Chapter Twenty-two
Sunday, August 3rd – Part Four
Elliott didn't go with us for breakfast. All he wanted was some coffee, so as long as that was all right with Ian...
Well, I was guessing that he was still upset, but when I had a chance to ask Carlie about it - while we were standing in a long line stretching outside of Denny's – he said he didn't think there was anything to worry about, because almost as soon as he was out of the shower, he was listening to Last Exit For the Lost again. So at least he seemed to be almost back to normal.
Normal for him, that is, but I was still worried about him deciding to be a recluse for however much longer we were in Bakersfield. That wouldn't reflect too well on our match-making ability... even if I was still wondering why it was being left up to us in the first place.
So I was standing there worrying when Stephan interrupted my reverie with, “Hey! Earth to Natty! Seth wants to know if we'd rather walk back to that Carl Jr's we passed instead of standing in this line. It's not very far, so you want to? … It'll be just us three, `cause the rest are saying they're okay here, but anyway, you want to?”
One thing about Stephan: if he asks if I want to more than once, you know he wants to, and this time I knew why. Just us and Seth. The perfect opportunity. So I was getting nervous, but in spite of that I shrugged and, “Yeah, sure. Why not?”
And actually it seemed to be starting out well at first, because on our way out of the parking lot we walked past their SRX, and that's when I remarked – as though I was still in the process of learning how to decode text messages, “No Hate, right? That's pretty cool.”
Seth glanced over and, “Well, there were those in favor of Prop 8 who claimed that it had nothing to do with hate, but obviously, my dad thinks otherwise.”
Then he gave us a wry grin and shrugged, so my opening gambit didn't seem to be working too well, but Stephan still wasn't willing to give up. “I might have heard something about it on the news – Proposition 8 - but I'm not sure if I'm clear on what it was about.”
Only that didn't seem to be working very well either, because in reply, Seth simply gave us the facts. How in May, 2008, the California Supreme Court ruled in favor of gay marriage, but then in the November elections came the ballot initiative – Prop 8 – entitled “Eliminates Right of Same-Sex Couples to Marry Act”, and it passed with a 52% majority. So he might as well have been giving a report in class… except for possibly detecting some sarcasm when he was parroting out the full title of the initiative. Still not enough to go on, but...
I was about to give up, actually, but then he added, “In case you're wondering, dad's distressingly straight. It doesn't mean there aren't some causes he believes deeply in, though, and that definitely includes equal rights.”
Then he shrugged again, but I was thinking, “Distressingly? Hmm.”
Even if I still wanted to be cool. Of course I did. The way I hoped I could be once I was his age.
Or possibly even sooner, so I cocked my head and asked, “Distressingly? That's a curious way of putting it, `cause he seems very cool to me, but I guess most of the time, our mom's in that category too.” I thought I was being mega-cool... and I hope it's been noticed that I remembered that it was still supposed to be “our” mom, but then Stephan unexpectedly added...
“Yeah, one time we got a little carried away, and the next morning she said, `Boys, I'm still hoping you outgrow it eventually, but until that blessed day comes, could you at least remember that my room's next to yours?'” … and that took care of enigmatic. After that fabrication... inspired no doubt, by one of his favorite stories...
Well, I started blushing, but I managed, “Geez, Stephan, is it really necessary to... well, maybe... Seth isn't interested in-”
“I'm interested!” blurted Seth.
Sunday, August 3rd – Part Five
I was trying to regain my cool again, so at first the best I could come up with was, “Interested in what?”
Seth grinned goofily and, “More details would be interesting... I'm sure of that much, but if you two are an item, then I suppose the real question is why you're so interested in knowing where I'm at.”
“Um...” Then I took a deep breath and, “Okay, me and Stephan, we're together. You're right about that much. … And once we're in Seattle, we'll be keeping a low profile. Until we're absolutely sure, there will be no more blabbing like he just now did, but see... it's like... well, it's like...”
“We're wanting to know if you're the least bit interested in Elliott, because if you are, then we think he's interested in you too, but he grew up in North Carolina, so we think that's why he's afraid to say anything,” blurted Stephan.
Me? I bit my tongue, because it occurred to me that I probably would have been trying to find a good place to start with that question for God only knows how long...
… But I still thought we needed to have a discussion on not blurting everything out in the very near future. Even if...
“I'm interested,” said Seth.
So I stopped glaring at Stephan, looked over at Seth and asked, “You're interested in Elliott?”
“Oh, yeah! It wasn't obvious at first, but by last night I could tell that you two were a pair, and it seemed the same with Carlie and Earl. Just good friends, though. Beyond that, it still seemed to be a bit much. … Even if I was starting to hope. Can't blame me for that.”
“Of course not,” said Stephan – smugly - “but when you walked in on us this morning, were you hoping even more?”
“Mostly, I was lusting, but from the look on Elliott's face, I thought I'd screwed up. I had no idea that you'd all be naked. … But it sure was interesting.”
“Yeah, I can imagine,” I said coolly. … Or at least I was close to being fully recovered... “but what I want to know is... now you know why we were trying to find out about you, but what made you think we were even before Stephan started blabbing?”
“Ah... probably because I was worried when we picked you up on the side of the road.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
As it turns out, Kern County – which is where we were – is one of the most conservative counties in California. If one can go by the results of the last general election, then it's more so than Dallas County, Texas, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, Salt Lake County, UTAH… or for that matter, Guilford County, North Carolina, (where Elliott was from)... so it should come as no surprise to learn that Kern County voted in favor of Prop 8, even if 75.4% in favor really is a bit much. I mean...
Well, it was what it was, which gets us back to the purpose of this section: explaining Seth and Stephan's weird behavior.
Stephan was just reacting to Seth. That's what he explained later when I was wondering if he'd lost his mind, because as he pointed out, if we were only going to be there for a day or so, there was no time to waste. So after Seth dropped the “distressingly straight” bit, he decided it was time for us to stop pretending.
As for Seth, at first he was very uptight, but that was because he was assuming that we'd know what the No H8 bumper sticker was about, and he was also assuming that we'd be assuming that both he and his dad were gay. Or, at least that they had nothing against gays, and since there were five of us... and also since he ended up sharing the same seat belt with our assumed leader...
Well, if all those assumptions had been correct, it could have been anywhere from a bit awkward to downright disastrous, but after discovering that we were feeling just as awkward, and also after learning that we had similar tastes in music and were even willing to play Canasta with him, he started wondering if there was a possibility of something more. Just a little.
Our body language might have been a hint. In trying not to let on, maybe we were a little. And while liking groups like Pet Shop Boys, Tegan and Sarah, Placebo, and The Shondes didn't necessarily mean that we were gay, it also didn't rule it out. Just as our willingness to talk about orgasms could be taken either way. And discovering that we'd all slept naked could also be taken more than one way, but I suppose once all of that was added up, he had reasons to suspect, even if he still had some reasons to think that it couldn't possibly be true. All five of us? Seriously?
So when Stephan and I started quizzing him on No H8 the next morning, he was still feeling defensive, but on the other hand, there were all those hopeful signs, so finally, he decided to first drop a hint and then put us on the defensive...
So well played, Seth, well played!
Sunday, August 3rd – Part Five, continued
I decided to pop the section above in because once Elliott entered the discussion, things started moving very fast, so most of my questions had to wait until later. Even if I thought some were important, with one being just how gay Seth was in the first place. Not many of us are 100% gay, but for all practical purposes, Stephan and I were, and the same applied to Carlie and Earl. Not that we'd spent any time trying to figure out if we were 90% or 80% or any other percent gay...
But it still seemed to me that Elliott acted a little more gay than the rest of us, so when at first Seth was guessing that he was only about 60% gay, I was starting to wonder.
Even if I shouldn't have bothered. I mean, I'm still wondering how he ever came up with that figure, but aside from that... as long as one can accept that “weird” is all in the eye of the beholder...
Well, then, Seth's a very cool dude, but he's also very weird. That's what we thought – Stephan and I - but since this is supposed to be about us getting him and Elliott together, I suppose I should get to that part. To when weird almost started sounding logical.
Sunday, August 3rd – Part Seven, damn it
It started after Stephan asked Seth if he was serious about trying out naturism that afternoon. Everybody getting naked could be a good way of breaking the ice.
So in reply, Seth grinned and: ”Sure, why not? If we decide to play Canasta outside on the patio, I'm guessing that not long after dad leaves, our pool will start looking awfully inviting. That sound about right? As in skinny dipping?”
I thought it sounded almost perfect, because there was a fairly high wall surrounding their back yard and the next nearest house looked to be about half a mile away, but I still needed to point something out, and beyond that, I wanted to be the one making up stuff for a change, so... “Elliott might not be wanting to at first, because last week he got this wild idea about getting rid of his pubes and everything else. You know, smooth all over? He talked a guy into buying him a case of beer, I think that was his biggest problem, but whatever, he did it, and then the next day...”
“Oh, my God, what have I done???” finished Stephan. Then he added, “It's not like Etch-a-Sketch.”
“True,” snickered Seth.
Except snickering didn't seem to be all that promising, so I added, “Well, he's used to us seeing him by now, but this morning, when you saw... or I guess you did... but whether you did or not, he thought you did, and it embarrassed him.”
“I did see. … And he has nothing to be embarrassed about.”
Stephan was quicker on the uptake than I was, because after only the briefest pause he asked, “You mean how big it is?”
That's when Seth first mentioned being bisexual, even if he had to admit that right then, he was a little more attracted to boys. It came out this way: “Almost anyone would notice, even if they're completely straight. … Not that I think many are. If we could ever be honest with ourselves, we'd have to admit that we're all bisexual. … I'm in the neighborhood of 60%... not straight, but 100% horny about 100% of the time, so yes, I noticed. It seems to be well above average.”
So initially, I was thinking that it didn't look as encouraging as Earl and Carlie seemed to think, and asking if he'd ever messed around with a girl any didn't help much, not even after he admitted that he hadn't because he was too shy to try, which made him perpetually horny for almost any kind of sex.
But then it occurred to me that Elliott was almost always horny as well, so never mind. Especially not after Seth interrupted my thoughts with, “So has he ever mentioned how big it is?”
“Right at seven inches,” Stephan informed him.
“How big around?”
Stephan looked at me and, “Before this trip is over, one of us needs to get a measurement on that. Just for posterity, but right now, all I know is, it's a mouthful... I'd guess,” (he caught himself just barely in the nick of time), “but yeah-”
“Oh my God!” cut in Seth, “are you talking about... dick... um... well, you know.... like... actual sucking?”
So then I was thinking that it didn't sound encouraging at all, but I still wanted to be adult about it – since we'd already outed ourselves anyway - so I shrugged and, “If you're gay, oral sex almost always enters the picture. Sooner or later.”
“Not if you're in the closet,” replied Seth.
I looked at him quizzically. “So... are you saying that 60% of you is in?”
“Has been,” corrected Seth, “100% of me has been in. … My dad knows that I might be, and that's not a problem. Except he thinks I shouldn't worry about any actual sex until I'm sure. Once I'm off to college, then if I'm sure, but three more years is a long time, you know?”
“Um, yeah, I guess,” I started...
“But from what I've read,” he continued – excitedly – and it was noticeably tenting by then... “oral's a trip. … Would you agree?”
“Yes,” replied Stephan.
Me? I just shrugged. Coolly, of course, but...
“So are you suggesting... do you think Elliott... well, do you?”
So it was time for me to make another wry face and reply...
But before I could start, Stephan did again.“We can only tell you what Earl and Carlie think about your chances, but we're all thinking his station wagon might not make it much further, so this morning Earl was asking us what we think about camping out around here for the duration. Looking at the map, there are National Parks, Forests, State Parks... all sorts of places to camp out not too far away, so if it's all right with your dad and if you want to...”
“I have a pup tent,” cut in Seth excitedly, “and dad will be okay with it, because he likes all of you. I can tell. … So you think... Elliott... I mean... um... guess you don't really know, do you?”
“We've been fairly open with each other, so while I can't guarantee anything, I'd still say that if it's you and him sharing the same tent, it'll be better than it's ever been in the closet,” I replied. And yes, I still thought I was being way cool, but...
“So okay, then obviously step one comes this afternoon, only you're saying that as of now, he'd be too embarrassed to take it, right?”
Knowing Elliott as I did, I had a feeling that he probably wouldn't be... except for him not knowing that he had a chance with Seth... and then there was how he'd acted not too long before... even if Carlie and Earl thought he got off on being humiliated... a little...
“I'm not sure, but he could be,” I answered honestly.
“This is really starting to turn me on,” said Seth.
“Yeah, I noticed,” I allowed.
“It's fairly long, but still woefully thin,” he informed us.
“Sounds interesting,” Stephan giggled. Sort of. More or less, and when Seth gave him a quizzical look, he added, “Natty and I: we have both agreed that looking is perfectly okay. Like yesterday afternoon when we were trying to get off that goat trail, we went by this place where some Boy Scouts were camping, and they were all running around naked, and we looked then. We got it on my phone and on Natty's camcorder, and it's definitely interesting.”
“God!” exclaimed Seth, “That... I'd really like to see that. … Later, I hope. But in terms of right now, I'm calling dad and telling him that we're walking home. I have a plan, but I still need to run it past you two, because you know Elliott.” (It was close to five miles, but at a little past ten, it was still in the 70s...)
So I sighed and while I was doing that, Stephan asked, “Okay, what's the plan, then?”
“You're familiar with Michalangelo's David, right?”
So note here: If someone's discussing getting naked, and he starts out there – or with ancient Greek or Roman art – it could get weird. Even though I'll admit that Michalangelo's model was handsome. If he even used a model, that is, because seriously, that would be a lot of standing still as a statue, but whatever, I'll not mind if I end up looking sort of like him once I'm an adult. Except for his penis which doesn't appear to be much bigger than mine or Stephan's. Only ours were still growing. We were almost sure of it.
But still, if the discussion involves not embarrassing someone who's removed all of his secondary hair, then the important thing to remember is that Michalangelo's David didn't have much either.
“It's a cultural thing,” said Seth. (He was rationalizing.) “Michelangelo's David is a good example. Except for a small pubic patch, no secondary hair. But did that embarrass the guy who was modelling? He didn't look embarrassed, he looked manly!”
So in reply, I squinted and, “Um... I guess.”
“And besides,” he continued, “we can always look at it as a ritual... or a sacrifice...”
“You know, that's interesting,” mused Stephan.
And I thought so too. “We?” There was no way in hell...
“Guess you've just started then,” snickered Seth.
“Well, I guess you'll figure that much out by this afternoon, so for your information, yes, it's a little recent, and no, I'm not even going to think about-”
“We might later,” said Stephan, then when I started looking very shocked, he added, “Once we start getting hairy all over, then we might. But Natty's right, it's a novelty now, so just go ahead and explain your ritual idea. … Sacrifice: I think I got that part.”
Seth took a deep breath and, “You're right. It's not going to be like Etch-a-Sketch, but I'm going to do it this time, and it'll be before we get back home, so for one thing, you both need to be keeping a look-out. … That's because it seems that no matter what I end up going with, it has to stay on for at least five minutes, so obviously, I'm going to be naked the whole time... and I still have to wash it all off... God. Just telling you this is like... well, I'm leaking a little... actually, because... I guess because it's as exhibitionistic as anything I've ever imagined!”
Then after that pause, “But right now, are either of you thinking I'm weird?”
So I was about to diplomatically say that he was, but if you're going to be, there's no point in just going halfway, but once again, Stephan opened him mouth first. “In North Dakota, we knew a boy... and he was our age, but lots of times, he'd be dressed up like a bunny rabbit. … That weird enough for you?”
Then I added, “So me and Stephan, we decided we'd try dressing up like Frank the Rabbit. … You know, like in Donnie Darko?”
“Damn!” exclaimed Seth, “It's too bad you're not that way now, because it would be... it would be surreal! … So you don't think I'm being too weird?”
I cringed.... slightly... because of how surreal had been working out for us lately but, “I guess it depends on where you're planning on using whatever it is you're going to use on yourself, because if we get arrested...”
“It'll be well out of sight from the street, and on a Sunday morning, I don't think there's anything to worry about,” Seth assured us, “it's an irrigation canal.”
Oh, my God, he's going to!
The truth is, by the time we reached a CVS, I was really wishing he'd think of something else, even though Stephan had already sent two text messages to Earl. I'd let Earl borrow my phone just so we could let them in on what was going on, and first Stephan punched in, “Looks good. Seth gets naked first. U will b surprised.”
Then once inside the drug store, I pulled Stephan aside and whispered, “You better let them in on the story I made up about why he's minus his hair so one of them can repeat the same thing before he can make up another story, you know?”
So okay on that deal, but still...
Well, it's like I said, Seth was good looking. So naturally, I was thinking that I wouldn't mind if Stephan and/or I end looking close to what he looked like once we're fifteen, and that included all the hair that was about to disappear. He had some on his legs, and it looked cool. And I'd caught a few glimpses under his arms, and I liked what he had there too. Maybe because of the contrast or something.
But at least we'd be taking some before and after pics on Stephan's phone, because that was to be our ritual. Such humiliation... even if I still had some mixed emotions... including “we're gonna get caught, I just know it...”
And besides, if both Elliott and Seth got off on being humiliated...
That would be weird.
But none of that mattered, because Seth was still going to do it, and to make matters worse, he was wanting us to help in picking the right product. I mean, how in the hell were we supposed to know?
Finally, though, they – because even though Stephan remained determined to help instead of just waiting outside... so of course, I had to go in too... in case somebody asked them, “Hey! Are you boys weird or what?...
But anyway, I went in and pretended to be looking at body wash and the men's deodorants which happened to be across the aisle from all that hair removal stuff.
They finally decided the Spa Wax Hair Removal kit wasn't a good idea because even though the results would last for up to eight weeks, you needed to heat the wax in a microwave, which ruled out doing it in the irrigation canal. Even if you weren't likely to be arrested for indecent exposure at home. And Stephan and I would be arrested for aiding and abetting. Damn.
But anyway, they decided on an odorless lotion that was to be rubbed in and then after five minutes, vigorously washed off. Vigorously, because it said on the box that the hair was supposed to come off while you were under a shower. At home. Where you shouldn't have to worry about being arrested.
Only, wouldn't you know it, the stuff couldn't stay on for longer than five minutes, because it could result in skin blistering.
But there's no point in mentioning any of the uncharitable thoughts I was having except to say that I was having quite a few more of them.
I really do worry too much, though, because anti-climatically, we weren't arrested, and no junior Googly Gooks ever showed up. I kept thinking about how the circumstances seemed to be similar to Elliott's, so it was a very long five minutes... plus the time it took us to walk to the canal... and the time it took Seth to undress, even if he did it hurriedly... and then of course, we had to take several pics before he started smearing that shit on... and I kept thinking it was such a waste, because honestly, his soon-to-be-all-gone hair looked very nice. Because of the contrast, I think.
And now that it's over and done with, I also think his erection deserves a separate paragraph. It was long – six and and a quarter inches he said – and skinnier than I would have expected, but it was also kind of amazing. Alien-like, almost, and it stayed hard almost the whole time! Seth said it was like tantric sex, and when I shakily asked what that was, he said it was hands-off sex. Basically, you're trying to think yourself off, you just try to focus on how your penis is feeling. So very hard, so... potentially arrested for indecent exposure...
So Seth was also having some trouble concentrating, but he still stayed hard until he started hurriedly washing himself off... so it wasn't long until his bush and everything else was gone, and that just did it. As in: “Oh, God, I'm about to...” SQUIRT!! squirt, squirt... squirt...
It was interesting.
Sunday, August 3rd – Part Nine
After the above, as far as I was concerned, that afternoon almost had to be an anti-climax, and Stephan pretty much felt the same way. We were hoping that Elliott and Seth could start connecting, but we'd done all we could do about it.
Of course Carlie and Earl wanted to know how our match-making went, but we just left it at “pretty good.” Even if we'd outed ourselves in the process, and while we made it clear that we hadn't outed them, Seth still probably suspected.
They didn't seem to be bothered, though. Carlie put it this way: “If he knows you two and Elliott are gay, well then, he'd almost have to suspect us too, now wouldn't he?”
I'm guessing that while we were gone, Elliott decided there was no point in trying to hide from Seth, because he didn't waste any time trying to come up with an excuse not to play Canasta: for all the world, it was as though nothing had ever happened.
Except for a few furtive glances at Seth, and once when Seth looked back at him and gave him what looked to be a shy smile, he started blushing again, but after that, he seemed to relax quite a bit.
And beyond that, his glances became less furtive. Not quite to the point of unadulterated lust, but it seemed to be heading in that direction, because Seth had changed into some old khaki shorts, and he was going commando. You could tell, because there was a big tear in his left seat.
In spite of that, though, we played Canasta with great enthusiasm... until Ian said he'd be off socializing for the rest of the afternoon, and he'd catch us later on that evening. (For the record, I'm sure he never noticed the tear in the seat of his son's shorts, and to be honest, Seth didn't have that much hair on his legs to start with.)
But once Ian was gone, tension began to mount. Nothing had been said yet, but still, something was in the air!
Then Seth asked, “Want to continue our game out by the pool? It shouldn't be too bad under the awning, so let's, all right?”
So we did.
But while 95° in the desert isn't as intolerable as it would be in New York or North Carolina – due to the relative lack of humidity – it still is 95, and it wasn't long until Seth exclaimed, “It's warmer out here than I thought it would be! … `Course, usually I'm not just sitting: I'm in and out of the water, so... anyone care for a dip?”
Carlie shrugged and, “Sounds good, but we didn't bring our trunks. … Maybe Natty and Stephan did, but the rest of us didn't, so...”
And right then, Seth decided to go for it. As his shirt was clearing his head he said, “I wasn't thinking about wearing anything,” and then, without so much as a deep breath, he unsnapped, zipped down and just like that, his shorts were down at his feet. In spite of a semi. It was almost straight out, and looking every bit as long and skinny as before.
“It's my natural state,” he explained, then, without saying anything about his lack of hair, he kicked his shoes off and dove in.
So of course, four of us were hurriedly jerking our clothes off, but the question was...
“Looks like I'm not the only one who likes going smooth,” said Elliott with remarkable aplomb.
Guess that works just as well as saying it happened because you were drunk, though. Seriously. If it's gone, there's no point in being defensive about it.
Sunday, August 3rd – The Tantric Part
I'm not sure how long we were in the pool, but if I had to guess, I'd say around fifteen minutes, and for the most part, we were all acting the way you'd normally expect naked boys without any adult supervision to act. Chicken fights! We were an even six, so it almost had to come up, and it was logical that we smaller 13-year-olds would be on Carlie, Seth and Elliott's shoulders with our thighs wrapped around their necks, and if we'd all been fairly straight - or at least pretending to be so, then I guess we would have been saying that our ensuing erections simply happened. That they were only to be expected, because of all the wet, squirming, incidental body contact.
But you know what? I have no idea how straight boys would try explaining that, and it also doesn't matter, because we weren't bothering. We were joyfully, unashamedly, triumphantly erect! So there.
Except for wondering what we were supposed to do with our erections. I mean, there were five of us who would have soon been doing something, but since we were guests...
“I ache,” announced Stephan.
I was in the process of getting water out of my nose again, but, “Yeah, me too,” I sputtered.
“Well, maybe you and him ought to start doing your From Here To Eternity act again,” wheezed Earl.
“That would make me ache even more,” I replied forthrightly.
But I also started blushing a little, because at that moment, I didn't think that it should be me and Stephan putting on a show for everybody else. It was Carlie and Earl's turn to do something!
Even if Earl had at least baited the hook, because Seth asked, “From Here To Eternity. Is that the movie with Natalie Wood and.... oh... what's his name... William Devane?”
Stephan was at the edge of the pool idly splashing water with his feet – even if it was obvious that he was still aching – but, “I think the one with Natalie Wood was a remake. I haven't seen it, but we've seen the original.”
“Oh,” said Seth, “So... are we talking about the famous beach scene by any chance?”
Stephan started, “Well... there is a... scene...”
And that's as far as he got, because Earl jumped out of the water and wrapped himself around Carlie. Front to front – his middle pressed into Carlie's abdomen and he was yelling, “Help! Help! I'm drowning! Save me!”. (We were on the shallow end due to him still not being able to swim worth anything.)
Carlie? He was startled, but in spite of that, he was squeezing Earl's butt while saying, “Breathe! Breathe!”
We'll not be following that line of thought any further, though. Even if we did amongst ourselves later on. Of course we did. It wouldn't have been natural if we hadn't. … But back to Earl being wrapped around Carlie...
They remained glued together while Carlie was awkwardly making his way towards the edge of the pool. Awkwardly, because he was still rubbing and saying stuff like, “There, there. It's all right now. I got you, so it's gonna be all right.”
Then Earl looked back at Seth and said, “Natty really did save me one time, you know that?”
Seth started, “Um... really?”
“Yeah, really. No kidding. I was about to drown, and he saved me. That's kind of how it all started.”
So I'm sure that sounded interesting, but I still thought I should try to clarify things. Not that I did, because...“Well, it really started... because our boat was sinking... um, this is starting to sound weird, isn't it?”
“Yes, it is,” said Elliott. As though he should really talk, but...
“Don't worry, I'll save you, Natty!” yelled Stephan, and seconds later, his legs were wrapped around my waist... so we both went under again. He tries to drown me, then he saves me. Of course. Whatever was I thinking? But meanwhile...
It took some doing on Carlie's part, what with Earl still being attached to him, but he finally managed to get both of them out of the pool. Except somehow, he ended up on his back with Earl on top of him, and they started reenacting the best part of From Here To Eternity. I was thinking that maybe they were over-doing it a little, because they were grinding on each other, and even if that's what Stephan and I had been doing when I was giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation the day before, I was still thinking that Seth might be wanting to ease into things.
At least sort of, so I glanced over at him and said, “They do get carried away sometimes.”
“Um... yeah,” he managed. His eyes were practically bugging out.
…. And Stephan still had his legs wrapped around my waist and I was holding him in place, but in spite of that I added, “Maybe it's a country version of tantric sex.”
“Well, whatever it is, it's interesting,” said Elliott from behind me. His voice was sounding strained... again… (Light bulb!)
So... “Hey, Stephan, I'm glad you're saving me, but could we like... call a time out? `Cause I'm thinking about what Seth said about tantric and if we're like... just real close... so close, we can feel our hearts beating together... but being real calm about it... well, pretty calm...”
Then to Seth, “That could be almost like tantric sex, right? If we just let the feeling of being real close sort of like flow over us?”
“Sounds close to the ultimate to me,” he replied. He sounded a little shaky, though. Was he, or was he not? Him, Elliott, one of them had to...
“Oh shit, I'll just ask then,” said Seth to Elliott, “they're all partnered, so do you want to be my partner? … For awhile?”
So Elliott swallowed hard, and then...“Shit, yes!”
That was so cool. Carlie and Earl stopped grinding on each other and started going slow too. … Not that grinding doesn't have it's good points, mind you...
And not that you can keep going slow forever. But we did try. Really, even when we reached the point of no return, instead of “Oh, shit, shit, shit, shit!” for me and Stephan it was, “Oh.... oh boy... oh boy...”, then sigh. It was almost a slow-motion orgasm!
With Elliott and Seth, it was more like an “Ohhhh... God!!” Sort of like holding back until you just can't any more.
Carlie and Earl whimpered. Even if later on, Carlie was insisting that he hadn't either. … Until Earl started giving him that puppy dog look again, then he admitted that he might've a little.
But we were all very, very happy for Elliott, and we did not even think of teasing him about it.
Sunday, August 3rd
Shit. My car probably wouldn't make it to Vancouver anyway.
Next chapter: Only 60 %, my ass! (Foreshadowing.)
Oh, and we – Stephan and I – finally make it to Seattle. Yes!