Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2021 09:43:02 +0000 From: Wes Leigh Subject: Under Siege, Chapters 5 & 6 (Gay Adult/Youth) UNDER SIEGE By Wes Leigh This is a work of fiction intended solely for the entertainment of my readers; any resemblance to any real people or places is purely coincidental. This story is the property of the author and is protected by copyright laws. The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. If you enjoy this story, please support the Nifty archives today with a thoughtful donation. Chapter 5 Storm's Aftermath I wanted to forget Randy's near-death experience on the end of my baseball bat, so the next afternoon, I made myself a tall glass of lemonade and sat down in my bedroom at my new computer. It was my birthday present to myself. By pinching pennies and saving work bonuses, I had finally accumulated enough to buy myself to a new system with an extra beefy processor and the latest graphics card, perfect for on-line games. I also enjoyed just sitting down and relaxing to a game of chess. I could win pretty consistently on the expert setting, but it really tested my skills at the grand master level. At any rate, it was money well-spent in my opinion. I'd only had the new system for 3 weeks, and I was already using it more than my TV. At the moment, I had the chess game on expert level with the computer playing the white pieces. It was taking all my skill to hold the computer at bay, fighting a tough defensive battle as the other side tried to find a hole in my fortifications. I loved playing defense, waiting for the other side to get too aggressive trying to smash through, and then breaking the siege with a devastating counterstroke. Chuckling to myself, I realized it was a metaphor for my life. I always seemed to be playing defense, fighting off the attacks on my peace and happiness. When will I get to stage a counterattack, I wondered. My concentration was broken by a soft knock on my front door. The dogs did their usual frantic scramble and obnoxious barking until I yelled at them to cut it out. I walked to the front door and opened it. It was Josh. His head was tilted down just a bit and he was looking up at me with that bashful grin I had come to expect. "Oh ... hi, Josh," I said in greeting. He gave me his little hand wave and smiled bigger. "Hi, Mr... ummm ... I don't remember your last name." "It's Turnbull," I said, "but you can call me Jake ... or the Dog Guy." I grinned and laughed. Josh laughed too and said, "Mister Jake, my mom wants to know if you would like to eat with us. She cooked her best meal to say thank you and everything." "That's really nice, Josh. Your mom didn't have to do that." "She knows," he replied. "It's just her way of saying she appreciates what you did." "Ok," I replied. "When are we having this special meal?" "She's cookin' right now," he answered. "It'll be done in half an hour, but you can come over any time you want." I nodded. "Give me a minute." I went into my bedroom, saved and closed the game I had been playing, and turned off the computer. Then I followed Josh down to his house, talking as we walked. "What are we having?" I asked. "Meatloaf," he replied. "But it's stupendously good meatloaf," he hurried to add. "Everyone loves it. She puts extra stuff in to make it taste especially good." "Do you like her meatloaf?" "I love it. And she makes mashed potatoes and these carrots with this sweet sauce that makes' em really, really tasty. I think you'll like it." "I'm sure I will." We walked in silence for a bit, and then I asked, "Where do you go to school?" "Mesa Middle School. I just started eighth grade." "Do you like school?" "Most of the time. I like math and I really like to read, but I don't like history that much. It's boring." And he kicked a rock to emphasize his point. I chuckled. "I wasn't a big fan of history either. But I loved math, just like you, and I still enjoy reading a good book. I like science fiction." "That's nice. I like spy novels the best. And mysteries." "Really? Read any good ones lately?" "Oh, yeah," Josh replied, his eyes lighting up. "I'm reading one now about this guy who wants to be a spy, but isn't one really. He tries anyway and gets caught and they make him spy against his own country, but he's a really bad spy so he has to make up all this stuff to keep them from killing him. It's kinda funny, but it's scary too." I chuckled. Josh seemed to lose his bashful ways when he talked about what he loved to read. I could see that behind the shy shell lived an intelligent, animated personality. It would be fun to draw him out and see the real Josh Canton. We turned into their drive and walked to the front door. Josh led the way inside, and it was an entirely different scene this time. The furniture was upright and in its proper place, and the house was neat and clean. "I'm home, Momma," Josh called out, "and I brought Mister Jake the Dog Guy." Marie walked into the living room from the kitchen, wiping her hands on an apron. "Josh, behave yourself," she said with a grin, then turning to me, she added, "Mr. Turnbull, I wanted to thank you for your help last night. I'm making my world-famous Meatloaf Supreme." "Yes ... I heard all about it and the potatoes and carrots. Sounds delicious. And please, call me Jake." "Josh, what have you been telling Jake?" "Just the truth, Momma. About how good you cook and all." She snorted and pointed at the couch. "Make yourself comfortable. Food will be ready in about 15 minutes." *** It was a pleasant evening. The food was top notch. Marie's meatloaf was delicious, with a barbeque flavor that had me going back for seconds and thirds. We talked and laughed throughout the meal, with Josh providing a constant stream of funny comments and entertaining stories. His mother finally told him to eat and not talk, which he did for almost a minute ... before starting up again. After the meal, we all sat in the living room and chatted about my dogs, the nice weather we'd been having, where we worked, and what we liked about living out in the country rather than in town. She never asked about my shady past, and I never asked about crazy boyfriends. Like I said ... it was a very pleasant evening. After the conversation began to wind down, I said I had to be going. Josh asked if he could walk with me back to my house, and his mom agreed. He tagged along beside me, chattering away as if we'd known each other for years. As we walked, I said, "There's something I've been wanting to ask you, Josh." "What's that?" "When you came and got me last night ... to help out with Randy ... how'd you know where I lived?" Josh shrugged and replied, "Sometimes before I have to catch the bus, I've seen you and your dogs in your yard. They're runnin' around, excited about going out for a walk." "So you figured you could ask me to help you with your mom's crazy boyfriend, just because I have dogs?" "Nah. It wasn't `cause of your dogs. It was your smile." "My smile." "Yep. When you're with your dogs, you're smiling and happy. And when you look at me, at the bus stop or when I'm on the bus, you smile then too. And I can tell you're a nice man, not like Randy." I sighed. "I'm not that nice, Josh. You don't know me that well." Josh grinned. "I've been watching you for a few weeks now, Mister Jake. You're nicer than you think." "You've been watching me?" I asked, stopping to stare at Josh in surprise. Josh stopped also and ducked his head, suddenly bashful. "I hope you don't mind." Taking a deep breath and blowing it out slowly, I replied, "I'm not upset, but it does make me a little uncomfortable." "You don't gotta be uncomfortable, Jake." Josh shook his head from side to side to emphasize his point. "I wasn't watching you for a bad reason. I wanted to know if you're good or crap." I was totally lost now. "Huh?" "I'm not explaining this very good," Josh said, frustrated. He took a deep breath and started over. "You see ... I'm good at figuring out who's good and who's crap. I knew Randy was crap the moment I met him, and I told Momma that. I was right, and now she believes me. All this time I've been watching you, I've been seeing someone who's good." I snorted. "Me? Good? That's funny, kid." Josh shrugged. "Maybe you don't believe me yet, but one day, you'll see I'm right about you too." This kid really didn't know me, and maybe it was better if it stayed that way. We were at my driveway, so I turned to face Josh and said, "I really appreciate you and your mom. It was a great meal and I enjoyed spending time with both of you, but ..." Josh was watching me carefully the entire time, and I could see the wheels turning in his head. He could tell I was getting ready to blow him off. He didn't let me finish. He walked up to me, leaned in and hugged me tight, sliding his arms around behind my back and pressing his face sideways against my chest. If I was uncomfortable before, I now felt like crawling out of my skin and hiding under a rock. But Josh kept hugging me tight, pressing against me and waiting for me to relax and accept the precious gift he was offering. I couldn't decide if I wanted him to let me go or keep on hugging me, but one thought slowly penetrated my indecision ... this feels so wonderful. To be loved instead of hated. Accepted instead of rejected. Could I have misunderstood God's plans for putting this boy into my life? In my conceit, I thought I could be the big hero, coming in to help the kid out, to be there for him. But now ... it seemed there was much more to it than that. As he held me in his embrace, I realized that Josh might be here for me, to fill in the empty holes in my life, holes I didn't even know were there. I sighed in resignation. As usual, I had completely underestimated God's ability to make a masterpiece out of a mess. I closed my eyes and silently thanked God. Thank you for knowing exactly what I need and providing it through this young man's unconditional acceptance. And ... please, dear God, please help me to do it right this time. I let go of the fear and worry and hugged Josh with all my might. And Josh hugged me back. Wow. What an awesome feeling! Chapter 6 Bathroom Breaks and Mud Baths From that day on, Josh became a frequent visitor. When I got off work he would be sitting on my front step. We would chat about how our days had gone as I unlocked the door so we could go inside. He would follow me into my bedroom and play with the dogs while I changed out of my work clothes. Then we'd share a drink and chat more, or we would go outside to pull weeds or clean up dog poop. And always Josh was watching me and waiting for me to look him in the eye. When I did, his bashful grin would come out accompanied by that shy little hand gesture of his. And every time I saw it, the ice around my heart would melt a little more. He never stayed long, and at the end of each visit, I would give him a few dollars to pay for whatever chore he'd helped me with, and he would solemnly shake my hand before sliding up and hugging me with his cheek pressed against my chest. The first few times that happened I cringed, but gradually I came to realize that the boy gave physical expressions of love as easily as most people shook hands, so I began to hug him back with the same enthusiasm he showed. After a long, hard embrace, he would pull away, smile and begin walking home, turning back for just a moment to timidly wave and then continue on his way. I also saw Marie from time to time. She was sometimes working in her yard when I drove by on my way to work, and we would wave as I passed. If I had time, I would pull over and ask how she and Josh were doing, and she would always say, "Better now." She'd also thank me for letting Josh work at my house. I would tell her he was a good worker. She would laugh and say he was a pest and she wished he'd work as hard for her. And we would laugh about the enigmatic boy we were both so fond of. Sometimes she invited me to supper, and in exchange I would treat us all to pizza or hamburgers the next night. It was nothing special, but she seemed to accept me as a part of their lives now. And oddly enough, I never detected anything more than a simple friendship developing between the two of us. Not so me and Josh. Every day I spent with the boy, I found myself developing a deeper love for him. It was nothing sexual. Let me make that clear right up front. I never even touched him, except when he hugged me, and he never acted any other way than like a boy needing a man's friendship and approval. But wow, did he want that approval?! Whenever he told me about something he'd accomplished in school, his eyes would open wider and become brighter and he would become so excited he was almost hopping up and down. And when I praised him, he practically glowed with joy. It was becoming increasingly obvious that Josh adored me and was firmly attaching himself to me. Whether I liked it or not, I now held his heart in my hand. To be honest, I adored him too. He was witty, clever, passionate, and out-going, once you got past the shy layer. My dogs worshipped the boy. If I didn't know better, I would say they loved Josh more than they loved me!! Having been alone for so long, I now found myself eager to get home and spend an hour or so with this boy who made me laugh so easily and who gave such wonderful hugs. With Josh by my side, I even found myself enjoying pulling weeds. My property had never looked so good, and this was the time of year when the fall rains began and the weeds could easily get out of control. *** "I gotta pee," Josh said, gathering up the weeds he'd been pulling and piling them in the wheelbarrow. "Be right back." I chuckled. We were out in the middle of nowhere. No one nearby. Josh could have gone around the corner of the house and done his business and I wouldn't have cared, but he was too shy to do that and always went inside when he had to go. I kept working, but when Josh hadn't returned after a few minutes, I went in the house to check on him. The bathroom door was closed, so I knocked. "You okay, Josh?" "Ummm ... yeah ... just give me a minute," came the muffled reply. I walked into my room to check my cell phone for messages or missed calls. It wasn't on my dresser where I usually left it. I checked the floor, my bed, a few other places. It was gone. Strange. I walked into the living room and began searching but still couldn't find it. Then I heard the toilet flush and the bathroom door open. Josh soon joined me and asked what I was looking for. "My phone," I answered. "I can't find it." "It's in your room," he replied. "I saw it there." I stopped searching and looked at Josh. "Show me where." He led me into my room and pointed at my dresser. The phone was indeed on the corner of the dresser, in the first place I had looked. I picked it up, confused, and said, "Thanks, Josh." "No problem," he replied. "Guess I better get back to work." "Yeah, uh ... okay. I'll be right there," I said, sitting on my bed with my phone. Josh left the room and I checked my phone. No messages. No missed calls. On a hunch, I checked my internet browser. A website immediately popped up with images of naked men. I began to panic. I was usually careful to clear the browser. Had I forgotten to do that this time? And worse yet, had Josh seen what I was browsing. Then I stopped and looked closer at the images. These guys were mostly older men with hairy chests and legs. It wasn't something I was particularly attracted to, leaning more toward younger guys with shaved bodies. I didn't remember pulling this website up, so I checked the browser history. I saw and as the last two entries. Well, now I began to suspect why Josh took so long in the bathroom. I deleted the browser history and turned off the phone. Setting the phone on the dresser, I went back outside. Josh was hard at it pulling weeds. I knelt beside him and went to work as well. As I tugged at a thorny stem, I asked, "Josh, how old are you again?" "Thirteen," he said, "but I'll be fourteen in January." I nodded. "Thirteen. I remember what that was like." I threw more weeds into the wheelbarrow. "I remember how everything seemed to be changing so fast, and how I was so danged curious about what it was like to be grown up. Couldn't wait to find out." He ducked his head and kept working, but said nothing. I continued, "I really wanted to know what it would be like to be a man and enjoy the things men get to do ... like sex." He stopped pulling weeds and looked over at me, alarm in his eyes. I smiled and said, "Every boy is curious, Josh. And it's not WRONG to be wonder what sex is like. It's perfectly normal and something every man has gone through." He gulped, said nothing, and went back to pulling weeds. "Of course, when I was growing up, there wasn't as much porn out there." I could see Josh's cheeks turning red now. "I don't mind if you look at porn, but please be cautious," I added. Josh swallowed hard and said, "I'm sorry, Jake. I promise I'll be careful. I don't wanna get you in trouble or anything." I shook my head. "That's not why I want you to be cautious, little buddy. I'm not worried about getting in trouble. I'm worried that porn will give you the wrong idea about sex. You know ... porn is so ... in your face and easy and people are ripping their clothes off after a single kiss. That's not what true love in the real world is all about." Josh turned to look at me and said, "I know. I know it's just fantasy. It's just ... fun to see, that's all. But I know people don't act that way in real life." I smiled. "Ok. Enough said. Let's kill some more weeds, whadya say?" Josh simply grinned and went back to work. *** It was a Saturday in late September when Josh knocked on my door around 7 in the morning. I had just woken up and was stumbling around in my shorts and socks. I opened the door and invited him in, and he hugged me before kneeling down and playing with the dogs. I sat on the couch and tugged shoes on, then pulled on a t-shirt. "We're going for our morning walk. You want to go with us, Josh?" "Sure!" he exclaimed. "You guys wanna go for a walk? Do ya?" he asked as he took lick after lick to the face and neck. Josh was kneeling on the floor which made him an easy target for all three dogs. Milo was so excited by Josh's attention that the fat little dude jumped up onto Josh's chest and almost knocked him over. Josh laughed and said, "Looks like Milo wants to go! I think they're all ready. Aren't you guys?" And then he had to protect himself from a furious attack of tongues coming from every direction. I sat on the couch and smiled at my dogs and my boy ... wait, did I just think of Josh as `my boy'? My heart flip flopped as I realized suddenly that it actually felt that way. Josh may not have been my own flesh and blood, but he certainly had become a part of my life and my home. I stood up and walked past the chaos of whirling dogs and laughing boy. When I opened the door, the dogs stopped licking Josh and rushed outside. I turned and offered my hand to Josh. He grabbed me and pulled himself up, wiping his face on his shirt sleeve, and we followed the dogs into the yard. They were eagerly waiting by the front gate, tails wagging. I glanced around the horizon and saw thick black clouds. There might not be much sun today. It looked like rain, lots of rain, was headed our way. I urged Josh to hurry, because it might start pouring down any moment. We opened the gate and began jogging across the road into the open desert, dogs at our heels. The dogs ran ahead and began exploring around the mesquite bushes, digging holes and sniffing here and there. Josh and I walked quickly, talking about what we might do that day. There weren't many chores to do around my house, so we talked about the games I had on my computer and which one we wanted to play first. Halfway into the walk, the skies opened up and pounded us with surprisingly warm, heavy raindrops. Squealing like little girls, we turned and began running back to my house to get out of the downpour. Now there's one thing you learn soon about our desert. When it's dry, the ground is sandy with almost a spongy bounce to it. But when it's wet, it's like a layer of goose shit on top of axle grease on top of cooking oil on top of quicksand. You slip and slide with every step until you hit a soft spot, and then you sink up to your shin. Josh and I were soon struggling to stay upright, laughing as we skated our way home. At one point, he screamed for my help and I turned around to see him standing with one foot in the air, shoeless. "What happened?" I asked with a laugh. "I lost my shoe!" he cried. "Where?" "Somewhere in there," he said, pointing at a hole behind him. A chuckled as I backtracked and reached into a muddy hole. A few inches down, I found his shoe. The treacherous mud had latched onto it and yanked it off his foot as he tried to pull himself out of the slimy embrace. I tugged and pulled until I could jerk it free, then handed the muddy shoe to Josh with a laugh. "It's not funny!" he shouted, laughing as hard as me. "Come here," he commanded, motioning me to stand next to him. With one arm on my shoulder for balance, he struggled to put his shoe back on. I chuckled and knelt down in the mud to help him. By this time, there was a layer of water an inch deep on the surface of the mud. It simply couldn't soak in as fast the rain was pouring down. And there was no hope of staying clean at this point, so I really didn't mind kneeling next to Josh and getting muddy knees. The dogs ran in circles around us, splashing and clearly having the time of their lives. Amber and Mitch were soaked, their thick fur clotted with mud and rain. Little Milo the bulldog was no longer white. He had apparently rolled and was now brown from head to toe, except for a little pink tongue sticking out. Josh pulled and tugged on his shoe and almost got it back on when the inevitable happened: his other foot slipped and he went down with a muddy splash next to me. He saw me holding my sides as the laughter took over my body, and with a pouty frown, he began scooping up muddy water and throwing it at me. One large glob smacked into my cheek. I glared at Josh. He snickered and scooped up another handful. "So that's how it's gonna be?" I exclaimed. And then it was ON! Filthy water was flying with chunks of mud in every other handful. Soon we were both coated with brown splotches and dripping with goo, but enjoying every moment of it. When we ran out of breath, we stopped and stood a few feet apart, hands on our knees, panting and giggling. I paused and stared hard at Josh. An evil grin spread across my face. He saw me and his eyes opened wide with mock fear. I'm sure he knew what I was planning. "No! Don't you dare!!" he exclaimed. But I charged him anyway and tackled him, knocking him down on his back in the mud. While I straddled his body, I scooped up huge handfuls of mud and rubbed it in his hair and on his shirt and arms. Then I laughed and jumped off him and raced away, slipping and sliding with every step as I headed for my house. I heard splashes behind me and turned just as Josh reached me and grabbed the back of my shorts, pulling them half off and exposing my naked butt. He slapped my rear with a handful of mud and pulled the shorts back up, laughing uproariously. "That's what you get!" he screamed, turning and running the other way. "It's your turn next," I promised, chasing after him before he could get very far. This time, I tackled him from behind, knocking him down and pressing him into the mud. Then I tickled his sides without mercy as he rolled to avoid my fingers. He screamed and fought me, begging me to stop. We were both panting with exhaustion when I slid myself back down his legs, grabbed both his hands, and pulled him up out of the mud. We were soaked, covered in mud and twigs, and deliriously happy. I pulled Josh into a tight hug and said, "You are a mess! A muddy, muddy mess!! But I love you." Josh looked up at me in surprise, smiled and said, "So are you. And I do too." I stopped and swallowed hard. What had I just said to this young man? But ... it was true. I really, truly, absolutely loved this kid. I began walking to the house with one arm over Josh's shoulders, holding him close to my side. He put an arm around my waist and hugged me back. Though the footing was still treacherous, we managed to make it back to my house without falling down or losing any more shoes. In my yard, we pulled out a garden hose and washed off the dogs and began hosing the mud from our own bodies. I held the hose for Josh as he stood beneath the spray and began scraping mud from his clothes . He took off his shirt and threw it on the porch, then pulled his shorts out a bit and allowed the water to flow inside. His belly was pearly white and hairless, but as I looked lower down I saw a tuft of dark hair. Josh noticed and quickly took the hose from my hand and turned his back to me, washing off his privates thoroughly with the cool water. His cheeks were red from embarrassment when he turned back around, a slight bulge now showing in his sopping wet shorts. He lifted the hose and began spraying my chest. "Your turn," he said with a self-conscious grin. I didn't want him to feel awkward, so I said nothing. Instead, I wiped and scrubbed myself wherever he sprayed the water. After we finished my chest, he sprayed the hose right onto my crotch, laughing when the water soaked my shorts thoroughly and my own slight bulge began to show through. I felt the blood beginning to flow to my cock, so I turned around, tugged off my t-shirt, and asked Josh to clean my back. I felt his hand rubbing my shoulders as he directed the water across my skin. He worked his way down to my waist, then pulled my shorts out and sprayed water right into my butt crack, laughing with all his might. I jumped and pulled away, turning and giving him a dirty glare. He dropped the hose and ran for the front door laughing even harder. I snorted and shouted, "Make yourself useful. Get some towels out of the bathroom." Then I walked over and turned off the garden hose. Josh disappeared into the house and returned with an armload of towels. One by one, we allowed the dogs back into the house and dried them off. Then we patted ourselves dry and I sent Josh into the bathroom to take a quick shower while I made hot chocolate. He came out wrapped in towels and sat on my couch, sipping his drink while I took my own turn in the shower. Then I gathered up our filthy clothes and most of the towels and tossed them in the washer. The rain was falling steadily now. I texted Marie that Josh was with me and we were watching movies. She thanked me for taking care of her boy. I fell onto the couch next to Josh and put one arm around his shoulders, pulling him into a tight hug. He giggled and tucked his feet underneath him, then relaxed against my chest. Throughout the remainder of the morning, we sat snuggled together, watching my Pirates of the Caribbean DVDs one after another while the dogs snoozed on the floor. I found myself drifting to sleep, completely content with my boy in my arms, and the last thing I remember hearing was the gentle snoring of the kid I held so close. End of UNDER SIEGE, Chapter 6