CHAPTER 37
NEW SEATTLITES
WEDNESDAY, JULY 29
(8:15)
Tony’s alarm woke him up at 8:15. He was happy Trajan spent the night at Levi’s so he wouldn’t have to listen to him bitch about the alarm being set so early. What he didn’t know was that Levi’s alarm was set for 8:30 because he and Trajan would be accompanying Marne as she did some house hunting for Trish, her sister-in-law.
Tony figured the wakeup time would give him time to take a quick shower, grab a couple of bowls of cereal, and maybe a couple of pieces of toast, before cycling to Cindy’s house to help her organize her bedroom. ‘The amount I know about organizing a girl’s bedroom would probably fill a thimble,’ he thought. ‘Fuck, I don’t know much more about organizing MY bedroom.’
After showering and dressing, Tony entered the kitchen where his mother and father were eating breakfast. Marco had spent the night at Justin’s house. “Looks like you guys are going to the restaurant early today,” Tony said.
“I’ve gotta finish up some stuff I didn’t get done last night cuz we went to Trajan’s game,” Luigi responded.
“But it was worth it, right mio amore?” Marne grinned as she tickled Luigi under his chin.
“Right. But your mother is not going to the restaurant until after lunch sometime since she’s going to be looking at houses with Trajan and his friend and the mother of his friend who’s some big shot university professor.”
“But she’s a nice professor and loves your veal scallopini, and she’shelping your brother Giovanni,” Marne said.
“Well, there is that.”
“I’m going to help Cindy’s family move in,” Tony said. “Mrs. Wickens said I can have lunch at their house.”
“They’re such a nice family.”
Tony spooned his last bite of cereal and placed his dishes in the dishwasher. “I’ll let you know when I’ll be home,” he told his mother before dashing out of the front door.
“Do you get the impression that our Tony has a big crush on that new girl?” Marne asked Luigi.
“Yes, I do, and I think the feeling is mutual. Which is a good thing, since there’s been way too many boy crushes around this house. It’s nice to see somebody is growing out of that phase.”
Tony walked his bicycle out of the garage and then rode hard to Cindy’s new house wondering if he would get a chance to touch her underwear.
<Levi’s House>
(8:30)
Levi’s alarm going off didn’t sit well with either Trajan or Levi, but they knew this was going to be an important day. They would look at the top three houses on Trajan’s mother’s list with the realtor she’d hired.
The two naked teens untangled their limbs and shared a long kiss. They had slept naked together as they did whenever Trajan spent the night with Levi, which had become almost every night.
“You smell like dry cum,” Trajan told Levi.
“You should know, since most of it is your cum,” Levi smirked.
“I told you we shudda sixty-nined.”
“But getting all that cum over me while we French kissed our tongues to death felt so sexy.”
“You have become a total horn dog, you know,” Trajan grinned.
“That’s what happens when you have the sexiest boyfriend in Lake City on top of you humping like a mad man.”
“Speaking of mad, we’d better get our asses out of bed and into the shower before we have to deal with a mad mom.”
They traded another kiss, grabbed some underwear, and trundled across the hall to the bathroom. “I think your mom is pretty used to us showering together.”
“Yup. It turns out she’s much cooler than I thought.”
“I got the feeling when we come out, she won’t be a bit surprised.”
“Are we that obvious?” Levi wondered aloud.
“I’d say that seeing us holding hands is pretty obvious.”
“Good point.” Levi started up the shower, got it to the right temperature, and stepped in. Trajan followed him and shut the shower door. “I’m not sure how dad feels about this. I mean, he hasn’t really seen us do as much as mom has, but you know she talks to him about it.”
“Which means there’s gonna be a time he’s going to talk to us about it,” Trajan said as he washed Levi’s back and ass. “And I guess we should figure out what we’re going to say.”
“Better yet, we just come out to my parents before they ask us about it.”
“I agree, but first we have to win the league lacrosse championship tomorrow.”
“Agreed. Now, let me wash that sexy ass of yours,” Levi said. Trajan looked at Levi wondering where this erotic version of his boyfriend came from. Whatever, he knew he liked it.
Marco woke up a little after ten. His body was butt to butt with Justin’s. Both boys were naked. Marco shoved his little bubble butt against Justin and wiggled it. The movement woke up Justin who wondered what was pushing on his ass. He pushed back and the force of the two nine-year-olds shoving their bare butts against each other brought them fully awake.
They turned around so they were facing each other in the dim light of Justin’s bedroom. “Hey, Marco, good morning,” Justin said to his best friend.
“Hey yourself and good morning to you, Justin.”
“Aren’t we supposed to kiss now or something?”
“That’s what the big boys say they do,” Marco said.
“You mean big boys like Trajan?”
“Yeah, and Logan and Tony. They’re twelve and are in seventh grade, plus they’re boyfriends, so they should know. I think Tony and Logan do butt stuff, but I’m not sure because Tony won’t say. But sometimes he, you know, hints at things.”
The two young tweens put their lips together for a few seconds and exchanged a somewhat chaste kiss.
“You know what I wonder?” Marco asked.
“What?”
“I wonder if we’re the only fourth grade boys at our school who like to suck each other’s dicks and do sixty-nines?”
“I dunno. Maybe we’re the only ones in Seattle,” Justin grinned.
“Joey says he thinks he’d like it, but he’s never done it.”
“Well, the Donkey calls that all talk and no action. But, he’s never had much of a chance to do it cuz of how his mother is,” Marco said.
“But now that Joey’s mother let him have an overnight, we gotta see if he can do it again and this time we’ll mess around with him.”
“And maybe get Karl to come to it, too. I know, he’s ten and going in fifth grade, so he doesn’t count.”
Justin stretched, let out a big yawn, and said, “Let’s go say good morning to my Daddy Donkey.”
Marco answered by pulling back the covers and hopping out of bed. Justin followed right behind him. Their flaccid little willies jiggled as they bounced to the door.
Marco stopped before opening the door. “What about your Poppa Dawg? Sometimes he doesn’t like it when we go around the house nakey.”
“He’s at work, so it’s all good,” Justin responded.
“Oh, yeah. And the Donkey is home because he’s a teacher and doesn’t have to work today.”
The pair found Mike in the living room reading a mystery thriller. Justin ran up to him shouting, “Good Morning, Daddy!” He leaned across the armrest of the overstuffed chair and planted a smooch on his daddy’s face. “Eww, you need to shave,” Justin said while rubbing his face. Marco was more subdued, as he and Mike simply traded a fist bump.
“Donkeys only shave when they have to in order to make people think they think they need to shave to look good even though Donkeys have manes and not beards so I don’t know why this Donkey shaves when he goes to school,” Mike said using a full string of “Donkey logic.” The diatribe completely lost Marco but Justin had a good idea of what his Donkey Daddy was saying.
“Can we spend the day naked?” Justin asked.
“If you look outside, you can see the sky is a cloudless blue, which means you two will be playing outside,” Mike pointed out.
“Then can we go naked outside?”
“And your best guess at what this Donkey is going to say is?”
“YES, YES, YES!”
“The answer is no, no, no. That means you got three out of three wrong, which is a big flunking grade. So, how about the two of you toast your Eggos, grab a bowl of cantaloupe chunks out of the refrigerator, eat breakfast, shower, put some pants on, and we’ll talk about how we’ll fill the day until the Dawg comes home from work.”
“Well, I guess,” Justin said, his voice laden with sadness. “You’re acting like my Papa Dawg.”
“No, I’m not. If he was here he’d be making waffles from scratch in the waffle maker. So quit whining and eat.”
“It sounds like we can eat breakfast naked since you said to do that before we shower.”
“Good guess. Now, you two nudists eat a good breakfast, so you won’t have any excuses when I whip your asses in whiffle ball.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Marco finally chimed in.
“You got that right, Marco,” Justin grinned. “Now, let’s eat and take a power shower and whip the ass of the ass.”
“Are you calling your daddy an ass?”
“I’m not calling him that, he’s calling himself that because donkeys are asses. Now let’s wiggle our naked asses to show him what real asses are and go eat.”
Both boys bent over, wiggled their little bubble butts, and headed to the kitchen. Mike almost fell out of his chair laughing when he overheard Marco say, “Are you calling us asses, Justin?”
“Hey, look at it this way. No matter who wins in whiffle ball they can say they whupped ass.”
As Mike fought to control his laughter, he couldn’t help but be grateful that Justin had been placed in the life of the Dawg and himself. Justin and his friends, especially Marco, made life so much more worthwhile.
<Drake’s house>
(Noon)
Drake and his mom, Natalie, were sitting outdoors at the patio table enjoying a lunch of sandwiches, cookies, and Bubble-Up when Drake’s phone chimed. The call was from Pierce. Drake hit the speaker button.
“Hey, Pooka. What’s going on?”
Pierce knew that Drake had a tendency to put incoming calls on speaker phone so he didn’t respond with the absolute truth which was that he was sitting at his desk naked and hard.
“I just finished updating Windows on my laptop.”
“That sounds boring as hell.”
“Well, actually the computer does all the work which gives me time to do other things.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet it does,” Drake said seductively. He smiled and winked at his mom - Natalie just smiled back and shook her head.
“So, anyway,” Drake went on. “I seriously doubt that you called me just to tell me you updated Windows. What’s going on?”
“Ok. I talked with Chase earlier this morning,” Pierce said. “He wants to get some kind of get-together going before you and I take off on the cruise. His idea was that next Monday he and Dillon and you and I and Trajan and Levi get together and go bowling, then come back to his house for lunch and some time in the pool.”
“Ya know, that sounds like fun,” Drake said enthusiastically. “I’ve never been real good at bowling but I like it. Has he talked to Traj and Levi?”
“Yeah, and they’re up for it. He said that if we can all get to his house his mom will take us to the bowling center and bring us back to the house.”
“Is she gonna bowl with us?”
“No, doofus. She’s got an appointment at a beauty shop to get her hair done and then some errands to run. She’ll get her stuff done while we bowl and then meet us back at the bowling center.”
“I remember one time when you and I were lying on your bed talking,” Drake said. “This was before we became boyfriends. You asked me about what sports I like and I told you I like running and also mentioned that I like bowling.”
“My dad and I went bowling together a few times when I was, like, ten - but I’ve never gone bowling since then.” Pierce hesitated briefly as memories of doing things with his dad flooded over him. “Chase did say that Dillon is a hell of a bowler. He’s been in youth leagues and has his own ball and bag and shoes.”
“Bottom line - I love the idea,” Drake said. “Tell the guys I’m up for it. Let me know what you guys work out as far as what time and all that stuff. I gotta get ready to go to work at the deli.”
“Sounds good, Duck. Have a good one. Love you bunches.”
“Love you, too.”
(12:15)
Levi and Trajan finished up the soup and sandwiches Levi’s mom had made for lunch. It seemed to her that the boys had just finished eating breakfast. She never failed to be astonished by the endless appetite of the two teens even though she had raised a boy and a girl through their teens who were now adults in their twenties.
The boys cleaned up the table and headed to the den to play the video game Levi had loaded in the TV. The game went back and forth with Levi in the lead when Marne arrived at 12:45. The appointment was with Naomi Reed, the real estate agent Trajan’s mother, Trish, had been working with remotely. She was going to show Marne and her friend Arlene three of the five houses that Trish had put on her list of finalists. Naomi was originally going to show two houses, but with three of the selections being close together, she added a third house. It was Marne who had cut the final five houses to three houses.
Naomi didn’t know that Trish’s son, Trajan, and his friend would be joining the showing, but giving Trajan a say in where he was going to live made perfect sense to her. She had never led a showing of this nature and couldn’t help but feel the tour was not going to result in a sale.
For his part, Trajan was ecstatic that he was asked to take part in the tour. After all, he was going to live there for his last three years of high school, so he should have a say in the decision.
The first house didn’t interest Trajan. He thought it was too plain looking and even his untrained eye could see that roof was going to need some work soon. For her part, Naomi had pointed this out to Trish, who said she liked the house overall. She obviously liked it enough to put it in the top five.
The house was still occupied. It seemed cluttered to Marne and Arlene, but Naomi reminded them that when the owner moved out it would look more spacious.
“Damn, dude, this bedroom looks tiny,” Trajan said as he and Levi looked into a bedroom that obviously belonged to a boy. “No way my stuff would fit in here.”
“You must have a ton of stuff,” Levi said. “Remember what Naomi said, it will look a lot roomier when everything is moved out.”
“I’ve got a lot more than this. So, yeah, I guess you could call it a ton of stuff.”
“From the pictures in the living room and the stuff he has up on his walls he looks like he’s in middle school.”
“Where is the family?” Trajan asked.
“Parents at work and the kids wherever is the best I can say. I suppose Naomi knows.”
They didn’t bother looking in the master bedroom. The other bedroom was obviously a girl’s room. Trajan didn’t like the size of that one either. He didn’t like that only one bathroom had a shower and had to be shared by everybody. The other bathroom was between the living room and the kitchen and only had a toilet and a sink.
“It didn’t seem that far from your house,” Trajan pointed out to Levi.
“I figure it’s about a half-hour bike ride,” Levi said.
“And the yard is small too. No place to set up games and shit.”
The tour of the house didn’t take very long. Trajan said he hoped this wasn’t the best of the three, because he didn’t care much for it. Marne wasn’t keen on it either and Arlene backed her.
The second house made a much different impression. The owners had moved out and the house was empty. It was a two-story house with four bedrooms, two upstairs and two downstairs. There was a full bathroom upstairs and a full bathroom and a half downstairs. When Trajan looked out of the window of the bedroom on the east side, he saw he had a partial view of Lake Washington and Mt. Rainier. Not only that, the bedroom was bigger than the two kid’s’ rooms in the first house. It also had a walk-in closet.
“This place kicks ass,” Trajan said.
“The first house wasn’t bad, but you’re right, this one is epic,” Levi said.
The house had a full basement, a big backyard, and a gazebo with a hot tub. It had a large concrete patio with a sliding glass door opening to the dining area.
“And before you ask, it’s a ten-minute bike ride to my house and about the same to the athletic fields,” Levi said.
“I’m gonna tell Aunt Marne to forget the third house. This is the one. It has a private place for my room, which has a view. I’ve got my own bathroom. It’s got a big yard and it’s even got a hot tub.”
“It doesn’t have a swimming pool, though.”
“But it’s close to my boyfriend, who does have a swimming pool.” Trajan planted his lips on Levi’s, who froze for a moment and then returned the favor. He was realizing he was going to have to get used to the cool things boyfriends do like trading quick kisses. He figured he liked it so much it was something he could get used to in a hurry.
“What if house number three has a swimming pool?”
“The chances are close to zero. How many houses do you see around here with swimming pools,” Trajan answered.
“Not a lot.”
“But let’s check it out anyway, since you never know—it might just be better all the way around.”
The boys went in search of the ladies. They found them down in the basement. “Me and Levi really like this place,” Trajan told them.
Arlene cringed momentarily because of Trajan’s grammar, then calmed herself because she was growing to love her son’s new friend and knew she had to accept his background. Especially now that they would be almost neighbors.
“Trajan’s opinion is the one that counts, of course,” Levi said.
They ended up not having to give the third house a long look. It was a nice house and way better than the first house they toured. But it wasn’t nearly as good as house number two. Plus, it was a ten minute longer bicycle ride to Levi’s house.
“I’m going to tell Trish that Trajan and Levi have picked the house. I have a feeling she won’t be surprised at which one they chose,” Marne said.
“I will put a hold on it. Tell her to call me right away and that I’ll need her to deposit the earnest money within the next twenty-four hours,” Naomi told her. “Oh, and make sure she knows she can call me anytime. We need to make a serious bid as soon as possible.”
“She gave me the same instructions. Call her anytime. I’ll call her as soon as I get home. I’d rather be sitting home than going willy nilly here or in your car. And thank you so much for all of your help, Naomi. You were wonderful to Arlene and me and especially with the boys.”
“Those are good boys,” Naomi said. “Dealing with them and you two was a real pleasure.”
Naomi dropped everyone off at the Hanson residence. The boys ran off to Levi’s room and Mame went into the living room with Arlene. “Thanks for coming with us, Arlene,” Marne told her new friend. “It really helped that you knew the area so well.”
“I was glad to be of help. I’m so happy Trajan and his family will be living here in Seattle. He has really brought Levi out of his shell. It was like he and Trajan were made for each other.”
Upstairs the boys sat on Levi’s bed. “Are you spending the night?” he asked.
“We have practice at five and we play tomorrow, so I might as well,” Trajan replied.
“Do you have enough underwear here?”
“Duh. I brought six pair of undies and six pair of socks a couple of days ago. I’m good to stay.”
“Good to stay; I like that,” Levi said. “And I’ve gotta pee now or I’ll be digging into a fresh pair of undies.”
The boys stood side by side and pissed into Levi’s toilet. They went downstairs and announced to Arlene and Marne that Trajan would be staying the next two nights.
“Then I’ll come home for sure,” Trajan said. “Win or lose, Lacrosse will be over after tomorrow’s game, and I should have some cousin and aunt and uncle time. Who knows, maybe Uncle Luigi will let me work some so I can get me some money.” ‘To take Levi out on a date with,’ Trajan thought.
“Is that a promise?” Marne asked.
“Cross my heart,” Trajan answered as he crossed his heart.
“I’ll see you at tomorrow’s game. The entire DeLuca family is coming to watch the Falcons win the league championship.”
She and Arlene surprised the boys by trading quick hugs and Marne headed out to her car. Trajan and Levi went upstairs to change into their swimsuits so they could get a little cool swim time in before heading to what Coach Vincent said would be a light practice. One thing Trajan thought was cool about Coach Vincent was that he was totally honest. If he said it would be a light practice, then it would be a light practice. And if he said it would be a tough practice, then you’d better be prepared to work your ass off.
(10:30)
When Tony rolled into the Wickens’ driveway, he saw that Felicia’s car was parked on the right side. He felt a quick twinge of disappointment which he quickly shook off. ‘Did I really think Cindy would be home alone when the family wasn’t moved in?’ he thought as he shook his head. He didn’t see Cindy’s dad’s car, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t home; it could be parked in the garage.
Tony walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. The door opened within seconds. This time instead of disappointment Tony felt pleased —pleased it was Cindy who answered the door.
“Hey Tony, did you come to help?” Cindy asked.
“Yep, and to see you,” Tony replied.
“Really? You wanted to see me?”
“Sure, why not? We are friends now, right?”
“Right.” Cindy blushed as she answered Tony’s question.
“Who is it, Cindy?” Felicia called out from the kitchen.
“It’s Tony. He came to help me.” She looked at Tony and said, “Thanks for texting me that you couldn’t come yesterday. I just kind of figured you weren’t going to come again. I mean people can say anything they want in a text and it’s like they think everybody will believe it.”
“I try to only say what’s true, but it’s easy to fu…to mess up sometimes. But not this time. I said I wanted to see you again, but I was going to help at the restaurant. I’m serious about us being friends.”
“So am I.” Cindy took Tony by the hand and led him to the kitchen.
“Well, hello Tony,” Felicia said. “How nice of you to come over to help.”
“Hello, Mrs. Wickens,” Tony grinned. “I like helping my friends when they need it.”
“As you no doubt guessed from what you saw yesterday, Cindy has a lot of stuff to put away and a lot of organizing to do.”
“I’m a good organizer.”
“Mom, all this talking isn’t getting anything put away,” Cindy said.
“Good point, sweetie. But I like getting to know your new friend. Okay, get to work and have fun doing it. I think Tony is going to realize that organizing you requires a whole new set of organizational skills.”
“MOM!”
Felicia chuckled as she watched the tweens head off for Cindy’s bedroom.
“Where’s your dad?” Tony asked as they entered the room.
“At a hardware store getting some tools that he didn’t pack. He donated them to somebody. He said he needed new tools so why pack them. They all looked good to me, but what do I know?”
Tony started to close the door, but Cindy stopped him. “My parents’ rule is if I have a boy in my bedroom the door has to stay open.”
“Okay,” Tony shrugged. He hadn’t been planning on doing anything—she was a girl after all. While holding her hand had given him a hard on, she wasn’t the person he was thinking about when he jerked off later in his bedroom. And yet, when he got up this morning he couldn’t wait to see her again. He wondered what that was all about. He shook the confusion from his head and decided to just enjoy Cindy’s company like he had the day before. After all, there was nothing wrong with having a friend who was a girl. He had them at school, so why not have one who was neighbor?
“Are you okay?” Cindy’s voice jolted him out of his reverie.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I was just thinking.”
“About what?”
Tony hesitated for a couple of seconds and then said, “About how much work we have to do.”
“Well, it won’t get done if we stand around talking and thinking.”
“Good point.”
“And I probably should tell you that I was thinking, too.”
Tony wasn’t sure what she meant, but in a perverse way he hoped she was thinking the same kind of thoughts he was.
Cindy told Tony what needed to be done and what she wanted him to do. Within twenty minutes the two were working together as an efficient team. They chattered about school, about sports, about hobbies, about favorite shows and movies, about their parents, about their best friends, about their phones and the rules surrounding them, and whatever else flitted into their tween heads. What they didn’t talk about was Cindy’s boyfriend in San Diego or any girlfriends Tony had. That made Tony happy since he would be starting seventh grade in a few weeks and he not only didn’t have a girlfriend right then, but he never had a girlfriend. He was glad he didn’t have to explain that.
Felicia came into the room a little after noon. She was amazed by how much the two children had accomplished. “How about breaking for lunch?” she said.
“Sounds good to me,” Cindy replied.
“And me,” Tony added.
“Cindy’s father is going to bring sandwiches from the Village Sandwich shop,” Felicia said. “He’s taking requests.”
Cindy ordered an egg salad sandwich and Tony ordered a sausage sandwich, his favorite.
Twenty minutes later Tony and the Wickens family were sitting at the dining room table enjoying lunch. Dave Wickens commented on how he had gotten the dining room in order, including putting away the fine china and silverware.
“And now you get to help me finish getting the kitchen in order, darling,” Felicia grinned.
“I expected as much.”
“Thanks for bringing the sandwiches dad,” Cindy said. “Tony and I will clear the table.” Since their drinks had been in plastic bottles and they had used disposable plates and flatware for eating, there wasn’t much to put away.
After finishing lunch, Cindy and Tony returned to Cindy’s bedroom. They unpacked boxes and filled drawers and the closet. Tony even got a chance to touch a couple of pairs of Cindy’s panties which almost had him swooning.
A half hour later it was set up to her satisfaction and they headed to the rec room to set up the chairs, game table, and ping pong table. While they were working, an idea popped into Tony’s head.
“Tomorrow my cousin Trajan’s lacrosse team is going to be playing for their league championship,” Tony said. “There are teams from all over the city and some of the suburbs, so this is a big deal. My whole family is going. That would be me, my mom, my brother Marco, and my dad.”
“Well, I haven’t met your dad, your brother, or your cousin, yet. Plus, I’ve never seen a lacrosse game, so you’ll have to tell me how it’s played. Oh, and there’s one more reason I want to go,” Cindy said.
“What’s that?”
“I get to sit with you.” Tony blushed. “Right?”
“Oh, yeah, right. And I get to sit with you,” he grinned as he fought off his embarrassment.
After they finished setting up the rec room they checked with Cindy’s parents to see if they had any more work for them.
“Tony, why don’t you take Cindy bike riding,” Felicia said. “Show her what’s where and how to get there, and where the safe and unsafe places to ride are.”
“I can do that,” Tony said.
“You do wear a helmet, right?”
“All the time.”
“You’re not wearing one now,” Cindy grinned.
“I meant when I was riding my bike.” Cindy, Felecia, and Dave broke out in loud laughter. Tony liked the Wickens family—they enjoyed laughing.
During their ride they ran across Vic Fulton, a seventh grader at Addams Middle School who played on Tony’s baseball team. Tony introduced Cindy to Vic. They exchanged a few minutes of pleasantries before riding off. Vic watched them leave thinking what a “babe” Cindy was and wondering why Tony was riding with her when he usually made no secret of not caring much for girls.
After they returned to Cindy’s house, Tony and Cindy talked to her parents about her going to the lacrosse game the next day. They both gave their blessing. They enjoyed seeing their daughter getting involved in something other than complaining about having to move and change schools. Tony said his family would be eating dinner at the restaurant after the game and Cindy was invited. He was certain his parents would approve of the invitation, his mother in particular, since she obviously liked Cindy at the Monday dinner, so he had no problem inviting her.
“Speaking of dinner, I probably should go home and see what’s cooking for dinner or if my mom will be bringing something from the restaurant. I think she said she’d be home cooking something up. I know my brother Marco will be there, but I don’t know about Trajan. If all three of us are home my mom always cooks a dinner.”
“Your life sounds complicated,” Cindy said.
“Nah, it’s actually pretty simple. I mean if I can understand it, then it has to be simple. Same with Marco. Especially when I compare it to Trajan’s. He’s not even living in his home and now he’s going to be moving up here without even moving except out of my house and to his new house. Anyway, I’m talking too much.”
“Not at all,” Felicia said. “We love your enthusiasm.”
Cindy went with Tony to where his bike was parked. She saw that it was leaning on the side of the garage away from the house, so she felt safe giving Tony a peck on the cheek.
“Wow, that was a nice goodbye,” Tony grinned. “Here’s my goodbye to you.” He leaned into Cindy and gave her a more prolonged kiss on her lips.
“That was a wicked goodbye,” Cindy said. “Have you ever kissed a girl on the lips before?”
“Never.” ‘Although I’ve kissed a lot of boys on the lips and even deeper,’ he thought.
“Hmmm, well you kissed pretty good for your first kiss.”
“Have you kissed a boy on the lips before?” Tony asked.
“Yep, three of them. One in fifth grade but it was just, like, an experiment. We did it three or four times. But it was just, like, a quick peck. His name was Jesse. Then one was that summer at the party on a dare playing truth or dare. It wasn’t much. I even kissed a girl at that party, and it was the best kiss ever. We kissed each other as much as we could. We even did it on her bed once, but we took our shirts off but had everything else on including her training bra. I had a chest like a boy and didn’t use one.”
Tony was amazed that Cindy was telling him so much. He felt himself getting hard from imagining her kissing another girl on a bed. “What about the third one?”
“I thought you’d never ask,” Cindy giggled. “His name was Jeff, and we met at school. It was our first year at middle school and we came there from different schools. Pretty soon we were going out together and kissing a lot whenever we could. He taught me how to French kiss. He said he learned it from his big brother who told him that kissing each other was, like, practice for him kissing girls. I was in sixth grade and in middle school and I was French kissing a boy. It was rad and felt way special. I can tell you one more thing we did a few times if you’ve got time and promise not to tell my parents.”
“I have the time, and I promise not to tell your parents. I mean, why would I tell them. You’re my friend and what you tell me is between us.”
“And it’s the same with whatever you tell me.”
“Anyway, nobody was home in his house after school and sixth grade soccer didn’t start until October. So, we’d kiss on his couch and kinda like pet and rub each other, but we never touched each other ‘down there’. Not even the two times in his bedroom.”
“What happened there?” Tony knew he needed to head home to help his mom with dinner but listening to Cindy had given him a super hard boner and it was almost like he couldn’t move.
“We stripped in front of each other. Not naked, but he was just wearing his socks and underpants, and I was just wearing my panties. I still didn’t have any boobs. Then we lay next to each other and French kissed until he said he had to stop and got up and went to his bathroom. His underpants were sticking way out. I learned later he had what was called a boner.
“We did it again and he had a boner that time too. After he went to the bathroom we went under the covers and took a little nap, but we didn’t cuddle or anything. Then we kissed some more and got dressed just before his mom came home. His brother was at practice.
“But then soccer turnouts started and after that was basketball and in the spring was baseball and softball. We still kissed a lot and held hands in the hall and sat together at lunch sometimes. Oh, and that second time, he had a boner and had to go to the bathroom then too.”
Tony was now so hard that he knew he had to go before he erupted. “I gotta get home to dinner.” He gave Cindy an almost ten second kiss on the lips and then pulled away as he felt his dick start to twitch. He slapped his helmet on, hopped on his bike and rode home to a meatloaf and potatoes dinner. Although he ate what was on his plate, he didn’t consider the broccoli to be part of the dinner description.
That night he jerked off with Marco, but his mind fantasized on Cindy taking off his clothes and him taking off hers. In the end he forgot about that and had fun shooting cum over his little brother’s chest and belly.
(6:30 pm)
“I gotta say, Coach Vincent was right about having a light practice. We hardly worked up a sweat,” Levi said as he and Trajan cleaned up for dinner in Levi’s bathroom.
“It was so light that I gotta wonder why we even bothered to have it,” Trajan groused.
“I think it was to make sure our heads would be in the right place tomorrow. A lot of the stuff we went through was mental stuff.”
“Yeah, you’re right. But the way I see it easy practice—hard practice--no difference cuz I think we’re totally ready to play our best game tomorrow.”
“I agree,” Levi said as the boys made their way back to Levi’s bedroom. They each donned t-shirts and sweats and went downstairs to a dinner of burgers, hash browns, and corn on the cob. Dessert was chocolate brownies. The boys were more than satisfied with what was in essence their pregame dinner. Tomorrow’s meals would be breakfast, a late lunch, and a pregame snack.
The boys watched some TV after dinner, and played Risk with Levi’s parents, Arlene and George. Trajan ended up ruling the world at the end of the game.
After heading for bed early, Trajan and Levi agreed that they would not be having sex that night. What would happen the next day was left open. “Win or lose, it’s going to depend on our moods,” Trajan said.
“I have a feeling we’re going to be having good mood sex,” Levi said as he gave his boyfriend a loving kiss. The boys slept in their t-shirts and underpants and didn’t cuddle after their good-night kiss. If they were any more serious about their energy conservation they would have rolled in the portable bed and slept separately. The two boyfriends had their limits. They slept solid, restful sleeps and woke up the next morning feeling completely refreshed.
THURSDAY, JULY 30
9:00 am
The evening’s upcoming championship lacrosse game was the main topic of conversation at the DeLuca household, where the entire family would be going to watch Trajan and the Falcons.
It was no surprise that the game also dominated breakfast conversation at the Hanson household. Levi and Trajan almost wished school was in session so they wouldn’t be spending time figuring out how to keep busy. Arlene gave them a few chores to do, like scrubbing down Levi’s bathroom. But that took less than an hour and they had lots of time to fill.
They got a call from Jack Johnson, who was having the same problem. “Denny’s here and he’s bored, too,” Jack said referring to the Falcon captain Denny Wolfe. “We were wondering if we could come over and chill at your pool for a couple of hours.”
“It should be okay. I’ll check with my mom,” Levi said. As Levi went to check with his mother, Trajan thought it was interesting that Denny was at Jack’s house considering the two of them couldn’t stand each other when the season started.
“Mom says it’s okay, but no rough housing and she said we should remember that the keyword is chill and not swim,” Levi reported back.
“Sounds good to us, right Denny?”
“I’m all for being cooled off and ready to roll at game time,” they heard Denny reply.
“We’ll see you soon,” Trajan called out.
Denny and Jack arrived twenty minutes later and went into the pool house to strip down to their swimming suits. The boys spent the last part of the morning and the early afternoon doing what they promised, chilling. The best parts of the day were lunch, which Arlene supplied for the four boys, and how all of them grew closer to each other as teammates and even as friends on the day of the biggest game of their young lives.
“Hey, Levi’s family and mine are going to Luigi’s after the game to eat,” Trajan said to Denny and Jack. “You should ask your families if they want to join us.” Levi looked at Trajan wondering where that idea came from. It didn’t seem that long ago that Trajan despised Jack. He liked and respected Denny, but it was hard not to like the team captain.
“That’s the Italian place in the Village, right?” Denny asked.
“Yeah.”
“I’ll check with my parents.”
“I would, too, but where would everybody sit?” Jack asked.
“My Uncle Luigi and Aunt Marne own the restaurant and Aunt Marne said she was going to reserve the banquet room for the team and the parents,” Trajan said.
Jack and Denny dried off. Arlene gave them four chocolate brownies to snack on before they rode their bikes back to Jack’s house. She waited a while before giving Levi and Trajan their brownies.
Later, as they donned their uniforms, they agreed that they were ready to play.
Another household thinking of the game was the Boyer household. Justin knew that Marco would be going to the game to watch his cousin play and Justin wanted to join his “bestest” friend.
“Please, Daddy Donkey, can I go?” Justin begged.
“What do you know about watching lacrosse?” Mike replied.
“I know the most important thing.”
“What’s that?”
“The Falcons have to score more goals than the Royals do.”
“I see you know who’s playing. I’d call that a big plus.”
“That’s because Marco told me when he called and said I need to come to the game tonight. See, I told you I know everything I need to know.” Justin thought for a moment and then said, “Plus, I know that Trajan’s gotta score a hat trick. And in case you don’t know, that means score three goals.”
“What do you think of this? How about we go to the game together. You know more about lacrosse than I do and what we don’t know together we’ll be around people who do and we can find it out from them.
“Do I get to sit with Marco?”
“Absolutely,” Mike grinned. “And then we’ll go out to dinner after the game.”
“That sounds cool. Marco says they’re going to you know where after the game.”
“Well, if ‘you know where’ is the Ballard McDonald’s then we’ll join them.”
Justin stomped his right foot. “Sheesh, Daddy Donkey, they’re going to Luigi’s, the world’s best Italian restaurant.”
“Hmm, I guess we can swing it. But we might want to have a snack before leaving for the game.”
“HMM, I guess I can swing it,” Justin grinned.
The Field 1 bleachers were full as game time approached. Not only were the parents and friends of the Falcon and Royal players in the stands but so were coaches, players, and fans of other teams in the league along with a few spectators who simply enjoyed following youth lacrosse.
Mike actually knew enough about lacrosse that he was able to explain the basics to Justin. Tony and others in the stands were able to fill in the details. Justin’s other father, Ryan the Dawg, showed up fifteen minutes after the game started. Work and traffic had kept him from making the game on time.
The first quarter was a battle between two evenly matched teams with the score tied at 3-3. Trajan scored a goal in the second quarter off an assist by Jack. Jack also scored a goal. The Falcons trailed 8-7 at the half. Trajan picked up a second goal and an assist in the third quarter. Levi and Denny also scored a goal in the quarter. The score was tied at 12-12 at the end of the third quarter.
The fourth quarter was a physical one as both teams gave no quarter. With less than a minute left in the game the score stood at 15-15. The Falcons had control of the ball and were close to the goal.
Trajan caught a pass and saw that he had a clear shot at the goal, but it would be a long shot that needed to be near perfect. Plus, the goalie was good and had a good chance of blocking the shot. But time was running out and Trajan decided to take the shot. The worst that could happen was the game would go into overtime.
Just as he was set to fling the ball at the goal, Jack faked out a defender which made him open. The goalie was looking at Trajan and didn’t see Jack who was out of his line of vision. Trajan changed direction and threw the ball at Jack who caught it in his crosse, pivoted and fired it past the startled goalie with four seconds left. The Lake City Falcons were the Metro 14-and-under League champions.
The Falcon side of the stands exploded with cheers as the Falcon players jumped on each other until they were in a pileup. The players finally got up and shook hands with what Royals players were left. Fifteen minutes after the game ended the Falcons had shaken hands and hugs with parents, relatives, and friends. There was no after-game team function planned; that would be on a later date. Players went with their parents to wherever they had planned on having dinner.
The groups heading for a dinner at Luigi’s were the DeLuca family (Luigi, Marne, Marco, Tony and his friend Cindy, and Trajan), the Hanson family (Levi, Arlene, and George), Jack Johnson and his father, Denny with his mother and father, and Justin with his dads Mike and Ryan. Goalie Mitch Murphy and his father, and mother and younger brother Brock, who was 12, came as well. Mitch’s mom asked Marne about joining the group and was told it wouldn’t be a problem and let her know that everyone would be paying but would be receiving a 10 percent discount. The group would be sitting together in the banquet room.
“Should we do it today?” Trajan asked Levi, who was sitting to the left of him.
Levi knew what it was Trajan was asking—he was asking if they should come out at the banquet. Levi shook his head. “Let’s save it for in private with my parents and your aunt and uncle first. It wouldn’t be right to come out to everybody without them knowing.”
“I totally agree. I just wanted to make sure we were both, like, on the same page and all.”
“What about your parents, since they aren’t here in Seattle, yet.”
“Are you guys talking about anything you want to share?” Jack Johnson asked. He was sitting across the table from Trajan and Levi.
“Maybe soon. We’re just talking about some stuff we’ve been thinking about,” Trajan answered. “Oh, and I haven’t given you my congrats on your hat trick.”
“I wouldn’t have done it without you,” Jack said. “Right Captain Denny of the Metro League champions?”
Denny was sitting to Jack’s right. “You are so right Mister Hat Trick. Trajan could easily have taken that shot himself. He had a good shot in front of him, but he saw you had a better shot.”
“I’ll answer your question later,” Trajan told Levi. “I gotta do some thinking about it.”
“Dudes, this pizza is sick,” Denny said. “I never ate here before, but I know I’ll be talking to my parents about coming back.”
“You gotta try their spaghetti and meatballs. It’s out of this world,” Trajan said. “And I’m not just saying that because my uncle owns the restaurant.”
“It’s the lasagna for me,” Levi said.
As Trajan was finishing his spaghetti Tony came over and introduced Cindy to him and Levi. “She just moved in close to me. She’ll be going to Jane Addams, and I thought she might want to watch you play.” He pointed to Trajan. “I didn’t figure on us having a big banquet like this, so she’s getting to meet all kinds of peeps.”
“Hi, Cindy and welcome to the neighborhood.” Trajan figured that if she had moved into a house a block away from the DeLuca house then she had to be living in Lake City.
“Hi,” Cindy said. “That was my first ever lacrosse game and it was lots of fun to watch Trajan’s team win. Nice game, Trajan.” ‘Oh my God is he hot!’ she thought.
“It was a nice game by all of the Falcons,” Trajan responded modestly.
When they returned to their seats Cindy said to Tony, “I like your cousin. He wasn’t bragging and everything. He said the team won and that’s what I’ve been taught. It’s all about the team.”
“And I totally agree with that,” Tony said.
Cindy thought about how Jeff was always bragging about how he was the star in his team and all he did to help them win. But Tony was agreeing with her that the team was the most important thing. That, all by itself, made her happy she moved. She liked the people she met, and she especially liked Tony.
After they finished their meals, Trajan told Marne and Luigi he and Levi would help with the cleanup. He had no problem talking Levi into joining him and their help was much appreciated.
As the dinner ended all of the players there said their goodbyes to each other. The next time they would see each other together would probably be at the formal team banquet, whenever that was going to be.
Trajan’s phone played his mother’s ringtone just as he and Levi took the last load of dishes to the dishwasher. “It’s my mom,” he told Levi. He answered it as he walked into the hall. Hi, mom. Wazzup?” he said into the phone. “Great, that’s super great. I’ll tell Levi’s mom and Aunt Marne if you want…Okay, got it…see you soon…I love you too, mom.” He disconnected without thinking about how a couple of months ago he might have skipped over telling his mother he loved her.
“Guess what?” he said to Levi.
“No clue, so tell me.”
“My mom likes that house we like the best, too. She’s coming on Wednesday to close on the house and sign the papers and pay money or whatever they have to do.”
“I thought they could do all that stuff online,” Levi said.
“I’m sure she can, but she wants to see it all in person again and give dad a virtual tour.”
“Gotcha.”
The eating and chatter continued throughout the meal and soon things began to quiet down and the families were soon paying their tabs and leaving.
Luigi’s was one of those Seattle treasures slowly being discovered and making a name for itself. Luigi certainly didn’t mind the noisy group of boys. Yes, they chattered a lot, but they were all very well behaved. The surprise dinner group had purchased a lot of meals and kept his staff hopping. But the shorthanded staff handled the customers and the banquet room as well as in the main restaurant with their usual hard work and professionalism. Even with the discount the dinner would produce some nice sales figures for what would normally have been a slow Thursday.
After getting home and chatting with Levi’s parents for a while about the championship game and the fabulous dinner, Trajan and Levi retired to Levi’s bedroom. After taking care of their evening toilet, they crawled under the covers of Levi’s bed. The weren’t sure if they would have any sex, but they were naked just in case.
“Did you think about what we were talking about at dinner?” Levi asked.
“We talked about a lot of stuff, but I’m guessing you meant about us coming out,” Trajan answered.
“You guessed right. We can probably come out to my parents at any time, and they don’t know your parents so it’s not like they would end up telling your parents before we can tell them.”
“But what about Aunt Marne and Uncle Luigi? Your mom knows my aunt pretty well so they might talk.”
“If we told my mom not to say anything until we can say it, she won’t say anything,” Levi said.
“For sure?”
“I know her, and I know she wouldn’t do it. And my dad doesn’t really know your aunt or your uncle. What I’m worried about is that while my mom might be cool about us being boyfriends my dad might not be. I just can’t be sure how he’ll react to it.”
“Well, we don’t have to come out yet, to them or to anybody. Let’s sit on it for a couple of days and then talk about it again. But, here’s something to think about. Like I told you earlier, my mom said she would be coming up here on Wednesday to sign whatever papers she has to sign to buy the house.”
“But your dad won’t be here,” Levi pointed out.
“Okay, let’s just make is simple and wait until all of our parents in Seattle, and then come out to them.”
“But that means we can’t come out to our friends. And I don’t mean like the guys we talked to at the big party at Pierce’s house. We told them because most of them are gay and know what’s going on. I’m talking about telling guys who we played lacrosse with and friends at school—that kind of stuff.”
Trajan gave Levi a long, deep, kiss and ran his fingers through his boyfriend’s red curls. “Let’s stick it in a drawer for now and talk about it again later,” he said when he came up for air. “Right now, I want to taste your hard cock.”
“That sounds like the best plan of the night,” Levi grinned.
They automatically went into sixty-nine mode as if they’d been lovers for most of their lives. For some reason, despite their worries and doubts, their sexual sensations were at a high pitch. Or maybe it was because of their feeling as their young teen libidos simply needed the relief to level out.
Whatever the reason, they sucked each other at a fever pitch. Trajan came first, filling his lover’s mouth with his teen cum. Levi swallowed most of it before firing his thin, watery cum into Trajan’s mouth. They then kissed, mixing the cum they had left in their mouths before taking their final swallows. As Levi came down from his sexual high, he was once again amazed at the little sexual things he did now that he had never dreamed of in his jerk off sessions.
“I want to make love to you real soon,” Trajan whispered.
“How soon is real soon?”
“How about Saturday when your parents go to that retreat, and we’ve got the house to ourselves for an entire night for the first time?”
“Sound like a plan. But isn’t your mother going to be here then?”
“Not overnight. Since we talked, she texted me which hotel she’ll be staying at when she comes and it’s a downtown hotel. It’s going to be perfect for your first time.”
“I’m getting hard thinking about it, and I just had a major orgasm.”
“God, I love you so much, Levi, that I can’t even begin to say how much.”
“I think you said that just right,” Levi said as he sidled up to his boyfriend and landed a long kiss on his lips that he thought was the last one for the night.
“And you’re spending tomorrow night at Tony’s house, right?”
“Right. Aunt Marne wants me to spend a night with the family which she says I haven’t done for a while.”
“Which is true. Are you going to fuck Tony?”
“I don’t know what we’re going to do since it’s been a while. But I won’t do any anal with him if you don’t want me to, because that should be for my boyfriend,” Trajan said.
“Hey, he’s your cousin so I’m cool with it if you do it.”
Trajan gave Levi what was the final kiss for the night. “I love you tons,” Trajan said.
“I love you mega tons,” Levi responded. The two naked teens cuddled together and quickly fell into deep sleep.
<Bellingham, Washington>
8:00
Bryce and Blake Randall entered their house after returning from their bicycle ride to Cayden’s house and then to a park a couple of miles from their house. They greeted their parents and headed to Blake’s bedroom.
“When’s the last time those two slept separately?” Jeff Randall, their dad, asked.
“Not since February when Bryce was sick with the flu,” Helen Randall, their mother, replied. “They might as well have slept together since Blake got sick the next day. But I can’t remember when only one of them ever had a cold. It’s always been both.”
“They’ve been healthy boys. That flu was the first time I can remember them having more than a cold since they were in first or second grade.”
“It was first grade. Mothers remember these things.”
“But what about them sleeping together so often? What do mothers say about that?”
“They seem to get plenty of sleep,” Helen replied.
“Still, I’m thinking that maybe it’s time to lay down the law and have them sleep separately on school nights,” Jeff said.
“Let’s see how things work out first.”
“Okay, but if I get any hints that they dozed in class or if their grades slip, I’m stepping in.” What Jeff didn’t say to his wife was that he was worried that their brotherly relationship was becoming sexual now that they were entering puberty. He could remember learning about his body when was 11 from his 12-year-old cousin who lived about a mile away. Those were good times and they spent quite a few nights together enjoying their budding sexual feelings. That lasted for almost three years until they got locked into serious girlfriends for the first time.
Jeff saw no harm in the twins learning about their bodies from each other rather than from some casual friend. It was a phase he felt they would outgrow just like he had at their age. Obviously, Jeff wasn’t aware of the influence their best friend Cayden was having on them. The only reason he had his little rant about dozing in class and slipping grades was so his wife wouldn’t suspect he actually had no problem with the twins sleeping together whenever they wanted to, unless one of them was sick of course.
Meanwhile the twins sat naked on Blake’s bed, oblivious to what their parents had been thinking and discussing since they got home from the park. “Can you believe we sucked each other’s dicks right next to a trail in the park?” Bryce asked Blake as the boys thought back to all that had happened in the park.
“I can believe it since we did it. But it wasn’t that big a deal since hardly anybody uses that trail and we had to walk our bikes along it since it was all rough with rocks and roots and shit,” Blake answered.
“But peeps still use it.”
“That’s why we had our spy with us and why we just pulled our pants and undies down instead of getting naked like we really wanted to.” The park trails were paved and developed near the lake at the north end of the park. But over half the park had mostly undeveloped trails in thick woods. The trails were kept clear enough so they could be walked on, but they were of no use to joggers, bicyclists, skaters, and the like.
Cayden had been their spy. He had stood on an old log in a spot where he could see far enough either way to be able to warn his friends to pull up their pants. He was also in a position where he could see Blake on his knees sucking Bryce who was sitting on a stump, his four-inch pubescent cock as hard as the cock he was sucking. As soon as Bryce squirted, they switched, and Blake came within thirty seconds of his brother. Cayden wished they’d jerked each other off instead so he could see their watery cum shoot out. He pulled out his four-and-a-half-inch hairless cock and gave it a dozen strokes that sent him into a body rattling orgasm.
The three boys quickly zipped up and silently walked their bikes back to the main trail. It was also a dirt trail but was well-maintained. Five minutes later they came to a paved trail, hopped on their bikes, and rode to Cayden’s house. Cayden’s parents were away at work.
“Pretty soon you guys are gonna be cruising,” Cayden said as they sat on the couch in the rec room.
“I know,” Blake said. “My mom wanted us to take dancing lessons from a friend of hers so in case we meet any yucky girls our age we can show how cool we were by asking them to dance.”
“But the dance class her friend taught was full…,” Bryce started.
“…which was fine with us because who wants to dance with a stupid girl?” Blake finished.
“She said she could look somewhere else, but with only a week to go we wouldn’t even get that close to lessons,” Bryce said.
“We think this was, like, a last-minute idea by mom so she wasn’t prepared for her friend not being able to teach us. And that didn’t bother us a bit.”
“Hey, you guys are gonna turn thirteen on that cruise, which is the age when you quit thinking girls are yucky and stupid,” Cayden said.
“We don’t think so,” the twins said in unison.
“Besides, I bet there won’t be a single boy on that ship who likes to dance,” Blake said.
“I agree,” Bryce said.
“They’ve got athletic decks with basketball and pickle ball courts and ping pong…,” Blake started.
“…and shuffleboard, whatever that is,” Bryce finished. “Plus, swimming, and hot tubs and whales to look at and giant glaciers.”
“So, you see, who needs to know anything about dancing?”
“I get your point,” Cayden said, although he really didn’t. What he did get was what he noticed for the umpteenth time in the woods when the twins had their pants and undies pulled down: those two boys had beautiful, fuckable asses and he wanted to sample both of them. He was hoping to get his chance after they got home from the cruise all horny and ready.
The twin’s thoughts returned to Blake’s bedroom. They decided it was time to pull on gym shorts and spend some time with their parents before heading back to bed to sleep. They would probably be spending a lot of time with them and their grandparents so they probably should get used to it.
After what was some quality parent/child time even if the twins didn’t see it completely that way at the time, they each returned to their own bedrooms. They would be sleeping in separate beds on the cruise and thought they should get used to it. Jeff and Helen both took note of that since it had been a while since they’d slept separately.
“Your cousin and his friend are really nice,” Cindy told Tony as they waited for Marne to help Luigi with a couple of administrative tasks so he could close up the restaurant quicker. “In fact, your whole family is really nice.” She looked down at Marco and gave him a quick hug. Marco, who was waiting with them since Marne would be giving them their ride home, blushed with pleasure.
“I can’t believe that my brother’s got a girlfriend,” Marco finally uttered. This time it was Tony’s turn to blush.
“We’re just friends, right Cindy?” Tony said.
Cindy gave Tony a kiss on his right cheek. “If that’s what you want,” she said after breaking off the kiss.
“Why, do you want us to, like, be going out together?” In middle school speak, that meant being boyfriend and girlfriend.
“Say yes, Tony,” Marco said.
Tony wanted to tell his brother to mind his own business, but kept his mouth shut. That wasn’t the way he wanted to treat his little brother, but it wasn’t always easy. Still, he didn’t want Cindy to think he was mean to Marco, so he kept quiet.
Cindy could feel Tony’s discomfort and said, “It sounds nice, but I’ll think about it since your mother is coming.”
“Are you kids ready to go?” Marne asked.
“Yep,” Tony said. Cindy and Marco nodded in agreement.
The drive from the Magnolia Village to Lake City was a quiet one. All three children were buckled together in the back seat of the car with Cindy sitting in the middle. When they stopped at Cindy’s house Tony realized how dumb they were—Cindy should have sat to the right so she could get right out of the door.
But the situation gave Tony a chance to be a gentleman, and he took advantage of it. He stepped out of the car and held open the door as Cindy followed him. He gave her a little bow and then walked her to her front door.
When they reached the door, Cindy faced Tony and thanked him for a good time. “I’ve never gone out to something like that game and especially like the dinner with a boy. I liked it. I like you.” She gave him another peck on the cheek.
Tony didn’t know why he did it, but when Cindy backed away he put his arm around her and gave her a kiss on the lips. It was like he would have done with Logan, only it felt even better even though the quality of the kiss wasn’t as good. The kiss was only four seconds long, but it felt more like four minutes.
“That was really nice. You’re so special and thank you for a nice night,” Cindy said. She turned and entered the house.
Marne saw everything that happened and had a good feeling about what she saw. She really liked Cindy. Marco was trying to figure out how his big brother suddenly got a girlfriend when Logan was his boyfriend. He didn’t care what Tony told him, Marco was certain he and Cindy were going to go out together.
Tony got into the car wondering if anybody was going to say something about what they saw. Tony was relieved when the only thing said was by Marne: “Cindy is a nice girl.” Now he had to think about what it was he wanted if he was going out with that nice girl. He hoped that was what she wanted at the same time he hoped that wasn’t what she wanted. ‘Why did life have to be so complicated?’ he wondered as his mom parked the car in the driveway.
Next: Relationships