Summer - 14. Reason to Believe

After saying good night and climbing the stairs to the second floor, CJ and Landon took turns in the bathroom, stripped to their underwear, and slipped under the covers. CJ had turned off the bedside lamps, the only illumination came through the windows facing the Potomac; a combination of moonlight and city lights bathing the room in a soft glow while leaving most of it in shadows. CJ had anticipated this moment most of the day. He was nervous, excited, and extremely self-conscious after Brett’s earlier comments. He was thankful for all the explicit and honest conversations with his dads and his uncles but still hesitant, uncertain of what to do next. He and Landon lay in the middle of the large bed, on their sides, facing each other; his lips turned slightly upwards at the ends, reflecting the grin on his friend’s face. Gently dipping his head forward, Landon matched his moves until their foreheads touched, his light blue eyes gazed into the older boy’s darker ones, and his smile grew. Closing them, he leaned further into Landon until their lips barely grazed, his eyes shot open and the smile widened even further.

His left arm was bent at the elbow, his head resting on it while his other one reached out towards the other boy, fingers reaching out to touch the smooth chest in front of him. Landon’s fingers cupped his face, CJ felt the hand slowly sliding down his neck, coming to rest in the middle of his chest. He felt a slight pull as the other boy played with the patch of hair between his pecs and around his nipples. Landon appeared fascinated with the soft fur which was quite a contrast to his hairless torso.

CJ leaned in once again for a kiss; it became a longer-lasting and more passionate one.

Teen hormones kicked in, the heat rose with each touch, bed sheets were kicked off, and his erection met with Landon’s as they moved closer together. Wet trails coated his treasure trail; it was too much build-up for a pair of horny teens. He wrapped his hand around his friend’s cock as he felt his own enveloped in a searing hold. It didn’t take much, a couple of strokes and much sooner than expected he exploded. Semen sprayed his partner as his own groin was soaked in the other teen’s cum.

CJ woke up being spooned by Landon, his bladder clamoring to be emptied. The arm draped over his chest, the warmth of the body behind him, and the erection poking his butt made him smile. He considered reaching for lube and a condom; letting nature take its course. Thoughts of losing his cherry were tampered down as quickly as they arose. The conversations with his dads had convinced him he would know when the time was right, not to rush into anything, and to wait until the right moment came along. Of course, that didn’t mean another form of intimacy could not be found.

“Morning, sexy,” he heard whispered in his ear as the arms surrounding him tightened their hold and the butt poking became more intense. “Thanks for inviting me last night for dinner. And to spend the night.”

“My pleasure, stud. But, dude, I don’t think I’ve wet my bed since I was four, so I better hit the pisser, or I’ll have an accident.”

“Go. I’m right behind you.”

Their morning hard-ons deflated, the boys shared the bottle of Listerine before squirreling back under the bed sheets and snuggling together. Knowing his dads were already gone encouraged CJ to explore without worrying about making too much noise. He nudged Landon on his back, draped himself over his friend’s body, and nuzzled against his neck, slowly flicking his tongue against the warm skin, causing Landon to moan. Attempting to replicate what he had often read about in erotic stories, he went for the right nipple with his teeth and used his fingers on the left one, eliciting more moans. Without the finesse brought on by experience, he spent minimal time on these activities before heading further down the body in front of him and opening his mouth wide to capture Landon’s hard cock.

“Oh fuck, oh, fuck, oh fuck. Turn around, CJ, turn around. I want you in my mouth too.” Landon went crazy on his friend’s dick. He licked, sucked, and nibbled on the foreskin. He pulled the skin hood back and licked the naturally lubed head, then swallowed the entire cock to the root. After massaging the head with his throat he pulled off entirely. “Damn I love your foreskin, sure wish I still had mine!”

“You can borrow mine anytime, buddy… let me show you something.”

CJ scrambled up the bed again, took Landon’s stiffness in his left hand, grabbed his own foreskin with the other one, and stretched it over his friend until it covered the tip of both their cocks. He began stroking the joined members while passionately kissing the other boy. Both began panting as their orgasms approached. Reaching their climax almost simultaneously, cum overflowed the covering foreskin and spilled over their groins. Cleaning up was just plain fun, using their mouths, before kissing and passing the creamy stuff back and forth. There wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell any of it was going to be wasted.

By the time they were in the kitchen fixing food, they both had mile-wide smiles on their faces.

Off to the gym with CJ wearing a burgundy Arlington national Cemetery t-shirt, the two friends were halfway through their chest routine when the ubiquitous ginger stud approached them.

“Hi guys, I’m Ian,” he said while bumping fists with the teens. Looking at the dark-haired Latin kid he added, “I keep seeing you all over the place, are you taking courses here this summer?”

“Nice to meetcha, man. I’m CJ and this is Landon. And no, not taking any classes this summer. I live in the area and will be a sophomore in high school this fall.”

“You’re shitting me! I could have sworn you guys were older.”

“I am. I’ll be a senior this year but not in DC. Just visiting my brother for a couple of weeks.”

“Guess I’ll be seeing you now and then this coming year, CJ. I’m a Graduate Assistant here at GU, working on my thesis. I’ll catch you later, I’m all done and I need to shower and get to the office.”

“Later,” said the younger men at the same time as they stared at the redhead’s nice backside walking away from them.

Landon wanted to eat lunch at Rogo’s once again, He enjoyed the food and the extra attention paid to them on Friday. They sat at the bar and ate hamburgers while chatting with the bartender. Danno made an appearance and introduced them to Trip, the reporter he previously talked about wanting to do a story about CJ. The handsome blonde man mentioned the Pentagon had stalled him in his attempts to contact the boy’s fathers, but the bar owner had made a deal with him to drop the story. Details of the agreement were not mentioned, but they did notice Danno licking his lips.

After their new acquaintance left, the boys giggled and wondered if this one would also be walking funny later on in the day.

CJ had visited most of the monuments and memorials before while staying with his fathers, now he was loving the opportunity to serve as a tour guide. Their initial stop was the Lincoln Memorial. Grabbing a National Park Service brochure, the boys read some basic information about the memorial as they walked around the building.

After staring up at the monumental Daniel Chester French statue of a seated Lincoln, they stopped to read Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address and his Second Inaugural Address carved on the north and south walls of the memorial.

“I’ve heard of the Gettysburg Address since I was a little kid, but when I first read it, I was surprised at how short it was.”

“Right?” replied CJ. “I always thought something people talked about as so important would be much longer.”

“Hey, CJ, you remember the big ass concert they had here for the President’s inauguration back in 2009?”

“Barely, I was eleven and we were living at Ramstein Air Base still, so the time difference meant it was evening in Germany. I know I caught a little bit but then it was my bedtime.”

“Wow? You lived in Germany? At an Air Force Base? That must have been way cool. You’ll have to tell me what it was like later!”

Walking beside the Reflecting Pool, they headed towards their next destination, the Washington Monument. The structure was closed and under repair after being damaged during an earthquake―they could not go inside. It was scheduled to re-open sometime in 2014 and the boys swore they would go to the top together the next time Landon came to visit his brother.

“I always wondered why the stone changed colors part way up,” commented Landon. “Why didn’t they get the marble from the same place once they started up again?” They had been reading about efforts to build the monument and the delay when funds ran out during construction.

“It says the white marble looked the same but then the two types aged differently. Sounds like a good Jeopardy question to me!”

Their final stop was the Jefferson Memorial, located in West Potomac Park. It was a fifteen-minute walk away and allowed them to view the monument across the water of the Tidal Basin before they reached it. The view was breathtaking.

“Fair warning, I’m gonna drive you nuts here. Jefferson’s like one of my heroes, my favorite President, and I wanna grow up to be him!” said CJ smirking, as they pulled away from the railing on the side of the walkway by the paddle boat rental place.

“Oh wow, you are a dork about history,” replied Landon while laughing.

“Asshole!”

“So what is it that gives you a stiffie when you think of old Tom?”

“Hmmm, the man was far from perfect but he was gifted; his initial draft of the Declaration of Independence is amazing. He owned slaves but wanted them to be freed after independence from England. An okay politician and diplomat but an incredible scientist. He had a thirst for knowledge that has always inspired me to try and learn more. And his efforts at architecture are graceful with clean designs based on classic buildings. I’m dying to visit Monticello, his home in Charlottesville, now that I live up here in Washington. Come on, Landon, let’s walk all around it before we go inside; I want you to see the statue from all possible angles, it’s really cool.”

“Damn, that’s one big fucker, can you imagine the size of his dick?”

“You’re such a perv. Come on, let’s go inside. I love reading the carvings on the walls.”

“Let me grab one of the brochures, CJ. I’m taking them all back home with me to remind me of the trip.ˮ

“Okay, I forget the name of the architect, but the building’s style is neoclassical and it resembles the Rotunda at the University of Virginia, which Jefferson designed.”

“John Russell Pope was the architect,” said Landon reading from the brochure.

“Cool. The inscriptions are a mix of the President’s words from different things he wrote. Some people bitch about them ‘cause they make it look like Jefferson would have supported many things he was against. Lots of political bullshit if you ask me, his words are still magic.”

“This picture in the brochure of the Memorial surrounded by all the cherry trees in bloom looks awesome.”

“Yeah! That’s something I’m looking forward to seeing in person next spring.”

Satisfied with their afternoon of exploring, the guys headed back to Georgetown and a second shower together. Landon would be joining the family for dinner and to watch the NBA Eastern Conference seventh and final game. Twice in one day at Rogo’s was just fine with boys; they liked the place, the people, and the food.

Halfway through the first quarter, Danno and Trip strolled in―the boys looked at one another and began giggling.

“Let me guess, the beefy blonde stud is walking funny, correct?” asked César.

“Yep!” was the simple reply from the teens.

“Sup, guys? Am I gonna have to set up cots in here for you two hoodlums? Trip, you met the boys this afternoon, the two senior citizens with them are César and Brett, the dark kid’s dads. Guys, this is my buddy Charles Beauregard Houston III. Just call him Trip, that mouthful of a name is only used back in Texas by his mama.” Danno had his hand around the back of the man’s neck holding him possessively.

“Howdy, y’all, good to meetcha.”

“He’s the reporter I mentioned to you guys before. I persuaded him to drop the story idea, so it’s okay to talk to him now.”

“I bet I know how the persuading took place,” mumbled Brett.

“Shut up, Jarhead,” replied the barkeep as César elbowed his other half.

The Miami HEAT took care of business that night defeating the Pacers and advancing to the NBA Finals for the third year in a row. Up next, the San Antonio Spurs starting Thursday night. CJ was a happy camper.

Landon had spent the night again and joined the guys for their morning workout, but this was to be goodbye. His brother had been fine when he found out his baby bro was gay, Landon wanted to spend the last evening of his vacation with his sibling. Already friends on Facebook, CJ and Landon knew they would keep in touch and hopefully see each other again sometime next summer.

Benjamin Christopher ‘Ben’ Cohen, MBE, former England rugby union player, was a member of the national team which won the 2003 Rugby World Cup. In May 2011, Cohen retired from professional rugby to focus on The Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation, created by him to combat homophobia and bullying.

In conjunction with Capital Pride, Ben was in DC to host a fundraising reception. This was the event to which Brian Sims, a member of the host committee, had invited the Elite Eight and CJ to. All nine were in attendance.

Walking in, Dragon made a beeline for his old friend Brian asking the others to get him a beer. The two buddies spent a few minutes with their heads close together, speaking quietly; both were smiling broadly by the time they finished. Ambling over to the rest of the gang Dragon’s first words were, “Where’s my beer? I dragged Brian over so he could say hello.”

“Gentlemen, welcome. I’m so glad you could make it tonight. Hang around here for a bit and enjoy yourselves, I want Ben to meet you so I’ll go find him, then we can go to another one of the rooms in the suite so we can speak privately.” Right after greeting his friends, Sims turned around and disappeared into the crowd milling around the room.

“Damn! Where does he get the energy? Did he even breathe once?”

“Can it, Jarhead; you do the same thing to me all the time and at the end, I’m the one out of breath,” replied César.

Their laughter attracted the attention of some of the other guests. As usual, they were soon the center of attention, something fairly common whenever they attended an event together. Trying to behave was no better, they would look at each other and start snickering, making CJ roll his eyes at their antics.

“Hey, guys, wanna follow me? I’ve got him stashed away in a bedroom waiting for us. And no he will not be waiting naked, Dragon!” Representative Sims had reappeared at their side as if by magic and once again had delivered his comments in one rapid burst.

Closing the room doors to ensure privacy, Brian introduced them to their host individually, allowing each one to shake hands and exchange words before moving to the next one. He began with CJ, followed by his dads, and ended with Dragon.

“Ben, the big black boy’s an old friend, he was telling me a little story earlier which I thought you would enjoy listening to. You’re up, stud!” said Sims, nodding at Dragon.

“Over Memorial Day weekend, the hubby and I were invited to breakfast at the Pentagon by Captain Davenport here. The gathering was hosted by his boss as a preliminary event to the Ride to the Wall motorcycle rally.”

“Oh please don’t, Uncle Dragon. Please?” CJ almost whimpered his request and would have tried to leave the room but for his dad’s arm draped over his shoulders, holding him close.

“Too late, buddy, you know how proud of you we all are.”

Dragon had lost count of the number of times he had told the story. Each time he enjoyed it more and maybe embellished it a little bit more. Not that any sprucing up of the actual events was necessary. Brian had only heard a very short version before; now, he and Ben stood there with dumbfounded looks on their faces and with their mouths hanging open.

Ben was the first one to react, turning to Brian and whispering something to the politician. Looking at CJ, he smiled shaking his head in amazement. “Mate, you are bloody amazing! We need to get you involved with the foundation as soon as possible. You did exactly what we encourage others to do; you stood up against bullying. The fact you beat the bully’s arse is the dog’s bollocks. I won’t admit that part in public, so don’t bother quoting me.”

“Damn, you sure are talking as fast as us Yanks now,” said Brian, handling the Brit a rolled-up blue piece of cloth.

“Let’s get the easy stuff over first. This is one of the t-shirts we’ll be giving to our supporters a little later on. You get the first one, CJ.”

“Thank you, Mr. Cohen.”

“Guess the second item on the list is I’m Ben, not Mr. Cohen, not sir, and especially not chubby!” said the ex-athlete as he patted the small love handles he had developed since retiring. “I want to sit down with you and your parents, figure out the best way to tell your story, and then spread it around. No matter how hard we work, bullying will never be entirely eliminated. We need to make people realize that sometimes their hateful actions will result in pain and humiliation to themselves. Maybe that will deter some of the jerks. When you’re back in school I’d like to come over and personally run one of the programs the foundation has been using and have you help me with it.

“Now, let’s chat about what we’re doing tonight. Mate, you’ve given me another reason to believe.”

“If I may interrupt, Ben. Brett and I were planning on doing this a little later, but now may be just as good a time to do it. We’d like to present you with a check for $10,000 from our family as a contribution to the Foundation. Brett and I would like it to be acknowledged as being made in honor of our son.”

“Mate, I’m gob smacked! I don’t know what to say.”

“A simple thank you will suffice. You’ll also be receiving a check for an additional $90,000 as a contribution from the Davenport-Abelló Family Charitable Fund within the next couple of weeks. That will also be in honor of CJ.”

César could see CJ was embarrassed and that the other members of the Eight were somewhat shocked but smiling; they had no idea the guys were planning anything this generous. Brett’s wealth was not a secret, but he and César never flaunted it. The two men normally would not have made such a big deal about a contribution, preferring to maintain a lower profile. This was different though. This was to honor their son for his actions during the Memorial Day Weekend.

“If you guys will excuse me, I must fetch some t-shirts and make a few changes to my remarks,” said the hunky rugger with a huge smile on his face.

“Hey bud, that should help you see a bit better how damn proud we were of you and of what you did,” said Brett as he hugged CJ. “If there had been the slightest doubt about having you around and how it would change our lives, your actions entirely dissipated them. Heck, we couldn't miss the pleasure of being around as you finish becoming a grown man.”

“I think Brett and I hit the jackpot the day I picked you up at the airport last month,” added César. Both fathers wiped off moist eyes when the three of them unclenched from their hug.

Ben made his usual general presentation for these events, asking for the financial support of those in attendance before veering off from the usual script. He then announced the donation from César and Brett and the pledge from their Family Charitable Fund.

“These contributions are being made in honor of their fifteen-year-old son, César Márcos Abelló, Jr. CJ, could you please join me up here?

“This young man is most likely embarrassed out of his britches at this moment. From the few minutes I spent talking to him, I’m guessing he’s smart and articulate, but also somewhat reserved. I don’t think CJ likes to draw attention to himself. Mate, sorry but I wanted our guests to have a face to associate with your story. Since I know you’d rather not stand here, I’ll let you go back to your dads, and I’ll make it up to you later for putting you on the spot.”

The Brit concluded his remarks with a short version of the events that took place at the motorcycle rally as recounted by Dragon earlier. “Ignoring the physical beating CJ was able to administer to an older and larger man, we must focus on the reasons behind his actions. It’s imperative that each and every one of us actively oppose bullying in any form. It is our responsibility to stand up for those being abused. It is also our duty to spread this message to everyone we can. Thank you for your attendance this evening. Please make sure you come by and introduce yourselves.”

The teen was once again mauled by well-wishers and even had invitations from some very hunky guys who did not seem to have a problem with his age. Realizing that what he had done was a good thing, he was willing to accept the praise graciously, but the publicity was a bit much for him. All the autographed sports memorabilia he left with at the end of the evening made the discomfort he experienced a bit more bearable. He was looking forward to watching Papa and some of his friends play rugby this summer.

The last person to shake the teen’s hand was someone he had met earlier in the evening, a staff member at the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs. “Congratulations on the accolades and I hope my kids grow up to be like you one day, CJ.”

“Thank you, Nathan; that’s very gracious of you.”

“Good looking, smart, articulate, brave, and he remembers names. Can I sign on as campaign manager now? You'll win a few elections in your life if you ever run for office.”

“Babe, where did we go wrong? Our son is going to be—dare I say it―a politician. The shame of it!” Brett could not keep a straight face, Nathan and César had a hard time not laughing out loud; CJ was not amused at being the butt of a bad joke.

“Ha, ha, ha! See if I thank either one of you in any of my acceptance speeches!”

“Guys, I’d like to speak to the three of you for a couple of minutes. I think I may have an opportunity for CJ to get a feel for the legislative and political world. Marco Rubio, the Republican Senator from Florida, has a unique summer internship program in his office―fourteen days, all access. One male and one female every two weeks. Must be Floridians, high school or college students, and write an essay as to why they should be considered.”

“The boy selected for the last two weeks of July had to bail out. I heard they were having trouble finding a qualified alternate on such short notice and I think CJ could be a shoo-in.”

“Would they take someone who’s only fifteen?” asked CJ.

“Yes and no. I understand you’ll turn sixteen later on this year so we’ll wiggle it through. Plus the fact you’re staying with your dads here in DC means you'll have parental supervision. Son, you’re a Cuban-American from Miami, as is the Senator, you’re gay and you’ll be a minor celebrity amongst the A-listers after tonight. Your story will spread in the cocktail party circle. No matter what your ideological leanings may be, I don’t know a politician who wouldn't jump at the chance to be associated with you,” a smiling Nathan said.

“That would be epic! Oh yeah, tell me where and when! Would that be okay with you, Dads?” The boy was bouncing on the heels of his shoes.

“Your choice, buddy, you know we trust your judgment and will support you in whatever you decide,” answered a smiling César.

“Great, here’s my card, CJ. If you could email me something like a Fact Sheet/Profile on you this weekend, I’ll get the ball rolling and we’ll talk on Monday.”

“That was a very interesting evening, babe. Our little boy was quite the hit.”

“Yeah, and he seemed to handle it all fairly well. He always appears so mature and serious but I was glad he reverted to being a kid when Nathan mentioned the internship. CJ’s excitement was palpable.”

“I hear a but in your voice, César.”

“You know me too well. But he’s only fifteen, he’s going to be surrounded by adults until he starts school and I don’t want him to stop being a kid. He’s far from perfect; he’ll screw up somewhere along the way and we may have to discipline him. I want us to be his friends, but we are first and foremost his parents. He needs to always remember it and so do we; sometimes it’s hard for me to keep the two apart.”

“We’ll get it right, all we need is some practice. Good night, babe, I love you.”

“Love you too, Jarhead.”