An Unexpected Turn

Regrets

After dinner Friday evening we mostly just sat around the fireplace on the patio discussing random things like Ryan’s upcoming courses and what type of boat I was buying. We were relieved the rain had finally stopped and the warmth of the fire helped dry the dampness which still hung in the air. It was still warm, but the breeze from the passing storms still possessed a chill making the dampness seem more pressing upon them. The fire gave them some respite from that.

“You know I really have enjoyed being here with you this week. I’ve experienced far more than I’d have ever expected. This was something that truly has changed my outlook on life and how some things are happening that can’t be explained. It makes me feel more alive and yet not as comfortable with how this life works. Am I the only one who feels like that? “Ryan said as he took another sip of his drink. Ian laughed and said, “Welcome to our world Ryan”. I laughed and said, “Yeah, I think we’re all trying to figure this out. I’m not even sure sometimes if I’m in a dream or reality. This ride I’ve been on, we’ve been on”, as I looked to Ian, “since the accident on the highway, has been a real shock to everything I had believed”. “It’s been a real trip alright, and it seems like there’s no end to it”, Ian said. I smiled and said, “I guess you’re right Ian, but at least we’ve got great friends like Ryan to go along for the ride”. This brought a nod and a smile to all our faces as we sat in silence for a bit contemplating.

As the fire died down, we headed inside and grabbed another drink before heading out to the deck to listen to the waves crashing below. As Ian and I snuggled on the love seat, Ryan sat back in one of the lounge chairs and said, “Having never really lived this close to the water, I never realized how calming it is listening to the waves crashing ashore. I like it”. Ian smiled and said, “Yeah it is. This is one of my favorite places in the house”. “It is”, I asked? Ian grinned up at me and replied, “Yes, it is, but my most favorite place in the house is just inside that door”, indicating our bedroom and then he giggled and sneaked a squeeze of my crotch. I was hard in an instant and Ian gave me a devilish smile. We then looked over at Ryan and saw his eyes were closed. Ian and I kissed for a while before I called out, “Ryan, we’re heading inside to bed”! He smiled and replied, “You don’t have to yell. I’m awake, just really relaxed listening to the waves, but I’m ready for bed”, then opened his eyes and sat up. “Sleeping with us again tonight”, I asked? “Thanks, but not tonight. I’m really tired after listening to those waves, so I just want to go to sleep”. Ian laughed and said, “Yeah, I guess you don’t get very much sleep when you’re sharing our bed”. Ryan grinned and said, “Yeah, between the sex and the nightmares… Um, sorry. I shouldn’t have said that”. “It’s ok Ryan. We understand completely and I’m sorry we woke you up”, I said. After all, he was being honest about it. “No, it’s not ok. It was selfish of me to say that. It’s not like you guys weren’t awakened by them in the first place and I’m your friend and worry about you, so I’m sorry”. “Apology accepted Ryan. We know you didn’t mean it like it came out. I’d be annoyed if Steve kept waking me up because he had a nightmare too. The problem is I’m having the same one, so I’m waking up at the same time”, Ian said.

As Ryan headed to bed in one of the other bedrooms, Ian and I stripped and climbed into our bed. Ian leaned over and kissed me and then grabbed my crotch through my briefs and said, “I’m glad Ryan’s sleeping in the other room. That way I have all this to myself”. I grinned and reached over and grabbed his hard left butt cheek and said, “And I have all this to myself”. An hour and a half later, we were both covered in cum and catching our breath. We then showered together. I loved soaping his tight body up, feeling the hard muscles and the crevices between them. He always pushed back into my rock-hard cock as I shampooed his hair. Usually that started another round of sex, but tonight we decided to just finish our shower and go to sleep. Tomorrow would be a busy day and it would be Ryan’s last night here before heading off to campus. We wanted tomorrow night to be special for him.

As we climbed into bed, Ian snuggled against me and leaned his head on my chest. “Steve, do you have any idea what’s gonna happen to us? Do you have dreams that I don’t share with you”, Ian asked? I kissed the top of his head and rubbed his back and right shoulder, “I used to, but it seems recently I’ve been sharing them with you. I’m sorry you’re having them too. I wish I could stop it, but I can’t. I’m really sorry stud”, and then I kissed the top of his head again. Ian looked up at me and said, “Don’t be sorry Steve. The nightmares may be a little unnerving, but it’s something we share, and I want to share everything with you, good or bad”, and then we kissed. A tear ran down my cheek as I thought about what he said and I thought to myself, ‘for better or worse and it seemed things were going to get worse’.

A tear rolled down Ian’s cheek as well as he thought about how much he loved Steve and how much Steve cared for him. He worried that Steve may sacrifice himself trying to save him. He didn’t want Steve to die trying to save him, but he knew Steve would if it ever came down to that. He knew he would do the same for Steve. Would it come down to that? Is that what the nightmares were about?

As we broke the kiss, we each realized the other had a tear running down their cheek. I hugged Ian tightly and said, “I know stud, but I love you too much to let you go”. Ian hugged me back and said, “I love you too Steve. We’ll figure it out. We have to. Do you think we should talk about what we each see in case one of us sees something differently”? I thought for a second before saying, “I never considered that. It always seemed from the way you described things that we saw exactly the same dream. Maybe we are, but maybe we’re seeing it from a different perspective, and it might help us to understand some things. Maybe we should discuss what we each saw. It would be better than waking up in fear of something we may not have any control over”. Ian said, “Deal”, and then gave me a huge smile and after laying his head back on my chest, said, “Sweet dreams Steve”. “Sweet dreams stud”, I replied.

I opened my eyes couldn’t see anything. My nose was filled with dust. It was hard to breath there was so much of it. There was also the smell of something else, gasoline. I had no idea where I was and realized when I tried to move that my left leg and arm were stuck. A voice called out, “Steve! Steve! Are you ok”? It was Ian. I heard him cough. “Ian? Where are you? I can’t see anything, and I seem to be stuck somehow. Are you ok?”, I called back. Ian yelled back, “I’m over here, wherever that is. I’ll turn on the flashlight app on my phone. Hold on”. “No! Don’t turn your phone on! There’s gas fumes in the air! It could cause them to ignite”, I cautioned! “Ok. Keep talking Steve and I’ll try to make it to you”, Ian said. “Steve. Steve? Steve, where are you”, Ian was calling in his sleep as I awoke. I was about to wake him, but thought it was odd that he was no longer ‘sharing’ my dream since I was awake. Suddenly he sprang awake yelling, “Steve! Say something”! “I’m here stud. I woke up just before you did”, I said holding him.

“Where were we Steve”, Ian asked sounding confused? “I don’t know Ian, but my left leg and arm were both trapped somehow. There seemed to be a lot of dust in the air and a strong odor of gasoline”, I said, then asked Ian, “What was your experience”? Ian then remembered what we’d agreed to the night before and thought for a minute, then said, “I just woke up in the dark. It was hard to breath, and I was sore, like I had been beaten with a baseball bat. I smelled the gasoline too. My pants were soaked, and I think it was gas ‘cause my legs were burning. I’m glad you said not to turn on my phone. I hadn’t even considered that”. I considered what Ian had said and replied, “Well, it seems like we at least survived the fall we’d dreamt about”. “Unless the fall comes afterward”, Ian countered. I sarcastically remarked, “You always consider the bright side don’t you”? “Sorry Steve. I’m just really freaking out about all this right now. It’s like a nightmare that I know is going to happen and I don’t know how it ends”, Ian said, looking scared.  “I know stud. We’ll handle it together. The thing that was different this time, was that I woke up and you were still just coming out of the nightmare. It was always the other way around before”, I said. My answer was just a blank stare from Ian.

The morning sunshine beaming through the window was an instant balm to Tony and Scott as they prepared breakfast for their guests. “OK, what do you want me to do”, Mike asked as he entered the kitchen. “Could you get some plates out and set the table. We’ll have to get the folding table from downstairs for the kids to sit at. We have some cereal, but I’m sure we’ll run out”, Tony replied. “How much food do you have Tony? We’re sheltering quite a few people. We might have to think about rationing at some point”, Scott said looking concerned. “I’ll do my part and eat less”, Mike offered.  

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but I heard you discussing rationing food. If we can get to our house, we moved our chest freezer up to the second floor when we began getting flooded. It hasn’t been opened since the power went out and the food should still be good. If we can get to it, we could bring it up here. I’m Steven by the way. Apparently you met my son Stevie last night”, Steven, one of the adults had come in to the kitchen. Tony looked to Steven and said, “Yes I did. Stevie was very helpful. He’s the one who alerted me to the fact that the generator had shut off and helped me get it restarted. Nice to put a name to a face Steven. I have a good friend with that name”. Steven laughed and said, “I’m well aware of that. Stevie never shuts up about the fact that he and I have the same name as his ‘favorite superhero’. From what I understand, your friend Steve is a real hero. Maybe you’ll introduce him to me and Stevie sometime”. Tony smiled and said, “I’ve already talked to Steve about Stevie and he said he’d like to meet him. I’m sure he’d be happy to meet his father as well”. “I’d be happy to help try and retrieve the food from your freezer Steve”, Scott volunteered. “Count me in”, Mike said and then looked to Tony and said, “I wondered why it got so cold last night”. Steven then wondered aloud, “The problem is, how are we going to transport the food through the water? If it gets wet, it may get contaminated”. Scott looked to Tony and asked, “What about those inflatable rafts we used to take out on the lake with your dad Tony? Do you still have them”? Tony replied, “I think they’re in the garage. Let’s finish getting breakfast ready and then we’ll dig them out a inflate them”.

Slowly, the other guests began filtering out and soon breakfast was served. The kids enjoyed themselves at the folding table discussing the previous day getting to a safe place and the adults discussed the situation and the hope that the water was receding, and help would be on the way. It was agreed that Steven, Scott and Mike as well as the other adult male guest, David, would try to retrieve the food from the freezer.

After breakfast, the two mothers, Sally and Ann insisted on clearing the tables and doing the dishes while the guys retrieved the inflatable rafts and the kids played. When they stepped out of the garage, they were greeted with sunshine and were encouraged by the fact that the water had receded a couple inches. After inflating the rafts and convincing Tony to stay at the house, the four men waded into the water and guided the rafts behind them.

Once back at the house, Tony called Steve. “Hey Tony. Glad you called. How are you guys faring? You guys ok?”, Steve answered. Tony replied, “So far, so good Steve. Scott, Mike and Steven, Stevie’s dad along with another guy, Dave went to try to retrieve food from one of their freezers that they had taken upstairs before evacuating. It may not be totally frozen any longer, but should still be good. I thought I had plenty of food, but once I invited the other two families in, I wasn’t so sure. Hopefully the extra food will suffice”. “You have a big heart Tony. If you need, I can make a call and try to get you evacuated. Let me know, even if it’s just the other families”, Steve added. Tony laughed and said, “Talk about a big heart. You’re the best Steve. I’ll let you know and I’ll talk with the two families we took in, but we’re doing ok for now. It actually feels good to be able to help them and the kids are great. I wonder if Scott wants to have kids someday?”, they were just ending their conversation just as Stevie walked up, “Hey Stevie. Want to say hello to my friend Steve”? Stevie’s eyes lit up and a huge smile and nod said everything as Tony handed him the phone. “Hello”, Stevie said into the phone? “Hi Stevie. Are you doing ok”, Steve asked him? “Yes. I helped get the power back last night”, Stevie replied. Steve smiled and said, “That’s great Stevie! I’m proud of you for helping and being so brave through the storm. I’d like to meet you some day. Would you like to visit me some day soon”? Stevie’s smile grew so wide, it covered his whole face, “I’d like that a lot. You’re my favorite superhero. Could my dad come too”? Steve shook his head, “Of course your dad can come and your mom too, but I’m not a superhero Stevie. I’m just a regular guy like your dad”. Stevie laughed and said, “That’s what my dad told me you’d say. You know who my second favorite superhero is”? Steve just grinned and said, “No I don’t Stevie. Who is your second favorite”? Stevie’s grin exploded as he looked at Tony and said into the phone, “It’s Tony. You saved him too”. Steve smiled as he imagined the look on Tony’s face right now, “Tony and his friends were in trouble and I did what I could to help them just like your dad would have done Stevie. Well I have to go, but I’m really looking forward to meeting you. Say goodbye to Tony for me and I’m sure you’ll be a big help to him”. “I will. Goodbye Steve”, Stevie said as he handed the phone back to Tony and said, “Steve said to say goodbye to you Tony”.

After talking to Tony and little Stevie, I called Carl to see how he was doing. “Hey Steve. It’s good to see the sun for a change. How is everything”? I replied, “Yeah, it is good to see the sun after this hell of a week. We’re doing great except for being cooped up for days. I just talked to Tony. He took in two families who were flooded out and had nowhere to go. They got flooded out pretty badly because of a nearby creek backing up, but Tony’s house is ok. They’re just a little concerned about food. I told them to call if they needed any assistance”. Carl laughed and said, “Send me a helicopter and get me outa here. I’m bored to death here”. I laughed and said, “I think the rescue squads are busy with more important things than saving someone from boredom”. Carl chuckled and replied, “I guess. If you say so, but what’s the difference between dying from drowning and dying from boredom”? I laughed louder at his humor and replied, “I think you’ll survive somehow Carl”. Carl snickered and then said soberly, “Seriously Steve. This was pretty bad. I hope no one lost their life in this week-long storm”. I replied, “Me too Carl. Well, I’m going to see what Ian found out from Chad. Heard from him today”? Carl said, “Yeah, we just talked an hour ago. He’s as bored as I am. We should have stayed together. At least we’d have something to do”. A picture popped in my mind as I said, “I can just imagine what that something might be”. Carl laughed and we ended the call.

I walked back into the kitchen where Ian and Ryan were enjoying a cup of coffee. “Heard Chad’s stuck at home just like Carl is”, I said to Ian. “Yeah, he is. Too bad. It would have been nice to have them here for Ryan’s last night. Any word from Tony and Scott”, Ian asked? “Yeah, they’re holding out so far. They took in a couple families who were flooded out. I told Tony to call if they needed anything”, I replied. “Did Tony mention anything about how Mike is behaving”, Ian asked? “Tony didn’t say, so I’m taking that as a positive”, I responded. Ryan chimed in, “I’ve never met the guy, but I can’t understand anyone who’d turn their back on two lifelong friends”. “Agreed”, Ian said. I interjected, “Mike was raised by his dad who apparently taught him that homosexuality was a choice someone makes. It’s not easy to convince someone that something you were told by a parent when you were young is simply not true”. Ryan said, “Yeah, I guess you’re right. It’s the same about racism. My dad was racist and he wasn’t happy when I brought home a friend when I was little. His name was ben and he was a black kid. My dad didn’t want me to bring him home to play again, but my mom had a talk with him. After that Ben and I grew really close and toward the end of the summer, my dad invited Ben along for a camping trip and even taught Ben how to swim. We had Thanksgiving dinner at Ben’s house and Ben’s dad and mine became good friends. Maybe that will happen with Tony, Scott and Mike”. Ian smiled, “Wow, that’s a great story Ryan. What ever happened to Ben”? Ryan sighed, “Unfortunately Ben’s dad was killed in an accident and he and his mom moved out of state to Ben’s mom’s parents. We tried to keep in touch, but eventually lost contact”. “That’s too bad. Maybe some day you’ll meet again”, I said.

Just after lunch, the front door opened and Scott yelled inside, “Open the garage! We’re bringing the rafts in”! Tony opened the garage door to see three soaking wet guys carrying one of the rafts filled with food. As they set it down inside, Tony asked, “Where’s Steven”? Scott replied, “He’s holding the other rafts while we carried this one up. We grabbed a lot of food, mostly from the freezer, but we got a raft full of dried stuff like cereal, chips, potatoes and other stuff”. “That’s great”, Tony said as Sally, Ann and the kids came out to help bring the food into the house. As Sally, Ann and the kids brought the food in, Tony directed them where to put it. By the time the last of the semi-frozen food was brought in, Tony was having trouble finding a place for it and decided to keep some out to use for dinner. After the last raft was brought in, Tony brought out towels for the guys to dry and clean clothes for them to change into. Steven noticed Mike hiding in a corner while he changed and commented, “No need to be shy. We all have the same parts, just different”. Mike looked at him, noticeably uncomfortable and gave a slight smile before glancing in Scott’s direction. Steven noticed the glance and wondered what it was about.

After lunch, Ryan wanted to play another game of cut-throat pool. The strip X-rated version. We grabbed a drink and made our way downstairs. I drew the rack and Ryan broke. Ryan immediately sank two of my balls on the break and I lost mmy shoes and socks. Ryan sank two of Ian’s balls next causing him to lose his shoes and socks as well. I lost my t-shirt on Ryan’s next shot, but he missed one of my last two balls on his next shot. Ian was up next and sank one of Ryan’s balls causing him to lose his shoes. Then Ian put in my second to last ball and I was down to my underwear. He put in another one of Ryan’s balls next as Ryan pulled off his socks. Ian grinned as he went after my last ball but missed. I gave him the evil eye. He returned a devilish grin. It was finally my turn, and I was way behind. I put away one of Ian’s balls first causing him to lose his t-shirt as I smirked at him. I followed that shot by sinking two of Ryan’s balls, resulting in him removing his t-shirt then his shorts. Unfortunately, I missed my next shot going after one of Ian’s last two balls. It was Ryan’s turn, and he sank the ball I had missed. As Ian slid out of his shorts, we were all even with one ball each on the table. Ryan went after my last ball and missed. Unfortunately, my ball ended up right in front of the right corner pocket. I looked over at Ian who had a huge grin on his face. “You could put Ryan away first and leave that gravy shot for last”, I suggested to no avail. Ian eyed up my ball and ran it into the pocket, unfortunately, the cue ball followed it in. “Fuck!”, was all Ian could say as he brought up one of Ryan’s and one of my balls back on the table. After removing my briefs, I got my revenge, putting Ian’s last ball away. We waited while Ian bent over to remove his Jockey briefs before I sank Ryan’s second to last ball. Going after his last ball was difficult since it was tightly set against my own last ball. I missed and, in the process, exposed my own last ball which Ryan happily sank. It was now set and Ian would be sucking my cock while he was being fucked by Ryan. It was a hot afternoon as My stud looked so hot taking Ryan’s cock while he greedily slurped on mine. Just as Ryan began emptying his seed into the condom, I was filling Ian’s mouth with mine. Ian swallowed every drop as he shot his own on the mat below.

That evening’s dinner was a feast, with Ann and Sally insisting on making dinner using everything that didn’t fit into the available freezer space. There was roast beef and chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy. Broccoli and snow peas were the vegetable and for dessert, chocolate ice cream. After cleaning up, Sally, Ann and the kids played some board games at the kitchen table and the guys went down to the family room to watch a soccer game. At one point, Mike went upstairs to use the bathroom even though there was one downstairs. Seeing David and Steven’s glasses empty, Scott grabbed them and said, “I’ll get you guys a refill”, and then headed up to refresh their drinks. As he did, David excused himself to use the restroom. Steven took advantage of catching Tony alone and said, “It’s not really any of my business Tony, but there seems to be some kind of tension between your friends. Is everything alright between them”? Tony tried to play things down and asked, “What do you mean”? Steven explained, “Well, when we were changing out of our wet clothes, Mike seemed to be a bit shy and went into a corner. I didn’t notice at first until I said something to him and then I noticed him glance in Scott’s direction like he didn’t want Scott to see him changing”. Tony decided to be honest with him, “Ok Steven. I’ll be up front with this and tell you yes, there is some tension between Mike and Scott and me. We were best friends since grade school and just the other day Scott and I came out to Mike and told him we were a couple. Mike didn’t take it well”. Steven nodded his head then asked, “What didn’t he take well, the fact that you two came out or that you didn’t tell him until now”? Tony blushed a bit before saying, “Well, I didn’t know, I mean Scott and I didn’t know how we felt. I didn’t know that I had those feelings for Scott and I didn’t know how he felt about me until just recently. We wanted Mike to know since he’s been our friend since grade school. He didn’t take it well. His dad is a homophobe. Um, I’m sorry if that word offends you. I know some people have religious beliefs that, well, now you know”. Tony looked on as Steven nodded his head and eventually said, “I see. I’m sorry about the rift between you and your friend and there is no offense taken. You and Scott have shown yourselves to be fine, outstanding young men and I’m proud of how you’ve handled yourselves through all of this. I don’t really care about your sexual orientation. That’s not an issue with me. My brother is gay and I love him dearly and as much as I would if he were straight. Mike seems like a fine young man as well and I’m sorry if he was brought up that way. Maybe he’ll come around in time”. Just then, David returned and Tony finished the conversation by saying, “ Thankyou for understanding Steven and I hope you’re right”.

Scott went to the kitchen and retrieved the drinks and was headed back downstairs when he heard Mike talking to someone. He paused to listen and heard, “Yeah dad, fuck them fags! I think they should all drop dead!”, just then Mike turned and saw Scott standing there. “Dad, I need to go. I’ll talk to you later”, Mike said, but before he could end the call, Scott had left and gone back downstairs. When Mike came back downstairs, Scott wouldn’t even look at him. Mike felt bad. His conversation with his dad was about his dad’s coworkers who were trying to block his plans on a construction project. They were always in agreement with the design supervisor who they hoped to get a good recommendation from. Mike’s dad never was one to kiss ass and spoke his mind when he thought he was right. Mike was regretting his choice of words then. Scott shouldn’t have been eavesdropping, but then again, why did Mike use those words. He was just trying to impress his dad. Fuck!

End of Chapter 35