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As always, PLEASE feel free to email me with comments or feedback about the story, or if you just want to chat about it.

Jim

Chapter 7

Clark was filling out some paperwork, muttering about how if the country ran out of paper he was convinced the military would come to a screeching halt, when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned the chair around to see Aaron standing there, wearing the uniform of the base softball team. "I take it this means..."

"Yup. Starting pitcher."

"Congratulations, Aaron. I knew you could do it." He stood and pulled Aaron into a `manly' hug, giving him a quick pat on the back before letting him go, the hug lasting less than thirty seconds.

"Thanks. Our first game is in two weeks at the main ball field. Can you get the evening off?"

"I'll try. Let me talk to the Chief. Shouldn't be a problem. What about you? How're you going to make it to the games?"

"It's like an additional duty assignment. I'm assigned to the base team and whenever I'm needed for a game I'm automatically released from duty here unless I'm involved in fighting an actual fire. Since I'm dayshift, and practices are in the evenings, it works out fine."

"I'm so proud of you."

"You are? Prove it."

"When I get home." Clark whispered into Aaron's ear.

Two weeks later found Clark sitting in the bleachers watching the love of his life standing on the pitcher's mound getting ready to throw his opening pitch, his heart almost bursting with pride. Since it was not uncommon for roommates to become close friends and spend a lot of time together, they didn't have to be as careful as they normally would have been, especially since they were "dating" two women who were also in a same-sex relationship, each couple acting as the other's beard. Naturally Michelle, Aaron's `girlfriend' and Kathi, Clark's `girlfriend' were both in the stands watching just as anxiously as they both loved Aaron and Clark, but in a slightly different way.

As the evening wore on, their excitement grew and grew as Aaron's team slowly and methodically massacred the opposing team. Right after the seventh inning stretch, Aaron was relieved on the mound after giving up only one run and four hits. The coach wanted didn't want him to overwork his arm. They had a long season ahead of them. After the game was over there was a lot of congratulatory hugs and backslaps, and yes, even some ass-slaps. The two couples slowly made their way to the parking lot.

"You guys up to going out tonight?" Michelle asked.

"I'd love to, but I'm on duty this weekend and I'm pretty beat. I just want to go home, get a shower and hit the sack." Aaron replied, tiredly.

"I'm sure you are beat." Kathi replied. "You hustled your ass off out there."

Clark looked around to make sure they weren't seen then reached behind Aaron and grabbed his ass. Aaron yelped in surprise. "Funny, it feels like it's still there."

"Shithead!" Aaron responded as he slapped his hand away. "Just for that you don't get any of it for at least a week."

"Like you can go that long."

"You'd be surprised. Besides, that's what dildos are for."

"T...M...I" the women chorused, giggled. They each gave the boys a hug then headed out.

"Okay, let's get you home, showered and into bed."

"Well, home and showered, anyway." Aaron said, impishly.

"I thought you were beat?"

"I'm too tired to go out partying, and as you know I do have weekend duty this weekend, but I'm not too tired for what I want to do after I shower."

"And what would that be?"

"Use your imagination. You might come close." Aaron grinned devilishly, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Oh it's like that is it?"

"Maybe" he replied, not giving away any information.

"Let's get going then."

After showering and changing and a quick run to the bowling alley for a bite to eat, they found themselves back at the ball field. "What are we doing back here? Did you forget something?" Clark asked.

"No, but there is something I'd like to do."

"What's that?"

"Come with me and I'll show you." Aaron led Clark to a spot under the bleachers that was hidden from view should anyone drive by. He sat down on the ground and patted the ground beside him. Clark sat down. As soon as he was seated, Aaron pushed him flat, lay next to him and began to kiss him, simple kisses that quickly became passionate.

After a few seconds, Clark broke the kiss and pushed Aaron away slightly. "Aaron, are you sure it's safe to do this here? What if we get caught?"

"It's fine, baby. I've scoped it out several times after the lights were turned off and everyone left after practice. The only way anyone will see us is if they walk right up to us. We just have to be quiet, that's all."

"You're sure?"

"Absolutely. Now where were we? Oh, yeah, right about here." Aaron started kissing him again, this time moving from his lips to his cheeks to his nose then to nibble on both earlobes before kissing the hollow of his throat. "Let's get this shirt off." In less than a minute he had Clark stripped completely naked. He began his oral assault again, this time concentrating on first on nipple, then the other, teasing each hard nub by licking them, then blowing cool air across them, before nibbling on them. He did this for several minutes, alternating between nipples until he drove Clark to the point where Clark had to stuff his t-shirt into his mouth to stifle his moans. While he was confident in Aaron's assurances that they couldn't be seen, he also heeded the warning that they could be heard. After making sure he had Clark worked up into a sexual frenzy, he proceeded to lick and kiss his way down to his next target, the belly button where he tortured that delightful little morsel of flesh in much the same manner as he teased the nipples.

Pausing only long enough to shed his own clothes, Aaron picked up where he left off, following Clark's treasure trail, a trail he knew oh-so-well down, down, down then suddenly veering off the trail to avoid the huge fallen tree blocking the trail to his current destination, the sensitive, tender flesh of the inner thighs and below the ball sack, to which he gave his undivided attention for a period of time before deciding to do something about the two huge boulders that were getting in his way. "So what should I do with these two boulders?" he asked devilishly, knowing that Clark was in no condition to respond. "I know. I'll see if moisture will erode them away." He took first one, then the other, then both of Clark's balls into his mouth sucking on them gently, rolling them around with his tongue. After about ten minutes of this he let them go with a plop and focused his attention on his final target. Sliding up slightly, he said "hmm. This tree is leaking a lot of sap onto the trail. Can't have that." He licked up the precum from Clark's stomach and the head of his dick, causing Clark to moan even louder. "Hmm. This tree is going to be a problem. Looks like the only way to deal with it is to drain all of the sap from it."

He pounced on Clark's dick like a kid on a popsicle, licking up and down, all around getting the shaft thoroughly wet before taking the plunge. Sealing his lips around the tip and applying a great deal of suction, the head popped into his mouth like a dust ball being swept up by a powerful vacuum cleaner. Slowly he bobbed up and down, licking the sensitive underside as he did so and pulling up until only the head remained in his mouth as he ran his tongue over the slit, lapping up the pre-com as it oozed out. Well, here's hoping all that practice wasn't a waste of time.

"HOLY FUCK!" Clark yelled as he felt the head of his dick plunge down Aaron's throat and his lips seal firmly around the base of his dick. "When and how did you learn to do that?" He whispered huskily.

Aaron slowly and tortuously slid his mouth off Clark's dick and lay beside him, kissing him gently. "My ass wasn't the only thing I used a dildo on." He whispered. "Did you like it?"

"Baby, it was awesome, but aren't you afraid of getting caught with it?"

"That's why it stays safely hidden in Michelle's dorm room. Nobody would question a woman having a dildo anymore than they would question a guy having a pocket pussy. Anyway..." His voice trailed off as he mounted a vicious oral attack on Clark's dick, deep-throating him over and over again, driving Clark wild and making him trash around on the ground in overwhelming pleasure. Slicking up his middle finger, he inserted it into Clark, quickly finding his prostate and rubbing it in rhythm with his sucking, actions which would soon reap him his reward. Clark's entire body stiffened and was soon blasting a gallon of cum down Aaron's throat which was greedily swallowed. Aaron released him with a pop and snuggled up against him.

"That was completely amazing." Clark whispered once his breathing returned to normal. "Nobody has ever been able to deep-throat me before. I can't believe you did that."

"Practice makes perfect." Aaron replied with a grin. "However, we do seem to have a minor problem."

"What's that?" Clark asked, not realizing that he was still hard.

"Oh, just something I need to take care of." Since it was dark, Clark did not see Aaron reach behind himself, grab the bottle of lube from his shorts pocket and prepared himself. Before he realized what was happening, Aaron had put a condom on him and sat down on him and was rising up and down, moaning slightly.

"Oh, shit." Clark said as he felt himself enter Aaron. "Oh, my God that feels so fucking good. You know it's going to take me a lot longer to come this time."

"Yes I know. That was the whole idea."

"You're going to kill me, you know."

"Yeah, but at least you'll go with a smile on your face." Aaron replied as he flipped them over so he was on his back. Clark started pounding his ass relentlessly.

After about twenty minutes he bent down and sealed his lips to Aaron's as he screamed out his orgasm. As his balls were drained of their huge load of baby gravy, the remainder of his body was drained of its energy and he collapsed on Aaron, completely exhausted and sated.

Aaron wrapped his arms around the body of the man he loved more than anyone or anything in this universe or the next. "Thank you, baby. That was way beyond wonderful."

"But you didn't get off yet."

"Ah, yes I did. Just as you came, so did I." He pulled Clark even tighter to him and sighed wistfully as Clark finally softened enough to slip out of him. "We need to head back before we fall asleep." He warned, but it was too late as a soft snore greeted him in response. Clark's slow, steady breathing indicated that he was not feigning sleep, but was indeed, sound asleep. Aaron kissed him lightly on the temple. "God I love you so much." He looked up into the sky. "Thank you, whoever is up there, for bringing the two of us together." He gently shook Clark. "Wake up, baby. We need to get back to the dorm."

"I'm sorry I fell asleep on you." He replied as he rolled of Aaron and started dressing.

"Don't be. I love the feeling of you lying on top of me. I wish we could sleep like that every night."

"As soon as you make Sergeant you'll be eligible for BAS and BAQ, then we'll find a place off-base, probably in that trailer park outside the back gate."

"Let's do it now. Sleeping in the same room with you is not enough anymore. I want to sleep in the same bed with you every night, not just make love then one of us has to move to the other bed. I can't stand not sleeping next to you."

"Wow. It really bothers you that much?"

"Baby I meant what I said back at Caesar's Palace. I want to marry you and spend the rest of my life with you."

"Aw, isn't that thweet?" A familiar voice started them.

"Tracy! How long have you been standing there?" Aaron asked, a note of worry creeping into his voice.

"It's fine, baby. I've scoped it out several times after the lights were turned off and everyone left after practice. The only way anyone will see us is if they walk right up to us. We just have to be quiet, that's all. You're sure? Absolutely. Now where were we? Oh, yeah, right about here."

Both men's blood ran cold as they heard their words played back to them through Tracy's tape recorder. "Okay, what do you want?" Aaron asked.

"What I want should be very obvious. After I fuck that hot ass of yours I want you out of Clark's life. I have enough on this tape to get you kicked out, but not Clark. He'll be okay."

Clark went on the offensive. "First of all, you piece of shit, you aren't touching Aaron without his consent, and I'm pretty sure that's not going to be given." He growled.

"Clark..." Aaron began, having a feeling of where this was going.

"Secondly" Clark quickly continued, interrupting Aaron, "do you remember what happened when you tried to start shit with my cousin Luke? That beating will be a love tap compared to what will happen to you if anything happens to jeopardize his career. Besides, I can get several guys to testify that they witnessed you propositioning me in the shower and the beating you received wasn't from a jealous boyfriend, but from a blanket party. Nobody will think twice about that. The First Sergeant loves his blanket parties."

"Are you threatening me?"

"No, I'm promising you."

"Good. GUYS!" They were suddenly surrounded by several guys. Tracy looked around. "Are you guys aware that these two faggots were just fucking under these bleachers?"

As it was dark, nobody could see who was who. From somewhere a flashlight appeared and was shined at the three men in the center of the circle. When the light fell on Clark's face, then Aaron's, there was considerable muttering. "Trying to start shit again, Vincent? What do you think guys? Blanket party time?"

"Nah. I have a better idea. I like Bronson's idea. Let's go to the commander and tell her that we saw this piece of trash try to put the moves on Suarez in the shower, then when he got turned down he went for Bronson."

"Works for me. Guys?" From all around them the two men heard murmurs of agreement.

"Can I borrow the use of your flashlight for a minute?" Aaron asked. He was handed the flashlight which he turned on Tracy. Looking him straight in the eyes he asked one simple question. "Why?"

"Fuck you, Suarez."

"So that's what this is all about. You want to fuck me." There was no response. "Okay, I guess I can live with that. So you want to be fucked, do you? Okay, sure. Let's fuck." That statement drew sharp intakes of breath from everyone around. Clark looked at him stunned. Aaron approached Tracy slowly and when he was close enough, kicked him in the balls as hard as he could. "Now you're fucked. Was it as good for you as it was for me? `Cause I gotta tell you, it's the best fuck I've had in a long time. Just don't tell Michelle. She'll kill me." Everyone laughed. They've all seen Aaron and Michelle together and most were jealous as Michelle was beautiful enough that she could easily be a model or a Hollywood star. No one but Aaron, Clark, Michelle and Kathi knew the real state of affairs between the four of them. Everyone left laughing and soon it was just Aaron, Clark and Tracy. Aaron bent down to Tracy, who was lying on the ground clutching his groin. "I would strongly recommend you avoid us at all costs. You have no idea what I'm capable of, and I will do anything to protect myself and Clark. Is that understood?" Tracy nodded. "Good. I believe I'll just take this with me." He took the tape out of the tape recorder and he and Clark walked back to the barracks.

Once inside, Aaron dropped onto his bed and placed his head in his hands. "Baby, I'm so, so, so sorry. I had no idea he'd follow us. I didn't even see him around here. Please don't be mad at me."

"Mad at you? Honey, I couldn't be more proud of you, the way you handled yourself, although I must admit you kinda threw me for a loop with that `let's fuck' thing. I knew you weren't actually going to have sex with him, but I had no idea what you were up to. You were magnificent. I think he actually believed you were going to let him fuck you. That was the best part." Clark started howling with laughter. When he finally calmed down he continued. "As far as him following us, I thought I saw him out of the corner of my eye as we were leaving the bowling alley but he was up on the approach so I didn't think anything of it. I'm sorry. I should have mentioned it to you."

"You needn't apologize. I wouldn't have thought anything of it either. So what do you say we stop apologizing to each other and you come over here and reward by performance by fucking me?"

"As long as you promise not to fuck me like you fucked Tracy." He started laughing and Aaron quickly joined in. After a few minutes of laughing until their sides hurt, Aaron grew serious again.

"Do you think he got the message, or can we expect more trouble from him?"

"I think he got the message. But to be on the safe side, we'll confine our lovemaking to inside here and make it a point to be seen more with the girls. At least until we can move off base."

"I'm serious about that. I want to move now. I don't like having to sneak around and sleep apart from you." Aaron's eyes took on that faraway look which Clark had learned to recognize as Aaron deep in thought.

"Aaron, what are you thinking?"

"I was just wondering what it would take to get hired by the LVFD."

"Why?"

"If I was no longer in the military, I could get a place off base with no problem then you could move in with me."

"How would you get out? You still have another year and a half on your enlistment, and you certainly can't get kicked out for using drugs and you sure as hell couldn't get kicked out for being overweight."

"I don't know. The only thing I can think of is to go to the First Shirt and tell him that I'm gay but then they'd come after you as well. I could tell them that Tracy and I had sex in the shower and you knew nothing about it, but I doubt they'd believe me, so coming out is completely out of the question. I couldn't do that to you." He suddenly smacked himself on the forehead. "Aaron you're a fucking dumbass."

"What?"

"Clark, I have over five thousand dollars in the bank left over from the lottery. I can afford to move off base until I can get BAS and BAQ."

"It means that much to you?"

"Being able to go to sleep every night in your arms and wake up every morning next to you? Being able to have sex with you anytime we want without worrying about getting caught during a surprise dorm inspection? You bet it does. Don't you want it as well?"

"Baby, I'm happy just to be in the same room with you, to be able to look into your eyes, to be able to listen to the sound of your voice, but if this is what you really want, then the next day we have off together we'll go over our finances and see what we can afford because don't forget we'll also have utilities to pay in addition to rent and security deposits. Then we'll go looking for a place."

"Rent? Utilities? Security deposits?" Seems like somebody I know has been thinking about moving and has been doing his homework."

"Guilty as charged. I've already called the electric company, the phone company and the cable company and gotten all the information about installation fees, security deposits and rates. The only thing I didn't look into was water, sewer, gas and garbage collection because I didn't know if we needed to pay them or not. Some places include them in the rent. However, I don't think we really need a regular phone as we both have cell phones, but we might get a better rate through the cable company doing the TV/phone/internet thing."

"Have I told you how much I love you?"

"No, but you can show me."

Three days later, armed with working budgets the boys went house hunting and found an apartment that they could easily afford. Unfortunately, the apartment management company required criminal background investigations on its tenants due to the proximity to an elementary school and a nursing home, which would take several weeks. "Do you want to wait for the background check to come back or do you want to look around some more?"

"I really like this place, Clark. It's fully furnished and includes air conditioning, heat, hot water, sewer and garbage pickup, plus it has laundry facilities right on the premises. We've waited this long, what's a few more weeks?"

"True. Listen, have you thought about Christmas?" Clark approached the subject carefully.

"No, I haven't." he replied in a surprisingly un-bothered tone of voice. Clark had anticipated hearing some sort of sadness, resentment, anger or whatever in his voice and found none.

"Well, I was thinking about making candles for our family. How would you like to go over to the Arts and Crafts Center and keep me company while I make them?"

Aaron still got a little emotional whenever he was reminded that Clark's family considered him to be a part of their family. "I have a better idea. Ever since you told me about how you made magical candles and all that, I've wanted to learn how to do it myself. I've always wanted to be able to make something with my hands, but never knew what. I was horrible in art classes and could play an instrument even if the instrument played itself."

"I'd love to teach you. Something tells me you'd be really good at it. First I'd have to teach you how to make the basic candles themselves then how to infuse them with essential oils such as eucalyptus for healing, lavender for protection, cinnamon for an aphrodisiac, stuff like that."

"Baby, one thing neither of us needs is an aphrodisiac. All we have to do is look at each other in a certain way."

"True. That would be another advantage of having a place off base. We'd be able to make the candles at home whenever we wanted. It would be a little expensive the molds, equipment and initial supplies, but I think it would be fun and no, you're not going to go out and buy everything yourself. Yes I know you can afford it, but I want to help get the stuff."

"Okay, okay. Actually, I hadn't thought about that because I don't know what all is required."

"Well first thing you need is a couple of double-boilers and thermometers to melt the wax in, and a pouring pitcher. Then you need molds, votive holders, jars or tea lite cups, depending upon what type of candle you want to make. Then there's the different types of wax, wicks, color dyes and scents. You also need mold cleaner for obvious reasons, and mold release which allows the finished candle to slide out of the mold easily. Lastly you need a class A fire extinguisher.

"Class A? Why?"

"Believe it or not, it is possible for melted wax to catch fire if it gets too hot."

"Wow. I never thought wax could catch fire. I mean. I've seen it melt and all, but catch fire?"

"Yup, it's possible, which is why you never leave melting wax unattended."

"Ah, did you forget I'm also a firefighter?"

"No, but like you said, you never thought wax could catch fire."

"Okay, so we know we can get the supplies at probably any craft store, but what about the essential oils?"

"After Luke was shipped out to Iraq and before you came here, I essentially spent all my time making magickal candles. I'd get the oils and herbs from a metaphysical store called Bell, Book and Candle on West Charleston. They have a huge selection, which reminds me, I have a book I want you to familiarize yourself by Scott Cunningham called `Incense, Oils and Brews' which basically explains how to mix the various oils and herbs for whatever purpose you're making the candle for."

"So if I knew someone who had a really bad cold, I could make a candle and mix in eucalyptus oil."

"Exactly. They would burn the candle and it would have the same effect as using a vaporizer with Vicks.

"Cool. Can't wait to start."

Three weeks later...

"Easy does it, Aaron. Push gently from the bottom. There. How does it feel to have made your first candle?"

"Really cool." Aaron replied happily as he looked over the candle he just make. "I'm so loving this. When can I make a magical candle?"

"Not today. I first have to teach you to center and ground yourself, then focus your energies. When you make a magickal candle, you not only infuse it with whatever hetbs and oils you want, but you also infuse it with some of your essence."

"Some of my essence? You don't mean what I think you mean, do you?"

"No, by essence I mean some of your natural energies."

"Is it hard to learn?"

"No, but it takes practice. What we should do is take a drive out to Red Rock Canyon and maybe hike out to the Mouse's Tank. We're unlikely to be bothered there."

"Clark, is this like witchcraft or Satanic or anything like that?"

"Witchcraft yes, Satanic no. It's only called Satanic by those who don't understand what it is. Everything we're doing with the herbs and essential oils is completely, one-hundred percent natural. One thing you do need to know though, is the first tenet of using magick, and that is `harm none lest ye be harmed'. Anything done for personal gain or to harm another person or used on another person without his or her knowledge and consent will come back to you three-fold."

"Like karma."

"Exactly."

"Okay. Let's do it then."

"Okay, on our next day off together we'll head out there."

"Cool. Let's make some more candles."

"Okay." Aaron was a very astute student and in a short period of time was turning out candles like he'd been doing it for his entire life. Clark was not surprised however, because when Aaron threw himself into something, he gave it one-hundred and ten percent.

It also didn't surprise Clark how quickly Aaron learned to center and ground himself. Learning to focus his energies took a little longer, but the effort was well worth it when one day when nursing a very bad head cold, Aaron surprised him with a magickal candle. Just as he was presenting it to him their door opened and in walked the First Sergeant and their station supervisor, doing a surprise dorm inspection.

"Suarez, I believe you know the regulations concerning candles in the dorm rooms?" The First Sergeant asked, crossly.

"Yes, First Sergeant, I do. I just made this candle as a birthday present for Clark's sister in return for the birthday present she sent me. I was just showing it to him before boxing it up to send to her. If you notice, it has never been lit."

"And these?" he asked, indicating a box of candles on the floor.

Clark spoke up. "Every year my church back home as a craft fair to raise money to buy Christmas presents for underprivileged kids. I make a bunch of these to send home for the craft fair. This is actually the second box." This was partially true. All of the first batch and most of the second batch of candles they made had been sent home for the craft fair. The remaining candles were family Christmas presents.

"Okay. I'll be back in a couple of days and they had better not be here."

"Yes First Sergeant." Aaron replied as he left. "I'm so glad we're moving out next week."

"You and me both." Clark replied as he finished packing up the candles to be shipped out in the morning.

The week passed painfully slow as they began to realize how restrictive living on base in the dorm was, once freedom was in their grasp. Finally moving day arrived. Most of their belongings had been slowly packed throughout the week so that when the time came, all that was required was for them to load up their cars, turn in their room keys and head out. One quick stop at the manager's office to pick up their apartment and mailbox keys and they were soon surrounded by boxes on the floor, which Aaron was rummaging through, obviously searching for one particular item. Gee, I wonder what he's looking for. Clark thought, thinking that he was searching for the tiny bag which held their supply of lubricant and condoms. He was taken completely by surprise when Aaron finally produced what he was looking for.

"I want you to go into the bedroom, light this and lay down. I think you've suffered enough from this cold. Get some rest while I start unpacking our uniforms and stuff."

"Thank you, baby, but..."

"No buts. Get in there and get some rest or plan on spending at least the first week in the guest room or on the couch. Your choice."

"Okay, okay, you win. Wake me in a couple of hours and we'll go get something to eat, then I'll help you with the unpacking."

A little after one the buzzer rang. "Yes?" Aaron spoke into the intercom, surprised that someone buzzed their apartment.

"UPS with a delivery for Clark Bronson."

"Okay, I'll be right down." Knowing that neither of them were expecting any packages, he went out onto the balcony and looked down into the rear parking area. Sure enough, there was the familiar brown UPS delivery truck sitting there. He went in and reluctantly woke Clark up. "Baby, UPS is here with a delivery for you."

He stretched and yawned. "I'm not expecting any packages. Are you?"

"No."

"What time is it?"

"It's a little after one."

"I asked you to wake me up in a couple of hours, not four."

"You needed the rest. Don't think I don't know how little sleep you've been getting. You've been too sick to notice, but we've gone almost two weeks without having sex."

"Well, that's gonna change tonight. I don't know what you did to that candle, but I feel great."

"Family secret. Now let's go see what the good UPS person has for you."

They went downstairs and retrieved three large packages two of which were quite heavy. Once back inside the apartment they started opening the packages and looked in shock at the contents. Neither man thought to check to see who the packages were from initially and now they didn't need to. Inside the packages were cookware, cooking utensils, silverware, dishes, glassware, towels of all kinds, wash clothes, a toaster and a coffee pot, basically everything they needed to get. Inside one of the boxes was a note. "Dear Clark and Aaron. Congratulations on moving into your first apartment. We wish you lots of love and happiness in your new home. Love, Mom, Dad and Susan."

"What are we going to do with them?" Aaron asked, tears flowing down his cheeks.

"Just love them, I guess." Clark replied tearfully. "At least now they can come to visit and stay with us rather than spending the money for a hotel."

"True. Let's get some lunch and get the rest of this stuff unpacked and put away. I'm dying to try out the bed."

"Believe me, it's very comfortable."

"I don't believe I mentioned anything about sleeping."

"No you didn't, but you look very tired and I'm willing to bet that as soon as you lay down, no matter how horny you are, you'll be asleep in seconds."

"You're on!"

They made short work of getting everything put away and the garbage taken out. After catching an all-you-can-eat buffet they returned to their apartment. Aaron quickly got rid of his clothes and lay on the bed. "You're right it is very comfortable." He held out his arms to Clark. "Now come over here and fuck me into oblivion."

It never happened for as soon as Clark had his clothes off, Aaron was sound asleep. He grabbed a blanket and lay down next to him, snuggling close. When Aaron felt Clark next to him, he rolled onto his side. Clark spooned up against him, covered them with the blanket and was sound asleep in minutes. His last waking thought was Aaron was right about falling asleep holding each other and waking up next to each other. God how I've wanted this myself. I was a fool to wait this long.

Thus began a new phase of their lives together. Neither of them knew, however, that in a few short months something would happen that would rip them apart and irrevocably change their lives forever.