Date: Sun, 31 Jul 2011 16:24:19 -0700
From: Flip McHooter <1977.flip@gmail.com>
Subject: So Cal Summer 1969-Chapter 15

The story below is a work of fiction, except the location. All characters
named are figments of my imagination. This story contains explicit sexual
situations between high school aged boys, (and some girls). If this is
illegal, etc., well you know the drill.

Also, because it's based in the past, some of it may not be politically
correct as I have tried to be true to 1969.

Thanks to everybody who has emailed me, I appreciate the tips and feedback!
Flip 1977.flip@gmail.com

Chapter 15

The morning brought plenty of sunshine peeking through the windows of the
pool house and with it the hint that it was going to be a very hot day.
Jake was still sound asleep, his arms and legs all entwined around mine,
the wrinkly sheet all scrunched up between his legs, his morning boner
sticking me in the thigh and throbbing with each thump of his heart. I
looked at the clock on the rickety old table and saw that it was only a
quarter after six. Shit it's early, I thought.

I laid there for a while, just watching him sleep and breathing in his
musky scent. I studied his beautiful body and noticed how he was starting
to get more muscular, just from the swimming that we had been doing for the
last few weeks. His tan looked really good, too, and he didn't have much of
a tan line anymore. One of his arms was raised up over his head and I took
a long look at his hairy armpit. He had quite a bit more hair than I did,
and I thought his patch of dark, curly hair was sexy. It seemed weird for
me to enjoy being with him and admiring his body as much as I did, but I
still popped a boner anyway.

I'd always heard the guys at school talk about what they did or wanted to
do with this girl or that girl, but I never really gave girls much
thought. Being with Jake felt so good and comfortable and I didn't know if
I'd feel the same way being with a girl. I liked Lisa a lot, and I liked
looking at her boobs, probably because they were so big that it was hard to
tear yourself away, but having sex with her or any other girl for that
matter did nothing for me. The thought of putting my dick in a girl's hole
kind of creeped me out, too, actually. I couldn't help but wonder if my
dick could get stuck in there somehow, and then what would I do? When I was
younger I always felt that I would grow into some sort of attraction for
girls, but surprisingly that just never happened.

I had always figured that one day I'd get a good job, like my dad, find a
pretty girl to marry, like my mom, and have a few kids, maybe like
Jordy. But it wasn't something that I really gave a lot of thought about
and really, being tied down and having my whole life planned out already
didn't interest me at all that much anymore. Besides, I want to do stuff
and go places and have fun. Getting up at six every morning and going to
work for eight hours every day slaving behind a desk for forty years just
didn't seem very exciting to me. There had to be more, I just wasn't sure
what it was.

Well, I had plenty of time to figure out what I would do, and I decided
that I wasn't going to give this stuff anymore thought this whole
summer. If I thought any harder I'd probably get a headache. So I made up
my mind right then and there that this summer was going to be all about
having fun. Being with Jake, playing with our boners, swimming and working
out, and listening to music was all that I really wanted to do. And oh
yeah, getting high! I'd have to call Coop this morning to see if we could
score some pot before he left for the pool.

I was suddenly tired of thinking so deeply. Jake had rolled over and his
head was firmly lodged under my armpit and his hand was draped over my
stomach, putting pressure on my filled to capacity bladder. I had to get up
and take a piss, but I didn't really want to wake him up. I tried to
shuffle around and out from under him but it was no use.

"Werr ya goin?" he managed to mumble.

"Gotta take a leak. Be right back, bud."

I finished up in the bathroom and after washing my hands, walked back into
the room and dived onto the sofa-bed making Jake flip up like he was on a
trampoline. He wasn't very happy about that and told me so.

"What the fuck? I'm still sleeping here."

"Not anymore," I said rubbing his long hair and digging my fingers into his
scalp. "Want to go for another nude hike since it's so early?"

"No, I don't. Can't we just sleep some more?" he said, closing his eyes.

"Yeah, I guess." I got up on my knees close to him so that my dick was
right in his face and I slowly started rubbing it against his lips. When he
opened up his mouth to say something, I took the opportunity to stick my
half hard cock in his mouth.

"Plwhew! Get that thing out of my mouth. It tastes like pee!"

I started laughing and then asked him, "How would you know what pee tastes
like? Do you have some weird crazy fetish that I don't know about?"

"I don't know. I just tried mine once when I was little to see what it
tasted like. I pissed in an empty coke bottle and drank some of it. So
what?"

"Did you like it?"

"Mmmm, I don't know. It was weird. I just did it that one time."

"Yeah, I did that once, too. I think everybody is curious about what it
tastes like. Are we cranky today?"

"No, just let me stay here a little longer and then I'll get up," he said,
pulling a pillow over his head and wrapping his arms on top.

I got up off the bed again and went into the bath room to get the bottle of
lotion off the counter. I came back and propped up a couple of the big
velvet pillows against the back of the sofa-bed and then sat down and
leaned back on them, my legs straight out in front of me. I grabbed the
pillow that Jake had over his head and threw it on the floor.

"What the fuck is it with you today, man? Can't a guy get a few zzz's?"

"Simmer down. I've got a surprise for you! Roll over here on top of me. Lay
the back of your head on my shoulder and put your butt on my bush and then
rest your back on my stomach and close your freakin' eyes. Don't worry; I'm
not gonna butt fuck you. I think you'll like what I'm about to do."

Grudgingly, and letting out a long sigh, he rolled over on top of me and
then scooted up a little bit. I wrapped my arms around his tan chest and
squeezed him in real tight. His morning woody was sticking straight up into
the air and his legs were stretched out on either side of mine. "I want to
wake you up properly. You just relax, lay back, close your eyes and enjoy
the ride. OK bud?"

"All right, if you insist."

"I must, I must."

I lathered up the palm of my hand with a good amount of gooey lotion and
lightly grabbed hold of his cock, gently greasing up his hard pole and then
his loose ball sack. After about ten soft strokes with my hand he had
totally melted into me, his arms flopping loosely down at my sides, and his
legs wrapped around mine like a boa constrictor. With my other arm, I moved
it around and I slipped it up under his arm and planted it firmly across
his chest, holding him down. He was mine and he wasn't about to go
anywhere! I was going to jerk this boy off in style, I thought to myself.

He stayed on top of me while I continued to stroke his hot rod up and down,
varying the speed and sometimes squeezing hard and then other times barely
touching his fleshy member at all. Then I'd roll my hand around his dark
pink knob like I was screwing in a light bulb, and this sent him into fits
of ecstasy. Just when he seemed like it was getting to be too much for him,
I slowed down the pace and fooled around with the hair at the base of his
cock, running my fingers thorough it. I'd occasionally bounce around his
heavy balls and try to rub around his perineum, although that was hard for
me to reach from this angle. I loosened the grip of my arm on his chest and
started to flick and pinch his teen boy nipples and made circles on his
flat stomach with the palm of my hand. His big nipples responded by
standing at full attention.

I loaded up with another handful of lotion as he relaxed even more and
shifted his head closer to mine, and whispered in his stale morning breath
how he would love to be woken up like this every day. Kissing me on the
cheek, his body went back to being totally relaxed, except for his cock,
which was really beginning to get super hard now and starting to throb like
crazy. I knew it wasn't going to take me much longer to get this boy
off. He moved his legs even farther apart so he looked like a giant nude
teen-boy starfish lying on top of me, only his cock sticking straight up
and being fondled by me.

I stopped for a second to wipe up a bubble of pre-cum from the tip of his
dick, giving it a little taste on my tongue and then squirted some more
lotion onto my hand and then went back to pumping his hot cock. I let go of
his nipple and moved my hand down so that my thumb and fingers grabbed
around the base of his dick, holding it straight up in the air. I whipped
it around like I was a maestro with a baton, and with my other hand
squeezed and pulled on his fleshy ball sack. Jake started squirming around
on top of me and making little noises of pleasure. His dick kept leaking
out more pre-cum, which of course turned me on. I scooped some up in my
fingers giving it another taste, smacking my lips in pleasure. I even
shared some of his dick juice with him by wiping up a stringy ribbon and
then rubbing it all around on his lips.

I went back to jacking his long skinny dick, really pumping for that
boy-milk this time. He started moaning louder and louder until finally, not
being able to take it anymore, shot out a big load of hot semen all over
his chest and my arms. I continued rubbing his dick for a few seconds more
and then squeezed the head to coax the rest of his delicious cum out of the
tip of his dick. I slowed down and then just rubbed the purple head with my
thumb, until he told me to stop because it was getting too sensitive and it
was making his legs jerk.

We laid there quietly, Jake basking in his orgasmic high and me just
enjoying the fact that I had just got my best buddy's rocks off. I took in
a deep breath of Jake's boy/man body, enjoying the aroma that was unique to
him. I spread the pools of his liquid love all around his stomach and
chest, even working some into his nipples. Finally, he was getting too
heavy for me so I asked him, "Are you awake now?"

"Yes. That was the best wake up I think I've ever had. Sorry for being such
a grouch. I'm just not a morning person."

"Don't worry about it. I was awake and couldn't wait any longer to you to
wake up. Can you get off me, you're kinda heavy. I'll go get a washcloth
and clean you up."

When I came back, he said, "Thanks, Ryan. I really mean it," and smiled up
at me while I was wiping the spooge from his stomach.

"No problem, bud. Like I said, I woke up early this morning and was just
lying there. I was day-dreaming and thinking about life and how happy I am
and then I decided that I wanted to do something nice for you. Plus, I was
looking at you and thinking how sexy you are."

"C'mere and let me give you a fucking sloppy kiss!"

"Not `til you go brush your teeth. Your morning breath is wicked
today. Must have been those enchiladas."

"All, right, all right. But when I come back I'm gonna do you, and do you
good!"

"Maybe later. Little Ry-Ry needs a rest. Maybe this afternoon we can fool
around. Besides, we have a busy day. After breakfast I want to swing by
Coop's and get some more pot before he has to go to work at the high school
pool, and then you promised to take me to see those special sexy movies at
the porn theater downtown!"

"That's right. Do you think we can really get in there and see some of
them?"

"We can give it a try. I mean, they want to make money, don't they? If
there isn't a cop around I don't think it would make any difference. We
might have to pay more or bribe somebody to get us in, though."

"I guess we can try it. This sounds exciting," Jake said, heading into the
bathroom and slamming the door shut behind him.

After we got dressed we went into the house for breakfast. Mom wasn't
stationed at the stove this morning, so it was cold cereal and juice for
everybody. All was quiet and the group had their heads buried behind a
section of the morning paper, munching quietly or sipping hot coffee. Jordy
seemed to be totally engrossed in the comics, probably catching up on what
Veronica and Jughead were up too.

I snuck away for a second so I could give Coop a quick call to see if we
could run down the street and get some pot from him this morning. He didn't
have a problem with that but said he was almost out the door and headed for
work because Coach was going to have an early morning staff meeting with
all of the lifeguards and locker room staff people working this
summer. Apparently he had a bug up his ass about something, but Coop didn't
know what it was. He said he'd be out in front of my house in five minutes,
but then he had to go. That worked out fine with me-special delivery!

Dad had left for work before we got up and when I got back to the table
everybody else was sitting around the kitchen table either finishing their
cereal or yakking away softly, or still half asleep. Then I got an idea.

"Hey Lisa. Are you done eating? Can you help me with something real quick?"
I asked, Jake giving me a weird look out of the corner of his eyes.

"Sure, what's up?

"C'mere and I'll tell you."

We threaded our way through the house and out the front door, Lisa hot on
my heels, wondering what was up. Shutting the door quietly behind us, she
asked again what was going on.

"My friend Cooper is coming by for a second to drop off some smoke for
us. I thought that you might want to meet him. He's a real good guy and you
know he likes Sugar, Sugar, right?"

"Damn you, Ryan. I told you I don't want to meet any guys right now."

"I know, I know, but he really is a good guy and not like those dicks at
your old school. He's a lifeguard at the pool this summer, trying to make
some money. When he met Jake we were talking and he said he wanted to meet
you. If you don't like him it's no big deal. It's not like you have to date
him or anything."

"All right. I'll meet him. But no promises, OK?"

"Deal."

Coop rounded the bend a couple of minutes later and I was surprised to see
that he was driving his dad's `67 Shelby GT500 Mustang. It was an awesome
looking car and I had been in it only once before. It was different than
the others that I had seen because his dad had to order the black paint
with the white stripe directly from the factory. It was a loud and fast
car, having a big 428 Police Interceptor engine. Even when it was parked
and standing still it looked fast!

He took the curve at the top of our street and then pulled up to the curb
right in front of me and Lisa. He reached over and rolled down the window
and said, "Hey guys, we got to make this really quick."

Smiling at Lisa, he continued, "I've gotta get to the pool in time to make
our staff meeting. If I'm late I'm gonna be in deep shit. Coach is pissed
about something and I don't want to be in any more trouble."

"Thanks for doing this, Coop. I really appreciate it. This is Lisa, Jakes
older sister. Lisa, this is my friend Cooper."

"Hi Lisa, nice to meet you. Ryan says good things about you. You look
beautiful this morning, by the way. I understand that you have fine taste
in music."

"Oh, you're a fast one Cooper, and not just your car, although it is pretty
hot," she said with a grin.

"Right-on," he said to Lisa, his smile even broader now. "Here's your
stuff, my friend, you can pay me later. I really gotta go. Like I said I
can't be late for work or Coach will kill me. Nice meeting you Lisa," he
said, and slammed it down the street leaving long skid marks in front of
both my house and Jake's, the sound deafening.

`Well, he certainly is something. Tell me about him," Lisa said as soon as
our ears returned to normal.

I quickly shoved the baggie in my pocket, and giving nosey Mrs. Jacobson
from across the street a wave, we headed up the walk. "He's going to be a
senior this year, and like I told you before he's working at the pool this
summer. When he met Jake he was nice enough to ask about you and when I
told him you weren't dating right now he said was cool with it. He's had
one steady girlfriend before and they dated for a long time. In fact, even
though they broke up and she's seeing another guy, they are still
friends. Like I said, he's a good guy."

Just as we climbed the steps and reached the front door, Mom flew opened
the door so hard it hit the inside wall with a loud bang, so loud in fact
that I could still hear the pictures on the wall rattling inside the house!

"What the hell was all that commotion? And what are you guys doing out here
so damn early in the morning?"

Whoa, busted! She must really be pissed if she's swearing.

"Oh, sorry Mom. That was Cooper and he just stopped by for a second. I
think he was late for work. He was driving his dad's muscle car and I guess
he didn't realize how much power it had. I'll tell him to be more
careful. He usually drives that beat up old beetle of his that's slower
than slow."

"Let me tell you something, young man, right here and now: If you ever, and
I mean ever, drive your dad's car or even the station wagon like that and I
find out about it your ass is going to be so red you won't be able to sit
down for a week. Maybe more! And don't think that you're too big to be bent
over my knee, either. Got that mister?"

"Yeah, Mom. I got it. Loud and clear."

"You too, Lisa. I don't think you drive like that and your bus probably
doesn't even peel out, but just be careful, OK?" she said, starting to
finally calm down. "I was a teenager once too, you know, and I had a
boyfriend who had an old hot rod. A year or so after we broke up and while
I was dating your dad, he crashed it racing another car out on the highway
outside of town and his brother was thrown from it and killed. Splat! All
over the highway! Just like that. I just worry about you kids, that's
all. Please be careful."

"We will mom. I promise."

"Me too, Luann. I don't drive like that and I won't let guys I date drive
like that either."

"Good. Come here and give me a hug, both of you. I'm sorry for losing my
temper. It just brought back a bad memory that I'd rather forget."

"I know, Mom. You wouldn't be mad if you didn't care about us. Thanks."

The rest of the morning was pretty uneventful. The four of us kids tried to
stay away from my mom just in case she had anything else she wanted to
scold us about. Sometimes you never knew when she was going to pitch a
fit. I noticed that as I got older my mom was harder to understand
sometimes. She always seemed to have sand in her giny about something these
days. Later on, Jake and I swam our laps and then worked on a couple of
diving moves, Jake being much better than me. I still was kind of hung up
on smashing my balls, because, like usual, we weren't wearing any clothes.

Around eleven, Lisa and Jordy came out to the pool to fool around with us,
and to tell us that Lisa had dropped Lulu off at work down at the music
academy and that Mom had gone to a bridge game at the club with her women
friends. Booorrring! I hoped my mom was feeling better or the other ladies
might really get it!

Jordy jumped in the pool and paddled around for a while, playing with a big
beach ball and then Jake started picking him up and launching him in the
air so he'd land with a big splash. He loved doing that. Lisa was naked
too, today, save for big mosquito sunglasses, and was sitting on an old
beach towel by the edge of the pool dangling her feet in the cool, clear
water. I swam up to her and then jumped up on the edge and sat down next to
her, shaking my hair and getting her wet and trying not to look at her
hairy cooter. I liked Lisa but I wasn't sure about that thing down there.

"Sorry about that this morning. I didn't mean for Mom to go off on us. I
guess Coop was just showing off."

"It's all right. Like I said, boys do stupid things, just like you getting
me all wet just now. And besides, you can't blame your mom for her
outburst, her Aunt Flo is visiting."

"Aunt Flo? She didn't say anything about having company. I don't think she
has an Aunt Flo."

"No silly. It's her time of the month," Lisa told me, and since I guess I
still looked confused, she added, "She's on the rag. She's having her
period!"

"Oh...oh...OH THAT! Man. We learned about that in health class. Oh yuck. I
don't need to know about that. That's worse than thinking about your
parents having sex. Geez."

"Well what they probably didn't tell you in health class is that some women
get cranky and emotional during that time while others turn into real horn
dogs. Different emotional things happen to different women. I used to be a
total bitch during my monthly visitor. Ask Jake, he remembers and he can
tell you. Then my mom took me to the doctor and now I'm on the pill. Kind
of kills two birds with one pill, so to speak."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the pill keeps me from getting pregnant so I can fuck all I want,
plus it mellows out my hormones so I'm not such a big old bitch."

"Wow, that's great, I guess. You know, that's probably why my mom is so
bitchy sometimes. I never knew why she'd get like that. You sure it only
happens once a month?" I asked.

"Yeah," she said laughing. "A woman's cycle is every twenty-eight days,
more or less, so theoretically it could happen twice in one month. But
depending on her hormones she might act funny for a few days, before or
after. The best thing you can do is be nice to her during that time, or if
it's really bad, just freakin' run!"

"Thanks Lisa, that makes total sense to me now. How come they don't tell
you that stuff when they teach the health class?"

"Well, they tell the girls, but I guess they like to keep the boys
guessing!"

"That sucks. Say, why don't you tell her about that pill? Maybe it will
mellow her out some."

"Oh hell no! That's not my place. Maybe your dad should do it."

We sat there in the hot sun watching Jake and Jordy play in the pool. They
were having a good time fooling around with a beach ball and it was fun
watching them. Jordy beaned Jake in the head quite a few times and it was
cool to see that they were becoming fast friends, or maybe more like
brothers.

"So you boys are getting alone pretty well, huh?" Lisa asked me after a
little while.

"Yeah," I said, starting to feel self-conscious and shy.

After a minute, I said, "Can I ask you something? Do you think Jake and I
can be boyfriends, like, for real, like a guy and a girl can? I don't mean
`go to the Prom' friends but you know, just be together."

"Sweetie, before I get into that I have to tell you something
first. Whatever you relationship with Jake is or isn't about, you have got
to keep it to yourself. You're right. Things like the prom wouldn't work
for you guys. If kids at school find out about you guys your life will be
hell. I know I've told you that before, but it bears repeating.

"That being said, I love Jake more than anything. More than my parents,
actually. And since we moved here I have never, ever, seen him as happy as
he is with you. I'll tell you this, but keep it to yourself, OK? Our dad
was never around when Jake was growing up. He never went to Jake's little
league games or anything like that. He missed his birthdays, things at
school and a lot of other things and it hurt him very much. He's a very
complex kid, and he hides his emotions very well. I think in a way he
admires you and I know he likes being with you. Geez, you guys have never
been apart since the second we moved here! I think you challenge him, and
yet, you certainly are bringing him out of his shell. He didn't have many
friends back at our old place, `cause they used to make fun of us `cause of
our parents. I think he is happy that you took to him so
unconditionally. Well, the three of us are happy that your whole family has
taken to us so quickly.

"As for being boyfriends, I think by now he probably loves you, but doesn't
completely comprehend it yet. I know it's been a real short time since we
all met, but I look at him sometimes and I'll see him staring at you and he
has this funny look on his face that I haven't ever seen before. It kinda
just says it all. You know that I figured you guys out right away, Jake
especially is a dead give-away. I'm pretty sure he doesn't like girls in a
romantic way, in fact he's never shown an interest in them at all, if
that's what you're worried about. I snooped through his room once when I
was mad at him and he didn't even have a stash of Playboy's! But he did
have an old Sears's catalogue with the pictures of the men and boys in
their underwear torn out. I guess he had them hidden somewhere and he'd
beat off to them. I think it will be hard for him to say the words like I
love you, but he will show his love to you other ways through his actions."
Then, changing the subject, she asked me, "Do you love him?"

"You know, I woke up real early this morning while we were sleeping out in
the pool house. Jake was lying on top of me still sound asleep, his hair a
mess and he was sorta snoring and his breath smelled like elephant
dung. But you know, I didn't care because I didn't want to be in any other
place than right there in that room with just him. I love my folks, Jordan
and even you and your mom. But with Jake it's different. It like squeezes
me inside, if you know what I mean. I just want to be with him all the time
and make him laugh and be happy and touch him and joke with him. Does that
make sense?"

"Oh baby, you got it bad! I wish I had a guy who felt like that about me."
She reached over and gave me a great big wet sloppy kiss on the cheek, and
then when she was done I wrapped my arms around her and pulled us both into
the pool.

Jumping up and shaking the water out of our eyes, we looked at each other
and then started laughing uncontrollably, splashing each other. Jake and
Jordy swam over to us to see what was going on. We wouldn't tell them so
they started splashing us, too. We all were laughing and it must have been
a sight to see: Three naked teens and naked pre-teen boy playing and
enjoying the water in the hot California summer sun. I jumped on Jake,
pushed us both underwater and swam up to his face and gave him an
underwater kiss.

Not to be outdone, Lisa pulled Jordy under water and tried to smother Jordy
with her big boobs. That didn't work out so well `cause her boobs were like
giant pontoons, and they both just floated back up to the surface, her
boobs standing like giant lighthouses, and his hard little three inch boner
looking like the mast of the last remnants of a small sinking sailboat.

We fooled around for an hour or so and then Jake and I took a shower and
ate a couple of bologna and cheese sandwiches on Wonder bread. We were
excited about going downtown to check out the X-rated theater. We didn't
tell Lisa where we were going and instead told her we were going to ride
our bikes and find something to do and that we'd be back in a while. We
really didn't want to tell her exactly what we were up to because she'd
probably tell us that we shouldn't do it. She reminded us to be back in
time for dinner in case Mom was still cranky so we wouldn't get in trouble.

We left the house and rode all the way down the hill and once we got to
Colorado Boulevard, I told Jake that I had an idea.

"It's really far to the other end of town. It's like six or seven miles and
it's really hot out today. Let's lock up our bikes over there at the
Thrifty's and take the RTD. The bus will take us all the way to Fair Oaks
and then we can just walk up the street a couple of blocks to the theater."

"That sounds like a good plan. I agree it's too hot outside today to ride
that far and back, especially if the neighborhood is as funky as Coach
said. I don't want our bikes to get stolen. If we lose our bikes then we'd
hafta start hitchhiking and I don't want to do that. I've got a lot of
quarters in my pocket."

We sat at the bus stop for only a few minutes before one of the rumbling
old buses came smoking up to a stop. These barfy yellow buses always looked
so scummy and the number 420 bus that picked us up was no exception. We
climbed up the steps, put our quarters in the doo-dad thingy next to the
rotund driver in a greasy camo-green uniform and took a seat in the middle
on the right hand side, so I could tell when we had to get off at Fair
Oaks. At least the brown Naugahyde seats were clean. Not too many people
were on board, an old lady knitting something and sitting in the front and
a couple of men in cook's outfits in the back, cracking jokes in
Spanish. They must have been nipping at the cooking sherry before they left
work.

Jake was getting pretty fidgety and squirming around in his seat. I finally
had to tell him to knock it off.

"Dude, you're gonna have to calm down and act like going to this theater is
just a normal everyday thing. Put your Dodger cap back on and try to calm
down. This will all be cool. Just mellow out, OK?"

"OK, but you have to admit this is exciting. I can hardly wait to see what
two naked guys do together, and maybe we can learn a few new tricks to try
out ourselves," he said.

"Dude, keep your voice down!" I said under my breath and looking
around. "Well, even if we don't learn anything new, I'm just happy with
what we're doing now."

"Oh, me too. I just want to make sure that were doing it right. I want to
keep making you happy," he said smiling up at me like a little puppy.

We were almost at our stop so I stood up and pulled the bell cord. Once we
got out I was really surprised to see how seedy this part of Pasadena
really was. A lot of the cool original old buildings from the 1920's and
1930's were either boarded up or had peeling paint and broken windows. Most
of the old canvas awnings were torn and `for rent' signs were in almost
every storefront window. The few stores that were open were bars, pawn
shops and greasy spoon diners. There was a pool hall and an old hotel that
was probably a flop house by now. This place was a total mess. And unlike
our neighborhood, this area was a real melting pot. It was kind of exciting
and scary to me at the same time.

"Ryan, this place looks crummy. I'm glad we didn't ride our bikes down
here. And look at all of these people-it's so crowded. Most everybody looks
poor and dirty like they're homeless and live on the street. That guy over
there across the street in the wheelchair has a sign saying he's a Vietnam
Vet and he needs money. That's really fucked up. When we catch the bus to
go home I'm gonna give him some change." Jake wasn't paying attention while
he was talking and almost mowed down a zippy little old Asian woman pulling
a shopping cart, practically falling on top of her to get out of the way.

Once we got our bearings we started walking, rounding the corner and
heading up Fair Oaks past all of the pawn shops that seemed to be bunched
up all along this block. As we looked through the windows we saw some nice
stuff, small appliances, guitars and amps, even a fake arm with a hook on
the end of it. You probably could get a good deal on some of that stuff,
not that I'd know what to do with a fake arm. Maybe I could use it for next
Halloween.

Jake was sticking right to me as we meandered around some of the drunks and
acid heads that had crashed on the sidewalk. One guy was leaning up next to
a building playing a guitar and singing The Rascal's People Got To Be
Free. That's appropriate, I thought to myself. Looking down an alley I saw
a guy taking a piss against the wall, his big floppy dick in plain view of
everybody. Another guy was passed out against the wall, probably a
boyfriend or son of someone who loved and missed him very much. This place
really smelled bad and was totally crazy and I was hoping that this strange
trip we were on was going to be worth it.

Just before we got to the corner to cross the street to the next block that
the theater was on, I spotted a car parked at the curb that looked
familiar. I stopped dead in my tracks and Jake, not paying attention to me,
slammed right into my back.

"Look at that car. I've seen it somewhere before," I told Jake.

Quiet for a second, he barely whispered, "Oh no, I think that's my dad's
car."

"Are you sure? Oh shit. What would he be doing here?"

"I don't know, but I do know that it's got to be his `cause he had to
special order that car `cause they didn't make very many of those Citroens
for sale out here. They come from Franistan or someplace weird like
that. And he had to wait a long time to get it `cause it came here on a
boat. What should we do? I don't want to see him-I hate that fucker. You
don't think he's at the porno theater do you?" he asked.

"You said they have porno theaters at your old town so I doubt that he's in
there. Don't they all play the same stuff? Why would he come all the way up
here? He might be in one of those old office buildings across the street,
though. C'mon, let's get going and get away from that car."

Luckily, right then the light turned green so we could cross the street at
Union Street and walk without stopping up the block to the theater. I felt
a sense of relief once we reached the other side of the street and jumped
up on the curb, even though it was just as crummy over here on this side as
it was on the other side.

"Stick close to me, bud, and when we get to the theater try to act
nonchalant, OK?"

"Roger that."

Just before the theater and right next door was a ratty looking tattoo
parlor with a big burly guy standing outside trying to drum up some
business. The door was open and a radio was blasting Born To Be Wild. This
place sure is fucking weird, I thought to myself again.

"Y'all looking for a tattoo? I sure can fix you boys' right up. I can put
your girlfriend's names on `ya arm, or would you rather have `Mommy'
stamped on your asses? What'll it be?"

"Uh, no thanks, buddy, were kinda in a hurry," I said. "And besides, my mom
is a big ole hairy bitch today, anyway, and I don't want her anywhere near
my ass."

"OK, I can dig that. But ya sure you don't want a tattoo? It doesn't cost
nothin' just to look around."

"Our Coach would kill us if we got a tattoo, mister," Jake said.

Just then, a greasy guy in a shiny brown suit carrying a suitcase came
walking fast out of the tattoo parlor and, reaching the front door, stopped
dead in his tracks right in front of us.

"Jake, what the hell are you doing here, son?"