Saturday, February 5, 2011

The Man from Swift Current - Chapter Five - Ian


Chapter Five - Ian

The week after Thanksgiving, Ian asked me if I wanted to spend the weekend at his house with his exchange family.   I checked with Uncle Dave and Aunt Mary who said that would be okay.   So after school, Ian’s family picked us up and stopped at my house so I could get my things.   I gave Aunt Mary a quick kiss on the cheek on my way out the door. 
 
She smiled and said, “Make sure you behave yourself and let us know when we need to come pick you up.”

Ian is staying with the Wall family.   Gene and Pat are a nice older retired couple.   Gene is a big man.   He looks to be about 190 cm. in height and has a big beer belly.   His balding head has a fringe of white hair, watery blue eyes and a hawkish nose.   He has huge, meaty hands that make mine seem like a child’s hands.   Pat is very petite, less than 150 cm, and slight of build.   She is always smiling.   Her dark brown eyes twinkle and her laugh tinkles like wind chimes.  

They have a very beautifully appointed home not to mention that it’s huge!   Ian has the whole basement to himself with his own sitting room, bathroom, bedroom and small kitchen.   Gene and Pat are very formal people.   They always eat in the dining room with all of the fancy dishes, crystal and silver.   They also have a housekeeper who cleans and cooks for them.   It is quite different from any family I have ever known.   They don’t have any children of their own and enjoy hosting young people from other countries to have the experience of living in Canada.

As Pat opened the door for us she said, “Dinner will be at 6 sharp.   Please remember not to be late.   You know how upset Gene can be if we don’t start on time.   It’s his military training coming out you know”

We did know….we had been late to dinner once before when I visited Ian and Gene had been very vocal in his displeasure at the disruption of his schedule.   Gene has very set schedule and expects everyone to abide by it.   He has a big heart and is very kind to everyone but also expects discipline and personal accountability to be the order of the day.

As we entered the basement, Ian said, “Set the timer on the microwave so we won’t be late for dinner.”   I walked into small kitchen area in the corner of the basement.  I reached over to the microwave and set it so it would alert us at the appropriate time.
We then sat down in front of the big screen TV and started to play our favorite video games.   We sat close together on the couch and Ian’s leg kept rubbing mine.    

After a bit, Ian didn’t move away but leaned over and put his arm around me and whispered in my ear, “I’m going to win because I know how to distract you.”

I was winning and beating Ian pretty soundly at that point.   I turned my head to tell him there was no way he was going to distract me.   I didn’t have a chance to speak before Ian’s lips captured mine in a very passionate kiss.

Ian pulled back and looked me in the eyes.   He asked, “Have you ever had sex with a guy before?”

Before I could answer his question, we heard the alarm go off on the microwave.   We both jumped up and ran up the stairs.   I breathed a sigh of relief.   I wasn’t prepared to answer Ian’s questions about being with a guy just yet.  

We entered the dining room just as Gene and Pat were getting ready to sit down.  Gene said, “Perfect timing boys.   I’m glad to see the younger generation can still tell time and be prompt for their appointments even when video games demand their attention!”

Pat said, “Yes, these boys seem to be much more mature than their peers, Gene.   Amy, let’s begin serving dinner.”

Amy, the housekeeper, came in with the first course.   Oh, did I mention that every meal was very formal.   Well, it always starts out with soup or a salad and moves on from there.   Dinner is at least an hour long affair.   I always come away from the tabling feeling like I have just eaten Thanksgiving dinner with all of the trimmings.  
Gene is a wine aficionado and likes us to try out different wines with every course.   For the most part, the wines are terrible, at least to me.   I don’t drink alcoholic beverages and just tasting them reinforces my dislike of them.   Ian, on the other hand, enjoys the wine.   Tonight was no exception.   By the time dinner had ended, Ian had drank several glasses of wine, one too many if you ask me.   We thanked Gene and Pat for the meal and said a special thank you to Amy for her work in the kitchen as we passed through on our way back downstairs.

Ian suggested we watch a video in his room so we picked an action flick and popped it into the DVD player and climbed onto his bed.  

As we sat there next to each leaning against the headboard, Ian put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to him.   I wasn’t sure how to react so I just sat very still waiting to see what Ian would do next.   Ian didn’t say anything so I decided not to comment.  However, memories of what my cousin, John, had done to me kept popping into my head causing me to stiffen in Ian’s embrace.   After a few moments, I managed to relax and put away my feelings of panic.  

It wasn’t long before I heard Ian whisper in my ear, “Do you mind if I hold you close to me?"

I turned my head to look him in the eyes, “Yes, I do.”

Ian recoiled from me as if I had struck him.   Seeing his reaction, I quickly reached up and put my hand on his cheek.   I said, “Please don’t be angry with me.   Let me explain why.   I was raped by my cousin and his friends when I was twelve and since then I don’t like to be touched,” I said, trying not to shrink away from Ian.   I withdrew my hand from his face.

Ian removed his arm, “I’m sorry.   I didn’t know that.   Do you want to tell me what happened?   You don’t have to if you don’t want to but I want to know so I don’t make any mistakes with you.   Glenn, I really like you and would like to have sex with you.”

I was in total shock hearing Ian tell me he wanted to have sex with me.   Ian had always given me the impression that he was very straight.   “Are you serious?”

Ian nodded his head.   “Yes, I am.   We can take it as slow as you want.   I know you are attracted to me.  I’ve known since I first saw you in our PE class.”

My mind was still not processing the fact that this gorgeous guy who had befriended me wanted to be my boyfriend.   “I’m okay with taking it slow and you’ll have to be patient with me,” I said.   “I have never had a boyfriend or even a girlfriend so I am very naïve when it comes to how to handle being in a relationship with someone.”

Ian said, “Don’t worry about your inexperience.   I will teach you what you need to know about having sex.   I am not exactly a virgin you know!”   He laughed as he said this and it made me wonder how many different partners had been part of his life.

“Are you gay or bi-sexual?   I have seen you flirting with the girls at school and I thought you were totally straight,” I said.

“I am bi-sexual.   I like being with either sex.   Glenn, if we decide we are going to be boyfriends, I won’t cheat on you if that is what you are asking me,” Ian said.  

“That is part of it.   I haven’t had experience with either sex so I don’t know for sure what I like best.   Let me tell you about John and what he did to me,” I said.  I told Ian about John and what he did to me.

“I’m really sorry John did that to you.   No one should be treated that way.   No wonder you have acted so scared around me sometimes,” Ian said.

“I haven’t been scared so much as I haven’t been sure what your motives were with regards to me.   I want a loving relationship with a guy.   I don't want one where I am a sex object and used as an object to satisfy some guy’s libido,” I replied.

For a moment, Ian sat in silence looking down at the floor.   I was surprised that Ian didn’t immediately agree with me.   It made me think that was exactly why Ian had an interest in me.

Ian finally looked up at me, “Glenn, honestly, that is one of the main reasons I have been pursuing you.   I am so horny right now that I can’t think straight.   I don’t want to hurt you but I have to be honest with you.   I really find you very sexy and want to get you naked right now!”

I laughed at the look on his face, “I know how you feel.   I am really hurting right now, too.   It’s just that I needed to be reassured that you won’t hurt me like John did.”

Ian smiled, “I promise I won’t hurt you like that.   I want us to be boyfriends   I do care about you, Glenn.   You already know that I like being around you.”

I thought for minute and then responded, “Okay, let’s be boyfriends.”

Life couldn’t be better!   I finally had a boyfriend who cared about me and wanted me as much as I wanted him or at least it seemed that way to me.  What I love about Ian most is the fact that we could talk about anything.   We spent many hours talking through the night snuggled together in his bed after we had sex.      

The only thing that bothered me sometimes was the phone calls he would get from his friend, Sonja.   His cell phone would ring at all hours of the day and night.   They spoke in Norwegian so I didn’t understand any of their conversations.  

One night when Ian hung up the phone after talking to her, I asked, “Who is that?”
Ian said, “It’s my friend, Sonja, from school.   She is a good friend and keeps me up to date about what everyone back home is doing.   She keeps me from being so homesick.   I miss speaking Norwegian.”

“Why don’t you teach me how to speak Norwegian?” I asked.

“Okay, do you really want to learn it?”  Ian asked.

“Sure, it would be fun!”  I said

“Well, let’s start with the basics then.”  Ian said.    Ian proceeded to teach me how to count and say “hello” and other simple bits of dialogue.

Later that night after Pat had taken me home, I lay in my bed listening to Ben snore wondering if Sonja were really more than just a friend to Ian.  I will have to remember to ask him sometime.   Maybe I really don’t want to know the answer.  Despite Ian’s desire to have sex with me, I’m still not sure I fully trust him, yet.   I’m still so messed up from what John did to me I can’t avoid feeling like Ian wants to take advantage of me like John did.   So many things to think about and so few real answers!

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