So Cal Summer 69

by Flip McHooter

Chapter 29

"Ryan honey, we're home."

"Oh shit! That's my mom on the intercom," I told the guys, jumping off Enzo's rapidly deflating boner. "Shit. What does she want now?"

"Should you answer it?" asked Kenji, a rope of Enzo's cum still dribbling down his chin. He quickly wiped it up with his finger and stuck in his mouth.

"Hell yeah," I said. "If I don't, they're gonna come out here and knock on the door and catch us foolin' around. I don't think we want that. Turn down the music."

"Roger that, Bucky," said Jake. He wasn't worried. Nothing ever seemed to bother Jake.

"Hey, Mom. How was dinner?" I asked, running over to the intercom by the door. I almost tripped on the edge of the fold-out bed and broke my freakin' arm.

"Are you all right, honey? You sound strange. Have you been smoking that wacky tobacky?"

Oh man. She's in one of her moods all right. "Yeah, Mom. That's exactly what we were doing. And we stole some of your pills and dad's booze. Come on out here and let's party." I was getting pissed off.

"Dude, mellow out. You don't want her to get pissed at you," Jake whispered.

"Ryan Jacob Miller! Don't you talk to me like that."

"Sorry mom, we were hanging out talking, and you scared the crap out of us. Why are you home so late? Can't this wait 'til morning?"

"Well, you know your father. He is such a romantic," she said, forgetting that I had yelled at her. "Get off me, Wiley, and stop sucking my finger. He took me to this fabulous French restaurant, and we had such a divine time. Crepes and oysters and caviar, oh my goodness. And I guess the clock kept ticking away. Tick-tock, tick-tock."

"Great, Mom. Thanks for sharing." Yuck-a-rama. I was steamed. I didn't need to hear about their sex life like she didn't need to hear about mine. And she was sounding sloshed again. "What do you want?"

"I read your note and wanted to make sure you and your little friends are okay and that Jordan and his boyfriend are doing fine out in your treehouse."

"We're fine. Geez. And we're not little. Let me go outside and see if the little dudes are okay," I said, letting go of the intercom button. I turned to the guys and said, "Damn, she's so freaky when she gets drunk and horny. Man. I don't know how my dad puts up with her. She must do something super-sexy that drives him wild. I'm surprised I don't have more brothers and sisters."

Everybody in the pool house started laughing. Finally, catching his breath, Jake said, "Just check on the little dudes and tell her everything is hunky-dory. She'll go screw your dad and leave us alone after that."

"Roger that, God damn fucking shit for brains Bucky!" I was beyond pissed; I was fuming. Why does she always butt her big fat head into our business? I opened the sliding glass door and stuck my head outside. I didn't hear anything. I looked over to the trail and could barely make out the cigarette packs that I had left for the Dark Man were long gone. After looking around for a couple of seconds more, and not hearing anything unusual, I closed and locked the door and walked back over to the intercom.

"Mom? Everything is okay. I don't hear the little dudes, so I'll see you in the morning, all right?"

It took her a minute to come back. "What, honey? What did you say?"

"I said everything is okay," I said, biting my tongue to keep from shouting.

"Oh, good. How are Jordy and his little friend?" she asked, forgetting what I had just told her. When I flipped off the intercom I rolled my eyes at the other guys, the three of them laughed so hard I thought they'd pee their pants, except they weren't wearing any.

"I already told you. They're fine. I'll talk to you in the morning, okay?" I said, through my clenched teeth.

"You bet, sweetie. See you boys in the morning. Wiley, get off of me, you silly goose."

"I'm glad we're not sleeping in the house tonight, guys. If I heard any more of that shit, I think I'd go sleep in the car. Geez."

"I think it's cute. It's cool that your parents still love each other. Look at us. My dad is dead, Enzo's mom isn't his mom, and Jake's mom and dad are getting a divorce. You're lucky you have both of your parents," Kenji said, sounding way older than he was.

"I guess. But she chaps my anus sometimes, you know?"

"Well, as funny as that was, and it was super funny, just be glad that they make love and not war. You should have heard some of the big fights my mom and dad used to have. I'm glad we moved here, and we don't have to put up with that crap anymore," Jake said.

"I agree. Even though she's not my mom, when my dad was home they barely talked to each other. She was an ice queen from the Italian Alps. I'm glad she's gone. But I think it's kinda cute that your parents still got it going on for each other, even if she has to get a little sloshed," Enzo said.

"Okay, okay. You guys are right. I guess it's better that they get horny instead of fighting all the time. But still, I don't need to hear about it. Hey, Jake, I forgot to tell you that the cigarettes are gone. Think the Dark Man will leave us alone now?"

"For now, maybe. But as long as he hangs out in the bushes behind your house, I think he'll be watching us. Maybe we shouldn't do any more nude hikes."

"Oh, man. I forgot about that."

"What are you guys talking about?" Kenji asked.

"You guys go hiking in the buff?" asked Enzo. "That's so boss. I want to do that."

"Sometimes, early in the morning, before anybody gets up. We'd go hiking up the trail behind the treehouse wearing only our shoes. After about fifteen minutes we would stop at a clearing and make out on a big rock. It's bitchin having sex outside. But then we saw a picture the Dark Man had drawn on the side of his hang out farther up the trail. It showed Ry and me holding hands, so we think he has been watching us. That's kinda creepy," Jake said. "Dontcha think?"

"Yeah, that's fucking crazy," Enzo said. "But still, having sex outside sounds sexy."

"Any more of that joint?" Kenji asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, fire it up," I said. There wasn't much left of it, but we each got a good-sized hit.

"Hey," Enzo said, blowing out his hit of ganja. "Do you guys know what a 'daisy chain' is? I heard a couple of guys talking about that in the locker room last year, but I was too shy to get in on the conversation." He stood there looking at us and started blushing like crazy.

"I'm not sure. I think it's like sixty-nine times two. You know, like when a guy and a girl double date and they get naked, lie on the floor and give each other head in a circle. Like this: A guy eats out his girlfriend, then she sucks the other guy's dick. Then he eats out the other girl, and she sucks on the first guy's dick. My sister would know," said Jake, looking over at me. "She's probably done that a thousand times."

"Don't look at me. I don't have a clue," I said, stubbing out the roach in the ashtray and setting it down on the table. "Never heard of it."

"I know what it is. The guys at my old school used to do it after swim practice. They were such horndogs. Three or more guys would lie naked on the floor. They usually did this in the locker room showers after practice. One guy would suck the next guy's dick, and so on and so forth. Everybody had a different guy's cock in his mouth. I tried it once. It was totally hot," Kenji said.

"Oh man. I want to do that," Enzo practically screamed.

"Down boy. I thought we were going to fuck you?" I said.

"I thought so too," Jake said.

"Well, guys," Kenji said, "we can still do a daisy chain, but instead of sucking dick we do a rim job on the guys that are going to get plowed."

"What's a rim job?" asked Enzo.

"That's the name for licking someone's butthole. Like what I did to you when Jake and Ryan were sucking your dick. It helps loosen up your butt and gets you horny to get fucked," Kenji said, this time he was clearly embarrassed. But he still popped a raging boner. I was pretty sure he didn't want Enzo to know he made out like that with his old swim team or even Colt, Tucker, Jake and me for that matter.

"That felt bitchin when you did that to my butt, Kenji. How would we do it?" Enzo asked.

"Well, let's see. I'm gonna fuck you, Ryan's gonna fuck me and Jake is gonna fuck Ryan. So why don't we get on our hands and knees and stick our asses up in the air in a line and do it in the same order? That way we can give everybody a rim job that's gonna get fucked? Jake would be the one that misses out."

"I gotta double check the lock on the freakin' door," I said. "And make sure the drapes are closed tight. I don't want the Dark Man to peek in here and see us doing any of that stuff."

"That sounds bitchin," Jake said. "I'm up for it."

"Let's do it," Enzo agreed. There was an old tattered rug on the floor in the middle of the pool house, and Enzo didn't waste any time getting down on it. He moved around and got situated on his hands and knees towards the edge. "Do that to me again, Kenji. That felt like magic," he said, staring at his friend. "Stick your tongue up my ass again. Right now."

I looked over to Jake when I came back from checking the door, and he gave me that goofy grin of his. If he wanted to do this, so did I. Kenji got down on the rug behind Enzo, sticking his little ass up in the air. Kenji stuck his tongue out and started to lube up Enzo's asshole with his dripping saliva. That was my cue to get in there and start licking Kenji's little pink bud. I maneuvered in behind him, one hand on the floor and one hand on his right ass cheek, pulling his cheeks apart with my thumb and forefinger. I split his butt cheeks wide and zeroed in on his quivering little Asian hole. I started to lick and slurp, and the next thing I knew, Jake had zeroed in on my bunghole with his hot tongue. I heard him hock up a big loogie and spit it out on my rosebud, the goo running down my crack and onto my balls. It felt hot and dirty.

Enzo had placed his head on the floor while the rest of us had foxy little teen boy buttholes in our faces. We weren't going to waste any time getting them lubed and loosened up. We were really going at it, slurping and slobbering, all four of us with raging hard-ons.

Kenji was slurping like a madman, no surprise there. He had Enzo moaning and groaning loudly, and you could tell they were both loving it. I was having fun on Kenji's asshole as well, getting it good and sloppy and loose so I could sink my fat dick into him. He kept wiggling around and pushing his butt into my face.

Jake was going crazy on my hole, as well. He knew I loved this and this time was no exception. I could feel his hot tongue licking around my boy hole, and quivers shot through my body when his tongue would part my ring and dart inside. It was a crazy sensation eating somebody out at the same time getting your ass eaten out by somebody else. I was starting to get hot and was worried that I might shoot off without even touching myself.

After a few minutes of this butt eating action, Enzo piped up and said, "Hey guys? We gotta stop this. I'm about ready to shoot again, and I don't want to do that yet. You guys promised to fuck me."

"Yeah, we did," Jake said, getting off me and standing up.

"How should we do this?" asked Kenji, wiping slobber of his lips with the back of his hand.

"All aboard," Enzo shouted, as he bent over and flashed us his ass.

"I guess that answers my question," Kenji said.

"You're funny," Jake said.

"Hey guys, listen to that song." As we were getting into position, Backdoor Man came on the radio. I hadn't been paying any attention to the radio, but this song seemed appropriate for our situation. What a crazy coincidence. It was a bitchin song by The Doors you didn't hear all that often. Actually, now that I think about it, this was a song that they only played late at night. Now I knew why.

Jake grabbed me around my waist and backed me into his crotch, his hard cock sliding up along my crack. He started to grind into me, and we both began to sing along with Jim:

Well I'm a backdoor man

I'm a backdoor man

Whoa, baby, I'm a backdoor man

"Holy shit. Is that song what I think it's about?" asked Enzo.

"Well, yeah. What do you think a 'Backdoor Man' is?" I said, grinding harder into Jake.

"A guy who gets it up the butt?"

"Hell no, a guy bangin' chicks' up the ass," Jake insisted. "Jim Morrison dig's chicks. Maybe he likes fucking them up the ass, I don't know. I happen to know girls dig it because they can fuck that way and won't get pregnant."

"Jake, sorry. You're wrong. This is an old blues song that talks about a chick cheating on her husband. The other guy has to sneak around and come and go out the backdoor. That's what I heard, anyway," said Kenji. "My dad used to listen to all kinds of blues and jazz records. I think this is one of Howlin' Wolf's songs."

"Well, I don't know much about blues, but it sounds to me he likes doing it up the butt," I said. "I remember seeing him in those tight leather pants. He's got a big one."

"Okay. For the sake of argument, let's agree that ol' Jim likes to fuck a tight asshole, maybe a chick, maybe a dude, but anyway, that's what we're gonna do to Enzo right now. All right?" Jake asked. He reached up and started to twist my nipples.

Everybody agreed and smiled at Enzo. You could tell he was both excited and nervous at the same time.

"If Jim Morrison likes to screw ass, he can screw mine anytime," Kenji said, laughing. "That dude is sexy."

"Why don't you screw mine, instead? Who's gonna go first?" Enzo asked, shaking his ass around. He was totally excited and freakin' horny.

"Here's what we were thinking. You want to get screwed by all three of us, right? So we're gonna all get screwed at the same time," I said. "And then we're all gonna take turns cumming up your ass."

"Goddamn! That sounds fucking bitchin." He sounded exactly like his dad, Crash, and it made me laugh.

Pulling Jake's arms off me, I went over to the stash box on the counter and got out the KY that Lisa got us. Man, we were ripping through this stuff. "Okay, everybody, assume your positions and start your engines," I laughed.

"Who's got the pole position?" asked Jake, grinning. Without giving any of us time to answer, he added, "Oh wait. We all do."

Enzo got on the bed on his back and threw his muscular legs up into the air. He started to giggle again. I doled out a little dab of lube onto Kenji's hand, and after he had slicked up his dick, he began to shine up Enzo's exposed pink hole. I figured that since Kenji had already loosened him up with his tongue, and since Kenji's dick was on the smaller side, Enzo wouldn't have any trouble taking the little Asian kid.

"Give me some of that," Jake said. He was ready to get fucking.

"Roger that, Bucky!" I was ready too.

After squirting some goo onto Jake's hand, I squeezed out a dollop on mine and put the tube on the side table. Jake and I were smiling at each other while we slimed up our hot cocks. We were both going to enjoy this. Like I dreamed about before, I couldn't wait to be the filling in an Oreo cookie.

"Enzo, take deep breaths and push out a little like you're gonna go poop. Then Kenji will slide right on into you," I told him. "And stick a pillow under your head so you can watch."

"Right on. I got it," he said.

Kenji moved in behind Enzo, lining up his little brown uncut sausage with Enzo's nervous hole. I took the opportunity to use my greasy finger to start rubbing between Kenji's smooth butt cheeks, pushing him forward and on into Enzo. I looked over his shoulder just as his little hot rocket met Enzo's cavern for the very first time. It slipped right on in.

"Oh, God!" Enzo yelled. His super hard dick was lying flat on his stomach, leaking a few drops of pre-jizz. I don't think his cock had gone soft all evening.

"Stay there, Kenji, don't move. Let him get used to it for a minute while I get in place." I moved in behind Kenji and lined up my super hard dick with Kenji's pucker. I had to spread out my legs a little bit because Kenji was a few inches shorter than I was.

Kenji was hot, way hot because he turned his head and whispered to me, "Stick it in me, man. One slow thrust, okay? I can take that fat cock of yours, no problem. You know I like big dicks."

That's all I needed to hear, and I did precisely that. My cock twitched as I lined up my fatty with his waiting hole. I grabbed his hips with both hands and pushed my dick all the way up his butthole, nice and slow in one long thrust, like he wanted.

"Oh, man," Kenji said. "I love it."

"Oh, God," Enzo said, once again, feeling Kenji's dick get pushed deeper into Enzo's hole.

I turned my head around and said, "Give it to me nice and slow, Jake. Fill me up with your long cock. Set the pace for us, okay buddy?"

"I'm all over it," I could feel Jake move in close to me, and suddenly there was pressure on my backdoor. Man, I loved being a backdoor man. I leaned into Kenji and wrapped my arms around his waist as Jake slipped his long dick right up into me in one slow, fluid motion. He parked it there, rubbing against my prostate, and I had to let out a long sigh.

"Shit. This feels freakin' outrageous," I said, catching my breath. I couldn't believe that I had a dick up my butt and my dick in another butt. How freakin' cool was that?

Jake started to slowly grind into me, then back out almost all the way, leaving just the knob of his dick in my butt. He'd slowly slide in, giving me his whole length in one swift movement. Every time he did that, I'd be pushed forward into Kenji, who in turn was shoved all the way into Enzo's virgin ass. This was the craziest feeling, screwing somebody and at the same time getting screwed. It sorta felt like our dicks were connected somehow. While Jake was doing these nice, slow thrusts, he had wrapped his hands under my arms and started to tweak my pointy nipples again. That felt groovy.

Kenji leaned over with his hands on either side of Enzo so he could lean in and kiss the bigger guy. I started to run my hands over the backside of Kenji's muscular little body, from the top of his shoulder blades down to the globes of his tight little ass. It was cool watching my fat cock disappear up his butt every time Jake would slide into me.

Jake would ram into me, causing me to moan and push into Kenji. Kenji would moan and be pushed deeper into Enzo. That would cause Enzo to complete our little moaning chorus. Jake would plow me again, and we'd repeat our moaning. It was crazy.

Suddenly, Jake pulled me back tight into him, wrapping his strong arms around my chest, tight. I turned my head sideways so we could kiss and tongue duel. "I love you, man," he whispered into my ear.

"Right back atcha, Mariano," I said, breaking our kiss.

Jake started to ram his cock into me harder now, hitting my prostate with every thrust. This, in turn, made my cock throb as I pushed into Kenji's little hole. Kenji kept up the pace, and when I'd drive into him, he'd return the favor and push hard into Enzo.

"Oh, God, guys. I love this. Can you fuck me a little harder?" Enzo asked.

"Sure," Jake said, starting to grind into me. I spread my legs out a little bit more and started humping on Kenji. He was digging it because he was moving his ass all around and pumping into Enzo for all he was worth. Kenji and Enzo were the loudest moaners of the bunch and were really getting into this. All of this activity was making us hot, and the four of us had a nice sheen of light sweat on our bodies.

After a few minutes of this super-hot action, I told Jake to stop and stand still for a second. I thought of something that might feel good, so I started to slide my butt back onto Jake's rock-hard cock, and once impaled all the way down, I slowly moved back off and push myself deep into Kenji's asshole. I'd slowly speed up the movements, basically fucking myself on Jake's cock and slamming into Kenji. I felt like I had one giant dick that was attached to all four guys.

Kenji was panting loudly, and I knew he wasn't going to last much longer. I concentrated on ramming my dick hard into him, making sure to brush his prostate on every thrust of my dick. Jake got into the same rhythm as me and started rubbing on my prostate, too. My hard cock was throbbing with pure delight.

"I can't take much more of this, guys," Kenji said. "I'm gonna cum pretty soon."

"Go for it, Kenji. Dump your hot load in me. Oh God. I want to feel your juice blast off inside me," Enzo practically sang out. "Do it, man, fill me up."

I pushed my body hard into Kenji and started to make little short in and out thrusts with my dick, making sure I was massaging his love button deep inside him. I reached around and began to pinch and flick his little brown nipples, which were standing at full attention. He was moaning, and I could feel the hot sweat between us as I ground into him, making our bodies slip and slide. Suddenly, his ass ring clamped down tight around my cock, and I could feel his body shake as he unloaded deep into Enzo. With a loud moan, he deposited three or four good squirts of hot boy cum deep into Enzo and fell back into me, completely spent. I stopped thrusting into him and held him still for a few moments, wrapping my arms around him to keep him steady while he regained his composure.

Jake pulled out of me, allowing me to back up and out of Kenji's ass. I didn't go far because I wasn't sure if Kenji could stand up on his own from his powerful orgasm. But he was okay and moved over to the side, taking Enzo's hard dick in his hand slowly stroking it. That left Jake and I standing there with our hard cocks sticking straight up in the air.

"You first," Jake said to me as he pointed to Enzo's waiting hole. It was kinda gaping open, and a little trail of Kenji's ball juice was running down his crack.

"Don't mind if I do," I said, stepping up to the plate, so to speak. "Damn, that dripping hole looks hot."

I started to line up my boner with Enzo's slippery looking chute while Jake moved back in behind me again. I went slowly at first because I didn't know if Enzo could take my fat cock as easy as he took Kenji's. But I needn't have worried because it was hot and slippery in there that my dick cruised right on in.

"Oh fuck. That feels bitchin," Enzo said. "It really fills me up. Wow!"

I waited for a second while Jake pushed his long cock back inside my butthole, then I started to rock back and forth between these two hot guys. Enzo's ass was hot and tight, and Jake's hot cock was starting to burn up my ass, but it was a crazy-good burn. Man, I was sweating like a hog about to get slaughtered. Jake planted his hands on my hips so he could pound me, causing me to slam into Enzo. Enzo loved it because he was lying there moving his head back and forth on the pillow, eyes closed tight. He was making little 'oh, oh, oh' sounds and it sounded like he was delirious with lust.

Too soon, I felt that familiar tingle shoot through my entire body and knew that I was going to shoot my spunk any second. There was no way to stop it now. My balls tightened up against my body, and I could feel my ass starting to clamp down tight on Jake's hot cock. "I'm gonna cum," I howled as I unloaded my hot load deep into Enzo's ass, mixing it up with Kenji's. Jake held onto me as I came back down, slowly pulling out of my ass. My rapidly shrinking dick popped out of Enzo's ass, along with a good amount of spooge.

"My turn," Jake said, changing places with me. "Ready, Enzo?"

"You bet. Bring it on, dive boy," he said, as Jake slowly pushed his long, hard cock deep into Enzo's sloppy ass.

"Oh God, your ass is hot. Are you loving this, Enzo?"

"Oh yeah, it feels so groovy. Shoot your load in me, man."

Jake rammed his long cock up into Enzo like a beef taquito inside a bean burrito with extra sour cream.

"Oh god, I'm gonna cummmmmm!" Jake said, slamming into Enzo.

"Give it to me, c'mon, give it to me man."

And he did. He emptied his big load deep into Enzo's hot gaping asshole, with three or four big grunts. Dude was spent.

"That was bitchin," Jake said. We all agreed. After a quick shower, we slept like rocks after that.

The rest of the week was pretty routine, with swim practice alternating with some weight training and yoga and meditation. The yoga was interesting, and I was starting to dig it. It was relaxing and invigorating at the same time, and yet, I could feel my muscles starting to firm up and become stronger. The four of us totally enjoyed the special attention that we were getting from Coach Brian and his girlfriend, Samantha.

Jake seemed to get into the whole meditation thing too, and sometimes on our way home, he would describe the intense and vivid thoughts and images he got when Samantha walked us through our guided imagery exercises. He always had visions of water or boats or something like that and had some sort of story or theme. Maybe because we were in the pool so much, I guess. Anyway, my visions were more obscure, and I didn't completely understand them. It seemed like in my mind I was always running around or chasing something or somebody, but I never seemed to focus on any one thing in particular. It was relaxing all the same, and afterward, I always felt energized.

Kenji kicked ass in the pool, but he wasn't that much faster than me. Even though I was a year younger than he was, I was slowly starting to catch up to his time, especially in the 200-meter freestyle. He was a bullet off the block, but he needed to work on his stamina. His best time so far was a bit under 2:18, but I was right there behind him, about ready to pass the 2:22 mark. I was sure one day soon I'd pass him up. By the end of the summer, we were both going to be healthy competition, not only for each other but when we started competitions with other high school teams.

Enzo was a little slower in the pool, but he didn't seem to mind, and he kept up his cheerful attitude at practice. His times kept improving, little by little, but his real strength was when he played water polo. His strong arms and large legs made it easy for him to push the other competitors around the pool, even if he wasn't that fast of a swimmer.

Coach always had at least one lane open for us, and that made us seem more special than the rest of the kids in the pool – not that we got big heads or anything. It was nice to be treated a little differently. The biggest surprise was Jake and his diving. He was fearless when he was on the board, and coach gave him special attention and pointers to make him dive even better. He could do a backward 1½ somersault tuck with ease, but if he tried for two, he always messed up, hitting the water and tearing up his back. His biggest problem was keeping his legs together, and his toes pointed out. But I was sure he'd get that down real soon. Later on, he quickly got the knack of bending slightly at the waist as he entered the water to keep his impact from over rotating his body. And he sure looked hot standing on the edge of the high dive platform, tan and tight in his red speedos.

True to his word, that Monday after practice, Enzo asked Coach Brian about getting some counseling, which he started later that week. He continued to be happy and friendly with us, but I'm sure at some point the whole thing with his mom was going to cause him some grief. But for now, he seemed to be okay, and not much appeared to bother him. Things at his home seemed better since Crash had gotten a beautiful Italian lady to do the cleaning and cooking like he promised. Even though she didn't speak much English, Enzo said that he, Chris and Crash seemed to like her, and she was a good cook, too. Enzo told us that Chris didn't seem to understand exactly what happened to their mom, and if it traumatized him, he sure didn't show it. Maybe he'd ask more questions about it when he got older. I just hoped he didn't get hung up over it.

Lisa was great when she offered to take us up to the cemetery one morning before practice. Enzo was pretty emotional, but it was a far mellower scene than anybody would have imagined. Jake, Lisa, Jordy, Kenji and I helped the Ferrari brothers find their mother's gravesite in the old and scary Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena. It was a kinda creepy place with its droopy trees, half-dead ivy and overgrown brown lawn. Their mom was buried under a huge Pine tree, and she had a simple granite headstone, unlike some of the other big gaudy ones nearby. It had a simple slab serif inscription that modestly read:

Here Lies Maria Licata Ferrari

Beloved Wife and Mother

1934 – 1958.

The seven of us sort of stood around the grave in a semicircle, not knowing what we should do. It was quiet and respectful and seemed to be enough. None of us were very religious, and since Lulu wasn't with us, we didn't feel the need to chant or sing or do whatever mystical thing she was into this week. It was sad, but seemed to bring a bit of closure to everyone. The Ferrari brothers were happy when we got home, so it must have done the trick. I'm glad we went.

We were having lots of sex too, although Jake and I did our own thing while Enzo and Kenji did theirs. We let them use the treehouse whenever they needed someplace private to go. Jake and I both agreed that as much fun as we had screwing guys at Coop's party, and at Enzo's butt cherry-popping shindig, we just wanted to make love with each other. It was much better when it was the two of us. And besides, Enzo and Kenji seemed to be getting along pretty well and seemed happy with their arrangement, whatever it was.

Thursday morning was the day the Lulu's and my dad were supposed to take off for Uncle Gus's birthday party up at his farm in Marin County. They were going to be spending the entire Fourth of July weekend there, leaving us home alone for four days. To say that we were looking forward to being on our own would be a major understatement! We weren't planning to have a party or anything, but after the crazy stuff that had happened during the last few weeks, it would be cool to hang out and relax by ourselves.

When we got back from practice on Thursday afternoon, we were surprised to see that our folks were still home. They were running late and decided to drive half-way tonight and stay in a motel somewhere mid-way. Tomorrow, they should be up at the farm by noon. I didn't care as long as they left. Dad gave Jake and me about a thousand rules because "we were the guys and it was up to us to keep Lisa and Jordy safe." He was still worried about the Dark Man and the incident with the microbus. He told us to keep the doors locked at night and reminded us that he wanted all of us to sleep in the house together instead of the treehouse.

He pulled out his wallet and gave us a bunch of cash and some tickets he got for the Fireworks Spectacular at the Rose Bowl. Mom was a nervous wreck like always, and he finally got her ushered out to the car around 4:30. I was surprised that he didn't make her take one of her Valium's. Lulu was excited too, and she was dressed for the occasion in a, well, I'm not too sure what actually. She was wrapped up in a gigantic psychedelic dress with fringe at the bottom, a large belt, and sandals. And of course, she was sporting her famous floppy hat and mosquito sunglasses. Finally, once everything was packed and the Lulu's had given us kisses goodbye, they jumped in the car and headed down the street.

"Man, I didn't think they'd ever leave," said Lisa.

"No shit," I agreed.

"What are we going to do tonight?" asked Jake. "I'm getting hungry."

"You boys are always hungry," Lisa said. "It's a wonder you aren't four hundred pounds."

"We're growing boys," piped up Jordy, standing on his toes and flexing his ten-year-old boy biceps. "Can we get some tacos? Mom doesn't like Mexican food, and we never get to eat it."

"I don't know little man. We have a big day planned for tomorrow. And they have that cool food court outside the Rose Bowl. We'll get to eat all kinds of different stuff. Maybe we should hang out here tonight and pig out tomorrow. Mom left us a bunch of leftovers," I said.

"Yuck."

"Well, it's up to Lisa if she wants to drive us somewhere. What do you guys think?" I asked everybody. I was starting to think I was going to have to be the ringleader, the decision maker, the big cheese this weekend. It felt good to be in charge for once. I eyed everybody, but nobody seemed to have an answer.

Finally, Lisa was the first to answer. "I don't have any plans. Coop's working at the pharmacy tonight, so we aren't going to go out. We can go get some tacos I guess, but really, Valley of The Dolls is on soon, and I'd rather stay in and watch that. This has been a busy week, and I'd just like to take off my bra and snuggle up on the couch."

"Can I play with your boobies?" Jordy whispered up to her, standing on his tippy-toes so Jake and I wouldn't hear. But we did.

"Sure little man, whatever floats your boat."

"Leftovers sound good! Let's stay home," Jordy said, making us laugh.

We headed into the house to find something to eat, but before we could do that Jake stopped us to tell us a joke.

"A cannibal man and his cannibal wife were eating dinner one night when the man turned to his wife and said 'I really don't care for your mother.' She dropped her fork on her plate and gave him the stink eye. 'If you don't like her,' she said, 'then just eat your vegetables'."

That made everybody groan.

"Where do you get these things? That one was pretty lame," I said.

"I don't know. It just popped into my head," Jake said.

After dinner, Lisa and Jordy got comfy in front of the television while Jake and I cleaned up the kitchen. It wasn't that big of a mess, and we were done in no time.

"Why don't you run out to the garage and get us a couple of beers while I finish drying the dishes," I told Jake. "Make sure the door is locked when you leave the garage, okay?"

"Roger that, Bucky. Be right back."

Jake wasn't gone more than a couple of minutes before I heard Sloan start barking her hairy head off. It didn't sound like her normal 'there's a squirrel in the tree' kind of bark. This was more of a four-alarm bark, something she didn't do very often. I noticed some of the other dogs in the neighborhood were starting to bark as well. That seemed weird, like we were seconds from a big earthquake or something. I threw the dishrag in the sink and stuck my head out the sliding glass door, trying to see where the sound was coming from. I couldn't see anything at first, so I started to follow the sound.

I walked quickly through the breezeway and noticed the gate to the front was open. Once I came around the front of the garage, there was Sloan in the middle of the driveway barking and barking and barking. The hair on the nape of her neck was hunched up and her normally wagging tail was sticking out straight behind her. Something bad must be going on.

Just as I got to her, I looked down the street in time to see the taillights of the green sedan go fishtailing down the hill and out of view. What is it with that car, I wondered? Jake probably saw it from the garage. I'd have to ask him about it.

"Sloan! Be quiet girl," I yelled at the barking dog. She didn't stop, and instead, looked straight at me while she continued on with her tantrum.

"What? What is it, girl?" I was starting to sound like Timmy on a rerun of Lassie. I looked at the front lawn and didn't see anything unusual, except now Mrs. Kravitz from across the street was standing on her front porch looking straight at me.

"Sloan! Stop!" This time I clapped my hands, and she finally got the message. I still didn't see anything unusual, so I motioned for Sloan to follow me across the street.

"Hi, Mrs. Jacobson. Any idea why Sloan is going crazy?"

"No, honey, I don't know why she's barking like that. I came out here to see what the fuss is about. Your dog is usually so well behaved."

"I know. Something must have spooked her. Oh well, whatever it was is gone now," I said.

"Your mama told me you're going to be alone this weekend. Are you going to be all right? Do you have enough food?"

"We're fine, thanks. It's only going to be a couple of days. We aren't going to have any parties or light off any firecrackers or anything. Don't worry. My dad already gave us a thousand rules and regulations," I said. Great. Now we have this old lady spying on us.

"Okay, honey. If you need anything, just ask. We'd be more than happy to help," she said. She was a nice old lady, nosy, but nice.

"Will do. Thanks, Mrs. Jacobson," I said and started to walk away, but I had a thought. "Do you know why that green car is still hanging around out in front lately?"

"Not really. I've seen it around once or twice. I thought it might have something to do with that ruckus you had up in your backyard the other night."

"Maybe. Well, goodnight then. C'mon, Sloan. Let's go home."

"Night, sweetie. You kids take care."

I headed back across the street and towards the house. I latched the gate closed behind me and walked over to the door to the garage. It was locked. Guess Jake was back in the house. I turned around and was about to head inside when something caught my eye. Up by the treehouse, something was moving behind the bushes. Crap. Now what? Sloan sensed it too and started to growl. I reached down in time to grab her by the collar before she had a chance to go charging into the bushes. No telling what was in there and I didn't want her to get hurt. Out of the corner of my eye, I barely made out a shape. Holy crap. It was the Dark Man! What was he doing out here? We hadn't seen him since he snatched me up at Coop's party.

"Satellites aren't out tonight. Whey-o. That's b-b-bad." he said, loudly shuffling out the brush. He was dirtier than ever, and he had a large scratch on his face.

"Why is that bad?" I asked. I didn't really want to talk to him because I was afraid he might snatch me up again. But for some reason, he seemed more docile today. Sloan got it too, and she stopped growling and sat down, panting.

"Bad things happen. Can't hear the voices. Whey-o. Your boy. He's gone."

"What? Jake? What do you mean he's gone?"

"Men in car. Men in suits. Men in car suits. They took your boy-o."

"OH NO! NOT JAKE!"