The Cockney Canuck - 98. Chapter 98 Palm Springs

Daniel may have been the most generous and easy going kid you could hope to meet during the day, but when he was asleep he became the complete opposite. He was a boy possessed. Selfish, aggressive and ready to battle me for every inch of available space. He wouldn’t keep still, not even for a minute. Constantly tossing and turning, and taking the sheet with him.

The sofa-bed was a double and there should easily have been enough room for two without touching, but Daniel’s arms and legs were everywhere. It was like trying to share a bed with an octopus. I pitied any future partner of his who may have to sleep with him on a regular basis.

I hadn’t been able to get back to sleep properly after getting up earlier to sit with an emotional Alex and Daniel's nocturnal habits were winding me up. I finally lost my cool after being hit across the face for the umpteenth time by a stray arm and retaliated by dumping him over the edge. He fell onto the hardwood floor with a thud taking the solitary sheet with him.

“What did you do that for?”

“Because you won't keep still. You won't let me sleep.”

“I’m not doing anything.”

“You kept me awake all night. And you keep taking all the sheet!” I grabbed it with both hands and we fought a tug of war until it ripped.

Neither of us was particularly good in the mornings and we had both been denied our usual amount of sleep so it was no surprise the situation escalated. When he lashed out at me, I punched him hard on the arm and we had our first real fight, trading punches until Tom jumped on top of us. He was like a referee at a heavyweight boxing bout and took a few clumps himself as he dived in and pushed us apart. After separating, our punches were replaced with verbal insults until Nicola arrived. She had run down two flights of stairs to yell at us.

“What’s the matter with you idiots? I could hear you from my room.” We blamed each other and licked our wounds as she tore into us. “You woke everyone up. Is it too much to ask you to share a bed for one night?”

“Why is he here anyway? He should be in his own bed,” I said.

“Because Rory’s in Daniel’s bed.” I didn’t even know he was staying over but my classmate was the first to emerge from our bedroom fully dressed in the same clothes he was wearing the night before. He smiled at us and apologised for causing a fight, before heading to the bathroom.

“It’s not your fault Rory,” said Daniel. “Robbie’s an ass in the mornings.” I exchanged a menacing look with my new brother before getting up and walking outside to the garden.

I didn’t know what time it was but it had to be early because it was sunny but everything was still damp. I sat on the decking by the pool and Nicola, feeling guilty because it was my birthday, followed me outside to explain.

“Rory couldn’t get home last night so mom thought it best if you shared the sofa-bed with Daniel.”

The penny finally dropped.

‘Daniel is the only boy who she trusts me to sleep with. Rory’s straight for fuck’s sake. Did she think I was gonna turn him gay? If I could do that then I would’ve done it months ago’.

It was a poor start to my birthday. A fight with my new brother and my adopted mother treating me like some kind of sex fiend who couldn’t be trusted to sleep next to my straight friends in case I tried to molest them.

It would have made more sense for me to share with Rory. He was my friend. I was certain that he wouldn’t have minded. As cute as he was; there was no way I would have tried anything with a straight guy. That had to be the reason why Tom was sleeping on the couch instead of the sofa bed with me. It would have been interesting but I had slept with Tom plenty of times before without anything untoward happening.

By switching everyone around, I thought Sue had made it obvious to everyone she didn’t trust me with anyone other than my now official brother who I ended up having a fight with. It probably justified her decision.

‘We can fight to the death as long as I don’t touch anyone. I’m surprised she didn’t make me sleep with Nicola’.

I thought it was embarrassing; it made me feel like a freak.

I was still wearing my swimming shorts from the day before but nothing else and Nicola must have noticed me shivering. “Aren’t you cold?”

“No.” It was a lie; I was freezing.

She laughed. “Well, Happy Birthday Robbie.” She kissed me on the cheek. “I got you a card and a present.”

“Thanks.”

Despite the cold, after Nicola left, I stayed for a while surveying the garden which was covered in used cups, plates and beer bottles. Then out of the corner of my eye, I saw Daniel approaching. Nicola must have had a few words with him but I stubbornly refused to acknowledge his presence as he sat down beside me.

“I’m sorry for fighting with you, Robbie,” he said and handed me a card. “Happy Birthday.”

“Thanks.”

“I got you something too. I was gonna give you this when we woke up this morning but you pushed me out of bed instead.” Daniel’s good nature got the better of him and his smile was genuine enough for me to smile back as I unwrapped his gift.

“I’m sorry I pushed you off the bed but you are the worst person in the world to sleep with.”

“I know, Nicola just said the same thing.”

“Blimey, Daniel, these are really cool. I was gonna buy myself a pair of these headphones.”

“I know, mom told me you wrecked the ones you had in temper.”

I laughed, squinting at him in the sun. “Yeah, I remember that. Sorry if I hit you earlier.”

“It’s cool.” Then he gave me a sweaty bare-chested hug. “You punch like a baby anyway.”

It was our first real physical fight and I suppose it was long overdue although I thought it was strange it should happen on the very next day after the adoption was finalised.

‘I guess the honeymoon period is officially over.’

Daniel’s was the first of a few boy hugs I would get that day but my mind was already on the real thing as I searched for my phone. It had beeped twice already that morning alerting me to text messages and I could guess who they were from.

“When Amy wakes up, I’ll keep her upstairs until you guys are all showered and dressed,” said Nicola and she winked at Tom as she walked past him. “Nice bod Tom. Too bad I’m not single or you could take me back to England with you.”

My friend had a sudden attack of the blushes which amused Daniel and Rory but I could remember being similarly embarrassed by Tom’s older sister in England. A time when I would have given anything to swap places with him.

While Daniel was in the shower and Rory in the garden with Tom, I decided to check on Alex. I could hear him swearing to himself in the bedroom so I approached with caution. The door was ajar and when I peeked in I nearly laughed. He was sitting up on my bed trying to get dressed but not doing a particularly good job of it. He had a t-shirt over his head but was having trouble getting his plaster cast through the opening for his arm and was stuck.

He couldn’t see anything with the shirt pulled across his face but he must have known it was me when I sat down beside him. I was the only one who would have sat so close.

“Morning, dickhead.” Despite his predicament, his voice was quite cheerful, ignoring the fact that he was hopelessly entangled in an item of clothing. I had to giggle.

“Morning, Alex, what’s up?”

“Oh, nothing. You know same old, same old. Can’t get myself dressed. You know how it is.”

“Yeah, it’s a real bummer, eh,” I said mimicking his accent.

“You sound almost Canadian,” he laughed. “I heard you fighting with your brother. You're older than him, you're supposed to kick his ass.”

“I’m not that much older than him.”

“Nah, you're just a wimp.”

“Maybe so but I’m not the one losing a fight to a t-shirt.”

That made him laugh but I could feel his pain and frustration.

“Here, let me help you.” I reached under his shirt and found his hand, then gently guided his arm through the gap. There were a couple of sharp intakes of breath to signal some discomfort but he didn’t say a word and allowed me to take control. Helping Alex like this was like caring for a wounded lion; you never knew if he would strike out, but the danger was part of the attraction.

When I pulled his shirt down over his head, he was smiling so I smiled back and tapped him on the nose with my finger.

“What was that for?”

“I dunno, my mom used to do that to me when I was little.” I was expecting him to make fun of that remark but again he just smiled at me.

“That’s cool. What are you laughing at?”

I had no idea but it was obviously contagious because he started to laugh back. It was in stark contrast to his emotional display just a few hours earlier and it was a side of him that he rarely showed to anyone.

He looked like a boy for a change and not like a street kid with an attitude. Those natural moments when he allowed his guard to drop seemed to be reserved exclusively for my benefit but were becoming more prevalent and more meaningful.

At times, I could almost see the huge weight that he was carrying around. The weight of responsibility. Having to look after his brother and cover up for his alcoholic dad. While the whole time pretending to be someone who he wasn’t. Too scared to let his guard down or reveal himself, not even for a second. I wanted to help him get rid of that weight forever because I had been treated to a glimpse of what was underneath and I liked what I saw.

I was staring at him and for a moment I was lost, unsure what to do. He looked as if he needed a hug; some kind of affection to show him someone cared about him and that’s what I wanted to do.

I put my arms around him and gently pulled him close. He tensed up a little at first but he didn’t object or push me away and was soon hugging me back with his working arm.

I had my face buried in Alex’s neck inhaling his scent but it wasn’t sexual in any way and I wasn’t getting worked up. It was more comforting and there was definitely a connection there I hadn’t felt before with him. Not even when we were fooling around.

We stayed that way for a good minute until I heard the shower go off in the bathroom.

“I’m glad you're staying with us for a while, at least until you get better.”

“Are you gonna help me get dressed every day?”

“Of course. Who else is there?”

“I’d rather you help me than your mom, no offence.”

“None taken but she’s not my mom.”

“I can’t take a shower either. It’s difficult for me to wash.”

“Oh, I see. Do you want me to help you wash?”

“I’ll be okay today but if I ask you sometime.”

“I won't mind,” I said and he looked relieved. Sue may have been a nurse but I don’t think he would have been happy letting her wash him. I gave him a sly grin. He must have known I wouldn’t object. I was actually looking forward to it.

I had a rush of blood to my head and when Rory and Tom walked back in, I stood up quickly to compose myself. My cheeks were on fire and I couldn’t wipe the smile from my face.

‘I think we just had a moment there’.

Whatever it was, it put me in a spin and made it difficult for me to concentrate as I walked around the room aimlessly, trying to think of something I should be doing.

Rory came to my aid with some helpful advice. “Are you gonna get dressed or are you going for another swim?” He chuckled to himself as he sat on Daniel’s bed totally unaware of the pandemonium inside my head.

I needed a shower but as I grabbed a handful of clothes from my drawer, Alex slapped me on the backside.

“Hey, I forgot it was your birthday today dude. I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay. You’ve had other things to worry about. It doesn’t matter. You just being here is good enough for me.” I panicked and smiled nervously.

‘Did that sound too gay’?

I was uncomfortable, talking fast and tripping over my words. Suddenly too nervous to speak to a friend. After a quick glance at Alex’s lopsided grin, I scampered off to take a shower hoping I hadn’t made myself look too stupid.

When I returned, fresh and dressed, Tom handed me my phone.

"Shit.” There were several texts, all from Nathan. They started off sweet but his frustration was showing by the fifth message so I went out into the garden to call him. Nicola was out there clearing up with Daniel and Rory but it still looked like a war zone.

“Hello sweetie, I’ve been trying to text you since forever. Did you lose your phone or were you having wild, passionate sex with Naomi?”

“Err, both actually.” Nathan thought that was hilarious and I was immediately forgiven even though I probably didn’t deserve to be.

“That is a totally disgusting thought but I’m glad you managed to get it back.”

“What back?”

“Your phone silly. You're not quite awake yet, are you?”

“No, not yet.”

“Well, you’d better wake up soon because your willy belongs to me today.”

“It does?”

“Uh huh. And I got big plans for him.”

“What about me? Why should he have all the fun?”

“Well, I suppose you’ll have to be there too, as it’s not possible to separate you guys.”

“Okay, so what time do you want me, us, whoever?”

“We’ll pick you up at midday.”

“We?”

“Ginny’s driving us. We wouldn’t be able to walk there silly.”

“How would I know; I don’t even know where we’re going?”

“I told you, Palm Springs. Oh, and Ginny says that she tried with Daniel last night but he didn’t wanna know. I don’t blame him actually. Ouch!”

“What happened?”

I heard the unmistakable sound of a hand hitting bare skin and soon Nathan confirmed it.

“Ginny just slapped me across my back.”

“Wow, that sounded quite sexy. Have you got your shirt off?”

“Yes, why is this another one of your weird fantasies dude? He likes the sound of you slapping me,” he said to Ginny. “Ouch, she just did it again, did you hear that?”

“Tell her to do it harder!” I laughed and then looked up to see everyone staring at me.

“No, do you think I’m crazy? I’m not going to tell her that.” There was a pause while I heard him talking to her again. “Robbie wants to know if you would do the same to him later, only much harder. It’s his birthday?”

‘Bastard’!

“Whatever turns you on, birthday boy.”

“Did you hear that?” said Nathan.

“I’ll get you back for that.”

“Okay, we’ll be outside to pick you up at noon. Wear body armour. I may even have a shower so I smell nice for you, at the moment I just smell of sperm. Love you, bye. Ouch, what was that for?”

He hung up before I could tell him how much I loved the smell of sperm on him, but he may have already known.

“Tell her to do it harder?” said Nicola teasingly. “What was that about?”

I laughed. “It’s his friend, Ginny, she’s slapping him. It’s okay, he enjoys it.”

“My life is so boring,” said Rory.

*     *     *

By lunchtime, the garden was almost back as normal but Sue wasn’t happy when she discovered empty beer bottles in the bushes at the back and I was glad to see a car pull up at the front. I didn’t even know Ginny had a licence but she was two years older than me and soon I was going to start learning.

Don and Sue’s birthday present to me was a driving course which would begin in the winter. They also bought me a new mirror to go on the back of the bedroom door, to replace the one I smashed in anger and some books on Canadian history. A subject I still needed to work on for my credits.

“Nice car, Ginny.”

“It’s her girlfriend’s,” said Nathan. That was another surprise but I didn’t care who it belonged to as long as it could get us to Palm Springs and back before my curfew that night.

Before I jumped in the back with Nathan, Nicola stopped me to give me her present.

“Sorry, I forgot to give you this.” I looked at her suspiciously before unwrapping it and blushing.

‘I should’ve known’.

Her gift was a box of twelve condoms which I handed to Nathan through the car window.

“Thanks, Nicola. That’s a cool present.”

‘Twelve? How long does she think we’re going for’?

Nathan was also suitably impressed with my sister’s choice of gift. As she walked away he put his head out of the window. “I love you, Nicola. If I ever have sex with a girl, then I would like it to be with you.”

“Thank you, Nathan. I’ll bear that in mind.” She blew him a kiss and I rolled my eyes at him.

“May as well keep it in the family,” he said and reached for my knackers. “Sorry, Ginny. I know you wanted me too.”

“Don’t make me sick,” she said. “And no sex stuff in the back of my car.”

Nathan poked his tongue at her but his hands were already all over me making me squirm and I could barely breathe with his mouth over mine. I don’t think I had ever seen him that horny before. I hoped wherever he was taking me was going to be private and we wouldn’t be disturbed.

I was thinking it was a cottage of some kind because we were heading out of town but as we crossed the four-oh-one, we did a sharp right and pulled into a small parking lot outside a dilapidated single-storey building that faced the highway.

“Last stop guys, everybody out.”

“We’re here already.” We had been driving for less than a couple of minutes, we could easily have walked.

“What do you think?”

The sign was only partially working. “The Palm Springs Motel,” I said and laughed. “You gotta be kidding me. You’ve bought me a Motel?”

“Yeah, something like that. It needs a bit of work.”

“I haven’t got much time,” said Ginny as she grabbed my hand. “Come with me, you look older.”

I should have guessed. I remembered her telling us about this place at the beach. Apparently, it was a popular place with teenage couples who needed a place to have sex. She told me to keep quiet while she went to talk to the old guy in reception. He looked over at me as I nervously thumbed through some postcards of Cobourg beach.

“Just the one night,” he said and I heard him muttering. “Room thirteen. Be out by tomorrow lunchtime.” He was a miserable old git but I guess I would be the same if I had to sit at a grubby desk and watch couples coming in all day to get their end away.

I smiled at him but he just stared at me as I followed Ginny into the bright sunshine and bumped into a familiar face. Kirsty, the girl from school who kissed me at the beach. It was one of those unexpected and very awkward moments when no one really knows what to say.

She was with a guy who was a lot older than her. Probably twice her age and he had that hen-pecked married look about him. They were walking into the reception as we were leaving, and there was only one reason why they would be there.

It must have confused her too seeing me with Ginny. When we talked at the beach I told her I was gay. More rumours to go around the school; at this rate, I was going to be the talk of the town when we went back in just three days’ time.

Ginny laughed and insisted on holding my hand as we strolled back towards the car.

“I like to create a bit of gossip,” she said and I had to admit from some of the stories that I had heard at school, she was doing a fine job of it. It made me wonder though how many were true. She tossed me the key. “Have fun boys.”

Thirteen was only a couple of doors along from where we were parked so I hurried Nathan into the room before Kirsty emerged from the reception with her older stud.

Considering the shabby exterior the inside was surprisingly clean, and well kept. I had never been inside a motel room before but it was exactly how I imagined one would look like. Very basic with two single beds, a television and a bathroom with a separate shower and bath.

I was looking around when Nathan caught my attention with a sexy smile.

“What?”

“Don’t look so nervous, it’s not like it’s your first time.”

I giggled but I was nervous and I didn’t know why.

“It’s a cool present Nathan. I mean it’s unusual, for sure and I don’t know what I’m going to tell people when they ask where you took me.”

“Tell them I took you bowling or somewhere boring straight guys go with other straight guys to have fun.”

“Nah, I think I’ll stick to the truth. Nathan took me to a motel room Sue, for an afternoon of wild sex.”

“An afternoon and an evening.”

“Remember we’re going to Niagara Falls tomorrow. I can’t get back too late.”

“Tomorrow, all you're gonna be thinking about is what we did today.” He struck a cute little pose and rubbed the front of his shorts. “They’ll probably know what we were doing anyway. I mean Nicola did. It doesn’t matter for you anymore though. You're sixteen, you can legally have sex.”

“Yay!”

“Except I’m still underage, which means you're breaking the law and could go to jail.”

“Boo.”

“But you won't because I won't tell.”

“Yay!”

I was feeling a little more relaxed about proceedings as I watched him lock the door, pull the curtains, and push the beds together. Then he took off his shoes and bounced around on top with a slightly pained expression.

“Not too bad, it’s a little hard for my liking—don’t even attempt to make a joke out of that—but I guess we don’t have to sleep on them.”

“It’s not bad,” I said. “I mean it’s nicely decorated.”

“Yeah, they’ve changed the wallpaper since I was last here.”

“You’ve been here before? When? With who?”

He laughed. “Chill out, Robbie. I’m joking, it’s cool. We’re gonna have fun today without anyone disturbing us or having to worry about being quiet. It’s just you and me, and we can do whatever you wanna do. Whatever turns you on. Yeah?”

I smiled. “Yeah, it sounds good.”

“I’ve even brought some tunes to listen to. I’ve thought of everything. And make sure you switch off your phone.”

He sat me down on the bed and kissed me before taking his speakers from his bag and setting them up on the table. Then he went off to have a pee and I started to undress.

After flushing, he called out to me. “What did you say?”

“I didn’t say anything.” But like him, I definitely heard something and I jumped up and looked around.

“Can you hear that?” he said. “It sounds like it’s coming from next door.” It was a girl’s voice and it was getting louder. It sounded like she was being attacked.

“Kirsty!”

“Who?”

“Thirsty Kirsty, I don’t believe it, she’s next door. She’s the girl I kissed at the beach, you remember don’t you? She’s banging a guy twice her age. She was checking in the same time as us. Blimey, she doesn’t hang around does she?”

The walls must have been paper thin because I was able to hear everything.

“Well, it’s a good job we brought some music then isn’t it, I don’t wanna listen to some teenage slut from your class having orgasms all afternoon.”

“Neither do I.” But I had my ear to the wall as I spoke. “His name’s Dylan,” I said. “She’s a talker. You should listen to this, she’s really dirty. Sorry.”

“That’s okay. We can wait until they’ve finished if you want?”

I laughed. “You’ve gotta be kidding me, they’re gonna be at it all afternoon. I will not be able to look her in the face again. This is so funny.”

He looked deadpan. “I’m not sure if you're one hundred percent gay, Robbie.”

“Oh, I am, just not all the time.”

“That’s what I meant.”

“Well, I don’t mind girls sometimes but I don’t like the bits that are down here.” I demonstrated by putting my hand on my crotch. “That’s just gross and I’m not too keen on the boobies either, they’re weird looking.”

“Okay, you're gay.”

“I know.”

“So what do you wanna do first?” I was thinking about it but I kept getting distracted by Kirsty’s porn star like performance next door. “How about if I strip for you?”

It sounded like a good idea and Nathan put on a real show. His boy band music was never going to be enough to drown out the teenage porn queen from next door but it didn’t matter. He had my undivided attention and as he slowly eased down his briefs and wiggled his cute little bare butt in my face. I almost fainted with excitement. I loved this boy more than he could ever imagine.

The sparkle was still there; the shine hadn’t faded at all. He was still every bit as hot as the first time I saw him. Even more so now that he had no longer had any inhibitions around me. It seemed to make him even sexier as he paraded his nakedness.

I was no stranger to Nathan’s body, I had mapped every inch of it over the past few months but I rarely got to see him like this, unashamedly raw in all his glory and it captivated me. When he turned around, it was impossible to imagine a more perfect specimen of male teenage beauty. His erection full-on; pressed hard against his stomach reaching up to his belly button as he inched towards me his lustful eyes begging for my attention.

I was certain, I was the luckiest boy alive.