Craig, Part 1

Dale

“Craig!”

Tanisha Barner gave me a big bearhug.
“Hey Mrs B, good to see you again!”
“So glad you could join us, Craig.”
Dale Barner shook my hand as he smiled big.

Seeing the Barner family always felt like home. I went to middle school with their daughter Laura and we’ve been best friends ever since. When my family started to fall apart, I always had a place to go when the yelling and arguing in my own home became too much. They were like a calmer, saner second family a few streets away. I knew all of them very well and they knew me.

So I guess it shouldn’t have come as a surprise when Laura invited me to go on a Barner family holiday. But after high school Laura and I moved to Seattle and Mr and Mrs B stayed in Tukwila, Washington. For the last twelve years I had seen them at Laura’s birthdays and if I decided to go to my Dad’s around the holidays, I’d always drop by for an evening. But that’s it. I had never been on holiday with them before.

Although the reason Laura had asked me to come, might not have been because I was considered an essential part of the family.
“Melissa is of course bringing Landon. And Carrie is dating this dude. So I’ll be the only single one. I need someone to vent to. Please come!”
Laura was the middle sister out of three. Her older sister Melissa was of course bringing her fiancé on the trip. Her younger sister Carrie was bringing her new boyfriend.

Laura and I were both single at the age of 30 and definitely knew what that could feel like in certain situations.
“All right, where are we going?”
Laura had been so happy. She showed me photos of the enormous lakehouse in Port Angeles. The blue of the water and the green of the surrounding mountains looked magical. I could definitely enjoy myself there for a week.

And the photos definitely weren’t misleading.
“It’s so pretty”, I told Laura when she parked in front of the cabin.
“Only my parents are here”, she commented as she sighed, looking at the only other car in the driveway.
It was like she really didn’t care to be here and was just going to be annoyed about having to spend time with her family. I definitely knew it could be a lot to spend a week with family, but her family was so sweet it was hard for me to relate in this case.

Dale

We were so warmly greeted once we entered the place. Dale and Tanisha were a very attractive couple in their early 50s. Tanisha’s curvy figure and natural black hair made her a beautiful woman without question. Dale had definitely kept his muscle up all of those years later. His perfect smile and salt-and-pepper crew cut completed the picture. I was reminded of the crush I’d had on him when I was still a teenager.

There were three bedrooms with double beds. Laura and I were given a pull-out bed each on the top floor, which was fine.
“The nearest bathroom is through here”, Tanisha said as she pointed out a wooden door. “Though Carrie and Ken will be sleeping here.”
The way to the bathroom was through a bedroom. That wasn’t ideal, but I was sure we would manage.

“Anyone here?”
“Hello?”
Dale and Tanisha recognized the voices we heard from downstairs. It was Melissa and Landon. Tanisha immediately ran down the stairs to greet her daughter and her son-in-law to be.
“Yes! I’m on my way!”, she yelled in excitement.
Her enthusiasm made me smile. When I looked up, I saw Dale was looking at me, smiling. He winked before he went down the stairs as well. It made me feel warm inside.

I turned to Laura, wondering why she wasn’t following her parents down to greet her sister.
“Pull-outs?”, she said softly, gesturing as if she had just been severely mistreated.
I couldn’t help but chuckle. She felt like she wasn’t treated the same way just because she was single.
“It’ll be fine”, I said as I hugged her.

Landon

When we did make it downstairs, I was struck with what a beautiful couple Melissa and Landon were. I hadn’t seen Melissa a lot lately, she and Landon lived in LA. Landon I had only seen on a photo. Melissa’s long, dark curly hair and tight clothing really drew one’s gaze. Landon had a very muscular body and a square jawline that could cut glass. Laura had told me that Melissa had become ‘very LA’ and had met Landon in a gym. Yet, she had still picked a fiancé, who according to Laura was very much like their Dad.

Melissa hugged me tightly.
“So cool that you’re here!”, she said.
Landon shook my hand. It was like meeting a movie star. It was hard to look away from his deep-set, light blue eyes.

Dale and Landon started carrying luggage downstairs where our new arrivals had their own bedroom and bathroom. I didn’t look at Laura because I knew exactly what she was thinking.

Tanisha poured everyone some welcome drinks and carried them to the outside patio. The view of the lake and the surrounding mountains was breath-taking.
“I am definitely going for a swim later”, Melissa announced as she sat down and drank her iced tea.
It only now dawned on me that I was going to see everyone in a bathing suit. Dale. Landon. Maybe Carrie’s new boyfriend would also turn out to be hot.

I closed my eyes as I felt the warm summer sun in my face, joined by a slight breeze from the lake.
“I needed this”, I mumbled.
“Isn’t it a beautiful place?”, Tanisha asked rhetorically.
“Absolutely”, I replied, opening my eyes. “Thanks again for allowing me to join your family, Mrs B.”
“Oh Craig, you still are part of our family. It feels so natural to have you here”, she said.
“Yeah, it’s great to have you with us!”, Laura said.
I smiled. I had a good feeling about this week.

Landon and Dale showed up on the patio, happy to get a refreshing drink.
“Wow, you really picked a great spot”, Landon said.
I looked at his thick arms and scruffy beard. The breeze outlined his pecs in his polo shirt.
“That’s all Tanisha”, Dale responded.
Looking at them side by side, there was an uncanny resemblance between Dale and Landon. There was just thirty years between them. And Landon was surprisingly a few inches shorter than his soon-to-be father-in-law.

Now that we were all outside, we could hear the fourth and final car rolling up. Carrie and Ken had driven up from Portland. She ran into her mother’s arms. Carrie was the shortest of the three daughters, but I definitely remembered as a tomboy, the athlete. She ran track in high school and I always remember her and Dale throwing a baseball around, or shooting hoops in the driveway. Even though all three had the same African American mother and Caucasian father, Carrie’s skin was distinctly lighter.

Ken

Carrying two suitcases, behind Carrie appeared Ken. And Ken looked like he could be a model. A perfectly styled black hair, East Asian features and another muscular body.
“Hey everyone”, he said as he chuckled.
Dale and Tanisha had met Ken before, but none of the others had. When I shook his hand I was amazed by his beautiful face and skin. His smile was magical.

Our group of 8 was complete. What I had always remembered from visiting the Barner family when I was younger, was that it wasn’t just Tanisha who did all the work. Dale was preparing snacks in the kitchen as Tanisha sat on the patio and relaxed, catching up with her daughters.

I happened to be sitting next to Carrie. I hadn’t spoken to her in so long. She would usually be there at Laura’s birthdays, but it was rare that I would speak to her. Even though she was 27, she had this calm confidence about her that I admired. I found out she was still an athlete, and it wasn’t surprising.

Laura was in conversation with her mother and Carrie had turned back to Ken. I decided to walk towards the water and check it out.
“Hey, do you mind if I join?”
I was surprised to see Landon wanting to go with me.
“Uh, yeah. Sure.”

Landon and I walked down to the water. It was literally only a few steps.
“So I hear you’ve been around this family for a while”, he said.
I chuckled.
“That’s right.”
“But you and Laura aren’t together, right?”
“No, we’re friends. I’m gay.”
“Oh I see.”

I could sense an uncomfortable silence coming on, but Landon surprised me.
“So do you have a boyfriend?”
“No, not right now.”
“Well, let me know if you need a plus one to the wedding. Worst case scenario, I can set you up with a co-worker of mine.”
I chuckled.
“Why worst case scenario?”
“I don’t know, his relationships never seem to last very long.”
I laughed.

That was actually rather nice of Landon to ask if I wanted a plus one.
“No at this rate I’ll probably be Laura’s plus one.”
“Good friendships are better than just a random date to a wedding anyway”, he said.
“Agreed.”

We had been walking by the waterline for a while. I asked him about the wedding, which was about 6 months away. He was looking forward to it a lot, I could tell.
“Melissa has always had this view of what her wedding was going to be like, and she wants to be in charge of most things…”, he said.

I couldn’t help but chuckle. Even back in the day, Melissa could be quite dominant. She would often decide what games we would play. And in the few interactions I had seen today, Landon was clearly the submissive one. That only made him hotter to me.

“…but I do have a few surprises in store for her that I know she will love.”
I could tell he loved her a lot.

When the group collectively decided it was time for a swim, Laura and I showed Carrie and Ken the upstairs area. I offered to carry some of the luggage, but Carrie and Ken were both strong enough to get their suitcases up the stairs.

Ken

As Carrie and Ken got changed into their bathing suits, Laura decided to take her bathing suit into a communal bathroom and change there. I thought I was going to be alright, but of course, just as I was naked, Ken opened the bedroom door and caught me. He smiled. He wore nothing but blue swim shorts. His body was ripped and completely smooth.
“Nice”, he commented as he looked at my body.
“Thanks?”, I laughed.
He laughed as well and continued to walk downstairs. Carrie came out a few seconds later when I was tying up my swimsuit.

Carrie and I walked downstairs together. Dale had made an entire platter of finger food that was just sitting on the kitchen counter. As we passed it, Carrie and I couldn’t control ourselves and took a few things outside. Outside, we casually walked into the water, where Ken was already actively swimming around.

I stood in the lake and that holiday feeling was really kicking in now. I let myself fall back in the water and looked at the blue sky. I breathed the fresh mountain air.
“It’s good to be away from the city, isn’t it?”
I looked up and I saw Dale in his yellow and blue swimming trunks. He stood in the water, about knee-high, swigging beer from a bottle.
“It really is, Mr B”, I said.

Dale

I looked around to see where Carrie and Ken had gone, but they were on their way to the middle of the lake, swimming so fast.
“Those two have a lot of energy, they’ll be back”, Dale chuckled.
“Wow, they are really fast!”

I stood up so I could see them better, and Dale walked to stand next to me.
“Thanks so much for all of that food out in the kitchen there”, I said.
“Oh good, you found it. I was going to say, please take some.”
“I did, it’s great.”
“Good. Tonight we’re going into the little town. Our dinner reservations are at 8. Gotta have something to keep you over until then.”
I laughed. He patted my abs twice and I was surprised by the intimate gesture.
“You’re right, Mr B.”

Laura also came out and ran into the lake. Quickly followed by Tanisha and finally Melissa and Landon. It was a delight to see Landon in his bathing suit. Apart from it being the smallest and most colorful suit out of all of the guys, his body was delicious. He had the perfect amount of chest hair and two subtle tattoos, one on his hip and one on his ribcage. After his suit had gotten wet, it clung to the curve of his ass in the most sensual way. I licked my lips and realized I had to be careful not to get a boner. I submerged myself up to my waist to be safe.

Landon

I had such a fun afternoon. Everyone was so nice, funny, and… beautiful. Dale and Tanisha joined in with all of our stupid games in the water and possibly had the most fun out of everyone. They were very touchy feely with each other. It was actually quite inspiring to see how flirty they still were after over 30 years of marriage.

I then noticed that Carrie and Ken, as well as Melissa and Landon, were stealing kisses, hugs, and butt slaps. I started to understand where Laura was coming from.

“Hey, sorry if I was grumpy earlier”, she then suddenly said as we went back upstairs to get dressed again.
“No worries”, I responded. “Just try to enjoy yourself. It’s a group of amazing people.”
“I know”, she admitted. “I’ll try.”

Carrie and Ken had gotten changed before us, so Laura and I didn’t need to worry about getting walked in on. When we went downstairs, the two of them were already sitting on the patio with a drink. We poured ourselves a glass of wine and joined them. Ken was looking awesome in a fitted white V-neck T-shirt and a backwards cap. He wasn’t drinking.
“I figured since our car is blocking the others, I’ll be driving to town”, he said.
Laura and I both offered to drive, but he said he was happy to.
“We can alternate”, he smiled.

We watched the sun slowly go down behind the mountain. It was a beautiful view. Once everyone was ready, Laura and I joined Carrie and Ken in their car. Carrie offered the passenger’s seat to me.
“You need the leg room”, she said, referring to my tall body.
Because of this, the men sat in the front and the women in the back. It gave me the opportunity to chat with Ken. I didn’t know him very well just yet.

Ken

“I pretty much grew up in my parents’ restaurant. And once I was a teenager, it was expected that I helped. I wasn’t very good in the kitchen, so I was a server. And I was always so uncomfortable walking up to people’s tables, interrupting their conversation. So now I own an Asian fusion restaurant where people don’t need to speak to anyone once they are seated.”
I laughed.
“It’s actually doing really well!”
“No, I can imagine!”, I said. “It can be quite awkward when someone is there, over and over, keeping conversation, working for their tip.”
Ken grunted.
“That’s a whole other thing! I pay my staff a living wage.”
“That’s great!”, I said. “It made me laugh though how you managed to grow a whole business because you didn’t like being uncomfortable as a teenager.”
Now he laughed too.
“I know, right?”

Ken asked about my job and then wanted to know about Seattle.
“I hear great things about the queer nightlife”, he said.
His remark puzzled me slightly.
“Yeah, it’s great actually”, I responded. “Laura and I used to go clubbing a lot, now we usually go to bars.”
Ken chuckled.
“It’s an age thing, isn’t it? Portland has lots of quirky queer, inclusive bars as well. For a bi couple like Carrie and me, those are perfect.”

Although the conversation continued naturally, about how I’ve been to Portland but never went out, in the back of my mind I was liking how casually he came out to me. Laura had told me about Carrie, but she might not have known about Ken just yet.

My mind went back to earlier that day, when he walked in on me changing. He had looked me up and down and had said “Nice…”.

As I watched the trees on both sides of the road pass by, I smiled.

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