Piet was certainly not yet at a height he considered acceptable, but he was pleased to have added more than two inches over the summer, and he hoped his growth would continue. Marcus was keeping pace with him.
Luke continued to ride on the bus with Piet. They had become good friends, although Piet was not sexually attracted to him. They chatted daily about their classes, their tests, their teachers, and the school’s lively social life.
One beautiful fall day, Piet decided to get off the school bus a couple of stops before his own and walk the rest of the way. The cerulean sky was beautiful and cloudless. The air was fresh and sported a gentle breeze, just enough to move the leaves on the trees and occasionally cause one to drop.
Partway home, he detoured into the park and sat on a bench in the sun. He had selected a spot where the shrubs hid him from any prying eyes. He removed his shirt and enjoyed the warmth of the sun on his body. Sitting with his eyes closed, he listened to the sounds of birds and occasional insects around him, but eventually began to doze.
He was startled awake by someone sitting on the bench next to him. Opening his eyes, he saw a rather large scruffy man sitting beside him. The man wore a torn UCLA T-shirt while his jeans were stained and dirty. The man said, “Hi,” and Piet, being a polite boy, responded accordingly.
“Whatcha doin’?” the man asked.
“Just sitting, enjoying the day and the sun.”
The man was silent for a moment. Then he said, “I can give ya somethin’ more t’ enjoy.” He pointed at his crotch, where something was quickly growing.
“No thanks,” Piet said and began to rise.
The man grabbed Piet’s arm in a surprisingly strong grip and covered the boy’s mouth with his other hand.
“Now, you don’ wanna be unsocial, do ya’?”
Piet struggled but couldn’t break away from the man, who forced him to the ground. With one hand, he held Piet, while with the other hand, he unzipped his pants. He was wearing no underwear, and his cock, which was long, fat, and dripping precum, sprang out.
“Now, I won’t hurt ya if ya do what I say. Got it?”
Piet struggled, trying to kick out at the man, who sat on him. He held his cock firmly and told Piet to suck it. Meanwhile, he put his free hand on the boy’s throat.
“If ya get smart and try to bite me, ya won’t come outta here alive.”
Piet stopped struggling. In his mind he said, “Marcus. Marcus. Help.”
“I’m here,” Marcus replied.
Piet relaxed, and the man moved his cock towards the boy’s mouth. Then he stopped. He looked up at the sky with a puzzled frown and asked, “Why’s it gettin’ dark?”
“It…it…it isn’t,” said Piet.
“Are ya doin’ somethin’ t’ make it darker?”
“No,” answered Piet honestly, but he knew what was happening.
“I cain’t hardly see nothin’,” the man said.
Marcus began telling Piet what to say. “If you don’t let me go, you’ll soon be blind,” said the boy.
“Ya are doin’ somethin’. Stop it, now!” Piet felt a hard slap on his face. He arched his back strongly and the man flew over his head, landing on the grass.
In a panic, the man cried, “I cain’t see nothin’.”
Taking his cue from Marcus, Piet rose and said, “And you won’t see anything for the rest of the day. Maybe by next week you’ll see a little something, but if you don’t leave boys alone, you’ll become totally blind.” Then he added, “Goodbye.”
“Wait,” the man called, “ya cain’t jist leave m’ here.”
“Oh, yes I can,” said Piet with a grin, and he walked out of the park and to his home, where he and Marcus sat at the kitchen table while Piet ate his usual afterschool snack.
“Well, that was interesting,” Piet said between bites.
Marcus giggled a little before saying, “Of course, he won’t be blind for too long, but I hope it’s long enough to make him think twice about molesting boys.”
“I’m not sure what I’d have done if you hadn’t been there,” said Piet. “He was much stronger than I thought at first. Maybe I should start doing some body building.”
At the lunch table the next day, Piet told the other boys about the man who attacked him in the park. Alfred said, “Oh yeah, I know him. He used to work for Luigi’s Pizza, but he got fired for trying to seduce one of the delivery boys. He should probably be in jail, but I guess you didn’t press charges, did you?”
“No, there were no witnesses,” Piet replied, or, he thought to himself, at least any who could testify in court.
“He’s strong, though, so if you run into him, you probably should run the other way,” said Piet.
“How did you get away from him?” asked another boy.
Thinking quickly, Piet said, “I kicked him in the balls and then ran like hell.”
The boys laughed at that, and Piet found that from then on he was again rather a hero in the group.
Piet continued to think about doing some body building. The school gym had equipment that boys could use after school, but at first Piet didn’t know how he’d get home if he stayed after the bus left. When he mentioned the problem to Art and Doug, they suggested they get him a bike.
On Saturday, they drove to a bike shop which had a supply of used but well-cared-for bicycles and selected one that all three of them thought would be suitable and was priced reasonably. In addition, the men bought Piet a bicycle lock and a helmet, cautioning him to always wear the helmet when he was riding.
Back home, Piet, who had never been on a bike, tried to ride it but immediately fell off. With the men’s encouragement he practiced for a good two hours, and by the end of that time, he was riding confidently up and down the street.
After school on Monday, Piet went to the gym. There was always a gym teacher there supervising the equipment, and he got Piet going on some exercises which would build him up without injuring him.
When Piet left to go home, he felt stiff in every joint. He was almost unable to get on his bike, but he managed and rode slowly home.
As he worked in the gym each afternoon, he got chatting with another freshman, who introduced himself as Aaron. Sometimes they worked together, spotting each other or one holding the feet of the other when they were working on sit-ups. Other times, they worked side by side.
In time, Piet’s friendship with Aaron grew enough that he felt he could trust him. One day as they were finishing exercising, Piet took a deep breath and said, “Aaron, I’m gay. I hope that won’t spoil our friendship.”
“Of course you are,” Aaron replied. “Everyone knows, and it certainly won’t spoil our friendship. Straight or gay, you’re still the same boy.”
“How does everyone know?”
“Well, it’s mostly because you have nothing to do with girls. You don’t look at them and you don’t talk about them.”
Piet nodded his head thoughtfully.
By December, both boys were considerably stronger and had begun to have visible muscles in their arms and legs. Their chests began to fill out as well. They started to climb ropes, and the man who was supervising showed them some moves on the pommel horse.
Piet had grown another two inches, and his brother and uncle had to find new clothes for him for the third time.
Over the December break, Piet and Aaron visited each other’s homes. On days when they didn’t meet, Piet felt lonely and couldn’t wait to see Aaron again, so he phoned him and they talked, sometimes for long, long conversations.
Piet knew that his bicycle was his ‘big’ Christmas present, but he also received books, a CD player, and more clothes. He gave Aaron a couple of books, and his friend gave him some CDs.
The men were certainly aware of the long phone calls and of Aaron’s visits. They simply looked at each other and smiled knowing little smiles.
Marcus of course knew of the growing relationship. Part of him was happy for Piet, but he also felt a little jealous.
One evening, when he was alone with Piet, he brought up the subject of Aaron.
“He seems like a nice boy,” Marcus said. Then, said daringly, “and I know you’re attracted to him.”
“Dammit,” said Piet, “isn’t there anything I can do without you knowing? Do you have any idea what it’s like to have someone constantly in your head? Has it ever occurred to you that sometimes I’d like a little privacy?”
He looked at Marcus, who was clearly weeping, and said, “Oh, shit.”