Mayfield Titans

CHAPTER 9

FAIR DAY

 

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 8

 

Aiden boarded the bus for school and sat next to Kalie as usual. Neither one brought up what had happened the day before and Kalie kept her hands off Aiden.  One thing Aiden wondered was why the whole sex thing was so much more complicated when there were girls involved. It was always way simpler with boys.

 

He was met by another incident of female complication on the way to lunch when Heather met up with him in the hall. “Oh, hi, Aiden,” she said in a syrupy manner. Aiden thought how when Nolan got all syrupy, he was kidding around, but Heather was obviously serious. Aiden much preferred the way Nolan did it. “Are you going to the fair on Wednesday?”

 

“Yes,” Aiden answered flatly.

 

“Are you going with anybody?”

 

“I’m going with Nolan.”

 

“Do you need a ride? My mom said you can ride with us if you need one.”

 

“Thanks for asking, but we’re going with my Pop.”

 

As they entered the lunchroom, Aiden looked over towards his table hoping somebody would be there to rescue him. He saw Miles and Lance sitting at the table and headed straight for them.

 

“And you’re going to meet Nolan at the fair? You could save your dad a trip and…”

 

“My POP is going to the fair, too. And Nolan is spending Tuesday night at my house. I need to talk to Miles about something, but thanks for offering me a ride.”

 

Gordy and Kalie walked up behind Aiden and Heather. Kalie could see that Aiden was in distress and stepped in to rescue him. “Can I eat lunch with you?” Kalie asked Heather.

 

“Sure, that would be fun,” Heather replied. She looked at Gordy and Aiden. “We can talk about our boyfriends,” she smirked.

 

Aiden felt like he wanted to puke. He would almost rather spend time with Autumn than Heather. All Autumn wanted to do was get naked in somebody’s bedroom and do sex stuff. He could avoid that, but Heather was becoming annoying no matter where he went.

 

“What are you laughing about?” Aiden asked Gordy as they sat at the table.

 

“I’m laughing about you. You looked like you’d swallowed a mouthful of liver or something.”

 

“Well, this was worse than liver and I never thought that was even possible.”

 

“Don’t forget to thank Kalie for rescuing you.”

 

“Don’t worry. I’ll be thanking her before school gets out.”

 

“Heather really has the hots for you, Aiden,” Miles grinned.

 

“And I don’t like it one bit,” Aiden responded.

 

“I bet if you weren’t gay, you’d like it.”

 

“Never in a zillion years even if I was the straightest dude on the planet. And I do mean never.”       

 

While Aiden and Gordy told their friends at the table that they had ridden their bikes out to Kalie’s house for a visit, they said nothing about the sex. One thing Aiden, Gordon, and Kalie had agreed on before leaving the backhouse was that whatever happened in the backhouse stayed in the backhouse. They agreed that if only two of them were in the backhouse, they could share with the third, and if all three agreed, they could share with one of their mutual friends.

 

 Fifth period was the first period after second lunch. Aiden and Kalie had fifth period pre-Algebra together. Before class, Aiden thanked Kalie for her help before class started. “I didn’t want her sticking her claws into you. That’s my job,” Kalie laughed. “I gave her some boy suggestions, but she seems to like you.”

 

“I thought I liked her as a person who could be a friend before she turned into a bimbo,” Aiden groused.

 

“Aiden! Calling her a bimbo is just wrong!”

 

“Yeah, you’re right,” Aiden said contritely. “It’s just she made me mad today.”

 

“Well, get over yourself.”

 

Aiden had never heard Kalie talk to him in such strong terms, although he was certain she was capable of it. Marty couldn’t have done a better job of verbal ass kicking than Kalie just had.

 

“You’re right again. What’s weird about it is she was kind of a nice quiet girl until the end of sixth grade and I liked her.” Aiden looked up at the clock. “We’d better take our seats.”

 

Heather was in the same class. She looked suspiciously at Aiden and Kalie, wondering what they were talking about. She felt a touch at envy when she noticed how easily Aiden talked to Kalie. She wished she could get that kind of attention from the mega-cute boy she had a total crush on.

 

Aiden had soccer practice at five. Working out and practicing with his friends and teammates put him back into a good mood. There was nothing like being around his best friends to chase away thoughts of a stalking bimbo. To make things even better, Nolan would be coming the next day and he would be spending the night with him. Could life get any better than that?

 

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9

 

<Aiden and Nolan>

 

Nolan checked the time on his phone for what he was sure was the ten thousandth time, but the numbers hardly ever seemed to change. His mother, Vivian, entered the living room and noted her son’s restlessness. Since Nolan had always been a calm boy, she could tell how eager he was to see his friend. She still could not bring herself to think of Aiden as Nolan’s boyfriend; she was still hoping the whole gay romance thing was a passing phase. Her parenting books stated that boys of their age often had same-sex crushes, which dissipated as they entered their teens and discovered girls. A passing phase, that’s all this is, she thought to herself as she noted Phil Miller’s pickup pulling into the driveway.

 

“Your ride is here,” Vivian announced, which was stating the obvious, since Nolan had bolted out of his chair as soon as he spotted the truck.

 

“Thanks, mom,” Nolan said as if her announcement was news to him. He planted a kiss on her cheek, picked up his gym bag, and headed to the door.

 

She uttered what almost all moms uttered when their children left the house for wherever they were going. “You be good.”

 

Nolan tossed her a wave, opened the door, and left the house. He knew his mom was going to be his mom and lived with it as much as he could.

 

Vivian rubbed her cheek where Nolan had just kissed her. She knew from her books, as well as from her friends with boys around Nolan’s age, that a spontaneous kiss from their son would become a rarity and something to be cherished. However, since he and Aiden had become close, Nolan seemed to have no problem giving her hugs and kisses.

 

She couldn’t believe how quickly her boy was growing up. He no longer had to stand on his tiptoes to kiss her cheek. It was difficult to keep him in pants that fit his long, coltish legs, which seemed to get longer every week. His voice was breaking and gaining depth. When she saw him shirtless, she no longer saw the torso of a skinny boy. Instead he carried the look of an athletic adolescent. To top it all off, boyfriend or not, he was without a doubt having sexual relations with Aiden and there was nothing she could do to stop it. All she and Paul, her husband, could do was urge Nolan to be safe and sane. She knew that any attempt to break up their little romance would cost them the relationship they had with their wonderful son, something that would be even worse than his being gay.

 

One of Vivian’s parenting books had said that eleven years old was a crucial age. It was the age when the child had 50% of the power. Instead of telling Nolan what he needed to do, knowing it would be done, she and Paul were often engaged in negotiations to get the same result. And now, Nolan was twelve and just under two months away from being a teenager and his power base was growing. It was apparent in his relationship with Aiden that he held power over his parents. Yes, he would be careful, and yes, he would follow certain rules, but in the big scheme of things, Aiden was his life and no matter what she or Paul thought or wished, that was not going to change. She was just thankful that Aiden was such a loveable, intelligent, and beautiful boy. She knew that Phil and Larry were going through the same issues that she and Paul were and was grateful that Aiden’s fathers were so wonderful to work with.

 

“Hello, Mr. Miller,” Nolan said as he sat next to Paul in the pickup.

 

“I thought we agreed you could call me Phil and would call Larry, Larry.”

 

“I know, but my parents say differently, and I wanted to be out of the driveway before I called you Phil.”

 

“Does your mom have listening devices out here?” Phil chuckled.

 

“It wouldn’t surprise me,” Nolan replied half seriously.

 

The topics on the way to Mayfield bounced from Nolan’s first week of school, to soccer, Seahawks football, and Marty and Mariner baseball.

 

As Phil approached his house, Larry was observing Aiden sitting in his viewing chair. He thought it was sweet that the boy still hadn’t outgrown looking out the front window for his incoming company. But then, Aiden would probably climb a flagpole to get an early glimpse of Nolan. Larry thought about how much Aiden had grown physically and mentally since he arrived in Mayfield as a little eight-year-old, coming into a new environment, knowing nobody, and afraid of what lay ahead.

 

Now he was twelve, one of the top athletes in his school, a leader in sports and other facets of his life, not to mention an honor student near the top of his class. Yes, he was battling pubescent angst at times, but he was beginning to learn how to deal with the downs in his life. Larry knew that he and Phil would have to be vigilant, however, because even with all his success the past three years, he also had some of the fragility his father, Keegan, had displayed. And then there was the relationship between Aiden and Nolan, which Larry saw as more than a crush. To him the two boys were as deeply in love as a pair of twelve-year olds could possibly be.

 

“There he is!” Aiden shouted out. Even though he was dressed only in his boxer shorts and the temperature was in the mid-sixties at best, Aiden was out the door and down the stairs to the driveway before Larry could react.

 

As soon as Phil turned off the pick-up’s engine, Nolan hopped out of the truck and hustled over to meet Aiden. The boys stopped in front of each other, and Aiden raised his face up as his taller lover bent down. Their arms went around each other, and the two twelve-year-old boys shared a long, wet, and deep kiss.

 

“Hey, boys, get a room,” Phil laughed, not surprised that he was being ignored.

 

“You’d think it’s been a lot longer than just over a week since they last saw each other,” Larry observed. Larry and Phil couldn’t fail to notice the bulge in Aiden’s underpants as his hardon pushed the waistband out from his belly.

 

When Aiden went to Nolan’s house, their public displays of affection were limited to a kiss on the cheek or a quick grazing of the lips and holding hands. The rules were much looser at the Miller home; just about everything short of outright sex was tolerated publicly, within reason. And the “within reason” was being stretched by the long, erotic kiss of the two boys.

 

“Okay, boys, you’ve got Aiden’s hormones going and he should be ready for a hat trick in soccer—if he can get into his kit so we can get to the game on time,” Larry chided the boys.

 

Reluctantly, the boys broke their kiss and stepped back. Larry and Phil could see that while Aiden had been growing some lately, Nolan had really hit a growth spurt and his long legs had him standing a couple of inches above Aiden.

 

Larry was facing Nolan and was surprised at the size of the bulge in his jeans which became visible as Nolan backed away from Aiden. “Hey, Aiden,” Nolan said breathlessly, the first time either boy had said anything since they’d seen each other. 

 

Aiden was not ashamed of the obvious bulge in his boxers, nor was he ashamed of what he and Nolan had been doing as three cars drove past on Lake View Drive. Nolan wasn’t aware of how obvious his hardon was, and if he had been, he wouldn’t have cared either.

 

The boys finally managed to make it to Aiden’s bedroom. As much as they would have liked to deal with the problem between their legs created by an infusion of pubescent hormones, time was against them.

 

“Besides, I’ll be loaded with energy for the game,” Aiden told his boyfriend as he donned his soccer kit and pads. His boner began to go down as he grabbed his equipment bag and led Nolan downstairs. Nolan’s problem eased up as well. Larry had prepared some beef sliders for a quick snack. Aiden grabbed one of them to give him some energy and Nolan grabbed two to assuage his adolescent hunger.

 

The game was played at the Mayfield Sports Complex. The Cobras had a relatively easy time dispatching Clark Pass 5-1. Gordy led the team with the hat trick Larry had predicted for Aiden, scoring all three of his goals in the second half to expand a 1-0 half-time lead. Aiden had assists on one goal and scored one of his own. Lenny had the fifth goal and Lance played a great game as the keeper.

 

After the game, some of the team went to The Bear for pizza; Aiden and Nolan were among them. The Cobra players were happy to see Nolan. They liked him except on a day they played his team. Those who were close to Aiden knew that he and Nolan were boyfriends. Except for Barry Bender, Yonder Sanchez, Vince Madden, and Mac Dixon, nobody objected to the relationship, and they kept their objections to themselves.  

 

Barry didn’t like it because he was convinced that Aiden was a phony. While that had nothing to do with Aiden’s relationship with Nolan, it was a good enough reason to suit him. Yonder didn’t mind the sexual relationship between Aiden and Nolan—all boys liked to fuck, including himself, was how he saw it. It was their being boyfriends that he objected to because that was gay. Vince objected to any kind of relationship between boys other than being friends. And Mac was upset because he felt it was Nolan who kept Aiden from attending the middle school drinking parties. Mac wanted to get Aiden drunk and stoned and then fuck the shit out of him.

 

Of those four boys, only Yonder was at The Bear. He wasn’t one to let a personal prejudice stand in the way of having good relationships with his teammates.

 

“Hey, great game, Gordy,” Nolan said when Gordy took the seat to Nolan’s left.

 

“Thanks,” Gordy grinned. He was still flying after his hat trick. While Aiden was a better overall athlete than Gordy, Gordy was a better soccer player. Aiden played soccer because he liked the sport and liked being on a team, and he was good at it. Gordy played soccer for those reasons, plus it was the sport he excelled in. Although he wouldn’t admit it to anyone, Gordy knew he was more than just a good player, he knew he was one of the best players in the area.

 

Coach Bill and some of the parents kicked in for the pizza, which The Bear sold to them at a deep discount. As young adolescents will do, the eight boys who showed up for the feed caused the pies to disappear in short order.

 

After eating, Nolan and Aiden rode home with Phil. It was almost eight-thirty when they arrived. Since the next day wasn’t a school day, they were not on a strict lights out schedule. “But we want you boys to be in bed with lights out by ten-thirty,” Larry apprised them.

 

“Yes, sir,” Aiden responded with mock seriousness. He and Nolan zipped upstairs to Aiden’s bedroom and stripped down to t-shirts and underwear. Aiden turned on his TV so they could watch the close of the Mariners at Kansas City game but turned it back off when he saw it had been rained out.

 

“Are you going to shower?” Nolan asked.

 

“Only if you want to sleep with a super clean, sweet smelling boy.”

 

Nolan stepped toward Aiden and pulled him down onto the bed. He stuck his face into Aiden’s t-shirt covered right underarm and sniffed. “Not bad,” Nolan noted. “Smells like boy perfume.”

 

“Then I won’t shower.” Aiden flopped on the bed, pulling up Nolan’s t-shirt as he did. He stuck his face into Nolan’s bare, hairless underarm, taking his own big whiff. “Oh, yummy, smells like Nolan plus deodorant perfume.”

 

“I wonder what this smells like,” Nolan said as he freed himself from Aiden’s grip, pulled down his white briefs, and stuck his nose into Aiden’s bare crotch. He lifted his head and grinned. “Smells like Aiden sex, sweat, and pee.”

 

“You asked for it,” Aiden growled. As he started to yank down Nolan’s boxer briefs the two tussling boys fell off the bed and landed on the floor with a thud. Aiden stuck his face right into Nolan’s ass crack. “Yummy, smells like shitty, sweaty Nolan ass.”

 

A knock on the door interrupted the boys’ smell fest. “Boys, if you’re going to wrestle then do it in the basement,” Phil reprimanded them. “You can wrestle all you want there without bringing the house down.”

 

“Sorry, dad, we’ll be good,” Aiden responded, thankful that his dad respected the privacy rules and didn’t see Nolan and him splayed on the floor together with their undies pulled down and their cocks hard and his nose in Nolan’s ass crack.  

 

“Please do so. Another thumping and it’s lights out for the night.”

 

“Got it.”

 

“Dang, I’m glad he didn’t open the door and come into the room,” Nolan said.

 

“He won’t without my permission unless it’s an emergency or he suspects I’m doing something on the list of things I’m not supposed to do.”

 

“Like sex?”

 

“No, silly. Dad and Pop know we do sex. They think sex is good. It would be something like smoking weed or taking drugs and chugging beers or whatever.”

 

“As long as we can have sex, who cares about the rest.”

 

“Exactly,” Aiden said as he nuzzled the crook of Nolan’s neck. He quickly went from nuzzling to kissing Nolan on the lips, using plenty of tongue.

 

Nolan rolled Aiden on to his stomach and sat on him. He pulled off his t-shirt and removed his boxer briefs completely. He then pulled up Aiden’s t-shirt. Aiden took the hint and pulled it off as Nolan removed Aiden’s briefs.

 

Nolan then shifted his body, so he was on top of Aiden. He licked and kissed the crook of Aiden’s neck as he humped his boyfriend’s ass cheeks and crack.

 

“Are you going to fuck me?” Aiden asked.

 

“I want to hump you and smell your sweaty self and cum on your ass,” Nolan replied.

 

“You’re really learning how to talk dirty,” Aiden smirked. “Let’s do it on my bed.”

 

Nolan said nothing. Aiden knew what Nolan’s answer was when he felt his lover’s weight removed from him. Aiden crawled onto his bed, pulled the blankets back, and then lay prone on the sheets.  Nolan got back on top of Aiden, his body feeling lighter thanks to suppleness of the mattress. Nolan humped Aiden hard and fast, his cock smearing precum over Aiden’s smooth ass cheeks. As Nolan neared his climax, he rubbed his cock along Aiden’s crack, squeaking and grunting and moaning until Aiden felt Nolan’s hot cum shooting over his butt.

 

Wordlessly, Aiden and Nolan turned themselves, so Nolan was on his back and Aiden was on top of him. The two kissed passionately as Aiden humped his cock across Nolan’s abdomen and along his softening cock. It didn’t take long for Aiden to shoot his clear boy cum onto Nolan’s belly, uttering some grunts and moans of his own.

 

“Sometimes body on body is better than fucking,” Nolan said. “I want to taste something.”

 

“My ass?” Aiden giggled.

 

“And what’s covering it.”

 

The boys shifted positions again.  Nolan knelt over Aiden and bent his head down so he could lick his cum off Aiden’s ass cheeks and out of Aiden’s crack. “Damn, you thought my ass smelled,” Nolan chortled as he finished his cleaning job. Aiden returned the favor in a bit more sanitary way by licking Nolan’s belly clean.

 

“Showers?” Nolan asked.

 

“I’m way sweatier and stinkier now than I was, so that would be a yes.”

 

After showering, peeing (in the shower, but not on each other), brushing teeth, and preening, Aiden and Nolan went downstairs in the nude to say goodnight to Larry and Phil.

 

“It’s the naked wood elves,” Larry commented as the boys entered the TV viewing room.

 

“That line has gotten kind of worn out. I mean aren’t we a little old for that?” Aiden asked.

 

“You’re officially wood elves until you turn thirteen,” Phil answered.

 

“And then what are we?”

 

“Then you become teenage wood imps,” Larry chuckled.

 

“I’ll be thirteen in a couple of weeks,” Nolan reminded the dads. “And I refuse to be a teenage wood imp without Aiden being a wood imp too.”

 

Phil looked to Larry for help on that one. Larry usually had the better comebacks when it came to the whole wood elf thing.

 

“Then you get to keep honorary naked wood elf status until your boyfriend joins you in teendom, when you both become teenaged wood imps,” Larry instructed them.

 

“But only when we’re naked, right?” Nolan asked.

 

“Right.” Larry gave both Aiden and Nolan a quick hug with a kiss on the forehead, enjoying the fresh soapy smell emanating from each boy. Phil did the same.

 

The naked tweens dashed out of the room and up the stairs, their young, athletic bodies earning the admiration of Larry and Phil.

 

“Do you think they’re going to do what we think they’re going to do?” Phil asked his husband.

 

“Nope. I think they’ve already done it tonight.”

 

Phil planted a long loving kiss on Larry’s lips. “Really? Well, then, we can’t let them be ahead of us for the night, can we?”

 

“You’ll get no argument from me.”

 

Aiden and Nolan climbed into bed together. After a long goodnight kiss, along with a wave to Horace, Aiden turned off the desk light. He and Nolan cuddled their naked bodies together and fell asleep a half-hour before their deadline. It had been a great, but tiring day, for the two young lovers.

 

<WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10>

 

Aiden awoke with a sense of anticipation. The clock on his desk read nine-oh-four. Aiden thought the timing was perfect. He got to sleep in a little, but woke up in time to shower, dress, and eat without having to rush. Or maybe, that should be shower, eat, and dress, Aiden thought with a giggle.

 

“What’s so funny?” Nolan moaned sleepily.

 

“You are,” Aiden replied.

 

Nolan yawned and looked at the clock. “Whatever.” He gave Aiden a peck on his cheek. “We slept in.”

 

“We slept in perfectly. We’ll be at the fair by eleven, which is perfect. We’ll have time to look for our friends, get on a few rides, and then do what’s really important.”

 

“Eat?”

 

Aiden gave Nolan a kiss on the lips and said, “That’s why I love you so much. You know exactly what I’m thinking.”

 

“It didn’t take Sherlock Holmes to figure that out.”

 

“What do you know about Sherlock Holmes?”

 

“I know I’ve read some of the stories,” Nolan replied. “Dad has them. They’re pretty cool.”

 

“Do you think he’ll let me borrow them?”

 

“Sure, as long as you don’t get food over the pages.”

 

“I only do that to my own books, not somebody else’s or the library’s.”

 

“Speaking of eating, let’s get breakfast.”

 

“I want to shower first.”

 

Nolan shook his head and said, “We showered just before bed.”

 

“And then slept together and got sweaty. Besides, I don’t feel like I’m awake and ready until I’ve showered.”

 

“Well, let’s do it together then go get breakfast.”

 

“I’m glad you didn’t mention getting dressed first,” Aiden said.

 

“See, I really do know how you think.”

 

After showering, the boys went downstairs. Phil was in the TV room while Larry was in his upstairs office. Aiden knew that meant his Pop was aware of when they got up and that he and Nolan had showered together. Aiden realized that while his dads had a good idea of what he and Nolan did with each other, he didn’t like it when they actually KNEW what they did, even it if was just showering together.

 

Aiden shook off his negative thoughts as he sat at the kitchen table. He poured some cereal into his bowl and reached for the milk. Breakfast would be light to save room for all the goodies available at the fair.

 

Phil entered the kitchen and grinned when he saw the two naked tweens scarfing breakfast. “I still think you two should be naked wood imps, because you obviously eat a lot more than any elf would.”

 

“Wood elves would eat wood if a wood elf could eat wood,” Nolan giggled.

 

“Wouldn’t you know it?” Aiden asked.

 

“Okay, you win,” Phil conceded. “You’re both too silly to be true imps.”

 

Aiden looked at Nolan. “Our strategy worked,” he grinned as they shared a fist bump.

 

“Once again youth and beauty beats old age.”

 

“Be careful who you’re calling old. After all, your pop and I are buying lunch at the fair.”

 

Aiden and Nolan both made a zipping motion across their mouths before bursting out into loud laughter.

 

They were soon dressed and riding in the Odyssey with Larry. Since school wasn’t in session, Larry had the day off. Phil was using a personal day but drove himself since he wanted to check in on how the repaving project on County Road 17 was progressing. The weather had been ideal for paving. Lewis Carlson, his assistant superintendent, had told him that the project was running ahead of schedule. Phil had to send a report to the County Council by Friday. Since the paving project was on the way to Centralia, he thought it was a good time to make a personal inspection, which he was required to do as the County Roads Superintendent.

 

Larry made two stops: one to pick up Grant and the other to pick up Rusty. Both boys were excited. For Grant it was his first visit to the fair since he was in third grade and Rusty’s first since fifth grade. Riding to the fair with Aiden and Nolan was almost as exciting as attending the fair.

 

Larry had asked Aiden on their way to pick up Grant and Rusty why they weren’t picking up the usual suspects.

 

“Gordy is going with his mom,” Aiden replied. “They’re picking up Mason, Miles, and Muddy. The twins’ mom is taking them and the evil sister to the fair along with a friend of theirs and a friend of the evil one.”

 

“Evil sister?” Larry asked. “Is that worse than an evil stepsister?”

 

“Much worse, because she has no excuse to be evil.”

 

“Can’t you cut her a break?”

 

“Not until she stops trying to get Lenny and Lance in trouble. Anyway, I’m glad everybody else got a ride so we can help out Grant and Rusty,” Aiden went on.

 

“It looks like Rusty is getting back on solid ground, thanks to friends who have stepped up to help him,” Larry observed. “And Grant looks like another nice kid who needed a friend.”

 

“Yep, and Aiden and me are their friends now,” Nolan said.

 

“Well, I’m proud of you and Aiden stepping up to help them.”

 

“We like them both,” Aiden said. “That makes it easy to help them.”

 

After they reached the fairgrounds, Larry set up a meeting time and place for the four boys to meet him and Phil for lunch.

 

“I’ve got money for hamburgers and stuff,” Grant informed Larry.

 

“Me too,” Rusty said.

 

“Me three,” Nolan added.

“We agreed with your parents to pay for your lunch,” Larry told Nolan. “Which means you can spend your money on some junk.”

 

“Raspberry scones, here I come,” Nolan grinned.

 

After entering the fairgrounds, the boys were quickly on their phones texting their buddies about who was going to be doing what and when. Aiden’s carload and Gordy’s met at the midway. The twins were trapped with their mother and sister but were told they would get some time on their own after lunch. Blake and Collin met with the group.

 

Aiden suggested they pool their ticket money for the rides, insuring everyone would get an equal number of rides. Everyone thought it was a great idea.

 

Nolan and Aiden had agreed not to hold hands at the fair, except in places where they wouldn’t be seen. Nolan wasn’t ready for his Meadow Park peers to see him holding hands with another boy. “It’s not like I’m ashamed of holding hands with you,” he told Aiden, “it’s that I just haven’t told my friends what I am yet. Carter is the only one of my friends who knows you and me are boyfriends, and he’s really cool about it.”

 

“I’m cool with not holding hands. I’m more worried about kids I don’t know than kids I know. Why ask for trouble when our plan is to have mega-fun?” Aiden responded.

 

When they were on the Ferris wheel, they held hands, which had been planned. A hand holding that hadn’t been planned happened when Nolan and Aiden stepped off the roller coaster. Nolan saw Jorge Ramirez and Roland Barker, two seventh graders from his school that he didn’t like, also disembarking. He had heard both making homophobic statements at school more than once. Not wanting to create trouble at school, he kept his mouth shut. But now he saw a chance to yank the chains of the two assholes.

 

“Grab my hand and follow my lead—I want to give those two guys some shit,” Nolan instructed Aiden. He held out his right hand not sure if Aiden would take it. Aiden wondered what his boyfriend had in mind and decided to do as instructed.

 

“Hey, look Roland, there’s two guys holding hands,” Jorge sneered.

 

“Hey, one of the queers is Nolan Moyer,” Roland said when Nolan turned his head to look at them.  “Are you faggots or something?”

 

“Moyer is an asshole, but no way he’s a faggot, he plays sports.” Jorge told Roland.

 

“I know that, we played basketball last year, but he could be a queer. Are you a faggot?” he asked Nolan when he and Jorge caught up him and Aiden.

 

“This is my friend Aiden. Riding a roller coaster makes him feel, like really woozy. I’m holding his hand to help keep him from falling and puking over himself.”

 

Aiden, who wanted to bust out laughing, managed to put on a sad face and said, “I was so scared I thought I was going to shit my pants,” he moaned as he figured out what Nolan was doing.

 

Nolan looked at Aiden and smirked; he liked where Aiden was taking this. “I smell something bad.” Nolan dropped Aiden’s hand and felt up his friend’s ass. “Whew, thank God, his pants are dry.”

 

“It was a close call.”

 

“You queers are sick,” Jorge chided. It was the first time he had ever seen Aiden and he wondered who Nolan’s blond friend was.

 

Nolan stepped up to Jorge and looked down at the shorter boy. “Are you calling me a queer, Jorge?” he asked forcefully.

 

Jorge stepped back. He was the consummate bully, unwilling to confront somebody bigger and stronger than him. “Oh, no way, not you Nolan. Everybody knows you’re not a faggot. You’re a big sports star and everything.” Even if you are an asshole, he thought.

 

“If you call me a faggot again, I’ll kick your ass, I don’t care where you are. And the same goes for you, Roland, even if we’ve been teammates.”

 

“Well, it looked really weird—you two guys holding hands and shit.”

 

“I was helping a friend.”

 

“I’ll just call the queers faggots from now on.”

 

Nolan stepped completely into Jorge’s personal space. “I’ll kick your ass if I hear you calling anybody a faggot. Both of you. Got it?”

 

“Fine, you don’t have to be an asshole about it. I bet you hate them too, so why stand up for them.”

 

“Because it’s the right thing to do.” Nolan turned to Aiden. “Come on, let’s get going. The shit I was smelling wasn’t from Aiden’s butt, it was because you two have shit for brains.” He grabbed Aiden’s hand. “Come on, dude, let’s get out of here and away from the smell.”

 

When Jorge and Roland dropped out of sight, Nolan let go of Aiden’s hand. The two stopped and laughed hard. “You’re lucky they didn’t decide to fight you,” Aiden said after they recovered their breath.

 

“I know them. They’re cowards, especially Roland who is the world’s most selfish basketball player. They’re like your ‘friends’ Russell and Roger. A lot of talk and no action unless they have a big advantage. But, don’t worry, I’ll be watching my back around school for a while. I’m sure Carter and Hank will have my back—they hate Jorge and Roland, too.”

 

“Well, you were awesome with them.”

 

“Yeah, well so were you. Great acting job.” Nolan gave Aiden a very quick kiss on the lips. “Let’s go get lunch.”

 

Grant and Rusty caught up to them as they started up the boulevard to the meeting place with Phil and Larry. “We watched you guys and those bullies. You were awesome,” Grant gushed.

 

“They were bullies, right?” Rusty asked.

 

“I’ve never seen them actually push anybody around,” Nolan replied, “but they keep saying bad things about gays and I thought maybe it was time to stuff a sock in their mouths.”

 

“I didn’t see you do that,” Grant said.

 

“Me means a figurative sock, not a real one,” Aiden, the writer, explained.

 

“Oh. You mean like an imaginary sock.”

 

“Yeah, close enough.”

 

They ran across Gordy, Kalie, Mason, and Miles on the way to eat, and the two groups made one big group by the time they arrived at the food court. 

 

The fair burgers at Miggy’s were great as were the milkshakes. Nolan said he still had to get his hot scone, but he’d wait for an hour or so. A new time and meeting place were set up for the trip home, and the boys took off to explore some more.

 

One place Aiden wanted to explore was the photography exhibit. He wanted to display pictures in the exhibit next fall. He knew that taking photography second semester would help him improve his skills. He planned on having pictures to submit to the Middle School Arts Festival in the spring as well.

 

Only Nolan and Gordy went into the exhibit with Aiden. In Gordy’s case it was because Aiden was his best friend and he wanted to see what kind of pictures would catch Aiden’s fancy. In Nolan’s case, Aiden was his boyfriend, plus, like Aiden, he was interested in photography.

 

The boys looked at the posted pictures, checked out which ones had received ribbons, commented on the landscapes, mountain scenes, city scenes, portraits, special effects, sunsets, and other miscellaneous shots.

 

“Hey, Aiden, check these out,” Gordy said as he rounded a corner. “You’re gonna love it.”

 

“Wow, train pictures. I do love it,” Aiden responded.

 

“Check out the ribbon,” Nolan told them as he pointed to the blue ribbon on the panel that had the photographer’s information.

 

“The photographer is our age,” Aiden marveled. “It says here, ‘Landon Mercer. Winston, Washington. Age 12.’”

 

“You can tell he’s from Winston, look at that picture of the Amtrak Cascades whipping by the big egg.”

 

Winston bragged about having the world’s largest egg. The twelve-foot-long fiber glass egg sat on a ten-foot high pedestal. The egg’s park bordered the BNSF mainline. (see note at the end of story)

 

“I want to meet that kid,” Aiden said.

 

“Why, do you have a sudden crush on him?” Nolan smirked.

 

“I don’t even know what he looks like.”

 

“He’s probably very cute and athletic. He has dark hair and loves trains and taking pictures of them. He is gay and has a blond-haired boyfriend. He…”

 

“He sounds just like you,” Aiden giggled. He planted a quick kiss on Nolan’s cheek. “I know he’s nothing like that. He’s probably 30 pounds overweight and keeps looking for a girlfriend. He loves trains and loves taking pictures of them and I want to meet him, with you standing next to me, so we can talk trains and taking pictures with him. I mean, this dude knows what he’s doing.”

 

“I don’t remember seeing his pictures at the middle school festival,” Gordy said.

 

“Maybe he had pictures that weren’t train pictures and we never checked out his name,” Nolan speculated.

 

Aiden pointed to Landon’s pictures. “But these are great pictures. Better than that kid from Nolan’s school, and his were pretty good.”

 

“Kid’s name is Everett. And I guess we won’t be meeting him. I heard he moved during the summer. One of his friends told me he moved up to Everett of all places.”

 

“That would sound weird,” Gordy giggled. “Hi, my name is Everett and I’m from Everett.” Then Gordy got serious and looked at Aiden. “You need to start showing your pictures. They’re better than that Everett guy and as good as this guy.”

 

“I will have train pictures ready for this spring’s art festival,” Aiden said. “I promise.”

 

“Scone time!” Nolan suddenly shouted.

 

“Ooh, what are we waiting for?” Gordy asked.

 

“Nothing. Let’s get our booties moving.”

 

The three boys left the exhibit hall and headed for the scone booth they’d seen on the way there. Before they arrived, however, they were stopped by three girls: Kalie, Heather, and Brittany.

 

“Hi everybody,” Heather bubbled. “Are you having fun?”

 

“Hi Heather,” Gordy said as he parked himself close to Kalie. “Yeah, we’re having fun.”

 

Heather noticed how close Gordy was to Kalie and moved in on Aiden, standing so close their shoulders touched. Aiden quickly took two steps to his right. Heather matched his steps and they were touching again. Aiden took two steps back and once again Heather matched him.

 

Nolan noticed the little dance between the two and worked hard to squelch his laughter. He had little to laugh about when he felt Brittany sidle up to him. “I wish you went to Mayfield instead of that lame Meadow Park,” she cooed.

 

“I like Meadow Park fine,” Nolan said. “The girls aren’t as pushy there.”

 

Now it was Aiden’s turn to try to swallow his laughter, only he wasn’t as successful as Nolan.

 

“What’s so funny?” Heather asked. She had been so focused on Aiden that she hadn’t paid attention to what Nolan had said.

 

“Nolan is being mean,” Brittany replied, “and Aiden thinks it’s funny.”

 

Heather stared at Aiden. “Why do you have a friend that’s mean? And why were you laughing at what he said?”

 

“I don’t. Nolan is my boyfriend and I wouldn’t have a boyfriend who is mean. I was laughing because I thought he was right.”

 

“What did he say?” Heather asked Brittany.

 

“I think it’s time for us to go get those scones,” Nolan said.

 

Nolan and Aiden scooted away from Brittany and Heather and started for the scone booth. “Wait,” Heather called out. “Aiden, don’t you want to ride the Ferris Wheel with me?”

 

Aiden grabbed Nolan’s hand. “I have somebody I like riding with,” he replied.

 

“Fine, be a disgusting boy. Who needs them?” Heather knew the answer to that question. She needed them, and she needed Aiden in particular.

 

Gordy gave Kalie a quick kiss on the lips and took off after his friends. “I’ll see you at the Ferris Wheel in fifteen minutes,” Gordy called out to his girlfriend.

 

“You are so lucky,” Heather told Kalie. “You have a real boyfriend.”

 

“It’s not Aiden’s fault that he’s gay,” Kalie said.

 

“He’s not gay; he doesn’t even act gay,” Heather insisted. “And when I get done, he’s going to want to hold MY hand more than he wants to hold HIS hand.”

 

Aiden, Nolan, and Gordy heard none of that. And even if they had, their sense of smell, followed by their sense of taste, would have blocked out any outside disturbance as they paid for their hot, fresh baked scones, filled with sweet raspberry jam. Aiden and Nolan purchased and ate two scones apiece, while Gordy had only one.

 

“I’m just not hungry enough for two,” Gordy explained.

 

“He wants to keep his skinny figure for his girlfriend,” Aiden chuckled.

 

“Just like you two boyfriends want to look good for each other.”

 

“You got that right,” Nolan agreed as he wolfed down his first scone.

 

By silent agreement, Nolan and Aiden let go of each other’s hands once the girls were out of sight. Once again, while they were not embarrassed about being boyfriends, they didn’t want to create any more problems by flaunting it.

 

They did hold hands briefly when they saw two boys who looked to be in their late teens in the midway area holding hands. Aiden smiled, gave them a little wave, and grabbed Nolan’s hand, holding it up. After his initial surprise, Nolan saw why Aiden had grabbed his hand and gave the two older boys a quick smile. The boys grinned, one of them calling out, “Be proud of who you are.” Aiden and Nolan turned a corner and let go of each other. Aiden, who thought he was proud to have a boyfriend, suddenly found himself feeling confused as he and Nolan walked with each other as any two best friends would do—close, but not touching.

 

That night, Aiden thought about jerking off before falling asleep. He put his hand on his soft cock and started. After a half-dozen strokes, he found himself not in the mood. He looked over at Horace, who was parked on Aiden’s bed next to the pillow.

 

“How old do I have to be to, you know, be proud like those older kids?” he asked the stuffed donkey out loud. “How old do I have to be to hold hands with Nolan anytime I want? And what if Nolan really wanted to hold my hand the whole time and is mad at me for not doing it? Or what if…what if he never wanted to hold my hand at all?”

 

As expected, Horace didn’t answer. Aiden wished the donkey could talk, because he needed somebody to give him the answers. He turned off his light and tossed and turned for a while before finally falling into a troubled sleep.

 

Next: The Mayfield Baseball Club

 

Note: Before some of you get set to send me an email about the egg, I know the egg is really in Winlock, Washington. I created Winston in case I wanted to make changes in the town (but not the egg). This is fiction, after all.