The Woods
by Jobe
According to the weather report, this summer was the hottest in the last 5 years. Some of the old timers said it was due to climate warming. Bobby didn't care what caused it, he was hot. Looking out of his bedroom window and he noticed the trees were looking like they were fanning themselves. Bobby thought to himself, he wonder if it would be cooler under the trees.
Bobby was a wanderer and the opportunity to check out something new was right up his alley. He was remembering it wasn't this hot in his old city, Nome, Alaska. It was hard for him to adjust to this summer heat in Virginia. He kept looking at the trees; the more he looked the more he wanted to go. Changing into shorts, tee shirt and flip flops, he left the house and headed to the trees.
As Bobby entered the woods, he noticed it was cooler under the boughs of the trees. But as soon as he walked into a sunny spot, the hot temperature was back. To Bobby the answer was simple, stay under the trees. As he walked further into the woods he noticed that the ground started to slope uphill. The extra effort to walk uphill didn't faze him too much but after walking for an hour, he began to tire and sweat even thou the air was cooler than when he first entered the woods. About to sit down and catch his breath, he noticed the ground was leveling off. If Bobby could've seen the woods he'd have seen that the land covered by the trees rose, level and dropped randomly for quite a long ways.
As Bobby rested sitting on a log, he realized he was thirsty. In his hurry to explore the woods, he forgot to take a bottle of water. After resting for a while, he decided to start walking again. Soon he noticed that the ground was feeling damp. The further he walked, the damper the ground became. He came upon a small stream and decided to follow it, evidently the wet ground was due to a water spring that broke through the service and pooling, it became a small stream. Booby took off his flip flops and dipped his feet into the small stream. He was surprised how cold the water felt; he reveled in the cold water on his hot feet. After a few minutes, he wondered if the water was safe to drink, he remembered in Nome he would often drink from the small streams that ran down from the mountains. Dipping his hands into the cold water, he scoped some to drink. To Bobby, it was like the nectar of the gods, continuing to drink until he quenched his thirst, he relaxed for a while.
"I wonder where this stream leads." Bobby began to follow the stream till he came to a clearing and there he found a pond. But that isn't all he found. Floating in the pond was a naked boy who looked about the same age. He wasn't sure if he should disrupt the boy, he seemed so relaxed. Bobby sat on the grass that surrounded the pond just watching the boy float. He noticed that the boy had a slender body topped off with a moppet of blond hair. It looked from his vantage point that the boy was smooth except for a little blond tuft of hair at his crotch. Bobby continued to watch, what he didn't know, the boy was watching him through slotted eyes.
Bobby jumped when the boy loudly said, "Come on in. The water will cool you off." The boy got out of the water and sat down next to Bobby.
Bobby tried not to look below the boy's waist but he couldn't help it. He had made a major discovery before he moved from Nome; he discovered he liked boys more than girls. Looking at the boy, he became nervous. He noticed that the boy was good looking and had a muscular, slim body.
The boy extended his hand, "my name is Ricardo but my friends call me Ricky. What's your name?"
"Bobby"
"You must be new. I haven't seen you around before"
"Yea, we just moved here from Nome, Alaska"
"Wow, this must be a big change for you. Come on in the pond. The water is great and you'll cool off."
Bobby wasn't sure if that was a good idea. What if he got a woody? Ricky thought he might know why Bobby was reticent about coming into the pool. "Come on, we're both boys. Haven't you been naked in your showers at your old school?"
Bobby thought a moment, his problem wasn't about being naked in front of boys, his problem was being naked in front of Ricky.
Ricky continued to urge Bobby to come and swim with him; he really wanted to see Bobby's body. From what he could see, he thought he probably had a great body to go along with his cute face. Bobby didn't know that he and Ricky were of the same gender persuasion and Ricky was hoping that just maybe, Bobby might be gay as well.
Eventually Bobby gave in to Ricky's incessant pleas to enter the pond and swim with him. Bobby kicked off his flip flops, and when he pulled his t-shirt over his head, Ricky had to move to deeper waters so he could stand up, little Ricky definitely approved of what he saw.
Cautiously, Bobby entered the pond. The water was cold but extremely refreshing and he didn't have to worry about any embarrassing moments. After the initial shock of the cold water, Bobby relaxed and started to enjoy himself. "I could stay here all day; this weather is too hot for me."
"You'll get use to it. By the end of summer you won't even notice it."
Bobby laughed, "By the end of summer I won't need to get use to it. The weather won't be as hot."
The boys talked getting to know each other. Bobby found out that Ricky lived just down the street from him, they would be going to the same school, were in the same grade and each had a sibling. As they floated and swam, the same thought went through the minds of both boys, I wonder if he's gay.
After spending several hours in the pond, "Bobby, I got to go. I've been here since 9. My parents will be looking for me and I don't want them to find me at this pond."
Bobby decided maybe he should go home as well, "I think I'll leave also. Maybe we can do this tomorrow morning again," he hoped Ricky will say yes.
The boys got dressed and Ricky showed Bobby a shorter way to get to the pond. They made an agreement to meet again tomorrow morning.
Returning home, "Well, you look cool. Where were you?"
"I took a long walk in the woods. It was a lot cooler there; I'm just not use to this heat. I met a boy there and we swam in a cool pond, actually it's a very small lake, but he called it a pond. He's my age and we'll be in the same grade. His name is Ricky and lives just down the street from us."
Bobby's mother smiled, she knew Bobby was gay and she had hoped he'd find friends that wouldn't harass or bully him if they knew about his sexual preferences. " Well, I'm glad that you made a friend but you shouldn't go walking in those woods until you know your way around, you could've gotten lost."
"We're going to meet again tomorrow morning. It really felt great swimming in the pond. I'm going to take a shower."
Bobby's shower was more than getting clean. As he began to think about Ricky, little Bobby woke up. Bobby tried to console little Bobby by caressing him until he reached his climatic end. When he looked at the shower wall, he couldn't believe how far he shot and the amount.
What Bobby didn't know was that Ricky was doing the same. He was excited about seeing Bobby the next day. After showering he went to the kitchen to get a snack.
"You seemed to be in a happy mood."
"Yea I am. I met a new boy today who lives up the road. He just moved here from Nome and I think he's boyfriend material. We're going swimming again tomorrow."
Ricky's mom just smiled as she patted his back. She hoped that this new boy would turn out to be a good friend for Ricky. He had a hard time since he came out as gay; she wanted to see him happy.
The next day, Bobby was anxious to go swimming with Ricky. While he was eating breakfast, all he could do is think of Ricky. "Why the big smile, son? You seem very happy this morning."
"I made a friend yesterday and we're going swimming this morning. Mom, can I bring him home for lunch? I'd like for you to meet him."
"Yes absolutely. I'd like to meet this friend that has put such a smile on your face."
As Bobby was finished eating, there was a knock at the door. When Bobby's father answered the door, a young man was there.
"Good morning, my name is Ricky. Is Bobby ready to go swimming?"
Bobby heard Ricky, he jumped up and rushed to the door just as his father invited Ricky in. "Hi Ricky, I didn't expect you this morning. Dad, this is the guy I went swimming with yesterday." Bobby's dad shook Ricky's hand as Bobby pulled Ricky into the kitchen. "Mom, this is Ricky. We're going swimming this morning."
"It's nice to meet you Ricky, Bobby hasn't stopped talking about you."
"Mom!" Bobby was embarrassed by his mom, but Ricky just looked at Bobby with a grin, shaking his head as if to say, so you like me. Bobby's faced turned red.
"Bye mom, dad come on Ricky let's go swimming."
Bobby's mom and dad just smiled at each other reading Bobby's expressions as he pulled Ricky to the door. He wanted to escape his family as well as get to the pond and see Ricky naked. Little Bobby agreed as he tried to see.
Walking to the pond, Ricky decided to take the lead by putting his arm around Bobby's shoulder. It was a brave move on the part of Ricky. He lost his best friend when he did that. The memory came back to Ricky as he removed his arm and his eyes became teary. Bobby liked that Ricky put his arm around his shoulder so when Ricky removed it Bobby looked at Ricky and saw the moist eyes. "Ricky, what's the matter? Did I do something to upset you?"
Ricky decided he would tell Bobby and if that was a problem for Bobby best get it out now where there's no one around. "Bobby, you need to know something, I'm gay." Ricky waited for the reaction. When nothing happened he looked at Bobby, he was shocked. Bobby had a big smile. Ricky was confused until Bobby grabbed him into a hug.
Whispering, "I'm also gay."
Ricky couldn't believe his ears. He looked at Bobby as if he had four eyes. He couldn't believe his luck. This good looking guy was gay. Ricky started to cry again and whispered "thank you" as if he was thanking of someone. Bobby just smiled and looked at Ricky.
Ricky put his arms around Bobby. "I can't believe you're gay also. Yesterday was the best day when I met you."
Holding hands, they walked to the pond. Ricky told Bobby about his experiences at school when they learned he was gay. When Bobby asked how he came out, Ricky told him about his best friend and what happened when he put his arm around him. Bobby couldn't understand why Ricky's friend would freak out as he had. He had put his arm around a lot of his friend and they never acted like that.
"Race you to the pond." As they ran, they started to take off their t-shirts, kicked off their flip flops and ran into the pond. Then they realized that they still had their shorts on. Laughing, they took them off and threw them on the shore.
The rest of the morning the boys cavorted in the pond. There was no question these two were on their way to becoming best friends. Bobby was extremely excited to not only have a best friend but also the makings of a boyfriend.
As they dressed to walk home, again holding hands, Bobby invited Ricky for lunch. "I need to tell my mom. Walk home with me while I tell her. I want you to meet her."
Bobby was a little tense as they walked into Ricky's home. "Mom, I'm home. I have Bobby with me." Ricky's mom came into the kitchen.
"It's nice to meet you Bobby, I've heard a lot about you." It was Ricky's turn to blush.
"Mom, I'm going to Bobby's house for lunch. I'll probably hang out with him for a while."
"Alright, just be home for dinner."
Ricky's mom watched Ricky and Bobby walk holding hands. She had a smile; it had been a while since Ricky had someone in his life. She hoped it would work out but at least as a good friend.
The rest of the summer, Ricky and Bobby spent a lot of time together, swimming in their pond, going to movies and just hanging out at each other's home. The parents were supportive of the boys and were pleased that they had become best friends. Deep down they hoped it would turn into more but they weren't going to push it.
School was no problem for Bobby. He was smart, athletic and being good looking, he made a lot of friends but Ricky always had the number one position in his heart. Ricky still had a few enemies who tried to bully him by calling him fag urged on by his previous best friend. Bobby was always there to defend him and made it known, pick on Ricky and he'll deal with you. He remembered the first day when Jim, Ricky's previous best friend, approached Ricky and started to bully him calling him fag while shoving him. Before anyone could blink, Bobby reached out, grabbed Jim by the neck squeezing, "you ever touch Ricky again, you'll be wearing a black eye, squeezing harder, do you understand me?"
Jim was frightened and just shook his head. The crowd that watched this apparently also got the message. Bobby put his arm around Ricky and walked into the school.
Christmas break was soon within reach. Bobby was ready to take their friendship one step forward. He heard about promise rings and thought that would be a great gift for Ricky. Asking his mom what she thought, she hugged him, "I think that would be a great gift. Your dad and I like Ricky. We think you are lucky to find such a friend." Bobby's mom and Ricky's mom had become best friends. They both agreed that they would be happy if the boys ended up living together.
The families decided to have Christmas dinner at Bobby's home since they had Thanksgiving dinner at Ricky's. The first few days of the school break, the guys did their Christmas shopping, went to the movies and just generally had fun. Bobby couldn't wait to give Ricky his gift and of course Ricky couldn't wait to give Bobby his gift.
Christmas eve, Ricky stayed over at Bobby's house for the first time. Bobby was excited but not as much as Ricky. He was ready to declare his love for Bobby. They had been together for 9 months since meeting at the pond.
Dinner was over, the boys offered to clean up, much to Bobby's mother's joy, as she left the kitchen. The boys found reasons to keep bumping into each other, laughing quite a bit. Not sure if the laughing was meant to cover up the nervousness each boy felt. When the kitchen was clean, the boys watched a Christmas movie. Bobby looked at Ricky, it seemed they were ready for bed, "mom, dad, we're going to bed."
Walking upstairs to Bobby's room, Ricky became a little nervous, 'gee, I act like a nervous bride on her wedding night.' Then Ricky thought, most brides today have been in bed with their intended well before the proverbial wedding night.
"I'm going to take a shower before going to bed, and then you can take one if you want." Ricky thought, we already had seen each other naked so what's the big deal. Bobby went into the bathroom, disrobed and started the shower. When the temperature was right, he stepped in and slid the door shut. He just started to shampoo his hair when he heard the shower door open and another pair of hands on his head. Immediately the little man below started to raise his head. As he leaned back into Ricky, he felt little Ricky poking him. If he was 1 inch taller or Ricky was 1 inch shorter, little Ricky would've hit the target.
The warm water and knowing it was Ricky behind him, somehow relaxed Bobby. He wanted this shower to go on forever. Ricky took some soap and began to wash Bobby's back while Bobby concentrated on his front. That was until Ricky touched his ass with his soapy fingers. Bobby tensed for a minute than completely relaxed. Ricky reached around Bobby from the back and began to wash his groin area. Bobby just sighed and relaxed as Ricky began to pay attention to the little man. Within seconds, the little man threw up all over the shower wall. Bobby fell back into Ricky's arms.
When he recovered, he turned to face Ricky, took him into his arms, kissed him for the first time. Changing places, Bobby began to repeat what Ricky did to him, including having little Ricky spitting on the wall. The boys stood under the water kissing until Bobby's dad yelled goodnight through the bedroom door. At that moment Bobby was glad he had his own bathroom.
Turning off the water, the boys each grabbed a towel and began drying each other. Dried, teeth brushed, they were more relaxed and looked forward to sleeping together for the first time. "Did you bring anything to sleep in?"
"No, I usually sleep nude." and so two boys got in bed for the first time.
Bobby turned to face Ricky; he looked Ricky deeply in the eyes and then slowly brought his lips to meet Ricky's. What started as a soft kiss soon turned into a deep kiss and then the passion and urgency of conveying their love took over. One could argue whose lips parted first and whose tongue enter the others mouth, but it would've been an argument that had no conclusion. For Bobby and Ricky it didn't matter. When they broke the kiss, they were breathing hard and their hearts were beating fast. Almost as if it was rehearse, the words 'I love you' were said by both simultaneously. Ricky cuddled in Bobby's arms as each said 'I love you' a second time and slowly drifted to sleep.
But sleep doesn't come to young lovers without happy and not so happy dreams. Worries, past issues will show themselves in dreams and so it was with Ricky. He relived the betrayal by Jim all over again. As he dreamt, he began to push Bobby away while moaning. Bobby woke up and realized Ricky was dreaming. He pulled Ricky closer and began to lightly kiss him while speaking in a low voice, I love you. Soon Ricky settled down and snuggled in Bobby's arms.
Bobby woke at 6 in the morning. He laid there looking at Ricky, thinking he was lucky to have found him at the pond that day. It was the day his whole life got better, as he was thinking this, Ricky woke up. He noticed the faraway look on Bobby's face, and kissed his cheek. Bobby turned and seeing that Ricky was awake, pulled him into an embrace that led to a soul searching kiss. "Let's shower and get dressed. You can help me make breakfast."
Showering with Ricky was a repeat of the night before. Only this time, Ricky was in front of Bobby. But it didn't make any difference as far as they were concerned. They both knew that there would be plenty more showers together from now on.
After showering, they did take a lot longer toweling each other dry. It took them longer to get dressed between the kissing and fondling until their little men demanded attention. Bobby wandered what it would feel like to treat little Ricky to a kiss. In the pretense of helping Ricky put his socks on, Bobby knelt before Ricky, looked little Ricky directly in the eye, opened his mouth and took him into his mouth. Ricky jumped and felt his legs start to grow weak. He grabbed Bobby's head for balance. Bobby really got in to it as he lathered little Ricky's head with his tongue. Ricky began to moan, he tried to push Bobby away as he felt his orgasm beginning. But Bobby wouldn't let go, and soon he was rewarded with the essence of Ricky. Ricky's orgasm was so strong his legs completely failed landing him on Bobby's body. It took several minutes for Ricky to recover.
"God Bobby that was incredible. I love you more than anything."
Bobby helped Ricky get dressed. Holding hands, they headed to the kitchen. Bobby started to get the ingredients for breakfast. It seemed to take him forever; he'd get the eggs out of the refrigerator, stop and get a kiss. This continued till his parents walked into the kitchen and still breakfast wasn't ready.
"Marie, how long does it take to make breakfast?" "I don't know but it must take at least an hour."
Two boys were as red as a beet when they realized they were caught kissing and breakfast wasn't ready. Bobby's parents just laughed and hugging the boys wished them 'Merry Christmas'.
Thoroughly embarrassed, the boys had breakfast ready and on the table by the time the toast was done. To further embarrassed the boys, Bobby's father asked them how they slept, with a knowing smile on his face. Ricky thinking about earlier, turned red again. Before he could say anything, Bobby told them about Ricky's nightmare.
Looking at Ricky as if they wanted to know more, "it was a flash back to when my best friend outed me at school. I have these dreams occasionally; I think it was because of a fear of that happening again. It was a foolish dream because I know it won't happen as long as Bobby is with me." He told them about the first day of school when Bobby defended him.
Bobby's dad, Paul, just smiled at the boys, "good job Bobby. No one should have to put up with that kind of nonsense."
Breakfast over, the kitchen clean, they moved into the living room to open presents. Bobby was assigned to hand out the presents and Ricky was surprised to see a few presents for him. When all of the presents were handed out, there were still a few left for Ricky's family, they began to open them. Bobby and Ricky each got a lap top. Paul told them that they'd need those for college. The boys thanked Paul and Marie with a hug. At first Ricky wasn't so sure about hugging Bobby's family, but with a slight nudge by Bobby he hugged them as well.
"Ricky, I've a special gift for you" and with those words he handed Ricky the small box.
"Bobby I've a special gift for you also."
Paul and Marie watched the two boys; they knew what those special gifts were. The boys opened their gifts and both were totally surprised, as if in a chorus, 'how did you know I was thinking about buying you this promise ring.' Then they laughed. 'Look inside.'
The inscriptions inside, except for the name, were the same, 'to my love'.
The boys put on the rings and then in front of Bobby's parents kissed. When they realized that, they blushed.
Bobby and Ricky seemed to be closer than ever. School was over and graduation was just a few days away. They both have been accepted at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. It would seem that their future was all set.
For a graduation present, the boy's families paid for an Alaskan trip. The boys flew to California where they boarded a cruise to Alaska. When they arrived in Alaska, they were taken on a trek into the wilderness. Flying into a lodge among the wilderness, they were in awe of the view. Landing on a lake was something else, both boys were very excited.
Docking, a porter from the lodge met them, "I'll take your luggage and if you follow the trail it'll take you to the lodge." The boys thanked the pilot, and headed toward the lodge.
As the boys walked along the tree lined walkway they could smell the large pine trees. When they saw the lodge, they couldn't believe the size of it. What the boys didn't realize, the lodge was the largest hunting lodge in this area of Alaska. Hunters from all over the world came here to hunt. As they walked into the lobby, Ricky was amazed at the decor. It was rough, wooden walls, wooden floors and the staircases leading to the upper floors were highly polished wood. It gave Ricky a feeling of being outdoors while being indoors.
When they checked in, the front desk clerk told them that this was off season so only the first two floors in the east wing were open. Ricky and Bobby really didn't care as long as they had a room to share. The clerk checked them in, telling them if they wanted to go fishing the lodge would provide fishing gear as while as bait. "Any fish you catch can be prepared for your dinner or lunch by our chef. So have fun and if you catch the limit, there'll probably be enough for me also." smiling he gave the boys their keys and showed them to their room.
The boys were torn between enjoying the bed or exploring the area around the lodge. Bobby suggested they should explore the area, he wasn't familiar with this area even though he lived in Alaska most of his life. He also wanted to check out the lake to see if he could find fishing spots where he and Ricky would be alone.
Ricky agreed, so they left the lodge with a pamphlet showing the various trails. As they headed out and were a little way from the lodge, Bobby took Ricky's hand and pulled him into an embrace. "I know we still have college to finish, but Ricky I take you as my life mate and on this trip I want to consummate my commitment to you."
Ricky didn't answer right away, Bobby was afraid Ricky wouldn't want to be committed to him. Ricky looked at Bobby with tears in his eyes; he grabbed Bobby and pulled him into a kiss that deepened. Looking into Bobby's eyes, "yes Bobby, I want you to be my life partner as well. I fell in love with you at our pond and it has grown every day since."
And so it came to pass, that night Bobby and Ricky consummated their commitment to each other. Their week was spent fishing, walking the trails and renewing their love for each other in the evening. Both boys had a glow of serenity about them knowing they were committed for life.
Returning back to Virginia, the boys enrolled in the University of Virginia, following their father's footsteps. They both achieved high grades and encouraged by their parents, enrolled in graduate school. Upon graduation, they wanted to make their commitment legal by getting married. To do this, they took a vacation in Massachusetts where gay marriage was legal.
What started out as dip in a pond in the woods behind their homes turned into a love that'll endure for all time.
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