Date: Thu, 14 Jul 2011 03:02:09 +0000
From: David Lee <dlee169@hotmail.com>
Subject: Tommy and Tanner, Chapter 24

Tommy and Tanner
Chapter 24

Warning:

This story contains scenes of love and sexual interaction between males of
similar age.  If the reading or possessing this material 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 the copyright, and any other rights, to this original
story.  You may not publish it or any part of it without explicit
authorization from me.

This is not my first attempt at writing fiction.  My longer stories on
Nifty include: "Always and Forever" (March 25, 2004), "Jacob and Jacques"
(May 30, 2004), "Zeke" (August 29, 2005), "Tales from Bentonville"
(November 16, 2008), and "Second Chance" (September 24, 2010) under "High
School" and "Someone to Watch over Me" under "Beginnings" in the gay male
section.  There are a few short stories also: "Brad and Alan's Canoe Trip"
(April 22, 2004 under "Camping", "Of Angels and Dragons" (November 8, 2008)
under "Camping", "A Christmas Tale" (December 22, 2009) under "High
School", "Brazil Affair" (October 1, 2010) under "Beginnings" and "Seth's
Gift" (October 10, 2010) under the Science Fiction/Fantasy category.

I am now listed on Nifty under the category of "Prolific Net Authors" which
will make it easier for you to access earlier stories.  Some of these
stories are also posted at: www.storylover.us along with those of other
writers that may interest you.

My only reward for contributing to Nifty is your emails.  Please write if
you like the story.  Please include the name of the story in the title of
your email because my email service sometimes puts them in the "spam" file.

Finally, thanks and hugs to Tom and David (boxerdude) who edit for me so
that there are fewer mistakes!  They not only proof-read, but make other
valuable suggestions.

David
(dlee169@hotmail.com)

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

Tommy and Tanner,
Chapter 24

Thanksgiving dinner at the Torrance family's new home turned out to be a
momentous occasion and a great success.  A few minutes before they were
ready to sit down to eat, the doorbell rang.  Knowing who would be there,
Teri asked Jennifer if she would answer the door.

Jennifer wondered why she was expected to do it when she had food ready to
carry to the table and other last-minute details to take care of.  If she
felt put out, she didn't voice any complaint.  After all, she was being
paid well to take on the major responsibility for dinner and was thankful
for the job.

"Oh my God!"  Jennifer screamed as she was pulled into the arms of her
husband, Todd.

She hadn't had a clue that he was coming home from Afghanistan.  They stood
in the foyer kissing, hugging, and crying for what seemed like forever
before they were interrupted by Brendon who had run to see what the
excitement was all about.

Todd immediately scooped up his son and held him so closely that he could
barely breathe.  Everyone had tears in their eyes from witnessing their
joyous reunion.

By the time Todd had been introduced to most of the group, Tark, James,
Jeri, and Floyd had carried in the food, placing it on the two tables.
(The table from the breakfast room had been set up in the parlor in order
to accommodate the big crowd.)

As the host, Tark asked everyone to stand and hold hands around the two
tables.  Instead of saying a blessing, he asked each one to think of what
they were thankful for in the past year, dwell on it for a couple of
minutes, and say a quiet thank-you.  No one had a difficult time searching
for something that was fitting!

"I thought you'd set too many places," Jennifer said to Teri.  "You KNEW
didn't you?"

"Yes, and Tark and I didn't tell anyone else lest someone accidentally let
it slip to you or Brendon.  Todd wanted this to be a total surprise because
he was afraid you'd worry too much if you knew ahead of time."  Teri
confessed.

"Thanks.  He knows me well.  I could never have concentrated on cooking.
Dinner would have been a disaster."

"It's all perfect!" Jeri assured her.

"It was a lot easier since you brought the pies," Jennifer said.  "I wish I
could hire you at least long enough to steal your secrets.  My mom died
before I learned how to make a good crust."

"I'd love to teach you anything you want to know," Jeri smiled.  "I'm sure
you'll pick up on it rapidly.  You're an amazing cook.  The secret to a
good crust is using plenty of shortening.  Real lard is best, but I use
Crisco for the sake of our arteries."

When the main part of dinner was over, all of the guests were too stuffed
to even think of sampling the pies until later.

Everyone pitched in after dinner so that Jennifer wouldn't have as much to
do.  Teri suggested that Brendon could stay to play with the boys in the
afternoon while Todd and Jennifer went home for a little "R&R."  Brendon
was happier to have the attention of the older boys than go home to rest.
He was too young to understand why his parents might want to go home for a
"nap."  He could rough-house with his dad when after he was rested up.

The happy pair came back a couple of hours later for dessert looking
radiant!  Todd thanked Teri several times for her suggestion.  His
satisfied grin let her know that there'd been a lot more recreation than
rest and relaxation.

----------

One day in the teacher's lounge the next week, Peter took Teri aside to ask
about their old house.  He had a proposition for Tark and her.

"I overheard you say that you aren't sure when you'll be able to sell your
house in this market.  I have a thought.  As you may recall, I entered the
middle school position in January of last year so that's when I signed my
lease.  It will be up at the end of December and I really don't want to
sign for another full year because I may be, uh, sharing a condo with a
friend about 25 miles away and commuting next year," he giggled.  "If I
could rent from you guys for at least the rest of the school year, it might
work out for all of us."

"Hmm..., I wonder who that friend could be." Teri teased.  "It does sound
like a win/win solution to me.  We could use the income while we're waiting
for the market to pick up.  That usually happens in the spring and summer
anyway."

"I'd be willing to let the realtors show it on short notice whenever they
have an interested party if that would help you decide." Peter offered.  "I
tend to keep things picked up."

"That would really sweeten the pot," Teri agreed.  "Tark and I don't make
important decisions without discussing them with each other.  I'll send him
a quick email when I get back to my room.  Let me give you a tentative
`maybe' until I hear from him."

Within half an hour, Peter had his answer.  Tark and Teri would be pleased
to have him as a tenant for the price of their house payment which would be
less than he was paying for his small apartment.  He was thrilled.

----------

Jennifer had been thrilled to have her husband home for the holiday.  She
was even happier to learn that he was home for good.  Soon after Christmas
he would be returning to his old job as manager of Dominick's, but his
district manager had told him to take at least until then to be with his
wife and son before starting back again.

Brendon was equally happy to have his dad home.  Besides wrestling around
on the floor like they used to do, the two of them got busy working on
their HO gauge railroad almost immediately.  Todd also instituted a "boys'
night out" for the two of them to go out to eat once every two weeks and
take in a kids' movie or go ice skating at the rink in a nearby mall.
Brendon said he wanted Andy, Tommy, and Tanner to go with him sometimes.
Brendon's counselor was very pleased that the boy would have strong,
healthy ties with his dad and older boys.

The older boys in question saw Todd much in the light that they viewed Tark
and Chris, so they were happy to be included.

----------

Tanner's settlement for the wrongful death of his father had been delayed
several times.  The heirs claimed that it would be a hardship on them
because they had been unable to sell the house in which the murders
occurred.  Prospective buyers tended to shy away from places associated
with violent death.  The lawyer Tark had retained on Tanner's behalf
pointed to the fact that the estate was worth several million without
counting the house, but that didn't sway the judge who had been friends
with George Sessions.  Pushing the point to have the matter moved to
another magistrate would have basically put the case back to square-one, so
it looked like they'd have to wait it out.

Tanner wasn't in a hurry now that Dorothy's house was theirs.  That had
been his main concern about getting a settlement in the first place.

The Sessions'house mysteriously caught fire around 8:00 o'clock one
Saturday night and rather quickly burned to an empty shell with much of the
brick and stone parts of the walls still standing.  For safety reasons,
those would have to be bulldozed down soon.

The fire marshal declared the fire to be of a suspicious nature and most
likely arson because of the presence of an accelerant.  The police were
called in to investigate further.  George Sessions, Jr. immediately pointed
the finger at Tanner, saying that he had the most to gain from the
destruction of the house.

Two policemen came to question Tanner on the first Monday of break to see
if he knew anything about the fire and if he had an alibi for the time when
they'd determined that the blaze was set.  Chris Roberts was one of the
detectives on the case.  He wanted to be there, feeling that Tanner would
be less intimidated by his presence than by being questioned by two
strangers.  He also reasoned that he might be able to step in if his
partner got too carried away.  Dick Banes tended to play rough.  However,
Chris decided he wouldn't intrude if Tanner held his own.

Officer Banes began the informal questioning with Tark and Tommy present.
They were told that they should not say anything unless they were directly
asked to.

"Mr. Torrance," he addressed Tanner, "we have been informed that you are
one of the people who might have had a motive for setting fire to the
Sessions' Mansion.  We'd like to know where you were last night between the
hours of 7:00 and 9:00 p.m. yesterday."

"If I had wanted to strike back for the murder of my father, I would have
done it immediately," Tanner stated.  "But as for an alibi, that's easy.  I
was with a bunch of guys ice-skating at the mall."

"How do I know they would be reliable witnesses?"

"One of them is a soldier recently returned from Afghanistan and another is
Detective Roberts' son, Andy in addition to my brother, Tommy who's right
here.  If they aren't reliable enough for anyone, I'd like to know who
would be."

"But what's to say that you didn't slip out and drive the five miles there
and back without being missed by the rest?" he continued.  "It wouldn't
have taken long."

"I rode with Sgt.  Baker and I don't have a license or car of my own,"
Tanner explained calmly.  "Besides, Tommy and Andy were with me all the
time – even when we took a break to pee."

"You seem rather smug and sure of yourself!"

"I don't intend to appear smug, but I AM sure of myself!  I resent being
made to look like a criminal.  Perhaps you should find out where Mr. George
Sessions, Jr. was that evening, or whom he might have hired to do his dirty
work.  He's the one who will benefit MOST from the destruction of the
house.  He couldn't sell it for half its value because his esteemed father
killed my father in cold blood!"

"I'm sorry that I had to put you through this," Detective Banes said.  "I
always try to get suspects rattled so that they'll make a mistake and end
up confessing.  Obviously, you have nothing to be nervous about because
you're telling the truth and have reliable witnesses to back you up.
Please understand that this is nothing personal."

"Okay," Tanner said, shaking the offered hand, still not pleased with the
detective's attitude.  "I hope you get the person responsible."

Detective Roberts lagged behind while Detective Banes went to the car.

"You did fine, Tanner," Chris said gently.  "I hope you don't resent me for
not asking Detective Banes to go easier on you.  The questions needed to be
asked.  I don't necessarily like how he does it.  That's why I asked to
come along.  I also figured that since you're my son's buddy, I'd better
try to keep my mouth shut or be accused of having a conflict of interest."

"It's okay; I know that's not how you operate.  You haven't lost my
respect.  I can't say the same for Detective Banes.  He needs PR training!
If he wants to be respected, he needs to respect others."

----------

The next day, the boys got a call from Brenda Frey.  She asked them if they
would have lunch with her because she wanted to bring some kind of closure
to her son's death.  All were dreading it to some extent, but felt it would
be the kind thing to do.

Brenda picked up Tommy and Tanner first, thinking that Andy would be more
comfortable if he didn't have to ride with her alone.  They thought it
would be impolite to both sit in back, so Tanner drew the short straw and
rode shotgun.

Conversation was a bit forced at first, but Brenda became more comfortable
by the time they got to Andy's house.  Andy switched seats with Tanner so
that the boyfriends could sit together.  He did it by saying that he'd be
less likely to feel car sick if he sat in front.  The other boys knew it
was a fabrication and appreciated his gesture.

At the restaurant, Brenda paid for the buffet so that the boys could get
anything they wanted and wouldn't feel awkward about what they should
order.  Her thoughtfulness didn't go unnoticed.

Once they got comfortable visiting over their meal, Brenda got up the nerve
to discuss the subject that was on her mind.

"You're probably wondering about my motive.  I needed to be able to talk to
the boys that Mason was closest to.  He never had many close friends, but
you boys were kind to him.  I want you to know that I understand fully why
you had to call the police when he was molesting that little boy.  It was
your duty.  He knew that too in the long run."

"He sent us emails telling us that," Andy spoke up.

"I'm very pleased that he did.  His admitting that he was in the wrong was
the first step toward changing his behavior.  Initially, he acted like his
uncle who had molested him as a younger boy.  Neither Darrel nor Lonny will
ever admit that they could be wrong.  It's too bad that I didn't take Mason
to a motel or someplace safe from his father until things calmed down.  I
will never forgive myself for his death."

"Please find a way to forgive yourself," Andy said gently.  "Mason wouldn't
want you to live with that burden."

"I suppose you're right, but you don't know how difficult that is to do."

"I know a little about it, but not what a parent would," Andy agreed.

"We've all had some feelings of guilt," Tommy added.

"Yeah, especially when we thought he'd taken his own life." Tanner said.
"We all felt that we'd missed some signs or something.  Did you know that
there is a big push at school on suicide prevention?  We're doing it in
honor of Mason, even though he didn't kill himself."

"No, I didn't know," Brenda said. "Thanks for telling me.  It makes me feel
that his life will have meant something – kind of like he didn't die in
vain.  I know that's odd to say."

"I'm glad I told you, if it helps."  Tanner smiled.

Brenda went on to tell the boys about the simple family service they'd had
for Mason.  The group consisted of her parents and her.  None of her
husband's family requested to be there and she would have resented it if
they had.  She blamed their long history of sweeping their son's misdeeds
for leading up to Mason's death.  She bared her soul more than she'd
intended to because they were sympathetic listeners.

By the time lunch was over, Brenda seemed completely relaxed.  The boys
felt comfortable too.

"Would it be possible for you to keep me posted on some of the activities
you're involved in," Brenda asked.  "I know it's not your responsibility to
watch over me, but I'd like to feel a connection with Mason's classmates
for a while – while I'm healing..."

"Sure," Andy responded.  "I can send you an email now and then.  Also, you
can check the school's homepage for times and places of sports and other
activities."

"Thanks; I'll do that.

----------

The boys all elected to be dropped off at Tommy and Tanner's house to hang
out a bit.  Tucker was very happy to see them because Bobby was visiting
his grandparents out of town, so Tucker had been alone most of the day.
They broke out the cards and played "strip poker" using chips to represent
pieces of clothing.  Each guy got eight chips representing underwear,
T-shirt, shirt, pants, socks and shoes.  White chips represented outer
clothing.  A red one stood for undershirt and the blue one for briefs or
boxers.

Even though nothing was taken off, Tuck was embarrassed that he lost his
blue chip before anyone else had gotten down to their red one.

"You know the rules," Andy said with a straight face.  "The loser has to
suck the dick of the guy who has to most chips left, and that would be me."

Tuck turned pale before the others broke into laughter.  He wouldn't have
believed his brothers, but he didn't realize Andy had a wicked sense of
humor.  But, instead of pouting like he might have done a year ago, he
joined in the fun.

"Pull it out right here in the den and I'll do it," he said to Andy.

When Andy stood up and lowered his zipper, Tuck had second thoughts about
teasing back.

"Uh, I-I-I was k-kidding," he stammered.

"I know," Andy grinned.  "So am I.  But you'd better be careful who you
tease with because someone might take you up on it."

"Yes Sir!" Tuck saluted.

They divvied up the chips again and played another game.  This time Tanner
lost and Tommy had the most left.  Tanner immediately got on the floor in
front of Tommy and nuzzled his crotch.  When he reached up and unbuttoned
Tommy's fly, Tuck got nervous.

"You're not gonna do that in front of Andy and me are you?"

"Why not?" Tanner asked.  "You know we do it.  We're all guys, so Tommy's
dick isn't something you've never seen before."

"You're yanking my chain, right?" Tucker asked.

"Yeah, but he's gonna pay up before we go to sleep tonight," Tommy giggled.

"Okay, we'll stop teasing," Tanner said.  "Anyone up for a little two on
two basketball?  It's warmed up enough for a short game before it gets too
dark."

----------

The minute Tommy's briefs hit the floor in their shared room, Tanner was on
his knees licking his balls.  He worked his tongue back toward Tommy's
perineum, making the latter sigh with lust.

"Okay, I know you're trying to pay off your gambling debt, but please let
me do the same to you."

The boys settled down in the 69 position in their new queen sized bed and
tenderly nuzzled and licked each other.  They spent quite a while on the
preliminaries before going for the prize.  Once their heads began to bob in
earnest, they didn't have long before achieving results.

In the afterglow, they cuddled and talked.

"Think of how far we've come in a year," Tommy said.  "Last year at this
time we were sleeping in separate beds and messing around with different
people."

"I'm really sorry about that," Tanner sighed.  "If I hadn't tried so hard
to prove I was straight, I wouldn't have moved out of your bed and gotten
into trouble with Sibyl.  Then you'd have had no reason to make out with
Mason and neither of us would have been hurt like we were."

"Hey, don't blame yourself.  I was old enough to know what I was doing.  We
can't change the past, but we can learn from it and I know we have.  If you
hadn't tried it with a girl, you might have always wondered if you would've
liked it better.  If I hadn't been with someone who used me when I thought
he loved me, I might not appreciate you as much as I do.  We're in a good
place partly because we know where we've been wasn't.  Does that make any
sense?"

"Yeah, in a strange way, I think it does.  I'm so glad I'm in love with you
and you love me too!" Tanner said softly.  "This will be my best Christmas
ever."

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

Author's notes:
Thanks to all who responded since last posting.
It seems like there are new ones almost every time.  This week's list
includes: Jim W, Roger L, Rutabaga, Anthony B, Douglas and Lawrence, Bill
T, Don R, Jeff S, Jim C, Bert H, Ott H, Bill K, Tom A, Walt S, Justin L
(#102), Trish R, JTR, Paul R, John McD, and Paul F.

Part of my list got erased for reasons unknown to me.
So, I hope I didn't miss anyone when I redid it.

JTR is having health issues and I'd like to ask you to keep her in your
minds and prayers.

David