Officers' Boy
By: Kenneth Kirk
(© 2022 by the author)

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

kkirk@tickiestories.us

Chapter 14

With some time to kill and no room of our own, I showed Rafe the nearby town of Gulfport, with its quaint shops, downtown marina, and pretty views of the bay.  We walked for a while, going into a couple of shops where we feigned interest in the shop’s wares, but really only had eyes for each other.  Eventually, we found a yogurt shop and got a small snack, which we took into a grove of trees to eat.  Far too quickly the afternoon passed. 

“Rafe,” I said as we motored across the Frankland Bridge back into Tampa, “I want you to know this has been the most wonderful time I have ever had.”  I put my hand on his thigh.  “You are so good to me!  Thank you!”

“You’re very welcome, Eric.”  He squeezed my hand.  “I’ve also had an incredible time with you, both in and out of bed.”  He chuckled.

“If you have the time, I want to buy you dinner,” I said.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I suppose not,” I agreed, “but I do want to.”

“Okay,” he nodded.  “Where do you want to go?”

“How about Miguel’s?” I suggested.

“On Kennedy Boulevard?”

“That’s it.  It’s my favorite Mexican.”

“And it isn’t far away.”

Rafe loved the chimichanga while I feasted on beef and cheese enchiladas in the lovely dining room.  As we enjoyed the spicy food, I asked Rafael if he had been to Brazil.

“No,” he answered wistfully.  “My mom and dad went a couple of years ago while I was in the Gulf.  They sort of loved it.  They visited some relatives they’d never met and saw my mother’s aunt, who was 101 at the time.  But the people are so nice there and excited to see Brazilianos from the U.S.”

“Have you thought about going?”

“Maybe someday.  But it isn’t home to me.  I don’t know anyone there and have never been there.  It’s just a foreign country to me, except that I speak the language and know a little bit about the food and culture.”

“I see.”

Changing the subject, Rafe said, “Tell me about your college plans.”

“You already know the main thing, I guess,” I responded.  “I’m going to Baylor in the fall.  I think I’m supposed to be there the week before Labor Day.”

“Do you know what your major will be?”

“Engineering.  I’ve always wanted to be an engineer.”

“What type of engineer?”

“I’m not really sure yet but am leaning towards Bioinformatics.”

“Um, I don’t quite know what that is, but it sounds like an interesting and potentially lucrative major.”

“It seems like a combination of engineering, statistics, and people concerns with some biology thrown in for good measure,” I explained.

“Yes.  You know I’m an Electrical Engineer, right?”

“Yeah.  That sounds really hard to me.”

“I think most types of engineering are really hard unless you have a special bent in that direction.  You know?”

“I think so.”

“So, there are a lot of larger, better-known engineering programs than Baylor.  Why did you choose there?”

I paused before answering.  “Well, uhm, I guess I didn’t really choose it.  Dad said I could go to any Baptist college in the country.  And there aren’t many that have engineering, so it wasn’t so much a choice as it was the best option.”

“Wow.  Is he always so controlling?”

I thought about the question.  “Pretty much, I guess,” I said sadly.

“What about going to USF?”

“South Florida?”

“Uh-huh.  It’s local and has a good engineering school and is relatively low cost.”

“Well, Dad won’t pay for any college that isn’t Baptist.  And, I sort of want to get away from home.  If I went there, I’d have to live at home and he’d still try to control me all the time.”

Rafe nodded.  “That’s a couple of very good reasons.” 

********* 

It was almost 8:30 when Rafe dropped me back at Starbuck’s so I could get my bike and ride home.  We sat in the Wrangler for a few minutes before I got out.

“Thank you so much for this weekend, Rafe,” I said.

He leaned close to whisper, “You’re very welcome, baby.”  Then he kissed me, a move I returned with great passion.

“Can we get together again soon?” I asked.

“Sure.  Let me check my schedule at work tomorrow and then I’ll text you.  Maybe dinner and a movie later in the week?”

“Oh, yeah.”  I kissed him again.  “Well, I’d better get on my way home.”

“Of course,” he nodded.  “Thanks for everything, dear one.  I had a great time!”

“Me, too!”  One more kiss and then I opened the door, slithered out, and grabbed my suitcase.  I smiled as I shut the door.  As I turned to unlock my bike, my beautiful beau drove out of the parking lot and turned north on Central Avenue.

I turned into our drive about 10 minutes later and, as I put my bike in the garage. noticed that neither Mom’s silver CTS nor Dad’s black Escalade were there.  They were probably out to Perkin’s for dinner after church.  They often went with the music director Joe Granger and his wife Holly after the evening service.  I was glad they weren’t home.

I dropped my gear in my room and took a quick shower to rinse off any vestiges of sex that might still be clinging to my body.  I dried off and inspected myself in the bathroom mirror.  Other than a small hickey on my shoulder and a shit-eating grin I couldn’t get rid of, I didn’t look any different.  Wondering if there was any damage to my ass from the vigorous weekend, I took the small hand mirror I use when I’m checking the back of my hair and held it under my bum, while trying to aim it into the mirror and look between my legs to see a reflection of my ass in the big mirror.  I’m sure any bystander would have found my contortions hilarious, but for me they were just frustratingly ineffective.  Finally I gave up.  I combed my wet hair and stepped naked into my bedroom.  From my dresser, I selected my sexy blue bikini underpants to slide over my butt cheeks. 

I flopped down on the bed and took my phone to send some texts.  I found I had missed a text from Roger while I was in the shower.

From Roger:  DUDE!  Ran into your dad at Perkin’s.  He figured out I wasn’t with you this weekend.  He’s pissed!  So sorry!  Be careful!

Oh my God!  Fuck!  Thank God I had a moment’s warning.  Shit, what could I say?  “God, give me something to tell him.”

Just then I heard the whirring of the automatic garage opener as it began raising the door.

Fuck!  I jumped up and found a pair of khaki shorts and a green tee to put on.

The whir of the door closing told me all my time was up!

“ERIC!” my dad screamed.  “GET YOUR … GET DOWN HERE!  NOW!”

“Yes, Sir!” I shouted, fear seizing my throat.  Under my breath, I prayed, “Please, God, help me!”

I met Mom on the stairs as I went down to meet Dad.  She glared at me as we passed.  “Mom…”  She didn’t answer.

When I came off the stairs and rounded the corner into the living room, I saw Dad.  He was standing in front of the fireplace with his feet widely apart as if he expected me to try to knock him down.  He leaned forward a bit and looked at me with eyes that seemed to have only judgment in them.  What the fuck did Roger tell them? I wondered.  Dad’s arms were at his sides and both his fists were clenched.  He wasn’t going to hit me, was he?

“Dad,” I started weakly.  I had no idea what to say but knew I would have to come up with something extremely good to defuse his seething anger.

“Shut up!” he growled.  “I don’t want to hear a word unless I ask you a question.  Is that clear?”

I couldn’t believe the menace in his voice.  It had been a long time since I’d gotten such rough words from him.  “Yes, Sir,” I answered meekly.

“We saw Roger and his parents at Perkin’s just now.  Obviously, you were not camping with him.”  His voice was a trifle calmer.

I shook my head.

“So. You lied about what you were doing this weekend and who you were with.  That means you were up to no good or you could have been honest about it.”  He paused and I glanced up at him, just to be reminded of the loveless look of disappointment in his eyes.  “What’s the fourth commandment?”

“Hon…, uhm, honor your father and mother.”

“How much do you honor your father and mother when you deliberately lie to them so you can sneak off and do God-knows-what?” He was shouting; I was silent.  “Huh?” he screamed.  “I can’t hear you!!”

I had to speak, but how could I defend myself?  “I guess I wasn’t … honoring … you.”

“You think!” he said in an angry voice full of sarcasm.  “How would God punish you for breaking his commandment?”

I seemed to recall some bad punishment mentioned in the Old Testament, but I couldn’t think of it in my state of anxiety.  “I, uh, don’t know.”

“Maybe that’s your problem then.  Well, I’ll tell you.  The commandment is ‘Honor your mother and father, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.’  Does it seem fair to you that if you do not honor your parents, your days will be short!?”

I looked at the floor.  “I guess so,” I mumbled.

“God will shorten your life!  He told you right there in his holy word how important it is for you to honor us, honor me.  And yet you ignore Him!  If you ignore his holy word, how can you claim to be following the first commandment, which is … ?”

God, please, I thought, he’s really worked up. 

“What is the greatest commandment?” he screamed with his face so red.

“Uhm,” I felt myself start to lose it.  “Love the Lord your God with, uhm, all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your … mind.”  Tears were starting to flow.

“So, if you ignore God’s holy word, you are not loving him with anything.  You spit on God when you spit on me!”

I was starting to blubber.  I was not ashamed about telling the necessary lie so much as I was ashamed that I couldn’t stand up to him.  I couldn’t even think when he was yelling at me like this.

There was a long silence, broken only by my sniffles.

Finally, he spoke, but this time with a quiet tone that seemed ready to explode.  “So.  What sin was so important that you didn’t mind breaking those commandments to lie to me about it.  Hmm?”

My brain was reeling.  Obviously, I couldn’t tell him what Rafe and I had done.  Or even who Rafe is.  What could I say?  “I … just … needed to … get … away,” I croaked between sobs.

“To get away!” he bellowed.  “Away from this terrible life you have living in this great country in this beautiful home where you have everything.  What is there for you to get away from?”

Instantly I knew the answer to that, but it couldn’t be spoken.  It would be irreparable if I told him that he is what I need to get away from.  I could only sob like a spanked 4-year-old,

He was getting tired.  After a half minute of silence, he spoke in a more normal voice.  “Where were you?”

I took a deep breath to calm my sobbing.  “St. … Pete.”

“St. Pete.  Where in St. Pete?”

“With, uhm, a friend.”

“What friend?”

“A guy I know.”

“From school?”

I was silent.

“Work?”

“From Starbuck’s, yeah.”

“What were you doing with this friend I’ve never heard about?”

“Uhm,” I stalled as I tried to figure out what I could safely say.  “Talked, mostly.”

“For two days?” he said in a voice that showed he clearly didn’t believe me.

“No, uhm, we took some walks, ate, explored Gulfport.”

“Were you drinking and doing drugs?”

“No!  No drugs.  I had a couple of beers.”

“You know we don’t believe in alcohol in our family.”

“It was just two beers.  I wasn’t drunk and I wasn’t driving.”

“Were you with a girl?”  He seemed to be settling down a bit.

“No, Dad.”  Thankfully, I had stopped crying, too.

“Okay.”  I thought the worst was finally over.  “For sneaking off, you are grounded for two weeks.  For drinking you are grounded an additional two weeks.”

Damn!  “My job?”

“You may leave your room to go to church or to work.  Your mother will bring your food to your room.”

“The biggest sin was lying.  For that, you are grounded another month.”

“Da-ad!”

“Two months total.  No computer.”

“No, Dad, come on!”

“And no cell phone.”

“Dad, please!”

“You’ll get them both back August first.”

What could I do?  “Isn’t there something else I could do?  It’s my last summer in town.  Don’t take my friends away like that.”

“Go to your room!”  He pointed toward the stairs.  “I’ll be up in a minute to get your computer and phone.”

With my head down and my heart lower, I trudged up the stairs.  I have just a moment to text, I thought, which caused me to hurry.  I grabbed the phone.

I had several texts. 

RAFAEL: Great weekend, you sexy stud, you!

ROGER: R U alive?

SYLVIA: OK, Big Dick, how many times did he stick it to you?

ME to Rafael: I’m grounded for 2 months!

ME to Roger: Yes, barely.  Grounded 2 months

ME to Syl: I’m grounded except work and church  Explain tomorrow

ROGER: Shit, man

Dad appeared at the door.  “Hand it over.”

I clicked off the page and handed it to him.  It pinged immediately and then about three seconds later.  As I unplugged my laptop to hand it to him, the phone pinged twice more.

With a grim face, Dad walked out the door.  I fell onto the bed and my tears began again. 

To be continued...

Posted: 07/01/2022