Published: 23 Jul 2026

Chapter 39 – Our Return to Glenwood Springs

When I woke up on Sunday, I went downstairs and said good morning to my parents. My mother told me she was waiting for me to get up before she started making breakfast, and then she headed into the kitchen. After she left, I chatted with my dad briefly and he asked me a question.

“Why did you so get home so late last night?”

“Gramps and Pops asked us to help him cut down some dead trees in the backyard, and then we had to haul all of that wood away after we’d chopped it up. That took much longer than they first thought.”

“Ok, and now you have to pack up everything you plan on taking with you for this trip before you go to bed tonight. We’ll be leaving first thing in the morning, since I told Aaron that we’d drive to the cabin and pick them up, rather than have him drive here. We have to go close to there on our way to get to Glenwood Springs anyway, and since there won’t be room in the SUV for Lonny and Clint, Lonny’s going to drive his car and they’ll meet us at the motel.”

“Ok. I’ll be ready in plenty of time, because I’ve made a list of the things I want to take with me, so I wouldn’t forget anything. I just have to do some laundry first, but I should be done well before it’s time to go to bed.”

“Alright, you two, breakfast is ready,” Mom told us as she stuck her head into the living room.

As we were filling our plates, Dad made a comment.

“I suggest that you only bring long pants and long sleeve shirts, since the temperature will only be in the 50s during the day and it will drop to near freezing at night. You might also want to throw some long underwear into your bag as well, both tops and bottoms, so you can wear them under a wet suit for added insulation. I’m planning on renting wetsuits for each of us this time, since the water will be much colder than when we were there last summer.”

“Ok, I’ll make sure I pack three complete sets then. That’s the only drawback to doing this now, rather than in July or August, so I’d better call Lonny and Clint to tell them to pack some long underwear in their suitcases.”

“Good idea. Just so you know, I chose to do this at this time of year because the rafting will be more challenging and exciting as the melting snow from the mountains raises the water level in the rivers. The additional water makes the river flow faster and raises the level of difficulty when going through the rapids. It means the rapids will be rated a class or two higher than when we were there last time.”

“That’s great and I hope Clint is better prepared for it this time.”

After I finished eating, I carried the things Devin and I had left near the front door last night up to my room, and then I went through those things and selected the items that I had to put in the washer. That’s because I’ll need some of those items for the trip. While they went through the wash cycle, I put the rest of the things away or packed them into my duffle bag, so I didn’t have to handle those items twice.

I took a break about 45-minutes later and moved my clothes from the washer to the dryer, and then I put a second load in the washing machine. After both of those were going, I went back up to my room.

Since I wasn’t sure if Lonny and Clint went to church, I waited until after lunch to call them. I wanted to call Devin too and tell him about packing some long underwear as well, but since there was no way to get in touch with him, I figured I’d just mention it when we got to the cabin. He, Ma, and Pa can always throw those things into their luggage before we leave.

I was downstairs when the buzzer on the dryer went off, so I took my clothes out and folded them, and then I moved the second load from the washer to the dryer. After that, I carried the clothes I’d just folded up to my room so I could pack them in my duffle bag, since I’d put the clothes that I was going to take with me in the first load.

Just before noon, Dad called to have a pizza delivered, and mom used the last of the lettuce, black olives, and tomatoes to make us a salad to go with it. When the pizza arrived, we all stopped what we were doing and sat down at the table to eat lunch. When we finished, I grabbed my phone and called Lonny.

“Hey, Michael, are you ready for the trip to Glenwood Springs?”

“Just about, but I wanted to call and give you a warning. Dad told us this morning that we’ll probably rent wetsuits to wear this year, since the water temperature will be much colder than it was last summer. He also suggested that we all pack some long underwear to wear under the wetsuits, as an added layer of insulation. I wanted to make sure that you and Clint knew about this as well, because I don’t want either of you to freeze when the water splashes on you and causes your body temperature to drop.”

“Thanks for the heads up, because I would never have thought about doing that. I’ll make sure we both pack enough pairs of long johns for the entire trip.”

Once the call ended, I went to take the second load of clothes out of the dryer and carried them up to my room to put away. When I came back downstairs, I carried my duffle bag with me and set it down by the front door. I also grabbed my jacket out of the closet and laid it across my duffle bag so I’d remember to take it with me.

I then went to ask Mom and Dad if they needed any help. “We’ve just about finished packing as well,” Dad replied, “so you can help me carry the suitcases downstairs, so your mother won’t have to navigate the stairs while carrying her suitcase.”

“Sure, I’ll be happy to do that for you, and then you can give me the key to the SUV and I’ll load everything into it.”

“That would be a big help. Just make sure you leave enough room for Devin, Aaron, and Doris to store their things back there as well.”

“Ok, that’s not a problem, because we can put the suitcase on the bottom and then Devin and I can stack our duffel bags on top.”

“And we’ll all get cleaned up and then change later, because I’m going to take you and your mother out for supper. That way there won’t be any dirty dishes or leftover food to take care of before we leave. We’ll all turn in early tonight as well, because I want us all to get up at 5:30, so we can be on the road by 6:00. That way we’ll beat the rush hour traffic before it starts backing up on the main roads around Colorado Springs. We’ll stop for breakfast at the first place we come to after we pick up Aaron, Doris, and Devin.”

“Do Ma and Pa know that?”

“Yes, I told Aaron when we were talking about the trip while sitting in the stands at the campus-wide graduation ceremony. We should arrive at Glenwood Springs before noon.”

“Are we going to go directly to Yesterdays to eat when we get there.”

“No, go to the Quality Inn first, so we can check in and check out the rooms. It will also let us find out if Lonny and Clint want to join us.”

Later, I took a shower, dressed in better clothes, and went downstairs to wait until my parents were ready to leave. Dad and I were ready to go, but we had to wait for Mom to finish up before Dad could drive us to the restaurant. When we arrived there and had been taken to a table, we began perusing the menu to see what we wanted to eat. When our server arrived, we ordered, and then I asked Dad a question.

“Are we going to do the same things we did last year?”

“Not exactly. I’ve made a plan for what I’d like to do, and it doesn’t include spending time in the inflatable kayaks this time. I focused on taking rafting trips, some that we took last year and others that we haven’t been on before, because I found a second outfitter that we can use that offers some more extreme trips.”

“Is it in Glenwood Springs too?”

“No, it’s in another location that’s about two hours from Glenwood Springs, so we’ll checkout of the Quality Inn and find a different place to stay at the new location.”

“Oh, ok, and that sounds interesting. Do you think we’ll be able to find a place close to where this new place is when we get there, or should we look for a place to stay online and make reservations?”

“It shouldn’t be a problem, because I’ve been told that most people want to wait for the warmer months before they go rafting. That means it shouldn’t be crowded when we get there, so I don’t expect any problems finding a place or scheduling the trips that I’m planning for us to take.”

“Great!”

“While we’re at Blue Sky Rafting, that’s where we were last year, most of the trips are class II and III. However, with the water level being higher and the current being faster than when we were there last year, they’ll be closer to class III and IV this time.”

“Ok, that sounds like fun. What about the new place?”

“Most of their trips are normally rated class III and IV, so it means they now could be rated class IV and V, so I’m hoping I didn’t put us over our heads.”

“Nah, and I like the challenge. I hope we’re all up for it, especially Clint.”

After we finished our meals, we returned to the house and headed directly to our rooms to turn in, since we were going to be getting up so early. “Don’t forget to set the alarm on your phone for 5:30,” Dad reminded me before I closed the door to my room.

“Yeah, I know, and I’ll be ready when you are.”

After hurrying through my nightly ritual, I hopped into bed, got comfortable, and slowly drifted off to sleep.

When my alarm went off in the morning, I got up, got dressed, and went downstairs to see if my parents were ready. Dad was already there, but Mom hadn’t come down yet, but when she did, we loaded up and took off for the cabin.

When we arrived there, Devin came shooting out of the house and was waiting beside my door on the SUV to greet me. “I know it hasn’t been that long, but I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too, but I have some last-minute advice to give you. Your parents should hear this too, so let’s go inside.”

When we got there and we’d all exchanged greetings, I advised the three of them about what my dad had told me. “The water in the river is going to be colder than when we were there last year, so Dad wants us rent wet suits. He also suggests that we all bring long underwear as well, to wear under the wet suits, because they’ll help to keep us a little warmer. I suggest you take at least three pairs.”

“That’s not a problem, because living out here we all have several pairs of long johns to help keep us warm during those long winter nights,” Pa responded.

“Ok, then pack them in with the rest of your things before we take your things outside and put them in the SUV with our luggage,” Dad stated.

Once they added those items, we loaded their luggage into the back of the SUV, Dad suggested they also take a jacket, since the nights will be cold if we decided to go somewhere. Once they were ready, we all got in our seats, ready to go.

Dad drove about an hour before he found a place to stop and have breakfast, and after we’d all ordered, Dad filled Ma and Pa in about the second place we’d be going to. “I didn’t want to just repeat the things we did last year, but we’ll start off at the same place as last year. We’ll be there for three days, and then we’ll drive to a second location, which is about two hours away, check in at another place to stay for the remaining days. The rafting trips at the second location will be more demanding, since they’re rated higher.”

“Sounds like fun, and I like the idea of doing something different,” Pa confirmed.

“And I’m glad they’ll be more challenging as well,” Devin added.

When we got back in the SUV and started out again, I could see Ma and Mom whispering about something in the seats ahead of Devin and me, but we couldn’t hear what they were saying. I didn’t feel it was anything important or something to worry about, so I ignored them and chatted with Devin.

“I’m really excited about doing different things this year,” I began, “like going on a different river or a different part of the same river.”

“Yeah, it sounds exciting, but Class V rapids are rated Expert, so I hope we can all handle it, especially Clint.”

“Me too, but he did fairly well on the Class IV rapids last year, and those are rated Advanced, so he should be all right.”

“Did you forget that he almost fell out of the raft multiple times last year, and would have if you hadn’t caught him?”

“Yeah, I remember, so I’ll have him sit on the same side of the raft as me again and I’ll keep an eye on him. He should be fine though.”

“I hope you’re right, because I don’t want to see him bruised or bloodied, or worse yet, having to be taken to the hospital.”

“I’ll do my best to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

We got to Glenwood Springs before noon and Dad drove directly to the Quality Inn so we could check in. Lonny was waiting for us in the Lobby as we entered.

“Have you been waiting long?” Dad asked.

“No, not really, but I wanted to make sure I caught you before you checked in. I hope you don’t mind, but Clint asked a friend of his to join us, so I changed the boys’ room from a King to two Queens.”

“I’ll called the outfitters to make sure they could accommodate our larger group this year,” Dad stated, “and he said they had larger rafts this year, so we should be fine. It’s just that Clint’s friend will have to sit in the middle, between Clint and you.”

“That’s what I thought, so I didn’t discourage Clint from inviting his friend. He hasn’t had many friends since his mom died and this is the first time he wanted to invite someone else to join us on anything. I gave in, because I didn’t want to discourage his change in attitude. I think it has a lot to do with how he connected with Michael and Devin last year.”

“Don’t worry, the boys should be fine with it,” Dad concurred.

“And I hope this means he won’t be sleeping with us or demanding to shower with me,” I whispered to Devin.

He merely looked at me, smiled, and nodded before he said anything. “I can’t wait to meet his friend, and for your sake, I hope it’s a boyfriend.”

After we’d checked in, we went to our rooms, and when I opened the door, Clint leaped from one of the beds and bolted in my direction. After he wrapped his arms around my chest and said “hi’, he gave me a little smirk and spoke.

“I want to introduce you and Devin to my boyfriend,” he gushed. “Daniel, these are my two friends, Michael and Devin. I told you that they’re going to get married next month and I wanted you to meet them. Michael and Devin, this is my boyfriend, Daniel Gay.”

Devin immediately flashed me a shocked expression, because like me, he recognized the name from when we called the Clint’s school and asked to speak with someone from the Gay-Straight Alliance.

“Yes, my last name is Gay and I am gay,” Daniel greeted us. It was the same line he used when we spoke with him on the phone, so either he didn’t realize we were the ones he spoke with back then, or it was his way of letting us know that he hadn’t mentioned the call to Clint.

“It’s nice to meet you, Daniel,” Devin and I each stated. “I’m glad Clint finally has a boyfriend.”

“Why’s that?” Daniel asked.

“Because last summer he was a typical horny teenager, and he was always trying to talk me into doing inappropriate things with him.”

“Inappropriate?”

“Yes, sexual things, and I had to keep telling him that besides the fact that I was engaged, he was too young for me to be doing stuff like that with. After all, if I did and anyone found out about it, I could be arrested and end up in prison.”

“You don’t have to worry about that now,” Clint responded, “cuz Daniel is doing that stuff with me now.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” I replied, as Daniel blushed slightly and stared at Clint as if to say, ‘Did you have to tell him that?’

It seemed that Clint interpreted Daniel’s look the same way I had, as indicated by his reply. “It’s ok, because he won’t say anything to my dad or your dad about it.”

“No, that’s not up to us,” I confirmed, “but how did you two meet?” I was playing it cool and didn’t let on that I’d spoken with Daneil before, since I felt Daniel had done the same thing.

“He came up to me one day at school and asked if I’d come to a Gay-Straight Alliance meeting with him. I was afraid that would let everyone know that I was gay, but then he told me that a bunch of straight students belonged to it already, so no one would know if I was gay or straight. They’d only know that I didn’t hate gays.”

“That was a smart way to look at it.”

“Anyway, I agreed to go with him, and that’s when I found out that he was one of the officers of the group. That didn’t bother me though, and after I’d gone to a couple of meetings with him, he told me that he thought I was cute. I told him I thought he was cute too, and then we started spending time together outside of school, and we became boyfriends in April. That’s when we started giving each other hand jobs and blow jobs.”

“Clint, do you have to tell him everything!” Daniel said in an exasperated tone.

“Don’t worry. They’re cool, and besides, we’ll see each other naked later, and maybe they can do things on their bed and give us pointers while we’re doing stuff on our bed.”

I saw Daniel’s eyes roll back in their sockets and was afraid he was going to pass out, but he was just a little embarrassed by Clint’s openness. “Do you really expect that they’re going to get naked in front of us or that they’ll do those things so we could watch?” Daniel asked.

“Of course! We all used to get naked in our motel room together last year, so why wouldn’t we all do the same things this year. Oh, and Michael, if you haven’t noticed, I’m a little taller and heavier than last year, and my cock is bigger too. And Daniel’s cock is about the same size as mine is now!”

“You’re incorrigible!” Daniel stated as he shook his head.

“Lighten up, Danny boy. It will be fun and you’ll enjoy it too.”

“We won’t bite,” I added, “unless you want us too.” As Devin and I giggled, Daniel rolled his eyes. “But actually, you don’t have to do anything you don’t feel comfortable doing, and that’s why Devin and I won’t be performing for your voyeuristic pleasure.”

“I was starting to think that he must have picked up his lack of discretion from the two of you,” Daniel muttered, “but I’m glad to hear that you have limits.”

“Look, as I just said, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do, but as far as just being naked, we have nothing to hide and we won’t try to do anything to you. It’s for the same reason we wouldn’t give in to Clint last year and do those types of things with him.”

“I wasn’t worried about that, but maybe you guys are right. I’ve never been able to check out any of the guys at school before, since I didn’t know who might pound me for trying to sneak a peek. So, this might be a good time for me to find out how other guys are hung, other than Clint, without fear of getting my ass kicked.”

“That’s the spirit, Danny boy!” Clint urged, nearly jumping up and down in excitement. “But they’ll be bigger than us, at least that’s the way I remember them from last year. I used to shower with Michael, but that’s all he’d ever do with me, but this year I’ll shower with you. I hope that doesn’t upset you, Michael.”

“Not at all. If you remember, I kept telling you that you had to find a boy your age to do those things with.”

Just as I finished that comment, my phone rang. “What’s up, Dad?” I said after answering and putting it on speaker.

“We’re ready to go out for lunch before our first rafting trip.”

“You’ve already set one up? I thought we weren’t going to do anything until tomorrow.”

“It wasn’t something I’d originally planned, but since Lonny told me that Daniel hasn’t done anything like this before, I thought it would be a good time to get him used to being on a large, inflated raft.”

“And you were able to get a trip scheduled for us?”

“Yes, since this is the slow part of the season for the Outfitters, they were happy to set something up for us. It will be a class I-II level trip, so it will be a good time for Daniel to get used to using a paddle.”

“Ok, we’ll talk more about this while we’re eating.”

“Then meet us out in the hallway and we’ll go to Yesterdays.”

“Oh, I remember that place,” Clint responded. “It’s really neat, Daniel — you’re going to love it.”

Daniel merely nodded, obviously reserving his reaction for when he gets there. Either that or Clint has so overwhelmed him that he no longer knows how to react.

After meeting the others in the hallway, we headed out to the parking lot. When we got there, Clint wanted Devin and me to ride with his dad, so I looked at our parents and shrugged my shoulders.

“Devin you can sit in front, next to my dad, and I’ll sit in the middle in the backseat, between Daniel and Michael.” We agreed to go along with his seating request, and Lonny made a comment as we started out for Yesterdays.

“Are you boys all getting along and you’re all ok with sharing a room?”

“Yeah, it’s not a problem,” Devin told him. “We’re all getting to know one another and it’s working out well so far.”

“That’s good. I had a feeling that you and Michael wouldn’t mind the change, but I was ready to get you two your own room, if it was a problem.”

“Nah, not for us, as long as Daniel is ok with it.”

“Yeah, I’m getting used to it to, so everything is good.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Lonny responded.

When we got to Yesterdays, Dad asked which room we wanted to sit in, so we all looked at Clint and Daniel. “I’ve never been here, so I don’t know,” Daniel stated.

“Let’s do the 80’s room this time and next time we’ll eat in the 60s room,” Clint followed.

“Ok, I just wanted to know before we went inside.”

Since Clint wanted us to sit in a booth, the others sat at a table near where we were sitting. After we’d looked at the menu and decided what we wanted to eat, Clint announced that he wanted to play something in the jukebox. I had a couple of quarters in my pocket, so I handed them to him.

“Hey, there’s a photo of the Rolling Stones on the wall,” Daniel said as he pointed at it.

“Yes, and even though they’re still going strong, they were also performing during the 80s and 90s, as well as the 60s and 70s. I’m sure they look younger in that photo than anything you’ve seen recently, and you might see an even younger looking photo of them in the other dining room.”

“I can’t believe they were performing back then,” Danel gasped, “and they’re still going on tour now.”

“Yep, and if I remember my trivia correctly they first got together and started performing in London back in 1962, so they’ve been going strong for over 60 years. They haven’t always had the same band members for all that time, and only Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were part of the original band. The others were replaced because they decided to leave or they died, but Jagger and Richards have been there the entire time.”

“How do you know that?” Daniel asked.

“I remember reading an article about them a while ago.”

“And anything he hears, sees, or reads,” Devin stated, “he never forgets. He has a photographic memory.”

“He does?”

“Yep, he does, although he tries to pretend that he doesn’t, and the fact that he has such a good memory drives me crazy too.”

By this time, Clint had chosen a song and before it started playing, he explained why he chose it. “I picked this song cuz of its title, ‘How Deep is Your Love’, but who are the Bee Gees?”

“They were a band of brothers that were big during the disco era.”

“What’s disco?” Daniel asked.

“It was a brand of music and a type of dancing, and the clubs back then all had disco balls over the dance floor.”

“What’s a disco ball?”

“A disco ball, or mirror ball…”

“Wait, isn’t that the name of the trophy on Dancing With the Stars.”

“Yes, I believe it is. It got that name because it has a disco ball or mirror ball in its design. The disco ball is a round, or spherical, object covered with hundreds of small mirrors that reflect and scatter light in all directions as it rotates.”

“Ok, and this music isn’t too bad for a slow song, but I kind of like the lyrics,” Daniel observed.

“I think that’s why Clint chose it.”

As he was finishing his meal, Clint put the other quarter in the juke box and it began playing. “This song’s called ‘Every Breath You Take’ and it says it’s by The Police,” he told Daniel.

“Was that group made up of real cops?”

“Nah, it was just a name the band chose.” Devin stated. “I remember Gramps and Faith playing some of their songs when I was living with them.”

“You call your grandpa Gramps and your grandma by her first name?” Daniel asked.

“Gramps doesn’t mind if I call him that, and Faith isn’t my grandma. My grandma died and then Gramps married Faith.”

“Oh, ok.”

About that time, Dad said we were going to leave, and on the way back to the Quality Inn we were going to stop at the outfitters and pick up wet suits for each of us. That way we could put them on before we went on the first trip.

Devin and I rode with Lonny again, we stopped and picked up a wet suit and a pair of booties. Those were worn with the wetsuit to give you better traction on wet surfaces, and when we returned to our rooms, we got ready for Daniel’s first rafting experience.

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