HTML by John Yager

HTML by John Yager

HTML
By John Yager

Some time ago I posted a story called Cold Hand of Fate. The characters in it were very popular with readers, many of whom wrote asking for more. So last Christmas I followed it with a second story, also about Buck and Stac, which was called The Big and the Small. That second story introduced Tim and made reference to Stac's younger cousin. It ended with the words:

"In the new year, when the spring had just begun, Stac introduced Tim and his cousin. But that's another story."

Now spring has come, and depending on where you live, may have almost gone, and I have begun to get messages from readers asking when I was going to post the story of that promised meeting. This story is at least a start at fulfilling that intention.

The following story is a work of gay erotic fiction depicting sexual acts between consenting adults. If such stories are not to your liking or if you are not of legal age to read such stories in your jurisdiction, please exit now.

This is a work of fiction and in no way draws on the lives of any specific person or persons. Any similarity to actual persons or events is entirely coincidental.

Andrew again proofed and provided editorial advice, for which I am very grateful.

This work is copyrighted by the author and may not be reproduced in any form without specific written permission from the author. It is assigned to the Nifty Archives under the terms of their submission agreement but it may not be copied or archived on any other site without the written permission of the author.

All my stories can be found under my name in the NIFTY Prolific Authors lists.

If you wish to receive notifications of future postings please let me know by writing to me at the address below.

jvoyager@hotmail.com

"I got the keys, guys, now go already," Luke called as Stac and Buck climbed into the pickup.

Luke smiled as the two handsome young men finally pulled out. They were off for two weeks, a well deserved break from work, and a chance to travel north and do some camping and fishing in the forests along the state line.

Stac had asked Luke to house sit, to take care of the cows and the dog and generally keep an eye on the place. For Luke it was a break from life in town. He loved his cousin Stac and, over the last few months, had also come to love Stac's partner, Buck. They were a devoted and attractive couple and, for Luke, they confirmed the notion of two men forming a life together as an exciting reality.

Luke called the dog and headed back to the little house. It was little more than a cozy cabin, really, but for him it held special memories. He'd visited his cousin Stac and his uncle Tom there when he was just a kid and had been coming back for short visits with Stac since Tom died.

The place was small, but very comfortable. The main room was snug and cozy. Despite the warm spring days, the nights were still cool and Stac had left a low fire burning in the big fireplace. In an hour or so, as the evening came on, Luke would add more wood and have a warm fire burning well into the night.

Luke had just turned nineteen and was a student at the community college in town. Spring break had begun and he was glad to be spending it here. Guys he knew at the college had tried to get him to join them on a trip to the Gulfport. "Beaches, beer and babes," they'd promised, but the idea of two weeks with a bunch of drunken, horny, straight guys didn't have much appeal. He'd begged out, claiming that he had assignments to finish and reading to get a jump on. Actually, his main objective for the next two weeks was just to laze about. He figured the few chores would take him a couple of hours a day at the most and the rest of the time he could relax.

The dog, Jack, had followed him in and stretched out on the hearth rug, making a low noise, half way between a sigh and a whimper, followed by a long, soulful, almost human groan. Luke supposed the big English Setter was already missing Stac and Buck.

"It'll be okay, boy," Luke had said to the dog as he stooped and scratched him behind the ears, "they'll be back and I'll look out for you while their gone."

Luke went into the kitchen to pour himself a cup of coffee and get a treat for the dog from the tin in the cupboard. It was as he passed the wall mounted phone that he noticed the list of names and numbers Stac had left.

"These are the names and numbers of the vet in case one of the cows gets down or the dog gets sick. There are all the other emergency numbers and one for Buck's folks. I hope you don't need them, but just in case," Stac had said as he pointed out the neat list stuck up on the little cork note board by the phone.

"Oh, yeah," Stac had added, "there's a guy who may call. His name's Tim Banks. He's a friend of Buck's, one of the guys he works with. I put his name and number at the bottom of the list."

"Why would he call?" Luke had asked, looking at the list.

"He wants to meet you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I`d mentioned you were staying here while we were gone and he said he might drop by." There had been no further explanation.

Stac and Buck had left on Friday afternoon. That night Luke had slept snugly in their big bed. He woke once and made a trip to the bathroom. As he returned the heard a low growl and looked into the living room to see Jack lying on the hearth rug, his legs moving, although he was clearly asleep. Dog dreams, Luke thought, and bent over to give him a pat and headed back to the warm bed. Luke figured the dog was dreaming of rabbits or chasing squirrels. When Luke again awoke, it was to the sounds of birds Soft light was filtering through the tall pines which surrounded the cabin and Jack was clearly anxious to go out.

Luke fed the cows and cleaned the barn. Back in the house, he fed the dog and got some breakfast for himself. He made a couple of sandwiches and put them and a bottle of water in his back pack along with a big towel, a couple of magazines and his books. It was only a little after nine-thirty when he headed off into the woods. Jack followed as Luke headed down the path into the valley behind the cabin. Soon the dog figured out that Luke was taking the well worn path toward the creek and began to explore on his own, his own longer path, crossing and re-crossing Luke's more direct path as they worked their way deeper into the woods.

"Jack," Luke had called when he heard the dog some distance away, barking as if he had something up a tree.

The path led through the tall trees and dense undergrowth which covered the forest floor, down a slight slope into the valley, arriving at last at the little creek which, this time of year, was running full and fast. It was as Luke remembered it, even though he hadn't been here for a nearly a year.

The last time he'd visited Stac and Buck there had been snow on the ground and walking into the deep woods had not seemed like a good idea when there was a crackling fire to keep them warm in the cabin.

The previous summer, however, Luke had spent a couple of days with Stac. The days had been warm and they'd made the trek to the creek to swim naked in the cool water and then sprawled on a blanket in the dappled sun as their bare bodies dried.

It was during one of those lazy afternoons that Luke had told Stac that he thought he might be gay. He had not yet come to terms with his sexuality, but he knew he wasn't interested in girls and he had to admit that he found other young men intriguing. Stac had asked Luke if he'd actually had sex with another guy and Luke had shyly admitted that he was a virgin.

"Well, take your time, Luke," his older cousin had suggested. "Wait until you find the right person, whether that turns out to be a girl or a guy."

Luke had suspected that Stac was gay, but the question was never asked and Stac had not volunteered anything about himself. Luke just remembered how Stac had looked that day, his sleek body, naked and glowing in the sunlight. He'd wished he'd had the nerve to make a move, but knew somehow that Stac would have rebuffed it because of Luke's younger age and their blood relationship.

Months later, Buck had come into Stac's life. It had been obvious to Luke when he'd first seen them together, that the two men were lovers. There had been no embarrassment on either side when Stac introduced Buck as his partner. Luke had been understandably jealous of Buck's relationship with Stac, but the jealously had quickly disappeared as Luke learned to love Buck as much as he loved Stac.

Luke worked his way down the last few yards of the path and came out of the dense undergrowth into a little clearing along the banks of the creek. There was a small pool, not more then ten of fifteen yards across and maybe thirty yards long, formed by a sort of natural weir.

The impounded water was not more than four or five feet at its deepest point and the shores more shallow, sloping to the center of the pond. At this time of year the water, which flowed from springs further up the valley, was cold. Even at the height of summer, it could be quite cool.

Jack waded out into the shallow water and lapped at it. He soon retreated to the shore, the water uncomfortable, even for him.

Luke took the pack off his shoulders and dug in it for a large towel, which he spread out on the soft mossy bank. Soon he was naked and looking through a magazine as a more scholarly looking book lay unread bedside him on the towel. He lay on his back with his head pillowed against his bundled clothes, his body stretched out and exposed to the warm sun.

The big dog ran through the underbrush, crashing over dry leaves and broken twigs, in hot pursuit of a rabbit. "Damn it, Jack," Luke called, "cool it, fellow. Leave the wildlife alone." The dog came back to him and flopped down, panting.

The story Luke was reading was about two guys meeting in a park, a casual conversation, an exchange of knowing glances and the suggestion by one that the other come back to his apartment so they could get to know each other better. It was not exactly great literature and little time was wasted getting down to the main purpose of the tale, the description of hot, man to man sex.

The dog soon bored of his inactivity and wandered off again in search of adventure. Luke watched him go but, figuring the only way to keep him from chasing rabbits was to put him on a lead, just let him go. Soon he heard the dog romping through the underbrush again. The rabbit population would just have to look out for itself.

As Luke read, his own body tingled. He felt his cock lengthen and swell and pulse, demanding his attention.

Jake slowly unbuttoned his shirt, revealing his hard, chiseled chest, his defined abs, his thin waist.

Luke read on as his hand found his solid cock and began to slowly stroke it.

Billy watched transfixed as Jake unbuttoned his 501s. It was a slow, easy process, a striptease in every sense of the word, a well practiced come-on.

Luke ran his thumb over the weeping head of his cock, spreading the clear, sticky fluid over his bulbous knob and then, as the flow continued, down the length of his shaft.

Jake stepped over to his new friend and touched him lightly on the chest. "You are so hot," he said as he stooped to take one hard, pulsing nipple in his wet mouth.

Luke propped the magazine against his back pack so he could look at the hot photo accompanying the story. It showed two guys embracing by a rumpled bed, their naked bodies pressed together.

Luke began to stroke his cock with real intent. It had been too long since he'd come and he needed it. His whole body cried out for release.

Behind him in the undergrowth, the dog romped back down the path and then stopped. With some small unoccupied portion of his brain, the sound registered in Luke's consciousness but he was concentrating on other things. He'd settled into an easy rhythm, slowly stroking himself to a massive climax with his right hand. With his left, he pinched and twisted and pulled his nipples, increasing his arousal, driving him toward the edge.

Luke was sweating now, his body covered with a damp sheen which glowed in the bright sun. His left hand abandoned his nipples to run circles over his chest and then down over his taught abs to his crotch. It slipped below his cock and grasped his balls as his right hand continued to work his glistening cock with practiced strokes.

He squeezed his balls, squeezed them hard, making his body ache with pleasant pain.

Luke's climax, when it finally came, was quite incredible. His head jolted back and his body arched up off the towel, as every muscle bulged. A three day accumulation of sperm shot from his pulsing cock. The first jolt arched over his head and landed in the grass beyond the edge of the towel. The second hit Luke squarely in the face, part of it running slowly down over his ear and onto his neck. The third and final jolt landed in the deep cleft between his pectoral muscles, pooling there.

He lay there in a stupor, letting the sun lull him, feeling his body relax and the tensions drain from him. He dozed a little, thoughts of Billy and Jake meandering through his brain, mixing with other images, becoming Stac and Buck, becoming Luke himself and some beautiful, unknown man.

Somewhere, not too far away, the dog was moving through the undergrowth again as Luke slipped into a pleasant sleep, his body now relaxed and limp, his passion spent.

Tim Banks had risen early. He had carefully showered and shaved. He'd put on clean jeans and a new white T-shirt which showed off to advantage his well honed physique. Everything he'd need if he ended up being gone for a few days was stowed in his backpack. Not that he really expected to be gone for several days, but if the opportunity arose, he'd be ready.

It was the day Tim was going to finally meet the amazing Luke and he wanted to look his best and be ready for any possible developments.

How did Tim know Luke was amazing? He knew from the pictures he'd poured over on each visit he'd made to see Stac and Buck. It was an album of typical family snapshots, taken over a period of more than twenty-five years. The earliest photos had been taken before Luke was born, of course. There were shots of Luke's parents, of his uncle and aunt, Stac's parents, as young couples. There were photos of Stac as a cute baby with his mother and father, who looked young and happy with their new child.

There were also photos of Luke. The earliest shots were of him as a beautiful baby and as a lovely child. There were photos of Luke as a gangly teenager and a handsome high school student.

But the photos which held Tim's attention were the ones Stac had taken the previous summer when he and Luke had been swimming in a little pool back in the woods behind the cabin.

"We've been swimming there since we were kids," Stac had said. "I think the first time Luke's folks let me take him there alone was when he was about seven. I'd have been about thirteen." He paused and grinned at Buck, then added. "We always swim naked, so we call the place Skinny Dip."

"I'd always thought skinny dipping was a verb," Buck had added, "but Stac made it into a noun."

The images were just informal snap shots, but it was clear that Stac had a real talent for photography. In every shot, he'd caught Luke in ways that exhibited his masculine beauty to advantage.

There were several shots but two immediately drew Tim's attention. The first was of a handsome young man standing waist deep in the water, his proud chest and massive shoulders wet and shining in the raking light. The other was a photo of him standing naked by the water's edge, looking out across the pool into the forest beyond. It showed Luke's muscular shoulders and back tapering to an incredibly thin waist above the beautiful mounds of his ass.

But what was lacking, to Tim's disappointment and frustration, was a frontal shot.

"I wanted to take some," Stac had said, "but he was too modest." Then Stac grinned and added, "I can tell you, though, he inherited the family's tendency for hefty cocks."

"I can assure you, Tim, that if the boy is as hung as this fellow here, he has more than you can handle."

"How do you know how much I can handle, Buck?" Tim had shot back in his easy, teasing way.

Tim knew Luke was adorable from the photos. He had gained further insights into the personality of the beautiful young man he'd not yet met from the things Stac and Buck said about him.

Tim admitted to himself that he was probably obsessing a little about Luke. He'd asked endless questions, listened to every story, every bit of family history.

"I just can't see why he isn't dating," Tim had said during one late night conversation. "Anybody, guy or girl, would go for him."

"He's shy, Tim. I keep telling you that," Stac had said for the hundredth time.

"I bet he has so many people coming on to him he just backs into a shell." That had been Tim's judgment on his last visit to Stac and Buck just a week before they were due to leave on their camping trip.

"Well, Tim, it's been over four months since I first told you about Luke. Why don't you just meet the guy and get it over with?"

"I don't want to just meet him, guys. I want to win him. I want to conquer him."

"Another romantic," Buck had said to Stac, as he gave their cute young friend a playful jab in the gut.

"Yeah, I am, I'll admit it," Tim had said as he looked down at his boot clad feet and blushed. "I guess I just want what you guys have. I don't want a few hot dates or even a weekend of passion. I want to meet and romance and win the heart of someone I really love, and then be with that person for the rest of my life."

"Well, buddy, come out and introduce yourself while he's staying here. At least you won't have anyone else around to get in the way."

Tim had decided he'd take their advice. He told his boss he needed a few days off, which wasn't easy, with Buck away. It was Mary, the dispatcher, who had come to his aide, saying that she had enough drivers for the next week or so, finally Mr. Stevens agreed. On Friday evening, after work, he washed his truck and thoroughly cleaned the interior of the cab. He had difficulty getting to sleep and when he did, his dreams were filled with images of Luke.

On Saturday morning he bolstered his courage, prepared with care, and headed out to the cabin to meet his fate.

To Tim's utter disappointment he found no one at the cabin when he arrived. The doors were securely locked and after walking around the place twice and even looking in the windows, he convinced himself that Luke wasn't there.

There was an old but well kept Honda Accord parked by the barn and he assumed it must be Luke's. At least Tim had not seen it before. He walked through the barn and everything seemed to be in order. The stalls were clean and there was grain in the feed boxes. He even called out several times, but heard no reply.

As Tim was walking back from the barn toward the cabin, he heard a dog bark and then a guy's voice calling, "Jack." Jack was the name of the big English Setter Stac and Buck had. The voice had to be Luke. The sound was off in the distance, but the voice came clear, carried by a light morning breeze.

Tim stood very still for several minutes, waiting, trying to figure out the direction from which the dog's barking and the human voice had come. He walked around the cabin again and saw what looked like the beginning of a footpath leading back into the woods. He'd missed it before, but he'd been looking at the cabin, not at the edge of the clearing and the woods beyond. He returned to his truck, took his backpack from the cab and tossed it over his broad shoulders with one strap. Be prepared, he reminded himself.

The path seemed to be going down into the valley behind the little house. Suddenly Tim's memory went back to the snapshots of Luke. Stac had said he'd taken them when they'd been swimming in a creek near by. Creeks run in valleys, Tim reasoned, and then wondered if Luke might have walked back off to the same spot again.

The path was easy, descending through thick trees and even thicker undergrowth. The bracken was broken by patches of bittersweet so thick you would need a scythe to cut through it. But the path itself was clear and easy to follow. As Tim descended further into the valley, he began to hear the sound of running water and was even more certain he was approaching the pool Stac had described.

Skinny Dip, the name Stac had given the place, came back to Tim. He wondered if Luke might be naked but decided the water would still be too cool for him to enjoy a swim.

He heard the dog barking again, and again the guy's voice calling out, "Damn it, Jack, cool it, fellow. Leave the wildlife alone." This time the voice was much closer, not more than a few hundred yards ahead.

Tim walked on slowly, making as little noise as possible. It wasn't that he intended to spy on Luke, he told himself, just that he didn't want to scare him.

The dog ran by, not fifty yards ahead, crossing the path and heading off again into the thicket. If he'd seen Tim, he paid no attention. Tim figured he was after a rabbit and the presence of another human being was a lot less interesting.

As Tim walked on towards what seemed to be the edge of a steeper drop, he heard a moan. It was not the sound of someone in pain. In fact, Tim thought, it was more like the sound of sexual pleasure. He walked on slowly, coming to the edge of the drop. Below him was the sparkling pool he'd seen in the photos Stac had taken last summer. On the bank of the pool, lying naked on a large towel, was Luke. Luke the object of Tim's fantasies, Luke, the beautiful young man of Tim's dreams and desires.

Tim froze in his tracks, unable to move, unable to make a sound, other than that of his own rapid breathing.

Luke was lying with his feet stretched out towards the water's edge, his head toward Tim, propped up on a rolled bundle of jeans and shoes and shirt. He was holding a magazine in his left hand and stroking his hard cock with the other.

Tim stood staring spellbound at the scene below him. He was still fifty feet away and could not see Luke as well as he would have liked. But he was close enough to see what was going on. He felt his own passions rise as he watched this beautiful young man slowly bring himself closer and closer to climax.

As Luke continued to stroke his hard, glistening cock, Tim found his own arousal too powerful to be ignored. He ran his hands down over his chest and then gripped his swollen crotch. He pulled up his T-shirt and ran his hands under it, slowly stroking his stomach and his chest. All the while his eyes were fixed on Luke.

Tim realized as he watched Luke that this young man was far more beautiful in the flesh than photographs could ever show. Luke's skin was radiant in the warm light of the sun, glowing with a damp sheen, every muscle taught. His torso was finely honed. Tim knew from the comments Stac and Buck had made that Luke spent many hours a week in the college gym. It was one of his few pursuits, apart from his studies, and it was clear that it had produced amazing results. Luke's deeply muscled chest rose and fell as he drove himself, slowly stroking his massive cock with his right hand as he continued to hold the magazine with his left.

As Tim continued to watch, Luke lay aside the magazine, propping it against his back pack, freeing his left hand, with which he began to stroke his chest. Luke's nipples were hard, pointed, as erect in their way as his pulsing cock. He stroked them, first running his palm over them, teasing them, massaging them to even greater arousal. He then began to pinch them, twist them, working them to an inflamed pitch.

Tim laid aside his backpack and slowly released the buttons of his jeans, working his hand into the fly and down under the waistband of his white jockey shorts. With little effort, his own cock sprang out, already damp, needing his attention. As his jeans slipped down around his ankles, he pulled off his T-shirt, exposing his own muscular body. He forced his jockey shorts down and began to stroke his cock.

Tim's body was hard, well muscled, not so much from long hours in a gym as from the heavy work he did as a driver and delivery man for Stevens. Not that he didn't give his handsome body some extra attention, working with the weights his older brother had left behind when he'd gone off to the army four years before.

Luke's cock was large, Tim realized. He remembered the comments Stac had made about the family trait and the teasing he'd gotten from Buck about his ability to handle it. Now seeing it, hard, wet, standing like a flag pole jutting from Luke's taught body, we wondered if he could take it, but was sure he wanted to try.

Luke's left hand slipped down over his hard abs, stroking them, then moved further down, through his thick pubic patch, now glistening with the overflow of his clear juices. His hand traveled further down, gripping his balls which, from his position, Tim could not see. Luke seemed to squeeze them hard, obviously giving himself some pain. Tim remembered how Luke had tortured his own nipples, seeming to enjoy the discomfort he caused himself. Tim filed that knowledge away in the hope of using it in the future.

Tim's own passions were approaching their end. His body tensed as he felt his orgasm building deep in his gut. Below him Luke was now writhing, every muscle flexed. Tim watched in amazement as Luke's powerful body rose up off the towel and his head flexed back. In that position he was looking back toward the slope where Tim stood and for a moment Tim feared that Luke might see him, but realized his eyes were tightly closed.

Suddenly jolts of his white seed shot from Luke's cock, arching over his head and landing in the grass beyond the towel. Tim's own cock erupted, shooting out a massive bolt of his own essence to decorate the weeds below him.

Tim watched in awe as a second and then a third streak of white cream shot from Luke's raging cock, one striking his handsome face, the other pooling on his chest. Each blast was answered by Tim's own salvos. When it was over, Tim could barely stand. He felt his own body relax as he watched Luke slip from the peek of his ecstasy into a happy daze.

Suddenly Tim realized he was in a rather awkward situation. He certainly didn't want Luke to know he'd been watching him. That would be one hell of a way to introduce himself. He took some tissue from his pack and made a stab at cleaning himself up a little. He then pulled up his jockeys and his jeans and put his T-shirt back on.

As Tim heard Jack bark again, somewhere behind him in the woods, he grabbed his pack and tossed it over one shoulder by one strap, and retreated back up the hill toward the cabin. He'd gone about half the distance before stopping. Luckily at just that point the big dog crossed his path, took one look and gave a series of friendly barks. Jack knew Tim from his many visits and when Tim picked up a stick and threw it into a clearing beside the path, he quickly ran after it, continuing to bark as he ran.

Below on the banks of the little pond, Luke heard the commotion and realized it was some distance away, back up the hill toward the cabin. He rose up and looked at his body, streaked with sweat and spunk.

Tim, up on the hill, at that point threw the stick again, prompting another burst of friendly barking from the dog. He turned, facing back towards the pond and called out as loudly as possible, "Luke, hey Luke, are you down there?"

"Oh shit," Luke said to himself, looking at his chest and stomach. His pubic hair was matted with the drying remains of his orgasm. Hearing his name called by someone who was clearly headed this way, he quickly got up and headed for the pond. "Yeah," Luke called from the water's edge, "I'm down here." He quickly waded out into the water until he was knee deep and splashed it over his crotch and chest, trying to quickly rinse away the evidence of his recent activities. The water was freezing but he had no choice. He waded out into deeper water until he was standing waist deep in the icy pond. He felt his cock shrink and his balls draw up in protest and his whole body began to shiver with the cold. At least, he thought, I'm a little more covered than I had been, lying naked on the bank.

"Luke, where are you?" came the male voice again, closer this time.

"Keep coming," Luke called back, "I'm down at the pond." His body had begun to adjust to the cold water. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all.

He heard the sound of a guy breaking through the undergrowth, accompanied by Jack's friendly bark. Well, Luke thought, it must be a friend of Stac and Buck's. Otherwise, the dog wouldn't be so welcoming.

A moment later Tim came out of the woods and stood at the top of the final slope, looking down at Luke from twenty or thirty yards away.

"Hey," Tim called when he say Luke standing in the pond, "I'm Tim Banks, a friend of Stac and Buck's."

"Hi, Tim," Luke called back. "I figured you were a friend of theirs or Jack wouldn't have been so friendly."

It was a little awkward. Luke was standing naked in the waist deep water and Tim was standing fully clothed on the bank. The surface of the pool was dotted with little buds which seemed to be falling from one of the overhanging trees. As they continued talking Luke formed a bowl with his hands and came up under one bud after another, trapping them and then setting them afloat.

"Give me a minute and I'll get out," Luke said, not knowing any other way to proceed.

"How's the water?" Tim asked, also feeling somewhat ill at ease with the conversation.

"Cold at first but once you get used to it it feels great."

"How about I join you?"

"Sure, I'm skinny dipping, as you can probably tell, but feel free to wear a swimming suit if you prefer."

"Stac told me you guys call this place Skinny Dip."

"Yeah, that's right. When I was a kid I thought they called it that because it wasn't very wide."

"I don't have a swimming suit with me and I prefer to swim naked anyway."

"Well, help yourself. I just have the one towel, but I don't mind sharing it."

"I do have a towel," Tim said, then added, "in my pack." He took it off and held it up, indicating he wasn't completely unprepared.

"Well, come on in, then."

"Yeah." Tim still stood stone still, staring at Luke, below him in the water. "I saw a picture of you standing almost where you are now."

"Yeah?" Luke said. "Probably one of the snapshots Stac took last summer."

"You look bigger now."

"I've been working out a lot. I guess I've bulked up a little." He was pleased that this guy had noticed.

"You're being modest."

"Well, I've gained about twenty pounds in the last six or seven months."

"All muscle."

Luke grinned. "Yeah, all muscle. I lowered my body fat from fifteen to about ten or eleven percent."

"What do you weigh now?"

"One-eighty."

"You really look good."

"Thanks. You must work out too."

"Some, but I get in a lot of lifting, just doing my job."

"You work with Buck, right?"

"Yeah, for Stevens."

"Been driving long?"

"Not quite a year. I started right after I finished high school."

"We must be about the same age then."

"Yeah. Stac said you were nineteen."

"Just."

"I was nineteen in January."

"Well, you have a couple of months on me then." Luke swirled his hands in the water, wondering where this conversation was headed. "If you want a swim, you'd better come on in. I don't think I want to stay in much longer."

"Okay," Tim said as he turned, put his pack on the ground and pulled off his T-shirt. From his vantage point Luke was impressed with the body of this handsome young man. He must do more than just a little weight training. The muscles of Tim's back rippled as he tossed his shirt onto his pack and then stood on one foot and then the other as he removed his trainers and socks. He turned a little, looked over his shoulder at Luke and shot him a grin as he proceeded to unbutton his jeans and slide them and his jockey shorts down and off. As he turned to walk the few steps to the pool, Luke got his first look at Tim's now naked body.

Oh, my yes, Luke thought as he watched Tim's progress. The guy was beautiful!

Tim put one foot into the water, testing it. "Holy shit! Did you say the water was cold? It's fucking freezing!" he stepped back onto the shore and stood there looking like a hurt kid.

Luke couldn't help laughing. "It really is okay once you get in."

"Yeah, if you can stand it long enough for your blood to switch into arctic mode."

"Hey, don't worry about it. I was about ready to get out anyway," Luke said as he began to move slowly toward the shore. As he did so the water became more and more shallow and more and more of his stunning body became visible.

Tim watched in amazement as Luke's crotch came into view. No way was he going to miss an opportunity like this.

"No, stay put, I'll just brave it." With that he took a deep breath and made a shallow dive into the icy water, figuring that a quick entry was less painful in the long run than doing it inch by inch. His path took him past Luke and he came up spluttering twenty feet beyond him. "Damn." It was all he could manage to say.

Luke laughed again and did a belly flop back into the deeper water, coming up just a few feet from Tim. "It really is fine..."

"...once you get used to it," Tim completed Luke's remark and grinned. Luke had to admit it was a really cute grin. But he had to admit, the water really was beginning to feel good. He ducked under and then came up shaking the water from his hair. He started swimming up the length of the little pool, reveling in the movement of his naked body. When he turned just a little to look back over his shoulder, he was gratified to see Luke was following him. They swam side by side for forty or fifty feet and then put their feet down to find they were standing in chest-deep water with the smooth stone floor of the pool under their feet.

"What are you studying," Tim asked. He already knew the answer to that question, having asked Stac and Buck everything about Luke he could think to ask.

Luke came up closer as they stood and talked. "Just general requirements so far. I want to do one more year at the community college and then try to transfer to a four- year university. It's a lot cheaper doing it that way."

Jack had returned from chasing rabbits and was running along the shore watching them. He barked and Luke called out to him, "Come on, fellow. If we can stand the water you can too." The dog perked up his ears and cocked his head to one side, as if he was really trying to understand what Luke was saying. He waded out a little and then retreated to the shore and barked.
"What will you study at the university?" Tim asked.

"Probably business or management. I'd like to do a finance degree but I'm not sure I can handle the math."

One of the little buds floated down from the trees above and landed on Luke's shoulder. Tim reached out to wipe it away, letting his fingers linger, reveling in the warmth of Luke's skin and the firmness of the muscles beneath it.

"Sorry," Tim said, looking Luke squarely in the eyes. He grinned.

"No problem. It feels good."

"My hand?"

"Yeah, just being touched."

"Yeah?"

Jack was barking up a storm as he ran back and forth along the shore. He clearly wanted to join Luke and Tim but couldn't pluck up the courage to swim out to them.

"Come on, Jack," Luke called. "You can do it." The dog made another try and suddenly slipped into deeper water, forcing him to swim. He snorted and began to paddle out toward the two young men. "Good boy, you can do it," Luke called, encouragingly.

When the dog did reach them, the problem was what to do with him. He seemed tired from the swim so Luke reached under him, cradling him in his arms. That was fine for a moment, until Jack got his breath back, but then he seemed to want to be out of the water, not just supported in it. He twisted around and tried to climb up onto Luke's shoulders.

"No, Jack," Luke said sternly, "that's not going to work."

In his attempt to climb up higher, Jack managed to inflict a series of scratches on Luke's shoulder and chest.

"Hold on, boy," Luke said, trying to calm the big dog.

"Oh, shit, Luke," Tim said, "he really got his claws into you."

"It's no big deal. Let's just head on in." The two guys started towards the shore with Luke holding Jack and Tim trying as best he could to help. As they moved into more shallow water Tim's arm went around Luke's waist to help him over the slippery stone which formed the floor of the pool.

Though neither said anything, they were both thinking the same thing; the continuing physical contact between them was very nice. Luke loved the firm, supportive way Tim helped him, his strong hands grasping his bare hips and his naked body pressed against Luke's
For Tim it was like a dream come true. He had fantasized about Luke for months without even meeting him. Now, within less than an hour of their first meeting, he was not only touching, but almost embracing Luke, feeling his strength and the warmth of his hard muscular body.

Once they were within thirty feet of the shore, Luke put the dog down and they watched him scamper on ahead, heedless of the injuries he'd caused.

"Can I wash that off for you?" Tim said, scooping up water in his hands and splashing it over the scratches which ran in parallel lines from the ridge of Luke's left shoulder down several inches onto his chest.

Luke just stood there letting Tim run his wet hands over his shoulder and chest, appreciative of the attention, even though the scratches really were superficial. They were standing in knee deep water now and as Tim washed away the blood which had trickled down over Luke's chest he was again aware of how pleasant the contact was between them.

Even though Tim's attention to Luke's scratches was brief, both of them began to feel their cocks lengthen and swell.

Luke looked down at his own body and then at Tim's. Both of them were fully erect. "That's a little embarrassing," he said, giving Tim a shy smile.

"No need to be embarrassed over a couple of hard cocks," Tim grinned. "That's just the way male bodies work." He scooped up more water and ran his wet hand over Luke's shoulder and chest. "I sure wouldn't be embarrassed showing off as big a one as you've got."

Luke laughed and said, "Well, you don't have anything to be ashamed of."

"I think the scratches have stopped bleeding," Tim said, giving Luke one more cute grin.

"Well, let's get out then."

They waded onto the shore as Jack shook himself and ran back and forth. By some unspoken agreement, Tim took his towel from his pack and spread it on the mossy bank beside Luke's. They stretched out side by side. No mention was made of their nakedness and there was no suggestion that they should dress.

Both Luke and Tim marveled at the ease with which they lay together, within easy touching distance, both naked, both still clearly aroused. It was a new experience for Luke. He had always been somewhat ill at ease in locker rooms and group showers. Even with schoolmates, and later with college friends, he had gone out of his way to cover himself as much as possible. This was different somehow. With Tim, he felt none of that reticence.

Tim rolled onto his side and rummaged in his backpack, emerging with a small tube of antiseptic cream. Without asking permission or even explaining what he was doing, he turned around so he could support himself on his left arm and smoothed the cream over Luke's scratches.

Luke did not protest. He just lay there letting Tim massage the soothing cream into the inflamed red lines which ran down over his shoulder and chest. Tim continued gently stroking the area long after the cream had been absorbed.

"That feels so good," Luke murmured, looking up into Tim's face, just inches above his own.

"Good," Tim responded, his own voice soft and full of caring. "I'm sorry it happened. You getting scratched, I mean, but I am glad in a way, too, because it gives me an excuse to touch you."

"You wanted to touch me?"

"Yes."

"Well," Luke said, his voice still very low, "you don't need an excuse then."

"You wouldn't have minded, me just touching you, I mean?"

"I liked it when you wiped away the bud that landed on my shoulder."

"Well," Tim said, again grinning at Luke, "I guess the bud gave me an excuse, too."

"Like I said, Tim, you don't need an excuse. I don't know what's going on between us but I've never felt this at ease with anyone before, especially not with a guy I just met. I feel as if I've known you for a very long time."

"I feel the same way, but I guess in a sense I have known you longer."

"Yeah?"

"Well, you know, I saw those photos Stac took and I had a chance to ask him and Buck about you."

"You're the guy Stac told me might call. He pointed out your name and number in the notes he left by the phone."

"That would make sense. They both told me I should come out and meet you while you were house- stting for them. They knew I wanted to meet you."

"You mean just from seeing those photos of me?"

"No, even before I saw the photos."

"Why, how?"

Tim laid back and put his hands behind his head, looking up through the tall trees to the blue sky above. "I don't know how to say this, Luke, but I guess I've been thinking about you since just before last Christmas."

"That was over four months ago."

"Yeah, I know." He tried to put his thoughts together, tried to come up with a way of saying what he wanted to say without making Luke think he was crazy. "I've known Buck for nearly a year now, ever since I started work at Stevens, and I guess right from the start I figured he was some kind of really neat guy. In fact, when he first told me and the other guys about Stac, I was really jealous."

"Jealous of Stac?"

"Yeah, I was jealous of him even before I met him, just because he had Buck."

"You know, I felt the same way about Buck when Stac first introduced him as his partner."

"Well, you understand then."

"Sure, I understand how you felt, but what got you over it?"

"Well, I met Stac. I mean, after I met him I saw why Buck loved him. I couldn't be jealous of that." He waited a little, trying to decide how much he should say. At last he went on, "then I just wanted a relationship as wonderful as theirs seems to be."

"Yeah, I understand that, too." Luke paused, thinking, then asked, "so this started just before Christmas?"

"Well, not really, not that part of it. Some other guys from work and I helped Buck bring that big white stone out here for Stac. It was Buck's Christmas present for him. That was the first time I met Stac.

"After that I just started hanging around. I think they sort of thought of me as a really persistent younger brother. I was probably running them nuts but they were too nice to tell me to just bug off.

"You first came into it with us just kidding around. I asked Stac if he had a younger brother he could introduce me to. He said he didn't have a brother, but he did have a cousin just about my age. So I started asking them questions about you."

"And then Stac showed you those photos he'd taken of me last summer."

"Well, no not really. I was just out here visiting them one weekend and I saw his photo album and was just flipping through it. When I saw the photos of you I asked who you were and when Stac said that was the cousin he'd told me about, I started getting really interested."

Luke rolled over facing Tim and smiled as he said, "so why didn't they show me any photos of you?"

"I guess they didn't have any." Tim grinned. "No, really, I think they figured I was getting a little nuts, asking so many questions about you. They told me I had a fixation." He grinned again.

"I guess I should be flattered."

"Yeah?"

"Well, you must have kept at them for quite a while, right?"

"Yeah, I sure did. They kidded me no end."

"Kidded you, why."

"Because I was so interested in you and couldn't work up the nerve to meet you."

"Well, you've met me now," Luke smiled.

"Yeah, and it's a good thing. They told me you'd be here while they were gone and more or less told me to put up or shut up." Tim grinned and Luke again marveled at the amazing seductiveness of that grin. "At least I can face them when they get home."

"Well, now that we've met, maybe we can come out to see them together."

"That would be cool, Luke, really cool."

"It might be sort of neat if you didn't say anything about meeting me and then we both just show up out here together after they get back."

"Yeah, but you'll see them when they get home and they're sure to ask you if I was out."

"Well then, why not just be here then? They'd get home and find us both here to welcome them back."

"Yeah," Tim grinned again. "I like that idea a lot."

Both of them stretched out and lay in silence for a while, just enjoying the warmth of the sun on their bare skin and their closeness to one another. It was clear that they were both doing some serious thinking.

Half an hour later Luke rolled onto his side, propped his head and upper body up on his pack and looked down at Tim. The guy really seemed to be asleep. His chiseled body was relaxed and his chest rose and fell slowly with his breathing. His cock, no longer completely hard, was lying back over his right thigh and a little puddle of clear fluid had formed below its head.

I'd like to touch him, Luke thought and then remembered his own words to Tim. You don't need an excuse, he'd said. He reached across the narrow space between them and gently stroked Tim's hard shoulder, letting his hand run down over his upper arm, marveling at the firmness of his muscles and the warmth of his skin.

"Um," Tim moaned, "that feels so nice."

"You don't mind?"

Tim's eyes were still closed as he said, "No, man, you can touch me anywhere, any time."

"That could be a dangerous invitation, Tim."

Tim rolled over a little so they could face each other. "I meant it, Luke, anywhere, any time."

"This is new to me, Tim. I guess you probably guessed that."

"Yeah, I sort of thought so. Let's just take it real slow."

"I guess I need to know where this is going. I mean, what do you want from me?"

"We're not talking casual sex here, Luke, that's the first point. I guess if Stac and Buck had thought that was all I wanted, they wouldn't have told me you'd be out here while they were gone."

"Thanks, Tim. I needed to hear that."

"I needed to say it. Well, actually I'd said it before to them, but I needed to say it to you."

"Why, what do you mean?"

"I told you that what amazed me so was not just Buck and not just Stac. It was the two of them together. I mean, I think in some way I'd really fallen for Buck. Then when he found Stac I was really jealous of him, of Stac, I mean. But when I met Stac that all ended because I saw how right it was for them to be together. It was their relationship which really got me thinking."

"Yeah," Luke said. "I had the same feeling. I mean, I loved Stac. I actually considered coming on to him, can you believe it?"

"Sure I can." His face was illuminated by that grin again and then he looked away, a little embarrassed. "I actually did come on to Buck, for all the good it did me."

"Well, all that saved me from making a fool of myself with Stac was knowing he'd turn me down flat." As he spoke he mustered his courage and reached out to touch Tim, running his hand over his shoulder again, gently stroking his arm and letting his fingers move down his arm.

"Really? You knew that?"

"Yeah, I knew. It was right here, Tim, almost a year ago. It was the day he took those snapshots of me, in fact."

"Why did you think he'd turn you down?"

"Two reasons. He would have figured the age difference was important. In his book I was still a kid and he'd have seen it as taking advantage of me, even if I'd started it. The second reason is that we're family."

"That would have mattered to him?"

"Yeah, it would. You just have to know Stac the way I know him. Since I was just a little kid he's sort of looked out for me. Family has always been important to him. I think since Uncle Tom died Stac has seen our family as even more essential. I think he sees me as more like a younger brother than just a cousin."

"I know brothers who are lovers."

"Yeah?" Luke was silent for a moment, thinking about what Tim had said. "I guess I can see that," he eventually said, "but it wouldn't work for Stac. He'd have never gone for anything between us, even knowing I was okay with it. Hell, more than okay, I was longing for it to happen. But he'd have seen it as a violation of some sort of trust."

"I know he has his own sort of code."

"Yes, that's exactly right. And it's his own, not something somebody forced on him. Uncle Tom was just like that. He was the kind of guy who'd ask you what you thought, why you thought it. He'd make you think things through and see them in new ways, but he'd never try to lay some sort of rule or law on you. I guess Stac is like that too."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I guess I sort of felt the same way, but once I saw Buck and Stac together I knew I shouldn't feel bad about not having any chance with Buck. I sure knew I shouldn't try to come between them. I also knew, whether I liked it or not, that even if I'd tried, their relationship was so strong that I never could come between them, no matter how hard I tried. I guess it was at about that point that I realized it was their relationship I was jealous of."

"You know, Tim, the same sort of thing happened to me, and then I figured that being jealous of what they had was really a pretty wonderful thing."

"I guess I see what you mean, but you should explain it anyway."

"Well, they'd become a sort of model for me. They'd shown me that relationships like theirs were possible. That's when I knew it was a relationship like theirs which I wanted, what I was looking for, what I was going to hold out for."

"And not settle for anything less."

"That's exactly right, Tim, not settle for anything less."

"Yeah," Tim said rather wistfully as he looked up into the boughs of the overhanging trees while Luke's hand stroked his shoulder, "it's that kind of relationship I want. That's why Stac and Buck kidded me so much about meeting you. I guess they knew you were looking for the same thing."

"Are you saying, Tim, that you think you might have found the possibility of that with me?"

"I sure hope so."

"I guess it takes a lot of work to achieve it."

"Yeah, work and patience and love."

"I think it would be worth whatever it took."

"I know it would be, Luke."

"Are you saying you want to try, with me, I mean?"

"Yeah, Tim, if you're willing, that's what I want."
"To try."

"No, not just try, to do what ever it takes to build that kind of relationship with you," Tim said as his hand reached out for Luke.

"Yeah, Tim, that's want I want, too."

To be continued.

P.S.  I hope you enjoy reading about How Tim Met Luke.