The boys' shower was cut short by the time constraints Lesley had put on them. They did just barely manage to get clean while exploring each other just a bit as well. They got the message from Bastian's mother loud and clear when she started the washing machine downstairs which instantly stole all of the hot water.
"Mom, that was rude," Bastian complained when the two teens made their way back into the kitchen.
"Well, I did tell you that there was a time limit," she said trying not very hard to hide a grin.
"That certainly got my mind back on the time," Atreyu confessed sheepishly.
"I promise to try to give you more time to yourselves later this evening," Lesley vowed. "I only heard one set of moans and screams, so someone still owes someone else." Both boys turned as red as stop signs. "Seriously boys, I am really ok with what you are going through, whether it is temporary or not. The point I want to make abundantly clear though, is that I want you to be safe. I realize from the sound effects earlier, it is probably a little too late to tell you this, but I want you to understand my position. As long as you are safe about what you do, and you keep it as private as it should be, you have my blessings."
"I'm sorry about the noise earlier Mom," Bastian told her. "We promise to keep it down from now on."
"Well, if you keep them down, you'll never have any fun at all," she teased. Once again both teens did impressions of traffic signals and turned red. She grew serious and told them to sit down for a moment. "I am going to ask a question that is intensely personal, and if you really don't want to answer it, you don't have to. Although, I must point out that not speaking will tell me the answer just as quickly as speaking." She paused and looked from one to the other before she asked finally, "Are you virgins?"
The look on their faces was priceless. For a long time afterward, Lesley would wish she had been able to catch the moment on film. The boys looked at each other and Bastian shrugged.
"We've already told each other, and it will make her feel better to know," he told Atreyu.
"If I don't answer, you will just assume the answer is no," Atreyu mused aloud. "I wouldn't want you to think that I am endangering Bastian like that."
"Thank you for your honesty, Atreyu. It does indeed put many of my fears to rest."
"I am too, Mom," Bastian told her.
"That I knew," she said a little too quickly for his comfort. She saw this immediately and went on to explain. "I'm your mother; nothing much gets by me. For what it's worth, I am proud of both of you for waiting as long as you did. That tells me that you both feel that this is something special that you have starting between you."
"Yes it is," the boys confirmed as they took each others hands.
"Well, enough seriousness and enough embarrassment," Lesley announced. "We have a meal to prepare. Bastian, you get to work on the salad. Atreyu, how are you with vegetables?"
"I make a mean sweet potato casserole and excellent mashed cauliflower," the boy replied.
"Mashed cauliflower?" Bastian asked.
"Trust me, I'm a professional," Atreyu grinned mischievously.
"We put ourselves and our stomachs in your hands," Lesley told him. "I will get to work on the main course."
Between the three of them, the meal was fantastic. Lindsay and her husband couldn't stop complimenting them on it. After the food was gone, the adults went to the den for a few drinks while the boys decided it was time to sneak away to Bastian's room and finish what they had started earlier.
"I want my turn," Bastian whispered as they stood up from the dinner table. "I want to see you squirt and then I want to lick you clean." To his parents, he said, "Is it ok if Atreyu and I have our dessert in my room?"
"Well, we certainly don't want you doing it here on the dining room table," Lesley joked. The boys' eyes grew wide in near terror.
"Relax fellows," Atreyu's father told them. "Yes, we all know all about you both. The old folks aren't nearly as dumb or as blind as you seem to think we are."
"You guys know…You all know?" Bastian stammered. "Are we in trouble?"
"Son, don't you think you would know it if we were upset about this?" his own father countered. "We've watched you the last few years as you grew up. We saw this coming. Sorry, poor choice of words," he added as the teens faces grew stop sign red again. "We had time to get accustomed to it is what I meant."
"We don't want you to think we aren't concerned about your health and safety, though," Lindsay told them. "I expect you both to keep regular appointments at a doctor's office for blood screenings. I won't lose you to some disease, either of you."
"We also don't expect you to be celibate while you are staying in that tent this summer," Lesley told them. "We were teenagers once too, you know."
"When I was your age, I carried books in front of me practically 24/7," Bastian's father admitted. "I think the only time it went down was…. Well, actually I don't think it really did go down at that age."
"Mine sure as hell didn't," Atreyu's father added with a laugh. "Of course I couldn't stop thinking of Lindsay here, either."
"EEEEEEWWWWW!!!!! T M I, Dad," Atreyu squirmed uncomfortably. "You guys are parents, you aren't supposed to talk or do things like that."
"If we didn't, we wouldn't be parents, now would we?" Bastian's father asked pointedly.
"Dad, I just ate," Bastian moaned clutching his stomach in disgust. "You guys keep this conversation going much longer and not only will I need to clean the carpet, I will have to have years of therapy to get rid of the unwanted mental images."
"All right, boys, we'll behave ourselves if you do the same," Lesley told them firmly. "You run along to your room and for heaven's sakes, keep the noise down this time. We don't need the mental images either." Two red faced boys left the room then headed for the safety of Bastian's bedroom.
"I don't believe this," Atreyu was saying as they walked into the room. "They knew about me. I didn't think anyone knew."
"I know the feeling," Bastian agreed. "They aren't mad, though. That's what blows me away."
"I thought that was my job," Atreyu teased.
"It is, but now it's my turn," Bastian growled playfully. "I'm going to suck you dry, stud."
"Promises, promises," Atreyu retorted. "Let's see less talk and more action, baby."