "Nah, thanks Ms Emily, we're good. We're gonna head to our room to change and then to the clubhouse and chill," Luke explained. "Okay then. Take care boys!" Emily waved goodbye to them. "Luke, sweetheart, thanks again for the planters you made last time -- I already sold two of them! Diego, honey, I do hope to see you here again. You and Luke, you make a good pair!" Both boys blushed slightly as they waved their goodbyes to Emily and exited the workshop. "Luke, thank you so much for teaching me pottery! It was so ... amazing," Diego said as they headed up the hill. "Working the clay with my hands. That was really something ... Thanks!" Luke threw his right arm around Diego's shoulder and gave him a friendly squeeze. "Welcome, buddy! It'll be so cool making pottery together! One of my favorite things here. And thanks for telling me I'm an earthbender. That's awesome, man!" Luke emitted one of his trademark happy whoops. He then gave Diego a more serious glance. "Diego, buddy, are you okay with the clubhouse dinner tonight? If you are too knackered out, wee can ask Margie to fix us up some food at our room again." Luke looked at Diego anxiously. "Thanks, Luke, I'm good, I really am, honest. I can do dinner with the others," Diego answered, warding off Luke's worried gaze. "Okay, okay, all righty then. Let's go to our room and change," Luke replied with relief. In about 30 minutes the boys arrived at the clubhouse, changed in clean t-shirts. The other kids were already there, back from their Sunday outing trips. When he saw Frank come into the clubhouse, Luke run excitedly towards him and leaned in for a quick hug. "Hey, Mr Frank, guess what?! Me and Diego rode Summer to the forest today. And we say a yellow rail by the creek there, yeah! Diego summoned it." "I did not," Diego protested meekly. "Yeah, you did," Luke ignored him and addressed Frank again "And then we did some pottery with Ms Emily! Diego made a super cool vase!" "Luke taught me earthbending," Diego added more confidently, with a small smile, looking up at Frank. "Well, well, sounds like you boys had quite a day!" Frank said in bemusement, eyeing them wistfully. "I am glad, I'm real glad! Now let's go and have dinner, shall we?" The dinner went smoothly and was rather relaxed. Initially Luke kept glancing at Diego, worried if Diego was putting too much of a brave face. But Diego was chatting quietly with Toby and Rafael with no sign of distress, and soon Luke was back to his usual happy self. He regaled everybody with the story of their horse riding and pottery making, particularly reveling in the earthbender title that Diego had bestowed on him. After dinner the boys were in their room getting ready for the night. Diego finally felt that the long day was catching up to him. Still, today somehow felt different, lighter, brighter, comfier. Diego slowly sat down on his bed. He put on a fresh A-shirt and pulled off his cargo shorts, revealing a pair of tighty-whities underneath. Diego yawned and stretched out his arms. Yeah, it's been a long day. Luke was plugging in his phone for recharging when he looked up at Diego, sitting on the bed. His eyes were immediately drawn to Diego's creamy chocolate thigh, framed snugly by the white briefs. It looked so slim, so smooth, tender, so fresh, so yummy ... Damn that sexy wood-elf! Or sea-elf? Whatever, they must be related ... Anyway, it was definitely time to take care of business! "Hey, Diego, I'm gonna grab a shower before bed," Luke said with a slightly guilty smile. "I mean what could be better than two showers on a hot freaky summer day like today, right, buddy?" "Eh, yeah, sure, Luke, go ahead," Diego replied, lifting his head. Luke got into the bathroom, locked the door behind him, and quickly shacked down his clothes. He gave Luke Jr a quick tug. Okay, okay, now the only question is how hot to set the water ... About 20 minutes later Luke emerged from the bathroom, already wearing his PJ flannel pants and putting on his A-shirt. Diego was already lying in his own bed under the covers. "Guess I'm sleeping alone tonight," Luke thought with a slight twinge of regret. He quickly chilled himself: "No, no, Luke, you shit-head, that's good! Means he's okay. Means he's feeling better!" Luke suddenly felt Diego's gaze on him and turned his head. Diego's eyes. Those huge, beautiful warm brown eyes. Tonight they did not look away. Tonight his sweet wood-elf kept looking at him. Luke stared back at Diego and smiled happily. It was good. It was all good. Luke turned off the light and got into his bed. "Hey, Diego," Luke called in the dark. "Yeah, Luke?" Diego answered. "Are you sure you are not related to elves?" "You are such a doofus ..." "Yeah ... Good night, Diego." "Good night, Luke. And thanks." Diego turned on his side and closed his eyes with a deep sigh. The bed felt comfortable. ... Summer's brown coat ... Earthbending ... Cool .. How does Luke smell so good? ... It's been a pretty good day ... **** It was ... somewhere ... Somewhere? A strange place. Soft. Fluffy. Tickling. "Do you know what I love about you?" a small voice asked. "Tell me!" another answered. "Lots of things!" "Yeah? Like what?" "Oh, you'll find out!"