"Summer in the Boonies -- Part 1" By Andre Roux
[Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction and contains strong language and explict depictions of sexuality involving teenage boys. This story is not for children nor anyone who finds such content upsetting.]
"Dev! Dev!"
I felt like I was underwater, having cast out to sea and sunk before finding land. Wasn't I a good swimmer once? Now, I couldn't bring myself to move my arms. It was like all the energy and willpower was sucked out of me, and all that was left was to fall until the depths until water filled my lungs and I lost consciousness.
"Dev!" Zeke shoved me hard into the armrest of my mom's Expedition where we shared the back row, and I gasped for air, having been chewing on my sweatshirt. My forehead was damp from the condensation of the chilly May morning, and I could feel the cold dent I'd made in my bushy afro. The sun hadn't risen yet, but my older brother was full of energy as usual. I folded my legs trying to get warmer, my black sweatpants not enough on my skinny frame.
"Stop your God. Damn. Fighting!" yelled our mom over her quiet 90s pop.
"Chill woman, we ain't fighting!" said Zeke. "We best bros." Grabbing my arm, he whispered, talking fast, "Devvy-poo, I got a surprise just for you. I got something I know you like. You want it real bad."
I shook him off with a gesture to just show me and get it over with.
"You like some big dicks? Big ol meaty schlongs." My 18 year old brother (in age only) had drawn some penises of various sizes on the glass and signed his name in the corner 'EZ'. He said in a Boston accent, "I heard ya like the big dicks. Fill up ya hole." He drew a smiley face on his largest creation.
"Ha ha. Can I sleep now?"
His accent changed to a racist Indian one. "Draw yours too, 5 rrrupees." He made a single point with his large pinkie. "Ze micRRRopenis."
I reached over him to wipe the glass clean, and Zeke grabbed my wrist, forcing it back down easily, being much bigger than me and all. He wore blue gym shorts and a red hoodie with the sleeves cut all the way off. His hoodie was unzipped with nothing on underneath, showing off his thick muscles and shredded frame. He lived at the gym and on the football field for his toned body. One of his huge arms found its way around my scrawny neck and put me in a headlock. His body odor made me gag. He'd skipped the shower and got up only ten minutes before we had to leave at 4AM, barging in on me in the bathroom and dropping his shorts to the floor to piss, then pranced around bare ass naked while he threw some stuff together to last him the whole summer. I was already dreading spending so much time with him and wished I would break a few bones to get shipped home.
My brother dug his fist into my overgrown afro, scraping against my head while I coughed against his smelly chest. The music stopped. "Ezekial! Devonte!" my mom screamed.
"We're not," said Zeke, releasing me. "Calm down, woman."
"Shut the fuck up. Both of you are pieces of shit. If I hear about you fighting in front of your step-cousins, I'll fucking kill you both with my bare hands! Don't think I'm fucking kidding! They have enough shit going on without you two making it worse for them!"
"Mom, please, it's fine," I said. "We're not fighting."
"Mom, mom," she said in a high, mocking voice, "I'm just a ugly skinny little bastard who don't talk to no one except to pick fights with my much bigger bro. It's fine. It's fine. Fucking dumbass. Go to hell!" She turned the music back up so loud that the bass shook the armrest and blared in my eardrums.
I sighed and leaned against the cold glass again. My family always gave me such anxiety when they got going.
Zeke and I had both just graduated from high school. Him with a football scholarship to Wisconsin, and me pretty aimless, all things considered. I was two years younger and perpetually lived in his shadow, being in the same grade. I was an ugly, skinny little bastard, acne-pocked, three shades darker-skinned than my brother, and shorter than some of the girls. Everyone who talked to me in our small town did so because they wanted to sleep with him, the guys included, it seemed. They'd be nice to me for a bit and then randomly ask me who he's crushing on or what his type is. Whether or not I told the truth, they'd stop talking to me the moment they got what they wanted. Football games were ironically the best times of the week, with him on the field doing what does best and me with the marching band, most of whom barely gave a shit about football, and most of us just hung out and played games until it was time to go on. I often wondered if life would be different if I hadn't skipped grades. I wasn't about to go do a PhD with the time I saved like the people I met online. Just going to community college with no plan or goals in sight and drifting along, hoping to find something new. In many ways, life had ended for me long ago, and there was only the end credits to sit through before I ended up in the ground. Other people had dreams and things to look forward to, and I'd come to the realization that none of it was for me.
"Dev," said Zeke in a normal voice for once, snapping his fingers against my cheek. We had stopped outside a McDonald's attached to a gas station.
"I'm awake. I don't want anything."
"Mama wants to talk to you." he clicked his tongue before vaulting out of the car and stretching out. His asscrack was showing above his waistband. He wasn't wearing any underwear and it was obvious. He ran up to our mom towering over her, scratching his blonde-dyed buzz cut as they walked in the door. I had a raging hardon from needing to pee and waited a bit for it to go down before following them in.
"You boys have a huge responsibility this summer," said our mom after we sat down with our food. "If you fight, I'll fucking kill you," she said matter-of-factly, not bothering to lower her tone in front of the employee cleaning tables next to us.
"I know," said Zeke nonchalantly.
"You're going to be the best god damn babysitters ever. Little Isaac needs something, you fucking jump. Tremon's in high school. That don't matter. He still needs food and adults around to drive for it. Tell him to fuck off because he's in high school, and we're giving him a cut of your pay. I don't give a shit if you're busy pumping your nasty little thumbtacks to the hottest shiteating videos on the web, you get your ugly asses up and do your jobs if stuff's gotta get done. You keep them out of danger. You keep them fed. You get little Isaac to bed on time. You fucking drive them places they need to go. I'm leaving you my car. No excuses. And no fucking fighting. Do I make myself clear? You both getting paid. But I'll take it ALL if you fuck this up, so help me Jesus." She chugged her glass of iced tea while we sat in silence. The whole idea of being responsible for another person's life had me on edge.
"Do Bel's kids know we're coming?" I asked, stirring an ice cube into my coffee. We'd never even met them before. Our mom and her step sister hadn't been on speaking terms since they were kids, but our grandparents' deaths and Bel's cancer diagnosis had led to a grand reunion between them. My mom had decided to join Bel and her husband on a flight to Mexico for an experimental treatment and then months of recovery, leaving Zeke and me to spend the summer with her kids at their house. Even with their safety aside, I was more than a little nervous about meeting them, knowing how much they'd take after Zeke with Tremon being a high school football player himself. It wouldn't be long before he had them wrapped around his finger.
"They'll both be up when we get there. Any questions?" She looked us over.
"What should we do if...if something bad happens?"
"You dial 911. You take the car. You figure it out. It's why you boys getting paid." I nodded, feeling more uneasy by the second.
----- The sun was barely up when we finally arrived at a random farm four miles north of a dinky town at the end of a gravel road. The two story house was newly painted a shade of blue-green and neatly landscaped, but everything else was a dump. Weeds grew three feet thick in an old barn with the door missing, and several heaps of scrap metal lay surrounding an unused silo. There was a massive pile of gravel at the end of the driveway. A rusting Ford Taurus with lots of environmentalist, anti-racist, and pro-LGBT bumper stickers was parked right next to it. I smiled. This was the last place I expected to find someone with based politics.
"Make sure they don't go in there," our mom said, gesturing to the barn. "Unless y'all want to deal with tetanus and rabies." It was starting to rain. The forecast said it'd be raining for several days, so hopefully the small child would stay indoors and out of trouble for a while.
We parked in the garage next to their van and went into the kitchen where our step-aunt Bel greeted us all with a hug, remarking on how big we'd gotten since she'd last seen us as toddlers.
Seated at the kitchen table was a boy who I guessed was a freshman in high school. My mom had said one of them was 15. He was short and thin with skin a shade lighter than mine, and he wore dark-rimmed glasses and a do-rag with several long locs poking out the bottom. The boy was cute with a baby face and clear skin, unlike mine. He wore a big Minnesota Wild t-shirt and basketball shorts and was eating a slice of quiche.
"Hey!" He got animated when my brother and I approached. "I'm Tre," he said with a huge grin. He held up his fist for each of us to pound.
"I'm Dev," I said.
"Zeke. What's good?" said my brother.
"Damn, you're freaking huge," Tre said, staring in Zeke's open hoodie showing off his massive pecs and six pack. "Are you a linebacker?"
"Wide receiver. I got a full ride out to UW to play."
"Wow, nice. I play too, but I'm not that good. Want to throw a few out back when it stops raining?"
At that moment, Bel's husband came and put a hand on each of shoulders to give us the grand tour. He was a very fat brown man with long black hair who smelled strongly of tobacco. He introduced himself as Ogleesha--Lee for short--and started showing us around. He was Sioux and grew up on a reservation in South Dakota, married and divorced there, and then remarried to Bel, becoming Tre's stepdad in the process. After he mentioned his heritage, I started to notice the decorations along the walls of colorful feathers and different tribal ornaments.
In the laundry room was a door leading to the basement where they had their living room with their TV, couch, and video games that Zeke vowed to claim for himself.
We paused in front of the glass sliding door in the den, and there it was, topped by a plastic cover being pelted by the rain. A rectangular swimming pool built into the ground, and a sizeable one at that with a diving board. The granite deck was littered with inner tubes and noodles, and there were several lawn chairs under a large umbrella.
"Shit, you guys have a pool?" asked Zeke.
Lee shot him a dirty look. "The boys know one of their chores is to keep it clean, and they never use it without the buddy system. Never. Not to sit on the patio, not to dip their toes in, nothing. All privileges gone if anyone goes out there alone when that cover's off."
"Good idea," I said awkwardly. I was a lifeguard and competitive swimmer at one point, but times had changed. I didn't even want to take off my shirt in front of people, much less race in front of a crowd.
"We gotta get you back in the water, Devvy," said Zeke, putting his arm around me.
"Nah," I said, pushing him away.
We walked upstairs through a very narrow staircase that Lee had trouble squeezing through. He led us to a room overlooking the old silo with just a single air mattress and a sliding closet. "You can put your bags in here. This is your room."
I looked at the bed suspiciously. If we had to share that tiny thing, I may as well just try to sleep on the bare carpet because I'd be ending up there fast every night. "We have to share?" I asked.
"Don't get your panties in a bunch," said Lee. "One of you can sleep here. The other can sleep on the couch in the basement or in our bed. No food and clean up after yourselves."
"Dibs on the basement," said Zeke.
Before I could object, another voice came from behind us. "Dad?" it said. It belonged to a boy in elementary school with light tan skin and a full head of wide brown curls who was short and chubby. He was barefoot and wearing a plain white t-shirt that went almost to his knees and bright orange shorts that ended just below it. He looked up at us with timid eyes. "Are you our step-cousins?"
Lee's stick-in-the-mud attitude brightened at the boy's appearance. "Good morning! These are your new friends Ezekial and Day-vont [Zeke snorted at the mispronunciation]. They're here to help you boys this summer while we're gone. And this is Isaac."
"What's good, lil man?" said Zeke, holding out his hand for a high five, which Isaac returned with a smile.
I went low for him, and he slapped it with a grin. "You can call me Dev. How old are you, Isaac?"
"I turn 10 in a month."
"Wow, are you excited about your birthday?"
He shrugged. "Mom won't be here for it." Clearly the wrong thing to ask.
"Oh...I...I'm sorry," I said.
Isaac stared at the floor. "Dad, you said Wolf would watch me," he said with a whine.
"Is Wolf your dog?" asked Zeke.
Isaac giggled and playfully slapped him on the arm. "I'm gonna tell him you said that, jerk."
"He's downstairs helping Ma," said Lee. "You can talk to him yourself about why he's not babysitting." He made a deep sigh and continued. "You're going to get lots of quality bonding time anyway, trust me. We both know he can't stay away for long when he's in town, no matter how much he hates my guts. Speaking of babysitting," he turned to us. "Here's your first cuts." He took out an envelope for each of us. "$500 in each, and there's more where that came from if you do a good job. Card for groceries and necessities is on top of the fridge. You can get takeout once a week and something small like a movie as well. I will check the bank statement to see what it's being used for."
"Thanks," I said. I knew abstractly that $500 wasn't much for an entire summer's work, but it was still more than I'd ever gotten in one paycheck. I was lucky to make $100 in two weeks for being a lifeguard since I was 14 and being written up as a volunteer.
Isaac ran off to go say goodbye to his mom, and Zeke followed him lugging along his big duffel bag, leaving me alone with Lee.
He wasn't finished with his lecture, but just wanted to wait until Isaac was gone. He continued, "My other son's playing Mr. Independent right now with a job and don't want to live here with us when he's in town. Feed him when he comes over to play. Let him take Isaac out if he wants to. He's a frickin rebel and don't want to tell us what they're doing or where they're going until after the fact sometimes, but he'd never let his little brother get hurt. And Tre...Tre can visit his friends or have them over whenever if they follow the house rules and treat Isaac good. Send em home and tell me if they don't."
"Okay," I said nervously.
Lee paused for a long time, and we started walking downstairs together. "Isaac's very stressed. He's a smart boy. He knows Bel might not survive this. And he's never gone more than a day or two without Mom and Dad around."
"I'm sorry," I said. "For the birthday comment."
"The fact that you care puts my mind at ease. Be there for him. For all of them. It's a difficult time for all of us."
When I got back downstairs, the adults were ready to leave. Isaac was holding both of Bel's hands next to the kitchen door while Tre leaned against the kitchen island holding a glass of orange juice with a grim expression on his face. He smiled at me when he saw me come back in and then looked back at his mom. Zeke was seated at the kitchen counter looking at his phone.
My mom left first followed by Lee. As Bel was putting her coat on, another boy I hadn't seen before came through the kitchen door. Must be his other son, I thought.
"You're good to go," said the boy in a soft voice. "I got everything." He placed down a large brown paper bag next to our step-aunt Bel which she picked up, thanking him with a quick hug.
Like most guys, he was a few inches taller than me and had a slim build without much visible muscle. He had to be an upperclassman, maybe even a college student. I wracked my brain trying to remember if his dad had told me his age but couldn't think of it. The boy had on a lavender dress shirt and khaki pants both a little wet from the rain. His skin had a light tan hue, lighter than Isaac's, and on his head was a long mane of straight black hair like Lee's that went down past his shoulders and was neatly tied back. His warm brown eyes met mine, and I suddenly froze with the realization that he had the most beautiful and handsome face I'd ever seen. A warm feeling filled my body, and I had butterflies in my stomach. There was something about him that made me want to keep staring forever. I wished I could take a picture and keep it with me always. I felt exposed with my overgrown afro and sweat clothes, wishing I'd known I'd be meeting a man like this to have cleaned up and dressed nicer first.
I walked up to give Bel a handshake goodbye panicking at going so close to this cute guy. Did I smell or anything? I'd forgotten if I'd put on deodorant. She seemed to transfer Isaac into the boy's hands as she walked out the door. The tears in Isaac's eyes brought me back to reality. I was being weird and stupid at a time like this. The handsome boy knelt down to Isaac's level and embraced him, rubbing his back in silence as he cried, and I felt a pang of jealousy along with compassion for him.
"I'm Wolf," he said, offering me a handshake around Isaac, which I took with an awkward, trembling hand. It felt so soft and sent tingles down my arm. I wanted to hold it for longer, but he broke away to comfort the little boy some more. He had some kind of ocean scent on him that I found intoxicating. My heart was pounding. I was getting too excited.
"De-devonte," I said too quietly, almost choking on a shallow breath, "C-call me Dev."
Zeke snorted with laughter. "Motherfucker's so shy," he said. He got up and stretched. "I'm finna go sleep in the basement." He picked up his big duffel bag and carried it with him.
"Aren't you supposed to be watching someone?" asked Wolf.
"Yeah, aren't you?" asked Tre with a smirk.
"The babysitter gotta have his beauty sleep too," said Zeke. "Devvy's a responsible boy." He waved a finger. "He'll beat your ass if you blow any shit up, Tre-Tre. And I'll be back for seconds."
"Tch. Right," said Tre as he walked off.
Wolf chuckled and stood to his feet with his arm still on Isaac's shoulder. "I have to go to work now for a bit, but I'll be back after noon," he said. "I hope we get a chance to talk more later, Day-vont."
I awkwardly smiled at him and didn't correct him on my name.
"Will you be okay while I'm gone, Isaac?" Wolf asked as he knelt down to hug him one more time. Isaac just nodded; his tears spent. "Can you please be good for Tre and Day-vont? Will you promise me?"
"I promise," said Isaac, looking glum as Wolf broke the hug.
Wolf put on a transparent poncho and walked to the door. "Goodbye everyone. Until later."
"Bye Sunshine," said Tre.
Wolf blew a kiss on his way out, and I felt my face grow hot once again.
Isaac sniffled and sat down on the floor in front of the refrigerator, his head in his arms. I awkwardly looked down at him, not sure what to say.
"I'm going to nap a bit too," said Tre as he wiped off his glasses. I noticed he had dark circles under his eyes and a bit of watering himself. "Talk to you later, cuz."
"See you," I said as he left Isaac and me alone in the kitchen.
Rain fell to the ground in sheets outside the window. I stood in front of it watching the storm for a long time. Isaac didn't want to get up. I asked if he was hungry, thirsty, or cold, and he just shook his head at each question. It was a bit chilly, and he was sitting there in just a t-shirt and shorts. I went into the den and got a blanket for him, and he wrapped it around himself tightly showing only his thick head of curls.
"I want to be your friend, Isaac," I said, kneeling down and then sitting cross-legged in front of him. "Anything you need, I can help you with."
"Can you call my mom?"
I hadn't gotten Bel's number, but I had my own mom's. I dialed it and got no answer. "My mom isn't picking up right now." I wrote her a long text message asking her to get Bel to call Isaac.
He started crying again under the blanket. "I want to go with. Ask them to pick me up in your text."
"You can't. I'm sorry."
"I have to!" He was fully sobbing. I reached out and put my hand on where I thought his shoulder was, and he batted it away. "I'm going with. I'm going with! They need to come back now!" he screamed. He got to his feet and started walking toward the den with the blanket still covering his face. I followed him and he doubled back to the kitchen. "Don't touch me!" he yelled. "I'm going with!"
"I need to go with! You can't make me stay here!" He swung his arm across the kitchen island and knocked off a box of donuts and Tre's plastic glass of orange juice, spilling it all over as it fell to the floor. Then he grabbed the sides of the island with both hands and banged his own forehead into it hard.
"Isaac, stop!" He stood there crying with his face in his arms on the countertop. "Don't you want to be here to hang out with Wolf this summer?" I asked.
He said Wolf's name and mumbled something into his arms I couldn't understand.
"Do you have Wolf's number?" I asked. "We can call him and talk to him."
"Don't tell Wolf!" he sobbed. "I didn't mean to knock it over!" He got up and walked around, again avoiding me. "Don't tell Wolf! Don't tell Wolf! I promised!" he cried into his hands.
"He won't be mad," I said. "Please stop this."
"Everyone hates me because I'm fat and annoying and Wolf will hate me too! I promised!"
"I won't tell him then." I chased him back into the den. "Please calm down."
"You'll tell. He'll find out! I'm going with! Call them and say I'm going with! You can't trap me here! I'm going with!"
He ran to the kitchen door, dropping his blanket to the floor and went into the garage.
"No Isaac," I said. "It's wet and cold out there."
"Tell them to come fast then!" he shrieked. He ran through the garage and out the door into the pouring rain wearing just the t-shirt and bright orange shorts he wore to bed the night before, not even bothering to put on shoes.
"Isaac!" I yelled. He made a beeline for the old barn that was likely full of rusty nails. I sprinted after him, my cotton sweatshirt and sweatpants getting soaked and chilling me to the bone. I skidded on the mud, wearing only socks myself, and barely steadied myself to avoid falling over. Isaac was not so lucky. He made it as far as the huge pile of gravel where the old Ford Taurus had been earlier when he tripped and faceplanted into it, scraping up his knees on the way down.
He screamed as loud as he could, banging his hands against the gravel pile, sending rocks flying down. He was soaking wet in the rain, and I was too. I tried to pick him up, but he was too heavy and struggled away. "Get my mom!" he yelled. "Get my mom!"
"They're not turning around for you! Please come back inside! We're going to freeze out here!"
He seemed to deflate and give up but laid there crying, not letting me pull him to his feet. And then he rolled onto his back, looking at me and shivering. He smelled strongly of urine, and it made me feel sick to my stomach. His knees were both scraped up with lines of blood being scattered off them by the rain. I reached out and grabbed his hand as gently as possible. "Please," I said.
Completely defeated and spent, he pushed himself to his feet and held my hand as we walked fast back into the dry garage, shutting the storm out behind us. We stood there soaked and freezing in our wet clothes. Isaac silently peeled off his now-soiled white t-shirt, struggling with it over his head. I was so cold I could barely move my fingers to help him pull it off. He let it fall to the ground with a plop and then pulled down his orange shorts and underwear, releasing the pungent odor of his piss.
"Please don't tell anyone I peed my pants," he pleaded weakly, standing there naked with his arms around himself. "I freaked out when I fell and couldn't hold it any longer."
"I-I won't." The list of things I wasn't supposed to tell was already getting too long, but I needed to keep him calm so he wouldn't hurt himself more. "We need to get you cleaned up and bandage your cuts."
"Okay," he said. He walked into the kitchen door and picked up the discarded blanket, wrapping it around himself tightly, holding his matted down curls to the side so they wouldn't drop cold water onto him. I wondered if Tre or Zeke had heard the commotion and came to help, but neither were in the kitchen. I was more than slightly irritated at how my brother had managed to ignore the whole situation when he was also getting paid to babysit.
With cold and stiff hands, I struggled to peel off my socks coated in dirt and left them in the garage. "Let's start you a warm bath," I said through chattering teeth.
"You're gonna freeze," he said, blocking me from going inside with my drenched clothes. As cold as I was, I still didn't want to strip in front of him. Even my brother seeing me shirtless was a no go now with my freakshow back, much less this step-cousin I barely knew.
"Can I get some privacy?" I asked.
He nodded. "Please get warm. I don't want you to catch pneumonia." He closed the garage door leaving me alone in the dim light. I had nothing to change into and would be walking inside where he'd see me anyway. I peeled off my sweatshirt, leaving it on the floor by his shirt and peed-in shorts. I had on a black t-shirt, also drenched and cold, but left it on. I pulled my sweatpants off, and the breeze on my bare damp legs was even worse than having them on. I put my fingers under the hem of my boxer-briefs and decided against dropping them. I walked feeling self-conscious about my skinny bare legs and rapidly stroked my bare arms to warm up.
Isaac was seated in a ball on the floor in the kitchen with the blanket wrapped around him like a snowball.
"I'll get changed after I start your bath," I said, shivering. He got up with a look of relief on his face and we walked to the downstairs bathroom. I started filling the tub, the warm water feeling refreshing on my own cold and stiff hand. The water pressure was amazing and it started to fill up very fast. I looked under the cabinet while he sat on the toilet wrapped in his blanket and found the first aid kit along with a pink bottle of bubble bath. Was 9 too old for that? I put it in the tub, and he didn't object.
"Will you be okay in here if I go get changed now?" I asked.
He nodded, watching the tub fill and holding the blanket tight. "You can get in too and get warm," he said. "I'll close my eyes the whole time."
"I don't want to, sorry. Not enough room. Plus it's gross with the dirt and blood."
"There was room with Wolf. And you're smaller than him. No offense."
He was still hurting and didn't want to be alone, I realized. "Get in when it's full and relax. I'll change and be right back to sit in here with you in under five minutes, okay?"
Isaac seemed satisfied by this and nodded. "I promise I won't go anywhere."
I went upstairs, looking at the closed door to the boys' bedroom, wondering if Tre heard anything. Should I be upset if he did and decided not to help? Should I knock and talk to him about what happened or ask him to get me some clothes for his brother? Not knowing how he'd react or how Isaac would to me breaking my promise, I decided to just let him sleep.
I went into the room with the air mattress and looked out the window at the storm wondering if the worst was past or still yet to come.
I took off my damp boxer-briefs, noting my shriveled up genitals, and put on another pair along with black sweatpants nearly identical to what I had on before. I took off my shirt, avoiding the mirror, and put on a sleeveless black undershirt. Digging through my clothes, I realized I'd packed for a hot summer and only brought the sweatshirt I was wearing and another bright purple zip up sweater that was a bit nicer. I put it on for warmth and then looked at how bad it matched in the mirror and left it off, opting for a long Nebraska Huskers t-shirt instead. I washed my filthy hands and feet in the bathroom and was done in under five minutes like I promised.
Isaac was reclining in the bathtub when I got back with just his head above the suds. I grabbed my phone from the kitchen and sat on the toilet scrolling through it, trying to take my mind off of all that had just happened. He seemed happy to not be alone but didn't say anything to me the entire time. After he dried off, I checked his legs to see that he'd scrubbed the dirt clean, and then I bandaged both his knees and his big toe, which he'd also cut up.
Instead of going back upstairs to get dressed, he wrapped himself tightly in the blanket again and went to sit in the dark den on the shorter of the two couches, not bothering to turn on any lights or electronics. He looked at the pool outside the window with rain sprinkling onto the big plastic cover.
"Aren't you going to put some clothes on?" I asked, sitting on the longer couch.
"Later," he said. "I don't want Tre to find out I peed."
"Just say you wanted to take a bath."
"He'll know! Trust me!" he yelled.
"Ok, ok," I said. "I just don't want you to be cold."
He sniffled loudly. "I know. Sorry I yelled. You're cold because of me. I'm so sorry. I don't know why I went outside."
"I'm just glad you're safe now."
"I promised Wolf," he cried into his hands. "I promised I wouldn't."
"He just wants you to be safe too."
I laid back on the couch and covered myself with a blanket hanging off it. I hadn't noticed how exhausted I was until I hit the cushion under my head and realized how relaxing it felt. The job hadn't been great so far, and a sense of dread loomed over me that it would stay the same all summer long. More tantrums and chases out in the rain included. What was Wolf going to say when he got back and saw that I'd failed my job as Isaac's babysitter and let him get injured?
I fell asleep and woke up to a dark sky out the window. Was it already night? I jumped up. Isaac had turned on a lamp and was reading a book on the couch, curled up under a whole sea of blankets.
"Is this too bright?" he asked.
"No, uh, what time is it?"
"It's 11:30. Those are clouds out there." Looking closer, I could see them moving with small specks of sunlight getting through. "You can sleep if you're tired. I won't go anywhere. I'm really sorry about before. I don't usually do that."
"Okay, okay, I get it." I found myself taking on my mom's words: "Show me you're sorry. Don't say it." He got quiet again.
I laid back down, looking up at the wall around the glass door where they had lots of pictures up and noted one of a younger Wolf, barely recognizable without his long hair, holding a baby I assumed was Isaac. I felt myself dozing off again, imagining that I'd known him when I was little and life was better.
"How old is Wolf?" I asked, half asleep.
"He's 17." For some reason, I was elated at his answer. I was worried he'd be something like 20 and think I was too young to take seriously. "How old are you?"
"I'm 16."
"Can you drive?"
"Yeah, I got my license like six months ago. I don't have my own car yet, but I can drive my mom's Expedition if we need to go somewhere." "That's cool," he said. "Tre's mad Mom and Dad won't teach him how to drive. He's turning 16 in a month and still doesn't know how." A photo of Tre and Wolf framed on the wall caught my eye. Tre had a big afro and was crossing swords with shorter-haired Wolf while an old knight in full chainmail posed along with them. I was trying hard to stay awake and failing.
"I heard you and your brother fight a lot," said Isaac.
"Who told you that?"
"Your mom did."
"Of course she'd say that. We don't fight fight. He's just a selfish dick and very annoying."
"I think he's funny and cool," said Isaac.
"You don't know him that well."
"I guess," he said. "Tre hates me and calls me fat and annoying."
"That's not very nice."
"Wolf's my favorite," he whispered. "He's always super nice. But I don't see him much. He lives three hours away at his mom's and can't visit much. He comes for a long time just in the summer. I always miss him so much. I have a calendar up in my room that I count down the days until he's back." He got quiet for a while and then sniffled loudly. "I'm....I won't say it."
"It's okay, I won't tell him," I said, trying to keep him calm.
"He'll know anyway. Trust me. He's very smart. He'll know even if I hide my scrapes. He'll find out everything." Isaac got up from the couch. "I'm thirsty. Do you want a soda?"
"Anything with caffeine is fine." I laid back down and rested my eyes listening to the sound of the rain flowing through the gutters.
When I woke up again, it was late afternoon or early morning with the sun shining on me through the window without a cloud in the sky. I felt warm and content and could smell bacon cooking in the kitchen.
"Why don't you go upstairs and play for a bit, Isaac?" said Wolf's soft voice from the other room, and I heard the little boy's footsteps running up the stairs.
Wolf came in the den and stood in front of me with a big smile on his handsome face, perfectly framed by the sunshine, his beautiful long hair flowing around him. His lavender shirt was open halfway, revealing his bare chest. I couldn't help but stare at it a bit, the small taste I was getting making me crave the rest of the meal.
I sat up on the couch smiling up at him, wondering what he came to me for. But looking deep into his eyes, I noticed something was different about him from before. This time, when he looked at me, it was with a great need and desire. My whole body grew hot and my heart began to race. Was this really happening?
"I need your help, Dev."
He took a step closer to stand an inch away from me. His ocean-scented deodorant was intoxicating, and he was breathing hard with anticipation just as I was.
"A-anything for you," I said in a trance. "What is it?"
"I want to hold your hand." He held his out for me to shake like before, only this time, once I put my hand in his, he put his other warm, soft hand over the top and began lightly massaging it, holding it like a treasure. I couldn't help but stare into his eyes and smile, the heat rising even more in my body.
He brought my fingertips up to his lips and kissed them lovingly. I shifted around in my seat, my dick waking up.
He lightly moved my hand to the opening in his shirt, inviting me to feel his bare skin. I trembled, getting too excited too fast, feeling his heartbeat under my palm, my own heart pounding in my chest, and then after catching my breath, I began to rub his smooth skin in small circles, exploring under his shirt. I moaned softly, my erection jumping and straining against my sweatpants. He opened more buttons and leaned in closer to give me more of him to feel, giving me more of his ocean scent as well. I wanted to tell him how badly I needed him but couldn't find my words. I spread my legs wide to give myself space, not bothering to hide my growing tent anymore.
He slowly webbed his fingers in between mine and moved my hand down to his crotch. I gasped in surprise. He was rock hard, just as I was. I looked deep into his eyes, struggling to breathe with my labored breaths.
"You're so sexy," he whispered. "This hasn't gone down since I met you. It just gets harder and harder whenever I think about you, Devonte."
He let go of my hand to undo his belt and I kept fondling him through his pants, sweating and slightly panicking. I was a virgin and had no idea how to satisfy such a man but desperately wanted to make it mind-blowing like he deserved. I stuck my left hand in my sweatpants to adjust my own urgent problem as I squeezed him, applying more pressure than before. He moaned, "Just like that."
His khakis dropped to the floor, and he stood there in extremely tented out red boxer-briefs, wet with a dark circle of precum right in front of my face. The scent of his natual lube along with his musk and ocean scent almost sent me over the edge.
"It's yours," he whispered, giving me full access. I moved my hands around to feel his smooth and round ass, cupping his cheeks and running my fingers down his crack and down past his anus, feeling all over as I listened to him moan softly under my touch and move his hips in closer for me. I put my fingers under his waistband, signaling I was about to start the main event. "Mmmm, yeah." My heart raced. My swimmers were an inch away from shooting off on their own. Deep breaths. I slowly pulled his waistband down, up and over his tent, and...
"Wolf's almost back!" yelled Isaac with glee, shaking my hand hard. I jumped awake, breathing hard and sweating. Like most good things in life, it was only a dream. My blanket was on the floor, and my erection was tenting out my sweatpants and twitching of its own accord. I pulled my knees to my chest in embarrassment hoping he hadn't noticed. The silver lining was that he'd woken me up before I'd ejaculated in my sleep. Isaac wore three blankets like a massive robe, having still not gone up to get dressed. He had a huge smile on his face in an extreme contrast to before. "Did you dream about him?" he asked.
"What?!" I panicked, hoping I hadn't done something cringeworthy in my sleep.
"You were saying, 'Wolf' in your sleep. It was funny."
"No, I...I dreamed I was a dog."
"Ruff ruff!" he barked at me and laughed as he tried to pull me to my feet. I leaned forward to conceal my erection but didn't get up. Isaac said, "I dream about doing super crazy stuff like mountain climbing with Wolf and then I wake up and miss him." He took the hint that I didn't want to get up right away and went into the kitchen on his own, leaving me to adjust my junk. How could a man be so amazing that he shows up in everyone's dreams? Isaac had gotten me a can of Dr. Pepper while I was asleep, and I chugged it to wake up. Being tired always made me more sensitive and brought on more boners.
The sky had lightened up, showing the midday sun through the clouds. Tre and Zeke still weren't back out of bed. And sure enough, as Isaac had predicted, Wolf's Ford Taurus came down the long gravel road while both of us watched out the kitchen window. I looked down at my clothes, a Huskers t-shirt and sweatpants. I could have put on something nicer for him. Did I at least put deodorant on? What I didn't do and should have was shower after being outside in the rain. I probably smelled gross. But it was too late to do anything about that, because while I was standing there panicking, Wolf came in through the kitchen door wearing the oversized transparent poncho over a solid green hoodie and jeans, carrying another brown paper bag. He put down the bag and took off his poncho, his hoodie pulling up a little in the process and flashing a bit of his smooth lower back. He didn't have an undershirt on and showed off his bare collarbone. I tried hard not to stare.
He looked us over with a frown on his face.
"Hey guys, why are your wet clothes in the garage?"
=============== End of Part 1 ===============