Guidance (closed for ericrodman101) [M/M]

[tamgreen]

Toby couldn't shake his sense of uneasiness. He desperately wanted to forget about Gerry and Henry right now, but they kept pressing at the back of his mind. They were fucking right now - he had no doubt of it.

No smiling? What a joke. Smiling was the last thing he felt like doing. He trapped all his angst inside and it reflected clearly in his dark, moody expression each time he peeked out from beneath the screen of his hair, making him look uncannily like a runway model without even trying. He stayed still, lost in his own moody little teenage world, while the camera clicked away around him.

At Charlotte's instruction, he turned, his young brow gently furrowing at the blade of sunlight this subjected him to. He pushed his hips out, his cock pressing against the false Y-front of the tomboy underwear. His body tacitly begged the viewer to take him, consume him, fuck him. This could be more than just helping a college girl with a photo project - it could be his own personal ad, without the need to come up with some corny bio. What did it matter how he described himself? He was eighteen, used and abused, horny, angsty, and desperately in need of a daddy. Everything about him made these facts obvious.

He let Charlotte take pictures to her heart's content and started shifting his pose without instruction. This time, he put one hand behind his head, his eyes half lidded, and slipped the other hand into his underwear, cupping his genitals.

 

[ericrodman101]

Gerry came inside Henry's mouth. It was quick, quiet and copious. The boy held his teacher's swollen cock deep inside him as it pulsed and spat. When he was finished, Gerry held his grip on Henry's head a moment longer until the boy coughed and adjusted himself, but without complaining. Gerry was standing, the predominant position, Henry kneeling, subordinate. It was Gerry's cock which had violated the boy's mouth, Gerry's semen which drained into the boy's throat, Gerry's visage he could see in the mirror opposite while the boy's face was still buried in his teacher's torso. But Gerry knew any feeling of power or superiority over Henry was utterly misplaced and that it was the pretty eighteen year old student who was totally in charge.

It had felt that way from the moment he'd met Henry in a school hallway, encountered him alone in the library, watched him fuck the chaplain on the mysterious video, listened to the boy probe him about Toby, let him into the house and watched him befriend his daughter.....where were Charlotte and Toby? Walking in the woods somewhere. Friends. Lovers? Surely not. Henry might fuck girls, but not Toby. Little Toby was exclusively gay even if not exclusively Gerry's.

Two students he was fucking. The thought might have brought a smile to Gerry's face not long ago, but as Henry climbed to his feet, a shiver ran up Gerry's spine. He might have been able to deflect a complaint from Toby and convinced the authorities the boy was a fantasist. But not Henry. The boy stood beside him, face to face, their heights nearly the same. Henry smiled, not broadly but enough to show his top teeth. He expelled a wave of Gerry's cum across his bottom lip and into his palm, then pointed a gummy finger at his teacher before drawing it slowly and wordlessly across Gerry's top lip. The smell of semen was strong and fruity. Gerry imagined his face was now glistening like Henry's. Neither moved or spoke for several seconds, until Gerry coughed nervously and dropped to his hands to pull up his zipper.

"I think I want to be on my own, Henry," he said. "Why don't you go find Charlotte and Toby? In the woods. Two blocks down. It's quiet and secluded. Call out for them. They'll hear you."

The boy smiled again, nodding, then turned and left the house, Gerry's cum still adorning his face.
.....................................................................................

Charlotte watched Toby through the lens and round the camera, alternating between taking photographs and giving instructions. If the kid wasn't a model he soon would be. Underwear. Life model. Artist's muse. Did she dare think porn?

"Let me see your cock," she said. "Not out. I mean pushed towards me, inside the Y-fronts."

For girl's panties, they were styled like a boy's with a Y-front, but they didn't open. It was fake access. And no extra room to accommodate a cock, so as Toby turned and stretched, and began touching himself, his arousal became more obvious very quickly. She was about to ask him to fondle himself, but Toby started doing it anyway. Was he aroused be her, she wondered. Or by the situation, the feelings of liberation and freedom? Or thoughts of fucking and being fucked. But by whom? Henry? It must be Henry.

Toby had his hand inside the Y-fronts now, cupping himself, concealing his cock inside his palm. Charlotte took a few more modest shots then stepped up close.

"Now I want your cock out Toby. Like before. But slowly. Peel the fabric off it. Let it flop out. Let's do that until I've got what I want. And then..."

 

[tamgreen]

If anything, it was the camera turning Toby on. Perhaps not literally the thing itself, but the very notion of being recorded for someone else to look at and enjoy. Could he become famous? That would show everyone. Everyone who had ever hated him. And everyone who had ever fucked him and then discarded him like a used condom. That's all he was to any man - a thing his cock went in. Gerry was no different than any of those losers.

But he could be more. He could be admired. He could be someone who kept the safety of a screen between himself and any number of horny losers who'd jerk off to his image and then forget about him. At least that would protect him from getting manipulated again like Gerry had done to him.

But he wanted to be fucked - he didn't just want to hide. He wanted sex. More than that, too. But was there real, actual love in the cards for someone like him who'd been so used, and who would so willingly whore himself out to a camera?

Never mind. Right now, he could just stay in the moment. He pressed his hardening cock against the front of Charlotte's tomboy underwear, letting her get some good shots of the silhouette of his hard-on.

Then, trapping his tongue between his teeth, he watched her stare through the camera as he ever so slowly slid the waistband of the underwear down, letting his drooling tip peek out, and then his shaft, little by little, taking his sweet time, until he'd tucked the fabric beneath his balls, leaving his cock sticking straight out in front of him.

"And then...?" he whispered, but a moment later gasped as he heard the crack of a branch not far away.

And then a voice.

 

[ericrodman101]

Gerry stood behind the curtains and watched Henry walk away from the house. The kid had left with his face covered in cum. 'Slut walking' it was called at college, Gerry recalled. Not that he'd ever seen a guy doing it. But Henry, still dressed in the mesh shirt and the sprayed-on black vinyl trousers, simply stepped out into the sun and sauntered off like every young guy in town went about that way.

The teacher reached down and felt his cock, still semi hard from the encounter. Henry had been a bridge, but not too far it seemed. Not now Gerry had crossed over. Fucking one student had challenged him professionally, personally, morally. But fucking a second...well...it was a lifestyle now. He smiled wondering what Toby would think when he saw Henry's face smeared with his teacher's goo. And Charlotte...Jesus! There was another bridge to cross.
....................................................................

Charlotte sat on the damp ground and focused on the viewfinder. The screen was filled with Toby's cock, just the swollen end, already glistening with precum, the eye winking as the round pink tip burst from the foreskin, sticking straight out, pointing at her, signaling like some kind of sentient thing, this way for cock, over here for cock, cock off the starboard bow...

She smiled to herself even as the camera clicked. Where did all that crazy stuff come from? And how come cocks were so beautiful up close? She'd never noticed before, maybe because every time a boy shoved his cock in a girl's face, she was expected to gobble it down, not examine it. And it's not as if she even liked cocks in her mouth that much. Or not at all. Sucking a boy's cock was only a gesture, not a pleasure. It was transactional. Suck his cock and swallow his cum, and he bought you a meal or drove you home or didn't force anal on you instead.

"Lovely Toby," she said. "Fucking lovely. You have a very beautiful appendage. Has anyone else told you that?"

But before Toby could answer she heard the crack of a branch not far away. And then someone calling. It sounded like...

Henry stepped into the clearing. "Gerry told me where to find you," he said. "Is this your special place, Charlotte?"

She turned her face away from the camera, still sitting, Toby's cock inches from her ear.

"Hey, Tobes," Henry said, walking right up before she could stand. He had something on his face like snot, or....

The boy smiled, then laughed, as if unable to find the words to describe what he saw. Charlotte sensed Toby pulling the panties up over his swollen cock although when she drew herself away from Henry's smeared face and turned to look, she noticed how unsuccessful Toby was in concealing the erection given how full he was and how small was her underwear. The effect of the fabric tented across the still proud organ just intrigued her artistic mind even more.

"Just let us be, Henry, yeah? For a moment. Toby, stay still. I want to capture you...your cock...caught...like that..."

 

[tamgreen]

Toby was immediately pissed off by Henry's mere presence, but when he noticed what was on the boy's face, his heart leaped up into his throat.

He'd already known in his heart that it was happening. He'd already seen Henry groping Gerry at school, and Gerry hadn't bothered either stopping him or showing the slightest remorse. Because he wasn't sorry, and in the old guy's fucked up head, he hadn't done anything wrong. He had the right to fool around with any student he wanted, because Toby didn't matter to him. Not even a little bit. The cum on Henry's face showed that clearly. Gerry and Henry both obviously wanted him to see this. Toby was nobody - just another fuckable eighteen-year-old among many. And Gerry was nobody too. Just another dick for Henry to suck. Henry, the proud slut.

Toby bit the inside of his cheek, trying to distract himself from the feeling of devastation. Trying not to scream at the other boy. Trying not to openly accuse him of blowing Gerry. Because Charlotte was right here, and maybe she hadn't noticed. Charlotte wouldn't want to know her dad was fucking students. And Toby, weak idiot that he was, actually still had it in himself to care about someone, despite the fact that everyone he'd ever had a sliver of faith in had let him down in the most devastating ways possible.

And Henry even laughed. How could someone become that way - how was it possible to give so few fucks? Was it a skill, or just a natural sociopathy?

"Why are you following me?" Toby found himself snarling from between clenched teeth, even as he continued to follow Charlotte's guidance and pose his cock for her camera. "Is your whole life just fucking around, and tormenting people who've done nothing to you?"

 

[ericrodman101]

"Toby, Toby, Toby..." Charlotte cooed, trying to calm the boy down. With a hand on Toby's shoulder she turned to Henry. "Give him space, man. Now."

She gestured with her eyes and knew Henry got the message as he backed away, still smiling, but nodding thoughtfully.

"He's not following you, Toby," she said, turning back. "He likes you. And he wants to be here too. That's nice, you know. Nice to have someone like that."

Charlotte patted Toby warmly, pulling him close so she could rub his back. It didn't seem strange to feel his cock against her leg. It felt...well, not brotherly so much as comradely. Yeah, that was the word they'd use at college. Comrades. In arms. If only they could have a threeway hug, she thought. Hmmm...that would be her goal for the afternoon. A threeway hug. And maybe some pics of Toby and Henry together.

"Now," Charlotte said trying to sound even a little motherly. "Just stand here and think about poses you want to adopt for me while I have a quick talk to Henry. He's not coming any closer, but I'm going to make him sit down over there where he can watch us. I think that will be nice. You're both beautiful boys and I know Henry wants to....be here with us...with you...yeah? Back in a jiffy."

Charlotte waited a moment longer, Toby's heartbeat almost audible in their clinch. Then she settled him against the tree trunk and turned towards Henry. The other boy was standing at the edge of the clearing, not quite smiling now, but sort of expressionless. He was as beautiful as Toby, she realized, but in a very different way. There wasn't a hint of reticence or shyness in the way Henry approached the world. He was confident and aggressive and out there. Even as she stepped out of the tree-dappled light and confronted him, Charlotte knew that any mollifying of Henry would be on his terms, as equals, and not as the earth mother she instinctively wanted to be to Toby.

"Hey, Henry," she said, putting a hand on his shoulder too. "You know Toby's hurting and this is a way for him to relax and feel good about himself. I know you want that too...yeah? Let him relax and think and feel better and readjust and...all those things."

Henry nodded, serious now. "Hey Charlotte. You do what you gotta do. I'm with you, yeah? Any girl who wants to take pictures of guy's with their cocks out is fine with me."

She looked at him as he held her gaze. And then Henry smiled, trying not to laugh and Charlotte realized he was having fun with her.

"OK," she said, trying not to smile back. "I get you, Henry, but just do as I say. It isn't all about you, yeah? And you've got something on your face, like you've walked through a wet branch. Let me wipe it off."

Charlotte pulled out a handkerchief and rubbed it through the goo on Henry's chin.

"There. Now, like I said, just sit quietly and watch and maybe, just maybe Toby will be OK with you."

She patted him hard on the shoulder, indicating that Henry should sit, which he did. Then jamming the sodden handkerchief back in her pocket, Charlotte returned to Toby.

"He understands," she said to the boy leaning against the tree trunk. "Henry's just going to sit and watch and not say a word. And you're going to be brave and beautiful for me, yeah? My brave and beautiful boy."

 

[tamgreen]

Toby held her gaze for several moments, taking solace in it. He didn't want to pose with Henry watching, but he supposed if he was going to be okay with his pictures being on display, he'd have to make his peace with all types of people seeing them, even those he wasn't so fond of. Just like a whore. Certainly sex workers wouldn't necessarily like every one of their clients. And at least Toby wouldn't have to let anyone who liked his body fuck him.

He nodded, accepting her soothing words and ego stroking, gradually relaxing and returning to the posing he'd been doing when they were interrupted. He thrust his genitals out into the open. The disruption had softened him a little, but it took very little time for his body to return to its previously aroused state. Brave and beautiful, for the camera. He gave himself a couple of strokes and watched Charlotte snap her pictures, trying to pretend they were still alone.

Soon, however, he grew curious. Was Henry Merton only into old guys? Was he actually enjoying the show? If so, was he enjoying it just with the idea of humiliating or taking advantage of Toby in some way, or did Henry find him attractive?

Why should he care if Henry found him attractive? There was a complicated question. He didn't want to fuck Henry, but perhaps there could be an opportunity to be allies in the future. Toby was furious enough with Gerry that he couldn't make Henry the main source of his ire. Henry was just a sexual opportunist, a hedonist, so far as he could tell. Maybe he and Henry could leave Fillmore High with a bang, taking down half the staff on their way out.

Toby's eyes finally flicked over to find Henry's.

So, what do you think, slut?

 

[ericrodman101]

Charlotte was pleased when she managed to convince Toby to ignore Henry and keep going. The kid's face relaxed a bit and he fetched his cock out of the girl's panties he wore, thrusting it forward for her, stroking himself back to hardness. She bent and knelt, twisting the camera and her view this way and that, just snapping away, close ups of Toby's neat uncut cock head, his little hands working away, the veins which stood out, the little drip of precum which came and went to be immediately replenished. Especially the way the foreskin slid to and fro, the pink head peeking out like a timid bush creature.

She liked how as Toby became more aroused, his actions sped up, little by little, until there was a minor frenzy in it. Charlotte was like that when she masturbated too, but she hadn't done it in public, in front of people, in front of a camera.

And then Toby slowed and stopped. She imagined he was about to cum, but nothing, just a resolute hardness, the ripe cock head fully on display, the neat slit winking at her, the ball of precum large and round, defying gravity.

Charlotte lifted her head away from the camera. Toby was looking over her shoulder. She turned. Henry was sitting on the opposite side of the clearing. The boys stared at each other. Of course. Toby was performing for Henry, not for her. Which was great. A victory of sorts in her quest to get them back together.

Don't speak, Charlotte said to herself. Don't say anything. Just let nature take its course.

And then she watched as Henry took his cock out, standing so he could peel the black plastic trousers off his lower body. His cock sprang out as if impatient to be released. And in an instant Charlotte realized something else. Henry had a big cock.

 

[tamgreen]

Henry did have a big cock.

Toby had a hard time looking anywhere else now. He wasn't into younger guys... but... wow. It was a nicer-looking cock than Gerry's. And the kid probably didn't need pills to keep it up.

That might be fun to rub in the old man's face later. Figuratively, of course. Maybe the thing itself already had been in the old man's face.

Whatever feelings Toby may or may not have as far as Henry was concerned seem to be of less relevance as the minutes ticked past, with the two of them here in the woods, masturbating in front of each other. There was some animal draw happening here. Toby was fully thinking with his cock now instead of getting caught up in every other concern. It was nice, seeing a cock that was hard for him, regardless of the context. Hard for him. Just like the observation of the camera spurred him on, so did Henry's gaze. He started jerking himself faster, eyes still on Henry's fat cock.

"When I cum," he finally spoke up, breaking the silence, "where do you want it?"

He was talking to Charlotte, even though he wasn't looking at her, but either of them could have responded to his question.

 

[ericrodman101]

"When I cum where do you want it?"

Charlotte spoke without looking up from the camera. "Just cum, like before against the windows, but without windows...ha! Does that make sense?"

How close was Toby, she wondered. He didn't seem close, but was simply stroking rhythmically and firmly without any indication that he was reaching the tipping point. Charlotte was nearly overcome by the beauty of what Toby was giving her, his sheer carnal and youthful honesty, a young man, a boy really, stroking himself to orgasm in public, without shyness or shame, but simply doing what came naturally with what nature had given him.

"I want it here."

It was a moment before Charlotte realised that Henry had spoken. Henry wanted Toby to cum where he was. Where Henry was. Here. Or maybe Henry should move over to where Toby was. And then she could get them both in shot. She turned her head to see Henry stroking just as vigorously as Toby, but on his feet now, the black plastic pants around his ankles, the mesh shirt pulled up under his armpits, revealing his hairy chest. And when she looked back, Toby wasn't looking at her or into the camera, but at his friend.

 

[tamgreen]

Toby's gaze shifted back and forth between the camera and Henry's big cock as they both answered his question. The rhythm of his strokes didn't slow. So... Henry wanted him to cum. Near him? On him?

He tipped his chin subtly in Henry's direction, acknowledging his request. He didn't make any move at first, just started jerking harder, on some level enjoying the camaraderie of masturbating with another boy as both started breathing harder.

When Henry didn't make any move to approach him, Toby decided to oblige. Going slowly so that Charlotte didn't have to scramble to follow with the camera, Toby sauntered over to where Henry stood effectively naked, with his top up under his arms and his bottoms down around his ankles. Here was a classmate he'd never interacted with at school, and one he'd never wanted to interact with, especially since he'd seen the little slut groping Gerry in the library, but what the fuck did it matter now? Gerry was the one at fault. Henry had no obligation to behave himself, so the two boys might as well misbehave together.

As much as he'd hated Henry, maybe being more like Henry would actually help Toby. His relationship with Gerry had helped him learn to care about someone, and after everything that had gone down, Toby was about ready to unlearn that.

Standing with his cock mere inches from Henry's, he lifted his eyes to meet the other boy's.

"So... who's gonna cum first?"

 

[ericrodman101]

Charlotte felt a thrill to hear the boys communicating with each other. She'd been so determined to get them back together and here, in the clearing in the wood, her plans were working. She felt like a matchmaker, a peacemaker, using her art and her guile to bring them close. They were obviously sexually comfortable with each other and not at all fazed by jerking off in front of other people. If only everyone could be so liberated, she thought. If we all just jerked off more in front of other people...

Toby stood up close to Henry now, facing him, the two boys effectively naked, cocks in hand, hard and stroking more vigorously. Charlotte moved alongside where she could watch them both, the intent on their faces, the competitive way they stared at each other. When she thought it was time, she began photographing them again, the two of them in shot, first their whole bodies from head to toe before moving in until just the two cock heads, almost touching, filled the viewfinder.

Henry groaned. Toby smiled in response, never taking his eyes off his friend once, even as the taller boy's orgasm began and he threw his head back. Henry made a last enthusiastic grab at his cock, tugging it tight, then releasing, before the semen flowed, spurting in a graceful arc across the space between them, the white goo lacing itself round Toby's cock, coating the shaft and splashing into the shorter boy's light pubic hair.

Toby 1 Henry 0, Charlotte thought, unable to stifle a groan of her own at witnessing such beauty and capturing it on film, the camera clicking away crazily.

When Henry was done, Charlotte glanced up at their faces. Toby was close, his smile relaxing into a focused expressionless as he tugged at his organ. Now Henry was smiling. She wanted him to reach out maybe, give his friend a hand, or at least touch him, encourage him. As she willed it to happen, Henry leaned forward, their foreheads almost touching, their hair hanging together. Henry placed his hand lightly on Toby's shoulder.

"Cum for me Tobes," Henry whispered, darting his eyes down to Charlotte for a moment. "Cum for me...."

 

[tamgreen]

The sensation of the other boy's hot cum on him spurred him on, but Toby carefully kept himself from jerking his cock too quickly - he wanted to let Charlotte get plenty of pictures, and figured the blur of his rapidly moving hand might just ruin it.

After a while, though, he had to give in to the imperative to get off. He didn't quite know what to make of the contact from Henry - he couldn't imagine it was any kind of real affection, but his deep down longing for human contact, particularly that gentleness in the other boy's touch, pulled at him.

Cum for me, Tobes.

Henry calling him Tobes had annoyed him at first, giving the impression there was some kind of camaraderie between them that didn't exist, but now he was leaning into it. Maybe even secretly pretending Henry actually liked him, or that they were boyfriends. In the moments before orgasm, he could allow himself any kind of embarrassing, senseless fantasy. He avoided making eye contact with Henry, worried he would give himself away.

With a grunt, he gritted his teeth and shot his load over Henry's softening cock, his pubic hair, and the lush trail that led up to the boy's navel. After a few tense breaths, Toby lunged in almost aggressively to press his tongue into Henry's mouth. It was almost more of an attack than a kiss, and after pulling away, he pressed his lips against Henry's ear to whisper so that only he could hear:

"You still taste like him, you slut."

 

[ericrodman101]

"You still taste like him, you slut."

Henry recovered from enjoying the briefest moment of Toby's lips on his to hear the charge. He grabbed Toby and with his superior strength, held him tight, pulling the smaller boy hard against him, their faces together and their backs to Charlotte.

"What the fuck? Are you and Gerry married or something, you stupid little cunt? Use it, enjoy it, make the most of it, you fuckwit. Like I do. You and me, Tobes. We got something people like Gerry want. And Charlotte. I mean look at her."

Henry relaxed his grip a little so that both boys could turn and look behind them. Charlotte realized they were looking at her and let the camera drop for a moment so she could give them a little wave.

"Seriously, Toby," Henry said, turning back and leading the other boy a little way off towards the edge of the clearing. "Don't fucking blow it. I mean blow Gerry all you like, but don't blow this. So you don't like me. I don't care. I don't like anyone much. But I don't show it, OK? I let them think I'm just crazy drama queen Henry who thinks he's a fucking film star who'll open his legs or his mouth for any fucking pervert who wants to stick his cock into fresh flesh. And maybe it's even fun, you know. Fucking is fun. And everyone thinking you're some crazy teen gay fuckboy is fun too. It opens door. You know what I mean?"

Henry held Toby tight, their faces inches apart, their hair hanging together like a curtain of privacy.

"Yeah? Then kiss me like you mean it so Charlotte can think she's had a great fucking victory in the lovebird stakes."

 

[tamgreen]

Toby grunted when Henry pulled him close, genuinely surprised by his reaction. Of course, it was perfectly possible that he was being a stupid little cunt and Henry was right to correct him. On some level, he knew he'd brought this on, but he'd also not necessarily intended to provoke or accuse Henry with his words. In retrospect, it seemed obvious, but he hadn't thought it through - only acted. It was equally possible he'd meant his words playfully, and part of him had expected Henry to be amused.

He kept his mouth shut and listened until Henry was done, and then he obliged, leaning in to kiss the other boy more slowly this time, more affectionately, putting on a good show. He kissed Henry as if they'd actually been in love. He hadn't realized it until Henry had pointed it out, but maybe it was true - Charlotte wanted to fix them up. Toby wanted Charlotte to be pleased, even if he'd rather have been her only subject.

"I am a crazy teen gay fuckboy," he whispered against Henry's lips. "And I guess I'm a stupid little cunt too. I just wanted to blame you... because I believed him when he said he loved me. And because I loved him. And now I think I might hate him. But never mind. Come on, Henry - I didn't think you'd be offended by being called a 'slut'. Help me learn to make the most of it."

He gave Henry a few more small kisses and ran a hand over the other boy's softened cock before bringing his fingers to his own lips to lick away the residue of his cum.

 

[ericrodman101]

Charlotte watched as the two boys walked away from her, hand in hand, faces close, talking softly out of earshot. She swooned as they kissed, so sweet, so innocent...well, what was she thinking? Innocent wasn't part of this. Young and virile and sexy and....fucking sexy. Even as Toby kissed Henry on the mouth more than once, and then fondled the taller boy's cock, Charlotte had the camera to her face again, snapping away.

And when Toby stroked Henry's cock one last time before sucking his cum-soaked fingers in his mouth she could hardly keep going. If only she'd had a close up of the goo transferring from fingers to lips and then tongue and then....

Charlotte sensed the wetness between her legs. It wasn't as if she was attracted to either Toby or Henry sexually. They were gayboys after all, she reasoned. But oh so beautiful and sexy. And I'm going to document their relationship. Yeah, she decided. My new project. Chronicler of twink love. Of twink fucking. But not porn. No. Art. Like porn, maybe, but....what was the word? Legitimate? Mainstream? She couldn't decide.

"Hey," she called, "I've got an idea we need to talk about."

Henry turned, his hand still holding Toby's.

"Sure," he said, smiling, his almost soft cock waving at her as he turned. "Let's all go to my place then. It's just on the other side of the wood."

He looked down at Toby for affirmation and smiled.

 

[tamgreen]

Toby's grip on Henry's hand tightened. Henry wasn't someone he would likely ever trust, but they had a common goal at the moment - keeping the truth from Charlotte. He was also curious as to where Henry lived, so he found a small smile to offer to both and nodded to the suggestion.

"Okay. It's a deal. I'll just... get dressed."

Toby stepped over to the rock where he'd left the borrowed clothes and scrambled back into them while Henry pulled up his shiny shorts. Soon they were on their way, meandering through to the far side of the forested area. More new territory for Toby. He might as well be stepping through into Narnia.

When the treeline broke, giving way to another suburban neighborhood, Toby's stomach dropped. Somehow he'd pictured Henry being lower class, but this neighborhood was several steps above Gerry's. Toby felt immediately on edge, like he might get in trouble for even being here. He looked up at Henry with a mixture of surprise and insecurity.

"You actually live around here? What are you doing at a shit school like Fillmore if you live here?"

 

[ericrodman101]

Henry led Toby by the hand, with Charlotte following, through a high wooden gate and along a stone path lined with blossoms.

”This is Nob Hill, Toby. Where the rich people live,” Charlotte said.

”Rich? I don‘t know….” Henry began before seeming to lose track.

”And lots of kids from round here go to Fillmore, Toby. It’s just the local school. I mean, where do you think rich kids go to school?”

”And Fillmore has the best drama program in this part of the state,” Henry said, finding his voice. “Jesus. My Mommy is home. Make like we’re just out walking or something.”

A slim, well dressed woman was standing on the balcony of a large Tudor house which emerged from the trees. She waved a hand holding a champagne flute, a bottle in the other. As the three friends climbed the steps a man appeared, younger than the woman, swarthy and unshaven, maybe thirty. He was naked except for a tiny tight black speedo, heavily muscled, long black hair, his neck adorned with several gold chains.

”And Miguel is here too,“ Henry said. “You’ll like Miguel, Toby.”

 

[tamgreen]

"I thought... rich kids would go to some private school, yunno, with uniforms and shit," Toby mumbled.

Mommy?

Toby was immediately nervous, wondering what in the world Henry's mother would be like. He only had his own mother and Charlotte's as a frame of reference, and the thought of either of them filled him with dread. The affluent woman enjoying an afternoon drink seemed nonthreatening at first, but Toby was bracing for just about any possibility.

His attention was quickly arrested when the nearly-naked man appeared, and his eyes widened.

"Oh my god - who is he?" Toby whispered back, but there wasn't time for Henry to give an answer before they were within range of the man and the woman.

Putting in a concerted effort to just look like a normal kid that Henry might hang out with at school, he moved to put his hands in his pockets casually before realizing that the borrowed pants had no pockets at all. Quickly he clamped his hands together nervously.

"Hullo," he mumbled, not knowing how to address either of these people. He would have to trust Henry to make introductions, and follow his lead.

 

[ericrodman101]

“Henry,” his mother gushed, throwing the arm holding the bottle around her son’s shoulders and planting an air kiss somewhere near his face. Charlotte was amused how embarrassed Henry looked. It was so out of character for someone so cocky.

”Who are your new friends?”

”This is Toby, Mommy,” Henry said, detaching himself, “from school. And this is Charlotte. She’s a college student.”

”And so pretty and excitingly dressed,” Mrs Merton said. Charlotte watched as the woman’s eyes traversed Toby from head to toes, taking in his androgynous look. “I can see why you and Henry are attracted to each other.”

And then Charlotte felt her derision as the woman took in what she was wearing.

”I‘m a photography student,” she said, feeling somehow compelled to respond as if being behind the lens explained why she might look less flamboyant.

Mrs Merton ignored her. “So Toby, are you a thespian as well as a model?”

Charlotte had to cough to suppress a laugh. Henry looked even more embarrassed if that was possible. And Toby, it seemed to Charlotte, only had eyes for the Latino man and his amazing body, so much of which was on public display.

”And this is Miguel,” Henry said gesturing with his eyes. ”He is Mommy’s……he’s the pool guy.”

 

[tamgreen]

Toby squirmed beneath the woman's gaze, not sure what to make of her giving him compliments right off the bat. Clearly she was assuming him to be a boyfriend of her son's. He smiled weakly, not wanting to contradict her if Henry wasn't.

A thespian? What the hell was a thespian?

He just shook his head. "I'm just... a student, I guess. And... sort of getting into a little modeling. Charlotte's a really good photographer."

His eyes repeatedly strayed to the man in the speedo. Had he just been influenced by TV, or was it obvious why Mrs Merton kept a "pool guy" around?

"Pool, huh?" he murmured. "Hi Miguel. So... what does a 'pool guy' do?"

 

[ericrodman101]

Charlotte was biting her lip now, looking down at her shoes to make sure no one could see her face contorted with laughter. Pool guy. Fuck! And Toby asked what a pool guy does. No wonder Henry had sort of clammed up and was just going through the motions of introducing his mother already drunk at midday, and her fuck buddy. Did Miguel even speak English, assuming it was necessary in their relationship.

”Miguel looks after the pool, honey,” Mrs Merton said breezily, swaying dangerously while Henry tried to stay upright. “Don’t you know how much work it is keeping a pool nice? Now Henry, your father called. He said there’s plenty of room at the condo if you want to go out to San Diego for the summer. You could take a friend.” She looked round as if trying to identify the faces, her eyes settling on Toby again. “A friend….”

”Yeah,” Henry said, stepping out from under her arm. “We’re going inside to see what Martha‘s made. Coffee and cake. And then we might just hang out for a bit.”

Martha? Charlotte and Toby followed Henry through a set of French doors into a spacious informal sitting room. Like the day room at home, Charlotte thought, only three times the size. And then into a kitchen which felt like the set of a TV cooking show. She could smell baking and hear someone singing softly in a side room. An older white woman entered in a maid‘s outfit.

”Hello Martha,“ Henry said. “These are my friends Toby and Charlotte.”

The woman smiled as she bent to open the larger of the two ovens before extracting a large freshly baked chocolate cake which she set on the counter.

“My you boys dress funny,” she said. “And you…” Martha looked warily at Charlotte. “Henry doesn’t bring girls home very often.”

 

[tamgreen]

Toby blushed as Henry's mom answered his question with the obvious. Of course he didn't know how much work it was looking after a pool - he didn't even know how to swim.

He backed away subtly from the woman. He'd pegged her as an alcoholic at first glance, and now she'd made it abundantly obvious. It made him want to feel sorry for Henry for a moment, but why? Both of their moms might be addicts, but they clearly didn't have anything else in common. At least Mrs Merton was a friendly drunk. What was to feel sorry for? A giant palace of a house, a pool, a hot pool guy, a condo in San Diego?

And then there was a maid. A fucking maid, on top of everything - a nice lady making him cake. Toby was thoroughly bewildered. Part of him wanted to flee the premises and back to the other side of the tracks; another wanted to burst into tears and beg to live here.

The lady's remark pulled him out of his head. Toby glanced across at Charlotte and couldn't help smirking. "Yeah... I bet he doesn't."

The smell of cake was drawing him forward. He leaned on the counter with wide eyes and a growing smile. "Whoa... did you make that yourself? It looks amazing."

He looked back over his shoulder at Henry, and his thoughts were written all over his face: I can't believe you live like this.

 

[ericrodman101]

“I can make the coffee, Martha,” Henry said. The woman left the room quietly, as if she’d been dismissed. Charlotte watched Henry open a cupboard and roll out a fancy espresso machine.

”What the fuck, Henry,“ she said, “I haven’t seen a machine like that since I was backpacking in Italy last year. And you know how to use it?”

He smiled knowingly. “Where did you backpack? Dad and I did the Cinque Terre after my Sophomore year. I want to do the Amalfi coast next, but in a yacht.”

They watched him grind the beans and steam the milk, then in no time deliver three cappuccini, perfect right down to the love hearts in the froth, to the polished cement table, each in an individually cast glazed ceramic mug, espresso style without handles.

”If it’s too hot, let it sit for a bit. Or use a napkin.”

Charlotte took a sip as Henry cut the cake.

”Henry, you are my perfect man….except for one very obvious thing.”

He smiled and sat. “So,” Henry said, “I live here with my mother who’s an alcoholic but harmless. Martha keeps house and Mommy keeps Miguel. My Dad lives in San Diego with Jay. He’s a Korean rapper Dad met talent scouting. And yes, I mean lives with in the Biblical sense. Dad and Jay fuck.“

Henry looked from Toby to Charlotte and back.

”Any questions?”

 

[tamgreen]

Toby stared at the shiny espresso machine, and then at the cup of coffee he was given, with awe. Cinque Terre? Amalfi Coast? He'd never even heard of these places, but he was sure they were far away and expensive. Sounded like just a typical summer activity for Henry, but little did any of them know, the furthest from home Toby had ever been was the sexual health clinic.

He listened with interest to Henry's summation of his living situation and his parents. Jesus - the boy practically had two stepdaddies. No wonder he had the freedom to walk around being such an obvious gay slut.

Toby had so many questions, but there were a lot he didn't feel like he could ask, at least not yet. Do you ever fuck Miguel? Do you ever fuck your dad's rapper boyfriend? Do you ever fuck your dad?

Jesus! Toby gave his head a little shake, getting mentally carried away. He didn't want to get hard right here and now if Henry's mom was still hanging around. He distracted himself by sipping the coffee, which was a lot tastier than he expected a coffee to be, and starting to devour the still warm slice of cake while he searched for the right questions.

"Umm... can your family adopt me?" he finally settled on, trying a stupid joke, even if it did reveal a very real longing.

"But seriously... this is... unbelievable. Everything. Do you think I could ever stay here if I need to? The best I have right now is Metzler's place, which is... not ideal."

His eyes quickly cut to Charlotte. "And... maybe, could we see the rest of the house? Charlotte could scout some good places to take pictures. For her college stuff."