Date: Mon, 9 Aug 2004 09:59:52 EDT
From: Bwstories8@aol.com
Subject: The Castaway Hotel-book 8, chapter 6

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 Emoe57 for his editorial assistance with
this chapter, and Art, the real Vinnie and John for their additional input
on each chapter.

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 8-by BW (Young-Friends).  Copyright 2004 by billwstories
Chapter 6 - A traveler, a duck and a prankster.   February 2004

Vinnie had quite a struggle trying to make up all the work he had missed
while he had been gone, and I actually enjoyed watching him suffer.  I
think his teachers took my words to heart and really piled the work on him,
and watching him work so hard to get caught up, I knew it would be quite
some time before he'd do anything foolish like disappearing again.

During that time, I also got another email from Nick.  It seemed he had
just gotten back from his second trip and he wanted to let me know how it
went.


Hi Pop,

I just got back from the tour on the Amazon and it was really wild.  It
started in Manaus and I got to tour the city first, but it was a lot like
my tour of Rio, just not as nice.  The fun began the next day, when we left
on a boat, from one of the floating docks on the river.

Along the way, we passed a floating market and some really huge lumber
mills.  I guess they cut up all the trees that get cut down in the
rainforest.  Later, we passed a river village where the Caboclos live.
That's the name for the local people down here.  Anyway, they live in
houses built on stilts, so they don't flood or get washed away during the
rainy season.  I got to spend the night with one of the families there and
I slept in a hammock in their house.  It was really wild.

The next day, we got back on the boat and I got to see boto, which are
Amazon river dolphins, giant water lilies, and I even got to go piranha
fishing.  That was neat, but you had to be really careful.  That night I
also got to go on an alligator flashing trip.  That's where you go out in a
boat in the dark and the guide flashes the alligators with his flashlight,
so everyone can see them.  Don't worry, it was really safe for us AND the
alligators.  hehehe

The next day we took a walk in the jungle.  It was really cool.  We saw all
kinds of monkeys, some really colorful butterflies, some macaws (those are
birds, kind of like a parrot - you know, like on the Fruit Loop commercials
:-P), and some strange frogs and caimans, which are another type of
crocodile.  I even got to take a canoe ride up some of the creeks and
smaller rivers that empty into the river.  It reminded me of the vacation
you told me you guys took.

That afternoon we went to a market where some of the local Indians were
selling stuff they made.  I met one of the Indian men, as I tried to
negotiate a price with him on a mounted piranha.  I wanted to buy it and
bring it home so all of you could see it.  His son was with him and we got
to know each other a little, and that night they invited me to go back to
their village for the night.  It wasn't easy talking the tour guide into
letting me do that, but he did, and I was glad.

It was really strange, though.  They live in these huts way out in the
jungle, and they don't wear many clothes, except when they go to the market
to sell the things they make.  Most of the children run around completely
naked, while the men just wear loincloths, and the women wear something
like a skirt, but nothing on top, so their boobs are uncovered.  Anyway, I
had fun staying with them and I ran around naked all night too.  My being
cut made them ask me many questions about why my penis looked different
than theirs and I tried to explain it to them.  I actually grabbed some of
the boys' cocks and skinned them back; just to show them it really wasn't
different.  A couple of them even popped boners when I did that, so later
we got together again and jerked each other off.

The next day I went back to meet up with the tour group, and we got back on
the boat and went to check out a bunch of islands which sit in the middle
of the river.  When we stopped at the islands, we all got to wander around
and we were given a chance to check out the island beaches and spend some
time on them.  It was soooo different from the beaches at Rio and I almost
felt like I was one of the first people to even be there.

I'm heading back to Sao Paulo now, and I'm going to take my host brothers
on the next trip with me, to Iguacu Falls.  I'll be home in a few weeks, so
I'll see you then.  This being an exchange student has been really awesome,
so thanks for helping me get accepted.  I probably would never have thought
of doing such a thing, if it wasn't for you and Ricky.

Tell everyone I send my love, especially Shannon, and I can't wait to get
back there and show you everything from down here.

Nick


I found his email very upbeat and I was glad to see Nick was enjoying
himself so much.  It looked as if he made sure to get to do as many things
as he could, besides the traditional exchange student activities.  Not only
that, but I see he even managed to do things outside the scope of a
traditional tour too - like staying in that Indian village.  I hope he took
some pictures.

I shared his email with Jake and the boys, who seemed to be as interested
in it as I was, and I could see Shannon smile to himself when he read his
special mention at the end.  I think I'll take him aside later, to have a
little discussion about Nick, to make sure he understands that Nick
operates on a moral plain different from our own.  I don't want him to get
hurt as others have been by Nick, but if he realizes this in advance, maybe
he can enjoy their time together without being devastated later.

The rest of that week went by smoothly and Friday night Kevin returned by
bus.  Frankie had volunteered to go pick him up at the bus station, to save
me the trip, and I gratefully accepted his help.  I had agreed to let Kevin
come home one more weekend so he could spend a little more time with
Vinnie, mainly because of all they had both been through.  Before Kevin got
here, I also had Vinnie call Duck, to ask him if we could stop by on
Saturday.  Vinnie told Duck I wanted to thank him and pay him back for the
money Duck spent on him, and Duck told him we could come by any time.  We
told him we'd be there a little after noon and he said that would be fine,
so everything was set.

Kevin wanted to come with us, but Vinnie wasn't sure how Duck might take
that.  Duck had treated Vinnie really well, but he wasn't sure he would
have, if he'd known he was gay.  Kevin didn't want to be left behind,
however, so I told them we could just say Kevin was one of Vinnie's
brothers, and that should suffice.  After thinking about it for a few
seconds, Vinnie decided that might just work, so it was decided Kevin could
go too.  We all packed a small overnight bag, in case the visit went well
and we decided to get a room and stay overnight, and then we took off.

We got to Duck's place around 1:00, and I was intrigued once I met him.  He
wasn't quite what I was expecting.  He was only about 5' 8" tall, had a
very slender build, brown hair with blond highlights, and beautiful green
eyes.  He was actually quite cute and I was surprised Vinnie never tried to
hit on the guy. Actually, I think Kevin might have even become a little
jealous after seeing the guy, seeing Vinnie was with him for a couple of
weeks.  Besides that, I immediately got the impression Duck might be gay,
but then I remembered about Vinnie telling me Duck had a girlfriend, so I
figured I must be mistaken.

"Duck, this is my dad, Josh Currie and my brother Kevin.  Dad and Kevin,
this is Duck," Vinnie introduced us.

"Don, call me Josh, please," I told him.

"And you can call me Duck," he responded.  "All my friends do."

"Well, thank you.  I'd be pleased to be considered a friend."  We all took
turns shakings hands.  "Look, I not only came here to meet you, but to
thank you as well, for helping Vinnie out like you did.  I don't know what
might have happened to him if you hadn't, because he was pretty vulnerable
at that point."

"Yeah, he was pretty down."  He looked over at Vinnie.  "Hey, dude, did you
and your lover get things patched up?"  Vinnie blushed a bit, and I think
it was because he was thinking Duck was referring to a female lover.

"Ah...yes...we did," he finally stammered out.

"So you and he are okay now?" Duck followed, and Vinnie really turned red.

"Why did you say that?" he asked, flabbergasted.

"One night I came out to get a drink while you were sleeping on the couch
and you said something like 'Kevin, why did you do that to me?'  So, I just
figured that was whom you had the fight with.  Now, after meeting Kevin
here, it all kind of fell into place."  Duck didn't seem to be troubled by
that, so I was wondering if maybe my first impression about him had been
correct after all.

"Vinnie, don't worry," Duck added, "I probably could consider myself bi,
because I've messed around with guys a couple of times too, but I'm very
happy with my girlfriend now, that's all."  I think Vinnie breathed a sigh
of relief after Duck told him that, although it might have added to Kevin's
tinge of jealousy.  I think he realized Vinnie and Duck never did anything,
but still it unsettled him a bit.

"That's cool," Vinnie countered, "and thanks for being so understanding."
The two actually hugged after that.

"I guess you realize that Kevin is more than just my brother," Vinnie
continued.  "He and I have been boyfriends for a while, but there was a
little problem."

"Yeah, I guessed all of that," Duck said, playfully.

"And thank you for taking care of him for me," Kevin told Duck.  "I felt
bad enough that I hurt him, but I don't know if I could have lived with
myself had anything else had happened to him."

"No, problem, dude," Duck told Kevin.  "I understood what Vinnie was going
through."

"Duck," I interrupted.  "Another reason I insisted we come here was so I
could reimburse you for the money you spent on Vinnie and reward you for
helping us find him.  I think you noticed our missing posters had a reward
amount listed on them."

"I did," he quickly countered, "but I don't want any money," he countered.

"But I insist," I informed him, while reaching into my pocket and
withdrawing some bills.  I handed him fifteen $100 bills.  Ducks eyes
popped out of his head as I spread them apart, so he could see how many
there were.

"Whoa, I can't accept that," Duck said after counting them.

"You can and you will," I told him, smiling and forcing the money into his
hands.

"But the reward only said $1,000, and I thought that would have been too
much."  He looked uncomfortable about keeping the money.

"Yes, the reward was $1,000, but the other $500 is for the money you spent
on Vinnie for food and such, and then a little extra to pay for his room,
so to speak."

"I can't take all this money," he insisted again, but I wouldn't hear
otherwise.

"You will, and we're taking you out to dinner tonight too," I added.  "So,
I hope you don't have any plans."

"I don't," he stated, "but you've already done too much."

"And so did you," I told him, "but that didn't stop you either.  So, seeing
none of us knows the area very well, we want you to help us choose the
restaurant.  The finest you have around here, so don't try to fool me with
something less.  Let's look up the number and make a reservation, and I
won't hear otherwise."

Realizing I wasn't one to argue with further, he just sighed and did as I
asked, but now we had some time to kill, before it was time to eat.

After sitting around and talking for a while, getting to know each other
better, we started to get cleaned up and changed for dinner.  Vinnie and
Kevin went down to get our bags, so we could change into something more
appropriate.  Once we were dressed and ready to go, we went out and got
into the van.  The boys let Duck take the front passenger seat, while they
crawled into the back.  They had also given Duck the front seat so he could
give me directions on how to get to the restaurant, as none of us knew our
way around this place.  Even though Vinnie had stayed here for a while, he
didn't get out much, so he was just as confused as Kevin and I were.
Before long we were at the restaurant, so we parked the van and headed for
the front door.

The exterior of the restaurant was quite lovely and done in an interesting
and unique style, so I instinctively felt Duck had made a very fine
selection.  After passing through the main entrance, we announced our
arrival and were ushered directly to our table.  Looking around and
checking out the furnishings and the clientele, it was obvious this was one
of the finer establishments in the area.  Once we were shown to our table,
we took our places, with Duck sitting between Vinnie and me, with Kevin
sitting directly across from him, which meant he was also sitting between
Vinnie and me.  We had barely gotten comfortable in our chairs before the
cocktail waitress arrived to take our drink orders.  Duck and I ordered a
mixed drink, while Kevin and Vinnie each requested a soda, and then I
ordered a bottle of wine to go with the meal.

I told the boys not to worry about prices and they were to order whatever
they wanted, but Duck still looked a little uncomfortable about doing that.
After convincing him I was serious, it didn't take us long to decide what
we wanted, so I began a conversation with Duck, to pass the time.  "Duck,
it was a really nice thing you did for Vinnie, but you were taking an
awfully big chance by taking in a total stranger.  Who knows, he could have
ended up robbing you blind while you were at work or something, yet you
didn't let that stop you.  Why did you take such a big risk?"

Duck looked at me and then at both boys, before he swallowed hard and
responded.  "I did it because someone once helped me in a similar
situation," he told us, but I could see this discussion was making him
uncomfortable, so I decided I'd end his suffering.

"Hey, I can see this isn't easy for you to discuss, so you don't need to
say any more," I told him.  He gave me a look, as if he was studying me,
and then he looked at Kevin and Vinnie and observed their expressions too.
He must have thought we all looked sincere, non-judgmental, or something
like that, so he continued with his story.

"It's not that, exactly," he informed us.  "It's just that only a couple of
people know about this, and I didn't think I'd ever tell anyone else what
happened back then."  I could see this was going to take a lot out of him,
just to share this information with us, and I didn't want to spoil his
dinner and make the evening miserable for him.

"Duck, that's okay.  You don't need to tell us," I said soothingly, while
noticing both boys were sitting bug-eyed staring at him.

"No, I want to do this.  I've kept it inside me way too long and I think it
will finally be good to get it out in the open.  I'm tired of keeping this
secret.

"Are you sure?  You really don't have to do this for our benefit," I
informed him.

"No, you guys are probably the only ones who might understand and not judge
me harshly because of it."  He was looking down at the table when he said
this, but now he looked up at me, and I could read the sadness in his eyes.
I had a feeling he was hoping to shed years of pain and anguish over
whatever he had been keeping inside of him, but I knew this could drain him
emotionally at the same time.  Hoping to make it a little easier for him, I
reached over and placed my hand over his, as it sat on the table.  That
caused him to give me a weak grin.

"You see," he began, feeling a little more confident now, "my dad and I
never really got along.  He was a very controlling person and he saw
himself as the king of his own castle.  He could be very abusive, mostly
mentally and emotionally, but there were times when he could be physically
abusive too.  Most of the time he would just scream at my mother, my sister
and me, telling us how dumb we were, how we couldn't do anything without
him, how we were parasites living off of him and sucking him dry, and
things like that.  We all lived and constant fear of pissing him off and
then having him attack us one way or another.  Well, that seemed to happen
all the time, but the worst time was when I was fifteen."  Duck began to
tighten up now and his voice started to choke off in his throat, so he
stopped momentarily.  It was a good thing he did, because the cocktail
waitress returned with our drinks at just about that moment, so we all
stopped to take a sip.  Once she left, I patted his hand, letting him know
he was doing fine, and he gave me another weak smile, before he tried to
continue his story.

"Remember when I told you I'd messed around with some guys before?" he
asked, and we all nodded.  "Well, when I was a freshman in high school
there was this one guy I was really interested in.  He was really cute and
in several of my classes, and I really had it bad for him.  One day I
finally got up the guts to invite him over to my house, just to play some
video games and things like that, because I was hoping I might be able to
find out if he was interested in me too.  I knew my dad never got home
until at least 6:00 or later, and my mom was going to be gone watching my
sister's softball game out of town, so I figured that would be the perfect
time to do it.  I asked him that morning, while we were leaving one of the
classes we had together.  After I asked him, he said he'd have to call home
and check first, which he said he'd do at lunchtime.  I held my breath the
rest of the morning, praying he could get permission to come over.  When
lunch period finally began, he went to use the phone first, before he even
ate, and when he finished his call, he came back to tell me it was cool and
he could come over.  Needless to say, I was so excited by this news that I
was kind of out of it the rest of the day.  I did manage to tell him I'd
meet him out in front of the school after our last class and then we went
our separate ways."  He paused in his story, wetting his lips with another
sip of his drink, but then he swallowed a few extra times, trying to get
the lump down, which was forming in his throat.

"Well, we went to my place and we started playing the video games.  We were
having a really great time and things were going really well, when I told
him I was hoping we could become really good friends.  He said he'd like
that too and then he put his arm around my shoulder and gave me kind of a
half hug.  I don't know why I did it, but as he squeezed my shoulder and
pulled me toward him, I leaned into him and kissed him on the cheek.  Well,
he stopped hugging me and just sat there for a second, not saying anything
and I was getting really scared.  I was about to get up and run from the
room, figuring he was going to attack me or start calling me names, but he
didn't.  Instead, he leaned into me and kissed me on the lips.  It wasn't
an open mouth kiss or anything like that, just a sweet little kiss, like
you might give your mother, and then he stopped and looked to see how I was
reacting.  We just sat like that for the longest time, doing nothing else."
I could tell by the changing expression on his face that the memory of that
moment was giving him a really good feeling.  At this point of the story,
we were interrupted when the waiter came to take our order, so after
telling him what we wanted, Duck started once again.

"Well, we both started telling each other how we felt and talking about
different things, and then we thought we might like to try doing something
with each other.  We weren't sure what, because we were both new to this,
but we eventually decided we'd get undressed and then masturbate each
other.  We quickly stripped off all our clothes and were standing there,
looking at each other's bodies, admiring how beautiful they were.  We were
just about to reach out and touch the other's penis, when the door to my
room opened and my dad started saying he needed my help with something.

I don't know why he came home early that day, but when he saw us both
standing there naked, he just went crazy.  He began screaming and swearing
at us, while we were trying to put our clothes back on.  Then he began
throwing my stuff all around the room, breaking all kinds of things in the
process.  The other boy got enough of his clothes on that he just reached
out and grabbed the rest, and then he rushed past my father to escape.  My
dad was so mad that he grabbed the side of my bed and flipped it over.  I
was scared, so I rounded up the rest of my clothes and bolted from the room
too, but I heard my father calling me names and telling me to never come
back there again as I was leaving.  He said I was a disgrace and no longer
his son."  Duck was choking up again and I could see the moisture building
in his eyes.  There was not enough water to form tears yet, but enough to
show a film over his corneas.  My heart was aching for him, imagining the
pain he was going through, both then and now, but there was nothing any of
us could do for him at this point.  Finally, he realized we were waiting on
him, so he went back to telling his story.

"Once outside, I caught up to my friend and apologized to him, but he
wasn't in the forgiving mood just then.  I told him I was running away,
because I couldn't take any more abuse from my old man, and he began to
soften a little.  He told me I could stay with him for the night, if I
wanted, so I took him up on his offer.  My father didn't know who my friend
was or where he lived, so I felt it would be safe for me to go there.  When
we got to his place, he asked his mother if I could stay for dinner and
then spend the night, and she agreed, but not eagerly.  Seeing it was a
school night, she was a little skeptical about me staying over, but I told
her my mom and dad went out of town to attend something with my sister, and
they wouldn't be back until really late.  I told her I left them a note
telling them I might be staying at a friend's house, so they wouldn't
worry, but if she didn't want me to stay, I would go back home, throw the
note away and just stay alone until they returned.  She didn't seem to like
that thought either, so she finally gave in and I spent the night."

"Well, after everyone went to sleep later, we talked about what had
happened earlier.  My friend told me how badly that shook him up, but he
said he didn't think his parents would have reacted anywhere near that
violently.  He said they might have sat him down to 'talk' about it, but he
doubted they would have done much more.  Encouraged by the response, and
still wanting to do something with him, I finally asked him if he wanted to
try it now.  He wasn't too sure at first, but eventually he gave in, and we
finally got a chance to jack each other off.

"It was really great and we both enjoyed it, but later I realized it was
mostly just experimentation for both of us.  I hadn't yet determined I was
bi, but I did know I wanted to date girls too, but the other boy was
definitely straight and I don't think he ever did anything with another boy
after that night.  I went back to see him again years later, after I turned
eighteen, just to thank him and apologize again.  That's when I found out
he had a steady girlfriend and didn't seem to want to talk about what we
had done.  But maybe I should get back to my story.

"Anyway, I knew I couldn't stay at his house for more than just that one
night, so the next morning, while he was getting ready for school, I left.
I didn't know what else to do, so I just wandered around the streets for a
while, until I felt certain no one would be home at my place.  That's when
I went back to get my clothes and stuff.  I had to run away.  I had no
other choice.

"I was able to slip back in and get what I needed and leave before I was
discovered, but it wasn't easy.  My dad had totally trashed my room, so
everything was a mess and it was hard to find what I wanted.  The thing
was, I was now homeless and it didn't even make sense.  Sure, that boy and
I had planned to mess around a bit, but as it turned out, I wasn't gay, as
my father suspected, and it turned out that even though I was bi, I was
still more attracted to girls.  He went crazy and thought the worst of me,
and our relationship ended that day over nothing, but there isn't anything
I can do about that now."  He had a sad, yet thoughtful expression on his
face, and I wondered if maybe he was contemplating trying to get back in
touch with his family.  I wouldn't try to influence that personal of a
decision on his part, but I was actually hoping he might consider it.  Who
knows, maybe his father has mellowed or now realizes what he did and lost
by his outburst, but I went back to listening to what Duck had to say.

"Anyway, I made it to the highway and tried to hitch a ride.  It wasn't
easy, because no one does that much any more and people seemed to be afraid
to let others into their cars, but finally a trucker picked me up.  He
looked like a very rough, crude type of guy, kind of like my father, so I
was a little scared at first.  When he asked me where I was going, I just
told him wherever he was headed, and the farther away the better.

"He asked me why I wasn't in school, so I lied and told him I was sixteen,
had dropped out of school, and I wanted to go someplace where I could start
over again, maybe even get my G.E.D.  That's when he began to be a little
less gruff and he treated me really nice from that point on.  He bought me
my meals and even let me stay with him, once we got to the end of his run.
He was heading back home after delivering his load and picking up his
return cargo, and he told me I could stay with him, work on my G.E.D. or
get a job, whatever I wanted to do.  I took him up on his offer and I ended
up staying with him for a couple of years, but without his help, I wouldn't
have survived, at least not without being seriously injured or worse along
the way.  I got my G.E.D. while I was there, enrolled in a two-year college
and got my degree.  After that, I transferred to a four-year college and
got my bachelor's degree."

"Duck, how old are you?" I asked him, not thinking he looked old enough to
have done all that.

"I'm almost 26," he grinned.  "I know.  I look like I'm eighteen or
nineteen.  Everyone tells me that, but I'm really much older.  Honest," he
added, holding up his hand, like he was been sworn in for a trial.  We all
laughed or giggled at that.

"Okay, we believe you," I told him, after looking at my sons.  He smiled
back at us.

"Anyway, that guy saved my life and gave me a chance to become something,
and I was just trying to return the favor, so to speak, by helping your
son."  He looked at Vinnie and smiled.  "I'm just glad his situation was
better than mine and he didn't need to go this alone."

"Duck, you are a truly amazing young man and I'm going to tell you that
we'll always be there for you, should you need anything...anything at all."
I took a notepad and pen out of my pocket and jotted down our names,
address, and several phone numbers, so he'd have them if he ever needed
them.  After explaining what each number was for - home phone, my office
phone, my cell phone, Vinnie's cell phone, and Kevin's cell phone - and
then I got out another piece of paper and had him do the same.  After that,
I let the boys tell him a little about our family until the food arrived.

The food was very good and I let everyone have wine with their meal, which
came as a surprise to Duck.  He didn't expect me to let Kevin and Vinnie
have the wine too, even though they were both over eighteen.  I told him I
let all the boys have wine on special occasions, which he seemed to approve
of, and then we continued to explain a little more about the family.

After finishing our meals and having dessert, I ordered Duck and myself an
after dinner drink and the other pair another soda each, and then the boys
moved on to telling him a little more detailed information about
themselves.  Once they finished their stories, I informed Duck that he was
welcome to visit at any time, for either a short or long term stay, and he
thanked me for the offer.  He said he might visit us around the holidays,
if we didn't mind, as that was when it was always roughest for him.  He
said that's when he missed not having a family the most.

I told him he was welcome for all the holidays, and not just around them,
letting him know he could visit for the entire time, if that's what he
wished.  I let him know it would be a two to three hours trip each way, but
we'd be more than willing to put him up for as long as he wished to stay.
He asked how we could do that with all the boys we had, and we told him
there was always room for one more, by explaining how the boys would pair
up when we had company.  He smiled and said that sounded neat and he looked
forward to seeing us, maybe at Easter, if that was all right.  When I told
him we'd have it no other way, his smile widened and he thanked us all
again.

After leaving the restaurant, we all went back to Duck's place for a little
while, talking more about many different topics.  Finally, we realized it
was getting late and we were all getting tired, so we said good night and
left, so we could check into a motel.  Duck had offered to let us stay
there, but we told him there was no way he had enough room for all of us,
so we got a motel room, with two double beds.  Kevin and Vinnie took one
bed, so I was alone in the other.  I think the boys waited until I fell
asleep before they did anything, but I could detect the smell of sex in the
air the next morning when I awoke.  I hoped they had fun.

After cleaning up and dressing, we drove home right after we checked out
and stopped for breakfast.  This was one of the few Sundays I had missed
attending church, but I wanted to get home as quickly as I could, because I
had a lot to do before I went back to work the next day.  Kevin and Vinnie
rode in back of the van and were all over each other the entire way home,
though it was mostly just kissing, hugging and a little petting.  It never
went much further than that, but it definitely showed they had put the past
behind them and moved on.

All the way back, all I could think about was Duck and what that poor boy
had gone through.  I hope he still had a way to contact that trucker,
because I was going to suggest to him that he write the guy a letter or
call him or something, just to let him know how much his kindness had
meant, if he hadn't done that all ready.  Knowing a little about Duck now,
from what I had learned earlier, I felt he probably would have found a way
to thank the man, but I would check anyway, just to make sure.

I would also make sure Duck was invited for every holiday and became part
of our extended family.  In fact, I couldn't wait for Easter and my chance
to introduce him to everyone.  I know he'll get along well with the entire
group and I'm sure some of the boys will take any immediate liking to him,
though I will warn them in advance that he seems to prefer girls.  In fact,
maybe he and Mark will hit it off too, seeing they are closer in age, and
maybe they'll even be able to go on double-dates together.

We arrived home around midday, but we soon discovered things weren't quiet
or completely under control when we got there.  It had started off okay, as
Jake had taken all the boys to church, but Jake had decided not to take
them out to brunch, because some of the boys were suffering too much to sit
through our normal Sunday outing.  They happened to be pulling into the
driveway about the same time we were, and I was immediately filled in on
what had gone on.  It seems that sometime before they had left the house,
somehow our mad, anonymous prankster must have struck again.  It was
obvious someone other than Ricky was managing these stunts, because he was
still away at college, but none of us had any idea who was challenging for
Ricky's title.  Anyway, this time the prankster had set up Andrew, Graham
and Little Ricky.

The amazing part was that no one was aware that anything was amiss until
everyone was in church, sitting in our normal pew.  The three targets began
to wiggle uncomfortably in their seats and Jake asked them what was wrong.
They said they felt a burning sensation around their privates and butt, and
as they tried to rub or scratch it, it just got worse.  After the service,
they all left in a hurry and Jake brought them directly home, where they
soon discovered what had been wrong.  While those three individuals had
been showering, someone smeared a layer of odorless Ben-Gay on the crotches
of their underwear, so it took some time to transfer to their skin.  The
more the boys rubbed and itched the area, the more of the substance was
moved onto their skin, making the heat from it more intense.

Once the boys got home, they ran to change, but that's when they discovered
the follow-up pranks.  The first to discover the second foul deed was
Andrew.  After getting home from church, he stripped and changed his
clothes, but as he slipped on his jogging shoes, he discovered they had
been filled with shaving cream.  However, he wasn't the only one to find
he'd been had again.

Still being fairly new to all this, Little Ricky didn't realize it could
get worse, and was soon in even more discomfort than he was before.  What
happened was this.  Little Ricky went to the bathroom and tried to wash off
the effected area with a wet washcloth, not realizing that moisture would
intensify the heating effect of the Ben-Gay.  Now, he was hopping around,
swearing about the person who had set him up, and I learned about his
predicament and went to his assistance.  I handed him a dry towel and told
him to just try to rub it off with that, and it did help a little, but the
damage had already been done.  After going back to his room, he discovered
something else - all of his clothes were missing and he had nothing else to
put on.  Someone had taken all of his clothes from his drawers and closet
and hidden them somewhere.  I didn't know who was responsible for all this,
but that person had really planned ahead.

I asked Graham to go to his room and loan Little Ricky something to wear,
until we located his belongings, but that's when he discovered that someone
had tied the legs of all his jeans and the arms of his sweatshirts and
flannel shirts into double knots.  After fetching some clean underwear for
both of them, the pair sat down and began to untie a few of the knots, so
they could get dressed again.  I had to admit that this joke had been well
planned and executed, but the most amazing thing was that none of us had
any idea who was the mastermind behind all these stunts.

Jake and I sat down to discuss the possibilities, but we could come up with
no one who would fit the profile, so we were at a total loss as to whom we
might even suspect.  Getting back to the situation at hand, after we got
things calmed down, we fixed everyone something to eat.  That seemed to
help, because boys with full stomachs are less cranky than hungry ones, so
the tension began to lessen.  Even though everyone wanted to know who was
doing all of this and even planned to pay him back, in kind, it was now in
a lighter and less physically threatening tone.

Once the meal was concluded, I told Kevin to get his things together, so I
could take him to the bus station to catch his bus back to school.  Hearing
this, Frankie offered to take him there for me, because I'd been on the go
so much and he figured I could use some help.  I thanked Frankie for doing
this, while Kevin and Vinnie disappeared for a short time, to say their
good-byes and grab the rest of Kevin's things.  When they returned, both
boys looked a little sad, but at least things were back to normal and they
were once again confident in their love for each other.

               *    *     *     *     *     *     *     *

If you have enjoyed reading this story, you will find other stories by me
at 'BW's Rainbow Youth Connection,' at http://bwsryc.gayauthors.org/

You can also locate my stories by clicking on the Nifty author link and
scrolling down to "BW".  This will give you the links for everything I have
posted there.

I also love to hear from my readers and get their reaction to my stories.
If you don't mind, please share whatever information you feel comfortable
with, because it helps knowing my readers better when I decide what to
write or how to gear it.  Please email me at bwstories8@aol.com and let me
know what you thought, so I can do even better in the future.  Thanks,
Bill.