Sydney/Taree Australia
Part 7

Col and Jeff advised me not to catch a train back to Petersham late at night, especially being on my own. "It's like any big city, mate. Too many dangerous fuckwits." Col gave me his phone number, and asked me to give him a call when I got home. "Just to let Jeff and me know you're OK."

"You guys going surfing again tomorrow?"

"Yep. You gonna be there?"

"Not sure. My bud's still got a bit of packing to do, so I might help out."

"Your bud?"

"Yeah. Hey, he's an old guy, so it's not like we're... well, you know. He's a pretty cool dude, and we're just friends. He's the reason I'm going to Taree. He's moving there with some people he cares for."

"I guess we'll meet him then."

"Yep. He might even write your story. He's an author."

B had given me a copy of his front door key, so I let myself in. Then I noticed light shining from under the toilet door. Sue again! Oh, well. Rather than use the bucket, I went back outside and pissed against the tree growing on the nature strip that ran parallel to the pavement.

"Is that you, Daniel?" came the hushed voice from the entrance to the apartment block foyer, just five or six yards from where I was pissing.

"Hi, B. Had a totally rad night. Woohoo!"

"What are you doing? What if somebody sees you?"

"You're seeing me, and you're not complaining," I laughed, shaking the last few drops from my cockhead. A moment later, as I was putting my dick back in my shorts, a car drove past.

"You shouldn't be taking risks like that!" B scolded as I approached him. But I responded by roughing up his thick shock of white hair.

"I'm a teen, B," I grinned. "Feel like a coffee? I've got lots to tell you. Hey, is it OK if I phone Col and Jeff to let them know I've arrived home safely?"

While the jug was boiling, and B was getting the coffee mugs ready, I asked him if he could ever get mad at me. "I mean like really mad."

"I am mad at you. You could've been arrested for indecent exposure, and urinating in public."

"But you're not really mad at me. Right?"

"Yes I am!"

"I don't believe you, B. Now tell me the truth."

B poured the boiling water into the mugs, added milk and sugar, then began to stir the coffees. "Getting mad at you is easy, Daniel. Staying mad at you is impossible. It's that impish grin of yours. It's disarming. Not to mention infuriating."

"I don't see what's so bad about pissing against a tree at night. Anyway, Sue was in the bathroom.."

"Bloody kids. No sense of shame."

I followed the towel-clad B to his room, where he sat on his easy chair as I began to undress. "It was a totally awesome night, B."

"Why are you undressing?"

"It's a buzz teasing you." Once I was naked, I grabbed my coffee, and sat on the edge of his bed, with my thick semi draped over my balls. "You won't believe what happened tonight," I began, then told him the whole story while he shook his head in disbelief. "Do you think I was being cruel to Phillip?"

"You would have been crueler if you'd led him on without any intention of living up to his expectations."

"Were you macho when you were a teen?"

"I wasn't girly if that's what you mean. But I wasn't very macho either. I was hopeless at team sports. I've always been a bit of a loner, not to mention fiercely independent. On the other hand, I've always admired guys like you."

"So you don't think what Col, Jeff and I did on the dance floor was bad?"

"Phillip, John and Alan didn't seem to mind. Nor the audience."

"But there are people who would disapprove, right?"

"There'll never be a shortage of people who disapprove, Daniel. The question is, does their disapproval concern you?"

"I disapproved of what that kid prostitute was doing... selling his ass for drugs."

"He's killing himself. You're not. You're just having fun. There's a huge difference. And you're not hurting anyone by what you do." B took a sip of coffee, then studied my face for a moment. "In life, my gorgeous young friend, you have to decide whether you're going to live by other people's rules or your own. If you choose their rules, you'll never be true to yourself. If you choose your own, you'll need to have the courage of your convictions. Either way, you'll never please everyone."

"So if you can't please everyone, you might as well please yourself. Is that what you're saying?"

"You pleased yourself when you pissed against the tree."

"And you disapproved."

"Not quite. I was worried about the consequences of what might happen to you if you were sprung."

"Sprung?"

"Caught. Busted. It wasn't the act of pissing against the tree that I disapproved of."

"But what I did on the dance floor tonight at the gay pub?"

"If I approved of that, you'd think I was a dirty old man."

"Which you are," I cracked, almost spilling my coffee. "Oops!"

"Shuddup, and stop interrupting. If I disapproved, you'd think I was sanctimonious ... a prude. So I'm not in a position to approve or disapprove. What I can say is that I wouldn't recommend that kinda behaviour. On the other hand, I wouldn't disallow it, either."

"So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I desperately need something stronger than coffee. That's what I'm saying." And with that, he took off down the hall. A minute later, he was back with a bottle of brandy. "I use it for cooking, but this situation is an exception." He poured a generous amount into his coffee mug, then took a big sip. "You really are very scary, Daniel. Very, very scary."

"I am?"

"Yes, you are. But that's what makes you so... so interesting. No, interesting is not the right word. Fascinating is a better word. You bend rules. You test boundaries. You love to shock people. You love to tease people, like you're teasing me now with that lazy thing of yours pretending it's asleep."

"What thing? Oh, you mean this thing?" I grinned as I lifted my lazy teen meat, then let it flop back over my balls. "He's had a pretty heavy night, B. He's pooped."

"It's not just him, Daniel. It's the rest of you. Even Michelangelo or de Vinci couldn't have captured your beauty. And that's my conundrum. You can get away with behaviour that would be considered gross if it were carried out by people without your talents or looks." B thought for a moment while he took another sip of coffee. "I suppose it's a bit like comparing a person who can sing to a person who can't, or a person who can act to a person who can't. You have the wherewithall to elevate certain behaviour so that it becomes not only acceptable but also desirable. Am I making sense here?"

"Nope."

"Maybe I'm trying to make sense of something that doesn't make sense in the first place."

"So when are we leaving for Taree?"

"Tuesday morning."

"Chewsday?"

"Yeah."

"How come you pronounce it 'chewsday'? It's 'twosday'."

"There's a lot more where that came from, Daniel. You're in Oz now. Stay chewned. Meantime, I'm gonna get me some shuteye. I'll see you in the morning."

"I've got an itch in my pubes."

"Scratch it yourself."

"I'll bet you'll jack off thinking about it, though," I giggled.

"You're a scallywag, Daniel. An unabashed scallywag with absolutely no sense of decorum."

"But you love me."

"Sometimes." B went to the door, paused, then turned to face me. "Yes, I do love you," he smiled, causing a hundred wrinkles to form on his kindly face. "I love you very much. Sleep well my young friend, for tomorrow we packeth."

"Packeth?"

"It's an ancient Biblical term for filling empty cardboard cartons."

I laid awake in the darkness for a while in B's bed, wondering what his thoughts might have been when he was here under the covers. Did he think of me? Or Cody? I guessed he did. B was an incurable thinker, and I figured that's what drove him to write stories about guys like me; guys who were wild and free; guys who took chances; guys who lived life to the full.

"Tea's made!"

"Fucking hell!" I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, then looked at my watch. 6am already? Where did the time go? I needed to piss big time. Oh, no! Sue was in the bathroom again. Talk about a fucking monopoly! "In a minute, B," I yelled down the hall. "I gotta pee in the bucket."

"Don't empty it outside while you're naked!"

"OK, OK, OK. I'll put my shorts on. Don't fucking stress, B. Jeez!"

After rinsing the bucket under the front lawn tap, I wandered into the kitchen, where B was pouring a cup of tea for himself, and another for me.

"You're naked!" he observed as his eyes focused on my blonde crotch.

"Chill, B. I put my shorts on before I emptied the bucket. So what's for breakfast?"

"Tea first," he said as he placed the two steaming cups on the kitchen table before taking a seat opposite me. "Then anything you like... within reason, of course."

"No smoked salmon or caviar?"

"Toast and Vegemite."

"What's Vegemite?"

"It's what's left over after they tar the roads. You'd hate it. How about bacon and eggs?"

"Cool." Then I realized what he'd said. "Huh? What do you mean tar the roads?"

"Don't worry about it, Daniel. I was joking. Vegemite is actually a yeast extract... an acquired taste. You spread it on toast. Aussies love it, but it's not to everyone's taste." B paused to sip his tea. "Mmmm! Delicious! I don't understand how anybody could begin their day without a cup of tea! It's lifegiving."

"B, I don't mean to sound critical or anything, but this place... this apartment... it's kinda downmarket if you know what I mean."

"I know exactly what you mean, Daniel. We moved here in a hurry. It wasn't really our choice. But, despite that, we've made it our home. Then, when it was put up for sale last August, we freaked. We've had to move twice before because our rented places were put up for sale. That's why we're going to Taree. We'll rent for a while, then, hopefully, buy a place. Taree is affordable. We want to get out of this vicious renting cycle. It leads nowhere."

"And the house in Taree?"

"Sight unseen. The estate agent described it to me, and it sounds OK. So we'll have to take his word for it. Can't turn back now, mate. It's all signed, sealed, and almost delivered."

"You haven't seen it?"

"It's over 300 kilometers away, Daniel."

"It could be a dump!"

"That's the risk we'll have to take. We can't stay here."

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