Be Rad - 11. Chapter 11

July 7, 1980

 

I stood on the taxiway at Palo Alto's airport watching Stefan's jet taxi over. As it got closer and closer I had to force myself to stand still. I was always excited to see Stef. He was so much fun, such a great guy.

 

The Falcon pulled up, its loud engines winding down as the ground crew put the chocks under the wheels. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, waiting impatiently until the door to the jet opened and Stef came bounding out. He rushed down the stairs and gave me a big hug. “How great to see you so soon!” he gushed.

 

“Great to see you too!” I said, then led him to the Jeep. We buckled ourselves in and headed out of the airport as I resumed our conversation. “Thanks for coming. Dad seems to be doing really well, but you know that it's hard to tell with him. He seemed to end things on a friendly note with Sam. They had a goodbye fuck.”

 

He studied me carefully. “And how do you know this? If you are going to walk into the world of incest, I want the right of first refusal,” he joked.

 

“You're lucky that I have willpower. You would never be able to refuse me,” I teased back. “I was there when Sam left. Well, not for the sex, but for the conversation.”

 

“JP let you stay in the room?” Stefan asked, amazed.

 

“Yeah.” I told him how the whole thing unfolded, and gave him a summary of our conversation.

 

“I am impressed. He has a lot of confidence in you. He has all but made you his Dauphin.”

 

“Dauphin?” That was the French word for Dolphin.

 

“Yes, the title of the French heir to the throne; similar, I believe, to England's Prince of Wales.”

 

“I think you overestimate the gesture. I think he was afraid of being alone with Sam.”

 

“He has no fear, at least none that you would ever see. Sam would never scare him physically. Emotionally, perhaps, but not physically,” Stef said pensively.

 

“He’s been acting sad, and kind of lonely, but only when he doesn’t think people are watching him,” I told Stef.

 

Stef reverted to his cheerful, playful self. “Do not worry, I will help to heal his wounds.” We both laughed at that. “Before I forget, here are your tickets.”

 

He handed me an envelope, and since we were at a stoplight, I opened it up and looked inside. There were five passes to the Day on the Green concert. “These are backstage passes!” These were like gold.

 

“Yes, you will have to watch the concert from behind the stage. I'm sorry that I could do no better.” It was really nice the way he tried to go out of his way to do nice things for me, and how disappointed he was when he thought he’d failed in his attempts.

 

“There is no better.” I leaned over to hug him. “Thanks, Stef.”

 

“Anything for you, Bradley. And who are you taking with you?”

 

I blushed and he saw it, which only made me blush more. “Ace, Billy, Lark, me, and...” I made him wait... “Robbie.”

 

“Billy's clone from Claremont? I thought you might be taking Jake.” He seemed disappointed. It dawned on me that he identified with Jake, and that my rejection of Jake was a de-facto rejection of him, at least in his mind.

 

“No, Jake and I are good friends. I think we worked things out after our trip.” I noticed that didn’t seem to resonate with him. “In fact, I was hoping to bring him down to visit at the end of summer, if that's OK with you. I really like him, but I'm not in love with him. We have fun, we are friends, and we, uh, satisfy each other.” Now I was blushing furiously.

 

“I will try and keep Greg away from him,” Stef said with a giggle.

 

“You’d better. He's a lot of fun,” I said with a leer that I only used with Stefan.

 

“So this Robbie has captured your attention eh?” he asked, now that he was finally able to put his concerns about Jake aside.

 

“Yeah, Stef. I don't know what it is about him, but he makes every pore in my body horny.”

 

He really laughed. “Well then, we must treat him to a trip to California in style. I will arrange to have my plane pick him up.”

 

“In Claremont?” I asked. That was a long, expensive flight.

 

“Unless he has moved somewhere else. Maybe the plane could pick you up first, so you could keep him company on his trip?” He asked me that with a raised eyebrow, which told me he was going into his teasing mode. “You do not have to, of course. You could just have him flown here.”

 

“I'm all over that,” I said so quickly he chuckled at me. “By the way, when is the plane going back to get Tonto?”

 

“I'm making her fly commercial,” he said.

 

“Yeah right. Make sure your will is up to date first.” We laughed.

 

“The plane leaves on the 10^th for Claremont, and then brings her back here. That way I can see her before I head back.”

 

“Mind if I ride along to get her?” I asked.

 

He giggled. “You must really like him. I will tell the pilots.”

 

We pulled up to the gates and I punched in the codes. As we drove up the drive, Stefan sniffed his nose unpleasantly. “Your Jeep smells moldy. Like sweaty boys and surfboards.”

 

“That's pretty much it,” I said. “Why, you going to bottle the fragrance?”

 

He smacked me playfully. We strolled through the front doors and ran into my mother. “Stefan, how wonderful to see you. It is a good time for you to be here. JP is pretending to be fine, but he is crabby.”

 

“I will cheer him up,” Stef said with a leer, and vanished in the direction of his study.

 

“You did this,” she said to me directly.

 

“Yes, Mother,” I said. “I was worried about him. I figured Stef was the only one close enough to help him through it.”

 

“You are a smart young man,” she said, kissing me on the cheek. “I am so proud of all three of my sons.” Then she turned on her heel and strolled off. I don't know why that had so much meaning; she'd always considered me as one of her children. It just seemed that that comment had certified it.

 

Before I headed to bed I snuck in to check on JP and Stefan. The door was unlocked so I peeked in. Stefan was lying on his back, and JP was lying on top of him, his back to Stefan's chest, while Stefan slowly fucked him, running his hands up and down JP's thin frame. I pushed the door lock button and closed it quietly. Damn that looked hot. I looked down and I was hard as a rock. I hurried back to my room to beat off. When I got there, there was a surprise waiting for me: Lark.

 

“Hey Lark,” I said. He started laughing as he stared at my seriously tenting pants. Shit.

 

Thinking fast, I pulled out the tickets. “Stef's here. Look what he got us! Backstage passes!”

 

Lark grabbed them from my hands. “No way! No fucking way!” He jumped up and hugged me, and I felt his body rub against my hard dick. He felt so good, so hard, so fit, and so beautiful.

 

He got a really playful grin on his face. He stroked my dick through my pants, causing me to moan like an old whore. “Guess I owe you one. Seems I promised you that you could blow me,” he said seductively.

 

“I want more,” I told him. I had changed my tone involuntarily. I was so horny I couldn't see straight.

 

“More?” he asked, worried.

 

“I want you to fuck me. Like you did before. Will you do that?”

 

His eyes lit up. “Hell yeah!” he said. I locked the door and we stripped off our clothes. I pushed him back on the bed, moving my lips to his. I was so glad that Lark wasn't hung up on kissing, because I really liked kissing, and he was really good at it. I grabbed my lube and slathered it on his hard dick, and then I sat down on it, facing away from him. It hurt, it really hurt at first, but I forced myself to relax, knowing now how good I'd feel once I got used to it. Then I lay down on him, my back to his chest, just like I'd seen JP do with Stefan.

 

He wrapped his arms around me and started slowly moving in and out, taking his time. Damn, he was a good lover. Each stroke hit my spot. I leaned my head back and moaned, and felt his lips on my neck and the wind from his breath as he panted onto the spot he'd just wetted with his mouth. “God, B, that feels so good. Fuck.” He ran his hands down my chest, across my abdomen, and to my dick. He ran his fingers up and down the length of my shaft in a gentle, caressing manner as he picked up his pace.

 

I lost all control of my body. All I could do was thrust back into him, moan, and enjoy his touches, his kisses on my neck, and the feel of him as he plowed deep inside me. I felt my balls start to rise. “Gonna cum, Lark. Gonna cum,” I stammered. He moaned into my neck and really started to pound me, and that did it. The first string of cum flew out of my dick and landed on Lark's face. I felt him start to explode into my ass while we both tried to enjoy the orgasm without laughing too hard about the big blob of my cum on his cheek. The comedy of the situation, rather than destroying our orgasm, intensified it. It seemed to last forever and ever, two friends totally finding pleasure from each other's bodies. As soon as we were done I got off of him and grabbed a towel, gently wiping off his face. Then he pulled me down and kissed me, not passionately, but lovingly. What the fuck was that?

 

“Damn, B, you make me feel so good. Damn good. You sure you're OK with this?” he asked.

 

“Dumbass,” I said. “Didn't I look like I had fun? God, you really are an amazing lover, Lark. When the women figure that out, you'll be beating them off, instead of yourself.” He laughed at my stupid joke.

 

“I know. I mean, I really really enjoy this, being with you. Fucking you feels unbelievable. But you are so important to me, B. I just don't want to hurt you.”

 

“You won't hurt me, Lark. It's just fun, right?”

 

“Right,” he said. But then I finally got it. I finally got the reason he was acting this way, acting worried about me. He wasn't so worried about me. He was worried about him. He liked it too. He liked it a lot.

 

We hung out naked in bed, just laughing and joking. And talking about our upcoming concert. He was really excited.

 

“I should get going,” he finally said, making as if to leave. I ran my hand down his chest to his abdomen and to his dick which hardened in my hand like magic.

 

“Fuck me again before you go,” I demanded.

 

“I really have to go,” he said, but I was stroking him gently.

 

“Come on, Lark, one more time, please?” He got harder. Apparently he liked it when I begged. “Please, Lark, please fuck me.” I thrust against his leg. “Please,” I begged.

 

He uttered this guttural roar and rolled me over onto my stomach. No foreplay or lube, we didn't need it after our first round, he just pushed right in me. He started out hard and ended up hard, fucking me like a madman. His pounding thrust my cock against the bed, the sheets, and I knew I wouldn't last long. I didn't. I blew after only a few minutes, while he went on and on, and finally blasted in me. He got up quickly, looking sheepish.

 

“Thanks, Lark.” The look of gratitude on my face seemed to mollify him.

 

“My pleasure,” he said with a leer, and then he left. I drifted off to sleep that night thinking about how much more I would have enjoyed that if I would have been with Robbie.

 

July 10, 1980

 

It was still dark when we took off at the ungodly hour of 3am. I had planned it this way so I could sleep on the plane and then, when we got into town, I could hang out for a little bit. There were two people that I wanted to see in Claremont: Nick and Robbie.

 

The plane landed at 10am Claremont time and I found a car, my grandparents' Cadillac limousine, waiting to pick me up. It whisked me up the hill to their house. My grandfather was already off to work, but Grandmaman was there with the same demeanor she always had, that way about her that made her seem so gracious and kind.

 

“Bradley, how wonderful to see you so soon. We hardly got to see you at all during the festival.” Grandmaman embraced me in the formal and correct way that she did with her family, a gentle hug with a kiss on each cheek.

 

“It is good to see you too,” I replied in French. We always spoke French with her, if only to show her that we hadn't forgotten her heritage. “I'm sorry I did not get to spend much time with you.”

 

“I have heard that you were very busy,” she said politely but cryptically. What did she mean? I said nothing. “Tonto has to run some errands this morning, so she will need the car. Jack told me to give you the keys to his car so you can get around today.” She handed me the keys to my grandfather's Corvette, a 1963 convertible. My father had given it to them as a gift almost 20 years ago. It was a blast to drive.

 

“Thank you!” I said enthusiastically. “I love driving it, but I'm always worried that I'll crash it.”

 

“It is just a car, a thing. Do not worry about it. Just be safe,” she said. With that I headed out to the garage and fired it up, enjoying the throaty roar from its exhaust. He kept the car totally stock, just like it must have been the first day he’d driven it. It was almost like driving a really cool time machine. The weather was nice enough, a bit hot, but cool enough with the top down and the car moving. I headed downtown to the law firm where my brother was doing an internship.

 

I checked in with the receptionist and sat there, waiting for him. Nick came out, all smiles, and gave me a big hug. “Hey Brad, it's great to see you! I've been pissed at you ever since the 4^th. I can't believe you were here and you didn't come see me.”

 

“It was a short but eventful visit,” I told him cautiously.

 

“I heard about some of it from Tonto. I'm really sorry about Bitty. I hope you won't hold her attitude against me.”

 

I looked at him and noted that he had the trademark looks of the Schluters: pale blue eyes, strawberry blond hair, and a round face. He was a handsome young man, a grandson to be proud of. A straight grandson, I thought with a cringe. “You are two different people. You aren't responsible for her.”

 

We headed out of the office to a local cafe for lunch. “She has just internalized Mother's anguish and adopted it as her own. It was so ugly and pervasive when we were kids.”

 

I hid my sadness. It sucked to know that my mother had hated my guts. “That’s in the past.”

 

“It is,” he said knowingly, seeming to sense that I didn't want to talk about it. The rest of the lunch passed nicely. I liked Nick, he was a nice guy, but we didn't have a deep bond and probably never would. It didn’t seem to matter to him, and it didn’t matter to me either. Our relationship seemed to work for both of us.

 

I left the law firm and headed to Robbie's house. I had been distracted at lunch, and I'm sure Nick noticed that I’d spent the bare minimum of time with him to qualify as a polite visit. I forced myself to not feel guilty about that as I pulled up to Robbie’s house, a nice place in a nice neighborhood; it was what people would categorize as upper-middle class. I was worried that he wouldn't be home until I saw the Eldorado in the driveway. As I walked toward it, I noticed a huge scratch along the side. Someone had keyed the car big time.

 

I rang the doorbell and a nice lady answered. “Hello, I'm Brad Schluter. Is Robbie home?” There was an air of tension in the house that I could sense even on the doorstep. She seemed very nervous. Then I heard a loud voice, a male voice, yelling loudly in the background.

 

“I can't believe those assholes did that to my car! Your car! Whatever! I'm gonna run them out of this town once and for all.”

 

She looked at me nervously. “You didn't pick the best time for a visit.”

 

“I'm sorry ma'am. I'm only in town for today.”

 

She sighed. “Come on in.” Then more loudly. “Frank, we have a visitor so watch your language.” It was refreshing to see that she wasn’t afraid of him.

 

“Well whoever it is, send them away, goddammit,” he screamed as I walked into the room. Frank was standing there pacing back and forth, ranting. Robbie was sitting at the kitchen table, looking very subdued and very sad. I knew he loved his car.

 

He looked up and saw me and his whole expression brightened. Our eyes met, and that connection that had been so strong last time I’d been here surged back just as strongly. His father interrupted our non-verbal greeting. “And who the fuck are you?” Frank asked.

 

“Brad Schluter sir,” I said, extending my hand. I watched his mind click as he digested who I was: the son of the guy he'd fucked around with for years behind his wife's back, and the grandson of the guy who employed him. He mellowed and shook my hand.

 

“I'm sorry, Brad. I've got a bit of a temper and it seems that a couple of my nephews decided to redecorate the Cadillac with a key.”

 

“That's really a shame. It's a beautiful car,” I said lamely.

 

“It was,” he said angrily.

 

“It will be again, Dad. I'll get it fixed, get it painted. It will be like new again,” said Robbie, pleading.

 

“And then those assholes will do it all over again,” he said, frustrated. “Meanwhile, they cost you your job too.”

 

“Maybe Old Man Rivers will let me come back,” Robbie said hopefully.

 

“After your cousins trashed his diner? Not likely.” Then Frank mellowed. “This is not your fault son. It's what happens when you come from a white-trash family and you do well, and the rest of them don't.” He sat down and sighed. “So what brings you back to Claremont so soon?” he asked me.

 

I went into problem-solving mode quickly. “I came out here to keep my grandmother company on the flight back to California,” I told him. I didn’t have to tell him who my grandmother was. Everyone in Claremont knew Tonto. “I was going to see if Robbie wanted to extend his visit and come back with us. Summers in California are pretty nice.” I know it sounded lame.

 

Frank's eyes narrowed, Robbie's bulged, and his mother got ready to freak out. “Can I, Dad? Maybe by the time I get back things will have calmed down,” Robbie begged.

 

“I don't want you to be someone else's burden this summer,” his mother said firmly.

 

“It wouldn't be a burden at all, Mrs. Hayes. Really. You can ask my father,” I said. I glanced at Robbie and got a really cute smile from him for my efforts. Damn, he was one foxy guy.

 

Frank nodded and turned to his son. “If you want to go, you can go,” he said. “I'll get the car fixed while you're gone.”

 

Robbie jumped up, thrilled. “Thanks, Dad,” he said, hugging Frank. “I promise I won't be a problem.”

 

“You've never been a problem Robbie, but the problems seem to chase after you,” he said, sounding like a sage. “Maybe you can change that in California.” Robbie looked at him curiously, but just nodded and ran upstairs to pack, leaving me with his parents.

 

“Thanks, Bradley. His cousins have decided that it's a fun thing to make his life a living hell. He's kicked their asses individually, so now they band together. Cowards. He deserves a break.”

 

“It's no problem, Mr. Hayes. Robbie seems like a great guy, and I think he'll enjoy California. There's a lot to do there.” He eyed me strangely, and then just shrugged.

 

“You can go help him pack if you want.” I smiled and dashed up the stairs, pausing to hear loud voices in the kitchen. Seems his mother wasn't as keen on the idea of Robbie leaving as Frank was.

 

I walked into Robbie's room to find him grabbing stuff frantically. “I have to hurry before they change their minds.”

 

“Don't take so many clothes. Claire will dress you differently anyway.”

 

He looked at me with a big question mark stamped on his forehead. “Claire?”

 

I smiled. “My sister. She dresses Billy and me.”

 

“Well I can pick my own clothes,” he said obstinately.

 

I laughed. “We'll see about that. But in the meantime, lighten up on the clothes so we can get going.” He nodded. I was impressed. In thirty minutes he was ready to go. We headed to the door of his room and he turned to look back at it. It was a typical guy's room, decorated originally when he was a kid and then slowly modified over the teen years. He had stopped suddenly and we were close, and face to face. He put his bag down and pulled me into a big hug.

 

“By the way,” he said in my ear, “it's really great to see you. Guess you're my knight in shining armor.” His body was warm from packing, and he was wearing shorts and a t-shirt so I could feel the skin on his legs touch mine. I hugged him back. The embrace went on for a long time, way too long for normal guys, but I didn't care. I loved the way he felt, the way he smelled, a guy who had been running around enough so that his deodorant wasn't quite enough to block out his body odor.

 

“It's good to see you too. I'm glad we'll get to hang out together,” I said sheepishly as he pulled away. He looked at me quizzically, as if trying to figure me out, then grabbed his bag and headed down the stairs.

 

His mother was at the bottom, waiting for him, crying. His father was next to her, looking nervous. They both hugged him tightly. It was a touching goodbye, and I found myself getting teary eyed watching it. Then it was over and we were in the Corvette.

 

“This is one bad car,” Robbie said, mimicking my California slang.

 

“It is. It belongs to my grandfather. So you ready to spend the summer in California?”

 

“Fuck yeah. I can't wait to get out of this hole. Hey you got any of that killer bud?”

 

“Of course,” I said with a smile. We toked a joint as we drove up Skyline, just enjoying each other's company. We got back to the house to find my grandfather relieved to have his car back safe and sound and Tonto anxious to get going.

 

“I thought I was going to have to send out a search party to find you. Some escort you turned out to be,” she grumbled.

 

“Have you been waiting long?” I asked.

 

“She just got here herself,” my grandfather said, shaking his head at his irascible sister. I gave her a knowing look.

 

“Well, we need to get going. Where's that car?” she asked, feigning frustration.

 

“It's right out front waiting for you,” he countered.

 

“Hmph,” she said as she headed out to the limo.

 

“Her bark is worse than her bite,” I whispered to Robbie, but loud enough so she could still hear me.

 

“I heard that,” she said. Her demeanor changed as she hugged my other grandparents goodbye, as did I, then we were off.

 

The limo screamed through town at a brisk pace. I giggled to myself, thinking that there wasn't a cop in this town who would want to tangle with Tonto. We pulled up to the plane and Robbie's jaw dropped. “We're flying on that?”

 

“Why, is there something wrong with it?” Tonto demanded. “You see a loose bolt or something?”

 

“Relax Tonto,” I told her. “I'm sure he was expecting to fly on a commercial plane like the rest of the world.”

 

“Oh,” she said, and climbed the stairs with a complete lack of grace. Robbie smiled at me and followed her.

 

We sat in the comfortable seats and started raiding the fridge. Stef always crammed food in the plane when my brothers or I were going to be on board. Robbie paused to look out the window as the plane lifted into the air.

 

“You ever been outside of Claremont?” Tonto asked Robbie.

 

“Well, only to other places in Ohio,” he said. I saw her mind working and wondered what she was up to.

 

“Hand me that phone,” she demanded. I handed her the phone that linked directly to the cockpit.

 

“I want to stop in Chicago. Land at that downtown airfield. And we'll need a car.” She rapped out orders to the pilots. I knew that they were used to her. She was crabby and demanding, but always made it a point to thank them and give them nice Christmas presents.

 

“Why are we stopping in Chicago?” I asked.

 

“I want pizza, and I thought Robbie might enjoy seeing the city,” she said, as if to dismiss me, then turned to Robbie. “You look just like Billy and your Uncle Jeff.”

 

“So I've been told,” he said.

 

“Your cousins are assholes. That why they're shipping you out?” she asked, giving him the third degree.

 

I rolled my eyes and jumped in to save him. “He's coming out to visit for a month Tonto,” I said, frustrated.

 

“So you say,” she said. “But I'm more tuned in than you, Mr. know-it-all.” She turned to Robbie. “I think you'll like California, once you get beyond my grandchildren.”

 

We landed in Chicago and there was a car waiting for us. Tonto was a blast. She had them drive us up Lake Shore Drive, showed us the building that JP and Stefan used to live in, and took us to Northwestern University. By now it was starting to get dark, and I was kind of wondering what she was doing. She led us down to the athletic department; we must have looked like an interesting trio, an old lady leading two teenagers around by the nose.

 

There, in the athletic building was a hall of fame of sorts. Tonto led us down the wall and stopped in front of a picture. The guy in the picture looked just like Robbie. Below it was a sign that said “Jeff Hayes” and listed several records he'd broken. We stood there and stared for a few minutes, then left and headed back to the car.

 

After we climbed in, Tonto looked at Robbie purposefully. “Your uncle was a very impressive man. If it weren’t for the drugs that took over his life, he'd have been around long enough for you guys to be proud of him.” Talking about Jeff got her all choked up, so she paused to master her emotions. “He didn't get out of Claremont before his family could really mess him up. Make sure that you do.” And that was that.

 

The limo drove down the Drive, back to the plane. We found pizzas waiting for us, and we munched on them happily as we took off from Meigs Field. The airport was right on the lakeshore in front of the city, and had some spectacular views. After we finished eating, Robbie and Tonto dozed off as the plane flew west, while I was left to wonder what all of Tonto's lecturing was about.

 

Was Robbie moving to California? What was the deal with that? And if he was, how did I feel about that? I looked over at him; his hunky form sprawled out, and smiled. Part of me was really glad he might stay. I liked his company. But I had a whole group of friends and relationships. Would he complicate that? Would he get along with Lark? That wasn't a given. Lark tended to be really jealous of other guys that I was friends with. What about Jake? What if Jake seduced him? I felt the jealousy boiling up inside of me, and that reaction in and of itself told me how fast and hard I'd fallen for this guy.