Date: Wed, 07 Feb 2007 19:50:32 +0000
From: David Lee <dlee169@hotmail.com>
Subject: Tales from Bentonville, ch.65

Tales from Bentonville, Chapter 65
By David Lee

Warning:
This story contains scenes of love and sexual interaction.  Much of this
involves males with other males.  If the reading or possessing of such
material as this is illegal in your country, state, province, county,
municipality, etc., please leave this site immediately and do not proceed
further.  If you are under the legal age to read this, please do not do so.
It is not my intention to offend anyone or to get you in trouble.

The author retains all rights to this original story.  Please do not publish
without explicit authorization from me.

Disclaimer:
This story is completely fictional.  Most of the places mentioned, and none
of the characters exist in real life.  Some may possess physical or
personality characteristics of people I know or have known.  But if you see
yourself in this story, your imagination is better than mine!

"Tales from Bentonville" is a romantic story centering on the lives of high
school kids.  Lovers of other ages may appear, but not normally in a
cross-generational sense.  References to sex with under-age kids may be made
for the sake of the story line.  However, I feel that child molestation is a
crime and should not be glorified or tolerated.

This is my fifth attempt at writing fiction.  My other stories on Nifty
include: "Zeke" (August 29, 2005), "Always and Forever" (March 25, 2004)
under High School, "Brad and Alan's Canoe Trip" (April 23, 2004) under
Camping, and "Jacob and Jacques" (May 30, 2004) under High School.  Some
characters from previous stories may have cameo roles in this one.  However,
you need not read them first.

Our only reward for contributing to Nifty is your e-mails.  Please write if
you like the story.  Please include the name of the story in the title of
your e-mail.  I get a lot of spam!

Finally, thanks and hugs to Tim, Tom, and David who edit for me so that
there are fewer mistakes!


dlee169@hotmail.com

Tales from Bentonville, Chapter 65

By the time Dane and Colt made their way to the kitchen, Greta had already
left for the lake cottage to get the turkey stuffed and in the oven.  The
boys broke their fast with cereal, toast, and fruit knowing that they should
not eat too heavily on that morning.

Colton was watching his weight for wrestling and was thankful that his
grandmother had been careful in choosing foods for the feast that would have
fewer fats and calories.  Of course, many of the adults were trying not to
gain during the holiday season as well.

"Uncle Wade and Uncle Roger," Dane said.  "I'm happy to see that you are
back on track again, but I'm going to suggest that you see a counselor when
you get home.  I know it's not the business of a snot-nosed high school kid,
but I do know that it helped Colt and me.  Believe it or not, we did talk
about communication with Ms. Evans when we had some joint sessions with her.
  We didn't tell her any details because her son is now going with Joel, but
we did get some pointers on listening to our lovers rather than assuming
that we knew what they thought and did.  It couldn't hurt for you to do the
same."

Roger shook his head slowly, grinning all the while.

"How did the nephew of my lover get so smart?"

"Well," said Dane, "I think some of Colt's brains rubbed off on me."

"God, you leave such inviting lines out there," Roger snickered.

"Hey, I figure that you are adult enough to know that his brains are the
only things that get rubbed off on me!" Dane laughed.

Everyone appreciated the innuendo.

Dane took Colt aside and offered to clean up the kitchen while Colt called
his mom to let the rest of the family know that the "love birds" were back
together again.  He didn't want to rest of the family to be dreading a tense
day at the lake.

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

Joel's grandmother, Jane, was on the phone with her daughter.  Joel could
hear only one side of the conversation, but it was enough to let him know
what was going on.

"Yes, dear, I know that you wanted him for Thanksgiving, but we had already
planned this big dinner which includes his boyfriend's family and the family
of his boyfriend's brother's girlfriend."

Jane Masterson was enjoying using "boyfriend" every chance she got because
she believed that if her daughter really understood Joel's orientation (and
had accepted it); she would not cringe at the term.  As it was, Jane could
hear an audible gasp each time.  She could picture her daughter's face
distorted in disgust.

"Well, it was his decision.  You'll have to admit that he has reason to be
skeptical about your motives.  He thinks you will try to send him somewhere
to get changed."

"Okay, okay, I'm just telling you how it strikes him.  I have a solution in
mind.  I have an option for renting a second large condo in Belize for
Christmas.  That would give up plenty of room for everyone. If you want to
see him that badly, I will even send you tickets to join us there for the
holidays.  We could all have a time of reunion.  The Teague's will be there
too."

"Oh, I see.  Are you sure?  In that case, I will offer it to someone else."

When Jane got off the phone, she filled Joel in on the other side of the
conversation.  It seemed that his mother was furious that he had not even
considered flying to Florida for Thanksgiving.  She was desperate to see her
first-born son again until Jane suggested that they meet on neutral
territory.  Then, she began making all kinds of excuses as to why they
couldn't make the trip to Central America.

"She really was planning to keep me in Florida, wasn't she?" Joel ventured.

"Yes, I'm afraid you are right.  I hate to think that my own daughter could
be so conniving, but that seems to be the case.  I'm sorry!"

"Hey, it's not your fault.  I think that my father put her up to it anyway.
But what was that about the condo.  I thought you had already promised it to
Alex's family and Abby's family."

"I have, dear.  I just wanted to see how sincere she was.  If she had said
yes, I would have figured out someway to accommodate everyone.  Rhys and I
could have stayed at another resort nearby."

Joel jumped up and hugged his grandmother.  He knew that she truly loved
him.  He couldn't understand how his mother could be so different having
grown up in a household with such love and caring.

"I guess I did the right thing by not going to Florida.  It would have been
hard to be there without Alex, but he would have understood if I had gone.
Wow!  I could have been somewhere being brainwashed this very minute!"

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

Needless to say, most of the residents of Bentonville had full bellies and
glazed expressions as they sat watching football or attempting to play cards
or parlor games that afternoon.

Miss Charlotte had spared neither expense nor effort in making this a
special dinner.  She wanted to leave her boys with great memories.  Her
bones told her that a warmer climate was necessary if her last years were to
be comfortable.  Her spirit told her that her work in Bentonville was
finished.  There might be situations in Arizona that needed her gift of
insight.  It remained to be seen.

Cory's family was there too.  It looked as if this would be a continuing
extended family.  Few were related by blood, but all were united in a kind
of bond of love.  Nancy understood her son's love for Dan.  She really liked
John and Darrin too.  She would "adopt" the lot of them in the absence of
Lottie and Emma.

As soon as the dinner leftovers were put in the fridge, Miss Charlotte
suggested that everyone was welcome to take a nap.  She was certainly going
to do so.  There were loads of bedrooms in the old house so that everyone
could have some privacy.

Dan and Cory headed to Dan's room where they cuddled until sleep overtook
them.  Darrin and John made love very quietly (which was difficult for both)
before falling into a peaceful, if sticky, sleep.

Cory's younger brother, Jamie, sat in a recliner trying to watch the TV, but
soon succumbed to the soporific effects of the turkey dinner as well.

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

At the Masterson's lake-side cottage, the crowd was livelier.  Everyone was
excited about watching games on the very large screen with its excellent
detail.  To Jane's relief, everyone seemed to get along well.  None of the
Nissen's (Abby's family) raised an eyebrow over Joel and Alex's
"togetherness" even though there was no hiding the fact that they were in
love.

The cutest part was watching Abby's younger brother, Caleb, posturing for
Alicia's benefit.  The twin's younger sister was enjoying every minute of
it.  If girls could sprout wood, hers would have been sticking out about a
foot.

Caleb was good looking, sharp-witted, and pleasant.  He had an average
build, but not an ounce of fat.  Like Dane, he was a pretty good swimmer.
Alicia hung on his every word as he recounted his accomplishments.

Lori Albers made a mental note to have a little chat with her daughter
before they all went to Belize.  Alicia had matured before her very eyes.
She could no longer be thought of as a child.  Young women had hormones just
as young men did.  Surely Alex was enjoying a sexual relationship and Allen
probably was with Abby, too.  It would be sexist to have one standard for
the boys and another for the girl.  Still, Lori was hesitant to put her
daughter on the pill lest she take that as tacit approval for having sex.
It was a dilemma.

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

Norma Harrison, Dave's mother, had insisted on having Thanksgiving dinner at
her house for Dustin's family.  Dustin's mother was allowed to leave the
treatment facility on a pass for the day.  It would be a kind of "acid test"
to see how she would react to being in the real world.  Everyone was on pins
and needles anticipating what could go wrong.  Dustin was thankful that
Dave's Mom had been willing to go the extra mile in hosting them.  He felt
it would be best not to have his mother in her own home for awhile.  That
might stir up too many memories.

The doctors at Cosgrove General had kept Mary Fagan longer than they would
have some patients.  She was quite delusional for several weeks.  In days
gone by, they might have used shock treatments to erase some of her memory.
However, that was not done anymore because of the fact that it wiped lots of
good memories as well as the bad.  It was fortunate the Gary had an
excellent medical plan that provided benefits for the long-term treatment of
mental illness.

The day went surprisingly well.  Mary was rather quieter than she would
normally have been, but she interacted with everyone.  She was pleasant and
well-mannered.  No one would have mistaken her for the same woman who was
taken away to the psych ward in October.

At the end of the meal, Mary got up and helped clear the table and put away
the leftovers.  Norma would rather have done all of it herself, but she knew
that it was important to Mary to be able to contribute.

Rather than watch football with the Harrison's, Gary took his wife to his
sister's place of a short visit before returning her to Cosgrove.  When they
left, Mary hugged Jenny, Tom, and Dustin in that order (from youngest to
oldest).  As she drew Dustin to her, she whispered to him.

"I'm very sorry about what I nearly did to you!  I love you.  The doctors
and the chaplain have helped me understand that I must not try to force you
into what I think you should be.  I need to love you unconditionally for
yourself.  And I do!"

"I know that you love me, Mom.  I'm certain that what you did, you did
because you thought you were saving my soul.  I am a believer, Mom.  But,
I'm also a gay guy.  I can't change that anymore than a leopard can change
its spots."

After Gary and Mary had left, Norma embraced a sad-looking Dustin.  Feeling
her arms around him, he let the tears silently flow.  They stayed there for
several minutes while Dave came up behind his lover and held him too.

"I really think that she is on the mend and will be home soon," Norma
predicted.  "The fact that she showed her love for you has to be a good
sign."

"Yeah," Dustin agreed.  "I could tell that she was nearly like her old self.
  It's going to be difficult to forget everything, though."

"Forgiving doesn't mean that you block everything out of your mind," Norma
counseled.  "It means that you remember without bitterness and hatred.  If
you hold onto a grudge, it will eat you up inside in the long run."

The thing that would touch Dustin the most that Thanksgiving was Tom coming
over to give him a hug too.

"I love you, big bro," he said, "even thought I'm cuter and smarter than
you!"

That last part was said with an impish grin as the younger Fagan male outran
the swat intended to land on his butt.

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

Everyone retired early that night after snacking on leftovers.  Dave and
Dustin took the younger Fagan kids home and stayed there for the night.
They weren't sure how late Gary would be coming home and they didn't want to
leave Jenny and Tom alone in the house.

As Dave and Dustin cuddled naked in Dustin's bed, Dave began to use his lips
and fingers to arouse his lover.  Dustin was hard and dripping in short
order.

"I want you to take me tonight," Dave declared.

"You want us to go the whole distance?"

"Yeah!"

"I thought you wanted to wait until we did some commitment thing or
something."

"Okay, I hereby commit myself to you.  I won't have sex with anyone else.  I
heard what you said to Tom about hoping I would be in your life forever and
I'm sure you meant it.  I certainly feel that way."

"I did and I do," Dustin replied.  "I'm willing to be with you exclusively
like you said.  But what brought on this need to go all the way so soon?"

"Babe, do you know how close I came to losing you?  When that van exploded
only seconds after you got out, do you know how I felt?  My whole life
nearly ended in that moment.  I couldn't imagine going on without you.  What
if I had lost you before we got to give ourselves completely?  I love you so
much!"

"I love you completely too, but I'm afraid that I'm going to hurt you if we
rush it.  Are you sure that tonight is the time."

"I've been doing a lot of reading on the `net about how to do it without too
much pain.  I've got some condoms and lube and I've been stretching myself
with some objects," Dave blushed.  "I've even got one of our big beach
towels in my bag to keep from messing up your bed."

Dustin was delighted that Dave had prepared so well to make this night
special.  The thought of coupling with his lover made him harder than usual.
  He was emotionally and physically ready to participate in what he
considered the ultimate act of love.

Dave coached Dustin in how to prepare him for the invasion of Dustin's big
tool.  The anticipation of this level of intimacy caused both guys to be
close to the edge even before the main event.  By the time Dustin had three
fingers in Dave's rectum, Dave pronounced himself ready.

Dave unrolled a rubber over his lover's steely cock.  That big, hard
appendage throbbing menacingly seemed so huge that Dave nearly reconsidered
his decision.  But, he figured that later wasn't necessarily going to be
easier and he very much wanted this.  He remained on his back with pillows
under his ass to give Dustin better access.  From what he had read, it might
have been easier the first time if he were on his knees, but he wanted to
look into Dustin's face as they made love.

Dustin lubed up his sheathed pole and aimed it at Dave's upturned rosebud.
After several unsuccessful tries, Dustin was ready to give up.  But Dave had
another idea.  He got Dustin to lie on his back.  Then Dave slowly impaled
himself on the thick, hot poker.  In this position, Dave could control the
rate of entry.  Dustin held Dave's hips to keep him from moving faster than
he could bear.  Inch by inch, Dave's butt came closer to Dustin's pubes.

When the first inch went in, Dave was convinced that he was being split in
two by a baseball bat.  His dick wilted and he wore a pained, but determined
look on his face.  Dustin was all for calling it off, but Dave wouldn't hear
of it.  After some rest-stops along the way, Dave finally felt Dustin's
prickly bush against his balls.  He relaxed and his smile returned.  He
leaned forward to kiss Dustin's lips.  His tongue demanded and was granted
entrance.  The tongue-wrestling that followed had the effect of relaxing
Dave more as well as pumping his cock up to full mast.

Dave slowly began to raise and lower his hips.  Dustin continued to steady
him.  It wasn't long before a wonderful rhythm had been established.  Dustin
was in heaven.  He tried to hold back, but within minutes he was unloading
(and unloading and unloading) in the condom.  Dave flexed his butt muscles
at the moment of Dustin's first blast.  The result was to coax more cum than
usual.

As the throbbing subsided, Dave leaned forward to kiss his lover deeply
again.  They lay that way until Dustin softened so much that he popped out.

"Oh Dustin, I love you so much!"

"I love you too, Babe.  I want you to experience what I just did and I want
to know how you felt," he said.  "I want us to be equal.  We may find that
one or the other of us likes to be the receiver more often, but I want to do
everything with you tonight."

"Are you sure?  You haven't been stretching," Dave mentioned.

"How do you know?  Maybe I've been preparing for this too."

"Really?"

"Really."

Dustin got up on his knees so that Dave could get him ready.  He knew that
Dave wasn't as big as he was, but he also knew that it would feel like a
beer can lodged in his ass.  He remembered how big those carrots felt!

After getting sheathed and lubed, Dave gently mounted Dustin from behind.
He told Dustin to bear down like he was taking a dump.  As soon as he broke
through the ring of muscle, he stopped to allow Dustin to adjust.  On
Dustin's signal, Dave moved in further.  Finally, he reached his goal.

They remained in that position for several seconds.  Then Dustin asked him
to do it.  Dave withdrew nearly to the end and plunged slowly back in.
Three of four strokes later, Dustin encouraged him to speed up.

"Please make me yours completely.  Bury your cock to the hilt.  Fill me with
your love!"

That was enough encouragement to put Dave over the edge.  He blasted more
shots than usual.  The cum-filled condom began to leak around Dave's balls.
The continuing throbbing of Dave's cock made Dustin cum again.  He shot a
small, but satisfying, volley onto the towel beneath him.  He had never
realized how awesome it could be to take the more passive role.

"You are a total stud," Dustin declared.  "I always thought of myself as
being the, you know, the giver and not the receiver, but I'm ready for
whatever you want."

In the afterglow, they gently kissed and touched.  That which had begun as a
kind of urgency on Dave's part had ended in blissful union.  They felt like
their love was now sealed forever.

After the boys had put the used condoms in a Ziploc bag that Dave had
thoughtfully brought, they cleaned each other up with the beach towel.  Both
would have enjoyed a shower, but they were afraid that they would get lots
of teasing from Tom who would probably conclude that they had had sex of
some sort.  In a few minutes, they were sleeping cuddled together.

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

The Monday after Thanksgiving, school resumed at full speed.  In this short
period between holidays there were many practices, meets, games, concerts,
and other productions.  It made the weeks go quickly, but it also took its
toll on time and energy.

The basketball team got off to a good start by winning their first home game
against a pretty tough opponent.  With the influx of new players (because of
the consolidation), Cory and Dan saw a little less time on the floor and a
little more on the bench.  To their credit, they didn't act like prima
donnas.  If there was a twinge of envy, it was not allowed to spoil the
teamwork.  Their coach praised them for their efforts, especially when his
star senior fouled out in the forth quarter and the boys took up the slack.
It was their points that eventually won the game.  The coach made a mental
note to reevaluate his original lineup.  He would pay more attention to
talent and less to seniority!

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

Dustin and Colton were one weight class apart in wrestling although their
coach often had them team up for practice.  They appreciated that since they
knew each other more intimately than they did anyone else on the team.
Neither had any fear of how the other would react if they accidentally
touched the other inappropriately.  Good friends wouldn't take it wrong.

Both guys did well in their first meet.  Dustin pinned his opponent in a
very few minutes.  Colt was even quicker.  His workouts against the slightly
heavier Dustin paid off.  Their coach knew that the fiercest competitors in
the conference would be at Colt's level.  That was why he paired Colt with
Dustin in practice.  He was grooming the Johnson boy to be a state champion.

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

Dave was playing in the concert band and Dane was swimming.  The band was
rehearsing for the winter concert (so titled because of objections to
calling it a Christmas concert).  They would be playing holiday music from a
number of traditions instead of only Christmas music as had been done in the
past.

The swim team was off to a pretty good start too.  The addition of new
students made for a more competitive group.  Dane had to work harder to keep
his position.  He welcomed the challenge knowing that it made him a better
athlete.

Unfortunately, the old pool was not in good condition.  The water treatment
unit kept breaking down.  This meant some missed practices and everyone
yearned for the new facilities to be finished.  Next fall seemed like a long
way away.

During the breakdown period, Dane's Dad, DJ, made arrangements with the MAC
in Cosgrove so that the guys could swim some laps there.  They had to go at
times when the club wasn't busy, but they were thankful for the chance to
keep working.  They boys also had a chance to sit in the steam room or sauna
after they finished.  Some of the team members were startled to see Dane go
into the steam room completely nude, but after realizing their towels would
get wet, most followed suit.  The few who didn't had a hard time getting dry
after their showers.  Several battled hardons in the steam room, but
everyone was cool about it - other than a little teasing.

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

Early in December, Darrin and John drove Miss Charlotte and Emma to the
airport for their flight to Phoenix.  They had borrowed a van so that they
could take Dan, Cory, and Jerry along.  All of those guys wanted to be there
to see the ladies off to their new home.

Everyone was emotional at the parting.  John hugged Charlotte with tears
unashamedly running down his cheeks.

"You are the most important person in my life.  Without you, I would be in
jail somewhere or maybe dead."

"Nonsense!" the old lady chucked.  "You would have found the strength to
make yourself whole again.  Besides, Darrin had better be the most important
person in your life!"

"No," John insisted.  "Without you, Jerry might have died and I would have
had no future at all.  I would never have had the chance to know Darrin,
much less love him."

The other boys hugged the women in turn.  Jerry was the last to say goodbye
to Miss Charlotte.

"Thanks for everything -- my life, my name change, and my change in attitude
about my `gift'.   You have been the most important person in my life too.
I hate saying goodbye because I don't think that I will ever see you again,"
he said shakily.

"We will meet again," Lottie responded, "if not in this life, we will see
each other on the other side.  You have been close enough to that distant
shore to know that it exists."

Jerry nodded.

"So you know full well," she continued, "that it doesn't end here.  You may
be correct in assuming that we may not meet again in this world, but you
must let me go.  I may have some use in Arizona.  Who knows?"

Jerry solemnly nodded again.  He couldn't trust his voice.

On the way back to Bentonville, the guys in the van were very quiet.  No one
wanted to say anything to break the mood.  Some of them wondered if Jerry
had had some kind of vision about Charlotte, but they didn't feel
comfortable asking.  All knew that they had bid adieu to a living legend and
her faithful friend.

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

Author's note: A special thanks to Tom H. who did an excellent job of
editing for this chapter.  He helped me make the love scene between Dave and
Dustin tender and sweet.

Thanks to all who wrote since the last posting: Rad, Joe, Steve P, Paul W,
Russell, Jim We, Paul G, Jason (Jack S), Ron M, Tim (Fla), Mark S, Alastair,
Daniel F, Don B, Carroll, Mike K, Chuck V, Jim C, Z-Man, and Peo.  Your
e-mails are my reward!  I love hearing from you.

BTW, I am feeling better.  Today is my last day of meds (I hope).  If this
last round didn't work, my gastroenterologist has some other treatments in
mind.  Thanks for all of the thoughts and prayers you've sent my way.  It
helps!

David