Poor Man's Son - 13. Chapter 12

July 15, 2000

Claremont, OH

Gathan

“Mmmmm,” Kristin moaned as I nuzzled my mouth into her neck. I was spooned up behind her and I had wrapped my arms around her, holding her back against my chest. My hard dick slid against her pussy, and she reflexively adjusted her body so it slid right in. I moved in and out of her slowly, telling her how much I enjoyed her, how good she felt, and how beautiful she was, while my hands explored her body. I moved my good hand down to her pussy and started playing with her clit while I fucked her, and that set her free. She was one fun lover: she really got into it. I could tell that she was about to cum from her moans and cries; I’d learned to read her body pretty quickly, but then again, we’d fucked all night. I felt my own orgasm surging, and I blasted my load into her, letting myself go just like I had the first time, and all the times after that.

“You’re amazing,” she said as she leaned back into me. “I never thought a man could make me feel like that.”

I pulled out of her and the reality hit me, the reality that I’d blown my load inside of her instead of using a condom. “Fuck,” I said. “I’m sorry. I forgot to use a condom.”

“I’m on the pill,” she said, explaining away one worry. “I’ve been safe in the past. Have you?”

“Yeah,” I said. That wasn’t entirely true, but they’d tested me for STDs in Dallas, and I was negative.

“How many people have you been with?” she asked.

“Been with how?”

“Had sex with,” she said.

“Six,” I said.

“Do I know them?” she asked me coquettishly.

“How many people have you been with?” I asked her, ignoring her question about who they were.

“I have you beat,” she said, and seemed guilty about it. “Seven.”

“Wow. A girl as beautiful as you, that’s showing some amazing restraint,” I said, pumping her ego up.

“No, restraint is when a guy as hot as you only has six partners.”

“Well, I only had sex with four of them. The fifth and sixth ones were just blow jobs, so I don’t know if that counts.”

“OK, so only four,” she said, making me wonder how many dicks she’d sucked if they didn’t count.

“So where did you tell your mom you were going to be?” I asked.

“I told her I was staying over at Taylor’s house,” she said. Taylor Cheatham was her best friend. She was another rich girl from the hills. They actually were a lot alike, except Taylor had brown hair and wasn’t as pretty as Kristin.

“Did you tell her who you were with?” I asked.

“Yes,” she said, teasing me.

“And she’s still friends with you?” I joked.

“She’s jealous,” Kristin said, and kissed me.

“What time do you have to be home?”

“Later this afternoon,” she said. “What did you tell your parents?”

“I told them I was staying over with Cord.”

“Oh God, you didn’t tell him you were with me, did you?”

“Why not?” I asked.

“Because he’ll tell everyone,” she said.

“You don’t want people to know you were with me?” I asked, confused.

“No, it’s not that.” She said, and then thought about it. “I guess it’s no big deal. It’s just that they’ll think since I was with you, I had sex with you.”

“Well you did. Lots of times,” I said, kissing her again. I was getting hard again, and she pushed me away. “Let’s do it again.”

“Gathan!” she said, acting like she didn’t want to, when she did. This time she was on top of me and did all the work, and that was really a lot of fun.

We lay there afterward, with her spread out over my body, just enjoying the afterglow. I thought about my day yesterday. Never in a million years would I have guessed it would have ended up with me having sex with Kristin Hendrickson all night long and most of the morning. I was totally content until my stomach growled.

She laughed. “Let’s get cleaned up and go get some lunch. It’s my treat.”

She climbed off of me and I led her into the bathroom. It was really beautiful; Stef had worked wonders with it. “You’re buying me lunch? I thought I was supposed to take you out?”

“You’re the one who stereotyped me as the rich girl,” she said, pretending to give me a dirty look.

“Whatever,” I said. “Hey look there’s toiletries here.” Leave it to Stef to have that detail taken care of.

“Let’s see,” she said, and began rooting through the cabinets, looking at the various soaps and shit in the bathroom. I got in the shower and turned it on. There were jets everywhere: in the walls and in the ceiling. There was no keeping my wound dry in this place. I pushed a button and the lights changed colors, and this smell came wafting out.

Kristin opened the door and got in with me. “Look they have aromatherapy!” Guess this was something rich people knew about. We let the jets blast us with water, and tried out different soaps and shampoos, and then I got horny again so we had sex one more time. I walked out of the shower totally drained and totally fulfilled.

While she got ready, I called Stefan. “Well hello there, my handsome hero,” he said.

“Hey there hot stuff,” I teased.

“So to what do I owe the pleasure of this phone call?”

“Uh,” I started, stammering. “I, uh, brought someone over to your house last night. I’m really sorry Stef. I shouldn’t have done that without asking.”

“Nonsense,” he said, and with that one word he allayed all of my fears. “Besides, it is JP’s house.” We both laughed at that. “So who is there with you?”

“What makes you think I’m still there?”

“Are you?” he asked.

“Well, yeah,” I answered. “Kristin Hendrickson.”

“I do not think I know her,” he said. “You are with a girl this time?”

“I told you, body parts don’t matter, what matters is whether I like the person. But for the record, she has really nice body parts.” He giggled. “In fact, I took a whole bunch of pictures of the house, and she is in most of them.”

“Well that is excellent. You must feel free to treat the house as your own, although I would prefer that you not have big parties there. It would look bad for all of us.”

“So as long as I only bring one or two or six people over to have sex, that’s OK?” I asked, joking.

“Yes, but no more than eight, unless you videotape it for me.” We both laughed at that. “So this Kristin has captured your eye?”

“And maybe a piece of my heart,” I said.

“I am happy for you,” he said, and then we hung up. I went down to the truck to grab my backpack; I’d put my extra bandages and crap to put on my wound in there. I’d just gotten back upstairs with it when Kristin sauntered into the room, looking amazing.

“What are you doing?” she asked, as I started to peel the old bandage off.

“Changing my bandage. I’m supposed to do it a few times a day, but especially after it gets wet.”

“Here, let me do that for you,” she said. I felt strangely self-conscious as she pulled it off, exposing the gross wound. I figured she’d be pretty turned off by that, but she wasn’t. She had such a gentle touch.

“Thanks,” I said softly when she was done. “You’re good at that.”

“Maybe I should be a nurse,” she joked.

“Where do you want to go eat?” I asked. She left it up to me, so we went back to the diner. That seemed the easiest, especially since her car was still there.

I was starving, so I ordered a shitload of food. “You sure can eat a lot,” she said.

“I worked up an appetite,” I said, leering at her.

“You make me feel slutty,” she said.

“Kristin, you’re not slutty, but you are an amazing lover,” I said sincerely as I held both of her hands. She blushed, really blushed, and that cracked me up.

“Quit making fun of me,” she said adamantly.

“I’m not making fun of you,” I said hastily. “I mean it. You’re an amazing lover, you’re the most beautiful girl in at least the whole state, and I had a great time with you.”

“And?”

“And, what?” I asked. I didn’t get this. She pulled her hands away and looked upset.

“So I guess we’ll just see each other around.” And then I got where she was coming from. She’d fucked me on our first date, so she was wondering what that meant for us, or even if there was an ‘us’.

“You think I’m that cheap and easy?” I asked her as I smiled at her. “You think you can have your way with me all night, and then the next day you can just kick me to the curb?” I pretended to be outraged.

“Shhh,” she said as she giggled, since my voice had gotten a little loud.

“You want to go out with me?” I asked her.

“When?”

“Tonight,” I said. “Tomorrow. Maybe next week.”

“You saying you want to be a couple?” she asked me, kind of amazed.

“Why not?”

“That’s not a very good reason to go out with someone,” she said. We both knew we weren’t talking about just going out, but we were talking about the commitment that ‘going out’ implied.

“Kristin, I’ve liked you for a long time. After last night, I really like you,” I said. She gave me a dirty look. I lowered my voice. “And I’m not talking about just the sex, although that was totally kick-ass. I’m talking about just being with you.”

I was gazing in her eyes so I didn’t notice someone arriving at our booth until I felt the seat sag. I turned to find Jake sitting next to me, grinning. I hid my irritation at being interrupted. I’d really been enjoying my time with just Kristin. That, and if we were going to be interrupted, it would have been nice to have it be some guy who wasn’t incredibly fucking gorgeous like Jake was. “What do you want?” I asked, and not nicely.

“Just saying hi,” he said, with a smart-ass look on his face.

“Hi. Now fuck off,” I told him, but kept my voice playful.

“Worried you can’t handle the competition?” he asked, and then winked at Kristin.

“There’s no competition here,” she said, slicing him down at the knees.

“Ouch,” he said, pretending to be offended. “You don’t like handsome dudes?”

“I like handsome dudes,” she said. “I just like them to be smart too.”

“I’m smart. I can add, subtract, spell short words,” he said, playing with her.

“Can you spell ‘goodbye’,” I asked.

“I can,” he said, and started to spell it. Then he just laughed and got up. “Catch up with you later Gathan.”

“See ya,” I said. I looked back at Kristin. “So where were we?”

“You were about to walk me out to my car, and then you were going to tell me that you were picking me up at seven tonight to go out.”

“That’s right. That’s exactly what I was going to do,” I said. I walked her out to her car and gave her a really big kiss, which was a pretty public confirmation that we were together. I sauntered back to my truck on cloud nine, grinning from ear to ear. I found Jake there waiting for me.

“Looks like someone has a girlfriend,” he said.

“Maybe,” I said.

“Dude, you picked the hottest and smartest girl in town. Major score.”

“We’re just going out, that’s all,” I said. Suddenly, as excited as I was about being with Kristin, the thought of actually having a girlfriend was kind of freaking me out.

“Yeah, that’s all,” he said, being a smart ass. I pushed him aside to get in the truck. “Hey Gathan.”

“What?”

“I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks,” I said, grinning again.

“Your next assignment is to set me up with Taylor on a double date.”

“We’ll see,” I told him as I drove home.

I got home to find Ella and Darius in the family room with Wally and Clara having what appeared to be a pretty tense meeting. “Afternoon,” I said cheerfully.

“Where have you been?” Pa demanded.

“I was having lunch at the diner,” I said.

“With your girlfriend?” Ella asked. I was impressed that the high school gossip chain worked so well in the summer. She was trying to direct the attention away from her and Darius, but it was still irritating.

“Girlfriend?” Ma asked.

“I went out with Kristin Hendrickson,” I said. “She’s not my girlfriend.” I glared at Ella, telling her not to even hint that I spent the night with Kristin, assuming she even knew that I did.

“She’s very pretty,” Ma said nervously.

“She’s smokin’ hot,” I said, and winked at Ma. That made them all laugh.

“You planning to be home tonight?” Pa asked.

“Uh, no, I was going out with Kristin,” I said. I knew I was blushing and grinning, but I couldn’t stop myself.

“Some chaperone you turned out to be,” Ma groused.

“I’m done watching out for El,” I said. “The job is just too hard.”

“Very funny,” Ella said. I headed upstairs to pop a pain pill and crash so they could keep arguing about whatever it was they were arguing about.

               

July 15, 2000

Escorial

Palo Alto, CA

Will

I didn’t talk to John about the conversation between his dad and his grandmother, even though it was on my mind a lot. We were totally having a great time together, and that was the coolest thing about John. Messing around with him was amazing, but just hanging out with him was just as sweet.

“Let’s go out on the patio and see what they’re talking about,” John said.

“Dude, they’ll just make us leave so they can get high and not do it in front of us,” I said logically.

“How lame is that?” he asked. “How come they can get high, we can get high, but we can’t get high together.”

“Because we’re 13,” I said.

“Dude, whatever,” he said dismissively.

“Do you realize that when I turn 18, I could get arrested for having sex with you,” I joked, even though that probably wasn’t true. “If you still want to have sex with me.”

“Why wouldn’t I want to mess around with you?” he asked, confused. “You’re a blast.”

“Your dad told your grandmother that this may just be a phase you’re going through,” I said, finally spilling my guts. “I heard them talking about it at the party.”

“So that’s what’s been bugging you,” he said. “I wondered what it was. What if I’m just a phase for you?”

“Dude, you are not a phase,” I said firmly.

“You don’t think I can make a commitment? I guess you still don’t trust me after Zach.” He was pissed off now. He got up to leave but I pulled him back down on the bed.

“That’s bullshit. It’s not about that.”

“You worried I’ll turn straight and run off and leave you?” he asked. I nodded. “Dude, I like girls. I want to be with one someday to see if I like it. Is that a bad thing?”

“What if you meet a girl that you love more than me?”

“Not happening. You’re my best friend. I love you. We’re tight. What more do you want?”

“I’m such an idiot,” I said, feeling guilty for freaking out about this. “I’m sorry.”

“You are. Let’s go see what they’re talking about on the patio.” I nodded and followed him, but he stopped me at the door and laid one major kiss on me. He put all the love he had for me in it, and I returned that love completely. “You get it?”

“Yeah, I get it,” I said sheepishly. I followed him up to the patio and found all the men gathered around there. Sometimes my Aunt Claire or Grandmaman would be here too, but tonight it was just the guys.

“What are you guys up to?” my Uncle Ace asked pleasantly. He was a fun guy, the kind of guy who would wrestle around on the floor with us when we were little kids.

“Seeing what you’re doing,” I said.

“You are all packed for tomorrow?” Stef asked.

“I am,” I answered. I looked at John, who shrugged. “Your mom pack for you?”

“Duh,” he said, cracking us up.

“I got a phone call from Gathan this morning,” Stef said. “He has apparently turned your house in Claremont into a love palace,” he said to Grand.

“Indeed?” Grand asked. “And whom is he loving?”

“Kristin Hendrickson,” Stef said. He was watching me as he said this, which was really nice of him, because I could tell he was worried about hurting my feelings. That didn’t really bother me though. Gathan and I were friends, and that was it. He could have sex with whoever he wanted.

“Dude, you turned him straight?” I asked Stef, cracking everyone up.

“You’re losing your touch,” Cody joked to Stef, then turned and winked at me, sending shivers up and down my body. It wasn’t fair that one guy could be that sexy.

“I can guarantee that isn’t the case,” Grand said. “She is very attractive.”

“See,” I said. “He’s even turning you.”

“Unlikely,” Frank said, cracking us all up.

I was surprised when there was movement behind us and my two aunts and Grandmaman came out. That was pretty strange. I looked over at Grand and he looked pensive, and I picked up that this little meeting on the patio was a big deal.

“Perhaps you boys would like to head down to our house for the evening?” Aunt Claire asked, her classy way of telling us to get the fuck out of there. I wanted to tell them all to go fuck themselves, but that wasn’t fair. Instead, I was about to agree when Grand intervened.

“I’d like them to stay here, if that’s alright with you.” He looked at Jack, Claire, Dad, and Pop as he said that.

“Fine with me,” Jack said. Claire looked a bit nervous but sat next to her husband, her mind clearly on other things.

“You can stay, John,” she said.

My dad hesitated until he caught my eyes. This was a big deal. I didn’t know what it was, but it was a big deal. There was no way I was going to let him sideline me, especially after John already had permission to stay. And that really pissed me off, because John was younger than me, and his parents had already said he could be here, and my dad was actually hesitating. His eyes met mine, and he kind of freaked out when he saw how irate I was. “That’s fine,” he said, and looked guilty.

Grand lit his joint, inhaled it, and passed it to Dad. It went around the group, and when it got to us, John and I passed it on without toking. I wanted to be clear-headed to hear what Grand was going to say, and I didn’t want to get high with them and freak them all out.

“In 1985, when I thought I had AIDS I told you all, then told you I was going off to Paris on sabbatical. As events turned out, I did not have that dreaded disease, but I did have a most interesting time in Paris.”

“I didn’t,” Robbie said, and then kind of retreated in the face of all of our dirty looks. This wasn’t about him.

Grand ignored him. “I’ve decided that I’m going with Stef and these two handsome young grandsons of mine to Paris.”

“What’s wrong Daddy?” Aunt Claire asked him, almost in a panic.

“I had a colonoscopy recently, and it appears that I have colon cancer,” he said, dropping that bombshell on us. Stef looked at him supportively; clearly he already knew about this.

“You have colon cancer and you’re running off to France?” my dad asked.

“I will have surgery to remove it when I return. My doctor has assured me that will work out just fine,” he said, looking at Jack. Of course he would know too.

“You knew this, and you didn’t tell me?” Aunt Claire demanded of her husband.

“I can’t tell you confidential patient information. You know that,” he snapped at her, probably the only time I’d seen him do that.

“Quite right,” Stef said. That settled her down.

“The CT scan shows that it hasn’t spread. At this point, there is a high probability that the surgery will remove the cancerous cells and that will be the end of it,” Jack said.

“Isn’t it important to operate right away? Like now,” Ace said. He was freaking out, but he kind of did that from time to time so people usually ignored it.

“A couple of weeks will be fine,” Jack said firmly.

“Besides, I had such good luck on my last trip, I figured maybe I’d get just as lucky this time,” Grand said.

“You’re going with us then?” John asked. “Sweet.”

“I’m glad you think so, John,” Grand said, smiling at us.

“Would it not be better if you had the surgery immediately?” Grandmaman asked. The love she had for him was so obvious, it was really touching. They were partners in their own, platonic way.

“You are sweet to be concerned, but I will be just fine,” he reassured her. “If anything goes wrong, they have excellent doctors in France.”

“So you’ll have this operation, and then you’ll spend the rest of the summer recovering?” Dad asked him.

“That is the plan.”

“How long will you be in the hospital?” I asked.

“He’ll be in there for about a week, and then he’ll have to recover for a month,” Jack said.

“So you will be around here while you recover,” Claire stated.

“Actually, I had planned to do that in Santa Cruz,” Grand said. “I don’t get to spend enough time there as it is.”

“That is so remote,” Grandmaman said. “Who will watch out for you?”

“I will,” I said impulsively. “At least I will when I’m not surfing.” They laughed, but I was kind of jonesing. I hadn’t surfed for a while now, and it was starting to bother me. Surfing was like a drug, and I was feeling the DTs.

“I was hoping you would say that,” Grand said. That really shocked me, but I smiled anyway. My dad wisely said nothing.

“Well, we have some more packing to do,” Stef said, shepherding Grand back to their room. He had to give everyone a big emotional embrace before he did.

When he came to me, he gave me a big hug, one that was unusual for him, and that brought tears to my eyes. He patted my cheek fondly. “I’m so glad you and I will get to spend time together this summer.”

“So am I,” I agreed honestly. And it would keep me away from Malibu and the bitchy pregnant women, I thought.

“So you’re going to Santa Cruz?” John demanded as soon as we got back to my room.

“Yeah. It will be fun to surf and hang with Grand.”

“What about me?” he asked. “What am I supposed to do?”

“We’ll have fun. We’ll go riding, and do shit like that.”

“You’re the surfer, not me.”

“You’re a good surfer,” I said, exaggerating. He was passable.

“Right,” he said. He was being pretty petulant. “If I surf with you, will you play lacrosse with me?” That was his sport.

“Sure,” I said. “I’ll play with your long stick anytime.”

Before he could bitch any more, I kissed him and shut him up. I was learning that sometimes boyfriends could be high-maintenance.