The Charm of the Sea and the Sky - 1. Chapter 1

The woman was large, and she was dressed in the most awful muumuu that Jesse Cole had ever seen. Pink and green flowers cavorted wildly about as the dress rose and fell in the back, drawn far too tightly across her considerable rear end. It pained Jesse to imagine the size of the cheeks driving that motion, and made him glad that he was not the balding, skinny, and harassed-looking gentleman walking next to the woman, shepherding enough luggage for the Queen of England on a tour of the kingdom.

Surely, some dress-making outfit had declared bankruptcy after producing this one. The substantial surface area of the colorful material - the design of which was surely meant by its creator to convey the lively beauty of the Hawaiian forests - was simply hard on the eyes here, within the crowded confines of San Diego International Airport. The dress stood out like a spray of fireworks on a dark July evening, and more than one passerby simply gaped at the woman, who of course was totally oblivious to the stir she was creating by her passage.

Walking next to him on the concourse, Marty Anderson made a gleeful sound and grinned at Jesse, his blue eyes sparkling with mischief in the evening sun shining through the great glass outer walls. Jesse couldn't help but to smile as Marty began to oscillate his head up and down in a small arc, in perfect time to the rise and fall of the woman's buttocks. Jesse peered quickly over one shoulder, aware of his parents just behind them, his dad pushing a small cart of their own holding all of their luggage. But the two adults seemed occupied with paperwork at the moment, and were not paying attention to the scene before them.

Despite wanting to laugh, Jesse snorted and bumped his shoulder against his boyfriend's. "Cut it out," he whispered, although through a grin, unable to not share in the spirit of Marty's play. The woman's buttocks were incredibly massive, probably weighing in at close to the poundage of each one of the boys. For a moment Jesse imagined a couple of kids hiding beneath the back of the woman's dress, having stolen passage aboard the flight from wherever the couple ahead had originated, wedged in there between the taut material and the fat woman's real backside, and now squirming for release.

But...no. That couldn't have happened. The woman would have had to sit in a seat on the plane - maybe two seats - and when she'd done that, any stowaways hiding beneath her dress would have been...would have been...

"They'd get squished," Jesse said out loud, completing the thought with a hoot at the picture of the imaginary event that his mind insisted on showing him.

Marty turned to look at him and erupted into laughter, not knowing the exact meaning of Jesse's statement, but knowing it just had to be connected in some way to the plodding elephantine woman before them. The look on his boyfriend's face pushed Jesse over the edge; and in a moment they were both laughing like crazy, staggering and having trouble keeping in a straight line. Every time Jesse thought he might be able to stop laughing he would look at Marty, and then they would both start laughing again.

A hand descended onto Jesse's shoulder, and fingers gripped him tightly. It was sudden enough to break the hypnotic spell of the laughter, and Jesse took a big, sharp breath and looked back over his shoulder, still grinning. His mom was there, having moved closer, the papers in her other hand momentarily forgotten.

"Stop for a second, boys," she said, the small smile on her lips unable to downgrade the larger one in her eyes. She stopped, and Jesse with her. His dad stopped also, and Jesse was sure that he was trying very hard not to smile.

For a moment his mom's eyes looked beyond Jesse, at the back of the muumuu-clad woman as she and her husband merged into the crowd ahead. Then they returned, to examine Jesse closely. "I'm glad you two are having such a good time. But maybe just a little more quietly, okay?"

Marty was immediately at Jesse's side. "It's my fault, Mrs. Cole. I was joking around. Jesse couldn't help it."

Jesse's mom smiled. "I know he couldn't. It's okay. We needed to stop a moment anyway and get this map sorted out. It won't do us any good to keep walking this way if the car rental place is in the other direction."

Jesse peered over at the paper his dad was holding, and immediately saw why his parents were confused. The problem was that the map looked almost the same rightside-up as it did upside-down. The printing ran all the way around the border, giving no indication of which way was "up".

"Some clown had a field day with this one," Jesse's dad mumbled, his nascent smile finally slipping away. "You'd think they'd want to make it easy to get a car rental at an airport."

"Can I see?" Jesse asked, extending a hand towards the map.

His dad simply nodded and handed him the paper. "You can't do any worse than I am."

Jesse looked down at the map, examined it a moment, flipped it around, and then looked up at the signs hanging from the ceiling along the way in the direction they had been walking. "We're going the right way."

Jesse's dad squinted at him. "How can you tell?"

Jesse went to stand beside his dad and held up the map, pointing. "See the little 'ess' there? And the little 'en' down there? That's north and south. We want to go north." Jesse pointed up to one of the signs suspended above them, which very plainly said, 'North Concourse - Parking Area'.

Jesse's mom came over, and both she and Jesse's dad squinted at the map. "I didn't see those tiny letters," his mother said. "I'm sorry, Mark."

Mr. Cole just laughed. "I didn't notice the darn things, either. Nothing to apologize about." He smiled at Jesse, and handed him the map. "You wanna get us there, Jesse? The car rental place is marked. I'll just push the luggage, and your mother can hold my hand while we follow you."

Jesse grinned and looked down at the map, tracing with his finger the route they needed to take. Marty came over and gave him a nudge, and grinned at him. "My hero," he whispered.

Jesse made a face at him, but inside he felt good. The love in Marty's eyes was plain to see. His boyfriend really was pleased with him, all kidding aside.

They started off again. Jesse had no trouble scoping out the route they needed to take, between the map and the signs which started to appear, and were hard to miss. If they had simply walked a little farther before stopping, Jesse's dad would have seen them, and never have felt lost at all.

Finally they reached a section of the glass-fronted building with a large marker that read, 'Consolidated Rental Car Center', and turned in through the sliding doors.

Inside, the place was huge. Signs from a dozen different rental agencies hung from the ceiling, and beneath each one ran a counter, behind which stood several smiling agents. Jesse's dad made for one of the counters, pushing the cart, and Jesse and his mom and Marty followed.

The rental had been prearranged: an Acura MKX SUV. It was brought around to a side door, and Jesse and Marty helped Jesse's dad load the luggage into the back. They climbed into the vehicle, and Jesse's dad pulled it over to the parking area while Jesse's mom dug through the papers in her hand and found a street map. It took them several minutes to figure out how to enter their destination into the Acura's onboard navigation system; but finally, they were on their way.

"I'm going to sleep tonight," Jesse's dad said, as they merged into traffic. "I hate flying a little more every time I do it. Sometimes I wish they'd just slam the loading door into my head as I got on the plane, and then drag me off again when we get where we're going."

Jesse's mom shook her head. "Don't give them any ideas. If they thought they could just knock out all the passengers and stack them in the back of the plane, they'd do it."

Jesse's dad laughed. "We wouldn't know. They could just revive us at the car rental place."

Mrs. Cole threw a grin Jesse's way, and then leaned closer to her husband. "I'll bet if they stacked that poor woman in the muumuu on top of you, you'd feel differently about it."

Jesse and Marty both started laughing. Jesse's mom had seen them making fun of the woman.

Mr. Cole looked at the boys in the rear view mirror. "Man, that would ruin your day, wouldn't it?"

Jesse and Marty grinned at each other. "Aw, she couldn't see what we were doing," Jesse said defensively. He felt a little guilty now that he knew his parents had seen them.

Jesse's mom nodded. "She may have a medical issue that makes her so obese."

"Yeah, but what about that dress?" Marty asked. "She might not be able to control her weight, but everybody can control the clothes they put on."

Jesse's dad snorted and looked at his wife. "He's got you there, honey. Being big doesn't mean you have to have bad taste."

Jesse's mom gave her husband a look. "I have a feeling that when you're that size, your choice of clothing it limited."

Jesse's dad started to say something, but bit it off, and just shook his head.

"Something?" Ms. Cole asked, leaning closer to Jesse's dad.

He held up a hand, his eyes holding humor as he gazed at the boys in the rear view mirror. "Boys, I want you to see this, okay? You'll need it someday, so you may as well learn it now." And then he simply went back to driving, and didn't say another word.

"What are we supposed to be learning?" Jesse finally asked, leaning forward in the seat belt to look at his dad.

"When to shut up," Jesse's mom said then, smiling at him. "You're dad is pretty good at it now."

"I had a good teacher," Mr. Cole said, turning to grin at his wife.

Mrs. Cole lifted a hand and pointed a finger at him, barely concealing a smile. "Pay attention to your driving!"

Jesse laughed. "You should'a stayed shut up, dad."

Mr. Cole nodded. "See? You're learning already."

* * * * * * *

Jesse's dad followed the instructions from the Acura's navigation unit, taking them from the airport and getting on Route 5 South. They passed by Little Italy and through the knot of the interchange with the Cabrillo Freeway, passed the Air and Space Museum at Palisades, and circled around the heart of the city and got off on State 75. They crossed the long, raised roadway of the Coronado Bridge across sparkling San Diego bay, and continued around until State 75 became Silver Strand Boulevard, and followed that down the coast to Imperial Beach.

The hotel, when they finally pulled up to it, had both boys gaping.

It sat just above the beach, a sprawling collection of glass, wood, and little towers and minarets, that would have seemed more at home at Disney World than it did here among the palms. It was a far cry from the hotel that Jesse had imagined in his mind, resembling much more a small Leprechaun village under the back end of a rainbow than it did a major hotel and resort.

A valet was there to take the Acura, and two bellmen porters to take the luggage. Jesse and Marty climbed out with their parents, gawking about at the white sandy beach, the gently rolling surf, the calm sway of the palm trees, and the people all about. Most of them were bathing suit-clad, and smiling and laughing.

"What is this place, dad?" Jesse asked, his eyes moving among the strolling crowds, and his breath catching at the number of guys his own age strutting about shirtless and barefoot. Oh man, was this a little piece of heaven, or what!

Jesse's dad grinned. "Well, the meeting center is here at the hotel." He lifted a hand and waved it at the beach. "I didn't pick the place, but I have to admit it is pretty awesome. You guys will have a great beach to play around at, and lots of stuff to do." He gave them a pointed look. "Just don't go roaming about on your own, okay? I don't want to have to come and get you two out of the Tiajuana jail."

"Oh, Mark," Mrs. Cole said, shaking her head at him.

Jesse's dad laughed, obviously having forgotten his earlier decision on keeping quiet.

"What's that mean, dad?" Jesse asked, silently rolling the unfamiliar word over his tongue Tiajuana.

His dad pointed off down the beach. "Mexico is about three miles that way. You are not to go there, do you understand? Those poor people wouldn't know how to deal with you and Marty. They wouldn't understand you, and they'd be afraid."

Jesse realized then that his dad was playing with him. He looked at Marty, grinning. "What do you think, amigo?" Jesse had an exaggerated Mexican accent in his voice.

Marty shrugged dramatically, his face compressing in a frown. "No comphrende, senor." His accent was even more exaggerated than Jesse's.

Jesse's dad laughed. "Okay, okay. I just want for you guys to use some common sense, understand? Don't go off the hotel property without our permission. There's plenty to do here, so have fun. But we want to know where you are, okay?"

Jesse nodded. It was a more than fair attitude for his dad to take. He looked around, again noting the general lack of clothing on the part of the passersby. "Sure, dad. Can Marty'n me get our suits on and go to the beach?"

Mrs. Cole dropped a hand on Jesse's shoulder. "Let's check in and get our rooms first, okay?"

Oh, yeah! Jesse felt a small thrill at that. The rooms!

It had already been determined that Jesse's mom and dad would share one room, and Jesse and Marty would share the one next to it. No one had said a word about sleeping arrangements, and if Jesse's parents had any worries about Jesse and Marty sleeping together, they were keeping it to themselves. Ever since the day the boys had come out, Jesse's parents had only been supportive.

Marty's dad had been a little hard to deal with at first. Marty's sister, Parker, had done a lot to ease the situation, but Marty had known that his dad was unhappy with him still.

But one day his dad had gone off to work with Mr. Cole, and when they had come back at the end of the day, Mr. Anderson had come to Marty's room, where Jesse and Marty were listening to music and playing with Marvin, Marty's Iguana.

"Hi, dad," Marty had said, just a little pensively. "What's up?" He had really been trying to be a good son ever since he had told his parents he was gay. His mom had been okay, but his dad had been - difficult. It made Marty unhappy, and nervous when his father was about.

Mr. Anderson had simply stood there inside the door a moment, looking at his son, and then at Jesse, and then back at his son. And then he had held out his arms. "Come here, Marty."

Marty had looked at Jesse, who had just shrugged and nodded towards Marty's dad. Go.

Marty had stood up, and walked slowly to his father. Mr. Anderson watched him come, and when he got there the man had reached out and dropped his hands on Marty's shoulders. And then he had simply bent down, pulled Marty into an embrace, and hugged him. "I love you, son."

Marty had been shocked. But in the next instant he was hugging his dad with all his might. Jesse had felt his breath catch, and had felt tears come at the sight of it.

Mr. Anderson had finally released Marty, who'd immediately wiped at his own eyes. "Everything is going to be okay," Mr. Anderson had said. He had smiled at Jesse, and then left the room, pulling the door to the latch behind him.

Marty had stood there a moment, just looking at the closed door, before turning and coming back to Jesse, who had gotten off the bed to meet him. Marty came right into Jesse's arms, and they had hugged silently for a full minute.

"Tell your dad thanks," Marty had said then.

Jesse had pulled back and looked at his boyfriend. "My dad? For what?"

"It had to be him," Marty returned. "My dad was still grumpy with me when he left this morning, and now he comes home and hugs me. He was with your dad all day. It had to be him."

They never did know for sure. Jesse had quietly broached the subject to his father in the den that evening before dinner, but Mr. Cole had simply smiled and said that Marty's dad had been thinking a lot and had come to the inevitable conclusion.

"You must have said something," Jesse prodded.

"I listened, mostly," his dad had responded. "Now go wash your hands and let's eat."

And that had been that.

Marty had been rejuvenated by the change in his dad's manner towards him, and by the time Marty had joined Jesse and his parents for the trip to California, he was his good old, smiling, devilish, twinkly-eyed self.

And now that boy, whom Jesse just loved, grinned at him in anticipation as they headed inside the hotel to the front desk.

The clerk staffing the desk was a pretty girl with blonde hair and green eyes and a quick smile. She had a marvelous tan, as good as that of Jesse and Marty, who spent almost all of their summer days outside. She could not have been much over twenty years of age, although Jesse was still a little shaky when it came to guessing ages of adults.

She watched them as they approached the desk, her smile widening at the gleeful look in the eyes of the two boys. "Good evening, and welcome."

"Hi," Jesse's dad said, setting his travel bag on the floor in front of the desk. "Mark Cole. I have two rooms reserved by the Rankine Corp." He produced his ID, a credit card, and the reservation ticket, and laid them on the desk.

The girl nodded, examining them, and entering the information into the computer before her. "That's right. I have two rooms for you in the Palm Wing, facing the beach."

Their luggage appeared beside them, being pushed on a small cart by a smiling young man that Jesse could tell had been a knockout when he was younger. Not that he wasn't cute now - for a grown up guy. The porter looked Mexican, with honey-colored skin, black hair and brown eyes, and he had a swimmer's build beneath his neat gray uniform. He smiled as his eyes made contact with Jesse's, and Jesse smiled back.

Someday, maybe, Jesse considered, trying not to smile too much.

He felt Marty brush an arm against him, and when he looked he could see the special sparkle in his boyfriend's eyes. Marty had noticed the guy, too.

The printer behind the desk sprang into action, and the clerk turned and retrieved two card keys from their holders on the rear wall. She handed the keys to Jesse's dad, and the paper from the printer to the porter.

"If you have any questions, my name is Angela, and I'd be happy to help," the girl said, reinvigorating her smile. "If not now, then please call us if you do. The numbers for the desk, room service, and the concierge's office are posted by the house phone in your room."

There were no questions. Jesse's dad was an experienced traveler. He nodded, retrieved his ID and credit card, and turned to the porter, who smiled. "The Palm Wing is this way. You will like the view. It faces the beach, and the setting sun. You will find that the evening horizons are really quite stunning from your deck."

They moved off across the lobby towards a hallway with glass walls, that served as a link to another wing of the hotel. Jesse let his eyes stray beyond the glass towards the beach, and could see that the sun was on its way to the sea already.

"This place is cool as shit," Marty whispered, leaning close. Jesse looked over at him, and grinned at the look of excitement on his boyfriend's face. Jesse was already looking forward to spending the night with Marty, and planning to keep the distance between them to an absolute minimum.

Marty caught the look, and it was just like there was some telepathy there. Marty grinned, and his eyes sparkled with anticipation. Jesse's pulse gave a little jump, and his own smile grew as their gazes played with each other.

It was only after a moment that Jesse realized his dad had spoken. He blinked, and looked over at him. "What, dad?"

His father smiled. "I said, 'it's not too late for dinner, if you two are interested'. Once we get our stuff in our rooms, we can come back to the dining room and get something to eat." Jesse's dad looked at Jesse's mom. "Mike Melville, the client rep, said the food here is really good."

Jesse grinned, feeling he was going to need all the energy he could get that night after the lights went out. "Sure, dad. That sounds cool."

They got to the rooms, and the porter took the key cards from Jesse's dad and showed everyone how they worked. He opened the first room, and they all went inside.

Jesse simply stared. The room was golden with summer sun pouring in through the glass doors to the deck. A king-sized bed dressed in soft blues and greens stood against one wall, with nightstands to either side, a dresser and a desk nearby, and lamps suspended from the ceiling over each nightstand. A comfortable-looking sofa and a recliner were beyond, with a floor lamp beside each, and a coffee table in front of the sofa. Just inside the glass-paned doors at the back of the room was a small dining table made of dark wood, with four chairs parked around it. A big, flat screen TV hung on the wall so that it could be easily viewed from either the bed or the sofa group, and potted plants and a small palm tree were placed about in such a manner as to bring a little bit of the beach indoors.

Thick carpet caressed their shoes as they moved, and the colors of the room suggested ocean, sea breezes, and sandy beaches. Jesse was impressed.

"Awesome," Mr. Cole said approvingly, putting into words the very thoughts that Jesse was thinking,

"The deck is here," the porter said, moving to the rear of the room and unlocking the double doors. He opened the right-hand door, and Jesse moved with his parents and Marty to have a look.

The deck was large, maybe eight by ten feet, and made of dark wood. Privacy screens made from dark cane, with a covering of vines creeping up them from small beds at their bases, shielded the deck from the view of guests on each side. The deck was raised about four feet off the beach, with a rail at the end spanning the distance between the two privacy screens, with a break on the right side for a short staircase dropping to the off-white sands below. An intricate latticework of cane beneath the rails offered some privacy for the deck from anyone going by on the beach. A cane table with a glass top and four canework chairs placed about it stood to one side.

But it was the item that formed the left outer corner of the deck that had Jesse's attention just now. It was a sizable depression in the dark wood, more than large enough to hold two adults quite comfortably. And two teen guys even more comfortably. It was filled with water, which sparkled in the dispersed rays from the evening sun.

"Is that a hot tub?" Jesse asked, his voice almost a whisper as he looked at the porter.

The young man laughed at the expression on Jesse's face. "Yes. Room prep filled it as you were checking in. The controls are in the little wooden box there, by the side." He looked at Jesse's dad and smiled. "All of the rooms in this wing have one."

Jesse and Marty looked at each other, grinning. Yes!

Jesse's parents smiled in amusement at each other, both seeing the looks on the boy's faces, and not sure what to do with them. "Can we see the other room?" Jesse's dad asked, trying not to laugh.

The room next door was just as nice. The furniture was slightly different, and the layout reversed, but it was just as comfortable, and just as appealing, as the first room.

And better yet, the deck outside also had built into it a charming hot tub, just ready to be occupied by a pair of guys with romance on their minds.

There was no door between the two rooms, but the boys could easily descend the little staircase to the beach and walk to the deck next door in just seconds. That accessibility seemed to satisfy Jesse's mom, who understood that it worked both ways.

They sorted out the luggage, and Jesse's dad tipped the porter, who smiled and thanked him.

"My name is Joel. If you need any assistance, please call me." He nodded at all of them, and for just a second, gave a little extra smile to Jesse and Marty. "Have fun."

Something about it made Jesse smile. "I think we will."

The porter gave a small laugh, and removed himself from the room.

"Jesse, you need to put this card key somewhere safe," Mr. Cole said, handing the plastic card to Jesse. Jesse took the card and examined it. It was all plastic, and obviously would be waterproof. It had a hole in one end and a small metal ring through it, as though meant to be added to an existing keyring. The thing was, Jesse didn't carry anything like that. He could keep the card in the pocket of his shorts when he was clothed, but the bathing suit he'd brought was kind of skimpy, and didn't offer pockets or anything like that he could stow the card in while he was out of the room.

"I'll be careful with it," he said, taking the card and deciding he would figure out the bathing suit problem later. He pushed the card down into his front pocket and patted the material of his shorts. Safe for now.

Mr. Cole looked at his watch, and then at his wife. "I don't know about you, honey, but I could use a brief commune with nature."

Jesse's mom rolled her eyes, but smiled. "Maybe." She pulled her cell from her purse and looked at the time. "Um, how about we take a half-hour to get cleaned up, and then we can go and eat dinner?"

Jesse looked at Marty, who nodded. Jesse knew exactly what his dad meant. He wouldn't mind taking a dump, either.

They sorted out their luggage, and then Jesse's parents headed back to their room next door, and Jesse closed the door to the hallway. He grinned at Marty across the room, and then they were moving towards each other. They met at the foot of the bed, and closed their arms around each other, and pasted their faces together, and kissed.

Finally they broke, and Jesse nuzzled his boyfriend with his nose. "I can't believe we're going to spend a week here in this cool place." He pulled back, smiled into Marty's sparkling eyes. "Just the two of us."

Marty laughed. "Yeah, well, it's not just the two of us completely, Jesse. We gotta remember that your folks are right next door."

Jesse shrugged. "They'll be okay." He pointed at the bed. "At least this isn't up against the wall to their room. " He grinned. "We don't gotta worry about bangin' the bed against the wall in the middle of the night and wakin' 'em up."

Marty laughed, and leaned forward and kissed Jesse again. "This is so cool. Thanks for bringin' me, Jesse."

For a second, Jesse's smile slipped. "I wouldn't have had any fun without you." He tightened his grip around the other boy, snuggled a little closer, laying his chin on Marty's shoulder.

Marty squeezed him back, and Jesse heard the other boy sigh into his ear. "Love you, Jesse."

Jesse squeezed his eyes shut, holding onto Marty. For a long moment of time, all he could sense of the world was the warmth and softness of Marty's body against his. "I love you, too," he finally said, quietly.

And then he noticed something else, poking him down low. Jesse laughed, pulled his head back, and grinned at his boyfriend. He let his hand drop, gently felt the shape of the thing bulging out the front of Marty's shorts. "What's this?"

Marty shrugged, grinning back. "Can I help it if you make me horny?"

Jesse felt an immediate response between his own legs. "We only got a half hour, and I gotta take a dump."

Marty's expression grew serious. "You'll need help with that. We'd better get started."

Jesse was about to ask what his boyfriend meant; but Marty immediately laughed and started pulling Jesse towards the bathroom.

That room was also fairly large, with a tub and separate shower, two sinks in the large vanity, a mirror above that, and a toilet. The lights were already on. Marty jockeyed Jesse to the front of the toilet, turned him around, reached past him to raise the lid, and then unceremoniously pulled Jesse's shorts and underwear to his ankles. Jesse's dick popped straight out, invigorated by the sudden rush of air, the strange surroundings, and the proximity of Marty, who had that effect on him generally, anyway.

"Have a seat," Marty directed, giving him a small push. Jesse laughed, and sat down.

"Now, poop," Marty said, settling to his knees and giving Jesse's dick a small caress.

"You're kidding," Jesse said immediately. "You expect me to be able to take a dump while you're playing with my dick?"

Marty leaned forward, grinning. "I could be sucking your dick, if you'd hurry up and poop."

Jesse blinked, and his mouth dropped open, and he looked once around the bathroom - but nobody was watching.

And then he closed his eyes, settled himself comfortably, grunted once, and forced the log out. It dropped into the water with a small splash.

"That it?" Marty asked, smiling.

Jesse felt within himself, and then nodded. "That's all there is."

"Good." Marty pulled some toilet paper off the roll on the wall and handed it to him. "Now wipe."

Jesse grinned, took the paper, and did just that. Twice was all he needed, and he reached back and flushed the toilet.

Marty stood, went to the vanity, and found a bottle of hand sanitizer there. He came back, the pump under his forefinger. "Hold out your hands."

Jesse did as he was told, and then rubbed the sanitizer over his hands while Marty set the bottle back on the vanity.

Then Marty was back, settling to his knees in front of Jesse. He stroked Jesse's dick affectionately, and Jesse gave a little huff of pleasure and leaned back against the raised lid of the commode.

Marty bent, and kissed Jesse's nuts, then let his tongue run over them gently. He kissed up the underside of Jesse's dick, and kissed underneath the head. The tip of Marty's tongue came out, caressed the slit and around underneath, and Jesse's thighs tightened and he fought the urge to bring his legs together. Not that he could have, with Marty between them.

He heard Marty give a small laugh at his reaction, and Jesse smiled without opening his eyes. "You gonna do this? We only got a half hour."

Marty laughed again; and then he was taking Jesse into his mouth, and Jesse sighed at the feel of it. He already knew that Marty loved his dick, just the way that Jesse loved Marty's dick. There was nothing else in the world like having it in his mouth, and as he thought of that - of having Marty's pecker on his tongue - he knew he couldn't last long. There was some weird sex energy in the air, maybe from being in a strange place. Jesse's body tingled, and then gave a little shiver at the unnamed thrill he was getting at having his dick sucked while seated on a toilet three thousand miles from home.

Marty worked with great energy, and Jesse felt his butt muscles tightening as he started to strain to hold back the urge to spunk. He began to breathe in little huffs, and then he smiled, and then he started laughing. Marty snorted through his nose, and Jesse could feel Marty laughing back at him, his tongue vibrating inside his mouth and against the head of Jesse's pecker. And the next thing Jesse knew, he was squirting spunk into his boyfriend's mouth. Jesse's butthole tightened almost painfully at the release, and he put his hands down on the rim of the toilet and pushed himself upwards trying to relieve the strain. His head tilted back, he gave a little gasp of delight, grimaced in sheer joy; and then he was done squirting, and began laughing again.

Jesse opened his eyes and looked down at Marty. The other boy was smiling up at him, the head of Jesse's dick still inside his mouth. Marty swirled his tongue a final time around the head of Jesse's dick - causing Jesse's butt muscles to tighten again, and his laughter to increase; and then Marty was standing up.

He reached down, pushed Jesse's legs together, raised a leg and hitched himself forward; and then he was sitting down on Jesse's lap, and pressing his face close to Jesse's. Jesse stopped laughing as Marty's lips pressed to his, and then Jesse felt his boyfriend's tongue at the door, and Jesse opened his mouth to let him inside.

He tasted his own spunk then, and gave a small appreciative hum as Marty used his tongue to paint the mix of spunk and spit around the inside of Jesse's mouth. Jesse closed his eyes again, feeling the wonder of it, and used his own tongue to feel Marty's, and to eventually push Marty's tongue back into his mouth and follow it inside.

In another moment their faces were together, rubbing; and then they were back to kissing.

Jesse suddenly felt the tenseness in his body ebb away, and he sighed and settled back against the lid of the toilet. Marty put his cheek against Jesse's, turned his face once and kissed him; and then they were just holding onto each other.

Marty closed his arms around Jesse, and the gentle touch of his boyfriend's fingers atop his shoulders made Jesse sigh. "Wow."

He felt Marty smile. "Like it?"

Jesse nodded, thinking hard, but already knowing he had never had one like it. "Yep. It was the best ever."

Marty sat back, looking at him quizzically. "Really? The best?" He frowned. "Man, I dunno, Jesse. I've given you some mighty good sucks before."

Jesse grinned. "Oh, I don't mean it was the best suck I ever had. I mean it was the best dump I ever took."

Marty stared at him a moment, and then burst out laughing. Jesse just grinned at him, loving seeing Marty so happy.

They were still smiling at each other as they got up and got ready for dinner.

* * * * * * *

The dining room was huge. Giant fixtures hung from the high, beamed ceilings; graceful, dangling arcs of different lengths, with little balls of light at the end of each of them. They looked almost like magical, hanging vines, with brilliant flowers adorning the branches.

They were shown to a table by one of the great glass windows framing the beach and the sea, and the sun falling into a mix of yellow and purple clouds playing at the horizon. The beach was still busy with people, parked on towels and underneath umbrellas, and the ocean still dotted with the bobbing heads of swimmers. Unlike public beaches, which Jesse had seen so packed with people that you couldn't walk, the hotel's private beach looked well-used, but far from overcrowded.

The menus provided were, not surprisingly, rich with Mexican food. Jesse selected a large burrito stuffed with chicken, tomato, avocado, and cheese, along with brown rice and beans. Marty got an enchilada filled with shredded beef and cheese, and covered in tomatillo sauce and melted cheese. He also got the brown rice and beans, and both boys ordered small jicama salads on the side.

Jesse's parents both opted for the baked salmon with salsa verde, and a quinoa and vegetable mixed salad.

Jesse was hungrier than he had thought. And the food was good, just like his dad's client rep had said.

He was looking about the dining room as he ate, noting that there were some cute guys at a few of the other tables, obviously there with their families. One guy, who could have been their age, was having an animated discussion with a man seated next to him, who was probably his father, while a woman seated with them was obviously trying not to smile. A little girl was also present at the table, but she seemed to be oblivious to the conversation, her attention full on her food.

The boy finished talking, and his dad started up. Jesse could see the boy open his mouth as if to object to something his father was saying, but the man held up a hand and kept right on talking. The message he was conveying to the boy was obviously no about something. The boy, sandy-haired and blue-eyed like Marty, sighed, and propped his chin on his hands on the tabletop, looking morose. Jesse couldn't help feeling for the guy, who obviously had had his hopes up about something, only to see them dashed. His dad finished talking to him, and turned back to the woman seated beside him.

Marty was looking out the big window at the beach. "Wow," he said, pausing between bites. "Check it out."

Jesse turned his head to look. Beyond the glass of the window, the sky was blue-running-to-violet now at the horizon. A freight train of clouds was ambling slowly past the sun, which was low enough to soon be touching the waves. The clouds were a deep, bruised purple, and hid the orb of the sun; but it's light spilled downward from behind the screen in a spread of sharp golden sunbeams, which fanned out across the gentle roll of the ocean, sending sprays of glitter across the wave tops.

Jesse whistled softly. "Never seen anything like that before."

Sunsets were different back in the woods where they lived. The sun tended to disappear into the tall trees long before it hit the horizon, leaving the world beneath the branches to slowly darken in a process that could take every bit of an hour or more. Jesse had never thought of it as sunset so much as the creeping onset of night. To actually see the sun ready to take it's plunge before the darkness dropped was kind of cool for a change.

Jesse's eyes drifted back to Marty's, touched them briefly in a smile. Then they happened to drift back to the boy he had noted earlier, seated at the far table. The other was still looking deflated, still had his chin propped on his hands. His parents were talking now, and it was obvious that the boy was not included in the conversation.

His eyes came up, and suddenly locked with Jesse's. For a moment they looked at each other, Jesse caught between chews of his meal, and the other boy looking distracted by his parent's conversation. But the intangible link between their eyes seemed to suddenly strengthen, as if the other boy were really seeing what he was looking at, and his head lifted slowly from his hands.

He smiled.

Jesse, unable not to, returned the smile. The other boy's smile widened, and one of his hands moved almost imperceptibly in a small wave.

Jesse lifted a hand and waved back. Just a small one, to show that he had noticed. To show that he understood.

Marty suddenly grinned and leaned closer. "See something ya like?"

Jesse swallowed his mouthful and grinned. "Never you mind. The food's great, isn't it?"

Marty nodded. "Absolutely." His eyes flicked to Jesse's parents, who were still eating while looking over a dessert menu. Marty let his smile come back, and his eyes moved to Jesse's. He leaned a little closer. "Is he cute?"

Jesse laughed. "How'd you know?"

"Oh, come on." Marty rolled his eyes. "I could tell by the way you smiled, what ya were lookin' at."

Jesse felt a warmth creep into his cheeks, but just continued eating. He let his eyes settle on Marty's, and couldn't help smiling while he chewed. I love you, he beamed at his boyfriend.

Marty, for his part, seemed to understand immediately. He gave a tiny sigh, grabbed another bite of his meal, and let his eyes touch on Jesse's. I love you right back.

Jesse felt a sense of contentment overtake him. What more could a guy ask for than this? Visitor to a far-off land, a place he'd never been before or even dreamed about, with the beauty of the world on display just outside, parents near who loved him, and - best of all - who accepted his boyfriend as the someone special in Jesse's life.

And, of course, having that boyfriend with him, at Jesse's side, to share and enjoy it all with him.

Somehow, Jesse knew that this was a moment he was going to remember forever.

"You guys want dessert?" Jesse's mom asked then, laying down the menu. "There's some really" --she gave a little huff of almost annoyance--"great stuff on here." Her eyes moved to her husband's for just a second. "Lots and lots of calories."

Mr. Cole smiled. "It's just for a week, honey. You can work it off when we get home."

Jesse tried not to smile too openly. His mom was always worried about her weight, when Jesse could never see any reason for it. His parents were both in good shape - for older people, anyway - and still looked good in their bathing suits. But that fact never seemed to stop Jesse's mom from worrying about getting fat. Jesse figured it was more a girl thing than an old thing, because his dad ate what he wanted and never varied at all from his normal weight, and most of all, never worried about it.

"Come on, mom," Jesse offered then. "You're skinny. A couple of pounds wouldn't hurt you, believe me."

Marty gave a little nod before he managed to stop himself; but Mrs. Cole saw it anyway. She leaned forward, looking pleased, and smiled at the two of them. "Okay. You talked me into it."

Before she sat back, Jesse's dad raised a hand from behind the table and gave the boys a quick thumbs-up. Jesse managed not to smile too hard or look guilty, and just nodded. "Sure, mom. They got any chocolate on there?"

His mother laughed. "Are you kidding? There's tons of chocolate on here. Why do you think I was worried?"

They settled on something called Chocolate Dream Trifle, which was large enough that it could be divided into four servings. The picture of it was mouth-watering, and when Jesse spied it on the menu he had no trouble at all convincing the others that it was the right choice.

The dessert was brought to them and set in the center of the table, along with small plates, and knives and forks. Mr. Cole cut the fluffy concoction into four equal slices and served them out, and Jesse's first bite of the thing made him gasp. "Whoa. Man, that is some chocolate stuff, or what!"

The others seemed to agree. Marty rolled his eyes, then closed them, a little smile on his lips, and Jesse could see his boyfriend working the dessert around inside his mouth with his tongue, as if trying to ensure that some of it touched every single surface within.

Jesse laughed, and reached over and gave Marty a small prod. "Good, huh?"

Marty opened his eyes, his smile expanding. "I'll say." He leaned a little closer and lowered his voice. "Only one thing better."

Jesse was sure he knew what that was, but had to ask anyway. "Yeah? What?"

Marty's eyes flicked towards Jesse's parents, who seemed to not be noticing the conversation between the boys - which could be true, or not. Parents were good at concealing that kind of stuff.

Marty must have guessed that, too. He rolled one shoulder a little, his gaze returning to meet Jesse's. "I'll tell you later."

Jesse laughed, and dug into his dessert.

He was almost done when he noticed movement out of the side of his eyes. The family with the boy who had waved earlier was leaving the restaurant. Jesse let his eyes travel to the other boy, and could not help but to notice how he moved, with an athletic grace that was enchanting. Jesse judged the other, on his feet, to be maybe a tad taller and heavier than he and Marty - but scarcely enough to count.

The other boy had good senses, though. He felt Jesse's eyes, or maybe he had intended to look, anyway. But as the family came between some nearby tables to turn towards the exit, the other boy's eyes came over and met Jesse's. They held a moment, and Jesse smiled. The other boy returned the smile - a real dazzler this time, and waved again as his family turned into the informal center aisle between tables.

This time, Marty turned his head, and Jesse caught the smile that his boyfriend tossed towards the stranger. The other boy caught it, too, and his smile reenergized. Jesse waved, and watched as the family and the boy receded up the aisle. Jesse's eyes landed momentarily on a piece of real estate that moved with a grace similar to the rest of the other boy's body.

Wow. Cute butt.

Jesse realized then that Marty was watching him, and by the look on his boyfriend's face, reading Jesse's thoughts a little too closely. They both laughed, though, and Jesse knew it would not be held against him. Some things were just a given between Marty and Jesse, and neither of them ever worried about it affecting their feelings for each other.

And then they were done with dinner, and headed back to the rooms.

* * * * * * *

They all sat on the deck outside Jesse's parent's room and watched the sunset. Full bellies, some real sleepiness, and a disinclination to go far precluded any desire now on the part of the boys to don their bathing suits and race for the pleasant ocean waves. They had gotten up early to make their flight, and while they had not lost much time in the trip from east coast to west, the clocks were only fooling, and they had in reality been up for over eighteen hours already. Jesse was feeling the day now, and he could tell by the way that Marty leaned back in his chair that his boyfriend was tired, too.

Mr. and Mrs. Cole looked about the same, pleasantly full and ready for some downtime. The four of them talked a while, noting the highlights of their trip thus far, and then paused to watch as the sun, in some mysterious process understood only by nature, seemed to briefly rebound from the waves before finally vanishing beneath them. The sky went to violet in the wake of its passing, and then black, and then filled with stars in every direction.

Jesse, mostly used to seeing patches of stars through breaks in the trees by the fort, was briefly mesmerized at the sheer number of them. The slow heartbeat of the ocean waves seemed almost timed somehow to the pleasant twinkles overhead, and soon Jesse felt his eyelids getting heavy. The silence of the others seemed to indicate that the slow unwind was universal.

"I'm tired," Jesse finally thrust out, as his eyelids bounced for the third or forth time.

Across the table, his dad sighed. "Man, you sure got that one right." Mr. Cole reached out a hand and ran his fingertips affectionately along the length of his wife's forearm. "What do you say, hon? Ready to curl up with a movie or something?"

Jesse's mom smiled, a little bit sleepily. "Sure. I know it's our first night here, and we could probably do something fun; but I think I'm too sleepy to enjoy much." She looked over at Jesse and Marty. "Sorry, guys."

Jesse shook his head, feeling his lethargy lift just a bit at the action. "We're beat, too, Mom. That movie sounds like a good idea."

Marty smiled sweetly at him. "Or we could sit in that hot tub a little."

Jesse felt a flush cross his face, and looked at his parents. Both were smiling, but seemed to be pretending not to understand the implications of what Marty had said. Taking that as a little bit of license to relax, and just feeling there was no use hiding things his parents were already going to assume that he and Marty were doing, he simply nodded, and smiled at Marty. "I'll dig my swim suit out. That sounds like fun."

The way Marty looked at him, Jesse knew that his boyfriend hadn't even thought of swimsuits; but Jesse felt it a small thing to toss out if it made his folks relax a little. In Jesse's mind, his parent's acceptance of the situation between Jesse and Marty did not mean that the boys should flaunt their closeness. Jesse felt that he and Marty should display the same level of privacy about their relationship that his parents did about theirs.

He got up from the table, went around and kissed his mom on the cheek and gave her a firm hug. "Night, mom."

Marty got up and pushed his chair in, and thrust his hands into the pockets of his shorts, and stared out to sea as if spying a passing ship.

Jesse looked over at his dad, who was smiling at him. On the day that Jesse had come out to his parents, he had learned one very special thing about his dad. And that was that Jesse would never, ever, be too old to hug him. Or to kiss him on the cheek.

He went to his dad, put an arm around his shoulders and squeezed, and deposited a small peck to the shadow of a beard on the man's cheek. His dad squeezed him back, nodding. "Night, Jesse."

Jesse stepped back, swallowed a little hard, and motioned to his boyfriend. "Come on, Marty."

Marty nodded, turned to follow Jesse - and then stopped and turned back to Jesse's parents. "Thanks for bringing me. I'll probably remember this trip forever."

Jesse's parent's both smiled, and his mom in particular seemed to accept Marty's words with some emotion. She quickly swiped at one eye with the back of her hand. "Oh, Marty, we are very glad to have you with us."

Jesse's dad nodded, reaching out a hand and laying it carefully on Jesse's mom's. "Sure, Marty. It was our pleasure. Just have fun, okay?"

Marty smiled, nodded, and turned to follow Jesse. They descended the steps to the beach and went to their own deck, and then into their room. Jesse closed the glass doors behind them, turned and pulled his boyfriend close. Marty came eagerly, wrapping his arms about Jesse and squeezing him close. They kissed, and then Jesse laid his cheek against his boyfriend's. "I can't believe we're here like this. I can't believe that our folks know."

He felt Marty nod. "I know. But it's no different between us, Jesse. It's better, isn't it?"

Jesse laughed. "I'll say it is. Now that our folks know, they won't be walkin' in on us anywhere without knocking, and we won't be worryin' 'bout gettin' caught." He pulled back and smiled at Marty. "All I gotta worry about now is how fast I can get you naked."

Marty drew his arms to his chest and seemed to shrug his shoulders within Jesse's embrace, and up came his shirt to settle like a collar around his neck. "That help?"

Jesse laughed, and they separated enough to undress each other. They took their time, rubbing newly exposed flesh as the clothing covering it was dropped on the floor. Soon they were standing naked in each other's arms, the hard poles of their dicks prodding each other playfully down low.

"Oh, you brought that thing with you, huh?" Jesse said laughingly, gently placing the tip of his nose against his boyfriend's and gazing into Marty's sparkly eyes.

Marty nodded, rubbing his stiff pecker gently against Jesse's. "I had to bring some toy, or we'd have no fun at all. Had to leave the Great Purple Pecker behind, and Buzzy the Butt Buddy - all our cool stuff."

Jesse grinned. They had discussed bringing some of their favorite toys along for the trip, but after the idea came up of them being discovered by some overzealous airport security guy in a baggage check, they had decided not to. Jesse and Marty had been sitting in the fort, imagining the scenario: their luggage comes up for a spot check, and is opened with about a thousand onlookers staring. The security guy rummages among the clothing, and his hand closes about a tubular object. His eyes fill with suspicion, and he slowly brings the object forth and holds it up for all to see.

The Great Purple Pecker.

Stern voice. "And what, may I ask, is this?"

Marty had slapped the mattress on the cot, hooting. "What would you say to that?"

Jesse, grinning fiercely, had though a moment, and then laughed. "I'd say, 'Dad, they're in your luggage!'"

Both boys had cracked up, and rolled together on the cot, heaving and convulsing, until finally winding down and settling into each other's arms.

"You wouldn't do that to your dad," Marty had protested, after catching his breath.

Jesse had shaken his head. "No, I wouldn't. So we won't take the stuff." He had grinned. "Parker can watch it for us while we're gone."

They'd laughed over that for a while, too, imagining the sheer joy with which Marty's sister would certainly accept such duty.

So now here they were, in a small bit of paradise by the sea, and the only toys they had to please each other were the ones nature had blessed them with.

It'll be enough, Jesse thought, knowing how much he loved Marty's body, and how much pleasure it always gave him just to be close to it.

They went into their luggage and got out their beach towels, and then turned down the lights in their room. Jesse opened the door onto the deck, and felt the same small thrill course throughout his body that he always felt when stepping outdoors bereft of clothing. Marty followed, and for a moment they stood and looked at the hot tub in the corner of the deck, the water in it shining softly, reflecting little bits of moon and starlight, and the stray rays from the small lanterns hanging from poles along the beach.

People were still by the water, and even in it, though no one seemed to be any farther out than the water's edge. The beach itself was maybe sixty feet from their deck, and a boardwalk of sorts ran by at about half that distance; but Jesse was comfortable that no one there could see them here in the soft light from the one little lamp they had left on in their room. The cane baffle underneath the deck's railing would prevent even someone strolling right by their deck from seeing them - the designer's intent no doubt, with an eye to privacy for any users of the tub.

Marty gave Jesse's shoulder a small squeeze, and went and draped his towel over the back of one of the chairs. Then he crossed and stuck a toe into the inviting waters. "Mmm. It's nice and warm, Jesse."

Jesse nodded, hung his own towel with Marty's, and went to stand by his boyfriend. They stood in silence a moment, and Jesse realized that neither of them was quite sure what to do next. Grinning, he sat down on the deck at the edge around the tub and dropped his legs into the water, and reached up and pulled on Marty's arm to get the boy to sit next to him. Marty dropped immediately beside him and let his own legs dangle into the tub.

Their feet did not touch the bottom, signaling that the tub was fairly deep.

"I see seats in the corners," Jesse said softly, his eyes adjusting to the dim light. "And there's that control box that the porter guy, Joel, told us about."

Marty nodded, put his hands down on the deck, and slid into the tub. He sank into the water right up to his nipples, and grinned up at Jesse. "Coming?"

Jesse grinned and slid in next to Marty. The water, warm to a toe-touch, was slightly cooler against his body, but pleasant enough in the still warmth of the evening air.

Marty walked over to the box on the other side of the tub, and flipped up the lid. A blue light came on inside, illuminating the tub's controls.

"Cool." Jesse went to stand with Marty and examine the controls. There were ones for heat, and water jets, and even 'massage', which was probably a vibration or something. Jesse moved to sit in the seat in the corner of the pool, within easy reach of the controls.

"What should we do?" Marty asked, running his fingers over the various knobs and switches.

Jesse laughed. "Try 'em all, and see what happens."

Marty nodded, and turned one of the knobs.

Jesse felt an immediate rumble beneath his butt, and then a pleasant vibration coursed throughout his body as the seat sent little energetic fingers into his muscles. It was very comforting, and very arousing to his ball sack and taint. "Man. That's good!"

Marty smiled, and turned another knob.

A finger of water hit Jesse in, first one side, and then the other, tickling his ribs soothingly and bubbling about his legs and torso. And about his pecker, which really, really felt good.

"Water jets," Marty provided. "Half strength."

Jesse wiggled his butt in the seat, which was wide enough for a large adult, and therefore wide enough for Marty to sit with him. "Come'ere, Marty." Jesse grinned.

Marty's eyes sparkled as he came and pushed himself into the seat with Jesse. Jesse sighed, wrapped an arm around his boyfriend's shoulders, turned slightly, and pressed his face to Marty's.

They closed their eyes and kissed, the movement of the water supremely relaxing, and Jesse immediately felt drowsy. That only lasted a few seconds, though, because Marty dropped a hand on Jesse's pecker and stroked it slowly and fondly, making Jesse's toes curl under the water. Jesse found his boyfriend's pecker and returned the action, sighing into a kiss as his fingers caressed that very special part of Marty's body.

Slowly, Marty pressed closer; and then he was rolling, and climbing atop Jesse, pushing him down, and pressing their peckers firmly together. Jesse wrapped his arms around Marty and gently squeezed the other boy's butt, marveling at the wonderful soft/firmness of the twin mounds, and letting his fingertips press down between them to tickle gently at Marty's pucker. Jesse felt Marty smile, and hum, and his diaphragm convulse in an occasional small laugh of delight.

They laid together in the seat for about ten minutes, enjoying the flow of the water, and the vibration transferred to it from the seat and walls of the tub. Twice Jesse's eyes closed and almost did not open again, as sleep played at the edge of his awareness. The water was pleasant, and Marty felt simply wonderful against him; but Jesse soon began to see that this was not what he really wanted. Fun as it was - different as it was - it was not what he wanted to be doing with Marty just now. He was just too tired.

"I want to go to bed," he whispered into Marty's ear.

Marty lifted his head and smiled sleepily down at him. "I'm good with that. We can come back to this another time."

They both smiled, and then disentangled themselves. Marty turned off the switches he'd activated, and the tub grew quiet again. Jesse reached out and flipped the lid closed over the controls, and the pair of them moved to the edge of the tub and climbed out.

They dried each other, and then Jesse wrapped a single towel about both of them and they stood together beneath the stars and hugged.

"Heart thief," Marty whispered, pressing close.

Jesse could only nod, too caught up in the wonderful magic of Marty's body pressed against his to say anything.

Finally, Marty sighed and pulled his head back. "Let's go in. I'm about to fall over."

They were dry now save for their hair, which was still damp. They used the other towel to dry that some more, and then climbed into the bed and cuddled together under the light bedspread. The room was temperature-controlled, and pleasantly cool. Jesse could barely keep his eyes open. He wanted to suck Marty, and to have Marty suck him. But a conspiracy seemed to be in action between their bodies, one geared to bring on sleep.

Jesse lay there, partly wrapped around Marty, Marty partly wrapped around him, Marty's skin against his, Marty's face against his cheek. The wonderful, musky-sweet scent of Marty's skin filled Jesse's nose, something he so loved that he never got enough of it. The bed was large - larger than the double sized bed that Jesse had at home, and supremely comfortable. Jesse felt warm, and loved, and special.

And sleepy. The room was quiet, although the sound of the ocean could be heard easily enough, as the water insistently beat against the land, trying to master it, trying to reclaim it.

Marty kissed him, and Jesse kissed back. But a lethargy seemed to have overcome both of them, and neither boy moved to initiate anything with the other. But it was okay, Jesse decided, his thoughts slowing down. There was time. Lots and lots of time.

Slowly, Jesse felt his body go limp, only the wonderful warmth and softness of Marty against him, and the sweet smell of him, registering; until even that, too, slowly faded, and sleep took him away.

* * * * * * *

"Check it out," Marty said, pulling the straw from his mouth. A dribble of lemonade tried to escape down his chin; but Marty's tongue followed it quickly and lapped it back inside. Then he was pointing at the boardwalk that ran by the deck about thirty feet away.

There was some mixed traffic there this morning, even at this early hour. The sun had been up for maybe two hours, and Jesse and Marty only a little less than that, after having fallen asleep fairly early the previous evening. Now they were lounging on their deck in chairs at the stairway to the beach, clad only in their bathing suits, their feet propped up on the railings to either side of the staircase, watching with interest the flow of people going past. The warmth of the morning air felt good upon their skins, and Jesse was feeling a sweet contentment at just sitting there with his boyfriend by his side.

Just at the moment, a guy their age was cruising slowly by on a skateboard. He had long, dirty-blond hair, and was wearing a pair of short white shorts with a red and black stripe down the side. He was tanned, and athletic, and quite stunning in the early morning sun.

"Definitely a ten," Jesse said, around his own straw. The little refrigerator they'd discovered in their room had held a dozen bottles of lemonade, and cups and straws had stood atop it. The boys had disdained the cups, sticking the straws directly into the open bottles.

Marty frowned thoughtfully, but then nodded. "Yeah, I can go with that. Snuggle factor?"

Jesse laughed. "Shit. I'd snuggle with him. You wouldn't?"

"No, I would, too. Just asking. So a ten for that, too?"

"Yup."

"Okay. Bigger, or smaller?"

That was the question. Usually, you could tell by the bulge in the front of a guy's swimsuit how much he was packing; but shorts and other clothing made it a little more difficult to gauge. And while this guy's shorts were really small as such things went, the presence of a fly in the front and the natural wave in the material that went with it precluded a completely honest judgment at this distance.

Jesse immediately stood, and shaded his eyes with one hand, trying to get a look at the guy's bare feet on the skateboard. He squinted, and determined that they were not overly large; nor did his hands seem to be, either. Those were not certain indicators of anything, he had learned; but at least they could be taken into account with the total package. The guy wavered on the skateboard a bit as a horde of smaller kids pounded past him on the boardwalk, and threw up his arms to assist with his balance. Jesse saw only the suggestion of a shadow of hair in the pits beneath, and nodded to himself.

"Smaller, but maybe not much."

Jesse and Marty knew their own measurements well. Marty had maintained his slightly better than quarter-inch lead, with Jesse now at four and a half inches, and Marty coming up on five. Guessing whether other guys were larger than them, smaller than them, or about the same size, had become something of an idle pastime.

Marty shrugged. "I guess I agree." He suddenly turned his head and grinned at Jesse. "We could run after him and ask."

Jesse hooted, almost spitting out a mouthful of lemonade. It was just the sort of thing he should have expected from Marty.

But Jesse rose to the challenge. "I will, if you will."

They both turned to stare at the boy on the skateboard. He had stopped on the beach by the side of the boardwalk, and had flipped the skateboard up on his shoulders with his hands draped over each end, and was staring out at the gentle waves rolling against the sands.

Marty stood up. "Come on."

Jesse felt a small thrill as he followed. They hustled across the sands, bottles in hand, slowing only as they came up behind the boy with the skateboard. He was just a little shorter than he had appeared while riding his mount, and Jesse estimated now that he towered over the new boy by a full half-inch. He just had time to grin over this stray thought before they casually moved around the guy so that they were face-to-face.

"Hi," Marty said immediately, smiling. "Nice board."

The other boy blinked at them in surprise, his eyes going from Marty to Jesse and back again. "Oh...hey. What's up, guys?"

"Just chillin'". Jesse pointed at the skateboard. "We saw you going by and wondered if there was some place around here we could rent one of them." The words simply popped into Jesse's mind as he stood there.

Marty gave a small laugh, but nodded. "Yeah. That would be cool."

The new guy was even cuter close up. He had brown eyes with a downturn to the outside of the upper lids, which made him look pleasantly gentle and sleepy. The smile he offered also seemed sedate, as though the guy were simply enjoying another day of life and not worried much about anything at all.

"Nope. I don't know any place around you can rent one. This one's mine." He smiled. "You guys can try it out, if you want."

"I'm Marty," Marty said, sticking out a hand. "This is my buddy, Jesse."

"Alec," the new boy said, shifting the skateboard from his shoulders to one hand and immediately sticking out the other. He smiled as he bumped fists with first Marty, and then Jesse. "You guys staying at the hotel?"

"Yup." Jesse nodded. "My dad's here for a business conference. My mom, and Marty here, and I, came along for the ride."

Alec laughed. "Cool. Where you guys from?"

"Back east. New York." Jesse shrugged. "It's our first time out west."

Something about that made Alec laugh. It was a pleasant sound, and Jesse realized he liked the new guy right off. There seemed to be nothing about Alec that signaled anything but a relaxed attitude towards life.

"Almost sounds like you expected to see horses and gunfights." The new boy's brown eyes seemed filled with humor at the idea.

Jesse smiled. "Yeah...I didn't mean 'out west' like that. Sorry. You know...like the west coast?"

"Yeah, I get you. I was just playin'." Alec inspected them more closely then. "I have a cousin in New York. You guys don't talk like her at all."

"You're thinkin' of the city," Marty supplied. "They all talk funny there. We're from the sticks. We don't think the earth is made of concrete."

Alec laughed again. Jesse was already falling in serious like with the guy's eyes, which seemed almost to be lit internally somehow. There was a bright intelligence in those eyes, along with a strong but peaceful spirit.

"How long you guys staying?"

"A week," Jesse returned. "We just got here last night." He waved a hand around the beach. "You visiting, too?"

Alec shook his head. "Nah. I live here." He turned and pointed a short way up the beach, to where a lifeguard sat in a tall lookout seat, scanning the beaches below and the swimmers out in the surf. "That's my dad."

"Cool." Jesse and Marty said it as one, and then grinned at each other.

"Yeah, it's okay. We live just down the road on the other side, in that little development. I come by here to see my dad and hang out a little." He winked. "Check out the babes. You know?"

Jesse felt a momentary pang of deep regret. Alec seemed to be straight. But he nodded, and grinned. "Yeah, Marty'n me were just doin' kinda the same thing."

Again, the new boy gave them that sweet smile. "So, want to try the board? It's pretty cool. Just watch where you are on the walk, because there are gaps here and there between the boards that will catch the wheels. I fell on my butt a few times just coming here."

Jesse briefly wondered if Alec's butt needed any attention - maybe some kisses to make it feel better? The thought made him smile, and when he looked over at Marty, it was to catch him smiling, too.

Great pervs think alike!

Jesse laughed. "I'll give the thing a try. I've been on one at the Sports Authority at the mall, but I never owned one, 'cause we don't have anywhere to really ride one in the woods."

Alec nodded and set the skateboard down on the deck. It immediately started to roll, and Alec put a foot onto it to keep it in place. "Just try standing on it first."

Jesse handed his lemonade to Marty, and stepped carefully onto the skateboard. His toes touched Alec's as he did so, and Jesse was surprised at the little shiver that ran throughout his body.

Come on, you fuckin' horndog, concentrate, he told himself.

Alec seemed either unaware of or unbothered by the touch. Jesse looked down, the conversation he had had with Marty on the cuteness of feet suddenly coming back to him full force. Alec's toes were pressed against Jesse's, with little crinkles in them where they were bent at the joints. Jesse couldn't help it that his eyes examined the other boy's ankles and legs after roving upwards from his toes.

Alec had nice feet and legs. A brief surge between Jesse's own legs sent a small wave of panic across his thoughts then. Man, don't pop a boner in front of this guy!

Jesse closed his eyes, took a deep breath. Alec misinterpreted it as nerves over the board, and reached out a hand to steady Jesse. The new boy's touch upon his arm sent a second surge into Jesse's nutsack.

Come on! Stop that!

Then Marty was there at his other side, a steady hand on Jesse's arm. His boyfriend's grip was firm and reassuring, and Jesse immediately relaxed. What was better, Jesse's dick, after raising it's head to survey the land, curled up comfortably and went back to sleep.

"I'm going to let go of you," Alec said. "It looks really simple, Jesse, but that thing can bolt out from under you in a heartbeat, so be careful. Don't lean too far forward or backward to start. Just try to balance as it starts to roll. If you feel like you might fall, just put one foot down. It's really pretty easy, at least just to ride."

Jesse knew that. He had gotten pretty good at sailing up and down the aisles at the store, and Marty, who had a skateboard and was good on it, had given him some pointers. But it did tell Jesse that his nervousness at being so close to Alec was visible, even if misunderstood.

He brought his other foot up and placed it towards the rear of the board. Alec took his foot off then, and the skateboard immediately started to roll. Jesse shifted his weight, put his right foot down, and stroked the deck a few times to get moving. The skateboard took off, and Jesse got it going pretty good before pulling himself fully aboard, his legs slightly spread fore and aft, and his shoulders and arms twitching slightly in deft moves to bolster his balance.

The boardwalk was a little bumpy, but not enough to throw him off balance, and foot traffic was light just then. He grinned, spread his arms a little, looked up into the blue-as-blue-could-be sky, and crowed, "I'm the king of the world!"

The world had something to say about that. Just then one of the wheels of the skateboard settled into a slightly wider gap between the boards, and the skateboard simply stopped cold.

Jesse didn't. The suddenness of the event nearly got him; but as he sailed forward his legs came to life, and as his feet hit the boardwalk he was running. He took a few unbelievably fast steps, angled himself off to the side into the sand, slid in its sudden softness, pitched forward into a somersault, rolled once, and came up seated. For just a second it seemed like a crowd was roaring in laughter at him, and his eyes were still rolling in his head; but then the view settled down to simple sun and sand, and the unseen crowd quieted to soft snickers at his comeuppance.

Just then he heard the sound of feet hitting the boardwalk, and then Marty and Alec appeared at his sides. Marty squatted next to Jesse and put a hand on his shoulder, and Jesse looked over to see sparkly blue eyes filled with concern.

"Jesse, are you okay?"

Jesse grinned. "Man, was that cool as shit, or what?"

Marty squeezed his eyes shut for just a second, and then opened them, grinning. "Ya knucklehead. You scared me."

Alec leaned down and gave him a little tap on the shoulder. "You had me going, Jesse. I thought you'd never been on a board before. You have, haven't you?"

Jesse crammed his legs underneath himself and rose to his feet. "Just in the sports store." He laughed. "The floor there is a lot more even."

Alec grinned. "Told ya about watching the walk here." He turned, went back to the skateboard and picked it up, giving it just a slight tug to free the one wheel from the crevice between boards.

"I didn't mess it up, I hope," Jesse said.

"Nah. This thing's been caught in the walk more times than I can remember." Alec laughed. "But I do gotta say it was a lot more fun to see you come off it than when it happens to me. That was the best flip I think I ever saw."

Jesse felt a warmth in his cheeks, but it was more from the liking he saw in Alec's eyes than from any embarrassment he felt at his fall.

Jesse smiled to cover himself, and retrieved his lemonade from the crook of Marty's arm. He took a long draw on the straw, and was rewarded with a bubbly chuckle from the bottle and a mouthful of foam. "Shit, I'm dry." He looked over at Marty. "I need a drink after that wreck." He shifted his gaze to Alec, maybe some of the liking he felt for the other boy showing in his eyes. "Wanna come back to our place and hang a little? You can get a lemonade out of it."

Alec's eyebrows rose, and the little lights in his eyes intensified. "Um, yeah. That would be cool. Thanks."

Marty looked from one boy to the other, and then grinned. "Awesome. Let's go."

They headed across the sand towards their room. As they approached, they could see Jesse's mom and dad seated out on their deck. They were wearing bathing suits, too, and sipping their own lemonades.

Jesse's mom waved as they came up. "Hi, guys. What are you doing?" Evidently, they had not witnessed Jesse's crash.

Jesse took Alec by the forearm and drew him up the stairs to his parent's deck. "We were just talking to this guy we met on the beach. He was showing us his skateboard." He looked at Alec. "This is my mom and dad." Then he grinned at his parents. "This is Alec. His dad's a lifeguard on the beach."

Jesse's mom's eyebrows perked up. "Oh, you live here, Alec? That must be fun." Her eyes moved for a moment to take in the beach, the blue sky, and the sea. "It's beautiful here."

Mr. Cole smiled. "Nice to meet you, Alec. We've really been enjoying visiting your home."

Alec grinned, then shrugged, his eyes following Jesse's mom's briefly to the beach. "Yeah. It is pretty nice, I guess. I'm just used to it." His gaze went back to Mr. Cole. "If you're on the beach every day, it isn't as special anymore."

Jesse's dad nodded. "I can get that. Still really pretty here, though. " He smiled. "You could do a lot worse."

Alec brightened at that. "Yeah. I guess I could."

Mrs. Cole reined in her gaze and deposited it on Jesse. "Did you eat breakfast yet?"

A sudden surge of hunger assailed Jesse, awakening in his middle and moving outwards. "No." He grinned. "We kinda forgot about it."

She smiled. "Well, you didn't answer your phone, so we thought you were still asleep. We went ahead and ordered ours. There's a menu by your phone in your room. Why don't you guys order whatever you want and have service bring it? That's what we did. Invite Alec, if you like."

Mr. Cole smiled. "Yes, go ahead. It's all part of the package." He stifled a yawn. "After that, just stay around, okay? Your mom and I are a little worn out from the trip, and we're just going to relax some today. It's Saturday, after all. We'll get together for dinner later, and tomorrow we can go see some sights, or do something, if you guys want."

"Cool. Thanks, mom. Thanks, dad." Jesse nodded and turned for the stairs. "Come on, guys. I'm hungry."

They headed back to their room. Jesse noted the interested smile that lit Alec's face as he saw that the boys had a hot tub on their deck, too; but the new boy did not say anything about it in passing.

They got the menu from by the phone, and Jesse called room service and they ordered cheeseburgers and fries and Cokes from the kitchen. It wasn't breakfast, exactly, but it was what they wanted.

"About fifteen minutes, sir," the voice on the phone said, causing Jesse to smile. He was a 'sir' now, huh? Moving up in the world, he thought.

Alec had deposited his skateboard on the carpet just inside the double doors to the deck, and now they all moved to the sofa and sat down, with Jesse allowing Alec to get in the middle of him and Marty. They tossed their feet up on the coffee table, and Jesse grabbed the remote for the flat screen TV and got some safari show up on Animal Planet. It didn't matter what he picked to watch, because he already knew his concentration wouldn't be on the TV, anyway.

"You guys got a really nice room here," Alec said, eying the TV.

Marty nodded. "So what do you normally do on a day like this, Alec?"

The other boy shrugged. "Whatever I feel like, mostly. My dad works until four, and he likes me to stay around and check in now and then. I don't bring my cell when I'm on the board, 'cause there's nowhere to put it, and I don't want to lose it or bust it. So I just cruise by and wave at him once in a while."

"What about your friends?" Jesse asked.

"What about them?" Alec smiled. "I see them on the public beach up the coast a little, across from where I live. The hotel doesn't like kids who aren't staying here to be on this beach. It's an insurance thing, my dad says. It's okay for me to come because my dad works here, but my friends aren't supposed to do it." He laughed. "My buddy Pete comes with me sometimes, and my dad just ignores it, 'cause he knows I can't just be by myself all the time. And some days I stay at Pete's."

"What's your mom do?" Jesse asked.

Alec's face fell. "Oh. She died a couple of years ago. It's just me'n my dad now."

Marty winced, and Jesse felt a pang of hurt for Alec. "I'm sorry." Without even thinking, he put out a hand and rubbed his fingers gently along Alec's upper arm.

"It's okay," Alec said, his smile coming back. "You get used to it. Kinda."

There was a moment of silence as everyone just looked at each other.

"Got a girlfriend?" Marty asked then, his face lighting up.

Alec gave a little smile that said he did, and Jesse couldn't help adding one of his own. "What's her name?"

"Sandy. And don't make any jokes about the beach, okay?" Alec rolled his eyes. "I get enough of that from my dad."

Jesse laughed, leaning forward. "Is she cute?"

Alec's cheeks reddened just slightly, and Jesse's heart did a little thump in his chest. To see the fondness in Alec's eyes as he just thought about the girl was something special.

"Oh, yeah. I mean, she's maybe not the best looking girl in the school or anything - except to me." Alec looked mildly embarrassed. "She kisses really good."

Jesse and Marty looked at each other, each thinking the same thing: lucky girl!

"That's really great," Marty said, nodding.

Alec smiled. "You guys got girls?"

Uh oh. Jesse looked over at Marty, not sure what to do next. Marty smiled at him, and then let his eyes drift back to Alec. "Jesse's my boyfriend."

Alec's lips quirked, as though reacting to a joke. But as Jesse and Marty just sat and looked at him, Alec's eyebrows slowly rose, until he was staring from one boy to the next. "Really?"

"Yes," Jesse said, nodding. He understood why Marty had made the admission. If Alec stood up and walked out, it would cast a shadow on their vacation, but it wouldn't ruin it. They didn't really know the new boy, and while they liked him, he wasn't a permanent addition to their lives - at least, not yet. In a week they would be heading home, and Alec would be here, three thousand miles away. Life would go on.

It was plain that Marty didn't want to spend the week in hiding. If they were to see more of Alec while they were here, they might as well be up front with him.

Alec looked doubtful a moment, then smiled. "Yeah? Marty, kiss Jesse."

Jesse and Marty both laughed as one; but then Marty was leaning straight across Alec's lap, and Jesse automatically leaned forward also. They exchanged a small kiss, backed off two inches and grinned at each other, and then came back together for a longer, considerably more passionate kiss, with tongue.

Finally they settled back and looked at Alec...and Jesse almost gasped.

A tent had clearly risen in the front of the other boy's shorts. Alec tried to minimize it by covering it with his hands, but even he didn't believe it wasn't very visible. Jesse stared at it, figuring they had been pretty close on their guess as to Alec's size.

He grinned. "Made you horny, huh?"

Alec laughed, and there was simply nothing evasive about it. "You think? I never saw two guys kiss like that!"

Marty picked up on that right away. "You've seen guys kiss before?"

Alec nodded. "Well...yeah". He looked from Marty to Jesse, and Jesse could see a confidence of some sort coming. "My buddy Pete is gay."

Marty laughed, and gave Alec a small nudge. "Yeah?" He leaned closer, dropping his voice to hardly more than a whisper. "You ever do anything with him?"

The rose tinge came to Alec's cheeks again, but it was obvious that his slight discomfort with the subject was no stay on his honesty. He nodded. "A little. We've jerked each other off some."He took a breath, let it out. "I've let him suck me off a few times."

Jesse felt a beautiful delight spring up inside of him. "You ever suck him?"

Alec winced, but shook his head. "No. I do like girls, Jesse. I'm not gay." He rolled one shoulder, and then looked resigned. "But Petey's my best friend, and I love him. Well, like a friend, you know? Fooling around with him makes him happy, and it's...fun. Shit." He sighed. "I'd be lying if I said it didn't feel good to fool around with him." He made a slight expression of distaste. "But I don't think I want to suck his dick."

"Too bad," Jesse said, giving an exaggerated shrug of his shoulders. "You don't know what you're missing. Marty here has the best tasting spunk this side of Pizza Kingdom's spicy special."

Marty fell forward in laughter, and Jesse joined him, while Alec gaped, and then laughed himself. "I don't think I'm ready for that."

Jesse sighed, and grinned at Marty. "Almost." He shook his head, transferring the grin to Alec. "Waste of pure cute just to see you with a girl."

Alec's jaw dropped, and his face reddened more intensely this time. "You think I'm cute?"

Jesse and Marty both laughed, and then Marty recounted how they had come out to meet Alec in the first place, describing their rating system for guys, and what criteria they felt was important. Jesse took over after Marty described how Alec had aced the top score in their snuggle factor, and then laughed as he said that they had been guessing about the size of Alec's pecker.

"So Marty said we could just ask you. And here we are."

For a second Alec just sat there, a very open, cute expression on his face that Jesse simply loved. But then the other boy's eyes squeezed closed, and he flopped back against the cushions and erupted into laughter, grabbing his belly and rolling his heels against the coffee table top. Jesse looked, and saw that Alec's tent had in no way diminished in size.

Alec opened his eyes. "You guys are nuts." But his smile said it was a compliment, and not a detraction.

Marty laughed. "You don't sound like it bothers you."

Alec sat forward again. "It doesn't. I don't mind." He smiled. "It's kind of...um, I don't know...nice, for someone to tell you you're good looking."

Jesse nodded, rubbing his own dick, which had stood to attention with all the fuss going on. Marty, too, had a tent in the front of his bathing suit that simply couldn't be missed.

"Well, you can see the effect you have," Jesse said then. Risking it all, but somehow feeling it no real risk at all, he reached out and gave a little caress to the head of Alec's dick where it poked taut against the inside of his shorts. "Now I just wonder what we should do about it."

Alec gaped, and then laughed, and then his face got red again. "Damn, Jesse, you got balls."

Jesse nodded. "Yup. Wanna see 'em?"

All three of them started laughing.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the door to the room.

Their laughter ceased as if turned off with a switch, and all three of them pulled away from each other reflexively. The suddenness and universal speed of that movement was so funny then that all three of them burst out laughing again.

Alec made an effort to catch his breath. "That...your parents, Jesse?" he whispered between whimpers, his bright eyes beautifully aglow.

Jesse got to his feet, grinning. "It's the food, I'll bet. My folks would come to the deck door."

He marched across the room and put his hand on the knob - and then remembered the giant boner thrusting out the front of his bathing suit. He looked down at it, helplessly. Marty and Alec, watching him, burst into laughter again, and leaned forward on the sofa and covered their own crotches with their arms.

"Don't just stand there, "Marty gasped, "open the door, Jesse."

Alec nodded, his face twisted into a grin. "Yeah, Jesse. Open the door."

Jesse thrust his hips back in an attempt to minimize the tent, just astounded that his dick seemed even harder now than it was a moment ago. He placed the bulk of the door between himself and anyone on the other side of it, turned the knob, opened it a crack, and peered out.

It was Joel, the porter. He was standing on the other side of a small wheeled server. As the door opened, he gazed expectantly at Jesse. "Your lunch is here."

More snickering and odd noises from behind him made Jesse grin like an idiot. He wanted so hard to laugh, but knew he shouldn't. "Um...can you leave it there and I'll get it?"

Joel seemed to see for the first time that Jesse's upper torso was bare. "Oh! I'm so sorry. Are you not dressed?"

That brought more laughter and snorting from the direction of the sofa, and Jesse felt a small flash of irritation at his predicament. Common sense fled, and a desire to have Marty and Alec participate in his discomfort took hold. Smiling, he backed up, opening the door wide. "No, we're dressed. Bring the cart in." He was aware of sudden squeaks of alarm from the others, and then silence from behind him.

Joel smiled and pushed the cart through the door, while Jesse kept his boner hidden behind it. As he turned he could see Marty and Alec on the sofa, all scrunched forward in unnatural positions, with stupid-looking smiles on their faces. Again, Jesse wanted to laugh, but didn't quite dare.

"Lunch time, chicos! Now, what I have here..." Joel was halfway to the coffee table when he became aware of the odd positions and expressions of the two seated on the sofa behind it. He stopped, the cart rattling at the sudden deceleration, and looked at them, and then turned to look at Jesse, who thrust his hips sideways to keep his boner out of sight behind the door.

"Um...everything okay here?" Joel looked concerned.

Jesse smiled. "Sure. That's good right there. Just leave the cart, okay?"

Joel frowned, but then nodded. "Uh...okay. Will you initial the receipt?"

Jesse blinked. "Um...I can't pay for that. You'll have to see my dad."

Joel left the cart and came back towards him. "It's charged to the room. The initialing is just to show you received it. It is quite all right for you to do it." He proffered a small notebook, open to a page, and a pen. Jesse gulped and reached for them - and realized then that he needed both hands. Somehow, he managed to lean out from behind the door enough to take the book and pen, holding the door against him with one foot. This brought a quizzical look from Joel, and more giggles from the sofa. Jesse just had to grin at the situation in spite of himself.

"I didn't know you worked for room service," Jesse said brightly - the first thing that came to mind.

Joel smiled and leaned forward conspiratorially. "Ah, I don't. My cariño - my girl, Daria - she works in the kitchen. Today is a busy day for them, and so I am helping her out when the check-ins are slow."

"Oh. Cool." Jesse quickly scratched his initials on the paper with the pen, and leaned forward a bit to hand them back to Joel. As he did so he lost his balance, his foot slipped off the edge of the door, and he took a saving step forward - thrusting the door away from him in the process. It sailed shut with a bang, and then Jesse was just standing there with his pecker thrust out in all it's glory.

Marty and Alec simply exploded into laughter. Joel looked down, took in the view, suddenly raised his eyes to a point a foot over Jesse's head, and brought up a hand to cover the grin that was trying to assert itself on his features. He turned and looked back at the two boys on the sofa, who had uncovered themselves in their laughter, and saw that they, too, were endowed with erections. Those two, suddenly becoming aware of their exposure, made mad attempts to cover up again, only making Jesse fold over with laughter.

The porter broke into a smile now, and backed over to the door, and opened it. "I am glad to see that all is well here, mi amigos. Enjoy the lunch, and pardon my intrusion." He gave a little bow, an even bigger smile, and stepped out into the hallway and closed the door.

Jesse squeezed his eyes shut and staggered over to the couch, laughing along with the others. He managed to sit on the sofa by Alec again and take a breath, and shake his head. "You guys are turds."

Alec burst out laughing again, and leaned over into Jesse and clapped a hand on Jesse's thigh and squeezed it, and pushed the top of his head against Jesse's cheek, filling Jesse's nose with the sexy smell of hair. If Jesse's dick had been on alert before, it went into ballistic mode at those touches. He took a breath, feeling Alec's body moving against him in laughter, and laid a hand on top of Alec's and squeezed it.

Alec sat up, grinning, and flipped his hand over on top of Jesse's, and squeezed back. Marty, observing the play and not wanting to be left out, pushed his chest against Alec's back and put his arms around him and gave him a ferocious hug. Alec squealed in delight at that and tossed his head back, laughing. Jesse leaned forward, and suddenly his face was close to the new boy's. Alec settled down to a grin, his brown eyes full of smiles, and bumped his nose playfully against Jesse's.

Jesse was not one to miss signals. He caught his breath, and leaned closer. "You've seen guys kiss before, huh?"

Alec nodded. "Yup."

Jesse nodded back. "Ever been kissed by a guy?"

Alec shook his head, his eyes bright. "Maybe. You offering?"

Jesse looked over Alec's shoulder at his boyfriend, who instantly mouthed the word yes.

Jesse leaned closer, until he could feel the warmth emanating from the other boy's face. "Yes."

Alec cocked his head to one side and drifted forward, and Jesse met him halfway.

The new boy immediately opened his lips and let Jesse inside, and Jesse's body simply trembled at the experience. Alec was a good kisser, and Jesse could feel his experience. So he went at the other boy, until Alec put a hand on Jesse's chest and pushed him gently away.

"Holy shit, Jesse!" Alec's face was filled with surprise. "I ain't never been kissed like that."

Marty laughed. "He's good, isn't he?"

Alec nodded. "Yeah. God, my dick hurts, I'm so horny."

Marty pushed himself against Alec's back. "We can help you with that."

Alec gulped, and his expression grew more serious. "Yeah? How?"

Jesse leaned over and nuzzled the new boy's cheek. "Wanna get sucked off?"

Alec licked his lips, but Jesse could already see the answer. Alec nodded.

Jesse jumped to his feet, and went back to the hallway door and locked it. Marty, watching, got up and went to the double doors to the deck, latched them, and drew the drapes across them.

Then they both went back to the sofa and sat on either side of Alec. Jesse looked over at Marty. "You're gonna help me, right?"

Marty laughed. "What do you think?"

Alec nodded. "What should I do?"

Jesse smiled. "Enjoy it."

He reached out, and caressed Alec's hard dick through his shorts. Marty reached around and helped, and Alec tilted his head back and sighed. "Aw, man."

Jesse found the zipper on Alec's shorts and drew it down, and unfastened them at the waist. Then he grinned as Alec's dick popped out. Alec wasn't wearing anything underneath.

"You don't wear underwear?"

Alec smiled. "Not when I go swimming. Do you got underwear on under your suit?"

"Nope. I get your point."

Marty put his chin on Alec's shoulder and leaned over it to examine his dick. "Wow. That's a pretty pony, isn't it, Jesse?"

Jesse nodded. Alec's dick looked as pleasing as Marty's, and about the same size as Jesse's own. He stared at it a moment, and then looked up into the face of the boy it belonged to. Alec's sleepy eyes watched him without worry or fear, and Jesse smiled. "You sure about this?"

Alec smiled. "Sure, I'm sure. Shit, Jesse, you guys got me all wound up now. If I don't get off soon I think I'll explode."

Jesse nodded, and slid off the couch to his knees. Marty copied him, and they took up positions by Alec's legs. Jesse reached up and grabbed the waistband of Alec's shorts in his hands, and gave them a gentle pull. Alec laughed, and raised himself and allowed the shorts to be drawn down and off. Jesse pulled them over Alec's feet and dropped them nearby on the carpet.

And then he just stared a moment, his eyes taking in the beautiful lines and curves of Alec's body. Marty looked, too, and sighed.

"You're a pretty dude, Alec," Marty said softly. Jesse nodded in agreement.

Alec watched them, as if trying to understand. That he'd never been treated like this before was obvious; but so was the fact that he was enjoying it. He smiled. "Thanks." He licked his lips. "You guys getting naked, too?"

Jesse grinned. "You want us to?"

Alec nodded.

Marty laughed, and they both stood and thrust their bathing suits to the carpet and stepped out of them. Jesse laid his dick in his hand and showed it to Alec, then turned and gave him an eyeful of butt. "Okay?"

Alec grinned, his eyes opening wider. "Um, you sure got a cute butt - well, for a guy, I mean."

Marty modeled his. "What about me?"

Alec's grin widened. "Shit! I'm not gay. But, man...you guys sure are okay."

Marty and Jesse both laughed. Alec's amazement at what was happening to him was exceeded in appeal only by the cuteness with which he was accepting it. That Alec had played around before seemed pretty obvious, for while it was clear that this particular experience was new to him, it seemed equally plain that being with naked guys was not.

Jesse sank back to his knees, leaned over, and kissed the underside of Alec's dick. Alec took a breath and rolled his eyes, then squeezed them shut, grinning ear to ear. Marty grinned, leaned in and copied the move. Then he looked over at Jesse. "Ready?"

Jesse nodded. They met at Alec's dick, opened their mouths, and went into a fierce kiss, with the end of Alec's dick between their tongues. Alec gasped and let his head fall back, but Jesse was scarcely paying attention, being suddenly in a tongue battle with Marty, with the head of Alec's dick as the prize. They fought it out for a full minute, and then Marty gave ground, and Jesse sank as far down on Alec's dick as he could. He was briefly in heaven as he had sole possession of the sweet thing; but then Marty was back and they were again battling for dominance.

After a moment Jesse gave ground, and Marty went down on Alec. They traded back and forth after that, Alec's pecker caught in the fierce struggle, until finally, the two battlers grew tired of the war, and simply shared in a quiet peace.

Jesse stroked the inside of Alec's thigh as he worked, loving the smooth touch of the other boy's skin. He also would reach over occasionally and take Marty's hand in his, and they would hold onto each other as they strove to give Alec a moment he would remember forever.

It seemed to be working. Alec made little sounds of delight, and smiled and laughed at the sensations, and kept his hands busy by rubbing both boy's shoulders, necks, and hair. Jesse could sense the slow tightening of Alec's butt, and the slow rise of his hips; so when the other boy moaned softly and began to squirt his spunk into the space between Jesse's and Marty's tongues, he was ready. Jesse sighed, and collected as much of the juice as he could while still sharing with Marty. Their tongues touched constantly, smoothing the milky liquid between them, and Jesse fought not to smile at the taste.

Alec wasn't spicy like Marty was, nor did he taste quite like Jesse's own spunk. Alec was smooth, and maybe a little nutty, and kind of sleepy in flavor. There was no bite, just smooth and pleasurable. The feel of muscles working at the base of the boy's dick and inside of him was thrilling, and Jesse gently cupped Alec's balls for a few seconds until the boy was done spunking.

Alec finally sighed, and relaxed into the cushions. Jesse and Marty cleaned up with their tongues, and then pressed their faces together and kissed.

Then they got to their feet. Alec lay still, his eyes closed, a sweet smile on his face. Marty looked at Jesse and grinned; and then they were hauling a surprised Alec to his feet and pulling him to the bed. Marty climbed in, pulling on Alec's arm. Alec just laughed, and followed, and Jesse climbed in behind him, pushing on the boy's cute butt. They settled down with their heads on the pillows, Alec in the middle, and Jesse and Marty wrapped the other boy in arms and legs and pushed their faces against his.

"How was it?" Marty asked.

"Did you like it?" Jesse added.

Alec sighed and nodded. "I never did anything that was like that."

Jesse smiled, pushed his face against Alec's cheek, and kissed him. Marty took his cue from that, and pushed his face against Alec's other cheek, and kissed there.

Alec giggled, and squeezed them affectionately, and sighed. "What are we doing now?"

Marty laughed, and Jesse raised up and smiled down into Alec's sweet brown eyes. "Gotta test now."

Alec blinked, but his smile only intensified. "Test? What test?"

"Gotta find out, "Marty said, kissing Alec again.

"Yup." Jesse nodded. "We both gave you a ten for snuggle factor." He grinned. "Now we gotta see if we were right."

* * * * * * *

They lay together for a little bit, touching and talking - snuggling - before Marty remembered the food. They got up and checked it, found it still warm enough to enjoy inside the little servers.

After eating they got dressed, Jesse feeling it would be pushing their luck just to all be sitting around naked. The ease with which Alec had settled into friendship with them made Jesse smile, underscoring the sense that Jesse had had of the new boy right away that he was a serene and gentle creature. It was almost as if they had known the blonde-haired boy for years, instead of just having met him hours ago.

Alec seemed a little agog at the change in his life, too. "You guys are really cool," he said, as they finished eating and sat back on the sofa. Jesse had opened the curtains to the deck again, so that if his folks wanted them, they wouldn't feel put off by the secrecy. "I can't believe this happened."

"We just like to have fun," Jesse said. "You sure fit in well with that."

Alec laughed. "I told you my buddy Petey was gay. I like to fool around with him. So it's not like I've never done anything like this before."

Marty gave him a playful jab. "Yeah? With two guys you just met on the beach?"

Alec made a face. "Well...no." He smiled. "I was a little surprised by that, too. But...I just liked you guys right away." His smile went to a grin. "You guys made me horny as hell. It just seemed okay to do stuff with you. I just felt like I've known you guys a lot longer than an hour...you know?"

Jesse nodded, amazed that he had just been thinking the same thing. "Yup. Shit happens."

Alec leaned forward, obviously interested. "Do you two do this all the time? Pull up strange guys on skateboards and bring them home for...you know?" He grinned.

Marty laughed at that, and gave Alec a fond squeeze. "You mean bring them home and suck their dicks?" he whispered.

Jesse loved the little blush that came into Alec's cheeks. "Uh, yeah. That."

"Nope. You're the first." Marty prodded Alec again. "After you we might want to do it some more, though."

"Actually, he's not the first," Jesse said.

Marty blinked, and then looked at him uncertainly.

"Greg and Rafie," Jesse reminded.

Marty made an oh shit face, and then nodded. "Yeah. Sorry. That seemed different because we were at home, I guess." He shrugged at Alec. "I guess that makes you the third."

Alec squeezed his eyes shut and laughed, and it was so cute that Jesse and Marty laughed with him. When Alec opened his eyes they were simply charged with good spirits. "You guys are crazy, you know that?"

Marty nodded. "Maybe a little. Is there anything wrong with that?"

Alec seemed to mull that over a second, but then shook his head. "Nope. I'm cool with it."

Jesse leaned close to Alec's face. "We liked you. That's why we brought you back."

"Yeah, but...well, you guys are boyfriends. What about that?"

Alec looked into Jesse's eyes, and Jesse gave a little sigh at what he saw. He sure loved Marty, he knew that. But Jesse also loved guys in general, and especially when they were as sweet on the inside as this one.

He nodded. "I love Marty. He's mine and nobody else's, and I'm his." Jesse shrugged. "But we both love guys. And we love sex, and we love to play." He looked pointedly at Alec then. "You got a girl. You still play."

Alec opened his mouth - and then shut it again. "Oh, yeah. I didn't think about that."

"Does she know you play with Pete?" Marty asked.

The idea of that made Alec gasp. "No! I mean...no." He grinned. "Think I'm stupid?"

"No," Marty said. "We don't. Then you can get how you can have someone special, and still have friends you like to play with?"

Alec frowned. "Oh." He considered that. "You think I should tell her? I mean, she knows Pete's my best bud, and she knows he's gay. I don't want to have a bunch of secrets from her."

Jesse and Marty looked at each other, neither wanting to dispense possibly harmful advice.

"No," Jesse decided, shaking his head. "I wouldn't just tell her. But you might wanna talk to her about how she feels about stuff like gay guys and best friends, and see what she says." He grinned then. "You ever smash her?"

"Uh uh," Alec said immediately. He grinned then. "Well, I sucked on her boobs a little, and put my finger up her pussy. And...um, she's sucked me off a few times." He shrugged. "We sure don't want any babies, though. That scares the shit out of both of us."

Jesse nodded, understanding that. "That's not something me'n Marty have to worry about. But I get what you mean." He leaned forward and closed his eyes and gently nuzzled Alec's cheek with his nose, and was rewarded by a gentle push back. He could feel the life and warmth in the other boy, and that touched something inside of him he simply could not name.

Jesse pulled back and just smiled. Alec watched him a moment, as if trying to see what was happening behind Jesse's eyes, and then nodded. "You guys are special, Jesse," he said quietly. He looked over at Marty. "Being gay seems okay."

Marty hooted. "We think so! Don't we, Jesse?"

Jesse nodded, grinning at Alec. "Sure you don't want to join the club?"

Alec returned the grin, and looked like he was actually thinking about it. But then he sighed and shook his head. "You guys are cute, and you got nice bodies." He laughed. "Real nice butts." He shook his head. "You guys are even fun to kiss, and to cuddle with" -- a new thought seemed to pop into his head, and he looked at Jesse interestedly -- "by the way, did I get a ten for that?"

"Definitely," Jesse said, smiling.

"Yep," Marty agreed. "No question."

Alec grinned, his cheeks rosying up a bit again, but nodded. "I even loved having my dick sucked like that. But " -- he shook his head -- "I don't wanna have some guy's dick in my mouth, and no way am I letting him shoot off in my mouth." He shrugged. "It kind of grosses me out. Same thing I told Pete. It's just...just not me."

Jesse sighed, but understood completely. He felt the same way about sticking his tongue into some girl's pussy. Yuck.

He nodded, squeezed Alec's arm gently. "That's cool, Alec. It really is. We all like who we like. It's built in." He smiled, and leaned closer to the other boy again. "Whoever gets you is lucky as shit, man. I just want you to know that."

Alec stared at him a moment, his lips quivering gently. Then he gave a little sigh and nodded. "Thanks."

Jesse leaned back and looked at Marty, gave a nod of his head towards Alec; and then they both dove in and pressed their lips against his cheeks, and sent questing fingers gently against his belly. Alec laughed and grabbed at their hands, but it was plain that he really wasn't trying to stop them from doing anything. So they tickled him a minute, and then relaxed, and just lay together sharing a little closeness.

Jesse could smell the warm scent of Alec's skin, so different from Marty's musky-sweet scent, but equally wonderful in its own way. Alec smelled somehow of sun and sand and sea. It was invigorating and sexy, and Jesse smiled and closed his eyes and rubbed his nose against Alec's cheek. Here was another life, another moment shared.

Just a little while ago, Jesse had not known this guy. Had never laid eyes on him. And then Alec had come along, and they had met, and now here was Jesse, with his face pressed against the other boy's, and the warmth of his skin beneath Jesse's hand. That was just so amazing.

He knew that he loved people. And, most of all, guys. And there was just something about certain ones that got close to his heart very quickly, and in ways he could not disregard. That he might meet other guys in life and fall just as quickly for the charm of them seemed okay. Okay as long as it was done with Marty. They shared this thing, this love of guys and being close to them.

For a moment, Rafie's lopsided grin appeared in Jesse's mind, and he smiled, wondering where the other boy was just now and what he might be doing. And Greg's face, smiling and happy. And then another face came - Nate. A small sigh came with that one, as Jesse remembered all the things he might have done with Nate to show him how he felt about him, but had simply been too new at understanding, and too afraid to attempt. There would always be a sweet spot in Jesse's thoughts for all three boys, because they had touched his heart, and his life, and all of them had shared things with him that were special, and painted with affection.

And now, Alec. Jesse could sense the closeness of him, feel his heart beat under his hand. Here was another new life to add to the ones Jesse had shared in. It made him smile, and want to hear Alec laugh, and so he gently pressed his fingertips into Alec's belly until he did. Marty looked over at Jesse then, his blue eyes full of sparkles and a grin on his face. He laid a hand next to Jesse's on Alec's belly, and copied his movements. Alec's chest vibrated with his laughter, and both boys smiled.

They kissed and tickled him for a few more seconds, and then let him go. He gasped, and then grinned, his brown eyes alight. "Stop that."

Marty laughed. "Say it like you mean it."

Alec grinned, dropped his voice several octaves. "Stop that."

They all laughed, and settled together in a warm and comfortable huddle.

Alec raised his hands and gave them each a small poke with his fingers. "Um, think you guys would do me a favor?"

Jesse shrugged. "Don't see why not."

"Yeah," Marty said, giving Alec a prod back. "We're friends now."

Alec grinned. "Yeah. Well...I was wondering if you'd meet my friend Pete?"

Jesse leaned forward and grinned at Marty before turning his eyes to examine Alec's. "Any special reason?"

Alec looked undecided for a moment, but then nodded. "Well...because you guys are gay."

Jesse realized that Alec wasn't kidding around now, that he was heading somewhere more serious with this, and so dropped the banter. "Okay. Why is that important?"

"Well...he needs somebody to talk to. Um...someone that can relate, I guess." Alec gave a little grunt. "He's lonely."

Marty sat forward, too, and he and Jesse both looked at Alec.

"He doesn't have anyone?"

"He did. We had a friend named Billy. He was pretty gay, too, and him and Petey were just getting together when Billy moved to Oregon with his mom." Alec frowned. "That kinda busted Pete up."

A light flicked on in Jesse's mind. "Oh. Those are the two guys you've seen kiss before?"

Alec nodded. 'Yeah. But now Pete is by himself, and he's just got me." Alec shook his head. "I love Pete, but not like that, you know? I can't be his boyfriend." Alec sighed. "And playing around with my dick isn't what he needs. He needs someone more special."

"We don't know anyone here," Jesse pointed out. "We can't help with that."

"Not like that, maybe," Alec agreed. "But you can talk to him about how maybe he can find somebody, or something. Just so he doesn't feel like he never will."

Marty looked over at Jesse, and nodded.

"Okay," Jesse said. "You'll have to bring him here, though, because my folks won't let us go off the hotel property without them."

Alec nodded. "I can do that." He sighed, and smiled. "Thanks, fellas. Petey means a lot to me. He's my buddy. I hate seeing him messed up like this."

Jesse gazed at Marty, imagining what it might be like to have him suddenly move away. Something clutched at his heart, and he had to resist the sudden impulse for his eyes to get wet. Maybe Marty was imagining the same thing, because he suddenly sniffed and rubbed his nose, and then nodded at Alec. "We'll see what we can do to help. You bring him over, okay?"

And then he leaned across Alec and kissed Jesse. Five times.

* * * * * * *

At dinner that evening, the boys and Jesse's parents discussed their day, and what they wanted to do the next day, Sunday.

Jesse's parents, tired from the trip, had spent the day lounging in their room, and also in their hot tub. They looked refreshed and happy and recharged as they sat down to eat.

Jesse had scoped out the dining room as they had entered, hoping to see the boy who had smiled and waved the previous evening. But he and his family were not present, and in fact there was a dearth of guys there to look at. Jesse figured that it was because it was Saturday, and a lot of guests were probably out seeing the sights. That though made Jesse smile. Maybe - just maybe, the boy who had waved had managed to talk his dad into going wherever it was, or doing whatever it was, that he had been so disappointed in not getting agreement to the previous evening.

Alec had stayed until three o'clock, and then said he'd better go and check in with his dad. Jesse and Marty had walked with him to the door to the deck, and stood side by side as Alec turned to face them.

"Got our numbers?" Jesse had asked, referring to the cell number swap they had done a little earlier. Alec had patted the paper in his front pocket, and grinned. "Yup."

Jesse and Marty both had added Alec's number to their cells, and had promised to call him later so that they could make plans to bring Petey by to meet them. And then, while Jesse and Marty had had their phones out, they'd taken several pictures of Alec, and of each other, with the promise to send them to Alec's phone.

After that they had all stood there, just looking at each other. The sense that something special was passing was strong. But then Alec had sighed, and come back to them, leaning in and putting an arm around each of their necks, and giving them a hug. "You guys are really cool," he'd said, turning his head to give them each a kiss on the cheek. Jesse and Marty had returned that kiss, and squeezed Alec tightly between them.

Jesse had felt the separation as Alec had picked up his skateboard, smiled at them again, and left. They'd stood at the door and watched him cross the sand to the boardwalk, put down the skateboard, put one foot aboard, and propel himself up the walk towards the lifeguard stand.

Jesse had turned to Marty and hugged him then. "Never leave me, Marty."

Marty had sensed Jesse's mood, and hugged him mightily. "I won't."

Jesse had called his folks and told them that he and Marty were going to take a nap, but would be up by five for dinner. And then they had pulled the curtains over the door, and gone to bed, and made love.

Jesse knew he bonded easily to some guys, and that it was hard for him when they left. Alec was a real sweetheart, too, and Jesse had already invested in some affection for him. He already knew that when the week was up and it was time to go home, he would be upset to have to say goodbye.

They sat down and ordered their dinner - Mexican again - and then sat sipping their waters, waiting.

"I talked to Mike Melville this afternoon," his dad said then. "He called to make sure we were settled in okay. He was telling me about some of the places to visit while we were here."

Jesse and Marty both perked up at that.

"Anything cool?" Jesse asked.

His dad grinned at him. "I think I know you well enough to say 'yes'."

Jesse looked at Marty, and they both grinned.

Jesse's mom laughed. "I think you have their attention, Mark."

Mr. Cole nodded. "Well, there's the Air and Space Museum we passed in Balboa Park, back in town. Mike said they have some cool stuff on display." He laughed. "He also said the place was a madhouse on the weekend, and that it was better to go on a weekday. In fact, he said that about a lot of the places of interest to visitors, so I was thinking we'd wait until Tuesday to go look around town. What do you guys think?"

Jesse frowned. "Any particular reason for Tuesday, dad?"

"Yes. Like Mike said, the tours are loaded on the weekend, so that lets out tomorrow. Monday I have my meetings with Rankine here and at their plant, so I'll be gone all day." He smiled. "You guys can go somewhere with your mom, if you want, Jesse."

Jesse understood then. He laughed at having forgotten why they were in San Diego in the first place. "I can wait, dad. We don't want to leave you out of anything."

"Okay. And I want to go and see the USS Midway, too. That's just up from the Embarcadero."

Marty gaped. "For real? A ship?"

Jesse felt a small thrill. "Yeah, that's what it is." He grinned at his boyfriend. "My dad loves ships. We got tons of books on them. The Midway was built at the end of World War Two, and served until the nineties. Longer than any other aircraft carrier in the navy."

His dad looked surprised, and laughed. "Why Jesse, you were listening when we read those books together."

When Jesse had been little, he'd used to sit on his dad's lap in the den while his dad read his ship books, and they would sometimes read together. That was how Jesse had learned to read. It was a fond memory, as well as were the books themselves.

"Sure, dad. I remember that stuff. It was really cool." The grin he passed with that made his dad sit back and look at him a moment, and then smile.

"Yes. It was cool, Jesse."

Jesse smiled at the look on his dad's face, and turned to Marty. "Wait'll you see this thing, Marty. The deck is huge. And there will be jets, too." He bounced his eyebrows up and down. "Fighter jets."

Marty had a weakness for aircraft, and especially those small and nimble terrors of the sky. Marty let his tongue hang out a moment, and then laughed. "I'm ready for that!"

Mr. Cole nodded. "We can go see the Maritime Museum on the same day."

"While we're in Balboa Park, I want to see the Museum of Art," Jesse's mom said. "And one day while we're here we're going by Seaworld, and the San Diego Zoo."

"That sounds cool, too," Jesse said. He looked at Marty, who nodded.

Jesse looked back at his dad. "What about tomorrow?"

Mr. Cole shrugged. "Your mom and I want to do a little swimming in the ocean, and maybe sit on the beach. You guys can join us or do something else. Just don't go off somewhere. We want to know where you are."

Marty bumped Jesse with his elbow. "Good day to meet Pete."

Jesse nodded, and turned back to his dad. "Alec wanted us to meet his buddy, Petey. He said Petey is gay and needs someone to talk to about it. Is that okay?"

His parents looked at each other, and then his mother looked at Jesse a little quizzically. "You told your new friend you were gay?"

Jesse nodded. "Yup. He asked us if we had girlfriends, and we didn't want to lie."

Mrs. Cole smiled. "And he was okay with it?"

"Sure, mom. That's when he told us about Pete."

His mom's eyebrows went up a little. "Oh. So...Alec isn't gay?"

"Uh uh. He has a girlfriend named Sandy."

Jesse parents looked at each other and laughed, and that made Jesse wonder what they had been thinking about them bringing Alec back with them earlier. He opened his mouth to ask, and then closed it again when he realized that not only did it not really matter, but that it also might steer the conversation over to what the three boys had been doing in Jesse's room all day. He almost laughed at that, and covered it with a cough.

Don't poke the bear!

His mom nodded. "Sounds okay to me. Is this boy, Pete, okay?"

Jesse looked over at Marty a moment, and then back at his mom. "I guess. Alec just said that Pete is lonely, and feels like he won't ever have anybody. Alec thought maybe it would be good for him to talk to two guys his age that are together."

His parents looked at each other again, and then his mom smiled. "Oh, Jesse, that's really sweet of you and Marty to try to help this boy."

Mr. Cole nodded. "Sure. If that's what you guys want to do tomorrow, that's fine. Just don't go away from the hotel, okay?"

"Okay, dad."

Jesse looked at Marty, and they both grinned.

* * * * * * *

After dinner they called Alec, and arranged for him to bring Pete by their room the next day at eleven. They put Alec on speakerphone, and Jesse told the other boy just to come right up to the deck doors and knock.

"Oh," Alec said, giving a small laugh. "What if you guys are doing something?"

"If we're doing something, we'll stop," Marty said, returning the laugh. "And we'll let you guys in, and then we can all do something."

Marty was kidding, and Alec seemed to know it. "Ye-ah. Okay. We'll see you at eleven."

After that, Jesse and Marty decided to hit the beach a little before the sun went down, and took towels out and a couple of drinks, and sat and watched the people play. There were some nice looking guys out, and some cute girls even, a few of whom smiled at them in passing. Jesse and Marty smiled back, but otherwise gave no encouragement, not wanting to disrupt their quiet evening with a lot of talk and flirting.

Well, not with girls, anyway.

At one point they got up and dived into the surf, just to get wet and play a little, and then went back and stretched out on their towels. Marty was incredibly sexy wet, with his hair plastered down around his face and his body glistening in the setting sun, and it was all that Jesse could do to keep his hands off him as he lay there only a foot away.

"You're some hot shit," he whispered to him, though, and grinned as Marty's eyes opened wide and he laughed.

"Look who's talking," Marty whispered back. "You're stealing my heart just lookin' at ya, ya little thief."

Jesse grinned, and felt warm inside, and let his eyes go back towards the horizon, where the sun was coming down to the water unmasked by clouds this evening.

As much as he loved the woods, there was also something to be said about this place, with it's yellow-white sands and it's gentle ocean, and it's peaceful, setting sun. The world had so much to offer the eyes and the other senses, and Jesse never failed to look and listen and feel.

The barest of breezes caressed his damp skin, giving it a small tingle as he slowly dried. Scents, both familiar and strange, abounded, tickling his nose as the same small breeze brought those tantalizing aromas to him. And all about him there was sound - the small, playful wash of the surf, the calls and laughter of people, and the distant sounds of cars passing out on the highway.

The world is so big and I am so small, Jesse thought then, just amazed at the power of all that his senses were telling him.

He looked again at Marty and smiled, amazed all over again that in all this vastness, this huge and splendid dream, the world had seen fit to bring to him the one person he could love above all others - well, except maybe his parents. And that was splitting a small infinity of feeling, as the two loves were not the same, and not to be compared.

Marty saw him looking, saw maybe the depth in Jesse's eyes; and then before Jesse even knew it was coming, Marty had leaned forward and kissed him. Right there, on the beach, with the sun and the emerging stars watching, and god only knew how many people.

Jesse didn't pull away. He leaned into the kiss, and made it worth whatever it might cost.

When they pulled apart, there was moisture on Marty's cheeks, and Jesse felt his own eyes well at the corners.

"I love you, Jesse," Marty said softly, his eyes magically sparkling in the setting sun.

For a moment Jesse's voice would not come, and he nodded, trying to smile. Marty grinned suddenly, and stuck out a hand and gently wiped Jesse's cheeks. "I guess that means you love me back, huh?"

Jesse nodded, and finally found his voice. "Yeah."

And then his eyes went past Marty, and Jesse saw then that no one was watching, no one was pointing, no one whispering behind a raised hand.

No one was paying attention at all.

His eyes moved over the people on the beach, and all of them seemed to be about their own business, and not concerned with Jesse's or Marty's.

He was about to pull his gaze back to his boyfriend when his eyes landed on a pair that were watching - were looking directly at him. For a second Jesse felt an electric shock at the sudden link, as he realized that this pair of eyes had not only been watching, but had seen everything.

He focused on the guy - an older teen, maybe - lounging with a girl upon a far towel. Both of them were in bathing suits. The girl was on her belly, allowing the gentle rays of the setting sun to add to her already magnificent tan. The guy was on the other side of her, propped up on one elbow, his other hand on her back, palm down, gently rubbing her.

But his eyes were on Jesse.

An immediate feeling of familiarity came to Jesse then, as the gaze of those eyes diminished somewhat in power, and the face holding them registered more deeply in Jesse's mind.

He knew this guy.

Someone he had seen around the hotel? In the dining room, maybe?

It came to him in a sudden rush - one strong enough to make him gasp.

It was Joel, the porter. It had taken Jesse a moment to recognize the guy without his uniform.

Marty turned then, his attention captured by the look on Jesse's face, and they both looked at the porter, there with his girl.

Joel's eyebrows went up at the combined stare, and then he smiled. He took his hand off the girl's back for a moment, and waved.

The tension oozed out of Jesse, and he grinned. And then he lifted a hand, and waved back.

Joel leaned down and said something into the ear of the girl, who smiled, and nodded a little sleepily. And then the porter got to his feet, and started towards Jesse and Marty.

Jesse looked at Marty, who shrugged, and then both of them turned back to watch the other come.

Jesse could not help but to notice that the porter, without his neat uniform, was quite stunning in the briefest of bathing suits. His body was dark and firm, and his slow and confident walk across the sands more than a little bit sexy. For a second Jesse looked ahead, just a few years, to when he would be driving and nearing the end of school, and wondered if guys like this would then be stealing his gaze everywhere he went. And he knew then, that it would be true. He and Marty had much to look forward to!

Marty took an elbow and gently jabbed Jesse. "Guy's hot."

Jesse just laughed, once again amazed and pleased that his mind and Marty's mind were running on the same pair of tracks. And in the same direction.

As he neared them, Joel waved again and smiled. "Hola, chicos. How is the day going?"

Jesse and Marty both sat up and crossed their legs, Indian-style, as Joel settled to a squat next to them.

"What's up?" Jesse asked.

"We're just chillin' some," Marty added.

"I saw," Joel said, grinning. "Amor. It is very sweet to see."

Jesse felt a blush in his cheeks. "Uh, you saw that, huh?"

The porter laughed. "Yes. May I sit?"

The boys scrambled back a bit and made room for Joel on their joined towels. He dropped easily into a cross-legged sit like their own. "It is a beautiful evening, would you say?"

Jesse and Marty both nodded, wondering what was on the porter's mind.

Joel smiled again, and then just a bit of nerves came into his eyes. "I do not wish to bother you, mi amigos. In fact, I could get into trouble for even coming to speak to you." He shook his head. "I do not want trouble. If you do not wish to speak to me, tell me, and I will go."

Jesse looked at Marty, and Marty made a little face. Let's see what he has to say.

Jesse nodded, and turned back to Joel. "We're okay. What's up?"

Joel swallowed, and Jesse could see then that the porter was actually nervous.

Joel cleared his throat. "You two - you are enamorado? In love?"

Despite the personal nature of the question, Jesse saw that to dispute the fact after what Joel had witnessed them doing would simply be stupid. So he reached over and collected Marty's hand, and gave it a fond squeeze. "Yeah. We are."

Joel's eyes seemed sympathetic. "In my land, where I am originally from, it is hard to be like you. They call it 'maricon', and say, 'Le gusta el arroz con popote'. It means, 'he likes his rice through a straw.'"

Jesse was briefly shocked at that. Where was this going?

Joel nodded. "My family came here to the north, when I was just chiquito" -- he held a hand up a foot above the towel --" a small boy, in part to be away from the judgments of those who think in this fashion. To be away from the violence of cartels." He sighed. "To be away from trouble, and to live in peace. My parents - they believe in peace. As do I." He waved a hand at the beach and the setting sun. "We have found that here, in this country. It is our home now."

Marty nodded. "What's your point?"

Joel bit his lip. "I have a little brother, David." Joel pronounced the name like Da-veed. "He is your age - thirteen?"

Jesse and Marty nodded.

Joel returned the nod, and smiled. "I love my brother very much. He has el sol - the sun - in his heart."

Marty shrugged, looking at Jesse. "Why are you telling us this?"

Joel raised a hand, placed the side of his forefinger against his lips, and seemed to be deciding on something. "He is like you," he finally said. "He loves the boys."

Jesse's eyes bounced wide. Gay. Joel was saying his brother was gay.

Joel nodded, seeing then that they understood. "There are many like you in the world, mi amigos. Many more than people know or understand. I long ago decided that so many cannot be wrong in their thinking, that God does not make such large mistakes with his work. So there is a purpose to this, and so we must accept it and treasure it, like all life. You understand?"

Jesse did, but still did not know the purpose of the porter's visit. He said so.

Joel sighed. "My brother...he does not know how to be gay. He does love the boys, but he fears it, and so he is unhappy. He is lonely. I thought --" Joel stopped, looked around the beach before continuing. "I thought if he talked to the two of you, he might learn."

Jesse was shocked, and then astounded. Alec's words from just a few hours ago echoed throughout his mind: "Pete needs someone to talk to..."

Marty suddenly laughed, and looked at Jesse. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Pete?" Jesse asked, grinning.

Marty nodded. He turned to look at Joel again. "Do you live near here? Can you bring your brother by tomorrow morning? At eleven?"

The surprise that leaped to Joel's features made both boys laugh. "Yes. We live just a mile down the road." He looked like he could not believe that things had gone so easily. "You will speak with him? You will speak with David?"

Jesse nodded. "Sure. Can you bring him to our room?"

Joel made a face, and scratched his head. "I am off tomorrow, but...I don't know about this. It is against the rules for us to do things with visitors. I do not wish to lose my job."

Marty reached over and gave Joel a small tap on the arm. "Bring David to the beach, show him our room, and let him come by himself, then." He laughed. "We'll treat him okay, I promise."

Joel looked a long moment at each face before him, and then finally nodded. "Eleven o'clock. I will have him here."

Jesse nodded. "What are you going to tell him?"

"The truth." Joel shrugged. "He will come, because he trusts his brother, and knows how much I love him." Joel leaned a little closer, a small pleading note in his eyes. "So I will trust you, okay?"

Jesse and Marty both nodded. "You can trust us," Jesse said. "We'll do what we can for David."

Joel sighed, and a big smile came onto his face. "Muchas gracias, mi amigos. Thank you. You have made my day brighter."

Jesse and Marty both laughed.

Joel looked back over his shoulder in the direction he had come. "And now, I must get back to my cariño. Thank you, chicos." He stood, nodded to them again, and then headed back to the girl on the towel.

Marty looked at Jesse, his eyes alight with sparkles. "Do you believe this?"

Jesse grinned. "Think we can get them together?"

Marty leaned forward, throwing caution to the wind, and kissed Jesse again. "All I know is, we're gonna try!"

* * * * * * *

After dark, and after saying good night to Jesse's parents, Jesse and Marty slipped out to the hot tub and climbed in naked, and sat in a seat together and kissed and held each other. They had the water jets on, and the massage going full blast. The very water vibrated, tingling against their skin and adding to the sensations of touch that had already made their dicks hard and wanting. But it was being with Marty that really made Jesse happy, and feeling Marty's skin against his that made him so horny.

They took turns sitting on the edge of the tub and having their dicks sucked, and the warm air and the water against his legs - and Marty's practiced attentions to his dick - made the whole thing wonderful for Jesse. He sat back, propped up on his arms, and looked up into the night sky, his lower body tingling with feeling. Marty gently rubbed Jesse's hips with his fingertips as he worked, and smoothed the little valleys at the tops of Jesse's legs with his thumbs. Jesse rubbed Marty's hips under the water with the insides of his feet as his boyfriend worked, and when he finally reached orgasm he clenched Marty with his legs and gasped out his delight.

When they switched places, and Jesse took Marty into his mouth, he could only sigh at how satisfying it was. He closed his eyes and rubbed Marty's sides gently, and breathed in the musky-sweet scent of Marty's skin, and it was just heaven on wheels. And when Marty finally shuddered in delight and squirted his spicy spunk into Jesse's mouth, Jesse savored every drop of it before finally swallowing it down.

Afterwards they sat on the steps of their deck and talked, naked to the world - but the world wasn't looking. The lights along the boardwalk were far enough away for their light not to encroach upon them, and the beach was now empty of people. Stars dotted the sky above, and the moon seemed to have gone off somewhere. The boys were just two more phantoms in the night, unseen, unremarked upon, free to simply be together for this moment in time.

The breeze off the ocean had picked up, and it was cool and invigorating. Jesse leaned against Marty's shoulder, also enjoying the small and soft warmth that always gave him, and which reminded him that he was not alone, that there was a special someone that loved him and cared about him just as much as Jesse loved and cared back. He held onto one of Marty's hands, which moved about with characteristic animation as his boyfriend talked, causing Jesse to smile.

"I don't know, Jesse. We gotta do this just right, or it might make things worse."

Jesse nodded. "Yeah. Well, Pete doesn't know about David, and David doesn't know about Pete. So we won't tell them about each other, at least not right off. Alec will be with Pete, so at least Pete might be pretty relaxed. I just don't know about David." Jesse frowned. "Pete will already know we're gay, and so will David. But I don't wanna just introduce them to each other and then say each one is gay." He leaned his head on Marty's shoulder. "I'm not sure how to get started."

Marty nudged him gently. "I could just kiss you. "He laughed. "Or stick my hand in your shorts."

Jesse grinned, picked up his head and looked at his boyfriend, and squeezed Marty's hand. "Let's just go slow, okay? I don't wanna push either of these guys. It would be just cool if they liked each other right away."

Marty leaned closer, and his lips gently brushed Jesse's cheek. Jesse grinned, turned his head, and returned the gift.

Marty sighed. "It would be nice if they could be happy like we are."

Jesse let go of Marty's hand and took it into his other one, and used the freed hand to gently rub his boyfriend's back. He could feel Marty press closer against him in the night. "Are we happy, Marty?"

There was a snort from the other boy. "I am. I'm fuckin' shit-crazy happy. Aren't you?"

Jesse nodded immediately, rubbing his cheek on Marty's shoulder. "Yeah. I've never been so happy."

Marty didn't say anything, but Jesse could feel him smile. He turned his head, found Marty's lips right there, and kissed him.

"We'll just do the best we can," Marty said then. "I don't know if this is something we can even plan until we meet these guys."

Jesse laughed. "You mean we're gonna wing it?"

"I guess we have to, for now."

Jesse could see no other way himself. "Okay. Just be careful what you say, okay?"

Marty gave a soft snicker. "I'm always careful what I say."

Jesse laughed, too, but didn't want to contradict Marty.

His boyfriend was very careful, actually. He just had different ideas on what it was okay to say to people sometimes. But that Marty was concerned about both Pete and David was obvious. Marty loved guys, just like Jesse, and he always wanted them to be happy.

Jesse felt Marty's shoulder move, and then felt his boyfriend's fingers running gently along the length of his dick. "Someone's horny again," Marty said.

Jesse sighed, feeling the little thrill his body got when it somehow knew it was going to get to be intimate with Marty. "You always make me horny," Jesse whispered.

Marty kissed him gently, and nodded. "Ready for bed?"

"I'm not that sleepy," Jesse said, playing the game.

Marty laughed. "Then we'll just get in bed and do other things."

The little thrill in Jesse's loins intensified. "What things?"

Marty stood up, pulling Jesse to his feet. "It will be better to show you than to tell you." He turned for the doors, tugging gently but insistently on Jesse's hand.

Jesse followed, grinning in the dark.

* * * * * * *

"Ooh. Chimichanga de Huevo y Jamon," Jesse said, staring intently at the breakfast menu. The morning sun was coming into the other side of the dining room and playing light games with the intricately tiled floor, and spilling enough of an incidental glow into the air that Jesse had to squint a little as he surveyed the kitchen's offerings.

"What the heck is that?" Marty asked, leaning closer to peer at Jesse's menu.

Jesse spared him a glance - and then a smile. Marty's tanned face and sparkly blue eyes were beautiful in the glow off the floor, and Jesse took an involuntary, deep breath in appreciation before letting it out again slowly.

"A chimichanga is like a burrito, but it's fried," Jesse explained. "It's really good."

Marty's eyes met his for a moment, and his boyfriend smiled. "Yeah? What's that other junk? Huevo y Jamon?"

"Um..." Jesse scratched his head, not quite sure himself.

Across the table, his mom laughed. "That's egg and ham, sweetheart," she said. "I do think it sounds good, though."

Jesse's dad nodded, his eyes on his own menu. "That does look good, but I'm not sure it's for breakfast. Think I'll have the good old fashioned Tocino con Huevos Ruevueltos."

Jesse had to laugh at that. "That's old fashioned?"

His mom sighed, and gave Mr. Cole a gentle pat on the arm. "It's scrambled eggs and bacon, honey," she said to Jesse. "Your dad just thinks three years of high school Spanish makes him smarter than the rest of us."

Jesse's dad laughed, closing his menu. "Now, that's not true. Can I help it if I can remember enough of the stuff to get me into trouble?"

Mrs. Cole laughed, but gave her husband a look.

Jesse leaned across the table, holding his menu up so that it shielded his face from his mom, but perfectly aware that she could still hear him. "Now might be a good time to do the shut up thing, dad," he whispered loudly.

Jesse leaned back quickly as his mother swatted his arm with her menu, and grinned and held his own up defensively. "I'll shut up! I promise!"

His mom sighed, but smiled at him. "You have a lot of your father in you, Jesse."

"I'm good with that," Jesse responded. "Aren't you, dad?"

His father nodded, but leaned slightly away from his wife. "Just shows that one set of genes is working, anyway," he said out of the side of his mouth.

Marty closed his eyes and laughed out loud, but stopped immediately as he realized that all eyes had turned to him. He blinked, looking from one Cole face to another. "I'm sorry. It was funny."

Jesse hooted, and his dad laughed. Even Jesse's mom smiled. "You fit into this macho squad a little too well, Marty," she said, but her eyes were anything but reproving. She sighed melodramatically. "What's a poor woman to do?"

"You could start by stop kicking me under the table," Mr. Cole said, wincing. He reached down and made a show of rubbing his shin.

Jesse's mom laughed, trying hard to look indignant. "I did no such thing."

Mr. Cole nodded, and rolled his eyes. "Uh huh. Then the socks I'm wearing on that ankle sure are too tight or something."

Jesse's mom stuck her tongue out. "Well, you started it."

"Did not."

"Did so."

Jesse laid his menu on the table. "Now look, you two - do I have to send you to your room?"

Marty made a sound of astonishment and looked from one adult to the other, as if waiting for the other shoe to drop. Jesse's parents both took in the wideness of the boy's eyes, and both of them laughed.

"We're just kidding around, Marty," Mr. Cole said, smiling. Mrs. Cole nodded, trying not to laugh at the look on Marty's face.

Marty turned to Jesse, who also nodded. "We kid around like this all the time, Marty."

Marty gave a small shake of his head. "Oh."

Jesse leaned a little closer. "You don't kid around with your folks?"

Marty sat still a moment, as if thinking about it. But then he smiled. "Yeah, I do. It just seems really weird to see other people's parents doing it."

Jesse's heart flip-flopped at the cute look on his boyfriend's face, and on impulse he leaned over and kissed Marty's cheek, right in front of his parents. Marty gave a stunned laugh, and raised a hand to his cheek, his eyes going to the adults.

Both of them also looked surprised, but only smiled.

Mrs. Cole leaned across the table and put a hand on Marty's. "It's okay, sweetie. We know, remember?"

Marty nodded, but his face was turning slowly red. Jesse immediately felt badly that he had embarrassed his boyfriend, and found Marty's hand underneath the table and clasped it. Marty gripped Jesse's hand tightly in turn.

Mrs. Cole frowned, and then smiled. "It looked just like this, Marty." And then she turned and leaned over and kissed her husband's cheek. Mr. Cole smiled, and bounced his eyebrows up and down. "Ooh, I like that."

Marty laughed, and Jesse felt the tension easing out of his boyfriend's grip. Marty turned to look at him, and Jesse immediately leaned closer. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Marty's gaze went deeper into Jesse's eyes, the smile on his face turning slowly from one of humor to one of love. He nodded, and then leaned forward and gave Jesse a quick kiss, right on the lips.

Jesse heard a tiny roar of energy as it was loosened from captivity and bounced down the pipes of his nerve pathways, turning left at his crotch and continuing on right into his shoes. He laughed in surprise, and at the weak feeling that momentarily overcame him. "Wow," he breathed.

Marty looked at Jesse parents. "You don't mind?"

Jesse's mom watched them quietly a moment before smiling. She slid her hand across the table and gave Marty's arm a fond squeeze. "That you love our Jesse?" she asked, quietly. "No, Marty. We don't mind." She sniffed then, as if to accent her words.

Mr. Cole nodded. "It's okay, Marty. Believe me."

Marty grinned, and Jesse could see the acceptance in the other boy's eyes.

"Doesn't mean you can kiss me all the time in public," Jesse whispered. "Just when I want you to."

Marty grinned, and leaned closer. "Yeah? And when is that?"

Jesse licked his lips. "All the time. Every day. Forever."

Marty swallowed hard, his eyebrows knitting together, and nodded. "Okay." But his smile quickly returned.

The server came then, and took their orders, and for a moment things felt more normal again. But Jesse kept sneaking glances at Marty, only to see Marty sneaking glances back. Both of them smiled.

Jesse sighed. There was still a need to maintain privacy in their relationship. But something had just happened that made things feel easier - made them feel better. Privacy was one thing. Openness was another. Gone was the feeling of secrecy, even when they had known that their parents knew.

No more hiding. Not ever.

Jesse smiled at that. What a great vacation this was turning out to be!

They all continued to talk until the food arrived, and then talked some more as they ate. Every now and then, Jesse would feel Marty's bare leg push against his under the table, and when he would look over at his boyfriend, Marty would smile.

That Marty was also feeling a little of their new freedom seemed obvious. Jesse loved the sprinkles of light in his boyfriend's eyes, each one like a sign of Marty's feelings for Jesse - each a firefly, escaped from the warm depths of Marty's heart and into the new light between them. It made Jesse smile to think about.

The food came, and it was delicious. They continued to talk and laugh together as they ate, and Jesse could not recall having a better time with his parents. Both of them smiled and laughed constantly, and seemed completely at ease with Marty. Jesse loved that the most, because it was very important to him that his parents like Marty.

Finally, his dad looked at his watch, and then at Jesse. "We'd better wind this up. Didn't you say your friends were coming at eleven?"

Jesse nodded. "What time is it?"

"It's just ten, but your mom and I want to get out to the beach and find a spot before the place fills up."

They finished, and went back to their rooms. Jesse's dad said they would see them for dinner, and then he started to follow Jesse's mom into their room. At the least second, he turned back and smiled at them, "Good luck."

Jesse grinned, and Marty laughed. "Thanks," Jesse said. "We need that."

They went into their room and closed their door. Marty put his back to it and sighed. "Your folks are cool as shit, Jesse. I'm so glad I got to come with you."

Jesse had already pulled his shirt off, preparing to get into his bathing suit. He looked over at Marty, saw his smile, and sighed. He dropped his shirt on the end of the bed and went over to his boyfriend. "They like you," he said, pushing up against Marty, forcing him back against the door.

Marty laughed, throwing his arms around Jesse and pulling him closer. "They love you. Even I can see that."

Jesse nodded. He did know that about his folks, that they loved him. "Your folks love you, you know," he said, rubbing his nose gently against Marty's.

Marty smiled, nuzzled him back, and nodded. "Yup. I do know. Especially now that my dad says so." He laughed. "Moms, you can always tell they love you. Dads can be hard to tell, sometimes."

Jesse laid his cheek against Marty's, and closed his eyes. "You know I'm gonna always love you," he said softly.

He felt Marty sigh, and then his boyfriend's arms tighten around him. "Uh huh." It was a brief acknowledgement, but Jesse felt the world of meaning behind the words.

He pulled back, and looked into Marty's eyes. "We should get ready."

"After I kiss you." But Marty didn't move, his eyes just looking steadily into Jesse's.

Jesse laughed. "When are you gonna do that?"

"After I look at you." Marty continued to gaze.

Jesse's grin widened. "How long are you going to do that?"

Marty shrugged. "How long we got?"

Jesse laughed, and kissed Marty. It was a long one, and immediately pumped up Jesse's dick to full mast. Marty's pecker was equally smitten. Jesse dropped a hand and pushed it into his boyfriend's shorts and gently rubbed a finger along the stiff length, causing Marty to give a little laugh and his butt to bounce back against the door. "Now I gotta say we don't have time," he said reluctantly, pulling away.

Jesse sighed, but nodded. "Not now, but we will later."

Marty grinned, darted his face close again and gave Jesse a peck on the mouth. "I'll be there."

They changed into their bathing suits, Jesse into his blue one with the very short legs, Marty into his green one, with legs only slightly longer. Most of the guys they had seen on the beach here had worn trunks with legs that went almost to their knees, though there were just enough guys in Speedos to offset that conservative look and allow for the shorter trunks that Jesse and Marty wore to be cool. Jesse's rule for dressing in summer had always been, the less, the better. At home he roamed the summer woods in this same set of trunks, sometimes in his flip flops, sometimes just barefoot.

And when he was with Marty, he liked to wear even less.

He looked over at his boyfriend, let his eyes briefly take in the view. Marty was lean and golden brown, his body beautifully toned, and just looking made Jesse's heart accelerate its pace by a beat or three. How he could have been so lucky to find someone like this still amazed him.

Marty saw him watching and grinned. "Like what ya see?"

Jesse nodded enthusiastically. "Damn right."

Marty made a show of examining Jesse, tilting his head to one side, his eyes moving in an appraising manner. Finally, he sighed. "You sure make my eyes feel good, Jesse."

Jesse laughed at his boyfriend's choice of words. They were in a little bit of a euphoria just now, as the new freedom of their relationship was becoming apparent to them. Jesse knew it for what it was - embraced it, even. He knew, somehow, that it would never seem the same again, and that he might as well enjoy it to its fullest. There is nothing ever quite like doing something special for the first time.

He went and sat on the end of the bed, and patted the spot beside him. Marty was there immediately, sitting down against him.

"I'm a little nervous about Pete and David," Jesse confessed then.

Marty made a little noise, and nodded. "Yeah. No pushing, okay? Let's just let 'em meet, and then we can all sit down and talk." He blinked, as if suddenly thinking of something. "Shit." He got up and went to the little refrigerator by the wall behind the sofa and opened its door. They'd been hitting the lemonade pretty regularly, and there were only three bottles left inside.

"I'll call the room service guy," Jesse said, getting up and going around the bed to the phone. He ordered another dozen of the bottles of lemonade, and six Ginger Ales to go with them.

Marty grinned at him as he returned to sit on the bed. "I wonder what these guys look like? Maybe they'll be so cute they'll just fall over each other in love."

Jesse laughed. "Marty, it isn't a beauty contest."

"I know that. But looks don't hurt, is all I'm sayin'".

Truth. If both of the new boys were cute, it would make things easier. If both were plain, it would also even things out. But if one was killer cute and the other plain, it might make things harder. Jesse understood that looks were nice, but secondary to what lay within. But these guys might not know that.

Jesse liked cute as much as the next guy, but he had already decided that he would love Marty no matter what he looked like. But he also knew that that was a later decision, and the fact that Marty was cute had been one of the first draws that Jesse had felt for him. Shit! Life was so complicated sometimes. Too bad every guy didn't come with a little arrow, like a compass needle, which would just bounce around the dial and point at every guy he would like, and who would like him back. It would certainly make life easier. Jesse could even imagine it:

"Hey. Ya wanna go out?"

"Sorry. My needle doesn't like you."

Or: "Hey. Ya wanna go out?"

Bing-bing-bing! "Goddamn right!"

Simple.

But, people weren't compasses - at least, not in that fashion. They had all sorts of little barriers to go with all the little open pathways inside them, and navigating your way through could be tough. Sometimes, you struck gold right away, and sometimes you had to dig for years before the payoff came around for you.

Jesse had a feeling that David would be cute. Joel was his brother, after all, and Joel was very cute.

The drinks came, brought by a smiling young lady with blonde hair and intense blue eyes. She smiled at them as she stocked the fridge, and Jesse smiled back as he signed the receipt. He got the distinct impression that she was checking out their bodies, with an eye to what they might become someday, and finding the experience a little pleasurable. Jesse understood that, knowing the effect that Marty had on him.

But she left without saying anything more than wishing them a nice day, and what she was really thinking remained just one more item in the back of Jesse's imagination.

The clock continued with its patient march towards the hour as he and Marty talked about nothing in particular, and Jesse's nervousness progressed with it. He was a little surprised at that, because he was usually pretty calm about meeting new people. But the feeling that the happiness of two of them might be at stake here - that weighed on his mind.

"I sure hope we know what we're doing," Marty mumbled, even as Jesse was thinking these thoughts.

Jesse realized then that Marty was just as anxious as he was that things go well for the two new boys. Jesse smiled, and put an arm around his boyfriend's shoulders and hugged him. "We don't know what we're doing, but that never stopped us before."

Marty laughed, and nodded, and gave Jesse a kiss on the cheek.

Just then they heard footsteps out on the deck, and then a tap at the door. Jesse looked over at the clock - it was still ten minutes until eleven.

He and Marty stood as one, and went to the door. Alec stood on the other side of the glass, with another boy beside him. Jesse let his eyes start to gather details even as he grabbed the knob to open the door.

"Hi, fellas. Come on in."

Alec and the other boy stepped inside. Alec had his same white shorts on from the previous day, with his feet stuck into a pair of flip flops, and no shirt. The other boy - obviously Pete - was wearing knee-length brown, patterned swim trunks and brown sandals on his feet. He was also shirtless, and Jesse gave him the once-over without trying to be obvious about it.

Pete was tanned almost as darkly as was Alec, and about the other boy's size. He was lean, a little smaller in the shoulders than Alec, with striking, straight red hair, cut short, and the greenest eyes that Jesse had ever seen. A small sprinkle of freckles dotted the bridge of the new boy's nose, almost invisible against his tan. Pete's mouth was full and smiling, with just maybe a hint of nerves at the corners.

He was completely different looking than anything Jesse had imagined, but extremely easy on the eyes as such things went. Cute. Jesse smiled inside, knowing in his heart that all guys held some beauty someplace, if you just looked for it. Pete was certainly no exception.

"This is Pete," Alec introduced, giving the other boy a fond rub on the shoulder. "You guys be careful, 'cause if you break him, you bought him."

Pete rolled his eyes at that, but grinned even wider. "Hi, guys. I've heard some cool stuff about you."

Jesse stuck out his hand, and he and Pete bumped fists.

"Uh oh," Marty said, also offering his hand. "Now there's the legend to live up to." But he grinned to show he was kidding, and Pete laughed.

"I was careful what I told him, really," Alec said. "Just that you guys were cool, and boyfriends."

Jesse didn't miss the brief, almost hungry look that passed through Pete's eyes. "Yeah." Pete leaned a little closer and lowered his voice. "I really wanted to meet you when I heard that." Jesse couldn't miss the wistful note in the other boy's words.

Pete had already learned what it was like to have a boyfriend, if only briefly. That he missed that was obvious by the tone of his voice.

"You guys want drinks?" Jesse asked, heading over to the fridge. "We got lemonade and ginger ale."

Everybody got something to drink, and then they all went to sit at the table by the doors. For just a second their eyes circled the table, as if looking for clues from the others on what to say next. When nothing obvious was forthcoming, Jesse patted his hands on the table's wooden surface. "So...pretty day, huh?"

Marty laughed, and dropped a hand on Jesse's wrist, and gave him a fond squeeze. "Nothing like cutting right to the point, huh?"

Jesse grinned back, and then looked at Pete. "I was just waiting for Pete to get comfortable."

"I'm okay," Pete returned. "I just...I'm not sure what I want to say." He looked over at Alec, as if hoping for some help.

"Pete's not the shy type," Alec supplied then. "I figured the first thing he'd ask would to be to see your dicks."

Pete gaped, but then laughed good-naturedly. "Aw, you suck. That's not what I was gonna say."

Alec grinned, and Jesse and Marty laughed.

Pete leaned forward then. "You guys are --" He stopped and blinked, like he was surprised he couldn't finish.

"In love?" Jesse guessed.

Pete let out a little breath of air, but nodded.

Jesse looked at Marty. "Yep."

Marty grinned. "I'll say."

Pete laughed, sitting back. "Aw, man. That's so great." He sighed. "I envy you guys."

Marty's smile faded. "Alec said you had a boyfriend."

"Yeah. Billy. Man, he was something special, all right." Pete frowned. "We were friends since kindergarten, and then we kinda just fell over each other later. But now that he's gone, I just...I just haven't got a clue how to find someone else."

Jesse nodded. "I know what you mean. Marty and I just fell together, too."

For the first time, the idea of how he would have found another guy after Nate left, if Marty had not moved into Nate's house, struck Jesse. Had he not met Marty in the way he had, would he have a boyfriend now? Jesse was suddenly pretty sure he might not, because he would have been left in the same boat as Pete. How do you go about finding a boyfriend?

Marty seemed to be thinking the same thing. He looked over at Jesse, his eyes wide. "Man, we sure got lucky, didn't we?"

"Yeah."

Jesse explained then how his best friend Nate had moved away, and that Marty's family had then moved in.

"Man, you guys got lucky as shit," Pete agreed. "After Billy left, some skinny old lady bought his house. She didn't have any kids."

"Don't you like any guys at school?" Marty asked then.

Pete smiled brightly. "Sure. They're all straight, far as I can tell, and got girls. All I can do is dream there."

"And fool around with me," Alec added.

Pete stared at him. "You told them about that?"

"Damn right," Alec returned. "I'm not ashamed of it." Alec got up out of his chair and circled behind Pete, leaned down and wrapped him in his arms, and gave him a firm hug. "I already told ya I love ya, man. I wasn't kidding about that."

Pete reddened slightly under his tan, and brought up a hand and squeezed Alec's forearm. "I love you back, Alley. But you're never going to be my guy."

Alec sighed, and squeezed Pete a little tighter before releasing him. "I"m sorry I can't be."

Pete nodded. "Me, too."

Alec went back to his seat. "I don't know if you guys can help much, after all," he said to Jesse and Marty. "You guys got together kinda by luck, too. Maybe you don't have any pointers to share."

Jesse was starting to agree. In his mind he and Marty had become old and practiced hands at being together; but he could see now that luck and circumstance had played a large part in their success. For real, who were either of them to be giving other gay guys advice?

Jesse was aware of a change of the light coming into the side of one eye, and then he heard a faint rap at the door. All of a sudden, he remembered that David was coming, and sprang to his feet. "Hold that thought, Alec."

Jesse went to the doors, and spied the boy on the other side. Whew!

David was a smaller version of his brother, Joel - Jesse could see that at first glance. The boy had glossy black hair and soft brown eyes - now squinting some in the mid-morning sun - and shared his brother's swimmer's physique. David was wearing beige shorts, and a sleeveless gold fishnet shirt. A quick glance downward showed his feet clad in white Adidas running shoes, with no socks.

Holy shit!

Jesse opened the door, grinning. "Hi. David?"

The boy smiled, and Jesse could immediately see how scared he was. But he took a breath and nodded. "Yeah. My brother said I could come see you."

"Come on in," Jesse said, stepping aside. "I'm Jesse. Come meet the guys."

Jesse shut the door, and turned back - and nearly ran into David, who had stopped. Alec and Pete were getting up from the table, and neither looked happy.

"What's this prick doing here?" Pete said, and Jesse was amazed to see the other boy knotting his fists. Alec, too, looked less that pleased to see the newcomer.

Marty jumped to his feet and came around the table fast, interposing himself between Pete and the new boy, holding his hands up defensively. "Hold up, man," he said sharply. "This guy's our guest, too."

David had lowered his eyes, and now he backed up into Jesse. Jesse caught him, and stopped him as he came to rest against Jesse's chest. "Wait," he said gently, resisting David's push, but otherwise not touching him. "Just be cool."

Marty appeared thoroughly shocked at the looks of anger on Pete's and Alec's faces. "Wanna tell me what's up?" he asked quietly.

Pete grimaced. "This guy's a gay hater, man. Fucking asshole."

David's shoulders sagged, and Jesse leaned into him a little to keep him from the door.

Marty looked incredulous. "Really? Why do you say that?"

"He was in my math class at school," Pete said then. "Always fuckin' starin' at me. People know I'm gay, but most of them leave me alone. Not this guy. Every time I saw him he was lookin' at me, with that little smile on his face. Like he was thinkin' about bashing me with baseball bat or something."

Jesse looked at Alec. "That true?"

Alec nodded. "I saw it myself. Petey finally got mad over it and pulled this guy up in the hall and asked him why he was always lookin' at him." Alec looked annoyed. "He said it was 'cause Pete liked boys."

Jesse heard a small sniff from David, and put his hands up on the boy's shoulders. "It's okay. Just wait."

Pete nodded. "I was gonna give the guy a smack over that, but he saw it comin' and pushed me away. He's quick, so watch out."

Jesse leaned forward. "Is that true?"

David nodded.

Jesse could not reconcile that story with the boy standing against him. He could feel the tension in David's body, but every one of Jesse's senses described what he was feeling as fear, and not a little bit of shock at what had happened. He got no sense that David was hostile towards the others.

Jesse gripped David's shoulders reassuringly. "I like your brother, David. Me'n Marty wanted him to send you here so we could maybe help you. But I can see there's some kinda fuck up going on here." He lowered his voice. "Nobody at school knows about you?"

David shook his head. "No." The boy's voice was tight with emotion.

Jesse nodded. "Why were you lookin' at --" But then it was obvious. So obvious. Pete was gay. David knew that. David was gay, too. And he had been caught continuously staring at Pete.

David liked the other boy.

Jesse gave a little laugh, and dropped his hands and circled his arms around David and gave him a little hug. He felt the shock course through the other boy's frame at that, too; but David did not pull away. "You like him," Jesse whispered into David's ear.

David sniffed, and Jesse felt a small anguished hiccup from the boy's diaphragm. His heart went out then, and he gave David another hug.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Pete said then. "You gonna rape this shit or something? Alec didn't say you were a pervert."

Marty instantly held up a fist. "Watch your damn mouth."

Alec gripped Pete's arm. "Maybe we should go."

"No," Jesse said then. "Don't."

For a moment the room descended into total silence, and no one moved.

"David," Jesse whispered, "you gotta tell Pete why you were lookin' at him."

David flexed against him, and turned his head. "I can't," he whispered back.

"Yes, you can," Jesse replied firmly. He laid his chin on David's shoulder. "Marty and me are so happy together, David. It's love. You want that, don't you?"

David sniffed again, but nodded.

"Then it's time to say what you're all about, buddy."

Jesse could feel the emotions churning within the other boy's body. He simply held him tightly, trying to be as reassuring as he could.

Finally David nodded.

Jesse picked up his chin, gave the boy another squeeze. "Go ahead."

David swallowed, and raised his head, and looked at Pete. "I'm gay," he whispered.

Pete's eyes narrowed, and then slowly opened wider, followed by his mouth, which finally gaped. "What?"

Alec simply stared, as if unable to process the conversation.

David took a breath. "I'm gay," he said, a little louder.

Pete looked at Alec, but neither boy looked as if they could believe it.

"Why were you staring at Pete?" Jesse prodded.

For a moment he thought David would resist answering. But maybe the towering admission he'd just made to a roomful of boys about his sexuality made the second part look easier. He gave a little cough. "Because he's...beautiful."

Pete laughed, and then looked like he was going to cry, all in one long second. "I am?"

David nodded, encouraged by the lack of a hostile response. He nodded. "I think so. That's why I had to look. I'm sorry."

"You couldn't say this more directly?" Alec asked then.

David turned to look at Jesse. "I'm okay. Let me go."

Jesse withdrew his arms and stepped up beside David, but dropped a friendly hand on the boy's shoulder just to remind him he wasn't alone.

David's face worked a little as he seemed to organize his thoughts. "I couldn't," he finally admitted. "I was scared."

Pete took a step towards him. "Scared of me?"

"Well...no. Not at first. Not until you got mad, anyway." David shrugged. "Scared of everybody finding out."

Pete squeezed his eyes closed. "Fuck. I'm an asshole."

David gave a little laugh then. "No, you're not. You didn't know."

Pete opened his eyes and took another step closer. "Man, you should have said something instead of letting me go off on you. I'm sorry. I really didn't know." He smiled then. "You look about as gay as my dog, and he's a Doberman. I just figured you were some macho shit out to yank my chain."

David laughed, and so did Jesse, feeling some of the tension leave the room.

"You knew this guy was coming?" Alec asked Marty. But then, as if seeing the answer to his own question, he laughed. "Oh, shit! You guys were tryin' to set these two up, huh?"

Pete gave Marty a stare. "You were gonna introduce us?"

"That was the plan," Marty said. "After Alec asked us to talk to you, David's brother pulled us up on the beach and asked the same thing about him. We just thought it looked awfully like luck jumping up, you know?" He looked over at Jesse. "We didn't think about you guys maybe knowing each other, did we, Jesse?"

"Nope. That seems dumb now, because if you both live here, it's kinda obvious you might go to the same school." He laughed. "What do ya expect from a couple of tourists?"

Pete turned and went back to the table. "Can we sit down? Come on over, David. I won't do anything stupid again."

There were only four chairs at the table, so Jesse got the recliner and pushed it over next to Marty's chair. He got David a ginger ale, and they all sat down. Jesse introduced David to Marty. The boy already knew Alec from school.

Everyone was smiling now, if a little hesitantly. The hard edge between David and Pete seemed to have been dulled, if not totally wiped away. David seemed content to just be in the same room with Pete, while Pete seemed a little reticent about it, as if he just couldn't believe the sudden change in the way he viewed David. But it did seem that Pete wanted to watch David a little more closely, and David had no lack of will to watch the redhead back.

The more they talked, the more at-ease everyone became.

At one point, David went to use the bathroom, and Jesse immediately looked over at Pete. "What do you think?" he whispered.

Pete smiled. "He's sweet. I think I like him."

That made Jesse grin. "Yeah? He's cute, too, huh?"

Pete looked a little embarrassed, which Jesse just loved. "Oh, well, I thought the guy was gorgeous even when I hated his guts." Pete winced then, as if ashamed of the former opinion. But he smiled again. "He's shy, and I love that."

Alec leaned in and lowered his voice. "I can't believe this shit happened. I thought the guy was some kind of weird asshole. I'm sorry about the stuff I said to him at school."

Pete winced again. "Ooh, yeah, me, too. I ought to say I'm sorry."

The toilet flushed, and David reemerged from the bathroom. Everyone turned to look at him, and he suddenly slowed. "What? You guys talking about me?"

Pete got up and went to him. "I just wanted to say I was sorry, dude. I just didn't get what was going on. Peace?" He held out a fist.

David looked at him, and smiled. "Peace." And then he bumped fists with Pete.

As they came back to the table, Jesse could not help but to see the pleased expressions on both boy's faces.

They finished their drinks, and walked out to the beach. Jesse and Marty brought towels, and David kicked off his shoes and shirt, and they all dived into the surf. Some horseplay ensued, and there was some touching and wrestling about, and everybody laughed and seemed happy.

Afterwards, they stretched out on the big towels and baked a little in the sun, the heat of which was mitigated by a nice breeze off the water. Jesse spied his parents a ways up the beach, and when his father looked their way, he waved. His dad waved back.

"This has been a cool as shit day, hasn't it?" Jesse asked Marty. They were side by side, where they could easily touch and rub each other, and Jesse had noticed more than once that both Pete and David were watching them, and stealing looks at each other.

At one point Alec came and laid down by Jesse, and reached out and gave him a little pat. "Thanks, guys. I think you did something really cool here."

Jesse sat up a little, and saw that Pete and David were sitting side-by-side, crosslegged, looking out into the ocean at the distant boats as they raced by. Both boys looked happy and interested in the conversation they were having.

Marty grinned. "We didn't really do anything, Alec. Just invited you guys over. The rest just happened by itself."

Jesse nodded. "Yup."

Alec laughed. "Okay." He cleared his throat. "Um, what are you guys doing tomorrow?"

Monday was the day that Jesse's dad had his meetings. Jesse's mom really didn't want to do anything without Mr. Cole, so she had said they'd stay around the hotel and do stuff. Jesse explained this.

"We'll be here. What'cha got in mind?"

Alec sighed. "Well, Pete is going over to David's to check out his game collection. Got a couple of gamers here." He frowned. "Sandy is at her grandparent's in Sacramento. That leaves me on my own."

Jesse grinned. "And?"

Alec leaned a little closer. "Well, I'm worried. I think my snuggle factor needs to be retested. It's off, or something."

"We can do that," Marty said, laughing. "In fact, if you come early, we can show you how our hot tub works."

Alec's eyes widened at that. "Oh. Eight o'clock be too early?"

"Nope," Jesse said, giving the other boy a gentle rub with his fingertip on the tanned expanse of skin just above the waistline of his shorts. "It's never too early for fun."

* * * * * * *

Jesse loved sex. And he loved it even better when he knew that the person he was having it with was enjoying the hell out of it, too.

Of course, nothing was better than sex with Marty. No way, any day. Marty wasn't just good sex, he was love. And love was what made Jesse's world turn on its axis.

But he had learned that sex with Marty and someone else - someone sweet - was a lot of fun, too. He and Marty had found that ganging up on some poor guy just looking for a little thrill, and giving him the time of his life, reaped great rewards in two kinds of satisfaction: the satisfaction one received from making someone else feel loved and happy; and the satisfaction one received from having a whopping good time himself.

And that was what was happening just now.

It was early, and he and Marty and Alec were at the hot tub. Alec had showed up as promised, a few minutes before eight. Jesse had talked to his mom the evening before, and asked her to call instead of just coming over. He hadn't mentioned that Alec was stopping by, but felt there was no deception in the action. Alec there or not, he knew that his mom might want them all to do something that Monday while his dad was at his meetings, and he didn't want her to be embarrassed by walking over in the middle of something.

It was just a little respect, for real, and his mom had simply smiled at him and nodded, and said she would call first. Jesse already knew that his mom was a little slow to get going in the mornings, and being relaxed and on vacation - and without his dad there to keep nudging her - she would likely sleep at least until nine.

So when Alec had showed up just before eight, his eyes alight with interest and no small amount of anticipation, Jesse had felt a thrill of his own. Alec wanted to be with them. Well, most guys were horndogs once you got them going, and so it was no surprise that Alec had wanted to come back for some more fun. Jesse and Marty were experienced a bit beyond what Alec had ever seen, and the other boy simply knew a good thing when he saw it. And felt it.

They were all naked, and they were all wet. Alec was on his back on a towel at the edge of the tub, his legs drawn up so that his knees pointed skyward. His feet were on the edge of the tub, his toes curled downward in a display of the pleasure he was feeling.

Marty was on his belly on the deck, laying at an angle on the towel next to Alec, his legs crossed comfortably, one arm draped over Alec's belly, his face down in Alec's crotch, his mouth full of Alec's dick. Marty had his eyes closed, and was taking his time, enjoying himself. His face was only inches away from Jesse's, and Jesse - when he managed to open his eyes - could see how much Marty was enjoying himself. That added a lot to the whole thing, of course.

Jesse himself was in the tub, the backs of his upper arms propped on the edge between Alec's feet, his hands laid up along Alec's thighs. He had his face between Alec's cheeks, and was gently massaging the boy's pucker with the tip of his tongue. Alec's pucker flexed at the contact, and also at the movement of his dick under Marty's ministrations. Jesse mostly kept his eyes closed, his nose full of the clean scent of Alec's skin, made somehow even sexier by its wetness. The little moans and throat noises that Alec made as Jesse and Marty worked on him were sweet songs to Jesse's ears, and it was difficult for him not to grin.

That he was here for a first time for Alec thrilled him. There was something that Jesse and Marty both loved about first experiences - both with each other, and with other guys. Showing someone something that felt extremely good, for the first time, was a little bit of magic, for real. Jesse firmly believed that showing someone how much their own body could delight them was a gift. He would never forget - never - his own first times with Marty. Those thoughts, those feeling and experiences, held an unassailed place upon the pedestal his mind reserved for moments of great wonder.

Sharing such things seemed only right. If someone wanted to play, then Jesse did, too. There were rules even to that; but Alec had satisfied Jesse that what he was looking for was something that was not love, but which skirted along its edges, and bounced around in the realm of affectionate contact just as energetically as a golf ball bounced off a brick wall. Jesse believed Alec when the boy said he was not gay. But Jesse had also learned that sexuality came in many flavors, and what lay beneath it all was a kind of attraction and affection for the person you were having sex with. If Alec found he could be with Jesse and Marty and fit that act into his self-image as not gay, that was fine with Jesse and Marty.

Jesse grinned over the idea that guys could have sweet sex together, and not be gay. That Alec didn't want a dick in his mouth, but still liked to play with guys, only said to Jesse that Alec was a gay boy who didn't like to suck dick. The world probably had more of them than could be counted. That Alec liked girls, and even had a girlfriend, was to Jesse merely a bent in Alec's nature to walk on both sides of the tracks.

Alec made a little gasping sound at something Marty was doing, and Jesse felt the boy's feet curl against his elbows. He grinned, backed off, and looked down at the one on the right side of him. Marty's ideas on the attractiveness - and sexiness - of bare feet had been doing some sinking into Jesse's mind, and as he looked down he decided again that Alec had some cute ones. He leaned over and kissed the instep of the foot, let his lips slide up to Alec's ankle, and kissed there, too. He heard Alec giggle, and that made the action more than worthwhile.

Jesse went back to Alec's taint and kissed there, and ran the tip of his tongue slowly up and down it. Alec pressed slightly upwards with his legs and again made a small noise, and Jesse pushed his face right up near Marty's and took one of Alec's balls into his mouth. He held it on his tongue, rubbed it gently and fondly, knowing its function and what gift it would soon be giving them. Alec gasped, and his thighs tensed, and Jesse knew it was almost time.

He released the soft orb of Alec's nut from his mouth and went back to massaging his pucker with the tip of his tongue. Alec's body quivered, and his throat made soft sounds of delight. But Jesse could feel the tensing of the boy's legs and his body, and the slow compression of Alec's butt as his loins made ready to squirt out his spunk. Jesse dived deeper into Alec's pucker then, putting a little pressure into his tongue; and Alec made a gleeful sound, and began pumping his spunk into Marty's mouth.

Alec's pucker flexed and danced against Jesse's tongue as the boy squirt, and Jesse could feel the energy of muscles in motion and things happening inside Alec's body, that just filled Jesse with the love of life. Sharing this special moment with someone always made Jesse glow inside. There seemed nothing quite so intimate as being right there when a guy spunked off. He could almost feel how good it was for Alec, and knowing that he and Marty had helped to get Alec there filled Jesse with pleasure.

But even moments of wonder have time limits, and in what seemed the wink of an eye, Alec sighed and his body relaxed. His legs slowly sagged apart as he gasped, trying to catch his breath.

Marty opened his eyes and looked at Jesse, and grinned. Jesse drew himself up on his elbows and pressed his face against Marty's, his lips against Marty's, trapping Alec's dick between them. Marty opened his mouth to Jesse's; and then Jesse was sharing in Alec's spunk, and the warmth of the end of his dick on Jesse's tongue. Jesse and Marty smiled into each other's eyes as they kissed, and as their tongues briefly wrestled with the head of Alec's dick, causing the boy beneath them to giggle and twitch.

"Stop!" Alec finally said, laughing. "That tickles!"

Jesse laughed himself, but swallowed what was in his mouth, kissed Marty a last time, and pulled back. Marty pulled off of Alec, cleaned up the end of his dick with his tongue, and then flipped around so that he was next to the other boy. Jesse moved to one side and thrust himself out of the water, and laid down next to Alec on his other side. Then he and Marty both grinned down at the boy between them.

"Good?" Marty asked, already knowing that answer.

Alec laughed, squeezed his eyes shut a moment, and then opened them again. "Can I go back to New York with you guys?"

Jesse laughed, his eyes locking with Marty's in a brief exchange of affection. Marty's eyes sparkled in the morning light, the pleasure at what he had just given to Alec plain on his features.

"I think my folks would say no," Jesse said then. "So you gotta stay here." He grinned. "But I'd take you with us if it was up to me."

Alec climbed up onto his elbows and kissed Jesse, and then turned his head and kissed Marty. "You guys are fuckin' unbelievable."

Jesse grinned, leaned forward and kissed Marty, who kissed back just as energetically.

"We love what we do," Marty admitted. Jesse nodded at that.

They dried themselves, went inside and climbed into the bed, and retested Alec's snuggle factor. If anything, it seemed better than before.

Alec sighed, closed his eyes, and smiled. "Man. I never thought I'd like being in bed with a couple of guys!"

Jesse came up on an elbow and surveyed the other boy. "Sure you're not a little gay? You don't have to suck dick to like guys."

Alec contemplated that before finally shrugging. "I don't know, anymore." He made a face. "I still don't wanna suck dick." A thought seemed to come to him them, and his smile returned. "You guys stick your dicks in each others butts?"

Jesse nodded. "Yup. It's awesome, too."

Alec looked over at Marty, who also nodded, and then back at Jesse. "Wow. Fuckin' without babies." He gave a little laugh. "There's an idea." But then the undecided face came back. "What about turds? Doesn't your dick hit them?"

Marty laughed. "No, man. You gotta take a dump first, and then you clean up some. " He explained how that was done. "Once the water comes out clean, you're good."

Alec shook his head. "Being gay sure is different."

"It's not bad, though," Jesse returned. "Especially once you get a boyfriend you love."

Alec looked over at Marty and grinned. "Yeah?"

Marty nodded. "I'll say."

"Jesse's your first boyfriend?"

"Nope. My second." Briefly, Marty explained about Keith, and having to move away from him. "But Jesse's the best, no question about it."

Jesse grinned at the look in Marty's eyes. "Yup. I had a boyfriend before Marty, too. But Marty is the shit."

Alec laughed. "It's just like having a girlfriend, isn't it?"

"No," Jesse said, "it's better."

Alec seemed to take some kind of delight in that. "I sure hope Petey and David get along today. I know Pete sure is hopin'."

Jesse grinned at that, remembering the look of pure happiness that David had worn as he had left the day before. "David, too, I think."

Marty nodded, and sighed. "My grandmother's right."

When his boyfriend didn't elaborate, Jesse reached over and gave him a nudge. "Right about what?"

Marty picked up one of Alec's hands, inspected it a moment before giving it a quick kiss. "She says that life is long sequences of turmoil interspersed with brief moments of grace. I think I know what she means now."

Alec grinned as Marty kissed his fingers. "Yeah, me, too."

Jesse smiled, picked up Alec's other hand, observed the even brown the sun had left there, the spare efficiency of its construction. Nature sure made some wickedly cool stuff. Beautiful, too. He kissed the hand, grinning over at Marty as he did so.

Marty's eye sparkled back him.

The phone by the bed rang, and Jesse started at the sound, and then laughed. "Damn. That scared the shit out of me."

"That's probably your mom," Marty said.

Jesse agreed. He crawled carefully across Alec, and then just as carefully across Marty, who took the opportunity to cop a feel of Jesse's mostly limp dick as he passed.

"Hands off the merchandise," Jesse said, laughing, as he reached for the phone. "Now, you guys shut up a minute. Hello?"

"Hi, Jesse, it's mom. You guys up yet?"

"Sure. What's up?"

"I'm just getting up. Dad left early, and you know how I like to sleep in sometimes. You haven't had breakfast yet, have you?"

"No. You want us to go with you?"

He heard her laugh. "I'd enjoy the company. Is that okay, honey?"

Jesse grinned. "Sure, mom. We're not dressed yet. But it won't take that long."

"Well, there's no rush. I have to take a shower first, okay? Maybe in about a half hour?"

"That's cool, mom." Jesse glanced over his shoulder at the two naked boys sprawled out behind him. "We gotta get cleaned up here, too."

Marty's hand landed on one of Jesse's butt cheeks, and he felt his boyfriend give him a playful squeeze. Jesse grinned, but managed not to laugh into the phone.

"Well, how about the two of you come on over after you do? Just give me the half hour, okay? Anytime after that."

"Okay, mom. See you then. Bye."

"Bye, sweetie."

Jesse hung up, and turned and dived atop his boyfriend. Marty laughed and tried to defend himself as Jesse gently dug some fingers into his boyfriend's belly. Marty squeezed his eyes shut and tossed his head back and squealed with laughter, and Jesse laid fully down atop him and pushed his face close to Marty's. "Say you're sorry."

Marty took a deep breath. "Sorry for what?"

"You know. For squeezing my butt cheek while I was talking to my mom."

Alec laughed, and Marty grinned. "I'm not sorry at all. I love your butt cheek."

Jesse relented, and pulled his hand from between them, and lowered his face and kissed Marty. It went on for a bit, and then even longer, because as Jesse decided he'd had enough and went to pull away, Marty brought his hands up and grabbed Jesse's head, and pulled his face even closer. But after a while they both had to breathe, and Marty let Jesse go. "Little heart thief," Marty whispered, grinning.

Jesse laughed, and turned to look at Alec. "See? Bein' gay is great."

Alec smiled. "I guess when you got it like you guys do, it is pretty awesome." He considered that, and smiled even wider. "Maybe Petey and David will get like you guys."

Marty nodded. "You can help them with that."

Alec looked suddenly uncertain. "Me? How?"

Marty rolled his eyes as if the answer should be plain. "Show them the stuff we did to you."

Alec gaped. "No way. I can't do that."

"Why not?" Jesse asked. "I know you haven't forgotten already."

Alec's face turned a gentle shade of rose as he laughed. "Jesse, I'm never gonna forget this day!" He frowned then. "But I can't do what you guys do. I...I just can't suck a dick."

Marty sighed, and shook his head. "No, man. You don't have to do it to them. Have them do it to you."

"Or to each other, at least," Jesse added. He grinned. "You can watch."

Alec burst into amazed laughter. "You are crazy, you two!" But he immediately seemed to be considering the idea. "Well...maybe. Maybe I can tell them about it, at least." He shrugged. "I wanna help them."

Jesse leaned forward. "Go easy, man. Wait until you know they at least like each other, okay?"

Alec nodded. "I'm pretty sure they do already. But I'll be cool." He licked his lips, his eyes going from Jesse to Marty and back again. "Can I see you guys again before you leave?"

Jesse and Marty looked at each other, and both laughed. "Yeah, you can," Marty said. "You know where we are. Come on by. The worst that can happen is we won't be here. If that happens, just come back later or something."

Alec grinned. "Can I bring Petey? And David, if he wants to come?"

Jesse sighed, leaned forward until his nose was gently touching Alec's. "Yes."

Alec stared into Jesse's eyes for a moment, and then grinned. He pushed his face a little closer and kissed Jesse. "Thanks."

Jesse rolled away to the edge of the bed and got up. "But you need to go now, 'cause my mom wants us to go to breakfast with her. Okay?"

Alec sighed, but got up. He found his shorts on the floor, stepped into them, and pulled them up. The only other thing he'd brought with him was his skateboard, which stood by the door. He went and picked it up, turned back, and seemed surprised that neither Jesse nor Marty had moved to get their clothing. "Aren't you guys getting dressed?'

"Can't," Jesse said, grinning. "We gotta take a shower first so we don't smell like sex to my mom."

Alec's draw dropped. " A shower? Together?"

Marty nodded. "Sure. Is there any other way?"

He laughed, and Jesse joined in.

Alec shook his head as the others came over to stand next to him. Jesse peered out through the glass panes, saw the coast was clear, and then pulled the right-hand door open. "See you, Alec. Sure was fun."

Alec nodded, and his grin came back. "Sure was."

Marty patted his shoulder. "Come here a second."

Alec leaned closer, and Marty took his jaw in one hand and kissed him sweetly.

"Hey!" Jesse said then. "I want one."

Alec leaned towards him, grinning, and Jesse gave him a fond kiss farewell.

"I will be back," Alec said, as he stepped through the door onto the deck.

Jesse closed the door, and he and Marty watched Alec walk out to the boardwalk, put his skateboard down, and start off.

Jesse looked at his boyfriend, and sighed. "I think I could love that guy a little, Marty."

Marty grinned. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Come on, let's get a shower. Your mom'll be waiting."

* * * * * * *

Marty was in seventh heaven. After stopping by the Maritime Museum Tuesday morning and touring Russian and American submarines, they had moved on to the USS Midway Museum near the Embarcadero, and they no sooner stepped aboard the ship's broad flight deck before Jesse's boyfriend had started pulling Jesse about by the wrist, going from one exhibit to the next, his eyes glowing and his smile huge.

The carrier museum operated in the form of an informal self-tour, where audio presentations for each exhibit told the story of the ship, its aircraft, and its history. Jesse knew much of it already, from having read his father's WWII ship books with him in the den ever since he was little. He had at first absorbed his dad's fascination with the era in question, and then a fascination for the ships themselves.

The Midway had been designed as the first of a series of large attack aircraft carriers in the waning days of WWII, but had been commissioned eight days after the surrender of Japan, too late to see service in that war. She and her sister ships, the USS Coral Sea, and the USS Franklin D. Roosevelt, had been state-of-the-art in their day. But in the short cooling off period before the Korean conflict and the start of the Cold War, the ships had been made nearly obsolete by the evolution of the aircraft which they were designed to carry. Built as a home for lightweight, prop-driven aircraft, the carriers were not large enough to deploy sufficient numbers of the newer, heavier jet aircraft then coming into service to make them effective warships, and only redesigned and upgraded angled flight decks saved them from the ship breakers. Refitted, they proved large enough to remain in service throughout the Vietnam conflict, and served faithfully for years after.

The Roosevelt was decomissioned in 1977 and broken up in 1978, and the Coral Sea decommissioned in 1990, and broken up in 2000, after long battles over the environmental impact of some of her parts. But the Midway, the most extensively rebuilt and updated of the three ships, was sent to the mothball fleet in Bremerton, Washington, after being decommissioned in 1992, and languished there until being taken over by a group dedicated to making her into a museum in 1997. After years of preparation, the ship was opened to the public in 2004, and had been drawing crowds ever since. She was the longest serving aircraft carrier the US Navy had ever seen, having been home to three generations of sailors and pilots in her 47 years with the fleet.

Jesse simply could not believe the size of the vessel. The flight deck stretched nearly the length of three football fields, and even the aircraft parked about seemed like midges on the hide of an elephant in comparison. Marty had immediately pulled Jesse away from his parents, and the two of them had hastened about the deck, Marty spouting facts and figures about the various aircraft, while Jesse grinned at the fondness and wonder in his boyfriend's eyes. They had then proceeded to the hangar below, to see some of the ship's older aircraft, which were more what Jesse knew about himself from his dad's books. They hadn't strayed out of sight of Jesse's folks, and at one point they'd heard Jesse's dad calling to them to wait for them.

Marty still looked about, his eyes finding amazing things at every turn. "I can't believe I saw a real F-4 Phantom," he was saying, shaking his head. "And a Hornet, and a Tomcat...Jesse, this is the coolest of the cool!"

Jesse grinned at him, and gave his arm a fond squeeze. "And the old ones, too. I never thought I'd ever see a real Wildcat, or a Corsair, or an Avenger."

Marty finally turned to look at him. "Bet your dad's happy. I guess we shoulda waited for them, huh? I was just so excited!"

Jesse could see that. Marty's face simply glowed with his wonder, and Jesse's heart felt warm at the sight.

"Jesse, come look at this," his dad called then. Jesse grabbed Marty by the wrist this time, and they hastened over to stand next to Jesse's parents.

His dad grinned at them. "Know what this one is, Jess?"

Jesse laughed. He could always tell when his dad was really excited over something when he abbreviated Jesse's name like that.

Jesse stood back, looking at the bulky prop-driven aircraft before him. Each plane had a placard which portrayed the aircraft and gave a brief history; but they were standing to one side of the mystery plane, and Jesse couldn't see the sign.

Hmm. This one was a two-seater, which meant it wasn't a fighter. And the canopy was large and primitive-looking, which suggested an early model of whatever it was. There were muzzle and ejector ports in the wings, which let out his first thought that it might be a trainer. He squatted to look beneath the plane, and then grinned. "Dive bomber? It's a Dauntless, isn't it?"

Jesse couldn't miss the look of pleasure that crossed his dad's face. His father had apparently never really understood how much Jesse had absorbed from the two of them reading together when Jesse was little. That Jesse shared some of his dad's interest in old stuff like this obviously made the man very happy. Jesse felt wonderful about that, and grinned. "Am I right?"

His dad nodded. "Yes. It's a Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless dive bomber. They were replaced by the Curtis Helldiver in forty-four." He stepped back, shaking his head. "Man, can you imagine the balls it took to fly around in a thing like this?"

Jesse and Marty looked quickly at each other, and then erupted into laughter.

Mrs. Cole gave a little squeak of a laugh, and looked around quickly, and then stepped forward and took her husband by the arm. "I'm sure it took big ones, honey," she said, smiling.

Mr. Cole blinked at her, and then looked around quickly himself. "Sorry."

Jesse went and put his arm around his dad, and gave him a squeeze. "You and Marty are acting just like each other, dad," he said. "I'm not sure who's more excited - you or him."

His father looked down at him and grinned. "Marty has good taste in cool stuff, son." He leaned down then, and lowered his voice. "You sure picked a good one there."

Jesse looked over at his boyfriend, who was smiling at father and son. "Yup."

Jesse gave his dad another hug, then went back to stand next to Marty, who grinned at him. "Your dad is cool," he whispered.

Jesse nodded, feeling pleased. "Yeah. The two of you think a lot alike."

* * * * * * *

Wednesday, they drove up to Balboa Park and visited the San Diego Zoo, and then went to the Art Museum and the Air and Space Museum. There seemed to be amazing things everywhere about them that day, and Jesse had so much fun being with Marty and his folks that by the end of the day all he could do was lay in bed and smile about it all.

"Man, I had a blast," he said, for about the fifth time.

Marty, who was laying against Jesse and holding him, grinned, and raised up on one elbow. He let his face hover above Jesse's, and smiled down into his eyes. "You've been acting like a little kid all day."

Jesse laughed. "I am a kid, butthead."

Marty grinned, and dropped his face and gently rubbed the tip of his nose against Jesse's. "I sure love you, Jesse."

Jesse sighed, raised his arms and circled them about his boyfriend. "I love you, too, Marty. And I've loved the shit out of having you here with us."

Marty closed his eyes and nuzzled Jesse's face, and Jesse closed his eyes and let him.

"Wonder what the guys have been up to?" Marty said then.

Jesse opened his eyes. "You mean Alec, and Petey, and David?"

Marty laughed. "Any other guys I'd be wondering about?"

"Well," Jesse said, a little guiltily, "we haven't called Greg and Rafie since we left home."

Marty made a small face, but grinned right over it. "They know we went away for the week. They won't be expecting us to call."

Jesse nodded, suddenly feeling a little glum. "Yeah."

Marty cocked his head a little, his eyes searching Jesse's. "What? What's botherin' you?"

Jesse gave a little sigh. Marty never missed a thing. Hardly.

"I...I wonder if something's wrong with me, Marty."

Marty slid off of Jesse, and looked down at him. "Why do you think that?"

"I just...I just keep meetin' guys and gettin' attached to them."

Marty laughed. "Well, what's wrong with that? Think I don't get attached to them?"

Jesse suddenly realized he hadn't quite considered that. He knew that Marty liked the same guys that Jesse did...even cared deeply about them. But was there more?

"Do you?" he asked, softly. "Do you fall in love with 'em? Just a little?"

Marty rolled his eyes, but smiled. "Yeah, I do. Think I don't love Greg and Rafie like you do?" He leaned closer. "Or Alec? He's sweet as shit."

Jesse brightened. "So it isn't just me?"

"No. It isn't just you." Marty sighed. "Jesse, it's okay to love people. It really is." Marty seemed to consider his own words a moment before continuing. "You just...you can't always take them with you, Jesse. Sometimes, you gotta leave them where you found them."

That was the part that hurt. "I know." Jesse sighed, and pulled Marty closer. "I never have to leave you, though. You always come with me."

Marty nodded. "Yup. I always go where you go." He dropped his head again and kissed Jesse. "I'm yours, Jesse. And you're mine. That's the way it will always be."

Jesse nodded, an intense feeling of satisfaction coming over him. "Yeah. Ready for bed?"

Marty made a little spluttery sound. "Where does it look like we are?"

Jesse made a show of looking around them. "Oh. I though the floor was awful comfortable here."

Marty closed one eye and focused the other on him. "You playin' with me?"

Jesse slid his hand down the warm flesh of Marty's front, and curled his finger around Marty's dick. It was half-hard already; but it immediately throbbed, and began to stiffen all the way.

"Not yet," Jesse said. "But I'm gettin' ready to."

Marty grinned, and reached for Jesse's dick. Jesse felt it jump at the touch, and then start to pump itself up, too.

He grinned. Some things never changed. And, probably, they never would.

* * * * * * *

Thursday was more of the same. They visited the Flying Leathernecks Aviation Museum, and saw more of the old WWII-era planes that Jesse and his dad loved. The museum was dedicated to the US Marines in the air, and had a different spin on things than the Navy had had. After that was the Natural History Museum, and the San Diego Automotive Museum, both near Balboa Park and the Palisades. Then they went by Sea World, and saw polar bears, seals, penguins, turtles, and the killer whale show. Jesse's mom squealed like a little girl at the animals, making Jesse laugh, and see how much adults didn't grow up.

It was a wonderful day. By the time they got back to the hotel and had dinner, all of them were happy, but tired.

"I'm for that hot tub," Jesse's dad said, as they got back to their rooms. "What do you say, honey? Take a dip with the guy that loves you?"

Jesse's mom smiled, and Jesse was sure he saw a bit of rose creep into her cheeks. "How can I refuse that offer?" She looked at the boys, who were doing their best not to grin. "Remember, dad won't be here tomorrow, Jesse, so we'll just hang out at the hotel." She sighed. "I think I'll sleep in a little. But I should be up in time to go to breakfast with you, okay? I'll call."

Jesse hugged each one of his parents, and they all said goodnight.

Back in their room, Jesse and Marty hopped into the shower and washed each other, feeling that getting into their hot tub while Jesse's parents were next door in theirs might just too close for comfort. After that they climbed into bed and turned on the TV, but what was on HBO couldn't distract them from each other.

"I can't believe the week is almost up already," Marty said, as they lay together. "Man, I sure had a good time, Jesse." He accented his words with a nice kiss. "I'll never forget this trip."

"Me, either." Jesse sighed. "The good stuff is always over too quick for me."

Marty nuzzled him, sighing. "I hope Alec and David and Pete will come by again. They know we're leavin' Saturday afternoon."

"They will." Jesse felt for sure that at least Alec would want to see them again before they left. Alec knew that Friday would be another open day for them, and that they would likely be there in their room or on the beach. But...

"We'll call him tomorrow if we don't hear anything, okay?"

Marty nodded. "I'm gonna miss him, Jesse."

Jesse felt a tiny, brief feeling behind his eyes, almost as if tears wanted to come. "Me, too." He made an effort to smile. "Be nice to be back at the fort again, though, won't it?"

"I'll say," Marty returned, laughing pleasantly. "Those woods have really grown on me." He nuzzled Jesse again. "We can sleep out, if you want."

Jesse did want. "It's going to be late when we get home tomorrow evening. Wanna plan for Sunday night?"

"Sounds good to me. I'll get the Great Purple Pecker and Buzzy, the Butt Buddy back from Parker, and make sure they're nice and clean."

Jesse laughed, and tightened his arms around Marty. "Ooh. I can't wait for that!"

The rest of the evening passed pleasurably, and they fell asleep in each other's arms, the TV the only soft light in the room.

In the morning, they were scarcely awake, and had only just put on their bathing suits, when they heard a soft tap, tap on the door to the deck.

Jesse, getting them each a lemonade from the little fridge, straightened, a bottle in each hand, and stared at the door. Marty leaped up off the sofa and went to open the door as Jesse closed the refrigerator and walked over to join his boyfriend.

"Cool. It's the guys," Jesse said, handing Marty a bottle and a straw.

Marty grinned and opened the door. Alec, Petey, and David stood on the deck outside. Alec was all smiles, and Jesse immediately noted the new closeness between Petey and David. It was no longer brightly new, but casual and aware, as if it had been allowed to grow comfortable over a day or two of time. Their bare upper arms were touching, and Jesse could see the way they leaned together. All the boys were barefoot and shirtless, and their hair in disarray from swimming.

Jesse's heart gave a little knock in his chest at the sight, and a flood of good feeling flowed throughout his body. "Hey, fellas!"

Alec grinned as Marty stood back and motioned for them to enter. The boys crowded inside, and Marty closed the door. He also seemed to notice the magnetism between the redhead and the black-haired boy, and grinned at Jesse as he came back around the group. "So, what's up?"

Alec looked around the room. "Is it cool?" he whispered.

Jesse nodded. "My dad's at a meeting, and I don't think my mom is up yet."

Alec's smile slipped a little. "You guys are leavin' tomorrow?"

Jesse nodded, feeling the first creep of the pending separation. "Yeah."

"We just wanted to make sure we saw you before you went," David said. He looked at Petey, who grinned. David took the other boy's hand in his, and gripped it tightly. "To say thank you."

Jesse felt a flood of good feeling at seeing the two boys together. It must have showed on his face. Marty came over to stand beside Jesse, and Jesse felt Marty's hand bump against his. Jesse grasped his boyfriend's hand, and squeezed it gently.

"We didn't do anything," Jesse said.

Petey grinned. "Well, if it wasn't for you two, me n' Davey would probably never have talked."

David nodded at that. "No shit, there." He nodded at Jesse. "I'd have left if you hadn't stopped me."

"And then we wouldn't know," Pete added, grinning at David, "how much we like each other."

Alec rolled his eyes. "'Like' is really not the word I would have picked, you guys."

Petey turned and stuck his tongue out, but there was a smile in his eyes above it. "You're just jealous because all you have is a girl."

Alec looked surprised, but then laughed. "That's okay with me." But then his eyes drifted to Jesse and Marty, and Jesse could see the warmth inside them. "Got some nice memories, though."

Marty bumped against Jesse, and Jesse sighed. "Same here."

"So we heard," Pete said, giving the back of Alec's shoulder a little push with his finger. "You almost got Alec here to come over to our side."

Alec grimaced. "I'm not gay."

But even Jesse could see the small doubt that Alec was shielding behind those words. He smiled. "He's not gay," he agreed, to Pete. "He'd like to be, but it ain't quite there."

Marty laughed, and leaned harder against Jesse. "What did he tell you about us?" he asked Pete.

A small hurt look came onto Pete's face, a little pout that came and went. "Said he got the best blow job of his life here, for one thing. I thought I was good at that, but I guess you guys are better."

David gave Pete's hand a squeeze. "I think you're really good!"

Jesse and Marty looked at each other, and then cracked up.

Pete turned a fond gaze on his darker-haired companion. "You're pretty good yourself, Davey."

David's eyes were also full of pleasure at being close to Pete. "I had a good teacher," he said, softly.

Pete leaned over and gave David a kiss, and Jesse could see the feeling that went with it. He recognized that, remembering how he had first felt after finding out Marty was his boyfriend for real. And the truth was, that special feeling had never gone away. If anything, it had intensified, and sunk even deeper into the warm places inside of Jesse.

"Do your parents know?" Jesse hazarded to ask.

David made a small face. "Mine kinda knew, but I hadn't said anything. My brother helped me a lot with that."

"My parents already knew I was flamin'", Pete said, unabashedly. "They used to hear me whistling out my window at guys at the bus stop by our house."

Jesse and Marty both laughed. "For real?" Jesse asked.

"Oh, hell, yeah," Alec said, before Petey could open his mouth. "He's whistled at me comin' up the walk on my board to hang with him."

"Well," Marty said, canting his head to one side and letting his eyes rove up and down Alec's body, "we know why he does that."

Pete squeezed his eyes shut and laughed out loud, and then stuck his fist out. Marty bumped it, grinning, while Jesse smiled at the blush that rose in Alec's cheeks.

"Stop that."

Marty grinned. "Say it like you mean it."

This time, Alec grinned, held out a hand, let it suddenly break at the wrist and flop downward. "Stop that" he said, in a husky, extremely gay voice.

Jesse couldn't help laughing along with the others.

They got the guys drinks, and then everyone flopped onto the couch together. Jesse turned on the TV low, but no one was even slightly interested in it.

"Sure gonna remember this trip," Marty said then. "Meetin' you guys was great."

Pete nodded, and then sat forward and stood up. "That reminds me." He dug in his pocket and produced an Android phone. "Can I get your pictures?"

"Sure," Jesse said, grinning. Marty nodded, and then they smiled while Pete snapped a few. Then David wanted a few. Even Alec had his cell this time, and got some.

After that, Jesse and Marty got their phones, and took photos of the guys. They got a nice one of David and Pete sharing a sweet kiss, and then a cute one of David and Pete sitting on either side of Alec, each kissing a cheek, while Alec gaped in exaggerated joy. It made Jesse smile to see the guys having fun, and especially to see the new affection already present between David and Petey.

They talked a while, and Jesse and Marty told their new friends about the fort, and the creek, and their adventures in acquiring the Great Purple Pecker and Buzzy, the Butt Buddy. Pete gaped at the descriptions of the two toys, and then announced that he was so jealous he could spit. They all laughed over that.

By the time the phone rang, it was after nine, and Jesse and Marty were both hungry. They agreed to meet Jesse's mom in about twenty minutes, and then Jesse hung up the phone and looked at the guys seated on the sofa. He gave a little sigh, not prepared for this to be the last time he saw them.

"Listen, guys, that was my mom. She wants to go to breakfast. Um...I was hopin', maybe, you guys could come back later?'

"I can," Alec said immediately. He turned to look hopefully at Pete and David.

Pete looked at David, who smiled and nodded. "We can come back, too. When would be good?"

Jesse's mom hadn't said anything on the phone about going anywhere after they ate, but at dinner the previous evening she had asked Jesse's dad if he could somehow leave the Acura for the day on Friday so that she and the boys could go into town and get some souvenirs. Jesse's dad had grinned, and asked if all the junk they'd bought at every place they had been so far wasn't enough. Jesse's mom had given him a look, and said, sure, she was thrilled to death with the die-cast replica of the P-51 Mustang, but that maybe a few more feminine remembrances would be nice. And even though the boys had also loaded up on stuff from the museums, maybe it would be nice for them to get a few things unrelated to giant whales, weapons of war, and old hot rods.

Jesse's dad had known when to shut up, and had smiled and called Mike Melville and arranged to be picked up in the morning and brought back at the end of the day. He had also promised to be back by five for dinner, so Jesse was expecting that that would be done with that by seven p.m.

"Could you guys come back this evening?" he asked the three. "Like at seven?"

Alec nodded. "It's cool for me. I gotta be in by ten-thirty, but I can hang here until ten or so and get back by curfew."

I"m staying over at Pete's tonight," David said then, "so I can do whatever Pete can do."

Jesse grinned at Marty, then back at David. "Sleepover? Already?"

Pete frowned. "And what's wrong with that? I'll have you know I can't wait to get this guy in my bed and hold onto him all night."

Jesse closed his eyes a moment, remembering not all that long ago, when he and Marty had first slept a night together. "Yeah. I'm sure."

Marty also nodded, smiling at Jesse. "So what about you, Pete?"

"I can come until ten, too. My parents want me in by eleven, but I'm supposed to be back in my yard by ten or ten-thirty. They'll cut me some slack because they know Davey will be with me."

Jesse looked at Marty. "We can hang out this evening. Mom and dad will be tired. They won't wanna go anywhere." Jesse grinned. "We can all sit out on the deck or something."

Marty looked pleased. "Works for me." He looked at the others. "Okay?"

It was. The three visitors agreed to be back by seven, and then Jesse and Marty walked them to the door. Jesse, knowing the way the world worked sometimes, gave each boy a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek, just in case life intervened and this was the last time he saw one of them. Or any of them. The thought pained him, but time had taught him to be real.

Marty seemed to understand Jesse's mindset, and took a turn and gave each of the three a hug and a kiss, too. "Just in case," he whispered to Alec, as he gave him a little extra bit of a squeeze.

Alec nodded, but smiled. "We'll be back."

And then they were gone.

Jesse and Marty went to the bathroom and caught a quick shower, and Jesse did his best to feel up about things. But he kept seeing Alec's face in his mind's eye, and David's and Pete's...

Marty noticed his quiet, and pulled him up and gave him a hug after they had dried off. Jesse stood with his eyes closed, the warmth and softness of his boyfriend's skin pressed against his body everywhere, and sighed. "I'm okay."

Marty backed off a little and nodded. "I know." He grinned. "For what it's worth, I'd much rather have a boyfriend that loves sweet guys, than one that doesn't."

Jesse found a grin inside him after all. "Yeah. Me, too." He gave Marty a quick kiss, and then they went to get dressed and meet Jesse's mom for breakfast.

* * * * * * *

"Looks great on you," Marty said, grinning.

Jesse had decided to wear his new purchase, boldly and proudly. "I like yours, too," he returned, grinning. Marty was also wearing his new shirt.

They had wanted to find a place where they could look at lots of cool souvenirs, and a quick question to the smiling pair on duty at the hotel's front desk that morning had yielded quick results. The young man and woman had immediately nodded, and agreed that the best place to go souvenir hunting was an outlet mall down by the border with Tiajuana. It was only a couple of miles away, and much easier to handle than a day in the busy heart of town, they were assured. Mrs. Cole had obtained directions, and then they were on their way.

It was a nice day, and while warm, the humidity seemed to have lightened some under a cool breeze off the ocean. They had no trouble finding the mall, and soon they were walking about with a lot of other people, gawking and looking into the shop windows. They had stopped in a shop that sold furnishings, most of them handmade in Mexico, and Jesse's mom had bought some small baskets, and a couple of carved wooden boxes with hinged lids that seemed amazingly ornate for the few dollars they cost. Someone had spent a lot of time in carving, and to Jesse it seemed not enough money to cover the effort.

His mom bought some scarves, and a couple of beautifully worked tops, with patterns embroidered across the shoulders and down the sleeves, and a leather hat for Jesse's dad. And she bought Marty and Jesse each a serape, with colorful patterns in blue and gold on a white background - more for the Mexican element than to actually wear. Jesse couldn't really see himself sauntering through the woods in a bathing suit and a serape; but the garment simply screamed Mexico, and he did think it would be cool to hang up in his room as a reminder of the trip.

There were also an amazing amount of beautiful leather goods, and Jesse's mom bought herself a really nice purse, and Jesse and Marty each a leather bag with drawstring, that would be great to store all kinds of stuff, and a billfold for Jesse's dad. Pretty soon they were all laden with bags, and even Jesse's mom was starting to say they probably should go back to the car.

It was Marty who saw the tee-shirt place, and pulled Jesse to a stop in front of the window. A sign therein promised custom tee-shirts of all kinds, and some of the examples hanging behind the glass were outrageous and funny. Jesse begged his mom to go inside, and soon the were standing before a little counter watching the people ahead of them have shirts made. They were an older couple, gray haired, tanned, and laughing. They had each bought a tee-shirt that said, "I'm with stupid", and had an arrow that pointed to a red box. The message was repeated on the front and back of the shirt. Each one of the pair sat before a camera and had their picture taken, and then a big, square machine atop a table printed their photos into the boxes on the shirts. The couple that were having them made laughed, and said wait until so-and so-saw them - they'd just scream. Jesse was wondering if they weren't maybe a little nuts, the way they were acting; but his mom saw the expression on his face, smiled, and gave him a warning with her eyes not to say anything.

Marty had also found the shirts they decided to buy. They were white, and had a big red heart on the front and back of each. Above each heart, also in red, stylized letters proclaimed: "Just out walking with my sweetheart!"

They had their pictures printed, front and back, inside the hearts. And now Jesse was wearing his, with Marty's smiling face on it, and Marty was wearing his, with Jesse's smiling face on it. Jesse's mom had simply smiled, and said they looked nice. Jesse could tell that she was a little self-conscious as they walked along; but after no one paid the slightest attention to them, she appeared to relax.

It was just proof to Jesse that people almost never look closely at what is right in front of their eyes. They passed dozens of people, alone, in pairs, and even in small crowds, as they exited the mall and then crossed the parking lot. Many looked right at them, but no one seemed to take in what was on the front of the boy's shirts. Jesse wanted someone to acknowledge that they understood - even a frown of disapproval would have been welcome at this point.

They piled their stuff into the Acura, and headed back to the hotel. The trip had taken the rest of the morning and it was now early afternoon.

As they came through the lobby they saw Joel, who smiled and waved. He seemed to stare a moment at the shirts, and then his smile grew, and he gave them the thumbs up. Jesse and Marty both grinned, pleased at the acknowledgement. At least someone around here knew great art when they saw it!

They stowed their stuff in their rooms, had lunch with Jesse's mom in the beautifully sunlit dining room, and then they all changed into their bathing suits and went to the beach. Jesse was fully aware now that this would be their last day there - and he did not want to be one of those who looked but did not see. So while Mrs. Cole lay on her towel, getting some more sun, Jesse and Marty walked up and down the beach, taking in the sights. The sun was high in a clear blue sky, the day was warm and a little sultry, and a small but continuous breeze off the water made all of it not only bearable, but enjoyable.

They walked from one end of the hotel property to the other - a fair distance. They passed several lifeguard towers in the process, and waved at Alec's dad, who clearly had no idea who they were, but smiled broadly each time and waved back, anyway. Jesse couldn't help but note the man's fitness - he was even more fit than Jesse's dad, and Jesse's dad was in good shape for a guy cracking thirty-five years old. It was easy to see where Alec got his beautiful body, anyway.

Jesse smiled, thinking of his new friend. Alec was a sweetheart, and Jesse liked him a lot. It was sad to think that after this day he would probably never see the boy again. They could talk on the phone, but Jesse already knew from the widening gulf between him and Nate - who had at first wanted to talk every day, but now just called infrequently - how those things went. He'd heard the saying, 'Absence makes the heart grow fonder'; but experience was teaching him that another old saying was closer to the rule by which such things really worked:

Out of sight, out of mind.

He sighed, somehow suddenly accepting that this was the way it was going to be. People were going to come into his life quite suddenly throughout it, and many would leave again just as quickly. Jesse knew he was going to feel special things about some of them - things which would be as hard to part with as the people he felt them for. But to try to hold on past the point of separation would be fruitless, and only make him unhappy. A cell phone is not a hug, or a kiss; and a voice out of thin air, as wonderful as it might be to hear, was no replacement for the touch and warmth of skin-against-skin.

People come, and people go.

He smiled. Marty, though, was different. Marty was going to stay. Jesse felt it deep inside of himself, down where the most important thoughts and feelings he had were stored. Even if one day they were parted, it would not be one of those things that hurt horribly and then slowly grew cold. It would hurt, yes. But they would both know that it was not forever. They would still talk together, still dream together, still laugh and share life together.

And still love together.

And somewhere, down the line, when they were one day old enough to be in control of their own destinies, they would come back together to stay. There was a reassurance in that idea that made Jesse's heart feel good.

He reached out, to where Marty walked along next to him, and gathered his hand into his own, and laced their fingers together and gently squeezed. Marty looked down a moment at their hands, and then up into Jesse's eyes. "Gettin' brave, huh?"

Jesse looked around the beach. There were a lot of people there; but - again - no one seemed to be paying attention to them. "I don't care what they think."

Marty grinned, and squeezed Jesse's hand just as warmly. They reached the end of the property, where a little sign indicated that beyond was a public beach, and turned around to head back. As they walked back to where Jesse's mom lay on her towel, Jesse did spy several people who noticed them; but it was just in passing, and he saw no judgments in those idle glances.

But he would not have cared if there had been judgments there. He had made peace now, with who he was.

* * * * * * *

"It's a petrel," David said, shading his eyes from the evening sun. "I think they're pretty."

Jesse gazed up at the bird, circling deftly in the currents of air above them, looking so different from the smaller birds that Jesse knew from home. In so many ways this place was different from where Jesse had been raised. At first glance it had seemed devoid of the wildlife with which Jesse was used to being surrounded by; but, slowly, he was coming to see that there was just as much here that was wild and amazing, but just lived different lives than what he was used to in his woods. This world had its beauty, too.

They were all out on the deck, sprawled comfortably together on the stairs to the beach, watching the people go by, and talking. Not about anything in particular - just talking. The sun was low in the sky, and accompanied by a chain of thin, reddish clouds, scarcely dense enough to be visible. But they were enough to have painted the horizon a gentle rose in color, which Jesse thought just magnificent to behold.

It had been a really nice day all around.

Jesse's dad, tired from his day, but pleased with the overall success of the business part of the trip, had taken them to dinner at a restaurant just up the coast - one recommended to him by one of the other people at the plant where they had been working. Jesse had had a simply delicious swordfish steak that he didn't think he'd be able to forget anytime soon, and they had all eaten well and enjoyed the meal and the time together.

After that they had come back to the hotel, and Jesse's parents had retired to their room to spend a little time together, reminding Jesse that they had to be packed and ready to go by ten the next morning.

Jesse and Marty had changed into their bathing suits, and gone out into the evening sun to wait for their friends.

The boys had shown up just at seven, as planned. They, too, were dressed for summer and sand and water, and looked like they had been swimming. Marty had gotten them all a drink, and now they were just sitting together, and talking.

Pete and David were side-by-side, holding hands just as Jesse and Marty were doing. If Alec was bothered being odd man out, he didn't seem to show it. He sat with his shoulder up against Marty's, looking just as relaxed and comfortable as the others.

"Yeah, it really is nice here," Jesse agreed, his eyes following the bird as it faded into the puffy clouds. "I love the woods, but I think the beach has a little magic, too."

Pete smiled at him. "You are so gay. I love it."

Jesse grinned. "What? What did I say?"

Pete shook his head. "'A little magic'. Dude, the guys around here all fake that surfer crap when they talk. If you were from around here, you would have said it like this --"

Pete sat forward, tossed his damp hair around on his head, and pulled some of the longer elements down so that they shaded his eyes. Then he put on a slightly goofy expression and grinned at Jesse and Marty. "Whoa, man! The sands, dude! They're like this awesome, magical shit, dude!"

Jesse and Marty doubled over, laughing. David also howled for a second, his eyes bright with humor. "That's Joe Poffer," he said then, catching his breath. "I'd know that stupid voice anywhere."

Alec nodded, sighing. He shook his head at Pete, but then he was grinning. "Everybody here does not really talk like that," he explained to Jesse and Marty. "Joe saw some dumb old movie about these stupid surfers who go back in time. It had that guy in it from The Matrix. He's been talking like that ever since."

"Yeah, Joe doesn't have all his oars in the water, anyway," David agreed. "I think when he talks like that he thinks it makes him sound cool."

"Makes him sound like a clown," Pete said then. "Gay-hatin' bitch."

Marty looked at Jesse, and then at Pete. "Has someone had their toes stepped on a little?"

Pete frowned, but then smiled. "Yeah, maybe. Maybe I have, some. Sorry. Joe's harmless. He just says whatever stupid thing his brain cells kick out."

Jesse grinned, recalling that Marty had a tendency to do something similar - if not quite so nasty - whenever he got excited. He grinned at his boyfriend, who noticed, but pretended to ignore him.

"He call you on being gay?" Marty asked Pete.

"He's made cockments...um, comments," Pete acknowledged, with another grin. "But he's really just dumb, more than mean. He knows I'm gay, but he says stuff about guys when he's around me that he has to know I can hear, so that's why I think he does it on purpose." The frown came back. "He called Matt Wicky a 'peter puffer' once, while I was standing right there."

"And Matt's not even gay, I don't think," Alec added. He laughed. "He just acts like it."

"This guy Joe never said anything right to your face?" Jesse asked.

Pete raised an eyebrow. "He'd better not. He knows I'll kick his stupid butt all over the beach."

Jesse grinned. A kindred soul! "Yeah, I ain't takin' anyone mouthing off to me, either," Jesse said. "They'd have to put their hands on me to make me smack 'em, but I sure ain't afraid to tell 'em what I think!"

He and Pete grinned at each other a moment. Then Pete pointed at Marty. "Your guyfriend, either. He looked like he was gonna smack me himself when I called you a pervert the other day." He made a small apologetic pout. "Sorry about, that, too. I got a little emotional."

Marty laughed. "Don't we all, sometimes." He leaned over and kissed Jesse's cheek.

"What's that for?" Jesse immediately asked.

"Just take it and like it and shut up," Marty said, his eyes sparkling.

David laughed. "Ooh. Talk dirty to me."

Jesse and Marty both laughed. Someone was sure coming out of his shell.

"So," Pete said, leaning forward and lowering his voice. "Tell me more about the vibrator you guy's got."

Marty shrugged, as if to say, oh, that old thing. "What do you wanna know?"

Pete looked at David, and then both of them grinned. "What it feels like," Pete said.

"Ever had a tongue in your pucker?" Jesse asked.

Alec immediately laughed, perhaps recalling his own experience. Even in the orange hues from the setting sun, Jesse could see the warm blush on the boy's cheeks. He reached over and ran a fingertip gently up Alec's forearm. "It was good, huh?"

Alec nodded. "Was it!"

Pete sat closer. "So we heard. Are you saying it's like that? Like a rim job?"

Jesse laughed, and nudged Marty with his elbow. "Hear that?"

"What?" Pete asked. "I see shit online, just like everybody else."

In that instant, Jesse realized that Pete was the most serious gay guy he had ever met. The boy seemed to know about a lot of gay sex practices, even if he hadn't experienced all of them himself.

"No, it's not exactly like that," Jesse said then. "I just meant that, if you've never had anything up your butthole, it's kind of hard to explain."

Pete grinned. "I've had lots of stuff up my ass. Bananas, bottles, clothes pins - even a little flashlight I got."

"You use lube, I hope," Marty said.

"Sure. I started with lotion, but then I read about stuff made for sex, and got me some of that."

David offered a small, guilty look, and Jesse grinned at him. "You, too?"

The dark-haired boy didn't quite blush, but he definitely looked embarrassed. "Yeah."

Pete smiled at him. "There's my sweet guy. That just means I know what can go in there next."

Again, David looked embarrassed. "Maybe. I'd have to work up to that."

Pete leaned forward, closed his eyes, and kissed David's cheek, and the feeling there was evident. "It's okay," Pete whispered. "You can try me first. I'll never do anything you don't want to do, okay?"

David sighed, closed his eyes, and nuzzled Pete's face. "Okay."

Jesse felt an aw! moment coming on, and leaned against Marty, who circled an arm around his shoulders and gave him a firm squeeze.

The sun finally vanished, and they watched in silence as the sky darkened and the stars started to come out. The little Japanese lanterns along the boardwalk lit, illuminating the people still walking back and forth. But the deck settled into semi-darkness, and from there the sky was just amazing.

"Man, it's beautiful here," Jesse whispered. He loved stars, and realized that, living in the woods, with the night sky shielded from view by trees, he seldom paid enough attention to those distant suns.

"Gotta be a couple thousand of them," Marty agreed, snuggling closer to Jesse.

"It's romantic," Pete said, snuggling closer to David.

Alec laid his head on Marty's shoulder and sighed. "You guys all suck."

Marty laughed. "What gave it away?"

Alec raised his head, rolling his eyes. "I just mean...you guys suck. Like in, I'm a little jealous."

"You got a girl," Jesse pointed out. "It's not our fault she doesn't have a nice dick for you to play with."

Alec made a face. "That's not what I mean. I just...you guys got some love."

Marty looked at him. "You love your girl?"

"I don't know," Alec confessed. "I mean...I'm pretty nuts about her. But it seems different being with her than it does with you guys. She's not as..." He trailed off, obviously at a loss for words.

"She's not as comfortable," Jesse supplied, quietly.

Alec nodded. "Maybe that's it. It's just different being with her than it is with hanging with all of you." He frowned. "Girls...think different. They like different stuff." He looked exasperated, as if realizing he was not getting his meaning across. "It's harder."

"Oh, he's gay," Pete said, kidding.

"I am not," Alec returned, looking annoyed.

"He's not," Jesse said then, and finally sure of it. "I think he's bi."

Alec perked up at that. "You think?"

"We know," Marty said. "Straight guys don't usually let other guys suck them off and tongue their buttholes."

Alec grinned. "Oh, that little business. That was just playin'". But his eyes had become bright in the fading light, as he turned to look at his friend. "I know what bisexual is, Pete. I'm cool with it."

Pete looked surprised. "Really?"

Alec laughed. "How long you been suckin' my dick?"

Pete grinned, held up a hand and started counting off fingers.

Alec sputtered, and then laughed. "Oh, it has not been that long, either, stupid." He gave Pete a little push. "I can tell you when it started. You said you had a present for me on my thirteenth birthday."

"Oh, yeah. I haven't forgotten."

"Yeah. So it's been a little while," Alec finished. He licked his lips. "You notice I never stopped letting you."

"I did kind of notice, yeah."

David gave a small laugh. "I'm sorry I missed that."

Alec's eyes widened, and he smiled. "Just ask me nice," he said sweetly.

Everyone laughed, except Pete, who looked indignant. "You wouldn't do that with my boyfriend, would you?"

David looked surprised. "So it's okay for you, but not for me?"

Jesse could see Pete rapidly backpedaling inside his head. "Whoops. Sorry." He frowned. "This is something I want to be careful about. I don't want to hurt anybody's feelings." He looked at David. "How do you feel about Alec?"

"He's cute." David grinned. "If I knew he played like that, I might have chased him a little."

At Pete's sudden frown, David smiled. "Relax. I got the one I wanted."

That was he right thing to say. That David meant it was also clear. Pete grinned. "Play with my emotions, boy. I'll still love you."

David laughed, and leaned closer to Pete, and Pete kissed him.

Alec sighed. "I wish I coulda brought my girl. But she's away until next week."

Maybe Alec was feeling like odd man out.

Marty gave a little sympathetic pout, looked at Jesse; and then he leaned over to Alec and gave him a nice kiss. Alec turned his face into it, and Jesse smiled as it turned into a tongue battler.

He could understand that tiny burst of jealousy that Pete had displayed. But to see Marty kiss someone else didn't bother Jesse, because he knew that Marty loved him. Jesse was the one that had Marty's heart, and no one else. Marty was giving - giving affection and comfort. If you could not do that for people you liked - or loved - than there was no reason to walk this world.

Marty pulled back, and Alec smiled. "I feel better."

Jesse leaned across Marty's lap and puckered up. "Wanna feel even more better?"

Alec grinned and came willingly, and Jesse laid one on him. He could feel Marty's silent laugh, and Jesse dropped a hand into his boyfriend's crotch and rubbed the slightly enlarged form of his dick through his swimsuit, smiling into his kiss with Alec as he felt Marty start at the touch.

Someone going by on the boardwalk must have seen something. Suddenly, a loud, long whistle parted the darkness, making the boys jump. They looked up as a group of teen boys, looking their way, laughed and started walking again. The guys were a couple of years older than Jesse, and correspondingly bigger. As they sauntered off, a couple of them were grabbing and patting at one guy in their midst - probably the whistler. They all pushed each other and laughed, and kept going.

Jesse had to grin. Well, that just meant that being fifteen or sixteen meant you were bigger than you were at thirteen, not that you had any more brains or discipline - or common sense.

"Oops," Pete said, and Jesse could just make out the boy's grin. "Guess we were a little too obvious."

"Nah," Marty said. "I think they just saw a bunch of dark shapes all close together on the steps, and figured it was a bunch of guys making out."

"It was a bunch of guys making out," David said.

"With their girls," Marty elaborated. "I know damn well they couldn't see us clearly with those lanterns all along the walk like that. You ever try to see out into the dark from a light spot? Ain't happenin'".

Still, it was a little bit sobering to think they had even almost been caught, and, mindful of his parents just next door, Jesse told everyone to kind of stay cool. He didn't mean no more kissing, but it probably was a good idea to keep their hands out of each other's bathing suits.

The evening wore on. The horizon had retained a thin streak of light just above it for a while after the sun had gone, but then even that ghost of daylight disappeared, and the sky filled with stars right down to the water. Jesse missed the sounds of crickets and toads and night birds calling, which the pleasant tones of the surf could not quite replace.

But - that starry sky...it was gorgeous.

"I'll miss the sky here," Jesse said, and smiled as Marty hugged him again.

"Me, too."

"You don't have a sky where you live?" Pete asked, kidding.

Jesse explained how it was in the woods, with the trees being the sky and the real one only visible through small open patches in the canopy

The idea that others could not see stars stretching from one horizon to the other made an impact on the others. Jesse could see them staring upwards, and maybe wondering what it might be like to lose such a view.

"Man," David said, softly. "That must suck."

Jesse laughed. "It doesn't. We can walk up to the cow pasture if we really wanna see the stars. I guess we're just used to it." He looked around, pleased to have visited this place, but seeing now that he would be happy to get back to his woods again. "No place like home," he said softly.

It got to be ten o'clock, and the guys had to go. They all stood and went behind the deck's rail where they couldn't be seen as well, and exchanged hugs and kisses. They made certain they all had each other's phone numbers, and then Jesse and Marty walked the others out to the boardwalk and watched as they walked away, and then disappeared. Jesse felt that odd desire to tear up again, knowing it was dumb, but unable to help himself. So when he heard Marty give a tiny sniff, it made him laugh. "You, too?"

"Yeah. Come on, Jesse, Let's go back."

Jesse continued to stare up the boardwalk a moment, knowing that this was goodbye forever.

Life has its ups and downs. This week had definitely been an up. But you can't get one without having the other, and now the week was over.

Jesse sighed, and looked a last time up the boardwalk. Bye, guys.

* * * * * * *

It was Joel who appeared at their door in the morning to collect the luggage. He was all smiles, his eyes seeming full of light. He collected Jesse's parent's bags, and then came to get the boy's stuff. Jesse had the door of their room open, waiting, and was pleased to see the porter.

"Hi," Jesse said, grinning. "Fancy meetin' you here."

Joel grinned. "Yes. I wanted to make sure I got to see you off. Did you have a good time?"

"Did we!" Marty said, bumping Jesse's shoulder. "We had a blast!"

They were wearing their special shirts again, and Marty leaned back a bit and pulled his tight for the porter to see. "What d'ya think?"

Joel put a hand to his chin and made a show of examining the shirt, and then turned to look at Jesse's. "They match. I think they are very special, like the chicos that wear them."

Jesse grinned. "Bet you say that to all the guys."

Joel's eyebrows went, up, and he laughed. "No. Just where it is deserved." He looked back at the open door to Jesse's parent's room. Jesse's folks were doing a last minute look around the room to see if they had missed anything, and were not watching them. Joel dug a hand into his uniform and withdrew a small manila envelope and hastily proffered it to Jesse. "For the two of you, with my thanks."

Jesse took the envelope and turned it over in his hand.

"Not now," Joel said. "After you are away, you can look. Okay?"

Jesse nodded, and slid the envelope into the pocket of his shorts. It only just fit.

Jesse's mom and dad came out, and Joel shut the doors to both rooms. They walked back through the glass hallway to the lobby, and Jesse and Marty stood back with the luggage and Joel while his parents checked out.

"My brother will not forget you," Joel said quietly. "Nor will I. He is happy now, and that makes me very happy, too."

Jesse and Marty looked at each other, feeling it wrong to take credit for the natural attraction between David and Pete. Once the misunderstanding between them had been cleared up, nature had simply taken its course.

"We didn't do anything," Marty said, just as quietly. "Just invited the guys over."

"Yeah," Jesse offered. "They did it all themselves."

Joel nodded, and smiled again. "Yes, maybe. And maybe not. Some things happen on their own, and some things need help to happen." He nodded. "David needed help. And there you were."

Jesse nodded, understanding. "Well, it was a small thing, and we were glad to help. I hope David and Pete will be happy."

Joel nodded. "Yes. It was a small thing, amigo. But it is the small things that change our lives."

Jesse's parents came back, ready to go. The Acura was brought around to the entry, and Joel loaded the luggage into the back. Jesse and Marty belted into the back seat, and as Mr. Cole started them off, both Jesse and Marty turned to look out the side window.

Joel saw them, and smiled and waved.

Jesse and Marty both raised their hands, and waved until the porter was out of sight.

* * * * * * *

The flight home seemed anticlimactic. The plane left on time, and the ride across the cloud-strewn sky was gentle and uneventful. Jesse and Marty both dozed on and off, as did Jesse's parents. They were all happy with the way the trip had gone, but even Jesse was a little bit glad that it was almost over. And, they were all tired. Even a three-hour difference in one's daily schedule was enough to throw the body off its cycle, and Jesse had felt just a little out of sorts for the entire week. The trip home would only take two hours by the clock, as they caught back up to the time they knew.

Jesse revived from a drowse and looked around the plane's interior. A lot of the other travelers also seemed to be sleeping, though a few were reading or talking quietly. A movie was on, but Jesse didn't recognize it, and didn't care to put on the headphones to see what it was about.

He rubbed his thighs, and suddenly felt Joel's envelope in the pocket of his shorts. He slid a hand in and retrieved it.

"'Bout time," Marty said sleepily, from beside him. "I was wonderin' what that was gonna be."

Jesse grinned at him, and pulled open the sealed flap.

The envelope contained pictures. Jesse spread them out on his lap, his heart taking a small leap as his eyes roved over them: close ups of David and Pete, smiling. David and Pete, standing together, each with an arm around the other, each looking happy. David and Pete in a hug, with David turned toward the camera, a smile of joy on his face. And a shot of David and Pete, with Joel standing between them, an arm around each boy, all three of them smiling. They were beautiful pictures, taken out in front of a small house, in the sun and the air, and probably better than anything Jesse had taken with his cell camera.

There were two copies of each picture, one set for Jesse, and one set for Marty.

Jesse felt a rush of emotion. "They look so happy," he whispered.

Marty leaned over and pushed his face against Jesse's ear. "'Cause they are, dummy."

Jesse nodded, turned and kissed his boyfriend.

They divided up the pictures, and stowed them away in their pockets.

The plane landed almost right on time, and, wonder of wonders, their luggage was right there where it should be to be picked up.

When they got out to the car, Jesse's dad walked all the way around the SUV, and then came back and smiled. "All the tires still there, no dents or broken glass. Who says life in the city isn't a dream?"

The drive home was a long one - almost two hours. It was edging into evening when they pulled onto their own street, and circled down around towards home. But when Mr. Cole put on the turn signal to turn into Marty's driveway, Jesse stopped him. "Wait dad. Marty's going to our house."

Mr. Cole looked at them in the rear view mirror. "Oh? Why is that?"

Jesse grinned at Marty, than at his dad's reflection. "I'll walk him home and help with his stuff. We want to stop at the fort for a minute and check it out."

Jesse could see his dad's eyes crinkle in a smile, but he just nodded, and drove on. They reached their own house, and pulled up into the driveway. The garage door opened, they drove inside and stopped, and Jesse's dad turned off the engine.

And that was that. They were home.

Jesse gave a little huff, feeling an unaccountable delight to be back in his own house, in his own woods. They climbed out, and the boys helped unload the luggage and take it inside.

Marty had one small suitcase and a travel bag, and those they left by the door into the garage.

Jesse went to the fridge and got out an orange juice each for him and for Marty.

Jesse's mom came over and gave Marty a hug. "We sure enjoyed having you with us, Marty."

Mr. Cole nodded from the other side of the counter. "Did you have fun?"

Marty looked from Mr. Cole to Mrs. Cole, and then to Jesse, and then back to the adults. "It was one of the best times I ever had," he said seriously. "Thanks for taking me."

Jesse's parents looked at each other and smiled, and Jesse could see that they really were happy to have had Marty along. Jesse grinned, feeling stupid happy for some reason. He reached out and took Marty by the arm. "Come on. I'll walk you home."

They gathered Marty's bags, and went out through the garage.

Jesse stopped in the driveway, listening. The sun was already off somewhere low in the trees, and the woods were darkening, even though sunset was still an hour away. But the crickets were already out, and the toads were harrumping, and an owl was calling somewhere far off. The night had started, even if the world didn't know it yet.

They walked down the path to the fort, set Marty's luggage down and went inside. Everything seemed exactly as they had left it.

Jesse sat down on the cot, and patted the mattress next to him. Marty sat, and leaned close. "I loved going with you, Jesse. I really had a good time."

"I know," Jesse said. "Me, too. I loved having you with me."

They sat quietly a moment, listening to the sounds of the woods.

"Sleep out tomorrow night?" Marty asked.

Jesse laughed. "Shit yeah. I'm up for that."

Already, the beach and the California sun seemed far-off, almost as if he'd dreamed about it rather than lived it. "I'm gonna miss those guys," Jesse said. He could feel the spot he'd set aside inside himself, for Alec, and David, and Pete. Curiously, it was not empty, even though they were thousands of miles away now. Somehow, the guys were still there.

Marty sighed, and wrapped an arm around Jesse's shoulders. "Yup. I will, too." Marty patted Jesse's knee with his other hand. "We can call 'em tomorrow."

Jesse brightened a bit at that. "Yeah. We just gotta remember the time difference. If we call about noon, that should be cool."

Marty laughed. "You think we're gonna collect guys for our whole lives?"

Jesse thought about that, seeing a quick string of smiling faces romp quickly through his mind. "Man, I sure hope so."

Marty laughed, and leaned over and gave Jesse a quick peck on the cheek. "I'd better get home and see my folks." But then he stuck the tip of his tongue into Jesse's ear, making him start. Marty laughed."And get our stuff back from Parker."

Jesse just grinned at that, anticipation already settling in. "Tomorrow night? Right here?"

Marty laughed. "Tomorrow night. Right here."

They got up and went outside, and Jesse pulled the door to the fort closed behind them.

In just the few minutes they had been inside, the woods had darkened noticeably more.

Marty looked up, and shook his head. "Can't see many stars from here."

Jesse nodded, not even bothering to look. He knew where the stars were, even if he couldn't see them. They were right where he had left them, and they would always be there, visible or not.

That was the way of the world. The things you loved stayed with you, visible or not, always there, always the same, for as long as you were there to remember them.

It didn't matter whether they were woods, or stars - or people. Once you loved them, once you made that place for them inside your heart and your mind, they would always be yours, forever.

Jesse grinned and grabbed up Marty's suitcase, and slid an arm around his boyfriend's waist, and gave him a quick squeeze to let him know that he loved him. Marty would always be there, too.

"Come on, dummy. I'll walk you home."