A blonde young man stood against the wall of the testing station. The sound of the truck's engine was throbbing smoothly in the background as CJ glanced up through the windshield. The young man gave him the thumbs up signal and a smile. Bright multi-colored leaves were blowing across the rain drenched parking lot, the wind gusts buffeting the large yellow test vehicle. Let's do it, CJ thought.

"All right, Mr. James, you may continue the parking sequence," the motor vehicle officer in the passenger's seat said.

"Thank you," CJ replied. About time, he thought. Lord, he had been at this commercial license test all day and his shoulders ached from the stress. How the hell do commercial drivers put up with this nonsense, no wonder they feel like they own the road, they pay for it in blood with these damn inspectors.

CJ released the brakes, checked the mirrors and then placed the truck in gear, feeling the weight of the trailer they were pulling. He drove around to the other side of the driving course and pulled to a stop at the corner, remembering to put on the right turn signal.

Putting the huge lumbering beast through its paces was soaking him with sweat, right down to his under shorts. CJ looked both ways and then turned right. He lined the bus up to the loading ramp lines by using the side mirrors. Placing the shift lever in reverse he pumped the air brakes to make sure they would stop this monster and then backed cleanly into the ramp and up to the dock. By God, he thought, I did it first time.

"Very good, Mr. James, that's the final part of your test. Please set the brake and turn off the engine, thank you." All this delivered in a monotone that would have put a classroom full of people to sleep in seconds. CJ had endured the man for several weeks in the driving course but now it was over and he hoped it was worth the effort.

"You made only one error and I allowed one correction, well within a passing mark," the inspector continued. "Take this form into the clerk at the license window and you may have your CDL upgrade. Thank you sir and have a good afternoon."

The officer stepped off the test vehicle and CJ smiled with great delight at his passing grade. His real instructor, that cute blonde guy, ran over and opened the door for CJ to climb down.

"Guess I owe you a beer or two, Danny," CJ said, and the blonde guy hugged him in reply.

Danny Jarret had been his constant ally over the last six weeks teaching him everything about driving the big lumbering vehicles along the narrow roads of Delaware. It had been one of the biggest challenges he had ever faced, but the success of their partnership had just been proven.

First, they had done reams of paperwork and studied the required Department of Transportation rules and regulations, only about six hundred pages worth. Finally they had boarded Danny's trailer rig to get CJ used to the big heavy trucks. He would eventually be behind the wheel of a bus, which he was assured felt very much like driving a small building.

With this CDL upgrade to his license, CJ felt fully confident that he would be able to drive anything. And Matt had mastered virtually the same test a week before in Maryland. Now all they needed to do was find the bus.

CJ had known Danny as the runt of a large family named Jarret that inhabited the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay. Danny's oldest brother Mark had been CJ's fishing buddy during his early teenage years and they had sometimes dragged the little guy along to bait their hooks as they drifted along the Choptank River. CJ had lost track of the family as he moved away, went through college and began his career.

It had only been after he quit the job and moved into the beach house that CJ felt the urge to visit his boyhood home of Cambridge, Maryland. With Matt off in DC for a while it seemed like a good idea to kill some of the waiting time before the trip. While he was in town CJ figured to buy some good solid fishing gear for the trip out West.

Bob's Bait and Tackle was just as he had remembered it, and after making his purchases CJ wandered up Water Street, feeling the urge for a good crab cake sandwich. Gazing through the windows along the street he finally came to one of his old haunts, the Crab Shack run by Annie Jarret. Standing behind the counter was a striking young man, and the spitting image of his old friend Mark. He knew it had to be Danny.

CJ bought a six-pack of National Bohemian, the nasty local brew, and they sat on the rotting pier jutting out into the Choptank to catch up on old times. Twenty-three years had passed since CJ had tied his Boston Whaler to that rickety wooden structure. Of the four Jarret boys, only Danny had gone off to fight for his country in the jungles of Southeast Asia. He had been a chopper pilot for Uncle Sam. And from the way he stared out across the water as that story unfolded CJ knew it had all been a horrible experience for the younger man. The conversation, as they sat with the water passing slowly under them that lazy, warm afternoon in mid-October, was not what he had expected.

"I came back to the world and made my way into civilian aviation," Danny explained with a laugh. "Although I'm told I still fly like the Cong are shooting at me. Took me a job as pilot for a Texas oil company executive but found myself driving a truck for them most of the time. Guess my flying scared most of the management types. I began to hate the flat dry land down there so I came back home and started my own flying school out at the airport. It does pretty well in the summer months but it's only the tourist trade and most of that is just some guys wanting to jump out of the plane. It pays ok I guess, but I have to work for Annie rest of the time to earn an honest dollar."

"Are you still planning to stay here?" CJ asked.

"Don't know what else to do," Danny said, "it's still mighty slow around here on the weekends. I drive up to Baltimore most times, ya know."

"Uh huh," CJ said, "you still sound like a lonely man, Danny boy"

"I guess mostly, but …" Danny said. "Look, CJ…I still recall some of the things you and Mark used to do out there in that boat while we floated around in the marshes."

"Oh Lord," CJ said, "I thought you were too young to know what that was all about. It was just something Mark and I did. I was really trying to discover things about myself and…Mark was willing and just as horny."

"Yup, I may have been only five years old back then but I used to watch the two of you," Danny said. "Lord, how Mark would screw up his face while you were doin those things. I didn't understand it then, ya know… "

CJ wasn't sure where Danny was going with this line of conversation. He was beginning to get a bit uncomfortable.

"I didn't understand it then …but I do now. I don't mean to pry Chris, but are you gay? Mark thought you were. I asked him once if he was and he denied it was anything like that for him. He told me it just felt good to have you do things for him and said he'd punch me out if I thought anything different."

"I'm sorry, Danny," CJ said, "It wasn't something you should have been exposed to as a child, my fault. I never thought Mark was gay and as to your question…the answer is yes, I am."

Danny sipped his beer and stared off across the water, watching a great blue heron take flight in the marsh on the opposite shore.

"I used to think about you, Chris. In the years after you left for school, I thought about you a lot. My dick would get hard and I wished you were around to do something for me like you did for Mark. Sounds weird, don't it?"

He sipped on the beer bottle again and turned to CJ with a smile.

"I learned a lot about myself in Nam," Danny said. "I learned to smoke pot and had my first woman. That was a disaster and I thought maybe it was cause I was so drunk and stoned at the time. But there… in the midst of all that madness…I learned the most important thing. It came as quite a shock to me but I felt best in the arms of another guy, Chris. I go up Baltimore to the gay bars every so often. I watch and hope that someone like my buddy Todd in Nam will come along and put his arms around me. But Todd came home in a body bag and I got an honorable discharge."

Tears rolled down his cheeks as he spoke but there was little emotion in his voice. Danny was a tough little man, CJ realized, but he hid a deeply bruised and battered soul.

"It's been eight years," Danny continued, "I came back with nothin inside me that I wanted to remember about 'Nam except my love for Todd … that place took it all out of me. I still don't have it back, Chris. It scares me that maybe I never will."

CJ sat there stunned as Danny took another swig on the last beer bottle and waited. What could he say...but Danny spoke first.

"I'm sorry, Chris. I didn't mean to lay all that on you, really I didn't. I guess that…you're the first real part of my old life to reappear. Thanks for coming, you gonna go home now?"

"No," CJ said, "I never realized what you've been through. I thought maybe the gay issue would come between us too. This isn't exactly the place that I thought would ever produce two gay men."

Danny laughed, "Yeah, imagine that."

So…," CJ said, "Have you been able to talk with anyone? The gay crowd in Baltimore must contain at least a few guys you like."

"Naw…I have a few friends, mostly bartenders up there. But I'm not the only gay guy in town, Chris. Remember Tom Sommers, the baseball player."

"No way," CJ said, "he's gay? Shit he used to have all the girls in school hanging all over him."

"Well he's not totally gay," Danny said. "He's got a wife and kids, sells insurance. I saw him a few times at one of the bars, but he didn't recognize me. Then he came by the house last year to sell me a policy and somehow we ended up in bed together. He still looks hot."

"Son of a bitch," CJ said, "He was a sophomore when I graduated. He was cute back then, isn't he a little old for you?"

"Maybe," Danny said, "I know I'm only foolin myself with him, he's married and all that. But you know…he sure hugs good and I need that."

CJ took the hint and put his arm around Danny's shoulders and gave a squeeze. They sat watching the birds flying into the marsh and settling down for the night. CJ spent that night in Danny's bed, just two old friends getting reacquainted. The sweet young man held him real tight for a very long time until they both fell asleep.

Over breakfast the following morning CJ came to a decision and knew Matt would approve. As Danny sat across the table from him, CJ told him the whole story of the planned trip and then asked him to become part of the team. In the early stages of their planning, the two adventurers had decided that they would be in need of a backup man on the home front for necessities, including bail money should that become necessary.

The salary he was offering brought tears to Danny's eyes and CJ knew it had to be ten times what he was making at his sister's crab shack. CJ felt he owed Danny the opportunity to gain his life back and this was the first step.

But more than the money, he thought, it was the sense of family and purpose that the offer generated. Yes, an extended family was what he wanted. In his mind, Matt had become a strong and dependable younger brother. CJ knew that his relationship with Danny felt…well, at least fatherly. And why not, he mused, I could have many sons.

Their idea of traveling the country in a bus was a great idea, Danny thought, and although CJ had invited him along on the trip he had other commitments that had to come first. It was decided that maybe he would join up later after the bus reached its destination, wherever that was.

CJ and Matt had been looking for a bus without much result. There were simply hundreds of variations but none that suited. It was Danny who introduced CJ to a man sitting in a dusty New Jersey warehouse.

Al Sweeney was probably the largest man CJ had ever met. Maybe three hundred pounds and at six-four all of it muscle. The heavy Bronx accent gave him a tough street smart image but belied the man's sweet personality. When CJ was introduced he noticed that Sweeney found the cute blonde Danny-boy very attractive.

"I want you to meet Mr. Sweeney, Chris. He's definitely the man to ask for your transportation needs," Danny said, "Lord knows, he's helped me out of a few scrapes."

"Ah, Danny…just call me Al, how many times I gotta tell you the Mr. thing makes me uncomfortable."

Sweeney laughed and reached out, hugging Danny until his eyes bulged.

"This boy is like a son to me," Sweeny said. "I forgive him his little quirks and wonder at myself sometimes. He's just so cute."

CJ laughed at the comment. It was good to see that Danny had made himself some good friends in the past few years. The question was asked. Were there any buses available, nice big buses?

"What you want me to do, hijack one from the Greyhound station downtown?" Sweeney asked, and CJ was sure if it came to that the man could pull it off. "Yes, I have two buses at the moment. One from a little old lady who drove it to church only on Sunday, but it has a few, ahhh, holes in the side door where some boys had tried to shoot it out after stealing it. No, that won't do, the bus you want is one I got from some guys up in Vermont."

Sweeney led them out of the small office and across the warehouse floor towards the back. Men were working around them, moving crates on large forklifts.

"They were a traveling band, you know, rock musicians," Sweeney continued. "Got themselves busted for dope while crossing the Canadian border about three months ago. Had to sell the bus for bail money, still waiting on the trial I hear. Bus is in great shape; they took out most of the seats and kept the back open for carrying their equipment. Got a kitchen and everything too."

"It sounds like the right kind of thing for us," CJ said.

"Ain't gonna be cheap," Sweeney replied, "but since you're a friend of my Danny boy, I'll see what I can do."

The bus looked very new to CJ's untrained eye. Danny walked around it and opened every compartment door. The top half was a deep blue color with tinted windows all around so you couldn't see inside. The shiny metal sides below the windows looked well polished and free of dents. CJ noticed that the tires seemed to have all their tread. It hardly looked driven at all.

The inside was well appointed and CJ was thrilled because it already had a bathroom and kitchen installed in just the right places. The living area was in the front and consisted of two couches that converted into beds and above them two other bunks folded down out of the walls into beds. A table surrounded by bench seats gave the kitchen area a nice homey feel. There were two lounge chairs bolted down to the floor in the area behind the comfortable looking driver's seat. The blackout shades on the inside of the windows guaranteed a sense of privacy.

Walking along the carpeted aisle to the back, CJ found the rear area was an open room with a steel floor and walls. There was even a second exit door which had been used for the band equipment. It would be easy to convert this space into a master bedroom.

"Hey, Danny, look," CJ said," Plenty of room for two guys and a few guests."

Danny was opening cabinet doors in the kitchen and admiring the built in fridge and ovens. Everything sparkled and had that new smell.

"Well, I say we let Danny take her for a spin and if it checks out then I'll buy it on the spot," CJ said.

"Now that's the way I like to do business," Sweeney said.

"Well money is the easy part," CJ said," I still have to learn how to drive it."

The bus was theirs that afternoon and Danny drove it back towards Dover to begin the process of remodeling. The refurbishing company planned to spend the better part of three months working on the changes CJ wanted but they had plenty of time. The objective was to start in early spring, arriving in the Southwest by mid-May and beating the heat of the scorching summer sun. Danny was taking care of all the permits and necessary licensing requirements to take a rig like this across country. It would be expensive but CJ considered it a good investment.

Matt had returned to the beach house before the first winter snowstorm whipped across the Delaware Bay. His car was loaded with maps and guide books covering their area of travel. And as the first flakes fell in the pines and swirled across the sandy yard they settled in to map out their route.

"I hope Danny doesn't get lonely in this little house while we're gone," CJ said.

"Do you ever think he'll find another strong relationship?" Matt asked," I know how hard it must be on him."

"I think Danny boy is just about to discover himself all over again, Matt," CJ said. "At least he's beginning to show signs of lust. I caught him looking at that cashier in the grocery yesterday. I think that's a positive, his libido is up."

"Look, I'm off to see Justin again next week. I won't be here for his graduation in the spring so at least I can make his Christmas a happy one."

"Maybe you can fly over and see him this summer, we shouldn't be so involved in what we're doing that you can't get away for a while. It's only a short hop from Phoenix to LA. Which reminds me did you find your passport?"

"Yeah, it's in the office safe next to yours. Maybe we'll get the chance to use them if we get close to Mexico. But thanks for the idea, I'll tell Justin about dropping in and that should perk up his spirits. I know he's real nervous about the interview at school in LA after Christmas break. I just want to be there for him."

"That ain't all you want to perk up, my dear," CJ said.

The trip was set to begin in a few months, and CJ had too much time on his hands before they left. He had turned the beach house over to Danny who planned to stay there through the winter and for the duration of their trip. CJ hoped that the solitude of the beach would be healing or that maybe the cashier would work wonders on Danny's ego. Either way, Christmas was near at hand and CJ was off to stay at Matt's condo in Washington.

The slushy streets of Washington didn't look inviting but with all the decorations out and a fresh coat of snow CJ decided to brave the cold. He wanted to increase his library of books to take along on the trip. Wrapping himself from head to toe, he ventured out into the early morning rush hour. Hoping in vain to catch a cab out to the Northeast corner of town and a favorite bookstore, instead he found himself standing in the aisle of a crowded commuter bus reading the latest copy of their itinerary. Matt had finished the manifesto, as CJ named it, only to hop a train for Richmond.

The crowd was awful and the commuters were packed like sardines on the slow moving bus. He was bumped by several people scurrying towards the exit doors and he grabbed at the hanging strap to keep from being knocked over. The aisle had been invaded by a group of school boys in uniform he discovered, all just too unbelievably cute for words. Their cheeks were red from the brisk outside air and suddenly he felt elated. "Tis the season to be jolly.

The nearest lad looked to be a senior and his traveling companions looked a lot younger, but they were the most prominent beauties in the crowd. CJ became aware that the older boy was pressing against him. Was that a hand he felt on his thigh? CJ's left hand held the trip papers close to his face and he realized that the older one was also reading the back of his itinerary. His right arm was pressed to his side and the hand was pressed against the boy, but where he couldn't see? He twitched his fingers slightly and felt the boy's trouser zipper. CJ began to sweat in his heavy coat, oh shit, he thought: I can feel his cock on the back of my hand. His eyes had been riveted to the page but now he shifted them to look at the boy's face. Their eyes met and the boy smiled.

"Pardon me, sir. I don't want to appear nosy," the boy said, "but I was reading that page and there are several typos in the first paragraph alone."

"Yes, I believe you're right," CJ replied, "I just can't find good office help these days,"

"Are you an anthropologist?" the boy said. "I ask because that particular paragraph deals with Native American sites in Arizona. I'm really interested in biological research myself but the two are such close disciplines."

CJ was amused by the boy's self assurance and more than a little terrified that the boy would notice the hand at his crotch. But he's so damned cute. Why not play the game, he thought?

"I'm a scientist, yes…" CJ replied. "I'm going to NIH today, are you familiar with genetic research?"

"Oh, a very little bit, sir. My father is a doctor as well, an MD. May I ask what your project involves?"

Shit, CJ thought, stuck my foot in it this time, "In short young man, my colleagues are involved in genetic mapping of adolescent native populations, but you wouldn't fit in that category."

They were standing so close that CJ could smell the fresh scent of soap on the boy's skin. The kid's deep green eyes stared straight at him from under a thatch of feathered auburn hair. Wouldn't it be fun to shower with this lad? He had to move his right hand; it felt like it was on fire. Slowly he started to retract it, only the boy seemed to press closer and harder. My God, is he getting an erection?

"How interesting sir, will you publish?" The boy continued to press his questions and his body.

"Absolutely, as soon as our research is done," CJ replied.

Oh my God, what am I doing? He swallowed hard, get me out of here and away from this cute young thing, CJ thought. The boy's younger companions seemed bored with the conversation and had moved forward in the aisle leaving CJ alone to face his inquisitor. He now knew that the kid was aware of the hand at his crotch. He felt the boy's hardness pressing against his hand every time the crowd jostled them together. He was sure no one could see them standing like this, the mounds of clothing everyone wore hid their bodies from the neck down. Should I hate this so much?

He realized that the boy's eyes had never stopped gazing at his own. The rumble of the bus and the murmur of the crowd seemed to fade. CJ slowly tried one last time to break contact with that swelling cock and saw resignation in the boy's eyes. Finally his hand was allowed to move away. Who is playing games with whom? When he finally felt able to speak it was time to change the subject.

"By the way, I'm totally unfamiliar with the Bethesda area," CJ said, "Is there someplace near NIH where I might find a bookstore and a place to eat lunch?"

"Yes sir, about two stops up the line from my school is the new White Flint Mall. You'll find several bookstores and a food court there. By the way, NIH is the next stop."

CJ thanked the boy who again smiled at him, and eagerly exited at the National Institute of Health. What a relief to be out in the fresh air, his head still swam with tantalizing thoughts.

The NIH campus was an imposing place and CJ didn't know what the hell he was doing here. Oh yes, he had told the boy he was coming here and had gotten off the bus while playing the part. Shit, now he would have to catch another bus to this White Flint Mall. As if on cue a taxi pulled up and disgorged several commuters. CJ ducked inside and told the driver to take him to the mall.

Having discovered the bookstore from the directory at the door he entered the sparkling new shopper's paradise. CJ spent several hours browsing in the fiction and travel sections, collecting an armload of books. He was waiting at the check out counter when a familiar voice spoke to him from behind.

"There you are sir, glad to see you found the mall quite easily."

CJ turned and smiled, was there no escaping this lad? He immediately noticed that the boy was alone and considering the time, guessed that he had hooked school to hang out at the mall. Or was there another reason?

The kid had loosened his school tie and one shirttail had escaped his waistband giving him that adorable adolescent look. He has to be a senior, only seniors dare cut prep school with such impunity.

"Oh, hello young man. We should be properly introduced, don't you think? My name is Chris James….and yours?"

"I'm Robert Jefferson, but they call me BJ at school."

Bet they do, CJ thought, the boy had slightly blushed at the telling of his nickname. I wonder why he felt it necessary to impart that little detail?

"So Mr. Jefferson, what brings you to the mall in the middle of the school day?"

"Oh….I get tired of cafeteria food and I have the afternoon free. There's an away soccer game and half the school is deserted anyway, so it wasn't hard to slip away."

Covertly looking at his watch, CJ noted the time as ten-thirty. What a charming little liar this lad has turned out to be.

"Honestly now, are you hungry, Mr. Jefferson? I certainly am."

They had a small bite to eat and CJ listened with pleasure as the boy rattled on about his life. Bobby settled on calling him Chris. What a lovely boy the lad turned out to be, but unfortunately it was apparent that he was very lonely.

Bobby's parents were too busy with their professional lives to pay him much heed and he was the youngest of three children. The two older siblings were girls and Bobby was left much to himself it seemed, he was very independent. CJ discovered that to build his self esteem the lad had taken to his school work and excelled, he was third from the top on the Dean's list, a most impressive feat in a tough preparatory school. And he talked, Lord did he talk. It seemed that there was little the precocious child would not try to discuss.

CJ could only imagine where this was all leading, but it seemed Bobby did have an agenda. His thoughts still quivered at the memory of the boy's erection pressing against his hand. The most important thing he learned was that Bobby was just eighteen and perfectly legal for…whatever might come up again. It was time to press his case.

"Bobby, or do I call you BJ?" CJ asked.

Bobby blushed again and CJ knew he just had to pursue that angle; sure that it was the key to their immediate relationship.

"I'm sorry, let's leave it at Bobby; I won't call you BJ if it embarrasses you. I suppose it can be quite a cruel nickname in the adolescent world. A very sexual connotation."

There he had said the sex word and the rest was up to Bobby. He knew that the boy would pick up the thread of this conversation, it just felt right.

"Yes sir, it has caused me some grief…I…don't know how to talk about this."

They were sitting in a dead end corner of the food court and most of the lunch crowd trickling in had so far left them isolated. Thus so, CJ put his hand on the young man's wrist resting there on the table, and looked him in the eye.

"Your peers probably aren't very nice to give you that nickname," CJ said. "But maybe you did something to cause them to want to hurt you. It may always remain your secret, my young friend, unless you wish to share it with me. I do know that what is done in the privacy of your life may always come back to haunt you if the deed is outside expected norms. We all create small indiscretions in our lives. I have my share of stupid mistakes too. As a boy, I was beaten for taking sexual liberties with another boy at school."

Bobby gasped, "Oh sir, that is exactly what happened to me. How did you know?"

"I'm a gay man, Bobby, as if you haven't guessed that by now. What you did has left you open for rebuke. I don't judge your actions since you're not at a point in life where it is necessary to label yourself and your sexual preference. But if you persist in experimenting with the other boys, most of them will take advantage of this knowledge to be unkind."

With tears in his eyes, Bobby smiled grimly. He clasped CJ's hand strongly, gripping in desperation. A table cleaner walked up the steps to their quiet nook and CJ pulled away.

"We had better leave this place and continue our discussion in private. Is that alright with you or have I said too much already?" CJ said.

"No," Bobby replied, "I haven't been able to talk with anyone else about this. I don't want it to end. Can we go back to your place, is it a hotel?"

CJ remembered that Bobby thought he was a stranger to town and so as they walked to the taxi stand he told the boy of his stay in Washington and the location of his friend's condo where he was staying. It hurt to continue the lie, but the truth would only serve to confuse them both right now. Bobby had warmed to him tremendously and by the time CJ put the key in the front door, the boy was glued to his side.

They drank coffee and spoke of good times and bad. Bobby finally told the story of the mutual masturbation that had occurred in his freshman year, how he had said all the wrong things and completely botched the relationship by giving the other boy a blow job. It sealed his fate. CJ recounted his earliest sexual encounters and how he had screwed up too, they laughed as he turned the cruelty of others into a funny story.

Bobby looked at him closely, sitting together on the couch and then he leaned over and kissed CJ on the cheek. CJ had been watching the slowly rising erection in the boy's pants during their talk and was waiting for some sign of acceptance. Hugging Bobby to his chest, CJ stroked the boy's shoulders and back and felt a hand tentatively brush the hardness within his pants. Bobby pulled back and looked him in the face.

"May I ask, Chris, could we?"

"Yes, I've wanted to all day. You're such a sweet young man."

They disrobed in the bedroom and lay upon the quilt in the afternoon sun streaming through the broad windows overlooking the garden. They touched and hugged for a long time, getting to know each other. CJ kissed the curve of that lovely boyish neck, the point of his chin and finally his lips. The boy's skin was the softest he could remember. He ran his tongue around the boy's ear lobe and drank in the scent of his hair

Bobby was first to display his eagerness for something more and CJ lay back to let the lad have his way. Soon, CJ began to feel that the boy was succeeding and that he had better join in the game. Within minutes they both achieved their objective.

After a shower, they lay on the bed for an hour, warm and cuddly. CJ knew that they would be gone for months on the project, and he explained to Bobby about the trip. The boy wanted to spend more time together and Christmas break was only a few days off.

CJ suggested that they still had some weeks to get better acquainted and the boy agreed with a bitter smile. They planned to meet again and CJ racked his brain for a way to keep the boy happy. Bobby however had something else in mind right then.

He watched as Bobby sat astride his lap and slowly maneuvered himself into position. CJ had to pause their activity for condoms and proper lubrication, but then the boy was eager to resume.

Bobby smiled and even giggled when they were done. "My Lord, I've been fucked. I never imagined it would feel like that. When can we do it again?"

"I've created a monster," CJ said, "a cute young Frankenstein."

Bobby stopped his laughter and went nose to nose.

"Thank you. No one has ever been as kind a teacher as you."

CJ smiled, "You did your homework quite well and for that I give you an A"

The gay scene in Washington was no place for such a sweet young lad, CJ decided. Maybe later in life, but it was too soon for his indoctrination to the scene here in town. He couldn't stand the thought of this comely lad on the DC meat rack. He asked the Bobby about his plans for the coming spring after graduation.

"Oh ... my family usually goes their separate ways. I was going to find a job down at the beach."

"Which beach did you have in mind," CJ asked.

"Probably Ocean City...why?"

"Ever been to Rehoboth Beach up in Delaware?"

"Sure ... I like it there too," Bobby said.

"Good ... that's where you want to be this coming summer," CJ said. "I have a friend named Danny and he's going to be all alone in my beach house this summer while I'm away. It'll give you a free place to live and some gay companionship. Danny is not too much older than you and he's also new to the gay scene. I think you'll do just fine together. I spent the best summer of my life at that beach, just about your age then too."

CJ smiled inside, Danny boy would be forever in his debt. Damn, they would make one fine looking couple if it happened.

He put the kid in a taxi for home with a wave of his hand, and watched as the car drove away. They would meet again tomorrow for dinner and a film....and then the following day....maybe? It was as if this gay family idea was taking hold in his thoughts. It wasn't the sexual attraction that kept him thinking about Bobby, it was the need he saw in the boy's eyes. CJ wasn't sure just how, but he was beginning to feel paternal in all of this.

If it was inevitable, if this gathering of people was really going to happen, then CJ knew he would end up being their patriarch. As a single gay man there would never be any children from his seed. But every man wanted that sense of family; the accomplishment of raising sons seemed to be quite a primitive urge. In that case knowing and caring for Bobby's well-being seemed to fit the bill, as it did for Danny....and Matt...and Justin...where would it end?

CJ walked back into the building with the biggest smile on his face. The old lady next door was feeding her cat and stared at him as if he was slightly crazy. I'm not crazy, he thought, just lucky.


On to Chapter Four

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