A Boy's World
by Jason Redfeather
Chapter 11
Jeffy's smooth, creamy bare butt was like a magnet to me, it drew me right up out of the water and right to him. I pressed my wet body to his backside and wrapped my arms around him, kissing the side of his neck.
"I love you," I whispered into his ear.
"I love you, too," he said, and turned to kiss me back, smiling. Again, I was astonished at how my life had changed in so short a time. It was as though waking from a dim dream; suddenly, I could barely remember my life before meeting this wonderful boy and I could no longer imagine it without him.
I looked out across the city that sprawled before us; it seemed to go on for miles, nearly out of sight. Streams of air cars and yachts glided at different heights and many directions all around us. It felt strange, and somehow amazingly freeing, to stand stark naked in plane sight of all those people out there. "How many people live here?" I asked.
"Nearly a million," Dagwynn said, coming to my side. "And about three million more, scattered around the rest of the planet."
I looked around the rocky plateau we stood on; fifteen meters of craggy stone, with a higher spur on the north side, where the water bubbled up from. "This would be a great place to camp," I said.
"Hey, that's a great idea!" Jeffy exclaimed. "We should do that!"
"Do what?" Nathan asked, coming close.
"Do what?" his brother repeated.
"Camp up here," Jeffy said.
"I guess we could," Dagwynn mused. "In all the time I've lived here, I never thought of camping up here. I come up here all the time, just to get away - to think - but I never thought of that."
After about two minutes in the hot breeze, the water fled away from our skin. I started to pull my long pants on, but Dagwynn said, "Wait!" He grabbed his pants and dug into a pocket, pulled out a small pen-like device.
"What's that?" I asked.
"Here, give me your pants," he said. "I'll show you." He spread my pants out flat on the rock and etched a jagged line across both thighs. When he picked up my pants, the legs stayed behind. "Your legs are much too sexy to keep covered," he said, handing me my new cut-offs. "Try them on; let's see how they look."
"Funny, I was thinking the same about yours," I said. I stepped into them and pulled them up my legs. They felt good, but as I was buttoning them, my long dick slipped out the leg opening and dangled in the breeze. "Oops!" I said. "Where are my undies?" I looked around and saw my white briefs laying in a crumpled pile, a couple meters away.
"I kinda like that look," Dagwynn said, smiling.
I chuckled as I went to fetch my briefs. I dropped my cut-offs and pulled my undies on, then, with my wayward flesh neatly tucked away, I again pulled on the raggedly cut jeans. Being an older pair, they were snug about my hips, like the "painted-on" ones I'd seen on so many other boys on the Strip, but without the burden of long legs, they felt good - so much lighter.
"So why don't you cut yours off, too?" I asked Dagwynn. "Your legs are really sexy, too!"
He looked at the ground, then raised his eyes to mine and smiled sheepishly. "Grandma won't let me," he said. "She says she doesn't want me looking like those 'bad boys' on the Strip." He pulled his long pants on, covering his beautiful, creamy legs, with their sparse, wiry, blond hairs that glittered so exquisitely in the sunlight, and his thick, creamy flesh, which he left hanging out until he was ready to zip up.
The twins pulled on their tiny, red bikinis and the small, white t-shirts over their shoulders; Jeffy found his cut-offs and slipped his smooth, tanned legs into them. Lastly, I found my tank top and pulled it on, then we started back down the narrow, rugged trail, toward Dagwynn's Grandma's house.
By the time we got to the bottom of the hill, I was craving another dip in cool water, and I thought about asking Dagwynn about swimming in their pool, but then I smelled it - not the pool, but something else, something wonderful that set my stomach to begging. I followed Dagwynn and Jeffy into the house and the smell got stronger.
In the kitchen, we discovered Dagwynn's Grandma pouring thick, white gravy into a big bowl. "Ah, there you are!" she said. "You're just in time; wash your hands, all of you, and sit down." I saw the table was already set for six, with a real white lace cloth, china plates, silver utensils, crystal goblets and even cloth napkins. Dagwynn showed the other boys to the bathroom, where they could wash.
"Oh, gee," I said, "you didn't have to go to all this trouble, Mrs - uh - What's your name?"
"Just call me Grandma," she said. "Well, I couldn't very well let five growing boys leave my house hungry, now, could I? How are you feeling, dear?"
"Much better, thank you," I replied, remembering the slobbering, psychedelic state I was in when I arrived. "Thank you for... whatever it was you gave me."
"Shandalace," she said. "You're lucky I still had some left over from when I had to treat another of Dagwynn's friends."
"Shanda... What?" I asked.
"Shandalace," she repeated. "It's a local herb."
"Well, thank you," I said again. "So, why do they grow dangerous plants where anybody could just grab it, like I did?"
"Well, a long time ago, back on Earth," she began, "they used to paint fat, yellow lines down the center of the roads, to divide the lanes of traffic."
"Yeah, I know," I said. "They're still there."
"But when we came here, part of the terraforming scheme called for grass and plants in the streets, to help maintain a richer oxygen atmosphere, and someone found this local bush that grew yellow pods all over it; they looked just like the lines on the roads, back on Earth. Well, of course, they found out right away what the effect of them was, but they kept using them anyway because they grow so easily and quickly; they're supposed to post warning signs on every hedge row, but then they got slack about that, too." We heard a high-pitched squeal from the bathroom and I guessed that a water fight had broken out. "You'd better get in there," Grandma said.
I followed the sounds and, sure enough, Jeffy and the twins had Dagwynn cornered and were splashing water across the room at him.
"Hey, com' on, guys!" I said loudly, over their shrieks and laughter. "Don't make a big mess!"
"Sorry," the twins said in unison.
"It's OK," Dagwynn said. "I started it."
"It looks like your Grandma made a huge dinner for us!" I said as I dipped my hands into the cool running water in the sink.
"Yeah, she loves to cook," Dagwynn said. He handed Nick a towel for them to dry their hands.
Jeffy squeezed some soap from the bottle on the counter and ran his hands over mine, carefully lathering my fingers; his caresses were so gentle and loving, I had to smile at the mothering he was giving me. I began caressing his hands back and stroking his long, delicate fingers, even going up his arms a bit; both of us were covered with cream-colored dust from the hillside. "We're going to have to take showers when we get back," I said.
"Uh-huh," he replied, his voice so soft it was almost cooing.
Nathan left the towel on the counter; I took it and wrapped Jeffy's hands, rubbing them soothingly.
"Com' on, love birds," Dagwynn said, laying a hand on my shoulder. "Let's eat!" He herded Nick and Nathan into the hall.
In the dining room, I sat between Dagwynn and Jeffy, both of whom took great delight in sneaking their hands into my lap to tease my ever-ready bulge. The twins sat across from me, reaching with bare feet to touch my and Jeffy's legs. Grandma set a big platter of fried chicken before us, then went to pull a tray of fresh biscuits from the oven. The smell was amazing! I hadn't seen a meal like this since my own grandmother was alive.
Grandma sat at the head of the table, between Dagwynn and Nathan. She took Nathan's plate and split a biscuit in half on it, then spooned thick gravy over it. "Now that's how you eat a biscuit!" she said, setting it before the wide-eyed boy. At the Golden River, they ate biscuits all the time, with butter and jam, but never with gravy; this was a new concept for them.
Nathan took his fork and tasted Grandma's creation. "Mmmm!" he exclaimed. "That's good!"
"Don't talk with your mouth full, dear," Grandma chuckled.
Nick and Jeffy quickly copied him while Dagwynn and I went for the fried chicken. It wasn't an extravagant meal, but it was delicious, and we ate until we were stuffed. While we ate, Grandma told us stories about the early days in the colony on Mandalay 2. "It was rough at first," she said. "There were only three hundred of us on the first ships and Mr. Pelton didn't have a very good plan for the colony."
"Mr. Pelton?" I asked. "Is he the one who bought this system?"
"Yes," Grandma said. "It was his ship, too, that was first to land here."
"He was Rick's grandfather," Dagwynn said.
"Rick's grandpa owns this planet?" I was surprised.
"Yes," Grandma said. "You know him?"
"Yeah!" I said. "Well, not very well; I just met him a couple days ago."
"Oh, yes," Grandma said. "Dagwynn told me about your parents and grandfather; I'm so sorry!"
"Ye..." I nodded as my voice caught. There it was again - the tears just under the surface, twisting in my belly; I had to fight hard to keep it down. Dagwynn took my hand and squeezed gently; I wanted to fold into him and have a good cry, but tears and fried chicken don't go well together.
"Well, anyway, I was just a young cadet on Mr. Pelton's ship when we landed here," Grandma went on. "We had to do all our own surveys and decide where the best locations would be for cities, farms, mining operations, and so forth. It was a lot of work!" She went on to tell stories of some of the people and the things they did, but I was more interested in Rick's family; if his grandfather owned the planet, then Rick must be heir to quite a fortune! So why did he live alone in a clap-trap hotel with so little?
"So what happened to Rick's Grandpa?" I asked.
"Mr. Pelton?" Grandma asked. "He built a huge house in the hills above the city, here; he and his wife had ten children, most of whom have moved on, either to other continents on this planet, or to other colony worlds."
"What about Rick's parents?" I asked.
"His mother was Mr. Pelton's daughter," Grandma said. "She and her husband took her father's ship and traveled to - the Mellonia system, I think. Rick was just a baby then, so they left him here, with his aunt and uncle. I heard his parents were both killed by thieves, much like your parents were."
"Rick's uncle owns the Golden River casino," Dagwynn said.
"He's Rick's uncle?" I was shocked. I recalled Rick telling me that the owner of the Golden River was a Nirkad!
"Yeah, it's a shame, really," Grandma said. "His uncle has taken charge of nearly every bit of this planet, and all but cut Ricky out of any inheritance he might have had. His own kids - Ricky's cousins - have been carving up the planet for themselves."
"Rick said..." I started. "Well, I don't know if I should say it..."
"Go ahead, dear," Grandma said. "You can say anything here."
"Well..." I started again. "Rick said the owner of the Golden River is a Nirkad."
"Really," Grandma said. "Well, that would explain a lot of things!"
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Well, the police forces always seem to be lax about investigating anything that has Nirkad markings on it," she said. "In fact, the news broadcast reported that there were Nirkad markings on the walls where your parents were killed."
"Is that what those were?" I exclaimed. "I saw those, but I didn't know what they were!"
"What did they look like?" Jeffy asked.
"They were on the wall above my Mom's body - written in her blood, I think," I said, and my voice caught again; I had to pause and push my emotions back down before I could speak. "They looked sort of like Japanese characters, but I don't think that's what they were; they were - I don't know - scratchier, or something."
"Weird," Jeffy said.
Dagwynn squeezed my hand again, seeing that I was about to break down. I pulled myself together, with the help of his strength and assuredness; I knew that I would be alright as long as he was around.
We ate in silence for a while, as Jeffy and Dagwynn teased my relentless boner; that quickly took my mind off my sadness. When I was stuffed full, I leaned back and took a deep breath. "Oh, that was wonderful," I said. Then I noticed all the greasy finger prints on the bulge in my shorts.
"Well, thank you," Grandma replied.
We talked for a bit more while Dagwynn cleared the table. "You should have a bot for that," I said.
"We can't afford one," Dagwynn said. "But some day..."
"I remember when bots were so expensive," Grandma started into another story, "we only used them for the most dangerous jobs. We had two of them in the engine room on Mr. Pelton's ship..."
We left Dagwynn's home about an hour later; I wanted to give him a kiss, but Grandma was standing right there, so I only hugged him. As we walked down the concrete walkway to the front gate, I felt the tug of home pulling me back. It hadn't been that long since I'd left our home on Earth, which Dad had sold to pay for shelters, supplies and passage to our new home; I hadn't realized I'd missed it so much.
"It breaks my heart to send them back out onto the streets like that," Grandma said, as they watched the four young boys walk away from the house.
"Yeah," Dagwynn said. "I wish they could live here with us."
"Me too, dear," Grandma said. "But we can barely take care of ourselves, let alone four more boys!"
"They'll be OK," Dagwynn said. "I've seen where they live - it's not too bad, I guess..."
"Well, you can invite them back for supper as often as you want," Grandma said.
The sun hung low on the horizon, casting long shadows across the city. Having been quite delusional when I came this way, I wasn't sure which way to go, but Jeffy guided me; his fingers intertwined with mine as we walked and his bare, golden-brown shoulder bumped mine. Nick and Nathan followed close behind, their flip-flops snapping against their heals.
We walked up to Rainy Way and turned the corner, heading into the setting sun. I raised a hand to shield my eyes; above us, the traffic was growing heavier as people moved out into the balmy evening. I looked into Jeffy's cherub face; his eyes seemed to glow with liquid blue just beneath the shadow of his hand. I glanced back at the twins; similar pools of liquid blue sparkled beneath their raised hands. All three boys were bare chested and bare legged; their skin turned amber-gold by the setting sun; our shadows stretched out far behind us.
With our relaxed pace, the four blocks seemed to pass more slowly than they did earlier in the day. We came to Seascape Reef and found the traffic growing heavy there as well; it was a street every bit as wide as the Strip, but not nearly as glitzy. Shop windows glowed from inside and doors stood wide open, hovering streetlights began sputtering to life in the shadows of the taller buildings, neon and holographic signs began to stand out more. We crossed the two-hundred-foot-wide avenue, passing the same hedge where I'd picked the yellow koffra pod earlier; I gave the hedge a bit more leeway this time.
We followed Rainy Way over to the Strip and I found the glittering lights, the neon and holographic signs, and all the brightness and glitz much more welcoming. We crossed the Strip, passed another koffra hedge, and turned to the right along the wide sidewalk. Even though it was a bit early yet, many of the boys of the night were starting to take up their positions along the walls and kiosks, ready to advertize their services; short shorts and short shirts were the uniforms of this profession; long, smooth legs and bare bellies, sleek bodies and cute smiles; all of which scattered about the sidewalks like autumn leaves. As my eyes were drawn to each of them, I imagined their stories: broken homes, violent step-fathers, alcoholic or drug-whoring mothers, abandoned kids, orphaned kids, gay kids, misfit kids, unwanted and hated kids, all of them trying to make their way on their own, just trying to survive as best they could. I quickly became overwhelmed with the sadness and pain of all those boys. I wished I could take them all in and care for them, give them the loving, carefree lives they deserved.
But as we passed them, several called out cheerful greetings to Jeffy and the twins: "Hi Jeffy!" "What'cha been up to?" "Lookin' pretty cute, there!" The twins swished their bikini-clad butts at them, giggled and waved, and called greetings to each. Jeffy also greeted each one in return, calling many by name, waving to some and getting snippets of conversation with others. I realized that the majority of these boys either hid their pain well, or chose to overcome it and bounce back, not letting it dominate or destroy their spirits; how amazing these boys were, how resilient, how strong! Even entering such a profession as they did, letting strange men grope them and use them for sex, they still weren't broken! Dagwynn had shared his experiences and had described the tricks of it, the building up of his internal armor, and the secret places his mind went when others were using his body; it was a brilliant strategy and it made me wonder how I would cope with it.
We crossed Thurber Downs and continued up the Strip, passed the Golden River casino and turned into the alley that lead to the barn.
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