Summer
by Robert Symes
Chapter 1
This is the second volume of Robert's Revelations, which you may find helpful to have read first
This story is set in rural England in 1982. The cultural references are from that time and place so I hope that references to cars, TV shows or music won't spoil the story for those who don't know them. Follow the links provided for more information or just ignore them. (And yes, I know you can use a search engine just as well as I can. The links are for convenience, not to insult anyone.)
In some chapters controversial opinions will be expressed. Some are opinions I profoundly disagree with but I've tried to state them fairly, not parody them. It is this author's policy to have no opinions about anything, or at least not to state them. Any opinions you see on these pages are those of the characters or the site owner respectively and I neither endorse nor oppose them.
The End of an Era
Friday 16th July 1982 was a special day. The end of our compulsory education. We'd already taken our 'o' levels, after which school was pretty pointless but we hung around attending lessons where nothing much happened, because we had to. We'd get our results in August.
Most of our contemporaries were leaving forever but about a third of us would be back in early September for the sixth form. That third included me, David and Tony, Alice and Susan and most of our friends. 'Half-Price' and almost all the thugs and bullies we disliked were permanently gone, a blessed relief.
Now we had the Summer holiday to look forward to. Except we didn't, or not much of it anyway. My parents had booked this weird ten day break at a holiday camp from Monday 19 th to Wednesday 28th , I think it was cheap. After that David's dad had made an arrangement with one of his clients that Tony and David would help out during their annual 'shutdown' for the first two weeks in August, working and living on site. The firm had been glad to take me as well, they needed all the help they could get.
Alex had annual leave from 23rd of August to 3rd of September and we'd hoped to go away but my parents didn't know Alex existed and wouldn't countenance me going away without adult supervision. And then Susan came up with an almost perfect solution, of which more in Chapter Six.
So for me the 17 th and 18th were just like a normal weekend really, sneaking off to meet Alex and looking for quiet places to park the car where we wouldn't be disturbed. We were acutely aware of how many laws we were breaking, and the consequences of being caught. We did find some pretty good spots, but didn't really dare go beyond a more or less fully clothed hand-job or blow-job. Frustrating, as we both wanted more, but a thrilling and nerve-wracking risk all the same. How we envied David and Tony, more or less openly living together with parental acceptance if not approval.
And then off to Butlins on the Monday, only it wasn't Butlins but a cheaper copy. It was okay, I suppose, the entertainment wasn't bad in the evenings but the biggest challenge was all the fit lads in tight trunks at the pool, or rather making sure they didn't notice the effect they were having on me. Getting relief from that effect wasn't easy, sharing a chalet with my parents and using the communal toilet / washroom block. I ended up taking a lot of showers, at least they were in individual private cubicles. And still I nearly got in a fight with a tall blond boy, a couple of years older, who accused me of staring at his girlfriend. It wasn't her I'd been staring at, but I learned to be more careful.
On August 2nd I was waiting outside at 6:30 a.m. as instructed with a bag packed and a tent I'd managed to borrow. Five minutes later David's dad picked me up in his Rover. David was already in the car, Tony was taking his moped (retrieved from his old home along with his other possessions while his dad was at work) and would meet us there.
We arrived at Bamford's Paper Mill, in the middle of nowhere, a little before seven. Tony was waiting outside and followed us in. We pulled into the car park where a middle aged man was waiting for us. He got in the car next to me and directed us along internal site roads to a large caravan parked at the far edge of the site on an area of scruffy grass between a building and the boundary fence.
We got out of the car. "Thanks for bringing them so early, Gerald" said the middle aged man. He turned to us. "I'm John Chivers, logistics manager here. You boys can use the caravan or camp on the grass. It's basic but it's got electricity, a cooker, fridge, and a sink with a tap. It drains onto the ground under the van so don't use it too much or there'll be a quagmire but a bit of washing up should be fine. Just down there on the right there's a kitchenette, toilet and shower room. It's really for visiting lorry drivers but you can use it." He pointed to a gate in the fence. "That track loops past Carter's Farm and back to the main road. I wouldn't take a car down it but that little motorbike should be fine. Or go back through the site but look out for forklifts. There's a shop and a chippy [hot takeaway fried food shop] in the village if you want them.
"Work hours is eight to four thirty, but you can work 'til six if you want the cash. A lot of the guys are doing six 'til six but ten hours is enough for boys your age I think. There's no production in shutdown, just maintenance and cleaning jobs. I need two of you on that and one to help in the warehouse, you decide. Now I have a meeting with Gerald so you get yourselves sorted and I'll come back at eight." Mr Porter and Mr Chivers got back in the Rover and drove off.
The caravan may have been 'basic' but it was clean and perfectly adequate for us for a fortnight. David and Tony would share it while I slept in my tent to give them privacy. We had 'moved in' and were drinking a coffee we'd made by five to eight when Mr Chivers returned.
We'd agreed that Tony would take the Warehouse job as boyfriends working together in a place like this would be asking for trouble; far too easy to 'give the game away' with a look or spontaneous gesture, with unknowable but probably unpleasant consequences. So after being shown around we started work.
The less said about which the better. We were tasked with cleaning various filthy bits of machinery as the others stripped down equipment and reassembled the cleaned parts. Boring, dirty and physically demanding. Our new workmates were friendly enough in a 'blokey' sort of way but their language was an eye-opener for us middle class boys. We thought we were uninhibited but these guys seemed incapable of getting through a sentence without at least one F word.
Six o'clock arrived eventually and after a much needed shower we decided we couldn't be bothered with cooking the food we'd brought so Tony went on his bike to the village 'chippy' for our dinner. And then an early night. I read in my tent for a while, trying not to be jealous of what was probably happening in the caravan.
The rest of the week was much the same. Alex came over about six thirty on Friday and drove us to a Little Chef for a sit down meal, a bit expensive but we felt we'd earned it. He was looking forward to the weekend and wasn't pleased to learn we were working Saturday and he needed to leave by 5:30 a.m. so as not to be seen.
"Don't be like that" I told him. "I don't complain when you're working and I'm not. They can't pay us less than union rate or there'd be a strike or something so I'm getting £3.20 an hour, £4.80 for overtime, so I can't afford not to do it. And Sunday work is double time so there isn't any, they won't pay it. I'll make it up to you then."
Alex crunched the numbers in his head. "Wow, that's over two hundred for the week. That's more than I get per month . You're right, you can't turn that down. Are there any jobs going there?" [Pay rates estimated. I couldn't find the real numbers. But paper mills have always paid well.]
I laughed. "You wouldn't like it. I don't. Anyway, it's only two weeks. You get paid every month. And yours goes up quickly once you're eighteen and qualified, right?"
"That's true. Well, I'd better just drop you boys back at the mill and head home. I don't want to but if I get in that tent with you we won't get much sleep and neither of us will want to get up in the morning. You can make that up to me tomorrow night as well."
Alex drove us back to the mill and left. I crawled into my tent alone, feeling very deprived, and drifted off looking forward to spending the whole night together tomorrow, after grabbing some toilet paper and reliving the happy memories of our first night.
The first part of the story ended with "we got back in the front and drove back to David's house, nervous but excited, anticipating the adventure in our very near future." And adventure it was.
We got back to David's a bit before five. Alex was directed to put his car in the garage out of sight because "we don't need some nosy sod seeing a strange car and sticking their beak in. You are sleeping here I take it?"
"Well we're hoping to stay here if we can use your phone to check it's okay? Thanks for the invite." He grinned. "But I don't know how much sleep we'll get." He backed the car into the garage and walked out so David could shut the door. "Hey, a Dolomite Sprint. Nice. Is that yours?"
"I wish" said David ruefully. "That's Mum's car. I'm not seventeen yet. I could drive a moped but Mum won't have it, says they're too dangerous. But Tony already had one. So everyone in the house has transport except me."
Alex looked at me, concerned. "Are you okay Rob? You've gone white."
I felt strange. A little bit faint and a little bit sick. I raised my hand, it was trembling. "I hope so. It's weird. When you said about not sleeping... it's like it's suddenly real you know? And I want it, I do. But I'm nervous as hell and I don't know what I'm in for. I bet you think I'm a right wuss now don't you?"
"No, it's understandable" said David. "I was terrified at first, so was Tony. I expect everyone is. And you've come a long way in two weeks."
"I feel about the same" admitted Alex. "But Rob, we've got about sixty years left to live. We don't have to do everything tonight, just what we're both comfortable with. If that's just talking then so be it. I hope we'll want more but I don't expect anything. I've waited seventeen years for this, I can wait a bit longer if I have to. So let's just relax and go with the flow, okay?"
"Yes, okay, I feel better now. Thanks."
We went into the house, made phone calls, and relaxed in the living room while David made us coffee. "Where's Tony, by the way?" I asked when he came back with three mugs. "I thought he'd be here."
"Oh, he's in the kitchen doing his Albert Roux impression. I've told him you're here. I hope you like chicken." We both did. "Just as well." David laughed happily. "Tony's lived here less than a day and already I'm banned from me own kitchen. My job is just to set the table apparently. I could get used to this. Oh, that reminds me." He got up and did something in the dining area.
We sat around talking and getting to know each other until at just after six Tony emerged from the kitchen wearing an apron and announced "Dinner is served, gentlemen."
And a fine dinner it was too. Roast chicken with all the trimmings. Tony really could cook. And washed down with water but also a glass of what David called "Dr Beaune's finest pain killer and nerve tonic. Don't get used to this, it ain't cheap, but Dad said we could have one as it's a special occasion. But hide the empty and don't mention it to Mum." I have very little experience but it did seem to be very good wine. Are you supposed to have red with chicken? Who cares, it was all delicious and I felt mellow and relaxed by the end. And also nervous about later which probably sounds like a contradiction but it's how I felt.
"And now it's time for port and cigars" said David. "But we haven't got any port and none of us smoke so we'll go straight to coffee. I'll make it."
"I already did" said Tony. "It's in the percolator, all you have to do is serve it."
Filter coffee as well, a rare treat. Mostly no-one can be bothered to make it so we just drink instant. I knew I'd have to be careful, too much makes me really jittery and nervy, and I was nervous enough already despite Dr Beaune's tonic.
I thanked Tony for the fantastic meal and inexplicably he tensed and looked angry. Then he relaxed and smiled. "Sorry. Thanks for the compliment. It's just that last time I did this my old man said the same thing. I'd put hours of work into doing something nice for the family and then he said I'd make somebody a good wife if only little girly poofs could get married because I'm so good at women's work."
"You'll make somebody a flippin' fantastic husband one day, if they ever make it legal, and I'm the somebody" said David. "But forget him, he's history, we're your family now. It's so great Dad said you can live here, it's like a dream come true, I still struggle to believe it."
"Yeah, if the old bastard or social services don't find a way to fuck it up for me. It's not a done deal yet. My old man I mean, not your dad. Oh well, hope for the best and enjoy it while it lasts I suppose."
"Try not to worry. Dad deals with bureaucrats all the time at work. He says the trick is to make doing what you want the easy option for them. If they have to find a place for you that's a lot of work. Or they can just do nothing and leave you here, so they will. He knows people on the Council as well. You're not going anywhere. Rob, why don't you and Alex relax in the living room while we clear the table?"
That gave me the chance to quickly appraise Alex of Tony and David's family situations. He was outraged by one, envious of the other. "I'm afraid my parents won't be asking you to move in any time soon. In fact it's better they don't know about you." I agreed it was much the same for me.
Then the others came back bringing us fresh mugs of coffee, instant this time, and we finally got to watch Nighthawks. I agreed with Jeremy (see part one chapter nine), it was a "pretty boring film" in my view; nothing much happened. But it was nice to see gay people portrayed as people , warts and all, not jokes, victims or threats.
We talked about the film and other things for an hour or so and then it was bedtime if we wanted an early night, and we all did. "Remember Dad said the walls aren't soundproof?" asked David. "Well, the bathroom walls are , nobody wants to sit in their bedroom listening to those noises through just a stud wall. And the bathroom is between our room and yours. So you'll have privacy is what I'm saying. Two soundproofed walls between you and us. Oh my God, our room , it feels so great to say that. Come on tiger, let's christen it!"
"I thought we did that last night" remarked Tony. "But I don't mind doing it again just to be sure." We put the downstairs lights out and went up, all a bit awed by the sudden changes. Was it really only thirty hours ago we finished a normal school week, Tony and David went to separate homes and Alex 'didn't exist' in my world? Incredibly, yes.
We went into the guest room and shut the door. And stood there staring at each other like rabbits caught in the headlights. Two shy, nervous teenage virgins, wanting each other but terrified of getting it wrong.
Alex spoke first. "I... Well... This is awkward isn't it? Um... Look... At the risk of sounding like a convent school girl... We've only just met so can we take it slow? I mean, like, not go all the way tonight? I want you but I just don't feel ready for that. Sorry. I hope you're not too disappointed. But after what you said earlier maybe you won't be?"
I was tempted to make a joke. I always crack stupid jokes when I'm nervous and unsure of myself. But something told me this wasn't the time. "Disappointed?" I replied incredulously. "Twelve hours ago I didn't know you existed, now we're spending the night together. How could I be disappointed? And honestly you 'took the words right out of my mouth' as they say. If you hadn't said that I was going to. Remember what you said outside? Just what we're both comfortable with. Which doesn't include that. Not on the first night, in someone else's house. But I'm feeling a bit insecure and vulnerable now. Can I kiss you?"
Yes, I could, and did, and it was just as good as it had been in the woods a few hours ago. And produced the same result. "The first time we did this you asked if there was somewhere private we could go. Now there is. Should we get undressed? We can't really sleep in our clothes, can we?"
"Somehow I don't feel sleepy. But yes, let's find out what we look like, that has to happen sometime." He swallowed nervously. "Can I undress you?"
"If I can undress you" I replied. So we took it in turns to remove items of clothing from each other, with a sense of awe and wonder that what was not even a dream yesterday was becoming reality tonight. When I was finally naked Alex looked happy with what he saw.
There was a jug of water and two glasses on the bedside cabinet between the twin beds. A thoughtful touch. I poured myself a glass and drank half of it quickly. Then I knelt in front of him and carefully eased his briefs over his erection and pulled them down and off. I still wasn't disappointed! "I want to taste it!"
"What do you mean, taste it?"
"This." I leaned forward, took him into my mouth and hoped I'd remember the skills I'd learned and practised on Tony for the first and only time a few days ago.
"OH! Oh my... That feels amazing... Don't stop, please." It seemed I'd remembered well enough and I didn't stop, I so wanted to give him this. After a few minutes it got even harder and suddenly I had a mouth full of hot, salty liquid. I swallowed what I could but it kept coming and some dribbled out of the sides of my mouth. When it stopped I swallowed some more and pulled my face away.
"Ugh!" I picked up my underwear and used it to wipe my face. Then I rushed to get my glass and drained it. That's an acquired taste I had not yet acquired and I felt quite sick, although I wasn't going to admit that.
"Oh I'm sorry!" Alex looked devastated. "I... Are you alright?"
"Don't be. And I'm better than alright. I've wanted to do that all day, and now I have. Did you enjoy it?"
"Did I ever! That was incredible. You've done that before, haven't you?"
"Only once. Maybe I'm a quick learner."
"Oh." Then he looked apprehensive. "Did you... want me to do that for you?"
I looked straight in his eyes. "I want you to do what you want to do. I did that because I wanted to, not for a quid pro quo. What would you like to do?"
"Oh. Well, tonight, can I just use my hands? This is all new and I'm still pretty nervous."
I grinned at him and lay on my back on one of the beds with my hands behind my head. "I don't know. Can you? Let's find out shall we?"
Alex knelt between the beds and he turned out to be quite skilful with his hands, bringing me close to the edge then slowing down several times before finally bringing me to a climax that almost made me fear I'd hit the ceiling it was so strong. He pulled his underwear on with his left hand. "Don't move, I'll get some paper from the bathroom."
We cleaned me up, we each used the bathroom, then we got into our separate beds and fell into a blissfully contented sleep.
In my lonely tent I drifted off enjoying that happy memory. I tried not to remember the reason for Alex's reluctance to perform oral sex, which I learned a little later on.
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