They all breathed a sigh of relief at the thought that they had seen the last of Marti when she exited the court room. Jim profusely thanked George for the moral support of his presence, since he'd had no input into the hearing. He got into the car with Nathan behind the wheel. Bobby was in the back seat huddled down in a corner. Jim leaned over the seat back and messed his hair as Nathan maneuvered the car into the busy downtown traffic.
"Are you okay, Bobby?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
"What's bothering you, kiddo? You want to talk about it?"
Bobby stared at the back of the seat. Jim gave up waiting and turned back to the front.
"She didn't even speak to me. I might as well have not been there," Bobby muttered.
Jim didn't know how to respond to that in a way that Bobby needed; so he turned and questioningly looked at Nathan. Nathan pulled over to the edge of the street and parked.
"Jim, you drive. Bobby and I are going to have a heart to heart discussion."
He got out and moved to the back seat. Jim slid across the car, put his seat belt on, then looked into the rearview mirror. Nathan smiled at him, and with a nudge of his chin, motioned for him to proceed.
Nathan pulled Bobby over to where he could put an arm around the boy and Bobby snuggled into his side. As Jim merged into the freeway traffic, he watched the two of them deep in conversation. He felt a twinge of jealously; he felt left out. He knew it was juvenile of him to feel that way, but he was being honest with himself in realizing it, and forced himself to deal with it. He knew in his mind that Nathan was there for him just as much, or more, as he was for Bobby. As he drove, he thought about his childhood and how he'd had to deal with Robert on his own. He had endured being abused and used by his uncle for nearly five years. Then once he'd gotten away from him, he had continued to live with his disgrace, not ever telling anyone... until he met Ted.
By their third date, Ted had caught on that Jim was hiding some deep dark secret. Jim recalled how he had reacted when Ted had caressed his bare butt and slipped his finger into his crack. The instant rage, nearing physical violence that Jim had gone into would have sent anyone else running... but not Ted. Jim glanced into the rear view mirror and added, 'nor Nathan.'
By then Ted had been totally in love with Jim, and because of his years of psychological training he knew that there was something traumatic that Jim had experienced and was now trying to hide, rather than deal with it. He started working on Jim.
Jim's love for Ted had caused him to stuff many of his problems into the back of his mind where he didn't have to think about them. He was so successful in doing this that he had convinced Ted that he was okay. But even after years of therapeutic help from Ted, Jim still had the urge to react the same way. Even though Jim did enjoy being fucked, it was always a continual battle to allow Ted access to his rear end. When Jim finally allowed himself to be entered, he'd withdrawn into a deep depression after the orgasm. It was months before he finally begged Ted to make love to him that way again and, even then, he had to struggle to keep his mind straight afterwards.
As Jim thought about it, he was relieved that Nathan was there for him. He was determined that this time he was going to get it all out in the open and deal with all the feelings he had hidden from Ted. He glanced back at Nathan. He was such a gentle loving man. He wondered how he could be so lucky to have found him after losing Ted.
There wasn't a day that went by that he didn't miss Ted. Jim realized, as he thought about it, that Nathan hadn't replaced Ted, he'd simply found his own place in Jim's heart right next to his love for Ted. He smiled to himself and glanced into the mirror just as Nathan looked up and caught his eye with a big loving smile. 'Yeah, life is good,' Jim thought, 'with my new found love, and now Bobby.'
Bobby had hunkered down in the corner of the back seat when Nathan slid in next to him. Nathan pulled the boy close and put an arm around him. Bobby had immediately snuggled into him.
"Bobby, even though your mother and father are out of the picture, you know that Jim and I love you and we'll take care of you now. You know that, don't you?"
"Yeah. I just don't know why my luck was so shitty that I got such rotten parents. What did I do to deserve that?"
"Do you really think that you did something to deserve it?"
"I don't know. I sometimes feel that I must have, and this is the way I'm being punished."
"Bobby, look at me." Nathan took Bobby's chin and lifted it. "You had nothing to do with who you got as parents. It's just the way it happened. You're a good kid, and that's just one of the reasons that we love you, Bobby. It is Robert and Marti's loss that they couldn't see what a wonderful young man you are. You're bright and intelligent. You've got a wicked sense of humor." Nathan poked him in the ribs, making him giggle and squirm, then he again pulled him close and said, "And with your looks, you're going to be having all the girls chasing after you."
"Do you really think anyone would want to know me with what has happened to me? They'll all think I'm a faggot… that I wanted to be fucked up the ass by my daddy, that I wanted him to ram his cock into my mouth and have him spew his cum all over me."
Nathan ignored Bobby's blatant language; at least he was being straight forward about how he was feeling. To Nathan that was of foremost importance.
"Bobby, no one would think that. Besides, no one needs to know that those things happened to you. You were only a child when he started doing that. How could you have wanted that?"
Bobby started crying.
"Nathan, I wanted my daddy to love me. And I wanted to please him. If it would make him proud of me.... if it would make him love me.... then I wanted him to do those things to me."
"Bobby, you know there is a big difference between wanting your daddy to love you, and wanting what he did to you. You've got to keep that straight in your mind. Don't twist them together. They are not the same."
"I know. It's just so hard not to be negative. I've gotten really good about saying what I'm supposed to be thinking, but I still...deep down...feel worthless and unworthy of really being loved. How do I make myself believe?"
"You just got to keep repeating to yourself that you deserve to be loved as much as anyone, and Jim and I are going to do everything within our power to help you convince yourself that it is true."
Bobby snaked an arm behind Nathan and hugged him. "I love you guys."
"And you know that we love you, too, Bobby."
* * *
Nathan followed Jim into his bedroom when he went up to change out of his suit. As Jim wiggled out of his jacket, Nathan took it from him and hung it up while Jim sat down to untie his shoes.
"God, I get spoiled, not having to wear this suit every day."
"Lucky you." Nathan replied, as he grasped Jim's ankle and removed the shoe and then the sock. He raised the foot to his lips and kissed the instep as Jim fell back on the bed gasping. Nathan took his other foot and did the same. He leaned over Jim and undid his belt buckle and pants and, taking hold of the cuffs, pulled them off. Jim lay back watching Nathan as he meticulously folded the pants over the back of a chair.
Jim loosened his own tie and pulled it off. He made eye contact with Nathan as he unbuttoned his shirt, got up and removed it. Never breaking eye contact, Nathan unbuttoned his own pants; Jim knelt in front of him and took over the job. He lifted each foot as Jim slid the pants and his Jockeys off. Wearing only his socks and a raging hardon, he stood before Jim, watching him worship his body,
Jim ran his hand up Nathan's thighs and cupped his glorious big balls. He rose up on his knees and caressed Nathan's pulsing cock against his cheek. He looked up at Nathan with a pleading look in his eyes. Nathan lifted him by his arm pits and led him to the bed. Jim lay down and scooted to the center. Nathan opened the bed side drawer, removed the K-Y and a condom, and crawled between Jim's legs.
"You're amazing, my Nathe. You just looked at me and knew what I needed."
"That's because I love you so much. I really do, you know. You're the sweetest, most loving man I've ever met. How many people in this world would take in a kid he'd just met and make a home for him? Not many, Jim, not many."
"I had no choice. He's kin."
"Kin or not, you had a choice. And you made it without a moment's hesitation."
"Yeah, well, I know what he's going through. I couldn't not do it."
"Whatever you say, Jim, but you're a hero in my book, and I might add, in quite a few other people's book, too."
After their intimate session in bed, Jim said, "We'd better get up and do some family things, like get some dinner for Bobby. He's probably in need of more morale boosting, too. That bitch, he has to call mother, really did a number on his head today."
Nathan propped himself up on an elbow and watched Jim as he struggled into his clothes. Jim turned and looked at the smile on his face.
"What?"
"Nothing, I just like looking at you. Plus, you just proved what I've been saying."
He slid off the bed and enfolded Jim in his arms. Jim melted against him as they kissed. Finally, they had to come up for air.
"If you don't let me go, we're going to end up back in bed."
"That's a bad thing?" Nathan asked, playing with him.
"No, that's a wonderful thing." Jim kissed Nathan's chin. "And if it was just you and me, we'd be there still. But we have a boy in the house that needs our attention."
The three of them settled into a routine in the following days. Bobby brought more regimentation into Jim's life. Jim was up at six every morning to make sure that Bobby was up and in the shower. And then while Bobby was getting ready for school, Jim would make breakfast for him. Most mornings Nathan joined them, at least for a cup of coffee, before Jim drove Bobby to school.
One cool thing about Jim that Bobby really appreciated was that he had clothes sense. The day that he had gone with him to get registered, Jim had taken note of how the kids dressed and had taken Bobby to buy a wardrobe of like clothes. Bobby fit right in from the first day. His parents never really cared how he fit in at school. His mother had made him wear the clothes she thought were appropriate, and they were never cool.
Although his new address wasn't as prestigious as one in San Marino or even the eastern part of Altadena, several of the kids knew of the big old house that he now called home, and they spread the word about how cool it was for Bobby to be living there.
Having been raised in farming country and riding the bus every day, Bobby had never gotten into sports. At lunch during his first week, he was sitting under a tree on the edge of the soccer field eating the meal that Jim had prepared for him while he watched a bunch of guys kicking a ball around, just having fun. The ball rolled near where Bobby was sitting. The boy that ran after the ball stopped in front of him. Bobby looked up.
"Hi."
"Hi." Bobby said and smiled.
"Cool lunch." the boy said, looking at the green salad. "My mom just hands me some money to buy something to eat."
Bobby just nodded. He didn't know how to respond.
"I'm Joe. You play soccer?"
Bobby shook his head. "Looks fun though."
"So, you're the new kid that all the girls are talking about."
He'd never thought of himself as other than Bobby before, but now suddenly he wanted to be more grown up. "I'm Bob Baxter. Really? They're talking about me?"
"Yeah, my girlfriend says they all think you're cool," Joe said. "So, you want to kick the ball around with us?"
"I've never done it. You'll have to show me how."
"Sure, come on."
Bobby stuck the remains of his lunch back in the paper bag, dropped it against the tree trunk where he could retrieve it, and trotted out to join Joe and his friends.
With help and instruction from Joe and his friends, Bobby was soon kicking the ball around almost as well as they did. He was a natural, given the chance. The soccer team practiced every afternoon after school. Bobby started hanging around, learning the plays by watching, and then practicing them on his own. Bobby was soon noticed by the coach. He watched Bobby for several days before he approached him about joining the team.
"I'm just learning," he told the coach. "I'm not very good."
"I've been watching you for awhile, Bob. With practice and actually playing in games, you could become one of my best players. What do you say?" Coach Wilson asked.
"Sure, I'd love to play."
Coach Wilson put his arm around the boy's shoulders and led him out onto the field. He blew his whistle and motioned for the team to gather around him. Joe and his three buddies that Bobby played with during lunch nearly every day just grinned at him.
"Alright guys, this is Bob. Some of you already know him. He's new to the game, but I've been watching him for awhile and I think he is going to be good. I want you to take him out and teach him the game. So get out there and play."
Joe was the team co-captain. He'd never let on to Bobby that he was. Now, as he took over from the coach, dividing the boys into two teams, they started a game.
Bobby was quick to catch onto the rules. With Joe's guidance, he was soon having a great time. This was the first time in his life that he wasn't an outsider. It felt good. Joe was a Junior and Bobby only a sophomore, but that didn't matter to either boy. They were on their way to becoming good friends.
Several times during practice Bobby got his feet knocked out from under him. Every time, he'd see the same big kid walk away laughing. He decided after the third time that it wasn't an accident. He was intentionally being tripped.
When practice was over and they were headed back to the showers, Bobby noticed several girls standing on the edge of the playing field. He casually checked them out. One girl with long auburn hair, pale skin and big blue eyes caught his eye. He must have caught hers too, for she smiled at him as he looked at her. Bobby blushed, and ran with the other guys into the gym.
As they were undressing Bobby asked Joe who the redhead was.
"That's Jill Anderson." He pointed with his chin at the kid Bobby recognized as the one who kept tripping him, "Bruiser there thinks she is his girl, and is just playing hard to get. She doesn't like him at all, but no one is brave enough to date her for fear of him beating them up."
Bobby studied Bruce Bridges, the biggest kid in school and the worst bully. He decided that he wouldn't cross him either. As pretty as Jill was, he didn't want to get into a fight with some knucklehead who probably wouldn't know when to quit.
Jill didn't give him a choice.
As he exited the gym with Joe, Jill was waiting. "Hi, Joe."
"Hi, Jill."
"Would you introduce me to your new friend?"
Joe grinned at Bob.
"This is Bob Baxter. Bob this is Jill. Look, I've got to go; Bette's waiting in the parking lot."
Although they both mumbled good-bye to him, neither Jill nor Bobby paid much attention to Joe as he left.
Jill smiled at Bobby, then looked down. Bobby was feeling things he had never experienced before… an attraction to a girl. He had always assumed that he was gay because that was the only thing that he had ever experienced sexually. He was confused and tongue-tied. He couldn't look at her.
"I know you've already been told that Bruce thinks I'm his girlfriend, but I'm not. I felt sorry for him because everyone is afraid of him, and I tried being nice to him. Now all the guys are afraid to talk to me. I just wanted to meet you. You look like a nice guy," Bobby looked up and smiled at her. "But you better go before Bruce comes out."
He turned to leave, but Bruce had already come out the door. When he saw Bobby talking to Jill, he grabbed him by the shoulder muscle and pinched. Bobby flinched.
"I know the guys told you that Jill is my girl. Stay away from her, ya hear?"
He squeezed the muscle harder. Bobby yelped and ducked. At the same time, he grabbed Bruce's wrist and twisted under his arm, flipping the big boy. Bruce landed on his back. Bobby had followed him into the fall and as Bruce started to roll over to get up; Bobby grabbed his hand and bent his wrist backwards, forcing Bruce to roll onto his stomach with a grunt at the pain. Bobby gripped his fingers, pushing them back against his arm as he knelt with a knee in the middle of his back.
"Let go, you're hurting me," Bruce whined.
"Turn about, uh? Touch me again and I'll break it. And listen good, Pig Boy, Jill doesn't like you. She was just being nice...so leave her alone...got it?"
He put more pressure on the fingers.
"I got it. I got it. Let me go." Bruce yelped.
"One more thing. I can be your friend, Bruce. But you've got to stop being a bully. Nobody likes a bully. You ever have a friend?"
"I don't need friends."
"Yes, you do. And I'm going to be one. So when I let you go, behave, 'cause all of my friends are nice people." Bobby didn't know where that came from, but it sounded like the right thing to say.
"Alright, let me go."
Bobby let go of Bruce's hand and stepped back. Bruce got to his feet and dusted himself off, then stood rubbing his wrist as he watched Bobby turn back to Jill. It pissed him off that she'd never looked at him like that, but having already been embarrassed by Bobby, he let it go. He watched as Jill smiled and promised to see Bobby tomorrow. The two boys watched her leave.
"Where'd you learn to fight like that?" There was awe, and a look of respect in Bruce's face. Bobby was the first kid to ever stand up to him.
Bobby frowned. "I lived on the streets in Hollywood for nearly two years. I had a friend that taught me how to protect myself."
"Impressive. Did you run away from home?"
Bobby ducked his head.
"I don't want to talk about it. It's past. I have a new life now."
"Cool, so where do you live?"
"Altadena. And you?
"Same. Up on Pine off of Fair Oaks."
"Really, I live up in that area, too. Your parents bring you to school and pick you up?"
"Nah, I've got a scooter. You want a ride home?"
"Let me see if Jim has left yet. He's supposed to pick me up."
"Who is Jim?"
"He's my cousin I live with. He's my legal guardian."
Bobby pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and punched the quick dial for Jim.
"Hey, Bobby, you ready for me to come get you?" Jim asked, having identified who the caller was.
"I've got a ride home. My new friend lives just a few blocks from us. He's got a scooter."
"Okay, you guys be careful." Jim said, feeling suddenly like a parent.
"We will." He closed the cover and put it back in his pocket.
"So how do you have a scooter and all us other kids have parents or ride a bus?
My dad bought it for me. My mom works and can't pick me up, so he thought I should have it. My mom objected at first, but I convinced her I was responsible enough to have it."
"Cool."
"Okay! Let's roll. Get on and sit as far back as you can. You can hold onto my belt if you want to."
Bobby complied, wiggling his butt back against the chrome loop on the back of the seat.
"Spread you legs. I've got to sit in front of you, you know."
Bobby blushed and looked away. The only time he had ever been told to spread his legs was in his father's bed. Anger washed over him, and then a great sadness filled him. He wondered if the memories would ever fade.
"Of course," he mumbled...he was sure he had blushed.
"Bob, you okay? You look kinda down suddenly. Hey, I didn't do anything did I?" Bobby forced himself to look happy and grinned at Bruce.
"Nah, I'm fine."
"OK, then, let's go."
He patted Bobby's knee and settled onto the seat in front of him. Bobby rested his hands on his own thighs as Bruce started the scooter.
Bruce was a careful driver. He stayed under the speed limit and obeyed all the rules of maneuvering a vehicle on public streets. Bobby was lulled into being totally relaxed. He started daydreaming. Bruce leaned into a turn and Bobby was unprepared to go with it. He grabbed Bruce around the chest. When they straightened up, Bobby let go.
"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." He yelled into Bruce's ear.
Bobby leaned back against the chrome backrest. The vibration of the scooter gave him a hardon. He was afraid that Bruce would feel it and get pissed at him. He managed to scoot back a little further. Bruce just nodded. He was having problems of his own. He was very conscious of Bobby's thighs gripping his butt and his chest up against his back. When Bobby's arms had wrapped around his chest, he instantly got a hardon. He wished that Bobby would put his arms back around him.
Bobby was unaware of what was going on with Bruce. He was looking at all the houses as they sped past them. When they got to Fair Oaks, Bobby directed him to turn right up the hill to Alto Lugar Drive. He gave directions to get to his house. By the time they got there, they had both gained control of their libidos.
"I know this place. I've ridden by it a lot when I had a bicycle. Cool place."
"Jim and his partner bought it just before his partner was killed in an accident. Jim lives here with me now."
They pulled into the driveway. Bruce stopped a ways from the house. "Who lives in the little house next door?" He motioned towards it with his chin.
"Dr. Taylor lives there. Wanna come in? Jim always has cookies and a glass of cold milk waiting."
"Sure. But I can only stay for a minute. Mom expects me to go right home."
"Can't you call her and tell her you're here?"
"I guess I could. She's at work."
Bobby pulled out his cell phone and handed it to him.
"Hi, Mom...Yeah I'm okay...I met a friend. He lives just a few blocks up from us...I just wanted to let you know I'll be up at his house for a while...Yeah, I'll be home by the time you get home. Bye."
He closed the cover and handed the phone back to Bobby. The two boys trekked through the house to the kitchen. There were two glasses and a plate of chocolate chip cookies with a note tucked under the plate.
If your friend came in, too, enjoy the snack. I'm next door. I guess I'm supposed to tell you to have fun, but don't tear up the house. Jim
Bobby read it and handed it to Bruce. They each sat down with a glass of milk and picked up a cookie.
"What kind of doctor is Dr. Taylor?"
"He's a psychiatrist. It was through him that I found Jim."
"What do you mean?"
"He was working with me, and one day he brought Jim in. We discovered that my dad is his uncle. So I came to live with him, and now he's my legal guardian."
"Where're your mom and dad?"
"I don't want to talk about them. Okay?"
"Okay. I was just curious. I didn't mean to piss you off."
"You didn't. They piss me off."
"I'm sorry, Bob."
They ate their cookies. Bobby broke the silence.
"So, you live with your mom and dad?"
"Just my mom. My parents are divorced. My dad's married to another woman now. I get to see him every couple of weeks. He lives in Marina del Rey. So, is Jim seeing the psychologist?"
Bobby grinned.
"No, he and Nathan are just good friends." Bobby thought about having let it slip that Jim had had a partner, but apparently Bruce hadn't picked up on it. He would make sure he didn't let it slip that Jim and Nathan were now lovers.
"You call the doctor by his first name?"
"Sure, besides being my shrink, he's my friend, too."
"So are you like nuts or something, to have to see a head shrinker?"
"No, I'm not nuts. I just have some problems about my parents I have to work through. Look, I really don't like to talk about it. Okay?"
Bruce nodded. It was a new experience for him to have a friend who wasn't afraid of him and who treated him as an equal.
The two boys had finished their cookies and milk.
"Come on, let me show you the backyard and then I'll show you my room. Jim got me this really cool computer and lots of games. I'm not very good at any of them, yet, but I'm learning."
Later, Jim and Nathan watched Bobby learning to ride Bruce's scooter.
"Do you think I should get him one of those?"
"Let him ask for it, Jim. You're going to spoil the kid buying him every little thing. Also, give him some responsibility, like chores he has to do daily, to earn the privilege of having a bike."
After Bruce had gone home, Bobby slumped in a lounge chair in the back yard. Nathan came through the back gate and, seeing the kid looking pensive and slightly depressed, sat down beside him.
"So how is school going, Bobby?" He asked.
Bobby pulled himself out of his deep thoughts and grinned at him.
"Great!" He replied. "I've made two new friends. And tomorrow I'm going to see to it that two of them become friends."
"Is one of them new at school like you?"
"No, Bruce has problems. He bullies everyone to cover it up. He's a nice guy really, since I've convinced him to stop being a bully." Bobby then told him about his run in with Bruce earlier.
"That's the big kid I saw you come in with a couple of hours ago?"
"Yeah, that was him."
"Well, I'm impressed, Bobby. I was kind of worried that you'd be picked on, being that you are new."
"Nah, the first day, this guy, Joe, he's like one of the most popular guy in school, made friends with me, and I've had no problems, except for Bruce, and I made friends with him today."
"Well, Bobby, I am really happy for you. I had thought that you would be really maladjusted and miserable getting back into a school situation. But you're making friends and seem to be doing alright. And you know that if you do have any problems, no matter what, you can talk to Jim or me."
"Thanks, Nathan. I just want you to know that I really appreciate everything you and Jim have done for me."
* * *
Jim was in daily contact with his buddy Al. They had decided to open a store selling not just computers, but customized computers that were put together to the customers' needs. Jim had found an available shop on Colorado just a couple of blocks east of Fair Oaks. It was a perfect location for such a store as he and Al planned.
Al gave notice to him employers. They took him to lunch and wished him success in this new venture. He also terminated his lease on his apartment. There were no difficulties in doing that; there was a long waiting list of people who wanted to live in a complex right on the beach. Al hated giving up his ocean view, but living in Pasadena would have its perks, too. He was just going to have to find them. He thought about living close to Jim again. It gave him a warm feeling knowing that they would be working together. Jim had been his best buddy since… well, as long as they had known each other since grade school. Yeah, it'd be good living near him again.