Treehouse

Chapter 4

After Claire retired the men sat around in the screen porch and talked for a while. They all agreed that the following day they should be able to get most of the treehouse finished, and maybe even the windows in. Then all that was left was the paint job.

As the night wore on Justin snuggled against Brian. "Meet you in the barn," he whispered.

Brian grinned. "I need to get some things from the bedroom first," Brian replied.

"I'll be waiting," Justin said softly as he made his way outside.

Brian nodded at Bobby and his brother and headed upstairs for condoms and lube.

"Why don't we join them?" Bobby asked with a grin.

"You think…?" John asked.

"I think."

"Okay. It was hot the other day when we were all in there together."

"Get the supplies," Bobby said. "I'll be waiting in the barn."

John gave him a kiss and went inside. He passed Brian coming down the stairs. Brian seemed to be in quite a hurry and barely acknowledged his brother's presence.

Meanwhile in the barn Justin was naked and Bobby was fast approaching that condition.

"Let's have a little fun with them," Bobby suggested as he divested himself of his underwear.

"What do you mean?" Justin asked immediately interested.

"You pretend to be me and I'll pretend to be you. It's so dark in here that they will never know the difference … at least not at first."

"I don't know," Justin said with a frown.

"Come on. It'll be hilarious and we'll tell them before anything really happens."

Justin thought for a minute. He wondered if Brian would be able to tell the difference even in the dark. He and Bobby were about the same size. "Okay, but we stop before anything happens."

Bobby nodded. He went to one side of the barn and Justin went to the other. Beau watched them from his mat wondering what the crazy humans were up to this time.

A moment later Brian appeared in the doorway. He began pulling off his clothes. "Justin," he said into the gloom of the barn.

"Over here," Bobby whispered stifling a giggle.

Brian headed in that direction just as John appeared and said, "Bobby."

Justin replied sweetly. "I'm here, lover."

Brian and John exchanged a glance and each headed for their partner.

Brian's arms came around the slender body and he pulled his lover back against him, making sure the young man could feel his hardness. His lover groaned in anticipation as Brian nibbled at his neck and his ear and his shoulder.

"I'm going to fuck you so hard," Brian snarled. "Bend over." He was already suiting up.

"Wait," the young man said.

"I'm in no mood to wait." He pressed his well lubed dick against the waiting pucker.

"Wait. It's me Justin. Bobby's over there, John."

"It's me Brian," Brian chuckled against his ear and drove his dick unceremoniously up his partner's ass.

Justin cried out as Brian waited for his lover to adjust to the sudden intrusion. "How did you know, Brian?"

"You think after all these years I wouldn't recognize your whisper?"

"Oh."

"And furthermore, if I hadn't got it from the whisper, your ass would give you away every time."

"Ooohhh," Justin breathed as Brian started to thrust.

"No more games, little boy. Get that ass up in the air for me. I'm going to make you beg so much."

"Yes, sir," Justin replied as Brian began to thrust in earnest.

Some time later the barn was filled with cries and moans and groans as all four men sought satisfaction. Justin was covered in sweat and he was pleading for Brian to get him off or finish or something. Brian showed no mercy pummeling the sweet ass. As his orgasm built and he knew this would have to end soon, he pulled Justin back against him so that the boy was fully impaled.

"You knew it was me all along, didn't you?" he whispered against Justin's ear.

Justin smiled. "Of course I did. Nobody touches me like you do."

Brian grabbed Justin's dick and began stroking. Within moments they were both coming and crying out each other's name.

John and Bobby weren't far behind. Beau put his paws over his ears. Crazy humans! He wondered when they would leave his peaceful barn and he could have a nap.

"Let's take a dip in the stream," Justin said as Brian pulled out.

"Are you nuts? I'm not getting slimed in the dark."

Laughter rang through the barn.

"Race you to the bathroom," Brian called and took off for the house. Justin ran after him.

"They are a lot of fun," John said wrapping his arm around Bobby.

Bobby nodded. "Did you know Justin and I were trying to fool you two?"

"Yep. I know you pretty well too. Maybe not as well as Brian knows Justin, but I also know that you like to play games."

"True," Bobby admitted with a grin.

"Come on, old man. Let's get in our shower before they use all the hot water."

John took his lover's hand and they walked towards the house.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bright and early the treehouse gang was up and out, the treehouse so close to completion, each man was anxious to get started. Claire called out to tell them that breakfast would be ready within the hour. It was good to have her back. Not only did it relieve the men from the cooking chores but they were beginning to feel guilty that they had inadvertently driven her away.

Again the men formed a chain to hoist the wood up to the uppermost scaffold so that the walls could be erected. With all the supplies up the tree, it was all hands on deck. They managed to get the first plank hammered into place before Claire called for breakfast.

Brian let out a frustrated groan. He didn't care about eating; Brian wanted to work. His companions convinced Brian that he'd work a lot longer with food in him. Begrudgingly, he let himself be led down the scaffold and into the kitchen. Breakfast was abundant as well as pleasant with conversation.

"John, is it possible to have a pulley system attached to one of the limbs. This way if you wanted to bring up snacks or something you didn't have to carry it up. A rope over the pulley attached to a bucket would do the trick."

John beamed at Brian, he was thinking similar thoughts. Gus was still little and he preferred the boy pay attention to the placement of his feet and not worry about carrying anything. John nodded his approval. "I'm sure that can be arranged, Brian."

After breakfast the boys sprinted out and up. Using the first plank as level, the subsequent planks fell easily into place. Brian watched with a perplexed expression on his face. They had left the door space open but they covered the windows with the planks. Chuckling at his brother's obvious conundrum, John firmly stated, "Watch and learn."

"Ready!" John called out to Claire who waved back at her son as he disappeared into the treehouse trailing a long extension cord behind him. All of a sudden small wood planks began to drop off the sides of the treehouse. Using the inside framing as a guide John was cutting out the windows. Within minutes he was done. Standing like a soldier with his power saw proudly in his hand, John further explained, "And we can use the cut pieces for the walls inside under the windows. They're just the right size." John blushed deeply as he received a heartfelt round of applause from the treehouse gang and Claire. Even Beau added his own bark of approval.

John chose a slightly peaked roof so that rain would run off. Instead of a gabled roof, two triangular pieces of wood were hammered into place on two opposing ends. The roof which was specially treated ply wood and pre-tarpapered would fit neatly on top, with allowance for the truck of the tree. The raising of the roof was completed as Claire called for lunch.

Hungry but anxious to get back to work the men ate quickly and quietly. Not to be rude Justin offered to stay behind and help Claire with the clean up, but he was shooed out of her kitchen and told to join the others. It was time for the windows, doors and the inside walls. There was also a matter of the rails for the balcony that was in front of the door and ran along one side. It was wide enough for chair or cushion for someone to survey their kingdom.

John stood at the base of the scaffolding and looked up. The windows were pint sized but still heavy, the door cumbersome. After learning about Justin and the lingering effects to his hand, John regretted not bringing home a cherry picker for this phase of the project.

Seeing the wheels turn in his brother's head, Brian offered at suggestion. "Do you have a good length of heavy rope?"

"Yes."

"Get it. That limb over that side looks thick and strong. We can toss the rope over it. You tie it around a window. Bobby and I will pull it up. Justin can stand on the balcony level to guide us."

"You know, if you ever want a new career in construction, call me. That's an excellent idea."

John went off to find the rope while Brian, Justin and Bobby brought the windows and the door closer to the treehouse. Bobby, Brian and Justin again ascended the scaffolding to their levels. Brian was able to toss the rope over the intended target and its coiled end fell in front of John's feet. The door went up first, followed by the windows. After an hour of grunting and groaning, the windows and door were ready for installation. It was a matter of inserting the windows into the frames then hammering the window frames into the walls. John had chosen a simple window that slid up and down, easy for a certain young man to open. After showing Brian what to do, John went to tackle the door.

By 6 o'clock that evening the treehouse was 95% completed.

They dined that night on roasted chicken, potatoes and several different vegetables. This time Brian's offer to assist Claire with the clean up was gratefully accepted. John took that opportunity to fill in Bobby and Justin on the finishing touches for the treehouse. Justin wanted to paint a mural on the inside walls so he wanted a couple of smooth surfaces. John who was going to use the remaining planking to line the walls did some recalculations to give Justin his smooth walls. He had some sheet rock and left over insulation. The bottom quarter of the wall would be planking, the top part the sheet rock. John had primer paint and some tester pots. Taking a flashlight with them John showed Justin the paints that were stored in a special cupboard in the barn. Leaving the artist with the torch to look over the paint, John returned to the house in search of his partner.

Claire and Brian were sipping coffee in the kitchen. She had managed to slip a plate of cookies in front of him and without thinking Brian began to nibble on one.

"Brian, I've heard how you met Debbie and Michael and I know that you consider her your mother but I was wondering about Joan. Would you tell me about her?" Brian dreaded any conversation about Joan and was about to get up and run. But Claire deserved to know about the woman who took away her Jack. Steeling himself with another bite of cookie, Brian began his story about Joan.

"There's really not much to tell other than what you already know. I guess Joan must have cared about Jack at some point but by the time I was born Jack beat that out of her. I guess she tried to protect me as best as she could but she never was very strong and she drank a little too much. She spent most of her time trying to stay out of Jack's reach. I did my best too. I hung out at school and joined whatever after school activity I could find. Joined the soccer team. I was very good at it, got me a scholarship to Penn State. When I was sixteen, I left home. Spent most of my time at Debbie's. She tried her best with me, loves me as much as she loves Mikey. But by that time I had grown cold and hard. She couldn't reach me."

"What did?"

"What do you mean?"

"What reached you?"

"Justin. I don't know if you noticed but he can be annoyingly tenacious when he wants to be. The little twat. I have no idea what he saw in me. If you think I'm rough around the edges now you should have seen me before Justin got his little hands on me. My arrogance works for me in my business. If I believe in myself and the campaign I'm selling, the client will believe it too. But aside from business that attitude has no place in regular life. Justin's nickname is Sunshine and he lives up to it. My name was 'Asshole.' And I certainly lived up to that one. You can ask any of my tricks on Liberty Avenue."

"Joan knows about your lifestyle?"

"She found out a few years ago. Caught me and Justin in a compromising situation so to speak. She was horrified and swore I'd go to hell. She spends a lot of time praying for my soul. Poor Justin's coming with me."

"Don't I always. Oops, sorry Claire I didn't know it was you in here with Brian."

"That's okay Justin. No need to apologize. I'm beginning to get used to the vernacular. But I don't think I'm quite as open as Debbie."

"Who is?!" Brian and Justin said in unison. Then they all laughed. "Debbie saved me. I don't know what I would have done without her or Brian."

"She's a regular Mother Theresa sometimes. I know she'll eventually open up a home for wayward homos, I know she will." Brian quipped with his tongue in cheek.

"Yeah, and I know what her first rule will be."

"No tricks after midnight!" Justin and Brian said together and then laughed until they snorted. Claire was then assaulted by all the Debbie stories Brian and Justin could muster. Most were hysterical if not unbelievable. But it was clear how well loved she was by these two men and how much of a positive influence she was in their lives. Claire was saddened that Joan and Craig disassociated themselves from Brian and Justin. Claire couldn't dream of not speaking to her son, no matter what happened between them. She was happy that her relationship with John was secure and strong. By the end of the evening Claire learned a lot about Brian and his life and about Justin.

"Justin, I'd love to meet your mother and your sister. I'd love to plan another barbecue when the treehouse is ready for its unveiling. Do you think your mother and sister would join us?"

"I think they'd come. I will certainly ask."

"Good, then we can have a real family get together." That statement brought smiles from all. Just then Bobby walked into the kitchen with John in tow. "It's karaoke night at the Honey Bear. We worked so hard today, we could do with some entertainment." The brothers and Justin agreed. Brian and Justin went upstairs to clean up and put on some clubbing duds. Their appearance begat appreciative gasps from John and Bobby.

"You two need to get out of the country more often if you think what we're wearing is impressive. Justin, why don't you try to convince Bobby to bring John to Pittsburgh next Friday? We'll take them shopping then go to Babylon. They'll be the hottest couple there, after us of course." Justin nodded and followed Brian out to the Cherokee with John and Bobby close on their heels.

"What's Babylon?"

"I have no idea but I guess we're going to find out next Friday."

Settled in at the Honey Bear Brian was soon feeling no pain. He continually ordered another round. Justin decided that one of them had to be sober to drive home, so he told their waiter to bring him water whenever he replenished their drinks.

Brian, John and Bobby were well on their way to being plastered. They had been hooting and hollering at the poor saps who had tried the karaoke. Brian told John about the rock band he and Michael had started. John couldn't believe this was another thing his precocious brother had done.

Suddenly the music changed and they played "Heartbreak Hotel", the old Elvis song. Brian grinned. If I can get them to play the right song will you come and sing with me?" he asked John.

"I'm no singer," John protested.

"It's an easy song," Brian slurred. He leaned into John and whispered the name of the song he wanted to do.

John grinned and nodded. Brian went to the guy running the karaoke and told him what song he wanted. Brian turned and waved John up onto the stage. Justin cringed. He had no idea what Brian was doing. He had never really heard Brian sing. He wondered just how much of a fool Brian was going to make of himself.

The two brothers swayed slightly as they waited for the music to start. Other patrons hooted and cheered them on, hoping for a really awful show from the two gorgeous men standing on the stage.

"Baby, let me be, your lovin' teddy bear.

Put a chain around my neck and lead me anywhere

Baby, let me be … your teddy bear

I don't want to be you tiger

Because tiger's play too rough

I don't want to be your lion

Because lions ain't the kind you'll love enough.

Just let me be … your lovin' teddy bear.

Put a chain around my neck and lead me anywhere.

Baby, let me be … your teddy bear."

Brian took the main vocal and John did his share of the dumdadumdas and other background. Both men did their best Elvis hip swivels until the audience was practically drooling.

Once Justin got over his initial amazement, he had to admit that the brothers were pretty damn good. He and Bobby bopped along with the song enjoying the suggestive performance.

When the song ended, several audience members volunteered to be the brothers' teddy bears. Justin and Bobby quickly moved to capture their rather drunk partners and bring them back to their table. Brian and John downed another round and called for more.

Brian leaned into Justin and whispered. "You're my teddy bear. You know that, don't you?"

"I know, Brian," Justin giggled. Brian's warm breath in his ear went straight to his dick. "It's time to go home and take your teddy bear to bed."

That's exactly what the karaoke stars did. And lovely teddy bears they each had!