Rehabilitation - 10. What We Did on Our Summer Vacation

Things had settled down pretty well in the week after mom and I moved back home. She would go to work, then I would either have the house to myself or go over to Brett's. Or, she would go to work and then Brett would come to my house. Then we would have sex. My god, we had so much sex that summer! Funny, I could remember every detail, every breath, every thrust of our first encounter. The second time was actually better than the first time! It didn’t take long for us to become really good at it actually. But the second time quickly slipped into the mists of my memory along with the third and the fourth and fifth time we did it. I still wasn’t brave enough to let him do me yet, but Brett didn’t seem to care because he sure loved getting fucked. We pretty much spent the entire month naked. As soon as we’d walk in the door our clothes came off and we were at it again. About the only bit of clothing I wore when I was with him was that stupid cast I had on my hand and sometimes my glasses, because Brett thought they were sexy. Brett used to always wear a ball cap, but he’d grown out of that habit. But he wore it backwards one time as I fucked him doggie style in his mom’s bed. That’s right, I fucked him on his mom’s bed… Don’t judge me. We fucked all over his house and mine. There wasn’t a room or piece of furniture we didn’t do it on. Kitchen tables aren’t as glamorous as movies make them out to be, by the way. You know, just in case you were wondering about that. Oh, we found some fun ways to do it! There probably wasn’t an inch of each other’s body that we hadn’t kissed, licked, or sucked on. I put so much sperm in that kid! Seriously, my balls had never worked so hard!

 

Now I know it seems like all we did was have sex, but it wasn’t all sex. There was the kissing, the hugging… What I loved best was the snuggling, just holding each other close and listening to each other’s breathing, feeling each other’s heartbeat, sharing our hopes and dreams with each other.

 

And the sex. My god, the sex was fucking awesome!

 

Anyway… On Monday and Wednesday evenings, mom would drive down to Morgantown to see dad at the rehab center. Sometimes I went along, sometimes I stayed home. Those evenings when she’d leave me home I’d either go to Brett’s house or he’d come over to my place and we’d do it again. Did I mention we had sex a lot? Brett could barely walk after a while and my dick was kind of sore from overuse. I thought about using one of my pain pills but I hadn’t seen them since I came back home. I must have lost them in the transition. Anyway, we did it thirty-seven times in July. I know because I counted. I’m kind of a compulsive counter. I can’t help it. I count everything. I even counted thrusts a few times (my record was one hundred eighty-seven thrusts before I came…). There were days when we hit the trifecta and one day when we went for number four but my dick actually quit on me and wouldn’t get hard. So there is a point when you can literally have too much of a good thing. It had taken so long for me to build up the courage to finally have sex with Brett. But now that the dam had been broken, I was fucking him like a rabbit. Used to be I jerked off every day, but we had so much sex I hadn’t jerked off in weeks!

 

That was the best month of my life, so of course, it couldn’t stay like that forever. Eventually we settled back down. The first day in August we looked at each other and I was actually relieved to find out that he didn’t want to have sex. We just hung out at his place playing video games like old times, and we found that we still had fun and loved each other even with our clothes on.

 

I hadn’t seen Dustin in two months, not that I had time to miss him since I was getting laid constantly. But I really wanted to talk with him, and I was too scared to go to his house and work it out. After the last time I saw him, I was afraid of what he might do to me. But still, I missed him. Even after everything that had happened, I still wanted us to be friends. He’d been my best friend my whole life. It seemed like there was a piece of me missing without him. I didn’t want one bad day to destroy a lifetime of friendship. I loved him too much to allow that painful moment to be the end of us.

 

On most Saturdays, we went down to stay with my mom’s sister and her family. I had fun swimming and playing with my cousins, Jesse and Brian. They had matured a lot and weren’t nearly as annoying as they used to be. We visited with dad Saturday evening. On Sunday, we went to church with the family. Their church was a lot easier to navigate than Brett's church was. It was a Methodist Church, so I didn't feel completely out of place. It’s hard not to fit in with the Methodists. You sit there during the sermon, pretend to sing the hymns, and sometimes they have this thing called a “pot-luck dinner.” Pretty sweet! But more and more mom was singing the praises of Pastor Carl Stevens. He would call her frequently to see how dad was doing and pray with her. I found it a bit annoying. On the rare occasions when we would stay home for the weekends, she would go to his church. I’d do my best to stay home but she’d always drag me along.

 

When we visited my dad on the first Sunday in August, Aunt Patty, Jesse, and Brian came along with us. Dad was able to walk with the help of a walker. His arm hadn't improved much, but he could move his fingers and wrist a little. It was weird though, because he said that he could move his arm, but he couldn't feel it. Dad called Brian “Brett” and I laughed. My mom took me out of the room and scolded me for making fun of dad's condition.

 

“I wasn't making fun! It was just funny that he called him Brett, that's all.”

 

“Billy, I don't want to hear it. You don't hear us laughing at your broken arm do you? Just… Go take a walk,” she said.

 

“But I…”

 

“Here. Here's fifty cents. Go get yourself a pop. Just go.” She handed me two quarters and sent me on my way. I didn't know whether to be pissed off that I was being sent away or happy that I was getting a free pop. So I walked toward the cafeteria.

 

Most of the people in the center were old people. Dad was one of the youngest patients there. As I was walking, I heard a voice that I hadn't heard in a long time. I almost didn't realize who it was at first.

 

“Come on ma! I'm only twenty-two.”

 

“I know. But you're going to have to find somebody. I worry about you in that house all by yourself.”

 

“You're one to talk about living on your own!”

 

“Now, Michael, don't you start on that again! I'm sixty-two, not eighty-two. I can take care of myself just fine.”

 

“Mike?” I said as I slowly walked into the doorway.

 

The people in the room turned to look at me. It was Mike Evans alright! I recognized him and his mom when I saw them. Mike was sitting in a chair and his mom was in a bed. Mike looked me over, trying to remember where he had seen me before. Suddenly, I could see that he recognized me.

 

“Billy Roberts,” he said.

 

“What are you doing here?” I asked probably a bit rudely.

 

“Well, ma decided that she was going to move one of my computers without calling me for help,” Mike said.

 

Mrs. Evans interrupted, “I called you, and you weren't home! I would have been just fine if that cat hadn't walked in front of me.”

 

“She fell down the steps,” Mike finished the story. “So, Dustin told me about your dad having a stroke. I'm sorry to hear about that. Did he get moved down here?”

 

“Yeah,” I answered.

 

“And that brings me back to what I was talking about!” Mrs. Evans said. “Michael, you need to watch yourself around that neighbor boy of yours. He's got trouble written all over him. That boy is always at your house. People are going to start talking if you keep it up. He’s got evil in his eyes, and if he'd ever get mad at you and decide to make something up and get you in trouble, you'd be ruined.”

 

“Evil in his eyes? Oh for God's sake, don't start that again!"

 

“You watch your language, young man. I did not raise you to take the Lord's name in vain, especially on a Sunday. And I didn't raise you to get arrested because some boy decides to get mad at you and accuse you of something you didn’t do. A man your age shouldn't be talking with boys or letting boys visit your house on his own. All it would take is the accusation!”

 

Mike spoke very sternly. “Ma, Dustin is a friend. He comes to my house because I am the only person in his life right now who is nice to him. He is not going to tell people things because there is nothing to say. I listen to him and let him play free computer games. Just because I’m gay doesn’t mean I’m into little boys. There is nothing fishy going on and I resent the fact that my own mother seems to think there is.”

 

“I never said that! I would never even think it! But other people…”

 

“Other people can kiss my behind, quite frankly.”

 

“Umm… Excuse me. Mike… Can I talk to you for a few minutes? Alone?”

 

“Well… I don't know…” Mike said. I noticed that his mom looked very displeased with the idea of her son talking privately with yet another strange teenage boy.

 

“It's important,” I said.

 

Mike told his mom he'd be right back and followed me out of the room. We walked to the cafeteria. I decided to buy a Coke, but mom hadn’t given me enough money. So Mike bought it for me. I really needed a more private place, so we walked outside. It was a bright, sunny afternoon. There was a big hospital behind the rehab center on a hill. There was a long set of steps that went from the hospital to the parking lot of the rehab center that no one was using. I decided to talk on the staircase under some trees.

 

“So your mom knows you’re gay?” I asked.

 

“Sure, why wouldn’t she?” Mike replied.

 

“How’d she find out?”

 

“I told her. Is that what you wanted to drag me out here to talk to me about?”

 

“No, it’s not that… Mike, can I ask you something?” I asked nervously.

 

“Sure. Ask away,” Mike said.

 

“Did Dustin tell you what we got into a fight about?”

 

“Well, he told me that you humiliated him in front of the whole baseball team. He said that you told him you never wanted to see him again. He said your friend Reilly picked on him for being poor and for his family mistreating him.”

 

“He said that I was the one who never wanted to see him again? That little liar!”

 

“Well what’s your side of the story?”

 

“Well, most of what he said was true. I did humiliate him in front of everybody. And Brett did rip on his family for being poor. But I never said I didn’t want to see him again. He’s the one who told me that.”

 

“So you’re still a jerk is what you’re basically telling me, right?”

 

“He was a jerk too. Anyway, I just wanted to know how he’s been doing. I haven’t seen or heard from him since everything blew up.”

 

Mike stared intently at me, as if he were trying to process the me who he’d heard about from Dustin and the kid who was talking with him right then and there. “Okay… So Dustin’s a real sensitive kid, Billy. You and Reilly really hurt his feelings. Dustin acts tough, but if you get through the shell he’s built around himself you can really do some damage. He’s incredibly fragile on the inside. You guys got inside and it hurt him a lot.”

 

“I suppose he told you that I know about you guys?” I asked.

 

“Know what about us?” Mike asked.

 

“Wait, he didn’t tell you that I know about you guys?”

 

“What are you talking about?” Mike asked nervously.

 

“Holy shit he didn’t tell you!” I was amazed.

 

“I don’t get it,” Mike said. “What are you trying to say, Billy?”

 

“Mike, I know about you and Dustin.”

 

“Umm, what in the world are you talking about?” Mike asked. He looked ready to run for cover any second.

 

“I know you’re having sex with him,” I explained.

 

“Now wait just a damn second!” Mike exclaimed. “I’m so sick of people saying that shit about me. Just because I’m gay doesn’t mean I fuck little kids, asshole!”

 

“Oh cut the crap, Mike. I wouldn’t accuse you of something like that just because you’re gay. I’m gay too, you know. But if you’re going to get fucked by an underage boy you should really close your bedroom windows because I saw him fucking you!”

 

Mike turned a shade of white I didn’t think was possible for human skin to turn.

 

“Listen, Billy…”

 

“If you’re going to tell me that I didn’t see what I thought I saw, you can save it for someone who cares. I know what I saw.”

 

Mike turned from white to green. “It’s not… So… I mean… Okay. So what do you want from me?”

 

I laughed. “Wait. You think I’m going to, like, blackmail you or something?”

 

“I don’t know,” Mike said. “What are you going to do?”

 

“Well, I want to know what happened. How in the hell you ended up with my best friend’s dick in your ass would be a great place to start.”

 

“I… Look, I don’t know. It just happened. You wouldn’t understand,” Mike sighed.

 

“Dude, I understand plenty. You don’t just end up having sex with a guy because his dick accidentally slipped into your ass. Something led up to it. I want to know what happened.”

 

“How do I know you won’t turn me in?” Mike asked.

 

“You don’t. Hell, even I don’t know what I’m going to do until you tell me what the fuck happened.”

 

“Well first of all, um, do you know about Palmer Park?”

 

I laughed. “Yeah, I’ve been there a time or two.”

 

“Okay. Well I’m sure you’ve heard about what goes on there at night.”

 

“I’ve heard the rumors,” I replied.

 

“Yeah, me too,” Mike sighed. “Unfortunately the rumors are true.”

 

“The ones about kids selling sex to creeps for drug money?”

 

“Well, not everybody who sells their body does it for drug money. Some do it because they’re desperate. Some do it because they have no place else to go. Some even do it for the thrill.”

 

“So what does this have to do with Dustin fucking you?” I asked.

 

“Think about what I just told you for a minute,” Mike suggested.

 

I thought. “Okay, so you’re saying you went up there and… Oh…”

 

I looked at Mike. “Oh no…”

 

“Almost there, aren’t you?” Mike said.

 

“Dustin’s not…”

 

“Got there on your own. You really as smart as Dustin says. It’s true, Dustin’s a rent boy,” Mike said.

 

“No fucking way!” I exclaimed. I felt an unbearable sadness fill my insides. It felt cold and empty. “But why?”

 

“Think about it,” Mike explained. “He’s got a dad who beats him, a mom who neglects him, a family that would rather he didn’t exist, a family with no hope, no love, no future. A kid who lives in garbage and starts to think he’s garbage. Dustin doesn’t see any hope for his future. He has no sense of self-worth. He’s been told he’s nothing but shit from the day he was born. He has no concept of what love is because he’s never really experienced it from his family. They created a kid who has no sense of purpose or hope or love. So he sought it out from someplace else. For a kid who has no sense of self-worth, the ability to sell yourself to some stranger gives that kid a sense of control over his life and body for the first time in his life. Someone will pay him to suck his dick, he has a sense of worth for the first time in his life that his father can’t take away from him.”

 

“I can’t believe this,” I said. “I had no idea…”

 

“How could you?” Mike replied. “It’s not something that Dustin would tell you. He wouldn’t have told me if I hadn’t found out about it. Dustin doesn’t believe he can trust you anymore after what you did to him. I’d be afraid of what he would do if he knew that you found out. If he even thought that you knew, he might do something really drastic. He might even hurt himself. Or worse.”

 

“Wait… How did you find out?” I asked.

 

Mike sighed. “I… I’m not proud of what I did…”

 

“Oh shit! You found him up there at night. Didn’t you? You picked him up.”

 

Mike nodded.

 

“Oh shit, Mike!” I exclaimed. “You fucking asshole! What the fuck were you thinking?”

 

“Don’t think I haven’t asked myself that question!” Mike replied. “I don’t know… It just… happened. I haven’t been laid since college. I just wanted…”

 

“You wanted to get laid so you went looking for it. Well I guess you found it!”

 

“Look, don’t judge me. You don’t know what it’s like. Not everybody has a hot little boyfriend to have fun with like you do. I just wanted to get laid. I was shocked to find Dustin up there. He was shocked too. He never thought anyone would find out. Ever since his sister’s boyfriend was arrested he thought he was in the clear. Once I found out about him all I wanted to do was help him!”

 

“Help him what, have an orgasm? Fuck Mike! I thought you were better than this. Wait… Are you paying him to have sex?”

 

“No! No. I have never paid him for sex. Ever! I took him home that night... To his home, not mine! I offered him a job. Hell, I even offered to let him move in with me to get him away from those monsters he lives with!”

 

“Well aren’t you the big fucking hero? I guess you offered him your ass too!” I said.

 

“Yeah I did, later. But… I mean, Christ, look at him. He’s just beautiful. Those blue eyes of his, the red hair, the way he smiles, I couldn’t help it. He’s so beautiful! I wasn’t thinking. Being around him is just so intoxicating. Knowing that he was willing and that he wanted it just as much as I did was too much! So… We did it.”

 

“And the fact that he’s only fifteen didn’t bother you?”

 

“Of course it bothers me! I’ve ripped myself apart over this. But he’s just, it’s impossible to be around him and not just fall in love with him.”

 

“So you’re saying you love him?” I asked.

 

“Absolutely. I love him. And I know I’m seven years older than him. And I know that there’s no future where we’ll ever be together. But I just love him. I love spending time with him. It’s not just sex. You understand that, right? You don’t spend every waking moment naked with your boyfriend, do you? I just love spending time with him. And even if he never will admit it, I know he loves me too. That’s why I’m begging you, Billy. Please, just let him have this. Even if it’s only for a little while. He needs me. I can save him. I know you don’t understand. You just see some pervy twenty-year-old who’s having sex with your best friend, but it’s not like that. It’s not about the sex.”

 

“You’re not twenty, you’re twenty-two, Mike. You know the word that is used to describe a twenty-two-year-old who has sex with an underage kid?”

 

“Yeah I do. But that’s not what’s happening. I’m not a pedophile. Dustin’s not a child. It was his idea to have sex in the first place. I was perfectly content to just be friends with him and never let it get that far,” Mike said. “It just started so innocently. We just played a stupid poker game and next thing I knew we were jacking each other off. Then it escalated from there.”

 

“Really?” I asked.

 

“Why would I lie at this point?” Mike asked.

 

“It’s just… Well, never mind.” I couldn’t help but think about the night before we’d met Mike when Dustin and I had ended up with our dicks in each other’s hands after a game of strip poker. Mike was basically living the life I could have had if I hadn’t said no. “Do you think he’s still going up to the park?”

 

“I don’t know. I don’t think it was ever really about the money. Dustin’s never really had control of anything in his life, not even his body. Look at his hair. Why do you think he’s let it grow so long? His dad scalped him and he hasn’t cut it since. I think he’s addicted to the power of sex. He has control over his body for the first time in his life in a way. He can’t even enjoy being good at sports because of his father. Sex is the one thing he has that his father can’t ruin. I think as long as he’s with me he’s safe.”

 

“I think you’re fooling yourself,” I said. “I’d bet cash money that he’s still going to the park. We can’t let him go back up there. He’s going to get AIDS or worse, his parents could find out. They’d kill him. I think they’d literally murder him.”

 

“Yeah, me too. So, you going to turn me in?” he asked.

 

“How can I?” I replied. “If I turn you in Dustin’s parents will find out what he’s been up to and they’ll kill him. Besides, if Dustin is in danger, he’s going to need your help.”

 

“So what are we going to do?” Mike asked.

 

“Why are you asking me? I don’t know! Why am I suddenly the answer man? I’m still trying to sort all of this shit out in my head!”

 

“I was kind of hoping you might have some ideas,” Mike said.

 

I laughed. “God, you’re worse than Brett…”

 

“I don’t know what you mean,” Mike replied.

 

“Yeah, I guess you wouldn’t… Anyway, I guess for now we’re kind of stuck. I really don’t see any way for this not to end badly. Obviously his parents can never, ever find out, because his dad will kill him. The cops can’t find out because then his parents will find out and then they’ll kill him. You obviously can’t say anything because you went and fucked him, so you’ll end up in jail, and then your life will be fucked forever, and then his parents will kill both of you. And as stupid as you are for fucking Dustin you don’t deserve that. I mean, I get it, he’s beautiful! I know what he’s got in his pants. I’m sure it felt good when he fucked you. But Jesus, Mike, keep his dick out of your ass from now on or I might just kick your ass myself. I can’t even tell him that I know or he’ll fucking kill himself! Fuck, is there any way this ends without Dustin ending up dead?”

 

“I hope so,” said Mike. “I’m prepared to go down for this if it will save Dustin.”

 

“Do you know what happens in prison to guys who fuck teenage boys, Mike? You’d wind up dead from AIDS or just plain dead. No. There has to be another way. Besides, Dustin needs at least one friend.”

 

“Maybe his sister can help?” Mike suggested.

 

I laughed out loud. “That’s funny, Mike. I think he’d rather his parents knew than her. I’m guessing he only started going up there after her stupid boyfriend got arrested.”

 

“So what are we going to do then?” Mike asked, as if I had the answers.

 

“Nothing right now, I guess. He won’t even talk to me. Next week we’re starting volleyball practice. I’m going to need you to soften him up. Help him to understand that I don’t hate him. Maybe even tell him that we talked, only without telling him about this particular issue.”

 

“And what are you going to do?” Mike asked.

 

“I don’t know. I’ll think of something.”

 

“There is one thing you absolutely have to do,” Mike said sternly. “You can’t, under any circumstances, tell your boyfriend about this. After what he did to Dustin already, he doesn’t need another piece of ammunition.”

 

“But I tell Brett everything,” I said, even though I knew Mike was right.

 

“Exactly, that’s why I’m begging you, don’t tell him. We never talked. You have no idea what Dustin’s doing. If you want to help Dustin you’ve got to keep Brett Reilly away from this whole mess. Wait… Did you tell him about me and Dustin?”

 

“Of course,” I admitted. “First words out of my mouth when I saw him.”

 

“You really can’t keep a secret, can you?” Mike sighed. “We’re screwed.”

 

“I will in this case. As much as I hate you for what you did to Dustin we have to trust each other.” I looked down at the rehab center and saw my mom walking around outside. “Crap, there’s my mom. I guess I should introduce you so she won’t think I was talking to some pedophile. Even though I was.”

 

“Dude, not funny,” Mike sighed. “Besides, I don’t even like kids.”

 

“Sure. Oh, and Dustin cheats at poker by the way. He’s not looking lovingly into your eyes. He’s reading your cards in the reflection of your glasses.”

 

“He is? That explains a lot!” Mike laughed.

 

Mom wasn’t happy that I’d gone to get a pop and had disappeared for an hour. But Mike covered for me and said it was his fault. He explained that he was Dustin’s neighbor and that we had met before. He said that he wanted to talk with me about dad’s health since his dad had been in a similar situation. He said he wanted me to know that the rehab place was great and that dad was going to be okay. By the time he was done smooth talking mom he had given her his card and told her to call him if she needed anything. I was beginning to have a new appreciation for Mike’s skills. It gave me hope that maybe we could do something about Dustin.