Subject: Art lessons and Strawberry Penises Part 1 AH YES FINALLY, SUMMER IS HERE! And I Feel like I can finally breathe after suffocating myself in those school books all year. I passed all my subjects and I’m super proud of myself. I even passed my art class which is such a huge accomplishment for me because I can’t draw or paint to save my life. Honestly, it’s not that I hate art, I just find myself a bit short on patience to pay attention to such details when I’m drawing or painting something in front of me. For our art exam this year, we had to draw a palm tree. Luckily the parking lot of our school is lined with them so all the students in my grade along with myself, had our exam in a classroom overlooking our school parking lot. I passed with a C and some might think that’s not good enough, but after failing art from grades 7 to 10, this pass in grade 11 feels like Christmas to me. My parents are away on their wedding anniversary in Europe for 3 weeks which means I have to stay with my older brother until their return. My parents live in Ontario, but my brother lives in Alberta, near castle falls. It sucks that I’m gonna be away from my friends back home, but it’s only for three weeks, and pretty darn soon, we’ll be back together. I miss them already and it’s only been 4 days, but they keep me abreast of all the goings-on back home. My parents only have two children, me (Forest) and my brother Ashton. Ashton is 26, and I’m almost 17. Ashton works at a lumber factory and he’s mostly out during the day, but he said Saturdays and Sundays are his off days so hopefully we’ll get to really hang out then. It’s nice having a house to yourself during the day. I get to walk around in boxer shorts, shirtless, eat whatever, bathe whenever, brush my teeth whenever, it’s so liberating. It’s currently Thursday around 5 in the afternoon and I just finished reading a detective novel. My brother’s not back from work yet, and I feel pretty bored so I decided to take a walk down to the swimming hole Castle falls. I put on some shorts and a vest, grab my phone, make sure everything is in order ranging from checking to see if all the nobs are off on the stove, all the windows are closed incase the rain fell, all unused gadget chargers unplugged etc. and finally setting the alarm for the house and locking the door. I’ve never visited My brother before and I really want to go exploring just to get a feel for the neighborhood. I walk maybe 20 minutes before finally reaching the park. The swimming hole is a short hike from the park’s parking lot, and surprisingly I didn’t really see much cars here, with it being summer and all. I thought it’d be packed with families but maybe some other huge activity is going on in town that I don’t know about, and that’s where everyone else is. 20 minutes into my hike now and my skin is starting to glisten and I’m getting pretty winded. Even though the trees provide plenty shade, it’s still pretty humid out and my lazy ass wasn’t expecting such a workout. I finally got to the lake and it’s just like the pics Ashton would always send me when he would come here. The water is so clear, I can see all the pebbles at the bottom and it looks refreshing. I hike for two minutes more until I come upon a more secluded spot away from the main trail. There’s a bench a few feet away from the water’s edge and it’s only when I get closer that I see some stuff on it. I see a backpack open, with clothes on the table and shoes on the ground. I look around but I don’t see anyone. I set my phone and the house keys down, take my trainers off and proceed to the water. When I get by the bank to dip my toes in, I see something surface maybe 15 feet away from me and it startles me a bit. It is a guy, and he is staring straight at me. “Hey !” he yelled and I wave and say hi back. He looks like he’s in his late 30s, with dark hair, and tan skin. “Who are you here with ?” “No one” , I say hesitantly. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that. I’m literally alone with some stranger in a park with no one else close by. One would think that an avid reader of crime and detective novels would be more cautious when interacting with strangers, and would’ve replied with something along the lines of “I’m here with my dad and brother, they’re a few paces behind me” or “my family’s just over by the water on the main trail” so that in the event he was a killer, he’d know not to try anything cause one scream and they’d come running. But my silly ass just let him know that he could kill me and no one would know. I’m all alone in this woodsy location. The woods, the most cliché location where killing happens in books and slasher films and leave it to this moron to come here unaccompanied by someone else. “My name’s Chris and I have a confession to make. ” Oh God, I’m gonna die. “Yeah what’s that?” I respond in a shaky voice. “So since no one was around… I uhhhhh” he’s chuckling to himself now. “I decided to go for a quick swim in the buff. I don’t want to weird you out or anything but can you please look in that bag and toss my briefs to me. I froze. So there’s a naked guy a few feet away from me and suddenly my brain is getting foggy and I can suddenly hear my heartbeat in my ears. “Uhhh sure” As I’m rifling through his bag to find his underwear, he starts walking closer to the lake bank while covering his front. I find a white pair of Tommy hilfiger briefs and I freeze again upon realizing I’m touching another man’s underwear….. in the crotch area. I move my hand to the waistband and walk to the water’s edge and toss them to him. He catches with one hand with the other hand still covering his member. He’s fully standing now and the water is covering his waist down, and now I get to see his torso in full. He is…sculpted. He has a slender physique but with nicely defined arms and a nice toned torso. When I look up to his face I realize he’s staring right back at me. “Can you turn while I put these on?” “Omg yes, I’m sorry” I say as I turn, Didim Escort wincing in the process. Shit, shit, shit, he caught me checking him out. Way to go perv. I just can’t control my eyes, it’s like they have a mind of their own. I can recall on numerous occasions when a cute guy would talk to me and I’d find myself staring at his lips or when I’m out in public and I see a bulge I’d stare at it until it’s out of my sight and I never stopped to think if these people would notice. Or other observant people close by. I can’t help myself. Next comes the overanalyzing. So many questions and thoughts are flickering in my brain right now . “What if he’s homophobic and kills me?” “Forest you idiot, you turned your back to a potential serial killer, have you learnt nothing?” “What if he…. ” “Sorry about that mate”, he says as he taps me on the shoulder. I was in my head so much I didn’t even hear him come out the water. “I come here once a week to go swimming and so many people are always around but not today and I had to take advantage of that” A hearty belly laugh escapes him. “It’s cool”, I say, while I absentmindedly continue my ogling. He could be an underwear model for Calvin Klein or Armani. He has a swimmer’s body, an Olympic diver’s body if you will. These briefs fit him so nice, and I can see a hint of his public hairs, a little lower I can see a penis bulge, and a little lower I can see some very nice legs and large feet. I stare back to his face and again he’s staring right back at me, with a lopsided grin. I need help. “So what’s your name?” “Forest” “So Forest is currently in…a Forest” he giggles. That was so corny and technically this location is considered woodlands or the woods, but I just smile and say “I guess he is” He moves past me and rummages through his bag and pulls out a Towel and starts to dry off. I refuse to look at him so I wouldn’t embarrass myself further and proceed to go for a swim. When the water is by my waist I dive under. The water isn’t really cold, but it’s not exactly warm either, but I love how it feels on my skin. I look back in his direction and now he’s on his phone. His sitting, his legs spread eagled. It’s like he wants me to stare at him. Put on some pants for Pete’s sake. A few minutes later and he’s back in the water, and again, he’s staring. Honestly I hate when people stare at me because I get paranoid that somethings on my face, or on my hair or there’s just something wrong or abnormal about my appearance and it gives me intense anxiety. And I hate when people do it blatantly. Like if you’re gonna stare, be subtle about it. It makes me so self conscious. Yeah yeah, a walking hypocrite, bite me. “Do you live nearby? I swear I’ve seen you before and you look so familiar. You look like one of my work colleagues.” “I’m staying with my brother. He lives near here— he— he works at the lumber factory” [He gasps] “you’re Ashton’s brother, of course, he did mention you were coming to stay with him a while. What are the odds huh? Yes I’m friends with your brother, and he has so many pics of his family up on the walls in his house. That’s where I know you from. The pictures. ” “Yeah that’s me” [awkward laughing] “You look just like him you know? Handsome just like him” [Raises eyebrows] “Oh come on, don’t be coy, I’ve seen you checking me out. I know my kind when I see them” “I’m sorry…?” He’s laughing that hearty laugh again. “You don’t like guys?” I freeze. “I’m that obvious huh?” “Blatantly so” , he chuckles I freeze. Did he just say “I know my kind”, as in…. he’s gay TOO? “I guess your brain is now kicking in hahaha”, he’s full on laughing at me. He was watching my face the whole time. “How old are you?” I sigh “16” “You?” “37” “Oh” He’s so tall, he’s literally looking down at me. He has to be like at least 6’4″ while I’m a measly 5’10”. “Your family knows you’re gay?” “Only Ashton. Bit of a long story that one.” “I got time.” “It’s embarrassing.” “Oh come on, it can’t be that bad” “Well… [sighs]… when I was younger about 12, I used to spy on Ashton when he bathed. Back home he used to work in construction and when he came home—he’d be—like—covered in cement and dust and grime, paint and whole bunch of other things and mom refused to let him bathe inside her precious bathroom in that state, so she had my dad build an outside shower in the backyard so he can rinse off all of his mess before using the shower in the house. Normally, he would get home at around 6, when there’s not much light out and go straight to the pipe, and strip. My room is upstairs and it overlooks the backyard so I had a pretty good view. Every evening, I’d watch him clean himself fully naked and I was mesmerized by the whole thing. Deep down I knew it was wrong, but my feet were glued to the ground and my eyes never blinked once, when I watched. But eventually I got bolder and went outside and hid in the dark just to get a closer look. “But one day, after school as I walked through the house door into the kitchen, he was sitting by the island just staring straight ahead, just drumming his fingers on the counter. He told me to have a seat. He took my hands in his, looked me straight in my eyes and said he knows I look at him. He told me he’s not angry or upset by it, but he said it was wrong what I did, a complete invasion of his privacy. At this point tears formed in my eyes. He told me he knows I’m attracted to guys, and there’s nothing wrong with that, but spying on your own brother is not right. He further told me that being attracted to the same sex is 100% okay and at this point he started to wipe my tears away. He said He accepts me as I am, and he basically gave me the whole sex Ed talk right there in the kitchen and told me to be safe and stuff like that even though at the time, I didn’t understand half the things he was talking about. He never told mom and dad, he said he’d let me tell them my sexuality on my own accord. Ever since Didim Escort Bayan that happened, we got way closer than before and I’d tell him who I was crushing on at school and who was cute etc. And he was never grossed out by any of this. So I blurted out one time “are you gay too Ash?” He said no, but he did say he had a gay friend from school. He told him what I was doing and his friend explained to him that I am in fact gay. Ashton was paranoid that I was crushing on him but his friend said I was just infatuated with an adult’s developed body. “Kids are curious you know, so they’ll do silly things without thinking but it’s nothing you should be worried about. Just talk with him and go from there.” “….And that’s very much how he found out. Yes I was a pervert, a voyeur, a disgusting being, blah blah blah, save it, I know. But I’m not that person anymore. ” Chris looked at me mouth agape for like a minute before saying: “Wow, that’s—-wow. I’m glad though, your brother is amazing and I’m glad you guys had this talk. Not many people are so lucky to have understanding relatives.” “Yeah, exactly, he really is amazing [nervous laughter] ” Over-share much. I can’t believe I said all that. Chris has some nice, plump lips, they look pillowy in a sense rather than having that “thin line” look that’s so common. Crud, I’m doing it again. “I can safely presume you don’t spy on him anymore right ?” Now it’s my turn to laugh out loud. “No way, oh dear, no, Definitely NOT! ” I swim away from him, doing some back strokes to get my muscles going and his gaze follows me the whole time. I blink, and now he’s on his way over. I still can’t get over the fact that he’s wearing only briefs. The water is so clear that even though his waist down is submerged, I can still perfectly see the outline of his flaccid penis in the briefs; the penis which, instead of pointing straight down, points to the left; the penis that has a slim shape, with the hint of a little girth; the penis that appears almost visible because of the thin material and colour of the briefs. The penis that looks a bit darker than the rest of his body “Have you ever—been with a guy before?” I look away from him as I confessed that I haven’t. I’m getting kind of nervous because I just have a slight feeling that he may be attracted to me. He just has that—-look, that longing lustful look I’ve seen so many times before on other people. Maybe I should go home because all of a sudden the atmosphere has changed. What was once a nice chat with a stranger, or rather my brother’s work colleague, just took a drastic turn. He’s 37 for God’s sake, and I’m 16. Yes, I like the idea of being with an older man, it’s all I can ever think about in my dreams, but this right here, all that’s happening now feels overwhelming and it’s almost as if I’m starting to suffocate. It’s too real. I begin to make my way out of the water when he asks: “Leaving this therapeutic water already? It’s so nice” [I raise my hand to the back of my neck and nervously rub it] “Yeah, I should get going, my brother’s gonna be home soon, and I don’t want to cause him to worry.” “Oh I’ll drive you, it’s no problem, I meant to hang with him today anyways, so why not” “No—no it’s [stammering]– it’s fine I’ll walk, I need the exercise anyways. “Don’t be silly, lemme just gather my things” And so he walks out of the water, grabs his towel and begins to dry off. Oh shit I don’t have a Towel, or a change of clothes, I’m going to ruin his car seats. And I have to walk barefoot or else I’ll ruin my fucking trainers if I put them on wet. Barefoot in these woods screams disaster waiting to happen. He senses my unease and asks if I have a change of clothes and I said no. “Don’t worry I have extra shorts, and you can use my towel, no biggie.” I hesitantly go to take it from his outstretched hand when he says: “Oh my God I don’t have lice or any infections if that’s what you’re worried about. Go on” he says while waving the towel in my face. I take it and start to lift my vest off to dry my torso. He’s turned to the side now and he proceeds to remove his underwear in front of me. I see his masculine apparatus, nestled between a modest patch of pubic hair; the sprinkles of water causing his entire front to shine and sparkle in the sun’s receding rays; his birthmark that’s shaped like a heart that sits on his upper left thigh, the slight arch of his lower back that accentuates the roundness of his behind. Even though I’m seeing him from the side, I just know the whole of him is perfect. I turn my back to him to give him his privacy, and I feel my cheeks and ears begin to heat up. I begin to take my shorts off and now I’m only in my boxers. I wrap the towel around my waist and lift my hands under it to retrieve my boxers. It’s a haggling task but I get it done and I take them from around my foot. I turn back around to see that he has a plastic bag, motioning for me to take it. I take it and put my wet clothes in it. I set it down and then he chucks some basket ball shorts at me. I catch them and I examine them. “These are gonna drop off” “There’s a drawstring so you’ll be fine And so I begin another awkward task of trying to put the pants on while still having the towel around my waist. The pants is up to my mid thighs now and it can’t go any further unless I remove the towel completely. I turn away from him, remove the towel, and hurriedly hoist the pants up. He probably saw my entire butt omg. I tie the drawstrings and it’s staying up on my waist, albeit a bit loose. I dry my legs and I go to dry my feet, he let’s me know it’s totally cool. I dust under my feet because some dirt was clinging to my skin. I give him back the towel and he does the same. I notice he’s wearing black briefs now, and he puts his jeans on and his shoes. I put my shoes on , and when I stand back up from bending over, he gives me his shirt to put on, since I went in the water with my vest on. “Ready ? Escort Didim have everything ?” “Yeah” I say avoiding his eyes. And so we begin the trek back to the parking lot. He’s shirtless, since he only had this one shirt and he gave it to me. I walked behind him the whole time, and I admired the way his back muscles would dance around with every step he made, with every lunge across a puddle that settled on the pathways, with every duck under wild branches, or the clearing of brushes with his long slender arms. We reach his car and he uses the remote to unlock the doors. “Have your license ?” “Nah, only my learner’s permit, my driving test is in December. “Want to drive ?” “Uhhhh, sure” I say, with a huge grin on my face.” He laughs and hands me the keys. We set our stuff in the trunk and we get in. “Is this exactly legal though, I mean—I think—-like—- don’t I need my permit for proof that I’m a learner, in case we get pulled over?” “You’re just like Ash, always making a big deal of something, always overanalyzing, and worrying. Just relax. It’s not that far a drive—chances of us being pulled over arm slim. His hand spawns my thigh and he looks straight at me and tells me to just be cool. “I trust you with my car. And you need the practice anyways.” “Okaaaaay” I whisper under my breath. He takes back his hand and I begin to drive off. Two minutes into the drive and forest’s phone rings. Chris reaches for it and puts it on speaker phone. One glance and he saw it was Ashton. “Hey Ash, are you back from work yet?” I ask. “I am—and you’re not here, where are you?” “I–we—went–f–for a swim by the lake nearby and I’m on my— “Hey my man, he’s with me, recognized him when he came down by the water and I offered him a ride back, hope that’s okay” “oh- Chris Hi , yeah that’s totally fine was just worried when I didn’t see him at home. Yeah totally cool, so uh, how far away are you ?” “Just three minutes out, I’ll have him back safe and sound, I promise. ” Chris replies. “Okay I’ll see you then, drive safely” “We will” I sigh. I pull into my brother’s driveway and I see that he’s sitting on the steps leading up to the house door. Upon seeing us, he stands and shoves his hands inside his pockets. I guess he was really worried. Insanely so to the extent that he waited on the outside for me. We exit the car, and greet Ashton. “Hey, I’m—i–I’m sorry for worrying you, I should’ve let you know where I was going before leaving. I’m sorry, my eyes downcast. I look back up and he has his lips pursed which means he’s gonna go off on me when Chris leaves. “Yeah, you should’ve” he answers in that clipped tone parents use to admonish their kids. “Take it easy, he’s alright” Chris interjects, “see, free of harm” he gestures up and down my body. “Go get changed Forest.” I sigh internally and look back at Chris to thank him for the ride. “Don’t forget your clothes in the trunk bud.” “Right” I grabbed my stuff and leave them to talk and it’s so obvious what they’re gonna talk about. ME. It’s futile to eavesdrop and so I make my way into the laundry room to put my clothes in the dryer. I go to my room, take Chris’s clothes off, and put on some shorts. I take his clothes back to him in a bag but instead of being outside, they’re now in the kitchen having a beer together. Chris tells me to rest his clothes in the car and I do so. I return to the house and my skin feels prickly and I know he’s staring at my naked torso. I go to take a quick rinse off in the shower, moisturize my hair a bit, and brush my teeth. After I dress, I don’t know what to do with myself. I don’t know if I should go downstairs, I feel like they’re having a private conversation, and on the other hand, I’d just come off as rude if I stay in my room the whole time Chris was here. I head downstairs and sit away from them and browse my phone. “Is Thai good with you?” Chris asks “Thai food, yeah sure, sounds great.” 30 minutes later the food is delivered and we all sit at the kitchen bar on stools, one next to the other. Ashton is in the middle, and I’m on Ashton’s right, Chris on the left. “Chris tells me you almost got straight A’s. A “C” in art.” “Yeah” “That’s good work bud. I used to have trouble with art but now, whenever a canvas and paint is in front of me, magic happens” “Really?” “Yup, I could show you a few pointers to improve your drawings if that’s alright with Ashton. You should see my house. Packed with all my creations. I mostly paint but sometimes I’d try to sculpt something really cool. I do a little free lance work, where I’d sculpt maybe yard ornaments, or sometimes, I’d paint on plain bowls for friends, or sometimes paint inside of a nursery for expecting couples, small things like that. “Wow, that’s so cool.” I look over to Ashton and he’s not looking at Chris or me, but rather straight ahead. “Maybe” he says at last. “This is all pro-Bono of course don’t worry about anything. It’s on me. ” “Sure, why not” I beam, and hug Ashton when he says: “Oh get off me will yuh” I chuckle and continue eating. Chris ended up leaving after we ate, he said he had to meet up with his sister to babysit her baby. It’s going to be her first night out after a few months of parental responsibilities. She’s pretty much doing the whole parenting thing on her own since her boyfriend cheated and left her during her pregnancy. Such a prick. We said bye to him and we return to the kitchen. Ashton makes a deep sigh. “For.” Oh my, he only shortens my name when he’s gonna get all intense. “Yes Chris is my friend, one of my closest friends actually, but never take anything someone says on face value. Always confirm things with me first before making decisions. And I want you to always let me know where you’re going before hand okay. I love you, and I want you to be always on your guard. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.” He hugs me tightly, and I hug him back. “I’m glad it was Chris that was there.” “Im sorry Ash, I promise, never to do anything like this again, I swear.” “It’s okay” We release each other, and I retrieve my phone and continue browsing, looking for another book to keep me occupied until I’m ready to sleep. He ruffles my hair and goes to his room.