It all began when my family visited my aunt's house, whose incredibly old grandma has passed away. Even though the funeral happened the day I arrived with my parents, we were supposed to stay at their house for like a week. I wasn't exactly thrilled about this idea, but it was certainly one way to fill my time and rest before I return to college.
I've been sharing bedroom with my slightly older cousin. I was always intimidated by him, because he lived his whole life on the countryside and he just knew how to do all sorts of manly things. Next to him, I was just a pampered momma's boy from the city. He was constantly building shit, cutting wood, fixing his motorcycle... and I was there, studying on my laptop.
Once when I saw a hornet and began panicking, he just laughed at me and then he literally
smacked it
in front of me, with his bare hand, and then finished it with his boot. This display had me question my entire life and my role in society...
On the second day of our stay, his mom suggested that I should rest from studying and that her son should show me around. Jake, because that was his name, offered me to show me his treehouse.
"You have... a treehouse?" I asked awkwardly, not sure if he was just making fun of me. His masculine, confident and borderline sociopathic persona that allowed him to kill huge bugs with his bare hands really didn't fit to a guy who would offer you to show you around his treehouse. "You mean... the treehouse you used to play in as a kid?"
He faced me and frowned.
"No. I built it myself, last summer."
Oh, okay. Now it made a bit more sense.
"For neighbor's kids?"
"No, for myself."
Okay. Never mind. It didn't make any sense whatsoever.
"Okay, sure, why not." I shrugged. "Show me your treehouse."
He packed a huge backpack for hiking and early in the morning he brought me deep into the forest, quite some way from their house. Somehow, I felt both safe and unsafe at the same time. I knew that if we would stumble upon a bear, he would probably easily kill it somehow, or something like that. I guess I found that hornet kill of his
this
impressive.
On the other hand, with him around, I could never relax. I found him way too intimidating.
"Is it true that you only like other boys?" he asked out of the sudden, while leading me through the bushes.
He surprised me with that question. I came out to my closest family and told them that they can spread the word if they wish to. I knew that my aunt knew and didn't mind; she greeted me in the warmest way possible. I wasn't sure if her son would be equally tolerant, though.
"Yeah, I'm gay," I admitted. "Is that a problem?"
"You tell me," he responded and did not continue the topic. I didn't know what it was supposed to mean.
For a while, I even considered if he's not leading me somewhere no one will ever find me, to kill me and bury my body for being gay.
"Well, well, you look at that," he pointed at the trunk of a tree that had some clear and deep scratch marks. "A bear was here, marking its territory," he said, more to himself, than to me.
I looked around, ready to let my fear take over.
"Maybe we should go back?" I proposed, rationally.
"No. Instead, I will teach it to never return here," my cousin announced carelessly, with a smirk.
Personally, I prefer to look around, paranoid for sneak attack.
"And how do you plan to do that?" I asked.
My answer was the sound of water splashing. I looked at him and froze, seeing a golden stream of piss falling on the tree and bear scratch marks.
When Jake was done emptying his bladder, he turned towards me, still holding his dick and shaking it to get rid of pee droplets.
I peeked at his dick briefly, but then quickly turned my eyes towards the bear marks.
"Are you sure this is enough?" I asked, while he zipped his fly.
"It should be. Come on, we're not very far," he encouraged me to continue.
He stayed true to his words. Merely two minutes later, he announced:
"Alright, we're here."
"What do you mean?" I asked, confused. "Where's the treehouse?"
He pointed upwards.
I raised my gaze and immediately felt uncomfortable. This "treehouse" was definitely
not
for children. It was pretty much just a pretty large wooden platform, set like 12 meters above the ground. I felt dizzy just looking at it.
"This is incredibly high up!" I made a very astute observation. "Is it... safe?"
"Of course it's safe. I made it," he said confidently and smirked, seeing my face. He approached the wooden ladder. "Put on this," he gave me a climbing harness. "Do you have a fear of heights?"
"Not until now..."
I put the harness on and watched his fingers confidently handling the rope hanging from the tree. He tied everything up and pulled the harness to check if it's good to go.
"Alright, climb up," he encouraged me.
"Jake, I'm not sure if this is a good idea..." I whined.
"Come on, Garrett. Don't be a pussy," he challenged me with a smug smile. "Wait... unless you are a pussy? I don't know how it works for guys who only like other guys..."
"You won't provoke me, so you can stop trying," I assured him coldly. I knew it was a bad idea.
"Fine. You can leave if you want. Just don't get lost on your way back."
What an asshole he was... He knew I would never walk back without him, in a bear infested forest.
I looked at the ladder again and now it seemed like a pleasant alternative to being mauled alive by some massive animal. So I began climbing, trying not to look down.
When I finally reached top, I was incredibly proud of myself. I checked out the stability of his construction... and it didn't move an inch.
I almost jumped when Jake showed up behind me on the blanks, out of the sudden.
"What the hell, man?!" I asked, surprised. "We agreed that I will throw the harness down to you, so you can climb on safely!"
"We did agree this and I lied," he informed me cheerfully. "I will feel much safer if you keep the harness on, little cousin. So, how do you like the view?"
