Liam's story - 4. Chapter 4

Chapter four

My parents were sitting on the couch together watching a movie when I got home. My mom paused it and invited me to come join them for a few minutes. “How was your day sweetie?” she asked.

“It was good, we went up to devil’s pasture. We just sat by the river and talked.”

“That sounds good son” My dad added. “You and Toby seem to be spending a lot of time together these past few days.”

“Uh, yeah I guess so. It’s kinda nice having someone who gets it. Ya know?”

“Is that why you two were cuddled up in your bed this morning?” my dad asked with a slight smile.

I’m not sure if my face when red from blushing, or white from all the blood draining from it, and I’m sure my mouth was wide open while I looked at my dad, processing what he had just said. He spoke before I got the chance to reply.

“I got up to the bathroom around three this morning, and when I checked in on you Toby was in your bed, and you two looked mighty cozy.”

His tone didn’t reveal what he thought of the situation. I may have been out to my brother, but I was not out to my parents. I was scared to come out to them and had been avoiding it as long as possible.

“Well, he uh... Brought me home last night from the cemetery and I was kind of upset. And uh, he was trying to help me I guess. He was going to leave when I asked him to stay. I didn’t wanna be alone I guess. So don’t be mad at him for staying...”

“Whoa, Liam. Relax. You’re not in trouble, we’re not upset at you or Toby. I was kind of relieved to be honest. You seemed to withdraw, retreat so inside yourself, I was getting really worried about you. I’ve been so consumed with my own grief that I haven’t been there to help you with yours, so I’m glad you have someone who can. You know your mom and I love Toby, and we know this is such a hard time for you, find comfort where you can.”

Huh, that was not the reaction I had in mind for when my dad found me in bed with another man. Granted we were only sleeping and there had been extenuating circumstances. “Thanks dad.” I replied as I joined them on the couch to give my dad a hug. My mom joined in and it turned into the three of us cuddling on the couch together. I’m 17 years old, so I will never admit this, but it was nice.

“So, is there anything more going on between you and Toby?” asked mom.

I stiffened. “What?” was the only response I could muster.

“Oh, I was just wondering is all honey.” My mom replied.

“Nope, nothing going on, well I should get going to bed. Night guys.” With that I got up off the couch and headed upstairs to bed.

I had trouble sleeping, I had so much going through my mind. Were things with Toby becoming more? Or was he just being the nice guy that he is, is he clinging to me because he misses Josh the same way I seem to be clinging to him? Or maybe he does like me the way I like him? Then there’s my parents, I will probably have to talk to them soon. I think they know. At least they seem okay about it, neither of them seemed angry or upset about the possibility of me being with Toby. As I was thinking all this through I acutely missed Josh, he would have been the one I talked to while I sorted it all out.

I was in the middle of crying myself to sleep (again) when my phone rang. I glanced over at my alarm clock before reaching for my phone, it was almost midnight. The caller ID said it was Toby, I smiled a little before accepting the call, I sniffled and wiped my face before speaking.

“Hello”

“Hey Liam, hope I didn’t wake you?”

“Nah, I was having a hard time getting to sleep. Whats up?”

“ Nothing really, I couldn’t sleep.”

I smiled, “Me neither.”

“You okay Liam? You sound kind of upset?”

“Ah yeah, I’m okay”

“Okay, but you know if you’re not, you can talk to me.”

“Thanks, but really I’m okay. What’s up with you? How come you’re up so late?”

We talked for almost an hour before finally hanging up and saying goodnight. I know the circumstances were messed up and I feel guilty about but I was definitely falling harder for Toby. Since Josh had died I had really lost my libido, but after all the time spent with Toby and talking to him on the phone, it was starting to come back. It had been over a week, so when I reached down and started stroking myself it only took about 30 seconds before I was erupting all over my chest and abdomen, I quickly cleaned myself off and rolled over. It was the most peaceful sleep I had had all week.

I texted Toby in the morning to see if he was able to hang out again, I wasn’t going back to school until Thursday and I didn’t want to spend the next three days home staring at the walls, I was done with that. Unfortunately Toby couldn’t hang out with me today or tomorrow. He was going back to work today, he works at his uncles landscaping business in the summer and usually keeps pretty busy. Tomorrow he was moving things to his new apartment, the one he was supposed to be sharing with Josh closer to the university. I asked if he needed help moving, but he turned me down, assured me his parents were wanting to move him.

I thought about calling some of my friends, some of them had come by the house the first few days after Josh’s death and I had seen a few at the funeral, but I really didn’t feel like hanging around them while they sat uncomfortably or looked at me with pity. I decided to see what my parents were up to.

They were surprised to see me up in time for breakfast, they were both sitting at the kitchen table eating when I came downstairs. My mom got up and brought over another plate and a glass, there were bagels and orange juice on the table. I helped myself and inquired about their plans for the day. Mom was planning on staying around the house and maybe working on her garden, I decided to give that a pass. Dad was driving to Rutherford, the city a couple hours away to pick up some parts for his project car. He was restoring an old Impala. He and Josh used to spend hours in the garage working on vehicles before Josh started at university. I, on the other hand was not mechanically inclined at all.

I asked dad if I could come with him for the ride, he seemed genuinely happy about that. It was the first real smile I’d seen him have since Josh died. We headed out shortly after breakfast, Mom wasn’t with us, so dad took us through a drive thru for second breakfast, it was much better than a plain bagel. The beginning of the ride was quiet, for the first time in my life I really didn’t know what to talk to my dad about. I didn’t want to talk about Josh and upset him and it somehow felt wrong to talk about the small insignificant details of my life.

We sat in a comfortable silence with only the radio playing very quietly for what must have been the first 30 minutes. My dad looked over at me for a few seconds, before putting his eyes back on the road. When he spoke, he seemed hesitant but continued anyway. “Liam, you know that your mother and I love you right?”

I laughed a little before answering “yeah, you guys have mentioned it a time or two.”

He chuckled at my response before adding “you know that nothing would ever change that. I mean that. Nothing.”

I laughed again at his statement, only this time it was more of a nervous giggle. I had a feeling that I knew what he was getting at and where he wanted this conversation to go. “Uh, yeah thanks dad.” I shifted a little in my seat before turning towards the window and looking out. My dad turned up the radio and left me alone with my thoughts for the rest of the ride to the city.

After we picked up the parts dad suggested we stop for lunch before we left the city. I don’t come here often, even if it is only a couple hours away so I readily agreed. We were quickly on our way to a local steakhouse. Conversation was coming a little easier now, we mostly made comfortable small talk, not really mentioning anything with much importance.

The steak house wasn’t too crowded for a Friday at lunch, we didn’t have to wait for a table and had soon ordered. Dad decided to use the time waiting for our food to make me uncomfortable again. “So, are you dating anyone these days? Or have your eye on anyone?” I guess he really wanted to have this conversation today.

“I’m not dating anyone right now, no.”

“Is there anyone you want to be dating?”

I could feel him looking at me, I slowly lifted my head to meet his gaze. “Do we really have to talk about this dad?”

He sighed, giving me a sad smile. “ We don’t have to, no. However I think it might be a good idea if we do.”

Much to my relief, the waitress chose that moment to bring our food to the table. After making a little small talk and thanking her for the food I used the opportunity to change the subject. Although I have very little interest in it Dad loves talking about his car. So I feigned interest, and spent a very boring half an hour listening to him while I ate my lunch. The ride back home was a little lighter, my dad didn’t bring up my love life, or lack there of any more.

Although, I had decided that I would no longer sit around moping, that exactly what I did when I got home. Dad invited me to work on the car with him, and I felt kind of guilty turning him down but I really wasn’t in to it. I must have dozed off because my mom woke me up for supper at six o’clock. Before heading down stairs I checked my phone. Toby had texted me, he was done with work for the day and wanted to hang out. I wasn’t sure what he wanted to do, but I was up for it.

I had a quick supper with my parents, casserole again, of course. Thankfully my dad didn’t bring up my love life again. I’m almost positive that they would be accepting, but it doesn’t mean I’m ready to tell them. My phone buzzed, Toby was here. I gave my mom a quick kiss on the cheek and walked out the door and jumped in to Toby’s car.

“So where are we going?” I asked as I closed the door. Toby was looking back at me before responding, and I know its super corny but he really does have the kid of eyes you could get lost in for days. Piercing blue, with dark lashes that go on for days.

“ I dunno, I was thinking maybe bowling, or a movie or something?” he replied. Hmm, bowling or a movie, almost sounds like a date. Yeah right! There’s no way someone like Toby would be interested in someone like me. People do go to the movies or bowling with their friends, wishful thinking I suppose.

We settled on bowling, it was a quick 20 minute ride in to Branston, the smaller city not far away from our town. Where Toby and Josh go to university. I guess its went now, not go anymore.

I can’t believe I never noticed how funny Toby is before. Or how tactile he is. He seemed to touch me all the time. Usually just a quick brush on the arm as we passed each back and forth from the bowling lane. Or the frequent high fives, this is going to sound pathetic but I had a really hard time not walking around with a raging boner the whole night. Yup, thats me getting semi’s from high fives and arm grazes. I’m just going to keep telling myself that it had less to do with the touches, and more to do with who was doing the touches. We bowled our ten frames then decided to sit down for wings and a beer. Well, a beer for him and a coke for me since I’m not 18 yet.

The conversation flowed easily as we ate our wings and drank our coke, and beer. Toby had a few beers so I was going to drive. “ I didn’t mean to drink so much man, sorry you have to drive.”

“No worries, you want me to drop you at your new place here and just bring your car back in the morning?”

“We can stay at my apartment tonight, sure. Why don’t you just stay the night and I can take you home in the morning.”

Staying over at Toby’s? Yup. Sounds good to me.” Yeah, that should be fine, I’ll call my parents and let them know.”

My parents sounded a little put out, but allowed me to spend the night at Toby’s apartment. The rest of the 5 minute drive from the bowling alley to his place in Branston was quick. He was a little tipsy and very chatty.

“So little man, are you ready to go back to school on Thursday?”

“I guess so, a couple of my friends came by when it first happened, to be honest it was just kind of awkward. They kind of stared at me and didn’t talk much. So I hope its not like that when I go back.”

“That sucks, I get it though. A buddy’s mom died when I was in high school and I felt bad for the guy, but I had no idea what to say to him. It’s hard for people if they’ve never been trough it themselves.”

“Yeah, that makes sense I guess. So what about you, how is the landscaping business?”

“It’s fine. Not something I wanna do forever, but good for a summer job. Pays well and lets me save up for school for next year. My uncle is pretty easy to work for too.”

“That sound awesome. I’m hoping to get a job this summer, I had a part time job all last year but swimming and track got too busy. I miss having my own money and not having to ask mom or dad every time I need to buy something.”

We pulled up to his apartment, he was on the third floor of a four story apartment complex with no elevator. We made our way up and into his apartment.

We walked in the door and I took a look around, the place was damn near empty. “I thought you said you had moved in?”

He laughed at my comment. “I did, well I moved my bed and all my bedroom furniture in, and bought some kitchen supplies. We shopped for living room furniture too but it won’t be delivered until next week. You want anything to drink?”

“How about a beer?” I suggested.

“We’re not going anywhere, I can’t see the harm.” He replied as he walked towards the fridge. The fridge had a case of beer, some jam, and a brick of cheese. He pulled out two beers and started walking towards his bedroom. “Come on, we can watch a movie or something.”

I followed him to his bedroom. It was a lot better furnished than the rest of his apartment. He had a queen sized bed in the corner and TV on a dresser across from it.

Toby passed me a beer and told me “sit on the bed, I’ll get the movie started.”

I was nervous, and didn’t really know what he expected of me, so I sat awkwardly on the corner of the bed furthest from the wall. Toby turned on his TV and X-box, the DVD must have already been in there because star wars episode IV started playing.

I looked up and smiled at him. “Oh man, I love this movie.”

“Yeah, me too. Come on man, come sit up here.” He said as he sat back on the bed with a pillow behind his back against the wall. He grabbed another pillow from the head of the bed and put it next to him. I moved myself up the bed and took my spot beside him.

We drank a few more beers, to the point where I was feeling a little tipsy. I hardly ever drink and have almost no tolerance for the stuff. When the movie ended I felt kind of awkward. I wasn’t sure where I should be sleeping. He had no couch yet, so my only options were in bed with him, or the floor. I really didn’t want to sleep on the floor. I excused myself to go to the washroom, when I returned Toby was laying in the bed. He had returned my back pillow to the top of the bed. “I don’t have any PJ’s for you or anything, I usually just sleep naked or in my boxers.” My cock gave a little twitch at the thought of Toby naked. Especially since as he said this he lifted the covers up, as if to invite me in to bed with him. Sadly he was wearing boxers.

I slipped off my pants, shirt, and socks and joined him in the bed. He was on the side closest to the wall. As I scootched into the bed under the covers he had held up for me, he moved in closer bringing the blanket down over me and his arm around me. He didn’t move his arm away like I was expecting him to, so after a minute of so I snuggled bak in to his embrace. He squeezed me a little tighter and let out a small sigh. Feeling his arm around me and his breath on my neck, was a little exciting for me. It’s a good thing I was the little spoon. “Good night Liam.”

“Night Toby.”

It only took a minute or so for me to fall asleep. A combination of the beer, exhaustion, and being held by Toby made it easy. I awoke in the morning, Toby was still holding me. He seemed to be a little closer this morning than he was last night. I could feel his morning wood pressed up against my butt. I was only half awake and still groggy, I pushed backwards pressing my ass into his boner. I heard a slight moan from him as I felt him rock his hips, grinding in to me as I pushed myself into him. I knew he was sleeping and it was a risk, but I did it again, this time his arm tightened around my abdomen, pulling me closer as rocked into me.

He must have been dreaming or something, because this kept up for a little while. Toby holding me tight, rocking his hips and rubbing his boner on my ass. Needless to say, I was hard a rock and so tempted to reach down and touch my self. I’m sure it would only take a stroke or two. I was close to coming in my boxers without any stimulation to my dick. I was actively trying not to cum. The little noises he was making as he dry humped me didn’t help either. I thought he might be the one to cum. But sadly just as he seemed to be working up to a climax he abruptly stopped, disentangled his body from mine and moved away. I heard a breathy “fuck” escape his lips. I felt the bed dipping as he got up and out of it. I pretended to be sleeping as he walked out of the room. When I heard the bathroom door close I rolled onto my back and took care of my own morning wood. I was proud of myself, it took about five strokes before I was painting stomach. I was expecting less. Once I was finished I realized it might not have been the best idea. I had nothing to clean myself with and didn’t know how long Toby would be.

In the end, I took off my boxers, wiped myself down with those and got dressed in last nights clothes, going commando and putting my boxers in my pocket. I made my way out to the kitchen and made my self a cup of coffee. I heard the shower running, so decided to make breakfast for when Toby got out. Like I said before he fridge only had jam and cheese in it. There was a loaf of bread on the counter, it didn’t look moldy so I decided to make a couple grilled cheese sandwiches for breakfast.

I was just finishing up when Toby walked out of the bathroom, still kind of wet with a towel around his waist. “Hey, hope I didn’t wake you this morning.” He said as a blush crept up his neck. He was so cute when he was embarrassed, he must have realized he was humping me this morning. I decided to spare him, and lied telling him I woke when I heard the bathroom door close. He apologized for the noise but seemed relieved. We made small talk while Toby tortured me over breakfast by not getting dressed and stood in the kitchen wearing only his towel.