Chapter 18 - An Amusing Life

I remember back when I was a kid, in school, and my geology teacher brought in these rocks one day called ‘geodes'. From the outside, the small gray nodules looked boring and plain. You couldn't tell there was anything special about them. They were completely nondescript. But then he took a little hammer and broke one open, pulling the halves apart to expose the most beautiful purple crystals hidden within.

The teacher explained that geodes form from the inside out. He taught us that these special geological formations are created when water and minerals slowly seep into a hidden void inside a larger rock concretion. From the outside, you can't tell anything is going on within the rocks. But deep inside, where no one's looking, things are always changing, growing, metamorphosing, until, before you know it, there's this miraculous change in the rock itself.

I was fascinated by those geodes. The concept that something unseen could morph like that, turning an ugly grey hunk-of-nothing rock into a beautiful gem, was eye opening. I used to stay after class just so I could look at the geodes more closely. Examine them. Try and see if I could somehow suss out the mechanism by which this alchemy was made possible. Those geodes seemed almost like magic to the younger me.

In a strange way that's how I see myself now. On the outside, I'm the same as I've always been. My shell might not be exactly plain and boring, like those old grey rocks, but it's still a shell. Inside, though, I've long had this huge empty space - a void - that nothing seemed to fill.

Until I met first Gus, and then Justin and Molly too. From that point on, I could feel the void filling with something unnameable. Something that was trickling in little by little. And in that emptiness, the kindness, happiness - and yes, love - those three gave me, began to change me from the inside out.

Those changes, which continue even today, have been slowly creating something beautiful and almost magical inside the dry, uninspiring shell that I used to be, turning me into a human geode . . .

.:G:. .:G:. .:G:. .:G:. .:G:.

Remarkably, everyone enjoyed the three and a half hour drive from Pittsburgh to Hershey. Which was a surprise to Brian, who'd only ever been on one disastrous family-oriented road trip before. Of course, this time the trip wasn't interrupted by a hungover Jack Kinney getting fed up with the children's noisy bickering in the backseat and pulling over to the side of the road where he ordered the entire family out of the car so he could drive to the closest bar in peace. Blame it on modern technology, the alignment of the stars, or maybe just on the more agreeable nature of the people involved this time, but somehow this trip seemed to be going much more smoothly right from the start. Who knew these types of things could actually be enjoyable?

After the excitement of setting off on the road had died down, the occupants of the Hummer quickly settled down to their individual pursuits. Daphne was the first to go, putting on her headphones, picking up her smartphone and easily disappearing into the fantasies of the disgustingly porny fanfic that Justin always teased her about reading. Gus and Molly chattered away for several miles, with Molly detailing for her younger friend all the fun things they were going to do once they got to the amusement park. Eventually, though, the kids quieted down and Justin popped a video into the overhead dvd player for them to watch.

Brian surveyed the proceedings in the rear-view mirror, feeling strange emotions tugging at his heartstrings as he watched The Midget hugging his stuffed bear to his chest and laughing at whatever was going on up on the screen. That adorable little laugh was just so fucking endearing. He loved seeing the boy laughing, happy, and without a care in the world. That was how childhood should be. Not that Brian had anything to judge it by, but he at least thought that was how it should look.

With everyone else in the car distracted, Brian and Justin had plenty of time to talk. Brian found himself opening up more than he'd ever planned. Something about the enforced closeness of the vehicle, just leant itself to easy confidences. It helped that the front part of the cab, with it's comfortable captain's chairs, felt isolated and private. And, what with the kids wearing headphones and Daphne too busy reading and too far away to listen to them way up in the front seat, there was nobody to overhear them. So, as the miles rolled by, Brian found himself baring his soul more and more to the attentively listening blond sitting next to him.

Before long, Brian's narrative wound its way into the story of how he'd started Kinnetik. He related the whole saga of the unpleasantness that occurred after Ryder sold out the agency that Brian had worked at since leaving college. The buyer turned out to be Ryder's primary competitor, VanGard. Unfortunately, VanGard had a very different work environment than Ryder's agency. So, when the new owner, Gardner Vance, bought out Brian's partnership contract - which he'd done as soon as the sale of the company cleared escrow, complaining that he wasn't going to work with a ‘disgusting faggot' - Brian had taken the unexpected windfall of money and started his own agency.

However Vance had made one big mistake in the process - he'd bragged to one of Brian's former clients about why the favored AdExec was no longer at VanGard. The sneaky client, one of those that Brian had personally recruited and which had repeatedly profited from Brian's special brand of genius, had fortuitously recorded the conversation. Once that client told everyone else he could about Gardner's bigotry, the rest of VanGard's newly acquired clients - almost all of whom had been brought in by Brian - had left en masse in favor of staying with the man who they all enjoyed having in charge of their accounts. To them it was Brian's award winning work and his work ethic that mattered, not who he slept with. Only the dregs of Ryder's clients stuck with the odious man whose views and mind had apparently stopped developing about the time he was born. Which meant that Brian not only walked away with a large sum of cash, but also with a ready-made client base. And ever since then, things had just been getting better and better for him . . . at least professionally.

Brian's personal life, on the hand, was a different story. He seemed to have been stuck in a rut on that front since even before the upheaval at Ryder. He still tricked to get his needs met, but that lifestyle didn't seem as fulfilling as it had back in his twenties. He had begun to realize that there was something very important missing. The few people he considered to be friends had paired off: Ted had Blake, Emmett had Drew, and hell, even Michael had David, whom Brian couldn't stand, but who seemed to make Michael happy nonetheless. And despite the fact that Brian hadn't ever really thought about being in any kind of relationship before, lately he had begun to think that if he could find someone who he could stand to have around after the sex was over . . . well, he just might be willing to try.

Looking over at the young artist sitting in the passenger seat, doodling in his sketchpad as they drove, Brian found himself smiling almost against his will. He just seemed to have that response every time he saw the blond. He supposed that what he and Justin had could constitute the start of a relationship. They certainly were compatible in just about every way imaginable. The sex was phenomenal. They even got along well out of bed. Brian had never actually talked this much, or this intimately, to anyone else in his entire life. Hell, they were headed off on a ‘family vacation' together at that very moment, and Brian was not only okay with that scenario, he was actually enjoying himself. Surprisingly, that thought comforted rather than terrified him. So, was this what a ‘relationship' felt like? Was this ‘It'? Was this . . . whatever . . . the thing he'd been missing for the last five years or so?

Brian didn't know and didn't want to jinx it by speculating. He just knew that - for the time being at least - he was okay with whatever this thing was. So, as was his way, he decided not to question a good thing and simply live in the moment. He wanted to enjoy this time out of his real life - this vacation - and he'd worry about what it all meant, later.

For now, Brian was just going to concentrate on driving.

The rest of the journey passed by easily. They were only delayed twice by pit stops for the kids to use the toilet and once to gas up again. To Brian's surprise, it only took a little over three hours total to make the drive. They'd made great time. Once they arrived at the outskirts of Hershey, though, Brian began to get a little confused by the inadequate street signs. Justin came to the rescue, logging into the map app he used on his phone and offering to play navigator to get them to the hotel.

After watching intently from the back seat for a moment or two, Gus piped up boldly. "Jussin, kin I be the ‘Alligator'? Pwease! I kin do it real good. I's always the alligator for my mommy back in T'ronto. She letted me hold the map and saided I was a great alligator. Pwease, Jussin. Pwease!"

It took Brian a few seconds to realize the Midget had confused the words ‘navigator' and ‘alligator' before he understood what the kid was asking. Justin was looking over at him skeptically, obviously not sure it was a good idea to trust themselves to the directions of a five year old. But it wasn't like they were in a huge hurry or anything. And Hershey wasn't exactly a large metropolis. Even if they got lost, it wouldn't be the end of the world. So it couldn't hurt to let the kid play at being the ‘alligator' for a few minutes, right?

"Sure, Midget," Brian responded after thinking it through. "You can be our alligator. Just look at the pictures on the phone and tell me which way to turn, okay?"

"KAY!" Gus roared, enthusiastically reaching out to grab hold of Justin's phone. "I's gonna be da bestest alligator ever, B'ine. You's gonna see!"

Justin shook his head as he handed over the phone, but was smiling at the same time. "Molly, maybe you could help Gus with his directions?"

Molly nodded and winked at her brother. Brian saw the gesture in the mirror and shot the girl a return wink of his own. Justin, who thoroughly approved of Brian's approach to Gus' request, made a point of reaching over to give the driver's thigh an affectionate and approving squeeze before relaxing back into his seat.

"The map says go to Jussin's side," Gus promptly announced thirty seconds later. "Do it . . ." He halted and watched the little arrow on the screen that indicated where the car was in relation to the map. "Do it now, B'ine. Turn to Jussin, NOW!" Gus shouted.

Brian obeyed, turning right onto the street his Midget had indicated, looking first into the rearview mirror at Molly who nodded to confirm that Gus had given the correct instructions. Brian was impressed that the boy managed to convey the proper turn even without knowing his right from his left. ‘Turn to Jussin' was just as effective, if not moreso, than ‘Turn right'. Not bad for a beginner alligator.

Gus proceeded to lead them through the suburbs, effectively guiding them around the city and through the fairly heavy traffic surrounding the popular amusement park with his simplistic directions. He only got turned around once, when the directions called for a turn at a multidirectional intersection that offered more than a ‘Turn to Jussin' or a ‘Turn to B'ine' option. That little gaff only slowed them down for a minute or two, though, as Molly quickly helped interpolate the app's direction for Brian to make a u-turn and then head in the ‘slight left' direction that had been originally intended. And then, before you knew it, the expert alligator had them pulling up to the door of the hotel.

Justin had reserved two rooms at The Hotel Hershey. He and Brian had one room and Daphne would stay in the other room with the kids. Once they were checked in, Gus took a nap while Daphne and Molly poured over the map of the park and decided where to go first, making a list of the rides that everyone could enjoy together. Brian and Justin used the time to settle into their own room and enjoy a little private time before heading to the park. Justin made sure to reward Brian handsomely for his superb driving as well as his masterful parenting skills.

Since they'd made such good time on the drive to Hershey, it was still early enough after Gus woke from his nap to get some time in at the amusement park. As an extra bonus, since it was a weekday, the park was relatively uncrowded, so they didn't have to wait in huge lines at the entrance or fight off hordes of other park-goers at every ride.

Brian was very happy to see a few other gay couples and families at the park. Most were holding hands or walking with their arms around each other without anyone really paying attention. It relaxed him even more and he took advantage of the situation by slinging his arm over Justin's shoulders as they followed their own little family into the depths of the famous amusement park.

The Kinney/Taylor contingent started out by riding the carousel, since it was something they could all ride. Gus, who said he hadn't ever been to an amusement park before, thought it was the best ride in the world. He chose a big black stallion with gaudily painted blue and white tack for his mount and demanded that his B'ine ride the white horse right in front of him. Brian thought the horse he was given was a little fey - the flowers in its mane and the fact that it was anatomically a female horse, automatically making him cringe - but he dutifully took the horse his Midget wanted him to ride and didn't say anything. However, he could see, out of the corner of his eye, the way Justin and Daphne were snickering behind their hands and promised himself he'd get back at the pair later. He also noted that Justin got himself a nice, big, dark grey stallion with sober silver tack. The fucker! But Brian soon forgot his pique once he heard Gus' giggles of delight as the carousel started up and the horses began their gallop around the circle.

Next, at Molly's insistence, they went to The Kissing Tower. It was the best way to see the whole park and was another thing they could all do together. The entire group filed into the cabin that was slowly lifted two hundred and fifty feet up into the air while spinning around unhurriedly to give everyone inside the best possible view. Brian held Gus up so the boy could look out the windows more easily. When they got near the top, Gus asked Daphne to hold him instead.

"Why don't you want me to hold you anymore, Gus?" Brian asked, a little perplexed by the boy's desire to switch.

"Well, Jussin bringed us here, and this is a kissin' tower, so you should prolly give him a kiss for doin' dat," Gus answered, like it was the most logical answer in the world.

Looking around the cabin, it was quickly evident that many of the other occupants were taking the ‘Kissing' part of the Kissing Tower seriously. So, after handing Gus off to Daphne, Brian reached out and pulled Justin to him. Justin put up a token struggle, but readily gave in when the kids and Daphne laughed at him and urged him on with a chant of ‘Kiss. Kiss. Kiss..." As soon as he stopped squirming, Brian wrapped the younger man tightly in his arms and planted a toe-curling kiss on the blond.

"How was that, Midget?" Brian asked when they finally pulled apart. "Do you think it was good enough?"

"Maybe. But I think you should prolly practice some more, cause Jussin looks kinda cufused right now. Maybe you don't kiss good enough?" Gus questioned, eliciting a guffaw from Daphne and titters of glee from Molly.

"Maybe I should try again right now? What do you think, Gus?"

"Maybe you should wait for later," Justin interrupted, blushing but surreptitiously pressing his hard-on into Brian's leg at the same time.

"Okay, Jussin. You kin wait fer later. But don't forget to let B'ine practice on you summore, so's he kin get gooder at it," Gus answered innocently, causing giggles from several other people on the ride and wiggling eyebrows from a smirking Brian, while Justin tried not to turn bright red as he buried his face in Brian's shirt.

As soon as the hubbub around the boys died away, Gus turned and gave both Molly and Daphne kisses, stating, "I guess girls need kisses too, ‘specially since they don't have nobody."

Brian hid his smile at this pronouncement in Justin's hair and could feel the blond's silent chuckles of laughter vibrating against his chest. Gus certainly was an opinionated little fucker. And highly amusing too. Maybe they should have called this ride the ‘Laughing Tower' instead. He'd never thought such a seemingly boring ride would be this hilarious. Then again, he'd never had company like this surrounding him before.

When they were back on the ground, the group decided to head to the area where all the family rides were situated. They'd already decided to stick with the ‘dry rides' on their first day - they'd wear their swimsuits and do the water park stuff the next day. There were enough rides at this place to easily keep them all busy for more than just one day, though, so it was probably a good idea to split them up that way.

Finding attractions that Gus was big enough to ride was a bit of a challenge. The kid had a taste for the adventurous and always wanted to try the most extreme rides, but he was rarely tall enough to meet the safety requirements. Gus was particularly unhappy that he was too short for the bumper cars - a ride he desperately wanted to go on after watching the fun through the railings. He told Brian they needed to come back when he grew some more, which gave Brian a very warm feeling, one that he was learning to enjoy more the more frequently it happened. In his mind, Brian was already planning that future trip . . . and maybe some others too.

Luckily, there were more than enough rides that The Midget could go on to keep him distracted. The whole group spent the next few hours walking around and riding the rides, splitting up occasionally to pursue individual ride options, but always meeting up again afterwards. Brian stuck with his Midget the whole time, forgoing any rides that he knew the child couldn't go on. He wanted Gus to have the most fun he could. This day wasn't really about Brian - although he truly was having a lot of fun - it was about the kids. It was about Gus. Brian knew in his heart that if Gus was his son, he would make sure the boy had the best life he could give him. Brian wanted to give Gus the childhood that he wished he'd had. He loved seeing the kid light up when he was happy about something. It made the whole day worthwhile.

By dinner time, the crew was pretty much exhausted. The long drive combined with the fun of a whole afternoon at the park was enough to knacker even the adults. They all crawled back to the hotel and Brian ordered room service for dinner. Brian had to carry his Midget to the other room when he literally fell asleep with a french fry dangling out of his mouth. Molly was only a little more lively, but at least she managed to walk to bed under her own steam. Daphne retreated to the bathroom, intending to take advantage of the luxurious whirlpool bathtub for a long soak. Which left Brian and Justin all alone in their own room at long last.

"Damn. I can't believe I'm this exhausted and it's not even eight pm," Justin exclaimed as he checked the time on his phone with a gigantic yawn muffling the end of his sentence. "I think it was the drive that did it. Why is it that sitting on your ass in a car is so fucking tiring?"

"You too tired for one more ride, little boy?" Brian asked suggestively as Justin tried to sidle past him, pulling the blond down onto his lap before the younger man could escape. "I saw you on that carousel horse earlier and you looked like you knew how to ride a stallion, but I think I could give you a better go . . ."

"I don't know, Stud," Justin drawled with a fake western accent and sly smile. "Did you see all the wood on that big boy? He was built. You think you can measure up?"

"Trust me, BB. I've got all the wood you need in all the right places," Brian rejoined, bucking his hips up so that the boy who was straddling him could feel the proof in his words. "Care for another ride before we hit the hay?"

"Mmmmm," Justin hummed as his bronco bucked up at him once more in the most delicious and provocative way. "I'd love to ride a great big stallion like you, Stud. I could use a good, hard ride. Really, really, hard . . ."

Brian held firmly onto the younger man's slim hips so that his bucking didn't dislodge his rider as he continued to buck and thrust with his hips, until they were both moaning in tandem.

Justin pulled his shirt off first and then began unbuttoning Brian's as well, hungry to get to bare skin as quickly as possible. As soon as the last button was undone and the shirt fell apart, he ran his hands over the smooth expanse of Brian's chest, reveling in the strength of the muscles twitching under the tanned skin. Even that pleasure didn't delay him for long, though, as his fingers trailed even lower till they were impatiently tugging at the top button on the big guy's jeans. Damn all these infernal clothes. He needed Brian naked . . . now! Why was it so difficult to get to the parts of his Stud that he needed? Why did they wear all these annoying clothes anyway?

"Damn it!" Justin swore when he couldn't get to the last of the buttons on Brian's fly without dismounting from his stallion.

He reluctantly crawled off the beast, hastily shucked off his own pants before angrily tearing at the Stud's fly and then practically upending the man by grabbing at the legs of his jeans and yanking hard. Brian might have laughed at the imperiousness with which he was being manhandled by the little blond imp, if he wasn't so busy trying not to fall off the couch as he was bumped and shoved this way and that until he was sufficiently naked for his avid little rider. Once they were both stipped bare, Justin efficiently sheathed Brian with a condom and slapped on a healthy dollop of lube, then climbed back aboard, sighing happily as he snugged his ass back down where he could feel Brian's happy, hard cock nestled right between his ass cheeks, where it belonged.

"Now, where were we when we were so rudely interrupted by all those clothes?" he questioned with a grin towards his mount.

Brian bucked again. Justin let his head fall backwards in sublime pleasure and practically purred with contentment. Yes, that was MUCH better.

"You ready now, Cowboy?" Brian asked with another happy little buck.

"Fuck me, Stud. Now!"

"If you insist, BB," Brian answered with a joyful squirm as he lifted Justin's whole body just high enough to make room for his cock.

Justin was too damn insatiable to wait for Brian to ease his way in, though. As soon as he felt Brian's heat nudging against his ass, he shook off the restraining hands and let himself drop like a lead weight until he'd swallowed the whole of that stallion's length. It happened so fast it took his breath away. But the pain was exquisite. It was so good that he almost lost it right then, only holding back his orgasm by sheer force of will as he panted through the initial burn.

"Whoa there, Buckaroo. No need to rush things. I have a nice, long, hard ride planned for you. This isn't gonna be a race. More like an endurance test," Brian cautioned, using his hands to caress Justin's back, trying to calm his eager rider.

"Mmmmmhhhhhmmmmm," was the only response Brian got from Justin, who was already beginning to slowly rock back and forth.

All good intentions aside, though, that ride quickly escalated. Brian's broncbuster wasn't in the mood for slow and sensual. Justin wanted it hard and fast and furious. Using his strong thigh muscles to their best advantage, Justin rode Brian for all he was worth. And Brian was loving it just as much as the hardy blond. In fact, he was hard pressed to hold back himself, what with the way his BB's ass was clenching at him as he slowly rose, stroking him with every downward motion and caressing him with every single wiggle and twist in between. And, before they knew it, that electric tingle that couldn't be stopped was zapping through both of them, igniting them from within and causing their duel climaxes to erupt in order to put out the flames of their passion with spurts of cooling endorphins.

"Yee Haw!" Justin mumbled sleepily as he collapsed against Brian's chest once all the fireworks were over.

Brian had just enough energy left himself to struggle to his feet, still holding tight to his spent rider, and walk them both to the bed, where they collapsed in a happy, sticky, heap.

Brian's last thought as he pulled the covers up over the two of them was that family vacations didn't seem so bad after all.