Piano Forte

 

CHAPTER 41

BROTHERS AND BOYFRIENDS

 

FRIDAY, JULY 11

 

<Brothers>

 

As the five Young Master Musicians settled at their table for what would be their last dinner in the dining room, Gary’s brother, Steve, came up to the table, carrying his tray. “You guys mind if I sit with you?” he asked.

 

“Where’s your girlfriend?” Ned asked a bit snottily.

 

“Careful, Ned, or you’ll end up sounding like her,” William said.

 

“Oops, sorry mate,” Ned apologized.

 

“Not a problem,” Steve said. “If I can sit with you guys, I’ll tell you.”

 

“Oh, we’re sorry bro,” Gary said. “Sit right down.”

 

Steve sat next to Ned and thanked the group. “No offense, Ned, but your sister is a…”

 

“Bitch?” Ned grinned.

 

“That was what I was going to say hoping it wouldn’t make you too mad.”

 

“It’s the truth. Shannon the witchy bitch—that’s my sister. What did she do this time?”

 

“Well, I had it arranged with my roommate Luke, that Shannon would sleep with me tonight and he would sleep with his buddy Cameron, whose roomie is sleeping somewhere else.  Then she got a hair up her ass. I guess that’s the wrong thing when everybody’s eating.”

 

“Hey, we all know her, so just say what you gotta say,” William told him.

 

“She said that before she’d sleep with me tonight, and by sleep, I mean sleep with all the trimmings, I had to do something for her.”

 

“Which was?”

 

Steve paused to chew his piece of pork chop. “Talk to my brother and tell him to leave her brother alone.”

 

“Say what?” Gary asked. “What am I doing to Ned?”

 

“Apparently forcing him to have sex. She wants you to make sure that when we all get to the Festival that I keep you and Ned away from each other.”

 

“What did you say?” Ned asked.

 

“I said it wasn’t gonna happen. Ned and Gary and all the Young Musicians are best friends. There’s no way I mess with what they’ve got going. And then she asks if that includes that asshole William.”

 

“Did she really call my boyfriend an asshole?” Austin asked.

 

“Right to my face,” Steve answered.

 

“Bitch,” Austin muttered, which got the entire group laughing.

 

Is that why you wanted to sit with us? To tell us how Shannon dissed you?” Gary asked.

 

“No, I wanted to know if I could sleep with you tonight. Instead of sleeping with Cameron, Luke said he’d ask his girlfriend Trish to sleep with him if I could sleep in your spare bed.”

 

Gary sat in quiet shock for a few seconds and then said, “All this moving around is gonna make one of the prickters mad if we aren’t careful.”

 

“I dunno, most of them seem pretty cool about us messing around,” Austin said.

 

“As long as boys and girls aren’t mixing it up,” Steve reminded him. “Shannon and I have had to be super extra careful.”

 

Ned shook his head and gave Steve a look that said, “You’re a real dumb fuck for even thinking about messing around with the bitch witch.” A big difference between Ned and his sister was that Shannon would have said what she was thinking and then some while Ned had nasty thoughts and then moved on.

 

“I’ve got no problem with you sleeping in my bed, but you’ll need to bring your own blankies since I turned all the extra stuff in to Housekeeping yesterday,” Gary said.

 

“Not a problem, bro, and thanks,” Steve grinned. 

 

<James Richards>

 

“Oh good, you’re still here,” came a familiar voice that gave Austin a jolt. It was Austin’s brother, James.

 

“Where were you all day?” Austin asked. “I thought you hinted you’d be eating with us.”

 

“Mom, Gene, and I have been busy in Seattle setting things up for me at the Youth Music Festival. Then we ate at this really cool restaurant on the waterfront called Alfred’s. I learned you guys have eaten there,” James said.

 

“Their fish and chips rock,” Austin said.

 

“I had the grilled salmon, and it was the best. I’m surprised to see you all here, I thought you’d be backstage trying to settle your nerves.” Everyone but William would be performing in the second semifinal that night. Since William had placed in the finals the night before, he was happy to have the night off. He planned on sitting with his grandfather and Dr. Markham, the Tacoma Youth Symphony director.

 

“Jonas Freeman was with us too,” James said. Jonas Freeman was one of the world’s premier guitarists. During the festival, James would be staying at Freeman’s Bainbridge Island home with Freeman, Freeman’s wife Olivia, and their fifteen-year-old son, Darryl. “We picked Jonas up at his house and when we dropped him off, he asked me to play some guitar for him. Damn, the one I used wasn’t his best, it was just one he had lying around but it sounded amazing. Anyway, he said that I had promise, and he wanted to work with me while I stayed at his house. I’m excited. I wish I’d started with his music stuff earlier.”

“That’s great that he’s going to be a master teacher for you,” Austin said. “He’s going to be a lot like Grandpa Gene is for me.”

 

“I think so, too. I met his son Darryl, who is 15. He’s a really nice kid and if you saw him, you’d say he was really hot.”

 

“And what do you say?” Austin asked him.

 

“I say he was really hot,” James grinned. “Anyway, Mr. Freeman told me I can call him Jonas, so that’s what I’m going to do.  But the reason I came up here to the dining hall was to ask if Gary’s extra bed is available.”

 

Gary shook his head. “My brother Steve will be using the bed,” he told James.

 

“Well then, between Ned and Titus and their roommates, somebody is going to be sneaking around to another room, leaving a bed open.”

 

“Sleeping in the same room with mom isn’t going to kill you,” Austin said.

 

“Dude, I’m fifteen—fifteen-year-olds don’t sleep in the same room as their mother. Of course, I could always sleep with Willy and find out what you like about doing it.” James looked at William as he spoke.

 

“The name is William, JIMMY,” William said icily.

 

“I don’t mind being called Jimmy, although I like Jim better,” James responded.

 

“Fine with me…Jimbo.”

 

“Hmm, point taken.”

 

“You could sleep with me,” Austin said. “It would be a tight squeeze, but if William and I fit then you and I should fit.” He turned to William. “What do you think, William?” Austin was tempted to call his boyfriend Willy, since he was one of the few people in the world who could get away with doing it but decided not to since it wouldn’t be fair to James.

 

“Fine with me, but I thought we were going to rock and roll our last two nights. And since he’s staying Friday, too, we’d lose both nights.”

 

“How about you guys come up with a solution. I want to play through my Granados a couple of times before we have to report to the auditorium. I have time to do it if I get to a practice room now.”

 

“Are you going to be the mad naked pianist?” Gary asked.

 

“That’s my plan,” Austin grinned. He gathered up his dishes and garbage, placed everything on his tray, and went to the disposal area. Even though James and William were getting along better than they had, they still liked to tweak each other and Austin was getting tired of it.

 

Austin had no trouble finding an empty practice room. He heard somebody, probably Mary, playing warmup exercises in Room 2 but the rest of the rooms were empty. Mary was the only other pianist performing that night.

 

He went into Room 8, hung his CAUTION: NUDIST AT WORK sign on the door, shut the door, and stripped. After warming up he played the Granados through with the goal of hitting all the correct notes. The second time he played the piece his goal was to throw his heart into it as well as his brain and fingers.

 

After finishing his second run through, he felt good about the results. The first time was almost like an exercise, but the second time had him sporting a boner when he was finished. He thought briefly about jerking off but rejected the idea. He liked working himself into a sexual excitement when he played, even if his cock got squeezed by the confinement of his pants. When Austin looked down at his pubescent erection, he was confident he was ready to play. He dressed, took down his sign, and walked to the auditorium wondering if a solution was found to James’ problem or if James and William had finally come to blows.

 

When he arrived at the auditorium foyer, he found James, William, and Steve waiting for him. “How did your warmup go?” William asked.

 

“It went perfect—I’m ready to play,” Austin replied confidently.

 

“Awesome. It’s not often you’re confident about your preparedness.”

 

“Did you guys figure out sleeping arrangements?”

 

“Yeah, we did, bro, as long as you agree to your part,” James said. “It took some calling and texting and getting up and talking, but we got it done.”

 

“So, tell me.”

 

“Steve sleeps in the same room as Gary. I sleep in the same room as you. William sleeps with John. Ned sleeps with Titus. Carlos sleeps with Natasha since her roommate is sleeping with her girlfriend Vicky and her roommate is doing whatever it is girls do when they have a three-way.”

 

“Damn, you guys did a lot in a short time,” Austin marveled. But he was a bit disappointed that he wouldn’t be sleeping with William on their second to last night together. He loved his brother, but he would be home in two days which wasn’t that long to wait to do whatever it was they were going to do sexually.

 

“It just goes to show what peeps can do when they quit yammering and decide to accomplish something,” William said.

 

“So what about Saturday night?”

 

“Staying with Gary was only for one night. Tomorrow night I go back to my room, so James will sleep in Gary’s room, and everything is totally cool,” Steve told them.

 

“Of course, Mom could have just asked for two of the family rooms and that would have solved everything,” Austin pointed out.

 

“Actually, she asked for both nights, but there was nothing available, so she took what she could get since it saves us a ton of money,” James said.

 

<Performance Time>

 

Three of the Young Masters were performing on the second night of semifinals: Austin, Ned, and Titus. William, Austin, Ned, and Gary had qualified for the finals the night before, which meant the Young Master Musicians would be rooting extra hard for Titus to make it this time.

 

Titus was playing the third movement of Mozart’s K 380 Violin sonata. Like the K 376 John was playing, it was a Rondeau. Ms Zimmer would be accompanying him as she had in the two recitals that had brought him to this phase of the competition. Gene Delacroix would be accompanying John.

 

Austin would be playing the Granados Oriental. He would also be performing the piano part of the flute and piano program he and Ned had put together for the recitals.

 

The three Young Masters reported backstage at ten minutes to seven. Dr. Boardman had asked all the Friday semi-final performers to be in the backstage waiting area by seven. Joining the three were John, Mary Kwon, clarinetist Hans Mertz, and oboist Jill Swayze. Dr. Boardman went over the rules, which were much the same as the rules had been for all the recitals.

 

“Remember, no encores until tomorrow night for those of you who will be playing in the finals.”

 

“We know,” Austin said, “and we won’t let you down, Dr. Boardman.”

 

“That’s good to hear. Remember, we have Mr. Shepard, Ms Zimmer, Mr. Delacroix, and me all backstage ready to hang you from the rafters by your ankles should you forget the rule.” Gene showed off a coil of rope to emphasize the threat, generating a group laugh and breaking up the tension the performers were feeling. It was now time for the performance order to be drawn.

 

Titus and Ms Zimmer drew the first performance. Austin and Ned would be performing third. Austin would be playing Granados as the fifth performer which would be the first performance after the intermission. Austin noted that John had drawn the eighth and last performance slot.

 

Mr. Shepard stepped out onstage promptly at seven-thirty. He looked around the auditorium which was close to half full. He knew it would be sold out for the finals the next day. He greeted the campers, their parents and friends, and the friends and supporters of the Bainbridge Music Camp as well as of the Bainbridge Academy of Music. “Our first performers in tonight’s semi-final recital will be violinist Titus Hayden, who is eleven. His accompanist is Ms Zimmer. They will be performing the Rondeau of Mozart’s K 380 Violin Sonata.”

 

Young Titus’s performance was not only polished, it was played at a lively tempo that had many in the audience nodding their heads or tapping their feet in time. And, like the polished performer he was, he played right through two missed notes without a hitch. The audience applauded loudly and long. Many of them noted how much better his performance had been than the one on Tuesday—and he had played very well that time.

 

After Titus left the stage Mr. Shepard announced Mary Kwon. “Mary is thirteen and will be playing two of Felix Mendelssohn’s ‘Songs Without Words’. Please give Mary a warm welcome.” Mr. Shepard didn’t name the specific songs since that information was in the night’s program.

 

Mary played in her own precise way, not missing a note but at times missing the essence of the music. The audience appreciated her performance, however, and applauded warmly.

Mr. Shepherd announced Austin and Ned. They walked on stage, Ned taking the stool next to the piano. Austin adjusted the bench to fit him and looked at Ned who nodded. Their performance was very good, but it lacked the spontaneity of their first performances. After they left the stage, Austin could see the sad look on Ned’s face.

 

“I don’t think we were good enough to play tomorrow,” Ned said. “What do you think? And before you say anything, I don’t want you telling me how great we were, because we weren’t great. Good but not great.” Ned knew that Austin tended to sugar coat his friends’ performances. He wanted his friend to know he wanted the full truth and not something being said just to make him feel good.

 

“I don’t know what happened,” Austin said. “We played all the notes okay, but somehow it just didn’t click.”

 

“And I think you’re right. But, we’ll still be okay. You and William are playing in the finals and so are Gary and me. But it would have been great playing with you, too.”

 

Austin gave his friend a hug. “Hey, we took this a long way and the hard work was all done by you. I’d play your stuff with you anytime.”

 

“Even at the festival?”

 

“Especially at the festival.”

 

Hans Mertz performed a solo clarinet work by Mozart as Austin and Ned consoled each other. When Hans finished the intermission started.

 

<Austin>

 

“You’re going to be getting ready to play your Granados now, right?” Ned asked Austin. Titus left his seat in the ready room and stood next to his friends.

 

“Yes, I am,” Austin answered.

 

“Then we’ll leave you alone,” Titus said matter-of-factly.

 

“Nice job tonight Titus. You should be playing tomorrow. Best way for me to prep would be to airplay the keyboard in the nude,” Austin grinned, “I’ll talk to you guys later.” He turned and walked to the ready room.

 

“I think he’s ready,” Titus said to Ned.

“He’s never been this loose before performing,” Ned said.

 

“Maybe that’s why he wasn’t as good as usual when you two played.”

 

Ned had never been irked by Titus before. In fact, he couldn’t remember anybody being upset with Titus. But he was ready to yell at his best friend before catching his breath and waiting. Then he defended his partner. “Austin played great. We just didn’t click tonight for some reason.  As good as we played, we still could go to tomorrow’s finals. You just never know.”

 

“Did I upset you with what I said?” Titus asked.

 

“Yeah, you did a little. Sorry, Titus. I don’t ever want to be upset with you.”

 

“I didn’t mean you guys didn’t play good. It’s just like what you said—somehow you guys didn’t click.”

 

“You sure clicked. And if you aren’t a finalist then all I can say is the whole thing is rigged,” Ned said. “If you make it, then all five Young Master Musicians will be playing tomorrow. Is that awesome, or what?”

 

Titus wrapped his arms around his best friend and gave him a hug. “Beyond awesome. I want to play tomorrow so bad I can’t stand it.”

 

Austin sat in a corner of the ready room. He felt like he had let Ned down by just playing the notes and not doing as Chopin said. “Caress the key, never bash it. You should, so to speak, mold the keyboard with a velvet hand and feel the key rather than striking it.”

 

Austin’s amazing memory had more tucked away in it than just works of music. That was a quote Austin loved because it governed the way he felt he should play. It echoed what Grandpa Gene told him about the importance of how the pianist touches the keyboard and how he had shown a natural ability to govern his touch.

 

When he played with Ned, Austin felt that he hadn’t been touching the keys the way he wanted, instead he had been striking them. Austin closed his eyes and let his fingers play the Granados as it moved through his mind. He imagined the keys feeling like the air his fingers were touching. He felt a surge of excitement in his groin. He was ready to play the Granados Oriental with the caress of his velvet hand.

 

Mary Kwon watched what Austin was doing from across the room. She saw the look of concentration on his face and his fingers playing an imaginary keyboard as he sat in his chair. As she watched him, she got an inkling as to what it was that made Austin Richards unquestionably the best musician in the camp and the best pianist of her peer group she had ever heard.

 

During intermission James pulled away from the discussion between his mother and William’s father and grandfather about the just completed four performances. He nodded to William to join him in the foyer. William reluctantly acceded and followed James up the aisle to the foyer.

 

“What’s up?” William asked.

 

Because time was limited James decided to get right to the point. “Knowing Austin, he isn’t going to say something about this because he doesn’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings, so I will.”

 

“Say something about what?” William cut in.

 

“Patience, my friend. He won’t be saying anything about tonight’s sleeping arrangements.”

 

“What about them?”

 

“He hasn’t said a word about this, but I know my brother and can read him like a book. I think he’s disappointed he will be sleeping with me tonight—what he wants is to sleep with you.”

 

“But…”

 

James held up his hand. “I can do whatever after we get home. Tonight and tomorrow night should belong to you two. Let’s talk to John after the program ends about my sleeping with him and you and Austin enjoying each other tonight.”

 

“I guess I’ve read you wrong,” William said. “I thought you hated me and my relationship with your brother.”

 

“Oh, you read me right. I did hate you and what I thought you were doing to my little brother, but I’m not stupid. People can say what they want about high school boys living with their heads up their asses, but even this high school boy can see what’s happened between the two of you. I know you’ll be seeing a lot of Austin at the Festival, but that special thing that happened between you happened here at camp and it should be celebrated by the two of you right here at camp.”

 

William gave James a big hug in the crowded foyer, but it garnered little attention from those around them. Even the stodgiest adults in attendance were used to the foibles of creative adolescents. “You’re a good brother, James, and I love you for it.”

 

“I love my little brother more than anybody in the world. He’s a special boy and I never want to see him hurt. And now, I love you for making him happy.”

 

The boys broke their hug and started back for their seats as the lights dimmed. As the audience settled in, Dr. Boardman stepped out on stage. He would be doing the post intermission introductions. “Our next musician will be twelve-year-old Austin Richards, playing the ‘Oriental’ by Enrique Granados. Please welcome Austin to the stage.”

 

Dr. Boardman looked on with pride as Austin stepped out from behind the curtains to a roar of applause and cheers from his fellow campers. Most of the audience were attending their first recital of the camp and didn’t know the story behind the enthusiastic welcome. It was surprising to many because that same response didn’t occur when Austin played with Ned. While it had been more enthusiastic than for the other performances, the response didn’t come close to matching this.

 

“I love you, Austin!” came the shout of a girl as Austin adjusted the piano bench. The shout led to a quick rise in sound and then the audience quickly quieted.

 

Austin took a deep breath and performed his magic on the keyboard. While his fingers weren’t touching air the way he wanted them to, the sound emanating from the piano was masterful.  Only Austin, Gene, William, Gary, Dr. Boardman, and, surprisingly, Mary Kwon could tell that Austin was a notch off in his playing. The results were better than what Austin had generated when playing with Ned, but he knew he could do better. He played through a missed note and kicked his concentration into a high gear.

 

Those who were hearing Austin for the first time were amazed by the magic the little red headed boy was producing on the keyboard. Those who had heard him before were once again enthralled by the sounds he produced. But those who knew Austin well were aware that he was capable of better. Yes, he was good—he was incredibly good, but they had no doubt it could be even better. But those miniscule doubts did nothing to dampen their enjoyment of the performance. Because overall, Austin’s magic had enchanted the audience. After he played the last note, the sound of approval echoed through the auditorium.

 

Austin grinned, bowed, waved, touched his heart, to show his thanks for the audience’s approval. He knew he had been good, but he wanted to be better—he wanted to be perfect for his friends, fellow campers, and family. He left the stage to shouts of “ENCORE!” knowing that wasn’t going to happen. As he entered the backstage area, he hoped he would be playing an encore tomorrow.

 

Ned and Titus walked up to him and each gave him a hug. As he basked in the attention of his friends, he no longer hoped he would be playing tomorrow. He had no doubt he WOULD be playing tomorrow.

 

He was then surprised by a hug from Mary Kwon. “I know those are your special friends,” she told him, “but you have made the stay at camp special for me. You were wonderful tonight. Thank you.”

 

Austin sat down in the ready room and looked over at John. John would be playing last. Austin hoped that the teen who had been a such a good roommate for Ned would overcome his obvious nervousness and make it to the finals. He knew that John felt he didn’t belong in the semis, but Austin disagreed. Titus told him John was good and should have been voted to the semifinals based on the quality of his own performance which had been excellent. The accompanist had more to do with John not moving on than John’s playing. John’s being selected to substitute for the cancelled trio was remedying that error.

 

John didn’t disappoint. He and Gene played together like they had been partnered for the entire camp instead of one day. That said a great deal about not only the master musicianship of Gene Delacroix but also of the abilities of John Irish.

 

It was now voting time. The staff, the campers, and random members of the audience voted. Each group’s votes had equal weight. As soon as the votes were collected, Mr. Shepherd took the ballots to the administrative office to run through the test reader. During the wait, Gene entertained the audience with Franz Liszt’s lively Hungarian Rhapsody No. 9, “Carnival in Pest.”

 

When Mr. Shepard and Dr. Boardman stepped out on stage the audience hushed in anticipation. “As you know Alejandro Lopez and Mary Kwon, William Delacroix and Austin Richards, as well as Ned Walsh and Gary Wright, have already qualified for tomorrow’s finals,” Dr. Boardman said. “Would they please come out on stage.” The six musicians stepped out on stage and bowed as the audience applauded.

 

“I love you Austin,” came the girl’s voice again.  “Mr. Shepard will now announce who will be joining them. The names will not be in any particular order.”

 

Mr. Shepard replaced Dr. Boardman at the microphone. “We have two of their fellow campers joining them along with two more who qualified for the second time. They are John Irish, for his outstanding rendition of the Rondeau of Mozart’s K 376 Violin Sonata.” John walked out onstage to applause and loud cheers. “As most of you know, John was called on this morning to fill in because a performer became ill.”

 

“Also qualifying is Titus Hayden, who also played from a Mozart sonata—in this case the Rondeau of the K 380 Sonata.” Titus walked out on stage with a gigantic smile splitting his face, shaking his head to keep his shaggy blond hair out of his eyes.

 

“Playing a second work tomorrow will be Austin Richards, who will once again be putting the….” Mr. Shepard couldn’t finish the sentence as the campers and many others in the audience rose screaming. When Austin, who was already onstage, stepped forward to wave, three girls yelled, “We love you Austin!” in unison. The red head moved back into the line of finalists, standing between William and Titus. The Young Master Musicians now made a solid line of five.

 

“And the fourth finalist is Mary Kwon for her superb playing of Mendelssohn.” Mr. Shepard then called on the two staff accompanists who would be part of the finals, to come onstage and asked the audience to show their appreciation. Gene Delacroix and Ms Zimmer walked out, took a bow, and then waved to the audience and returned backstage, leaving the stage to the ones deserving of the spotlight.

 

Dr. Boardman then made a broad gesture encompassing the campers standing onstage. “These eight amazing young musicians are all determined to move their performances up another notch tomorrow afternoon. The staff and campers of the Bainbridge Music Camp all thank you for being here tonight and hope you will all be here at the auditorium to listen to these talented young people and then join us in the square for our end of camp barbeque.”

 

 <Brothers and Boyfriends>

 

After Mr. Shepard ended the program, the finalists went down into the seating area to mingle with friends and family. Austin received special hugs from his mother, his brother, and from his Grandpa Gene. “I am so proud of you. You’re going to be a busy boy tomorrow,” his mother grinned.

 

Titus, Ned, and Gary all received hugs and plaudits from their parents. Even Shannon managed to congratulate her brother on a nice job. William received a hug from his mother and a hearty handshake from his father. What William really wanted from his father was the kind of loving hug he received from his Grandpa Gene.

 

Up in the gallery, directors of the Seattle, Tacoma, Bellingham, and Cascade Youth Symphony Orchestras rose from their seats. “I don’t care how loud the audience cheers or how many people screw up their votes, that awful redhead is not nearly as good as he and everybody else thinks,” Fred Byers, the SYSO director grumped. “I can’t see him outplaying Mary Kwon tomorrow. Her, I like a lot—she is so much better technically than that Aiden kid.”

 

“His name is Austin and maybe you should lighten up some Fred,” Linda Marquez, the director of the Cascade Youth Symphony said. Unlike her fellow directors in Tacoma and Bellingham, she had never had any use for Fred Byers since he took over the SYSO and made no secret of her dislike for him.

 

The feeling was mutual. Fred Byers glared at her and said, “Don has him playing with his orchestra at the festival. I’ve told him in private and I am now saying it publicly—he is going to be very sorry he made that invitation.” Byers was referring to Don Markham, the director of the Tacoma Youth Symphony Orchestra and Austin making his debut with an orchestra at the Seattle Youth Music Festival in August.

 

Down below, Austin was oblivious to the chatter up above. He was reveling in the praise and love of his friends, family, and audience members he had never met before. He also took the time to ask if his Grandpa Gene could meet with him in the morning.

 

“How about ten? We’ll meet in the Media Room,” Gene said. Austin grinned and said he would be there.

 

As people filed from the auditorium, Austin met up with William, who was talking with his father. They ended their friendly conversation and William and Austin headed for the meeting place in the square. On the way out Austin was stopped by Linda Marquez, who introduced herself. “Wonderful performance today, Austin. With your permission, I would love to get your contact information from Dr. Markham and talk with you sometime.”

 

“Sure, go ahead. And thank you for coming to the concert and for stopping to talk with me.”

 

“The pleasure is all mine.”

 

“Wow,” William said as he and his boyfriend headed out the main door together. “Just like that you’re going to be playing with the Tacoma Orchestra and you have Cascade and Bellingham interested in you. Not bad for a guy nobody ever heard of a month ago.”

 

“Everybody but Seattle, which is fine with me, since Byers is an asswaffle,” Austin said.

 

“Why should they be interested in you when they have me?” William grinned. Austin gave him a friendly poke on the arm, and they met up with the rest of the Young Masters along with John, James, and Steve.

 

“Snack time,” Gary shouted. “Let’s hurry and get cookies and ice cream.”

 

“Maybe even some fresh fruit,” Steve added.

 

“I told you my brother was a nerd, didn’t I?” Gary said. “He’d take an apple over fresh baked cookies. Go figure.”

 

“But I would take some ice cream with either one.”

 

“I guess that means he’s not a lost cause.”

 

“Brothers, always bickering,” James said. “We never bicker, do we Austin?”

 

“Only on weekdays. We take weekends off to recover,” Austin replied.

 

“Sheesh, brothers. Always bickering,” Steve grinned.

 

The boys grabbed a large table and soon were snacking on chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, and peanut butter cookies along with dishes of ice cream. There were even apples for Steve to grab, but he passed. “Golden Delicious—sorry, but oatmeal raisin cookies are probably healthier than those crappy things,” Steve explained.

 

“William and I talked about a change in the sleep arrangements tonight,” James said. “Here’s our plan unless somebody objects. John and I sleep together, and William and Austin sleep together. Everything else stays the same.”

 

“Did William put you up to this, James?” Austin asked, casting William a glare.

 

“It was my idea, bro. All William did was agree it was a good idea.” James explained his idea and waited for Austin to raise another fuss.

 

“You really wanted me to sleep with William tonight?” Austin finally asked.

 

“Why would I lie about it? You heard my reason why and I’m going to add one thing to my reasons that I didn’t tell William. When you and I do it, bro, I want it to be in our house and on my bed, and I hope that happens next week.”

 

Austin was quiet again, stunned by what he had just heard. “You’re really okay with this, William?” he asked when he got his voice back.

 

“I am,” William answered. “I didn’t agree with your brother at first, but then I saw where he was coming from. And now, I can’t think of a better way for me to spend the last two nights of camp than in your arms.”

 

Austin scooted over to William and kissed him on the lips. “You keep proving to me that you’re the best boyfriend in the world,” he said after breaking the kiss.

 

“John needs to get his say in this,” James said.

 

“I’m not going to stand in the way of true love,” John said. “Besides, James is pretty good in bed for a straight boy, right James?”

 

“Can I be the top tonight?” was James’s answer.

 

“Only if I can get seconds.”

 

“Did you know your brother was such a big horndog?” William asked Austin.

 

“He wasn’t that much of one until he met all you guys,” Austin giggled.

 

“Then I guess everything is settled. It looks like we’re all going to have a night made for horny musicians.”

 

<Ned and Titus>

 

The two friends sat naked on Titus’s bed, their pubescent erections pointing proudly into the air. “We’re boyfriends, right?” Titus asked.

 

“As close as we can be for two guys who live in two different countries,” Ned replied before kissing his best friend, boyfriend, or whatever friend he wanted to be.

 

“Are we gonna fuck tonight?”

 

“We need to celebrate us both playing in the finals.”

 

“More than that, we need to celebrate all of the Young Master Musicians being in the finals,” Titus said.

 

“That sounds perfect. So, now we need to decide who is going to do who?”

 

“You can do me.”

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“Positive.”

 

“And you can do me if we have anything left,” Ned said.

 

The two naked boys who had come to camp naïve about sex and who had been unaware of their great musical talent lay next to each other kissing and fondling each other’s genitals. Ned reached around Titus and ran his middle finger along the crack of his smooth, white ass, causing his friend to moan with pleasure. Ned tickled his grommet which sent a shudder through Titus.

 

Ned then rose from his bed and took a tube of lube off Titus’s desk. “Courtesy of my awesome roommate, John,” Ned grinned.

 

“Won’t he be needing it?” Titus asked. “You know him and Austin’s brother are going to be doing it.”

 

“Not a problem. He’s got three tubes of lube left. I think he thought he was going to be very busy at camp, eh?” Ned chuckled.

 

Ned took care of himself and Titus the way Gary had shown him. From that point on the two eleven-year-olds were nothing more than pubescent boys rutting until they enjoyed the inevitable climaxes they had been striving so hard for.

 

When they finished, the two were worn out. They held on to each other, kissing lightly, as they recovered from their exertions. They finally rose from the bed, took care of their toilet business without being seen by the other two boys living in the suite, and crawled back into Titus’s bed.

 

“Good night, Titus,” Ned said. “I think this is where I’m supposed to say I love you, so I’ll say it. I love you.”

 

“And I love you, Ned.”

 

The boys shared a sweet kiss, snuggled, and fell asleep.

 

<James and John>

 

As much as he liked girls, especially his girlfriend, Trish, James had to admit that having sex with a horny gay boy was pretty damned sweet. The fifteen-year-old was not a virgin with girls, having fucked Trish twice since Austin had left for camp, or with boys. He had been fucked by John and had no problem with it happening again.

 

But that wasn’t what happened this time as James ended up topping John, fucking his hairy ass harder than he had fucked Trish, and that had been pretty intense. James came first and John jerked himself to orgasm a minute later, covering his torso with cum.

 

“The problem with starting to grow hair on your chest and belly is getting the cum out,” John chuckled.

 

“I don’t have that problem yet.” Except for his pubic hair and the beginnings of a treasure trail, James was as smooth as Austin. “How did I do?”

 

“You ended up getting a hard cum, so I’d say you did okay.” James nodded and grinned. “Are you planning to do Austin when you guys get home?”

 

“I hope so, but it’s up to him.”

 

“He’ll let you if you ask him. He wants to make love with you really bad.”

 

“Do you have any advice?” James asked.

 

“Fuck him as deep and hard as he’ll let you. But just understand that you’re a lot bigger than William, so make sure you start slow and then build up until he tells you to ease off,” John answered.

 

“Thanks. The last thing I want to do is hurt him. He’s the best little brother a guy could hope for.”

 

“I don’t know if I told you, but I’ve done my brother Liam, who’s only ten. Slow and easy, but we got it done. Austin got a lot of experience here at camp, so you two should do okay together.”

 

The teens shared a long kiss before deciding to retire. Not for the first time, James felt the boys he’d kissed could give Trish a few lessons in the art of kissing. While he had kissed Austin at home, it hadn’t been the kind of kiss they would share if they had real sex. James wondered how good a kisser his little brother was. He suspected that Austin was most likely a damned good kisser.

 

<Gary and Steve>

 

“Thanks for letting me stay with you,” Steve told his brother.

 

“I’ve told you ever since nerf nuts left the school that you could sleep in my room any time,” Gary replied.

 

“I know, but we’ve been living our own lives.”

 

“Like the one you and Ned’s sister have been living?”

 

“Don’t remind me. I mean she was a really good lay, but I’ll tell you, Ned got all the personality in that family. She wouldn’t admit it at first, but she wasn’t a virgin when she came to camp.  But she didn’t tell me at first. She wanted me to think I was the first. Well, I was the first—the first who wasn’t a Canuck.”

 

“I’ll bet Ned was better to have sex with than his sister. He was a virgin when he came to camp, but Austin became Dr. Austinstein and turned Ned into the Austinstein sex monster,” Gary laughed.

 

“Dude, I’m fourteen and you guys in your little Master Musician group have had more sex in one month of camp than I’ve had in my entire life. Anyway, you said you still had some spare bedding for me,” Steve said.

 

“Why don’t you just sleep with me and forget the covers.”

 

“But…,”

 

“And while you’re in bed with me you might as well fuck me.”

 

“GARY!”

 

“What?” Gary smirked.

 

“Do you know what you’re asking?”

 

“Yeah, I’m asking you to fuck me.”

 

“But you’re my little brother. I’m two years older than you and, it’s just not right.”

 

“Why not?” Gary asked sincerely.

 

“I dunno. Because it’s not, I guess.”

 

“Please do it bro. I want you to do it bad because, well, because you’re an awesome big brother and I love you.”

 

“I don’t know what to do,” Steve said.

 

“I do, and I’ll show you what to do.” 

 

“I might hurt you.”

 

“I won’t let you. Look, once we get each other lubed it’s probably not much different than fucking Shannon.”

 

Steve thought about that for a few moments and then said, “There would be something way different between me fucking Shannon and fucking you, and I don’t mean because she’s a girl and you’re a boy.”

 

“What?”

 

“The big difference is that I love you, bro.”

 

“I want to kiss you,” Gary told his big brother.

 

Steve didn’t hesitate. He grabbed his twelve-year-old brother and kissed him hard on the lips. Before Steve knew it, Gary had his tongue in his brother’s mouth until Steve pushed his way into Gary’s mouth. The brothers were soon undressing each other until they saw each other naked and sexually excited for the first time. They had seen one another naked often, but had never seen each other sexually excited, naked or otherwise.

 

As Gary looked at his brother’s four-and-a-half inch cut cock leaking precum and topped by a slender row of blond pubic hair he realized that, at least that night, he wanted Steve’s cock to be somewhere different than in his butt. He wanted to suck it.

 

“Dude, I want to taste you,” Gary told his brother.

 

“I thought you wanted me to fuck you.”

 

“I do really bad, but I want to suck your cock even worse. It’s beautiful and I want to taste your cock and your precum and your cum. We can save the fucking for after we get home if you still want to do it then.”

 

“I told you I would,” Steve said, “but your change of mind is really a big surprise.”

 

The change of mind surprised Gary, too, but he knew from the moment he saw his brother’s leaking erection that this was what he wanted. The brothers were sitting on Gary’s bed looking each other in the eyes as they talked. Gary leaned over and gave Steve a gentle kiss which quickly became a hard kiss as well as their first naked kiss. Gary’s body shuddered telling him it was time.

 

He moved between Steve’s smooth, tanned, legs and got on his knees. He licked his brother’s cock from balls to glans and back. Then he sucked on the smooth hanging scrotum, before licking back up.

 

“Damn, bro, you’re fucking good at this,” Steve gasped. The gasp turned into a squeal when Gary wrapped his lips around the head of his brother’s cock. He wrapped his right hand around his own three plus inches and masturbated as he took his brother’s cock as deep as he could. He then worked his mouth up and down, using everything he knew how to do with his mouth until his brother grabbed his head and started mouth fucking him. “Ohhhhhhhhhh, shit, here I cum,” he moaned as he filled his brother’s mouth with what Gary thought was the best cum he had ever tasted.

 

He removed Steve’s cock from his mouth and stood up facing his brother so he could shoot his cum on his brother’s torso. It was then Steve’s turn to surprise them both when he took his little brother’s hairless cock into his mouth and sucked a cock for the first time. Gary lasted less than thirty seconds before squirting three shots of clear cum into his brother’s mouth. Steve figured that since Gary had swallowed his load, he could swallow Gary’s, which he did as he savored the astonishingly sweet treat. Sex with his brother had been entirely different from what he expected. He had loved doing it and realized that he truly loved his little brother.

 

The brothers had slept together before on family trips, but this was their first time sleeping naked together. Both of them hoped it wouldn’t be their last.

 

<William and Austin>

 

Austin had expected to sleep with his brother James. Instead, he was in bed having sex with his boyfriend William. James had been right, Austin thought—the two of them could fuck at home. The best way for camp to end for him and William was to enjoy each other’s love.

 

Austin looked up at William and groaned as his boyfriend hit his hot spot. Their kissing and petting had been awesome, their preliminary cock sucking magnificent and now they were ready for the big show.

 

This was what William really wanted—to kiss the boy who he loved so much, the boy who had shown him the beauty of loving a beautiful person. He no longer questioned how he had gotten so lucky to have Austin dropped into his life. He no longer thought about how close he had come to losing the gift that had been put into his life by not realizing what it was he had.

 

All William cared about was that he loved Austin and that Austin loved him and that right now he was making the beautiful redhead moan with pleasure as he enjoyed the heat of his boyfriend’s tight ass. When he shot his load into that ass, he shuddered with the kind of special orgasm he was certain only two people who truly loved each other could share. When a spasm wracked Austin’s little body and he shot his clear drops over his belly with a spontaneous cum, William knew that he had touched his boyfriend in all the right ways.

 

That night, as his strong arms kept James’ brother tight to him, William pledged to himself to do everything he could to ensure that he and Austin would be separated as little as possible until school started, and they began their lives as roommates.

 

Brothers, friends, and boyfriends had enjoyed the sexual company of brothers, friends, and boyfriends that night. None of them felt feelings of guilt. All enjoyed feelings of love, even the two casual friends who joined together. All admitted that the penultimate night of camp had been, from the semi-final program to the sex in bed, a perfect night.

 

Next: The Velvet Touch