by Solet, Trina
“My grandpa only liked homemade pie. And Mommy was always trying to trick him with pie she bought at the store.” Julie smiled at the memory.
“Let’s go to the balcony,” Jake said quickly. He didn’t want to see that smile change into a look of sadness.
The balcony was small and useless, but it did give them an interesting view of the street. Jake held Julie so she could see over the railing. They were looking down at the tops of trees and the tops of cars as they passed below.
“You can spit if you want,” Jake told her.
“Why would I?” Julie asked.
“That’s what you do from a high place.”
She only frowned at the idea. Maybe that was a boy thing.
Jake was on the phone when he brought Julie back home. Tyler took the opportunity to get her report on Jake.
“Jake needs to get another dog so he won’t be so messy,” Julie declared as she took off her jacket.
Tyler didn’t see how a dog would help. Julie explained.
“His old dog died. Now Jake is all alone. That’s why he’s so messy. If he gets a dog, he won’t be alone and messy.”
“Jake doesn’t need a dog. He has us,” Tyler told her.
“Are we as good as a dog?” Julie wanted to know.
“We’re better.”
“I’ll just have to visit Jake a lot and tell him to clean up,” she decided.
“That’s a good plan. Jake could use more nagging in his life.”
Once Jake was off the phone, Tyler told him about Julie’s intention to take charge of him. Jake looked down at Julie like he wouldn’t mind that at all. Tyler was surprised. Jake really was much better with kids than Tyler could have ever imagined.
Chapter 14
It was Saturday. Jake was coming by so they could all do something together. While waiting for him, Tyler cleaned up around the apartment.
“You want to help me take out the garbage?” Tyler asked Julie.
She frowned at his question.
“Come on. Kids are supposed to have chores. I took out the garbage when I was a kid.”
“OK,” she said and got up with a huff.
“You can grab that little one and tie it off. I’ll grab these.”
They had a few small bags since Tyler didn’t like to leave the garbage to sit around. They went to the garbage chute then Tyler gave Julie the game plan.
“I’ll hold it open, and you step back and throw the bag. Like you’re playing basketball. Then we listen to the noise it makes. OK?”
She threw hard but missed at first, and Tyler laughed.
“You’re not supposed to laugh!” she said.
“Then don’t be so funny. Try again. But don’t hit me. I don’t want to get covered in garbage.”
This time the bag made it in, and they listened to it bump down the chute.
“Nice one. Get the next one.”
That’s when Jake stepped out of the elevator.
“Hey, it’s Jake!” Julie yelled excitedly. “We’re doing chores.”
Seeing what they were doing, Jake asked, “Why didn’t you put it all in one big bag?”
Julie turned from him to Tyler.
“He doesn’t get it,” she said.
“Show him. Try to get it in one shot,” Tyler encouraged her.
She got that one in on the first try, but the noise it made was disappointing.
“That one was no good,” Julie said.
“Try that last one.”
“This is what you have her doing for fun?” Jake asked.
“Watch and learn,” Tyler told him.
Julie did well this time too, and this bag did not disappoint. It made a lot of noise going down. Julie clapped.
They washed their hands, and then Tyler joined Jake in the living room. Jake was sitting there and still looking at Tyler like he was a weirdo.
“Let’s hear your idea of fun,” Tyler challenged him.
“You set the bar pretty low if all I have to do is beat garbage flinging.”
“We’re calling it garbage basketball. And we might even graduate to garbage soccer.”
Instead of commenting, Jake gave him his idea.
“I thought we might drive to my Aunt Karen’s for the day.”
“Wait. Is she the one with the diner by the lake?” Tyler asked to make sure the idea was as good as it sounded.
“You mean the crazy one with a diner by the lake. That’s the one,” Jake confirmed. “We can rent one of those rowboats.”
“You can row us out to the middle of the lake, and we can pretend to fish.”
“Some people fish for real. And why am I rowing?” Jake asked.
“Real fishing involves real, live fish on a hook, gasping for breath. No thank you.” Tyler didn’t address Jake’s question about rowing.
“Are you squeamish on Julie’s behalf or your own?” Jake wanted to know.
“Shut up and call your aunt to tell her we’re coming,” Tyler said.
“She’s always up for visitors.”
“Call her,” Tyler insisted. Jake might feel comfortable barging in on his aunt with extra visitors in tow, but Tyler didn’t.
Julie was happy to hear about their outing. But she made the same face at the mention of fishing that she made when Tyler offered her garbage duty. That made Tyler smile. She was his girl all right.
After they left the interstate, it was a nice drive in the country. Julie couldn’t take her eyes off the scenery. For a while, they were looking over fields far into the distance. Then trees grew thicker until they surrounded the road. There was hardly any traffic as they neared the lake. Trees were all they saw.
When they arrived, they parked behind the diner. Going around to the front, they were faced with the full view of the lake. It wasn’t big but it was pretty. The still waters were blue and green, reflecting the sky and the trees all around. Three small boats were in the middle of the lake. They could see one fisherman reeling something in. The others looked almost asleep. Looking across to the other shore, they could only see a wall of trees. There were no structures on the other side of the lake though there was a dock to the left. Another dock was in front of the boat rental place. Aside from the diner, there was only a small store which mostly sold fishing gear, and that was it. There were two picnic benches closer to the lake. A man sat at one of them just finishing up his lunch. The diner was called simply Lake Pikaree Diner. It had been painted light blue and a faded red. With its big windows reflecting the view, it looked casual and welcoming. Once they had a look around, Jake led them inside.
“What’s cooking, good looking?” Jake said to the woman behind the counter. She reached over the counter to hug him then thought better of it and came around. Aunt Karen was a redhead of generous proportions, wearing retro eyeglasses. She gave Jake a big hug, clapped him on the shoulders and laughed. Then she turned her attention to Tyler and Julie as Jake introduced them.
“Such a looker,” she said as she looked Tyler up and down. “Well I knew you had to be something.”
Her tone and her expression made Tyler wonder what Jake had been saying about him.
“And this is your brand new daughter,” she said as she peered at Julie. “You hungry, sweetheart?”
“Yes. We drove for a long time,” Julie said.
“I’ll make you my specialty. Take any table you like,” she told them and went off into the kitchen.
They took a seat with the best view and checked out the menu.
“I’m afraid her specialty is fried fish,” Jake warned them in a whisper. “And no, you can’t refuse it,” he added when Julie opened her mouth.
Julie pursed her lips on whatever she was going to say, and it definitely wasn’t that she liked fish.
“Don’t look so worried. Just eat the fries that come with it. I’ll eat your fish,” Jake assured her.”
“Mine too,” Tyler said.
“You are on your own.”
After lunch, most of wh
ich he had to eat himself, Jake sent Ty and Julie on a walk around to the dock. That give Jake a chance to spend some time with his aunt. For a while she and Jake just sat at one of the benches by the shore and watched father and daughter as they walked away hand in hand.
“Too bad that child didn’t get her daddy’s hair like she got his eyes. Look at that poor thing,” Karen said, amazed at Julie’s hair. It had been tied, but she let it loose at some point. They had also opened the car windows during the drive up, none of which helped keep her hair under control.
“Julie has nice hair,” Jake said.
“Is that what we’re calling it?” Karen asked in disbelief.
“Yes, that’s what we’re calling it,” Jake told her seriously. He wanted to make sure his outspoken aunt didn’t say anything in front of Julie.
“My, you are protective. Almost like a father,” she said to bait him.
“She’s not my kid,” Jake said though he knew that wouldn’t deflect her.
“But you brought her here and that man so I could meet them.”
“It’s just a day trip.”
“And what would you call it if I invited you all to spend the night?”
He just smiled at her.
Julie held on to Tyler’s hand as she leaned over the edge of the dock to look down into the water. Then she waved at the fishermen. Only one of them saw her and waved back.
“I have good news and bad news,” Jake said to Tyler and Julie when he joined them. “The boat rental place is closed for the day.”
Tyler had noticed the same thing when they got close, but he thought it might reopen. Jake said no.
“Most people rent early. Fishermen, you know. The owner might be back, but I wouldn’t count on it.”
“No boat?” Julie asked obviously disappointed.
“The good news is Karen invited us to stay the night. There are two extra rooms upstairs. She rents them out sometimes. Tomorrow morning we can get a boat. How’s that?” Jake said.
“Yey!” Julie said.
“You like my good news?” Jake asked her then he looked at Tyler for his reaction.
“Sounds good,” he said with a smile.
The rest of their day was spent hiking and exploring. It was a big adventure for Julie though she wasn’t a fan of the occasional bug they ran across in the woods. They went up on a little rise but couldn’t see much except more trees all around, hiding the lake from sight. In the shade of the trees, the temperature was dropping as the sun neared the treetops. They headed back. Arriving just in time for dinner, Jake carried Julie on his shoulders. Now that they could see the sky again, Julie admired the colors of the sunset.
The rooms upstairs were small but comfortable looking. Karen had her own rooms on the other side of the stairs. Since they didn’t have anything to sleep in, Karen brought something for Julie.
“You can sleep in this t-shirt. It’s brand new. Too small for me. Too big for you. It will be like a nightgown.” Then she turned to Jake and Tyler. “And I won’t ask what you two are going to be sleeping in,” she said to them.
They glared at her. Good thing Julie didn’t pay much attention to what was said so nothing had to be explained away.
Tyler sat by Julie’s bed to make sure she could go to sleep OK in a strange place. She was excited about tomorrow, but tired from all the hiking, she fell asleep quickly. Before going, Tyler left her lamp on just in case she woke up.
Tyler joined Jake in the room they were sharing. When he stepped in through the door, Tyler felt a charge in the air. The feeling made his eyes go to the bed. It had a black enameled metal frame that had chipped in places. The bed was big enough for two people if they didn’t mind some contact. Thinking about that, Tyler smirked at Jake who was watching him evaluate the bed.
Tyler gave the rest of the room minimal attention. There was old furniture and fading wallpaper. The nature prints on the walls were also faded. The view was nice though. The open window looked out over the lake. Tyler took off his clothes. As he stood there admiring the lake shimmering faintly under a dark sky, he felt Jake’s arms go around him.
The moment he heard that they were staying the night Tyler suspected something would happen. There was a shadowy look in Jake’s eyes that made Tyler hold his breath. Now Jake was holding him, and things were falling into place.
A cool breeze brought in a fresh scent of evergreens and the sounds of nature at night. Branches were rustling. Night birds were calling. Tyler could feel the naked skin of Jake’s arms and his chest. He turned to Jake and kissed his shoulder then his neck. When he moved to kiss his mouth, Jake stopped him.
“We don’t have to do anything just because we’re sharing a bed. We could just sleep side by side like...”
“Like our dicks got cut off?” Tyler said even though he knew Jake was just playing with him. Tyler warned him, “The next time I try to kiss you, you better not stop me.”
“Ty, sex is better if I make you a little mad.” Jake smirked.
“Like I ever stay mad at you for more than two seconds.”
“You’ll need to last longer than that.”
“And you’ll have to be quiet,” Tyler told him seriously.
“We’ll just say it was wolves.” That was Jake’s brilliant idea.
“That will be reassuring to a little kid.”
This time they both went in for a kiss. Their mouths met, open and hungry. They pulled each other close, holding on tightly. Moving over to the bed, they made sure to keep kissing and groping. As soon as they landed on the bed, it squeaked horribly.
“Are we going to say that was wolves too?” Tyler asked, pissed off. Fucking on a noisy bed like that was out of the question. The floor didn’t look very inviting. The floorboards were rough looking and uneven, like they had suffered water damage.
Jake turned on the bed, making only minimal noise and moved down until his face was at Tyler’s crotch. Tyler felt his breath and his lips brush lightly against him. Jake didn’t make him wait. He slipped his mouth over him, enveloping him in wet heat. His sucking was nearly silent, no moans. Tyler willed himself to stay still. With Jake’s hand gripping his thigh and his other hand on Tyler’s chest, it wasn’t hard to do. Tyler did raise himself a little on one elbow because he loved the sight of Jake’s head moving over him, his jaw prominent, devouring him. The challenge of staying quiet only intensified Tyler’s orgasm. And since Jake didn’t come yet, Tyler still had so much to look forward to.
Jake watched Ty come silently. Ty’s hands clutched at his shoulders and his hair. His muscles were outlined with effort then they relaxed as he slumped back. Jake kissed his way up Ty’s body, sometimes nipping him to keep him awake. Drawing his hands through Jake’s hair, Ty pulled him close for a deep, salty kiss. He nudged Jake to turn over until he was the one lying down and Ty was crawling down his body. With a loose hold on his balls, Ty started slow. Without applying too much pressure, he still made Jake writhe. But as soon as the bed squeaked, Ty stopped. Once Ty’s mouth was back on his cock again, Jake was determined not to give him any reason to remove it. Ty’s mouth was silk and wetness with heat and pressure added in slowly, building all the time. Ty’s mouth tightened around him, and Jake had to repress the noise, the movement, everything that wonderful mouth tried to draw out of him. That left only pleasure. Coming was the only way he could let Ty know how much he was enjoying him.
Soon Ty was up, out of bed, and looking around. When he didn’t find what he was looking for, his eyes fell on Jake angrily. Jake acted innocent, but Ty wasn’t fooled. As Ty looked at him threateningly, Jake pulled his boxers from under the mattress where he had stashed them earlier. Still looking mad, Ty grabbed them from him and pulled them on. After Jake moved over to make room for him, Ty climbed into the squeaky bed. His angry look didn’t go away until Jake kissed him. As the breeze coming through the window cooled them off, they enjoyed lying in each other’s arms.
Chapter 15
Jake was not an early r
iser unless a sharp elbow was hitting his ribs. Tyler decided to be a little gentler than that, but only a little. Jake growled as Tyler rubbed his back roughly to wake him. It was like waking a bear from hibernation in the middle of winter.
“You never wake me with a blowjob,” Jake complained.
“A blowjob would just put you back to sleep.”
“Prove it.”
Tyler ignored the challenge as he left Jake and went to get dressed. He wanted to go check on Julie. Jake had almost made him not worry that she was sleeping in a strange bed and might get scared by all the nature outside her window.
Julie wasn’t in her bed. She was already up and dressed. Sitting at the bottom of the stairs, she was watching the activity in the diner. Tyler could hear that breakfast was being served. The smells coming up from the kitchen made them both hungry, but they had to wait for Jake.
They had pancakes with bacon on the side. Julie gave away her bacon to Tyler and Jake so she had more room for pancakes. While trying to wipe syrup off her face, she stared at Jake’s beard with a displeased expression. He always woke up looking like he hadn’t shaved for days.
“I’m growing a beard,” Jake said to her.
“No. Beards are scary.”
“You heard her, Bigfoot,” Tyler threw in his vote.
“The store is open. I’ll go buy a razor,” Jake said.
“And toothbrushes,” Tyler told him.
Jake made a big show of grumbling as he left.
Tyler and Julie went to secure a boat while Jake collected their lunch. Julie saw him coming with a checkered blanket under his arm and the picnic basket with the lunch Karen had made for them.
“What’s in it?” Julie asked excitedly.
“Fish.”
Julie made a face and slumped down.
“It’s fried chicken,” Jake told her, truthfully this time.
Julie perked up, excited again.
