What We Are II
Summer Heat
by Richie Ryan
Chapter 8: Busted
The sound of the waves that lapped against the barrels, combined with the gentle rocking motion of the raft, caused Richie to begin to stir from his dreamless sleep. The first thing he saw when his eyes fluttered open was the blue of the morning sky contrasted by the snow white of the high puffy clouds that passed over him. It took him a few seconds to comprehend the implications of what he saw and, when he did, a feeling of panic began to seize him. His senses on full alert, he quickly raised himself up on his elbows. Frantically blinking the rest of the sleep away, he scanned his immediate surroundings. He found that he and Kevin were lying naked on the raft, just as they were the night before, only now they were sporting morning hard-ons.
His panic on the rise, he looked up at the cabin for any signs of life. When he saw none, he quickly turned his attention to the lake to see if there were any early-morning fishermen nearby. Relieved that there was no one in sight in any direction, his panic began to subside. Looking back to Kevin, he smiled as he watched his chest slowly rise and fall with each unlabored breath.
Letting his eyes travel down the length of Kevin's body to his morning erection, all that had happened the night before came back to him. Wondering what time it was, he squinted toward the east and decided it must be early since the sun still hung low over the horizon. This assumption, coupled with the fact that there was no one else in sight, caused his panic to disappear completely, and his body to relax. Slowly stroking his hard-on, he looked back to Kevin again, wondering if he would freak if he leaned over to wake him by sucking on his dick. He knew it was a great way to wake up, and he would have done it in a heartbeat if it was Kyle lying next to him. Unsure how Kevin would react, however, he decided against it. Instead, he gently squeezed and shook his thigh while he spoke to him in a gentle voice.
"Yo, Kevin, wake up, bro."
Kevin groaned softly, stretching his arms and legs as he began to come around. When he opened his eyes, the same feeling of panic that Richie felt caused him to sit up straight and look around.
"Relax, man," said Richie. "There's nobody around. We're safe."
After rubbing the rest of the sleep from his eyes, Kevin blinked a few times as he took in his surroundings. Once he was fully awake, he looked from his hard-on to Richie's, then into Richie's eyes.
"I guess we fell asleep, huh?" he said with an embarrassed smile.
"Looks like," said Richie as he returned his smile. "Wanna take care of this before we go in?"
As he said this, he reached between Kevin's legs and squeezed his rock-hard member. Kevin made no attempt to move Richie's hand away, but covered it with his own hands, instead, as he nervously looked about for possible onlookers.
"Oh, man, I'd sure like to, but I feel kind of exposed out here in broad daylight. Besides, I gotta take one hell of a piss."
"Yeah, me, too," said Richie as he pulled his hand back. "It would be kinda fun, though, don't ya think? You know, out here in the open where anyone could see us. It actually kinda turns me on to think about it."
"Yeah? What if we were doin it and there was somebody up on the hill watching us with a pair of binoculars?"
"Then I'd say let's give 'em a good show."
"Whoa," said Kevin. "I never knew you were an exhibitionist."
"Me neither," laughed Richie. "But then I've never been sitting naked in broad daylight on a raft like this before, either."
"Well, you can sit out here and show off your body all day if ya want to, but I gotta pee."
"OK, but do me a favor would ya?" said Richie with a grin on his face. "When you get your blow-job from Kyle, let me know how it compares to the one I gave you."
"Whoa," laughed Kevin as he scooted himself over to the edge of the raft. "A little competition here, eh? Well I just might need to get several samples from both of you before I could say for sure."
This got a big laugh from Richie as he watched Kevin slip into the water. Taking that as his cue, Richie stood and dove in after him. While Kevin took his time swimming in, Richie swam straight for the dock. When he got there he noticed that Kevin had stopped in waist deep water and was looking around at the surrounding shoreline. Although he was mildly curious as to what he was up to, Richie's full bladder was screaming for relief, so he emptied it into the lake by the dock where he crouched. Just as he was finishing, Kevin swam the rest of the way in to join him.
"You might notice the water's a little warmer around me right now," said Richie with a grin as Kevin approached him. This caused Kevin to start laughing as he quickly changed direction to move a few feet away.
"What?" asked Richie. "Isn't pissing in the lake sorta like spitting off a bridge? Just somethin guys do? Besides, fish piss in it, so why can't I?"
This caused Kevin to laugh even harder and, when he finally he could speak, he looked at Richie with that sparkle in his killer eyes. "I got no problem with it, bro. What d'ya think I was doin when I stopped out there?"
This caused Richie to start to laugh, which sent Kevin off again. Both boys continued laughing until Kevin spotted something on the dock that caused his laughter to come to an abrupt halt. In reality, it wasn't what he saw on the dock that caused him to stop laughing, but what he didn't see.
"Rich?"
Kevin spoke his name so softly that Richie barely heard him. Unable to detect the concern in his friend's voice, he answered in a casual, uncaring manner.
"Yeah?"
"Correct me if I'm wrong here, but didn't we leave our cutoffs on the dock last night?"
This did get Richie's attention, and his laughing stopped, too, as he snapped his head around to look at the dock. Both boys were silent as they stared in disbelief at the vacant spot where they had dropped their shorts the night before. Hoping more than believing that in their drunkenness they may have accidentally dropped them in the water, they searched the area around and under the dock. Grasping at straws when they couldn't find anything, Kevin even went so far as to look in the boat, then in the water under the boat-lift. Finally convinced that they were nowhere to be found, he turned to Richie with obvious concern.
"What d'ya think, bro? Think someone stole 'em?"
"Oh yeah, someone stole 'em, alright," said Richie as his mind began to grasp an idea of what happened. "But my guess is, whoever did it is up at the cabin laughing his ass off right about now."
Looking up at the cabin, Kevin said, "Yeah, I'd say we've been busted, huh."
"Yup, I'd say so," said Richie. "Who do ya think did it, though? I mean, if it was just Lindy, or even him and Kyle, it wouldn't be so bad, but if Brian and Steve are in on it, it's gonna be like real embarrassing."
"That's for sure. Well, we can't stay down here all day, and we're already busted, so we might as well go up and face the music."
"Yeah, I guess," sighed Richie. "Let's go and get it over with."
Unsure of what they would find when they reached the cabin, they made their way up the hill, naked as jaybirds, self-consciously trying to cover themselves with their hands as they went. Just before they reached the top, Kevin stopped and turned back to face Richie.
"So, what d'ya think about being an exhibitionist now, huh? If we'd a done what you wanted to do out there, your little fantasy woulda come true."
"Yeah, I know, I was just thinking about that... and ya know what? I think I'd still like to do it, but for sure not if my friends were watching."
Although they knew they were in for some major ribbing, nothing could have prepared them for what they found when they stepped through the front door of the cabin. Fully dressed and sitting on the couch watching the big-screen TV were Lindy, Brian, and Steve. What seemed odd, though, is that when Kevin and Richie entered, the other three didn't say a word. Instead, they just turned in their direction, grinned, then returned their attention to the TV.
Puzzled by the mild reception they received after walking naked into a cabin full of people, Kevin and Richie looked at each other as if to ask 'what's wrong with this picture?'. Their silent question was answered as soon as they turned their attention to the huge television screen in front of them. There, in full living color, was a well shot video of two naked teenagers with morning hard-ons, lying sound asleep on the raft. Their faces turned bright red and their cheeks began to burn from the embarrassment.
"Oh my God," said Kevin quietly.
"You fuckers," hissed Richie after picking his chin up off the floor.
This was all it took to send the other three into uncontrollable fits of laughter. Kevin and Richie stood where they were, frozen like deer caught in the headlights, their eyes glued to the screen while the others rolled around in hysterics.
"What d'ya think of my camera work, Rich?" asked Lindy when finally he could speak. "Notice how there's hardly any jiggle in it when we circled the raft? You can thank Brian and his jet-ski driving for that. And check out the close-ups, bro. Now there's something as good as anything you'll ever see come out of Hollywood."
"Yeah," Brian piped up, "you guys could use this as a demo if ya ever decide to get into doin porno movies."
This, of course, started a whole new round of laughter. Richie and Kevin stood as if their feet were glued to the floor, too shocked and embarrassed to move. After a few moments, Richie's anger overcame his embarrassment and he glared at Lindy.
"Real funny, Lindstrom... now where the hell did you put our pants?"
Suddenly realizing they were still standing naked in a room full of friends, Kevin nudged Richie with his elbow. "C'mon, Rich, let's get some clothes on while we figure out whose ass we're gonna kick first."
Leaving the laughing trio to their endless stream of lewd gestures and impromptu one-liners, Kevin and Richie went into their respective rooms to get dressed.
Even though Kevin couldn't remember when he'd ever felt so embarrassed, he began to grin as he pulled on his T-shirt and blue jeans. After all, it was funny, at least it would've been if it was someone other than himself in the video. Richie, on the other hand, was not so amused. His anger was seething as he, too, put on a clean T-shirt and pair of blue jeans. Once he was dressed, he sat on the edge of the bed to calm himself. A moment later, Lindy came in looking at him sheepishly as he held out his cutoffs like some sort of peace offering. Snatching them from his hand, Richie glared back at him.
"That was a shitty thing to do, Lindstrom."
"Aw, c'mon, Rich, lighten up, man," said Lindy as he sat down next to him. "You'd a done the same thing if you had the chance, and you know it. It's not as if you two were swapping blow-jobs or anything, so what's the big deal? Although," he added thoughtfully, "catching you dudes blowing each other would've made for a much better video."
"Oh yeah, real funny, Lindstrom."
Actually, much calmer now, Richie did see the humor in it. After all, it was just a prank that he himself would have pulled if their positions had been reversed. He was also relieved when he remembered how Kevin had declined his offer of a morning blow-job.
"It's not that big a deal, I guess," he said with resignation. "Other than being totally embarrassing. Just make sure it gets erased, OK?"
"No prob, bro, it's happening as we speak. By now it has some MTV video written all over it."
"Thanks. So when did you guys shoot that thing, anyway?"
Before he answered, Lindy glanced at the clock on the night stand and noticed that it was almost nine o'clock.
"Oh, about forty five minutes ago. I got up to take a piss and noticed you guys weren't around, so I looked out the window and saw you on the raft. Then I remembered Kyle's video camera. Well, you know me, I just couldn't pass up such a perfect chance for a laugh. Tell the truth, I was gonna shoot it from the dock, but then Brian woke up and asked what I was doing." Then, shrugging his shoulders, he added, "The rest is history."
"Did ya have to shoot close-ups of our dicks?"
"Tell the truth, that was Brian's idea," said Lindy with a grin. "But I thought it added a nice touch to the video, don't you?"
"No, I don't!" said Richie. "It could give someone the wrong impression, ya know?"
"What wrong impression? Like who else is gonna see it? So you guys had morning hard-ons. So what? I think it's the best part of the whole video."
"You would, you pervert," said Richie, completely calmed and smiling now. "Would you really have shot it, though, if you saw me giving Kevin a blow-job?"
"Fuckin right I would!" laughed Lindy. "Are you kidding? That would've made an awesome 'Caught on Video' piece."
Lindy's enthusiastic response caused Richie to have second thoughts about his exhibitionist fantasy. After another moment of thought, he realized that Kyle wasn't with the others when he and Kevin came into the cabin.
"By the way, where's Kyle? Has he seen it yet?"
"Sure did... twice," said Kyle, smiling from the doorway, startling Richie when he spoke. He was fully dressed in blue jeans and a gray 'Radison High School Hockey' T-shirt. "C'mon you two, breakfast will be ready soon, and I need someone to set the table."
"Cool, be right there," said Lindy.
When Lindy started to stand, Richie grabbed his arm and pulled him back down on the bed. "What did Kyle say when he saw the video?"
"Nothing. He thought it was as funny as the rest of us. Why? What d'ya think he'd say?"
"Aw nothin I guess," said Richie as he looked off to where Kyle had gone.
He was thinking about when he would tell Kyle what he and Kevin had done on the raft the night before. It would be the first real test of how Kyle would react to Richie having sex with someone else. He knew he would tell him the truth, he just wasn't sure how Kyle would take it.
"So, we OK then?" asked Lindy, interrupting Richie's thoughts.
"Yeah, sure, we're OK, bro. Aren't we always?" said Richie as he smiled at his best friend.
This, of course, prompted them to go through their slap-tap handshake before they stood to leave the bedroom.
While Lindy headed for the bathroom to wash his hands, Richie continued through the main room to the kitchen. Kevin had joined Brian and Steve on the couch, where to Richie's relief they were watching something on MTV. He was further relieved when he saw that the VCR was in the record mode. When he got to the kitchen, he went directly to the sink to wash up. While he adjusted the temperature of the tap water, he looked over to Kyle who was busy cracking eggs into a mixing bowl.
"Let me guess," he said, "scrambled eggs 'a la Kyle' this morning, right?"
"Nope, not today. What d'ya think about French Toast?"
"Whoa," said Richie, somewhat surprised. "Just yesterday you learned to cook bacon, and now you've jumped all the way up to French Toast? Where did you learn to do that?"
"Lindy showed me. Hell, it's just scrambled eggs with bread and a little cinnamon. I'm really starting to get the hang of the cooking thing, ya know? By the way, you guys looked pretty good up there on the big screen this morning."
"Oh, man, that was like totally embarrassing."
"Oh, I know," said Kyle with a chuckle. "I caught the look on your faces when you came in. I just wish I had my 35mm camera with me cause that was a Kodak moment if there ever was one. I take it from your video debut that you guys went skinny dipping last night. What did ya do, fall asleep out there?"
"Yeah, we did. The skinny dipping was fun, though. It's the first time I've ever done it and it was like so cool with all the fog and shit. You shoulda come down and gone with us."
"Yeah, I wish I had. I was just a little bit too fucked-up, though, and that last joint we smoked put me down for the count. I mean, I was like totally out till Lindy woke me up this morning."
"Kevin said you guys were all crashed out when he came down lookin for someone to party with last night."
"Did I hear somebody say somethin about breakfast?" asked Brian, poking his head into the kitchen.
"Yeah," said Kyle as he dropped the first slice of bread into the egg batter. "Give me another five minutes and it'll be ready. I hope ya like French Toast."
"Love it," said Brian. "Mind if I use your phone to let the rents know where we are?"
"Sure, knock yourself out, dude," said Kyle.
Kyle filled the hot griddle with batter-soaked bread while Richie set the table. When he had all the plates, eating utensils, and condiments out, he pulled a large bottle of maple syrup from the cupboard, then went to the fridge for the milk, butter, and orange juice. Noticing that they had only one gallon of milk left, he mentioned it to Kyle.
"We're kinda running low on supplies, man."
"Yeah, I know. I'm just hoping one loaf of bread will be enough for the French Toast, cause that's all we got. We better figure on makin a run to Pine City to stock up again. We gotta take Steve and Brian back to Steve's truck, too."
Seeing an opportunity to spend some time alone with Kyle to discuss their relationship, Richie made a suggestion. "Why don't Kevin and Lindy take them back in the boat while you and I go for supplies? It'll give us a chance to talk, ya know?"
"Sure," said Kyle, a little surprised that Richie was ready for their talk. "Are you sure you're ready, though? You haven't had a lot of time to think it over yet."
"I've had enough, though. So yeah, I'm ready."
Just then, finishing his call to his parents, Brian almost slammed the receiver back down in its hook.
"Man, that sucks," he said to no one in particular.
"What," asked Richie. "Problems at home?"
"Nah, my dad just said he talked to TJ's parents this morning and they said he won't get released till later this afternoon. Seems that because of the holiday they couldn't get all his tests back, so they wanna keep him till they do."
"He's gonna be alright, though, isn't he?" asked Richie.
"Oh yeah. His mom and dad saw him last night and, other than a huge headache, he said was feelin pretty good," said Brian before he turned to leave the room.
Kyle placed the first stack of French Toast in the oven to keep it warm, then filled the griddle with the second batch.
"Mmm, those smell good," said Richie, "Too bad we don't have some hash-browns and sausage to go with 'em. We should pick some up for tomorrow when we get the rest of our stuff."
"Good idea, bro," said Kyle. "Why don't you make a list while I finish these bad boys up."
Taking the pen and pad of paper that was usually used to jot down phone messages, Richie made a rather lengthy list. He started with the things he felt they would need, then added a few items he thought they'd want to have on hand for snacking. Just when he was finishing up, Kyle removed the last of the French Toast from the griddle.
"Come and get it while it's hot, you bozos!" he yelled.
It was a little crowded at the table since it was designed to seat only four, but that didn't seem to bother the famished teenagers very much. All six boys dug into their breakfast with abandon while they joked about the video and discussed their plans for the morning. Soon, all that remained on the table were six empty plates coated with a thin layer of leftover syrup.
Since Kyle had cooked breakfast, it was decided that Kevin, Lindy, Steve, and Brian would clean up the kitchen. While Richie and Kyle pulled on their socks and cross-trainers, Kyle told the brothers about Richie's birthday party the next day. Since they still had most of the details to work out, he told them he'd give them a call later to let them know when and how they were going to celebrate. Once everything was settled, Richie and Kyle jumped into the Suburban and headed for Pine City.
Even though both boys knew they were going to use this trip to discuss their relationship, they traveled over Jake's Road in silence, each waiting for the other to be the first to broach the subject. When finally they reached the highway, Kyle paused at the stop sign to look over at Richie.
"We haven't done much talking yet, have we?"
"No, we sure haven't. Weird, too, ya know? I mean, we've never had a problem discussing anything before, so why should this be so hard."
"I don't know, maybe it's because this is so important to us."
After a short pause to gather his final thoughts, Richie was the one to begin. "Yeah, I think you're right. OK, I'll start, but let me finish what I have to say before you say anything, alright?
"Sure, I'm all ears and no mouth," said Kyle, trying to make them both feel more relaxed as he pulled the truck onto the highway toward Pine City.
"Well, I've thought about what you said, and the short version is, I agree with you that breaking up was the right thing for us to do."
"But?" asked Kyle.
Richie glared at him but didn't say anything since it wasn't necessary in order for Kyle to get the message.
"Sorry," said Kyle, "not another word, I promise."
"There is no 'but' really, I just want to make sure that you understand that we're doing it because of me as much as you. I know how you want to be free to play the field... how you'd go crazy if you had to be tied down and shit... that's just the way you are. Well, I'm thinking that's true for me, too, and I wanna make sure that you know that. Now I never thought about it before, cause I haven't been doin it very long, but I've been kind of checking out other guys lately. I've felt a little guilty about it, too. It's not like I ever cheated on you, cause I never did, but sooner or later I probably would've. What I'm tryin to say is, you're not the bad guy here. There isn't any bad guy, and now, there won't be any bad guy.
"I may not be in love with you Kyle Jacobson, but I sure as hell love you, and I don't see that ever changing. So, as far as staying friends... shit, I'd be nuts to want to give up a friendship with someone I love, especially someone who's got a cool cabin with tons of really cool toys. And as far as the sex goes? Well, you're not too bad in bed... so yeah, I'd like to keep that going, too. Besides, who the hell would be crazy enough to wanna give up sleeping with the hottest body at Radison?"
Richie intentionally finished what he had to say with a touch of humor. He still had to tell Kyle about Kevin, so he wanted him in as good a mood as possible. When Kyle didn't respond right away, Richie remembered that he'd promised to keep quiet.
"Oh, you can talk now if ya want. I'm pretty much finished saying my piece."
When Kyle continued his silence, Richie looked over at him in time to see a single tear fall from his cheek onto his thigh. When he saw this, he wondered if maybe his making light of their friendship and sex had, for some reason, hurt him.
"Kyle? You OK, man?"
"Oh yeah," said Kyle as he wiped a second tear on his sleeve before it could fall. "I'm better'n OK, Rich. I think you just made me the happiest guy in the world."
Kyle paused when his voice began to crack. Needing time to pull himself together, he wiped his cheeks on the front of his T-shirt before finishing.
"I was so worried that you'd be hurt, or pissed off at me over this, that... well I don't know what I would've done. I just know that I love you, too, and that I couldn't stand to see you hurt... and I know we're gonna be OK, Rich... I just know it. Shit, bro, we just got too much goin for us, ya know?"
There was another silence in the truck while Kyle tried to catch the last of his tears on his sleeve before they could fall across his cheeks.
"Damn," he said after taking a deep breath. "Now you got me all misty and shit."
Richie was relieved when he saw that Kyle wasn't hurt - that his tears were tears of happiness. He was also touched by the fact that he was showing his sensitive side. It was a rare thing to see such a display of sensitivity from the always 'in control' Kyle. The last time Richie had seen him cry was during their first trip to Gull Lake last winter. It was the same night they told each other they were gay, became close friends, and then lovers. Pleased with the way things were going, he was about to tell him about Kevin when Kyle turned to him again.
"I don't know how ya did it, though."
"Did what?"
"Sorted everything out so fast. Hell, I've been wrestling with this for months, and it only took you a day."
"Well, I had a lot a help from Kevin last night. I mean, it was really a no-brainer from the start, I just couldn't see it... now I do. What I don't have figured out, though, is all this 'in love' and 'in lust' shit."
"Oh, man, I hear ya there," said Kyle. "I'm not so sure I understand that either. I mean, sometimes I think I understand it, then all of a sudden I'm wondering about it all over again. Like, I was sure I understood it when we talked the other night... then, the next morning, I wasn't so sure anymore."
"Really?" asked Richie, "Whoa, that is like so weird."
"Yeah? How so?"
"Well, me and Kevin talked about all that shit, too, last night. I mean, we talked about it a lot... and what he told me made perfect sense... until I started to think about it again this morning, that is."
"Yeah? Well, I think those things are like, you know, things you can't see, or touch. What's the word for it? Intangibles?"
When he said this, Kyle looked to Richie for either confirmation or correction on his choice of a four syllable word.
"Yeah, that's the word," he said with a smile.
"Yeah, intangibles," repeated Kyle, proud of himself that he'd chosen the right word. As he returned his attention to the road in front of them, he finished his thought. "Anyway, those kinds of things mean different things to different people. So no matter who ya talk to, you get a different opinion. Now don't get me wrong, cause for sure I think it's good to talk to someone about them. You know, to hear what their ideas are to help you figure out your own. But in the end, I think we have to make up our own minds, and I'm pretty sure that our minds aren't old enough or wise enough to figure that shit out yet."
"Whoa," said Richie. "That's some pretty deep thinking, bro."
"Yeah?" said Kyle as he looked at Richie again. "Well, if ya think that's deep, then try this on for size. I don't think our relationship is gonna change at all. I think the only thing that's changed is how we see our relationship. What I mean is, our relationship is still the same as it always has been, we just see it for what it really is instead of what we thought it was."
Looking at the road, Kyle waited for Richie to respond. When he didn't, he briefly glanced back at him. "Well? What d'ya think about that?"
"Wow, you almost blew me out of this truck with two deep thoughts in a row, man."
Not sure whether Richie was being serious or sarcastic, Kyle turned to him with a questioning look on his face.
"Seriously! Good job, dude," said Richie. "I think you're right, too, on both counts. Ya know what? You're pretty smart for a hockey player."
"Hey, don't be bad-mouthing us hockey players, dude. We're not all dumb shits."
"Oh, I know. Just look at Kevin... he's a hockey player, and he's pretty smart."
"Don't make me pull this truck over to kick your ass, Guppy," said Kyle, his smile stretching into a grin.
This got a good chuckle out of Richie. All too often Kyle would put himself down as not being very bright. Listening to him now, Richie was glad to see him pleased with himself, and showing confidence in his level of intelligence.
They rode in silence for the nest few minutes which gave Richie time to mentally prepare himself to tell Kyle about what he and Kevin had done on the raft. It would be the first real test of their relationship, so he was apprehensive and nervous about Kyle's reaction. Taking a deep breath, he decided to work his way up the subject rather than go straight to it.
"Oh, and you owe Kevin a blow-job, too, by the way."
This remark caused Kyle to snap his head around with a look of surprise on his face.
"Hey, watch the road, dude! You wanna get us killed?" said Richie, a huge grin on his face.
A touch of embarrassment began to spread across Kyle's face as he looked forward again. "He told you about that, did he?"
"Oh yeah, he did. He also said he never planned to take you up on it, so I told him he'd be missing out on one helluva fine blow-job if he didn't."
"You actually said that?" asked Kyle. "You mean you'd be OK with it if I gave him one."
"Course I would. Why wouldn't I? Isn't that why we broke up? So we could have sex with other guys if we want?"
"Yeah, that's true enough..." said Kyle with a shrug of his shoulders.
When Kyle's words dropped off, Richie decided to go ahead and drop the bomb. "Besides, it'd be pretty hypocritical of me not to, since I gave him one myself on the raft last night... I sorta challenged you, too, by telling him to see if yours would be as good as mine."
This caused Kyle to turn to Richie so quickly that the truck actually swerved on the highway. He just stared at him for a moment, then slowly turned his attention back to the road in front of them.
"Kyle?" asked Richie. "You're not gonna get all weird on me now, are ya?"
After another moment passed without looking at Richie, Kyle shrugged his shoulders before he spoke. "Um, no, I'm OK. You just kinda caught me off guard. I guess I never expected anything like this to happen so soon, is all... and I sure a hell didn't think it would be you who'd be the first."
"Well, you know how fucked-up I was last night... hell, we were both pretty fucked-up... and since Stephanie won't suck his dick, he wanted it kinda bad. I just wanted to help him out, ya know? You sure you're OK with it, and not just sayin so?"
"Um, yeah, I'm fine with it. It's just takin me a minute to get used to it, that's all."
Richie understood what Kyle meant. This was the beginning of something new for them, and he wondered if they would ever truly get used to the idea of the other having sex with someone else. Since Kyle still didn't sound as convincing as his words, Richie remained silent to give everything a chance to sink in. It wasn't long, though, before Kyle turned to him again. When he saw the look of uncertainty in Richie's eyes, he gave his knee a reassuring squeeze.
"Serious, man, I'm fine with it. Shit, if he'd told me he wanted a blow-job at the boat landing, I'd have given it to him right then."
"Really?" asked Richie, a little surprised but not at all irritated. "Right there at the boat landing?"
"No, dummy, but there's plenty of trees around there where we coulda gone. What I'm sayin is, if he'd wanted it then, I would've of been the first one to do it instead of you."
After saying this, Kyle recalled how Kevin had gotten aroused as they left the landing, and it brought an understanding smile to his lips. What Richie just told him explained Kevin's embarrassment when he called him on it.
"What's so funny," asked Richie when he noticed the grin.
"Aw nothin, really. I was just thinking about Kevin. Tell the truth, I never thought he'd take me up on my offer, but now I sure hope he does. It's kinda funny, ya know? I mean, you know someone for a long as I've known Kevin, then find out you don't know him as well as you thought you did."
"Yeah? Well I guess all of us have a secret or two in our closet."
"True that," said Kyle. "So, you wanna put a bet on whose blow-job is better?"
"Sure," said Richie, his curiosity making him jump to the challenge. "What d'ya wanna bet?"
"How bout bragging rights?"
"Cool, but I gotta warn ya, Kevin told me that he may need several samples from each of us before he'd be able to decide on who's better."
"Hah!" laughed Kyle. "In that case, we'll probably have to set a sample limit or that fucker might keep us goin forever." After a minute of thought, Kyle grinned again before adding, "Let's not tell him about this conversation though, OK?"
"OK, but why?" said Richie with a shrug of his shoulders.
"I just wanna leave the ball in his court for a while. If he's gonna ask me for a blow-job, I don't wanna spoil the moment by letting him know that I know he's gonna do it. Trust me, it'll be a Kodak moment for sure."
"Sure, just make sure you tell me how it goes down, OK?"
"You got it, bro." After a short pause, Kyle spoke again. "Is that true what you said about Stephanie not suckin his dick?"
"Yeah, I guess so. At least that's what he told me in the boat yesterday. I probably shouldn't have told you cause he's like really embarrassed about it, but he said she thinks it's disgusting, and refuses to do it."
"I guess it don't surprise me any. She is kind of a prude about some things. God, she can be such a cunt sometimes, too."
"Well, I sure as hell don't understand it," said Richie with a telltale grin on his face. "Cause he has got one suckable dick, and that's for real."
This caused Kyle to turn to him with a look that reminded Richie of how a little kid would look when turned loose in a candy store.
"Yeah, Kyle, your best bud has some fine equipment... like you didn't know that already."
"What d'ya mean, Rich? I ain't never done anything with Kevin before, other than beat off a few times."
"I know, but you've sure as hell seen it enough times to know what I'm talkin about. Oh, and when you do give him his blow-job, don't be too surprised if he wants to return the favor."
Although Kyle was still smiling, his face was a little flushed by the time he returned his attention to the road.
Minutes later they were pulling off the highway and onto the road that would take them the rest of the way into Pine City. It was a well maintained county road that began as a two lane highway winding its way through the forest between Pine City and Highway 18. A mile outside the city limits it became almost straight, expanding into four lanes with a concrete median down the center. Once they passed a sign that read, 'Pine City, pop. 1,821', they found themselves on Main Street where Kyle slowed the truck to the posted 30 miles per hour.
Richie thought it interesting that every small town in this part of the state seemed to have a Main Street as its main street. The first thing to catch Richie's attention as they passed through the outskirts of town was a sprawling campus separated from Main Street by a huge parking lot. At the entrance of the parking lot was a large sign that read 'Pine City High School'. Seeing this made him think of Brian, and how he said he would be a sophomore here in the fall if they didn't move to the city before then.
The next large building caught his full attention. When Kyle had to stop for a red light at the road that led to its entrance, Richie saw the large sign posted by the front door. It read, 'Pine City Hospital - Serving Pine City And The Surrounding Communities'. Directly beneath that sign was another sign with large red letters that spelled out 'EMERGENCY ENTRANCE'.
"Kyle?" he said as he continued to stare at the hospital.
Just as the light was changing to green, Kyle looked over to see what Richie was staring at, then smiled as he accelerated through the intersection. "Yup, that's where TJ is. Ya wanna stop in and see him after we're done shopping?"
"Can we?" asked Richie with more enthusiasm than he intended. Realizing this, he quickly continued in a more controlled voice. "I mean, it would be the friendly thing to do, right? Just to see if he's OK and shit."
"Sure," said Kyle, smiling more now. "It would be the friendly thing to do, alright. No problem, dude, we'll stop in on our way outa town."
"What about the food?" asked Richie, "Won't the milk spoil if we leave it in the truck while we're inside?"
"Nah, I brought Steve's big cooler along for the milk and stuff, so it'll be fine till we get back to the cabin."
Kyle's smile turned into a grin when Richie looked back to watch the hospital fade from view as they continued down Main Street. He was amused at how cute Richie was when he danced around the real reason he wanted to stop in at the hospital. He acted the same way at the boat landing when Kyle suggested he call the hospital. As much as Richie tried not to show it, Kyle was sure he was attracted to TJ from the minute they hauled him out of the lake.
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