Butterflies Fly Free - 11. Chapter 11 – New Friends

I took Colt out to a fancy restaurant that evening, so we could celebrate his emancipation, since everything seemed to be falling into place. I also introduced Colt to a new treat – lobster. I ordered surf and turf for each of us, after explaining to him that I thought he would enjoy it. I was right. He did. I even ordered a bottle of wine and let Colt have a little, as a special treat, but seeing he couldn’t legally drink in public, I couldn’t get him his own glass. Instead, I let him take sips out of my glass from time to time, and he seemed to get a kick out of being able to do this.

After I finished eating, I noticed that a little of the melted butter had dripped onto my shirt, so I wanted to wash it off with cold water before I returned home. After telling Colt what I was going to do, I excused myself and went to the men’s room to take care of the problem. After I finished cleaning up the mess, I started back to the table and ran into someone that I hadn’t seen since I used to visit my grandparents during my summer vacations from school. I was surprised he still recognized me, because we were both a lot younger when we hung out together, but I enjoyed the few minutes we got to chat. I even gave him my phone number, so he could call me later and we could work out a time when we could get together again.

By the time I got back to the table, I caught Cole taking another drink from my wine glass, which troubled me slightly. Even though I’d let him do this when I was with him, I thought he should have stopped after I’d left to use the men’s room and waited until I returned. It was quite obvious as to what he’d been doing and we could have both gotten into big trouble tonight if someone had complained about me allowing him to drink my wine or seen him helping himself to more. I wasn’t happy with his actions, but I wasn’t sure how I should handle this situation and hurriedly considered my options.

After thinking about this briefly, I acknowledged this was supposed to be a celebration, so I decided not to make a big deal about what he’d done, but I did cut him off from drinking any more. As I studied him further, I noticed his face was starting to become flushed and he was beginning to act a little silly, so this made me realize Colt had a slight buzz. I immediately grabbed the wine bottle and noticed that Colt had drunk nearly half of the bottle while I had been away, so I quickly called the waiter over and asked for the bill. I paid the tab as soon as he returned with it, and then I got Colt out of there, before anyone else noticed his deteriorating condition.

I did my best to guide him to the car without making a scene and then helped him buckle into the passenger’s seat, when I saw he was having trouble doing so on his own. I then pulled out of the parking lot as quickly as I could and drove directly home. To my chagrin, Colt was getting sillier by the minute and even started grabbing my crotch, as he attempted to unzip my pants. While he was doing this, he kept saying, “I needs dez-zert,” so I knew this sudden boldness had come out of the wine bottle. Seeing I was having a difficult time getting him to stop, I pulled the car over to the curb, grabbed both of his arms and stared into his drunken face.

“This is not an appropriate time or place for this,” I chided. “Besides, I think you’re a little drunk and I’m perturbed with how you’re acting.”

“Me? Naaaah, I’z not dunk,” he slurred.

I had obviously made a huge error in judgment tonight by indulging him and knew this was one mistake I would have to be careful not to repeat. When we arrived home, I gently steered Colt inside and he immediately made an attempt to start removing my clothes, but I wasn’t about to reward him for his questionable behavior. Instead, I helped him undress, while fighting off his desire to make out and do something sexual, and then I made him go to bed early. He still had school tomorrow, so I wanted to make sure he got a decent night’s sleep, while hoping he’d sober up in plenty of time for class and not have a hangover. It was a struggle, but I finally managed to make him stay in bed until he eventually passed out.

Once that task was behind me, I went to the living room to relax and think about how foolish I had been when I allowed Colt to share my wine. On the very same day he had legally gained his freedom, I nearly helped him prove to the world that it may have been a huge mistake. Damn! I thought I was smarter than that, so how did I make such a severe error in judgment? Oh, well, I guess there’s no sense in dwelling on it now, although I’ll have to be careful not to let anything like that happen again.

When I went to bed later, Colt was lightly snoring, which was something I had never heard him do before. It was probably due to the fact that he had passed out on his back, with his mouth wide open, instead of on his side and snuggled against me, as he normally would be doing. After I finished getting ready, I climbed into bed and got Colt to roll onto his side, in case he regurgitated during the night, because I didn’t want him to choke to death. I also made certain that he had his back toward me, because I didn’t want him to try to cuddle, even if it may have been the result of an unconscious action.

As it worked out, this also served as punishment for me as well. The mere fact that I couldn’t feel his body nestled against mine and didn’t have his arm draped across my chest was reminder enough about how foolish I’d been for allowing this to happen in the first place. In fact, it proved to be a long, miserable and tortuous night, because I hadn’t felt this lonely for a very long time.

The next morning, Colt seemed fine, but I was a mess. I hadn’t slept well and now suffered for it. When I dropped Colt off at school, I told him to have a good day, but he knew I was still upset with him.

“I’m sorry, Leo,” he told me meekly, as he got out of the car. “It just tasted good and I didn’t realize it would do what it did to me. Trust me, I won’t do anything like that again.”

He did look as if he was being sincere, so I suspected he was feeling much worse than it appeared.

“I hope you mean that,” I quipped back.

He gave me a nod and then took off, eager to meet up with his friends.

When I came home that evening, Colt was playing basketball in the driveway with another boy, so I parked the car on the street. Colt noticed me making my way toward the front door and stopped playing for a few seconds, so he could wave at me. When I waved back, he motioned me to come over, which I did.

“Leo, this is Jason,” Colt announced, as soon as I was near enough to hear. “Jason, this is Leo. He’s the terrific guy who’s letting me live with him.”

Jason immediately reached out his hand, so I gripped it and began to shake.

“Hello, Mister…” the young man started, but then suddenly stopped when he realized he didn’t know my last name.

“Just call me Leo, Jason,” I told him, while shaking his hand firmly. “I’m pleased to meet you.”

“Same here, Leo,” he replied. “Colt has told me what a great guy you are and I’m really glad to finally meet you. I just came over to help Colt practice his basketball skills.”

“So I see, and that’s very kind of you,” I responded. “Well, if you two will excuse me, I’m going to go inside and slip into something a little more appropriate for the weather.”

“Will you come back out and play winners?” Colt offered, as I walked away.

“No, but thanks anyway. You guys have fun and I’ll just start dinner,’ I explained.

“But that’s my job,” Colt protested.

“I think I can handle it once in a while,” I retorted. “Remember, I used to do the cooking at one time.”

“Ok,” Colt agreed, laughing. “Then I’ll do the clean up afterward.”

I nodded in agreement and then went inside. About forty minutes later, Colt came rushing into the house.

“Is your friend staying for dinner?” I asked. “I fixed plenty.”

“No, he had to go,” Colt told me, all excited.

“That’s too bad,” I commiserated. “Maybe another time then.”

“Yeah, maybe. Jason said you seemed really nice and he was glad he got to meet you. I think he likes you,” he added, while watching my reaction.

“Interesting, but then again he hasn’t known me long enough to make an informed decision,” I quipped. “I’m sure he’ll change his mind once he’s hung around me for a while, but he seemed nice,”

“He is and I’m sure he won’t change his mind,” Colt countered. “I think he liked you right away because you told him to call you Leo.”

“Hmmm…” I mumbled. “I told him to call me Leo because that’s my name. I probably wouldn’t have answered him if he called me Tom or Joe.”

Colt gave me a dirty look after he heard my response.

“I meant, he thought it was great that you didn’t ask him to call you Mister something is all,” he reasoned.

“Well, I’m not Mr. Something,” I teased. “Something is not my last name.”

“Oh, cut it out,” he whined. “You know what I mean.”

Colt then put his hands on his hips and gave me a disgusted look.

“He might have also made up his mind about you because of some of the stuff I’ve told him about you,” Colt added.

“And just what have you been telling him about me?” I asked, with a touch of sarcasm.

“I only told him how you let me live with you and how nice you’ve been to me.” He paused momentarily before continuing. “I might have also mentioned about how you bought me a bike and that you took me to the amusement park. I also told him how you helped me get set up for my job too, but I didn’t tell him about the other things we’ve done though.”

“That’s probably wise,” I teased. “You seemed very comfortable with Jason.”

“Yeah, he’s a really great guy,” Colt told me.

He had a touch more excitement in his voice than I had expected, so I began to wonder if he might have a crush on Jason as well. When that idea flashed through my mind, I suddenly became concerned that I might eventually lose Colt to someone his own age.

“Leo, do you mind if I start riding my bike to school?” he asked, interrupting my thoughts.

“That’s up to you, since it’s your bike,” I assured him. “We’ll just have to run out to the store and pick up a chain and lock for it first, because it wouldn’t be wise to risk having it stolen. When do you expect to start riding back and forth?”

“I was hoping tomorrow, if that’s all right with you,” he explained. “Jason said he’d have some of the other guys join us, so we could play a game on the high school courts, the ones outdoors, if I can. He said they’d teach me some of their plays and show me how to set picks and things like that.”

“Sounds good to me,” I agreed. “Let me turn down the heat on the oven and then we’ll make a quick run to the store to pick up those things for you. Ok?”

“Yeah, great,” he replied, and then we both made a dash toward the car.

We weren’t gone for very long, but it was long enough to buy chains and locks for both of our bikes. After we returned home, I made my way back to the kitchen to continue preparing dinner and Colt followed along to assist me. He also used this time to tell me more about Jason. During our conversation, I learned they were in the same grade, nearly the same age and both had similar interests. They enjoyed the same types of music, the same subjects in school and the same television programs and movies. Colt seemed thrilled to have found such a good friend, especially someone that liked so many of the same things he did, so I was happy for him.

“Do you think I can ask Jason to stay over tomorrow night, since it’s Friday? If not, maybe I can ask him about next Friday instead?” he wondered, while trying to contain his glee. “I have to call him anyway, so I can tell him I’m going to be riding my bike to school tomorrow and then he’ll call the other guys to let them know.”

“Sure, I don’t see a problem with that,” I informed him. “However, there’s something else we should discuss first,” I added, which caused Colt to look at me puzzled and possibly a little worried.

“What?” he wanted to know.

“When you have Jason or other friends over,” I began, “you’re going to have to be very careful about not showing any affection to me. That means no kissing, hugging or cuddling on the couch. You’ll also have to sleep in your own room when anyone else is here and you can’t be running around naked or doing anything suspicious.”

“Yeah, I know,” he responded. “I kinda figured most of that stuff out on my own.”

“Ok, that’s good,” I told him. “Whomever you invite over, your guest can either sleep in your room with you or he can stay in the spare bedroom, whichever you and he are comfortable with. Your bed is big enough to share, if that’s what you decide, but I also have a couple of sleeping bags too, if either or both of you want to sleep on the floor in the living room, so you can stay up and watch TV.”

“Cool,” Colt beamed. “I guess you’ve thought of everything.”

“Not everything,” I replied, chuckling, “but I used to have friends stay over when I was younger too, and those are the kinds of things we did and they worked for us.”

“Thanks, Leo,” he added, while giving me a hug. “You’re gonna be a super dad.”

“Not unless I somehow miraculously get you or some other guy pregnant,” I quipped back.

This comment started Colt laughing, before he punched me playfully in the arm.

“Not likely,” he giggled.

Colt then ran off to call Jason, so he could get everything set up for the next day. Before long, he came running back to find me and he seemed extremely excited.

“Jason said he’ll ride his bike to school tomorrow and then follow me home after we finish playing basketball,” Colt announced.

“Sounds like a plan,” I told him, happy to see him so excited. “Do you want to eat here or shall we take him out to eat?”

“Let’s eat here,” Colt replied.

“Ok, then what do you think we should have?” I asked, and he thought about it for a second, before he responded. “Let me call Jason back, so I can talk it over with him.”

I nodded and Colt ran off again. A minute or so later, he burst back into the room.

“We’ve decided on either pizza or spaghetti,” Colt announced, which caused me to smile, since I remembered hearing those same choices once before.

“Which would you prefer?” I countered, in an effort to pin him down to one or the other.

“Let’s have spaghetti and meatballs then,” he proclaimed. “That way I can fix it all and maybe Jason will decide to help me.”

I eyed Colt, suspiciously, and began to wonder what else was on his mind.

“Are you sure that you’re going to want to come home after playing basketball and then fix dinner?” I pressed, in order to get him to think this through.

“Yeah, I don’t see why not,” he replied sincerely. “I don’t think we’re going to be playing that hard, because I’m pretty sure Jason and his friends are just going to show me some stuff they’ve learned from their coach. Jason figured doing those types of things will give me a better chance of making the team next year.”

“That’s very nice of him,” I assured him. “I also want you to know that if you discover you’re too tired to fix something, then you can always change your mind at the last minute. I won’t be upset and will just take us all out to eat instead.”

“Thanks, Leo, but I think I’ll be fine,” he told me. “I’m glad you care though and it’s nice to know that you’re willing to help.”

Over the next hour, Colt planned out his meal, checked what we had on hand and then gave me a list of a few items he wanted me to pick up at the store on my way home from work tomorrow. I told him I’d be happy to do this for him and was impressed with how much effort he was putting into this dinner. It was apparent that Colt wanted to make a good impression on Jason, so once again I wondered if there was more to this than met the eye.

Colt was busy flitting about the house for the rest of the night and even took time to clean his room, even though he hadn’t really been using it. I guess he was just trying to make sure it wasn’t covered in dust and looked as if he had just straightened it up for the visit, but he also made sure the spare room looked good too. He even set everything out that he was planning to take with him in the morning, so he wouldn’t forget anything. If I didn’t already know better, I might have thought he was preparing for a date, but it was actually kind of cute to watch. I was pleased that he now had a close friend who was going to not only help him sharpen his athletic skills, but was also going to spend the night at our house.

Once he finished doing all of those things, Colt paced around for a while longer, like a mare in a corral that had just noticed a grizzly moving toward her and her foal. He was worried that he’d forgotten a small detail, as well as fretting that something might go wrong. I finally got him to go to bed, after I assured him that I’d help to make certain that everything was perfect for Jason’s visit, but I still wasn’t sure how much rest he was going to be able to get tonight. I checked on him later, before getting ready for bed myself, and noticed he was tossing about in his sleep, which he did throughout the entire night. In fact, I thought I was sleeping inside a tornado, since he kept bumping into my body and bouncing me around on the mattress. It appeared that he was rather worried that something might go wrong, and hence his restless sleep.

After waking him the following morning, Colt seemed more than a bit sluggish, although he was eager to get to school. I could tell he hadn’t slept very well and his restless night caused him to suffer throughout the day. He informed me later that the school day seemed to drag on forever and he thought his teachers were being exceptionally boring all day long, which only added to his misery.

Colt also told me that he ran into Jason at lunchtime and Jason assured him that everything was set for later. That made Colt feel a little better, but he still had half a day of classes to go. By the time his last period finally arrived, Colt was ready to just ditch class and wait for his friends outside, but he knew that wouldn’t make the time go by any faster. Instead, he sat through one more boring lecture, and when the bell rang, signaling the end of his school day, Colt bolted for the locker room. He planned on meeting the other guys there, so they could change first, before moving to the outdoor courts.

Since he had lived with me, Colt had become very open about others seeing his naked body, so he made no effort to hide his goodies when he changed. He was pleased to discover that most of the other boys were just as open as he was, because that gave him the opportunity to check each of them out, on the sly, and he was quite happy with what he saw. After changing, the boys grabbed all of their things and headed outside, where they began to teach Colt some of the basics.

Jason and his friends spent the afternoon showing Colt how to set good picks and how to rub a defender off on one, whenever someone else set a pick for him to use. They also demonstrated how to work a pick-and-roll, as well as a give-and-go, and how to do a reverse pivot, which he would use to block out someone from the other team when going for a rebound. The boys also made Colt work on shooting lay-ups with his left hand, as well as with his right, but they also got him to work on dribbling with both hands as well. Eventually, they felt they had done enough for their first day together, so they let him practice his newly acquired skills while playing a four-on-four pick-up game.

Colt said some of the things were hard to remember and put into use during the game, but his friends would call a timeout and show him when he should have done something differently, so he would learn. He assured me that he felt a lot better by the time they finished and thought some of the things he’d learned were starting to come more naturally to him. For that reason, he was looking forward to their next group outing.

After they finished playing, Colt and Jason loaded their belongings into their backpacks, unchained their bikes and pedaled to our place. I was already there when they arrived, even after stopping at the store first and putting my purchases away. I heard the garage door open, as Colt and Jason stored their bikes, and then Colt burst through the doorway yelling.

“Leo, we’re home.”