Piano Forte

CHAPTER 9

FRIEND OR NOT FRIEND?

 

 

 

The busy first day of camp activities had tired William out. The high point of the morning for him had been watching the piano on the stage of the main auditorium being tuned by Mr. Turner, who was the school’s resident piano tuner. He also taught math and percussion at the school. This was the first time he had watched Mr. Turner give the demonstration. The really cool part was Mr. Turner saying that during the course of the camp they would each get a chance to try tuning one of the practice room pianos. 

 

William kept his eyes on Austin, who seemed to be really interested in the lesson. During the music history lesson by Miss Davis, he almost drifted off to sleep a couple of times. One thing that kept him interested was that Miss Davis was young and was really good looking and had nice tits. But even that wasn’t enough to keep her from being boring. The worst part was that Austin was really interested in the class and was one of the students who participated. William knew that he had to have piano classes with Austin but wished he could have been in one of the other history classes. He knew the lessons would become more interesting when they started doing some variations.

 

That afternoon he would be auditioning with Christian to be the pianist in Christian’s and his roommate Benny’s piano trio. He knew his audition was a formality since there was no way he wouldn’t be picked to play in the trio. After all, he was without question the best pianist in the camp.

 

After the audition he would enjoy some swimming pool time. Now, if there was only a way to float a piano in a swimming pool, I’d really be happy, he thought. Even though he knew he should be looking at the girls in their swim suits, his eyes kept looking at Ned’s roommate, John, whom William thought had a fine-looking body. It was too bad that his board shorts were hiding what he had between his legs, William thought.

 

He chatted a bit with John and they talked about possibly teaming up and playing some violin and piano works. They held on to the edge of the pool in the deep end and chatted about the possibilities, their legs often stretched out in front of them. John kept moving so their shoulders or legs or torsos would touch. William moved himself away a couple of times, but John edged in the same direction and soon they would be touching again. Since the touching was obviously intentional, William decided to quit moving away and let John touch him. It’s not as nice as one of the girls trying to lean into me, William thought, but it’s still nice.

 

Just before dinner, William was surprised to be stopped in the courtyard by Cindy Becker, one of the pianists in camp, who asked if she could eat dinner with him. He thought she was kind of cute and said yes. He learned that she was fourteen and from Spokane. She was attending her first big summer music camp. Her other two experiences were week-long day camps in Spokane and Sandpoint, Idaho.

 

After dinner, William had some private lesson time with Mrs. Zimmer after which he went to the gym where he joined one of the ongoing volleyball games.

 

When he went to his room for the night Austin wasn’t there. Oh, well, it’s still an hour until curfew, he thought. He stripped down to his boxers, his cock semi-hard. He decided that having dinner with Cindy Becker had gotten him horny and he pulled off his boxers. He flopped on his bed and quickly got himself fully hard. He considered going into the bathroom to whack his pud in case Austin came back while he was taking care of himself. Fuck that shit, he thought. I don’t care if the little brat catches me. It’s about time for him to watch somebody jerking off. What could be better than watching a stud like me do it? he thought to himself.

 

William started thinking about the dinner he had with Cindy Becker and his thoughts about bringing her to his room, but his mind kept wandering to John Irish and how he had constantly edged over to touch him in the pool. John was having a bigger effect on William’s hands-on sensual feelings than Cindy, so he figured to go with what turned him on and focused his erotic thoughts on John Irish.

 

Just as William got to where John was lowering his hand into his swimsuit, he heard the keycard at the door and saw the door open. Austin walked in carrying his satchel of scores and looked at him with big eyes.

 

Well, the brat caught me in the act, he thought calmly, now let’s see if he freaks out.

 

 

Austin woke up ahead of William. He was excited about his first full day at camp. Austin showered and came out of the bathroom nude, carrying his towel at his side.

 

“You look pretty good with nothing on, at least for a little boy,” William smirked as he headed for the bathroom.  He had been sitting on his bed naked waiting for Austin to come out

 

“Good morning to you, too,” Austin groused.

 

Austin had five t-shirts with piano quotes on them but decided to wear a Fairhaven Middle School shirt instead. He knew that every camper was allotted one free wash by the school laundry and decided to spread those shirts out some. The shirts he had worn on days he hadn’t been very active would be good for two days of wear before washing.

 

Austin’s morning schedule had him meeting with the piano campers to watch Mr. Turner show how he tuned a piano and then attended his first session of music history. He was scheduled to meet with Christian after lunch to audition for the piano trio he was forming. The trio had its cellist (Christian) and its violinist (Benny, Christian’s roommate) but needed a pianist. Christian had been impressed with Austin and had invited him to audition. Five of the pianists at the camp were asked to try out, William being one of them. Christian told Austin he would have some time to warm up before auditioning. After his audition Austin had a practice room reserved for Ned and himself.

 

The high point of the morning for Austin was the piano tuning. Having a chance to learn even more about it by working with Mr. Turner to tune a piano was going to be something special to look forward to.  The music history class was fun, as well. Austin loved reading about the lives of the great composers as well as other books about music. He had never been self-conscious about participating in class and raising his hand frequently. He was surprised that William, whose grandfather was one of the all-time great pianists, never raised his hand. Austin thought that since William’s grandfather was a part of music history that William would show more interest in it.

 

Austin had lunch with Ned and John Irish. John had an appointment with Luis Sanchez, a concert violinist who was a guest instructor for the first two weeks of camp. John would be playing for the violinist and receiving instruction.

 

“I heard him doing it last night,” Ned said after John left.

 

“Doing what?” Austin asked in unfeigned innocence.

 

“You know, IT. What we talked about yesterday.”

 

A light bulb immediately flicked on in Austin’s head. Austin leaned in close to Ned’s ear. “You mean he jerked off?” he asked conspiratorially.

 

“Yep. I could hear him and saw the covers move up and down right where his pecker was. I want to learn how to do that.”

 

“There’s not much to learn,” Austin said, although he knew that wasn’t really true. “You just take your hand and rub it on your dick and suddenly you feel awesome.”

 

“I’ve done that, but I hear my friends say how it feels really awesome. I thought that was what I was feeling. I’m all confused.”

 

“Trust me, Ned, just rubbing yourself doesn’t do it. You gotta keep going until you have what’s called an orgasm or a climax or a cum. You’re gonna like that so much you’ll want to do it as much as you can. It’s like a habit or something.” Austin looked around him to see if anyone was listening in on their conversation. He breathed a sigh of relief when it looked like nobody was interested in it.

 

“Could you show me sometime?”

 

“Ned, you just do what it sounds like you’ve been doing only you don’t stop until you get this feeling where you think your cock just exploded or something.”

 

“Please,” Ned asked plaintively.

 

Austin took a bite of his oatmeal-raisin cookie. He needed to find a way to adjust his pants to make his now rock-hard dick feel more comfortable. “Yeah, we’ll just have to figure out a time when we’ll be alone in one of our rooms.” He flashed Ned a mischievous smile and said, “Unless John shows you, of course.”

 

After lunch, Austin met Christian in the old auditorium. There were two chairs set up on the small stage with a music stand at each one. A grand piano was on the stage as well. Austin noticed a teenage boy sitting next to Rene Zimmer, one of the piano teachers at camp. He had seen the boy before and was certain he was Benny, Christian’s roommate and the violinist in the trio.

 

“There are a couple of practice rooms in back of the stage where you can warm up,” Christian said. “The pianos are crappy old uprights, but they’re playable.  Mr. Turner has them tuned and in very good condition.”

 

Austin thanked Christian and followed him into the first practice room. “By the way, what do you plan on playing for us?” Christian asked.

 

“The last movement of Mozart’s Piano Sonata 10,” Austin told him. “It’s one of the three pieces I was supposed to have prepped if I need to play something right away.”

 

“Those Mozart sonatas are supposed to be hard. Is that the one I heard you play in the auditorium?”

 

“Yeah, and it is hard. But Mr. Fielding, my piano teacher, helped me a lot. He said I was good enough to play it and play it good, or well, or something like that.”

 

They entered the room and Austin sat on the piano bench, placed his hands on the keyboard, and then busily adjusted the bench. “I’ll be back in about twenty minutes,” Christian told him.

 

Austin went through his scales and other warmups. He knew he didn’t have a chance of being chosen for the trio, especially since William would be auditioning, too. Austin was also quickly discovering how good the other pianists at the camp were.

 

When Christian came for him, Austin felt warmed up and ready. He followed Christian back to the old auditorium where he sat at the dowdy, but well cared for, grand that was housed there. He didn’t notice William, who had the next audition, sitting in the back of the old auditorium.

 

He adjusted the bench, played some scales to get a feel for the instrument, and then said he was ready. He played the Mozart from memory, with three little stumbles, but with excellent technique and, Ms Zimmer noted, a remarkable touch considering he was playing that particular piano for the first time. Benny escorted William to the practice room after Austin finished playing the sonata.

 

“Very nice, Austin,” Ms Zimmer said. She was at the auditions to help Christian and Benny evaluate the pianists who were auditioning. While she would have a lot of input in the decision, she knew that the two teens would have the final word. Had Austin not been auditioning, she would have met with him for a private session later in the afternoon. Listening to Austin play, however, was giving her a lot of material for her tutoring.

 

Ms Zimmer then dropped a surprise on the little redhead. “Are you familiar with Bach’s Prelude Number 1 in C Major?” she asked.

 

“Yeah, Mr. Fielding had me playing it over a year ago. Why?” He knew the reason why, but it was his obligation as a pubescent boy to ask the question.

 

“Do you think you could play it now?”

 

“Not from memory, but if I had the score I probably could do okay.” Austin was not surprised that Ms Zimmer happened to have the score with her. From what she’d heard so far at camp she felt the choice for the trio’s pianist would be either Austin or William. She wanted to listen to them play the same work. Since most piano teachers had their promising beginners learn the Prelude, she thought the chances were that both boys had played it at some time.

 

Ms Zimmer set the score on the music desk and sat next to Austin so she could turn the pages for him. Austin found himself feeling jumpy. It had been almost two years since he’d learned the work. He felt he knew the work well enough to do okay, but not well enough to play at his best. Austin had played that Prelude in a recital a few months ago and had played it at home on occasion, but this was different than being asked to play something without having had a chance to run through it a few times.

 

The piano teacher could sense Austin’s nervousness. “Before you get too nervous, everybody who is auditioning will be playing a work they say they know, but will be playing it cold since we will determine what that work will be. This Bach Prelude will be our first choice to play. Even your roommate William will be playing it, since we have already determined that he knows it.”

 

That didn’t help Austin’s confidence much since William was, in his mind, a pro at the keyboard. He stared at the open page of the scorebook, took a deep breath, told himself he was good and that this would be all about his brain, his fingers, and the instrument in front of him that he had gotten to know as a friend while playing the Mozart piece.

 

The twelve-year-old placed his fingers in position, took one more deep breath, blew the air out slowly, and then commenced to play. While he hit a few wrong notes and had a couple of problems with his timing and tempo, he played remarkably well considering that he hadn’t played the Prelude since March.

 

Austin and Ms. Zimmer left the piano and walked into the seating area. Ms Zimmer returned to her seat in the first row while Austin sat in a seat five rows back. Austin had been the third of the five pianists auditioning to play. William was slated to be the next one.

 

William played the Handel Keyboard Suite in A major. The work had been written for harpsichord and transcribed for piano. He played an unblemished rendition, adding a touch of showmanship to his flawless technique. William was a master musician when he gave his complete effort to his performing.

 

When William was asked by Ms Zimmer if he had ever played the Bach Prelude Number One he knew he was going to be asked to play it for the audition. This was not the first audition he’d participated in and he knew what the procedure was for many of them. Because he hadn’t played the Prelude since spring break, he decided to lie and say he’d never played it at all. He knew that the result would be his being able to suggest a work he’d played much more recently and knew better.

 

“No, ma’am, I have never played that particular Bach work,” he replied with an exaggerated formality that he felt would make him sound more truthful.

 

“Well, William, you and I both know that is not true. I believe you performed that in a recital here at the school when you were in the seventh grade,” Ms Zimmer said.

 

“Oh, yeah, I forgot about that,” William lied. “That was a long time ago and I haven’t played it since then.”

 

“That’s not what your father told me during a conversation he and I had not long ago.” Dr. Boardman, who knew William all too well, had suggested she have a discussion with William’s father about his son’s repertoire.

 

William’s father told her that he had arranged a recital for friends and supporters in April during the school’s spring break. “I played the featured works and gave William a chance to show off his talents as well,” David Delacroix told her. “He played the Bach as well as a Beethoven Bagatelle. Did a marvelous job, I must say.”

 

“Oh, yeah, I keep forgetting about playing that,” William said, a little irritated over having been caught in his lies. Who does that fucking bitch think she is, checking up on me with my dad? he thought. It’s like she fucking doesn’t trust me or something. He recovered his poise somewhat and said, “I guess it must mean I don’t like it that much if I can’t remember playing it. Still, it’s been a couple of months since I played it and no way I can play it by heart, plus Bach is boring. Can I just play something else instead?”

 

“I know you can sight read, especially something you’ve already played, and I will be turning the pages for you. Since the other four who are auditioning have played the work, it’s the fairest way to do this.”

 

“I thought you were looking for the best pianist, so why do we have to be fair?”

 

“William, you can either play the selected work with grace or leave the room to make it easier for us to make a selection for the trio by not having to consider you.”

 

Austin had been taking in the byplay between William and his teacher with extreme interest. He’d experienced his roommate’s sassy behavior personally and now he was seeing it in action with an adult. He found himself secretly cheering for the adult instead of his peer as he waited to see what William would choose to do.

 

“Fine, I’ll play it, but I don’t see what difference it makes since we all know who the best pianist is.”

 

Ms Zimmer ignored William’s final outburst. Saying nothing, she sat next to him at the piano and he proceeded to play an almost flawless interpretation. Austin knew right away that the winner of the audition was going to be William even if he had been acting like an ass waffle. His roommate was, without question, the best pianist in the camp.

 

After finishing, William went back to the fifth row and sat next to Austin. “How did I do?” William asked his roommate.

 

“You did really good,” Austin replied. “I think you’re going to be the one who makes the trio.”

 

“Of course I am, because I am the best.” William could see from Austin’s face that he had just stuck a verbal knife into the ribs of his roomie. “But, I bet you played that Prelude pretty good too.” William wondered for a moment if Austin actually played the Prelude even if Ms Zimmer had hinted otherwise. “I mean, you did play the Prelude, right?”

 

“Yeah, I played it, but I made some mistakes and my tempo sucked.”

 

“Don’t worry, you’ll be playing with other kids your age most of the camp. I bet you’ll put together a really good trio,” William said as he tried to make Austin feel a little better. Once again, William surprised himself by trying to make his roommate feel good about things instead of putting him down.

 

The boys then listened to Cindy Becker, who was thirteen, play a pedestrian rendition of Beethoven’s “Fur Elise” and then stumble her way through the Bach. Even though she wasn’t doing very well on the stage, William felt a stirring in his groin as he thought about having dinner with the cute girl in just a few hours.

 

“She’s toast,” William said after she finished.

 

Austin agreed with William but said nothing. He simply nodded and stared ahead of him, focusing on the piano on the stage. Christian stood up and talked to the five pianists who auditioned. “We’ll let you know who our pianist will be before dinner tomorrow,” he told them. “You all played really great and thanks for coming here to help Benny and me.”

 

“See you tonight, roomie,” William said as he got up to leave the auditorium. For him, it was swimming time.

 

Austin followed William out and headed for the main music building where he would be meeting with Ned who had reserved a practice room. As he approached the music building, Austin saw Ned waiting outside of the main entrance. He could tell that Ned hadn’t seen him approach so he walked quietly behind his new friend, standing in back of his left shoulder. Austin then proceeded to tap Ned on his right shoulder, causing him to almost jump completely off the ground in surprise as he looked over his right shoulder. Seeing nothing, Ned looked around to his left. Austin tried to scoot over to Ned’s right side, but Ned caught sight of him.

 

“Austin, I should tickle you to death for almost giving me a heart attack,” Ned screeched.

 

“But if you did that then you’d have to find a new pianist to accompany you.”

 

“Okay, you’re off the hook for now. But at the end of camp, you’d better be sleeping with your eyes open.”

 

“I have William to protect me.”

 

“Hah! By then, William will be ready to help me tickle you all over. But for now, it’s nice to see you.”

 

“Same here. Let’s go practice.”

 

Ned had secured practice room D and then he and Austin headed upstairs to do some more practicing. “Tomorrow afternoon you and I are doing swimming or basketball, or volleyball, or something instead of practicing,” Austin said as Ned started to remove his flute from its case.

 

“Sounds good to me, but practicing with you is fun, too. Plus, I have to meet with Miss Z.”

 

“And I like practicing with you. And besides we have to get practice time in and scheduling our own time like today is supposed to get us less assigned time.”

 

“Or so they say. I bet it won’t work like that; there are only so many practice rooms.”

 

Austin sat at the piano and started warming up. Ned sat in a chair and warmed up as well. When they felt ready to go, Ned set his scorebook on the piano’s music desk and then stood behind Austin. The two preteens proceeded to get almost twenty-five minutes of serious practicing in. When they stopped for a rest they noted that they still had twenty minutes remaining to use the room.

 

“Can I ask you something?” Ned said after they evaluated how their practicing went.  

 

“We’ve been asking each other all kinds of stuff,” Austin pointed out.

 

“I mean something personal, not something about our music.”

 

“Oh, sure. I mean if we’re going to be best friends here at camp, we should be able to ask each other stuff.” Austin thought about Oliver and how they could ask each other almost everything. But even he and Oliver had secrets from each other. The only person Austin felt he could share anything with was his brother James. “So, what do you want to know?”

 

“It’s kind of embarrassing.”

 

“Well, ask it and I promise I won’t laugh or make you feel bad about what it is or anything like that. But I might say I don’t want to answer the question, or I don’t know that answer. Fair enough? What do you want to know that’s embarrassing?”

 

Ned said nothing for what seemed like ten minutes but was really ten seconds. “It’s about what we talked about earlier, you know, like when we were going to the library.”

 

Austin tried to remember what it was they were talking about. It has to be something that was embarrassing, he thought, and then the light went on. “You mean about jerking off?”

 

“Um…yeah, that.”

 

“What about it?”

 

“I told you, I never did it and I want to know how to do it.”

 

“I told you I’d show you when we were alone.”

 

“We are alone right now,” Ned pointed out.

 

“I know we are, but the door can’t be locked and we only have about fifteen minutes left, but it could be less since the next person might just walk in even if we’re supposed to knock first, so I guess the answer is I’ll show you later.” Austin wanted to show Ned what to do and wanted to show him right then. He had sped through his refusal because he was afraid he’d find himself saying yes.

 

“Please, just real quick like. You don’t have to finish it or anything, just show me how to start.”

 

“You said you already know how to start.” For the first time since Austin had met Ned, his new friend was starting to annoy him with his endless questions. What Austin didn’t understand, was that even though he was annoyed by Ned’s questions and pleading, his cock was rock hard and was being crimped by his shorts.

 

“I just want to see if I’m starting it right.” Ned was sincere in his desire to learn from Austin, but he was also curious to see what Austin’s cock looked like. When he saw Austin adjust his crotch, Ned wondered if Austin had a boner like he did.

 

Since Ned had seen him adjust himself, Austin decided to give Ned a quick glimpse of his wares. He opened his shorts, unzipped, pulled them and his briefs down and let his hard three-and-a-half inches leap to attention. “Happy?”

 

“Yours is big,” Ned marveled as he looked at the first boner that wasn’t his own.  

 

“My brother’s is almost twice as big.”

 

“Wow. Um…so show me how you start.”

 

As Austin put his left hand around his cock, Ned opened his shorts, pulled them and his red briefs down, and displayed his almost two-and-a-half inches. He watched as Austin adjusted his hold so that his thumb and next two fingers were holding his cock and started stroking himself. “That’s how I start.” Austin was right-handed but he jerked off using his left hand. He didn’t know why he did it that way, he just did. James was right handed all the way and Oliver was left handed all the way.

 

Austin remained seated on the piano bench, but Ned stood up to make it easier for him to drop his pants. Austin was able to get a good look and his friend’s junk and was fascinated by the foreskin. He’d seen uncut cocks in public shower situations, but this was the first one he’d ever seen erect.

 

Ned hesitatingly worked on his own cocklet. Doing so felt good, even better than it usually did, and he wanted to know how to get that good feeling he kept hearing about. He knew that wasn’t going to happen then, especially when he and Austin heard voices in the hallway as the next group of campers started to gather to use the rooms they had reserved.

 

Wordlessly, Ned and Austin closed their pants. Since they still had five minutes left, the boys agreed to play a quick run-through of the transcription they had been practicing in order to make it sound like they had been on task. Seconds after they finished, they heard a knock on the door followed by the door being opened. The campers had been told that opening the door without an invitation was proper etiquette once time had expired for whomever had the room reserved

 

Austin and Ned were surprised to see Ned’s sister Kathy enter with Ned’s roommate John. “Hey guys,” John said brightly. “We saw your names on the reservation sheet outside and decided to be sure to follow the rules exactly.”

 

“Thanks, I guess,” Ned said. “Hi, sis.”

 

Kathy set her violin case on the table next to the piano. “Hello, Ned and hello, Austin.”

 

“Don’t sound too happy to see us.”

 

“She was wondering if maybe you two were fiddling around without any fiddles,” John grinned.

 

“I did not say anything like that,” Kathy protested. “All I said was…”

 

“It’s cool sis,” Ned said as he put away his flute. “Austin and me are on our way out.” Austin exited ahead of Ned. Ned stopped before walking out of the room and said, “You two have fun fiddling around for real.”

 

The last thing Ned and Austin heard was Kathy screeching to John. “Oh, I could strangle that little brother of mine and you aren’t any better.”

 

Ned and Austin saw that four badminton nets had been set up in the commons. Each court had four cones to mark the corners. They got in line to get a court. Because the games were being played to seven points instead of the usual fifteen the line moved quickly. The rule was the winners stayed on the courts to play whomever the next challenger was.

 

Ned and Austin faced a mixed team consisting of Cameron Streit and Jill Swayze. Cameron was fourteen and played the double bass while Jill was a thirteen-year-old oboist. They were still on the court because they beat a pair of fourteen-year-old brass players 8-6 (games had to be won by at least two points) even though they bickered the entire game.  Ned and Austin were both good athletes. Although they were younger, they won easily by a score of 7-3. That got Cameron and Jill squabbling even more as they walked off the grass court.

 

Ned and Austin hung around long enough to play five games, winning three of them. They were grateful they didn’t have to play Cameron and Jill again, especially after they quit in the middle of a game two courts over the next time their turn came up to play.

 

“Damn, those two don’t know anything about teamwork and having fun,” Ned said after he and Austin lost a point in a game they would later win 7-5. “You would think they were, like, married or something.” Ned’s comment started Austin as well as their opponents laughing so hard they had to pause until everybody got their breath back.

 

 Austin walked Ned to his room after their last game, which they had won. They wanted to get cleaned up for dinner, which was getting close. Most of the players had left and only two of the four courts were in use.

 

“We should have gone straight here, since we knew where John was,” Ned said when they got to his door. “You could have shown me everything.”

 

“I don’t know about everything, but we could have done it together,” Austin said. “We’ll have another chance. And like I said, I bet John will show you if you ask. I mean, he’s gay and everything and I bet showing you will make him super happy.”

 

“I want you to show me,” Ned said simply.

 

Austin didn’t want to get into that issue again, so he said, “I’ll see you in a few for dinner,” and walked off to his room.

 

John joined Ned and Austin for dinner. They both found themselves liking the outgoing teen a lot. The three boys spent the dinner getting to know each other better. Ned and Austin were both curious about how John and his boyfriend became boyfriends and asked John about it.

 

“Fuck, dudes, Grayson’s not even my first boyfriend. That would be Ricky McKinney in fifth and sixth grade. He moved away after sixth grade, but Grayson had this crush on me and when he found out in September that Ricky moved away, he moved right in. By our fourth overnight we were doing it all and have had wild and crazy sex right up to when I left for camp. I almost didn’t want to go because of him, but here I am and I miss him a lot. We’ll be talking on the phone tonight, so plug your ears and cover your eyes, Neddy, because we may be doing some phone sex.”

 

Austin was astounded by John’s motormouth and how he could outtalk Ned. It could be an interesting four weeks for them, he thought—motormouths in stereo.

 

“Do what you want. I’m going to the recitals with Austin, so you can have your fun while we’re there.” A dozen of the campers were going to play one of the three pieces they had learned for camp. It couldn’t be the piece they had played the night before. Attending the recital and playing it were both voluntary. The recital would be in the old auditorium.

 

After the recital, Austin and Ned went to the meal hall for snack time where they met with Alejandro Lopez. Alejandro was a trumpet player and was one of the two brass players who had lost to Cameron and Jill in badminton. 

 

“How did you lose to those two?” Ned asked Alejandro.

 

“They were good, but we should have won just because they were fighting all the time,” Alejandro replied. “I guess they’ve known each other for a couple of years. Dennis and I just met yesterday, or we would have played better together. We became better in our next games. You two played like you were old friends.”

 

“Ned and I just met yesterday, too,” Austin said. “Does Dennis play the trumpet?”

 

“I am surprised by that and no, he plays the trombone.”

 

Ned asked Alejandro where he was from. “I live in Ellensburg where my father is a music professor at Central Washington University. But I was born in Madrid, Spain, and lived there until I was eight.”

 

“Wow, you speak good English for being born in another country,” Austin noted.

 

“My mother is American, born in Los Angeles. My parents taught my brother and me English and Spanish at home. My father wanted to come to America to teach so they thought it would be good for us to know both languages.”

 

“How old is your brother?”

 

“He became twelve two weeks ago. He plays the guitar. He did not want to come to the camp. He said he was too busy playing baseball. This is true, but he is also busy with Donna and Heather, his girlfriends. Do you have girlfriends?”

 

Both boys shook their heads. “Your brother has two girlfriends?” Ned asked.

 

“Yes. My brother is what you call a stud even if he is just twelve.”

 

“Do the girls know what he is doing?”

 

“Yes, and sometimes they all do it together. I don’t know how he makes it work.” Alejandro didn’t mention that he learned all of the details of his brother’s sex life when they were doing sexual things together.

 

The three had finished their cookies and ice cream and headed to the dormitory. Alejandro waited for the elevator while Austin and Ned climbed the stairs to the second floor and Ned’s room.

 

“Sounds like John’s on the phone,” Ned grinned.

 

“Then you better get in there so you can jerk off while you watch him jerking off,” Austin said.

 

“I keep saying, the first time will be with you.”

 

Austin climbed two more floors, walked to his room, tapped his keycard, opened the door and stopped when he saw William naked on his bed with his hand flying along his hard four-and-a-quarter inches of boy steel.

 

William stopped what he was doing and leered at Austin. “Fuck, roomie, quit staring. Take a picture if you want it to last—in fact I dare you to take a fucking picture.” He looked past Austin. “And shut the damned door while you’re standing there gaga eyed.” After shutting the door, Austin sat on his bed and went back to looking at William. “You’re acting like you’ve never seen anybody jerk off before.”

 

Austin said nothing.

 

“I knew you’d freak out if you saw me whacking my pud.”

 

Austin finally broke his silence. “I’ve seen guys jerk off before.” Three of them to be exact, he thought.

 

“I’m impressed. But now, I need to finish myself off, unless you want to do it for me.”

 

At this point, Austin knew he had to make a decision. What he decided would probably determine his relationship with his roommate for the rest of the camp. He couldn’t deny that seeing William naked with a boner turned him on. Nor could he deny that seeing him stroking himself had turned him on even more.

 

As Austin saw it, there were three things he could do. One was to rollover and stare at the wall while William whacked himself to a cum. The second was to strip off his pants, if not more, and move from his bed to William’s bed and jerk him off. It wasn’t like he had never jerked anyone off before. He’d done his brother James countless times, his friend Oliver about a couple of dozen times, and James’s friend Frank once. And the third thing was to strip naked, flop on his bed, and beat his meat while William finished himself off on the other bed.

 

“How about doing something other than just stare at me,” William groused. “Get a pair of balls and at least jerk off with me. It’s not being a fag or something. It’s what friends do together when they’re our ages. So, it’s time for you to decide if you’re a friend or not a friend. I mean shit, quit having all these fucking hang-ups and all these, like, crisises. Be a friend and jerk me off.”

 

Austin kept staring at William. He wasn’t doing it to get himself turned on—just seeing William jerking off when he came in through the door had done that. The reason he stared at William was to make him nervous.

 

“You gotta decide if you’re a friend or not a friend, too,” Austin said.

 

“What do you mean by that?”

 

“Friends don’t say somebody can be their friend only if they do sex stuff with them. Friends do it because they’re friends not because it’s like a…um…a…a condition of being a friend.” Austin finished his statement with confidence.

 

William looked down at his softening pecker. “Okay then, how about this? Austin, would you please be my friend and do what best friends do with each other. Would you please jerk off with me? You don’t even have to touch me, but if you jerk yourself and I jerk me then it’s like us bonding as friends.”

 

“And if I say no to jerking you off, would I still be your friend?"

 

William’s long hesitation told Austin that William was debating with himself whether he wanted Austin to be his friend. William’s long hesitation also gave Austin a few seconds to make up his mind. Austin knew what he wanted to do.

 

Friend or not friend? What will my decision make William decide? What do I really want from William? Austin thought. Friend or not friend? Do I really want him to be my friend? Yeah, I guess I do want him to be my friend or maybe I need him to be my friend for some reason.

 

Austin wanted his decision to be the exact right one, but as a somewhat insecure pubescent boy, he was afraid that no matter what he decided he would end up being wrong.

 

“Okay, William, here is what I am going to do,” Austin announced, trying to display a confidence that he knew he didn’t feel.

 

Next: Controlling William