Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2016 02:57:41 +0000
From: David Lee <dlee169@hotmail.com>
Subject: Forbidden Fruit, Chapter 2

Forbidden Fruit, Chapter 2


By David Lee © 2016


Twelve students and their sponsor took about a 15-mile round-trip stint on
a nearly deserted road for their first cycling club ride on a Sunday
afternoon.  Several could have gone twice the distance, but a few were very
happy when they got back to the school grounds again.  To the person, they
expressed their thanks to Michael for the good time they'd had.

"Um, Grandma wants to know if you'll join us for supper," Joe said when
they were alone again.  "She makes awesome fajitas!"

"Should I call her on my cell to let her know?"

"YES!"

----------

Maria's fajitas were, hands-down, the best Michael had ever tasted, and he
told her so.  Her refried beans were to die for!  The rice was superb too.
She beamed when he complimented her on her cooking.

"My beans are probably to die OF; they should come with a hazard warning,"
she joked.  "My mother taught me to use real lard because they don't taste
right if you do them in a vegetable shortening."

"I'm sure that amount of animal fat won't kill me.  Besides, I've heard
that some of the substitutes are harder on our bodies than the natural
stuff."

Their dinner was completed with vanilla ice cream and sopapillas.  Michael
sat back and patted his stomach at the end of the meal.

"If I ate like this all the time, I'd have to ride 15 miles every day just
to keep from turning into a blimp!"

"You're so trim; I could feed you things like this all the time and you'd
never show it," Maria laughed.

----------

Michael would enjoy dinners with Joe and his grandmother several more times
during the summer.  He hadn't planned to be a regular guest, but he found
himself in the position of tutoring Joe in preparation for taking the ACT
exams and, since she couldn't pay him, Maria used her home cooking as a way
to thank him for his extra work.

Joe had always assumed that college would be out of his reach, even though
his grades were high.  His family wasn't even close to the middle-income
range.  However, Michael convinced him that there was aid-money available
for people who applied for it.

"You have all the qualities the scholarship committees are looking for in a
poster-boy for their organizations.  You're smart, good-looking, clean,
honest, trustworthy – the whole nine yards."

"But, maybe I'm not loyal and brave," Joe giggled.

"You're those things too.  I think you could be an Eagle without even
joining the Scouts."

"If you think I could get a college education, I'll work my butt off to
make it happen!"

"Ah, there's another quality if forgot to mention, dedication!"

----------

After a few sessions of working with Joe, Michael thought he should open it
up to others who would be seniors next year and who might have aspirations
of getting a college degree.  It would look good on Michael's vitae sheet,
and he could avoid the appearance of favoring one particular boy.

Reaching all of the prospective kids turned out to be a chore because most
families didn't have Internet connections.  The few who did, could use
online tutoring services if they wished to.  Most of the rest didn't have
the interest.

Michael ended up with two students in addition to Joe.  Peter and John were
eager, but their grades weren't as high as Joe's.  However, the coach was
bound to do what he could for them as well.  He was happy to have them
because people might question the respectability of being alone in his
apartment with a solitary boy.  Ever since the Jerry Sandusky scandal,
adult males working with boys had come under additional scrutiny.

The small table in Michael's kitchen became their workstation most days.
Maria would have offered her house, but she usually had little ones to
babysit.  Daycare was her way of making ends meet.

If a session ran longer than anticipated, the young coach would feed them
lunch or give them a snack, depending on the time of day they worked.  All
of that was on his dime, but the boys began to bring things like fruit or
cheese and crackers to share.  They may not have been rich, but their
families had their pride.

Sometimes when they needed a break from their intense studies, the four of
them would go for a short bike ride.  Seeing them out having fun, made some
of the other kids, who'd turned down the tutoring offer, feel a bit
jealous.  They had assumed it would be all work and no play.

----------

When Michael administered practice tests in late July, all three of the
boys scored above average, but Joe was in the 99th percentile.  His
off-the-charts score was an indication that the instrument wasn't measuring
his true ability.  Michael was probably even more ecstatic than Joe was!

Michael was also busy with his own educational pursuit, taking an online
class.  Somewhere in the midst of helping these kids, he'd had an epiphany.
He decided to begin a masters' program in counseling.  He had taken almost
enough hours in the area for a minor in his undergrad years.  It wouldn't
require a lot of additional coursework for him to move in that direction.
Helping kids find their futures excited him more than anything in his
current field of history.  "Let the dead bury their dead," was an old
biblical saying that rang in his head.

Because of all of the online classes the university offered in that field,
Michael could get his Masters within a couple of years.  He thought that he
should wait to complete the program until he decided if he would remain
where he was, or possibly apply to teach in a larger district.  One of his
advisors suggested he might stand a better chance of being hired with a BA+
rather than with an MA.  She said that while districts loved touting all of
their teachers with post-graduate degrees, they were reticent to hire
people at that level because of the extra money they'd have to pay.  Once
he had the job, he could finish and move up the salary scale.  Hypocrisy
reigns in many circles.

----------

Seeing how well his charges had done on the practice test, Michael arranged
for all three of them to take the real exam in late August.  He covered the
modest fees out of his own pocket without telling them.

If they scored well, they could begin the application process to a college
or university.  If they didn't show up reasonably high, they would have
another chance at testing later in the school year.  They might set their
sights on junior college in the meantime.  Either way, Joe, Peter, and John
were enthusiastic about continuing their education past high school.  In
each case, they would be the first in their family to go that far.

----------

Michael encouraged Joe to send letters of inquiry to several schools,
including Iowa State, his alma mater, even before he had his official ACT
results.

"You're a good athlete.  It doesn't hurt to have coaches looking at you
early.  I can give you an excellent recommendation.  My word might not
carry weight at some of those places, but I know it will at ISU.  I keep in
contact with my former coaches there."

"That would be awesome, but it's quite a distance from here.  I don't want
to be that far from Grandma and, um, you."

"If you can get a good scholarship, you'll need to suck it up and do what
you have to do.  You're mature enough to make it without seeing us daily.
With Skype and all, we can keep in touch."

"But it won't be the same."

"That's for sure, but we all have to make a few sacrifices along the way.
That's the harsh reality of adulthood!"

"Maybe I want to stay a boy then."

"I'm afraid life doesn't give you that option either."

----------

Just before Joe's 17th birthday, a life insurance check came in the mail.
He was the sole beneficiary of a policy his mother's employer had taken out
on her many years ago.  The value of it was only $10,000, but that seemed
like a fortune to Joe.

He discussed it with Michael and Grandma over the dinner she had prepared
to celebrate his practice test results.

"I could do a lot of good with this!  I could pay off your house, and maybe
get us a better car."

"These are temporary things that will depreciate.  Your education will have
a far greater payoff in the future.  You need to save it for college,"
Maria insisted.  "Even if you get a full-ride, there are lots of additional
expenses.  I can keep up the payments on this place, and the car should
last awhile since it's been fixed recently."

"If you want my input," Michael said, "I'd put most of it in a trust fund
for a year of two.  You might get better aid money if you don't look like
you have a lot.  Given tuition fees these days, that amount would evaporate
like a water drop on a hot skillet."

"I thought the saying was, `like spit on a griddle,' but you're politer
than I am," Maria laughed.

----------

Michael drove his three summer students to the community college campus 30
miles away to take the ACT's.  On the way, he treated them to a second
breakfast at McDonald's to boost their energy.  All of them had egg and
sausage biscuits.  None forgot to thank him.

When the results came back a few weeks later, all three were pleased.  Soon
after that, the letters from colleges and universities began to pour in.

Peter and John scored high enough to receive letters of acceptance from
several schools.  Most included some scholarship money.  Based on his test
scores and his athletic ability, Joe could have a free-ride at Iowa state.
He really had no choice but to go there if he wanted to graduate debt-free.
It was a dream come true!  He still hated to be parted from Grandma and
Michael – especially Michael.

----------

Maria hosted a small birthday party for Joe just after school started.  The
guests were John, Peter, and Michael.  They all brought small gifts which
were things that Joe would find helpful in college – highlighters, pens,
and notebooks.

Probably, the latter would rarely be used once Joe bought the laptop he'd
been yearning for.  Maria and Michael both thought it would be a good use
for a little of the life insurance money he'd received.

Joe decided that he'd think of it as a gift from his mother for his 17th
birthday.  He would be among about 10% in his class to own one.  He
wouldn't flaunt it but he would use it at home to type up his papers, and
sometimes at school when he wanted to get on the Internet and there wasn't
a computer free.  Occasionally, he would go to Michael's apartment to use
his wireless connection.  In those instances, Michael always made sure
Maria came too.

----------

In addition to cross-country, Joe and a few others rode their bikes
together with Michael at times.  There wasn't a lot of leisure for Joe
since he was still working a few hours at the farm like he'd done between
tutoring sessions in the summer.

Farmer Bob had been very good about working around Joe's schedule.  Much as
he would like to have had the boy there 10 hours a day, he felt that Joe
would have a brighter future if he could continue his education in college.
So many of the kids in the community didn't have the drive or the
opportunity.

To make up for Joe's absences, he hired a couple of other boys.  It seemed
to him that it took two of them to do what Joe could do by himself!

----------

Another school year was off to a fast start.  There was no tradition of
homecoming activities because there was no football team.  However, two of
the churches got together to sponsor a Halloween dance for the kids.  They
liked the idea of providing a constructive activity to help curtail the
pranks that sometimes accompanied the night.

Michael got drafted into helping as a chaperone for the occasion.  He
really didn't mind, though it took up an evening which he might have used
for coursework.  Since he was known, and respected, by about every kid in
the high school, he didn't have to act like the "bad cop" to get them to
behave.

Joe was a good dancer because he had a natural sense of rhythm, and `his
Grandma Isabel had taught him the basic ballroom steps when he was little.
Michael encouraged him to attend the party even though he didn't have a
date.

He spread himself around among the girls so that none of them would feel
like he was ready to be anyone's boyfriend.

When one cutie subtly let him know he could take her to bed, he reminded
her that he was college-bound, and wasn't going to let anything or anyone
sidetrack him from his goal.  She was miffed, but didn't make an issue of
it.  If she had, it would make her look like a slut.

Joe was happy that he had an excuse so that he didn't have to hurt her
feelings by telling her the truth.  She didn't turn him on at all.

----------

Michael went to be with his family again for Christmas.  Instead of staying
there the full time, or going to Chicago (though Jonah had wanted him to
come since he'd kicked Clive to the curb), he went back to his apartment on
the 29th of December.  No one was happier with that situation than Joe.  He
found several reasons to come over, and he asked his grandmother to invite
Michael for meals.

Michael agreed to eat with them, but only if he could bring something to
share.  In fact, one night he drove the roundtrip to Springfield to get
Chinese carryout.  He packed it in his cooler with a couple of bricks he'd
heated in the oven to keep it reasonably warm.

Maria and Joe loved Chinese food, and thought it was a real treat.

For another meal, he took them both to a new restaurant in the same town.
His guests blanched at the prices on the menu, but he told them he was
using money that his family had given him for Christmas.

-----------

Winter passed quickly for Michael.  He was registered for two online
classes which took up a lot of his spare time.  Teaching was easier this
year because he had ideas and projects from the previous year that he could
recycle instead of starting from scratch.

Joe, John, and Peter were busy too.  Michael had assigned them a number of
books to read which weren't on the school's list of required classics.

He introduced them to "The Kite Runner" and "A Canticle for Leibowitz"
which he felt would help level the playing field when they were freshmen
next year.  He also recommended "A Tale of Two Cities" which wasn't taught
at Franklin.  They ended up having a mini book club at his place.

----------

Coach Bartacek's track team started off even better in his second year as
their leader.  An article extolling their success appeared on the front
page of the sports section of the Des Moines Register.  Joe's photogenic
body was included in it.

In turn, the story was picked up by the national news.  It came at a time
when the legislature was trying to agree to a compromise on school funding.
This human interest story of a small school's success helped to gain
support for more money for education, especially from the congressmen who
were originally straddling the fence on the issue.  In light of what was
happening in one of their poorer districts, they would look like pikers if
they stinted too much.

Despite the increase in spending, Franklin's days were numbered.  It would
likely have to consolidate with Springfield eventually, making for long bus
rides in the near future.

----------

One day in the locker room when the two of them were alone, Joe dawdled
about putting his clothes back on after showering.  Spring weather was
making him feel excessively horny.  He stood naked, as he and Michael
discussed the effects of national exposure for their team.  When he
languidly stretched, his beautiful uncut cock, which was nestled in a
luxuriant bush, began to swell.  It was a mouth-watering sight.

"I think you'd better get dressed," Michael suggested, nervously.

"I'm sorry, I thought you liked how my body is developing," Joe sighed.

"I do, more than I'm supposed to."

"Could you hold me like you did before – when Mom was so bad off?"

"I could, but I'd be in danger of losing my teaching license if anyone saw
me hugging a naked student.  I'd probably be fired from my job at the very
least."

"I can't be responsible for that," Joe smiled wanly.  "I guess it's enough
to know that you like me."

"I more than like you, Joe.  You're the light of my life.  I only pray that
you'll still want to be around me after you graduate and go away to
college.  There will be lots of hot young people and a number of them will
be interested in having a relationship with you.  I'm almost 24; I can't
compete."

"I've read some articles on Out Sports, and I know lots of couples are
further apart in age than we are.  I also can't imagine anyone being hotter
than you.  I admit being really horny, but what I feel for you is in here
(thumping his chest) and not just here (covering his groin).

Michael swallowed hard.  At the moment, he was very conflicted.  Joe and he
had admitted that their feelings were mutual, and Michael's body craved the
boy like never before.

To keep from doing what he dared not, he hurried to a toilet stall,
latching the door immediately.  He unbuckled and unzipped, pulling his
shorts down to his knees, and freeing his steely hardon from its
confinement.  Standing in front of the stool, he began to pleasure it
gently, the image of Joe's hot body seared into his mind.

Joe thought he knew what Michael was doing, and he had to find out for
sure.  He hastily threw on his briefs and jeans before he quietly entered
the stall next to the one Michael was in, standing on the seat to have a
good view.

He knew he shouldn't perve on his coach, but he was mesmerized by the scene
before him.  He couldn't take his eyes off the swollen beast with its
foreskin rhythmically covering and then exposing the purplish-pink head as
Michael thrust it into his fist.  This went on for a very short time
because he was consumed with desire.

Suddenly Michael's body stiffened as he shot his load, the first volley
hitting the wall behind the stool, and the rest falling into the water with
audible plopping sounds.  Watching it, Joe came in his underwear.

While Michael was wiping the residue off the wall with a piece of toilet
paper, Joe was seated with his jeans and underwear around his ankles,
cleaning up as best as he could.  He finished by stuffing a wad of tissue
in the crotch to soak up the rest so it wouldn't bleed through.

Joe sat there until his heart stopped pounding, and he heard the locker
room door close.  Only then, did he quit shaking enough to finish dressing
and leave.

In the hall, he found Michael waiting for him.

"Um, I'm sorry," Joe whispered, on the verge of tears.  "I don't' mean..."

"It's okay; we're cool," Michael said gently squeezing the nape of Joe's
neck.

In response, Joe leaned into him slightly.  Both of them would have loved
to have shared an embrace and a kiss, but they knew it wouldn't be the
proper thing to do.

Outside, they climbed on their bikes and rode to the end of the block where
they parted ways, Michael going to his apartment, and Joe heading for the
farm.  On the way, Joe daydreamed about a time in the future when an
encounter with Michael might have a different ending.

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

Author's notes: Thanks to all who responded to this new story.  The list
includes: Jim W, Ott H, Randy M, Jim P, John D, Dan B, Kris M, Ed H, Geoff
S, Charles G, Wayne, Vern, Joel R, Bill K, Tom A, Dick M, Bob O, Vince S,
Larry S, Robert L, Mendy D, Lawrence and Douglas, Chandra B, Jim V, and
Neal H.

Thanks for your encouragement, and thanks to those of you who donate to
help keep this free site available.

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Love and peace,

David