Copyright © 2021-2024 DouglasDD. All Rights Reserved.
CHAPTER 2
FRIENDS AND MORE FRIENDS (1)
FRIDAY, APRIL 10
<Pierce and Drake>
“Are we still good for tomorrow?” Pierce asked as soon as Drake answered his phone.
“We are, unless my parents get some kind of wonky idea about going out with friends and leaving me to babysit the little bundle of joy,” Drake responded.
“Tell your dad Walker knows where they live and if you get stuck babysitting, he’ll make them pay.”
“I thought Walker was a really nice guy.”
“He is, but they don’t have to know that,” Pierce giggled.
“You know, you are going to have to come spend some nights with me, too. Mom and dad really want to get to know you and you’ll fall in love with the little urchin.”
“I think I’ve already fallen in love with you, so I might as well fall in love with your brother.”
“What did you just say?”
“I said I’m falling in love with you and I hope that doesn’t bug you, but I had to say it.” Pierce’s statement was met by a long silence. “Are you there?” Pierce asked with a hint of panic.
“Yeah, I’m here,” Drake rasped. “Sorry, dude, but you surprised me. I was hoping to hear those words from you, but I didn’t think I’d hear them this soon. So, I guess I’m kinda like speechless.”
“You’re not mad, are you?”
“How could I be mad when you say something that sends shivers of happiness through me? Let’s talk this over tomorrow when we’re face-to-face.”
“That’s what I had planned to do, but the words just spurted out of me before I could stop them.”
“Kinda like your cum, huh?”
“Damn, you’ve got a dirty mind, Drake.”
“You said that’s a reason why you, um, well, you said what you said.” Drake had never felt at such a loss for words.
“Honey, is that Pierce you’re talking to?” Drake’s mother, Natalie, called out. Drake wished he’d taken the call to his bedroom, but it was too late to deal with that now.
“Yes, mom.” Drake had finally gotten used to calling Natalie “mom” instead of Aunt Natalie, just like he could now consistently call Keegan “dad” instead of Keegan. “We’re just making final plans for my visit tomorrow.” Among other things, he thought.
“Do you two have spring break the same week?”
“Yeah, starting next Saturday.”
“Ask him if he’d like to come over to this side of the Lake and spend a couple of nights.” Drake grinned as he thought that maybe it was a good thing he hadn’t gone to his room to talk to Pierce.
“I’ll ask him tomorrow if it’s okay. We got a lot of things to talk about and I’ll put that on our list.”
“You two seem to have really hit it off.”
“Yeah, I guess you could say that,” Drake grinned.
“I’ll let you get back to your call. Say hi to Pierce for me.”
“Sorry about that,” Drake said, “but I’m back.”
“That must have been your mom.”
“Yep, my mom or the lady once known as Aunt Natalie.”
“Your life is as confusing as mine. Did she decide to tell you to babysit tomorrow?”
“No, but she says hi to you and she gave me a question to ask you tomorrow.”
“We might need an agenda for this meeting,” Pierce laughed.
The boys then discussed their schedule for the next day. After figuring parental driving schedules, Sound Transit light rail schedules, and their own schedules, it was decided that Walker and Pierce would pick Drake up at the University light rail station in time for them to go out for lunch.
SATURDAY, APRIL 11
<Justin>
“We’re really going to go to Mayfield to visit my big bro?” Justin gushed as he wolfed down his eggs and hash browns.
“It’s not exactly news. We have been discussing it for a couple of weeks,” Ryan said as he tried to calm his hyper nine-year-old.
“I know, but we never picked a day. And until you pick a day it’s like it’s not really going to happen. Now I know it’s really going to happen and I’m excited.”
“I like how my Donkeydawg thinks,” Mike chuckled. “If it’s not on the schedule then it can’t be real.”
“And if I don’t put my homework on my schedule that would mean it’s not real and I don’t have to do it, right, Mister Teacher?”
“Ah, but when the teacher has the homework on his calendar, that means it is automatically on your schedule, whether you put it there or not. So, make sure you set aside some time during the week to do your work.”
“I don’t have any homework to do.”
Ryan gave Justin a look that said, “Oh really?”
Justin knew exactly what the look said. “Honest dad, Miss Gordon didn’t assign anything but some math, and I finished it this morning. Really, I did it. And it was on my schedule and I can show you if you want.”
“We believe you, Justin. Miss Gordon sounds like a teacher after my own heart. Minimal to no homework over the holidays and most weekends,” Mike chuckled. “I hated it as a kid and don’t see any reason why a vacation can’t be a vacation. Right, Dawg?”
“Exactly,” Ryan said. “But what’s the deal with the math page?”
“She said she wanted to be finished with the chapter so we can have the review and then the test when we get back. It’s only ten multiplication problems—no big deal. I’m good at math.”
“Which puts you way ahead of your Donkey Dad.”
“I know. You think math is, like, totally shitty.”
“Is that what you told him?” Ryan asked his husband.
“Well, not in those exact words,” the Donkey responded.
“That will be a quarter into the jar, then,” Ryan told Justin.
“Shit, that just slipped out,” Justin muttered.
“That’s twenty-five more cents.”
“Damn, I’m going to be giving you my whole allowance back.”
“You may just want to keep your mouth shut, Justin, or you will quickly be one broke Donkeydawg,” Mike grinned.
“Fragiflax.”
“Fragi what?” Ryan asked.
“Fragiflax. That’s what Marco and Tony say at home instead of bad words.”
“Hm, I like it. Just say some gobbledygook and save a quarter.”
“Do I get a quarter credit for not using a cuss word?”
“Sorry, son, that’s not how it works. All that happened was you didn’t lose another quarter.”
“That’s okay, I guess. But I still think I should get a quarter for every time I say fragiflax.”
“If we did that, we’d have to listen to you repeat the words for hours on end,” Ryan said.
“That isn’t what you had in mind, is it?” Mike asked.
Justin’s sheepish look answered the question.
“Oh, you sneaky little devil. I am going to suggest that you don’t play poker for money until you learn the art of keeping a poker face.”
“I better go shower and shave. Joey and Marco are supposed to be here at noon,” Justin announced as he cleared his dishes off the table and started for the kitchen.
“What’s the rush? It’s only nine-thirty,” Ryan said as he followed Justin into the kitchen carrying his own dishes. Justin was naked except for a thick pair of socks, which was normal for a weekend breakfast.
“It might take me a long time to shave.”
Mike rubbed Justin’s smooth cheek with his right index finger. “Tell me, young Master Donkey Dawg, why in the world do you need to shave a totally smooth piece of skin?”
“Well, my best friends are coming over to spend the night. Plus, I need the practice for when I grow up.”
“Does this mean the three of you are going to be on a date?”
“Daaaaaaad, dates are for boys and girls. But I think I should look nice.”
“Son, you are perfection itself, right Dawg?”
“Absolutely,” Ryan agreed.
“When the time comes that you start growing unsightly whiskers, the Dawg and I will give you expert shaving lessons. How does that sound?”
“Well, I’d rather learn now, but I guess it’s okay. I might change my mind later, though,” Justin conceded.
“Just let us know if you do change your mind.”
“Why, so you can stop me from changing it?”
“Or at least try,” Mike chuckled. “You can be difficult to stop when you get on a roll.”
“Well, no matter what, I need a shower, so I’ll see you guys later.”
As Justin charged to his bedroom Ryan looked at his husband and said, “Gawd, I love that little imp.”
“That makes two of us,” Mike agreed. “What was it Coach Larry called him, a wood imp?”
“I think it was a naked wood elf. Whatever it was, it was accurate.”
Before they could continue their conversation, Justin charged back into the den. “You never told me what days we are going to visit Aiden,” he said.
“Well, our apologies to the naked wood elf for being remiss in our duties,” Mike said. “The Dawg has Thursday afternoon and Friday off, so we leave after lunch on Thursday and will spend two nights there.”
“Just two nights? We could spend Saturday, too,” Justin pointed out.
“I believe we are having dinner with a certain grandma on Saturday.”
“Oh, yeah, I forgot. And what does remiss mean?”
“Negligent. Careless,” Ryan replied.
“Yep, you were very remiss. Okay, I guess two nights is good. Do naked wood elves have to shave?”
“Never! Now, get your wood elf ass into the shower,” Mike told him.
Justin turned around, put his hands on his hips, wiggled his bare butt at his dads, and ran off to the bathroom shrieking with laughter. Mike and Ryan looked at each other and traded smiles.
<Pierce and Drake>
Drake saw Walker and Pierce at the University pickup area as soon as he stepped out of the light rail station. Drake got into the back seat, disappointed that Pierce wasn’t sitting in back with him. He decided that he shouldn’t let that bother him—they had the entire day and night to be together.
Lunch was at Ivar’s Fish Restaurant in the University District. Walker, Pierce, and Drake feasted on fish and chips which were an Ivar’s specialty. Drake shared his big news that he would be taking drivers’ education after the high school track season was over. “I got my learner’s permit in November when I was first eligible. Keegan…dad, that is, lets me drive sometimes when we’re not in a hurry to go anywhere. I’m getting to drivers’ ed a little late and won’t be finished when I turn sixteen but should have my license sometime during the summer.” Teens in Washington had to be fifteen-and-a-half to be eligible for a permit.
“I can’t get my permit until June, but dad says I should take drivers’ ed as soon as I can during the summer, so I’ll have my license by the time school starts,” Pierce said. “I can’t wait until we both are driving. We won’t have to be riding the bus and light rail to see each other.”
“Dude, have you seen the traffic on that I-90 bridge? Most of the time the light rail just zooms right by it. But, yeah, driving will help, but I’m gonna have to figure out how to pay for my share of the insurance. Plus, all of my gas. And I have to wait for one of the cars to be available.”
“How much of your insurance will you have to pay?”
“Half,” Drake replied. He was obviously not happy with what it was going to cost him.
“That’s tight.”
“Yep, and I’m gonna need a job to drive, and that sucks all by itself. At least I’m going to get a good student discount.”
“Congratulations on getting the grades to earn one,” Walker chimed in.
“My mom and dad have been on my ass about my grades from the time they became my guardians. They used to let me get away with all kinds of shit and now I have to be Mister Good Student.”
“It sounds like they’ve got their act together and figure you should follow suit.”
“Thanks for taking their side, dad,” Pierce grumped.
“What, you don’t think they should be pressuring Drake to be successful in school? Or that I shouldn’t be doing the same to you?”
“Dad, I was yanking your chain. Not that I don’t get pissed off at the study routine sometimes, but with you kicking my ass 24/7 I’ve almost made up the time I missed while I was on the streets.”
When Drake got into the backseat of the car after lunch, he was thrilled when Pierce joined him. Walker was, as well. He had seen many signs of a budding romance in the boys’ short time together and hoped they could make their long-distance relationship work. He really liked Drake. He could see that not only did the boys have a lot in common with the rough times they had gone through as young teens, but they also had a lot of differences which, ironically, helped make their friendship stronger. Walker didn’t know if the boys were in love, but there was no doubt that they liked each other a great deal.
As Walker pulled out of the parking lot, Pierce edged his right hand over and touched Drake’s left. As soon as Drake felt Pierce’s touch, he wrapped his fingers around his friend’s hand. Both boys felt shivers of pleasure flow through them as soon as they touched. Even sitting up in the driver’s seat, Walker couldn’t fail to notice the movement in the back seat that gave away that the boys had clutched each other’s hands.
Walker wasn’t surprised to hear the wet smacking of kisses when they were about half-way to his house. “Hey, guys, get a room,” Walker chuckled.
“We have a room,” Pierce responded. “It’s called a backseat. Just keep your eyes on the road.”
“You two are something else. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were working on being boyfriends.”
“Well, you don’t know very much, then, dad, because that’s exactly what we are doing.”
“I thought you told me that Drake had a boyfriend.”
“Adam and me have gone to being just good friends. Really good friends,” Drake told Walker. “We have a lot in common and like each other a lot, but sex between us didn’t really work out. He’s got his eye on girls.”
“Kind of like Eddie,” Pierce said.
“Yeah, but I think Adam, who I thought was my boyfriend, is really serious about girls while Eddie is curious to find out if that’s his thing,” Drake said.
“More shall be revealed,” Walker said as he pulled into the driveway of his house.
Ten minutes later Walker, Pierce, and Drake were sitting in the den talking about Pierce visiting Drake for two nights. Walker was wearing a sweatshirt and purple lounge pants with pink musical notes scattered around.
“Your lounge pants are wilder than my Uncle Phil’s,” Drake told him. “He loves wearing that kind of wild shit around the house.”
“You haven’t got much to say when it comes to wildness. Neon green boxers with crimson striping isn’t exactly conservative.” The boys had stripped down to t-shirts, underpants, and socks in Pierce’s room before settling downstairs.
“At least I am properly conservative in how I dress,” Pierce said in a faux British accent. He was wearing light blue boxer shorts with black trim. “It could have been wilder—Drake and me talked about coming down naked. Drake said he didn’t want to shock you with his beauty. But, hey, it would have been less of a shock than those boxers.”
“I have to admit, you may be right about to-be boyfriend being a good looker,” Walker said.
“I’m glad you approve. But truth be told, we figured it wasn’t the right kind of situation to be running around naked. So, we leave some of Drake to your imagination since you’ve seen me naked a couple of times.”
“At least that many,” Walker chuckled.
“And you’ll be seeing me naked really soon,” Drake smirked.
“My heart is racing with anticipation.”
They finally decided that with track and field for Drake, baseball for Pierce, and various other commitments, that Monday and Tuesday nights worked best for Drake and Pierce. That decision was followed by a phone call to Keegan and Natalie to get their okay, which was quickly given. Walker noted that Pierce and Drake never stopped touching each other in some way over the course of the discussion. He was now certain that the two boys were falling in love.
Dinner that evening was at a favorite haunt— Luigi’s Pizza and Pasta. Marne was working and was happy to see Walker and Pierce. She wasn’t sure if she had met Drake. She thought he was a good-looking boy and could see that Pierce was quite fond of him.
“Who is your friend?” Marne asked when she brought the menus. “I don’t think I’ve seen him here before.”
“This is my boy…my good friend, Drake,” Pierce smiled. “He has been here, but it was with a group. And he’s so plain and ordinary looking, though, he’s easy to miss.” Drake gave Pierce a friendly poke in the ribs.
“It’s nice to meet you Drake and welcome to Luigi’s. I can see that you have done something to get the attention of your obviously inattentive friend,” Marne grinned.
“Nice to meet you, too, Mrs. um…,” Drake answered.
“DeLuca, but my good customers call me Marne.”
“Where are your helpers tonight?” Walker asked Marne, referring to her two young sons.
“Tony is spending the night with his friend Logan and Marco with his friend Justin. I normally don’t work on Saturday nights, but with the boys not being home, I might as well work. Luigi gave Millie the night off with pay, which she gladly accepted.”
“Do you mean Logan Miller?” Drake asked.
“Yes, I do. I take it you must know him.”
“He’s my cousin.”
“Oh my. It is a small world. Logan is a nice boy, just like you.”
Marne took their drink orders and went to the counter to fill them. Drake wondered if Logan had found himself a new bed buddy.
“Marne and her husband, Luigi, own the restaurant,” Walker told Drake.
After looking over the menu, they decided they wanted to make individual pasta choices rather than have pizza. Drake ordered lasagna, Pierce had spaghetti and sausage, while Walker enjoyed veal parmesan.
After they returned to Pierce and Walker’s home, the boys stripped back down to their t-shirts and underwear and enjoyed chatting and playing games with Walker.
“You almost called Drake your boyfriend,” Walker reminded Pierce as the evening started drawing to a close.
Pierce and Drake were holding hands and Pierce felt Drake squeeze his hand tighter and thought he detected a slight nod from his friend.
“We’re getting there, right Drake?” was all Pierce said.
Drake looked into Walker’s eyes and smiled. “I’ve gotten some hints we might be there real soon,” he said.
“How about we discuss this under the warmth of my blankets,” Pierce suggested.
“Sounds like a plan to me.”
The good nights were said, and the teens went up to Pierce’s room. 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 naked in the blink of an eye, their cocks at full attention. They stood looking at each other, admiring each other’s athletic teen bodies.
Drake stepped up to Pierce, placed a hand on each shoulder, as he moved his six-inch erection so that it barely touched Pierce’s cock. The two cocks were close in size, Drake’s being just under a half-inch longer.
“Am I really going to top you tonight?” Drake whispered lustily.
“Kiss me,” Pierce breathed.
Drake brought his lips to Pierce’s and kissed him hard, pushing his tongue into his friend’s mouth. Their cocks were now pressed together, and the boys commenced to slowly hump each other.
Pierce broke the kiss and stepped back, breaking their hug. “We won’t be doing it if we stand here and hump each other all night.”
“Are you sure you’re ready?”
Pierce nodded. He had told Drake on their Valentine’s Day sleepover that he didn’t feel ready to have his ass fucked after having had so many men he didn’t know or like pay him for the privilege. “It’s like my ass is this black hole that isn’t worthy of having a lover in it because I abused it by being a fucking whore,” he had told Drake while fighting back tears.
But for this night, they had discussed more than once who would be the top and who would be the bottom. Almost every time they came to a different conclusion. The moment of decision had finally arrived.
Pierce had been completely open and honest with Dr. McGregor, his psychologist who, while not explicitly approving of Pierce having anal sex with another boy, also understood that Pierce loved that other boy and consummating a relationship out of love would be an important part of Pierce’s healing process. The psychologist deftly walked an ethical tightrope as he worked to help Pierce understand the process of love making versus sex. While the boy might be fifteen, his life experiences made him much older in his outlook.
It was the psychologist’s job to help Pierce adjust to being a normal teenage boy, even it meant adjusting to life as a gay boy. The boy had told him he was in love with his friend Drake. Yes, both boys were only fifteen, but they were perfectly capable of being in love, he thought. He felt it was also his job to help Pierce accept his feelings of love and to understand how to deal with Drake so that he could maintain that love and build on it. He thought about meeting with both boys for a couple of sessions.
“I want to bottom first. Every time I’ve been a bottom it’s been for money,” Pierce said. “I don’t want to keep putting it off for love. Dr. McGregor says I have to get over hating myself and being afraid and to start loving and loving completely.”
There was Pierce using the “L” word again, causing Drake to wonder once again how they managed to put the word into their relationship so quickly.
“Screw that shit. Your johns fucked you. I don’t want to fuck you and be like them, dude. I want to do something I’ve never done before.”
“You’re not making sense.”
Drake ignored him and said in a quiet voice that worked hard to keep from quavering, “I want to make love to you.”
“You’ve never made love to a guy?”
“Nope, I’ve only fucked them.”
“Even your buddy, Adam?”
“Even Adam and Max and Matt—all of them. I mean all the guys I’ve had sex with are guys I like a lot and are friends of sorts. But I never loved them.”
“Just how many guys have you done anal with anyway?”
“Nine, including our time on Valentine’s Day.”
“Damn, and all of them were friends. I lost track of how many assholes have fucked me a long time ago. At least you know the names of all the guys who have fucked you. So, what’s the difference between fucking and making love?”
“Beats the shit out of me,” Drake said, “so get your ass on the bed so we can both find out.”
Pierce dropped onto his back while Drake lubed his cock with Pierce’s jerkoff lotion. He then liberally spread the lube around and in Pierce’s asshole.
They lay next to each other on the bed and traded quick, gentle kisses before Drake entered Pierce’s ass. Pierce couldn’t tell how he knew, but the feel of Drake in his ass was different than some hairy middle-aged man shoving money at him so Pierce would let him fuck him. What Pierce knew as he felt Drake moving inside of him was that he didn’t want a quick cum to happen like it had on some stranger’s bed or in some hotel room. He wanted Drake to be inside of him forever.
For Drake, fucking had always been about lust and sexual pleasure, even with Adam or Matt, who he thought were his boyfriends. Drake thought that Pierce’s well-used ass would be loose, and he wouldn’t get the great feelings like he received from fucking Mayfield boys like Sammy, Jeffrey, Peter, or Aiden, whose asses were tight. He was wrong—Pierce’s ass fit him perfectly. He loved it, he loved moving inside of it, he loved hearing Pierce’s moans of pleasure, he loved everything they were doing.
“Do it hard,” Pierce begged. “I wouldn’t let the perverts hammer my ass like some of them wanted, but I want you to do it hard. Fuck me hard and give me all your love because that’s the way I want it.”
Drake granted Pierce his wish and fucked him so hard they bounced on the bed. Pierce was learning that having a cock in his ass could be total pleasure and Drake was learning that there was more to fucking than his own selfish pleasure—there was also giving pleasure to his partner. That must be what making love is about, Drake thought, as he felt himself approach orgasm.
Drake’s cock was all over Pierce’s prostate. “Shit, shit, shit,” Pierce moaned, “it feels so fucking good I can’t believe it. FUCK ME!”
When their climaxes happened, they were beyond what the teens imagined they would be. Pierce had his first no-touch cum at almost the same time Drake started filling his ass. After they came down from their sexual highs, they lay face-to-face, hugging each other.
“I love you, Drake,” Pierce finally uttered. He found the words much more difficult to say to someone holding him in his arms than to a voice on the telephone.
The doubts that Drake had after hearing Pierce’s hints of love vanished. He hugged Pierce harder. “I love you, too, Pierce. And I’m not giving you bullshit. What I feel is beyond anything I’ve felt before. I absolutely fucking love you.”
Then came a kiss that was long and hard, sloppy, and deep. Pierce was the one who had to end it. “I better get to the can before I leak all over the sheets,” he giggled, adding a touch of levity to the affair.
“Does this mean we’re boyfriends?” Drake asked after they returned to the bed, showered, clean, and with their teeth brushed and their cocks hard again. The lights were off, and they talked quietly in the dark.
“What do you think?”
“I think we tell Walker in the morning and my parents when you come over that we’re a couple and that somebody better drive us to a nice restaurant so we can have a date to celebrate.”
“Shit, think about it. We’re boyfriends and we haven’t had our first real date yet.”
“No biggie,” Drake grinned. “It will be nice to have something huge to celebrate with our first date.”
“It won’t be easy with us living in two different cities.”
“Hey, if my brother and cousin can do it in seventh grade, we can make it work in high school. We’ve got Sound Transit to connect us, and it won’t be long before we have our licenses. Plus, we have our phones, our computers, but fuck, I want to be with you all the time—like sleeping with you every night and going to the same school, and, well…”
“What you want to say is we’re big boys and if we really love each other as much as we think, we’ll make it work,” Pierce said.
“You’re pretty smart for some dork going to a rich man’s private school.”
“And you’re pretty sexy for a dude who thinks running around a track is a sport.”
Drake gently pressed his lips to Pierce’s. “I know Dr. McGregor is helping you put your guilts behind you and I want to do everything I can to help you, too.”
Pierce’s blue eyes filled with tears. “You already have. Feeling you inside me will help me more than you’ll ever know.”
“I love you, Pierce.” “I love you, Drake.” the teens said simultaneously. They held each other tighter, kissed harder, and humped their bare erections together until they creamed over each other, after which they fell asleep close and cuddled.
<The Miller Brothers>
Chase, Curt, and Eddie sat at the breakfast table along with their dad, Troy, and Chase’s boyfriend, Dillon. Logan was in the kitchen with Susan, their mom, helping her with the cooking. He was making the pancakes as she fried bacon.
“I can’t believe Eddie and Curt are going on a double date for lunch,” Logan said to Susan.
“What is it that makes it so surprising?” Susan asked as if she couldn’t guess.
“Well, first, they’re brothers. And second they’re taking girls on the date.”
“Surely you’re joking, Logan.”
“No way. I’m totally serious. Eddie is taking Maria and Curt is taking a girl named Staci, although I think he likes his new friend Andrew better.”
Logan scooped six pancakes off the griddle and dropped them on a plate, which Susan carried out to the dining room. Logan had finished pouring three more pancakes onto the griddle when Susan returned to the kitchen.
“I have news for you young man,” Susan said as she slapped more bacon into the frying pan. Logan was always leery when his mother called him “young man” and waited for the punch line. “Boys have been taking girls out for meals since they were living in caves and hunting for that meal.”
“But what about their being brothers?”
“If they can sleep together why can’t they date girls together?” Susan asked pointedly.
“I believe my mother has a point.” Logan conceded the argument, happy that Susan had said that they slept together not that they had sex together.
After he slapped the next batch of pancakes on the plate, Logan went out to have his own breakfast. The chatter at the table was lively. As much as Logan enjoyed helping with the breakfast, he was happy to finally be able to join the chatter. It would be Curt’s turn to help next time their mom needed assistance.
So far it had been a strange weekend for Logan. Last night Curt and Eddie had slept together, trading blow jobs, and Chase and Dillon slept together doing what boyfriends do when they’re in bed. Logan slept alone and took care of his pubescent needs with his own fingers. And this morning it had been his turn to help with the traditional Saturday pancake feast, so he missed most of the chatter. But things were guaranteed to improve after lunch since Tony would be coming over to spend the rest of the day and stay overnight.
Eddie was just finishing his breakfast when he asked a question that caught Logan’s attention. “Hey, mom and dad, what do you guys think of us having a Miller cousin weekend when Memorial Day weekend comes?”
“Well, that’s a long way off,” Troy said. “And what does having a cousin weekend mean?”
“It’s only about six weeks away and since we have to invite everybody in time so they can come and then plan stuff we need a lot of time.”
“Spoken like the son of a lawyer,” Troy chuckled.
“Mom does more organizing around the house than a certain lawyer does,” Chase pointed out.
“Spoken like a true teenage know-it-all,” Troy said, knowing that Chase’s evaluation was correct. “Well, before your parents can make a decision, we need to know what a cousin weekend would entail, so enlighten us, Eddie.” It was obvious that it entailed a weekend with the four brothers together with their two cousins, Aiden and Drake. Troy suspected there would be more to the proposal than just those six boys spending the weekend.
“Well, me and Curt talked about it last night,” Eddie answered, “and…
“Curt and I,” Susan interjected.
“Yeah, Curt and I. Anyway, me and Curt thought that we would, like, have the four awesome Miller brothers plus the Miller cousins spend the weekend. There’s more, and I’ll let Curt tell that since it was his idea.”
“We want to make it a really big deal,” Curt said expansively.
“It would have to be a big deal to convince Aiden to abandon his Memorial Day pool opening naturist extravaganza,” Chase chuckled.
“You’re right. We can all work to convince him to have it the weekend before or after because we’re going to open our pool here.”
Eddie saw the look of concern on Susan’s face. “But don’t worry mom, it won’t be a naturist party—at least not outside the house.”
“You do not know how relieved I am to hear that,” Susan said mockingly.
“I’m trying to be serious,” Eddie pouted.
“I apologize, Eddie. It’s just you boys are giving your dad and me a lot to digest all at once.”
“Shouldn’t it be ‘your dad and I’?”
“No, in that case me was correct.”
“I swear speaking good English is beyond confusing. It’s like the rules change every time I open my mouth.”
“I’ll explain it after we get the cousins business straightened out.”
“Whatever—it will probably just confuse me more.”
“I can explain the English to you at lunch if you want,” Curt said.
“It figures that Curt the brain can figure out how it works. Maybe he will teach me and the girls how to order lunch in proper English. But, anyway, let’s give everybody our kicker—how this will be cousins plus.”
“I knew there was more to this than the six Millers,” Susan said, shaking her head. She looked at her husband with a why-aren’t-you-helping-me-with-this expression.
“Each one of us gets to bring a friend,” Curt said. “Which would make twelve in all.”
“And it has to be a boy—no girls,” Eddie added.
“Which shouldn’t bug anybody in the Miller family.”
“I thought you two were into girls,” Logan said to Curt and Eddie.
“We’re just trying them out,” Eddie responded. “Kind of like test driving a car.”
“I think I’ve heard it all, now,” Troy laughed. “I can see you telling Maria that she’s being tested to see if she matches up to the boys you know.”
“I swear, you and mom twist everything we say.”
“You do make it easy for them to do,” Chase pointed out.
“Who would these six friends be?” Susan asked.
“Four are easy. Chase and Dillon. Logan and Tony. Aiden and Nolan. Andrew and me,” Curt said. “Then we came to Eddie and Drake and had to do some thinking.”
“Drake got a little bit easier since we talked last night,” Eddie said. “I did some serious thinking about what I think is going on, and I think it would be Drake and Pierce. I got a text from Drake that he’s going to be spending tonight at Pierce’s house.”
“And in his bed,” Logan giggled, causing Susan to blush.
“No shit? Pierce?” Chase asked. “Damn that guy is so sexy looking, I can see Drake falling for him.”
“Do you think they’re boyfriends?” Logan asked Eddie.
“No, but I think they might end up being boyfriends,” Eddie replied.
“I thought you and Pierce broke up.”
“Not true. We decided we could never be boyfriends, but we could be, like, brothers. Or maybe cousins-in-laws,” Eddie chuckled.
“Who would you invite?” Chase asked. He knew that Eddie didn’t seem to have any close friends and that Eddie needed to see how he would fit into the big gathering.
“Are you ready for this?”
“As long as you are.”
“Somebody who just turned thirteen a couple of days ago and who I sent a gift card to.” Eddie’s statement had everyone confused except for Susan, who helped Eddie with the gift card purchase, and Troy who learned of the birthday purchase from Susan. “And, yes, it is someone you know.”
“Are we going to play twenty questions, or are you going to tell us?” Chase asked impatiently.
“Darnell Carr.”
“Whoa. I didn’t know you guys knew each other that close.”
“Ever since I stayed with him last summer,” Eddie said. “You remember Darnell don’t you Chase?”
“Sure I do. His dad and our dad are buddies, remember?”
“I know. What about you Curt?”
“I only know that you stayed with Darnell at his house when you went to that workshop in Bellingham last summer. But I don’t know why everybody’s so surprised you’re friends,” Curt admitted.
“That goes back to when I lived in Mayfield with my fucking father.” Susan blushed on hearing Eddie’s description but elected not to say anything. She understood the relationship between Eddie and his abusive father. “Darnell’s dad and Aiden’s dads are friends too, since they grew up in Tacoma together along with our dad.
“Anyway, I was playing baseball on the same team as Aiden. Darnell was in Mayfield visiting. When I saw him, I went up to him and said a lot of not nice things to him because he was black. The long story short is, I told Darnell I was sorry, and he forgave me, and I learned that he was a really nice guy and then learned that he was fucking HOT in bed. We haven’t seen each other much since then, but we’ve done some Facetime when we can.”
What Eddie didn’t bother to tell was the details about the texts they shared or about the erotic Facetime visits that they had started in January. He and Darnell agreed a couple of weeks ago that it was time for them to do some face-to-face stuff again. Eddie thought the cousin blowout would be a great time to do that.
“Why haven’t you told anybody about the sex you guys had?” Logan asked.
“They were probably test driving,” Chase said drolly.
“Kind of,” Eddie said ignoring Chase’s attempted witticism. “I guess we just decided to keep things private. Well now you know we’re getting to be better than best friends. We want to see each other pretty bad, but sports and school and shit…stuff…keep getting in the way.”
Chase had often thought of Eddie as being prejudiced against blacks, more by reputation than by observation. His revelation of the depth of his long-distance friendship with Darnell was causing Chase to think otherwise.
“Well, I guess that makes twelve,” Chase grinned.
“Well, can we try it?” Curt asked.
“Are Logan and Chase in on this?” Troy asked.
“This is the first time we heard the idea. I like it and I say let’s go for it.”
“I’m with my big bro,” Logan said.
Troy and Susan knew that adding two teenage sons to the family was going to create moments of chaos, and this looked like one of those moments. Troy thought that this would be an ideal way for the boys to learn how to work on their organizational skills and see if they could plan something on a large scale. Unlike a birthday party, this was going to be entirely their production.
“Let me talk with your mom for a moment.” Troy and Susan left for the kitchen and returned within a couple of minutes.
“Okay, boys we’re all for it,” Troy said. “You guys will do all of the organizing. We’ll pay for food and drink and see to it that the swimming pool is ready. We expect you to keep us informed on your progress and want a report at least once a week—more often in the last two weeks. This will be a good lesson for you in planning, organizing, and executing an event.”
“Does that mean that if the whole thing falls apart, you’re going to execute us?” Chase grinned.
“Oh, we wouldn’t think of letting you boys off the hook that easily,” Troy grinned.
Fifteen minutes later the brothers met in the basement playroom. “I hope we didn’t bite off more than we can chew,” Chase said.
“It’s going to go great,” Eddie assured him.
“Who’s going to be in charge?” Logan asked as he pointed at Eddie.
Chase and Curt followed his lead and pointed at Eddie. “You’re now the man,” Chase grinned.
“But you’re the oldest,” Eddie protested.
“It was your idea,” Chase pointed out.
“And Curt’s.” Chase gave Eddie his sternest big brother look. “Okay, I’ll take charge. First thing we do is invite people since we need to know who’s coming. Just getting Darnell here is going to be enough work for me.”
“Darnell,” Chase said, shaking his head. “You don’t know what a surprise that was. You could have shared that you guys were communicating pretty regularly.”
“Now you know.” Eddie then made his first executive decision. “I’ll invite Darnell. Chase, how about you inviting Drake? Tell him he can invite Pierce. Logan…”
“I’ll invite Aiden,” Logan said. “And he can invite Nolan and they need to let me know as soon as they can. Right?”
“You got it. Now, we’ve got a start.”
“I still can’t believe you and Curt are taking a couple of girls to lunch on a double date,” Logan said.
“You didn’t make it easy by cooking up all those pancakes. But, believe it, because that is what is happening.”
“I know I’ll have more fun with Tony when he gets here.”
“Will you be dressed by then?” The brothers had stripped naked before starting their meeting.
“That’s for me to know and you to find out. Whatever I do, I’ll be wearing less than you this afternoon.”
The brothers decided to remain downstairs and play some games rather than get dressed right away. While they didn’t say so, the idea of planning the big cousins and friends get together made them feel closer as brothers than ever.
Next: Friends and More Friends (2)