Hound Dog & Bean (29 page)

But this was right out where anyone might see him! “What are you doing?” Bean asked, rushing up to Hill. “I thought you said that nudity wasn't allowed in the public areas of the camp.”

“It isn’t,” H.D. said with boyish enthusiasm. “So hurry. Get naked. I want to do something.”

“Hill!” Bean looked over his shoulder. “What if…?”

“What if what? Come on, stud. Off with ’em. Hurry.”

“Hill!”

“Do it. Do it for me.”

Oh, what a card to play! And of course, there was no way he could refuse. Bean began to unbutton his shirt, but he was very uncomfortable. What if someone drove into camp and saw them? “What are you wanting to do?”

“I want us to hug Iggy.”

Bean stopped. “
Iggy
?”

“Yggdrasil!” H.D. cried and began to jump up and down enthusiastically, his cock and balls bouncing. It reminded Bean of that day H.D. was bouncing on the bed.

Bean looked at the huge tree, the rough bark covered in a vinelike growth. “Isn’t that poison oak?”

H.D. gave a bark of laughter. “Not hardly.” He reached out and Bean flinched as he snatched a leaf off the vine. “It’s Virginia creeper. Poison oak doesn’t even grow in this state—”

“Sure it does,” Bean objected. “I’ve heard that all my life!”

“You’ve heard wrong. Just remember the saying, leaves of three—let it be, and if you see white—danger’s in sight. Also look at the leaves. If they’re shiny, that’s the oil that gives you the rash. Look at this….” He held out the leaf. “See? This is a cluster of
five
leaves. Kinda like a star. See that?”

Bean nodded suspiciously at the leaflet cluster H.D held out.

“Perfectly safe. I promise.” He began to tub it on his cheek.

“Hill!” Bean cried out in alarm.

“Baby,” H.D. said. “I promise it’s okay.”

Bean froze.
Baby. He just called me baby.
It made him feel like a teenager. Hill did that a lot. Made him feel young. But he sure wasn’t going to tell H.D. that. He was following Elaine’s advice to the max. Because with every day that passed, he knew he did want someone in his life. And that someone was Hill. Bean would do whatever he had to do to keep him in his life.

“Now come on,” H.D. said. “Hug a tree with me. You won’t hurt your johnson. Do this with me.”

With one more look over his shoulder, Bean quickly slipped out of his clothes—after ducking behind “Iggy” first—and stood naked under the shade of the mighty tree. He looked up into the sky, which was filled with Iggy’s twisting branches. No wonder ancient people thought a tree like this could hold up the sky. It was an awesome sight.

Beside him, H.D. pressed up against, and then wrapped his arms around, the trunk. “Come on,” H.D. said, a near blissful expression on his face.

Bean nodded and then joined suit, stepping just far enough away so that their fingertips would touch. And yet, sure enough, they could only touch on one side. Yggdrasil was so big it would have taken a third man in order for their combined reach to circle the tree’s circumference. The bark was rough, but not altogether unpleasant against Bean’s skin, and there seemed to be an almost warmth radiating from the surface.

“Close your eyes,” whispered H.D.

“Close my eyes?”

“Do it.”

Bean did as his lover asked.

“Now listen.”

And Bean did so.

It took a moment, but something happened then that he would be unable to properly relate later—he wouldn’t even try except with Hill. It was almost… magical.

With his eyes closed, the sounds of the birds were clearer. Brighter. He could hear the wind rustling through the leaves above. Feel the warmth of the sun against his naked skin, and of course the bark and the leafy vines as well. But it was more than that. Time seemed to slow down and…. Bean felt an almost… presence. Something very old. Something very, very comfortable in its own skin. His eyes popped open, and he stood back from the mighty tree.

“Did you feel it?” H.D. asked, clearly excited.

Bean nodded. But he didn’t talk about it. There were no words that didn’t sound crazy. “Let’s get going. We need to set up. We don’t have much, but I don’t want to make camp in the dark.”

“But you felt it?”

Bean trembled. What did he say? There had been something…. “Yes, Hill. I felt it.” He realized his heart was pounding, and he didn’t know why. “How did you know that stuff about poison oak—” He stopped as he realized the answer. “Ezzie?”

“Yes,” H.D. replied.

“She sounds amazing.”

H.D. got a sad look on his face. “She was.”

Bean pulled him close and kissed that nose again. “Camp. Lead on, McDuff. Let’s get this pony show going.”

T
HEY
DROVE
up to the second level of the camp, where there were several buildings of various sizes. Two large ones to the right and a smaller one to the left. “We register here,” H.D. said pointing to the smaller one.

Registering was easy enough—simply entering the small building, filling out a sheet of paper with general information, and putting it, along with the very reasonable camping fees, in an envelope and dropping it in a slot. “They’re trusting, aren’t they?” Bean asked.

“That’s what this place is all about,” H.D. replied.

After they were done, H.D. showed Bean around the buildings they’d seen while driving up the hill. One was a kitchen and dining hall, one was for meetings, and a third that hadn’t been visible from the parking lot was a large shower house and dressing area.
Coed
showers.
Interesting
was all Bean could think. Did that mean he could be showering and a woman might walk in? He’d never seen a woman naked in real life. He wasn’t sure if a woman had ever seen him naked, unless it was during his appendix surgery years ago. Would that record be done in by the end of the weekend? He mentioned his concern to H.D., who seemed to find it amusing.

“Are you afraid you’ll turn heterosexual if a woman sees your peepee?” H.D. asked with a giggle.

The comment irritated Bean, but at least H.D. noticed,
and
he apologized. “It’s okay,” H.D. said. “I’ll stand in front of you if a woman walks in.”

“Hill….
I’ve
never seen a naked woman in real life.” Bean knew it was silly, but he just hadn’t put two and two together. They were going to go a skinny-dipping in “the
broad
daylight.” He hadn’t even
thought about the fact that there would probably be women at the beach. “It’ll be okay” he said, more trying to convince himself than H.D.

“You’ll be with me,” H.D. replied reassuringly. “I’ll tell them you belong to me.”

Bean smiled, feeling like a high school freshman.
I want to be yours
.

So they drove back down to where they had first come in, and loading their supplies on top of the cooler, they each took a side and climbed up through the sunflowers and then crossed the earthen dam. Bean was on the left and he could look out over the small lake as they walked. If the entrance to Sanctuary had looked like something put together by Peter Jackson, this was even more wondrous. He finally had to stop, and with a nod to H.D., they put the cooler down and he turned so he could do nothing but look. The sun was getting ready to touch the top of the trees, and he knew they needed to get going, but it was all so beautiful. The line of trees on the far side of the lake were reflected in the water, and he wanted to take a picture and save the sight forever. He looked at the man standing next to him, wearing nothing but his little cutoff shorts—yes, the top of his bush shining in the evening sun—and realized this was one more example of beauty. He wanted H.D. forever as well.
I can’t believe I’ve made love to this man. Made love to such beauty
.

“Come on, Bean. We’ve got all weekend.”

Bean wanted to stop again at the beach, where the only people were two men playing cards on a blanket, but H.D. insisted they go on. They smiled knowingly at the pair, who smiled back in the same way. Once past the beach and through a small grove of trees, they entered a long grassy area, the water to their left and woods to their right. As they walked, they saw several rings of stones, or fire pits.

“The third one,” H.D. said, pointing with his chin. “There’s a neat tree across from it and we can set up the tent under this big branch to help protect the tent in case of rain.”

“Is it going to rain?” Bean asked. He’d completely forgotten to check the weather forecast.

“It might. A little tonight. The rest of the weekend’s going to be perfect.”

They found the tree, just as H.D. had said, with branches that jutted out protectively at a height just over their heads. Perfect for hanging the Coleman lantern they’d brought and too high to hit their heads. Luckily, the tent went up as easily as the packaging claimed. It was a bright blue dome tent, and with the possibility of inclement weather, they went ahead and added the rain screen. As the sun set, they managed to get the bedding set up inside, as well as their few clothes. It was surprising then how suddenly it got dark—
really
dark. Of course, they’d brought flashlights.

“Let’s make a fire,” said H.D.

There was a small pile of branches nearby that someone had thoughtfully left for the next campers. Not enough for the weekend, but probably enough for the night. “We’ll gather more tomorrow,” H.D. said and then astounded Bean with how quickly he had the flames licking at the wood. “Make sure you sit down on a big towel, though. There are ticks. I hate ticks. Especially on my balls or in my crack.” H.D. said this last as calmly as if he were discussing the price of the two tents they’d been choosing between over at Walmart. Bean shuddered.
Ticks in my crack?

They’d gone through a drive-thru on the way to camp, so there was no reason to make dinner.

“Let’s go swimming,” said H.D. He slipped out of his shorts, tossed them into the tent, and stood before Bean, beautifully naked. It was one thing to look at Hill naked in his bed (wow!) and another to see him nude out on the deck at the house. But here in nature? Even in the dark, it was like Hill had taken on that magical quality again. Like a creature out of myth.

“You’re going to give me a hard-on,” Bean said.

“So what else is new?” H.D. replied. He helped Bean get undressed, then he flicked on one of the tiny, but bright, flashlights, and taking Bean’s hand in his other, led him naked back to the lake. “You’re sure this is all right?” Bean asked nervously, looking around him even though it was far too dark to see anything.

H.D. stopped. He put his hands on Bean’s shoulders. Then he kissed him. “I promise, lover.”

How Bean prevented himself from freezing at the word he didn’t know. Somehow he
did
, knowing it would draw H.D.’s attention to the fact that he had actually used the word “lover.” Bean was pretty sure it had slipped out without H.D. even knowing it.
He’s falling in love with me. God. Could it be? Fishing. That’s what Elaine had told him he needed to do. Take it easy. Let H.D. be the first.

“Do you trust me?” H.D. asked.

“I do,” Bean said.

After that, Bean was self-conscious for only a second, and then the feeling that settled over him whenever he sat on his deck naked returned—tenfold. Walking through the grass, looking up through the branches of the trees at the twinkling stars…. It was amazing.

The men on the beach were gone. H.D. said that surprised him. A Friday night and no other campers? “Thor must be watching out for us,” he said.

They placed their towels over the back of one of the two benches on the sandy beach—obviously man-made—along with the flashlight, and then H.D. took Bean’s hand and once more they walked together, this time into the water.

Which was perfect. Just cool enough to freshen them from the heat of the day, and not so cold that it threatened to turn their balls into earrings. They waded out until the water took their weight and lifted them, and their toes began to bob over the pebbled bottom. The moon had started to rise over the trees—a three-quarter moon—and cast a silver light over the surface of the lake. H.D. ducked under the water, and when he rose back up, his hair took on the luster of the moon, leaving Bean once again captivated by his beauty.

He pulled H.D. close and kissed him, hard, opening his mouth to him and demanding the same in return. H.D. complied, and soon they were pressing their hard cocks against each other, thrusting, and trying to keep their heads above the water.

“Come here,” H.D. said, pulling away and then swimming breaststroke to a small raft nearby. They climbed aboard and fell to the planked surface and soon gasped and cried out as they made most passionate love.

T
HE
REST
of the weekend was just as magical. H.D. couldn’t remember when he was last so happy. Dean was amazing. H.D. didn’t know what it was, but he couldn’t get enough of him. It scared him, and sometimes he would pull away for several days at a time. He knew it hurt Dean, and that scared him all the more. He didn’t want such power over anyone, and he certainly didn’t want anyone to have such power over him.

What if something happened to Dean?

What if he got sick?

Shot (
in a drug bust gone bad—by a man running a puppy mill
)?

What if Dean got tired of H.D. and his weird, flaky ways?

What if Dean told him to stop coming around?

H.D. knew the answer already.

It would be horrible.

So he would pull away—stay away and not even answer the phone when Dean called. Not go to The Shepherd’s Bean in the morning. He’d duck in the back room of Four-Footed Friends if he thought he saw Dean coming.

But by the third or fourth day, a longing so deep and powerful would sweep over him that he would find himself standing on Dean’s porch—first knocking, then letting himself in with the key Dean had given him—and wondering how the hell he got there. It was like his body just got up and took him along, without him even knowing where they were going.