Emerald City Boys

 

CHAPTER 42

CRUISE TIME

 

FRIDAY, AUGUST 7

 

<Bellingham. Bryce and Blake>

 

11:00 am

 

Bryce and Blake were contemplating the task of stuffing a week’s worth of clothes into their suitcases when their best friend, Cayden, showed up. 

“Wassup, dudes?” Cayden greeted as they bumped fists. 

“We’re just getting ready to start packing,” Blake said. “First we gotta get all of Bryce’s stuff into my bedroom.” 

“Why go through all that?” Cayden wondered. “Why not just pack your suitcases in your own rooms?” 

“Because we want to do it together so we can be sure we’re packing everything we need...,” Bryce began. 

“...so there,” Blake finished. 

Bryce took his suitcase to Blake’s bedroom and laid it on the bed next to Blake’s suitcase. Cayden carried all of the clothes Bryce planned to pack into Blake’s bedroom. 

The boys figured they had given Cayden sufficient reason for packing both suitcases in Blake’s bedroom, but Cayden and his words of advice were not so easily dissuaded. He continued to happily dispense worthless advice on how to pack followed by grousing when the boys didn’t do things his way.  

“You should pack your underpants in the middle of your suitcases,” had been his final bit of advice.  

“Why?” Bryce asked grumpily.  

“Because you wear your underpants in the middle of your body so if you pack them in the middle of your suitcase you can find them quicker. It’s like your socks going at the bottom of your suitcase.” 

Bryce and Blake looked at each other and shared a what-the-hell-did-he-just-say expression. “Of all the dumb things you’ve told us to do since we started packing, that’s gotta be the dumbest thing,” Blake said.  

“Well, he did make one good point,” Bryce said, not wanting their best friend to feel too bad. 

“Oh yeah?” Blake said. “I can’t think what it was.” 

“I still say that it would have been a lot less work if you guys had each packed your suitcase in your own room,” Cayden insisted. “Besides, I wouldn’t have had to lug all of Bryce’s clothes in here to be packed.” 

“I know, but what kind of fun would that have been?” Bryce asked. “Plus, your helping me carry my clothes to Blake’s room was a HUGE help.” 

“I was happy to help, even if it meant carrying seven pairs of your underpants.” 

“Hey, they were all out of the wash and clean.” 

“So you say,” Cayden smirked. 

“I noticed you smelling them when you picked them up.” 

“You weren’t supposed see that. But, hey, I had to be, like, totally sure you were taking clean clothes.”  

“So YOU say. But doing it this way we had the fun of talking to each other and comparing notes…,” Bryce started. 

“…plus giving Cayden shit for his bad advice and for noticing how much he likes to smell underpants,” Blake finished with a smirk.  

“You guys are something else,” Cayden said. “It’s gonna get really boring around here without you two around.” 

“Well, you will have our texts to look forward to,” Bryce reminded him. 

“You guys are still coming to my house for lunch when we’re done packing, right?”  

“Right,” Blake answered. “Mom and dad are going out to lunch, so we should be able to do it, too.”

 

“And did you notice how he said when WE’RE done packing, not when YOU’RE done packing?” Bryce asked.

 

“Hey, somebody had to make sure you weren’t taking smelly underpants on this cruise. I mean, it’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it,” Cayden said.

 

At five after twelve Bryce announced that they had finished packing. They each had a suitcase, packed mostly with clothes and toiletries and a backpack containing personal items. They double checked what they had packed against the list they had made with their mother to make sure they hadn’t forgotten anything. It all looked good and, with Cayden’s help, they got the two suitcases and two backpacks to the garage where their dad would load them into their SUV.

 

The three boys put on their helmets, mounted their bikes, and rode to Cayden’s house. They dismounted and pushed their bikes to the north side of the house where they would be parked. Bryce and Blake were surprised to see a number of bicycles parked there. That was nowhere near their biggest surprise. They removed their helmets, hung them on their handlebars, and opened the gate to the backyard. The twins wondered why Cayden was holding back.

 

The backyard was full of friends of the twins, who were ready for their entry. The twins almost flinched when they heard the “SURPRISE!” coming from the group.

 

“Wow. What’s with this?” Blake asked.

 

“Oh, I just happened to invite a couple of our friends over for lunch,” Cayden said.

 

Cayden’s “couple of friends” was really sixteen (12 boys and 4 girls) and could have been more. Blake and Bryce were popular boys in school plus they were active in sports and played on teams with half of the boys. The four girls were classmates whom the twins were friends with. Two of them (Janet and Donna) were girls they had kissed more than once. One time in June, just after school got out, they stripped down to their underwear with Janet. They got to see naked boobs for the first time and Janet got to see erections for the first time when Bryce and Blake pulled their boxer briefs below their testicles. It was look and don’t touch and the looking lasted less than five minutes or the touching might have started.

 

 The twins had seen six of the boys naked and jerked off with them and two others. They also kissed two of them. The erotic play with boys sometimes included both twins and sometimes just one of them—but it was usually both.

 

While the twins preferred messing around with boys they had no problem getting naked with Janet and kissing her and Donna.

 

It was Janet who took over the party. “We figured you guys should have a bon voyage party and, since you’d be away on the boat, a birthday party in one party.” Sure enough there were two cakes, a birthday cake with thirteen candles and a bon voyage cake with one, signifying it was their first cruise.

 

When the twins were at a party, they dressed close to alike except for wearing different color shirts so people could easily tell them apart. They introduced themselves by color upon arrival, or when the guests arrived if the party was at their house. Today Bryce was wearing a plain red t-shirt and Blake a blue Western Washington University t-shirt.

 

 Blake and Bryce saw their parents standing at the barbecue next to Cayden’s parents who had taken the day off work. That explained where their parents had gone for lunch—they had gone to Cayden’s to help make the lunch. The twins couldn’t imagine being happier.

 

There was a stack of cards at one of the tables on the patio. Blake and Bryce opened them, read them aloud, and thanked the senders. Soon a lunch of hamburgers and French fries was served followed by cake and ice cream. It was a teenager’s delight. Before the cake was cut, everyone sang “Happy Birthday” to the twins and then shouted out “Bon Voyage”, which they had practiced before the twins arrived.

 

Being the horny, hormone driven teens (with a couple of tweens thrown in) that they were, Cayden took every opportunity to grope a twin and was happy to get a grope in return.

 

The twins had two special erotic moments. One involved just Bryce and the other one involved both of them. When Bryce went into the house to take a piss, Janet stealthily followed him. When Bryce went into the bathroom, she took a quick look up the hall. Seeing nobody she joined him in the bathroom.

 

“What are you doing?” Bryce asked.

 

“I want to watch you pee and if you let me watch, I’ll let you touch my boobs,” Janet answered.

 

“But somebody might find out.”

 

“As long as it’s not a parent, who cares.” Janet then proceeded to lock the bathroom door and pull off her shirt.

 

Bryce shrugged, pulled down his shorts and bright blue boxer briefs, and let fly into the toilet. Janet gave the procedure her rapt attention. When Bryce finished, he turned and faced Janet, his four inches rising rapidly. Janet was fascinated to see a few hairs above his cock. She couldn’t recall seeing any pubic hair on either twin when they flashed her a couple of months ago.

 

She suddenly realized she couldn’t remember which twin she was sharing the bathroom with. She felt that asking who it was would be too embarrassing. All she knew was the twin she was locked in the bathroom with was the one in the red shirt. Besides, it didn’t matter, since she thought they were equally cute.

 

She then unhooked her bra, revealing her still developing breasts. “Go ahead and touch them,” she told Bryce. He then placed a hand on each breast and stroked it while at the same time Janet surprised him by giving his boner a couple of strokes.

 

As good as it felt, the situation didn’t seem right to Bryce. “We better get back outside before people wonder where we both went,” he said. Janet reluctantly agreed and they quickly put themselves back together. After Janet checked the hall, they both left the bathroom and headed back outside.

 

Not long after that the party guests started to leave. They all wished Blake and Bryce “Happy Birthday” as they left. Janet said, “Thank you,” and gave Bryce a smile and a peck on the cheek. Blake got a peck and a bon voyage wish. Soon the twins, Max Welch, and Cayden, the host, were the only partiers left.

 

“Before you guys go, come up to my room. I want to show you something,” Cayden said. Blake, Bryce, and Max knew exactly what Cayden wanted to show them. As soon as the four boys closed the door to Cayden’s bedroom, four pairs of shorts were opened up and dropped to the floor. Cayden had a thin line of pubes above his cock and shot thick cum while Max was still hairless and shot watery cum. Max was a month away from turning thirteen.

 

“Janet really took her bra off and let you touch her boobs? And it got you all hard?” Max asked Bryce. Bryce had told Blake, Cayden, and Max about his tryst with Janet in the bathroom. Max was a regular jerk off partner. Mutual masturbation and a couple of kisses were as far as he and Janet had ever gone.

 

“I wouldn’t lie about it,” Bryce said. “Yeah, I got hard. I mean she did touch me, but we didn’t have much time for anything and I’m still horny.”

 

“And I got horny listening to him tell about it,” Blake said.

 

The boiling hormones were quickly taken care of as the four boys quickly stripped naked and crowded onto Cayden’s bed. “Me and Max agreed this would be our birthday present to you guys,” Cayden said.

 

Max jerked off Blake and Cayden jerked off Bryce. Bryce shot his light cum first with Blake following a second later. Cayden and Max then took care of each other and the erotic session was soon over.

 

“Happy Birthday,” Max said as the four boys dressed. They didn’t bother wiping off their meager loads of cum.

 

“And bon voyage,” Cayden added. “I hope you guys find a JO buddy on the ship—and I don’t mean a girl either. I mean a horny boy with lots of cum. I’m gonna miss you but will be ready to hear your stories after you get home.”

 

“See you later and thanks for the help with our packing and the special help on your bed,” Bryce said. The twins were soon on their bikes pedaling home.

 

“Well, tomorrow we’ll be leaving early to get to the cruise port on time,” Blake said after they arrived home and put their bikes away.

 

“Tell me about it.”

 

After dinner the twins watched the Mariner game on TV with their dad. The Mariners won 12-1. They said their good nights to their parents, took care of their cleaning and toilet duties, and snuggled naked together in Blake’s bed.

 

“I hope we meet some cool kids our age like Cayden said,” Blake said to his brother.

 

“At least a couple to sing happy birthday to us,” Bryce said.  The twins’ thirteenth birthday was on Tuesday when they would be in Juneau. “Who knows maybe we find two boys to dance a happy birthday dance for us.”

 

“Boys who dance—that sounds so dumb.”

 

“But it would be fun to watch.”

 

The boys were too tired to mess around, plus they knew they would be getting up at seven. Since they would have their own cabin on the “Sapphire Princess” they figured they’d have their chances to squirt their cum together during the cruise; if they felt like doing it, that is. The twin gingers snuggled and were soon sound asleep.

 

<Levi’s House>

 

Levi and Trajan sat at the dining room table with their mothers, Arlene and Trish. They were discussing Trajan’s schedule for the next few weeks. Except for a couple of formalities and paperwork that needed to be completed for the purchase to officially close, Trajan’s family now owned a house in Seattle.

 

Because of the schedule of Trajan’s parents as well as the three-week time window involved, the sellers had to officially vacate the house. Even though the house was vacant, Naomi, the realtor who sold the house, had pointed out some minor repairs that needed to be completed before the DeLucas could move in. The sellers had agreed to have everything shipshape as per the contract.

 

The mothers agreed that Trajan would all but move into the Hansen’s house and share Levi’s bedroom. They had quickly come to terms with the relationship of their sons. Levi’s father, who was finishing up his summer quarter work at the University, had worked education for his entire career and felt he understood the psychology of adolescents, both young and old. As a result, he accepted the situation and decided to see how it played out as the boys made their way through high school. He knew that even heterosexual relationships had a short shelf life in this age group and most homosexual relationships were noted for their quick burnouts.

 

No matter what, he would be there for his son as well as for his son’s “boyfriend.” He knew the relationship would hit some bumps—all relationships did. But he planned to be there for the boys, and he knew the same was true of Arlene.

 

Trajan’s father, Giovanni, who made no secret of his disdain for gays, could be a sticking point for the two boys. Since they wouldn’t be seeing him until the end of the month, Levi and Trajan agreed to not worry about it until then. The boys were certain that having the other three parents on their side would help.

 

The conversation between the two boys and their mothers about the upcoming two to three weeks came to a close but the boys remained seated. ”Trajan and I have a question to ask you, mom,” Levi said.

 

“I guess that would be me,” Arlene grinned.

 

Levi ignored his mother’s vain attempt at being silly and went on. “As you and Mrs. DeLuca know, the two friends we’ve been talking about and whose bon voyage party we went to, will be leaving on a cruise tomorrow.”

 

“Sorry son, but you can’t go with them,” Arlene said.

 

“Mom, be serious.”

 

“My apologies, son. What is it you two would like to know?”

 

“We want to know if we can go to the cruise port to wave bon-voyage.”

 

“That is a long bike ride,” Arlene pointed out.

 

“Not if we ride our bikes to the U, catch the 31 bus to Magnolia and ride down the Magnolia Bridge to the cruise port.”

 

“That could work. But what makes you think you’ll be allowed onto port property? I think port security will stop you and turn you around the instant they see you on the property. And even if you got that far, I know for a fact you can’t enter the cruise terminal itself.”

 

“We know that,” Levi said. “All we want to do is wait near the entrance to the building where Pierce and Drake can see us.” Levi then looked directly at his mom and smirked, making her wonder what kind of sneaky hijinks were percolating in his teenage mind. “As for getting on the port property, that’s where dad comes in.”

 

Trajan loved the way his boyfriend was handling his mother. He was a model of politeness who had come to her with a plan—a plan he and Levi had worked out that morning.

 

“I think I see where this is going,” Arlene said. 

 

“Yep, I know you figured it out. Our neighbor, Mr. Gardner, is the head of security at the cruise port, and I bet if Trajan and I went with dad to talk to him, he’ll agree to some way for us to get into the port. After all, he and dad are golfing buddies.”

 

That evening Levi and Trajan, along with Levi’s father George, went across the street to see what Gary Gardner could do for them. After laying out specific instructions, Gary told them he would contact his security team about the coming event and how to handle the boys’ visit. He typed and printed out a set of instructions for them.

 

“As long as you follow these instructions you will have no problem surprising your friends with a sendoff. Remember that number one on the list might be the most important item—if you don’t show up at the security station ON TIME, the rest of it may not work,” Gary said.

 

“We’ll be there on time for sure,” Levi promised. “Trajan and I played on a lacrosse team together and being on time for games and practices was, well, REALLY important. Thanks Mr. Gardner. We appreciate this and I bet Pierce and Drake will appreciate it, too.”

 

“No problem, boys. Levi is a great kid and I’m willing to bet his best friend is just as great. I trust you both totally. Plus, I plan on starting my next game with your dad holding a two-stroke lead.”

 

“Did I agree to that?” George asked.

 

“No, but I would have if it had been me in your golf shoes.”

 

“Okay, I’ll give you your lead, but only if you agree to buy the first round of drinks if I finish the 18 holes ahead of you.”

 

“Deal.” Gary and George shook hands and the visitors left and headed back across the street.

 

“It looks like things worked out well for us,” Levi said. “We’ll be able to wait for them right along the walkway to the terminal.”

 

“And surprise the shit out of them,” Trajan grinned. “But in a good way.”

 

<Bledsoe Residence.>

 

12:30 pm

 

“Great job on the sandwiches,” Walker said before biting into his toasted cheese sandwich.

 

Earlier that morning, Walker, Pierce, and Drake had gone to the Farmer’s Market located in Magnolia Square. One of the vendors sold a variety of teas that Walker really enjoyed. While they were there, they also picked up a couple melons, a loaf of crusty sourdough bread, and an assortment of cheeses.

 

The Farmer’s Market at Magnolia Square had a reputation for being very “cruisey” and Pierce and Drake had no qualms about holding hands as they strolled along the aisles. As they came to a table near the end of the aisle, they noticed two stunningly handsome boys, probably about 18 years old, discussing the vendor’s products. She was selling great-smelling specialty soaps and shampoos and the two boys were obviously discussing which product to buy. Pierce and Drake looked at each other, Drake silently mouthed the word “boyfriends”, and, grinning broadly, they moved on to the next aisle.

 

Suddenly, Pierce squeezed Drake’s hand. “Is that Taylor and Dayne over there?” he whispered as he nodded toward an aisle across from them.

 

Pierce knew that ever since Drake had spotted Taylor and Dayne smoking weed in the park, his opinion of them had dropped to near zero. “I don’t think I could deal with them this morning,” Drake said. “Let’s move on.” The boys rejoined Walker and they headed for home.

 

In the kitchen, Pierce tackled the preparation of toasted cheese sandwiches for lunch. He spread butter on the outsides of the sandwiches and, for additional flavor, added a thin layer of mayonnaise along with the cheeses on the inside of the sandwiches. The results had both his dad and his boyfriend raving.

 

 

“Any idiot can make a toasted cheese sandwich,” Pierce said modestly.

 

“True, but can he make a GREAT toasted cheese sandwich?” Drake grinned.

 

“Maybe, if he has the right kinds of cheese, which would be mozzarella and cheddar, sourdough bread, butters the crust properly, and then…”

 

“We get the picture, Pooka. A great sandwich is obviously a work of culinary genius.” Drake leaned toward Pierce and gave him a quick, but ardent, kiss.

 

“Mm, nice. I do have to say that having a gourmet, like Duck, who appreciates culinary genius enjoying one’s creation is also an important part of the recipe.”

 

“Don’t forget that I’m the one who opened the salad bag and dropped our special Taylor Farms salad into everyone’s salad bowl without spilling a leaf of lettuce.”

 

“Once again, our lunch is pure genius at work.” This time Pierce gave Drake a kiss a few seconds longer than the one he had received. Drake felt his cock stiffen a bit as Pierce slyly gave him a gentle grope.

 

“If you boys are such geniuses, then how is it I had to put my own dressing on the salad?” Walker asked.

 

“A true salad genius knows that the kind of and amount of salad dressing a person uses on a salad is completely a matter of personal preference,” Drake said.

 

“More proof that this was a lunch for the ages,” Pierce grinned.

 

“Walker shook his head and put on his best I-don’t-believe-this-bullshit expression.  “What I have to wonder is how simply saying Pierce makes a good lunch turned this into a lunch that will go down in culinary history? Anyway, how about you boys take care of all the self-congratulations later and finish up your lunch so we can discuss our topic of the day,” Walker said.

 

“Topic of the day?” Pierce asked. “Hell, it’s more like the topic of the month. No, that’s too few days, let’s just make it the topic of the year—that should cover everything.”

 

After everyone finished eating and the kitchen was cleaned up, Walker and the boys retired to the den. Pierce and Drake sat on the sectional, their bodies touching, while Walker sat in his private recliner.

 

“Okay, dad, you said our after-lunch talk would be you making the Duck and me cruise experts. So, enlighten us,” Pierce said.

 

“I think you’re exaggerating what I said the topic was going to be,” Walker said. “In your case exaggeration is not an unusual phenomenon. What I said was I was going to give the two of you a basic idea of what to expect tomorrow so you know what to be alert for.”

 

“So, we’re not going to learn all the ins and outs?” Drake asked.

 

“Not even close. But I don’t want everything to be a total surprise tomorrow.”

 

“Should we take notes?” Pierce asked.

 

“Mental notes will suffice.”

 

“Going into the mental aspects could strain the brain capacity of the Pooka,” Drake said.

 

Walker took a deep breath. He loved the playfulness of the two teens, but there were times they carried their play a bit too far. Pierce and Drake both knew that when Walker took a deep breath it was time to “shut the fuck up”.

 

“My mental notebook is officially open,” Pierce grinned.

 

“Ditto,” Drake said.

 

“Then let’s start with us stepping off the shuttle from the parking garage,” Walker said.

 

“We keep stepping down until a foot touches the ground, right?” Pierce asked.

 

Walker let out another long sigh. “You know that driver’s license you’re looking forward to getting?”

 

“Yeah, but what does that have to do with getting on a cruise ship?”

 

“I just wanted to say that you’ll never see it if you don’t live to be sixteen.”

 

“I think what your dad is saying is we really need to get on topic instead of opening mental notebooks and shit like that,” Drake said.

 

“I can’t help it,” Pierce responded. “I’m so excited I feel like a little kid.” He paused a moment and then said, “I guess I’m acting like a little kid too, right?”

 

“Right,” Walker said. “And on that note, let’s imagine we have two mature teenage boys walking down the walkway to the cruise terminal under the guidance of two men with cruise experience. Each boy has his passport in the document holder hanging from his neck along with his medallion.”

 

Pierce was tempted to make a comment about Professor Walker Bledsoe’s lecture technique but decided it was time to play the role of the mature teenage boy.

 

Walker told them they would be leaving their luggage with one of the stevedores waiting at the shuttle stop with carts to load passenger luggage on board the “Sapphire Princess”.

 

“You two along with Christian and I will each be toting a backpack on board, plus I will be carrying my laptop,” Walker said.

 

Walker then went through the procedure of going through the green line in the terminal. The green line was for those who had taken care of loading their boarding documents and important information on the Princess app, which their party had done. They would have their passports scanned and would tap their medallions. They would also go through a security checkpoint where their backpacks and Walker’s laptop bag would be x-rayed. They would also go through an x-ray machine.

 

“Just like at the airport,” Pierce said. 

 

“Exactly,” Walker said. “We’ll probably board the ship on Deck 7, the Promenade Deck. It’s about halfway up the ship. And now for the good news that any self-respecting teenager should enjoy. Our first stop on the ship will be to go up to Deck 9, the Dolphin Deck, and head to our cabin, which is at the fore of the ship. While cabins aren’t always ready to be occupied until somewhere between twelve and two, suite passengers can drop off carry-ons at any time. We’ll leave our backpacks and other carry-on stuff in our cabin then go from there.”

 

“Then where do we go?” Pierce asked.

 

“You two should love the next destination, as would any self-respecting teenager—we’ll head up to Deck 15, the Lido deck, for a buffet lunch.”

 

“I’m totally liking this part,” Drake grinned.

 

“That’s because ducks travel on their stomachs,” Pierce said.

 

“Like you have anything to say seeing as pookas are ninety percent stomach.”

 

“After eating, we’ll step outside and check out the main pool area, which includes a few places to get snacks and drinks along with a gigantic movie screen,” Walker continued. “Movies Under the Stars, they call it, but they show more than movies on it. Things like concerts and sporting events are shown as well. There are always things going on in the pool area—even swimming. We’ll check out the other pool areas, too.”

 

Pierce was tempted to ask whether there would be any things coming off in the pool area, but the expression on his dad’s face convinced him to hold his tongue.

 

“There is an obligation we’ll have to fulfill. We’ll need to watch a safety video in our cabin and check in with our muster station.”

 

“What’s a muster station?” Pierce asked.

 

“It’s the place where we would have to meet in the event of an emergency. We check in before the ship leaves port to show that we know where it is. Because of the location of our cabin at the fore of the ship, there’s a good chance our muster station will be in the theater, so we can take a quick look at that while we’re there.”

 

Walker went on to tell how their tour will take in the teen center, the atrium, some of the lounges, the places where programs, like trivia, will take place, places where they’ll be able to dance, the location of the basketball courts, ping pong tables, and pickle ball court. “The list goes on.”

 

“What about the medallions?” Pierce asked. “I heard they can do all kinds of things.”

 

“Yes, they can,” Walker said. “They allow you to board the ship. They can unlock the cabin door before you even reach the cabin. They get you entry into the dining room. You can find other people in your party with them…”

 

“Which must mean you will know where we are.”

 

“Yep.”

 

“So much for us hanging out in the bars,” Drake said.

 

“Or the casino,” Pierce added.

 

“I do know this,” Walker said. “I won’t need my medallion to figure out there’s a pretty good chance you’re hanging out in the buffet.”

 

“Well, duh. Between that and the swimming pool, where else would we be?”

 

“The soft serve ice cream bar, maybe?”

 

“Whoa, I gotta hear more about this one.”

 

“When will we get time to do all of the stuff there is to do on the ship?” Drake asked. “I mean, we’re only going to be on board for a week.”

 

“Plus, we’ll be doing some tours in port, too, right?” Pierce asked.

 

“It works like this,” Walker said. “You have to pick and choose.”

 

“And after that get ready for our next cruise.”

 

“It never hurts to dream.”

 

Walker didn’t mention that the medallions would also allow the boys to buy things. He figured he’d cover that aspect later.

 

“So once we’ve done all this exploring, we’ll be able to go back to our cabin and get settled in, right?” Pierce asked.

 

Walker nodded. “Right. First, we need to watch the safety video and check in at our muster station, then we’ll be free to get unpacked and settle in.”

 

“Thanks, Dad,” Pierce said. “This is going to be an awesome time.”

 

 

Next: Setting Sail