Emerald City Boys

Chapter 31-Independence Day

 
CHAPTER 31
 
INDEPENDENCE DAY
 
SATURDAY, JULY 4
 
 
<Chase and Dillon
 
The Miller brothers had developed a coded privacy system for knocking on each other’s bedroom doors. Chase’s knock was two taps followed by one. Eddie’s was two taps followed by two. Curt’s was one tap followed by two. Logan’s was three taps followed by one.
 
The morning sunlight was flooding Chase’s bedroom. Chase and Dillon were still in bed sharing kisses and “I love you’s” and groping each other’s wood. They’d been awake for about 30 minutes.
 
“I love you,” Dillon whispered.
 
“I love you, too,” Chase whispered. “We’re going to have a massively awesome time today.”
 
Just then there were two quick taps on the door followed by two more. “Come on in, Eddie,” Chase said. Eddie came into the room and approached Chase’s side of the bed. He was naked and sporting a 5-inch boner.
 
“Damn, are you two dudes still in bed?”
 
“What does it look like?” Chase retorted. “No self-respecting teenage boy gets out of bed before 9:00am on a Saturday morning. By the way, nice wood, bro.” Chase fondled his brother’s stiffy.
 
“Ok, ok - point made,” Eddie conceded. “You realize we’ve missed breakfast.”
 
“Me and Chase know our way around the kitchen,” Dillon said. “We’ll throw something together.”
 
Dillon looked at Eddie with his mouth open and pointed to his mouth. Eddie knew what Dillon had on his mind and he tried to fight his desire. He knew from experience that Dillon gave great blowjobs but, to Eddie, blowjobs were gay, and Eddie knew he wasn’t gay. Dillon invitingly pointed to his open mouth again and Eddie felt his cock stiffen as he found himself edging, against his will, over to Dillon’s side of the bed.
 
“I see a breakfast appetizer coming my way,” Dillon said with a leer.
 
Eddie gave in to his urges and let Dillon’s mouth noisily engulf his rod. It took about 20 seconds for Eddie to deliver half a dozen shots of thick teen cum into Dillon’s waiting mouth with the last two shots dribbling down his chin.
 
“Damn, you got a hot mouth,” Eddie gasped as he let his cock slide out of Dillon’s mouth. “You deepthroated me.”
 
“I’m ready for breakfast,” Chase said as he and Dillon climbed out of bed. Chase grabbed his boyfriend tightly and French kissed him. His hard cock was standing up and got pressed between their bellies. After humping briefly, Chase shot a load that coated their chests. “On second thought, I think we need a shower and some mouthwash first,” Chase laughed.
 
Eddie and Dillon each took a piss while Chase got the water temperature set. All three boys got in the walk-in shower at once and soaped each other up. Eddie noticed that Dillon was hard again.
 
“Damn, Chase, is your boyfriend boned up all the time?”
 
“Pretty close. But I got the cure for it.”
 
Chase stood behind Dillon, nuzzled and kissed his neck, and began stroking his hardon. He felt Dillon’s knees weaken and his body quiver. It was all Dillon could do to keep from screaming.
 
“Oh, fuck!” he kept repeating in a hoarse whisper.
 
Chase suddenly felt Dillon’s cock stiffen. Try as he might, Eddie couldn’t resist kneeling in front of Dillon - Chase removed his hand and Eddie took Dillon into his mouth as stream after stream of cum jetted from his slit.
 
“Holy shit,” Eddie gasped as cum drooled from chin. “I guess we’re even now, right?”
 
“For sure,” Dillon chuckled. “Damn, I’d love to get a picture of you right now with cum dripping from your chin.”
 
Eddie gave Dillon the finger - but then the boys bumped fists. “Don’t even begin to fucking think about it.”
 
“Where’s Curt?” Chase asked.
 
“He’s out in the pool swimming laps,” Eddie said.
 
“It seems like he’s done nothing but swim all summer,” Chase remarked.
 
“He’s looking to be on the swim team this year,” Eddie said. “He’s got a beautiful swimmer’s body, too.”
 
“What are we going to have for breakfast?” Dillon asked.
 
“Mom told me last night there’s a whole bunch of individual size breakfast pizzas in the freezer,” Chase said with a grin.
 
“Curt told me he already ate,” Eddie said as he rinsed his mouth with mouthwash.
 
“Beautiful,” Dillon said. “There’s going to be three less pizzas when we’re done.”
 
The boys rinsed and toweled each other off. “Are we going to put any clothes on?” Eddie asked.
 
“I don’t see why,” Chase said. “This is a holiday, isn’t it?”
 
Eddie and Dillon briefly glanced at each other with a what-the-hell-did-he-just-say look on their faces. Not surprisingly, it didn’t take them long to agree with his logic.
 
“Good morning, sunshines,” Susan chuckled as she eyed the three naked teenagers coming into the kitchen. “Nice birthday suits. What’s for breakfast?” Susan couldn’t help admitting to herself that her oldest son was maturing very nicely.
 
“Breakfast pizza!” was the in-unison answer.
 
“That and some OJ or apple juice and we’re all set,” Eddie grinned.
 
“You know where everything is,” Susan said. “It’s a good thing I buy those pizzas by the case.”
 
“We’re growing boys,” Eddie said. “Let’s eat outside.”
 
Susan nodded. “If the food that Walker is bringing today is anything like he described, you’re going to have plenty to eat.”
 
Dillon got the oven preheated while Chase unwrapped three breakfast pizzas. A short time later, the boys were enjoying breakfast outdoors at the patio table.
 
Susan was the green thumb in the Miller family, and she had a huge variety of plantings in the back yard along with two birdbaths, four hummingbird feeders, and a wind chime. There was also an old iron dinner bell she had found at a garage sale. Troy had installed a fire pit that produced welcome warmth on cooler evenings and a sophisticated LED lighting system that came on automatically as darkness approached.
 
“For frozen pizzas, these are really dope,” Chase commented. His tablemates nodded in agreement.
 
Eddie’s phone chimed and he checked out the text. “Maria’s wondering if we’re still going to get together tomorrow,” he said as his thumbs flew over the keyboard typing a reply. “She already knows what I’m doing today.”
 
Chase stuffed another bite of pizza into his mouth. “What’d ya tell her?”
 
“That I’d call her later.”
 
“Did she buy that? Sounds like a cop out to me.”
 
“I’m not coppin’ out,” Eddie said a bit irritably. “She knows I’ll call her. She just wanted to be sure about tomorrow.”
 
The conversation about Maria came to an abrupt end as Curt jumped out of the pool, came over to the table, and grabbed Eddie’s last piece of pizza.
 
“Hey, knock it off!” Eddie hollered.
 
“Chill, dude,” Curt replied. “You’ve already eaten a whole pizza - one little piece ain’t gonna matter.”
 
“How many laps did you swim?” Chase asked. “You keep count?”
 
“Yup - fifty. I wish our pool had a diving board. I’d like to practice my dives. But I know it’s not deep enough.”
 
“So, I suppose you’d like to have a high school sized pool, too,” Chase said with a smile.
 
“Yeah, that’d be awesome - but sometimes you gotta be happy with what you got.”
 
Troy came out on the patio carrying a classic Panasonic ghetto blaster boombox radio - all four boys greeted him with an enthusiastic “Morning, Dad!”. He was wearing a blue Mariners t-shirt, a Mariners cap, and shorts.
 
“Hey, guys,” Troy greeted. “What was for breakfast?”
 
“Breakfast pizzas,” Chase said. “Those pizzas are awesome.”
 
“Are there any left?” Troy’s question included just a touch of sarcasm.
 
Chase knew his dad’s question was a bit of a dig, so he put on his best thoughtful expression. “I think maybe two.”
 
“Time to put them on the shopping list,” Troy said with a grin as he put the boombox on the deck railing and sat down at the table with the boys.
 
“It’s almost eleven and we’ve got prep work to do,” Troy said. “Eddie, will you go with me to run a couple errands? We need bags of ice and I need to get some salt for the water softener.”
 
“Sure, Dad,” Eddie said.
 
“Ok. The rest of you guys get the rafts and beach balls and the ice chests and the Cornhole boards and the water basketball stuff out of the shed and get everything set up,” Troy said. “Don’t forget the trash container. We’ll be back in a half hour or so.”
 
“Eddie and I are going to get ice,” Troy called to Susan.
 
“Pick up some snack mix, too,” came the reply from the kitchen.
 
“Will do.”
 
Forty-five minutes later Troy and Eddie were back. Marne DeLuca had given Trajan, Levi, and Nathan a ride to the Miller home with the instructions to call her when they were ready to leave. The three boys were horsing around in the pool with Chase, Dillon, and Curt. They were all naked. The six of them had gotten things out of the shed and the back yard looked ready for company. Troy took the bags of snack mix into the kitchen while Eddie filled the ice chests. When Troy and Susan saw a naked Eddie cannonball into the pool with a mighty splash, they knew the party would be starting soon. At the same time, the seven teens knew that they had to enjoy their skinny-dipping time while they could. The order from Troy to cover up wasn’t far away.
 
<Pierce and Drake>
 
After having breakfast with his dad and mom, Drake showered, toweled off, and carefully examined his face in the mirror. His complexion was clear but, so far, Nature hadn’t pleasured him with anything but peach fuzz. He’d heard a couple of the senior boys at school say that shaving early would help your beard grow - Drake had tried it but he’d be damned if he could see any difference. On the other hand, he had to admit that his pubes seemed to be looking more luxuriant every day and he had a few wisps under his arms and on his calves, so he concluded that maybe things were pretty much on schedule after all. And he was thankful he had never been bothered by zits.
 
Dressed in a sky-blue tank top, dark blue shorts, and flip-flops, Drake rode his bike to the light rail station and swiped his ORCA card. When the train arrived, he took his bike onto the train and was on his way to University Station. From there, he and his bike rode a bus to the bus stop nearest the Bledsoe house. After about a five-block bike ride, he finally arrived at his destination. Walker was sitting on the front porch talking on the phone.
 
“Hey, Walker, what’s up?” Drake greeted as he carried his bike up onto the porch and locked it.
 
“Program problems at work,” Walker said as he hung up the phone. “One of our critical programs has failed and the programmer went in to the office to work on a fix.”
 
“On Saturday the Fourth of July?”
 
“We have to be available 24/7 if needed.”
 
“What happened? Did the trains stop running?”
 
Walker shook his head. “No, nothing quite that serious. This program has a lot to do with the ORCA card scanners. If that part isn’t working right, there can be all kinds of issues.”
 
“Yeah, I can understand that,” Drake said with a nod. “I didn’t have any problem with my card coming over here.”
 
“It’s happening mostly in the southern part of the city.”
 
“Where’s my BBF?” Drake asked.
 
“Drake, I left my urban dictionary in the house,” Walker said with an indulgent smile. “What’s a BBF?”
 
“Best Boy Friend.”
 
Walker chuckled. “I shoulda guessed. He’s in the kitchen.”
 
Drake gave Walker a hug. “Thanks, Padre.”
 
Wearing a pink tank top, tight white shorts that concealed very little, and flip-flops, Pierce was standing at the stove when he heard Drake come up behind him. He had just dumped a package of chocolate chips into a glass bowl sitting over a pan of simmering water and was pouring heavy cream over the chips.
 
Drake put his arms around his boyfriend’s waist, let his hands roam down to grope Pierce’s package, and kissed the back of his neck. “Hey Pooka, whatcha doin’?”
 
“Making a ganache.” The chips had begun to melt in the cream as Pierce added some vanilla and stirred the mixture.
 
“Galosh? What’s a galosh?”
 
Pierce turned around, inhaled, and kissed his boyfriend. The fragrance of Drake’s body wash combined with boy-sweat from bike riding was intoxicating. “Not gaLOSH - gaNACHE! It’s a frosting for cupcakes.”
 
“Dude, you can buy cake frosting in plastic tubs at the store. Why are you making it this way?”
 
“Because this frosting will be totally above and beyond any frickin’ store-bought frosting you can find.”
 
Drake dabbed his finger lightly into the chocolate mixture and tasted it. “Holy shit, this stuff is awesome.”
 
“Told ya, ya goofy duck,” Pierce chuckled.
 
“Where’d you learn to make it?”
 
“Food Network.”
 
Drake tried to dab his finger into the chocolate again, but this time Pierce stopped him. “Don’t! This is for dessert today.”
 
“Where are the cupcakes you’re gonna put it on?”
 
“Over there on that cooling rack. I baked 24 of them right after dad and I had breakfast.”
 
Drake rubbed his hands together. “Man, we’re gonna have such a great cookout today,” he enthused. “Your cupcakes are gonna be outta sight. Walker’s barbecued beef and ribs and chicken wings are gonna be BEYOND outta sight. And wait’ll you taste my mom’s potato salad. I never cared for potato salad but she, like, converted me - hers is awesome. And I’m hungry beyond belief.”
 
“Did ya go running today?”
 
“No - but I put a few miles on my bike before I came over here.  Lotsa uphill and downhill. Gave my legs a good workout.”
 
Pierce took the bowl of ganache off the stove. “Want to help me ice the cupcakes?”
 
“Sure - what do I do?”
 
“Just dip the top of the cupcake in the ganache and then set it on the rack right side up - like this.” Pierce did one of the cupcakes as a example. Ten minutes later, all 24 cupcakes had been iced and stored in a cupcake carrier.
 
“They look awful good,” Drake remarked. “By the way, do you know what the cupcake said to the frosting?”
 
Pierce gave Drake a passionate kiss. “Ok, I’ll play. What did it say?”
 
“I’d be muffin without you.”
 
Pierce burst out laughing in spite of himself. “That’s a good one. You’re such a goof.”
 
“Yeah - but you still love me.”
 
“Forever and ever. By the way, do you know what they call a sarcastic duck?”
 
“What?”
 
“A wise quacker.”
 
The boys exchanged fist bumps. “Touche,” Drake said. “I had that one coming.”
 
“What’s dad doing?” Pierce asked.
 
“He’s out on the porch talking with somebody at work. He says there’s some kind of programming problem.”
 
“Not anymore - problem resolved,” Walker announced as he entered the kitchen. “There wasn’t anything wrong with the program - it was a power supply problem. You guys ready to go?”
 
“Let’s hit it,” Drake said. “I’m starved.”
 
Pierce picked up the cupcake carrier and they headed out to the garage.
 
<Troy Miller’s House>
 
Troy and Susan were sitting outdoors at the patio table enjoying iced tea when her phone chimed. She put it on speaker.
 
“Greetings, Walker.”
 
“Hey, Susan. We’re just now leaving to pick up the food. Be there shortly.”
 
“Sounds good. See you soon.”
 
“See ya. Bye.”
 
“Talk about a perfect day for a BBQ,” Troy said as he scanned the sky. “The boys are going to love it.” He had tuned the boombox radio to one of the local oldies stations and as if to emphasize Troy’s remark, the station suddenly played The Jamies’ “Summertime Summertime”.
 
“Should be a great night for the fireworks, too,” Susan added.
 
Now wearing speedos, Nathan, Trajan, Levi, Chase, Dillon, Eddie, and Curt were in the pool engaged in a spirited game of water basketball - along with some dunking, general water splashing, and the occasional surreptitious grope.
 
“So where do we stand on the skinny-dipping question?” Susan asked.
 
“I told Chase and Dillon and Eddie and Curt that no nudity is to happen out here,” Troy replied. “I also told them that adults will not be coming into the basement - that what happens in the basement stays in the basement. They’re good kids - they’ll play by the rules.”
 
Susan gave her husband a thumbs up. “Works for me.”
 
“Chase said that Dillon has been chosen as the official photographer for the event,” Troy said. “So, we can expect him to be snapping pictures all day.”
 
“I’m sure we can expect a lot of them to end up on the internet, too,” Susan said.
 
“I’m sure,” Troy concurred.
 
Trajan swam over close to Levi. “We all know it’s your birthday today,” he said. “After we eat, I’m going to make a big announcement about it and we’ll all sing. Just so you know, you’re gonna have a choice of getting thirteen spanks or being tossed into the pool.”
 
“I don’t care,” Levi said with a smile. “Let ‘em toss me - I can swim. I’ll play along with them.” Trajan and Levi bumped fists. “Beautiful,” Trajan said. He gave Levi an underwater grope as he spoke.
 
“Food’s here!!” Drake and Pierce hollered in unison as they came out onto the patio carrying huge pans of barbecued beef, ribs, and chicken wings. Walker was right behind them carrying a box filled with paper plates, cups, napkins, utensils, and the carrier with Pierce’s cupcakes in it.
 
“Man, that smells good,” Troy said as he led the boys to the grill. “I’ve got the grill warmed up - we can use it as an oven to keep everything warm.”
 
Walker and Susan exchanged hugs. “Thanks for everything, Walker. Great to see you. It all smells delicious.”
 
“Good to see you too, Susan,” Walker said. “Thanks for hosting.”
 
Drake and Pierce shared a hug with Susan. “I just got a text from your mom,” she told Drake. “They’re on their way.”
 
Both Eddie and Curt climbed out of the pool and came over to Pierce to exchange fist bumps and hugs. The three boys shared a history of being together as kids on the street - Eddie and Pierce had had sex many times in Pierce’s tent. While it was a period of their lives that they didn’t often think about anymore, a strong bond still existed.
 
“Hey, Drake, your mom and dad are here,” Troy said as Eddie and Curt jumped back into the pool. Both Drake and Pierce went out to meet Keegan and Natalie at the car.
 
“I’ll carry the drinks, dad,” Drake said. He took the cartons of canned pop and lemonade away from Keegan. “You bring Fido.”
 
“Hi, Mom,” Pierce said as he hugged Natalie. “I’ll carry the potato salad. You bring Lincoln.”
 
As the four of them walked out on the patio they were greeted by a chorus of “Hi Keegan!! Hi Natalie!!” from the boys in the pool. The adults greeted each other - Troy and Keegan got the drinks into the ice chest while Susan showed Natalie the crib she had set up in the house for Lincoln. Being a beagle, Fido immediately went to work checking out all the smells in the backyard.
 
Drake and Pierce went into the basement shower room and pulled off their tank tops and shorts leaving them in just their white speedos. When they came back outside, they couldn’t resist doing simultaneous cannonballs into the pool amid much hollering and laughing.
 
“This will be perfect, Susan,” Natalie said as she laid Lincoln in the crib. “Thank you. I’ll bring him outside when we eat.”
 
“How old is he now?” Susan asked.
 
“Well, let’s see - he was born February 20 so he’s coming up on five months.”
 
“Has he started any solid food yet?”
 
“He’s on a combination of some solid food along with formula and breast milk,” Natalie said. “Drake always says Lincoln’s life is pretty much cry, eat, poop - then rinse and repeat.”
 
Susan laughed heartily. “Well put!”
 
“This is a beautiful crib. Has it been in the family for a while?”
 
“We got it just before Chase was born so it’s been about fifteen years.”
 
“This is a great kitchen. I love the island setup.”
 
“Thanks, Natalie,” Susan replied. “Trust me - this kitchen gets used constantly. We remodeled it after we adopted Eddie and Curt. One kitchen table just didn’t work anymore - the island fits the way we live a lot better.”
 
“You and Troy have got quite a group of boys,” Natalie said with a smile.
 
Susan smiled and nodded. “Yes, we do. Chase is pretty much the ringleader but Eddie and Logan run a close second. They’re all teenagers except Logan - he’s only twelve but he’s growing up fast - and naturally they push the envelope now and then, so restrictions have to be imposed but, all in all, they offer us a beautiful challenge and make us proud. Troy and I tried to set the guard rails on the street of behavior, and they’ve handled it pretty well.”
 
“Do they talk much about Eddie and Curt’s past?” Natalie asked.
 
“I don’t think so,” Susan said. “Chase and Logan know about it of course, and I’m not sure what goes on behind closed doors, but all four of them have so much happening with school and sports and friendships and overnights that they don’t take time to dwell on the past. It’s all about the future with them.”
 
“Keegan and I have found ourselves wondering now and then whether there will be a pair of husbands in our future,” Natalie said with a grin. “You should see Drake and Pierce dote on Lincoln - and they love to put him in his stroller and go to the park for a walk.”
 
“I have friends ask me now and then if I regret not having had a daughter,” Susan said as she poured a bag of snack mix into a bowl. “I just say that I love the boys I have and wouldn’t have it any other way. Then I have other friends who tell me how lucky I am to just have boys - they claim boys are way easier to bring up than girls.”
 
“I guess we’ll never know for sure,” Natalie said as she and Susan walked out on patio. Susan set the bowl of snack mix on the table.
 
“What have you two been up to?” Troy asked with a mischievous grin.
 
“Oh, just getting to know each other and some girl talk,” Susan chuckled. “You know how we women are. Have some snack mix.”
 
Drake had taught Fido how to sit up and beg with the reward being a doggie treat. So naturally, when there was food around and people were eating, Fido spent much of his time sitting up and begging - and usually getting rewarded by having some kind of snack tossed his way.
 
The afternoon was filled with games, swimming, grab ass in the pool, and a lot of chatter and general horsing around. While nothing sexual occurred, outside of ass, cock, and balls grabbing, sex was quietly talked about as part of the conversation. Admiring the results of those who popped a boner was also part of the process.
 
Meanwhile, the adults relaxed at the patio table. The men talked sports and business while Susan and Natalie talked about how cute Lincoln was, how adept both Drake and Pierce had become at changing diapers, and the various landscaping things they had done around their yards. Walker mentioned that his employees were having a picnic and that he planned to leave and join them for a while later in the afternoon but that he would be back in time for the fireworks show.
 
At one point, the oldies station Troy had tuned in played Mary Wells’s rhythmic soul song “My Guy.” Drake and Pierce felt the beat and couldn’t resist getting out of the pool and showing off their swing dancing skills which naturally included a few moves that made their packages wiggle. Many of the words to the song, although not intended as such, could be interpreted as referring to a boy-to-boy relationship. The fact that Drake and Pierce were wearing nothing but skimpy wet speedos added to the fun and naturally the boys still in the pool had their eyes locked on their crotches. Dillon grabbed his phone and busily videoed the dance. The round of applause when the song ended was deafening.
 
“Man, oh man, I wish I could dance like that,” Susan said. “That was beautiful.”
 
“I wish I had a body like that,” Keegan said with a rueful laugh.
 
“Every kid in that dance club at Pierce’s school can dance like that,” Walker said. “They love it.”
 
“Thanks again for all the great food, Walker,” Troy said. “I think we’re just about ready to eat.”
 
“I hope I brought enough,” Walker said with a grin. “We all know how teenage boys can eat you out of house and home.” All five adults nodded knowingly. Troy and Walker got all the food set out on the tables, Troy rang the dinner bell, and the serving line formed immediately.
 
“This barbecued beef is dope,” Nathan said to Pierce as the boys sat down to eat. “Where’d you get it?”
 
“The deli at Trader Joe’s,” Pierce replied. “My dad ordered it a couple days ago and we picked it up on our way here.”
 
“Who’s your buddy there beside you?” Drake asked Pierce.
 
Pierce looked down and saw Fido sitting up and begging near him. “Awww, he’s so cute.” Pierce slipped Fido a little piece of barbecued beef.
 
While the boys were eating, Chase’s phone chimed. He checked the incoming text and smiled.
 
“Logan says all the guys were naked in Aiden’s basement yesterday.”
 
“Ask him if they had a circle jerk,” Eddie said.
 
Chase sent the question then announced Logan’s reply.
 
“He says ‘for sure’. He also says that Madison fucked Mason.”
 
“Fucking’s nothing new for Mason,” Curt said with a laugh.
 
Chase nodded. “I think it is for Madison, though.”
 
“Logan told me that Madison said that his dentist told him he might need braces,” Eddie said. “And Madison said that he wanted all blue wires in his mouth. Sometimes I think Madison ain’t real tightly wrapped.”
 
The boys all laughed and Chase and Eddie bumped fists. “Madison’s a great kid,” Chase said defensively. “Yeah ok, a little on the hyper side, maybe - but he’s a great kid.”
 
“He’s also so horny he could honk,” Dillon added with a grin.
 
“Holy shit, these cupcakes are good,” Nathan remarked. Drake pointed at Pierce. “Did you make these, Pierce?” Nathan asked.
 
“Guilty as charged,” Pierce said.
 
“Yeah, and I helped him make the frosting,” Drake bragged. “I think he called it a galosh.”
 
Pierce shook his head with a don’t-pay-any-attention-to-my-boyfriend look on his face. “It’s gaNACHE, not gaLOSH.” Pierce kissed Drake on the lips. “You’re such a bullshitter.”
 
“I’ve seen them make ganache on Food Network,” Curt piped up. “Chocolate chips melted with heavy cream.”
 
“Exactly,” Pierce said. “Glad there’s another Food Network dude in the group.” He and Curt bumped fists.
 
Trajan stood up and addressed the group. “We all know that today is Levi’s thirteenth birthday. He’s officially a teenager now. So, let’s sing him a rousing version of Happy Birthday!” Trajan’s announcement was followed by a raucous version of Happy Birthday sung as only a combination of unchanged and partially changed voices could do it.
 
“Ok - now you’ve got a choice,” Trajan explained to Levi. “You can be spanked thirteen times or be tossed into the pool. Which is it?”
 
“Toss me, dudes,” Levi shouted as he raised his arms. “I’m ready!” Dillon picked up his phone and prepared to video the goings-on.
 
Drake grabbed Levi by the ankles and Pierce grabbed him by the arms and, standing at the edge of the pool, they swung him back and forth three times accompanied by a hollered chant of one! two! three! On three they tossed him into the pool. Levi made a big production of splashing and hollering “Help me! I’m drowning!” Then, laughing his ass off, he swam effortlessly to the edge of the pool.
 
Trajan was laughing so hard at Levi’s antics that he failed to notice Chase sneaking up behind him to push him into the pool - that was also accompanied by a huge cheer. And as a way to join in on the festivities, Fido stood nearby wagging his tail and barking like crazy.
 
“I’m going to go up to Carkeek Park for an hour or so,” Walker said as he got up and put his trash in the container. “My employees are having a picnic up there. I want to stop in and say hello.”
 
“Sounds like a good time,” Keegan said.
 
“Ryan Boyer’s in charge of the event and, being the cook that he is, he probably brought a lot of food. His husband, Mike, chaperoned the group that rode the Cascades down to Centralia and then went over to Mayfield. Several of my employees are railfans and there are great photo opportunities from the footbridge up there.”
 
Shortly after Walker left, Chase looked at Dillon and pointed to the basement entrance. They climbed out of the pool, followed by Pierce and Drake, and headed to the rec room. Pierce signaled for Nathan to join them and he hopped out of the pool to do so.
 
“Are you noticing that all of a sudden there are fewer boys in the pool?” Susan asked with feigned innocence. “I wonder where they went.”
 
Keegan, Natalie, and Troy couldn’t help chuckling. “I’ll give you three guesses and the first two don’t count,” Troy said with a smile.
 
“No bet,” Susan grinned.
 
Safely out of sight in the rec room, Chase yanked down his speedos and hollered “Next!” It took only a few seconds for three more pairs of speedos to come off. Chase instantly had his mouth around Pierce’s hard cock and Dillon was devouring Drake’s thick almost-seven-inch rod. Moving into a 69 position, they doubled their pleasure with Pierce sucking Chase’s cock and Drake enjoying Dillon’s six inches.
 
Nathan’s five-incher was so hard it was pressed against his belly. He was getting that long-legged, coltish look that is so appealing in young adolescents. Pierce got some lube on his hands and stood behind Nathan. He reached around the thirteen-year-old’s body with his right hand and pried his cock away from his belly while kissing and licking the back of his neck. Nathan’s body quivered and his knees shook as Pierce began stroking him - then Nathan’s young male instincts took over and he began thrusting into Pierce’s hand. At the same time, Pierce slowly inserted the index finger of his left hand into Nathan’s tight young asshole. It didn’t take long for the orgasm to begin.
 
“Oh... oh... oh my God,” Nathan gasped as he began to shoot. The spurts actually hurt and it seemed like they would never stop. “Holy fuck, dude, I’ve.. I’ve never.. never cum like that in my life.”
 
Suddenly he realized there had been a second feeling of pleasure that he hadn’t initially noticed. “Did you have your finger up my ass?”
 
“Who, me?”
 
Nathan turned around and gave Pierce a huge smile. “Yeah, you!”
 
While all the sexual messing around was going on, Eddie sat in one corner of the rec room and kept his promise to call his girlfriend Maria. She said she was glad to hear from him, hoped he was having a good time, and looked forward to seeing him tomorrow. Eddie said he hoped to spend some time alone with her and her reply seemed encouraging. Eddie disconnected with a feeling of anticipation that he might get a little.
 
The boys wiped up the cum stains on the floor and prepared to go back out to the patio.
 
“Maybe we shouldn’t all go back out on the patio at once,” Nathan suggested. “If we do, the ‘rents might wonder what we’ve been up to.”
 
Little by little, the boys returned to the patio trying not to look guilty. Susan elbowed Troy.
 
“They’re coming back,” she said with a wink.
 
“I noticed,” Troy said with a big grin.
 
At about 7:00pm, Keegan and Natalie said they had to be going - Lincoln needed to be changed and was ready for bed. They offered their thanks to Troy and Susan for a great time.
 
“Be sure to thank Walker for delicious food,” Natalie said. Drake and Pierce helped them get Lincoln and Fido out to the car. Natalie waved as they drove away.
 
Shortly after Keegan and Natalie left, Walker returned. Three adults and nine teenage boys sat together on the patio. Conversations among the boys ran the gamut from schoolwork to school sports to the latest movie on Netflix - and naturally their sentences were peppered with the word “like” and the word “dude”. For the adults the conversations were more along the lines of the vagaries of city government or the challenges of running a home or a business. Walker told the story of one of his programmers needing to go into work earlier that day to check out a problem that was causing failures of ORCA card scanners in parts of the city. When Troy brought up the subject of the Mariners, the conversation got much more animated, and all twelve people joined in. The success of rookie Marty Carlson, who hailed from Mayfield, was a big part of their conversation.
 
At 9:30 pm the Seattle city fireworks show began. The fireworks were shot from the Space Needle. Troy’s house in Magnolia was located on a hill and offered a good view of the display which lasted about half an hour and ended with a typically spectacular and noisy grand finale.
 
Trajan called Marne and let her know they were ready to leave.  Trajan, Levi, and Nathan offered thanks to Walker and Troy and Susan for a great time and said goodbye to the other boys. Marne arrived a short time later and they left.
 
As Walker and Drake and Pierce prepared to leave, Eddie came up to Pierce and gave him a tight hug.
 
“Good to see you, dude,” he said quietly. “You’re looking fine.”
 
“You look good too, Eddie,” Pierce said. “Great time today.”
 
The boys stared into each other’s eyes as memories of the past came flooding back. Their lips touched lightly for the briefest of kisses and a shock wave went through their groins reminding them of days gone by. Eddie’s eyes filled with tears.
 
“I love ya, dude,” Eddie said. He offered his fist and Pierce bumped it. “Take care.”
 
“You too.”
 
After the goodnights were said and everyone had left, Chase came up to his parents. “Thanks, dad. Thanks, mom. That was a great time.”
 
“You’re welcome, son,” Troy said. “Everybody enjoyed it.”
 
<Drake and Pierce>
 
Upon arriving back home, Drake and Pierce helped Walker bring the empty food pans back into the house. They would return them to the deli the next day.
 
“It was a great day, dad,” Pierce said. “We’re going to head upstairs.”
 
Walker knew both boys were so horny for each other they could barely speak. Walker felt himself get rock hard as he thought about what was probably going to unfold in the bedroom over the garage. ‘Oh, to be young and perpetually horny again’, Walker thought.
 
Without saying a word, the two boys were instantly naked. Walker had helped Pierce install LED lighting in his bedroom and the entire room glowed with a beautiful soft light.
 
As time had gone by, sex between Drake and Pierce had evolved into a combination of love and passion and feelings that neither of them ever expected. They had found that having Drake on top gave them the most pleasure. It was not a hard and fast rule - occasionally Pierce would be the top - but there was something about the way Drake was able to control the intensity of the event that had them often cumming simultaneously. It made sex a truly beautiful and shared experience.
 
Drake and Pierce looked into each other’s eyes and admired their athletic teen bodies. Pierce felt Drake’s body shiver and his nipples harden as he gently traced circles around them with his fingers. Drake moved his almost-seven-inch erection, so it barely touched Pierce’s cock. Drake’s penis was about half an inch longer than Pierce’s and drooling precum.
 
“I was so proud of you today,” Drake whispered lustily. “You’re so beautiful. I love you so much.”
 
“Kiss me,” Pierce breathed. He closed his hand around the thickness of Drake’s erection and slowly spread precum over Drake’s cockhead. Drake felt his cock stiffen even more as he brought his lips to Pierce’s and kissed him hard, pushing his tongue into his lover’s mouth.
 
Drake’s voice wavered as he said, “I want to make love to you.” He moved Pierce over to the bed and Pierce dropped onto his back. He handed Drake the lube and felt Drake spread it liberally around and into his pucker. Drake lubed his own erection and stroked it several times. He felt the veins standing out on his penis - he couldn’t remember ever feeling this aroused.
 
Lying next to each other, the teens traded a quick kiss. Pierce whimpered a tiny bit as he felt the slight sting of Drake entering him then moaned gently as Drake pushed a bit harder. Slowly he felt Drake’s flared cockhead massage his prostate then gasped for breath as he felt the full length of his lover deep inside him.
 
Drake fucked Pierce powerfully but not roughly. His long deep strokes got faster and faster eventually bouncing both of them on the bed. “Oh shit. Oh fuck. You feel so good.” Pierce moaned. “I’m cumming, baby!” Drake screamed.
 
Both boys suddenly bellowed in ecstasy as Drake felt spurt after spurt after spurt of hot cum course through the length of his dick and into his boyfriend’s bowels. At exactly the same time, Pierce felt his cock spasm repeatedly as a no-touch cum drenched his chest and belly.
 
Gasping for breath, they collapsed onto the bed and lay face-to-face in the afterglow of sex sharing a prolonged gentle kiss. The sheen of sweat on their bodies glowed in the dimly lit bedroom. Drake’s overflowing love had literally filled Pierce’s soul.
 
“That was so perfect,” Pierce said after they came down from their highs.
 
“Only the best for my Pooka,” Drake whispered. “Only the best.”
 
After taking care of getting cleaned up and peeing, they cuddled close with their arms wrapped around each other.
 
Drake took a deep breath and smiled. “I gotta say it again,” he said. “I’m so proud of you. I’m proud of you for what you’ve done with your life. I’m proud to have you with me. I’m proud when I tell people you’re my boyfriend.” Drake paused for a moment, then smiled. “And I love the way you taught me to dance.”
 
“I love you, too,” Pierce said. “Even if you don’t know how to say or make ganache.”
 
After sharing a final kiss, they drifted off to sleep.
 
<Mayfield Town Park>
 
Because the boys would be having a busy morning, Larry cooked up their breakfast. He was pleased to see that the Mayfield boys and the Emerald City boys had no problem coming to breakfast in the nude. He had learned close to bedtime the night before that his nephew Logan and his mates had decided to call themselves the Emerald City boys. He and Phil loved the designation and wondered if the Mayfield boys could match it.
 
The festival started at ten. Aiden would be working the ten to twelve shift in the Mayfield Baseball Club’s booth. His partners would be Trent and Jackson. Because the Mayfield Festival Organizing Committee required any booth handling money to have an adult supervisor eighteen or older to be in the booth, George Bednarzyk had volunteered to play the role. All three boys called George “Mr. B” and loved talking Mayfield baseball with him.
 
The festival was a high point of service for the Mayfield Baseball Club, who shared part of their profits with the younger teams whose members were not yet old enough to participate in the Club. Teams had to be at least fifth grade level or 10 and under to participate in Club activities. The Club used to sell items representing the girls’ sports as well, but the fledgling Girls’ Softball Club was taking their first try at working their own booth. The clubs had talked about combining their efforts in one booth, but there wasn’t enough room in a booth to accommodate all the merchandise. A larger booth would have to be built to replace the two booths the clubs were renting from Mayfield Parks, a project the clubs would investigate.
 
Aiden knocked on the door situated at the back of the booth and George let him in. Phil and Ben Cook, the owner of Ben’s Hardware and Sporting Goods, were aided by three players who played for Phil’s 14 and under Mayfield Dynamos team, who helped bring in the boxes of items to be sold in the booth.
 
Meanwhile, hats and shirts representing most of the Mayfield youth baseball and softball teams, as well as the high school and middle school teams, were being set out on display shelves along the windows by Leslie Hazen, the twins’ mother, and Flo Lansing, Gordy’s mother. They would also be selling shirts and hats representing Seattle’s four major league teams (Seattle Kraken, hockey; Seattle Mariners, baseball; Seattle Seahawks, football; Seattle Supersonics, basketball).
 
Ben gave the Club a deep discount on the local items and the Seattle Team Store sold all the professional team items to the Club at the wholesale price. All profits would go to the Mayfield Baseball Club. The club manned the booth as a community project as well as a fund-raising enterprise.
 
Things went slowly to start. Aiden, Trent, and Jackson managed to talk a lot of baseball and discussed club business as well. George told them that people didn’t start arriving until closer to eleven, especially the celebrants coming from out of town. It was right around eleven when the high school band arrived and set up on the temporary stage that had been erected in front of the community center. Mason did his part to open the fest by singing “America the Beautiful” on the stage, with many in the audience singing along with him. There would be various groups entertaining from the stage during the afternoon and early evening before people started to head for the Centralia fireworks show. Even with the big show in Centralia, quite a few people, mostly Mayfield residents, stayed for the more modest Mayfield fireworks.
 
Aiden finished selling two Seahawks t-shirts to a man who was at the booth with his two young sons when he noticed Coach Hallion and Ben Cook engaged in conversation. Ben called George Bednarzyk over and the three of them continued the chat for a few minutes. Aiden’s attention turned away from them when he heard his name called out by a familiar voice.
 
He turned and saw Justin, who had called his name, along with Marco, and Mike the Donkey at one of the windows. “Hey, Mr. Donkey, what can I do for you guys?” Aiden asked.
 
“Ask those two, I’m just the donkey with the money,” Mike answered.
 
“Okay, what can I do for you, little bro?” Aiden asked Justin.
 
“Marco and me want t-shirts,” Justin replied.
 
“Marco and I,” Aiden reminded him, which earned him an approving nod from Mike.
 
“But we’re here for fun today, so grammar doesn’t count. And I said doesn’t instead of don’t.”
 
“You’re right, we’re here for fun, and I’m gonna have fun saying that if you ask the question the right way I’ll sell you a t-shirt.”
 
“You’re meaner than my Donkey Dad,” Justin said. “Papa Dawg is even meaner, but he’s not here. He’s at a barbeque thingy with the peeps at his work. So, here it is the right way; Marco and I want t-shirts,” Justin said with exaggerated precision. Then, with his hands planted firmly on his hips, he tacked on an embellished, “Please!”
 
“Very good, bro, right Mr. Donkey?”
 
“It was perfection itself,” Mike agreed. “You must be practicing to become a teacher someday.”
 
“Nah, I was being a strict big bro, like my big bro Marty is to me. Now, what kind of t-shirts do you want? Mariners? Seahawks? Sounders? Super…”
 
“Yard Goats,” Justin and Marco shouted out together.
 
“Yard Goats? But you dudes are from the Emerald City, and the Yard Goats are in Mayfield,” Aiden pointed out.
 
“We know, but I want to wear the shirt for my big bro’s team and Marco wants one because his boyfriend is getting one.”
 
As soon as Aiden heard Justin’s answer, he felt like a total asswaffle for getting on his little bro’s case. He thought he was doing it mostly in fun, but the whole thing ended up being serious. “Even after I got all pissy about your mistake?”
 
“Sure. When peeps ask me about the shirt, I can say it’s my big bro’s team and he makes me do things right, so I wear his shirt because it reminds me what he makes me do.”
 
“Sounds good to me,” Aiden said feeling relieved. Aiden picked out two t-shirts which were the boys’ sizes. They immediately took off their shirts and donned their Goat shirts, grinning at Aiden as they did so. Mike handed Aiden a credit card, which he gave to George to process. In an ironic twist, the boys could handle a complete cash transaction, but credit cards had to be processed by an adult. While George took care of the card, Aiden placed the boys’ old t-shirts into a bag and handed it to Mike. The boys took off proudly wearing their Mayfield Yard Goats shirts.
 
After his shift, Aiden found Justin and Marco and started walking around the park with them. They were quickly joined by Darnell, Logan, Tony, Madison, and Mason. Their first stop was at the food trucks, where lunch was taken care of. The group looked at other booths, played games, listened to a rock band made up of a quartet of high school boys, and simply enjoyed themselves.
 
As the boys were listening to the rock band, Mason’s mother joined the group.
 
“We need to be going, Mason,” she said.
 
Mason reluctantly said good-bye to his friends, thanked Aiden for letting him stay at the house Friday night, and left for Pine Lake with his mother.
 
Highlights of the afternoon were Justin winning his age group sack race and Aiden and Logan winning the three-legged race. Skip, who had joined a couple of his teammates and his best friend Gage soon after his arrival at the festival, won the balloon toss with Gage as his partner.
 
As Peter Astor handed Justin his plastic trophy and stuffed animal for winning, he complimented Justin on his classy shirt. “You must know somebody on the Goats,” Peter speculated.
 
“Aiden is my big bro,” Justin responded proudly.
 
“Ahh, it figures Aiden would be involved somehow,” Peter chuckled. “The Goats are a good team.”
 
“They’re the best. And so are the Jammers. They’re my team. We’re both gonna be our league champions.” He pointed to Marco, who was standing next to him. “And this is my boyfriend Marco, and he plays on the Jammers. We both pitch and play in the infield.” He held up the stuffed animal.
 
“And you must be a couple of the Seattle boys visiting Aiden.”
 
“We’re not the Seattle boys we’re the Emerald City Boys and that makes us the best.”
 
“Whatever you say. Are you okay with the stuffed animal you got? You don’t think you’re too old for it or something?”
 
“This is a stuffed kangaroo and he’s gonna live at Marco’s house to start and he will become the friend of Donkey, who’s my stuffed Donkey, only Marco doesn’t know it yet.”
 
“Yes, he does,” Marco grinned, and he held the kangaroo tightly against his chest after Justin handed it to him.
 
“See, that’s why he’s my boyfriend because he’s so cool. Now he gets to give the kangaroo a name. My donkey is called Donkey because he’s a donkey and that’s the best name a donkey can have,” Justin chattered happily.
 
“And I’m sure he’ll give it a good one, and congrats again on winning.” Peter turned and walked away before the little pepper pot talked his ears off. His excitement at winning a stuffed animal as well as a trophy along with talking about the other little kid being his boyfriend had him shaking his head.
 
Before the boys knew it, they were on their way to Centralia for the big fireworks show. The fireworks were shot off from the big field at the County Fairgrounds where Larry had reserved ten seats in the grandstand; Larry, Phil, Donkey Mike, Marco, Justin, Logan, Tony, Madison, Darnell, and Aiden occupied the seats. All the seats in the grandstand were bleacher seats except for the pricey box seats close to field level. Larry did not purchase the pricey seats.
 
On their way from the parking lot onto the Fairgrounds, Aiden saw Landon. The boys stopped and exchanged greetings, some quick baseball chat. Landon bragged about getting a “perfect” picture of an Amtrak Cascades passing the Giant Egg. They promised each other they would get together before Aiden left for California and then raced to catch up with their families.
 
The fireworks show drew the long, loud oohs and aahs it was designed to do. As late as it was when the show ended, the boys agreed that the show hadn’t been long enough. Between the Accord and the Odyssey, there was enough room for everyone to ride comfortably back to Mayfield. Both cars were filled with the nonstop chatter of excited young boys.
 
When Aiden and the Emerald City boys finally arrived at Aiden’s house, there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that this would be a quiet night. The boys had enjoyed a very long, exciting evening. It had been decided in advance who would be sleeping with whom. Justin and Marco were happy they would be able to sleep with Aiden.
 
Justin had convinced Aiden that Marco should be his little bro as well. He accepted the new role the instant Marco accepted him as his big bro. Justin was hoping he and Marco could have some fun with their mutual big bro, but Marco fell asleep the instant his head rested on Aiden’s chest. Justin scooched up behind Aiden and fell asleep almost as quickly as Marco. Aiden, soothed by the smoothness and warmth of the younger boys’ bodies, fell into slumberland seconds after his little bros.
 
Darnell and Madison also fell asleep quickly. Both boys were naked. They softly groped each other and said they were ready for action. But their actions could not match their desires, and even with their groping and a bit of body rubbing, fatigue, brought on by the long day, overtook their young bodies and they fell asleep in each other’s arms.
 
Logan and Tony were sleeping on the pullout couch in the basement. They agreed on the ride home that sex could wait until after they returned to the Emerald City. The two had hoped for a romp in the bed with Aiden but realized it would have to wait for another visit. They liked the thought of that visit involving just them, Aiden, and, they hoped, Nolan. 
 
Larry and Mike had a pretty good idea that the boys were so tired they would most likely be crashing as soon as they went to bed. They had promised Aiden, Justin, and Marco good night hugs, but when they opened the door to Aiden’s bedroom and saw the three boys tangled together and sleeping soundly, they looked at each other and grinned. Larry turned out the light and closed the door. Hearing no sound from the guest room, the two dads went downstairs and checked the boys in the basement. Hearing no noise from the backroom, they went upstairs to their own bedrooms for a good night's sleep.
 
<Nolan>
 
Nolan didn’t attend the holiday affair because his Centralia team was entered in a holiday tournament in Eugene, Oregon. They ended up with a 2-2 record and a seventh-place finish in the tournament. Nolan threw a complete game 4-0 shutout on Saturday for their second win.
 
That evening the tournament teams enjoyed the fireworks show that took place in the athletic complex. After the fireworks they headed back to their hotel. Nolan’s roommate was his best friend, Carter.  Their brand of fireworks was getting naked and jerking each other off. There was no need for a second bed as the two boys, who had been besties since third grade, cuddled together to sleep.
 
Carter considered himself to be straight, but that didn’t stop him from enjoying sexual hijinks with a couple of his friends, Nolan in particular. The two had fucked a few times.  Carter rarely sucked off Nolan since Nolan started shooting, which had caused him to lose his taste for doing it. He sometimes helped his best friend out when he was extra horny. He lost his heterosexual virginity to Cindy Parker on her bed during spring break. Nolan was still a virgin when it came to girls.
 
The Centralia team lost their Sunday morning game, which eliminated them from the tournament. They quickly got on their bus for the three-and-a-half-hour ride to Centralia. Nolan arrived home just before dinner on Sunday.
 
He texted Aiden that he was home safely and the boys traded “I love you” along with emoji kisses.
 
As much as he loved playing baseball and enjoyed the competition as well as the camaraderie of the tournament, deep down he wished he had been able to enjoy Aiden’s pool party and watch the Centralia fireworks with his boyfriend, his soon-to-be Mayfield teammates, and the sexy boys from Seattle. He learned when he arrived home that he was back early enough to enjoy some time with the Seattle boys as well as plenty of food at Aiden’s house.  
 
Next: Busy Boys