Date: Sun, 11 Feb 2001 17:01:14 EST
From: Bwstories8@aol.com
Subject: The Castaway Hotel-3  chapter 18

Legal Notice:
The following story contains descriptions of graphic sexual acts.
The story is a work of fiction and has no basis in reality.

Don't read this story if:
**You're not 18 or over,
**If it is illegal to read this type of material where you live,
**Or if you don't want to read about gay/bi people in love or having sex.

The author retains copyright to this story.  Placing this story on a
website or reproducing this story for distribution without the author's
permission is a violation of that copyright.  Legal action will be taken
against violators.

I wish to extend my thank you to Ed for his editorial assistance with this
chapter.

If you have enjoyed reading this story, you will find other stories by me at
http://members.tripod.de/wolfslair, in the 'Other Stories' section.

E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions, or other 'constructive'
comments or advice may be sent to: bwstories8@aol.com.

                *    *     *     *     *     *     *     *

Although the boys in these stories have unprotected sex, I strongly urge
all of you out there to be smart and protect yourselves from various
sexually transmitted diseases by using condoms when having intercourse.

                *    *     *     *     *     *     *     *

The Castaway Hotel-Book 3-by BW (Young-Friends).  Copyright 2000 by billwstories
Chapter 18 - A time for growing up.               December 2000

Monday came and I took all the boys to the high school, some to practice
and the others to watch them or play around on the adjoining fields.  I
went over to my school to do a little work, in preparation for the first
day of classes.  I'd be leaving early tomorrow to go visit Nick and his
parents, so I had to cram what I needed to do into today, Thursday, and
Friday.  I got so involved in my work that I was even late picking the boys
up.  As I drove into the high school parking lot, they were all waiting,
but some of them had company.  It seemed that Dustin, Pat, Ricky, and Jay
had met up with a group of cheerleaders and they were sitting off in
another area, busily flirting and chatting with them.  I tooted the horn
and they looked in my direction, said their good-byes, and ran over to get
in the van with the rest of the group.  They were the last ones in, and
then we took off.  On the ride home, I was preparing myself for another fun
night with Kevin, seeing Dustin was one of those flirting, but he was in a
remarkably good mood all the way home.  When we arrived, Kevin offered to
help me fix dinner and I accepted his offer.  He was very efficient and he
concentrated on what he was doing, occasionally joking around with me in
the process.  We continued working until we put the main course in the
oven, and then we went about preparing the vegetables and making a salad.
When everything was completed, except for having to wait a few more minutes
for the food to cook, I finally asked Kevin what was on my mind.

"You seem to be in a pretty good mood today.  I thought you might have been
upset that Dustin was with the cheerleaders when I arrived."

"Nah.  He and the others were just horsing around with them.  It was
nothing serious, just something to do until you showed up."

"Well, I'm glad that you're taking such a mature attitude about this."

"I know that I can't stop him from talking to the girls, I just have to
hope he still wants to be with me afterward.  I plan on making him realize
that later on tonight."  He gave me a wicked little grin and he carried
some things into the dining room.

Dinner was very pleasant and, when we had finished eating, I filled the
boys in on what was happening over the next couple of days.  "You all know
that I'm leaving very early tomorrow and I'll be driving the Grand AM.
I've decided to take that to the airport and park it in long term parking,
so I'll have it when I get back.  Aunt Sally has agreed to pick you boys up
at 10:00 tomorrow and take you to practice.  She'll bring you back home at
1:00 and she'll be back to see if you need any help fixing dinner.  She has
agreed to let you boys run things, unless there's a problem, and she will
be using my room.  Don't forget to wear clothes around the house while
she's here.  She's going to let me know how you boys do, so it's up to you
whether next time I leave you on your own.  It's good to have her this
time, as none of you have your driver's licenses yet, or else you'd have
some long walks back and forth for those two days.  I hope you remember how
important she is to this family and how much she's done and is doing for
you.  I want you all to treat her accordingly, with the respect she
deserves for being so devoted to you."

"Don't worry, Dad," Ricky answered.  "I think we all know what you're
getting at and we'll be on our best behavior.  Won't we, guys?"  The boys
all agreed, either verbally or by nodding their heads.

"I knew you would be, I just thought a little reminder wouldn't hurt."

"Gee, and I thought you trusted us," Trey answered, trying to look hurt.

"I do, but sometimes a little reminder is in order.  We all forget things
at times."

"Only old fogies," Dion said with a grin.

"Are you referring to anyone in particular?" I responded.

"No, he's just talking in general," Danny came back, trying to bail out his
brother before he said something he shouldn't.  "He just means that younger
people usually have better memories."

"Good, then you'll be able to remember your curfews and restrictions, so
I'll never have to tell you twice."  There were major groans from all
around the table.

"We might forget occasionally," Brandon said, trying to make a preemptive
apology.  "He just means we wouldn't do it as often as an old person."

"An old person like me?"

"No!  Much older than you, Dad," Cole answered, looking around at his
brothers for approval.

"Yes, much older than you," Pat added, "though we've heard from our
teachers that even people over 30 can sometimes have memory problems."

"And people under 30, too," I corrected him.  "Although most of the time
that type of forgetting might be classified as selective hearing or
selective remembering.  But I don't supposed any of you would ever be
guilty of that."

The boys all looked around the table at each other before Dustin spoke.
"Do you think WE would do that?"

"You tell me.  Do you boys do that?"

There were some panicked expressions on the younger boys' faces and some
slight grins from the older boys.  "Maybe once in a while," Kevin admitted,
"but not with anything important."

"And just who decides if it is important?" I countered.

They all looked at each other, before Trey spoke up.  "I guess we all do,
sometimes.  But we really haven't done it for anything big, just sometimes
with little things, like taking care of things or doing things when you
tell us to."

"Well, I think those things are important."

"We always do them," Danny told me, "just sometimes we wait a little bit
first or take longer than we need to.  But we wouldn't do that if you left
us in charge."

"I guess I can live with that ONCE IN A WHILE, as long as you do those
things eventually.  This will be sort of a test to see how you can do on
your own, though.  I told Sally that you'd take charge when I asked her to
help out.  So, whether or not I decide to trust you in the future will
depend on how you do this time.  Things have to be done AND done on time.
I don't want the little ones having to wait until 8:00 or 9:00 for dinner
and I want all of you getting to bed at a decent hour.  You boys have to
adjust back to a school schedule, and that means getting up early."

"We know and we promise," Dustin answered.

"Yeah, you can count on us," Dion added.

"And we'll listen to them and not fight," Cole promised.

"Yes, Daddy," Andrew chimed in, "we'll listen to the older boys and do what
they tell us.  Just like we listen to you."

"Now you've gone and scared me," I responded.  The older boys let out
nervous little giggles, while the younger boys looked confused.  I decided
to reassure them.  "Okay, as long as you promise me that.  This will be the
trial to decide how I will handle any future trips away."

"Thanks, Dad," Ricky told me.  "We won't let you down."

After dinner everyone did their own thing, but each came up at various
times during the evening, to give me a hug or a kiss, sometimes both, and
then tell me to be careful.  I went and double-checked my packing before I
went to sleep.  I set the alarm for 4:00 AM, making sure I arrived in time
for my flight.

The next day went by in a blur, until I arrived at the Lawrences' home just
before noon.  I had rented a car at the airport and I drove the last leg.
Mrs. Lawrence answered the door and she called her husband immediately, and
then we all introduced ourselves to each other.  Nick must have heard the
doorbell, and soon he came bounding down the stairs, and he ran up to me
and gave me a hug.  "Hi, Mr. Currie," he said timidly, when he remembered
his parents were there.  They were looking back and forth at each other,
trying to determine what that display had been all about.

"Hi, Nick.  How have you been?"

"Just fine, thanks to you.  The O'Haras were very nice to me and they put
me on the plane to come back home.  I guess I was glad to see Mom and Dad
again."

"Just as it should be."

"Nicky," Mr. Lawrence commented, "we'd appreciate it if you left us alone
for a while, so we could get to know Mr. Currie and talk things over with
him.  We have a lot of things to discuss before we decide if we're going to
let you go there to go to school."

"Why can't I be in on this too?  It is my life.  Why can't I be included
while you're deciding?"

"Because, darling," his mother began, "there are things that we'd prefer to
talk about in private."

"Why?  If they are about me, I should know too.  Why can't I stay and be a
part of this?"

"Nick," I said, looking him directly in the eyes, "would you just give us a
few minutes alone, please?  That's all we'll need.  You and I can talk
later and you can fill me in about what you did while you stayed with the
O'Haras."

Nick started to object again, but I gave him one of my 'not now' looks.  He
took the hint.  "All right," he said, giving in, but not without a hint of
displeasure.  "I'll go up and wait in my room.  Will you call me when I can
come back down?"

"Certainly, and thank you, dear," his mother told him.  "We won't be long."
Nick left and stomped up the stairs, just another reminder that he wasn't
entirely happy about being left out.

"You do have a way with children," Mr. Lawrence said to me.  "I expected
another ten or fifteen minutes of arguments from him."

"Being a principal and having a lot of boys of my own, I've had some
practice dealing with situations like that."  They both nodded.

We spent nearly an hour talking.  First they asked me about my family and I
explained our situation briefly, from the time my own children were little
on up to the present.  Then they asked me about where we lived, about the
school district, what other things were around the area, what
extracurricular activities the other boys were into, and how we would fit
Nick in.  Then I told them about the boys, telling them who was on the
honor roll, those who had difficulty in school, and a little about what the
boys were like.  When we finished, Mrs. Lawrence excused herself and went
out to the kitchen to make some sandwiches and a fresh pot of coffee.
While she was busy with this, Mr. Lawrence called Nick back down to join
us.  Nick sat down across from me as we ate lunch and he waited until he
had finished before he asked his parents a question.  "Well, can I go to
school there?"

"Nicky, we haven't decided yet, but we will," his father told him.  "It
might also take a visit there before I make up my mind."

"Why, you can see that Mr. Currie's a nice guy and his sons are nice too."

"Nick," I told him, "they just want to make sure about where you'll be
living and the school you'll be attending.  They want to make sure they
know exactly what they're agreeing to."

"I suppose, but I really want to do this."

"We understand that, honey," his mother said reassuringly, "but Mr. Currie
is right.  We need to check everything out first.  We wouldn't send you
anywhere without knowing all about where you'd be, who you'd be with, and
what you'd be doing."

"Nicky, we're not trying to control you, just protect you," his father
added.  "Whether you believe us or not, your mother and I do love you and
we only want what's best for you."

Nick looked at his parents before he responded to that, but eventually he
did.  "I guess I might not have believed that before," Nick told them quite
frankly, "but I do now.  I know that you wouldn't even have considered this
unless you did love me."

"I might be wrong," his father commented, "but I do think my boy is growing
up.  That was a very mature observation.  If that increased maturity is due
to your time with the Curries, this might be an easier decision than I
first thought."  He reached over and tousled Nick's hair.  Nick stood up,
walked over to his dad and gave him a big hug and I heard him whisper to
him, "I do love you, Dad."  Then he walked around the table to his mother
and did the same thing.  Both of his parents fought back the tears, but I
could see the pride and love in their eyes.

After this little discussion, Nick offered to leave us alone again.  His
parents just looked at each other and thanked him, before he went back up
to his room.  When they heard the door to his room shut, his mother looked
at me and spoke.  "Are you sure you sent back OUR child?  That's not the
same young man who used to argue with us constantly and then ran away.

"Yes," his father agreed, "the Nicky I remember was belligerent and
unyielding.  He would never have given in like that."

"All I can tell you," I responded, "is that he's the same boy we found on
our vacation.  I learned that he can be tough and put up a good front, but
I know that he's not really as hard as he tries to appear."

"So I see," his father answered me, "and I assume some of that was because
of your influence.  He seems very fond of you.  I've never seen him hug
another adult before, so you must be very special."

"Not really.  I just found him at a low time in his life and he discovered
that others even had it worse.  My boys and I are very hands-on and
affectionate with each other and Nick seemed to enjoy that too.  I just
think he's transferring that to his home life."

"I'm not sure that I understand how he changed so quickly, but I do think
it's wonderful," his mother said, with a wide smile.  His father merely
nodded in agreement.

I went on and told him how we found Nick and how we helped the family of
the boy Nick was trying to help.  Some of the things seemed to bother
Mr. Lawrence, yet some of the other things seemed to make him proud.  He
listened to the whole story, but it was a couple of minutes before he said
anything.

"I guess I haven't been totally objective about Nicky and that maybe I've
been too rough on him.  I guess that I let his being gay bother me so much
that I never saw what a warm, affectionate, and caring person he really
was.  Maybe our problems with him were more my fault than his.  I'm not
sure if I'd have realized that, without your help."

"Yes," Mrs. Lawrence added, "thank you for bringing our son back to us."

"I didn't do anything and I'm sure you would have discovered these things
eventually."

"Maybe, but how long would it have taken us?" his father wondered aloud.
"No, you helped bring about a change in him and an awareness in us.  We do
owe you for that."

"Possibly, but I doubt that.  I believe your time apart gave you a chance
to reevaluate things and look at them from a different perspective.  I
believe this would have happened with or without me."

"You may be right, but I doubt that, and I'm very tempted to go along with
the rest of your suggestions.  What if we flew out this weekend with Nicky,
to check things out.  We'll bring enough of his things to tide him over so,
if we do let him stay, he'll be ready.  We would ship his other things to
you later.  Would that meet with your approval?"

"Of course.  That would be fine."

"Then let's call Nicky down," his mother suggested, "so we can tell him
what's going on."

"Good idea," his father answered.

They called Nick downstairs and told him what they had planned.  He hugged
and kissed both of them and then he came over and hugged me.  Now we had
the rest of the time to get to know each other better and they showed me
around Oklahoma City, giving me the royal treatment.

I arrived back home around midnight on Wednesday.  Sally came out when she
heard someone in the foyer and we talked for a while.  She told me that the
boys had done fine without her help, fixing all their own meals and taking
care of each other, and she told me that things went very well.  I sent her
back to bed, telling her that I would sleep on the sofa in the living room.
I just grabbed a pillow and went in and fell asleep almost immediately.

The next morning I awoke as I heard the boys beginning to come downstairs.
They seemed happy to see me and the older ones immediately wanted to know
if Aunt Sally had told me anything.  I said she had and that I was
impressed by her report.  Of course their follow-up question was whether
I'd trust them on their own the next time, to which I respond that I would,
as long as they promised to call Aunt Sally, Aunt Mary, or Uncle Steve if
there were any problems.  They said they would and they were happy with the
idea of this new responsibility and that I was accepting them as adults.
They were all puffed up by this announcement and they decided to take the
next step, asking me if they could have another driving lesson after
dinner.  I agreed and the boys went to get ready for their soccer try-outs.

I dropped most of the boys off at the high school like before, but Andrew,
Sammy, Graham, Cole, and Dion wanted to go with me to my school, so they
could play on the playground.  I agreed and they played outside while I
worked in my office.  I accomplished a great deal in the three hours I was
there, now having much more confidence that I was ready for Monday's
meeting with the faculty and staff and Tuesday's first day of classes.  I
went outdoors and yelled to the boys it was time to leave, they ran over
and hopped in the van, and we drove over to pick up the boys, finding my
Romeos with the cheerleaders again.  Kevin was looking a little more
depressed today, not as confident as he was the last time this happened.  I
figured that I'd have to speak to him later about it.

Everyone was busy doing their thing until dinnertime, though I did manage
to find time to talk to Kevin.  I asked him what was bothering him and he
told me that he was beginning to think that Dustin liked girls more than
him.  He told me that they were still close at night and they had done
things together, but no matter what he did to try to show Dustin that he
loved him, Dustin was still anxious to see the cheerleaders again the next
day.  He also seemed to have a favorite among the group.  I told Kevin
that, if this were true, there would be nothing he could do to stop it or
keep Dustin from following his heart.  I told Kevin that would be like him
trying not to be gay.  I told him that life can be difficult to understand
and cope with, and that love can be a fickle friend, but we all had to
learn similar lessons while growing up.  He said he understood, but that it
didn't make it any easier to accept.  He told me that he always expected
that he and Dustin would be together forever and that now it would be
difficult to accept that this wouldn't be the case.  I hugged him, told him
that I loved him, and that I would be there for him whenever he needed me.
He went off stoically, not in a huff as I was afraid he might.  He was
growing up and learning to cope with life's bitter lessons.

After dinner, I took the boys down for their next driving lesson, this time
planning to repeat the last class, before adding backing up (going in
reverse).  Almost as soon as we reached the school, Dustin asked if he
could wait by the school until it was his turn.  I told him that he should
stay with us, as he could learn from the things I told the others.  He
began to argue with me, and then I realized why.  Over near the school
stood one of the cheerleaders.  I almost didn't recognize her without the
uniform.  I thought about this for a few seconds and then I made my
announcement, I would let him go over with her during the first boy's
session, but only this once.  He could explain to her that he was busy and
that he would see her another time and, in the future, he would have to
decide what he wanted more, to learn how to drive or time alone with her.
He wasn't happy with this announcement, but he accepted it.  He got out and
ran over to the girl and he stayed with her throughout Brandon's lesson,
which actually was much safer for him.

Although Brandon had learned some subtlety about using the gas and brake
pedals, he seemed to forget it when we went in reverse.  When I told him to
start backing up, he hit the gas a little hard, sending us flying forward,
then he panicked and slammed on the brake, slamming us all back into the
seats.  He was all embarrassed and apologized profusely, but I calmed him
down and told him that was why we were practicing.  Dustin was so busy
talking to the cheerleader that I don't think he even noticed what
happened, though there was some squealing of the tires.  After Brandon's
turn ended, I called Dustin back to the car and he sat in the rear with
Brandon while Danny took his turn.  He looked a little upset when he
rejoined us, but I chalked that up to not being able to spend more time
with his new girlfriend.

When it came time for Danny to practice backing up, I went over the
fundamentals with him again, so Dustin could hear them this time.  I told
him to put the car in reverse, turn in both directions, beginning with his
left, to make sure that nothing was behind him or in the way, and then he
could begin to back up while looking over his right shoulder.  Danny
instinctively put his right arm on the back of the seat, using only his
left to steer, which I told him was all right as long as he took it slow.
Dustin didn't appear to be listening and he seemed lost in his own
thoughts, so I decided that I would not tell him these things again when it
was his own turn.  I would wait and see what he had learned from this
before I decided what to do next.  Danny went through his paces and then he
stopped the car, put it in park, and switched places with Dustin.

Dustin got behind the wheel and drove off, doing very well over the first
part.  Then, when it came to backing up, he just used his mirrors and tried
to back up that way.  I made him stop, chewed him out for not paying
attention when I had told Danny what to do, and then I told him again
precisely what I expected from him.  When he did it the next time, he did
much better, but his heart still wasn't in it.  We practiced a little
longer, before he stopped the car and we switched places.  As I drove home,
he was very quiet.  I wasn't sure if it was because of my scolding earlier,
about his not payinng attention, or if he had an argument of some sort with
the girl.  Either way, Dustin wasn't quite himself.

When we got home, the boys went to either their own rooms or to the family
room, and I went to my room to do some work.  It wasn't long before there
was a knock at my door and Dustin was standing in the doorway.  As I looked
up at him, Dustin spoke to me.  "Dad, may I talk to you?"

"Sure.  Come on in."  He came in, shutting the door behind up.  "What's up,
Dustin?"

He hesitated before he spoke.  "Amy said something at the school tonight
that bothered me.  I really need to talk to you about this."

"Go right ahead.  I'm all ears."  He smiled weakly, before he got up the
courage to speak again.

"Amy told me tonight that she was surprised that some of us were interested
in her and her friends.  She said everyone thought that we were all gay."
He looked at me with a pained expression on his face, but I waited to see
if he wanted to say more before I responded.  He didn't, so I finally broke
the silence.

"Did she say why they thought that?"

He made another face.  "Yeah, kind of."

"Are you going to share it with me?" I asked after a slight pause.

"She said it was because none of us ever dated and because everyone
suspected Danny and Brandon were boyfriends."

"I see.  And what did you tell her?"

"I told her we hadn't dated because you always kept us too busy with things
around the house and that Danny and Brandon were best friends, not
boyfriends."

"And how did she respond to that?"

"I don't think she believed me."

"So, how did you feel about that?"

"I don't know."  He looked down at the floor and his body swayed from side
to side.  I waited to see if he'd comment further.  He did.  "I don't want
the school thinking we're all gay," he said meekly.  "It's not that there's
anything wrong with it, but everyone will treat us differently, with some
avoiding us and others hating us."

"What do you suggest we do about it?"

He thought for a minute and then looked up at me.  "I think it will be all
right if Pat, Ricky, Jay, and I start dating some of them, but I'm worried
for Danny and Brandon.  If they don't start dating some girls, then people
are going to know for sure."

"Have you told them that?"

"No."

"Do you think you should?"

"I'd rather you do it."

"Why?"

"Cuz I don't want them getting mad at me."

"But I wasn't told this directly.  Wouldn't it sound better coming from
you?"

"Maybe, but I wouldn't know how to tell them."

"Why don't you tell them just like you told me?"

"I could, but I think I'd be scared I'd hurt their feelings."

"What if I was with you when you told them?  Would that help?"

"Would you do that?"

"Of course I would.  Do you want me to get them?"  He hesitated and then
nodded his head up and down.

"Okay, then you wait here," I advised him.  I went out of the room and
summoned Danny and Brandon.  Once we were all together, Dustin told them
his story and we gave them time to think about it.  Finally, I spoke.  "You
two will have to decide how to handle this for yourselves.  It's your
decision and no one, including me, can make it for you.  I'll support you,
no matter what you decide, and I'm sure the rest of the family will too."

"What do you think we should do?" Danny asked me.

"That depends on what you want to accomplish.  I only see that you have
three options.  You can either start dating girls, come out that you are
gay, or you can do nothing and continue doing things the way you have."

"What do you think, Dustin?" Brandon asked him.

Dustin timidly looked at me and I nodded to him that he should respond.  "I
agree with Dad, but, if I had to make a choice for you, I'd hope you'd date
some girls, even if you're not really into it.  It's not that I'm ashamed
that you're gay, I'm just afraid of some of the things people might do to
you or say about you.  You know how mean and nasty some of those guys can
be."

"We're very aware of that," Danny told him, "but what if we start dating
girls and people find out because we can't...you know...perform?"

"You don't have to go that far," Dustin retorted.

"But what if the girls insist on it, to get us to prove ourselves?  You
know neither of us is really interested in girls, besides as just friends.
I mean, it would be awkward kissing someone you don't care for and it would
be even worse if they try to get us to have sex."

"Can't you guys pretend you're kissing each other?  Just close your eyes
and make believe.  And you can tell them you're not ready for sex."

"Will you or the others be telling them that?"

"Probably not.  But couldn't you just pretend you're screwing each other
long enough to pull this off?"

"Maybe," Brandon answered, "but we can't be sure until we actually have to
do it."

"Please, just try.  I'm worried if that if the rest of us start dating and
you two don't, then everyone will just figure you two are gay and things
will get ugly."

"Thanks for caring, Dustin," Brandon reassured him, "and Danny and I will
talk this out.  We'll let you and Pop know what we decide."  Both boys went
over and hugged Dustin for caring enough to talk to them about it and then
they both hugged me.  We gave them the opportunity to decide this for
themselves, but I know Dustin felt better, getting it off his chest.

                *    *     *     *     *     *     *     *

If you have enjoyed reading this story, you will find other stories by me at
http://members.tripod.de/wolfslair, in the 'Other Stories' section.
E-mails may be sent to: bwstories8@aol.com.