Date: Fri, 12 Jan 2001 09:54:33 -0800 (PST) From: Reid <saboteur_98155@yahoo.com> Subject: Took For Granted- Chapter 2 (gay male/celebrity/soulmating) ||||||||||||||||| || DISCLAIMER || ||||||||||||||||| This story is meant to imply nothing about the sexuality of the real people involved. Anything mentioned from this point on is purely fictional and not meant in any way but the highest regard. The lyrics used within are not meant to imply anything about the individual preferences, practices, or lifestyle choices any of the musical artists mentioned. The lyrics are not used for any personal monetary profit... If you have any objections to my writing, then why in the name of Jesus are you reading this? I know some of you might like Hanson but I don't buy the whole "I didn't know it was a GAY STORY!" defense. So shut up and don't send me any more hate mail you stupid, obesessed little Christian girls. As always.... Comments, Suggestions, and Criticisms can be sent to saboteur_98155@yahoo.com I'm trying hard to stay away from the "sophomore letdown" with my second story. I hope you're all liking it and eagerly anticipating further chapters. Or you can just enjoy it and that's fine too. WARNING!!! My stories contain mature themes and may project images or scenarios that are inappropriate for younger or sensative readers. I can be reached on ICQ at 70639912... Or on AIM at Reid00005992... Enjoy! |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| || Took For Granted- Chapter 2 || || By Reid || |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||| Try as I might, there was no way I could understand the whole TV phenomenon. God knows, I'd watched more than 10x my share of it and I'd be like a coke whore in withdrawal if I had to go more than a day without it. But there was just something about it that I didn't understand. There was just something about the "rules" that never really made any sense. If there were any rules, that is. It would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack if you wanted to actually see a written copy of these "rules" that the TV networks seemed to operate by. It didn't make much sense that good, quality shows like Oh Grow Up and My So Called Life got canceled and kicked to the curb while shows like The Facts of Life lasted nine years. Nine years. NINE years. At least that's what the E! Special said. It was supposedly a "Behind The Laughter" special but I always thought you needed actual laughter to go behind. But I was in no position to judge as I sat there, staring at the TV that Taylor had propped up in the doorway to his bedroom. We had staked out that spot and sat in the hallway in lawnchairs, with myself closest to Zac's room to listen for when he came out from under the sedatives. Dr. Bailey, and as much as I hated myself for it, I was starting to like him, had given Zac a powerful tranquilizer while his body recovered from the surgery. He was barely able to walk on his own. Zac had been sent home from the hospital right after the surgery because all he had to do was rest and they felt it would be better if he did his resting at home. When it came time for the post-op care instructions, I was still a little surprised when I was so willingly elected for the task. Promptly, the nurse handed me several sheets of care and cleaning guidelines that needed to be followed to the letter. According to one of the sheets, I was supposed to gradually remove the gauze as the feeling returned to his hands. The whole process was expected to take about two days to complete and once the bandages were gone, Zac's hands needed to be washed and the stitches needed to be cleaned thoroughly. Then reapply a light layer of gauze and go on about our business until the stitches came out on their own. It sounded fairly simple. They had also prescribed him Percocet which I had my share of experience with over the years. He had been given the first dosage at the hospital and as soon as we had gotten back to the house, all the moving around had gotten him nauseated. I felt like a parent when I held his hair back as he bent over the toilet and it gave me a rush, knowing that he needed me and knowing that I was helping him. He needed to lean on me as I gently guided him into his bedroom and tucked him in, watching as he curled into a ball and passed out into a medicated sleep. When I was safely secure that he was asleep, my body seemed to be hit with all the fatigue and stress that I'd been sort of blocking out for the past few days. The joints in my knees ached as I squatted there and eventually, they gave way and I fell back into a sitting position on the floor. As tired and worn out as I was, my body still felt a great sense of relief and I knew that, somehow, everything would work out. Worse people than Zac had recovered from more. That was hours ago. Now it was early evening and I was sitting in the hallway of a large house watching TV. I shifted in the lawnchair and the nylon crosshatched straps creaked and protested underneath me. The plastic arms had been digging into my elbows for quite some time and only now, did I take some sort of step to correct it. The show went to commercial and out of the corner of my eye, I saw Taylor put down the coffee cup. "Hey... I just want to ask you something. If it pisses you off or offends you, I'm sorry." I braced myself and turned to him, "Go ahead." "I know that Zac didn't meet you over the internet." Internally, I flinched and tried to cover my tracks but I realized it wasn't going to work, "Yeah... you're right." "You don't have to tell me because it isn't really my business but how did you guys really meet?" I knew exactly what he was talking about. Zac had told his family that he and I had been corresponding via email for the few months prior to our meeting and that we'd met up and fell in love like some story. It had worked with his parents and everyone else but I now knew that Taylor had figured it out, some how. I took a deep breath and rubbed my hands together, trying not to feel backed into a corner. "Reid, I'm not pissed and I'm not worried. It's pretty obvious that you're cool. I know that Zac couldn't have met you over the computer because he knows not to do that kind of thing. And I know that you didn't talk much to Zac before we met you because it took you some time to remember names and stuff. I'm just... I want to know what really happened." He said it with such respect that my defenses didn't fly up like they usually would. "It's an ugly story at first." "I think I'm mature enough to handle it." I rubbed my nose and thought about where to start, "All right. Zac and I first met in person on July 23rd and that was the night before you guys performed in Seattle. Earlier that day, I had found out that my dad had taken all my money away and left me poor. I used my last cash to take a bus to see my boss downtown but she couldn't help me and I was screwed pretty bad." "Wow." Taylor said and I could tell he felt bad. I left her office with nothing, basically. My apartment was a rattrap and I didn't have anything left so I'm walking down the sidewalk. I went past the theater and this was where you guys were performing but I didn't know that at the time. In the little garage type place next to it, there was tour bus and I jimmied the door open and went inside. I didn't know what I was going to do but I guess I had thought I was going to steal something or try and find money." "Did you take anything?" "No. I took about two steps inside and realized what a pathetic loser I was being. And I remember standing there and just realizing how wrong and how stupid it was for me to do that. So I turn around and walk out and as soon as my feet hit the pavement, I look up and Zac is standing there." Taylor nodded, and it was easy to explain to someone with an IQ over 30, "Then what happened?" "I told him that I didn't take anything and I was just going to leave. When I turned to go, he asked me to wait and started asking about where I was going and if I was going to be OK. I didn't know what he wanted me to say and I kept just saying 'whatever' and trying to leave until he offered to get me something to eat. I knew there wasn't going to be any food waiting for me elsewhere so I went with him to this pizza place and we talked and we went back to your hotel and talked some more and then I left that night." "I must not have seen you. That was when I had a sinus infection." "Yeah. I came back the next day and a couple hours before the concert, we kissed. He got all quiet and told me he didn't want 'it' to end and I said it didn't have to and... stuff happened. He convinced me to come back after the concert which I did and he asked me to come with you guys." Taylor smiled, "I was there when he asked if it was OK. Mom and dad told him no and he almost had a stroke. The way he talked about you was so serious that there really wasn't anything they could do but say yes." I realized that I wasn't going to be arrested or thrown out, "He made up the internet story to make it seem less 'harsh'. At least that's what he told me. Anyway, the day you guys left Seattle, he told me to wait in the hotel lobby and the next thing I knew, I was in the tour bus. It was like a dream." We were both silent for a while as we thought about my confession. My only concern was that I'd cast some sort of suspicion on myself in Taylor's case but he didn't seem to look at me with anything like that. The silence was quite comfortable as the show came back on and I took a drink of water. My throat had gotten that gummy feeling again but it wasn't so bad. Eventually, the silence was interrupted by one of the littlest ones, whichever one that always wore the Teletubbies pajamas, who ran up and gave Taylor a loud, wet kiss on the cheek. It made me smile. "Are we cool?" I asked and watched as he wiped his cheek off. "Yeah. We're cool. I just have one more thing." "Hmm?" "Were you ever going to leave today? I mean, did it ever really almost come to that?" "I thought about it. I thought about it several times. Even as I was going in there to see him, I thought about it and for a split second, I could see myself walking out the door and going back to where I came from. But then I realized how stupid that would be. Everything that means anything to me is here. I know that might sound corny but it's true." "That doesn't sound corny at all." My head rested back and I looked up at the ceiling, feeling more relaxed than I had in a long time. I felt self-sufficient. I was alive and I was dealing with my responsibilities and taking care of them. Tell that to my ass that's being molded by this lawnchair. And my poor elbows being tenderized by this plastic. Those were all trivial complaints, really. "Reid..." My mind didn't immediately realize that someone was saying my name until Taylor elbowed me. When my head fell forward and I looked around, he nodded his head towards Zac's room and without delay, I was out of the chair and on my way. The door had been cracked open just a bit and the room was getting darker as the evening began to take over the sky. Stepping carefully around the array of shirts and boots on the floor, I knelt down next to the bed. He had rolled over and I could only imagine how restless he must have felt. The first few minutes after a drugged up sleep were always just a bit uncomfortable. He groaned softly and tried to arrange himself securely in the bed. All I could do was help and make sure his hands weren't being stressed too much. I could hear the sound of him squirming against the covers as he grunted again and settled back, shaking his foot briskly trying to get the pins and needles out. "How do you feel?" I asked and gently moved a stray wisp of hair out of his face. Zac sighed and looked at me, "I'm itchy." "Awww... we can't have that." I said and lay down next to him on the mattress. "My knee is itchypoo." He said softly in his pouty voice. I reached down and gently scratched the knee he was indicating. He showed his gratitude with a dramatic shiver and a soft kiss on my chin. My hand slowly went up to the exposed strip of skin between his boxers and the dark blue tanktop he was wearing. His warm skin rose and fell under my hand and his breathing was slow and still a little medically subdued. There wasn't much else I could do for him except lay there and hold him and I could tell we were both looking at his hands. "You OK?" I asked and rested my cheek against his shoulder. "Yeah but... my hands don't work." It took me a second before I realized and tickled him gently, making him squirm and giggle softly. The whole situation was tough because there really wasn't any guidelines or prior experience that either of us could go on. He didn't know what was going to happen and neither did I. The only certain thing was that his hands were, at least for the time being, unusable. I could tell he was nervous... I was nervous too... but this wasn't about me. My inner-trance when I felt Zac set down one of his bandaged hands down on mine which was still on his stomach. "Plop." He said. "Can you feel anything yet?" I turned my hand over and held his gingerly. "My fingertips are kinda numb." Zac lifted up his other hand and set it down on his stomach. I leaned down and kissed his index fingertip, "Can you feel that?" He smiled, "Oh yeah." "Hungry?" "Fucking starving. I'd eat the ass out of a dead rhinoceros." For a second, I didn't register it but when I did, my body shuddered and I gagged softly. He giggled again and kissed the top of my head. The kid was only a few hours into his handless existence and he was already functioning romantically without them. I knew that as long as he knew he could gross me out, he'd be OK. My nose caught the scent of cooking coming from the kitchen and I could tell Zac smelled it too, and it couldn't have been helping his appetite. But when I tried to get up, he held onto me and I knew he wanted me to stay there a little longer... and that was just fine with me. * * * * * "Where's the other knife?" I asked, poking through the drawers in the kitchen. "Second drawer to your right." Mrs. Hanson said as she filled a sipper cup with juice. "Yes, ma'am." I said and pulled the small cutting knife out of the drawer and set it on the plate. "Reid, you can call me Diana." I looked up, "Have I earned that honor?" She laughed, "Yes, you have. You're taking care of my third born." It took some more searching, but I finally found the salt and gave the food a light sprinkling. She had been careful to not make anything that would assault Zac's stomach too heavily. Chicken, carrots, mashed potatoes, and salad. A nice, easily digestible home cooked dinner. Better than anything the hospital could have served. I had fixed a plate for Zac and hadn't even thought of what I was going to eat. I'd just finish off what Zac left behind, and that was unlikely as anything I'd ever heard in my life. "So is this going to help our awkwardness?" I asked, not looking up. "It already has." She said and looked for a utensil. "I know you aren't all that thrilled with me." "No, it's not that," She stopped and looked at me, "I do honestly believe that you and Zac truly do love each other and that he means what he says and that you mean what you say. I don't have any problems with you guys after what I've seen. But I do realize that it's an imperfect world we live in and that you and Zac face a lot of adversity, now more so than ever." "I know that. Believe me, I know that." I put down the salt shaker and paused. "I know you do. There's the part of me that sees in you guys what I felt when I met Walker. And then there's the other part that doesn't want my son to get hurt. At first, I didn't know what to think of you but I'm getting a pretty good idea now." She smiled. She was a very pretty woman, her protectiveness and caring nature was very calming and reassuring. "All I can do is keep going." It wasn't prose but it got my message across. "Better take that up. Zac might be gnawing on the wall by now." The scary thing was that if I didn't go up there real soon, he probably would be doing just that. After one last check to make sure everything was prepared nicely, I grabbed a Dr. Pepper from the fridge and went back up the stairs. The house wasn't quiet but whatever noise there was, was respectfully mild and non-obtrusive. The wildness had been confined to the first floor and once I got up the stairs, it was quiet. Taylor had moved the chairs and taken the TV back into his room, clearing the hallway and as I walked down, I noticed the soft creaking of the floorboards, which made me smile a little. Once I had backed into the room, Zac looked ready to pounce on me as I sat down and held the plate over my lap. It was a process we'd both need to get used to. Zac knew that for the time being, he couldn't have any real shame about being helped with things. He whined impatiently as I got out the fork and knife and sliced the chicken into small bite size pieces and I knew he wouldn't wait for me to slice anything else. The eager look on his face was adorable. I gently fed him bites of the chicken, not saying anything and not wanting him to feel any indignity about what we were doing. He didn't seem to have any problem with it and for someone expressive like Zac, it would be pretty easy to tell if he had a problem. Well, the only real problem was that I couldn't get the food to his mouth fast enough. He seemed ready to bury his face in the plate but thankfully, I managed to feed him enough. After making sure he was satisfied, I took a moment to open the Dr. Pepper and arrange a straw for him to drink out of. As he drank almost half the can, I took a few bites off the chicken bone. As I ate, I watched him and he seemed to already be operating quite well. It was like on those talk shows where they showed the people without any hands and how well they lived their lives. Zac already looked like he was adapting famously. "Ready for more?" "Yup." He settled back down and waited for the fork. Carefully, I loaded the fork with carrots and when he opened his mouth, I let him eat it off the fork. It was such an amazing feeling. He needed me to be doing exactly what I was doing. Even though he was kind of mussed up and he still looked just a little drugged, he was beautiful and my heart was full of love for him. Then the love was slowly joined by a feeling of amazement that he could do this so well. I knew that this was only the beginning and there was still a lot to come, Zac's positive attitude was welcome and it gave me quite a bit of confidence. * * * * * It was much later that night. The room was dark but the night had gotten quite warm and humid, leaving Zac and I covered only by one of his light blue bedsheets. My T-shirt had begun to cling to my body with sweat before I'd stripped it off and the same thing had happened with my underwear, leading to the same result. Zac was used to the Midwest summers and didn't need to be stripped naked. Even stripped naked, I wasn't sure how I was going to fall asleep because I was mopping my forehead every half a minute with either the sheet or Zac's ponytail. The clock said it was 1:29 in the morning. From the look of the window, the humidity in the bedroom had to be at least 107% and the temperature couldn't be much lower. Ahhh... it was OK. Weather isn't something that can be changed by complaining or kvetching constantly when all you can do is deal with it. Zac shifted against me and even though I knew that if I moved him off me, the heat wouldn't be so bad, I didn't move him. Cuddling with a teddybear like him was worth the added heat it brought. Everytime my mind conjured up that image, it made me smile and gave me the urge to kiss him, which I did on the top of his head. "Brrr..." Zac muttered softly. "You cold?" "Oh yeah... let's get another blanket. My balls aren't quite touching my toes yet." I laughed quietly and kissed him on his damp forehead. He still had his sense of humor, which was definitely a good thing. After a second, I laughed again at the image and kissed him again. He shook slightly as he laughed too as we both imagined what he'd look like. His hands were laying across his stomach and in the darkness, I could see the ethereal white of the gauze. Before bed, we'd removed the first couple layers and more of his fingers had started poking out. His fingertips were still receptive to touch and stimulation which was a good sign and we were also encouraged by the lack of aching or soreness. Zac's giggles stopped and he wiped his forehead on my cheek, "It's not as hard as I thought it would be." "Really?" I said and I was truly interested in the experience he was going through. "Yeah... I mean, if my hands just felt dead, then it would be harder. But I can still feel stuff in my fingers and I can use my arms to grab stuff. I could have a lot worse going for me, ya know?" His maturity caused me to falter, "That's true... you can learn to use your feet as your hands, too." He shuddered, "No thanks. I'm totally cool with you feeding me and washing me and brushing my teeth and scratching my butt for me for the rest of my life." At that point, he was asking for one of my special "grounding" sessions where I'd remind him that he was just like everyone else. My better judgment took over and I knew it would be a while before I could truly manhandle Zac. For the time being, he needed to be cared for and treated like soap bubbles. So being a good, calm influence was what I had to be. Aw hell, I thought and dug my fingers into his stomach, tickling him and feeling him jerk and yelp against me. Zac arched his back and puffed, laughing in that unique "being tickled" way. When I was satisfied that he had learned his lesson, my fingers retracted and let him settle back into the bed. He was breathing pretty heavy and giggling softly between breaths. Sweat was glistening on his shoulders and the exposed area of chest from behind the clean gray tanktop he was wearing. My eyes traveled up to his mouth as he gasped and smiled, and his eyes were closed as he recovered. I felt my dick begin to stiffen at the sight but immediately, I forced it back down. "Whew," He gasped, "I was waiting for that." "What do you mean?" I rolled over and draped my arm across him. "I was waiting for you to tickle me or play with me. I was starting to get freaked out that you were gonna be all wimpy and fragile with me from now on." He mopped his brow with his forearm and I cursed the retarded, misinformed 'better judgment' area of my brain. After a few seconds of silence, we began laughing again. It was so comfortable. I think it was at that point that we both truly realized that this couldn't be really that bad if we had each other. We could draw strength from one another and knowing that helped a great deal. Zac could rely on me if he needed me and I knew that if I needed to, there were plenty of people who could spell me as the caretaker. Neither of us said anything about the music issue but that was because we were both so relieved. And we didn't want to spoil the moment. But I knew that Zac was thinking about it and I knew that it would have to be dealt with. Just not that night. It didn't take much longer for us to relax a great deal, regardless of the heat. The security of being together was more than enough, really. After the giggling stopped, we kissed for a little while, our hot, sweaty lips enjoying a life all their own Eventually we both fell asleep. The sound of his peaceful, calm breathing worked as a natural sleeping aid for me and as I fell asleep, the last thing on my mind was how lucky I was to have found someone... * * * * * If I had known that the night before would have been actually pleasant compared to the next day, I would have gladly accepted it. The sensation of waking up the next morning and feeling like you're inside a microwave isn't a nice one. When my body came out of it's slumber and the humid heat hit me, my body shuddered. The sheet clung to me and my whole body was damp and sticky with sweat. Zac hadn't woken up yet and his arm was lazily draped across me, it was only adding to the heat. I shook my head and wiped my brow with the sheet before looking over at the clock. It was 11:29am. No one had come in to roust us or bother is all morning and now it was nearly afternoon. I had never really been comfortable with sleeping any time between 10am and 10pm, and even an hour and a half was more than I could comfortable stand. After gently moving Zac's arm and letting him flop onto his back, his hands laying unstressed at his sides, my body lurched up and I stood on the mattress, stretching and feeling the sweat roll down between my shoulders. The room was bright with the sunlight and I easily found my gray T-shirt and pulled it on, then my baggy khaki pants. It took some searching to find my sandals but eventually they turned up and I sauntered slowly out in the hallway. The house was actually quiet and I guessed it was because it was Saturday. Hey, either way was fine with me. My feet shuffled down the stairs and into the kitchen, and I could immediately tell the air conditioning had been running. Taylor was sitting at the kitchen table and he smiled at my sweaty, unkemptness. There was always plenty to drink at that house. Was I ever thankful for that as I filled a glass with water and sat down at the table. "What the hell is this?" I griped and tried to fix my stiffened hair. "It's summer in Oklahoma!" Taylor said gleefully. "Nobody told me about this." Taylor laughed and poked my arm, "We wanted to surprise ya, buddy." "Thanks." He smiled, "How did you guys sleep?" "Sweaty and overheated, and we didn't have the usual fun of getting that way," I gulped some water and wiped my already damp brow, "Where is everybody?" "Who cares? They aren't here." He said and took a sip of coffee, I was surprised at the callousness with which he said it. He seemed to notice and said, "You grow up with six siblings and you'll cherish the time they aren't around you." I could see where he was coming from. The strain of a large family made you really love the time when they weren't there. You loved them and all, but sometimes you weren't in the mood. Even though I'd slept more than usual, the heat was immediately fatiguing my system. I didn't know how people in Arizona did it and I didn't know how these freaky Oklahomans did it, either. My back rested against the chair and I let my head fall back and I looked out into the large backyard behind the house. It was a beautiful day, regardless of the blistering heat and from inside the cool confines of the kitchen, I was able to appreciate it. We sat there quietly, both looking out into the backyard and marveling at the brightness. Our silence was broken by the thunking that was the unmistakable sound of Zac coming down the stairs. I looked over quickly, ready to help him if he needed me. Taylor and I watched as Zac strolled into the kitchen and sat down at the table, wasting no time in draping his leg over my lap. I smiled a little with relief that he could still be so aloofly relaxed. I was also relieved that he wasn't walking around naked as he had done in the past, but I wouldn't call a tanktop and boxer shorts exactly covering himself up. "How do you feel?" I asked and gently moved a few stray strands of hair off his damp forehead. He smiled, "Tip toppity." Taylor smiled and stood up, "I'll let you two hang out. I'll be back later." He then walked around the table, snuck up behind Zac, and kissed him on the cheek. Zac hissed and jerked, acting much more disgusted by it than he really was. I knew that it was a tolerable way for them to share affection and for Taylor to show that he was glad Zac was something resembling OK. Zac wiped his cheek with his forearm as Taylor left the kitchen, leaving us alone. My hand stroked Zac's warm leg as I looked at him, still amazed at his handsomeness. He set his limp hands on the table, "Can we take some of the bandages off? It feels like wet toilet paper." I leaned forward and held his right hand gingerly, "How do you fingers feel?" "They feel things but I can't feel with them." "Are they numb or anything?" "Nope. Just useless." He pouted. "You're not useless," I sighed and pulled the designated 'bandage removal scissors' off the countertop. "I know." He chirped, "I just can't let you start feeling too important." I shook my head and carefully cut away the first layer of gauze, and I noticed it didn't make too much of a difference in the big picture. Zac looked at me impatiently, clearly directing me to accelerate what I was doing. It was an honor to be doing this, I thought. I had to take care of him. There was no way that I would do any more damage to his hands and I took my time, slowly cutting away several thick layers of the bandaging. The fleshy sound of Zac's bare foot slapping the floor was obviously meant to hurry me up. The layers kept falling until there only could have been two or three strips of gauze over his hands. "Reid, we have more bandages, right?" He asked with an odd urgency. "Yes... why?" "Take the rest of it off. I want to see the cuts." He wasn't going to take no for an answer. His mind was made up and there really wasn't anything I could do about it. I turned both of his hands over and peeled off the damp gauze, which had turned brown directly over the backs of his hands. The gauze came off with a soft, moist noise and the two gauze pads covering the stitches came up slowly. My nose caught the slightly sour, damp skin smell that always wafted out after a Band-Aid or brace was removed. We both were silent. In one way, it didn't look like I had thought it would. On the back of each of his hands was a medium sized incision in the shape of a horizontal "T". Neither one was exceedingly swollen and the edges of each were dark with a small bit of dried blood. When I glanced up at Zac, he only had a look of slight curiosity on his face as he turned his wrists as much as he could. The heat had caused the skin around the stitches to look slightly flushed, but other than that, his hands weren't that different. "Whoa." Zac said softly and let his chin sink down. "Hey, you're OK. You're young and strapping and healthy," I didn't know what exactly I was saying, just that I was trying to pick up his spirits, "You're doing good. This will build character. And you've got your family..." Zac looked up when I trailed off and I saw him smile, "I've got you." "...Babe." I said without any thinking and seconds later, we both realized and cracked up. * * * * * When Zac had suggested that we go on the computer, I didn't immediately think of what he wanted to do. He sat on my lap, taking extra pleasure in grinding his ass into my crotch a few times, before instructing me to log onto the internet. As soon as he told me to enter the Hanson fans section of a chat page, I knew what he was going to do. My objections fell on deaf ears as Zac insisted that we find out what the latest misconceptions were concerning him. He had made me the one concession that if I typed on the computer for him, he'd put on a pair of real shorts and I knew that if I didn't insist, he'd walk around in the same pair of musky boxer shorts he'd slept in. As if the morning hadn't been gutwrenching enough. "Screeekkk..." Zac squealed, doing a remarkably earsplitting impression of the modem hooking up. "OK OK... we're here. What room do I go into?" "Ummm... maybe... something with 'Hanson' in the title, you think?" I quieted his sarcasm with a few gentle pinches to his waist, "All right. We'll try #HansonRulz." Zac nodded and bopped his head in a rhythm with the rock music coming out of the stereo in the family room. The whole family had apparently decided to vacate the house and let Zac do some adjusting. The lack of screaming and pitter patter of feet hitting the floor was less abrasive but in an odd way, I really missed it. Que sera sera... "OK, what should our name be?" I asked, shifting as much as I could with the weight of Zac on me. "Hmmmm..." He made an elaborate chin scratching gesture, "How 'bout ZaccysButtPirate?" "No, seriously." I said and I knew it got to him, considering it was one of his favorite sayings. "IamZac!" "OK," I shrugged and typed it in before hitting the 'connect' button. Seconds later, we were in #HansonRulz with nine other chatters. All with charming names: Nicki1980, ZacsTwinkyBabe, GreenJellow, Tayzzzgrrrl, MMMBOP86, Timbergal113, MsTayHanson, TaywifebeaterOMG, SugrtayBear. Sounds like a group ripe for intellectual conversation, no doubt. Zac laughed at some of the names while I simply relaxed, realizing that I was a captive to his demented sense of humor that obviously enjoyed doing this sort of thing. First, a suitable greeting. IamZac> Hello. "Oooh... that'll shake the earth." Zac said but another pinch quieted him down. MMMBOP86> ZAC DYED!!!!!!! MsTayHanson> he dident hes just got some sickness GreenJellow> Zac had a tihng with his hand that now they dont work MMMBOP86> ZAC DYED!!!!!!!!!! Tayzzzgrrrl> u all are sick!!!!! zac is not gay bcuz his gurlfriend is named christy and lives in tulsa I gave Zac a look and he shrugged before kissing me, dispelling my suspicions. ZacsTwinkyBabe> zac is HERE!!! we r going to the moovies 2night!!!! TaywifebeaterOMG> TAYLR IS HOTTTTT!! MsTayHanson> hands off him hes mine!!!! LOL!!!!! Nicki1980> Zac is 2 gay and evryone saw him with his boyfrnd on there tour MMMBOP86> ZAC DYED!!!! Tayzzzgrrrl> ZAC IS NOTT GAY!!!! his girlfriend knows my friend Zac feigned serious offense, "I think you had better set them straight." IamZac> What if Zac were gay? Tayzzzgrrrl> ZAC IS NOT GAY!!!! i know his girlfriend for seriousss Nicki1980> zac is gay and they told saw on his tour that he was IamZac> Zac just wants to be happy. GreenJellow> u know Zac would make me happuy if he gt his hands to work and then lost some damn weight hehehehheheh... ZacsTwinkyBabe> oooooooooooh greenjallo you just pissed my zacbabe off and hes mad MMMBOP86> ZAC DYED!1!111!111111 "Oh god..." Zac groaned and rested his cheek against my forehead, "They are so dense." IamZac> Zac is here with me. Tayzzzgrrrl> I know his girfriend reaaaaalyyy!!!! her naem is christy ands shge live in tulsa Nicki1980> zac isnt therr you loooozer!!! you wish hje was there MMMBOP86> ZAC DYED!@!!!!! IamZac> Zac says you are all dense. MsTayHanson> TAYTAY IS MINE Nicki1980> if zac were there youd problly be all OMG OMG OMG "OK, this is lame. Can we do something else?" I asked, going limp and straightening my legs out. "Yeah. It's usually easier to screw with them." He sighed and heaved up off my lap. It took me a few minutes to successfully log off the computer and as I did so, I heard Zac collapse onto the large couch under the window. The chair swiveled around and I looked at him lying there, he was flushed and perspiring, but still beautiful. The early afternoon sun was shining through the window and it made his bare skin glisten, causing me to falter. After not too long, Zac seemed to notice my far off gaze and he smiled at me. "You OK?" "Yeah," I snapped out of it and stood up, "I'm fine." He smiled again and spread out on the couch, beckoning me over with a flick of his chin. It felt like I was gliding as I laid down on top of him and felt his warm bulk press into me. There was just something about him that was so huggable and kissable. As I nuzzled his collarbone, I could hear the dark blue fabric of his soccer shorts crinkle as he squirmed. My tongue flicked across the skin of his neck and relished the salty flavor. Zac giggled and draped his arms across my shoulders before kissing me on the cheek and forehead. His lips were warm and moist, like a sloppy chunk of chewed bubblegum. For a while, we laid there with my head resting on his shoulder, both trying to ignore the oppressive heat. When I lifted my head, a large dark sweat stain had formed in the gray fabric of his tank top. It was that gray tank top with the black trim that I had seen in pictures, the one that had so droolingy accentuated his chest and arms. Little droplets of sweat were forming on the smooth, golden skin of his chest and shoulders, shimmering in the sunlight. Even he could make sweatiness seem unbelievably sexy. Zac had some odd sex appeal that you couldn't deny or even hope to resist. He was unique and special and beautiful. My heart fluttered just at the thought of him and the mere notion that I had even though of leaving made my stomach churn. Zac raised his hips up and wrapped his legs around my waist just firm enough to make me feel held. His arms were still draped over my shoulders and he smiled, his face looking liquefyingly cute against the faded blue corduroy couch pillow. He pursed his lips primly for a moment and squinted, looking a little too overly analytical. "You ain't one of them gays, are ya?" He said in a southern accent. I laughed and tickled him before leaning in to kiss him again. This time, the kiss was much different as he pressed his lips to mine and slid his tongue deep into my mouth. An odd mew-like noise came from deep in my throat as I jerked and felt him raise his hips up and push our groins together. Through the fabric, it was still pretty obvious that we were both quite excited by the kissing. Zac lifted his arms above his head and continued to kiss me, relying on my hands for all the work. The only noise in the room was the moist peanut butter sandwichy smacking of our lips as we kissed and rubbed our hot, sweaty, horny bodies together. It had been nearly two long, arduous days since we last "boned" and until that moment, we hadn't really given in to our carnal desires. Something about how he had draped his arms upwards and out of the way turned me on. Zac knew that I had a side that enjoyed being the pacesetter in our erotic episodes and he only let me have full control on occasion. They weren't rare exactly but they were spaced out enough so that I fully appreciated him giving in to his hidden submissive side. Which he was doing in full here. His body squirmed and shivered under me, and he was letting out soft moans as we kissed and my hands slid up under the front of his tank top. The skin of his chest felt warm and slick with sweat and I felt his chest heave up and down excitedly. A thought entered my head and I suddenly tried to pull up, "Mmph... Zac... we can't... not yet..." Zac groaned and pushed his lips back onto mine but against all my self control, I pulled away again, "Zac, it's too soon. You need more time to recover." He looked at me with such a look of disgust that I couldn't help but smile. Sweat ran down off my upper lip and into my mouth, startling me with its salty taste. Sure, I could lick Zac's sweat all day but mine made me almost jump a foot in the air. My nerves were just on edge. Zac wasn't too impressed with my sudden abundance of fortitude. "Reid... my kootchie works fine." He hissed and began kissing me again, pulling me close to him with his forearms. "Zac," I said and strained against the unanticipated power of his arms, "Zac... we just need to wait a little while longer. When you're not taking the painkillers mayb--" My words were cut off when Zac applied his lips a third time and I knew this one wasn't going to be stopped. I tried not to think about the reasons why we shouldn't be having sex so soon but the hot, sucking of his lips on my mouth made me forget. Every couple seconds, he would let a gush of hot breath into my mouth and it would get me hornier every time. It was probably his goal to do exactly that. Again, he draped his arms above my head and let me take control again, trusting me not to have any more annoying bouts with my pesky conscience. After a few kisses, we both smiled as we made out and I felt his tummy, and we both knew that it wasn't going to hurt anything to reaffirm our bond. Zac arched his back again and directed my hands down to the throbbing tent in his shorts. I reached down and gave it a firm squeeze, drawing out a throaty groan and a full body shudder. His breath sped up as I continued to massage the precious lump and as the kissing and fondling continued, began to exude more and more of it's musky spirit. An odd groan caught both our ears and we stopped kissing and looked at each other. The groan came again and I realized it was Zac's bare heel digging into the worn fabric of the couch, making us both laugh again. He did it several more times and soon we were laughing in between kisses. He made me feel so alive. He was just so much FUN to be with in just about every way possible. "Hello..." A merry voice called from the front hallway. Great timing, just great, I thought. Zac went limp under me and he groaned softly with frustration and I shifted up off of him and into a sitting position on the couch. He sat up next to me and draped his leg over mine, and I was used to it. It was how he showed me affection. I mopped the sweat from my brow and Zac did the same on my shoulder before flinging his hair back in one majestic, golden wave. My mouth still lingered with the sweet taste of his tongue as we fixed ourselves up. Mrs. Hanson... err, Diana came into the foyer with the two littlest sisters in tow. As I tried to remember their names, she looked over and saw us, and we both smiled like good, well behaved boys. She stood silently for a second and a knowing smile came onto her face as he shifted the bags of groceries in her arms and she stood there, looking she was tempted to say "awww" or some other overly sentimental saying. I looked away guiltily and knew that she knew. And I'm sure she knew that I knew that she knew. "Ewww!" One of the girls said, scrunching up her face and tearing off up the stairs, "They're kissing! They're kissing!" She sang as she ran away and her voice got fainter. "Which one was that?" I whispered to Zac. "Avie." He said and laughed, lying back on the couch. "Reid... Give me a hand with his, could you?" She said and motioned for me with her arm. "Haw haw," Zac said softly and stuck out his tongue, "You gotta hel-lp." Another tickling to his stomach quieted him right down and I walked into the kitchen, treasuring the first feeling of the air conditioning. Diana... yeah... had started putting canned good away in the cupboard and when I walked in, she smiled at me. The more time I spent with her, the more I felt comfortable around her. I think she was starting to really like me... or at least doing a good job of faking it. She tossed me a roll of paper towels and for a second, I didn't know what they were meant for. "For your face. You look a little damp." She said. "Oh! Yeah..." I mopped my face with a few sheets of it. "How are you guys doing?" She asked casually and began putting frozen foods into the large stainless steel fridge. "We're fine. Why?" I said and felt my defenses begin to go up. "Zac is my son. Even though you are his nurse, I'm still a bit interested in how he's doing." I calmed a bit and began putting away boxes of lime Jello, "He's doing all right. It's the first full day of him adjusting but I'd say he's doing all right. This heat has been kind of making him kind of itchy but that isn't abnormal." Diana had turned her back to me and she was still putting food away in the freezer, "What did you guys do all morning?" "We had breakfast and fooled around on the computer. Nothing too exciting." I winced immediately at my choice of words. She laughed and closed the freezer, "Reid, you're a saint. I knew that even before now." "So this is what God calls saints?!" Zac said in a offended tone as he ambled into the room. We both smiled as I wrapped my arm around Zac's neck and playfully headlocked him. He cried out in extreme pain and unspeakable agony, overplaying it and making his mom laugh loudly. Zac had an uncanny ability to make both his mom and his youngest brother laugh like complete dimwits. It was like just the sound of his voice sometimes was enough to set them off. Coming from a family where kids were often belted with "shut the hell up" in response to nearly everything, it was a nice change to say the least. The theatrics stopped as Zac went limp against me and looked up, his eyes were calm and expectant. He looked at his mom, "Did you get any more Honey Comb?" She opened the freezer door, "You guys go sit out on the patio and I'll make you some ice cream cones." With a poetic quickness, Zac was out from under me and out through the sliding glass doors quicker than I could imagine. The promise of ice cream was more than enough to light a fire under his ass. For a few seconds, I shook my head and followed him out the door, laughing at the site of him trying to get a drink off the sprinkler. Then I watched as he amused himself with a soccer ball for several minutes, kicking it back and forth and taunting me. Nothing was wrong with his legs, obviously. * * * * * "Hey... hey! At least wait for me to sit down!" I said, laughing almost in amazement. I held the ice cream cones away as Zac was already trying to eat them before I'd even sat down next to him. We had chosen to sit on the wooden steps that led down from the patio onto the back lawn. It wasn't really fair to call the national park that was the Hanson backyard a "lawn", but it was nice anyway. The backyard was huge. It even had a barn for Christssakes. And it opened up into a forest! A damn forest! And it was their backyard. The first time I'd seen it had been at sunset the night we'd gotten back and I had been awestruck. It was that cool. Once I was comfortably seated, Zac tried to dive for the ice cream, which was already melting at an alarmingly rapid pace. I held his cone in front of him and he leaned in, licking it and slurping at it like a puppy. The sun was beating down almost fiercely and it made me grimace before starting in on my mocha flavored cone. After a few licks, I looked over at Zac and nearly burst out laughing. His lips and chin were coated with melted chocolate ice cream and several light brown trails were dribbling down his neck and into the creased opening of his tanktop. "Hey! It's melting!" He said and fidgeted as I held the cone back up, feeling soupy streams of choclately goodness ooze down over my knuckles. Both waffle cones began to feel pliable in my hands as I struggled to eat my own disintegrating ice cream, feeling it fall apart in my hand. All at once, the cone fell apart in my hand and I was left holding a handful of half-melted mocha nut swirl ice cream. I shivered and turned my attention to it, not thinking about the other ice cream cone. I managed to lick off most of the ice cream but not saving my pants from getting a hearty soaking in the melted goo. My lips and chin were coated in it and instantly, I was thankful that I hadn't laughed at Zac when it happened to him. "Reid!" Zac exclaimed. My eyes shot over to Zac and I felt the other waffle cone turn to mush in my right hand, collapsing and sending the ice cream right down into the crotch of Zac's shorts. On it's way down, it left a nice creamy line down the front of his chest and the gray material of his tanktop. Zac had been caught in mid lick of the ice cream on his chin and he tensed, his eyes closed and a shocked half smile on his face. I flinched and bit my lip as his body tensed and he shook slightly. "Oh fuck," He gasped, "That... is fucking cold." "Sorry, Zac." I said and tossed the pottage that had once been a cone into the bushes. The grimace didn't leave my face as I quickly scooped the ice cream off his lap and prepared to throw it in the bushes along with the remains of the cone. Zac jerked and made a panicked whimper as he put his arm on my shoulder and stopped me, an urgent look in his eyes. "What are you doing?!" "I'm throwing it away. It's got crotch on it." "I want to eat it! That's good ice cream." Shake your head... sometimes that's all you can do. I sighed and held my hand out, letting him drink the rest of the ice cream out of my hand. It was like feeding a bird or an animal at the petting zoo. The look of unadulterated happiness on his face as he did it was adorable. As the last of the ice cream was licked up by his long pink tongue, he closed his eyes and pretended, or maybe not, to be a little too "into" what he was doing. All too soon, my hand was clean and the almost reptilian tongue was retracted and we were left hot and sticky sitting in the sun. Zac looked at me, squinting, "You wanna go inside?" "Nah... let's sit out here and roast like fried chicken." It honestly felt like I'd be grilled alive if I didn't get out of the sun. We both stood up and for the first time, I noticed that we were both messy beyond all immediate recourse. Zac looked at me and started laughing so hard he fell down on the ground and had to hold his stomach. As terribly hurt as I was, I did look pretty funny with the large splotches on my shirt and pants and from Zac's near breathless pointing, my hair was actually containing some of it too. "Yeah, well... it's not like you can laugh." I said and shook my head. Immediately, his laughter stopped and Zac pretended to have a violent seizure on the grass. When it became clear that I wasn't all that entertained, he went limp and shielded his eyes with his forearm and stuck his tongue out at me. I looked down at him, breathing heavily and soon we were both laughing again. He rolled to his feet and we casually walked towards the patio door, and as we walked, I felt Zac slide his hand into mine. I smiled and held his limp hand gently as he laid his head on my shoulder and graced me with some lines of his own alien language. We stepped trepedatiously into the kitchen, on the lookout for any possible parental anger. We made it inside just in time for Zac to see his mom walking into the kitchen carrying a basket of laundry. She took one look at us and began laughing like it was the funniest thing she'd ever seen. Zac rolled his eyes and tried to wipe some of the glaze from his chest, and not doing too good a job. I looked over and noticed that the ends of his hair were clinging together from the ice cream and he looked just so edible. "Well," She managed to get out between laughs, "You two need a shower." "I want a bath!" Zac piped up. "Oh jeez..." I muttered, "You're supposed to be all bullheaded and wanting to do things for yourself!" Zac pouted dramatically, "I just want a bath." Diana was looking at me with an amused smile and I knew that there was no way I could get out of it. This wasn't the normal world. Oh no. This was some weird alternate universe where I didn't stand a chance. I was playing by their rules now and there would be no debating. Never in my life had I been so happy to be defeated. Minutes later, we were in the first floor bathroom. Several times, I had asked Zac if he wanted a Percocet but he had said that the pain wasn't bad enough. And he meant it. Once we had arrived in the bathroom, Zac had stood with his arms sticking straight above his head, looking at me patiently. It took a beat before I remembered that I was needed to undress him. Off came his sticky tanktop and as I pulled it up over his head, he leaned his face in and pecked me on the lips. The remaining taste of the chocolate ice cream was on his lips and after he pulled back, I leaned in and kissed him again, enjoying the taste. He giggled as I ran my hands down his bare torso and stroked his waist. He laid his arms on my shoulders as I pulled his shorts down and felt the warm skin of his legs brush the heels of my hands. The small room was practically misty with our sexual energy and I knew we wanted nothing more than to get naked and screw. But he needed a bath and it was too soon. Too soon I told myself. Just the sight of him naked made me turn my head away, lest I fill my pants with my own semen. After a few brisk head shakes, I bent over the sink and rubbed some water into my hair, loosening up the stickiness so I'd have time to wash Zac before I took my own shower. Suddenly, I felt Zac's warm knee press against my crotch and my body tensed as he embraced me from behind. His lips tickled my ear lobe and in the low yellow light of the bathroom, it was almost like a porn. He rubbed his knee back and forth and squeezed me with his arms, blowing warm air onto the back of my neck. "I'm so horny." He said breathily. I smiled and took a deep breath, feeling his arms squeezing my upper body, "So am I." "You want me?" He began to grind his crotch against my ass. My hands slid around and held his, "Zac, please wait a little longer. For me?" His grip relaxed and he laid his head against the back of my shoulder. I could feel him smile, "OK... but just don't go blaming me when I'm thrashing around and moaning like a wild animal and my cum is shooting out of me dick like it's a firehose and my balls are swinging all over--" "All right! That's enough of that." I untangled myself from him and turned around, but he stayed on me and kissed my neck and suckled on the underside of my jaw. "Zachary," I said in my best warning tone, "It's time for your bath." Instantly, he looked down and said, "Yes, sir." I laughed and kissed the top of his head and started the bathwater and when I bent over, I knew Zac was resisting temptation. The water started to fill the tub and I adjusted it to a humane temperature and moved out of the way as Zac carefully lowered himself down into the tub and relaxed back against the inflatable pillow. As I took my shirt off, my bare skin shivered at being in the open air and goosebumps stood up on my skin. We were in the bathroom that was next to the garage and the room was quite cool and pleasant. I sat down on the side of the bathtub and squeezed some of the body wash into a bath flower. Zac smiled and rested one of his feet on the rim of the tub, letting the water completely cover his lower regions. I soaked the flower and watched as he flicked the warm water lazily and made it squirt out of his belly button with a gratifying squishy noise. The sound of his soft giggle was like a melody in the closed in bathroom and the sweet smell of the soap was incredibly pleasant. Zac leaned back as I began to scrub him with the flower, spreading the wet white suds over his chest and stomach. The water level had begun to rise as I scrubbed his arms and shoulders, still marveling in how muscled and built his torso was. Inevitably, it caused something to stiffen up in my pants and I took a deep, shaking breath trying not to pass out cold. When the flower brushed over his nipples, Zac made a soft noise of pleasure and soon, he too was stiff. My eyes were drawn to the meaty erection poking out of the sudsy water. All I heard was the gurgling of the water as it gushed out of the faucet. Don't make eye contact with him, I told myself, if you do, you're going to do something... My head swam as I reached down and carefully peeled the bandages off his hands. The white gauze had gotten its share of his ice cream and once his hands were unwrapped, he lowered them into the warm water. I could tell that it felt good to soak them and he moved them back and forth under the water, letting them be cleaned. He looked at me and I reached down and gently curled his hands into fists. Dr. Bailey's instructions had told me that in order to properly clean the stitches, he had to squeeze them taught so the dried blood would come loose and any pooled blood would be pushed out. I held both his hands under the water and momentarily, our erections were forgotten, as I squeezed his hands and he whimpered, expecting it to hurt. As I swathed them gently with the flower, I looked down and saw the flecks of blood wash away from the stitches and very little new blood come out. His hands were as tight as they could be. I released them and he lifted them out of the water, looking at the sideways T's on the backs of his hands. They looked pink and clean. He left his hands drop back into the water and he looked up at me again, smiling. I wrung the flower out under the water and began to gently scrub it over his back when he graciously leaned forward. After he had rested back, I moved down and scrubbed each leg with it. In the cool air of the bathroom, his legs steamed from the hot water and glistened magnificently. The flower moved fluidly up and down the muscles in his legs and my fingers felt the hot skin. It wasn't so much that I was turned on... more like I was caught up in the beauty of his form. Part of the awe was that he was letting me take care of him. When I let his leg sink back into the sudsy water, Zac said dreamily, "Do you know how much I'm in love right now?" I blushed, "No. Why don't you tell me?" "I'm so in love that if you asked me, I'd say that my life is perfect." I smiled and squeezed some of the tearless shampoo into my hands and rubbed it into his hair. He closed his eyes and let me wash his hair, massaging the shampoo into his scalp and cleaning it thoroughly. The ice cream had come out easily and after being doused with warm, clean water, it was golden and shiny. Zac spit the water out of his mouth and looked down at his toes, which were bobbing just above the surface of the water. I looked at his chest, wet and glossy, the water clinging to the baby fine fuzz that had started to dust itself over his pecs. My arm wobbled forward and my hand badly wanted to touch his chest. Zac looked up and smiled, "Wanna touch me?" I nodded and felt new sweat roll down my face and onto my shoulders. My knees fell forward and I knelt by the side of the bathtub, hypnotized at the sight of Zac's wet body. Not that our other times were shabby or anything, but there was just something about this time that had me more excited than ever. The scent of the soap and shampoo tickled my nose and made my head feel like it was filled with bubbles. Filled with suds. My hands rested on the edge of the bathtub and again, I saw Zac's hard cock peeking out and a trail of precum ran down the shaft and into the water like an oil slick. It happened again. "Zac... We can't." He hissed and kicked the bathtub under the water, and I could feel his frustration. My forehead pressed against the cold ivory of the bathtub, a sense of odd shame hitting me like a baseball bat. I heard the water ripple and felt a wet hand lay across the back of my head. The water rippled again and I felt Zac rest his forehead against mine. This shouldn't have been happening. This situation wasn't about my stupid little hang-ups. My head came up slowly and I saw that Zac was only an inch away from me, the heat from his skin hit me. This shouldn't be happening, I kept telling myself. My eyes closed before Zac kissed me gently between the eyes, showing me all the non-verbal understanding possible. I felt one of his arms reach out of the water and he draped it across my back and sent a gale of warm, soapy water down my back. Zac hugged me and my cheek rested against his wet shoulder. I pulled back and we looked into each other's eyes. Zac was sending me a silent message, urging me to realize that he was OK. His look was so intent and so penetrating that it reached deep inside me... to my soul. I felt our lips being pulled together as we kissed again, a soft gentle kiss before he leaned back. "Reid, when you make love to me... it's like that's the best thing," He said softly, rubbing my cheek with his wet forearm, "It's like it's the greatest thing I've ever done with another person. When you do that and when you make me feel so loved, it's not like I couldn't ever handle it. It's just... I love you. I know that making love you can only be good for me." Zac shrugged and settled back in the water, "I don't know, whatever. I guess I just wanted you to know that because I want you to know that I'll never be too sick or tired or too hurt to love you. I know that it's gonna be tough but I have you and I want you to make love to me. And I know it'll be OK... I just want to feel you again... it's been so hard to not have you." For once, my brain didn't take forever and a day to register what I'd just heard. My legs straightened and I stood up, looking down at Zac, who gazed up at me and a sense realization crept onto his face. He smiled and leaned on the edge of the bathtub, pushing himself into a kneeling position. I felt his wet face nuzzle the front of my pants and kiss the growing bulge contained inside. My hands rested on top of his wet head, running down and feeling the firm muscle of his shoulders. I jumped with surprise when I felt him pull my zipper down with his teeth, and then I nearly came when I felt his tongue peek inside and flick over my hard shaft. The only thing I could be compared to was jello. After pulling down and off my pants and underwear, I stepped back over in front of the tub and let Zac continue. His lips kissed their way up my legs, making a trail of warm saliva as he dragged the tip of his tongue over my skin. I was in heaven as I felt him slowly engulf my blazing cock with his mouth. He hungrily sucked and drew his tongue up and down, running it under the bottom of the head and licking up into the slit, sending jolts of pure pleasure straight to my nervous system. It had been soooo long and there had been soooo much stress. The hunger that we'd felt so much all day long was nearly consuming me, swallowing me whole and sending me careening towards ecstasy. A groan came out of my mouth and I gently pushed Zac backwards, knowing that if he kept going, I would cum too soon. Zac smiled and blew me a kiss, and somehow I knew to lower myself down. My breath started to speed up and I lowered myself into the bathtub on top of him, feeling the hot soapy water cover us both. Our wet bodies pressed together under the water and Zac began kissing me passionately. The sensation of the water closing around me sent chills down my spine. The only thing on my mind really was that we couldn't make too big of a mess on the floor... I really wasn't worrying that much about it. My feet slid against the bottom of the bathtub and I struggled to get something not entirely unlike concrete footing. Zac was arching his back and forcing his wet body against me, all the while kissing me with an almost animal intensity. Under the water, my hands found his hips and slid up his body onto his chest, where I squeezed the muscles and felt him shake. He jerked and splashed under me, sending several floods of bathwater onto the floor. Suddenly, he began to writhe under me, making me worry that something had gone wrong. My worrying only lasted for a second, as I immediately knew what he wanted. I pushed myself up and let him roll over onto his stomach and he thrusted his ass up out of the water. Sitting back on my knees, I looked down at him and nearly came at the sight. His ass was just barely sticking out of the sudsy water and the only other part of him that was visible was the back of his head. Holding himself up on his forearms, very resourceful I thought. Zac groaned and urged himself back, making waves in the water, and nearly spellbinding me with his water soaked mating dance. My hands slid up out of the water and slowly spread his asscheeks apart, revealing his tight pink hole squirming and winking at me. A few handfuls of the water seemed to send a new shiver through him as the water coated and trailed down his crack. I looked up and saw his face buried in the bath pillow and I could hear a soft, steady pleasured whimpering. Crawling forward on my knees through the water, I leaned down and pulled him up onto all fours, bringing his back above the surface. I heard him moan as I kissed the small of his back and down towards his tailbone, nibbling it gently. Being nibbled drove him crazy with lust. The water continued to churn as my kisses traveled lower, tickling the tight crease of his buttocks. My chin brushed the water as I pulled his cheeks apart and just barely dragged the tip of my tongue up his crevice. When the tip brushed the tight muscle of his rosebud, I could feel his body jerk and I heard him yelp into the pillow. My only goal was to bring him as much pleasure as humanly possible. Gradually, my licking became harder and firmer as I brought my tongue up and down in long licks over his hole, sending rippling spasms of pleasure through hid body. The only thing I could taste was the soap and a slight hint of his sweat, and I could tell he enjoyed it immeasurably. >From the sound of Zac's moaning, he was getting close to the edge but I didn't want him to go over it too soon. In the yellow light of the room, his hole looked like a pink starfish, contracting and flexing. Knowing that my actions were causing it only turned me on more. I took a deep breath and stabbed my tongue directly at it, only feeling a moment of resistance before it opened up and allowed me to slide in easily. Having a long, nose length tongue did me good as I was able to penetrate him deeply, nearly brushing the hard chunk of his prostate with it. It slid in and out easily, preparing him for my finger, which thanks to the soap, water, and saliva, went in with nearly no pressure. Zac jerked and cried out, biting the pillow so hard I was worried he'd pop it, before I added a second finger and slid them in and out easily. There wasn't any way I could wait much longer. I licked my lips and crept up, holding his cheeks apart as I mounted him from behind. From the shiver that ran through him, I could tell that he was ready. Our bodies cemented together and my dick slid against his hole with a breathtaking ease. My arms wrapped around his waist and I felt him press back against me, not making any noise except for his heavy breathing. The room had filled with steam and the condensation clung to the walls and the mirrors, and it filled my lungs with every breath I took. Sweat rolled down my face as I slowly eased myself forward, pressing my aching cockhead against the gummy ring of his hot gulf. His breath caught and he began to push himself back, the tight ring expanding and sucking me in willingly. From that point on, once I was inside, he was mine. The sensation of him pulling me in and submitting made my deeply hidden lust begin to take over and my thrust sped up. Quickly, my dick slid inside him, filling him with every inch and as it got deeper and deeper inside, a rising gasp caught in his throat. His warm, tender insides massaged my cock exquisitely, holding it when my thrust stopped and sliding it along when they started again. Every few seconds, Zac would cry out and his ass would squeeze my cock as my hands found their way to the underwater bounty of his excited genitals. My right hand slid up and down on his cock as my left hand fondled his balls lovingly. The liquid encasement helped my hand travel at a much smoother pace and I felt him throb and get even harder in my hand. More and more of the water slopped out onto the floor, but neither of us cared much. My cockhead probed him, passing over his prostate on each thrust and drawing another excited cry from Zac. Slowly licking and nibbling his shoulder blades sent him even further into his hazy sexual frenzy as I continued to slide myself in out in deep, slow plunges. Mixing up my stroking, I squeezed and massaged the base of his cock with one hand while I pinched and tugged at his foreskin with the other, rubbing it and sliding it easily over his throbbing cockhead. My actions were clearly taking him to new heights as his almost panicked moans reached a new intensity. My stabs deep into him began to speed up as the wonderful intense feelings began to take control of me as well. Splashing sounds came as the water hit the floor, sending it over us both as I rode Zac, speeding up until I was deep dicking at a pace we'd only reached on rare occasions. With one last blissed out holler, Zac's cock jumped in my hand and his ass cinched around my cock and held it captive. He emptied his balls under the water, and even as my own cum filled him, my eyes looked down and I smiled at the sight of the white clumps of his jizz as they bopped up above the surface. To my surprise, as soon as the first orgasm subsided and my cum flowed back out in a hot gush, another much more powerful climax hit me. I cried out and my eyes clenched shut and I buried myself deep inside Zac, and he let out a startled but excited groan. My arms constricted around around his waist and I shuddered violently, amazed and a little frightened at the sheer power of it. Several more thick globs of my cum rocketed into him. It felt as if I was falling with only Zac there to break my fall. The sensation was so pleasurable that I could barely move. My body was held taught and my muscles strained as the incredible sensation of pleasure jolted down my body and out my toes. Zac braced his body back against me and held my cock safely inside him as the tension began to dissipate. All at once, my body relaxed and the dead weight sent Zac forward back into the water. A large splash went up over the bathtub wall again, making an even bigger mess than before. My chest heaved and I shifted to a position where instead of lying on top of Zac, I was laying beside him. Don't want to drown the poor boy. After we had both caught or breath, he said softly, "How was that?" I could only murmur. Like Lurch from The Addams Family. Zac giggled and rolled over to face me, both our heads resting on the wet bath pillow. He leaned in and kissed me again, a much sweeter kiss that was meant for nothing more than to show love. I returned it and ran my fingers through his spongy hair, and the scent of his shampoo caught my nose. Zac was gazing at me, his eyes only half open and his cheeks flushed, a few strands of wet hair hanging down in his face. I reached over and moved them away, and he babykissed my hand a few times. We just laid there peacefully... relaxing in the water made hot again by our bodies. The water rippled as I elevated his left hand out of the water, letting the fluid drain off of it and watching as it steamed in the open air. I took in the sight of it, the scenic quality of his long fingers and the soft tanned skin. His smooth knuckles and slightly lighter color of his palm and the light pink of his fingernails. My eyes inevitably wandered to the stitches, pink and as sterile as they could be, and I slowly brought my lips down and kissed it. I gently held the back of Zac's hand against my cheek and looked into his eyes before leaning in to kiss him. After the kiss, we laid there quietly, letting our feet lazily mingle together under the lathered up water. Several times I realized that we were just lying there in a mix of our own B.O., cum, blood, and sweat. But it was cool. Just being with Zac made it fun. Never before in my life had I ever enjoyed taking a bath so much, and never had I known getting clean to be so purely enjoyable. Zac pursed his lips, "So... who's gonna clean up the mess?" "I guess Reid gets to." I said and pushed myself up out of the water. "You're so good at it." Zac said and slapped me playfully on the ass. * * * * * By that night, the backs of my legs were aching dully from the flexing and tensing they did under the surface of the hot water. But it was a good burn. A very worthwhile and mind-blowing experience from which it had been taken from and I wasn't about to complain. The intense temperature had cooled to a comparatively pleasant level of 87 degrees at about 9pm, it was a welcome change. The rest of the day after the draining session in the bathtub had consisted of Zac and I lying on his bed covered only by a towel as we napped for several hours. We woke up around four in the afternoon and watched The Matrix on DVD before the house filled up again and dinner was had. There was only a moment of silence when I started feeding Zac but it went away pretty quick. The sweat began to form along my hairline as I laid on Zac's bed, staring out the window at the sunset colored sky. The room was dark and shadowy in the dusk growing outside the window. Zac had curled up next to me and was idly amusing himself by seeing how close he could get his big toe to the wall at the foot of the bed. After a few tries, he relaxed and sat up, draping his legs across my stomach. I could tell right away that he was restless. "Let's do something!" He said and set his hands, complete with fresh bandages, down on my stomach. "Like what?" I murmured and folded my arms behind my head, not possessing the energy to do anything too ambitions, "You wore me out in the bathtub. Remember?" Zac smiled and blushed a little, and I knew he remembered full well. At that moment, I took a little time to reflect on how the day had gone. It was his first day without the use of his hands and from all possible criteria, he was doing extraordinarily well. I was worried that it hadn't sunk in yet. Zac didn't move and using the muscles in his arms, flattened his hands out against his knees and looked at them, curling his lips analytically. Something just didn't seem right, however. I sat up and moved over next to him, draping my arm around his shoulders and hugging him a little. "You OK?" I asked and instantly, I knew something was wrong. Zac looked down and closed his eyes, "Yeah, I'm fine." "You sure?" I asked, the unusual meekness in his voice not selling me. He looked up and smiled, "I'm awesome. Let's go watch another movie." Zac tried to get up but I stopped him, "Zac, you don't need to pretend or anything." "I'm not pretending!" He smiled and laughed, but it was hollow, "Let's just go do something! I mean, it's cool, right?" I held him and tried to get him to look me in the eye, "Zac, stop." "What do you mean? I'm fine!" He laughed again and smiled, "Want me to sing you song?" "No. I want you to talk to me." "I don't want to talk... I want to go... see some cows!" He laughed and tried to get up, but I held him. "Zac," I said and he squirmed harder, "Zac, calm down." "I'm fine," He said softly but there wasn't any fake smiling, "I'm fine, Reid. You don't have to take care of me..." I watched his lip shake and I could see that his eyes were starting to tear up, "Zac, you don't have to entertain me. If you're scared or if you're frustrated, you can tell me..." Immediately, his arms were around me and his face was buried in my neck. The sound of his loud crying filled the room and I held him, trying to soothe him but at the same time knowing that he needed to do this. I stroked his back gently and rocked him back and forth, assuring him that I wouldn't go anywhere. His body was shaking with the sobs. They were shaking every inch of him and I wished I could do more than just hold him as I felt his hot tears on my neck. Wow, I guess Zac does cry after all. After the crying had stopped, he wiped his eyes on the bedsheet. I stroked his hair gently and kissed him on the cheek, patting his back softly. He sniffled but his head laid on my shoulder, and I could feel his breath on my neck. Taking great care, I laid him back on the bed and stretched out next to him, petting his hair and kissing him lightly on the cheek and forehead. He seemed to calm down quite a bit and I hoped that my presence had given him just a bit of security. "I'm sorry." He said, his face looking angelic in the moonlight that shone through the window. I kissed him again on the side of his nose, "You don't have anything to be sorry for." "I'm scared... Really scared." He said softly, this was probably the most vulnerable he'd ever been. "I know you are," I hugged him firmly but gently, "I know you're scared." "I feel like I let so many people down." His chest shook as he inhaled. I rested my forehead against his cheek, "You didn't let anybody down. This is just something that happened. There was no way anyone could have known or predicted or warned you about." Maybe it wasn't true but I was just trying to make him feel better. "I know... but it's just... I'm useless." I rolled on top of him and looked him dead in the eye, "Never say that, Zac. Don't you ever call yourself useless. You are not and you never will be." He was a little surprised by my seriousness, "OK..." "Do you need me to explain to you why not?" He fidgeted slightly and didn't say anything. "Zac, you're everything I have. Without you, I would either be dead or in jail right now and that's the honest to God truth. I don't need you to entertain me or do anything to keep me here. You don't need to repay me or make my time that I spent helping you worthwhile. I'm not going anywhere because you need me. And I need you. Lots of people need you. So don't call yourself worthless." Zac closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "I love you." I smiled and kissed him gently. "I love you too." We kissed again. And I could tell he was reassured. * * * * * The next morning was something akin to deja vu. The heat was absolutely unrelenting as I woke up and rubbed my eyes, blinking them rapidly and regaining my site. Zac was out cold next to me, the side of his face looking cute smushed against the pillow as he slept, breathing softly and peacefully. Leaning up on my elbows, I looked over at the clock. It was 7am. Holy shit... Zac had told me that the last time he had gotten up that early had been the day their bedroom had gotten infested with ants. I laid back down and stroked his hair gently, admiring the golden color of his ponytail and I picked it up and let it fall limply. I got a juvenile thrill from playing with his hair, what could I say? The room was already on it's way to being incredibly humid and I sat up, pulling one a white v-neck T-shirt and kneeling up-right in the bed, yawning. My skin already felt greasy with sweat and the first thing that came to mind was that maybe another bath was needed. I smiled and felt a shiver. As I retrieved my pants, my foot brushed the "on" button of the clock radio. Thankfully, the volume was down fairly low but I still heard every word of the message. ... As if life couldn't get worse for Hanson, after the bomb that was their latest album, it's now been confirmed that the youngest member of the group, Zac, he's the one with the shaggy always dirty hair, according to Access Hollywood who has PICTURES... this kid is not only GAY but he's also just undergone an operation that has left him without those, snicker snicker, ever so talented hands! In the humble opinion of this radio DJ, who gives a pork?! I guess Hanson can kiss goodbye that bright future they once had! Ah heh heh... here's that request, from their pentuple platinum album entitled "Heaven Is Just For You And Me" just released... The Backstreet Boys with "Girl, You Ain't Got My Heart No More So You Best Stop Tryin', G!" A familiar sour sensation rose in my stomach as I hurriedly turned the radio off and sagged back against the wall. Sweat ran down my forehead and onto my neck and the realization had hit me. Not only was Zac left without his musical career, he had been outed. Someone had found out. Just the thought of those bastards snickering over what had happened to Zac made me angry as hell. I looked over at him sleeping, his face undisturbed and resting, and suddenly, I felt a tremendous shame. If I hadn't tried to break into their tour bus, this wouldn't have happened. If I had lived a cleaner life, God wouldn't have stricken down the one person closest to me. This whole thing was my fault... I had ruined everything... And it couldn't be fixed.