Published: 16 Jan 2017

On Friday morning, no one was eager to rise and shine, but it was necessary to get going if they didn’t want to be tardy for school. Colt was awake first and kissed Dane until he opened his eyes too. Then he stopped.

“Hey, I was just getting into it! Why did you stop?”

“We don’t have any extra time if you want to eat breakfast – and no, a load of warm protein isn’t going to keep me until lunch!” Colt giggled.

Dane and Colt headed for the downstairs bathroom so no one would have to wait long for a turn at the sink or pot. They could hear Dave and Dustin in the upstairs shower already.

They managed to eat a hearty breakfast because Greta was up cooking for them. She also handed each the lunches she had made for them. They hadn’t had time to make their own the night before.

On the way to school, Dave brought up something that was on Dane’s mind as well.

“How did you guys manage to lie still while those creeps were playing with your dicks?”

“It was really hard.” Colt said.

“Yeah, I could see that it was hard,” Dane joked, but without any real humor.

“Dane, I can’t help it that I got hard. I didn’t want to, but I couldn’t stop it. My eyes were closed and I didn’t dare let on that I was playing possum. You know my cock belongs only to you.”

“Yeah, I know. But it brought back memories of when Joel was reaching for it and… Damn! I’m sorry. It just gives me the willies when I think of that bastard touching you!”

“Believe me, it turns my stomach too. I don’t think I could have borne it at all if I hadn’t been partly drugged.”

“Me neither!” Dustin exclaimed. “I could bear having one of you guys touch me because we’re friends and you’re not old perverts, but the thought of those two makes me want to throw up!”

“Shit! I’d forgotten about the drugs,” Dane admitted.

“Me too,” Dave agreed. “You guys really had no control over the situation. We should have jumped in sooner. I’m sorry!”

“You two did just what you needed to do.” Dustin insisted. “I’m sure the charges against them will be greater since we were actually molested. Some smart lawyer could get them off on a lesser charge otherwise. I didn’t like being touched. The thought of it makes me feel dirty, but I’d go through it again to nail those cocksuckers!”

After discussing it, Dane and Dave both felt better. They hadn’t been planning to blame their boyfriends for responding to being felt up, but it did upset them that it had happened. Now that everyone’s feelings were out in the open, they were beginning to heal already.

Dane went to swimming practice, Dave to band, and Colton and Dustin to wrestling after school. Because it was Friday night, no one kept the students any longer than necessary. Veteran teachers and coaches had figured out long ago that sometimes less is more – especially on a Friday!

Dave and Dustin went home to Maynard for the weekend, but Colt and Dane went out to Camelot. Greta thought it might be good for them to have the place entirely to themselves. She knew teenage guys well enough to understand they might like to spend time completely free of restrictions and adults. After what they’d just been through, they needed that.

On Saturday morning, Dane was awakened by Colt’s kisses again. This time, Colt was kissing his way down Dane’s abs heading for the treasure trail. Dane was going to feign sleep, but he couldn’t help but giggle when Colt reached the ticklish place just above his bush.

Dane begged Colt to swivel around so Colt straddled his face. That position put his throbbing sausage right where Dane wanted it. He stuck out his tongue to lick the sticky fluid oozing from its tip.

Having assumed the position, there wasn’t any reason not to continue to devour each other. The subsequent trip to Nirvana wasn’t long in coming. Neither boy had the self-discipline that morning to hold back. It was more important to share their love and its creamy results.

In the afterglow, they cuddled and kissed until the need to piss prevented them from lingering.

Dane was quiet as they were getting out their cereal for breakfast. Colt hoped he wasn’t still thinking about watching him get groped.

“Whatch thinkin’ ’bout?” He asked as they often did at times like that.

“Like you said when we were at Wade’s – I’m the luckiest boy in the world.”

“Are you really okay, Baby?” Colt asked. “You’re not still upset are you?”

“Yeah, I really am okay. It hurt me to see you being felt up when I was helpless to prevent it. Or at least I thought I was. I still think I should have prevented it somehow.”

“It’s not your fault and it’s not my fault. No one was physically hurt. We’re alive and well and we have the rest of our lives to forget about it.”

“Okay, I’m over it. I know that’s what Oprah would say, ‘Get over it!’ and that’s what I’m going to do. Now come over here and set your cute little ass on my lap while I eat my breakfast.”

Colton grinned and did as he was asked. Breakfast got stalled while both guys produced another load of cream.

Toward the end of the next week, Sheriff Larkin came to see the boys at Greta’s house again. He had good news and bad news. The bad news was that Bo Franklin and Harvey Crow would only be serving 10 year sentences. The good news was that with all of the evidence, they had agreed to a plea bargain which probably didn’t reduce their sentences by very much. And their agreeing to it meant that the guys wouldn’t need to go to court and testify. Without a trial, no jury would see the videos. Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief. The major holidays were coming soon and the boys could all enjoy them without having the specter of a trial hanging over their heads.

The other bit of good news was that in light of the present charges, the authorities were going to take a serious look at earlier allegations against Franklin and Crow which had been swept under the rug at the school where Franklin had coached before. Harvey was his cook and cameraman there too. The statute of limitations hadn’t run out, so it was possible the pair might be prosecuted for other crimes if students came forward. What Colton and Dustin had bravely done at Bentonville might have far-reaching consequences. There was no telling where it would end.

Everyone in the Johnson clan was coming home to Camelot for Christmas. The lake-side cottage had taken on the feeling of “home” for the whole extended family. Dwayne and Sharon would be there with baby Aidan, of course. Wade and Roger were heading home too. It would be another fun time like it always was when they all got together.

During the days before Christmas, Dane and Colt went out to decorate the place so it would look festive. They said it was for the little kids, but if truth be told, they were eager to have it look like a fairy-tale scene too.

Dave and Dustin went out with them in the evening after the last school day of the calendar year. The outside had been done on Saturday, and most of the inside was decorated, but there were still some lights to string on the exposed structural beams of the ceiling. The boys hurried to finish so that they would have time to sit by the fire after dinner.

Colton prepared an appetizing meal in the form of a quick beef stir-fry. He said they would all get more than enough fowl for Christmas dinner and the meals made of leftovers, so he was serving beef. Dane reminded him there would be few leftovers for them because they’d be in Florida.

The best part of the evening was cuddling in front of a warm fire. It wasn’t the kind of evening that invited getting naked because the place hadn’t warmed up completely after being closed up for nearly a week. However, snuggling, even with clothes on, felt like a perfect expression of love.

The moon was in its waxing phase and would be full for Christmas Eve. It would be perfect if a little snow would fall as well. Grandma was right in naming the place after King Arthur’s realm.

The guys headed up to the loft early to go to bed. It was toasty upstairs because the heat from the fireplace had risen. The loft was warm enough for the guys to sleep naked, though the sheets felt chilly initially.

It was a foregone conclusion that the couples were going to make out and most likely not stop until they were all satisfied. Kissing quickly turned to licking and sucking.

Had they been alone, Dave might have asked Dustin to take him anally. But, they were both hesitant to do it in front of others very often. So, they turned around to the 69 position like their friends had.

No one was in a hurry, but no one lasted as long as he would have liked anyway. It seemed that whenever they made love in the company of special friends, their libidos became more stimulated. Still, all of them were able to ride the wave for quite a while.

Two days before Christmas a light snow fell. It accumulated to about two inches which wasn’t enough to cause travel difficulties, but made the world look fresh and clean. Dane grinned as he whistled the title tune from “Camelot”.

Dwayne and Sharon arrived in the afternoon and Wade and Roger came about an hour later. DJ and family lived the closest, but were the last to arrive. Greta had dinner waiting in the oven to serve the minute they got in.

It was a perfect time to come because the lights on the pines toward the drive were on and the whole place looked magical. EJ and Emma were really excited when they saw it.

“Sorry, Mom,” DJ said. “We had a last-minute emergency at work that had to do with our government contract and we had to make sure that Mr. Steele was happy.”

“No problem. Dinner is just coming out of the oven.”

The family exchanged gifts after dinner. Santa would come during the night for the little ones, but the rest preferred to receive their presents on Christmas Eve so the next day was more laidback.

Greta, Wade, Roger, Dane, and Colton went back to Bentonville for the midnight service at church. DJ and Ellen and Dwayne and Sharon stayed behind at the cottage to get their youngsters to bed.

The service was a beautiful and meaningful one with scripture and carols repeating the Christmas story. At the end, everyone held a lighted candle and sang: “Silent Night.” Most of the participants knew it well enough that they didn’t have to look at the words. Friends and neighbors exchanged greetings and holiday wishes as they left. Wade and Roger felt quite at home in this friendly gathering.

Back at Camelot, the twins were restless because they knew Santa was on his way. They didn’t want to sleep in cots in their parents’ room. Emma decided that she was going to sleep in a big bed upstairs with Grandma. EJ said that he was sleeping with Dane and Colt.

The panels had been pulled in the loft to provide three private sleeping spaces. Emma knew which one was Greta’s and she got into that bed. EJ climbed into the middle of the one where Dane’s and Colt’s things were. The other was left for Wade and Roger.

When the church-goers returned, they found a note on the kitchen table explaining the sleeping arrangement that the kids had come up with. They went up to the loft to get ready for bed knowing that their sleep might not be as sound as they would have liked.

Greta checked to see that the stockings had been hung on the mantle before she ascended to the loft. Once there, she slipped into her nightgown and quietly got into bed without disturbing Emma.

Dane and Colt put on sleep-shorts and climbed into bed on either side of EJ who had planted himself firmly in the middle. They teased each other about having to be celibate for the next several days. Actually, they would be leaving for Florida in a couple.

EJ tended to move around a lot in his sleep. Dane awoke sometime in the wee hours of the morning feeling two small feet in his side. EJ was lying perpendicular and taking up more space than an adult. Dane carefully lifted his little brother and turned him around the right way.

Toward morning, Colt had to do the same thing. His little cousin seemed to be sleeping like a top – spinning around and around.

It wasn’t much past 6:00 when Emma came into where they guys were sleeping in order to get her brother up. Even though they had stopped sleeping in the same bed, they were still very close. They always looked out for each other. Emma was excited about seeing what Santa had left, but she wasn’t going to do it without her twin.

By the time the two kids were ready to head downstairs, Colt and Dane were awake enough to accompany them. The muffled sounds they made going down were sufficient to awaken most of the rest of the household. One by one, the others appeared in the living room to watch the excited children dump out the contents of their Christmas stockings.

Baby Aidan had a stocking too, but he wasn’t old enough to get the point of all of it. However, he seemed to pick up on the excitement of his cousins. He babbled and cooed happily while the adults were snapping pictures.

Greta and her older grandsons went to the kitchen to get breakfast on the table. Most everything had been prepared in advance, so it was simply a matter of putting things into the oven, setting the table, and pouring juice and coffee.

The huge breakfast would be enough to satisfy everyone until 1:30 when dinner would be served. Again, Greta had made a lot of things ahead so she wouldn’t have to spend the whole morning cooking. She didn’t want the young mothers to have to work on Christmas day either.

Right on the dot, everything was on the dinner table. DJ uncorked a big bottle of Chardonnay to pour in stemmed wine glasses for everyone but the three little ones. Then, Greta offered a short blessing and the family began to pass the food.

Forty-five minutes later, everyone declared that they were stuffed and that it was all delicious. Dessert would have to wait until the main courses settled a bit.

Most families in Bentonville had a great Christmas. Trent was elated that his father finally agreed to have Trevor and Marc come for Christmas dinner. It was the first time that Trent hadn’t had to defy his father’s wishes in order to spend time with his brother.

The reunion began a bit awkwardly, but by dinner time everyone seemed to be getting along well enough. Trent was going to Sara’s house later in the afternoon when his brother left. He was eager to be with her, but he hated to see the day coming to an end. Today had been like a miracle!

Nancy Fordham prepared a big dinner on the day before Christmas for all of the guys who lived at Miss Charlotte’s old house. She didn’t make everything because John and Darrin insisted on bringing some of the food to save her from having so much work to do in addition to packing for the trip to California. Dan and Cory also pitched in to help her.

Mike was happy to be included in the group so he could celebrate with Brent. They would be together for part of the next day at Mike’s house, but no matter how often they were together, it was never too much.

Brent would be at his mother’s house for a few hours on Christmas Day. He had mixed emotions about it. Since Mike hadn’t been included in the invitation, Brent initially said he wouldn’t go, but Mike insisted that it was a major step for Brent’s mother to take and that he should go. It would be only for a couple of hours and then he would go to Mike’s house and stay overnight.

Dan would be sleeping with Cory at his house because John and Darrin were going to be working Christmas Day. Volunteering to cover shifts during the major holidays was making them quite popular with their coworkers. The guys whose shift they had taken at Thanksgiving had become friendlier and there was a whole different atmosphere of cooperation from what there had been in the past. When Darrin and John had both wanted time after Christmas to go to the Mall of the Americas in Minnesota, the other guys had said they would be happy to cover their shifts. Turning the other cheek seemed to be working.

In Maynard, Dave and Dustin got to celebrate the day together because their mothers coordinated dinner plans. Mary was opening her house for the dinner. She was doing pretty well since the doctors had adjusted her medications. Her attitude toward her son and his boyfriend was cordial, and even loving. Dustin was very pleased. He felt like he’d gotten his mother back from the dead. The period of her illness had been extremely stressful, but one good thing had come out of it. He had become closer to his father than he’d ever thought possible.

At the Manson farm, the family was especially thankful for what the past year had ultimately brought. After what had looked like the beginning of very hard times, a whole new era of prosperity had come to them. Bob had recovered nearly 100% from his injuries. He had come to know two great high school kids whom he’d employed to help. His operation had been doubled because of a lease from a foundation set up by their friends, Joel and Alex.

Bob had watched his son, Jared become stronger, more responsible, and more accepting of others who were different from him. Jared had been his mainstay through the problems with the first farm hand they’d hired and the transition to the new one. The first one was currently serving time on drug charges.

This Christmas, there was another plate at the Manson’s table. Eduardo Martinez, or Eddy as he liked to be called, was young, industrious and virtually orphaned. His mother had died when he was 12 and he had done his best to take over the household duties. He had barely graduated from high school when his father was deported to Mexico after an immigration raid on a local meatpacking plant.

It had been Dustin who recommended Eddy to Bob because he had known him from wrestling matches. Dustin had great respect for the scrappy kid who was older than he by two years, but lighter by 15 pounds. Eduardo was going to join the military in order to survive, but Dustin didn’t want to see him become cannon fodder.

Eddy was firmly established as part of the Manson family by early December when the furnace in the trailer gave out. They had moved the young man into the spare bedroom immediately.

Eduardo had a hard time believing that virtual strangers would take him into their house and their hearts. Bob and Christine treated him more like a son than a hired hand, and the boys looked up to him as if he were their brother while their sister thought he was really cute.

Christmas in Iowa was like a Norman Rockwell painting for many of the local families. After it was over, several would be going on additional adventures.

If you are enjoying this story, let David know: david.lee@castleroland.net