Traditions (Chapter 9)

Chapter Nine

I have heard it said that you never forget your first, and after making love to Charlie that first time I knew that it was most definitely true. That look on his face as I unloaded in him for the very first time will be something that I know will live with me forever.

When we lay down on his bed with his hips raised up on pillows and I removed Mama Bear, before entering Charlie that morning and taking his virginity, I took it easy on him to begin with. After a little more prep I slowly pushed myself inside him, centimetre by centimetre, pausing frequently to let him become accustomed to what was happening before going any further, while sounds of pleasure came from him, telling me just how much he was enjoying this moment.

After a few strokes, and instinctively knowing that he was fully ready for more, I pulled out of him – much to his annoyance – and told him to roll over onto his back. It was then that I repositioned him so that his butt was closer to the edge of the bed then I pushed his legs upwards and asked him to hold them.

‘What are you going to do?’ he asked as I applied some more lube to both of us.

‘Surely you've seen this in the movies?’ I replied, while I moved into position and placed the tip of my manhood at his quivering entrance. With a gentle push I slid in much more easily this time, and I saw Charlie's eyes almost roll into the back of his head as he groaned with pleasure.

‘I never knew it could feel this good,’ he moaned as I bottomed out, then started to pull back slowly.

‘Before yesterday, neither did I,’ I replied, then adding, ‘But I already know that I want more!’

‘Me too,’ Charlie groaned, as I stopped just before pulling right out, then began to push in once more, with our eyes locked together. I leaned in and placed my lips over his, and he opened his mouth inviting me in. I didn’t need to be asked twice, and while our tongues duelled, I drove into him with short, sharp strokes initially, before then changing up to long, deep strokes with the speed soon beginning to build again.

I could feel the pressure building quickly as we worked together. I could hear the sounds of our lovemaking, from the squelch of our joining to the squeaks of the bed, Charlie’s moans and groans, even the sound of blood pumping inside my head. This was the most intense moment of my life – of both of our lives – and as my explosive climax came, so too did a guttural howl from somewhere deep inside me, a sound which echoed around the bedroom, before I collapsed on top of Charlie and I found myself with his legs wrapped around mine, and his arms wrapped around my body, pulling me close.

It was over in just minutes, but we both knew that it would last a lifetime. Perhaps next time we could take it more slowly, perhaps enjoy it more, but that was something for another day. This union, today, was perfect, and when I softened a short while later we separated. Still wrapped in each other’s arms, still trying to catch our breath, we rolled over onto our sides, gently kissing each other, touching each other, loving each other, and that was all that mattered.

Once again, we drifted off to sleep, content in each other’s arms, and satisfied in ways we never thought possible. If this was our future, then it was going to be wonderful.

It was some time later when we were jolted awake once more by the sound of my phone ringing. It was my mother again, of course. This was beginning to become a habit.

‘Hello,’ I said after pressing the button.

‘Are you boys almost ready?’ my mother asked. ‘We’re about to leave for the trip down to Trish and Leo’s for our lunch. We can pick you up if you want us to and you can come with us.’

‘Thanks, but we’ll head down ourselves shortly. We’re not quite ready yet,’ I answered, while at the same time hearing Toby calling out something in the background.

‘Alright then. And Toby just asked if you are driving down yourselves, can he ride with you?’

‘Hang on a tick,’ I replied, before holding the phone against my chest and asking Charlie if that was okay with him.

‘Of course,’ Charlie replied.

Turning my attention back to my mother I told her that would be fine.

‘Good. We’ll drop him off on our way past then. We’ll see you shortly,’ came my mother’s reply, before she quickly disconnected.

As I dropped my phone on the bed, I fell back against the pillow and let out a sigh.

‘Everything okay?’

‘We better shake a leg. They’re on their way and will be dropping Toby off shortly,’ I answered.

‘Looks like we had best hit the shower then! Unless you want your brother to find us like this!’

‘Shower together then?’

‘Of course. Now get your lazy arse up off the bed!’

We were back in the bedroom and just drying off when we heard the sound of my parent’s car pulling up outside, followed by the sound of a car door opening and then being slammed.

‘Now don’t make a nuisance of yourself, okay Toby?’ I heard my mother say.

Glancing out the window, into what appeared to be a gloomy day, I could see Toby coming through the front gate.

‘Toby?’ my mother called after him.

‘Yes, mum. I’ll be good,’ Toby called back, the exasperation in his voice clear as a bell. I couldn’t help but smile.

Moments later I heard a knock on the front door, so after quickly pulling on some shorts and draping a towel around my neck I went to answer it.

‘Kieran! Are you there? I need to gooooo!’ I heard Toby call out.

‘Hang on! Hang on!’ I called back, then opened the door to see him dancing from one foot to the other.

‘Bathroom is down there on the left,’ I said to him. ‘Now go!’

He pushed past me and headed down the hallway in a hurry, completely ignoring Charlie, who was standing at the bedroom door with just his towel wrapped around him.

I couldn’t help but laugh, before hearing the bathroom door slam, then I turned around to look back out towards the street.

‘We’ll see you there. We won’t be long,’ I called out to mum, to which I received a wave in response before my father then pulled away from the kerb.

After closing the door I turned to face Charlie, who was standing there grinning at me.

‘What?’ I asked him.

Before he could answer, however, we heard the sound of the toilet being flushed, followed by a quiet giggle, which seemed to gradually be growing louder.

‘Are your toys still on the bathroom counter?’ Charlie asked me, as I suddenly felt the blood draining from my face.

‘Oh, shit!’ was all I could manage to say before the bathroom door opened and Toby emerged, with Big John in his hands.

Toby looked from me, to Charlie, and then back again, with a weird shit-eating grin on his face, which I just knew was going to spell trouble.

‘Wh-what’s this for?’ he asked, still giggling, as he held the object out in front of him, with two hands holding it firmly, one above the other. The head of the dildo and the scrotum were still showing above and below his hands. John was quite a weapon.

From the bedroom door I heard Charlie give a snort and I looked his way.

‘Think I’ll leave this one to you,’ he said, before disappearing inside to finish getting dressed.

Looking back at Toby I could see the expectation on his face as he waited for an answer from me, so I took him by the elbow and led him into the living room, where we sat on the lounge.

‘It looks like a giant willie!’ Toby said to me.

‘Yes, mate. That’s what it is. It’s a toy penis.’

‘A toy? So you . . . you play with it?’

‘Kind of,’ I answered, though far from sure just where this conversation might be heading.

He looked thoughtfully at what he was holding, as if he was trying to imagine how you could play with such a toy.

‘Do you know what sex is?’ I ventured to ask him.

‘Yeah. I’m not ten years old,’ he chided me. ‘It’s when a mum and dad love each other and the dad puts his willie in the mum to make a baby when it goes hard. My friends at school, Jack and Dexter, told me all about it and showed me how it’s done.’

‘What do you mean by they showed you?’ I asked, and possibly with just a little too much force. ‘And are they both boys?’

At this he suddenly seemed to realise that he might have said too much and quickly sat Big John on the coffee table in front of him, then folded his arms across his chest and sat back in the lounge.

‘You’re not in any trouble, mate. So you don’t have to worry about anything, okay?’ I said to him, while placing a hand on his shoulder and gently rubbing.

‘But dad said that . . .’

‘I think dad might have changed his mind about a few things in the past week, so it’s okay. Alright?’

I don’t think he believed me, but I pushed on.

‘So, your friends showed you some stuff, did they?’

‘Hmmm . . .’

‘So, do they love each other? Like a mum and dad does?’

‘I . . . I think so,’ he replied. ‘Is that like what you and Charlie do? Do you love each other?’

‘Yes, we do, mate. And there’s nothing wrong with that, if two boys, or two girls feel that way.’

‘Hmmm . . .’

Just then I heard a sound at the doorway and looked up to see Charlie standing there, neatly dressed and leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed in front of him, and with a somewhat surprised expression on his face.

When I turned back to Toby, I could see him carefully studying my toy on the coffee table in front of him.

‘So . . . if that’s a toy, what do you do with it?’ he innocently asked.

From the doorway Charlie offered a chuckle, but then he came into the room and sat on the single-seat lounge beside my brother, before picking up Big John and holding it by both hands.

‘Well,’ he said, ‘I guess we could use this one like a club, if someone is attacking us,’ before gently striking Toby’s upper arm with it. ‘It’s big enough, isn’t it?’

This caused my brother to laugh and squirm away from him, and ended up with Toby grabbing hold of me, before almost sitting in my lap.

‘But the main thing is that it gets used to practice with,’ Charlie added.

‘Huh?’

‘It goes where a penis goes, like when two people love each other,’ I suggested.

‘No way! It’s too big!’

‘Yes, way!’ Charlie responded. ‘But it takes a lot of practice . . . and it’s only for when people get older, okay? If people still in school want to practice that stuff, they have to use smaller ones. Does that make sense?’

‘I . . . I think so,’ he replied, before frowning slightly and asking, ‘Is that what the other things in the bathroom are for then?’

‘Geez, you don’t miss much,’ Charlie said with a laugh. ‘Yeah, mate. That’s what they are for.’

‘So, can I . . . ummm . . . practice with one of the little ones then?’

‘I’ll think about it,’ I replied. ‘But only if you promise never to tell anyone about it, okay? Otherwise the deal’s off!’

‘I promise,’ Toby responded. ‘Cross my heart and all that!’

‘Okay. We’ll see then,’ I said to him, before receiving the biggest grin and a massive bearhug.

I wasn’t sure if this was going to be a good idea or not, but I figured that if Toby was curious, it was better having it all explained to him by someone who loved him, and who could help him in some way, than it would be by having some kid from school introducing him to sex. My brother may not be the brightest spark, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to be the one to actually teach him all about sex, but I’ll be damned if I was going to let him be taken advantage of.

By the time we made it out to Charlie’s car a short while later, the gloomy day seemed to have really settled in, with heavy grey clouds hanging almost lifeless in the skies above us. It hadn’t started to rain, but it was cold, the air was heavy, and it certainly had that rainy-day feeling about it.

‘Doesn’t look like it’s going to be a good day for the beach,’ Charlie said, as we drove through the centre of town, across the weir and then headed south, along Old Coast Road.

Toby was sitting in the back seat and looking out the window, but it wasn’t long after we passed the town limits that I noticed him lean against the door, his head against the window and his eyes starting to struggle to stay open. It was what he always seemed to do on any trips longer than about ten minutes. That was just Toby.

‘No,’ I replied. ‘But that won’t matter too much. It will still be good to continue the conversations with my cousins.’

‘Is that so?’

‘Yeah. They already love you, but maybe they’ll be able to get to know you some more,’ I offered.

The rain started when we were about halfway to Macquarie Harbour, so it looked like beach cricket would be off the table today, unless it eased, or someone decided that playing in the rain might be fun. Whatever happened wouldn’t be a problem though; it was a day for family, and after the revelations of yesterday, it felt, to me at least, that I was getting to know some of them all over again.

‘So, what did you think about Toby’s revelations this morning?’ Charlie asked me a short time later. ‘Do you think he might have been fooling around with those friends of his?’

‘I’m not too sure,’ I replied, honestly. ‘It was a bit odd though, didn’t you think?’

‘Very much so. And as the old saying goes, where there’s smoke there’s usually fire.’

‘Yeah, that thought had crossed my mind.’

We drove on in silence, just listening to the windscreen wipers struggling against the rain and the sound of tyres squelching through water on the road.

My thoughts were on Toby, but they were just a muddle.

‘If he was curious, or whatever, would it really matter?’ Charlie asked after a little while.

‘Not to me,’ I answered, ‘but it worries me that these friends of his might want to take advantage of him.’

‘Yeah, there’s always that possibility.’

‘We’ll just have to tread carefully with him, but also be honest.’

‘Agreed.’

It wasn’t long before we came to the outer suburbs of Macquarie Harbour and I pointed to an exit that would take us to Trish and Leo’s. Charlie followed my directions and a short time later we pulled up behind my parents’ car outside my aunt and uncle’s home, which was an older-style Californian bungalow, something common to many coastal towns.

Reaching over the seat I grabbed Toby’s knee and gave him a shake, to wake him.

‘We’re here, mate,’ I said to him. ‘And here comes Stuart to see you.’

Suddenly he was wide awake and pulling off the seat belt, then scrambling to get out of the car to join his cousin in the misty rain that was still hanging around. When they hugged briefly an errant thought flashed through my mind, but I dismissed it just as quickly as it had appeared. That wasn’t somewhere I wanted to go, not if it could be helped anyway.

As the boys set off up the driveway, Charlie and I followed them, heading down the side of the house and into the backyard, where we found that preparations for lunch were well underway on the back verandah. Aunt Trish, Nan and my mother were setting a table, while inside I could see similar activity taking place in their dining room. Apparently, the beach idea had been officially abandoned.

‘Aahhh, boys! So glad you made it!’ Aunt Trish called to us as we climbed the few steps onto the verandah, where we received the obligatory kisses from her and Nan.

‘You knew we wouldn’t miss it for the world,’ I replied.

‘Well, we’ve had to make some changes to our plans I’m afraid. It’s a bugger of a day, so we thought we’d best have lunch here, instead of at the beach, then we’ll see what the weather is like afterwards.’

‘Looks like it’s going to be just like old times then,’ I replied, with a laugh. ‘Grown-ups inside and all the kids outside at their own table.’

‘Well, I’m sure your cousins will be looking forward to doing some more catching up. It seems that you and Charlie made quite a splash with them yesterday. You’re all they talked about last night.’

‘I hope you mean in a good way?’ I replied.

‘Oh, absolutely. You’re family, Kieran, and that goes for Charlie too, now, so don’t you forget that. We’re all here for you . . . for both of you.’

It was just then when Pippa and Kevin came out onto the verandah and greeted us with hugs. I wasn’t sure where Toby and Stuart had gotten to, but at a guess I figured it was most likely to be Stuart’s bedroom.

‘Looks like the cricket’s off,’ Kevin said. ‘Pop and our fathers are already settling down in front of the television though, and are flicking between channels to keep an eye on the Sydney to Hobart yacht race and the Boxing Day Test match at the M.C.G., so at least we’ll be able to do some more catching up with you guys without them sticking their noses in.’

‘Is that right?’ I replied, to which he simply gave me a wink. I wasn’t sure what that was for, but since the time we spent together yesterday was all positive, I figured I didn’t have anything to worry about.

My mother and Aunt Trish disappeared inside, so we followed them in to see if we could help out.

Just like yesterday there was a flurry of activity as platters and trays of food were spread out on the large kitchen cabinet, which stuck out into the middle of the room. One side of the cabinet faced towards another counter that housed various cupboards, the oven, and the sink, which was directly below a window that provided a view of the backyard, while on the other side there was a row of tall stools, to allow people to use it as a breakfast counter.

‘Alright, you men in the lounge room,’ my grandmother called out from the doorway, ‘lunch is ready!’

The responses we heard were loud grumbles about having to tear themselves away from the television, which was only to be expected really, but they all soon presented themselves at the doorway, with Pop and Uncle Leo both greeting us warmly.

‘Right then,’ Aunt Trish said. ‘Everyone help yourselves, then after that it’ll be just like old times, as Kieran has so eloquently put it . . . grown-ups in the dining room and the kids outside on the verandah!’

This earned a few chuckles, before family members started reaching for the stack of plates on the end of the counter and soon began piling up their plates. We were a pretty casual bunch, and when I took two plates and handed one to Charlie it was easy to see the look of bemusement on his face as he realised just what we were like when we all got together. Yesterday might have seemed somewhat tense, at least at first, as we had both been worried about what might happen with our coming out, but that was all now behind us, and now the real nature of my family was coming to the fore.

‘Now, where are those other two boys?’ Aunt Trish asked, before going to the doorway and calling out; ‘Stuart! Toby! Come and get your lunch or you’ll miss out!’

The thunderous sound of teenage feet coming down the hallway soon followed, and moments later my brother and my youngest cousin came skidding into the kitchen, sliding across the linoleum in their socks, with plates being thrust into their hands almost before they had come to a stop.

Gradually the crowded kitchen began to thin out, as my family filled their plates and then headed to either the dining room or out onto the verandah, and before long we were all seated and tucking into a repeat of yesterday’s feast.

Thankfully, the weather, while decidedly damp, wasn’t that cold, so sitting on the verandah wasn’t an entirely uncomfortable experience. Talk was kept to a minimum as we ate, but conversation gradually started to creep in once more as we neared the end of our meal.

‘So, were you able to ask your mother about our cousin, Patrick?’ Pippa asked me, once we had finished the first course of our lunch.

‘No. I haven’t really had much of a chance to talk to her since lunch yesterday,’ I answered. ‘What do you know about him?’

‘Oh, he’s something of a character, apparently,’ Pippa replied, with something of a smirk on her face.

‘Meaning?’

‘Well, he lives in Sydney, and he’s a performer,’ she replied.

‘What kind of performer exactly?’

Then leaning forward across the table, as if not to broadcast what she was about to reveal, Pippa whispered, ‘He’s a drag queen! And that’s why nobody wants to talk about him!’

Beside me I heard Charlie cough and splutter, and as I glanced his way I saw him put a glass back down on the table and reach for a napkin, to wipe his face with, while I also heard Kevin laugh from across the table.

‘Tell me more,’ I urged Pippa, before taking a drink from my own glass.

‘Well, apparently his stage name is Trinity de la Crème! Doesn’t that sound simply delicious?’

Now it was my turn to cough and splutter, as I narrowly missed showering my cousins with Coca-Cola!

‘Oh my god!’ I finally managed to say, after wiping down my face with a napkin. ‘Are you fucking serious?’

‘Well, that’s what we heard,’ Kevin answered.

‘You probably won’t believe this, but I’ve seen him perform, and I’ve even met him! He’s a fucking riot!’

‘What do you mean, you’ve met him?’ Pippa demanded to know.

‘Yeah! Details!’ added Kevin.

To be continued . . .