Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2007 20:46:33 -0400
From: Sequoyah <sequoyahs-place@charter.net>
Subject: Saga of the Elizabethon Tarheels Chapter 13

Saga of the Elizabethton Tarheels

Chapter Thirteen

Warning!

The usual warning applies: This story contains erotic events involving
alternative sexualities. Do not read the contents if such will offend you.
If accessing this site causes you to break local laws (village, town, city,
county, province, state, or country, etc.), please leave now or accept the
consequences, should there be any.

By reading or downloading this file you implicitly declare that you accept
total responsibility for your actions in regard to material intended for
mature, responsible members of society capable of making decisions about
the content of documents they wish to read. You are accessing this site of
your own free volition. You have been warned!

Disclaimer

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either
are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and
any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments,
events or locales is entirely coincidental and/or used fictionally.

Copyright Notice Reminder

This story is copyright by the author and the author retains all rights.
Expressly prohibited is the posting of the story to any sites not approved
by the author or charging for the story in any manner. Single copies may be
downloaded and printed for personal use provided the story remains
unchanged.

Chapter Thirteen

When we got down, Mrs. Metzer was waiting for us in the terrace room. "Good
morning. I trust you rested well." There was general agreement and she
continued, "Good. After you finish breakfast, I think we need to discuss
some plans for the week. There is a lot of flexibility and the main thing
is that you have a good experience but, for now, enjoy your breakfast. I'll
rejoin you for coffee. Sarah is on duty this morning. Sarah?"

A very attractive young woman -- not much older than we were, if at all,
came into the room, pushing a cart. "Sarah is a freshman in culinary arts
at Florida Keys Community College. She started last fall. Mrs. Crandall
became very interested in the college several years ago and tries to find
students who need to work while attending school. She gets people to do
what she needs done, they earn a decent wage and have working schedules
which put school first. It is a good arrangement all the way around."

Sarah had been pouring and serving orange juice while Mrs. Metzer was
speaking and, when she finished, said, "I have prepared Belgian waffles
with fresh fruit and whipped cream. I can, of course omit the whipped cream
if you like..."

"Bring it on!" Adam said, licking his chops, and no-one objected.

"The fruit topping is a mixture of fresh fruit. I can, if anyone wishes,
prepare a dish with fruit you select."

"You are the chef," Adam said. "We'll let you be the judge."

I had forgotten how good fresh-squeezed orange juice was, and the juice
Sarah served was exceptional. The waffles which followed just could not
have been better.

While we all ate like we were half-starved, Justin and I still couldn't
keep our eyes off each other, both grinning like Cheshire cats. At one
point I saw John looking at us and grinning as well. Sometime later, I saw
him look at Susan and wink. She was grinning too. They looked very smug and
were acting as if they were sharing a secret. Susan even said, "Some people
sure look bright-eyed and bushy tailed this morning," in a very provocative
way. Bobbie and Adam didn't seem to notice or rise to the bait. In fact,
they seemed absorbed in themselves or maybe each other. When John responded
with, "Yeah, some real tail-bushing going on!" and laughed, Bobbie looked
up, puzzled, and Adam just looked more disgruntled.

When we finished and the table had been cleared, Sarah came with a cart and
offered fresh coffee, hot chocolate or tea. As she poured, Mrs. Metzer
arrived and John seated her at the table. As soon as she had fixed her
coffee, she asked, "Do any of you know Dry Tortugas National Park?"

"I seem to remember something about it. Hemingway fished around some
islands by that name, I think," Adam replied. John nodded agreement. If any
of us knew something about Hemingway, it would be John and Adam, especially
John. Both had done a research paper on Hemingway the past semester, and
John had turned it into a major research project on the man and his writing
all this semester. As a matter of fact, John and Adam had an on-going
debate about whether or not Hemingway had been gay. Adam took the
affirmative position with more noise than fact, while John took the
argument for the opposition and was always doing more research. Guess such
a question gives students something to do and keeps them out of
trouble. Anyway, the rest of us shook our heads indicating we knew nothing
at all about the park.

"Please stop me when you have heard enough," Mrs. Metzer smiled. "I happen
to love the place and can go on and on about it. There are seven islands,
composed of coral reefs and sand, called the Dry Tortugas. They, along with
the surrounding shoals and waters, make up Dry Tortugas National Park. It
is famous for its bird and marine life, as well as its legends of pirates
and sunken treasure. The area is called dry because, well, there's 'water,
water everywhere, but not a drop to drink,' no fresh water at all. Since
the days of Spanish exploration, the reefs and shoals of the Dry Tortugas
have been a serious hazard to navigation and are the site of hundreds of
shipwrecks.

"In the early 1800s, the military realized the strategic location of the
islands in the Florida Straits, and plans were drawn up and construction
started on a massive fortress, one of the largest masonry forts in the
world. It was an ambitious project, but never finished.

"The park lies between sixty and seventy miles west of Key West and can
only be reached by seaplane or boat. Antwon is part of a business that
offers boat trips to the islands and can arrange for a seaplane when a
group doesn't want to go by boat. When I suggested you might like a day
trip there, Antwon raised his usual protest, 'A day is not enough.' It does
take two hours or so to reach the islands by boat, so I suggested a
seaplane out with a boat meeting you there and then the boat back. Antwon
said he'd favor a boat both ways with an overnight on the boat, and
reminded me that both Mrs. Crandall and I had made an overnight with a
group of friends several times. I thought that was a good idea and made
reservations. Had I waited until you arrived, it would be likely neither
boat nor plane would have been available. In fact, it was a rare piece of
luck that Antwon could arrange an excursion, but I can cancel today if
you're not interested. Interested?"

"What do we know?" John laughed. "I guess we'll just have to go and
see. Truthfully, Mrs. Metzer, it sounds wonderful. Antwon works for a
charter service?"

"Actually, he's part owner of one -- Logan's Florida Keys Excursions. He
will, I assure you, provide an exciting two days. If that's settled?"
Mrs. Metzer looked around and saw six nodding heads. "Fine, I'll go ahead
and confirm your reservations. I'm also sure you'll want to spend time in
Key West. Since you are students, I thought you'd like to visit the
Hemingway house and museum. And while you'll have an excellent view of the
sunset here as well as on your trip, watching the sunset in Key West is a
big deal. But you can go to Key West on the spur of the moment since it's
not that far away. If you have seen The Birdcage, you have some idea of one
aspect of Key West. It's a very lively place."

"Wasn't The Birdcage about queers?" Adam asked, to the embarrassment of us
all.

"Yes, I suppose, in a sense, it is. It centered around a gay couple,"
Mrs. Metzer said in a very neutral voice.

"I'm sure not interested in any faggots," Adam sneered.

"And I'm sure they are not interested in you," Mrs. Metzer replied with an
icy smile, "but, fortunately, Key West prides itself on accepting all kinds
of people." Her voice was very even, but then she added in a very soft
aside, "Even bigots." After a pause, she went on, "As I said, you can go to
Key West on the spur of the moment, or not go at all if you prefer.

"Today I thought you might like to stick close and explore the estate --
the house and grounds. There's a bike trail and bikes if you like to do
that. If some of you want to do one thing and some another, that's
fine. I'll just need to know your plans so I can determine if Antwon will
be needed, and what you want to do for meals, especially if you want
something special like a picnic or won't be here for a meal but, again, the
goal is for you to enjoy your visit."

"It all sounds wonderful," Susan said, "and I like the idea of exploring
today. Say we gather for lunch at 12:30 and plan on dinner at 8:00."

"So very civilized," John kidded her, "but, sure, sounds good."

"Before we start exploring, I'd like to know something of the history of
this place," Justin said. "There has to be a story here -- a whole bunch of
stories -- I'm sure."

"True, very true and, again I don't want to bore you to tears, but I do
enjoy being a tour guide, especially when I can sit in this house and talk
about it! You are right, the stories about La Casa are interesting.

"Of course the history of the area goes back to the days of the Spanish
exploration -- well, actually before that with American Indians. The modern
history of La Casa starts shortly after the turn of the century when a
Mr. Swanson bought the land and had plans drawn up for the manor house and
a village. The latter was to be a cluster of houses for the servants and
workers on the estate. It was completed first so those constructing the
manor house would have a place to live without traveling to and from work,
since most lived a distance away and traveling wasn't as easy then as now.

"As soon as the village was completed, ground was broken for the manor
house. The foundations had just been laid when the First World War broke
out, so construction stopped. It was a while after the war before
construction could be resumed, so the house wasn't completed for a number
of years, being officially opened with a New Year's ball in 1929."

"Uh oh," Justin said.

"How right you are. While Mr. Swanson didn't lose all his wealth in the
crash, it was considerably reduced. As a result, he decided he couldn't
maintain two residences. La Casa, if you can believe it, was only his
winter cottage, so it was the one sacrificed. Ideally it would have been
sold, but the housing market after October 1929, you can understand, was
not thriving. Accordingly, La Casa was essentially boarded up and
left. Antwon's great-grandparents were members of the staff and remained
employees of Mr. Swanson. They were to look after the place as best they
could -- to make sure there were no leaks to damage the house, break-ins,
that sort of thing. They weren't required to do much else and couldn't. Can
you imagine two people keeping this place? Well, that's one half of the
story.

"Meanwhile, Mr. Crandall... and this can get complicated since there are
three Mr. Crandalls involved -- Mr. Crandall senior, called Mr. Alexander;
Mr. Crandall junior, called Alex; and Mr. Crandall III whom we call
Mr. Crandall since he was the husband of the present Mrs. Crandall. Ok?
Well, Mr. Alexander had been left a great deal of money by his father and
the Crandall wealth had not only survived the Great Depression, but
prospered during it. The story is his father had struck it rich in oil and
he couldn't turn it off just because there was a depression going on.

"Anyway, Mr. Alexander fell in love with a woman, Miss Janice Seymore, he
met at a summer's party just after he had graduated college. Unfortunately,
she was already engaged to someone else. Nevertheless, they moved in the
same social circles and saw a great deal of each other over the summer.

"At the end of summer party, Miss Seymore was in attendance without her
fiance and Mr. Alexander took advantage of the fact, dancing almost every
dance with her. While they were dancing -- and when they sat out and talked
-- he told her he would be leaving for the Far East and anticipated being
away until Christmas or the New Year. She made him promise to write her and
tell her about all the things he was seeing and his experiences. "I wish I
could travel, not on a grand tour, but to really see people and places. You
must write so I can imagine what it would be like," she had said. He wrote
her almost every day and she responded as often. Nonetheless, she did not
tell him she had broken off her engagement. When he returned a few weeks
before Christmas, he discovered she was as much in love with him as he
her. So far as anyone else knew, they had a whirlwind courtship and
announced their engagement at a New Year's party. They were married in May
1930 -- he finally marrying the woman he had worshiped for almost a
year. The present Mrs. Crandall says Mrs. Alexander Crandall senior wasn't
hurting for money in her own right and their combined fortune was
considerable.

"Both wanted a houseful of children as they were only children
themselves. After four years of marriage, they had been very disappointed
when there were no children and they had been told by doctors here and in
Europe, there never would be. Then, surprise, surprise, Mr. Crandall junior
was born -- their miracle baby. When he was almost four, Mr. Swanson died
and, in settling his estate, La Casa was put on the market. Mrs. Alexander
had been at La Casa for the holidays in 1928 and the 1929 New Year's ball
and had fallen in love with the estate, not just the manor house. As soon
as it was offered, she made an offer which was immediately snatched up by
the agent for the Swansons.

"Mrs. Alexander supervised the renovation of one of the cottages in the
village and the Crandalls spent Januaries and Februaries here for couple
years avoiding the worse months of their hometown's -- Chicago's --
winters. Mrs. Alexander absolutely hated the Chicago cold and asked about
their making this their year-around residence. Mr. Alexander liked the idea
and they came down in early 1941 and decided to reopen the manor
house. World War II intervened and the renovations didn't start until
1946. The Crandalls spent the war in Washington where Mr. Crandall was
working for some government project. I have never known anything concerning
it and apparently those who did have been very closed-mouth. While the
Crandalls spent what time they could here during the war, it was very
little.

"After the war, the Crandalls moved back and started renovating the other
houses in the village and moving in workmen as a house was ready. That job
was finished in 1950-51 and work started on the manor house when the Korean
War erupted. Mr. Alex was in the ROTC in college and thought he'd escape
the draft but, for reasons I don't know, he was inducted into the Army -- I
think in late 1952 -- younger than others being drafted. He was always very
bitter about it since he should have been able to finish college and go in
as an officer. I have always suspected a member of the draft board was
jealous of the Crandalls and managed to pull a dirty one. Anyway, the
Korean War was still going on when the renovation of the manor house was
competed in 1953. Mr. Alex was in Korea so his parents didn't have any
official opening. Then when the war ended, Mr. Alex was still assigned
there until just before Christmas after the ceasefire was signed. The house
was officially reopened with a New Year's ball in 1954."

"I would have thought they would have learned a New Year's ball opening was
not a good idea," John grinned.

Mrs. Metzer laughed and said, "It would certainly seem so. Alex was at the
ball and, as his father had been at beginning of summer party, was
absolutely captivated by a young lady, Alice Blaupoint, he met there. She
was a graduate student working in marine biology at one of the Key West
research stations. Alex spent every minute he could tear free from being a
part of the host family chasing her, and running from Melissa Grant -- the
daughter of one of his mother's college classmates. The mothers had decided
the two would make a grand couple and apparently Melissa agreed. Alex, on
the other hand, told his mother Melissa had cotton candy for brains and
that was her best quality.

"Alice wasn't really interested in romance since she was very involved in
her research, but she did go out with Alex a few times. When he began
hinting at marriage, she suggested he look elsewhere for a wife since she
wasn't interested and too busy to think about it. He persisted, and six
months later they were married and came to live here on the estate. Alex
was gradually taking over his father's enterprises when, a few months after
his marriage, his father died of a massive heart attack and Alice and Alex
moved into the manor house.

"Apparently Alex was a born businessman and worked day and night. Alice,
likewise was busy, continuing with her research through a pregnancy and
after Alexander the third was born a year after they were married. His
parents, frankly, were pretty absent from Alexander's life and his
grandmother became his overly indulgent parent. According to stories I have
heard, he was an insufferable brat, but an absolute genius. His grandmother
died when he was twelve, and after her funeral he was hustled off to a
private school in New England. I've heard tell his parents, frankly,
couldn't stand to have him around. As a result, he spent year around in
school or some program. That, coupled with his natural genius, resulted in
his graduating high school when he was just past sixteen. Having been away
in school so long, it seemed natural that he start college right away.

"He was in his junior year of college when he was old enough to join the
ROTC. That was neither a popular thing to do at the time nor a decision his
father approved. To make matters worse, a year or so later, he met a young
woman working for inclusion of women in the ROTC program and was determined
to marry her. He brought her to La Casa and after his parents met her, they
put their foot down and told him they would disinherit him if he did marry
her. Contrary to his previous behavior, he broke off the romance but, to
get even, volunteered for immediate active duty. At the time, sons of
wealthy parents were finding ways to get out of military active duty and
the Vietnam war. His father was violently opposed to Alexander's decision
because of his own experiences with the military, and Alexander was just as
determined to do the opposite of anything his father did or
wanted. Eventually he ended up a helicopter pilot in Vietnam.

"In the final days of the war, he took part in the evacuation of Saigon,
during which his aircraft was shot up. He managed to get the crippled
helicopter to within the rescue area of a naval ship and was picked
up. While he survived the crash, he was horribly burned and no-one expected
him to live. He was brought back on a hospital plane and after months in a
military hospital, released. His recovery was slow, very slow, and he was
left badly scarred.

"He came back to the estate and began working closely with his father. To
their surprise, they got along well and enjoyed working together. His
father was definitely slowing down and Alexander took on more and more of
the Crandall enterprises. His mother had tried to convince him to submit to
plastic surgery and, when he noticed his scarred face was a handicap in
business negotiations, he agreed. The process had been going on for about a
year when, after what was to be one of the last operations, he got an
infection which kept him at death's door for several weeks. As if that
wasn't bad enough, while he was recovering from surgery and infection, both
his parents were killed in a plane crash.

"Since he was in a battle for his own life, his doctors decided Alexander
wasn't to be told, but after neither of his parents had been to see him or
call for several days, he demanded to know what was wrong. Told about the
crash, he went into deep depression and simply decided he didn't want to
live. It appeared he would get his wish when the present Mrs. Crandall
appeared on the scene. She was doing advanced training to become a nurse
practitioner and had previously worked as a psychiatric nurse. She said it
didn't take long for her to see what was going on. 'I knew depression when
I saw it and knew in this case more than drugs was needed.' She took
Alexander on as a special project and, for whatever reason, he responded to
her and after six weeks, left the hospital.

"To make a long story a bit shorter, Mr. Crandall learned she had a spring
break coming up..."

"Ah! The plot thickens," John said.

"I guess it does at that," Mrs. Metzer actually laughed. "Anyway, he
invited her to bring some friends and come to La Casa for the break, which
she did. When she completed her training in May, he invited her and a group
of friends down for a breather and, later, to celebrate earning her
certification as a nurse practitioner. As she was practically ready to
board the plane for her first job after that visit, Mr. Crandall asked,
'Why don't you come to La Casa to stay?'" Mrs. Metzer smiled an said,
"Mrs. Crandall wasn't sure what he meant since he had never even flirted
with her, or so she thought. He had to do some explaining and then some
quick talking to have her consider his offer, but she didn't give him an
answer. When she got home, the gifts, cards, letters and phone calls just
kept coming. She finally called and said she guessed she'd have to accept
since she was being buried alive. They were married October of that year
and had five glorious years together, then the stress on Mr. Crandall's
body from his injuries and their after-effects caught up with him and he
died quietly in his sleep. Which, by the way, the family doctor told
Alexander would probably have happened to his father had he not died in the
plane crash. Anyway, Mrs. Crandall is now mistress of La Casa."

"Wow," Bobbie said. "A real love story."

"A very tragic one," Susan added. Everyone fell silent for a moment, then
Susan suggested, "So why don't we explore the estate today -- maybe a bike
ride this morning, explore the house when it gets very hot outside, and
then end the day at the beach."

"Sounds good to me," Justin said.

"Would you like a bonfire on the beach?" Mrs. Metzer asked. When we agreed,
she said, "I'll arrange that. When you are ready for a bike ride, give
Antwon a call -- dial 8 -- and he will meet you downstairs, Marc, near the
entrance to the pool. The bikes are stored there."

We went upstairs to our rooms and agreed to meet in our suite in thirty
minutes. Justin and I made short work of brushing our teeth and when we
undressed to get dressed for biking, were immediately in each other's
arms. After a long, hot kiss, Justin slid his lips down my chest and
covered a nipple with his hot mouth. He flicked it with his tongue and
teased it with his teeth which sent my already rock-hard cock pulsating
with each heartbeat. As Justin continue tonguing my chest, I reached down
and grasped his throbbing manhood as I kissed the curve of his neck. Justin
was soon wetting my hand with precum and started groaning my name. He
wrapped one arm around me and with his other hand grasped my cock, which
was also dripping precum like there was no tomorrow. Then, even though we
had both exploded in the shower not very long before, we started shooting
at the same time, each covering our lover with a physical sign of our newly
professed love.

"Wow! Damn!" Justin said when he could finally get his breath.

"Yeah! Wow! Damn, indeed!" I said in response. Then, when I was finally
mostly recovered, said, "We better take a thirty-second shower to clean up
and, even at that, we are going to be late."

"They can't go until you show them the way," he said and stuck his tongue
in my ear.

"Which means they will be here soon and I don't think a locked door would
send the message we want sent."

"Why don't we be really late?" Justin said with a grin, his eyes
sparkling. "Let's lock the door and spend the day exploring each other."

"Would love to, really I would, but..."

"Yeah, I know. I was just daydreaming."

"Wet dreaming you mean," I said with a laugh and ran to the shower with
Justin chasing me.

We had just barely gotten dressed when John knocked, stuck his head in the
door and said, "Adam and I are headed down."

"You know the way?" I called out from my bedroom.

"Well, no," John said, kinda embarrassed.

"Come on in," I said, "I'll be right with you." Justin did the bathroom
race and I stepped into the living room from my room as Justin popped out
the door of his.

Antwon was waiting for us when we reached the storage area where at least a
dozen very nice bikes were waiting. "Do you ride at all?" John asked after
we had spoken to Antwon.

"Just about every day. Well, every day I have time," Antwon replied.

"Then I'm sure you are a lot better than any of us. Why don't you change
and come along? You can show us where to ride, and point out the
sights. You have plenty of time to change -- Susan and Bobbie are not
here."

"They are probably still deciding what to wear, if Susan is like Bobbie,"
Adam said.

"So, yeah, why don't you come along?" John asked.

"Would love to if y'all don't mind."

"Hey, you'd be doing us a favor," I responded.

"Give me ten," Antwon smiled. "I need to change and advise Mrs.  Metzer of
my whereabouts."

"No rush. We'll probably still be waiting for the women."

For the most part, I would say that we are about as liberal a bunch as you
can find in eastern Carolina. Having said that, though, I was a bit anxious
about how Adam would react to having Antwon, an African-American, riding
with us. Adam has, sometimes, pulled the 'some of my best friends are
African-Americans' bit, and generally divided African-Americans into ok and
not ok groups, with athletes being ok and all others not ok.

Antwon was back in a little more than ten minutes, just as Bobbie and Susan
appeared. When I saw him, I knew he was definitely in the ok group. His
biker's spandex showed off a magnificent body. Adam didn't miss a chance to
point it out, greeting Antwon with, "Shit, Man, you are one built
dude. Sure as hell wish I was built like that."

Antwon laughed and said, "Could be if you work your flabby ass off!" as he
smacked Adam on the butt. Three of us choked back laughs as Adam turned
bright red. "Ready to ride?" Antwon asked and hopped on his bike.