Date: Sun, 24 May 2020 22:43:30 +0000 (UTC)
From: keybedder@aol.com
Subject: A Boy and His Dog

A BOY AND HIS DOG by K. Nitsua. Copyright 2020 by the author.

One sunny Sunday afternoon I just had to scratch that itch.

I'd been single for a while and had been quite content being celibate,
relieving myself with the occasional solitary jack-off session. That day,
though, my hand wasn't enough. I didn't want to socialize or dateÑI just
needed some quick relief.

I was too impatient to search the apps on my phone or the Doublelist ads,
low-yield propositions in any case. Besides, it was sunny and breezy out,
altogether a pleasant day. I decided to do some old-fashioned outdoor
cruising.

In recent years traffic in the city's cruise spots had dropped off
drastically. Who wanted to run the risk of being beaten up or arrested when
there were so many safer ways to get off? On the other hand, there was the
advantage of being able to size up a prospective hookup in the flesh. You
could always beat a hasty retreat if a situation threatened to get out of
hand. I decided to chance it.

Normally I'd take my big black Lab along with me if I were going outdoors,
but today he'd only be in the way. So I left Boomer in the front yard,
looking reproachful and doing his best to make me feel guilty about
abandoning him.

It was only a short drive from my house down the freeway to get to the park
I had in mind. Situated between a much bigger city park and a residential
neighborhood, it was small and unprepossessing, just a grassy area
surrounded by woods with one or two picnic tables and an ash can, though
few people set up grills there.

But what couldn't be seen from the street is what interested people like me
the most. The woods sloped down a short hill and at the bottom, oddly, was
a short paved road with no outlet in either direction, its original purpose
long forgotten. Past it the woods continued, honeycombed by footpaths. In
total it made for a pleasant dog walking area if you had an animal, an
irresistible landscape for cruising on foot if you had an animal instinct.

Years ago the number of cruisers here, especially on weekends, had been
much larger. Police crackdowns and the internet had decimated their
numbers. I really didn't have much hope of finding anyone. Still, it was a
way to get exercise and less dreary than camping out on the couch at home
watching porn on a device.

There were a couple of cars in the dirt lot at the front of the park when I
got there, a mildly promising sign. I pulled in, killed the engine, got out
of the car and strode across the grassy field. Occasionally a solitary man
would be sitting at one of the picnic tables, a giveaway that he was on the
hunt, but no one was there today.

I found one of the gaps in the woods that led down the hill to the paved
path and clambered down the hill, picking my way carefully over rocks and
tree roots. When I came out onto the asphalt I at last saw someone on the
path some distance in front of me. I walked toward him, not really trying
to catch up, just trying to get close enough to see what he looked like.

He heard me coming and turned. I speeded up a bit to overtake him, nodding
briefly, trying to convey that I had no nefarious intent. He was older than
me but not bad-looking, with thinning silvery hair and friendly eyes. As I
walked past him he paused and caught my eye. I didn't stop, but after
proceeding a few more steps up the path I turned and looked back. This was
how the game was played. If he was walking rapidly in the opposite
direction, or had disappeared from view, that would mean that he wasn't
interested. If he was still there, there might be possibilities.

He was still there, his stare frank and open. He smiled, and I saw his hand
moving inside one of the front pockets of his jeans, caressing the bulge
between his legs. Nice. My breath quickened and I felt a pressure in my own
pants. I dropped my hand and squeezed my goods in response. He jerked his
head, beckoning me to follow.

We strolled back down the path, me trailing after him at a discreet
distance, though there was no one else in sight. Then he turned and
disappeared into the adjoining woods. When I got to that spot I saw a
narrow trail winding through the underbrush. My man's back was disappearing
into the trees some distance ahead. I plunged after him, trying to keep
pace while not making too much of a disturbance. We walked for what seemed
to me to be quite a way before he stopped and turned. In a flash his jeans
were unbuttoned and his exposed cock jutted out at me.

I caught up to him and we locked eyes. I grasped his erect shaft and
squeezed it, feeling its hardness and heat. He smiled and reached out to
cup my junk through my pants. The next moment he was undoing my belt with
practiced ease and lowering my zipper. As soon as he fished my now fully
erect organ from my underwear he bent and took it in his mouth. I drew in
my breath at the familiar warm, sweet pleasure.

Without letting go of my dick he got on his knees, sucking
enthusiastically, taking me down to the root on every stroke. I could
easily have let myself cum from his attentions but wanted to return the
favor, so after a while I grasped his shoulders and urged him to his feet.

His cock was just as hard in my mouth as mine was in his. I lapped up the
salty fluid flowing from its tip. His hand stroked my hair and a faint moan
issued from his throat. "Nice," he whispered. "Mm hmm," I agreed, as I
continued to blow him.

We changed places and he took me in his mouth again, pulling on his own
stiff organ as he stepped up the pace of his sucking. Soon I felt myself
getting to the point of no return. "Going to cum," I hissed through gritted
teeth. He let go of my cock long enough to reply, "Do it," before he
started to slide back and forth on my shaft like a machine, spit running
out of his mouth and falling on the ground in long glistening strings. "Oh
fuck," I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut and grabbing his head as I felt
the sperm rush through my dick and burst into his eager mouth. My body
pitched forward at the waist as the orgasm exploded in my brain. I fought
to keep my balance, my chest heaving with release. Below I heard faint
gurgles, then gagging gasps as he choked on my load. I looked down and
caught a glimpse of his cock, still in his hand, emptying its load in white
spurts onto the ground, next to clots of my cum that had dribbled out of
his mouth.

He let my softening organ go and looked up at me, his face red, his blue
eyes watering, his face stained with saliva and semen.

"Sorry if I was too rough," I said, still trying to catch my breath.

His smile was unexpectedly sweet. "Don't be sorry! You were wonderful." He
wiped himself off on his sleeve and stood up. "I hope you enjoyed that as
much as me."

I was hurriedly stuffing myself back in and zipping up, aware of the danger
of discovery. "I did. Thanks, buddy."

He patted my upper arm, turned away and quickly walked back down the trail
toward the paved path. It was better if we didn't emerge together, and
besides, there was really nothing to say.

I'd scratched my itch and should have felt better. I didn't really,
though. There was an emptiness inside me, as there often was after a quick
encounter. The rest of a long boring day still stretched ahead. I didn't
want to get off again, but I didn't want to go back home either. Instead of
heading out myself I started walking deeper into the woods with no
particular purpose.

A little way further the trail crossed a creek bed that nowadays mostly lay
dry, a jumble of rocks tumbled by past flowing water, between which grew
tufts of tangled vegetation. Bold cruisers sometimes ventured down this
draw into deeper woods, but it was a bit of a tricky hike. I was in that
kind of mood, though, so I left the path and started clambering over the
rocks, stepping carefully to avoid catching my foot in a tree root or vine
and going down.

It was good exercise. Soon I was puffing and starting to break a sweat. I
had to look down at where I was placing my feet pretty much constantly, so
it wasn't until I paused to catch my breath that I became aware of someone
ahead of me, sitting on a patch of higher ground that would have been a
bank, had any water been flowing in the creek.

As I got closer I saw that he had an animal on a leash, a largish dog of
indeterminate breed sitting on the ground next to him. The dog raised its
head and saw me first. Whatever kind it was, it was oldÑits muzzle once
must have been black, but was now grizzled and silvery. Its big tail
thumped the ground in welcome and I smiled.

Up until that moment the owner's face had been invisible. His head was
bowed, one hand supporting his forehead, elbow on one knee. At the dog's
reaction to my approach he looked up. He was younger than me by quite a
bit, with a head of tousled dark hair. His features would have been
handsome had they not been distorted by tears.

I had interrupted someone in a very private moment of grief. My first
impulse was to withdraw with a hasty apology. At that moment the dog tried
to stand, but sat back down again with a yelp of pain. Something was wrong
with the animal, and the instinct of a fellow dog owner kicked in. I
climbed out of the creek bed toward the pooch, making cooing noises and
stretching my arm out.

"Aw buddy, what's wrong? That's a good dog."

As I sat next to the old animal, trying to console it, I became aware that
its owner was looking at me, still sniffling. I'd overstepped, big time.

"Sorry to barge in." I started to get back up, to leave him alone.

"Wait." He wiped his eyes and nose on one sleeve, heedlessly. "I can't get
him to move."

Concern rose in me. "What's wrong with him? Is he sick?"

"Cancer. IÑI'm supposed to have him put down tomorrow. Brought him out
here for a last walkÑhe loves this place. Overdid it, I guess."

"Oh my god." My natural inclination not to get involved was forgotten. "The
poor guy." I stroked the dog again, thinking fast. It was a long way back
to the park entrance, where presumably the guy's car was. The loyal animal
must have followed his master as best he could over the rocks, but had
finally given out.

I looked at the dog again. It had once been an imposing creature, but I
could see now how thin he was, no doubt a result of his illness. The words
came out of my mouth before I had decided to utter them.

"We'll carry him back to the path. Will it hurt if I lift him?"

His eyes widened in surprise. In his distraught state he hadn't thought of
trying to carry his pet. "I don't know."

"I'll be careful."

I squatted down and slipped my arms under the dog, then straightened up,
trying to keep the pressure off his stomach and legs. I managed to get to
my feet with the animal in my arms, though it was a heavier lift than I'd
anticipated. Other than panting the dog didn't make a sound, which I hoped
meant that I wasn't hurting him.

Slowly we proceeded back along the rocky creek bed with the animal in my
arms. I had to pick my way even more carefully than coming in, as a stumble
would have meant disaster. The boy, as I had begun to think of him,
followed me silently, holding the end of the leash. Once he warned me about
a branch lying across the rocks. Finally we got back to the smoother trail
that led out of the woods to the paved path. By then I was winded. As
gently as I could, I bent and set the dog on his feet on the path. He
didn't collapse, which I took to be a good sign.

"Think he can walk back now?" I asked his owner, still holding the leash.

The boy pulled gently. After hesitating the dog started to walk after
him. I breathed an inward sigh of relief and followed them as they headed
out of the woods. It occurred to me that they might need help getting up
the hill.

It was probably a good quarter of an hour later before we stood by his car
in the parking lot, the dog safely lying in the back seat. As I'd
suspected, I'd had to carry the animal one more time from the paved path up
the hill to the grassy picnic area. The day's labors had left me totally
exhausted and, although I felt sorry for the boy and his sick pet, I was
looking forward to getting back home, jumping in the shower and then into
bed for a nap.

I remembered with a start why I had come to the park that day. The blow job
I'd gotten already seemed in the distant past. At least the empty feeling
was gone too.

The boy turned to me. "Thanks for your help. I didn't know what I was going
to do. I'm Theo, by the way." He offered his hand.

"James," I said as I shook it. "I'm sorry about your dog. Believe me, I've
been there. More than once."

"You have a dog?"

"Yeah." I chuckled. "Boomer is going to be pissed that I went to the park
without him."

Theo's lip trembled. "Zeus is the only one I've ever had. He's fifteen
andÉ and I don't know what I'm going to do without him."

I hesitated, but had to ask. "HowÉ is it going to happen? Do you have to
take him to the vet?"

"Mobile vet's coming to my place. Costing a mint, but I couldn't stand
having him die in some cold, scary office." He wiped his eyes. "I'm not
usually such a basket case. My boyfriend and I broke up a month ago, then
Zeus started going downhill really fast." He tried to smile. "When it rains
it pours, I guess."

Silence. Then I heard myself say the words. "Do you need someone to be
there with you?"

The next morning I found myself at a modest rented house in a neighborhood
near the big university in town. It made sense, given Theo's youth, that he
was either a student or had recently been one. In any case he had to be
modest means, just starting out in life.

When I asked him whether he needed some help putting his dog to sleep I
hadn't been sure what his response would be. He had teared up again with
gratitude, embarrassing me.

"I didn't know how I was going to get through it by myself. I even thought
of calling my ex, but he never liked Zeus much. I think he was jealous."

So here I was on his doorstep, holding what I hoped was a modest bouquet of
flowers in my hand, reproaching myself for the umpteenth time for being a
pushy old queen. I thought of the agony of saying goodbye to the dog I'd
had before Boomer, though, and knew that if there was any time someone
needed emotional support, it was now.

Theo opened the door right away. His eyes fell on the flowers in my hand.

"I have something in mind," I said. "I'll explain later. If you don't feel
comfortable with it, no worries."

He led me into his tiny living room. Zeus lay on his side on an old rug
spread out on the otherwise bare floor.

"I gave him a pain pill," Theo said. "I think he's comfortable. Of course,
they'll give him more drugs beforeÉ"

I patted his shoulder. "He won't feel a thing."

The mobile vet and her assistant arrived a few minutes later. They did
their work as kindly as they possibly could. Although I didn't take my eyes
off of Zeus for an instant as Theo and I sat on the couch together watching
his last moments, I couldn't tell when his spirit actually left his old
body. All I knew was that the vet finally put a stethoscope to Zeus's
chest, listened, and softly announced, "he's gone."

Theo stumbled forward, fell on his dog's body and began to weep. I wiped
tears away from my eyes too. The others watched, compassionate but
dry-eyed. This was a scene they had seen many times before.

When Theo had calmed down a bit, I walked to the kitchen table where I had
left the flowers and came back, unwrapping them. Zeus was lying on his side
with his eyes closed, still and peaceful. I began arrange the flowers on
and around his body.

"I'd like to take a photo of him with the flowers," I said to Theo. "Is
that okay?"

He nodded wordlessly and stepped back. I took out my phone and snapped the
photos as quickly as I could, then cleared the flowers away.

"We're going to get something to wrap your animal in," the assistant
said. "You did request cremation, correct?"

I saw my chance and followed her outside. I caught up to her as she got to
the vet van and quickly handed her my credit card.

"Just put it on this. We'll sort it out."

A few minutes later we stood on the curb, watching the van drive away with
Zeus's earthly remains inside. Theo turned to me.

"You didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to. You can take me out to dinner, or something."

Theo smiled. "I actually am kind of hungry now. I couldn't eat anything
this morning." He turned and hugged me. "Thank you for everything."

I tightened my arms around his slender body, feeling tenderly
protective. "I've got to go to work now. But how about tonight?"

"You really didn't have to pay for Zeus," Theo said to me that night. "I
knew it was coming and I had the money saved."

We were at a little Italian bistro, one of my favorite places in town. Theo
had insisted on taking me to eat somewhere I really liked, price no
object. "It's the least I can do for a total stranger who just dropped two
hundred bucks on me," he said.

I tried to mollify him. "You're right, it was kind of pushy. There's just
something about a sick animal that makes me forget about boundaries."

"I'm glad you did," Theo admitted. "I was really in a fix at the
park. Thanks for rescuing us."

"You'd had Zeus a long time, you said?"

Theo's eyes grew sad again. I tried to retreat. "Listen, if you'd rather
not talk about himÉ"

He shook his head. "It's not that. My family got him when I was in grade
school. We grew up together."

"So he came to college with you."

Theo rolled his eyes. "Not exactly. I guess I'm going to tell you the whole
story." He sighed. "So my parents didn't react very well when I told them I
was gay. In fact, when I left for college they told me never to come back."

"Well, that must have sucked." My words felt flat and inadequate.

He snorted. "You think? We hadn't been getting along anyway. I was actually
happy to leave, even though having to pay for school myself was hard. The
only thing that made me sad was leaving Zeus. I begged them to keep him for
a year until I could move off-campus. I even sent them money every month
for his food.

"A nice neighbor told me what they did. She looked up my e-mail and wrote
me before Christmas break. My parents had taken Zeus to the local animal
shelter. I freaked, called them up screaming. They just got tired of taking
care of him, my mother said. Bitch.

"I jumped in my car and raced down the freeway back to my hometown. At
least they told me where they took him. Fortunately I'd just got paid and
had a wad of cash with meÑI spent all of it getting him out of that
place. I put him in the car and drove back to my dorm, which of course
didn't allow pets.

"I snuck him in and swore my roommate to secrecy. Luckily he liked animals,
but then the R.A. on our floor found outÑit's hard to keep a big dog
quiet. That was the worst day of my life. Some upperclassmen I knew who
lived off-campus said they would take him over break till I could figure
something out. If they'd said no, he would have had to go back to the
pound."

He fell silent. All I could say was, "Wow."

Theo looked up at me. "Zeus and me, we've been through a lot. But we
survivedÑuntil he got cancer. Nothing anybody could do then."

"It must be so hard. Especially after you'd moved heaven and earth to
rescue him."

He shook his head. "I'm no superhero. Just a guy blubbering in the woods
about his dog. I wish you hadn't seen me like that. Though I'm glad you
came along."

A wry look crossed his face. "You know what I was thinking when we were
walking back? Some hot guy walks up to me in the park while I'm right in
the middle of an ugly cry. Ends up carrying my sick dog because I was an
idiot. Way to go, Theo."

My jaw dropped. I pointed to myself. "Theo? Did you just say I was hot?"

His gaze was steady. "I guess I did."

"Are you, like, coming on to me?"

"Sure sounds like it." I became aware of his knee pressing against mine
under the table.

"ButÉ I'm a little old for you, don't you think?"

Theo rolled his eyes. "Age is just a number, James." He poked my knee
playfully. "You have all your hair and a cute butt. What's not to like?"

I laughed, completely won over. I'd assumed this boy was a fragile young
thing, to be handled with care. Not so, obviously.

"Okay then. Do you want to come back to my place and meet Boomer?"

His eyes danced. "I'd love to."

Boomer loved Theo, of course, once he'd let loose his obligatory volley of
barks. In fact he couldn't get enough of the visitor, sniffing him up and
down with canine thoroughness after we'd gotten in the front door of my
house.

"He smells Zeus," Theo observed.

I wrapped my arms around him from behind. Theo turned and kissed me, long
and thoroughly.

"I'll shut the bedroom door," I told him as we walked to the back of the
house, intertwined. "He always jumps in bed with me otherwise."

Theo snickered. "He'll just have to wait his turn."

His body was pale and slender, ribs showing in his hairless chest. When I
got his jeans off and pulled at the waistband of his boxer briefs his
circumcised cock sprang out startlingly long and straight from his
crotch. I knelt and nuzzled his sparse pubic hair, marveling at the beauty
of this youth that I had somehow managed to capture. I ran his hands up and
down his body as if polishing a marble sculpture before I took hold of his
buttocks and drew his organ into my mouth. Theo sighed and ran his hands
through my hair.

"Nice."

Once we were both naked and on the bed, Theo was frantic with passion,
climbing onto me and holding me down as he kissed me over and over. His
enthusiasm was contagiousÑI hadn't felt so charged up myself in a long
time. I discovered that reaching up and working both his nipples while
sucking him drove him absolutely crazy. His moaning and whispers of
"FuckÑdon't stopÑsuck me, James" egged me on to deeper and faster
strokes, until suddenly his hand grabbed my head.

He drew me up level with his face by pulling on my hair, making me laugh
and pin his arms to the bed as we kissed for probably the hundredth time
that evening.

"Don't you want to cum?" I said to him.

"Sure I do, in your ass," he replied. I must have looked a bit startled,
because he immediately added, "if that's okay. I know like the older guy's
supposed to do the fucking, but I actually prefer topping."

I shrugged. "With that dick I'm not surprised. Why not." Actually I was
thrilled at the thought of taking his cock inside me. I rummaged around and
found my stash of condoms and lube, fortunately not too old. I hooded and
lubed both him and me up as he lay on his back, then straddled his body on
my knees and took hold of his erection.

"Here goes. Be kind," I said, as I bent gingerly, pressing the head against
my tight ring. It took me a minute to open up, then all of a sudden he
broke through and slid inside. I drew in a sharp breath and closed my eyes
as the pain shot through me. When I opened them a moment later and looked
down Theo's were closed. He was tossing his head from side to side.

"Jesus, that is wonderful," he breathed. My own pain lessened and the warm
pleasure of having my ass stuffed with cock began to spread through me. I
pushed down and took him balls deep, drawing a groan from my partner.

"Fuck yes!" He began to buck his hips up and down, causing shocks of
pleasure to surge through me at every thrust.

"Take my ass, baby. It's all yours," I whispered, leaning down to kiss him
and complete the electric circuit coursing between our bodies.

I rode him for a while longer, then lifted myself off and turned over onto
my back. In a moment he was between my legs, lifting them and pushing his
cock into my greased, sensitized hole. I grunted in satisfaction as he slid
in and hit bottom.

"Fuck the shit out of me, boy," I told him.

He grinned. "Oh, I will," he replied. He was as good as his word, fucking
with steady, powerful thrusts, his eyes closed in concentration except when
he leaned down to kiss me. Every so often I reached up and took his nipples
between my fingers, each time getting a howl of good-natured protest.

"Don't! I'll cum right now if you keep doing that."

For a while I let him plow my ass to his heart's content, but at last I
decided to push him over the edge. I found his nipples again and began
flicking my fingers rapidly back and forth over them. He groaned.

"Oh god! I'm going to cum."

"Do it," I urged, tweaking his tits without mercy.

He stopped momentarily, then swung his hips into overdrive until his pelvis
was slamming against my cheeks with audible slaps, making my balls and
erect cock shake with every impact. His eyes squeezed shut and a long
"Aah!" welled from his throat. I squeezed my ass muscles tight so I could
feel his cock throb as it delivered its load, my hand moving in a blur on
my own cock as it dumped its load in hot spurts on my stomach.

Finally he shouted a last "fuck!" and collapsed on top of me, letting every
muscle in his body go. We lay there, my arms around him, slowly coming back
to earth.

Theo raised his head and smiled at me with sleepy eyes. "What are you
thinking?" I asked.

"How amazing it is that the worst thing that ever happened to me somehow
turned into the best thing."

I squeezed him hard. "You are so fucking sweet. I'm glad you think I'm a
good thing."

He put his hands on the sides of my head and looked into my eyes. This time
he wasn't smiling. "You're a kind man. That's worth a lot more than being
hot. Although," he added, his tongue wiggling playfully, "you're a pretty
hot fuck too."

Before I could say anything there was a scratching on the bedroom door,
followed by a mournful whine. We burst into laughter.

"Poor Boomer," Theo said. I got up and let him in.

All that happened several years ago. Theo and I are still togetherÑin
fact he moved in with me and Boomer a few months after we met. It took a
year or more for him to warm up to the idea of getting another dog, but
when he was ready we went to the animal shelter and picked out a sweet
young thing, barely more than a puppy. Boomer mostly tolerates Lucy's
teasing and nipping at his heels, only occasionally turning on her with a
ferocious growl when she gets too annoying. They provide endless
entertainment, and life is good. The only cloud on the horizon is watching
my sweet old guy getting grayer and slower, and knowing he won't be around
forever. When the time comes to say goodbye Theo will be there for me, as I
was for him. You can face most things in life as long as you have a helping
hand. END