Date: Thu, 22 Jul 2004 23:17:26 -0400
From: rhaven <rhavenlo@rhavenlore.com>
Subject: The Next Tomorrow Chapter Four

This is a story from imagination, nothing more; it could not exist in
our reality. Be warned it is a tale of man/boy relationships with some
bad language.
I'd like to thank my dear friend Astral Toad for helping me with this
story.
Please send e-mails to: rhavenlore@hotmail.com
If you like this story, please visit my site for more at
www.rhavenlore.com

The Next Tomorrow

By Rhaven


CHAPTER FOUR
The sun gradually rose into the sky, sharing its light to all. I
didn't want its light, I didn't want this day to come.
I heard the Snyder dogs start barking, Mama Snyder was feeding them. I
didn't enjoy the sounds of morning like I normally did, they seemed
secluded and indifferent to me. Mom was up, I heard her moving around
her room and then into the kitchen. There was no enticing aroma of
eggs and bacon, only the sound of coffee percolating on the stove.
I had gotten dressed in the dark, waking up at 3 am I gave up on
returning to sleep, so I sat quietly on my bed and stared at my closed
door. Mom didn't check on me once before I heard Debra honk her horn.
I cried when the car drove away, it was the first time in my life that
Mom had left the house without speaking to me. We've had fights
before, I had a knack of getting in trouble at least once a week, if
not more, but that never stopped us for talking. I didn't want to be
mad at Mom and I especially didn't want her to be mad at me. I should
have been more grown-up and gone out to talk to her. Maybe if I could
explain how I felt, she would stop seeing Greg and then everything
would be normal again.
How could I explain anything to her? I didn't understand what I was
feeling.
I left the house, looking back at the plain building as if I'd never
see it again. Maybe I would runaway; it was obvious that Mom didn't
want me anymore.
Sean was once again sitting on the granite slab called Plank. I was
thankful he wasn't naked, readied to swim.
"Good morning little man." He said cheerfully as I emerged from the
woods.
"Morning." I tried to smile, but couldn't command my lips to obey me.
"Are we going for a swim this morning?" Sean arched an eyebrow and
lost his smile as he looked at me. "What's wrong?" He said delicately.
"Everything." I managed to say before I started crying again. Sean
knelt down and wrapped his arms around me. I cried on his shoulder for
several minutes before I could speak again. "I hate my life... I hate
it... I hate it."
"It's all right Jonah... it's all right." Sean repeated, whispering to
me and rubbing my back as I cried. All my pain and fears, escaped
through my tears and I couldn't stop them.
"I don't... want... my Mom ... to hate me." I sobbed.
Sean picked me up and started walking across the beach. I didn't care
where we were going, I felt weak from all the crying, my mind numb
from the invasion of uncontrolled feelings. Sean carried me through
the woods as I managed to sniff back the last of the tears. I looked
around and saw 14th Street and the Macnee house. I've always been
afraid the Macnee house, two stories of dark and menacing windows and
wood. But not even that fear would make me leave Sean. He carried me
inside the house, where I was surprised to see a cheery atmosphere. I
had expected cobwebs and skeletons, or even Ida Macnee's ghost
haunting the staircase. The house was elegant, nothing I imagined,
flowers decorated every table, and colorful paintings adorned the wood
paneled walls. The furniture was a little odd; Sean carried me into
the living room that had a large couch with cowboy decorated cushions
and thick wooden armrests. The coffee table was a wagon wheel on its
side, with a heavy glass resting on top. The only thing that could
describe this room would be; the old west. From the lamp shaped like a
horse to the cowhide rug on the floor, I felt like I was stepping into
Roy Roger's Ranch.
"Sorry about the decor, it came with the house." Sean laughed as he
gently sat me on the cowboy couch. "I've had to fill the house with
flowers, just to feel human again. I'm starting to have nightmares
about cowboys." He smiled briefly before sitting next to me and
getting a serious look on his face. "You want to tell me what has
happened?" He said softly, putting his hand on my knee.
I could feel my eyes tearing up again and hated myself for crying in
front of him.
"I'm such a cry baby." I whispered and tried to smile.
"Don't you ever feel bad about crying, Jonah." Sean said very
seriously. "Never listen to anyone who tells you that crying is for
babies. Never be ashamed to cry."
I nodded and grinned with relief. I started telling him what had
happened last night with Mom and Greg, trying my best describe every
moment, every detail and every word said.
Sean listened quietly, nodding occasionally or frowning as I told my
tale. Once I was finished I looked away from Sean, after hearing
myself tell the story, I felt foolish for being so emotional. All this
pain and crying because I didn't want to play football? Had I really
seen Greg hit Mom and even if I did, couldn't it have been a pretend
punch, like Ronnie, Mark and I did all the time?
"It's all confusing isn't it?" Sean put his hand back on my knee. "Why
are all the adults acting like spoiled brats, why did this Greg think
he could hit your mother and why was your mother angry with you? First
off..." Sean inhaled deeply before speaking again. "Greg had no right to
hit your mother. I'd be lying if I said it probably won't happen
again. I don't want to scare you Jonah..."
"It's okay... I'd ... I'd rather hear the truth than have it sugar coated."
"How about breakfast? We can talk over some cereal." Sean stood and
reached out his hand for me to take. I took his hand and he pulled me
easily off the couch.
The kitchen was just as odd as the living room; everything was built
with rough red wood, the table, chairs, cabinets and counter, all
wood. I sat down at the table while Sean grabbed the bowls, milk and
cereal.
"So where does your mother work?" He asked joining me at the table,
with two bowls spilling over with Corn Flakes.
"At Café Archer." I said with a mouthful of cereal.
"Your mother..." Sean played with his spoon, as if he was thinking too
hard to eat. " There is a loneliness that people fear... never finding
love or losing love, it's the most painful experience we face. I think
your mother is afraid that this Greg is her last chance for love..."
"But I love her!" I almost screamed.
"Yes... yes you do and she knows that. But there is a different kind of
love that your mother desires."
"And Greg is going to give her this kind of love? Look Sean..." I was
getting mad, Mom didn't want love, she had plenty of that from me. "I
know about sex... she's looking for sex."
Sean frowned and shook his head. "There's sex, yes, but there is also
more. Maybe your mother wants someone she can talk to... I know you guys
talk. But something like we are doing now, talking about what's
bothering you."
I puckered up my lips as I thought on what Sean was saying. "I can see
that, there's a lot of things I don't want to talk to Mom about, I
never thought she'd be the same way. But why does it have to be Greg?
He's an asshole." I shocked myself by cussing in front of Sean, but
that was the only word that described Greg correctly.
"He could be the only person to give your mother some attention or
maybe she's attracted to him... sexually."
"That's just gross... I can't imagine my Mom having sex." I made a face,
but quickly laughed.
"Sex is such a powerful force. It makes you weak and strong all at the
same time. It can make smart men dumb and dumb men smart." Sean wasn't
talking to me, he seemed to have slipped into a trance. "No one is
immune to its spell, no matter how strong you think you are... it saps
your strength..." His voice grew weak and he quickly shook away his
trance.
"Have you been in love before?" I asked quietly.
"I've had sex... many times, but I've never loved anyone." He said
hastily. "What about you?"
I thought about the question, was a little shocked that he had asked
it, but it was only fair, since I had been so bold with my
question. "No one yet... I did jerk off a friend yesterday...is that
considered sex?"
Sean's mouth dropped open and I cringed at my audacity. Sean recovered
swiftly and laughed. "You astound me little man." He said leaning back
in his chair. "That is something I could never tell anyone, I'm
honored that you trust me enough to tell me that."
 I did trust him; I loved telling him something so secret, something I
would never tell anyone else.
"I've never had anyone in my life I thought I could tell everything
to." Sean said sadly.
"You can talk to me." I grinned.
"Yes I can. Thank you for that Jonah. So are you feeling any better?"
He asked picking up our empty bowls.
"I still don't want to play football with Greg." I mumbled.
"My father once made me sing in front of this large crowd... I tried so
hard to get out of it, that for punishment, I had to sing an extra
song." Sean sat back down at the table and looked out the window. "I
didn't want to sing, I hate everything about singing. But it was my
father's dream that I... would become a singer."
"What happened?" I asked.
"I sang every note out of tune. He was mad at me for a month... but I
never had to sing again."
"So all I have to do is play as badly as I can with Greg... shouldn't be
too hard, I really suck at football."
"I hope I've help a little Jonah, I want you to keep me informed on
what's going on, with you Mom." He got a serious look on his face,
which let me know how concerned he was.
"I'm sorry we didn't get to swim today." I said feeling suddenly
bashful. I never had anyone worried for me, it was embarrassing, but
in a good way.
"No problem, there is always tomorrow and the next tomorrow." Sean
smiled.
"Yeah I guess, I like our swims together." I said frowning, that
wasn't exactly right. "I think I like sitting on the Plank and talking
more."
"Well here we are talking, so apparently everything has worked out
fine." Sean crossed his legs and grinned. "I have to admit, I didn't
show up every morning for the swim."
I laughed hard and almost fell out of my chair.
"Come on, let's go back to the living room." Sean chuckled and led me
back into the cowboy room. I yawned loudly, mostly faked, but I was
tired from my sleepless night.
"I think someone needs a nap." He said as we sat down on the couch.
"You know this isn't the same as the lake." I yawned again.
"Are we missing the water or perhaps the sky above?" Sean asked
wrapping his arm around my shoulders.
"It's not that... it's nothing." I said sliding down to rest my head in
his lap. I wanted to see my Tarzan, but I didn't know how to ask Sean
to get naked.
 Sean placed his hand on my hip, pushing a finger under my shirt to
rub across my stomach. I sighed heavily, rolled onto my back, and
looked up at Sean.
"What do you dream about?" I asked him quietly.
"I have many dreams." Sean said looking around the room. "This house
wasn't one of them. But... you... you are one of my dreams."
"Me? Really, you've dreamed of me?"
"In my dreams, I never saw the face of the boy, but here you are and I
know it was meant to be." Sean leaned down and kissed my forehead. I
melted like butter, that simple kiss opened my heart to emotions I'd
never known before. Was it too bold for me to tell Sean that I loved
him? I didn't want to scare him off, but I knew I would tell him. Love
is such a powerful, stout word, so all I could say was; "You are my
Tarzan."
Sean seemed to understand the meaning of my words; he kissed me again
on my forehead. We didn't say much after that, I closed my but didn't
sleep. Sean had his hand inside my shirt and stroked my chest and
stomach tenderly.
I'm not sure how long we were there, an hour or several hours, but
when Sean removed his hand from my shirt, I knew it hadn't been long
enough.
"I'm sorry little man, but I've got some business to attend to." Sean
said sadly.
"That's okay." I frowned and sat up.
"Tomorrow?" Sean said lovingly as we walked to the door.
"And the next tomorrow." I said grinning. "See you later Tarzan."
"See you later Little Man."
I ran down path that lead to Slinger Lake. I hated leaving Sean, I
felt safe there with him. He had helped me deal with my problem with
Mom and Greg, but it didn't end my fear. I really didn't want to see
Greg again, but I knew that was impossible. I slowly walked the stoned
beach; recall my time with Sean here. I could see us on the Plank
together and that made me feel stronger. I was about to head home when
Mark jumped from behind a tree.
"Where you been?" Mark asked, though the tone of his voice told me it
wasn't really a question.
"Around." I said awkwardly.
"Yeah... well... I saw you come out of the Macnee house, Jonah. Who's that
guy?" Mark seemed mad. He kicked at a pebble as he waited for me to
speak.
"I was visiting a friend there, Mr. Ponca. He lives in the Macnee
house now." I hated sharing Sean with Mark, but I knew it was useless
to lie.
"I didn't know anyone bought that freaky house." Mark shivered the
thought of the Macnee house scared him.
"It's really a nice house inside, not spooky at all." I said proudly
having gone somewhere where Mark would have never gone.
"I still say that place is haunted." Mark shivered again. "So Jonah...
you want to go swimming?"
"Not really."
"We could go to the Dragon's Lair if you want." Mark said smiling
sheepishly.
"I don't know Mark..."
"You know..." He shifted his feet nervously. "I really enjoyed what we
did yesterday." Mark was whispering now. "I was wondering if maybe...
maybe we could try it again."
I grimaced at the thought of Mark violently jerking on my penis. "I'm
not sure Mark."
"Please, Jonah... I really want to...Please?" He begged.
"Mark you were kind of rough last time." I said shyly, hoping I didn't
hurt his feelings.
"Oh... I can do better I promise." He grinned foolishly.
"Okay I guess we can, but not in the tree house." I walked into the
woods, shaking my head at how easily I had given in to Mark's
whining. "We can do it over here."
Mark already had his shorts pulled off by the time I turned around.
"This is great." He said excitedly, reached over, and unzipped my
shorts. My shorts and underwear were down around my ankles before I
could think. Mark squeezed my limp penis and moaned. "Isn't this fun?"
"A little easier there, please." I said trying to smile. Mark yanked
harder and I yelped.
"Sorry... sorry." He giggled and eased his hold on my penis. Once I felt
that my penis was somewhat safe, I started stroking Mark's erection.
"Oh yeah...that's good." Mark moaned and with his free hand, he rubbed
my thigh. "Would it be neat if we could live together?" Mark
whispered.
"Yeah, I guess that would be neat." It was hard to talk, I was
concentrating on jerking off Mark and worrying about my penis, I had
no time for conversation. Mark surprised me with a wet sloppy kiss on
my lips. "What... what are you doing?"
"We have to kiss... it's all part of the love making." Mark smirked at
my apparent ignorance.
"This isn't really love making Mark." I laughed. "We're just giving
each other hand jobs."
Mark released my penis and stared at me, worry shaping his face. "But
we're in love, right?"
"Love? Are you kidding?" I started to laugh at his joke, but it hit me
quickly that Mark wasn't playing with me. "Mark... we're friends... us
jerking off doesn't make us lovers."
"Let go of me." Mark screamed and I pulled my hand quickly away from
his erection. He pulled up his shorts and dashed off into the woods.
"Mark! Mark wait... Mark!" I yelled, but Mark wasn't listening. "Double
hockey sticks." I cursed. I was in shock, Mark loved me? It was all I
needed, another complication to add to my already complicated life.