And the Greatest of
These is LovePart 5
a work of Fiction by Lone-Wolf © 2010 Dedication: For all those who I would have had as Friends, or lovers; if it were not for their arrogance . . .
“This is your house?” Sean asked rhetorically, as he walked up Dale’s driveway with Dale and Beryle and the wagon full of model helicopter support equipment.
“Not really,” teased Beryle deadpan. “We just thought it would be a nice one to break into and steal some food,” he continued. “We brought you to do all the dirty work, and leave your fingerprints, and take the blame,” he explained, not quite maintaining his deadpan expression. Sean looked like he was trying to decide if he was being teased or not, so Dale jumped in.
“Don’t listen to him, Sean,” Dale sighed dramatically. “He’s just seen those Cody Banks secret agent movies way too many times, so now when he’s over-tired or hungry he goes all weird on me,” Dale shrugged, grinning like the well-known Cheshire Cat.
“Sorry,” Beryle shrugged, smiling now. “I couldn’t resist,” he added. “And yes, it’s Dale’s house. Mine don’t look half as nice,” he added with a genuine sigh. “Actually, it’s a dump,” he added, shaking his head.
“Lucky you’re staying with me this summer, hmm?” Dale hinted hopefully.
“Dude, I’ll hang with you until your Mom throws me out,” Beryle assured him honestly, seeing in Dale’s face how happy his words made the boy who loved him so completely.
“You really are best buds, aren’t you?” Sean asked rhetorically as Dale parked the wagon near the door to the screen porch.
“Absolutely,” Beryle nodded, before Dale could speak.
“Cool,” Sean grinned, as Dale got the three rechargeable battery packs out of the wagon. Dale eyed Sean thoughtfully, then took a leap of faith.
“I still need a second-best-friend,” he informed Sean casually. “In case you’d be interested in applying for the job,” Dale added, half teasing so that he wouldn’t put Sean on the spot.
“Well,” mused Sean, wondering how serious Dale was being. “As long as your body guard, here, is okay with it, I’d be willing to try out for the position,” he offered, keeping the exchange light in case they were only teasing.
“That’s the neat part,” Beryle interrupted. “If you’re Dale’s second best, then you’re automatically my second best, too,” Beryle informed Sean. “So if some other kids were giving you any shit, you could point them out to me, and I could sort of have a little chat with them, and maybe they would back off, then, you know?” Beryle offered.
“Hopefully without breaking any of their body parts,” Dale hinted strongly, giving Beryle ‘the look’.
“Only if they draw first blood,” Beryle shrugged. Sean was amazed that Beryle had just offered to stick up for him, and was suddenly even more glad that Dale had talked him out of hitting the older boy in the face when they had first run into each other at the park.
“Thanks, Beryle,” was all Sean could think of to say.
“No problemo,” grinned Beryle, smiling warmly.
“Awesome,” Dale agreed. “Now let’s go make some sandwiches so my new pals don’t think I’m a lousy host!” he chuckled, leading his friends into the screen porch. Beryle knew that nothing Dale did could ever make him think ill of Dale, but decided to save that comment for when they were alone.
Dale used his key to unlock the back door, and then led his friends into the kitchen. He and Beryle shucked off their shoes near the door, so Sean did the same thing, adding his Nikes to the row of sneakers. “Let’s put a battery on the charger, first,” Dale suggested. “And then do lunch while it’s charging. Okay?”
“Sure,” Sean agreed easily, wanting to be a ‘good guest’.
“Only if you let me give him the guided tour of your model building shop,” Beryle begged hopefully.
“Whoa,” Sean said, his ears ‘perking up’ suddenly with interest. “You mean he’s got more R/C models?” Sean enquired hopefully.
“A few,” Dale replied before Beryle could speak up.
“Yeah,” Beryle nodded. “Like there are a few fast cars at a NASCAR race!” he grinned, amused by his own wit.
“Then you gotta’ give me the tour!” Sean begged excitedly, aiming his plea at both of the boys.
“Okay, fine, you win!” Dale agreed, laughing, pleased that Sean was showing further interest in his hobby. He followed his friends down the stairs to the basement as Sean followed Beryle’s lead. Dale put one of the batteries on the charger and started the charge sequence, while Beryle began Sean’s tour, leading the younger boy slowly from one model to the next while carrying on a running commentary. Dale found it fascinating to see exactly how much of his own descriptions Beryle was actually able to remember, and concluded that his lover had truly been paying attention to his monologue. Dale ended up just watching with a smile plastered on his face while Beryle showed Sean all of the models. Dale’s mind wandered slightly, as he thought to himself how amazing it was that the two boys whom he loved most in the world, were now both standing together in his workshop, were now both his friends, and even more difficult to believe, one of them was his lover! And just two days ago he was too frightened and insecure to even strike up a conversation with either of them.
“So you built all these models all by yourself?” Sean asked Dale, interrupting his mental meanderings and bringing him back to the here and now.
“Well, yeah,” Dale shrugged, finding himself blushing.
“Wish we’d become friends a few years ago,” Beryle said meekly. “I could’ve helped you make them. Or at least kept you company,” he added, realizing he didn’t know much about radio controlled modeling.
“You were too mean then,” Sean offered timidly, cringing when Beryle turned to look at him. “And I was too shy to even speak to him,” Sean added, admitting he was less than perfect himself. To Sean’s continuing amazement, Beryle actually smiled at him, put one arm around Sean’s shoulders, and hugged him briefly.
“But none of that matters now,” Dale reminded them cheerfully. “Because now we’re all three of us friends,” he insisted happily. “And we each know the other two will stand by us no matter what. Right?” he finished, finally verbalizing the affection he felt for them as unit.
“Yeah!” Sean chimed in enthusiastically, thrilled to have found two best friends in less than one day.
“Damn straight!” Beryle added, wondering if Dale would catch the backwards pun, as it were, since neither of them were ‘straight’. Dale’s smile and something in his eyes assured Beryle that Dale had caught his meaning. Beryle briefly wondered if Sean was gay, bisexual, or plain old straight. He even more briefly worried that Sean and Dale might hook up and then Dale might kick ‘bad old Beryle’ to the curb. His fierce loyalty to Dale immediately squashed that thought with his realization that even if Dale had sex with Sean, it would be just that: sex. But when he and Dale had sex, it was much, much more, because they weren’t just having sex, they were making love.
“So is anybody else about to pass out from lack of food? Or is it just me?” Sean teased Dale playfully, opening himself up for teasing in regards to his ‘stocky’ stature.
“Must just be you,” Beryle shrugged, unable to pass up on Sean’s set up. “How come it’s never the thin kids who worry about meal times?” he teased, choosing his words carefully, for fear of offending the younger boy. Hard to do, he mused, when you had formerly always deliberately tried to be offensive.
“Hey!” said Dale, scowling at Beryle. “Just ‘cause you think scrawny is the way to be doesn’t mean we agree with you!” he continued, not quite succeeding in suppressing his smile. “I happen to think Sean is perfect, just the way he is!” Dale added, allowing his smile to escape, glad that he was able to let Sean know how he felt about him. He gathered from Sean’s grin that the feeling was mutual.
Beryle did his best to look confused and thoughtful. Then he took a step back and made a show of studying Sean from head to foot, his eyes returning several times to Sean’s bare chest and tummy. “You know what, Dale?” he asked rhetorically. “I think maybe you’re right!” Beryle grinned. “I think he’s fine, just the way he is!” Beryle finished, smiling warmly to make it clear he was not being facetious.
“And you can’t say nothin’ about my hair being too long,” Sean added, with a ‘poop-eating” grin. “’Cause yours is even longer!” he pointed out, winking at the former bully.
“Yeah, well, Dale thinks it’s cool that way, so I think I’ll keep it this way!” Beryle replied with his own ‘poop-eating’ grin.
Sean digested this for a moment, and then turned his gaze upon Dale. “How about mine?” he asked his new friend bravely. “You think mine’s cool?” he asked point-blank, putting Dale on the spot.
Dale paused for a couple seconds, just to let Sean stew for a moment. Then he grinned warmly. “Dude, it’s perfect,” Dale assured Sean honestly. “Honest! I hope I can get my Mom to let me get mine cut like yours!” he admitted earnestly.
“Yours is only a little shorter as it is,” Beryle pointed out. “Between the two of us, we’ll talk her into it,” he assured Dale optimistically. Somehow the idea of all three of them having similar haircuts made all three of them feel closer; more like a team, for want of a better word.
“Well, you girls can hang out down here and talk hairstyles if you want,” Dale teased in his best ‘girly’ voice. “But I’m going upstairs to the Café’ Du Monde, and find some dainty li’l finger sandwiches!” he went on, backing towards the stairs. “And some herbal tea, even!” he added gleefully.
“We better go with him,” Beryle advised Sean, towing their new buddy along as he followed Dale up the stairs. “Someone has to make sure he doesn’t cook up some frog’s legs or worse!” he added playfully.
“Or squid a’la mode?” Sean added, wincing at the visualization of such a dish.
“Yes, that would be worse!” Beryle laughed, as the pair followed Dale into the kitchen and over to the refrigerator. Dale opened the door, reached inside, and handed out a loaf of bread, a jar of grape jelly, three cans of Pepsi-cola, and a jar of apple jelly. Next he opened a nearby cupboard and liberated a jar of crunchy peanut butter. The next cupboard yielded up three plastic plates. Then a drawer yielded up three butter-knives. Lastly, Dale pulled three squares of paper towel off the roll next to the sink, to use as napkins. The trio carried all of the items over to the kitchen table, flopped into the chairs, and went to work building sandwiches.
Beryle noticed that Dale made his sandwich with apple jelly. Sean, it seemed, preferred grape, he noticed. After a moment’s debate, Beryle got to his feet and went over to the kitchen counter where the bananas resided. He liberated a ripe banana, as well as a sharp knife from the knife block next to the fridge, before returning to his chair. Dale watched with amusement as Beryle built himself a peanut butter and banana sandwich. Sean watched too, but more with a morbid curiosity. Beryle grinned at him with amusement, as if daring Sean to question his taste in sandwiches.
Dale borrowed the knife and cut his peanut butter and apple jelly sandwich in half. He then moved one half from his plate to Beryle’s plate, as Sean watched with interest.
Beryle reclaimed the knife, sliced his sandwich into two pieces, and moved one half over to Dale’s plate, as Sean continued to observe curiously.
“He likes ‘em with apple jelly,” Dale explained, nodding towards Beryle.
“An’ Dale likes ‘em with ‘nanas,” Beryle added, glancing at Dale playfully.
“Well, I like ‘em with grape jelly,” Sean added experimentally, in case anybody was interested.
“I’ll trade you half of my half of banana for half of a half of your grape,” Dale offered promptly, eager to show his interest in Sean’s likes and dislikes.
“And I’ll trade you half of my half of apple jelly for a quarter of your grape jelly,” Beryle added, following Dale’s lead graciously, knowing it would please Dale and Sean both.
Grinning, Sean halved his sandwich, and then halved one half, before trading quarter-sandwiches with the two older boys, his smile showing them how much their interest pleased him. Beryle was once again amazed at how easy and rewarding it was to be kind and considerate to others.
For several minutes the kitchen was silent as the trio consumed their different flavored sandwich halves and quarters, the only sound being the occasional slurp as each used their soda to wash down the food.
Sean waited until they had finished their sandwiches before tentatively framing his question. “So, since we’ve got a couple minutes,” he began offhandedly. “Would you guys mind if I asked how Beryle left the dark side of the Force, and joined the good side?” Sean asked, throwing in the movie reference to keep the mood light, in case the answer was a negative.
“Well,” Dale said slowly, locking eyes with Beryle. “It’s a long, messy story, and it just happened yesterday morning,” he went on slowly. “So we’re both pretty shook up still,” he admitted. “But, if it’s okay with Beryle, I could maybe give you the Cliff’s Notes version.”
“And there’s a few parts he’s not going to bring up ‘cause you wouldn’t believe us if we told you,” Beryle added softly, growing visibly pale as he once again, in his mind’s eye, saw Dale pinned under the tree, with the rain water running out from under him mixed with Dale’s blood.
“You don’t have to,” Sean offered quickly, seeing Beryle’s face lose its color as the older boy recalled some unnerving event from yesterday. “It’s none of my business,” he added apologetically.
“Well, in a way it is,” Dale shrugged. “Since you’re our friend, and since you were decent enough to not punch Beryle in the face when you had the chance,” Dale reminded him, causing the younger boy to blush hotly.
“Sorry I was such a brat about that,” Sean apologized.
“No way,” Beryle protested. “I deserved it, Sean. We all know I did,” he added. “Tell him, Dale,” Beryle urged Dale gently. “He deserves to know at least the Readers Digest Condensed version,” Beryle teased, managing a weak smile.
“Well, alright,” Dale agreed thoughtfully, trying to decide what to leave out, and what to leave in. “We bumped into each other yesterday morning, in the woods by Mount Richardson,” Dale narrated. “He teased me, and I sort of argued with him a little, which just made him tease me more. Finally, I went off on him,” Dale paraphrased, not ready to ‘come out of the closet’ just yet. “Surprised both of us, I think. I’m not usually the type to spit fire and brimstone like a Southern Baptist Preacher,” Dale chuckled. “But the part that shook him up was that, in spite of him acting like a jerk, I still liked him, and wanted to be his friend,” Dale explained. Sean glanced at Beryle, and the older boy just nodded solemnly, corroborating Dale’s tale.
“So I dared him to bet me that I could race him to the top of Mount Richardson and win,” Dale continued. “If he won, I would promise to leave him alone. But if I won, he had to promise to be my friend for a week,” Dale told Sean, taking a little ‘artistic license’ with the facts. Beryle nodded his approval, so Dale went on, Sean listening in rapt silence.
“Somehow I managed to get to the top first,” Dale said slowly. “Beryle was way pissed off. But he lost fair and square and agreed to go through with his part of the deal, even though he made it clear he would be faking it the entire week.” Dale stopped to clear his throat. “Then that huge rain storm rolled in, and we had to get down off Mount Richardson with that rain and wind turning the trail into a mud slippery-slide,” Dale recalled all too clearly. Sean grew pale at the thought of riding down those trails during any rain storm, much less the one they had endured the day before.
“Well, finally I crashed, into a fallen tree,” Dale fibbed, trying to retain as much of the truth as he was comfortable with. “I was hurt, and pinned. Beryle saved my life,” Dale stated with complete honesty. Beryle blushed self consciously.
“But when I saved Dale,” Beryle said, taking over the story without pause, “the only way I could get him out from there was to take his place,” Beryle told Sean, who gulped silently in response. “He should have just left me there, but he didn’t,” Beryle continued. “He saved my life, when I didn’t deserve it,” Beryle stated, making sure Dale got credit for his actions too, even if in reverse order of the actual events. “That’s when I knew he was my best friend,” Beryle told Sean. “That’s when I stopped being a creep, and started tying to be as much like Dale as I could,” Beryle finished honestly.
“Wow,” Sean said softly. “That’s incredible,” he added reverently. “But you’re not hurt that I can see,” he pointed out shyly, hoping he hadn’t screwed up by questioning the veracity of their story.
“Yeah, well, we told you there’s parts we aren’t telling you about right now. That’s one of the parts we’re leaving out, because it still sounds completely crazy, even to us,” Dale reassured his new friend. “But if you ask us again, in six months, or a year, maybe we’ll be ready to tell you the whole thing,” Dale offered generously.
“You mean, if I’ve proven that I can be a real friend, and earn your complete trust?” Sean asked tentatively, trying to be honest but not insulting.
“Something like that, yeah,” Beryle nodded, smiling as he reached over to clap the younger boy on the shoulder. Dale nodded, adding a smile of his own.
“You know what, Beryle? I just realized my Mom doesn’t even know what happened to us yesterday. She could have asked, but she didn’t,” Dale realized suddenly.
“And yet she still took me in like family,” Beryle pointed out humbly. “Even though she knew how mean I’d been to you in the past,” he added, as Dale nodded slowly. “I think she knows we’ll tell her when we’re ready,” Beryle intuited. “So she isn’t going to pry, you know?”
“Your Mom must be pretty cool, Dale,” Sean commented, basing his opinion on Beryle’s comments. Dale and Beryle both blushed, Sean saw.
“Yeah, she’s pretty awesome, for a grown-up,” Beryle grinned, parroting Dale’s comment from the day before.
“And for a girl,” Dale added, unable to resist the urge to put in a veiled plug for the superiority of the male sex. Sean gave him a lopsided grin that seemed to imply that he understood.
“Women,” Sean sighed theatrically, playing it safe with a popular cliché’. “Can’t live with ‘em - Can’t kill ‘em!” he chuckled, shrugging.
“Ain’t that the truth!” Beryle agreed, wondering what Sean would say if he knew that he and Dale were lovers, watching Dale nod and smile too.
“Speaking of which,” Dale interjected. “We had better clean up our mess, here, before a certain ‘women’ comes home, finds it, and skins us alive!” he grinned with amusement.
“You guys take care of the plates and knives,” Sean offered. “And I’ll put the food away, and wipe down the table,” he finished, eager to show his new pals that he was one of the team.
“Good plan,” Dale agreed, standing up as he began to gather up the plates while Beryle policed up the silverware. Sean stood and put the lids back on all the jars. All told, it took them about six minutes to tidy up their mess. “Anybody else got room for dessert?” Dale asked rhetorically once he was happy with the cleanliness of the kitchen area.
“As long as it isn’t Squid a’la mode!” Beryle replied quickly, winking conspiratorially at Sean.
“And no Octopus a’la mode, either!” Sean giggled mirthfully.
“So Snails a’la mode would be okay, then?” Dale proposed gleefully.
“Only with extra chocolate sauce,” Beryle laughed.
“And melted caramel goop!” Sean chortled merrily. “With an olive on top!” he added quickly.
“And a pickle spear!” Dale suggested grandiloquently, shuddering in spite of himself.
“On a bed of sauerkraut!” Beryle added, grinning broadly.
“I think that would gag a wharf rat!” Dale chuckled with amusement, as he opened the freezer compartment and requisitioned three ice cream bars. He dispensed one to each of his friends, and proceeded to consume the third himself, all conversation coming to a halt while the boys made short work of dessert.
“So what are you guys going to do this afternoon?” Sean asked, licking the last traces of ice cream from his lips.
“No clue,” Beryle shrugged. “I’m just being Dale’s shadow!” he teased playfully.
“I have a few ideas,” Dale added offhandedly. “Why? You have an idea or something?” Dale asked Sean with a lopsided smile.
“Maybe,” Sean hedged. “Since it’s good and warm today, I was thinking about maybe we should go swimming,” he proposed.
“Yeah,” Dale agreed. “But the city pool is always so crowded,” he lamented.
“And you’re always bumping into some idiot or other,” Beryle added.
“Who said anything about the city pool?” Sean asked suggestively.
“You mean the quarry?” Dale asked, referring to the abandoned rock quarry just outside of town which was now flooded. It was posted ‘no trespassing’, but older kids still snuck in and swam there.
“Better,” Sean hedged, looking pleased with himself.
“Where, then?” Beryle asked.
“Can’t tell you,” Sean leered. “It’s a secret place,” he said slyly.
“Hey, if you can’t trust us, who can you trust?” Beryle asked, enjoying the irony in his comment.
“You’d have to promise you wouldn’t tell anybody else,” Sean warned them, becoming a bit more serious. “It would suck if kids all knew where it was, ‘cause then it would be just like the pool,” he warned them.
“I promise to keep it secret,” Dale stated, raising his right hand in the boy scout salute. Beryle eyed him curiously, then copied him.
“I promise to tell nobody, ever,” Beryle swore, holding up his right hand and copying the hand sign Dale was using.
“Well, okay, then,” Sean agreed, smiling. “Wish I had my bike,” he groaned. “My skate board’s no good off-road,” he sighed.
“We can zip by your house and get your bike,” Beryle offered.
“Or you can use my bike, and I’ll use my old bike,” Dale offered. He purposely offered Sean the new bicycle to show the boy how much he valued his friendship.
“That would be faster,” Sean pointed out. “Since my house is the opposite direction from the secret swimming hole,” he explained.
“Then let’s get going!” Beryle urged the other two, herding them towards the door.
“You guys go out the garage and get my bikes,” Dale told his friends. “I’ll unplug the battery charger and lock up the house,” he explained. So Sean and Beryle went out to the garage, while Dale secured the house.
A few minutes later they rendezvoused in the driveway. Beryle and Sean had the three bikes lined up and ready to go. “We put Sean’s board in the garage,” Beryle informed Dale, as he rejoined them.
“Kewl,” Dale acknowledged. Sean had decided that he would ride Dale’s old bike, to show Dale he wasn’t selfish. But when he went to mount the bicycle, he found Beryle was already straddling it. He turned to find Dale had helped himself to Beryle’s shiny chrome racer.
“Hurry up, Sean!” Dale teased his new pal. “We ain’t got all day, ya know!” he chuckled.
“Awesome!” Sean grinned, straddling Dale’s equally shiny, albeit mud splattered, bike. Before they could start out, Dale’s Mom’s car turned into the driveway and pulled up in front of the garage. Dale’s Mom piled out of the vehicle with an armload of paperwork from the office.
“I could swear there was only two of them when I left this morning,” she teased, winking at Sean. “They must multiply like rabbits!” she kidded them. Dale and Beryle were grinning, but poor Sean was blushing.
“Hi Mom,” Dale replied brightly. “This is our new buddy Sean Michaels,” he continued, indicating the boy on Beryle’s bicycle. “Sean, this is my Mom,” Dale added, introducing them.
“Hi Missus Burdette,” Sean replied lamely.
“Hello, Sean,” the woman smiled. “These two treating you alright?” she asked the new boy, still teasing.
“Oh, yes, Ma’m,” Sean nodded, blushing again.
“Hopefully you fed them lunch?” Mrs. Burdette asked, turning her gaze on her son.
“But of course!” Dale replied, doing his best to sound like the character in the Grey Poupon Dijon mustard television commercial.
“And we cleaned up afterwards!” Beryle put in proudly, beginning to get comfortable with Dale’s Mom.
“Why thank you, Beryle,” the woman smiled, nodding at the boy. “And thank you, Sean,” she added, turning her smile on the stocky boy with the long, straight black hair, having assumed that he had also helped in the clean up effort.
“So what am I? Chopped liver?” Dale giggled, teasing his Mother.
“I refuse to answer that on the grounds that I might incriminate you!” Dale’s Mom chuckled, giving her son a wink. “Now I suggest you boys start pedaling those bikes,” she went on, grinning. “Before I decide to set you loose on the yard work!” she finished, her eyes twinkling.
The trio promptly mounted their pedals and accelerated down the driveway rapidly, fleeing the threatened sentence of lawn maintenance. “And try not to be too late for supper!” Mrs. Burdette called after them gaily as they banked smoothly onto the street. Dale waved at her, and she returned the wave before turning and entering the house.
Since Sean knew where they were going he led the pack, with Dale and Beryle following him closely. Sean led them through one corner of town, and all three boys enjoyed the stares they received from their peers as their classmates ogled the unlikely trio, clearly wondering what mild mannered Dale Burdette and Sean Michaels were doing in cahoots with the evil Beryle Masche’.
Near the outskirts of town, Sean turned off the main road onto a side street that led into a new subdivision. The subdivision had been started right about the time the economy collapsed, and funding had run out. As a result, the roads and utilities had been built, but no houses had been constructed. Now the lots were overgrown with brush and weeds, creating an awesome place for kids like Dale and Sean and Beryle to have ‘airsoft’ wars or ‘paintball’ wars.
Sean led them to the rearmost corner of the dormant subdivision, where the pavement ended abruptly in forest. Slowing down slightly, he led them onto a faint, narrow path that twisted and wound its way into the woods. After an eighth of a mile or so the path appeared to vanish altogether, but Sean knew where he was going, and Dale and Beryle faithfully followed their new friend deeper into the shadowy forest.
With little warning, Sean stopped and dismounted Beryle’s bike. Dale and Beryle stopped beside him and eyed him curiously. “We’ll hide the bikes here, under this big bush,” Sean informed them, immediately worrying that he had sounded too bossy.
“Cool!” Dale smiled, obediently jumping off of his bike, tipping it on its side, and pushing it under the bush Sean had indicated. Beryle and Sean added the other two bikes, and they stood back, admiring their handiwork. To a casual passerby, the bikes were nearly invisible, Dale observed.
“Follow me,” Sean urged his new pals, before dropping to his hands and knees and crawling under another bush. Dale shrugged at Beryle, dropped to all fours, and followed the younger boy into the undergrowth. Beryle, secretly impressed, did likewise.
The trio crawled a total distance of at least forty, maybe fifty feet along the nearly invisible path Sean was following as it wound through the dense underbrush. Then, rather suddenly, they were out of the bushes. They stood up and found themselves in a small clearing, completely surrounded by tall dense undergrowth that hid it perfectly. The centerpiece of the clearing was a small basin. It was egg shaped, and was maybe fifteen feet across, and twenty five feet long. At one end of the clearing was a stone escarpment, which rose some five feet above the clearing. Over the lip of this tiny cliff fell a small creek. The scouring action of the falling water had slowly over time eroded the earth to form the basin. At the far end of the basin, the small creek meandered off into the undergrowth once again, vanishing into the woods almost immediately.
“Cool!” Dale exclaimed, suitably impressed by the site.
“Very Cool!” Beryle corrected him. “How deep is it?” he asked.
“The deepest spot is right under the waterfall,” Sean explained. “It’s about six feet deep right there. Only about two or three feet deep where it goes back into the creek again,” he narrated, pointing to the areas he was describing. “And about four feet deep in the middle,” he finished.
“How did you find this?” Dale asked curiously.
“My old friend Nicholas Pietrowitcz showed it to me,” Sean confessed, having decided it didn’t matter if he told about Nicky.
“I remember him,” Dale nodded. “He seemed like a nice kid to me,” Dale added, recalling his crush on the younger dark-haired Nicky quite clearly. “Didn’t he move away about a year ago?”
“Yeah,” Sean sighed. “I really miss him. We were best buds,” Sean explained. “But his Dad got transferred to Germany, and they had to move there,” Sean recalled unhappily.
“Well, at least you have us now,” Dale reassured Sean, wishing he could hold the boy in his arms, and rub his back, and kiss away his pain.
“Yeah,” Beryle nodded, amazed that he was actually able to empathize with the younger boy’s loss. “Whenever you feel lonely, you can hang with us,” he assured Sean.
“Thanks,” Sean smiled, shaking off the dreary thoughts of Nicky’s departure. “Thanks a lot,” he reiterated, expanding his smile into a grin.
“So, how cold is it?” Dale asked, helping to steer Sean’s thoughts away from Nicholas.
“Not warm, but not cold,” Sean told them. “There’s just enough flow to keep it perfect,” he explained, kicking off his shoes deftly.
“Well, I don’t know about you guys, but I’m thinking I want some dry clothes to put on when we’re done swimming,” Beryle stated emphatically, having decided to “go out on a limb” for a change. Before either of his friends could reply, Beryle shoved down his shorts and underpants, stepping out of them and his shoes at the same time. “Nobody can see us in here,” Beryle shrugged, hoping Sean would go along with his idea, so Dale could see Sean in the buff. Ignoring the looks of shock on Dale’s face and on Sean’s face, Beryle waded into the water and then lazily belly-flopped into the deeper middle section.
“Guess I haven’t tamed him completely, yet,” Dale confided to Sean, his heart hammering frantically in his chest. “I dare you to skinny dip too!” he added bravely, giving Sean a devil-may-care look. Sean looked scared, but he also looked excited, Dale thought.
“Well, I double-dare you to swim naked, Dale Burdette!” Sean challenged him suddenly, rising to the challenge, as Beryle watched silently with amusement from the center of the pond. Dale gulped, but shoved down his shorts and briefs in one fell swoop, stepping out of them and his shoes at the same time to stand naked before his new friend. Sean stared at him blankly for a few seconds. Then Sean shed his own clothes to stand before Dale, all three of them naked now. Dale surreptitiously stole a glance at Sean’s penis, noting that it seemed about the same as his own, only a little bit smaller, maybe. Sean was doing the same thing as Dale.
“Last one in is a rotten egg!” Beryle jeered suddenly, breaking the trance for Sean and Dale. As if they had planned it that way, Dale and Sean leaped into the pond with perfect synchronization, the pair landing on either side of the older boy at the same exact moment in time.
They surfaced again, still on either side of Beryle. “Time to dunk the bully?” Dale asked Sean with a playful grin.
“But of course!” Sean agreed, borrowing Dale’s line from the Grey Poupon commercial. Each boy pushed down on one of Beryle’s shoulders, causing the older boy to disappear under the water. Beryle allowed them to hold him under for about fifteen seconds before using his legs to lift himself back up, displacing the giggling pair who had dunked him.
“Revenge time!” he announced gleefully, pretending to stalk first one then the other. In a matter of minutes all three had forgotten that they were in their ‘natural’ state, except for the odd moment when one of them would jump high enough that their privates emerged from the water for a few moments. Dale was very glad that Beryle had been brave enough to suggest their skinny dipping session, since it obviously helped to build trust between the three of them. Naturally, he also enjoyed the occasional chance to feast his eyes on Sean’s cute ‘external plumbing’: something he had wished for from time to time while secretly admiring the younger boy in school. He wondered if Sean and Nicholas had ever done this together, but decided that asking that question would probably make Sean rather uncomfortable, which was something he had no desire to do to the boy.
All afternoon they played around in Sean’s secret pond, each taking turns coming up with the next game to be played, until finally it was late afternoon. “I hate to be a party pooper,” Sean groaned. “But we better pack it in. If I’m late for supper again, my Mom will ground me for three days,” the boy sighed.
“Hey, no problem,” Dale smiled. “I’m so pruned now I look like an extra from the ‘cantina’ scene in the first Star Wars movie!” he joked.
“Plus we need to get back to Dale’s,” Beryle said amicably. “I’m hoping his Mom will let me stay for dinner again,” the former bully added, teasing Dale subtly as they waded towards shore.
“I dunno’,” teased Dale, deadpan. “If you were wanting to stay tonight you probably shouldn’t have had seconds, thirds, and fourths last night!” Sean looked shocked for half a moment, then seemed to realize that he was being ‘shined on’ by the older boys. Dale winked at him and continued to talk to Beryle. “But I’ll tell her you’ve promised to wash the dishes afterwards, and then she’ll probably be okay with it!” Dale teased playfully.
“Whew!” Beryle grinned, acting relieved. It was all in fun, of course, but it did make Beryle realize how much he was looking forward to returning to Dale’s home, which contrasted sharply with how little he wanted to return to his own house.
They continued to chat aimlessly as they donned their shorts, socks, and shoes, before crawling back through the leafy ‘tunnel’ to where they had stashed their bicycles. The trio mounted their ‘steeds’ and Sean lead the way back to the paved roads, and on towards Dale’s house.
“Darn, it looks later than I thought,” Sean worried out loud, eyeing the height of the sun over the horizon. “I’m probably going to be late again,” he groaned as the pedaled along.
“Think you would be on time if you left your skate board at my place and just rode my bike home from here?” Dale asked promptly.
“Well, probably,” Sean agreed, nodding after a moment’s thought. “But are you sure it’s okay for me to keep your bike over night?” Sean asked worriedly.
“Totally,” Dale nodded, smiling. “You know I trust you, Sean!” he added, happy for the chance to build up Sean’s self esteem a bit. Sean grinned at him, clearly pleased that Dale had not even suggested that Sean take Dale’s old bike home with him instead of the newer one. “Now take off and haul ass, so you won’t end up grounded!” Dale urged him. “Otherwise I won’t have anybody tomorrow to help me keep Beryle on his toes!” Dale joked happily, thereby inviting Sean to join them for more fun tomorrow.
“You got it,” Sean grinned. “See you guys tomorrow, then!” he added, before accelerating away from the pair, who called their goodbyes at Sean’s retreating backside.
“You kind of like him, don’t you?” Beryle commented once Sean was out of sight.
“Does it show that much?” Dale asked with concern.
“Well, probably not to anybody else,” Beryle shrugged. “But it does to me,” he added knowingly. Dale eyed Beryle closely.
“Yeah, I like him a lot,” Dale confessed, knowing he would never lie to this boy whom he loved more than life itself. “I have had an on and off crush on him for about a year,” Dale admitted, blushing. Beryle lifted one eyebrow, but made no comment. “But the important thing to remember, Mister Beryle Masche’, is that YOU are the one I am engaged to,” Dale reminded his lover tenderly. “And YOU are the one I intend to marry,” he continued. “So no matter how much I might LIKE Sean, I will never love anybody the way I love you!” he finished warmly.
“I know!” Beryle replied coyly, breaking into a wide grin. “I just wanted to hear you say it, Mister Dale Burdette!” Beryle informed him gleefully. “And, for what it’s worth, I think he’s cute, and sweet, too!” Beryle informed Dale confidentially. “God, I can hardly believe I said that! And that I mean it!” Beryle admitted, pretending to be disgusted with himself.
“Thanks for making him feel like part of the pack,” Dale said earnestly. “I appreciate it, and I know Sean does too.”
“It isn’t hard. You’re a good teacher,” Beryle blushed. “And he’s cool enough, once he realized I wasn’t going to bully him any more,” Beryle sighed.
“Yeah, well, I’m proud of you for that, too, Beryle,” Dale reminded him warmly. “Every time you do something nice, or say something nice, I feel all melty inside,” Dale informed the former bully.
“Do you have any idea how good it makes me feel to hear you say that, Dale?” Beryle asked, finding himself suddenly close to tears.
“Actually, I think I do,” Dale assured him. “Just don’t forget, you earned it!” Dale insisted gently, as they turned into his driveway and rolled up to the garage door. They put the bikes in the garage, and then went into the house, wondering if they were late or early for supper.
“I smell three catfish!” Dale’ Mom announced. She glanced up and noted her error. “Oops. Make that TWO catfish,” she corrected herself, grinning.
“Meow,” Beryle replied with a grin.
“Sean had to fly,” Dale explained. “He had to be home in time for dinner, or else.”
“Dale loaned him his bike, so he wouldn’t be late,” Beryle disclosed proudly, putting his arm over Dale’s shoulder. Dale blushed hotly, smiling his cute lopsided smile.
“That’s my Dale!” smiled Mrs. Burdette warmly. “Now why don’t you two get cleaned up lickety split, and then we can eat supper?” she proposed.
“Why don’t you shower first, Beryle, while I get that other battery pack on the charger?” Dale suggested, giving Beryle a meaningful look.
“No problemo!” Beryle replied in his best “Terminator” voice, quickly realizing Dale’s concern that if they showered together all of the time it would be just way too obvious what they were doing in there together! “You think my clothes are dry by now?” he wondered.
“Doesn’t matter,” Dale shrugged. “You know where my stuff is. Just help yourself,” Dale implored him, making it clear that Dale’s belongings were also Beryle’s belongings, as far as Dale was concerned.
“Okay,” Beryle shrugged, knowing it was useless to argue with Dale on points such as this. Beryle went upstairs towards the bathroom next to Dale’s room, while Dale went downstairs to connect the second “Avatar” helicopter battery to the charger. Once the charge cycle was running, Dale went back upstairs and set the table with plates, glasses, napkins, and silverware while he reflected on the events of the day. It was still hard to believe he had become friends with the two boys he revered most in the world, and all in less than forty eight hours.
“You’re kind of quiet,” his Mom observed, watching him set the table while noting that he had jumped in and done so without having to be asked.
“Just thinking,” Dale shrugged, giving her his lopsided smile.
“Thinking or worrying?” she asked, prying gently.
“Thinking,” Dale assured her quickly. “Two days ago I would have given almost anything to be friends with Beryle or Sean,” he explained. “Now, Beryle’s my best friend, and Sean is our second-best friend,” Dale elaborated. “In less than two days,” he added.
“Good things happen to good boys,” Dale’s Mom reminded him tenderly. “If they are patient enough,” she added kindly.
“The weird part is,” Dale went on mischievously. “Both of them seem to think my Mom is pretty cool, too! I just don’t get it!” he giggled as his Mother tried to look offended and failed.
“Just for that remark, you and your buddy can wash and dry the dishes tonight!” Mrs. Burdette informed Dale with mock severity. Dale tried to appear wounded, but was smiling too much to pull it off.
Before either one of them could say any more, Beryle came thundering down the stairs, through the hall, and into the kitchen. He was wearing a pair of Dale’s skater shorts and a monogrammed tee-shirt from Dale’s collection. He shot Mrs. Burdette a grateful smile, then caught Dale in a big hug. Dale got over his surprise after a few seconds, and hugged him back willingly.
“Missed me, did you?” he asked playfully, when Beryle released him a moment later.
“Probably as much as you missed me?” Beryle grinned back at him.
“Probably,” Dale agreed, grinning. “Now how about you keep an eye on my Mother whilst I go up and wash the pond off of me?” Dale requested.
“Your wish is my command,” Beryle replied eloquently, bowing to Dale as if Dale was the Crown Prince of Something-or-other. Dale rolled his eyes and then sprinted for the stairs, wanting to get washed up in time for dinner. He showered quickly, toweled himself dry and then brushed his teeth (never know when Beryle might steal a kiss, he mused.) He wet combed his hair into a semblance of neatness, and then went down the hall to his room long enough to don shorts and a tee-shirt similar what Beryle had chosen. Finally he raced down the stairs to rejoin his Mother and Beryle.
Dale’s Mom was already serving their plates, and Beryle was pouring soda over the ice cubes in their glasses. “Talk about perfect timing,” Beryle accused him with a loving smile. Dale shot him a wink intended to convey his opinion that Beryle was the more perfect of the two of them. They sat down side by side while Dale’s Mom sat down across from them as was becoming their ‘usual’ seating chart.
“Thanks for letting me stay for supper, Mrs. Burdette,” Beryle said, once they were all seated. He wanted Dale’s Mom to know how much he appreciated her hospitality and her unconditional acceptance of him.
Dale’s Mom smiled at Beryle, and then reached across the table to put her hand on Beryle’s hand as she spoke. “I think it’s safe to say that you’re always welcome in our home, Beryle, and at our table,” she assured him tenderly. Dale put his hand on top of his Mother’s, as if they were making a pact.
“Thank you,” was all Beryle could manage, overcome once again by the woman’s willingness to accept him at face value.
“You’re welcome,” she smiled. “Now let’s dig in while it’s still hot!” she teased, retrieving her hand so she could pick up her silverware. Dale and Beryle followed suit, and the three of them went to work cleaning their plates. Beryle silently marveled again at how nice it was to eat a home cooked meal, rather than microwaved, two day old pizza or canned spaghetti right out of the can.
During the meal, the boys took turns answering Mrs. Burdette’s questions about how the pair had spent the day. Beryle decided it was hard to tell which story she enjoyed more: the part about Dale successfully flying his new model prototype, or the part about Beryle purposely calling Sean over so that he could make restitution for having taken advantage of Sean at school all year. He could tell she was proud of Dale’s successful test flights by the look on her face. Funny thing was she had the same look on her face when Dale told her about Beryle’s apology to Sean. Having an adult take pride in his actions was altogether new to Beryle, but he rapidly found himself questioning how he had survived for so long without it. He was also beginning to realize why Dale was as wonderful as he was.
After supper, the boys cleared the table, straightened up the kitchen, and then tackled the dishes, Dale insisting his Mom should knock out her remaining office work so they could enjoy a movie together once the kitchen was put in order. Dale also confided to Beryle, confidentially, that he usually hated to do the dishes; but somehow, doing them with the Beryle was almost pleasant. Almost. Beryle realized that he would willingly do the dishes every night in exchange for being adopted into this family.
When the kitchen chores were completed, Dale and Beryle retreated into the living room to debate what movie they should watch. Dale made sure his Mom knew they were done in the kitchen, and implored her to join them for a movie or two. She followed Dale to the living room and addressed the pair as a unit.
“Well, I’ll make you a deal,” she offered them mysteriously. “I still have some more work to do for the office, but I can take a break long enough for one flick,” she decided. “But that means I should get to choose the movie,” she proposed. “Right?”
“Sure!” Beryle agreed promptly, glad to show his appreciation.
“Well, okay, I guess,” Dale added less enthusiastically. “What did you have in mind?” he asked hesitantly.
“I borrowed that new one from Mrs. Owens,” Dale’s Mom explained happily. Dale looked dubious.
“Hotel for Dogs?” Dale asked with a sigh.
“Yep! Mrs. Owens said Derek just loves it,” she assured them.
“Of course he does – he’s only nine!” Dale protested meekly.
“Ten, dear,” Dale’s Mom corrected him patiently.
“Come on, Dale,” Beryle urged his lover. “It’s probably a good movie. I heard that boy from ‘Waverly Place Wizards’ is in it,” Beryle informed him, suspecting Dale might have a bit of a crush on the cute boy actor in question.
“Well, okay,” Dale surrendered, unable to resist the wiles of his lover (combined with the chance to please his mother). “I’ll fire up the system, you fetch the disk,” he told his Mom, already fumbling for the remotes, while Beryle did his part, turning off most of the lamps in the room in an effort to get the gloomy theater effect Dale was so fond of.
Soon the three of them were curled up on the sofa watching the ‘feel good’ family film Dale’s Mom had borrowed. Dale found that the boy-actor was indeed quite attractive, and that was enough to draw him into the story and tug at his heart strings enough that he actually enjoyed the movie. Beryle found that this same boy-actor happened to have brown hair that was nearly the same shade as Dale’s, so he had an easy time mentally inserting Dale into the role being played by the actor. This was sufficient to keep him completely engrossed in the film. It didn’t hurt that the dogs were cute, and well trained actors themselves!
When the movie ended, Dale’s Mom eyed the pair suspiciously. “Well, was it as terrible as you suspected?” she asked them, her sarcasm tempered by the twinkle in her eyes and the smile she failed to suppress.
“It was really good, Mrs. Burdette,” Beryle admitted easily.
“It was fairly decent,” Dale confessed grudgingly.
“Men,” sighed Dale’s Mom, trying to look disgusted as she shook her head in mock defeat.
“What should we watch next?” Dale asked Beryle.
“You guys pick whatever you want,” Dale’s Mom interjected. “I am going to hide in my office and get my report done for the boss,” she informed them, standing up and stretching.
“If it’s okay with you, I think I would rather play some more of those games on your computer, Dale,” Beryle asked hopefully, needing something more interactive to satisfy him.
“Kewl!” Dale agreed eagerly, pulling Beryle to his feet.
“How about you close your door, so the noise level is tolerable?” teased Dale’s Mom, as the boys made for the stairs.
“Sure thing, Mom!” Dale promised cheerfully, starting up the stairs.
“No problemo, Mrs. Burdette!” Beryle added, shooting her a grin before following Dale up to his room. Once inside Dale’s room, they closed the door first, and then went about firing up Dale’s computer. While it was booting, Dale pulled off his shirt and tossed it onto his bed. Beryle paused to admire his lover’s smooth chest for a moment, and then doffed his own shirt, trying to make it land on top of Dale’s.
“Much better!” Dale grinned, his eyes roaming up and down Beryle’s smooth torso hungrily.
“Better than the boy in the dog movie?” Beryle asked, raising one eyebrow curiously. Dale pretended to stop and think for a moment.
“Almost,” Dale teased playfully.
“Must be his dark brown eyes,” Beryle mused, ignoring Dale’s jibe. “If only Dale had dreamy dark brown eyes, he would be perfect,” Beryle teased in reply, trying to hide his grin.
“If only Beryle had a ten inch boner, He would be perfect!” Dale giggled, unable to resist the cheap shot.
“Ouch!” Beryle laughed. “You must be braver than I thought!” he teased, happy that they could tease each other without offending each other. Suddenly he put his arms around Dale and hugged him tenderly, nuzzling his face against Dale’s neck. Dale hugged him back, lovingly stroking the smooth skin of Beryle’s back.
“I think you’re perfect, Dale,” Beryle whispered softly, kissing Dale’s neck as Dale pressed his face into Beryle’s thick hair hungrily.
“You’re perfect too, Beryle,” Dale replied hoarsely. “I love you so much!” he reminded the other boy emotionally.
“I love you, too, Dale,” Beryle insisted firmly. “Very, very much,” he added emphatically.
“Then we better start blowing up some zombies,” Dale suggested, reminding him they had gone upstairs to play video games. “Before my Mom starts to wonder why we’re so quiet up here!” he giggled.
“Okay,” Beryle whispered playfully. “But when the lights go out, your perfect penis is all mine!” Beryle ‘warned’ Dale.
“And yours is mine!” Dale assured him, before kissing both of Beryle’s cheeks. Reluctantly they released each other and sat down at Dale’s computer, where they began discussing which game they should play first. Minutes later they were totally engrossed in the second level of ‘Doom III’. When Dale was playing, Beryle would slowly rub Dale’s back affectionately. When Beryle was playing, Dale would lovingly rub Beryle’s back. About two hours went by rapidly in this way.
Finally at quarter after ten Dale’s Mom called up the stairs to them. “Okay, zombie hunters! Find a good spot to save your game and pack it in for the night,” she called up to them. Dale hit pause and the pair went down the hall to stop at the top of the stairs.
“Does that mean Beryle can stay over again?” Dale asked hopefully.
“Depends,” Dale’s Mom teased with a successful poker face.
“On what?” Dale asked tentatively.
“On whether or not Beryle thinks he can put up with you for that long!” chuckled Dale’s Mom, releasing the grin she had be suppressing.
“I think I can probably manage, Mrs. Burdette,” Beryle replied. “And if he gives me any crap, I’ll just sit on him and tickle him until he pees his pants!” Beryle added, hoping he had not gone too far with his comic threat.
“Well, if you have to do that, make sure you get him down on the floor first, so we don’t have to wash the bed linens!” Dale’s Mom giggled. “Sleep tight, you two,” she added warmly. “Or at least talk quietly,” she requested. “I need to get up early and go in to the office for a few hours,” she explained. Beryle thought it was really nice to find a grown up who made reasonable requests, and then actually explained the reason for the request, instead of just ordering the kids around like a drill sergeant.
“Thanks Mrs. Burdette,” Beryle replied quickly.
“We’ll try to keep it down to a dull roar,” Dale giggled, using one of his Mom’s pet phrases. “Good night!” he added.
“Good night, boys,” she replied, before switching off the lights and heading for her room.
“Pee-break?” Dale asked, indicating the bathroom like an usher would, but keeping his voice down already.
“By all means!” Beryle replied, leading Dale into the bathroom. “Present – harms!” he commanded, trying to sound like a boot-camp drill sergeant. Standing at attention, the pair whipped out their ‘weapons’.
“Ready! Aim! Fire!” whispered Dale, before releasing his stream. Beryle did the same, and the pair playfully criss-crossed their streams in a classic game of ‘sword fighting’.
With this mission accomplished, they flushed the commode, turned off the light, and beat a hasty tip-toed retreat to Dale’s room, closing the door securely behind them. By the time Dale had saved their spot in the game and turned off the monitor and audio system for the night, he was already totally erect. When he turned around to show his bowsprit to Beryle, he found that Beryle had not only managed a boner of his own, he had also skinned out of his borrowed shorts and briefs already and was standing there completely nude, showing off for Dale.
Dale slid his own garments down past his knees and stepped out of them, letting Beryle admire Dale’s equally lithe body. They gulped silently, each of them completely enthralled by the other. Dale fumbled with the light switch, finally darkening the room. Beryle’s hand found his, and pulled him impatiently into Dale’s bed. The older boy pulled Dale down into his arms and their lips connected in an urgent, passionate kiss, their hands petting each other’s bodies eagerly.
Finally they came up for air. “Sixty-nine?” Beryle begged Dale softly, his voice almost a hoarse whisper.
“Yes! Please!” Dale agreed with equal fervor. Before Dale could begin to reposition himself, Beryle had already accomplished the feat. Dale could feel Beryle’s hot breath on his erect penis, and it made him shiver wildly with anticipation. He reached up and eagerly skinned back Beryle’s awesome prepuce, completely smitten by his lover’s uncut cock! The unsheathing of Beryle’s swollen boyhood caused him to shudder too, as his love and lust for Dale accelerated his pulse and flooded his bloodstream with adrenalin. At once Beryle impaled his face on Dale’s swelling boyhood, being far too excited and impatient to bother with foreplay. Dale followed his lover’s lead, and took Beryle’s thick throbbing boyhood into his own mouth, totally caught up in the heat of the moment himself.
Beryle hungrily applied suction, and began moving his mouth up and down the first three and a half inches of Dale’s erection. Dale returned the favor a split second later, taking very nearly all of Beryle’s hard penis into his mouth with each down-stroke, using his thumb and forefinger to keep the older boy’s foreskin taut.
Their speed increased rapidly, as did their excitement, until Beryle achieved orgasm, his body shuddering with pleasure as he climaxed powerfully. He could feel Dale gulping and swallowing to keep from spilling any of his juice, as he rode the waves of ecstasy.
Moments later Dale inhaled sharply, then shivered wildly as his own climax overwhelmed him, his swollen cock pulsing steadily in Beryle’s mouth as he shot his liquid gift into his beloved’s mouth. Beryle felt Dale’s cum squirt into his mouth, coating his taste buds with the wonderful taste that belonged uniquely to his soul-mate. Beryle moaned softly with passion, savoring Dale’s sweet cream on his tongue.
Beryle was glad that he had climaxed first this time, so that Dale was still totally horny when he was swallowing Beryle’s thick semen, wanting to be the one to swallow Dale’s load after shooting his own, thereby proving to himself how much he loved the boy who had literally given his life for him.
Dale continued his gentle ministrations until Beryle had gone completely limp. Only then did he release the older boy’s male member. He quickly reversed his position on the mattress and snuggled up to Beryle, embracing him warmly. “Oh, god, Beryle,” Dale sighed, as they cuddled tenderly. “You’re so awesome!” Dale whispered. “Was it good for you, too?” he asked hopefully, his lips touching Beryle’s.
“You were perfect, Dale,” sighed Beryle honestly, hugging his lover tenderly. “I am so glad you found me and saved me,” he added emphatically.
“And I’m so glad that you love me as much as I love you!” Dale whimpered softly, holding Beryle tightly.
“I will always love you, Dale Burdette,” Beryle promised with total conviction, kissing Dale’s face repeatedly.
“And you know I will always love you, Beryle Masche’,” Dale swore earnestly, returning the kisses tenderly. Satisfied, they continued to hold each other, their petting growing slower and slower as sleep crept up on them. Before long, they were sound asleep in each other’s arms, completely contented.
-END OF PART FIVE-Please return soon for partSIX!
This story was not originally intended to have a part two, but several of you have suggested that you would like to see this story continue, and so it is in fact your feedback that inspired me to continue the adventures of Dale and Beryle!
As always, your comments are welcomed & encouraged!
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