Richie and Jimmy

by Jobe

Chapter 8

Before going to bed, I laid out my clothes for work. I placed them in the clothes closet so I wouldn't disturb the boys in the morning. I took a shower, brushed my teeth and was ready to go to sleep. I'm not sure what time it was when I felt someone cuddling my back and someone moving into my front to cuddle. I fell back into a deep sleep. It seemed like I just closed my eyes when my watch started to vibrate indicating it was time to wake up. I noticed I was up against Rich while Nick was up against me. I carefully extricated myself and got ready for work. I grabbed a cup of coffee and some toast before leaving the apartment. I saw Gramps car coming for him and followed him out of the gate.

Driving up to the front gate following Gramps was interesting. The guard stopped the car and said something to Gramps and then laughed. When I pulled up to the gate and showed my pass, "Your grandfather said for you to stop at his office before you start work today."

I thanked him as he waved me through. I parked in my usual spot, checked in at security and headed for Gramps office. "Good morning James, I just wanted to know how your week end went. We hadn't had a chance to talk much since your brother arrived."

"Good morning Grandfather, everything is fine. We all are getting along just fine. It is like having two more brothers."

"Good I have a report from your boss and he thinks you are ready to move up to your next assignment. You're to go and see Mr. Chester on the second floor."

"Thanks Grandfather, I'll do that. Have a nice day." I left with a big smile on my face. Gramps secretary gave me a thumbs up and a smile as I went pass her desk. I guess she knew who I was.

Mr. Chester's office was easy to find. He was head of one of the labs that did research on detectors. That was all I was told, what kind of detectors, I had no idea. My job was to assemble detectors, I was given an instruction sheet, several marked boxes and a work bench. That was it, no one told me how to do it or how many I needed to do.

Looking over the instruction sheet, I arranged the boxes in the order I'd need to assembly the detectors. The first one took me several minutes, my speed at assembling increased as I became more familiar with the instructions and units in the box. After about 1 hour, I didn't need the instructions any more and by lunch time I had all the detectors finished that could be supported by the various boxes. They were all empty. Mr. Chester came by and told me I could go to lunch but report back here after lunch.

When I got back from lunch I noticed twice the number of boxes I had this morning. By time the day was over they were empty and I had a pile of detectors. Mr. Chester was pleased to see all of the detectors assembled.

Leaving the plant was a reverse of entering, I checked at security before leaving the building and then stopped at the gate before exiting. By the time I got home I was tired. I was hoping to take a nap before supper but that soon changed as soon as I entered the apartment, Rich was crying. "Rich what's wrong? Why are you crying?"

"Something happened today while you were gone."

"Ok what happened?"

"You'll be mad at me and probably will want me to leave."

"Did you kill someone, did you hurt someone, what happened?"

"After you left this morning, Nick cuddled against me. He put his hand in my shorts and started to play with my junk. I didn't know what to do but it felt good so I let him continue. When I turned on my back, he took my hand and put it into his shorts. We jacked each other off."

"Did you change the sheets?"

He looked at me totally perplexed, "I tell you I jerked another guy off and you ask if I changed the sheets."

"Yes, didn't you have friends when you were young. The first time I jerked off I did it with Mike. The first dick I touched that wasn't mine was Mike's. I think every boy has a friend that they learn from. It's no big deal but don't do it again. I'll do you next time." I laughed at the expression on his face. It soon became a smile and there was a hint to my attraction. I never really noticed his smile but seeing him going from depression to happiness, was what I had been missing. Rich wasn't an Adonis until he smiled. His face lit up and if he had the best smiling face I have ever seen. He must have smiled thousands of times at school and I never noticed how has face changed. Going from a sad face to a happy face made me realize what it was that attracted me to Rich.

I took his face in my hand and planted a big kiss on his lips. "Daddy is home."

He started to laugh and kissed me back. I hugged him as best as I could with a cast between us. "I'm going to take a nap before supper. Be good."

I woke up at 5:30, enough time to get ready for supper. As long as Brand and party was here, I would eat supper at Grams. After they left I would probably eat at the apartment as well as at their home. Walking out into the kitchen, there was Nick sitting by himself. "Nick, where is Rich?"

"He went outside, Jimmy I did something terrible."

Here we go again. Are these boys sheltered or what. "What did you do that was so terrible?"

"This morning I jacked off Rich while he jacked me off."

"You know Nick that's very selfish of you. Now you're going to have to jack me off twice to make up for it."

The expression on Nick's face was priceless, he didn't know what to say. I started to laugh, I laughed so hard tears were coming down my cheek. "Nick have you never jacked off one of your friends?"

"No, I'm not gay why would I want to do that?"

"Nick, I'll bet that you're one in a million. Every boy I know has a friend or friends who have played together. Where did you learn about jacking off if not from one of your friends?"

"I read about it and then wanted to try it. You aren't mad? We still are friends?"

"Yes, I'm not mad and we are still friends."

Just as Nick was giving me a hug, Rich walks in. "What are you doing Nick? First you jack me off and now you are trying to steal my boyfriend."

Nick started to hem and haw, I couldn't help it. I broke down and began to laugh giving Rich a high five, "Good one Rich."

Nick caught on and began to laugh as well. "I came to tell you supper will be ready in 15 minutes."

"Let's go that will give us a chance to wash our hands before we eat."

We were laughing as we entered the kitchen, Miss Marie looked at us as if we were crazy. "Better get your hands washed dinner is ready."

"Yes, Miss Marie" She heard three chorus of the same reply. Washed hands we sat at the table with Grams and Gramps. Soon we were joined by Charles and Brand.

While we were eating, Brand asked me how was work today. I told him it was tinker toy day. He caught on quickly, he knew a little about Gramps work and the tinker toy comment told him it was assemble day.

Dinner was delicious as always. "Miss Marie, if Grams ever decides to dismiss you I want you to know you could come and work for me as my companion."

Everyone complemented Miss Marie on her dinner. I knew that Miss Marie would never leave Gram. But I think Gram loved her just as much as she loved anyone. She truly was a companion to Gram.

After dinner we sat around the table and chatted over cups of coffee. This is what a family is meant to be like . Rich, Nick and I helped clear the table and brought out the coffee urn.

Gram asked about the tour of the campus and what did Rich think of it. He told her what he thought and said he was glad he chose to go to Ohio State. Nick said he might consider Ohio State but Charles said only for undergraduate degree, for law school he would need to go somewhere else. Discussions drift from one subject to another without any notice. It is like you start to discussing watermelons in Georgia and end up discussing figs in Iran.

I looked at my watch and noticed it was getting on to 8. "Gram may I be excused, I have a phone call to make and tomorrow morning comes pretty early. Rich I'm going to call Mike and see how he's doing, Do you want to come along? Nick this is my best friend from home, why don't you come along as well. You can say hi."

Brand being the ever smart ass, "Now that the children are gone maybe we can have an intelligent discussion." We all knew he was being facetious and just laughed as we left.

"I'm going to try and Skype Mike, so stay close." I pulled up my computer, logged in to Skype and tried to contact Mike. The unit rang for a few minutes, before Mike came on.

"Hey guys, how's it going?"

"Hi Mike, I've got Rich here and a friend of my brother's Nick. Say hi guys."

"You guys look like a three headed monster." He was right, each had a head on my shoulders.

"So how's it going Mike? Have you set a time to head south?"

"Dad and I just got back from checking the place out. It's very nice and warm. I'm planning on going there two weeks before school starts. Dad is going with me."

"That sounds great. Make sure you give me your address. Any of you guys have anything to say?"

"Mike, remember what we talked about before I came here? Well, it has been slow but progress has been made."

"Good keep it on track and keep me posted. I have a vested interest."

"Gotta go Mike, work tomorrow. Take care will chat later."

The guys all said goodbye and I disconnected from Skype. "Sorry guys but I got to go to bed."

I took my shower, brushed my teeth and headed right for the bed. I fell into a dreamless sleep like the night before. I woke up and the guys were in the bed, Rich had pushed his body back into me and had his head on my arm. I could smell the shampoo on this hair. Nick was snuggled against my back preventing me from rolling away although I really didn't want to. I lightly kissed Richie's head and fell back to sleep.

When I woke in the morning, we were all in the same position. I carefully extracted myself, I had to get ready for work. I took my morning shower and got ready, by now it was becoming routine. Breakfast was a toasted cheese sandwich and coffee. Just as I was heading toward the door, Rich came into the kitchen. "Hey good morning, I'm sorry if I woke you."

"You didn't wake me I just missed my pillow."

"There some coffee and I had a toasted cheese sandwich. If you're going to stay up you don't mind fixing your breakfast, I hope?"

"No, I don't mind. I did it at home all the time as well. Dad was usually gone by the time I got out of bed."

"Just tell Nick the same thing when he gets up. I'll see you guys tonight."

As I headed to the door, Rich grabbed me and gave me a kiss. I must have looked surprised, "That's for good luck today."

I smiled as I open the door and left. I waved to Gramps as he was about to get into his car. I followed him through the gate but I had to stop and get gas before I reached the plant. As I pulled into the gate, the guard came out to check my ID, "your grandfather beat you this morning"

"I had to stop for gas. If I'm late I'll tell him that you held me up." The expression on the guards face said 'panic'. "I'm kidding, I'd never say that."

He smile and waved me through. I parked in my usual spot and headed to security. "Good morning, your grandfather wants you to stop at his office before you go to your station."

As I took the elevator I wondered if this was going to become a habit. Getting off the elevator I was greeted by Gramps secretary, she handed me a cup of coffee and said to go right in.

"Good morning Grandfather, I was a little late this morning I had to stop for gas. The security said you wanted to see me."

"Yes, sit down James, enjoy your coffee. You weren't late in fact your were about 10 minutes early. It seems that you shocked Mr. Chester with the monitors. You weren't expected to assemble all of them."

"It wasn't hard once I got them lined up. It would have taken longer if I left them as Mr.Chester set them on my desk."

"Well, today you are going to work in accounting with Mrs. Weaver. I want you to understand how we keep our books. So as soon as you finish your coffee, I'll have someone escort you to her office."

"I don't need an escort Grandfather, I was in her office the first day I started here." Gramps just smiled, "good"

I finished the coffee, said goodbye to Gramps and headed to Mrs. Weaver's office.

"Good morning Mrs Weaver, I was told to report to you this morning."

"Good morning, James, this morning I want you to organize these invoices. They need to be sorted by company and date."

I sat at the desk she indicated and noted that the pile of invoices were totally disorganized. They were dumped into a tray indicated they were placed in the tray when they arrived. I decided that I would separate them by company first and then deal with date after I had done that. I started to set up piles on the table sorting by company name. As it turned out I had thirteen piles representing thirteen companies. I sorted each company by date of receipt and I noticed several were duplicates. These I put in to a separate pile. It seemed that the company doubled bill.

By lunch time, Mrs. Weaver came to check on me. "There were a few duplicated invoices, I separated them so you could determine if they were current or not. They all had a different date but the description and amounts were the same."

"I'll look them over while you go to lunch." I left to go for lunch.

Finishing with lunch, I returned to accounting. "James, this is the computer run on outstanding invoices, I need you to verify the computer run against the invoices."

By the end of the day I finished, separating the invoices in piles helped a lot, I could focus on one company at a time. I marked the computer run to indicate duplication, turned the completed run over to Mrs. Weaver and told her I was finished. I checked out and headed home.

When I entered the apartment Rich was waiting for me. "Where's Nick?"

"He went to the house to talk with his brother. I think he might look at Ohio State for his undergraduate degree."

"Does that mean he'd like to stay here?"

" Probably, I'm not sure why he's thinking about Ohio State. He just talked about how he liked the campus and could see himself here."

"I'm going to change and then we can go over to Grams." AsI headed to the bedroom, Rich followed me. He sat on the bed and watched me undress.

"Jimmy, do you exercise or just run?"

"I just run but any activity will keep you in shape. I like running maybe because it is a sport that isn't team oriented. In fact I haven't run since I moved here, I need to get back in the habit of running."

"Could I run with you?"

"Sure, I think I'd like that."

I finished dressing and we headed to Grams.

"Hi Miss Marie, is everyone in the drawing room?"

"Yes, James, Brandon and Charles went for a walk and should be back soon."

Entering the drawing room I saw Nick and Gram in a close conversation. "What are you two up to?"

Nick smiled, "Gram and I where talking about living in Ohio. I think I like it here as compared to Iowa. Iowa can be a little isolated. Most of the area is farm acreage. I think that living here would be a great experience."

"Won't your family have a say in that?"

"Probably, but maybe I can have them open an office here. After all Ohio is considered a key state for political purposes."

"Gram, are you encouraging this young man? I know you like to have young people around."

"James, you know me all too well. Ohio State would be a good school for an undergraduate degree if you're going to pursue a career as an attorney." Nick just had a shit eating grin on his face when Gram said that.

"What will Charles say if you told him that?"

"What would I say about what?"

"I didn't realize you were back. You're going to have show me where you walk. Nick has something he wants to discuss with you but it can wait." I gave Brand and Charles a hug. Sitting on the sofa, I noticed Rich sat beside me.

"Move over Rich I want to sit there also."

Of course that required Rich to practically sit on my lap as Brand sat down next to him. I didn't mind but I wondered what game was being played. I remembered Mike's comment on Skype last night.

I looked at Rich and he had a smile on his face. I could fall in love with that smile. I looked at Brand and he winked at me. Now I knew something was up.

Dinner met all of my expectations, Gramps patted me on my back as he went past on his way to his seat. Miss Marie continues to cook fantastic meals. "Brand when are you and Charles leaving to go home?"

"We were thinking about leaving this week-end. I only took a week off. Maybe we'll come back again before summer is over."

"If you are planning on coming back, maybe I could stay and then return with you later."

"It would be ok except I'm not sure if we are coming back. If we don't how would you get home?"

"I could fly back if you paid the fare."

"I'll think about it but you need Jimmy's agreement to share his apartment with you. Seems to me it's a little crowded on that bed with the three of you."

"No, it isn't in fact I have never slept so well. Jimmy, it would be ok if I stayed, right?"

"Well, you'll need Rich's agreement as well and promise to stop snoring."

That did it, everyone started to laugh at the expression Nick had on his face.

The topic at dinner that night was Nick going to Ohio State for his undergraduate degree. Charles made the comment that his dad would have to agree to it before it became a reality. Nick said he was going to call him to night and talk with his dad.

"Nick, before you make a lot of plans you should check with Gram and Gramps if they would allow you to stay. If they say yes, you should find a way to thank them for their hospitality."

After dinner back in the apartment you can bet what the topic was. "Jimmy would you mind if I stayed this summer?"

"No, Nick I wouldn't mind for the summer, but once I start school I'll need my quiet. I expect to maintain my grades that I achieved in high school. You would have to commit to doing some serious studying."

"If my parents allow me to come here, I could only stay if I keep my grades up. If they think I'm goofing off, they'll yank me back home."

"In that case you have my vote, now you need to get Rich's vote."

I watched Nick look at Rich with puppy dog eyes. "What do you say Rich?"

"I have to think about it. You may cramp my style."

We watched TV for a while, "I'm going to bed guys. See you in the morning if you're awake."

I went and took my shower. As soon as my head hit my pillow I was a sleep. I never felt Rich or Nick get in bed.

When I woke the next morning, Rich was laying up against me and Nick was cuddled up against my back. I felt like a sardine, I couldn't move without waking one of them. I decided I would wake Rich, so I gently moved him away as I got out of bed. I looked at him, he looked like he was having a great dream.

I took a shower, dressed and headed for the kitchen. I just got a cup of coffee when Rich came into the kitchen. "I couldn't sleep once you got out of bed."

"I'm sorry I woke you. I was like a sardine, you in front and Nick in back."

"I like sleeping with you. I always slept alone and it feels nice to have my back against you."

"When does the cast come off?"

"In about two weeks, Dad has talked to a doctor here and made an appointment. I'll be glad when it's off."

"I bet. There's coffee, help yourself and I'll see you tonight."

This time I left before Gramps. When I pulled into the gate, my friend the guard stopped me, "You're early today or did your grandfather chew you out for being late yesterday."

"No, actually I was early." He waved as I drove to my parking spot.

Being early I wasn't sure where to go so I went to Gramps office.

"You're early James, your grandfather isn't here yet."

"Is it ok If I just wait here for him? He should be here soon."

"Sure, do you want a coffee while you wait?"

"No thanks, I had two cups this morning."

"Good morning Grandfather," I always called Gramps grandfather when we were at work.

"You're early James, I left word at security to ask you to come here before you start and they told me you were here already."

"I woke a little earlier, so I came on in."

I followed him into his office. "Mrs. Webster was quite pleased with your work yesterday, They rigged the invoices to see if you would spot the mistakes, She said you even spotted a few that they hadn't rigged. She want's you to work in her department. That is two out of two, today I want you to work in shipping and receiving. Go to the dock area and see Jim Bolt, he's the freight supervisor."

Saying good bye to Gramps I headed to the dock area. Mr. Bolt was a big man, not only tall but he had muscles where he shouldn't have. Later I found out why, he was a navy Seal.

He gave me several shipping orders, I had to locate the crates to ship, stencil them and then line them up on loading dock. I found several orders were duplicated. I check the master list and found that the duplicate orders were an error. I showed them to Mr. Bolt. He took the duplicates and went into his office. The truck pulled up to the loading dock, Mr. Bolt wasn't there so I began to load the truck. I wish I had known I would be working here today, I wouldn't have worn my suit. As I loaded the last crate, Mr. Bolt came and checked the manifest. He walked onto the truck, checked everything and then told me to go to lunch.

I took my time at lunch, I was tired, moving all of that freight around, it took some muscles that I hadn't used for a long time. That brought home the fact that I was really getting out of shape and needed to start exercising again.

When I returned to the dock area, Mr. Bolt handed me several invoices. "We are expecting a truck in a little while. I need you to check these invoices against the freight coming off the truck."

No sooner did he say those words when a semi pulled up to the dock. The driver backed up to the dock, came and rolled up the door to begin unloading the crates. As he pulled each crate off the truck I checked it off the manifesto Mr. Bolt gave me. I noticed that on the manifest it called for 100 kgs of the product but the weight on the crate showed 100 lbs, I noticed a few other crates with the wrong weight. Before the truck was completely unloaded, I saw Mr. Colt in the office, when he looked at me, I called him over to the truck. When he came over asking what was the problem, I showed him the discrepancy with the weights. He took the manifest, showed the driver and they talked for a long time. I stood and waited.

"James, you can go. I'll handle this."

I still had an hour before my time was up. I went up to Gramps office. "Are you done?"

"There was problem with the freight manifest on the incoming truck. Several weights were off. Mr. Bolt was going to handle it."

"Do you remember what was written on the manifest and the items that had the wrong weight?"

"Yes"

"Take a sheet of paper and write down what you remember."

I sat in the conference room and wrote out the items that had the wrong weights. I showed the weight on the manifest and the weight on the shipment container. I also noted the invoice number on each item. I gave the paper to Gramps.

"Thanks James. You can leave if you want and I'll see you at home."

I said goodbye to Gramps secretary and left to go home. Since I had a little time I stopped and picked up some grocery items. When I pulled into the garage, I saw Nick heading my way. I gave him a bag to carry up to the apartment.

"Where is Rich?"

"His dad drove up and they are at Grams."

"As soon as I put these groceries away, I'll take shower and head over that way."

"Why don't you go ahead and take a shower I can put these away."

I thanked Nick and went and took a shower. After work a shower really feels good. Particularly today when I had to work the dock. As I came out of the bedroom, Rich was in the living room with I assumed was his father.

"Jimmy, this is my father, Paul Morendo."

Shaking his hand, "How do you do sir. I understand that you drove up today."

"Yes, it wasn't a bad trip. Since Richie is planning on going to school here I wanted to check it out. I'm glad to meet the guy who has offered a place for Richie to stay while he's here."

"It isn't a large apartment but it so much better than a dorm. It will be quiet here and good for studying. Dorms offer a lot of distractions according to my brother."

"How long are you staying Dad?"

"One of the reason's I came Richie was to tell you I'll be relocating again. There is a project in Buffalo that is falling behind. They asked me to go and see what can be done to get it back on schedule. I spoke to your grandparents Jimmy and they agreed that I could store Richie's things here. I plan on seeing you at least once a month Richie."

Rich seemed to be ok with that. He certainly understood about his dad moving with different jobs, he grew up with that. He also liked the idea of staying at Gramps and seeing his dad at least once a month. I think he would like to see him more often.

That night at dinner, Gram went out of her way to make Rich's dad feel comfortable. I smiled as I listened to the conversation around the table. I was sitting on the right side of Rich and every once in a while, he would reach over grab my leg. At first I would look at him and smile but after a while it was having an effect that would make it embarrassing to stand up. I think Rich knew what effect he was having on me. I looked at him and he had this knowing smile on his face.

I think I was a little shocked at the effect he was having on me. I never gave any thought to having a girl friend or a boy friend. But now I'm slowly becoming aware of Rich and his close proximity to me, here at the dinner table, in bed and in the morning. He always gets up before I leave. I can't say I don't like him, I do like him. I like him being my friend. I like the way we sleep together, thinking I just like him. Do I like him more than Mike? Maybe but I like Rich in a different way. There is something about Rich that relaxes me when I'm with him. His smile is something I can't get enough.

Rich's dad had made arrangements to stay in town and then leave for Buffalo. I let Rich and his dad have some quiet time and Nick and I washed my car. When Rich's dad came back down from the apartment, he stopped at the garage, gave me and Nick a hug. "Thanks Jimmy for looking out for Rich. He's the only one I have left."

I noticed some tears in his eyes as he hugged me, "You don't need to worry about Rich. He's very special to me as well." After I said that I realized that he is very special to me.

That night as I was sleeping, I woke for some unknown reason and I heard Rich and Nick talking. "Do you think he knows how you feel about him."

"No, I don't think he knows. But the more time I spend around him the more I love him. Somehow him not knowing appeals to me, its like his innocence has a special place, particularly in my heart."

"Are you going to tell him?"

"I don't know. What if I tell him and he hates me?"

"You know he's gay."

"How do you know he's gay?"

"Brandon told me that he acts exactly like he did when he was that age. He said he has buried his feelings because he's afraid of his dad."

"I think I'll just play it by ear and see what happens. Even though I'd like to have him as my boyfriend I don't want to lose him as a friend."

"So you would suffer and bury your feelings rather than face him with them."

"Yes, I don't want to ever lose his friendship."

"He's coming, please don't say what we were talking about."

"Hey guys, what's up?"

"Nothing, Charles talked to my dad today and it looks like I might get a chance to go to Ohio State. He said I'd have to keep my grades up before he'd agree."

"Well, that's a good idea. So I guess we'll see how serious you are. They had me doing some heavy work today on the docks. I'm going to take my shower and hit the bed. See you in the morning if you are awake."

The shower felt so good. I had it as hot as I could stand followed by a cold shower. I snuggled into my pillow and fell asleep. Sometime during the night I felt Rich and Nick getting in bed. Rich snuggled up to me, I placed my arm around him and pulled him closer to me. I think I shocked him. Nick eventually found a place where we touched. I fell asleep.