Date: Wed, 20 Mar 2013 15:52:13 -0400 (EDT)
From: ErastesTouch@aol.com
Subject: Different Points of View, chapter 17

Different Points of View - by Erastes
Copyright 2012 by Erastes
Chapter 17 – The End of Summer.

We arrived at my house a little after noon, so I took the boys inside and got on
the Internet, so I could check out the local weather forecast.  Once I'd discovered
that everything was supposed to be fine in our area and the storm system we'd
heard about was passing north of here, I knew we'd be ok.  It just happened that
the campground we'd been at was near the southern edge of the storm's path,
but they were still going to get hit pretty hard.  Since we didn't have this problem,
I talked to the boys to see if they wanted to put the tent up or sleep in the house.
After briefly discussing this amongst themselves, they agreed that they wanted to
continue camping out, so we dragged the tent out of the Tahoe and set it up in
my backyard.

After the tent was pitched, we moved all of our gear into it as well and I
immediately noticed that Austin had placed his sleeping bag next to mine again
and made Steve sleep on the other side of him.  Neither of them said anything to
me about this, and I'm not sure if any of the others even noticed, but I certainly
had.  Austin's behavior confused me slightly, since I wasn't sure as to why he
seemed so attached to me.  It certainly appeared as if he had a very good
relationship with his father, so he wasn't like Jared in that he was looking for
someone to fill that role, and I didn't feel as if it was a sexual attraction, although
he did seem to be showing off a little whenever he was naked in my presence.
Therefore, I was at a loss as to why I frequently found him so close by my side or
why he seemed to like to cuddle with me at night.  I put this out of my mind
temporarily, because I had a bunch of boys I had to entertain.

"Now that everything is in order," I began, "what would you boys like to do next?"

"Can we go swimming in your pool?" Dean wanted to know.

"I don't see why not, since there's plenty of time," I agreed.  "I'll let you decide if
you just want to swim or if you'd rather play a game or two."

"Isn't there some way we can let Boo-Boo swim too?" Jared followed.  "I know
he's going to want to get in the water with us, since he enjoyed swimming in the
lake so much, and I think it would be cruel to have to put him in his cage."

"I was thinking about that as well and think I've come up with a solution to this
problem," I offered.  "I'll go into the house and get the grooming brush I bought to
use on him and then I'll give him a good rubdown with it.  That should get rid of
most of the loose fur that might come off in the pool, so he can join us without
clogging up the filter.  Why don't you boys go change while I do this."

"Do we have to wear our swimsuits?" Austin asked next, surprising me.  "I think it
might be fun to try swimming without anything on."

I was partially expecting this question from Jared, Josh or Dean, but I didn't think
Austin would have been the one to ask about skinny-dipping.  This made me
wonder if maybe one of the others had put him up to posing this question.

"I'm not sure that would be a good idea," I began, only to be cut off.

"Why not?" Steve countered, interrupting me.  "We've already seen each other
naked before, like when we've showered and changed in the tent, so what's the
big deal."

If I'd been surprised by Austin's question, I was even more astonished at Steve
pushing the issue.  I thought he would be the least likely to want to do this.

"If anyone found out that I let you do something like that, then it could cause a lot
of problems for me and your parents probably wouldn't ever want you to come
here again," I explained.

"You won't tell anyone, will you?" Jared asked, hoping to alleviate my concerns.

"No, I won't!" Austin quickly agreed.

"Me neither," Steve chimed in.

"What if Jared's mother stopped by on her way home for dinner, because she
noticed my SUV in the driveway and wanted to know if something was wrong or
why we came back so soon," I countered.  "Would you want her to see you
running around or swimming naked?"

"I doubt that my mom has been coming home for dinner, since we haven't been
around, so she probably won't come home tonight either, since she doesn't know
we're here now," Jared challenged.  "I'd guess that she's probably been eating at
the diner, because she gets a discount if she wants to have a meal there."

"See!" Austin piped up.  "We can do this and no one will tell anyone about what
we did, and you don't have to worry about someone stopping by to see why
we're here."

"If I let you do this, then you can't tell anyone, not even your bff," I added, as I
wondered why I was even considering letting them do this.

"I think our best friends are all right here," Steve offered, looking around and
grinning.

"You still have to be really careful about talking about things like this even with
each other, especially whenever there's a chance someone else might overhear,"
I emphasized.  "If anyone ever found out about this, then they'd probably get all
over me, just like what happened to Jerry Sandusky, even though I won't be
touching any of you."

"Don't worry.  We'll all be really cool about this.  Right guys?" Austin stated, as he
sought confirmation from the others.

Suddenly, I saw all five heads nodding up and down.

"Damn, how do I keep finding myself in these situations," I asked, rhetorically.

"Probably because you're a nice guy," Steve offered.  "Not many adults are
willing to do things just for us or will consider what we want to do, especially if it
isn't something exactly normal."

"I must have rocks in my head, but ok," I agreed.  "Just grab your swimsuits and
take them down to the pool with you, along with your towels, just in case Jared's
mother comes home to eat and stops by to see what's up."

The boys were willing to make this minor concession, so they eagerly began to
strip down, before grabbing the necessary items.  I took my gear too, but I also
picked up Boo-Boo and carried him into the house, got the doggy brush and
carried it outside, where I'd run it over his fur.

When I came out of the house, the boys were merrily leaping into the pool and
frolicking in the water, so as soon as Boo-Boo saw what they were doing, he
began struggling to break free of my grasp, so he could join them.  I held on to
him and began brushing his furry coat, but after I'd removed as much of the loose
hairs as I could, I set Boo-Boo down and he immediately raced over to the pool
and dove in.

When I took the brush back inside, I tossed the collection of fur I'd removed from
the puppy into the garbage.  Then, when I turned back around, I found Austin
standing behind me.  I looked at him quizzically, wondering what he was doing
here.

"I told the others that I had to come in to pee," he stated, as he looked up into my
face.  "I really don't have to do that though and really just wanted to come inside
to talk to you.  I want to thank you for inviting me to do this, but I also wanted to
say that I'm glad you don't mind me trying to get close to you either, like at night
when we're sleeping."

"Yes, I was kind of wondering about that," I countered.

"Well, after I saw Jared doing it with you, I kinda wanted to try it too," he
confessed.  "I love my dad and all, and we do a lot of great things together, but
he doesn't like to show any affection, except to my mom.  I don't remember him
ever hugging or really touching me, except maybe to give me a quick pat on the
back or a smack on the butt.  I don't think he's ever kissed me either.  He says
that isn't manly, even when I was a lot younger and tried to get him to give me a
kiss or a hug."

"I'm sorry to hear that, but a lot of guys are that way," I confirmed.  "It's a shame
that they can't even let their guard down with their sons, but many men don't
seem to be able or willing to do that."

"I know and that's why I've enjoyed being close to you," he added.  "My father
would have gone ballistic showering with a bunch of boys, but you were so cool
about it.  You made me feel accepted, so I didn't feel ashamed about letting you
or the others see my body, and I really enjoyed sleeping close to you and being
able to put my arm over your chest.  Sometimes I could even feel and hear your
heartbeat."

"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed doing that and this answers a lot of questions for
me," I admitted.

"Yeah, and I talked to Jared about it after the first night, to make sure he wasn't
mad when he saw I was doing it too," Austin continued.  "He said he might have
been a little angry at first, but since we're now best friends, and Jared says were
sort of like brothers, it was ok."

"That answers an entire other set of questions for me," I responded.  "Jared can
be a little possessive at times and thinks of me as his personal property."

"I know, because I've noticed he even calls you Dad," Austin admitted.

"Yes, I wondered if either you or Steve had picked up on that," I stated.

"We both did and we think it's great, since Jared told us that he really never knew
his father, only Josh's dad," he added.

"Well, we'd better get back outside, before the others start to wonder what's
taking us so long," I urged.

Austin smiled and then gave me a hug, so I hugged him back.  It was kind of
strange hugging another naked boy and feeling his penis touching my leg, but he
wasn't aroused and this didn't seem to be sexual.  It was just a young man who
longed for some physical attention from his dad and was willing to get it from
another male instead.

After he finally released me, I went outside and joined the others in the pool, but
Austin stopped to use the toilet after all.

"Where's Austin?" Jared asked, as I approached the pool.

"I think he's in the bathroom," I replied.

"He must have had to take a crap or he's playing with it," Steve retorted, which
caused the two youngest boys to giggle.

We stayed in the pool for a couple of hours and engaged in a variety of different
activities.  The boys started out challenging each other to race first and then we
played volleyball for a while.  Once they tired of doing that, they wanted to play
chicken in the shallow end, but I wasn't so sure about doing this.  After all, they
were naked and it would mean the guy on the bottom would have his partner's
testicles and penis pressed against his neck.  As tactfully as I could, I tried to
point this out, but the boys didn't seem to feel this would be a problem, so I finally
relented.

Since Austin, Jared and I were the biggest and probably the strongest, we were
going to be on the bottom.  Josh and Jared became partners, and Dean paired
up with Austin, which meant Steve would be riding on my shoulders.  I bent down
to let him hop on and almost immediately I felt him boning up and his erection
poked the back of my head.  Rather than say anything, I walked out to where the
water was slightly deeper and then dropped us below the surface.  This sudden
surprise seemed to take care of his problem and we came back to the surface
again.

"Thanks," Steve said, after we caught our breath again.  "Sorry about that."

"Not a problem.  It happens, especially at your age," I replied.

I don't think anyone else heard us and we played Chicken for a while, until the
boys began to tire of the activity as well.  When they did, we got out of the pool
and sat on the lounges and chairs, as we relaxed and regained our strength.

When it came time to eat dinner, I decided to take the boys down to the diner
Sherry worked at, so I could let her know why she'd see the Tahoe in the
driveway.  This way, she wouldn't jump to conclusions when she came home
later, but she did look shocked when she saw us walk in, so she came over to
see what was up.

"Did something go wrong or was someone hurt?" she asked, looking around and
counting noses.

"No, it's just that the weather took a turn for the worse and the area was going to
be hit with storms for the next few days," I explained.  "We decided to come back
and finish up camping in my backyard."

She laughed when she heard me say this.

"Not quite an outdoor adventure, but it's probably for the best," she shot back.
"At least you'll be able to go in the house if it starts storming here."

I nodded in agreement and then she led us back to where we'd had Jared's
birthday party.  I helped her pull three tables together to accommodate the size of
our group and then she took our orders and got her boss' permission to take her
dinner break, before coming back to sit down with us.

As we ate, the boys filled her in about all of the things we'd done while we were
there and she looked quite impressed.  She even told them that she was amazed
by the variety of things we'd participated in and asked the boys if they'd enjoyed
themselves.  They immediately assured her that they had, but then they told her
we were going to have even more fun at my place.  Sherry looked at me after
hearing the boys say this and I merely shrugged my shoulders, to let her know
that I hadn't yet decided what types of things I was going to do with them now.

Even though Sherry was eating with us, she also kept jumping up to get more
drinks and other items the boys needed, since she had agreed to take care of our
table, while the other waitress looked after the two customers she'd already had
when we showed up.  She had agreed to split those tips with her, so when I paid
the bill, I left her a fairly substantial tip.  I'm sure I'll hear about this later and she'll
claim I overdid it, but as far as I was concerned, she'd earned it.

When we got back to the house, the boys decided they wanted to just chill out
and watch a movie, so they all agreed to make it a marathon of sorts and we'd
watch both parts of 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.'  I knew that we'd end
up staying up long after midnight to do this, but since it was their decision, I gave
in.

I told the boys they could each grab a drink from the fridge and then we went into
the living room and got comfortable.  Jared and Austin sat on the sofa, but left a
space for me to sit between them, while Josh and Dean made themselves
comfortable on the floor.  Once I'd called up the first part of the movie on Netflix, I
sat between them and Steve sat on the floor, between my legs, with his back
propped against the sofa.  I suddenly felt as if I were the center of attention.

Once the flick started and all eyes were glued on the screen, I lifted my arms and
wrapped them around Jared and Austin's shoulders.  Austin immediately glanced
up and flashed me a huge grin, and then he leaned against my body and got
comfortable.  If all he wanted was a little male attention then I could give him that,
without going further, since Jared was more than enough to handle when it came
to the sexual arena.

When the first part of the movie ended, we took time for a potty break and then I
had each of the boys get themselves another drink.  I also pulled some ice cream
out of my freezer and asked who wanted some, and each of them did.  After
scooping everyone out a bowlful, we took our dessert and drinks back into the
living room and settled back into our seats.  Then, I used the remote to start the
second part of the movie, as we ate our ice cream and sipped our drinks.  When
we came to a spot where I cause pause the movie, Jared and I collected the
bowls, carried them out to the kitchen, rinsed them off and then put everything
into the dishwasher.  While we were doing this, Jared spoke to me.

"Thanks for letting us do all of this today," he stated.

"I didn't do much," I responded.

"Yes, you did," he objected.  "You're letting us camp out in your yard and you
agreed we could skinny-dip in the pool and then you took us to my mom's diner
to eat, so we could explain everything to her, and now you're letting us to stay up
late to watch the movies and you've been really good to Austin.  Don't worry, that
doesn't bother me, because we talked it over."

"You did?" I challenged, feigning ignorance.

I didn't want him to know that Austin had basically told me this when we were in
the house together earlier.

"Yeah, he just needs some attention, like I did, but I don't think he wants you to
do any of the sex stuff,' he explained.  "He gets along with his father, but they're
not as close as he wants to be, so I think he wants you to kinda do what his
father won't.  I told him it was ok, like when I saw him cuddle with you at the
campsite."

"You knew about that too?" I wondered, although I already knew the answer to
that as well.

"Yeah, I noticed him doing the same thing I was doing and I got a little jealous at
first, until he explained it to me," Jared answered.  "I told him that was all right
then and I'd share you with him, so we'd kinda be like brothers."

"You amaze me more every day," I stated, as I tousled his hair.  "Let's get back
with the others, before they begin to wonder where we are."

He nodded his agreement and we sauntered back into the living room, got back
in our previous spots, before I restarted the movie.

When the second part of the movie ended, I noticed some pretty sleepy boys in
the group, so I had them go to the toilet, brush their teeth and then we got ready
to turn in.

"I'll leave the backdoor unlocked, in case you need to get into the house to use
the toilet, but seeing the tent is at the very edge of where the yard is mowed, if
you only have to pee you can do that into the longer grass," I advised them.
"Since I'm not worried about Boo-Boo running away or getting lost here, I think
we can let him sleep with us, instead of in his cage."

"Can we sleep without anything on tonight too?" Austin asked next.

"You want to sleep nude?" I reiterated, for clarification.

"Yeah, we're alone, it's warm out and I think it would be something else that
would be neat to try," he explained.  "I can't do it at home, because my parents,
and even my little sister, sometimes come into my room without knocking first."

"Yeah, can we do that?" Steve asked next, adding to the pressure.

Before I realized what was happening, the other three were agreeing that they
liked the idea too.  Seeing it was dark out, they'd be in their sleeping bags
anyway and I doubted anyone would stop by to check on us, I gave in and
allowed it.  Happily they all began stripping down and then they climbed in to
their sleeping bag, ready to call it a night.

About ten minutes after everyone had settled in, I felt Jared grab my arm and pull
it into his sleeping bag.  He then placed my hand over his genitals, which let me
know that he wanted some attention.  I started to pull my hand away again, but
he held it there, to let me know that he didn't want to take 'no' for an answer.  I
wasn't going to masturbate him or suck him off, because that would just be too
dangerous with the others around.  However, I could massage and play with his
genitals, to give him a little pleasure.

I was more than a little concerned when Austin rolled over and threw his arm
across my chest a few minutes later.  Although I doubted he could see what we
were doing and he wasn't touching my other arm, I thought that possibly the
vibrations from my slight movements might arouse his suspicions.  That didn't
happen, however, because before long I could hear the gentle hum of his
breathing in my ear, which let me know he was sound asleep.

Once Jared drifted off as well, I removed my arm from his sleeping bag and
started to doze off as well, but that's when I felt something moving near me.  It
was Boo-Boo and he was just positioning himself between Jared's head and
mine.  I take it that he looks at us as his parents, since we're the ones who feed
and do nearly everything for him, so he felt most comfortable curled up where he
could keep tabs on both of us.  Ah, yes.  What can be cuter than a boy and his
dog?

When we got up the next morning, I found five naked boys running around the
tent.  I was beginning to think I was with a group of naturists at a nudist colony,
rather than a bunch of campers.

"Any ideas about what you'd like to do today?" I asked.  "We still have today and
tomorrow before your parents will expect you back.  I told them I'd have you
home for dinner on Friday, so we have until about 6:00 tomorrow night."

"I've got an idea," Jared offered, before anyone else came up with anything.
"How about you take us fishing where you took Josh and me with our mom?
You've got enough fishing poles."

"That is a possibility, but there is also a problem," I replied.  "I don't think it would
be safe to have more than four people in the rowboat at a time and there's six of
us."

"That's not a problem," Jared shot back.  "Since Josh and I did this with you
before, then we'll fish off the shore or the dock, while you take the others out in
the boat.  Then if there's time, maybe a couple of them will switch with us after a
while."

"Yeah, I'd like to try fishing," Steve added, "and Austin and I will switch with Jared
and Josh after we've had a chance to try it."

"Yeah, and then you can cook the fish we catch later, so we can have it for
dinner," Josh suggested.

The boys all seemed to like this idea, so I agreed to do it.  They helped me put
the rowboat on top of the Tahoe and strap it down again, and then Josh and
Jared helped me carry the fishing rods out, while the others loaded the oars and
cooler into the SUV.  I also had them put one of my buckets in there too, so those
fishing on the dock would have a place to put whatever they caught.

When we got to our destination, the boys helped me carry the rowboat down to
the lake, put water in both the cooler and the bucket, and then I showed them
how to bait their hooks.  Once everyone felt they were ready, I got Josh and
Jared set up on the dock and then took the other three out in the rowboat.  I
didn't fish for two reasons.  For one thing, I wanted to be able to help the boys if
they had problems, and the other was that I took Boo-Boo out with me, because
Jared was afraid the puppy would dive into the water if he got distracted.
Therefore, I took Boo-Boo in the boat, so he could be with us, yet I could keep an
eye on him, as well as hang on to his leash.

The boys in the boat only caught a few fish, but they had a good time trying.
Once we had a half-dozen fish in the cooler, Austin and Steve volunteered to go
in and they'd fish from the dock, while Jared and Josh came back out with Dean
and me.  I thanked them for doing this and then the boys swapped places.

As I was rowing back out to deeper water, Jared told me that they had caught
three fish, but they said it wasn't as good there, as it was out in the boat.  They
caught several more fish while they were with me, and when we went back to the
dock we discovered that Austin and Steve had only added one more fish to the
bucket.  Just the same, we dumped the contents of the bucket into the cooler and
then Austin and I carried it back to the SUV and loaded it inside.

Once we had the cooler and the fishing rods loaded into the Tahoe, the boys
helped me carry the rowboat back, lift it up on the luggage rack and strap it
down.  Then we started our trip back home.  Along the way, I stopped at a
grocery store and we all went inside so I could buy some potato and macaroni
salad to go along with the fish.  Dean also talked me into buying some Hawaiian
Salad too, which is made with a variety of fruits, vegetables and mini-
marshmallows, so it's slightly sweet and something he said he really liked.  I also
bought a dozen donuts and some more ice cream for dessert while I was at it,

Once we got back home, I began gutting and boning the fish, but most of the
boys thought that was gross and didn't want any part of it.  Jared and Austin,
however, we eager to help and wanted me to show them how to do this.  Before
long, we had completed the process with each of the fish the boys had caught,
and then I began preparing the various filets, so I could cook them for dinner.

I'm not sure if all of the boys liked fish, but they each ate some, along with the
salads, and they claimed it was really good.  I guess the fact that they had each
landed at least one of the fish might have had something to do with it, since
eating something you've helped to provide always seems to taste better.  Once
the boys finished the main course, I gave them some ice cream to top it off, but
they decided to leave the donuts for later, as a snack.

Now that we'd finished eating, we went in to watch television for a while and then
the boys wanted to swim until it was time to go to sleep.  Once again, they did
this nude and I had a blast watching, as their dicks bounced and swung around.
When we went up to the tent later, the boys didn't bother to put anything on,
because they planned to sleep naked again as well.

As soon as we were in our sleeping bags, Jared pulled my arm inside his
sleeping bag again, so I could give him a little attention.  While he was doing that,
Austin took my other arm and pulled it out to the side, so he could lay his head
on it, but then he coaxed me into wrapping it around his upper body and pulling
him tightly against my side.  Even though I had two arms, I had no control over
them, because someone else was using each one.

When we got up the next morning, the boys all wanted to shower, so they went in
pairs up to use my two bathrooms upstairs.  Josh and Dean went into the guest
bathroom, while Jared and Steve used the master bath.  I was somewhat
surprised that Jared hadn't waited to shower with me, but I guess Austin must
have asked him if he could do this instead and Jared graciously agreed to the
arrangement.

I decided to allow it as well, since we'd already showered together at the
campground, and we merely washed ourselves, until Austin asked me if I'd wash
his back.  After I did that for him, he turned to thank me and then said that he
hoped he'd be able to come back and spend more time at my place in the future.
He went on to tell me that Jared and he had talked this over and he was going to
plan to stay with Jared once in a while, but then they would come down and
spend the night with me, if that was ok.  I told him we could probably work it out
sometimes, as long as they let me know in advance, so I could plan on it.  He
assured me they would and then he threw his arms around my chest and
wrapped me in a bear hug of appreciation.  Once again, his penis was pressed
up against my leg, but just as before, he wasn't aroused.

Once we finished and had brushed our teeth, I took them out for breakfast.
When we got back, I made a suggestion and told the boys that since we hadn't
been able to go out canoeing again while we were at the campground, as I'd
promised, then I was willing to take them to the State Park, where Jared and I
had canoed when he was staying with me, while Josh and his mother were on
their trip.  They agreed that this sounded like fun, so I drove us there, rented
three canoes and we set out for another canoeing adventure.

We spent a couple of hours paddling around the lake again, in the same pairs as
before, and we all had a good time.  Afterward, I took them back to my place and
had them pack up their belongings, roll up the sleeping bags and then we took
down the tent.  After that, we put my stuff into the garage and loaded everything
I'd borrowed from Austin's father into the Tahoe.  Once that had been taken care
of, the boys stripped down and we hopped in the pool to cool down, one final
time.

One of the boys threw the beach ball into the pool, since he wanted us to bat it
around, but Boo-Boo swam over and began to investigate what it was first.  To
our amusement, he began butting it with his nose and pushed it across the water,
while chasing after it.  I think he was trying to bite it, but because it was so large,
he couldn't get a grip on it with his mouth and it just kept moving away from him.
After a while, he tired of this game and merely swam around, going from one boy
to another.

We did get out of the water for part of the time, but the boys just sat around
naked and air-dried, until they decided they wanted to play volleyball for one final
time before they had to leave.  Once we finished doing that, I had them dry off
and get dressed, so I could drop them off at their homes.

We dropped Dean off first and his mother came out to meet him and asked him if
he'd had a good time.  When he assured her that he had, she thanked me for
taking him and then the rest of us took off for the next stop.

Steve was the next one to get dropped off and both of his parents came outside
to welcome him back.  Once again, they asked their son about the trip and if he'd
enjoyed himself, to which he gave them a resounding 'yes.'  When they thanked
me for taking him, Steve dropped his bag on the ground and raced in my
direction, so he could give me a big hug.  I was somewhat surprised that he was
doing this in front of his parents, but as I hugged him back, I looked up and saw
his mom and dad smiling, so I felt this was all right.

When we got to Austin's house, only his father came out to greet us and then we
carried all of the gear I'd borrowed from him into their garage.  Once everything
was unloaded, I thanked him for letting us use those things and he assured me
that we could borrow them any time.  He then shook my hand, but he wasn't very
attentive to his son, so I thought this only confirmed what Austin had told me.  I
actually felt badly for him, so I was now more determined than ever to help him
find an alternative to his problem.

Jared and Josh rode back with me, but then I dropped them off at their place, so
they could have dinner with their mother tonight.  Jared said they'd come back
down later and then they disappeared into the house and I was left alone again,
but this time I had many memories of this past week to mentally review and keep
me entertained.

The boys did come back later and they also spent some time with me on
Saturday as well.  I even called Sherry Friday night, after I saw that she had
arrived home, and suggested that on Sunday I would be happy to take her and
the boys to the mall to do some back to school shopping, since the boys had
been with me the past week and they'd been unable to do this before now.
School started on Monday and I wanted both boys to look nice, especially on
their first day, so I was planning to supplement what Sherry intended to spend on
them, so they could get a little better quality of items than they might otherwise
end up with.

Sherry was a little reluctant to allow me do this at first, but over time I finally
convinced her that it was something I really wanted to help with.  I could tell she
appreciated my offer, but I didn't want her sons to think she couldn't do
everything on her own, if that's what she wanted, or that what I was doing was
any more important than her contribution.  It was a very tricky line that I was
walking, but I think she and I had a good understanding about how it would work,
even before we left on this excursion.

That's because I had asked her to give me an idea about what she was planning
to spend on pants, shirts and other items for each boy, and then when we picked
something out that one of the boys liked, I would quickly calculate how much
more that item cost than what she had planned to spend, and then I would chip in
the difference.  Jared and Josh were thrilled when they found out that I was going
with them this year, but they were even more excited when they discovered that
we were going to shop at some of the nicer stores, where many of their
classmates got their clothes from, rather than just to the discount stores.  I told
them we would get their pants, shirts and shoes at the mall, but then we'd get
their underwear, socks and other supplies at Walmart next, but I felt it was
important that they looked nice when they walked into their classrooms this year.

Once the boys had selected their new school clothes, we went to look for athletic
shoes next and got them one pair for everyday use and one pair reserved for
gym classes and sports.  Sherry and I each paid for a pair and the boys
commented this was the first time they'd ever had a separate pair of athletic
shoes just for gym.

Now that we had the important items, we drove over to Walmart next and allowed
the boys to pick out a couple of pairs of sweats, as well as their underwear,
socks and gym clothes, before we began to round up the basic supplies they
thought they would need, such as notebooks, paper, folders, pens, pencils, etc.
Once we thought we had everything they required, except for those few items
they'd find out about during the first couple of days of classes, we loaded all of
the packages in my Tahoe, and then I drove them to a local restaurant, where we
enjoyed a relaxing meal together and listened to the boys make comments on
everything they had purchased earlier in the day.

Jared and Josh thanked their mother and me several times for all the 'neat'
things we got them, and when we got back in my SUV to head home, they gave
each of us an appreciative kiss on the cheek as well.  I felt proud that they
included me in on this gesture of affection and appreciation, and I think Sherry
was proud that her sons had done this as well.  When I glanced over at her, I
could see the moisture welling up in her eyes, which told me that this small
gesture had meant as much to her as it had to me and had nearly brought her to
tears.  It was a very touching time indeed.

Once we got back to their place, I helped them carry everything into the house
and then the boys both thanked me again and gave me a hug and another kiss
on the cheek before I left.  Sherry also thanked me as I was heading out the
door, while including the comment that she was very thankful that I had moved in
down the road.  She insisted that I had helped to change and improve her sons'
lives, and that she would be forever grateful for everything I had done for them.  I
told her it was no big deal, since I got as much, if not more, out of this
relationship, and she just smiled at me and waved, as I headed for the Tahoe.  It
certainly is nice to know when people appreciate the things you try to do for them
and I was pleased that I could help out, but now I couldn't wait to hear how things
had gone on the boys' first day.

After I returned home, I began to realize how lonely my life would be from now
on, since I had grown so accustomed to seeing this pair nearly every day.  I was
fairly certain that I would be thinking about them while they were at school, and
since they'd most likely have homework and other chores to do when they got
home, I doubted they would be able to come down to see me until Friday night
and possibly also on Saturday.  Since Sunday was their mother's day with them,
I wouldn't see them then either, unless possibly we did something together, if
Sherry didn't mind.  Maybe I could suggest a group outing once a month, but for
the most part that day was just for them.

The only good thing about this sudden change of circumstance was that I would
be able to focus on my writing again.  My agent, editor and I have so far
managed to finalize the first ten chapters and they're in the process of working on
their suggestions for the next two, while I'm working on the rough draft of Chapter
13.  It's coming together nicely, and now that the boys are going to be engaged
in various academic pursuits, I'm not going to mope around the house and feel
sorry for myself, just because they won't be around.  Instead, I'll spend those
hours dedicated to my work, so I should be able to make tremendous leaps with
the rest of the story.

I worked hard for the rest of the night and was exhausted by the time I went to
bed, but I set my alarm for early the next morning, because there was something
important I wanted to do.  Although the boys were too old for me to see them off
on the first day of school, I made sure that I was outside working in my front lawn
when the bus went by.  As it passed my house, I glanced up and noticed that
both boys were waving at me through the bus windows, so I returned their
waves, pleased to share this brief moment with them.  Once the bus was out of
sight, I went back into the house and began to work on my story again.

I was still at my computer when I heard their bus go by again later and was
surprised when they showed up at my front door a few minutes after that.  It
appeared as if they had barely taken time to drop off their school gear at home
first, before they hoped on their bikes and came down to see me.  As soon as
they walked through the front door, they began to tell me all about their new
classes, new teachers and which of their friends that I knew were in some of the
different classes with them.  They also mentioned about how their friends had
commented about how they were dressed.  We continued to discuss all of the
various aspects of their day until it approached their dinner hour and then I sent
them home, so they'd be there when their mother arrived to eat with them.

I knew they probably wouldn't be back afterward, because they'd both mentioned
that they had homework to do for the next day, but I enjoyed the time we got to
spend together.  I had a feeling that this might become a nightly ritual for them
now, which would give us a couple of hours together each evening, before they
went home to be with their mother and then stay put to do their chores and
schoolwork.  However, I didn't see them over the next few nights, so I concluded
they had only done this because it had been their first day of classes.

Friday night the boys came down to see me again, so I decided to run an idea by
them.

"The weekend after this one is Labor Day weekend, so I was thinking maybe we
could all do something together again," I began.  "What do you think about the
idea?"

"Yeah, that would be great," Jared immediately responded.  "What would we do?"

"I'll have to think about it, but why don't you ask your mother what she thinks
about the idea when you have dinner with her later," I suggested.  "Then you can
tell me what she says when you come back later or even tomorrow."

They agreed and asked their mother during dinner.  She thought it sounded like a
wonderful idea and she'd have Sunday off as usual, along with the Monday
holiday.  She then said she'd like to talk to me about this further and told the boys
to invite me to have dinner with them Saturday night.  I suggested that maybe we
should just wait until Sunday, when she had off and we'd have more time to talk
things over, so the boys said they'd ask her at breakfast the next morning, before
she left for work.

After that had been settled, we spent most of the evening in the pool, because I
warned them I'd probably be draining and covering it for the year sometime
before the end of September.  They didn't look pleased to hear this, but
understood why it needed to be done, even though it was hard to believe that the
summer had passed by so quickly.

The next morning when the boys came down, they said their mother had agreed
to have dinner together on Sunday, so I suggested they could all come down
earlier in the day and spend some time in the pool with me first, and then we
could all go up to their place to eat.  They said they'd mention the idea to their
mother at dinner later and then let me know what she said when they came back
down.

When I asked the boys what they wanted to do now, they said they wanted to
watch both parts of the last Harry Potter movie again.  When I asked them why
they wanted to watch it a second time, they explained that the other guys had
kind of distracted them while we were watching it during the campout, plus they
were kind of tired that night, since we'd stayed up so late to finish it, so they'd
dozed off a few times and missed parts.  After hearing their reasoning, I agreed
to do this, so I set us up with 'The Deathly Hallows, Part I' and we settled in to
watch it.

Both boys sat next to me on the sofa, with my arms around them, but they were
totally focused on the screen.  This time they were making mental notes of each
detail that was offered and were absorbing the true darkness of this final book.
When this part ended, we went out to the kitchen and I fixed them lunch and they
both asked me questions about the things they didn't quite understand.  After we
had dealt with each of their queries, we went back into the living room and
started Part 2.

This part was truly intense and the boys became upset when some of their
favorite characters got killed.  Fortunately, the movie ended on a fairly upbeat
note, so they were in a better mood by the time the final credits began to roll.  As
soon as it ended though, they told me that they must have missed many of the
deaths the first time around, because they didn't remember so many of the
characters getting killed.  We then discussed the final implications of everything
that had happened, before deciding to take another dip in the pool and prior to
their going home for dinner.

The boys had been slightly subdued since the camping trip and Jared hadn't
been pestering me to have sex with him as frequently, but I didn't understand
what had caused this change.  I guess it's possible that with school and
everything else going on in his life that possibly he was just taking care of his
urges quickly, possibly in the morning before school, before he went to bed at
night or even in the boys' room at school.  This wasn't a problem though, but it
had made me curious.

We had a good time in the pool, with me playing volleyball against the two of
them, and then we went inside to change, before they went home to have dinner
with their mother.  When they came back, they said their mom liked the idea of
coming down tomorrow and asked if it would be all right if she brought dinner
down to fix here instead and I said that would be fine.  That way we wouldn't
need to run back and forth, between the two houses.

They all came down shortly after lunch on Sunday, with Jared helping his mother
carry a cooler from her car with the food in it.  We then placed everything in the
fridge and the boys went upstairs to change.  Sherry already had her swimsuit on
under her other clothes and I was wearing mine as well, along with a t-shirt, so
we talked while the boys were changing.  She explained that she would be
working both Friday night and nearly all day on Saturday the following weekend,
but would have Sunday and Monday off.  After hearing this, I made a suggestion.

"Would you mind if the boys stayed down here on Friday and Saturday then," I
asked.

She quickly agreed that would be fine, since she was certain her sons would like
that idea as well, and then we'd all spend Sunday and the holiday together, doing
whatever we came up with.  When the boys came back downstairs, we filled
them in about our ideas and they were happy to go along with our plans.

We quickly decided that on Monday we'd go for another picnic at the park, since
there would be another fireworks display, but we were still debating what we
wanted to do on Sunday.  There were many ideas being tossed about, from
miniature golf, bowling, seeing a movie and going to an amusement park, just to
list a few.  Now, we just had to choose which one or combination of things we
would actually do.

We decided to go out to the pool and continue our discussion there, when I
suddenly had an idea.  I excused myself and went back into the house, so I could
check out some ideas online.  Then, I made a couple of quick phone calls, before
I went back outside to share the information I had just learned.  What I had done
was to check out the amusement park that is about two hours away, to see if and
when they would be open.  That's when I discovered that their last two days of
the season would be Sunday and Monday, and then they would be closed until
next summer.  After asking if this was something that might interest them, the
boys seemed eager, so Sherry agreed.

I then went back inside and made another quick call, so I could use my credit
card to reserve tickets for the following Sunday.  After I informed them about
what I had done, I told them that it would be best if we got up early that morning,
so we'd arrive shortly before the gates opened, in an effort to avoid the worst of
the crowds.  Then, we'd stay there as long as everyone wanted, and when we
came back home later, if it was still early and they weren't too exhausted, we
could go see a movie.

Everyone agreed with my plan, so we decided to get up at 5:00 Sunday morning,
so we could leave by 6:00.  Since the boys would be with me, it should speed up
the process, since they could shower quickly in the morning and we'd be at the
park when it opened at 8:00.  We would then spend as much time there as the
boys wished, before heading back.  Everyone was now looking forward to the
following weekend, so I went back inside to help Sherry prepare our dinner.



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