Growing up, Growing Old, and the Years in Between

By Michel Hamlit

Discovering your sexuality is a journey of self-discovery, a journey that all gay men make; some set out on this passage in their teenage years whilst for others it occurs later in their lives. This collection of ten short stories follows guys as they set out on that journey, discovering for themselves the joys and erotic pleasures of gay sex and romance.

Some of these scenarios will, no doubt be familiar to any gay reader: the guy who smiles at you across a busy bar; those first sexual encounters whether these be in your teenage years or later in life; the first time another guy ́s hands grope you; the first time you feel another guy ́s bare flesh against your own; your first sexual experience be this furtive sex in some dark place or intense passionate sex somewhere far more sensual and romantic.
You will find all this and more in these stories of guys coming to terms with their sexuality, be this in cold northern climates or hot humid tropical ones.

As a gay man, as you turn the pages, you will certainly be able to relate some of these stories to your own experiences and, maybe they will even reawaken memories of long forgotten sexual adventures.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michel Hamlit
• Release date: Sep 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9781005836160

Michel Hamlit

During the last twenty-five years of his career before retiring to Spain, Michel travelled extensively on business to countries worldwide; he has lived and worked in both Asia and Africa as well as Europe.Along with his husband, he has now settled in Valencia where he enjoys the Mediterranean climate and lifestyle, fine wines, and dining out with friends. He began to work on his first novel to offset government’s restrictions imposed during the early stages of the 2020 Covid 19 pandemic.His first novel, The Rainforest Shower, draws on his first-hand knowledge of Asian cities and Asian culture; this adds local colour to a story with many unexpected twists and turns.

Book preview

GROWING UP, GROWING OLD,

and the years in between

By

Michel J Hamlit

This Smashwords edition published in September 2022

© Michel J Hamlit 2022. All rights reserved.

License Notes

This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.

This book may not be re-sold or loaned to others on a commercial

basis away to other people.

Reproduction, photocopying or storage of the text in any

electronic data retrieval system is not permitted without

the written consent permission of the author

Until you are honest with yourself,

you cannot open your life to others.

Once you have opened that door,

you have the freedom to be yourself.

List of stories

1. Inside out

2. Two of a kind

3. Stars in his eyes

4 Unexpected consequences

5. Entente cordiale

6. Giving and giving back

7. We meet again

8. Underdogs and teardrops

9. Flying solo

10. The Odyssey

1. INSIDE OUT

Grant had known from a young age that he was different; for a start, he had been adopted when he was a few months old after his natural parents had been killed in a motor vehicle accident, and unlike his close school friends Alec and Ethan, he had neither brothers nor sisters.

Throughout elementary and the early years of middle school, he never felt comfortable when his two friends wanted him to watch pro wrestling on the television; he simply disliked the violence and aggression. Once the wrestling programme ended, unless their parents were at home, this invariably led to their own version of pro wrestling on the living room carpet. Despite not liking the rough and tumble that this involved, he always felt that he needed to take part in their games to maintain his friendship with Alec and Ethan, his only real friends. Whilst Grant was taller than his friends, he always seemed to end up as the loser in these bouts, with either Alec or Ethan sitting on top of him.

Occasionally, in the absence of parents, Alec and Ethan would emulate their television heroes by taking off their shirts and wrestling in just their shorts, or sometimes even their underwear; Grant was initially reluctant to do this, but he soon realised that when wrestling like this, the feel of his own bare skin touching that of his friends gave him special feelings, ones that he had never experienced before.

Following this discovery, he started to put much more effort into these bare skin bouts just to extend and enjoy this sensation for as long as possible. He soon found that, often, when wrestling like this with Alec, the bout went on far longer than he expected; he soon realised that Alec seemed to enjoy wrestling like this too, and never hurried to finish the bout. However, it was always very different with Ethan who tried hard to finish such bouts, whether with Grant or Alec, as quickly as possible.

Once they had transferred from their small rural elementary school to the much larger city middle school, Grant discovered his talent for, and began to excel at, drama whilst Alec and Ethan both became members of one of the school’s soccer teams. Alec and Ethan’s sporting prowess meant that they now tended to bond more closely, both with each other and with their soccer teammates, leaving Grant often feeling somewhat isolated when in their company.

Now they were attending middle school, their parents began to give them greater freedom, and during the school holidays they used their new-found independence to explore the quiet countryside around their rural community. There were still no other boys of Grant’s age living locally, so he felt he had no option but to join in these expeditions, otherwise he would have to spend school holidays alone. Outwardly, the three friends appeared inseparable, but inwardly Grant was feeling increasingly different to his friends, this being something that troubled him as he could not understand why.

They would wander through the surrounding sparsely populated countryside, exploring the vast fields and the wooded hills, often leaving home in the morning taking sandwiches with them, and not returning until early evening. They explored abandoned farm buildings with their discarded and ancient machinery, rarely saw anybody else, and spent hours watching the wildlife; they tried tracking the white-tailed deer that grazed in the woodland glades and are indigenous to this part of North America, but these alert creatures quickly detected their presence and swiftly moved away.

Initially, they set out on these journeys of discovery on foot then, as they began to wander further afield, on their bicycles. By midday, they had usually found some quiet, isolated, and shaded spot, often a under large tree or in an isolated farm building, where they would sit and chat whilst they ate their lunches.

One exceptionally hot day, they settled in some woodlands by a cool, slow running river which was fed by the melting snow from high in the distant snow-capped mountains.

Alec and Ethan quickly discarded their clothes and jumped naked into the river to cool off. Grant was undecided what to do, being somewhat self-conscious; he worried about what anybody, who came across three teenage boys playing naked in the river, might think.

They taunted him by continually splashing him with water as he sat on the riverbank; eventually, he overcame his reservations, discarded his shorts, and jumped into the river to join them. Grant found that casting off his clothes to swim was an experience that he enjoyed, and quickly realised that wrestling naked in the water with Alec and Ethan was very different to wrestling with either of them on a carpet.

Alec was always more enthusiastic than Ethan when it came to wrestling in the water, and he would frequently grab and hold Grant, his own skin pressed tightly against Grant’s, attempting to push each other under the water; being pushed under water was something that Ethan disliked, and he did his best to avoid any unnecessary close physical contact with either of them.

When they tired of playing in the water, they climbed out and lay naked on the grass, allowing the summer sunshine to warm and dry their now chilled bodies. For the remainder of the vacation, they headed to this quiet secluded spot by the river, where they could swim and play undisturbed, once or twice each week.

They soon considered this spot their very own until one day when they arrived, they realised that they were not alone; they spotted two older boys, the first people that they had ever seen here, at what they now regarded as their secret place. They were swimming some 50 metres or so away up the river from them and seemed unaware of their presence. They decided to ignore them, stripped as they usually did, and then jumped naked into the water.

The two older boys appeared to pay no attention to them, and they did wonder if they had seen them. Alec, Ethan, and Grant eventually climbed out of the water, and following their usual routine, laid down naked on the grass to chat and let the sun warm their bodies.

Suddenly they heard a rustling in the dense bushes behind them and the two older boys, they had seen earlier, emerged from the bushes. They too were naked, but they had their arms around each other’s shoulders; they smiled at them, asked if they had enjoyed playing in the water, and whether they came here often. They chatted for a while and learnt the boys had cycled out from the city and were camping for a couple of nights in the woods nearby; they told them that they had just finished their second year at the high school to which they would eventually transfer.

Whilst both Alec and Ethan had older brothers, this was the first time that Grant had seen a boy, older than himself, naked and he found himself feeling strangely attracted by their bodies. He somehow felt that they were kindred spirits but was not actually sure why. He sensed a special bond existed between these two guys, who seemed comfortable with their nakedness even in the presence of three much younger boys; as he watched and listened to them, Grant felt that the bond between these two was somewhat different from his own relationship with his two friends, or indeed the close bond that he recognised existed between Alec and Ethan.

Eventually, the two guys said good-bye and disappeared the way they had come through the bushes, one with his arm around the other’s waist, whilst the other had his hand on his friend’s buttocks. Grant wondered just how Alec or Ethan would react if he ever tried to put his hand on their bare buttocks.

The summer vacation soon came to an end and the new school year was upon them. Outside school, they remained friends, but at school Grant became increasingly involved in drama activities and made friends with Simon, a boy who lived in the city. As the year passed,

Grant slowly began to feel that his relationship with Simon was very different from the one that he had with Alec or Ethan; he was not sure why, but he felt strangely attracted to Simon and was disappointed when, occasionally, he did not appear at the bi-weekly drama activity.

What Grant had not realised, and only discovered towards the end of the school year, was that Simon was in the year above him and this was his final year in the middle school. When on the last day of the year, Simon appeared to say good-by, he gave Grant a big farewell hug. Grant felt tears swelling up in his eyes then running down his cheeks.

Simon held him tightly, wiped his tears away with his hand, and said,

I am going to miss our friendship too, but in one year’s time, we will be together again in the high school drama group.

The summer vacation was again spent roaming the countryside with Alec and Ethan, but this year they were allowed to take a tent with them and camp out overnight. Their usual spot by the river became their preferred camp site, they swam naked in the river, and slept listening to sounds of the woodland, the wind rustling the leaves on the trees, the small animals foraging in the undergrowth around their tent, and the nocturnal bats and owls going about their night-time activities.

They usually slept naked in their sleeping bags, or often on the nights when it was too hot, on top of their sleeping bags. Invariably, Grant found himself sleeping between Alec and Ethan; occasionally during the night, one or other of his friends would, unintentionally, roll against him whilst asleep and their naked skin would touch his own.

If this happened when he was awake, it induced special feelings in him, the same ones that he had felt when wrestling in his underwear on the carpet or naked in the water with Alec; this was something that secretly excited him but did not understand why.

One night Grant woke and found Alec’s body was nestling against his own, but this time he realised that Alec was not asleep but awake. He started to run his fingers very lightly and very slowly across Grant’s body, first down his chest and stomach, until he was finally touching his inner leg and moved upwards towards his crotch.

Grant froze and wondered if he should firmly push Alec’s hand away or let him continue with this illicit activity.

He knew that he was enjoying the attention that Alec was giving him, and again this was giving him those same very special feelings; he decided to remain silent and let Alec continue. He slowly turned onto his side to face Grant and very quietly said

Grant, are you awake?

Once aware that Grant was awake and had not objected to his wandering hands, Alec continued to let his hands stroke Grant’s body before he whispered into his ear,

What I am doing now is something that I have wanted to do with you for a very long time.

Grant slowly rolled onto his side to face Alec, started to let his own hands explore Alec’s body, and their bare bodies now touched.

Grant realised that this intensified the special feelings and excited him; like

Alec, he knew that this also was what he had wanted to do. They laid still just holding each other tightly for quite a while, both slowly becoming sexually aroused.

Suddenly, they heard Ethan stir, they quickly and discretely moved apart, and hoping that Ethan not heard or realised what they had been doing.

The following morning, as they all stood outside the tent getting dressed, Grant and Alec were careful to avoid each other’s gaze in case they gave something away; both knew that something special had happened between them during the night, and that a new and unspoken bond now existed. This was something that they both felt they wanted to pursue, but neither yet wanted to openly disclose to each other, and certainly not to Ethan.

On subsequent nights when camping by the river, they would both lie awake waiting for Ethan to fall asleep before, again, cuddling up to each other, letting their wandering hands explore each other’s bodies, and stroking each other’s erections. Grant slowly began to realise that he was developing the same strong attraction for Alec that he had experienced with Simon during the last school year. He felt even more confused by this and was not sure where it was leading.

For ten days during the summer vacation, Ethan went on holiday with his parents, leaving Alec and Grant to spend the whole of that period in each other’s company; they spent time at each other’s homes playing computer games, one day they took a bus into the city together, wandering around the shops, visiting a burger joint for lunch, and then in the afternoon went to the cinema; here, they took advantage of the darkness to continue with what they now frequently did when camping. Other days, they cycled out into the countryside to swim at their secret place and explored each other’s body’s hidden from sight under an overhanging tree.

On the final day before Ethan returned, they headed out to camp overnight at their usual place by the river. As they set their tent up, they both knew that tonight was not going to be like any night that had gone before; tonight, there was just the two of them and they need not worry about Ethan’s presence. They knew that this was something that quite possibly might not happen again. They wandered through the woods chattering with each other as they collected branches and twigs for a campfire, this being something that they had never done when Ethan had been with them.

They returned to their tent and stripped off and jumped into the river, splashing, and wrestling with each other, before finally moving under the overhanging tree, where they would be unseen should somebody pass by; they held each other tightly, their hands wandered around each other’s bodies, becoming sexually aroused, and both enjoying the special feelings that they now knew arose from skin-to-skin contact between their bodies. Eventually, they climbed out of the water and laid down on the grass to allow the warm late afternoon sunshine to warm their now chilled bodies. Grant wondered aloud what Ethan might be doing, and he was surprised by Alec’s sharp response,

Tonight, is our own very special time together, and I am not interested in what Ethan might or might not be doing.

As dusk fell, they dressed, lit their fire, ate the sandwiches they had brought with them, and the flickering flames reflecting on their faces as they sat on opposite sides of the fire happily chatting. They roasted marshmallows held over the flames on long twigs and enjoying this rare opportunity to spend some private time together. They both knew that this evening was something special, something that was unlikely to happen again any time soon.

As their fire eventually died down, they moved into the tent and wasted no time discarding their clothes; no thoughts were given to getting into their sleeping bags with their hands quickly and actively explored each other’s naked bodies, pleasuring each other’s erections several times over, before they eventually fell asleep holding each other tightly.

During the night, Alec’s wandering hands woke Grant a couple of times, and he let his own hands freely wander over Alec’s body too, then for the very first time, Alec kissed Grant on his lips, first rather gently then far more passionately. Grant willingly submitted to Alec’s passion, his hands vigorously working on Alec’s erection. Within seconds, Alec was reciprocating and very soon their bodies were again sticky with each other’s cum.

When they finally awoke the next morning, it was already daylight; they were still holding each other tightly, skin pressed against skin, and both sexually aroused yet again. Neither of them wanted to bring their night of passion to an end. They had one last hug, and again brought each other’s erections to another sticky ending. Before emerging from the tent, Alec said,

You must promise me that nobody, especially my friends in the sports teams, ever learns about what we did together last night and on previous nights in the tent.

Grant looked directly at Alec,

The things that take place between us are very special for me and are something that I would certainly not want to share with anybody else,

Before adding,

Your naked body pressed against mine arouses special and intense feelings within me, something I have never experienced before.

Alec smiled then said that this was the same for him, gave Grant a final hug and passionate kiss, then reluctantly they emerged from the tent into the bright summer sunshine, both heading straight into the river to wash all evidence of their night of passion off their bodies.

Later, as they packed away the tent, they both knew that a new and special bond now existed between them, something that they alone knew about, and that neither of them had experienced before; they looked and smiled at each other frequently, both knowing that what had occurred during the night had ignited a flame, a flame that they could not extinguish, and one that would very likely remain with them for the rest of their lives.

They both returned home feeling somewhat different from when they had left the previous afternoon; neither knew why this was, nor where it would lead, let alone how to express their feelings in words.

As their final year in middle school commenced, their teachers emphasised that they needed to work hard so that they could get the best grades and would be placed in the top classes when they transferred to their high school the following year; it was also stressed that it was equally important to excel in other activities outside the classroom.

Grant was thrilled to be selected to take a leading role in the school musical, West Side Story, that would be performed during the second half of the year, whilst Alec and Ethan were both pleased that they had managed to maintain their places in the school soccer team; this year, competition for places in the team had been especially fierce as four new students, all talented soccer players, had joined the school.

Outside school, their friendship continued and, whenever possible, Alec would now sit next to Grant on the bus to and from school, their legs gently, but not obviously, pressed against each other. Beyond that, there were no opportunities for Alec and Grant to spend more private time together.

When the Christmas vacation arrived, Alec invited Ethan and Grant for a sleep-over at his home as his parents were going into the city for a Christmas party and would not return until the following morning.

When Ethan and Grant arrived for the sleep-over, Alec’s mother said,

I hope that you two boys don’t mind sharing the double bed in the guest bedroom which has its own bathroom.

Grant looked at Ethan, who hesitated for a moment, then nodded his agreement; Grant reassured her that neither of them saw this as a problem

Alec’s mother said that she had already prepared a meal for them which she had left in the oven. By the time that Alec’s parents left for the city, snow was beginning to fall. The three of them settled down on the sofa, with Grant sitting in the middle, to watch one of their favourite comedy programmes on the television.

After a few minutes, Grant felt Alec’s hand begin to slowly touch then move up the side of his leg. Ethan, who was totally engrossed in the programme, was unaware what was taking place, while Grant crossed one leg over the other to hide it from him. Alec turned and grinned at him at Grant, then slowly slipped his hand into his trouser pocket. As Alec began to fondle him, Grant could feel himself becoming aroused; he was undecided what to do, should he risk sliding his own hand into Alec’s trouser pocket and fondle him? Being concerned that this might well alert Ethan to what was happening, Grant decided to just enjoy the attention that Alec’s hand was giving him.

This discrete activity continued until the programme finished when Alec suggested that they should perhaps have the supper his mother had prepared for them. Alec suggested, as they were all nearly fifteen, that they should do what grown-ups do and have wine with their supper; he went into the kitchen and returned with a bottle of his father’s white wine and three tumblers. He then filled these with the wine; they drank their first glass of wine as though they were drinking water.

Alec poured each of them a second tumbler of wine whilst they were eating their supper; this they also drank quickly. The bottle was now empty, and Alec went into the kitchen and returned with second one. None of them had drunk wine before so they did not appreciate the effect that it was having on them; by the end of the meal, their behaviour had become somewhat boisterous and a little silly; when they stood up to leave the table, they realised that they felt a little unsteady on their feet.

Before going upstairs to bed, they put their plates and tumblers in the dishwasher, tried to tidy up the kitchen, and Alec hid the two empty wine bottles, so that his parents would not discover them if they returned before they got up the following morning.

Alec went to his own room, whilst Ethan and Grant stumbled into the guest bedroom giggling; Grant wished that it was Alec, not Ethan, that he was sharing the king-sized bed with tonight. They quickly stripped except for their underwear, and left their clothes on the floor, before tumbling into bed. They soon fell asleep, Grant sleeping on one side of the bed, whilst Ethan moved as far away as possible from him to the other side.

Sometime during the night, Grant felt Ethan’s body pressed up against his own and then his hand slowly moving down his side and across his stomach. Once Ethan became aware that Grant was awake, he pulled Grant towards him, held him tightly. and then without speaking, slipped one of his hands into Grant’s underwear and started to fondle him; Grant instantly knew that this did not arouse the same feelings as when Alec did this with him and made no effort to reciprocate. Ethan continued to do this for a little longer until he realised that Grant was showing no interest in doing the same with him; he stopped then, again without speaking, moved back to the far side of the bed. Grant wondered why Ethan had initiated this but was soon back asleep.

Grant woke first the next morning and he had showered and dressed before Ethan woke. Grant tidied the bed whilst Ethan showered and when he returned said,

You must promise me that you will not tell Alec or anybody else about what happened during the night. I feel ashamed of what I did.

By the time they went downstairs, Alec had already put out bowls of cereals for breakfast and had been out to the bin to dispose of the two wine bottles. It was now snowing heavily, and Alec’s footprints had already been almost hidden by the falling snow. Alec did wonder if his parents would make it back from the city, but they arrived as they were eating breakfast. Alec’s father said that the roads were already very treacherous and barely passable in places.

After finishing their breakfast, Alec’s mother told Ethan and Grant that they were quite welcome to stay for lunch if they wished. Ethan said that he had to go home as, this afternoon, he was going with his parents to visit some of his relations who lived in the city. Grant said he would like to stay for lunch, knowing this would give him an opportunity to spend some time alone with Alec; he called his mother to tell her that he would not be back home until later.

Once Ethan had left, Grant went up to Alec’s bedroom with him to play computer games until it was time for lunch. An hour or so later, Alec’s mother brought them mugs of hot chocolate and said that his father was going to take her to the supermarket to buy some extra food as it was now snowing much more heavily and if this continued, they might not be able to get out again for a day or two.

As soon as Alec heard his parents leave, he said,

I want to show you something, but you must not tell Ethan or anybody else about this.

He closed the game that they were playing on his computer, opened its browser in private mode, tapped in a few key words which Grant could not see, then suddenly a matrix of small pictures filled the screen, all of which were of naked guys.

He invited Grant to choose one and this opened into a short video of two naked guys rolling about on a bed just like they had done that night in the tent, but the activities of these guys went far beyond anything they had done.

Grant was mesmerised by this and knew that he was getting aroused just by looking at it. The short video finished, and Alec selected another picture; this time the video involved three naked guys doing things that Grant had never dreamt possible.

Suddenly, after watching several more of these videos, they heard Alec’s parents return; he quickly closed the browser and re-opened the game they had previously been playing.

Alec’s mother called them down for a lunch of burgers and fries, together with bottles of coke, that they had brought back from the supermarket. Just as they finished eating, the phone rang, and Alec’s mother went to answer it; she was chatting with the caller for a while, then he heard her say that it would not be a problem and was pleased to be able to help in the unfortunate circumstances.

When she returned, she explained to Grant that it was his mother who had just called to ask if it would be possible for him to spend the night with them; his grandfather had been rushed into hospital unconscious and they were leaving immediately to go into the city, and it was unlikely they would get back this evening if the snow continued.

She said that he was welcome to stay if he wished and that he now needed to call his mother to let her know what he wanted to do, adding that it was probably best in the circumstances if he stayed here with Alec.

Grant rang his mother and told her that he would stay with Alec, but they must let him know how his grandfather was when they arrived at the hospital. When he returned from the phone, Alec was in deep conversation with his mother, who he heard say,

I think in the circumstances, it would be best if you moved into the guest room with Grant rather than him sleep there alone tonight.

Inwardly, Grant was delighted to have an opportunity to share a bed with Alec but, out of politeness, said

I really don´t think that is necessary.

However, Alec’s mother was insistent about this; she said that she would now go up to the guest bedroom, change the sheets, and put fresh towels out for them in the bathroom.

As she left, Alec grinned at Grant and quietly said,

The guest bedroom is going to be far more comfortable than the tent, and I am now eagerly looking forward to tonight’s unexpected opportunity to snuggle up with you again.

He then suggested that they both went out with his toboggan, and they spent the rest of the afternoon until it got dark having fun in the snow on a nearby hill.

By the time they returned, their clothes were wet from melting snow and Alec’s mother said she would try and find some dry clothes for Grant to change into and, in the meantime, they should both go upstairs and have hot showers. They went up to the guest bedroom, stripped off, and left their wet clothes on the floor before both going into the bathroom.

Alec closed the door behind them, turned on the shower, smiled at Grant, and then suggested that he should join him in the shower; Grant hesitated for a moment as he had never shared a shower with anybody else before, then joined Alec under the hot water. Without asking, Alec immediately began to soap Grant’s body, starting at his chest, working his way down until he reached his genitals; now Alec hesitated for a second, looked directly at Grant who smiled, which Alec took as permission to proceed and then slowly and deliberately soaped Grant’s genitals.

When he had finished doing this, he handed Grant the soap who then did the same for Alec, but there was no hesitation when Grant came to Alec’s genitals, soaping them vigorously until both he and Alec were both sexually aroused.

Grant smiled at Alec then kissed him. They let the warm water caress their bodies for a while before drying themselves on soft white towels.

When they opened the door into the bedroom, they found that Alec’s mother had already collected their wet clothes and laid out on the bed an assortment of clothes for Grant to try. Alec said,

The underwear and shirts are mine and the trousers must belong to Ben, my older brother, who is at college and is on a study-abroad year in Europe.

Grant said he was now worried what Alec’s mother might think about them being in the shower together, but Alec said,

Don’t worry about that. In the past, Ben and I have often showered together so she will not consider this unusual.

They made their way down to find that their supper was nearly ready, and Alec’s father was in the process of opening a bottle of red wine. He poured out a glass for himself and one for his wife then hesitated; he looked at them both, smiled, and then said,

I had intended to have a glass of white wine this evening, but somehow I seemed to have drunk more than I realised as there is none left in the cupboard.

Soon the meal was placed on the table, and they sat down to a delicious lasagne; as they started to eat, Alec’s father looked at them again, smiled, then said,

As last night you seemed to have both developed a taste for my white wine, tonight you might like to try some of my red,

then poured each of them a small glass; tonight, they sipped it slowly, not drinking it as though it was water as they did the previous evening. Both finished their portion of lasagne and were given a second and, at the same time, Alec’s father refilled their glasses with a little more of the red wine.

Once the meal was finished, Alec and Grant put the dishes in the dishwasher and returned to the living room where Alec’s parents had settled down to watch television. Much to Grant’s surprise, they were both offered a little more wine which both politely refused; Alec went into the kitchen and brought them both back a glass of water.

Shortly before nine-thirty, Alec’s mother suggested that it was time for them to go up to bed, wished them good-night adding,

We don’t want to hear you two chattering all night.

As they went upstairs, Alec turned to Grant, and smiled,

There is little chance of my parents hearing us talking or doing anything else as their room is at the opposite end of the house to the guest bedroom.

As they entered the guest bedroom, Grant walked across to and gazed out of the window; the snow was now falling much heavier than earlier.

Grant wondered to himself just how many nights he might end up sharing a bed with Alec if this continued. Alec joined him at the window and stood directly behind him and reading Grant´s thoughts said,

If this continues, it is likely that the village will be snowed-in by morning and your parents may not get back for several days.

He held Grant tightly for a few moments before reached round and began to slowly unbutton his shirt, then unzipped his trousers, before turning him round and kissing him on the lips. He pulled him close, before pushing him down onto the bed, and slowly removing first his trousers then his underwear.

Grant reached up and unzipped Alec’s trousers which fell around his ankles, then he pulled down Alec’s underwear; he immediately stepped out of both.

Alec removed first his own shirt then Grant’s, he led him into the bathroom. This time there was no hesitation about showering together or soaping each other’s bodies; they held each other tightly, enjoying the special feelings this aroused, as the warm water flowed over their bodies, before drying themselves on the soft towels and making their way to the large king-sized bed.

Unlike the previous night when Grant had settled on one side of the bed and Ethan on the other, tonight they immediately snuggled up naked together in the middle of the bed just as they had done on that on night in the tent last summer.

When Alec turned the light off, the room was lit by moonlight reflected off the snow. Soon after, they heard Alec’s parents going along the corridor to their own room. As they lay there holding each other, Grant asked,

Do you think we are both gay like the guys we have seen in the videos?

Alec quickly replied,

One thing I am certain about is that guys appeal to me far more than any girl I know, so in that case, I think that I am very likely gay.

Grant said it was the same with him, then Alec then asked Grant he had ever done things with another boy; he thought about what had happened the previous night with Ethan, decided that did not qualify, and said he hadn`t. Grant asked Alec if he ever had,

I have not done anything with another boy, but when I was younger, I sometimes messed around with Ben in the shower, and he used to let me bring him off.

Their conversation then turned to what they had seen earlier in the videos, and they wondered if all gay men did such things. Alec suggested perhaps they should try something tonight as they might not have another chance to do so.

Grant suggested that they might start by taking each other in their mouths as they had seen guys in the videos do, so shuffled around in the bed to try this. They both were quickly working on each other and soon Grant heard Alec let out a low moan then his own mouth filled with Alec´s cum. Much to his surprise, he liked the sweet taste, and allowed Alec to continue to work on him until he eventually came.

Grant quickly moved around to kiss Alec, both tasting their own and each other’s cum for the first time, but certainly not the last. They held each other tightly, Alec adding that feeling Grant’s bare skin against his own added intensity to what had just taken place, and both agreed that this was something they had both enjoyed and must do again.

Alec then slid his fingers between Grant’s legs and found what he was searching for; Grant winced as Alec tried to slide a finger into him just as they had seen the guys in the videos do. Grant pushed his hand away

,

That’s far too painful, and I am not sure how the guys in the videos manage to do the things they do.

Alec then suggested that Grant might try to do the same to him, and much to Grant´s surprise, his finger entered Alec quite easily. Grant pushed it in a little further and Alec told him that he was unsure what he was doing, but it gave him a wonderful feeling. After some further experimenting, they both fell asleep.

Grant woke during the night to find that he had turned over. Alec was now closely snuggled up to his back and he could feel that he was sexually aroused; Grant turned around to face Alec and began to fondle his erection, and he let out a slow purr as he woke and realised what Alec was doing . Grant continued to fondle him until he felt his cum surge up into his hand. He wondered what to do next, but Alec took Grant’s sticky fingers in his own mouth and sucked them, again something they had seen guys do in the videos, before offering them to Grant who did the same.

The house was silent, and it was dark outside, but through the window they could see that snow was now falling even heavier than when they came to bed. Grant said,

It now seems quite possible that tonight might not be the last night we shall be sleeping together if it continues to snow like this.

He then held Alec close and kissed him. They both fell asleep holding each other; sometime later, Grant woke to find Alec gently stroking his erection. They both knew what they wanted and without speaking, they moved around to take each other in their mouths for a second time before drifting back off to sleep again.

Shortly after it became light, there was a knock on the door, and Alec’s mother came in with cups of tea for them and asked if they had slept well. Fortunately, Grant had managed to roll away from Alec as he had heard her footsteps outside before she knocked, so she remained none the wiser as to what had recently taken place.

They finished their drinks and headed into the bathroom to shower, again taking turns to soap each other. Grant was surprised when Alec tried and now succeeded in painlessly sliding his soapy finger deep into him; his whole body shuddered when suddenly Alec found that sensitive place deep within him.

Grant now knew exactly what Alec had experienced when he had slid his finger into him earlier and thought to himself that perhaps some of the things that they had seen on the videos were possible after all. They continued to wash each other, becoming sexually aroused and bringing each other off under the shower.

They dried themselves, dressed, and headed down to breakfast. It was still snowing heavily; deep snow had buried the car in the driveway, and almost reached up to the windows in the kitchen. Alec’s dad said that there was no way he could get to work in these conditions and would be surprised if Grant’s parents managed to make it back from the city today or even tomorrow.

After breakfast, Grant rang his mother on her mobile and she said that his grandfather was now conscious but would be remaining in hospital for a few more days. She added there was no traffic moving in the city and all the roads appeared to be blocked. She then asked if she could speak to Alec’s mother, and he heard her say that it would not be a problem as they now were snowed-in anyway.

After the call finished, Alec’s mother said that it looked like Grant would be staying with them for one or even two more nights as the forecast was for the current snowfall to last at least for another day. Alec’s father said that once the snow stopped, he would like them to help dig out his car and clear the driveway, but until then there was nothing they could do.

They went back up to Alec’s room and played another computer game. Grant asked if it would be safe to look at some more of the gay videos, but Alec said perhaps they should wait until his mother had brought them hot drinks.

Sure enough, an hour later, his mother appeared with hot drinks although they were, at first, unaware of her presence as both were sitting with their backs to the door and wearing headphones; as she left, she asked if there was anything else they would like, and they replied, thanked her and said no. ,

Alec decided that before they watched any more videos, they should move the computer around so that they would see anybody coming through the door, that way, nobody coming in would be able to see the screen. Alec adding that perhaps they should both use the headphones if they were watching videos with sound. Grant thought it was a good idea as his mother had already seen them both wearing headphones, so she would not suspect anything if they had them on.

Alec opened a new private window in his browser and suggested that before looking at more videos, they should perhaps search for more information about gay sex to see if they could learn more; they were amazed to see page after page of entries on the subject.

They learnt that most gay men tended to be very particular about their physical appearance and dress, that many gay men, and especially Europeans, shaved or trimmed their pubic hair, and that the variety of gay sexual activity went well beyond what they had seen in the videos so far.

As they moved from entry to entry, they learnt that in big cities, there were bars, discos. and saunas solely for gay men, where gay men could meet up with other gay men, often for sex, and that most of these places supplied free condoms and lube to encourage safe sex. They found shops that stocked all sorts of things that gay men might like, including leatherware and sex toys, that offered a mail order service.

Their sex education programme at school had mentioned safe sex and the use of condoms, the teacher having used a cucumber to show them how to use one, but lube was not mentioned. However, a further search revealed that gay men used lube to make gay sex more comfortable. They were just closing the search when Alec’s mother popped her head around the door to say lunch would be ready shortly.

Trying to appear casual, Alec quickly shut down his computer, but not before he decided it might be best to clear the browser history and cookies just in case his parents checked it later.

When they went to the living room,