Copyright © 2022-2025 Douglas DD. All Rights Reserved.
CHAPTER 49
MANY KINDS OF FRIENDS
FRIDAY, AUGUST 21
9:00 pm
<Miller Residence>
After saying goodnight to his dads, Aiden took care of his evening face and teeth cleaning. He then grabbed his copy of Og Mandino’s “The Twelfth Angel” and went to work reading it. He fell in love with Timothy Noble. The uncoordinated little eleven-year-old blond, who couldn’t catch a baseball if his life depended on it and whose every swing missed the incoming baseball, was, nevertheless, full of good cheer and enthusiasm for playing the game. He was the twelfth player to make the twelve-player roster and that essentially was because there was nobody else for Coach Harding to pick.
Every practice and every game Timothy was loaded with enthusiasm and good cheer. No matter how badly things went for him he was always cheering on his teammates. “Day by day, in every way, we’re getting better and better.” His other cheer was, “Never—never—never—never—never—never give up!”
That cheer became the watchwords of his teammates as well as the parents in the crowd who yelled out, “Never give up,” when things got dicey. Those words had also become the inspiration for the Yard Goats at the Base Brawl as Timothy’s legacy found its way into the cheers of the Mayfield boys, most of whom, like Aiden, had never read the book. But those that had quickly had the Goats believing, just like Timothy had done for the Angels.
When Aiden reached Chapter XII, he was fighting to keep his eyes open. He slipped his bookmark between the pages and tucked his naked body under his covers. He was on page 120 of the 164-page book and knew he would get the book finished in the morning.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 22
MAKING AN ADULT FRIEND
Aiden awoke the next morning just before nine. After taking a quick shower, he grabbed his Angel book and headed downstairs to rustle up some breakfast. His dads had already left for a coaching conference in Olympia. He fried three eggs over easy, microwaved four sausage links, and added four slices of toast, which he covered with butter and strawberry jam.
He laid out his breakfast on the kitchen table and went to work eating and reading. He became wrapped up reading about a key game. When Timothy made a catch in the outfield with the new glove that Coach Harding had given him along with the fundamentals taught to him by Coach Harding, Aiden cheered out loud. He cheered even louder when Timothy hit a ball fair for the first time all season. It was a popup out to the third baseman, but it was also a big accomplishment for the little blond.
Aiden stopped reading at the start of the Boland Little League Championship game where the Angels would be playing the Yankees for the league title. He cleared the table and the kitchen, placed his dirty dishes and the cooking utensils into the dishwasher, and put away any food he didn’t cook or use. He was now ready to devote his full attention to the Boland Angels. He sat in the recliner in the rec room and went back to reading.
Timothy elicited another cheer from Aiden when he made his second catch of the season. But Timothy’s biggest cheer came in the top of the sixth and last inning when he came to the plate with the tying run on third with one out. Timothy worked the count to 2-2 before picking up his first hit of the season—of his life, in fact—knocking in the tying run. The roar of the crowd at the ballpark was matched by the scream of joy from Aiden.
A single and a ground out advanced Timothy, who was the go-ahead run, to third with two outs. He scored on a single, giving the Angels a 3-2 lead. Timothy Noble as well as Aiden Miller were living in a different dimension when Timothy scored the run.
But deep down, Aiden was afraid. Coach Harding had noted during the game that Timothy looked even more pale than usual. And then came what Aiden had subconsciously feared. He was more than just sick; he had an inoperable brain tumor and wasn’t expected to live much longer. Aiden could feel himself shaking. He thought about closing the book right then and letting the ending take care of itself.
Instead, he went to the kitchen and filled a bowl with fresh fruit that Phil had sliced the day before. He returned to the recliner and continued reading. He learned how Timothy slept with the glove Coach Harding had given him. He learned how Timothy’s mother allowed her son to play on the Angels even though his doctor thought that doing so might shorten his life some. But the doctor also felt that the eleven-year-old boy should enjoy every moment left in his short life to the utmost.
When Coach Harding learned from Timothy’s doctor that the boy didn’t have long to live, he elected to spend as much time with Timothy as he could. His wife and his son, Rick, had died in an automobile accident. Harding had lost interest in living until a friend talked him into coaching the Angels. The team helped get him focused on living again, but it was Timothy and his endless positive attitude, despite his lack of skills and individual success, who turned him around into actually wanting to get all he could out of life. He loved the little boy as if he had been his own son and committed himself to giving Timothy every moment he could over the rest of his young life.
Aiden felt his first tears coming when Coach Harding visited Timothy for the first time since learning of Timothy’s fatal illness. Timothy shouted with joy when he saw his coach enter his bedroom. “I knew you were coming. I knew it! I knew it!” He wrapped his arms around his coach and gave him a loving hug. Harding and Aiden were both fighting tears.
Harding had brought two boxes of baseball cards for Timothy which he totally drooled over. Harding apologized for not stopping by to see him earlier, but he didn’t know that Timothy had been sick until he learned it from Doc Messenger.
“Did he tell you I was going to die?” Timothy asked. Harding nodded. Timothy grinned and went on. “But I got my wish, Mr. Harding. I prayed to God, you know. I asked God to let me play the whole schedule of games and get a hit, and I did…I did, thanks to you…and…and God.”
Timothy pulled his glove out from under his blanket and held it up for Harding to see. Timothy then dropped off to sleep. More tears flowed down Aiden’s cheeks.
Harding sat, his head in his hands when Timothy awakened. “Mr. Harding, sir…?”
“Yes, Timothy?”
“Do you pray for your little boy?”
“I sure do.”
“Will you pray for me, too, when I’m dead?”
“Every time I pray for Rick, I’ll pray for you, too.”
Timothy nodded and smiled. “As long as I’m here, will you still come and see me?”
“I promise.”
Coach Harding kept that promise. Timothy died a few months later, on April 7. He had lived long enough to see his twelfth birthday.
Timothy’s mother put the following on her son’s headstone:
“TIMOTHY NOBLE
I NEVER…NEVER…NEVER GAVE UP!”
That was followed by his date of birth and the date of his death.
Aiden’s tears weren’t dripping into his fruit bowl, they were flowing into it. His body shook with sobs. But he wasn’t done crying. Just after the funeral, Coach Harding placed the glove he had given Timothy at the base of the stone with the fingers pointing upward.
“Thank you, little guy, for being my angel of hope. I’ll always love you, and every time I take a breath, I owe you a little more.” Aiden sobbed even harder.
The book ended telling of the upcoming celebration of the new library being built by the township of Boland to replace the one that had been destroyed by fire. Harding, who was a wealthy man, helped finance the new building.
“The library will be called the Harding-Noble Public Library—and in its carpeted foyer will hang separate oil paintings…paintings of two little boys.”
Aiden laid his head down on the chair’s arm which was wet with tears. “Mom, mom, mom, help me mom,” Aiden sobbed “I need you so bad…why did you have to leave me?”
Aiden had no idea why he made that plea. He was eight when his mother died. She had been hit and killed by a car while in a crosswalk. While he thought of her often, he couldn’t remember the last time he had thought of her with the surge of emotions he was feeling.
Meanwhile, at a house to the east of the Miller house, Vivian Moyer was sealing a dozen freshly baked chocolate chip cookies into a round tin. She intended to drop them off at the Miller house for them to sample. If they passed muster she’d bake more for Aiden’s birthday parties the following weekend.
A couple of minutes later she drove into the Miller’s driveway. Phil had instructed her to bring the cookies to the front door and leave them with Aiden. If he wasn’t home, Phil had told her that she could leave them on the back deck and text him the location.
Aiden noticed the car enter the driveway and knew it belonged to Nolan’s mother. His Phil dad had told him she might stop by to drop off some cookies. He wiped his eyes with a napkin and rose from his chair. He turned and headed for the rec room—he had no desire for her to see him with red eyes and his face wet with tears, especially since he still wasn’t sure how he stood with her. He suddenly wished his dads drank and kept alcohol in the house—he was sure a drink of alcohol would solve the problem of his spinning mind.
Despite these feelings when he heard the doorbell ring, he did a one-eighty and went to answer the door. He mumbled, “Momma, momma, mom, mom, momma,” under his breath. “Shut up, Aiden, don’t do that or she’ll think you’re some kind of basket case and take Nolan away from you.”
Another sob shook him, and he felt more tears dripping. He was amazed he had any left. The doorbell rang again, and he stopped three steps short of the door. He was ready to turn around, but for some reason he took the last three steps and opened the door.
Vivian was ready to go down the steps from the front stoop when the door opened and she saw a young adolescent with red eyes and a tear stained face standing in front of her.
“Mom…,” he uttered in spite of himself.
“Aiden, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine.”
Aiden wanted to slam the door in her face. Instead, he restated his position. “I said I was fine and that means I’m fine.” He knew Vivian had come to deliver cookies she baked. He was ready to grab the tin of cookies from her but he froze when he was hit by his first rational thought since he’d read the last five pages of “The Twelfth Angel.” He remembered something he heard at times when he attended Fourth Dimension meetings as well as from Sammy Bednarzyk, his sponsor.
What he remembered was how FINE could be looked at as an acronym for Fucked Up, Insecure, Nervous, and Emotional. The last doubt he had about needing to talk to somebody had been kicked out of his mind by that memory. He stepped back, opened the door wide, took a deep breath, and said, “Come in mom, I need to talk,” in a shaky voice.
Vivian was surprised and pleased by the invitation. She was beginning to wonder if she was going to be able to talk to the obviously troubled boy, but the problem was solved by Aiden’s invitation.
“You can leave the cookies on the dining room table,” Aiden said as he led Vivian through the foyer to the rec room. He sat on Phil’s recliner and Vivian sat on the sectional.
“I can see that things are not fine. Something has obviously upset you and I would love to help you and from what you said at the door you are looking for help. So, then, what has you so upset?” Vivian asked.
Aiden felt the need to sit next to his boyfriend’s mother instead of in a different seat. He needed a mom to talk to and Vivian had to be that mom. “Can I sit next to you?” he asked shyly.
Vivian smiled and patted the section next to her to indicate that Aiden could sit right next to her. Aiden left the recliner and sat in the spot. He stayed for a minute as he wondered how much he could trust Vivian. For her part, Vivian, who sometimes had to deal with the adolescent moods of her son, Nolan, wisely said nothing.
Finally, Aiden took a deep breath and asked the question he needed to have answered before he could empty out his heart to a person who, for a long time, obviously didn’t seem to like him. He made his question short and to the point. “Do you like me?”
Vivian’s answer was to place her left arm around the boy’s shoulder and give it a squeeze. “I know why you asked that and I respect you for having the courage to ask. As I’ve said to you and Nolan in conversation, I was wrong in how I handled the relationship between the two of you. I blamed you for making my son gay. But I also researched the issue of sexual preference in teens and talked it over with the Judge.” Aiden knew that his dads as well as Vivian often referred to Paul, her husband and Nolan’s father, simply as the Judge.
“So, you don’t hate me?”
“I never hated you, Aiden. I just didn’t understand you, and as a result I treated you poorly. I didn’t treat Nolan much better. But when I saw how happy you two were together, I worked harder to understand the two of you and how you felt about each other, especially after the family made the decision to move to Mayfield.” She gave Aiden another hug which sent a wave of warmth surging through him.
He knew he could trust Vivian Moyer. He knew this because the person he loved most in the world trusted her to accept him, and he also knew it because she showed up when he was desperate to receive something motherly. What it was exactly he didn’t know, but Aiden realized the hugs he had just received had given him a special feeling.
“It appears we are now back to what’s bothering you this morning,” Vivian said.
“You remember how, when we played in the Base Brawl most of the Goats started yelling out to never, never, never, give up, right?”
“That was quite a thrill so see you all working together.”
“The team got that idea from players who read this baseball book called ‘The Twelfth Angel‘.” Aiden then went on to give a synopsis of the book as Vivian listened intently. As he approached the end of the book, he could feel the tears forming once again. Vivian gave him another hug as she saw his emotions developing. She and Aiden both realized at that moment that she knew and cared for Aiden more than either one of them had realized.
“You know what I thought about as I told you about how Timothy died?”
“You thought about how Timothy may have died but he never gave up?”
“Exactly,” Aiden nodded. “He never gave up playing baseball even though he wasn’t a very good player. And he never gave up in life even though he knew he probably would never be a teenager.” That comment sent a quick shiver through him. “I’m gonna be a teenager in ten days. I wonder what it must be like to be eleven or twelve and know you’re not going to be thirteen.” He wiped away a tear and went on. “I know what you want to ask next.”
“What do you think that would be?”
“Why was it I called you mom when you were at the door.”
“From what you said in your wonderful retelling of the story. you really liked how Timothy’s mom let him do the things that made him happy even though he was deathly ill. And even though you have two loving fathers, at that moment you wanted your mother in your life.”
Aiden nodded and placed his head on Vivian’s shoulder. “And just when I needed a mom there you were.” Now it was Vivian who was wiping away the tears.
The two sat quietly for a couple of minutes before Aiden broke the silence. “Gordy’s mom said way back when we first met that she would be a mom for me if I needed one, but I guess it never really worked. I mean, she’s a really nice lady and a good mom for Gordy but we just didn’t have that kind of connection I guess I needed.”
“And you felt that connection from me?”
“Not until we sat together on this seat today.”
“You know, with the way you and Nolan are connected, you’re really a part of the Moyer family,” Vivian said. “And I am proud to have you and proud to be here for you whenever you need a mom to talk to. But I do have three things to ask of you.”
Aiden was a little upset that Vivian was going to place rules on their relationship. But, he was so desperate for the relationship to work he was willing to listen. “First, you continue to give Nolan your unconditional love.”
“I know I can do that. I love him so much.”
“Second, you talk over this relationship with your dads and you give me your okay to talk with them. In return, I promise I will not tell them anything you tell me unless I feel my keeping quiet will be harmful to you.”
“Okay. But I guess we might have to work out sometime soon what you mean by harmful,” Aiden said.
“Fair enough. Let’s do that as soon as we can after we’ve talked to your dads about me being the mother figure.”
“Well, if you don’t mind, I’m gonna start that talk when they get home this afternoon.”
“That works for me.”
“And what is your third condition?"
“That you feel free to call me mom.”
“Oh, for sure I can do that, mom,” Aiden grinned. “But I have one thing for you to agree to.” Vivian was certain she knew what that condition would be. Aiden proved her right when he said, “I get to tell Nolan that you’re my mom figure.”
Vivian gave Aiden a kiss on his forehead. “That goes without saying, son.” Aiden’s grin split his face even wider on hearing the word “son”. “And now, my first command as your mother figure is for you to try a chocolate chip cookie and tell me if you think they’ll work at your birthday party.” Vivian opened up the tin of cookies and offered one to Aiden.
Aiden tried not one, but two. “They are perfect.”
“Coming from someone who I’ve been told is a world class chocolate chip cookie gourmand, that is indeed high praise.”
A few minutes later as Aiden watched Vivian Moyer pull out of the driveway and onto Lakeshore Drive, he felt complete for the first time since his mother died when he was eight years old.
5:30 pm
When Aiden’s dads returned from their trip to Olympia, they were each carrying a pizza box that they’d picked up at The Bear.
“Whoa, does this mean we’re having pizza for dinner?” Aiden asked as Larry and Phil set their boxes on the kitchen counter.
“No, it means we’re having pizza for a midnight snack,” Phil replied. “Dinner will be carrot sticks. Now, how about you going to the car and getting the soft drinks from the trunk.
“How come I got a smartass answer to my question?”
“Could it be because it was kind of a dumb question? Something has to be smart around here, so why not my answer.”
“Pop, tell your husband to behave,” Aiden told Larry as he turned, grabbed the keys, and headed for the garage. He soon returned with a six pack of Dr. Pepper and a six pack of root beer.
The family was soon seated at the dining room table munching on their pizzas and sipping their soft drinks. “Dads, is it okay if I ask you something serious or should it wait until after dinner?” Aiden asked.
“We’re ready to listen when you’re ready to talk,” Larry replied.
“I’ll wait until after we eat.”
After finishing their desserts, Aiden and his dads went to the rec room and sat on the sectional. Aiden sat on the part of the couch that was at a ninety-degree angle from his dads so he could see both of their faces together. Aiden then told them about finishing “The Twelfth Angel” and his reaction to it.
“I knew it would be sad because everybody said it was, including you guys. But I didn’t know it would be THAT sad,” Aiden said. “I mean, here I am just a little over a week away from being a teenager and I’m crying like a baby and asking for my mommy.”
“You’re mommy? Not your dads?” Phil asked with a slight smile.
“Yep. I figured it was because of Timothy’s mom sticking by him.” Aiden then told about Vivian Moyer ringing the doorbell as he broke down completely. He then went on to tell about how the scene played out and his asking Vivian to be his mother person. “She said she’d do it but wanted to talk about it with you two first.”
“Interesting,” Larry said. “It wasn’t that long ago that she was all but disowning you.”
“She told me she was wrong about that.”
“I give her a lot of credit for correcting the error of her ways. We’ll get hold of her and set up a meeting time as soon as we can. In the meantime, let’s retain the status quo until we get everything straightened out.”
“I thought Gordy’s mother was acting as your mother figure,” Phil said.
“She was, but it didn’t happen much. It’s weird but I felt, like, more connected to Vivian after this one talk than I have to Gordy’s mom after a couple of years of her being my acting mom. We only talked maybe a half dozen times if that. I only see her when I go to Gordy’s house, which isn’t much. He comes here way more often.”
“He’s overnighting here Monday night and on the clothing optional night on Sunday, right?” Larry inquired.
“Right. He said he wanted to sleep overnight with me this week because he wanted to sleep cuddled with me on a night before school starts.”
“I guess it would be a bit awkward for him to spend a night sleeping with Kalie,” Phil chuckled.
“That’s putting it pretty simple. It’s more like how quick would her dad go ballistic if he knew that was happening. I know, we used to have naked sleepovers at her house, but it’s like somebody turned a switch when we all started getting pubic hair.” Aiden pulled the waistband of his briefs away from his belly and looked down at his bare crotch. “Well, at least when MOST of us started getting pubic hair,” he sighed.
“Your time is coming,” Larry reminded him.
“Probably on my one-hundred thirteenth birthday.”
“Better late than never.”
Phil then suggested a game of Scrabble, which they soon set up on the dining room table. “Let’s check the Mariner highlights on TV first,” Aiden said. “I want to see Marty’s double.” Phil and Larry agreed readily.
The Mariners had picked up a 4-3 win over the Cardinals earlier in the day. They knew that Marty had hit a two-RBI double in the fifth inning and with the highlight show coming up, the three of them wanted to see the replay of it. After the Mariner highlights ended, Aiden turned off the television and then proceeded to defeat his dads in a close game of Scrabble.
“If you can beat the two of us at Scrabble you must have yourself back in balance,” Larry observed.
“Like it’s hard to beat a couple of old men at a simple game,” Aiden smirked.
“Hey, remember that these old men put the food on the table,” Larry said. Both he and Phil were pleased to see Aiden easing out of his dark space and slinging some of his cheekiness.
“Who’s driving me to Clark Pass tomorrow?” Aiden had accepted an invitation to Calvin Loggins’ thirteenth birthday party and would need transportation.
”Your dad and I will both be going,” Larry said.
“You mean you’re both going to go to the party?”
“No, I mean we’re both going to drop you off at Cal’s house and then go for a hike on the Clark Wilderness Trail to the lake and back. That should eat up the afternoon.”
“That sounds like fun.” Aiden and his dads enjoyed day hikes during the summer and had managed to squeeze in five during the past spring and summer. The nearby Cascade Mountains had a plethora of trails, plus there were hikes to be had in the Black Hills, the Olympics, and along the ocean. Their busy schedules, along with other recreational opportunities, precluded them doing more. “We’ll need to do that together next year. Cal likes to hike, and he can go with us.”
“We’ll leave it to you two to get that off the ground.”
“Or on the ground since you gotta have your feet on the ground to hike.”
Larry stood up and ruffled his son’s hair. “I love you, kid. And with a busy day coming up tomorrow, let’s get our asses into bed.”
“I second all of that,” Phil said.
Aiden told his dads goodnight and went upstairs to start a new book. It was a baseball book, one that Aiden was certain would not bring him to tears. The book was “The Last Manager”, the biography of Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver. He set up Mozart’s last two symphonies on his stereo to provide him with background. Plus, if Mozart really did make you smarter like some people liked to say, then it stands to reason it would make him a better reader as he started the book.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 23
8:00 am
<Clark Pass>
Cal Loggins was awakened just before eight by his sister, Carla, flopping down on the bed. “Happy day after our Birthday big brother,” she said before giving him a light kiss on his lips. Saturday had been their thirteenth birthday, but Cal and Carla each had soccer practice, so their party was today—the day after their birthday. “But from now on let’s call it our birthday and act like it is since other than dinner out with mom and dad yesterday it wasn’t really a birthday like day.”
“Happy Birthday little sister,” Cal said before giving her a little bit more passionate kiss in return. “Damn, you’re naked.”
“Well, of course I’m naked. We were both naked when we were womb mates and since it is our birthdays, being naked makes the most sense, right?” Before her twin could answer she pulled back his covers and revealed his naked body. “Speaking of being naked…”
“You know I almost always sleep naked,” Cal said as he felt his cock start to harden.
“Okay, birthday twins, time to wake up and get out of bed! We’ve got a lot do before the guests start to arrive!”
“I’m awake, mom!” Cal yelled back.
Carla listened to their mom head down the stairs. When she hit bottom Carla dashed out of Cal’s bedroom and returned to her room with practiced stealth. “I’m awake, too, mom,” she yelled.
12:00 pm
OUT OF TOWN FRIEND
“It’s gonna to be weird having a couple of birthdays together like this,” Aiden said as he and his dads headed for Clark Pass.
“You’ve been to the Hazen twins’ parties,” Larry pointed out.
“I know, but they’re both boys who play on the same teams and who have the same friends. This will be like two separate birthday parties.”
“Good point. But, knowing you, I know you’ll have fun, and you’ll make friends with a couple more Clark Pass athletes.”
“That’s my plan. Cal said his sister had a crush on me, so I’ll have to watch out for her, especially if she has a boyfriend there.”
“Since when have you ever been concerned about a girl having a crush on you?” Phil asked.
“Since I got invited to a birthday party where the only person I know is the birthday boy and there’s also a birthday girl.”
“Yeah, I suppose I can see where life could get confusing.”
Larry and Phil dropped Aiden off at Cal’s house just before the eleven o’clock start time. “The party ends at six, right?” Phil asked.
“For an old geezer, you’ve got a good memory,” Aiden responded.
“And for a young tween, you sure seem to have an amazing desire to get your butt tanned before you become a grownup thirteen-year-old.”
“In your dreams. Now, I better get out of the car and walk up to Cal’s house before they wonder if I plan on going to the party.” Aiden picked up the present he brought for Cal, opened the door, and stepped out of the car. “See you guys at six.” He shut the door and walked up to the front door of Cal’s house as Larry and Phil drove off to their hike.
Cal gave Aiden a big hug as soon as he opened the door. “Hey dude, great to see ya. Thanks for coming.”
“Happy thirteenth,” Aiden responded.
Cal saw Aiden’s package and pointed him to the kitchen fireplace mantle. “My presents on the blue paper and Carla’s on the red paper.”
Cal and Carla were both popular and had lots of friends. The dual parties filled the house as well as the backyard. Fortunately, the late summer day was warm and sunny. While Aiden wished Nolan could have been with him, or any Mayfield friend, for that matter, he had a good time getting to know Cal’s jerkoff buddies Donnie and Todd.
He also got to know Carla who spent a great deal of time flirting with him. He enjoyed the attention at first, but eventually tired of her running her hands over his torso and legs every chance she got. He was surprised but pleased that her wandering fingers never landed on his crotch. He found every way he could to hang around with Cal’s friends and away from Carla. One weird thought that ran through Aiden’s pubescent brain during one of Carla’s petting sessions was what it would be like to make out naked with Carla and Kalie in Kalie’s backyard.
After a meal of barbecue chicken, baked beans, and coleslaw, the birthday twins opened their presents. Aiden knew that Cal collected baseball cards and got six special cards for his collection. He was certain that Cal would love the selection, and he was right.
“Wowsers, six different Marty Carlson rookie cards and they’re all autographed,” Cal gushed. “These are going into the front of my card album.”
“How did you get him to sign them?” Rory Tucker asked.
“Well, he graduated from Mayfield High, was an All-State baseball player, and my pop was his coach in middle school and high school,” Aiden said. “So, I kinda had an inside track on getting the autographs. Marty said he was more than happy to contribute to the birthday of somebody from Clark Pass but if he was from Kentburg it would be a little different.”
“Oh yeah, I forgot he was from Mayfield.”
As much as the Clark Pass boys liked Rory, they all knew he wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer. But he was a good kid, a good friend, and they did all they could to help him stay eligible for sports.
Donnie and Todd were equally impressed by the cards and a bit envious. Like Cal they followed baseball closely and were Mariner fans.
“Well, I didn’t forget where he went and he’s been a favorite of mine from the time the Mariners drafted and signed him,” Cal said. He wrapped his arms around Aiden and gave him a big hug. “Make sure you thank him for me.”
“No problem. It will be done,” Aiden said.
For Aiden, the low part of the party came when Carla asked him if he wanted to go up to her bedroom with her to see her posters. Aiden had no desire to see Carla’s posters or anything else belonging to Carla. But it was her birthday after all, so he decided to go up to her room with her to “enjoy” a quick look at her posters of teen idols and then hustle back downstairs to be with Cal and his friends.
Cal had shown off his room to Aiden when his Mayfield friend arrived. Aiden had not been surprised to see that his walls were covered with posters of football, basketball, and baseball players, with the baseball posters occupying the wall at the head of the bed.
The first thing he noticed when he entered Carla’s room was that her walls were also covered with posters, only they were posters of bands. At the Majestic had more posters than any other band and Mason Johnson’s visage covered the wall at the head of her bed. Aiden was also struck by the fact that both Carla’s and Cal’s bedrooms were organized and neat as a pin.
“It looks like you really like Mason,” Aiden observed.
Carla nodded. “He is so cute and his voice is so beautiful, plus he’s almost like a next door neighbor. How far does he live from you?”
“Less than a ten-minute bike ride.”
“Wow. It must be awesome to have him as a neighbor.”
“As far as I’m concerned, he’s the same Mason who’s been my friend and teammate since fourth grade. And I think that makes him special.”
“I told Cal I wanted him to come to my birthday party because it would be, like, the most rad thing ever and Cal said he talked to you and you talked to Mason and Mason said he couldn’t come.”
“His mother had something planned for him to sing at church. She doesn’t ask him to do stuff much anymore, but when she does, Mason is ready to do it. He loves his mom.”
“Having him here at my birthday party would have been epic. Maybe you and him can come here, like, some weekend or something after school starts.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Aiden said in a disinterested tone of voice.
“He could sing for me and my friends. I bet he’d do it because he’s my fave singer of all time and he will know how cute I think he is. I’d, like, bring him up here to my room and show him my Mason wall plus pictures of all the hot ATM singers, especially Michael, who is my second favorite all-time best singer.”
“I bet he’d like seeing your wall.” Aiden said. ‘And I’m ready to end this visit and get back downstairs and mess around with Cal and his friends instead of being here with Cal’s twin sister who is totally full of herself.’
“If Mason came to my room, I’d show him something that was like really special.” Carla then pulled off her t-shirt and tossed it on her bed. Before Aiden could react to that, she had her bra off and was displaying her budding pubescent breasts. Aiden was ready to run out of the room but held tight. “Do you think Mason would like to touch my boobs or maybe even kiss them and suck on them? I mean if he did, I’d faint for sure.”
“Mason is gay you know,” Aiden said weakly.
“So?” She rubbed her hands around her breasts. “It just means he hasn’t seen these yet and then he won’t be so gay. Do you want to touch them?”
“I think I want to go now,” Aiden said as he turned and headed out of the room.
“Fine, be that way,” Carla sneered. “You missed a special treat. Mayfield deserves losers like you.”
Aiden saw the girls in the kitchen helping Cal’s mother get the table set up for lunch. He went outside and found Cal and his friends in the backyard tossing a frisbee around. He joined them and enjoyed banter between the Clark Pass boys as they made each other work to catch the disc.
The best part of the party for Aiden was the food, Cal liking the present he gave him, talking baseball with Cal and his friends, and the three-on-three basketball game they played in Cal’s driveway. Carla and her friends each picked out a boy to cheer for. Even though Aiden had walked out on her, Carla’s pick was Aiden. After twenty minutes the game ended in what all of the players agreed was a tie.
“That was not a tie,” Carla protested. “I know Aiden made the winning basket.”
The boys ignored her comment and asked if the girls wanted to play a game. The girls ended up playing an all-girl’s game of four on four that went only fifteen minutes because the birthday cake and ice cream was ready to serve. Plus, Carla totally dominated the game and the score quickly became one sided. She was unquestionably the best overall player at the party with Aiden being second best.
He had rooted for Carla because her playing was so good a person had to root for her unless they were playing against her. Even her opponents had to cheer some of her moves in the spirit of good sportsmanship. It was a birthday party, after all.
“Your sister should have played with us boys,” Aiden said to Cal.
“She’s awesome at all sports. I mean, I’m pretty decent, especially in baseball and soccer, but she’s a totally kick ass athlete,” Cal said. “And you’re a pretty decent hoopster. You buried a couple of really tough shots.”
“I think Carla would have stopped me dead.”
“I think Carla has got the major hots for you.”
“Since I’m a gay boy she’s pretty much wasting her time.”
“Tell her that,” Cal said bluntly. “She can be pretty stubborn about that kind of shit.”
“I think I’ll let it pass, seeing how far I live from here,” Aiden grinned.
“She said she wanted to come to your birthday party, but I think I got her talked out of it. Just to start, I told her it’s a long way to ride her bike because she isn’t riding with me.”
“What if she talks your ‘rents into taking you?”
“It won’t happen since I told them it’s a boy only skinny-dipping party,” Cal pointed out.
“But they’re letting you come, right?”
“Right. I talked to them about it and my dad said what’s an all boys’ birthday party without skinny dipping. He’s got nothing against boys with boys having some skinny-dipping fun, especially since he did it himself and it was all in fun.”
“What was all in fun, the skinny dipping or the extras that went with it?” Aiden smirked.
“I think he left that up to my imagination.”
Larry and Phil showed up a few minutes after Aiden finished his dessert. He thanked Cal’s parents for putting on a great party, called out his goodbyes to his new friends, accepted a surprise hug from Carla that included a kiss on his lips, and enjoyed his expected hug from Cal that included them exchanging gropes of each other’s crotch.
After Aiden buckled himself into the backseat of the SUV, Larry, who occupied the passenger seat, asked him how the party was.
“It was weird, but fun. Too many girls, and one of them, Cal’s sister, kept having her hands all over me. But she’s pretty nice when she isn’t all about petting. And damn, can she play hoops. We had a couple of games in the driveway, and she was the best player of anybody.”
“Sounds like you might have a little crush on her,” Phil chuckled.
“Ohhh, hell no! How was the hike?”
“Challenging but nothing too difficult or dangerous. We’ll have to take one of our family hikes there next year,” Larry said.
“It looks to me like you’re pretty much back to your regular self,” Phil said.
“Thanks to the two greatest dads in the world and my new mother-in-law,” Aiden said.
“That’s what Vivian Moyer has become? Your mother-in-law?”
“I’ve got to refer to her as something other than Mrs. Moyer. But don’t worry, I’m not going to tell her that. I suppose I should tell Nolan though.”
“Like we’ve said, we’re as sick as our secrets, especially in a relationship,” Larry said.
“And Nolan and I have been sticking to that. He’ll be home on Tuesday afternoon sometime. I can’t wait to see him.”
“I think the feeling will be mutual,” Phil said.
“You know it!”
MONDAY, AUGUST 24
<Mason’s House>
KEEPING UP A FRIENDSHIP
9:45 am
After eating breakfast Aiden called Sammy and said he wanted to talk to him about a problem sometime during the day. “Hey, we’re on the phone together so start talking,” Sammy responded.
“I want to talk face-to-face,” Aiden said.
“Ahh, so it’s serious stuff. Like me as your sponsor kind of stuff.”
“What else did you think it would be?”
“Well, it could have been you passing on a message from your dads about me behaving myself when I supervise the skinny dip at your party.”
“You know that’s not how my dads work. That’s something they’d tell you themselves.”
“Good point. Well, how about coming by my house sometime between twelve and one. We can have some lunch while we talk. I’ll make a ham sandwich just for you.”
“Since when did you become a sandwich maker?” Aiden asked.
“Since my mom said I have to become more self-sufficient if I didn’t want to starve to death during lunch at school.”
“Okay, I’ll be there, ready for a ham sandwich. Thanks.”
Since he had a little time before he was supposed to show up at Sammy’s house, Aiden decided to ride into town and see if Mason was home. He was looking at Mason as if he were a new person in Mayfield. ‘In a way that’s pretty much true,’ he thought. If Mason wasn’t home then he would ride to the twins’ house to see how they were doing and if they weren’t available he would ride home. While Gordy would be spending the night with him, he planned on having lunch and spending the afternoon at Kalie’s.
The first option ended up being a winning option. Aiden rode up to Mason’s house at 10:15. Mason had the house to himself and was happy to see Aiden.
“We won’t have much time together since I’m going to have a piano lesson with Mrs. Walker in Centralia and I’ll need to catch the 11:30 bus,” Mason said.
“I’m going to have lunch at Sammy’s and I’ve got the afternoon covered with Gordy coming over. But I really wanted see you today.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re one of my best friends and I wanted some time for just you and me to talk. That’s why,” Aiden replied.
“The last few days before school has got everyone busy,” Mason grinned. “And with the East Harbor dudes flying up along with your birthday bash, there’s gonna be a lot going on. I’m really happy to be able to be back with my friends and teammates before I gotta deal with whoever and whatever at school.”
“I think things are gonna mesh just right for you,” Aiden said.
“And I’m so hoping you’re right.”
“What’s the deal with the piano lessons. I thought you sang and played guitar now.”
“The piano is my favorite instrument to play, and I’m figuring that my voice is an instrument. I want to become profit…um…produc…well, really good at it.”
“I think the word you wanted is proficient.”
“Yeah, that’s the word. Dang, no wonder you’re my hero. You’re a star athlete, an honor roll student, my protector, and you can even read my mind.”
“Can you play the piano when you’re performing with At the Majestic?” Aiden asked.
“Well, I can play an electric keyboard if I wanted to, I suppose. But for me the piano is a way for me to learn about different kinds of music. I mean, you love Mozart, and Beethoven, and those guys, and I want to learn more about them. Like, how to play them. The last time I saw Mrs. Walker, which was before my last trip down to East Harbor, she had me learning the Mozart piano sonata 10, which I think I’ve got down.”
“Is she coming here for the lesson?”
“I’m taking the bus to Centralia, where she lives. She’ll pick me up at the station and treat me to lunch. She’s really nice.”
“Why don’t you have the lessons here?” Aiden asked. “You do have a piano, after all.”
“Yeah, but it’s a dinkey old upright. This is like a test of me playing a hard piece of music and we both wanted me to play it on a big old grand piano, which she has.”
“What does Alejandro think about your piano lesson?”
“He thinks it’s great that I do as much as I can with music. He told me I probably shouldn’t expect to make much money playing classical stuff. I told him not everything is about money.”
“What did he say to that?”
“He said there was no way he could argue with it since it was true.”
Aiden then told Mason about Cal’s birthday party and his sister’s Mason wall in her ATM bedroom.
“She’s really into it,” Mason chuckled. “We gotta find a way to go there so I can see it. I think it would make her happy.”
“I’ll tell you what might make her happier.”
“What?”
Aiden told him how Carla bared her breasts and asked if he might want to kiss and suck them.
“She did that for real?”
“For absolute real.”
“Well, it would be different, I guess. But if we went there, I’d kiss and suck her boobs under one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“That I can kiss and suck Calvin’s balls.”
“I like how you think,” Aiden giggled.
“I’d ask you to show me that you like my thinking, but I want to tickle the old ivories on a practice run before I go. But, just to be sure, you know that you owe me, right?” Mason pulled down his shorts and gray briefs, revealing his hardening cock.
“I got it loud and clear.” Aiden was hit by a moment of jealousy when, not for the first time, he noted that even though his friend was two weeks younger than him he had a dusting of pubes.
Mason pulled his pants back up. “On top of wanting a practice run, I’ve found I perform better when I’m sporting a hard-on.”
“Does that mean you’re always hard when you perform?”
“Nope, it just means I’m better when I’m hard. And I want to be at my best for Mrs. W today since she hasn’t heard me play for a while.”
“What about your California concerts.”
“I know she’s watched the videos cuz she told me. But I’m talking about the music she teaches me.”
“Gotcha.”
“You can listen to me play, if you want.”
Which is what Aiden did until it was time for Mason to get into town to catch his Lewis County Transit bus. He got his bike out of the basement and he and Aiden rode to the Mayfield bus stop. Mason paid two dollars to lock his bike in a bicycle locker. Aiden gave his special best friend a hug and rode to Sammy’s house for his chat with his older sponsor friend.
<Sammy’s House>
GETTING HELP FROM A FRIEND
1:00 pm
Sammy greeted Aiden and ushered him into his house. Aiden felt small next to the sixteen-year-old but understood that it was all about their age difference. The key for Aiden was that he trusted Sammy as much as he would an adult. Sammy always listened when Aiden shared his feelings, and he always made good suggestions. He usually suggested that Aiden should practice acceptance and turn things over to his higher power instead of giving Aiden specific solutions and telling him that’s what he had to do to solve his problems.
Aiden enjoyed his ham, cheese, lettuce, onion, and tomato sandwich, which he washed down with a can of Dr. Pepper. “How did you learn to make such a good sandwich?" Aiden asked after he finished.
“My mom, dad, and big brother are all good sandwich makers. I’d have to be brain dead to not be able to make good sandwiches.”
After they each finished their sandwich, Sammy took a couple of chocolate brownies out of the refrigerator for dessert. Aiden helped Sammy clean up their mess and then they retired to what the family called the sunroom.
Sammy got right down to business after they settled into their seats. “So, what’s bothering my little sponsee?” Sammy asked.
“I’m not little. I’m gonna be thirteen in a week which I know you know,” Aiden responded.
“My apologies. I didn’t mean to step on your toes.”
Aiden looked down at his feet, eliciting a smile from Sammy. He then told Sammy about the emotions he felt after finishing “The Twelfth Angel” and about Nolan’s mother helping him get himself back together.
“Crying when you’re sad after reading a sad book, or seeing a sad movie or show, or being around something sad isn’t unusual. I’ve shed a few tears reading a book. It means you’re human.”
“What’s a book that made you sad?”
“One of them was ‘The Cay’. I read that when I was like ten or so.”
“I know that book.” Aiden remembered his dads reading it to him when he was nine and had just moved into their house. “But what I wanted to say before you started talking about reading sad books was that I was thinking about drinking alcohol and that’s what I wanted to tell you.”
“I’m glad you did. And what I want to tell you is that you kicked your thinking in the balls and didn’t go looking to drink. It’s not like you don’t know where to get it, right?”
“But that’s when Vivian showed up. What if she hadn’t shown up? What then?”
“Then you would have called me,” Sammy grinned. “Or you would have told your dads. You would have found a way.”
“I wish those thoughts didn’t come into my head. They scare me and make me think something is wrong with me because they pop up all of a sudden.”
“There’s nothing you can do about weird thoughts. I get them, my dad, who’s got something like 30 years sober, gets them. Peter, my sponsor, gets them. My friends at The Fourth Dimension get them. There’s nothing you can do about that.”
“Nothing? Does that mean it’s hopeless?” Aiden asked with a quiver.
“It doesn't mean anything like that. What it means is you use the tools you’ve learned from me, from my dad, from the meetings you’ve been to, from the AA reading you’ve done, and from your good old Higher Power and tell your whacked out brain to shut the fuck up.”
“I guess that’s why you keep getting me to do that stuff you just talked about—it’s so I have the tools.”
“Right on. And that said, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you at a Fourth Dimension meeting.” The Fourth Dimension was the youth Alcoholics Anonymous meeting for east Lewis County. While Aiden went on occasion, the fact that he’d never touched alcohol since he left his evil foster home and came to live in Mayfield, told him that he really didn’t need the meetings. The only reason he drank in the foster home was because Parker and Tim kept giving him alcohol and it made him feel good and helped him to forget all the bad things happening to him there.
“I’ll go to some meetings after school starts,” Aiden said. “I’m pretty busy until then.”
“Why is it my bullshit meter is quivering?” Sammy inquired.
“Maybe because it needs new batteries. I said I’d go to some meetings after school starts and that means I’ll go to some meetings after school starts, okay?” Aiden stood up and looked straight at Sammy. “I’ll see you at the big party on Sunday.”
“I’ll be looking forward to it.”
Sammy went to the front door with Aiden. “Remember, it’s all about developing your tools,” he said as he opened the door.
“Thanks for helping me today,” Aiden said as he hopped on his bike and took off for home. As he pedaled home he wondered why he was wasting his time trying to get help from a high school alcoholic when he wasn’t an alcoholic himself.
‘Maybe it’s because he always seems to be right when I talk to him about shit,’ Aiden thought.
<Miller Residence>
HELPING A FRIEND
2:30
Aiden went to his bedroom after arriving home. He pulled Horace the Donkey off of his shelf above Aiden’s desk, sat on his bed, leaned back against the headboard, and set the stuffed Donkey on his lap.
“Well, Horace, I’d like to think my visit with Sammy wasn’t a waste of time. I think he helped me try to figure things out, but he pissed me off when he started talking about his bullshit meter. It’s like he doesn’t trust me to go to some of those stupid meetings. I guess I’ll have to show him I can be trusted. I just wish I’d said I’d go to one meeting instead of go to some meetings. Oh well, it’s up to me to decide how many meetings it takes to make them some of the meetings, right?”
As always after being asked a question, the big stuffed animal sat in his nonjudgemental pose saying nothing. “And besides, the last time I went there were only three middle school kids there including me. There were mostly high school kids there with a couple of college age kids thrown in. But I’ll go because I like Sammy and Sammy has really helped me since he agreed to be my sponsor.
“Larry Dad has his first football practice of the season today, so he’s gonna be home around five to five-thirty and Phil Dad will be home from work around his usual time which is between five and six. He has made up a big casserole dish of lasagna which I’m supposed to stick in the oven between five and six depending on when he calls me to put it in. Having pizza from the Bear would have been way easier, but Phil Dad likes to cook. But I don’t know why I’m telling you this since you never eat anything.”
Aiden rose from his bed and placed Horace back on his spot on the shelf. He straightened up the stuffed Donkey’s Mariner hat, headed downstairs, and went out on the deck. He texted Gordy to give him a call and heard Gordy’s ringtone on his phone a little over a minute later.
“I’m home and ready for you to come over,” Aiden told him.
“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes or so,” Gordy said.
“Sounds good. See you soon.”
Aiden was waiting at the front door when Gordy arrived. “I figured you’d be naked,” Gordy grinned when he saw his naked friend. The two besties exchanged hugs after Gordy entered the entrance foyer.
“Well, what are you waiting for? Get those clothes off,” Aiden said.
“Let’s go down to the basement and they’ll come off. Then we can go from there into the pool.”
Aiden was not allowed to use the swimming pool or the hot tub when he was home alone, but having a friend visiting changed that. The pool was now open for fun.
Fun meant racing, wrestling, groping, and general all-around boy fun. After tiring out they settled in a pair of lounge chairs and chatted.
“How was the big party at Kalie’s yesterday?” Aiden asked.
“It was meh. The only reason I went is because Kalie is my girlfriend and she asked me to be there.” The event in question was her brother Travis’s twenty-first birthday. “I know I didn’t want to be there and I know she didn’t want to be there and I’m really sure Travis didn’t want us to be there. But her mom and dad said being there for her brother was the right thing to do.
“Whatever. All he and his friends did was drink beer and eat hot dogs and chips. Kalie and I did some eating, of course, but we finally took off for the creek and the rock to make out.”
“Why didn’t you use the back house?” Aiden asked.
“Duh. Where do you think a bunch of drunk college kids went to do their making out?”
“Where were your parents?”
“They went to the Davidson farm and had their own fun. Kalie and I were both mad at them—we really wanted to go with you to Calvin’s party.”
“I can tell you it would have been way more fun.”
Aiden told Gordy how the party went. When he told about Carla flashing her breasts at him, Gordy laughed. “Her and Kalie are, like, friends in the way you and Cal are. That’s why Kalie was invited to go to the party. I bet they would have shown each other their boobs and done some kissing and boob sucking.”
“I didn’t realize what a good athlete Carla was. She’s as good as or maybe even better than Kalie,” Aiden said.
“For sure, they’re the best two girl athletes in the Seamount League,” Gordy said. “How did her boobs compare to Kalie’s?”
“I’d say they were bigger.”
“I can say that Kalie’s were better yesterday. I’m sure you’ve figured out that we got naked on the rock, did some skinny dipping, and fucked on the rock.”
“You only fucked once?”
“No, silly, we did it twice.”
“And Travis and his friends didn’t sneak up on you?”
“Not that we could tell. As much as they were drinking and partying, I can’t imagine any of them sneaking. But whatever, it’s not like any of them were virgins and didn’t know anything about fucking.”
Aiden was positive he wouldn’t want to have sex in a place where a bunch of college kids were partying, but he kept his mouth shut. Gordy’s talking about having sex with Kalie got both of them hard, but just as they started jerking off they heard a car pull into the driveway. “That’s gotta be my Pop,” Aiden said. He and Gordy jumped into the pool to hide their boners.
Sure enough, Larry came around the house and greeted them. “Do you guys mind if I join you for a dip?” he asked.
“We’re skinny dipping,” Aiden said.
“I figured as much, which is why I asked. If you say yes, I’ll put on my trunks. What you two do is up to you.”
Larry was soon in the pool. Aiden and Gordy remained naked, but the cool water and Larry’s presence had made their dicks go soft. Larry had seen them naked many times and it didn’t bother them.
Aiden’s phone rang ten minutes later. It was Phil letting him know it was time to put the lasagna into the oven. Aiden and Gordy left the pool, showered, put on their underpants and t-shirts, and headed for the kitchen. They were soon joined by Larry and preparations for dinner were underway.
When Phil arrived, Aiden had just taken the lasagna from the oven and placed it on the counter. Gordy placed four glasses of Mango Nectar on the table. Larry had the salads made and gave them to Gordy to put on the table as he dished out four servings of lasagna and set them on the table. The table was now fully set. The four sat at the table and dug into their dinners.
Aiden thought about when he first moved into Larry and Phil’s house and about sitting at the dinner table wearing nothing but t-shirts and underpants. He knew there were times (like now) when being informally dressed was okay and there were times when he would be expected to be fully dressed. He’d lived here long enough to know which time was which, but he and his dads fought a few verbal battles before the lessons were learned.
Dessert was an apple cobbler with vanilla ice cream for each. Larry had baked them the day before for Sunday and that day’s dinner.
After cleaning up the kitchen and dining room, they retired to the multi-purpose room to watch the Mariners play at the White Sox. The game was a tight one with the Mariners trailing 3-1 going into the eighth. The Mariners cut the gap to 3-2 with a couple of hits.
That brought Marty to the plate with two outs and Mariner shortstop Thomas Adams on second. The Mariners had lost their last two games to the Cardinals and Marty was trying to end an 0-for-9 slump and the Mariners two game losing streak. Aiden and Gordy were on the edge of their seats as Mayfield’s finest came to the plate.
“C’mon Marty, knock him in and tie the score! You can do it!”
“Go Marty!!!” Gordy shouted.
Larry and Phil sat with intense quiet, electing to let the boys cheer for their hero.
Marty didn’t let them down as he nailed a 2-1 pitch and sent it sailing over the left-center field fence, giving the M’s a 4-3 lead. It was the rookie’s 33rd home run of the season. The Sox went down in order in the bottom of the inning. The Mariners tacked on an insurance run in the top of the ninth, closer Mario Diaz struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth, and the Mariners celebrated a 5-3 win along with Aiden, Gordy, Larry, and Phil.
The Mariners now had a 78-63 record and a 1.5 game lead over the Astros in the AL West. Marty was hitting .289 with 33 home runs and 93 RBI.
Aiden and Gordy went down to the game room, stripped off their t-shirts and underpants, and played three games of naked ping pong. Gordy won the first game 11-9, Aiden took the second 12-10 and the third 11-7. They then decided it was time for bed since Gordy’s main purpose for this visit was to get in some snuggle time with his best friend. They put their underpants back on and carried their t-shirts upstairs where they said their good nights to Larry and Phil.
After reaching Aiden’s room, they stripped naked, took care of teeth, washing, and using the toilet. The naked friends then went under the covers in Aiden’s bed. Aiden turned off the lights and snuggled in close to Gordy.
“You told me you just wanted some snuggling tonight,” Aiden said.
“Well, not exactly. It’s kinda like that but a little different,” Gordy said.
“So, tell me what you want to do and I’ll do my best to help you.”
“It’s like, I never get much chance to snuggle with Kailey. The backyard isn’t a great place to snuggle. Hell, it’s not even a good place to snuggle. So, we pretty much just fuck on the lawn. Same with the rock down at the pond. We need to take a blanket if we go into the woods but we don’t have much time there either. And the few times we did it on her bed we had to be quick. And forget using the back house, at least until Travis leaves for college and probably not even then. So, I guess what I want is to snuggle up and sleep with somebody I love and hope that the time will come soon when I can do that with Kalie.”
“Which means it’s like you said, you don’t want any sex,” Aiden said.
“I want you around me and not in me, if that makes sense.”
“Then we’d better put our tees and undies on.”
“Why?”
“Because if I’m gonna snuggle with you naked, the skin on skin touching with somebody I love is going to probably make me shoot my wad.”
“I know what you mean,” Gordy nodded. “Remember back when we first met and took our underpants off and looked at the first boners we’d ever seen somebody else have?”
“Yeah, I remember. We called them nails.”
“So maybe when we snuggle we’ll get those nails and do something we couldn’t do back when we were nine. We’ll cuddle and touch our dicks against each other and if we make a mess, well, then we make a mess.”
“But let’s not hump. Like you said, if we touch and it happens it happens.”
“I don’t think I’ll be able to keep from rubbing my cock along your skin,” Gordy said.
“Me either. But rubbing our cocks together or just sliding them on each other’s skin isn’t the same as serious humping.”
Gordy’s response was to wrap his arms around Aiden, kiss him lightly, and cuddle. Aiden felt the warmth of his best friend seeping into his body. His cock was hard, as was Gordy’s. The kisses were light and loving, their cocks barely moving against each other’s smooth skins. Gordy was happy Aiden agreed to be his snuggle buddy and felt loved by his best friend.
But all the gentle hugging and snuggling and humping had their hormones pumping. They could feel orgasms build up and their quiet moans built in intensity until they changed to grunts and the gentle humps became more intense. Aiden came first, squirting his light cum over his friend’s belly and crotch. Gordy shot his thicker cum a few seconds later.
They hadn’t talked about what to do with their emissions after they came. It didn’t matter since the boys had been as tired as they were horny.
“This is nice,” Gordy whispered as he fell asleep in Aiden’s arms.
As Aiden listened to Gordy’s even breathing, he felt happy he was able to make his friend’s cuddle night special. He wondered if this was how the next cuddle night, if they had one, would play out. Whether it happened again or not, as Aiden looked back at the last couple of days, he thought about how many different, but wonderful, things had reminded him of how many friends he had and how many different ways he and those friends could make each other happy.
Note to readers: In the scene where Aiden finishes “The Twelfth Angel”, I wrote a summary of the ending. Everything in quotes, however, I quoted directly from the book. And, yes, I did drip tears into my oatmeal at the breakfast buffet on the “Island Princess” when I finished the book.
NEXT: Let the Party Begin