Chapter 3 - The Big QuestionI was awoken by the sound of Chad shuffling around on his mattress.
The small electric lamp had been turned on, bathing the inside of the tent in soft light.
I stretched my limbs as much as the sleeping bags would allow, and started unzipping them so I could sit up for a bit.
"Zip yourself back up!" Chad immediately told me after noticing I was awake and sitting up.
I just sat there rubbing my eyes and wondering what time it was.
Fog came out of my mouth when I breathed out, making me realise how cold it was outside.
I looked at Chad, trying to figure out what he was doing.
"Now!" he snapped, ordering me to lie down and zip myself up inside his thick sleeping bags.
"What are you doing?" I asked, lowering myself back into the sleeping bags.
"I'm unzipping your dad's bag." he answered.
"Why? You cold?" I questioned, streams of fog flowing out of my mouth as I spoke.
"No" he stated. "But I don't want you freezing your butt off."
"I'm not cold." I tried to tell him, but I knew he wouldn't listen.
I'd gotten to know Chad quite well over the last few months. He had an iron will and at times, he could be downright stubborn. When he said something, he always followed through with it.
It was a good quality, but sometimes he was hard to reason with.
He was my friend, but he was also a big muscle jock, which meant he got the last word, no matter what.
Chad got up and walked onto my mattress, hauling my dad's big black mummy bag with him.
I felt my feet being pushed together and my legs being drawn to each other. Chad was slidding me inside the big mummy bag from the feet up.
Soon, my legs were in the mummy and then my belly. It felt like I was being swallowed by a big worm until finally, I was completely engulfed inside my dad's arctic-rated gear.
"Chad, I'm not even cold." I complained, trying to reason with him.
"Shhh!" he snapped. "It's fuckin' cold out tonight and I'm not about to let you get sick. Besides..." he continued, "it's my job to make sure you stay warm."
I started struggling a bit in an effort to unzip myself but Chad was adamant.
"You stay zipped up!" he ordered. "I have your dad's permission to tie you up if you put up a fuss." he warned, a cocky smirk finding it's way on his face.
"Aww...come on." I complained.
"I'm serious." he insisted. "Don't make me tie you up."
There was something strange about his threat.
It wasn't what he said, or even the way he said it. No.
Rather, it was my own reaction that puzzled me most.
Only when he threatened to tie me up, did I realize how hard I was.
Part of me WANTED to be tied up.
It had been so long since I'd been trussed up! In fact, my skin hadn't felt the touch of rope or tape since my brother's passing.
Truth be known, I missed those things dearly.
Chad zipped the mummy bag up completely and pulled the drawstrings tight before securing them in a series of knots.
"There" he finally spoke, contemplating my mummified form. "That should keep you warm."
Not only did being zipped up in my dad's thick mummy bag feel restrictive, but I had two other thick bags to contend with.
Inside the thick mummy bag, I was zipped up inside two of Chad's green bags...their loft and thickness, making my sleeping quarters even more restrictive.
Chad retreated to his mattress, only a few feet away, and closed the electric light.
I heard him zip up his sleeping bags and shuffle around a bit before going back to sleep.
I tried moving around, but I felt like I was inside a big fat worm of some sorts.
My arms and legs didn't have any space to maneuver...I was completely encased except for the small opening in the hood.
I really felt like a mummy, and I loved it.
I stopped struggling and let my head rest inside the thick loft of Chad's sleeping bags.
The jock's masculine scent permeated the warm air inside the sleeping bags.
After a short while, I feel asleep...confident that I'd be warm no matter how cold it got.
* * * * *
The next day was pretty fun. It was a sort of turning point in my life...one that I'd never forget.
When I woke up, Chad was already awake and after a short while, he allowed me to get up and unzip the sleeping bags.
We got dressed and grabbed a bite before joining Chase and Zack by the riverfront.
The two jocks had gotten up a bit earlier and were already busy fishing the shores of the slow moving river.
The four of us spent the day fishing, drinking beer and jerking around...
It was cold, even for this time of the year, but we were well dressed and had brought some good gear.
By late afternoon, Chad and I were hungry and decided we could use a break.
Chase and Zack were having a blast though and being the fishing enthusiasts they were, they both decided to continue fishing while Chad and I prepared the evening meal.
Our campsite was on an elevated slope about half a mile from the riverside, granting us a most picturesque view of the area...a landscape dominated by rolling hills and autumn-coloured trees.
We were alone when I decided to confront Chad about what had been on my mind for the past two years.
I started helping him gather wood for the campfire, but then I just stopped and stared at him.
It took a while for the blond jock to notice me.
"What?" he asked, smiling as I continued staring at him.
"Chad..." I started, nervously letting my gaze fall to the ground.
"What's wrong?" he asked, his tone showing hints of concern.
"I need to tell you something..." I said, swallowing a lump of saliva that had formed in my throat.
The big jock just stared at me, a look of concern painted on his handsome face.
"You remember that weekend two years ago...when my brother had invited you over and you helped me tie him up?" I asked.
"Yeah." the jock answered. "What about it?"
"I saw my brother licking your feet...I saw him lying with his face under your feet, kissing and licking your toes." I spoke.
Chad fell silent as I continued to speak.
"I saw you guys doing that...and it's been in my head ever since." I confessed. "I...I never told my brother that I'd seen him. I wanted to ask you what that was all about, but...I didn't know how you'd react." I finally admitted.
I held my breath, awaiting my friend's reaction. How would he take this, I wondered.
"Dude, it's fine." Chad finally spoke.
I saw him looking for words, as if scrambling to come up with an answer that would satisfy me.
I knew I'd caught him totally off guard, but I just needed to know what had been going on between him and my brother.
"Look...your brother and I, we jerked around a lot. We did some crazy stuff together..." he started.
But I wasn't buying it and Chad knew it.
It wasn't just jerking around! I saw the way my brother licked the jock's foot, the way he sucked his toes...it wasn't just jerking around, it was more than that!
Chad let out a discouraged sigh before closing his eyes and rubbing his forehead.
"Alright..." he finally spoke. "You wanna know why your brother loved licking my feet?"
I looked up at my friend and motioned my head up and down. Of course I wanted to know!
There was a long pause and he just stared me straight in the eyes.
At the time, I didn't know what he was doing...but thinking back on that moment, I knew he was trying to assess whether or not I was ready to hear the truth.
"Get in the tent and I'll show you." he finally decided.
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