Рок Верхтер

Taken for granted

Chapter One
Advertising

Nine-year-old Liam Parker is one of those children of whom only the material needs are satisfied. Working two shifts and weekends, his mom's practically never there to show him her love. But the boy knows she loves him, cause she wouldn't be working so hard to make the ends meet, if otherwise. Liam just missed talking to her or just being together with her.

His dad, you ask? Nope, he's been out of the picture ever since he left with that younger women when Liam was only 2 years old. And as far as Liam is concerned, he doesn't have to come back!

Friends? Yes, the boy had a few buddies to hang out with. There was not really someone there he was close with, though. No one to call best friend. No one who qualified for the job, either. There was something he simply didn't find with the other kids that he sought after. But he knew he'd one day find someone out there who had that special… quality he'd been looking for for a long time.

On a cloudy autumn morning, some teenagers were handing out flyers at the school gate. They did pretty well, too, cause there were only few kids who were able to dodge them while entering. Liam wasn't swift enough to avoid the leaflets. While walking up the stairs and into the building, he glanced at the paper. The add was an invitation for all the kids and their parents to come to the opening of a new bowling alley. 'With parents is probably what they want, they're the ones with the money,' Liam guessed.

When Liam got to his locker, he put the leaflet in his pocket. He almost got a heart attack, when his buddy Mark shouted:

"Hiding your love letters, Liam?"

Liam swiftly turned around to see Mark standing behind him with a mock smile on his face. Liam laughed a bit sheepishly and said: "I wish. Nah, just this flyer we got this morning."

"You kept that? Is it that interesting?"

"Dunno. There's a new bowling opening this weekend. It's close to where I live, so I thought I'd check it out."

"Bowling? You gotta be kiddin'!" Mark exclaimed. "You like that?"

"Never done it… But I'd like to give it a go. Wanna come?"

"Uh uh, no way. My dad always takes me to the racing tracks. Now, that's fun. Bowling? Not enough speed and action for me."

"Okay, then. Can't blame me for trying, ey."

"No, it's cool, but you're gonna have to find someone else to bowl with."

Liam just nodded. He knew that Mark was about the only kid in school he'd consider to ask. That meant he'd have to go alone. 'Some things never change,' Liam thought to himself. 'But at least I'll win my games, there.'

Later that day, the flyer was hanging on Liam's bedroom wall, above his desk. Something about the add appealed him to go to the opening day, so hanging it there would remind him to go.

After hanging up the leaflet, Liam went to the bathroom to take his dayly ten-minute-shower. The flow of warm water over his body was always very stimulating. He simply enjoyed the feeling, and very often, it would show. Quite a lot of times, Liam'd be sporting an erection when stepping out of the cubicle.

Today, he decided to skip getting dressed after refreshing, something he sometimes did. Then, he'd do his homework, have dinner and watch tv while being completely naked. Liam'd always liked the feel of the cloth on his desk chair or couch against his skin. There was no one there to tell him not to. His mom only got back from work when the boy was already sound asleep in bed.

He sat down at his desk and started doing his homework. It wasn't that much, but it lasted a bit longer than expected. The leaflet on the wall would often distract his mind. The boy didn't really understand why he made such a big deal of it. He thought about it for a while and finally concluded that the fact that he'd be actually going was the real reason. His mom always left him some money to spend on whatever he liked. Liam'd never used the money except for savings. As result, his Winnie The Pooh-piggy bank carried quite a lot of money for a 9-year-old boy.

Half an hour later, Liam finished his homework. It was already close to dinner time, so he put the leftovers from his mom's lunch into the microwave to heat. While the spaghetti was turning circles in the oven, Liam turned on the tv and looked for something good to watch. Just when the food had done turning, he found an old episode of The Simpsons. He settled down in the couch and started his dinner… God, how the boy hated this time of day…

After doing the dishes and watching tv for another hour, he got bored and decided to go to sleep. He packed his schoolbag for the next day, went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and crawled into his bed. He fantasised a bit about what the bowling alley would have in store from him. Slowly, the boy dozed off and fell soundly asleep.

The next day went by rather quickly. Nothing special happened, except for an unexpected maths test. Liam always did pretty well in those. He wasn't an A-grade student, but he had only few problems with his studies. As long as his grades were okay, it was alright. His mom didn't care much about it, anyway.

The evening was a repetition of the one before. So was every evening, actually, except for being naked once in a while. But that was about the only variation he had. Liam just longed for someone to simply spend some time with. It didn't matter what he'd be doing, as long as there was someone to do it with. He just wanted a person to make him feel wanted… Needed, even.

Who would have told that a single ad would finally fulfill Liam's wish?

Chapter Two
Lightening

But there's also people who are less fortunate. They don't know where they can find what they seek, yet. Or, they do know where they can get their love and affection, but they can't reach it.

Martin Gray belongs to the second category. The 35-year-old manager of GPD Ltd. has got all he ever wanted to have. He lives in a big mansion just outside San Francisco, with a big pool in the backyard and two big Mercedes' Benz in the garage. All that, he earned by working his way up quickly in the printing industries.

After graduating as an economist at the age of 22 – something he never wanted to be – he started his own printing business, starting out with the printing of name cards and cheap ads for grocery stores and such. His company grew steadily at first, but a contract with a big multinational that wanted Gray Ltd. to create and print their new brochure, was a real boost. Pretty soon, Gray Ltd. became a well known name in the printing industries. After twelve years of working 24/7, Gray Ltd. bought the almost bankrupt PrinDesign. That was the birth of GPD Ltd. (Gray PrinDesign Ltd.), one of the marktleaders in the Western States.

But all his achievements, big cars and his mansion were worth nothing to Gray. It made his life farely easy, but he didn't have anyone to share his good fortune with. His wealth attracted enough women, old or young, but he was never interested. He knew perfectly well what he wanted. He'd known ever since that day in Mr. Swinton's Bookstore where he earned a living during his college years.

Jock Swinton, 67 at the time, couldn't run the store by himself anymore, but refused to close it down and retire. He was hooked on the little shop and would never allow it to be taken care of by someone else. But, in order to keep the shop paying, he needed help, so he hired two college-freshmen to take care of the dayly business: Martin and a chick called Valerie.

Martin did pretty well at making the shop pay. He had some natural talent for selling things. He'd probably even sell sand in the desert with his skills. Valerie was envious about him cause after a few weeks, most customers would ask for Martin to help them out choosing the ideal gift for their mothers-in-law.

Valerie tried very hard to pick up a few customers, too. Too hard, sometimes. On a certain day, a young boy had come into the store. He was roaming through the youth's section, probably just looking around. Valerie thought the boy'd make an easy victim.

She walked over to the child and asked him if she could help him out with something. Politely, the boy had refused the help and told her he was just taking a look around. Valerie didn't like that answer, though, and persisted. She kept on trying to find a book that the boy'd like to buy. The boy first remained polite by saying no to every offer she made, but soon ignored her.

Valerie got frustrated by this and started yelling at the boy. This scared the boy and he dropped one of the books he was looking in. This little accident made it even worse, as Valerie wanted the boy to pay for damaged goods. The poor little guy started crying and got really scared.

Martin had just taken a break. When he got back, he saw the damage Valerie had done. The little boy was standing in front of her, with tears in her eyes and his face as white as chalk. All the other customers who were lucky to be there to witness the whole scene were shocked by Valerie's actions, and some of them were leaving to never come back.

Martin walked over to Valerie and took his position between the girl and her prey.

"What on Earth is going on, here? What are you shouting at that kid for?"

"He's damaged one of the books and I demand him to pay for it, that's what."

"I see. How did he damage it, then?"

"He threw it on the floor, just like that."

"He did, huh. And where's the book? Can I see the damage he's done?"

Valerie picked up the book the boy had dropped and offered it to Martin. After a thorough inspection, all Martin could find was a few creased pages. He turned to the boy, knelt down to be at the boy's height and showed him the book.

"Is it true? Did you threw this book on the floor?"

The boy looked at the book for a while, and then looked up to Martin. "No," he stammered and started to cry again.

"Hey, hey, it's okay, kiddo. Just relax and tell me what happened."

With tears flooding his eyes, the boy stared into Martin's face for a while. He dried his tears and blubbered: "I… I… I was just looking around a bit… and then she came to help me… But I didn't want help… And then she… she yelled at me… I… I… just dropped the book… I didn't mean to… She just… scared me… " And then, almost begging, he said: "Please… Don't make me pay… I don't have enough money."

Martin listened patiently at the boy's version of what happened. The boy seemed almost terrified. This child wouldn't deliberately damage books. Martin took his hanky and offered it to the boy to dry his tears. "It's okay, buddy," he spoke soothingly. "You don't have to pay anything. I believe you." Martin rose to his feet again, patted the boy's frail shoulders to comfort him and turned back to Valerie.

"If there's anyone who should be paying for this damage, it's you," he said.

"What?! But the kid damaged it?"

"Not on purpose. You have no right to yell at a child like that. Or any of our customers. There's no sign saying they have to buy something when they come in."

"But… but…"

"No buts, Valerie. Thanks to your little scene, here, we might have lost some of our good customers. I'm gonna tell Jack about this."

"No need to, Martin," a heavy voice sounded from behind them. Martin, Valerie and everyone else turned around to see Mr. Swinton standing there. He didn't look to happy.

Valerie just took her chance. She snatched the book from Martin's hands, holding it open at the creased pages and showed the man. "Look at what this little criminal has done."

"I see, Valerie." Jack nodded. "But let's go in the back room to discuss this." Jack invited Martin, Valerie and the boy to follow him to the back of the store. Once the door was closed behind them, Jack said; "I overheard the boy tell Martin what happened, and I agree with Martin. It's you who should pay."

"What? You believe the kid?"

"Of course I do. My grandson wouldn't do anything like that."

"Your grandson," Valerie asked, knowing she'd made a big mistake.

"Indeed, Valerie. And you've just called him a criminal, you've shouted at him as if he were a dog and scared him to death. No one does that to my William."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Swinton," she tried to save her ass. "It won't happen again."

"No, it won't. You're fired, Valerie."

Valerie just stood there, nailed to the ground. She tried to say something, but knew it wouldn't help. She walked out of the room and grabbed her stuff, marching away, mumbling something like: "Stupid kid!…" Martin wasn't sad to see her leave.

Then Jack came standing next to Martin. Martin wasn't very sure he was off the hook. But Jack reassured him by shaking his hand: "Good work, Martin. At least one of you has some sense in him."

Martin just nodded. He took the book back from Mr. Swinton, flattened the creased pages as good as he could and then turned towards Jack's grandson. "What's your name again?" he asked in a friendly tone.

"William," the boy answered, still a bit pale from the emotions, but clearly relaxed after seeing his grandfather.

"Pleased to meet you, William. I'm Martin," Martin introduced himself, reaching out his hand.

William looked at his grandfather for approval. The man just nodded, with a trusting smile. "Pleased to meet you too," the boy replied a bit puzzled, and shook Martin's hand.

"Well, now, William. I don't think your grandfather will like this, but Valerie actually wanted you to have this book." He presented the book – Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory – to the boy. The boy didn't move a muscle. "Take it, it's yours. It's on the house. It's my way to apologise for Valerie's behavior."

William again sought confirmation in his grandfather's eyes. Again, the man just nodded, now with a big smile of satisfaction on his face. The boy carefully took the book from Martin and smiled at the man. "Thanks," he said, almost whispering.

The smile the boy wore at that moment was something Martin would never forget. Not just cause of the whole scene that'd been played, here, but cause of the intense feelings it gave him. He'd made a young boy happy, after he'd been treated cruelly. That was more satisfactory than anything he'd ever done before.

Later that day, Jack gave Martin a raise and thanked him for what I'd done for his grandson. The boy was to come and live with the old man, after his mom had died of cancer. Martin offered his sympathies to the man as well as his help with taking care of the boy, if needed. Jack welcomed the help and said William would appreciate having a friend. This was the start of a brilliant friendship between William and Martin.

For the following three years, the two grew closer and closer to each other. Friendship became love, love became affection, affection became sex. When Martin graduated, Jack decided to retire and to spend the rest of his life taking care of his grandson. They moved out to another town. William and Martin stayed in touch for a while, but the friendship died out. That's when Martin founded his company and tried to forget his feelings, tried to forget William, by working day and night. It didn't work one bit.

Now, twelve years after William had left, Martin was a lonely, rich man. But the ad in the paper the local paperboy threw on his porch would soon change that.

Chapter Three
First sight

There were 18 lanes, all with colourful screens to count the scores. There were some blacklights and mirror balls and stuff like that all over the place. On a blackboard near the entrance it said those things would be turned on at 9 pm, the starting hour of a massive bowling party.

Between the entrance and the lanes were seats for at least 100 people to sit. There were ordinary chairs and tables, which looked modern and pleasant to sit in. But most of the attendants would probably hope to get a seat in one of the big dark blue couches on the right hand side. Furthermore, there were six pool tables, some dart boards and stuff like that. All to keep the customer happy, busy and paying.

The bar and the counter were on the far left hand side. It looked very modern, with the neons above it spelling the bowling alley's name, which was 'Between pins and pints'. There were about ten stools to sit on, and the back of the bar was all mirror.

Liam walked over to the counter and ordered a lane. He'd have to wait another hour to be given the chance to play, since every lane was already taken. The ad had done it's work, cause there was a big crowd, mostly families with kids. The atmosphere was very enjoyable, with lots of laughter from both kids and adults.

Normally he wouldn't wait, but he felt like giving the bowling thing a go. He bought himself a lemonade and sat down at a table for two. While waiting, he looked around, reading all billboards, watching the people bowl… He saw lots of people struggling to get the ball to the end of the lane without dropping into the gutter. At least he didn't have to worry about getting laughed at, or something.

On lane 11, a man in his mid thirties was playing by himself. That man did hit the pins. Not just a few, but he threw strikes and spares, making look bowling easy. Liam hoped he wouldn't have to replace this guy on lane 11. The guy, having his own gear, such as two glimming balls, special shoes and glove, didn't even seem to realise there were others next to him. He was concentrating so hard it seemed as if he were playing chess against Anatoly Karpov. Until…

Until Liam caught the man looking straight at him. The man stood there for a few seconds as if he was nailed to the floor. He then shook his head, seemingly trying to wipe a thought out of his mind. He turned back to his game and grabbed his ball. Right before he stepped onto the approach of the lane, the man glanced back at Liam. Only briefly. Then he positioned himself, approached the lane and launched the ball… The nice curve the ball usually made, always narrowly avoiding the gutter, now came too late. The ball dropped into the right hand gutter.

The man's scores dropped, but fortunately, it was his last game. He only got a 134 in that, which was pretty pale comparing the 200 plus average from the four games before. And everytime he came back from the lane, he looked directly at Liam.

Liam started feeling uncomfortable. But then again, the fact that he seemed to stirr something into the bowler's mind intrigued him. He looked down at himself, seeing that he wasn't wearing anything weird or dirty that might distress the other people. But there must be something about him that would make someone act out of order.

The man packed his gear. At that very moment, Liam heard his name in the speakers. It was his turn to go and show off his skills. And, yes, as it always will happen, he got the very lane he didn't want to play on, lane 11. He went to the counter to get a pair of bowling shoes and strolled to the lane, carrying another drink and some candy.

By the time Liam was about to throw a bowling ball for the very first time in his life, the man who'd previously been playing on the same lane was nowhere to be seen. The boy shrugged, grabbed a ball and started bowling.

The boy didn't do that bad. He did get some pins knocked down and he kinda liked the game. Sometimes he looked around to see if the man was around, somewhere. He didn't see him anywhere, until he was halfway the second game of two. Liam looked at the table where he sat before, and there he was. Liam just stood there looking at the man who was staring him straight in the eyes. There was still a fair distance between the boy and the man, but Liam could see clearly the man's eyes were starting to tear.

That first real eye contact was also the last. The man hastily grabbed his gear and walked away, out of the bowling. It was as if he was running away from something. Or someone. This let Liam all confused. What about him could make a man he never laid eyes on start to cry and run off?

Liam swiftly finished his bowling and left to go back home. All the way back to his place he pondered about what had happened. At home, he couldn't concentrate on anything and at night, it took him forever to fall asleep. What he thought was worst, was that he'd probably never know the answers to all the questions that had arisen in his mind. He prayed that he'd forget about what'd happened.

Chapter 4
Memories

He could still remember how the boy looked. Spiked blond hair, standing on a handsome but seemingly worried face. He had a funny little snub nose and a small mouth. The boy was dressed in a hooded marroon sweather with some cartoon drawing printed on it and a pair of blue jeans that seemed to be a tad bit too tight for him.

Martin immediately saw the brightness of the boy when he'd first made eye contact. The boy'd seemingly been confused about the way Martin acted then. And Martin admitted right away that the boy's look clearly had a strange effect on him. Seeing him pondering about why Martin had acted so awkwardly and also afterwards, when Martin had watched him bowling from a distance. The boy seemed to enjoy himself, even if he were all alone.

Martin had then took all his courage. He'd sat down right where the boy had been while he himself was playing a few games. He thought for a second that he might address the boy and maybe get to know him. But as soon as the boy had spotted him again, Martin had remembered his friendship with William. And especially the sadness after William had gone out of his life made him feel so down he'd started weeping like a child.

Now, at home, Martin was reminiscing about that last day and night with William. There was a box with photos and letters and all kinds of worthless stuff. Every item in that box represented William and Martin's friendship with him. They all reminded him of all the special moments they'd had together, from their first evening out to the movies to the first night they'd made love together.

William had told Martin about him moving to Florida with his grandfather. Jack Swinton had finally decided to retire and sell the book shop to take care of William and to enjoy his old day. The day of William's departure had come very first after that.

Mr. Swinton had allowed William to spend the last day and night with Martin. They'd first agreed on going to the movies and have fun, but William didn't want to. All the boy'd wanted was to be together. All day long they'd been rummaging in the very same box that was on William's table, today. They talked and talked about everything they'd ever done together.

They laughed a lot that day and felt content, but as the night set in, they knew it would be their last together. They'd just sat there, looking at each other, eyes slowly tearing up… That's when they made their promises to each other.

"I don't want to go," William said sobbing. "Can't I stay here with you?"

"I wish you could, love," Martin sighed. "Your grandfather wants you with him, though. He's crazy about you, you know."

"I know. I love him, too. But I don't want to leave you."

"Neither do I, William. But this doesn't mean we won't be friends anymore. I promise you that I'll stay in touch." William just smiled at me, eyes full of tears and then jumped up and wrapped himself around me, sobbing. Martin petted his back and comforted him as good as he could. "Look, William, you'll always be welcome with me. If you want, you can always come and stay here for a while. And if you would like, you can come over next summer and spend some fun time here."

"You promise?" William simply asked, looking up at Martin longingly.

"I promise, love."

And at this Martin and William hugged each other tightly and sat closely together like that for it seemed like hours. Without realising, it'd turned dark outside and it was time to go upstairs and get some sleep for the next day.

By the time Martin was carrying his boy upstairs, William had already dozed off. Martin laid the boy into the bed they'd spent many nights in together. He undressed the boy, probably for the last time, and tucked him in. Martin took the stairs downstairs to lock up the house and turn off the lights and tv and went back to the bedroom.

Martin had expected William to be still sound asleep, but instead, he was welcomed by his little friend lying flat on his back in bed, the covers thrown off of his nude body, his desire clearly visible in both eyes and groin. "I don't want to leave without saying goodbye properly," William said sexily.

That's all Martin needed. He longingly stripped of his clothes and jumped into the bed next to William. He threw one arm over Williams waist and pulled him close to him. Their lips met and they kissed each other ever so passionately. Their hands were all over each other's bodies. That was the beginning of a love filled night. The last one they Martin and William would be together.

The next morning was a very sad one, both of them in tears when they said their goodbyes and good lucks. Both of them were pretty sure they'd stay in touch forever. But they were wrong.

It was William who'd broken the contact. Suddenly he'd stopped calling Martin and didn't reply to any of Martin's letters. Martin kept writing in the hope that William would answer, but finally he gave up and knew the boy he'd loved for more than three years had forgotten about him.

The first few months after realising that William was now completely out of his life were dark ones. He went through a heavy depression. That's when he founded Gray Ltd. His work made him forget about William, but in the evening, when he was home alone, he couldn't stop thinking about the boy. His success in the printing industries made it all wear off and he promised himself not to attach himself to someone anymore.

The boy he saw in the bowling alley today was a threat to that promise, cause already, Martin realised that he had fallen for the boy's charms.

Chapter 5
Small talk

The latter, the think part, will be a very big problem today, after yesterday's encounter with that boy at the bowling. It left him full of doubt of what he should or how he should be feeling. But in the end, he pretty much found a way to put the whole matter out of his mind. 'I probably won't be seeing that kid anymore, so why bother,' he thought to himself as he switched on the shower.

A few toasts, eggs and a glass of fresh pineaple juice later, Martin tied his Adidas running shoes and jogged towards the park to his usual Sunday morning 8-mile's [15 km] run. It was still a bit cold this early in the morning, but the rising sun promised this Sunday to be a very pleasant one.

After his refreshing jog, Martin set of to his favourite coffee stand to get a warming cup of Java. He walked towards one of the benches near the entrence of the park and sat down to relax and enjoy his coffee.

Not three minutes after sitting down, he saw someone familiar entering the park. The moment Martin spotted that familiar person, the thought that he'd consoled with the very morning vanished like snow melting in the sun. The young boy from the bowling alley was strolling about, wearing the same outfit as the day before, with his head down and a seemingly thick book under his arm. One glance into Martin's direction stopped him in his actions and froze him on the spot. At that moment, the two were still over 20 feet [5 m] away, but Martin could clearly see that the boy was as surprised as he was.

Martin didn't know what to do and the fact the boy remained standing where he was, watching in his direction, he knew the child didn't know either. Part of him was awfully curious to get a closer look and find out who that kid was. But doing that usually isn't a very smart move, as people might mistake it as Martin being one of those creepy adult men going to the park to pick up children for sex. And, even worse, the boy might see it as that too. The last thing Martin wanted to do was scare him off.

So, instead of being brave, he stayed where he was, sitting on the bench, not bothering to finish his already cooled off coffee. It was still quite exciting to be wondering about what the boy would do. Martin didn't know what to hope or wish for. He realised that he was clearly attracted to the youngster. But, just like the night before, he doubted if he really wanted to be in love with a boy again, and to get attached to someone he would probably lose after a certain time. That… fear… was what kept him most from actually daring to address the young boy.

But, as the irony of life always turns out, the most surprising thing of all happened. The life returned to the boy statue and slowly, like a predator sneaking up towards his pray, the child came walking towards Martin. When he'd finally reached the bench Martin was sitting on, he simply nodded and sat down, opening the book he was carrying on the page where the indicator was.

'Is this kid challenging me, or something?' Martin wondered. 'Is he expecting something?'

After a few minutes of sitting there next to the him, it was pretty obvious that the boy wasn't there beside him to read his book. Martin was watching him closely, but descretely, and noticed that the reading speed was very slow. It seemed as if the boy kept reading the same paragraph over and over again.

He still doubted if he should do it, but it was pretty clear that the boy wanted Martin to make the next move. Martin liked boys, that's for sure, and if a young kid was giving him signs that he wanted to get acquainted, then he couldn't go and disappoint the child, now, could he. So, he turned towards the boy and spoke the most common word of them all to get his attention:

"Hi," Martin said.

The boy looked up from page 93 and turned his head to Martin, trying his best to look disturbed, and replied: "Hi."

Of course, Martin saw threw the boy's act and decided to go on with small talk topic number one: "Nice day, isn't it?"

Again, the youngster faked his being annoyed. "Yeah, it is," he said.

'Okay,' Martin thought to himself, 'I've got his attention.' "D'you come here often?"

This time, the boy no longer faked being bothered. He closed the book, with his finger between the pages he must have known by heart by now. "Not much," he answered. "I just felt like it, today."

"Cool," Martin smiled, glad to see that the boy was willing to chat a bit. "I come here every Sunday morning to run a few miles. I've never seen you here, before."

"Uhuh… But you've seen me before, no?" the boy asked, looking a bit shy, this time.

"I believe I have," Martin confirmed. "And actually, I didn't really expect to see you again."

"Oh," was the only thing the boy said. He looked down a bit, seemingly disappointed. Apparently that last remark was a bad one.

"Hey, hey," Martin hushed. "I don't mind seeing you again. I'm quite glad to have you sitting next to me." Martin didn't lie, there. The longer he was with the little one, the more he enjoyed the company. There was no point in denying… He liked this lil man. This seemed to please the young lad. He looked up again, right into Martin's eyes, with the most hypnotising smile on his face. Martin was glad the ice was somehow cracked (too soon to really call it broken). It was now time to get to know a little bit more about young Mr. Cupid next to him. "So, what are you reading?"

The child seemed to have been expecting that question. He turned the cover of the book to Martin to let he see what it was about. Lord of the Rings it said. "Well, well!! So you're a Tolkien fan, then?"

The boy smiled again, and said: "Not really! I just wanted to know what it's about. Everyone tells me the movies are so cool, but I haven't seen them yet."

"You haven't?"

"No. The movie theatre's too far away," the boy explained, "and I never really bothered renting them."

"Why not?"

"I'd have to watch them all by myself," he continued, his smile fading and looking a bit downwards.

"Never anyone home, huh," Martin hushed the boy. "I know the feeling. Would you like to see them?"

"Yeah. The book's nice, but I don't really like reading all that much."

This was perhaps the best and only chance for Martin to invite the boy to his place, some day. He remembered what he'd promised himself not to grow attached to another boy again, but this one beside him was special. His heart told him to go for it, so he would. 'Besides,' he concluded, 'this kid must have thought the very same thing I did when he came over to me and sat down next to me.' "What if someone invited you to go and watch the movies at his place?"

"That'd be cool, but no one ever invites me," the boy shrugged.

"There's always a first," Martin smiled. He dove into his pocket and grabbed his wallet. Out of his wallet, he took one of his business cards and offered it to the boy. "Got anything planned for next Friday eve?"

The boy curiously glanced at the card for a split second and then stared right at Martin's eyes, not believing what was happening. "Errr… no…, not… errr… really," he stammered. "Why?"

"Cause I'm inviting you to come over to my place to watch the first two Lord of the Rings movies, that's why."

"Huh? You mean that?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Cause you don't know me," was the boy's logical explanation.

"Well, then, let's change that," Martin smirked. "If you take my card here, you'll know my name, which is Martin. May I be so kind to ask you what your name is?"

The boy hesitantly reached for the plastic coated red and white card and took it from Martin. "Liam," he said briefly, while turning the card's text to him to read it.

Martin reached out his hand to the boy who'd just introduced himself: "Pleased to meet you, Liam."

The boy turned to the man beside him again, grabbed his hand and shook it lightly: "Likewise," he smiled.

"So, does this mean you're coming over, next Friday?"

"Dunno. I'd love to, actually. But I'd better ask my mum first."

"No problem. Already glad to know you're interested. Let me know if it's okay, okay?"

Liam just nodded his agreement. "I'd better go home, now," he said while getting up.

"Sure thing," Martin smiled. "Glad to have met you, Liam."

Liam just smiled and left, waving the hand with the card at Martin. Martin followed Liam's every move till he turned around the corner. Hoping to see Liam again soon, he also left the bench, threw the cup of now cold coffee in the bin, and strolled back home. When he got back home, he sat down in his couch, replaying the whole thing that'd just happened. At the end, he knew two things for sure: first, he'd fallen in love with Liam; second, that boy had one cute little butt!

Chapter 6
Expectations

It hadn't been more than an hour ago when he'd spotted the man from the bowling alley at the park. It had taken him quite some time to decide what to do… just walk by or go talk to him. Probably for the first time in his young life, he decided to be brave and go for it.

An hour later, he knew the guy's name – Martin –, and he'd been invited to his house to watch the Lord of the Rings films. He hadn't really accepted the invitation yet, but was very keen on going. Not just for the movies he wanted to see, but also to have someone with him while watching them. That'd be the first time in many years. All he had to do was convince his mother to let him go. Today would be the only day to do so, cause his mum was home in the morning, as always on Saturday and Sunday mornings, and didn't have to leave until two p.m.

About two hours later, just before lunch, his mum shook him awake. "Liam!… Liam, honey, wake up!"

Slowly, Liam opened his eyes and vaguely saw his mum standing beside him. "Hey, mum," he croaked. He felt a bit guilty about drifting off to sleep again and said: "Sorry, I must have dozed off again."

"That's okay, sweety. You hungry?" Liam nodded, while slowly sitting up. "Lunch is ready, come on, sleepy head."

Liam smiled and got up, following his mother to the dining room. He barely remembered that morning's events, until he felt that card in the back of his jeans. He took it out off his pocked and read what it said: "Martin Gray - Manager". There was also the logo of a company called Gray Ltd. 'Wow,' Liam thought, 'this guy's got his own company. That oughta impress mum.' He sat down at the table in front of his mum and put the card beside him. His mum glanced at the card for a second, but didn't ask any questions. 'It's now or never,' Liam encouraged himself.

"Mum, can I ask you something?"

"Sure, honey, go ahead," his mum nodded, looking a bit curiously.

"If someone asked me to go to his place to watch some movies, Friday night… Would you let me?"

"Of course," his mum said cheerfully. "I'd be glad you could spend some time with someone."

"Even if this someone was an adult?"

"An adult?" his mum asked, a bit surprised. "Did someone invite you then?"

"Yeah," was Liam's answer, as he shoved the card towards his mom. "Martin said I could come over next Friday."

Liam's mother took the card and read it: "Martin Gray? Where did you meet him?"

"This morning in the park. I'd seen him before at that new bowling alley. I went there yesterday."

"I see. And what did you say?"

"That I'd have to ask you first."

"Right," she sighed. She sat there nervously fondling the card. Of course, she knew about all those stories about men picking up boys and such. She'd also taught Liam not to go and talk to strangers. Apparently, Liam must have trusted the man enough to go and talk with him. Maybe it was worth taking the risk. At least, it'd make Liam happy. "Let me call this man, first," she finally offered. "If he turns out to be okay, you can go, okay?"

Liam was already glad that his mum didn't say no straight away. He smiled and nodded enthousiastically.

"That's a deal, then," his mum said, "but let's eat first."

At about one o'clock, Liam's mum went over to the phone. She picked up the receiver and dialed the number on the card. Liam sat next to her on the couch, his attention focused on the conversation at hand.

"Hello, Mr. Gray?" his mother said after waiting like forever. Liam shuffled closer towards his mom, trying to hear Martin's part of the telephone call. No luck, though, as he could only make out some muffled sounds.

"Hi, this is Angela Parker," she introduced herself adding, "Liam's mother." … "Yes. He tells me you've invited him at your place next Friday?" … "He did, that's why I'm calling. Why did you invite him?" … "Company, right. Why Liam?" … "He is… You're not planning on doing anything with, are you?" … "Okay, okay! I'm sorry, but as a mother, you understand I had to ask." … "I do now. How d'you want this to happen." … "I'll probably get late, I suppose?" … "I'll here it from Liam if he wants to do it again, afterwards. I don't know about him getting home so late." … "You sure it's not a problem?" … "I'll ask him, but I don't think he'll mind." … "I'll be at work when you get here. We can meet some other time, if you want to." … "Okay, that's a deal then." … "The address? Oh, yeah, Sutcliffe Road 758, Appartment 7." … "Yeah… thanks for doing this for Liam." … "Bye, bye, Mr. Gray."

Finishing of with the standard bye bye phrase, she hung up and turned to Liam. The boy was looking at her with big expecting eyes. "Well?" he asked hopefully.

"Well what?" his mom teased.

"Can I go now, please???" the boy begged.

"He'll be here next Friday at 6.30," she informed him. Knowing this meant yes, Liam jumped up and hugged his mom tightly… "Thank you, thank you…"

"Okay, okay, you little monkey," she tried to calm him down. "Mr. Gray wanted to know if you would mind spending the night, too."

"Can I?" Liam wanted to make sure.

"You're gonna have to, I'm afraid," Liam's mum answered. "I don't want you coming back home so late. He'll bring you back the next morning."

"Yaay!!!" the boy cheered. "Thanks again, mum."

"That's okay, sweety," she smiled, "but don't expect too much of it, okay. It might be less fun than you think now?"

"I know…" Liam sighed, "but at least there's someone who wants to spend some time with me. It's not much fun when I'm all alone here, every night."

"I know, honey," Angela comforted her son. "I wish it were different, but I don't have any other choice."

"It's okay, I understand. I love you, mum."

"I love you too, Liam." Angela kissed her son on the top of his head and hugged him tightly for a few seconds. "I gotta go to work, now. Take care, honey."

"I will," Liam promised.

Angela went into her bedroom to change into some other clothes, grabbed her car keys and kissed Liam again on the way out. Happy that he finally had something to look forward to, he dropped himself on the couch with a big sigh. He'd never felt like this, before. Something about this Martin-character intrigued him. Maybe, after next Friday, he'd know what that something was.

The rest of the day, Liam spent watching tv and practically doing nothing. In bed, at night, he was phantasising about what could happen on this 'date'. Yeah, he was really looking forward to it.

Chapter 7
Lucky Friday 13th (1)

The morning of that big day, Martin spent in the office, aswell, but after lunch he went home to prepare is home for welcoming a boy in it. He cleaned up a bit, put clean cheats on the big bed in the guest room, bought some snacks and sodas and stuff like that… Martin did his best to make sure Liam might want to come back after tonight.

At about 5 o'clock, Martin stepped into the shower to freshen up. Half an hour later, he was in his car, wearing a clean shirt and jeans and a little touch of deo. Not too much, cause he remembered from William that he didn't really like those chemical smells. This was only a first date, so, it couldn't do any harm.

About ten minutes later than he'd set he'd be at Liam's place, he rang the bell of the Parker residence at the entrance. He waited a while before there was a click and Liam's voice sounded in the speaker. The boy sounded very nervous when he answered the call:

"Hello?" Liam's quiverring voice chimed.

"Hey, there, Liam, it's Martin," Martin said. He hoped the boy wouldn't make any fuss about being a bit late.

"Hi, Martin, come on it," was the child's joyful reply.

"Okay, kiddo, which floor?" Martin said.

"Oh, second. Our appartment's on the left," Liam informed Martin, as the lock of the door clicked and a faint buzz sounded from the speaker.

Martin entered the building and climbed up the stairs to the second floor. When he turned to the left, he saw Liam standing in the doorway, smiling brightly. The boy'd done his best to look good. Not that he had to, but the gel coated spikes, the clean blue buttoned shirt and black jeans looked nice on him. The pair of jeans looked as tight as the ones he'd worn when they first met.

"Hello, Martin," Liam greeted him when he saw Martin. "Or should I say Mr. Gray?"

"Mr. Gray? Who's he?" Martin joked. "No, no, just call me Martin."

"Okay, Mr. Gray… I mean Martin," Liam said with a cocky smile. "Come on in."

Martin just smiled and followed Martin into the appartment. With the shirt nicely tucked into his tight jeans, he had a pretty good view on the boy's little butt. With William, and also the other boys he'd seen around, he'd also liked the sight of those cute little buns swinging back and forth.

When he entered the appartment, he pretty much understood why the boy was wearing his jeans so tight. It wasn't really his choice, but from the look of the pretty old fashionned furniture and a tv that was about to become extinct, he realised that Liam and his mum weren't very wealthy. Maybe later, when he'd get the chance, he might finally be able to share his with Liam. But he'd only do that if his mother agreed. Most people don't want to be helped like that.

"Are you ready to go, Liam?" Martin asked.

"Yeah, almost. Just gotta get my stuff and my jacket," the boy said while he walked out of the livingroom. He came back with, wearing a black and purple coat and carrying a small back pack with probably his pyjamas in it. "I'm ready, now," he said.

"Okay, buddy, let's go," Martin said. The boy followed Martin back outside the appartment and closed the door, locking it with a key that hung on a raffled cord. Martin noticed the cheap cord, but didn't say anything. "Did you have dinner, yet?"

"No, why?" the boy said.

"You like pizza?"

"Yeah, I love pizza? Are you gonna order some, then?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Martin said, winking at the boy.

"Cool," Liam smiled.

The two walked down the stairs and out on the street. Martin turned right to where his car was and Liam followed him. Not wanting the boy to walk behind him, Martin turned back, smiled at him and reached out his hand, and stated: "No friends of mine walk behind me, Liam.".

At first, Liam hesitated a bit, but saw the trustworthy look on the man's face and grabbed the hand and they walked hand in hand to where Martin's Mercedes was parked.

After a five minute walk… Martin hadn't been able to find a spot closer to where Liam lived… Martin took his car keys from out of his pocket and push the button to disable the alarm. When Liam saw the big black sedan's indicators blink, his chin practically dropped on the ground and his eyes almost popped out out. "Is that yours?" he peeped.

"Yes, this is one of my babies," Martin said, trying hard not to burst out in laughter as he saw Liam's surprised look. "Like it?"

"You bet!" Liam nodded.

Martin opened the back door and Liam slowly got in: "It's not gonna bite you, you know," he tried to relax the boy.

Liam looked up smiling and sat back, joking: "You could almost live in here."

Martin had to laugh at that and teased: "Indeed, you could. Where do you think you're gonna spend the night, then?" The boy looked up in shock, which made Martin laugh even louder… "Hush, hush, kiddo… I'm kidding. Now, let's go eat, I'm starving."

"Okido," Liam snickered goofily, now completely at ease.

Martin closed the door and got in behind the wheel. He looked into the mirror to see Liam sitting behind him. Liam must have noticed and looked right back in the mirror. Martin blinked his eye and then started the engine.

About 30 minutes later, he parked his car near an Italian restaurant. Liam didn't seem to know what was going on and asked: "Why are we stopping here?"

"You said you liked pizza, didn't you?"

"Yes, but…"

"Well, then… Let's go have some. You'll like it, this is an excellent spot."

"Okay."

And so Martin took his new little friend to the restaurant. In there, they were welcomed heartily by one of the waiters. The man seemed to know Martin pretty well, as familiarly as they spoke with each other. Liam didn't say anything, but he somehow felt he didn't really fit in, there.

The waiter took the two to a table at the back of the restaurant. There was already a reservation sign on it, so Liam knew Martin had arranged this. He really didn't feel all to well about this place and the way this went. Martin could read of the little boy's face he was acting a bit anxiously. He didn't really grasp why, at first, but then he knew that all this'd overwhelmed the boy.

"You okay, Liam?" Martin worried. The boy just shrugged, but it was clear to see he was having lots of second thoughts. Martin didn't want to let Liam slip away that way. "You can tell me if something's wrong, kiddo."

"Promise you won't get mad?" the boy said, looking a bit afraid.

"I promise, don't worry. It takes a lot to get me angry at a boy like you," Martin comforted Liam.

Liam smiled slightly and said: "I don't really like it here. This place is too… too… rich… for me."

"I overdid it, didn't I?" The boy nodded, still not totally at ease. "I should have thought about that before we came here. We don't have to stay, if you don't feel like it."

"You don't mind if we leave?"

"Of course not, buddy, as long as you still want to go to my place and watch that movie."

"I do… but I still want pizza, too," Liam said.

"That can be arranged, Liam. We'll go home, now, and order us a big one, when we get there, okay?"

Liam brightened up again, now. "Cool," he smiled. "I do want to know what the ones they have here are like."

Martin smiled back at his little friend: "You will know soon enough. Let's get to know each other a bit better first.

"Great!" Liam cheered.

And off they were, again. They went back to the car and drove all the way to Martin's place.

Chapter 8
Lucky Friday 13th (2)

Liam got out of the car and followed Martin round the back of the house. The spots on the porch lit up and shone over what Liam almost mistook for a football field. Only two details of the backyard proved different, as a football field is still bigger and that football fields do not have pools in it. He couldn't do anything but drop his back pack and sprint towards the rim of the swimming pool.

"Wow!" he yelled. "Is this really yours?"

"It sure is, my boy. It sure is," Martin confirmed as he slowly came standing next to Liam. "Too bad I've only met you in October. If it'd been July or August, I'd have invited you for a swim instead of a movie."

"It'll be July and August again, next year," Liam informed Martin, smiling expectingly.

"You bet, kiddo. But is this one rule, you'd have to obey when swimming."

"A rule? What rule?"

"This pool is for skinny dipping only. No bathing suits allowed in here," Martin said seriously.

"You mean… Naked? I'd have to swim naked?" Liam peeped in disbelief.

"Yups," Martin nodded, still without any emotions.

"Errr… I dunno… Maybe I…" Liam stammered, totally taken by surprise.

"Hahaha!!!" Martin laughed hartily. "I'm kidding, matey, of course you don't have to get naked to get some swimming done, here."

"Phew," Liam sighed with relief. And then, wanting to test Martin, he added: "But what if I wanted to?"

"That's all upto you, then, Liam. I wouldn't mind seeing that lil butt of yours floating in that pool, there," Martin blinked, playfully patting Liam's buns.

A bit taken by surprise, he turned back to Martin who stood next to him and squeaked: "Hey!!" But all Martin did was grin back at the boy. This reassured Liam that the man was only fooling around a bit, so he added: "Warn me next time you're gonna hit my butt, will ya."

"Warn you? Now where's the fun in that?" Martin just giggled gently as Liam sighed and shook his head in disbelief. "Let's get inside, now, shall we."

"Yay!!" Liam just smiled.

Martin walked towards the back door and unlocked it. Liam followed him inside, carrying his bag over his shoulder. Martin turned on the light when they entered his 21st century kitchen, with all the household equipment you can imagine in it. It was very clean, too. Liam thought this could be the perfect payback moment for that pat on his butt. "Wow, you must have been cleaning up for a whole week," he joked.

Martin turned back to the young rascall and laughed out loud: "Hahaha!!! Yeah, I did."

Liam smiled and walked over to the sink. "You missed a spot," he said, trying to sound serious, pointing at no point in particular.

"Oh, you're an expert in the cleaning business, then," Martin mocked. "Next time, I'll leave all my mess in the sink and have you do it."

"You're kidding," the boy smirked.

"I'm not," Martin said shaking his head, "I think you'd look great in an apron, too."

"Eèèh!" Liam rejected, pulling out his tongue.

"Hihi… You're cute," Martin smiled broadly. "Now let's give you the dime tour, shall we." The man let the youngster lead, as he guided him through kitchen, dining room… Then they walked upstairs, going to the room where Liam would spend the night. "And in here, I hope you'll be spending lots of nights, after this. If this works out okay, this is gonna be your room."

Martin opened the door and let the boy enter the bedroom. "Wow!" the boy exclaimed. "This is almost as big as our entire living room. Am I really gonna sleep in that?" he questionned, pointing at the big bed in the middle of the room.

"Yep, that's what it's for. I don't think you'll mind the extra room, no?"

"No, it's great!! Can I…" the boy signaled, fidgeting with his shoes.

"Try it out? Sure thing! Go ahead!"

Liam didn't need to be said that twice. He kicked of his shoes and swiftly darted to the bed, taking a big leap and landing on the bed with a few bounces up and down. He lay still for a few seconds, feeling up the cloth on the bed and then sat up straight, launching himself again and again. There was a enthusiastic giggle escaping from his lips. Martin loved seeing the little imp enjoying himself like that. After a few more jumps, he finally calmed down and dropped flat on his back with a great happy sigh. "This is awsome!" he shared with Martin.

"Glad you like it, kiddo. Leave your gear in here, and I'll show you where the bathroom is and where I sleep. Then we can go and order ourselves some pizza and get the party on the way. I'm starving."

"Yaay!!" was Liam's spirited agreement.

Martin continued his tour, showing Liam the bathroom and his bedroom. Till then, he hadn't showed the boy his media center, with home cinema and a dolby surround stereo system. He kept the best part for last.

"Now, if you want, you can use the shower and get comfy," Martin suggested. "I'll go downstairs and order our dinner."

"Okay… No shower, cause I did that before we left. I'm just gonna freshen up a bit."

"Great, make yourself at home," Martin offered, while heading down the stairs. "Anything you'd like on that pizza of yours?"

"Pepperoni and cheese and lots and lots of tomato sauce."

"Good choice. See you in the kitchen in a few minutes."

"Okido!" the boy smiled broadly.

Martin went downstairs, grabbed the phone and ordered the pizza with lots and lots of tomato sauce… He had a nice feeling about all this. Liam seemed to feel pretty at ease around him. They hadn't really been introduced, though. All they'd done was joke around and such, but the ice was already broken between the two of them.

About ten minutes after Martin had ordered the food, Liam appeared in the kitchen doorway, dressed in his bluish pair of pyjamas, with two dolphins printed on the short sleeved shirt and black and blue shorts that only went down halfway his thighs. The nightwear hung losely on the boy's frail body. It suited him perfectly and he looked, well… adorably sexy.

"Hey, there you are, buddy," Martin welcomed the boy. "You're not gonna get cold in those?" he asked caringly.

"No, it's okay, it's nicely warm in here," Liam informed Martin, while entering the kitchen. "I would like some slippers, though," Liam hopefully admitted.

"Slippers? Sure, I've got some spare slippers you can use. They'll be a bit big for those little feet of yours, tho." He hadn't noticed yet, but Liam was standing next to him bare footed. He glanced at the little feet with the curly toes for a second. "But you're right, cause I don't want you to grease up my floor with those smelly feet of yours," he smiled.

"My feet don't smell!" Liam retorted. "If you say that once more, I'm gonna put them right under your nose so you can smell them."

"Okay, I surrender," Martin laughed, imagining how nice it would be to actually have those little toes wriggle in front of his face. "I'll go find those slippers."

Martin walked out of the kitchen, wearing a happy face, glad to see Liam settle in so easily. He went upstairs, rummaged through some old shoe boxes and went back downstairs with his only pair of slippers. He never wore those things, but was glad that Liam would be able to use them. A new pair for the boy would be better, though… A perfect little present for when Liam would come again.

Only a few moments later, he got back into the kitchen, where Liam stood near the table. The boy looked at the slippers Martin was carrying and started snickering goofily. "You're not gonna let me put those on, are you… Gee, I could fit my legs in those."

"Oh, come on, they're not that big, you little bugger. D'you want them, or not?"

"Errr… Well, seeing them like that…"

"It's your choice," Martin said. At that moment the bell rang. "That'll be our pizza. I'll leave these here while I go get our food."

As he'd expected, it was the pizza delivery at the door. He paid the young man, and turned back to go the kitchen. But on his way back, he almost bumped into Liam, who'd unnoticably followed him to the front door.

"Oy, Liam! You almost made me drop this. I don't think eating pizza from the floor would be much fun," he said.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to," Liam apologised.

"Sorry? What for? You didn't do anything," Martin reassured the little boy. "And you're even wearing the slippers," he also noticed.

"Yeah, they're quite nice, after all. I don't like getting cold feet."

"That's good. Now, let's eat."

Martin went back to the kitchen. Liam followed him, shuffling on those old slippers. They did look a bit funny on the little boy, but he didn't seem to mind about it. In the kitchen, Martin sliced up the pizza, took two cans of coca-cola out of the fridge and lead Liam into his most favourite room.

Inside, there was a big flat lcd-screen hanging on the wall like a big painting. There were all kinds of speakers around the room, with a big couch in the middle. The floor was covered by a thick dark red rug. Liam looked at this all in great awe, and the amazement on his young face only got bigger, when Martin opened a panel in the wall.

Behind the wall, there were all kinds of media devices… A big stereo, a dvd-player, a video recorder… The whole works. Also, there was a huge collection of cd's and dvd's and video tapes stored in the big closet behind that panel.

Martin place the pizza on the small table in front of the couch. He turned back to see Liam take up all the details in the room. He hoped he hadn't made the boy feel uncomfortable by showing him this kinda wealth. He didn't want to do anything like that. Martin was just happy to finally be able to share his good fortune with someone he was falling in love with.

Liam carefully came standing next to Martin, who was starting up the whole thing. Martin looked at the boy beside, who let his eyes roam over the collection of music and films. He noticed the boy was hesitantly reaching out his little hand to take something out, but didn't dare to actually do it.

Martin smiled reassuringly at the boy beside him and asked: "See something you like."

Liam looked a bit startled by that question. "Errr… well…" he stammered, "I'd just like to look at some of those cd's and dvd's to see what's on it."

"Well, then? They won't bite you, Liam." He grabbed the young lad by his frail shoulders and turned him around to face him. "Let's make a deal here, shall we? If you want to do something or look at something or whatever, just do it. Or ask me, if you're not sure it's alright. Okay?"

A bit taken aback, Liam nodded in agreement.

Afraid that he'd perhaps gone a bit too far, Martin gently ruffled through the boy's blond spikes. "Now, just go ahead and look at whatever you wanted to see."

"Thanks," the boy smiled gratefully. "I'd rather watch the movies, now, though."

"Hihi… That's good, too. You can always look at these, some other day," Martin suggested. "Besides, there's a pizza over there getting cold."

"Yups. I'm gonna dig into it, right now. You hurry with the movie, or there won't be any left for you," Liam challenged Martin.

"You wouldn't go and eat my part, would you?" Martin asked with faked shock.

"I would. Just watch it!" Liam laughed.

"Whoahoa, don't you dare. If you do, I'm gonna have to punish you real bad!"

"And what would you do? Spank me?" Liam continued fooling Martin.

"I never spank boys on a first date, but I would do this," Martin answered. And then, without Liam expecting it, he poked Liam's sides, making the boy squirm and giggle like a little pig. It didn't take long before he was rolling over the floor, trying to get away from Martins tickling hands. Martin tried every possible spot to find out where Liam could be tickled… and it turned out to be almost everywhere. Soon, the boy was out of breath and shouted: "Stop…!!! Whahahaha…!!! Please…!!! Stop…!!!"

"Only if you promise me not to eat my half of the pizza," Martin said, holding his hands still on Liam's belly.

"Never!" the boy shouted laughingly.

Immediately, Martin attacked his defenseless boy prey. All the boy's wriggling and twisting about on the floor made his shirt slide up a bit, exposing the kid's belly button. Of course, Martin saw this and didn't think twice when he bent over and put his lips on the little navel, blowing it playfully. This took Liam over the edge and he started begging for Martin's mercy again: "Please…!!! Stop…!!! Hahahahahaha…!!!"

"You promise now?" Martin bargained.

"Yes… hihihi… I promise…" the boy giggled.

"That's a good boy," Martin grinned, patting the boy's right hip. Liam was lying on the soft carpet, trying to catch his breath. There was a big happy smile on his face that brightened up the whole room. Martin got up and reached out to help Liam back on his feet. The slippers somehow had found there way to the corner of the room. The boy didn't bother putting them back on as they dropped down on the couch.

That's when Martin also noticed the little tent in Liam's shorts. Liam must have noticed Martin staring. A faint blush appeared on the boy's cheeks. Feeling a bit ashamed he turned away from Martin a bit and then decided to silently change the subject. He bent over, grabbed one of the pizza slices and started eating with big bites. Martin understood the boy felt a bit uncomfortable with the situation and followed his example.

During their dinner, they talked a bit, getting to know each other a bit better. They exchanged names, ages, dates of birth (Liam's was December 17th, which was the day when the third Lord of the Rings movie came out in the theatre)… Just a bit of small talk about sports and cars and stuff like that.

A little bit later, they'd finished most of the pizza and started watching the movie. At first, Liam just sat right next to Martin, leaving just a few inches of space between them. While Frodo and his companions traveled to Mordor, Liam moved closer to Martin. Pretty soon, he was leaning closely agains the man's shoulder, with his feet pulled up beside him. Martin of course was happy to know the boy was feeling more and more comfortable around him. He wrapped his arm around the boy, gently caressing his back.

Halfway the movie, Liam got up with the urgent need to go to the bathroom. Martin paused the film, explained Liam how to find the bathroom and went to kitchen himself to get a big bucket of pop corn. Martin was back first and waited for Liam. After only two minutes appeared and sat back down next to Martin. He immediately curled up next to him, lying down on his side and placing his head on Martin's lap.

Martin put the pop corn in front of Liam on the ground, so the boy could reach it easily. Liam didn't seem very interested in it, though. He was just lying there, watching the movie. Martin continued his caressing of Liam's back. Now and then, he just stared at the boy, feeling very lucky to have found a new young friend.

On a certain point, Liam looked up, staring into Martin's eyes. He had a big content smile on his face. This was enough for Martin to understand that the boy liked his caresses. He pondered for a while if he should go a bit further and touch the boy's back underneath the shirt, but didn't do it, afraid he might go too far too quickly.

When the movie ended with Frodo and Sam standing on that mountain, Martin looked at the boy on his lap again, still rubbing his frail back. The child's breath had slowed down, during the last half an hour. Martin carefully bent forward a bit, and noticed the boy's eyes were shut. 'The poor lad must have dozed off,' he thought to himself. Liam seemed to be comfortable where he was, being sound asleep.

Martin continued his caresses for a few more minutes and then decided to put the kid to bed. He carefully got up from the couch, and picked up the boy, with one hand under his knees and the other around his shoulders. Silently he went out of the room and climbed up the stairs. When he got to the guest room, he gently laid the boy down on the big bed, covering him up, making sure he was nicely tucked in. Before he went back downstairs to turn of the tv and stuff, and clean up a bit, he kissed Liam on his forehead. "Goodnight, my little friend," he whispered. In his sleep, Liam turned around on his side and curled up into a little ball. Martin could barely hold back his tears, as he felt like the happiest person on the world. He walked out of the room, dimmed the light and went back downstairs.

About half an hour later, Martin also decided to go to bed, to make sure he'd be up and ready to fix the boy a nice breakfast.

Chapter 9
Pleasant surprises

Still in a bit of a daze, he turned around on his other side, with his left arm spread wide beside him. But that arm encountered something strange. Surprised, Martin open his eyes and lifted himself up a bit. Next to him, there was the most beautiful sight he'd ever laid eyes on, so early in the morning. Somewhere during the night, his new little friend Liam had sneaked into his bed beside him. That he'd never expected, but he was more than pleasantly surprised.

Martin smiled brightly when seeing the boy sleep soundly beside him. Liam was lying on his side, facing the window, just like Martin was now. The man didn't know if the boy would accept it, but he couldn't do anything but snuggle up closely behind Liam and wrapping his arm around him. He held onto the child like a child does to his teddybear.

Enjoying this situation, Martin slowly dozed off again. Only a little bit later, he felt some movement underneath his arm. He woke up again, finding Liam who was turning around on his back. The boy's eyes met his and a big welcoming smile appeared on the cutest face he'd ever seen.

"Hey," Liam croaked.

"Good morning, buddy," Martin greeted back. "How did you end up here, you sneaky little bugger?"

"I dunno," the boy grinned sheepishly.

"You don't know? Or you don't wanna tell me?" Martin inquired.

"I dunno," Liam continued.

"Oy, what am I gonna do with you?" Martin sighed.

"I dunno," Liam mocked.

"Yeah, you told me that, honey. What I do know is that you're not supposed to be here. So, out you go!" Martin said as he started pushing the boy towards the rim of the bed.

Not quite catching what was happening at first, the boy started struggling to stay where he was. Knowing he'd never manage to stay on the bed with Martin still shoving him, he turned over and climbed on top of the now defenseless man. Liam sat down on Martin's chest, pressing his knees onto the mans arms.

"Hey, no fair!" Martin shouted. "You can't do that!"

"Says who?" Liam smirked.

"I do!!" Martin answered, struggling a bit to get free.

"Ha!! And why would I listen to an old man like you?"

"Old? Ho, ho!! Now you've done it." Martin's lower arms were still free and he could bend them far enough to reach the boy's sides. No kid could resist a tickle attack like that! Martin poked the boy's sides, which caused the child to laugh out loud and his pressure on Martin's arms to loosen.

This was Martin's chance to revenge. He started rocking his body on the bed, causing the boy to lose his ballance. Martin pushed Liam off his chest, turned sideways and the reached for the boy's armpits, tickling the kid into a frenzy.

"Hey, no fair!" Liam squeaked. "You can't do that!"

"Haha, that's what you get for calling me old," Martin mocked, continuing his tickling business.

Liam tried to struggle free from Martin's attacks, but was unable to. At first, cause Martin's attacks became weaker bit by bit. Liam finally freed himself by pushing Martin's hands off and holding onto them as if they were his most pressious possessions. Holding the hands, he turned back over, pushing Martin on his back and climbing onto him again.

"Okay, okay, I get the massage," Martin sighed smiling at Liam, "I AM getting too old for this."

"Told ya!!" Liam triumphed.

"Yeah, yeah… wise ass," Martin laughed. "So, how did you end up here?"

"Oh… I'd gone to the bathroom and didn't really feel like going back to my room. Guess the bed's to big for me, a bit."

"Maybe. You sure did it quietly, cause I never noticed."

"You don't mind, do you?" Liam wanted to make sure.

"No, not at all. Why would I? It's nice to wake up next to you."

Liam just smiled at this answer from Martin. He moved down a bit, lying his head down on Martin's shoulder. Martin wrapped his arms around the boy and hugged him closely, caressing his back gently like he'd done the night before. A muffled moan escaped from the boy's throat. Martin tought he could vaguely feel something poking his belly.

Not wanting to push things to far, Martin decided to change the subject. "So, you want breakfast?" Liam just smiled and nodded in reply. "Okay, I'll fix us something. You're free to use the bathroom if you wanna freshen up and get dressed."

"Nah, I only do that after breakfast, usually," Liam told Martin.

"Okay, kiddo. Now, get off of me if you want to be fed."

Liam slowly climbed off of Martin and sat on the side of the bed. He sheepishly grinned back at the man, and said: "Good thing I'm hungry, or I'd keep you trapped here all morning."

"I bet you would, too!" Martin smiled. Taking Liam by surprised, he pinched the boy's sides, making him giggle almost girlishly.

"Don't!" Liam retorted, slapping Martin's arm. "I gotta go pee," he added matter of factly.

"Okay, you know where to go," Martin said.

The boy got up and headed out to the bathroom. Martin went downstairs to the kitchen and started preparing a light breakfast for Liam and him. He hadn't had to make breakfast for two in a long time. It reminded him of the times William would spend the night with him, during the weekends. William loved having his breakfast on bed, always the same recepy: toast, bit of cheese and two eggs sunny side up. When their relationship got a more intimate character, breakfast was often followed by a lot of cuddling and kissing.

It was Liam's silly remark that awoke him from his daydream: "I don't know, but aren't pan cakes supposed to be brownish, and not black."

"Wha… Who… Oh, yeah…," Martin stammered. "Well, I thought you'd like them that way."

"Errr… Rather not," Liam smiled, as he came standing next to Martin, still wearing his pyjamas. The gel in his hair had dried up and his hair was in quite a mess. Martin thought he looked like a million dollars.

"Hihi… Go and sit down, I'll have another one ready in a second," Martin suggested. Liam turned towards the table. Martin followed the boy's moves -that sexy swing of his butt as he shuffled on oversized slippers towards his seat- until he sat down and then continued baking.

Half an hour and about six pan cakes later, it was about time for Martin to bring Liam home. The boy voluntarily helped cleaning up the table and after that they went upstairs to get dressed. Martin offered Liam a shower, but the boy settled down for a quick splash of water over his face and some tooth paste to brush his little teeth with.

When Liam'd finished freshening up, Martin was in his room getting dressed. He was standing in his room with his back towards the door, so he didn't notice sneaking up from behind. Just like Martin had done earlier that morning, Liam pinched Martin's sides, who almost jumped up two feet.

Martin turned around and found Liam behind laughing out loud, proud of his little revenge. Of course, while he was unfocused, Martin immediately attacked Liam again. He grabbed him by his hips, lifted him up and then threw him on the bed. Liam landed flat on his back. He immediately pulled his knees up to his chest, cause he knew what Martin was after. This had been a good defense, but Martin took his chances with the boy's little feet, which appeared as tickle sensitive as the rest of his body.

Liam tried his very best to break free, but nothing seemed to do the trick. Pretty soon, he begged Martin for his mercy: "Stooop!!!… Hahaha… Please, stop…"

"Promise not to sneak up on me again," Martin bargained.

"Okay, okay, I promise," the boy panted, now lying on his side.

Martin sat beside him and petted the boy's shoulder. "I had a great time, Liam," he sighed. "You're a great kid."

"Yeah, it was fun," Liam smiled back. "Can I come back next week?"

"I wouldn't want it any other way," Martin agreed. "Now, go and get dressed, so I can get you home in time."

"Okay," the boy nodded. Liam climbed of the bed and went to his room, where he swiftly changed into his clothes and packed up his back pack. A little while later they were standing on the porch of the appartment building where Liam lived.

Liam digged in his pocket for his key and opened the door. "You're coming in, right?" he invited Martin.

"Sure," Martin smiled, and he followed the boy up the stairs and down the hall to Liam's appartment. They went inside and found Liam's mom sitting in the couch reading some magazine.

Liam dropped his back pack and flew right into his mother's arms: "Hey, mom," he said.

"Hi, honey… You're acting like you haven't seen me in months," she answered while she hugged her son. "So, how did it go?"

"Nice, I guess," he said shrugging.

"Just nice? Didn't you enjoy yourself, then?"

"Well…" the boy sighed as he turned to Martin with a big grin on his face. "It was great!!!" he then shouted.

"Really? That's good to hear… What did you do, then?"

"What we said we would do… Watch the movie, have pizza… It was fun."

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah… I got to sleep in this big bed, at first, but I had to go pee and I slept with Martin the last two hours."

"You slept with Martin?" she asked him, looking at the man a bit suspiciously. Of course, Martin knew perfectly well what that look meant, and hoped this friendship wouldn't be over before it really started. "Liam, let's go to your room, for a while and talk for a while, okay," she said.

"Should I leave?" Martin suggested, not feeling at ease with the situation.

"No, no, this won't take too long," Angela said. "Do sit down, we'll be right back."

"I'll wait then," Martin gave in, hoping they'd be back quickly.

Martin only had to wait for like five minutes, but it seemed like a lot more. He was so afraid that Liam's mom would forbid him to take her son out, anymore. His worries were soon to be proved wrong, as he heard a door open and frantic running coming towards the living room. Liam appeared in front of him and jumped onto his lap, almost knocking out the air of Martin. The boy smiled brightly at Martin.

"Oy, kiddo, you're practically crushing me, here," Martin puffed.

"Hihi… Sorry," Liam smirked.

"What's this all about?" Martin inquired, looking at Liam's mom.

"Well, Liam and I had a little talk," Angela explained. "He enjoyed himself big time, last night. I don't think I've seen him this happy in a long time."

"I know how to please a boy… Stuff them with unhealthy food, let them stay up late so they miss the ending of the movie, rough housing a bit…"

"Yeah, he told me all about it," Angela said. "He's taken quite a liking to you."

"That's mutual, then. Liam's good company."

"Yes, he is. I hope you don't mind me talking about it with him?"

"Of course not," Martin lied. He didn't mind, now, cause nothing serious had happened between Liam and him. Something might happen in the futur, tho, and he didn't really want Angela to know. "Your his mom, you've got the right to know."

"Indeed," Angela agreed. "But it's also my duty to give him a happy life. He seems happy around you, so I'm gonna allow you to take him out again next week. In fact, if you're willing, you can take him out whenever you want."

"Really? That's great!" Martin said enthousiastically, but not wanting to seem to keen, he added: "I mean, thanks, ma'am."

"Call me Angela, Martin," the woman smiled.

"Well, it's all up to Liam, from now on," Martin said. "Whenever he feels like going some where, he can call me. I can even pick him up from school, if he wants me to."

"That'd be nice," Angela said. "It'd be good for him if there's someone with him, when he comes home from school."

"I think so, too. We'll arrange something. I gotta go and get some work done, now."

"Okay," Angela said. "Thanks for doin' this for Liam."

"The pleasure's all mine," Martin smiled. He got up from the seat, with Liam still attached to him. He looked the boy right in the eyes and said: "You better call me soon, Liam."

"I will," Liam smiled.

"Great!" Martin cheered. "You can let go off me now. It's a bit tough driving with a little imp around my neck," the man teased.

"Me a little imp?" the kid retorted. "Ha, you haven't seen the worst of me, yet."

"Oh-oh. I'm gonna have to wear armor, then, next time. I gotta go now, Liam."

"Okay," the boy said as he finally let go off Martin. "I'll be calling you soon!"

"Great. Looking forward to it," Martin smiled. "See you later, Angela."

"I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot of you," Angela answered friendlily.

"I believe so, too," Martin agreed as he walked towards the door, followed by Liam. The boy opened the door for him and let the man out. "See you again soon, Liam," Martin said, patting the boy's shoulder.

"Okay. Bye!!" the boy smiled.

"Bye bye!!" Martin smiled back. He turned to the stairs and walked off. When he started descending, he looked into the direction of Liam's appartment, again, seeing the little boy still standing in front of the door. The two waved at each other, and Martin left. This had been the best time he'd had in years, and he knew there was more to come.

Chapter 10
The Master Plan, Fase 1

The next morning, Liam woke up later than usual for a Sunday morning. From the first minute he opened his eyes, he once again began thinking about that Friday night. It wasn't so much the things that'd happened, he pondered about, but the feelings he'd had when they did.

Overall, he concluded, he'd never felt so good as when he was sitting or lying close to Martin. Some things worried him a bit, though, maybe even unnecessarily.

What he thought to be the most special of everything, was how good it felt when Martin had touched him. From that teasing pat on his buns near the pool to the tenderly caressing of his back, everything had felt so… so… right. It had been years since someone besides his mom had made him feel like that.

The thing that worried the boy was that Martin always interrupted his touching when the good feelings started to take over on that one tiny part of his young body. There are two possible reasons why Martin would not continue, Liam thought.

The first Liam could come up with was that Martin must have been afraid of going to far, or that he would go too far if he did continue. But Liam didn't believe one bit that Martin would ever do anything wrong to him. Even the fact that Martin did not go on proved that that wasn't even remotely possible.

The other possibility was that Liam had done something wrong by feeling a bit… special when Martin touched him the way he did. Martin didn't seem to be angry or anything, though. It was Martin who'd always started the touching, in the first place. But of course, it might as well be that Marting didn't want to give Liam a bad feeling on this first evening together.

Liam thought about this quite a lot that Sunday morning. He was really curious about what made Martin stop doing what he was doing. Especially cause what he did do felt so nice toi Liam. Deep inside of him, the boy wanted even for Martin to continue.

It's as the saying goes: 'Curiosity killed the cat.' There was only one way to find out what the reason for Martin's hesitations was. Of course, asking him directly wasn't an option. That would risk a still florishing friendship to end before it'd actually started. Therefor, Liam would have to trick Martin into revealing his reasons for his actions. He didn't quite know how, but Liam was pretty sure to there'd be soon a good moment to give it a go.

Patience not being something young boys master, Liam didn't want to put off that moment for too long. They had more or less arranged to get together again the next Friday. That was still five days away from this morning. Five days too many, Liam said to himself. He wanted to know why Martin acted so distantly.

Not wanting to wast any more precious time, Liam jumped out off bed and went straight to the living room where he sat down next to the phone. He picked up the receiver and dialled Martin's number. Fidgetting with the wire, he waited for Martin to answer. But all he got was this: "Hello, this is Martin Gray speaking. I'm not home…"

"God darned,' the boy cussed silently. Anxiously he awaited the beep after Martin's away message and stammered: "Hey, errr… It's me… You know, Liam… I was wondering if errr… Maybe we could errr… Can we do something this afternoon? You don't have to if you don't want to, ey… But you… well, errr… You said you'd like to. call me back soon, Martin, please!! Bye!!"

And with a bang he hung up the phone as if he'd just made the most important call in his life.

The rest of that morning, Liam was dead nervous, hoping Martin would soon call him back. He tried everything to keep his mind of the whole thing, but was unable to.

When, little past lunch time, the phone rang, he practically beemed himself over to the couch in the living room. He picked up the phone, almost dropping it on the floor, and answered in the most expectant voice: "Hello?"

"Hello, there, my friend," Martin's voice said reassuringly.

"Hi!!" the boy chimed, barely unable to speak.

"You couldn't wait till next Friday, ey, kiddo," Martin inquired.

"No," Liam confirmed. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not! Why would i?" And after a few seconds of complete silence: "To be honest, I didn't want to wait that long, either. I started missing my little buddy, already."

"Really?" Liam asked in disbelief. No one had ever said anything like that to him before.

"Really!" Martin admitted. "You're good company to be with. What would you like to do, today?"

"Dunno…" Liam said, already thinking of a way to find out if Martin could be tempted into touching him again, so he could find out why he'd stopped the other day. "Maybe we could watch the rest of that movie," the boy proposed.

"Not a bad idea, there, but that won't keep us busy for the whole afternoon. Anything else you fancy?"

"I don't know… I don't really mind what we're doing, as long as we're doing something. I'm bored of staying inside all the time."

"We'll find us something to do, then," Martin said. "I'll pick you up around one, okay?"

"Cool, I'll be ready!" Liam cheered.

"I'm sure you will, kiddo. Seeya!!"

"Bye!"

And with that phone call, the first part of Liam's plan was completed.

Chapter 11

That morning he'd been thinking a lot about the previous night with Liam. He'd been worrying quite a bit. He was uncertain of having handled the situation correctly.

On more than one occasion, that friday evening and the morning after, Martin had been touching his new young friend in many different ways. The friendly pat on the boy's buns had been just that: a friendly gesture to break the ice between the two of them. But there'd been two times where Martin had not known how to act rightly. Both when rough housing with the kid on the carpet and when caressing the boy's back whey lied together in bed the morning after, the boy had clearly shown he'd appreciated those little affections.

Knowing boys could get excited like that pretty easily, Martin wasn't exactly sure if Liam's little pecker had in fact reacted to the touching, or if it'd just been Mother Nature playing tricks on him. Hence, Martin didn't know if the boy'd actually felt comfrotable about the situation or not. On both occasions, Martin had done what had seemed to be the best at that time: quit the touching.

Of course, now he wasn't entirely sure if that had indeed been the right thing to do. The boy would be 10 years old next December, so it wasn't unlikely that Liam junior had in fact reacted to the excitement the boy'd felt. This is why he thought that he'd hurt the boy's feelings, that Liam felt bad about how his body had reacted.

Luckily, the message on his answering machine proved that all this hadn't done any damage to there friendship. Martin was more than pleasantly surprised that Liam had taken the step he himself hadn't dared taking. This afternoon he might get a chance to find out if Liam actually really liked all the affection. Martin knew that in time, he'd venture goin' even a bit further.

A few minutes later, Liam sat next to Martin on the car's passenger's seat. It being quite a pretty nice afternoon for November, they'd decided to go to the park for a little walk and a bit of kicking the ball around.

The ball Liam had brought along only hung together by the stitches. Martin thought this through for a while and then decided to drive to the shopping mall, instead of the park. No boy should be playing with that crappy a ball, and certainly not a boy as nice as Liam, he thought to himself. He knew he took a great risk by wanting to buy Liam a new football. He meant it as a simple treat to his newfound friend, and not as a token of sympathy for a someone who clearly wasn't living a life in luxury. Martin hoped Liam would not be insulted by this action.

Martin lead Liam through the mall to this big sports sotre. They entered the shop and went straight to the rack where all types of balls were stacked. Of course Liam knew what Martin's plan was. And he liked it. Not cause he'd soon have a brand new football, but because Martin never really asked him if he wanted his old one replaced. He actually did want a new one, but he wouldn't have accepted it if he'd been asked. Liam turned to Martin, smiling in anticipation, waiting for the man to make his offer.

Martin was glad to see that smile appear on the boy's face. He now knew he hadn't done any harm by bringing him here. "Take your pick, kiddo," he smiled.

"Really?" Liam stilled wanted to make sure.

"Yeah, sure, go ahead! My treat!"

"Cool, thanks." Liam smiled gratefully. He approached the rack where the soccer balls were. He didn't really know which one to choose. They were all nice, of course, but the prices weren't. The ones with established names like Umbro or Adidas, were obviously a lot more expensive then the others. Liam didn't quite know how much Martin wanted to pay for his new toy. Playing it safely, he decided on one of the inferior, cheaper brands.

The boy'd barely touched the probably fake leather when Martin said: "Nah, you don't want that one. It'll look worse than yours within the hour."

Liam wasn't in the least surprised by Martin's reaction, but he still wanted to make sure he could really get one of the more expensive ones. "I know," he said nervously, "but the other ones cost so much money."

"So…?" Martin smiled. "Quality costs money. Which one did you really want?"

Liam pointed at the one at the top of the rack, which was about five times more expensive as than the one he'd first chosen. "That one," he practically whispered.

"Good choice, my boy," Martin nodded. "Take it, it's not gonna bite you."

"But…"

"No buts, Liam," Martin reassured the boy. "Now get it, or I'll put you over my knee and have some fun with YOUR butt." Immediately, Martin noticed the shock in Liam's eyes this remark had caused. His bluntness had been out or order and he regretted saying that. "Oops… sorry, Liam! I didn't mean that, you know. I was just kidding," he apologised, patting the boy's shoulder. "Now grab that ball, kiddo, it's yours."

The boy relaxed again and a bit later, they were back in the car, on their way to park. Liam held his new ball close on his lap as if it were the most precious thing on Earth. In fact, it was, cause no one had ever given him something so out of the blue. Martin could read nothing but contentment off of Liam's face. Martin himself felt like he'd just conquered the world.