Date: Fri, 22 Apr 2016 03:40:59 +0000
From: David Lee <dlee169@hotmail.com>
Subject: Chance Encounter, Chapter 4

Chance Encounter,
Chapter 4


Gavin emerged from his room about 10:00 a.m. looking thin and vulnerable in
a pair of ragged underwear that had once been tighty-whities, probably when
he was a couple of years younger.  He certainly filled them out well for a
boy of 14.

"Sorry, I didn't think anyone would be home," he squeaked, holding his
hands in front of his crotch.

"Nothing to be sorry about," I grinned.  "Chance and I walk around in
things like that, or less, most of the time."

"Yeah, but you're lovers, and I'm a stupid kid."

"Please don't refer to yourself as stupid!  People who say things like that
a lot are likely to start believing them.

Have a seat and tell me what sounds good for breakfast.  I think I need to
fatten you up a bit this summer.  How about some eggs, pancakes, and
sausage?"

"Cereal is okay."

"Don't you like those other things?"

"I don't want you to go to a lot of trouble."

"It's not a lot of trouble.  We'll get on it right away.  Here's the
pancake mix," I said, pulling a box from the panty.  "The oil is on the
next shelf up, and the measuring cups are in the cupboard to the right.
Obviously, you'll find the eggs and milk in the fridge.  I'm sure you can
read the direction and make the batter while I start the sausage.  Oh, be
careful not to over-beat the batter.  Small lumps make them lighter."

Gavin pitched in and soon lost his self-consciousness about his state of
undress.  He seemed pleased to be trusted to help with the cooking, and
smiled with satisfaction when he took the first bite a few minutes later.

"These are good!"  he exclaimed.  "I never got to cook much even when I was
left alone.  There wasn't much food in the house, and I ate a lot of cereal
when we could get it from the county food bank."

"I take it that times were a bit lean." I commented.

"Awful," he responded.  "We could have scraped by on what she made, but she
lost a lot at the casino, and on smoking and drinking with the worthless
scumbags she brought home.  They'd be in her room rocking the bed half the
night, but they were usually gone in the morning.  I guess she earned
enough on her back to help pay off some of her gambling debts."

"Not a great environment," I sighed.

"It got worse.  When she figured out I was gay, she said she was going to
sell mouth and my ass.  I shoved my bed against the door the last few
nights so she couldn't make good on her threat."

"You didn't get used did you?" I asked with concern.

"No, thank the Lord!"

"If she wanted to make money off your body, why did she try to send you to
a place that said they could turn you straight?"

"That was my grandmother's idea.  She promised to leave everything to my
mother instead of her church if my mother would get me help to cure my
`sinful' condition.  Grandma isn't' loaded, but she's comfortable."

"Lord have mercy!" I exclaimed.

"I guess He has had mercy because He sent you to rescue me." Gavin grinned
at his twist of phrase.

"How did your mother find Chance?"

"She didn't.  I did it on the computer at the library.  It was my only
hope.  I used White Pages and put in his full name and age.  Chance Edwin
Monroe, age 24 isn't a common combination."

"I'm thankful it isn't!" I agreed. "We're happy to have you."

"Can I use the washer and dryer?  My clothes haven't been clean for a while
since ours died," he asked, changing the subject.

"Of course, help yourself.  I assume you know how to run it."

"Who do you think did the laundry when it got done?  Um, don't you have to
work today?"

"Sure, I'll be in my office down the hall.  How about we take a trip to
Walmart to replace some of your clothes after lunch?  I suspect you might
want to have underwear that fits."

"What you don't like seeing my dick through the holes in the cloth?" Gavin
snickered.

"That's no problem; in fact, it's a pleasant sight.  I'm concerned that
your boys might get strangled if you sit wrong, and you certainly don't
want them suffering!"

Gavin laughed heartily for the first time since I'd met him.  He seemed
amused that I bantered back after he'd taken a stab at embarrassing me.

----------

Gavin put on what was evidently the best shorts and shirt he had for
summer-wear before we went shopping.  With a pair of ratty gym shoes and no
socks, he looked like a fairly typical teenager, though a bit worse for
wear.  He smelled good, however.  His clothes were freshly laundered and
he'd applied a healthy amount of deodorant.  I'd have to let him pick out a
big size of whatever scent appealed to him.  I would try to steer him away
from the stronger scents, like Axe, which made my eyes water in the locker
room when some guys hosed themselves down with it.

It was interesting to watch him choose clothes to purchase.  He checked the
tags, selecting only things that weren't too pricey.  I had to insist on
buying some things that he really wanted but thought were too expensive.

When it came to underwear, I suggested we go to Target because they had a
number of fashion briefs and boxers by 2Xist – some in camo print and
others with superheroes.  I knew those were all the rage among the younger
set at the gym.

While at Target, Gavin spied some leftover winter things on the sale racks
and suggested we purchase a few because they were so cheap and would cost a
lot more in the fall.  I encouraged him to buy anything he thought looked
good enough to be seen in, not because I couldn't afford to buy him the
world, but because I wanted to let him know I appreciated his careful
spending habits.

I also suggested he buy a winter coat which was roomy enough to fit a
slightly larger kid because I intended to put a little more meat on his
bones in the next few months.  I wanted him to gain weight in the form of
muscle, instead of fat, from a healthy diet and exercise.  Either way, I
knew he was bound to grow before cold weather.  If he didn't fill out a
lot, he could always wear a sweater under the coat so it didn't look too
baggy.

We replaced nearly his whole wardrobe for less than $400 including new
sneakers and waterproof sandals from a discount shoe store in the strip
mall near Target.  When we got home, I set him to sorting his old things
into three piles, choosing which of them to send to Goodwill, which he
could wear still, and which should become cleaning rags.  About half of
them ended up in the latter category.

A little later in the afternoon when I suggested we might go for a short
run on the local biking and jogging trail for a bit of fresh air and
exercise, it hit me that we hadn't purchased any gym clothes for him.  He
said he could run in a pair of shorts he'd made from cutting the legs off
of high-water jeans; and that is what he did.

It was great for me to have company.  I occasionally ran or biked on the
trail that conveniently passed about 30 yards behind the condo complex.  It
helped me to relax in mind and body, especially if I'd either missed going
to the gym or had a particularly stressful morning.

I began to think about adding him to our "family" gym membership and
finding him a bike to ride as well.  It wasn't that he was in danger of
becoming obese like some of his contemporaries, but it would be important
for him to develop healthy habits.  He could benefit from having an outlet
for the extra energy which most pubescent teens seem to have.

We conversed easily as we jogged along.  I had the feeling that he could
have left me in the dust in a real race, but he seemed content to match his
pace with mine.

It was entertaining to watch him observe others on the trail.  He never
missed checking out the hot guys we met, whether they were riding or on
foot.  I teased him after we'd encountered a cutie about his age.

"Hmm, that looks like boyfriend material to me!" I exclaimed.

He blushed, but quickly turned the teasing back on me.

"I thought you were going to marry Chance!  Don't tell me you've changed
your mind."

"You know he wouldn't be a boyfriend for me.  He's jail-bait, but he'd be
ideal for you.  I'll bet you're the same age.  Maybe you should plan to run
every day about this time so you could meet and get acquainted."

"Jeez Matt, are you pimping for me?"

"Not really; I simply think it would be nice if you could make some
friends, gay or straight, your own age so you won't be stuck with a couple
of old guys all the time."

"It's okay.  I don't feel like you guys are old, and I didn't have any real
buds at home.  The better class of kids didn't usually want to hang with us
po' folk, and I didn't want to get mixed up with the dirts.  Most of them
were either high on weed or stupid from too much beer."

"So what did you do with your time?"

"I went to the library a lot and either read or messed around on a
computer.  You can travel the world with the click of a few buttons.  It
helps to escape..."

"Boy am I dense," I said, slapping my forehead.  "I must have three old
laptops that are still usable to some degree.  We have wireless, of course.
I can fix you up with something that will allow you to go on a world tour
anytime you want to.  Let's get you set up when we get home."

We turned around shortly after that because I could see he was excited
about having access to the web.  As we got nearly halfway there, we again
met the cutie we'd seen awhile ago.  This time the boy greeted us with a
wave and Gavin returned his gesture.  I smirked at him and earned myself a
swat on the butt.  When he turned around to check out the retreating
figure, I looked too.  To my amusement, the other boy was doing the same.

"Son, we're going back to Target to find you something sexier than these
cut-offs for your run tomorrow.  I think you're getting a nibble."

"M-a-a-t-t," he exclaimed.

"Just go with it, Gavin."

He grinned all the way back to the condo.

----------

In the evening after dinner, all three of us went out shopping.  Chance
drove this time, and he insisted that he would buy Gavin's gym clothes.  I
didn't argue with him.  I knew he needed to do some of those things for the
sake of his masculine pride.

Gavin modeled both of his new outfits for us when we got home.  He looked
like a stud in them and his smile was certainly an appropriate reward for
his brother's expenditure.

Then Gavin retreated to his room to play with the old laptop I'd
resurrected.  When I went in later to see if he wanted popcorn for a snack,
he blushed and hastily turned the machine off.  I realized I should have
knocked before invading his privacy.

>From the prominent bulge in his shorts, I suspected he'd been surfing in
places that were intended for adults.  I didn't inquire or give him a
lecture on what kind of sites he should avoid.  It's always been my
contention that boys who are old enough to have a patch of pubes are old
enough to use adult sites to further their education – as long as they
don't get hooked by a pedophile in a chatroom.

He joined Chance and me for popcorn and opened up a bit more about what his
life had been like.  It was all pretty dismal and something we hated to
hear, but something he needed to talk about in order to purge them from his
memory, I guess.

"Why did our mother assume that I could have made you gay?" Chance frowned.
"I'd been thrown out long before you hit puberty, and you know I never did
anything improper with you."

"I'm sorry; I let her think that, I guess," Gavin said studying the pattern
on the kitchen tile.  "You see when she discovered an old magazine with
pictures of naked boys in my dresser, I told her I'd found it in your
closet and was curious to see if I was as mature as they were.  She made
the assumption that you'd left it somewhere and that it was your fault.  I
was afraid to admit that I'd dug it out of the trash behind the Adult Shop.
Then she'd know I hung around there sometimes hoping to find a horny young
guy to mess around with.  I never found one, by the way.  Mostly I found
dirty old men who wanted to suck me off.  I never let them, honest."

"I'm glad that she thought I was responsible," Chance said with passion.
"Otherwise, she probably wouldn't have tried to call me.  I'm also thankful
for my somewhat unusual name, for the White Pages, and for a little bro who
was smart enough to track me down!"

The brothers hugged in a display of genuine love that was awesome to see.
It was also very cool that both of them hugged me as well.  We were already
becoming a family.

----------

The following afternoon, I made sure that Gavin and I ran on the trail at
the exact time we had the day before.  As I suspected, we saw the same boy
heading in our direction.  There was a tiny park with benches, restrooms,
and a couple of swings located nearby, so I jogged over to it, saying that
I needed a break.  Gavin grinned widely and lightly punched my shoulder
because he knew what I was up to.  He followed me, and we reached a bench
about the time the cutie got to that point on the trail.  He evidently used
the excuse, of needing a break, to join us, stopping at the water fountain
and then walking our way.

"Hi, my name is Seth, Seth Kipps.  My friends call me Kip or Kipper.  I
don't recall seeing you in the neighborhood until yesterday."

"I'm Gavin Monroe, and this is my housemate, Matt.  I just moved in a
couple of days ago."

"Oh, are you two, um, like together?"

"No way!" I laughed.  "I'd be put in jail if we were `together' as you
phrased it.  This guy is like my little brother."

"That's cool."

I walked over to the drinking fountain to leave them alone to get
acquainted.  While I was there, a toddler grabbed my leg and said "UP" as
he reached out his arm.

"Corbin, leave the gentleman alone!" called a man with a frisky Shih Tzu on
a leash.

"Is it okay if I pick him up?" I asked.

"Sure, but I don't want to get onto the habit of annoying strangers."

"Maybe I shouldn't have picked him up.  Since he's so outgoing, someone
might carry him off," I said as the little boy hugged me around the neck.

"My husband and I are trying to teach him not to speak to strangers when
we're not around, but that's difficult to get across because we or our
housekeeper or her grandsons are always with him, so he has no fear."

"So, what's it like being married to another guy, if I may ask?"

"Great!" he said without a trace of hesitancy or rancor.  "Do you have a
particular interest in the subject?"

"I'm nudging my boyfriend toward the altar, and I think he may give in
pretty soon.  We've known each other for almost a year, and lived together
for a lot of it.  I'm ready to make it permanent."

"We were in a similar situation, but felt we should wait until a respectful
time after my wife's death."

"That must have been tough in a number of ways," I empathized.

"Yeah, it was like going on a rollercoaster ride blindfolded.  My son
Corbin was born, my wife Sarah died shortly after, and I had already fallen
in love with Michael.  So, you have joy, grief, love, and frustration all
boiling in a witch's cauldron at the same time.  Toss in buying and selling
property and taking in a teenager and his little brother, and you have a
real drama."

"But it worked out..."

"More wonderfully than I could ever tell.  We're a happy family!"

"We have a teen in our mix too," I said, tilting my head toward Gavin.
"He's the one in the neon green shirt and black shorts."

"He's a cute kid.  Is he related to you?"

"He's my boyfriend's little brother and their mother threw him out recently
because he's gay."

"That other kid must be his boyfriend then?"

"Nope, they've just met, but from the way their sizing each other up, I
suspect that could become a reality in the future."

"So, if I'm not being too nosey, do you have legal guardianship of him?"

"We just got him a few days ago, and don't have papers, if that's what you
mean."

"You really need to do that so you can enroll him in school and all.  I'm
not trying to drum up business for my husband, but you really should have a
lawyer handle it."

"Do you have one on his business cards?"

"I don't, but he's Michael Day with Gladbrook and Day.  He's now a senior
partner,"

"I'm familiar with that firm.  They handled my parents' estate.  I thought
his name was Thomas."

"Thomas WAS the senior partner.  Michael is his son."

"Oh, I remember him!  He was a really cute boy in law school when I saw him
last.  If he's still as hot as he was, you're a very lucky man."

"He is, and I am.  By the way, my name is Landon."

"I'm Matt.  Nice to meet you, Landon."

"While we're on the subject of papers Matt, you really should have
documents to protect you and your boyfriend in case of an emergency if you
don't already.  Michael and I got those even before we were married.  It
couldn't hurt!"

We could have conversed longer, but Corbin and the dog were antsy to move
on, so we bade each other adieu, saying that we hoped to meet again.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Author's notes: Thanks to: Wayne, Jim W, Barry J, Dick M, Jeremy R, Geoff
S, Stanley B, John S, Bill K, John L, John W, Tom A, Larry S, Hotrod, Ryan
H, Don S, Zero, Ott H, Roger L, Walt S, Peter M, Mendy D, and Terry A who
emailed this past week.  Your kind notes keep me going?

You'll notice some new names on the list.  I've never kept a count of all
who've responded, but I know it's a lot.  Some of you have followed my
stories for years.

Thanks to my editors for catching my typos, and to Nifty for providing this
venue.  Send them a donation once in a while if you can.

Peace and love,

David