Wishing on a Blue Star (52 page)

Aiden came over most evenings now, and we sat side by side, sharing the lounge sofa on the patio. Our friendship had grown strong, and though I admitted I sometimes wished for more, I worried about scaring him off.

“You know what?” he asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“Hm?”

“We should go camping before the firefly season ends, and before you’re too busy getting ready for the new school year.”

“Camping?”

“Yes, camping. We can go to one of the state parks and watch the birds and animals during the day, and do some stargazing at night.”

I made a face. “The last time I went camping, I fell off a horse, tipped a canoe, and the howls and hoots kept me up all night.”

“And when did this happen?”

“When I was twelve.”

Aiden laughed and shook his head. “Then isn’t it time to give it another chance?”

“I…I admit I love the thought of spending the weekend with you.” My voice was barely above a whisper. “Can’t we take a trip to Chicago or something?”

“We can go to Chicago when the weather’s too cold for camping.”

“All right, all right.” I held up a hand. “I’ll go, but only if we can rent an RV.”

“An RV? Pfft. Where’s the fun in that?”

“It’s a lot more fun than ending up covered in bug bites. Or being eaten by a bear.”

“Oh, for crying out loud.” Aiden suddenly attacked me, tickling me mercilessly until I struggled to breathe. We both slid off the sofa and landed on the deck, my back against the wooden boards and Aiden straddling my waist.

I put my hands on his chest and tried to push him away. “St-stop,” I managed to utter between fits of laughter.

He forced his fingers into my armpits. “I’ll stop if you say you’ll come camping with me.”

I rolled to the side, but that only made things worse for me. “Okay, okay.”

The tickling ceased, but Aiden kept me pinned underneath his legs. “Okay what?”

I took a few seconds to catch my breath. “I’ll go camping with you.”

“In a tent?” He held his fingers an inch above my body and wiggled them.

“Come on. We’re missing the fireflies.”

“Neil….”

“Yes, in a tent.”

Aiden slid off me, stood up, and helped me to my feet. “You’ll have a good time. I promise.” He grinned at me, and I grudgingly admitted to myself that he might be right.

* * * *

It was already hot and muggy by eleven o’clock Saturday morning, and the rest of the weekend wasn’t supposed to be any better. I’d much rather have stayed inside in the air-conditioning, but Aiden wouldn’t hear any excuses when he called to tell me he was on his way to pick me up.

“You promised me you’d go, so we’re damn well going. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.” He hung up before I could protest further.

Almost exactly twenty minutes later, he knocked on my front door. When I let him in, he stared at the mess of bug sprays, sunscreens, packets of dehydrated camp meals, and first aid supplies scattered all over the floor.

“What’s all this? We’re going to a state park. Not into the remote wilderness.” He sat down on the floor and picked through everything. “You know, I have most of this stuff covered already.” He picked up a silver pack of dehydrated spaghetti. “And these are god-awful.”

“Sorry. I’m a newbie at this, remember?”

“Yes, I remember. Anyway….” He helped me finish packing, and then we hit the road.

We arrived and checked in at the campground without incident. We unloaded the car and found our campsite, the sweat dripping down the center of my back by the time we finished setting up the tent.

“Hot?” Aiden opened a jug of water and poured some onto a rag. He held the cloth over his head and wrung it out, letting the drops trail over his bangs and onto his face.

I tore my gaze away and nodded. “That’s an understatement. I hate this weather.”

He laughed, wet the rag again, and handed it to me. “In winter, you’ll be missing the heat.”

I soaked the back of my neck and let out a sigh. “I hate sweating. Well, unless I have a good reason to sweat.” I coughed. “I mean, unless I’m exercising or something.”

Aiden smiled, but didn’t say anything as he reclaimed the rag and dropped it on the tarp. “Speaking of exercise, let’s go for a walk. There are plenty of hiking trails here, and the ground’s mostly flat, so it should be easy for you.”

“In this heat? Can’t we wait until dusk when it’s cooler?”

“And even more mosquitoes will be out for blood at that time. Besides, as you already pointed out to me, it’s not going to get much cooler. Unless you had something else you wanted to do. Canoeing or horseback riding, maybe?”

I snorted. “Ass.”

He burst out laughing and looped his camera around his neck. “Sorry. Anyway, the trails are mostly in the shade, which will help.”

“Okay.” We each grabbed our backpacks, and I followed him to the trailhead.

* * * *

Aiden halted. “Hold up for a second.” He looked up into a tree and slowly raised his camera.

“Find something interesting?” I stumbled, and there was a flurry of wings and rustling leaves as a huge bird took off, disappearing from view.

“Oh, just a hawk. I think it was a red-tail.” He looked at the viewscreen and sighed. “I wasn’t fast enough.”

“Damn. Didn’t mean to scare him off.”

Aiden waved a hand. “Don’t worry about it. It’s not like I’ve never seen or taken pictures of a hawk before.”

“I haven’t.” I stared at the sky, hoping the bird would come back. “Well, except when a rescue group came to our school for a birds-of-prey program. The presenter said you can find them in our area, but I’ve never seen one.”

Aiden cocked his head. “You need to look up during the daytime more often. I saw one last week when I was on my way to your place. I’ve seen a few vultures too.”

“In the city? Are you shitting me?”

“I’m absolutely not shitting you.” Aiden adjusted his camera strap and resumed the walk. “Plenty of roadkill in the city for the vultures, and plenty of rats, mice, and smaller birds for the hawks.”

“Huh. I never knew.”

“Well, now you do.”

A sense of melancholy passed through me as we continued down the trail, and I moved slowly while scanning the area, but all I saw were trees and bugs.

Aiden stopped and looked over his shoulder when I had fallen a few feet behind. “Something wrong?”

“I’m afraid I might miss something else.”

“There’s no way you’ll be able to see everything, Neil. Just be more aware, and you won’t miss too much. Still, it’s never a good idea to gawk as you walk. You might trip over something, or overlook something that’s literally right under your feet.”

We continued down the trail, taking frequent breaks so we could look around, and so Aiden could get some pictures. When we finished the loop, we hit another trail, and then another after that. Aiden taught me how to recognize the different trees and birds, and I barely noticed the heat anymore. By the time we returned to camp in the evening, I almost felt like an expert on the local flora and fauna.

After dinner, I took off my shoes and socks, lay down on a blanket, and watched the fluffy clouds as they passed by overhead. I let out a sigh. “Okay, I’ll grudgingly admit I had a good time.”

“I’m glad. What did you like about it?”

I stretched out, burying my toes in the grass. “Well, I definitely have a greater appreciation for nature, that’s for sure.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed that in most cases, the more I learn about something, the more I like it.” He sat down next to me. “Are you saying you’ll come camping with me again sometime?”

“I’ll definitely go to parks with you and walk the nature trails. As far as camping, let’s see how well I manage to sleep tonight.”

“Fair enough.” Aiden picked a piece of grass, flipping it back and forth between his fingers. He grinned at me, his eyes dancing. “If you want to completely experience nature, close your eyes for a minute and listen.” I did as Aiden requested, and after a moment, he spoke again. “What do you hear?”

“A cardinal and a Blue Jay. And a chickadee.”

“Good. Anything besides birds?”

I waited for the jay’s shrieks to subside. “Crickets chirping. Flies buzzing. The wind.” I turned my face into the breeze. Something—probably the grass—brushed across my cheek. I chuckled and lightly swatted at it. “None of that tickling stuff again.”

There was a soft rustle, and then lips pressed against mine. I gasped into Aiden’s mouth and froze in surprise, but only for a second before I kissed him back. I put my hands on the back of Aiden’s head and parted my lips. Aiden accepted the invitation. I sucked on his tongue and opened my eyes, and then Aiden pulled away.

“No peeking.”

I shut my eyes, and Aiden rewarded me by resuming the kiss. He climbed on top of me, and his hand slid down the side of my body and rested on my hip. I pressed my groin into his belly and gripped his shoulders as dizziness threatened to overtake me.

I came up for a breath. “Maybe we should go hide in the woods or something.”

“Don’t worry. I overheard our neighbors talking about going to get trashed on the beach. They won’t be back for awhile.”

“In that case…” I wrapped my arms around him and rolled us both over, and then trailed soft kisses over his jaw and down his neck. Encouraged by his gasps, I tugged on his T-shirt, exposing a small section of collarbone. I latched onto it with my lips and sucked until Aiden’s fingers tangled in my hair.

“It seems you have good suction powers.” He looked at me though half-closed eyelids.

“Are you asking for a demonstration?”

“It would be helpful.”

I pushed his shirt up, and he pulled it the rest of the way off and dropped it to the side. I ran my fingers along the contours of his chest, circling his nipples until they grew hard. His body arched into my touch, and I lowered my head, laving my tongue over his skin, working my way to the waistband of his jeans. I cupped the bulge between his legs with my palm, and then breathed on it through the denim until he groaned and popped the button himself.

“Anxious?” I pulled down the zipper and slipped my hand inside his underwear.

He gasped. “Well, duh.”

As I pulled down his pants and briefs, I kissed my way down the trail of hair running from his navel to his crotch. I touched the tip of my tongue to his shaft, and then blew on the spot of saliva. I repeated the action on the head, and on the slit, making him squirm before I finally took his cock into my mouth. I sucked as I moved my head up and down, my own body singing as his musky scent filled my nose and his cries of pleasure filled the air. I played with his balls, one at a time, and then ran my finger over his skin to tease his entrance. He stroked my hair, and his fingers brushed against the back of my neck, sending tingles down my spine.

My own dick strained against my jeans, and I pulled away from his cock to free myself from the fabric. “Sorry about that.”

“Hold on.” Aiden reached into the tent, dragged out his duffle bag, and rifled through it. He dropped a condom and a small bottle of lube on the blanket.

I raised an eyebrow. “Were you planning this?”

“I always prepare, just in case. Weren’t you ever a boy scout?”

“I dropped out.” I picked up the condom packet, tore it open, and dressed myself.

Aiden tugged on my T-shirt. “Lose this.”

I raised my arms and let him finish stripping me. The evening breeze cooled the sweat on my skin as I flipped open the bottle of lube and slicked us both up. “Ready?”

“Hell, yeah.” Aiden grabbed my discarded clothing, wadded it up, and slipped it under his ass.

I nudged Aiden’s legs up, positioned myself between them, and then gradually pushed my way inside.

We moaned in unison as I thrust, his muscle tightening around me and sending shivers through me with every motion. I supported myself with one arm and ran my other hand down his side. He closed his eyes and rocked his hips, forcing me in deeper and eliciting a cry from my throat. A firefly passed by and cast its glow on Aiden’s face before moving on.

“You missed it.”

“What?” Aiden opened his eyes.

“A firefly.”

He touched my cheek. “As much as I love the things, I have other things on my mind right now.”

I grinned and turned my head to kiss his palm. He locked gazes with me. I resumed thrusting, though at a slower pace than before. Loving the way his body arched into mine, I maintained the rhythm. I inched my hand closer to his cock, and finally wrapped my fingers around it and give it a few quick pumps.

“Neil…” Aiden’s voice trailed off into a groan, and he clutched my shoulders, raising his rear off the blanket as he shot white ropes onto my hand and belly.

I thrust a few more times, and as I reached my own climax, all I could think about was how Aiden’s body was joined to mine. I held on to the ecstasy as long as I could, but the trembling in my muscles eventually subsided. I pulled out, took off the condom, tied it off, and set it to the side. I wrapped my arms around Aiden, and the spark of connection filled every fiber of my being and intoxicated me.

Aiden kissed my cheek and snuggled close. “Have you found a place to belong?”

I took in the feeling of his body heat against my front, and the evening air on my back. The crickets chirped, the fireflies lit up around us, and Aiden looked up at me with a huge smile on his face. “Yeah.” I tightened my arms and buried my nose in his hair. “I have.”

Monday, September 13, 2010

After Effects: 9-13-2010

Rapid notation of the after effects of this second chemotherapy session one year after the first, first cycle of proposed six.

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This one hits hard. Very hard. I don’t know if its due to the components of this very different therapy alone, or if it is that in combination with whats gone before that I still haven’t recovered from, or a combination of both on top of what I’ve already noticed as a result of the cancer itself.

Wiser heads than I can can probably determine that.