(by Edward Zeusgany and Alex Anders, © copyright 1999, all rights reserved)

In the summertime there were lots of teenagers at the country club. Many were kids Nicholas didn’t know, because they went away to preparatory schools and because Nick’s family had moved to town the previous fall from another state. There were lots of activities for them, and he had chosen tennis lessons.

Tennis school was in the morning. Nick’s mother would usually have lunch with him at the club. Then he would use the pool, before spending the rest of the day watching the better players on the courts in the afternoon. It was there that he first saw Kent; tall, olive skinned, dark and wavy haired, gorgeous Kent.

Like Nicholas, Kent was looking forward to his last year of secondary school. One of those preppies, who were home for the summer, he smiled easily and was hugely popular with both boys and girls. Playing tennis with deceiving grace and ease, Kent seemed not to care whether he won or not, unlike the intensity of his younger brother.

Eighteen months Kent’s junior, Wayne played with an unsurpassed fury. He was a little shorter than his brother, wiry where Kent had a swimmer’s build, and fair with hair the color of damp sand. Taking the game seriously, he had more shots, more moves and more talent. At the present time, Wayne won most games against his brother with effort, an a year or two, Kent wouldn’t be able to give him a workout.

Whenever he could, Nicholas would watch Kent play tennis, singles or doubles, with others as well as his brother. He tried to send a mental signal to the handsome youngster, commanding the lad to become his friend. Anxious that they should meet, Nick decided on a circuitous route. He made a point of speaking to Wayne and complementing the younger boy on his skill.

A few days later, late in the afternoon, Nicholas saw the two boys together at a table near the courts. He took the opportunity to stop by and say hello, Kent was very friendly toward him and invited him to sit. Nick was shocked by the suddenness of his covert demands being realized. This produced what might have seemed to the brothers to be reticence. But he quickly overcame his surprise and joined them.

Since this was an introductory meeting, there was a mutual exchange of personal information. Nicholas related that his father was a chemical engineer with a specialty in computer control of chemical manufacturing processes involved in the oil refinery business. Moving frequently, because of his work, they had lived in California, Texas, Colorado, and Georgia before coming to Carlisle, Massachusetts.

The brothers said that their father was an investment banker. Their grandparents and great grandparents had all lived their entire lives in the immediate area. They had a house on a lake in New Hampshire, where they spent weekends. They often used the place in the winter as well, because their prep school was not far from there.

Nicholas admitted that he didn’t have any real friends yet. Changing schools and making friends hadn’t been difficult before. Nick speculated that it had to do more with being the last two years of high school than the nature of the community. The other students had formed rather set social networks by the time they became juniors. Even so, he regretted that a whole year had gone by and he was still a solitary figure. He was looking forward to college when everyone would be in the same position.

Kent replied that although they were acquainted with everyone, because they went away to school, they were accepted only as temporary friends. They could associate with any group, but as peripheral members. The brothers offered to include him in their activities. “That way, you’ll at least get to meet everybody,” Kent told him. Nicholas expressed his appreciation for their thoughtfulness, and secretly thanked his gods for answering his earnest prayer.

*****

The brothers were as good as their word. Whenever either of them was with some group of kids, Kent or Wayne would call Nicholas over and make introductions. Actually, Nick would have preferred for the three of them to form their own little gang. At times they did, but Kent in particular was gregarious and enjoyed larger gatherings. Nicholas and Wayne were caught up in his wake.

Toward the end of summer, the brothers told Nicholas that they would be spending a couple of weeks at the house in New Hampshire. They always went there for their father’s vacation, they said. Nick’s heart sank, but only for a minute.

“Would you like to come with us?” Kent asked him.

Caught again by surprise and not wanting to seem over eager, Nicholas hesitated. “Sure,” he said, trying with partial success to hide his enthusiasm. “I’ll have to ask my parents, but I think they’ll let me.” And they did, too.

A week and a half later, Nicholas met Mr. and Mrs. Gibson when they came to pick him up in their Jaguar sedan. The boys sat in the back, Nick in between Kent and Wayne, who intermittently squabbled with each other, out of habit, for most of the trip.

Nicholas concentrated on not letting his leg touch Kent’s either too much or too little. He was walking a tightrope. That and the little arguments made the trip seem longer than it was.

They stopped for lunch at an old, village inn an hour away from the lake. So it was after two when they pulled in to the tree shaded, pine needle strewn driveway that took them uphill from the road to a crest where the house sat with a wonderful view of the water. It was a big house, cedar shingled and painted a dark green.

They piled out of the car and the brothers said, “Come on,” and led Nicholas away from the house, down the slope toward the lake and to the right. There, a small cottage in the same shade of green was located. “This is our place,” Kent said as he took out his key case and stepped up onto the uncovered deck preparatory to unlocking the door.

Inside, Nicholas found a large rectangular room with a pair of twin beds, headboards against the far wall, facing a field stone fireplace. Above them was a loft, reachable by ladder. Counters with built in cupboards ran along each of the side walls, On top, there was a microwave oven and a double hotplate, among other items. In one corner sat a TV in front of a couch and a wing chair. It was very tidy, whereas the loft was a mess as Nick could tell from the little he could see of it.

“That’s Wayne’s space,” Kent said following his friend’s gaze and thoughts. “We’re down here.”

It felt to Nicholas as though his heart skipped a beat. He’d be sleeping in the bed next to Kent, in the same room. If he could get to sleep, that is. But he couldn’t do anything in plain view of the brother in the loft, right above their heads. Otherwise, he could have found some excuse to sit on the edge of Kent’s bed just before bedtime, with only his underwear on. A hand could stray. An accidental touch might be returned.

*****

Due to his excitement, Nicholas didn’t sleep much that night. The next day went quickly. They took out a small sail boat in the morning and swam in the lake in the afternoon. Because it was so hot, they didn’t change out of their bathing suits, but let them dry along with their bodies. There were cocktails at six. The boys were allowed one highball before dinner. The parents had martinis.

Mr. Gibson grilled steaks and they ate on the porch. After dinner they all stayed where they were and watched the night fall. Mosquitoes came on with evening. Unfortunately for Nicholas, he was one of those persons considered a delicacy by those bloodsuckers. As long as he was present, they didn’t bother much with the rest of the party. He didn’t want to complain, but finally he had no choice.

“I’m getting eaten alive,” he announced.

“We’d better get inside then,” Kent suggested. He led the way to the cottage. Wayne and Nicholas followed.

“How about a movie?” Wayne suggested, once they were inside. He went to a cupboard and began looking through a collection of tapes. Nick stood around scratching himself to relive the itch.

“I’d better get you some calamine,” Kent offered. He looked around in another cupboard and came up with a bottle of pink lotion and some cotton balls. He handed these over.

Kent watched while Nicholas daubed his welts himself the lotion. “Wow, some of those welts are huge,” Kent said encouragingly. “Give me the stuff and I’ll do the one’s on your back.” Nick did as he was bid, willingly, while thanking the mosquitoes for their help in fulfilling his plans.

While this was going on, Wayne found a film he wanted to watch and loaded it onto the machine. It was the third episode of “Star Wars.” He waited impatiently for the first aid to be completed so he could turn off the lights and start the tape. This he did, before settling into the chair, leaving the sofa for Kent and Nick.

*****

Kent provided Nick with a running commentary on the movie, much to Wayne’s displeasure. He kept telling his older brother to “stuff it.” Half way through the film, Kent said, “Let’s see how your mosquito bites are doing.” With that he put a hand on Nicholas’s shoulder and felt around for the lumps.

“Better,” he whispered, out of deference to Wayne. But Kent didn’t stop there. Instead his hand searched for bug bites over Nicholas’s chest. When found, he circled them with a finger tip, and said, “There’s one.” The hand moved down over Nick’s abdomen.

Of course, Nick got an erection. The tent in his bathing suit could hardly be missed. He didn’t want Kent to miss it. What shocked Nicholas was that Kent was doing this where his brother, if he just turned his head from watching the TV screen, could see what was happening. Just then Kent’s hand wrapped itself around Nick’s cock and gave it a squeeze. Just as quickly, he removed it, settled back on the couch and proceeded to watch the movie.

Nothing else happened that night. Nicholas thought it would, but it didn’t. He lay awake, waiting.

*****

The following morning they went to play tennis in the next town. Kent and Wayne played a match. Nicholas made himself useful running after balls. Then he played one set with Kent and a very quick one with Wayne.

After lunch at yet another quaint favorite of the parents, they returned to the lake. There was another afternoon of lazy swimming and lying about in the sun. They were joined by a couple of girls whom the brothers knew. They hung about Kent and kept him occupied.

Nicholas was so tired from his wakeful night that he was about to fall asleep in front of everyone. Instead he went back to the cottage by himself. However, he had hardly closed the door when Wayne came in behind him.

“Hey,” the younger boy said to catch Nick’s attention. Nicholas turned, and when he did, Wayne came right up to him, close, face to face. “Kent doesn’t want you, I do,” he asserted. Confused, Nicholas did not catch the younger boy’s meaning right away. He did notice that Wayne was staring him in the eye with the same sort of intensity that he had when playing tennis.

“Kent likes girls. Didn’t you notice how he was with those two just now?”

“But last night …,” Nicholas stammered, not wanting to finish and give himself away.

“Last night he was checking you out for me,” Wayne proclaimed, stunning the older boy. It occurred to Nicholas that he should be furious at such deception.

“So how about it?” the younger boy said, coming even closer, putting his hands on either side of Nicholas’s waist, just above the band on his bathing trunks. Although a shade shorter than he, Wayne’s eyes held his.

Perhaps it was because he was angry at Kent for playing with his feelings. He may have considered assent to be a sort of revenge. Being too tired to resist might have had something to do with it.

After a pause, he said, “OK.”

Not waiting for Nicholas to change his mind, Wayne said, “Come on.” He motioned for Nick to climb the ladder to his loft.

“Someone could come in,” Nicholas said in a last ditch try to reverse himself.

“No one’s coming in. The folks have gone off for the day. Kent will keep the girls amused and away from here.”

Defeated, Nicholas mounted the ladder to Wayne’s lair. The mattress of a double bed lay on the floor surrounded by clean and dirty clothes, CD’s, comic books, paperbacks, tennis magazines, cans of tennis balls and rackets all in disarray. This was the boy’s nest.

With efficiency, Wayne got Nick stripped of his bathing suit and laid out. KY, condoms and a towel at hand, the younger boy fitted Nicholas with a rubber. Lying on his back, Nick had no idea what Wayne had in mind as the younger boy straddled him and fixed him with that look of his.

Then Wayne took Nick’s erection, positioned the tip against his own anus and slowly impaled himself. Even though Nicholas was the one inserted, he knew he was being fucked. Wayne rose and lowered himself with determined rapidity.

How the younger boy knew that he had ejaculated, Nicholas didn’t know. But as soon as he had, Wayne stopped riding him. He masturbated himself with Nick still hard inside him. Eventually, Wayne threw his head back and shook it violently from side to side. Nick closed his eyes to avoid the splatter.

*****

Twenty minutes later, Nicholas woke with Wayne’s tongue in his mouth. This time the younger boy screwed him in the usual way and followed by sucking him. Then Nick slept some more.

Thankfully, Kent wasn’t at supper and didn’t come in that night. Wayne said that he was at the house of one of the girls. Her parents were away for a few days. But that only put matters off, because the following evening the three boys were together in the cottage.

Nicholas felt a little embarrassed when he climbed the ladder to sleep with Wayne. But Kent didn’t seem to take any notice, as though such goings on were commonplace. They weren’t very quiet either, because Wayne liked to give love bites. Nick found it impossible to be still while his nipple was being nipped.

*****

Nick spent a lot of time in the cottage at the lake. His senior year in high school, he would drive up on weekends. Then he did his first two years of college at Dartmouth in order to be near for Wayne’s last years at prep school.

After that, both went to Southern California because of the outstanding tennis program. Nicholas studied computer science and Wayne prepared for a career in professional tennis. Nick would bring his books to the courts, combining study with helping out his friend however he could. He developed a thorough knowledge of the game, and became a good amateur player.

Occasionally, in casual conversation, a player would complain about some aspect of his game that was troubling him at the time. If Nicholas had noticed anything that might help he would mention it. When these observations often turned out to be useful, some began to ask Nick to watch a few games and comment on their performance.

The one he never gave any suggestions to was Wayne. Of course, Wayne had the best coaching available. Nick realized that neither he nor his coaches wanted amateur opinions potentially interfering with professional advice. His friend was clearly on the way to being one of the top college players.

Because of Wayne’s travel to competitions, they were increasingly apart. When Nicholas went to nearby events, he found himself watching the ball boys, those redundantly named individuals who position themselves at either end of the net and at the back to shag loose tennis balls. They were players, themselves, of course.

Sometimes junior competitions would be taking place as well. Nick would watch a boys’ match if he had nothing else to do. The fierce concentration of a few of the kids reminded him of Wayne when he was their age.

*****

When Nicholas graduated and took a job with a company in Seattle, Wayne made no objection. Nick suspected that Wayne had made other conquests. While their diverging career paths were the immediate cause of their parting, their interest in each other had waned to the point where separation was acceptable to both of them.

Upon graduation, Wayne turned pro. He spent years traveling the tennis circuit. He made a good living but never won a major tournament. At the highest level, there were other players with as much desire and as much skill who were simply bigger and stronger.

Between transfers and changing companies, Nicholas moved around a lot. Wherever he went Nick would become involved in junior tennis, volunteering his services as a coach. Every now and then he became close with a scrappy kid who had that look in his eye. Nick specially enjoyed giving a youngster his first opportunity to take the initiative in an intimate relationship.

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