This story has the largest overlap between Book Two and Book Three. You will find a related version, but with its own differences in If It Weren't For the Two of Us, Chapter 42.
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Meeting
47 December 30
"Hi, I'm Janine. I'm an alcoholic."
"Hi Janine," the group replied.
"Here we are, at the end of the year. I've held on to my job
for five months. Well, almost five months. Considering all the others I
botched, this is an actual long streak for me, so ... yay, Janine.
"Because I've been there for so long, well, for me, I'm
really enjoying it. I feel good about doing a good job. Way back when, I would
worry about screwing up, which made me want to drink. Now, I don't think about
drinking. Granted, when something else goes wrong in my life which is enough
I guess that temptation is always there, but ... dang, I just feel good about
keeping this job. Going into the new year, I feel strong. I do.
"Thank you."
The group clapped.
"Hi, I'm Lance. I'm an alcoholic."
"Hi, Lance," the group replied.
"I was having the best of holidays. I still am actually.
Time with my family was great. My boyfriend is moving in tomorrow morning. I
feel so completely in love. We are enjoying New Year's Eve with our best
friends. It's all great.
"The end of the year made me look back. From the sounds of
everything, you'd think I was living a charmed life. And then I look back at
the beginning of the year, and I get scared shitless. I was drinking way too
much. I wrestled with my sexual identity. I was in love with someone who
couldn't love me back. I put on weight. I wrecked my car driving drunk which
could have killed me. So this year wasn't so ideal after all. I scare myself
how I ever got into that position. I mean, it was just half a year ago. How did
I mess up so bad? And now ... I'm happier than I've ever been. I occasionally get
swept up in these feelings that I don't deserve this. That it won't last. Then
what? How strong will I be? Thankfully, Jakob is my rock.
"I'm not sure why I question it at times, but I have to
admit I do. I sometimes get scared it will all go away.
"Thank you."
The group clapped. When I got to my seat, Jakob grabbed my
hand and squeezed it. Two more people shared. The closing of the year caused
many members to reflect. We helped with the chairs following the meeting.
No one in our social circle seemed to want to go out. I made
a point to talk to Richard to see how he made it through the month. He said it
was better than the past few. That was good. I figured most people had the
post-holiday blahs when decorations came down. He probably felt better with no
reminders in place.
Jakob and I said Happy New Year to the friends we had made.
Some of them gave us a hug.
"Your share interested me," Jakob said in the car.
"Oh?"
"Lance, why don't you think you deserve to be happy?"
"Because I'm ... I don't know. What have I ever done to
deserve anything positive? I mean, I don't think I need to be arrested or anything,
but ... Jakob, I've just made so many mistakes. So many. During college, I could
be an ass at times. I just don't know if I was ... or am ... a good person. I just
feel unworthy sometimes. But I do sit in awe sometimes of just feeling SO
happy."
"Well, I can tell you why you deserve it. Those mistakes you
are talking about ...? You learned from them! You're a stud at work. The members
love you. You've helped people in AA. You reached out to Tyler. Look at what
you've done for me. I could easily be in the shelter if not for you. I had no
one. You helped me reunite with my family. I'm a total nobody, but you somehow
accepted me. Fell in love with me. The fact that you've made me incredibly
happy surely warrants you feeling the same."
I grabbed his hand. "I do love you, babe. Thank you."
When we entered the apartment, we looked at all that had to
be dealt with in the morning. Jakob didn't have a lot. Most of it was boxed
already. Trent's furniture was going to move to Mike's ... somehow. We were
taking a couple of items. Before going to bed, we packed up everything from the
bathroom and one last box in the kitchen.
"Do we want to sleep here among all this upheaval?" he
asked.
"Up to you. Want one last night?"
"We haven't made love since Christmas night. Want one last
loud night of passion before we inflict our cohabitation on Evan?"
I laughed.
It wasn't that loud actually. As far as sex goes, it was one
of our more average nights of lovemaking. Still good, still enjoyable, just not
memorable. Maybe Christmas night was a hard act to follow.
"All right gents,
where do we start?" Mike asked.
"If we go to your
house first, we can shower up at our place after the second trip."
"Sounds like a
plan," Trent said.
It took about 40
minutes to get Trent's furniture into the trailer. Once at Mike's house, we
moved most of it into the garage, trying to make it as compact as we could. A
few items were brought inside into the study. Trent had not acquired a lot
since college. Most of it was bedroom furniture. Some of it had shown its age
from his high school days. It was usable though. It prompted me to think of all
the years Jakob had nothing. He would have given anything for a bed.
There wasn't a ton
of room in the garage. I thought it would be tough to store it all if at least
one car was supposed to make it in, but with bed broke down, we were all
surprised at how it easily fit on one side of the garage.
When we entered
Jakob's apartment for the last trip, it was just boxes. I suddenly got all
parental-like and checked every closet and every door for any last items we
might have forgotten.
After the last box
was loaded for our second trip, Trent carried the keys down to the apartment
office. I don't know if he had even told them about the change of residents. I
didn't ask. I just know it worked for Jakob and rolled with that. I scared
myself a moment not knowing what would have happened if Jakob wasn't able to
stay here. Trent saved the day with that one. It was too soon for Jakob and I to move in together back in October. Now seemed right. We
completely know each other. Bless his heart, he found something in me worth
keeping.
"Well, that's done,"
Trent said. "Farewell to the apartment."
As we unloaded the
final items into my bedroom, we looked at the time.
"It's almost noon,"
Trent said. "We'll need to get the truck back. You guys need a break. How about
you come over to our place around 3, and then we'll drive to the lake house
together. Does that work?"
"Yes. Totally," I
said.
"I like your shirts,
by the way," Jakob said.
"Aw. My parents had
them made for us. I like them too," Mike said.
"There is a nice
restaurant near the lake. I assume it is open this time of year. Pack a nice
shirt for that," Trent said.
I paid for half the
cost of the U-Haul. We waved as they pulled away. Once back inside my our
apartment, we collapsed on the bed.
"Ugh! Well, that's
over. Hopefully, these boxes can somehow go away," Jakob said.
"We'll deal with
that after New Year's Day," I said.
"So ... shower or
nap?"
"Lunch. Then nap.
Then shower."
Following that
sequence, we took a small suitcase to my car at 2:45, ready to head into our
holiday getaway. We were prepared with a few choices of clothing options. I
wasn't sure what the guys had planned. In the back of my mind, I remembered the
New Year's offer they made me when I started AA. Mike told me if I stuck with
it and stayed sober until the end of the year, we could recreate the shower
scene from last winter. That was before I met Jakob though. I could never do
that now that I was in love with him, but ... who knows? Just how "guys weekend"
was it going to be? I was just looking forward to the four of us hanging out.
We put our suitcase
in their car. They had a cooler in the trunk too, but I wasn't sure what all
was in it. The drive to the lake house took less than an hour. For late
December, low 40s wasn't bad. I leaned into Jakob in the back seat, which let
us see our best friends in the front seats. Plus it was snuggly.
As we pulled up to
the house, I liked the look of it. I was sure in the summer it had to be
beautiful with the trees all lush with green leaves. A wreath was on the door.
With no one actually living there, we weren't expecting any decorations, but to
our surprise, there was a poinsettia, some garland and a December arrangement
on the coffee table. There wasn't a tree, but it had the essence of Christmas.
"This is lovely,"
said Jakob.
Mike and Trent
showed us around. We assumed they would take the master bedroom. The other room
was not as big. There was a full bed and a set of bunk beds. We put our
suitcase on the lower bunk. It was simple, nice, clean, but nothing elaborate.
The bed was smaller than the queen I had at the apartment, but I liked the cozy
aspect of the smaller size. The house was by no means cold, but the winter
chill was more noticeable here than at the apartment.
"Our naked bodies
will keep each other warm," Jakob said, reading my mind. I turned to him with a
surprised smile.
Mike started
unloading the cooler into the refrigerator.
"What is all this?
Why didn't you ask us to bring anything?" I asked.
"Eh. This was all
our idea. Trent's actually. We brought enough to snack on and make a meal or
two."
Mike held up a
bottle of champagne.
"Non-alcoholic for
midnight tonight," he said.
"You guys didn't
have to do that. It's okay to drink around us."
"It's also okay to
want to include you."
I gave him a hug.
Simple gestures seemed enormous at times. We couldn't ask for more considerate
friends. I absolutely loved the idea of the four of us just chilling for the
holiday. It was going to be some much better than some loud party.
With everything put
away, Mike grabbed a bag of tortilla chips from the counter and opened it,
along with a jar of salsa. We both crunched on a few chips and then put the jar
in the fridge.
"I think I wanted
this getaway more than Trent," Mike said.
"Oh?" I said,
slightly perplexed.
"Yeah. Lance, a year
ago, I was so cut off after Ethan. I didn't do anything with friends. It's not
like they abandoned me, but ... I think I pulled away."
He looked out the kitchen
window. I held him from behind.
"I've loved having
you and Jakob as part of my life," Mike continued. "Obviously, Trent stepping
into my world was incredible, but with him came you. And with you, Jakob. I'm
loving being with friends again. I chastise myself for ever letting that slip
away."
I squeezed him
tighter. "I feel the same," I softly said, but mumbled, so I'm not sure if Mike
understood me.
Jakob and Trent were
on the back porch. We joined them, bringing all of us a Diet Coke. The winter
chill was pretty cold, but the house blocked the breeze. With the sun on us, it
was tolerable without a coat.
"Wouldn't it be cool
to see it snow over the lake," Jakob said.
"I like snow," Trent
said. "I always long for a White Christmas, but so rarely get them."
"Just give me
spring," Mike said. He wrapped his own arms around himself to eliminate the
shiver.
I laughed.
"According to my
phone, the Lakeside Restaurant is open until 9 tonight. How does 7:30 sound?"
Trent asked.
Everyone agreed that
was good.
Eventually the chill
got to us, and we went inside. There was a fireplace, so Mike attempted to get
it going. Although there was one in his house, I don't ever recall even seeing
firewood in it. This lake house had firewood stacked down the stairs on the side.
Jakob offered to help. I imagine his family used their fireplace a lot. I
seemed to remember the Morgan's house being a little older
and smaller than Mike's. A fireplace could have been effective. Within 10
minutes, a cozy fire was going. We all thought it was nice to just sit and do
nothing, listening to the crackle.
"I love the sound of
a fire," Jakob said.
"Same here," Trent
agreed.
"You know, you two
said we couldn't repeat the three-way because it was the school shower. In
front of a fire could be a complete opposite," I joked.
Trent shifted his
weight and looked away.
"Huh? What does that
mean?" Jakob said.
"Oh. It's just a
joke. When I joined AA, they told me we would repeat the school shower
three-way if I could stay sober until the end of the year. But, honey, that was
a joke. Really."
He got quiet. For 30
seconds no one said anything.
"Uh, excuse me,"
Jakob said. He went out the front door.
The three of us
looked at each other.
"Hm. That didn't
look good," I said.
"No, it didn't,"
said Mike. "Think we've said something wrong?"
"I'll go check," I
said.
Jakob was leaning
against the car. I took him his coat.
"Are you okay,
babe?"
"Yeah," he said
blankly.
"Talk to me."
"I don't want to be
a downer," he said, shuffling his foot in the gravel of the driveway.
"Baby, why would you
think that? You can tell me anything. Always."
"Thanks. I'm sorry.
That talk about multiple people having sex ... it just brought back some
memories. The last time that happened to me ... I ..."
He stopped.
"It's okay," I said.
I held his hand.
He sighed.
"I was fucked by
four other people. I barely knew two of them. It was just assumed that I would
go along with it ... because, you know ... the roof over my head and all."
"That's total shit.
Baby, you have had to deal with so much. I am continuously impressed by how
strong you are after all that."
"I guess I had to
be. Either that or implode."
"It's no wonder you
turned to alcohol."
I held him. He
squeezed me back.
"I will never, ever,
ever do anything that might hurt you. Not intentionally anyway." I looked him
in the eyes. "All that talk back there is kind of a joke anyways. They said
that as an incentive when I started AA. I hadn't even met you. Now that you are
in my life, I would never do anything with anyone else. I'm all yours and only
yours. You're stuck with me now."
He pulled me closer.
"I know. And, even
if ... that ... happened, it is not like you are doing it behind my back. I'm right
here."
"I'd want you to be
with me if ... you know. I'm sure they would too."
"Is that what you
want?" he asked earnestly.
"No. Not at all. You
are all that matters. I love YOU. You fulfill every sexual need I have."
"Okay. Thanks,
angel." He let me go. "Go on back inside. I'll take a short walk."
I watched him start
a stroll down the road. I hoped he was okay. None of us had done anything, so I
didn't think he was upset. After a minute I went back inside.
"Hey, is everything
okay?" Trent asked.
"Yeah. I think so.
The mention of several guys having sex ... well ... it brought back memories. He
was forced to have sex with four men earlier this year. He hardly knew two of
them."
"Oh my God," said
Mike. "How fucked up is that."
"Yeah. I think it
just shook him a second. He was afraid he would bring us down."
"Bring us
down. Bless his heart. He's gone through so much. We're sorry if we upset him,"
Trent said.
"No. I don't think he's
upset. Sometimes things just hit you, particularly when you used to suppress
them with alcohol."
"Fuck," Trent said.
"It does me too. At
times."
"Yeah?" Trent asked.
"How, buddy?"
"Like the past
couple of days, ... well, the holidays. I've been so happy. So crazy
happy. And then it will hit me like I don't deserve it. I shouldn't get to be
this happy."
"Why would you say
that?" Mike asked.
"The drinking,
stupid decisions, wrecking my car ... it seems like other people should deserve
to be happy, and yet somehow ... I got to be. It's crazy, right?"
"I think AA helps
you do a little soul-searching," Mike said. He pulled me to him and held me. I
liked being held. Mike was good at this. Even with Trent standing there, I
could just easily melt into the comfort of Mike. "You deserve every bit of
happiness you are feeling. You and Jakob are made for each other. You are like
soul mates."
It was funny that
Mike thought that. I always knew Trent would be my soul mate. In every way.
Yet, he is right. Everything that makes Trent and me close I could say about
Jakob. And I get to sleep with him.
Trent saw a radio.
"Is everyone tired
of Christmas music, or can I put some on?"
Mike and I looked
indifferent. I heard it at the gym all day out on the floor. I had become
immune to its cheery devices.
"Jakob loves it," I
said. "Put it on."
Trent found a
station still playing holiday songs through tomorrow. Trans-Siberian Orchestra
was playing. I liked them.
Jakob walked in fifteen
minutes later.
"I was thinking of
something hot. Coffee or hot chocolate?" Mike asked.
I didn't care for
coffee, so I didn't say anything.
"Hot Chocolate
sounds good after dinner. How about some coffee?" Trent said.
Mike started the brew
as Jakob came and stood with us.
"You okay, Jakey?"
Mike said.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"JAKEY??!" Trent and
I said.
"What?" Mike said.
"Can't I call a friend a nickname?"
We laughed.
"Jakob, what
nicknames did you have growing up?" I asked.
"Honestly, it was
always Jakob, although people misspelled it. I always liked Jakob. But, Mikey,
you can call me anything you want."
The two hugged with
smiles.
Just after 6:30 we
started getting ready for dinner. I put on a dress shirt and wore the necklace
Jakob gave me. I loved how the angel wing looked with the leather strap. With a
couple buttons unbuttoned, I thought it looked sexy. Jakob wore a sweater. Mike
and Trent came out. Mike was also wearing a sweater with a white button-down
underneath. Trent wore a long sleeve. It was a Christmas plaid.
"I love the
necklace, Lance. Sharp," Mike said.
"My Christmas gift
from Jakob. I love it too."
Jakob smiled.
Before long, we got
in the car and drove the short distance to the Lakehouse Restaurant. Even for
the holiday, the restaurant was not busy. We hung our coats on the back of our
chairs. Our server's name was Elaine. Mike and Trent recognized her from their
summer visit. She remembered them.
"I'm glad you all
are open tonight," Trent said. "I wasn't sure with the holiday."
"Winter is much
slower than summer. This time of year we are only open on Fridays, Saturdays
and Sundays. We lose some of our summer help, particularly once colleges start.
But me? Heck. I'm a long-timer here. Tonight's an exception for the holiday,
but it's a short shift."
"Well, it's nice to
see you again," Mike said.
Mike put his arm
around Trent. I looked at them. They were so comfortable together. I was
ashamed I ever wanted Trent for myself. They belonged together. Trent found a
wonderful partner in Mike. I could never have been the man he is.
"You guys are like
an old married couple," I said.
They looked at each
other and smiled.
We hadn't opened our
menus yet. Trent excused himself to wash his hands. I took the opportunity to
ask Mike how things had gone with Trent's father. He reported a positive visit.
Everyone seemed to be healing. I was pleased to hear that. I was so lucky not
to be in a volatile family situation. Even Oliver and I had grown a bit closer.
Thank heavens Jakob's situation had greatly improved. Every family is
different. I felt lucky.
Trent returned to
the table from behind us.
"Jakob. I love your
coat. New?" he said.
"Yes. It was my
Christmas gift from Lance."
"Nice. Good job,
bud."
"Thanks. So. What
did Mike get you?"
"Um. I can't show
you for six months," Trent said; Mike was smirking.
Jakob and I looked
at each other confused.
"What the hell does
that mean?" I said.
"Well ... he bought me
one of two matching bands. We'll wear them when we get married in June. He
proposed and I said, `yes.'"
"WHAT??!!!" Jakob
and I screamed.
The two of them
looked at each other and smiled. They gave a quick kiss.
"THAT'S AMAZING!!" I
said.
The entire
restaurant looked our way. I realized I was too loud. Elaine came over with our
iced teas.
"Everything okay,
gentlemen?"
"Yes! They got
engaged!" said Jakob, pointing at our friends.
"How wonderful. Just
now? In here?"
"No," Trent
chuckled. "Over Christmas."
"How have you NOT
told me this the past week? I can't believe you kept that secret," I scolded.
"I soooooo wanted
to. It killed me to hold it in, but I wanted to tell you guys here during our
time away."
"I am so happy for
you," Jakob said.
"Good. We may have
you help decorate for the wedding."
Jakob gasped.
"Please!"
"I'll give you some
time," Elaine said.
We giggled and
opened our menus. We didn't mean to ignore Elaine, but it made sense for her to
leave the table as we gushed over their announcement.
This news blew me
away. Back in the early summer it would have crucified me. Part of me thought
the age difference would eventually drive them apart. But I always knew the two
of them were right for each other. It still didn't stop me from longing for
Trent. As much as I will always love him, I'm thrilled beyond belief. I blew my
chance with Trent by being in denial. How funny it is to easily accept things
and embrace them once you come out. They are the perfect couple.
Dinner was
fantastic. Eventually we were Elaine's only table and one of two in the restaurant.
She hovered over us a bit, and we enjoyed her company.
"So, I guess this
place isn't the party restaurant up to the midnight hour," I said.
"Honey, who owns all
these houses on the lake? It's not the young 20s crowd," she answered.
She needed to tend
to some closing duties but told us she'd have our checks ready shortly.
Mike was smiling
oddly at us. It was a smile that had something behind it. Although I couldn't
see it, I could tell he reached for Trent's hand below the tablecloth.
"What are you
smiling about?" I asked.
"Do you want to know
what I did for New Year's Eve last year?" he said, not expecting an answer. "I
sat at home on the couch by myself. I think I went to bed shortly after 11."
"You? A handsome guy
like yourself?" Jakob said.
"11 o'clock. My, how
grandparent like," I said with snark.
"I know, right?"
Mike replied. "The year before, Ethan and I had been to a party with friends.
Last year, I received no invitations after the breakup. What's worse, I totally
didn't care. I was just ... adrift. I suppose that woke me up a little. It made
me long for a little social interaction. When the new year started, it got me
to thinking that I shouldn't be so detached. I hated the thought of dating
again ugh. But I have to admit, I did start to miss ... I don't know ...
affection maybe? Being with a man intimately." He sighed. "Then a few weeks
later, this guy waltzes into my room needing to come out. Fate, huh?"
Mike and Trent
kissed a long kiss. Their news continued to sink in. I was so happy for them.
Only half a year ago, Trent and I were in college. And now... marriage! How did
we ... well, he ... get here?
"I was at a party
with Matt and Ali," Trent said. "To be honest, I was freaked out. I felt like I
was supposed to kiss someone at midnight. I kept obsessing over if I should do
it and who was I supposed to do it with? I had been talking to a girl ... man, I
don't even remember her name. I guessed it would be her. There were a couple
seniors, guys, pouring drinks. I didn't know them. I think they were from the
drama group. I probably had the hots for the bearded one." Trent scratched
Mike's beard. "I do remember staring at him all night. I wasn't questioning if
I was gay necessarily, I just knew I liked looking at him."
"Duh," said Jakob.
"Sometimes we look past the most obvious signs, don't we?"
"Yes. The clock
struck midnight, we all blew noisemakers, screamed `Happy New Year' and then I
kissed ... what was her name? As I kissed, my eyes opened, and I saw the
two bartenders kissing. I was freaked out for like ... a nanosecond, but
immediately I was transfixed. I stared at them. It was a long kiss. I
had never been in a room where two guys kissed before. My heart started beating
fast."
"Here are your checks,
fellas," Elaine said.
We all reached for
our wallets. Each of us pulled out three twenties. We were tipping Elaine big.
"Then what?" I
asked.
"Huh? Oh. I started
questioning everything. In the past I tried not to look at guys in the showers.
I told myself it was weird, and they would think I was weird. But I started
looking at our teammates. You and I looked at each other."
"Is this the part
where I should get jealous?" Jakob smiled.
"Oh, please. These
two?" Mike said. "I'm surprised they weren't making out in the showers."
"Hey!" Trent and I
both snapped.
"No, we waited for you
to do that in the showers," Trent said.
"Oh God!!" Mike moaned,
burying his face in his hands. "You can see where I was at that point. I hadn't
had anybody since Ethan ... and here was this ... gorgeous ..." He kissed Trent.
"...beautifully hung ..." He kissed Trent. "... young stud who for some reason came
on to his former teacher by waving his hard-on in his face."
"Dear, lord. I was a
mess," Trent said. "I went for broke. Had it gone any other way, I would have
been humiliated beyond belief. You could have been fired. I can't believe you
went along with it."
"I knew better. But
you were just too beautiful a package for me to turn down, baby."
"Aw. You two are
adorable. And talk very openly," Jakob chuckled.
We all got up to
leave. Elaine hugged each of us and wished us Happy New Year. We returned the
same.
Back at the lake
house, we turned on the television to see what was happening around the
country. We kept switching stations to see what celebrity artist was playing
where.
We hadn't had
dessert at the restaurant. I offered to make hot chocolate. They all agreed it
sounded great.
Trent was on the
floor in front of the couch sitting between Mike's legs. Jakob grabbed a throw
pillow and placed it on Mike's legs. He reclined on the couch and put his head
in Mike's lap. I remember doing that to Trent in college. Mike draped his hand
over Jakob's chest in a friendly but loving gesture.
"Want to know what I
did for New Year's last year?" Jakob said.
"Sure," Mike said,
gently massaging his chest.
"The last house I
stayed at pretty much on a futon in a small study the three roommates all
fucked me. It was a small group. We drank. We drank quite a bit. At about 10:30
they had all come inside me, and they all decided to go dancing. And they left.
Without me. I sat at the house by myself. And I drank until I threw up in the
kitchen sink. Even though I was drunk, I still cleaned it up and made it all
look shiny and polished. Then I laid on the couch and cried. And eventually
fell asleep I guess."
"Dear heavens!" Mike
said.
"Oh, man. Jakob!"
Trent said.
I was watching and
listening from the kitchen. Mike reached for Jakob's hand and squeezed it. I
put four mugs of steaming hot chocolate on a tray and carried it into the
living room. I handed each of them a mug.
"Sorry, no
marshmallows," I said.
They all sat up.
After thanking me, everyone blew across the top. I internally smiled, wondering
if that did any good.
"Now look at me this
year," Jakob continued. "I'm surrounded by the closest friends I've ever had,
I'm in love with the most wonderful man ... and I'm happy. Thank you all of you
you have NO idea how lucky I feel. I love all of you and appreciate you."
Mike put his mug
down and hugged Jakob. I could tell it was a strong hug. "And you are loved
too," he said, giving Jakob a kiss on the cheek. I went over to sit next to my
boyfriend.
"This isn't right,"
Trent said and walked into the bedroom. Less than a minute later, he walked out
in pajamas and the Pride T-shirt. "Hot chocolate screams for pajamas."
"Absolutely!" we all
said.
Everyone else went
to change. Minutes later, we all emerged. The two of them completely matched.
Jakob and I had the matching pajamas they gave us, but different T-shirts. I wore
a university shirt; Jakob had on the T-shirt I had given with my name on the
back. We took turns heating the hot chocolate back up in the microwave. We were
cozy. This night seemed so perfect.
"I hardly remember
last year," I said, circling back to the previous conversation. "I wasn't
drinking as heavily then, but I sure did that night. I was at a party. Aram
held it in his apartment. I think there were about 15 people crammed in there.
And I remember almost nothing. I woke up about 1 o'clock and couldn't remember
anything about the last few hours. I vaguely remembered kissing people I
couldn't tell you who or how many. My fly was unbuttoned. I had no recollection
of fucking or sucking anyone or being fucked or sucked. How pathetic is that?"
"It was college,"
Trent said.
"But is that really
an excuse?" I said. "Being sober now, I look back on those times as totally
pathetic."
I remembered the
first beer I purchased my junior year. I had drank several before that, but
they had always been provided. I had probably a beer or two a day by the end of
the second semester. When I couldn't handle my feelings for me, that increased.
Before Trent and I came out to each other, I went through a couple 12 packs a
week. Once I knew I loved him and missed my chance that's when I started
getting drunk. Too often. Fuck, what I must have put Zach and Cole through.
Although the body does miss it from time to time, my mind sure doesn't.
"I'm proud of you,
Lance," Mike said. "I'm so happy we're all here together. Honey, I'm glad you
could get this again. It's perfect," he said to Trent.
I thought of the
agreement Mike had made back in July. At the time, the three of us having sex ...
I would have done anything. Now, with how Jakob feels, not a chance. Which was
totally fine. It might have been fun if everyone was into it. But I was
loving this, just what this was.
Thinking about that
three-way must have made me hard. I could feel Jakob's hand gently rub my dick
through the pajamas and then gently cover the bulge I had created.
Mike left
momentarily and returned with a couple of vanilla candles lit. He placed them
on the coffee table and then turned out the lights in the house. I became
overwhelmed at how awesome I thought all this was. My best friends, my
boyfriend, perfect setting I loved these people so much. It oddly hit me, and
my eyes teared up. No one noticed. I grabbed a tissue from an end table and
dabbed my eyes and then blew my nose. I regained my composure and tried not to
let emotion overwhelm me. Instead, I embraced it. What a year it had been. The
changes in my life had been dramatic. New Year's Eve was driving my emotions
home the changes I had gone through. I felt lucky.
I got up to throw
away the tissue and went into the bedroom to text my parents "Happy New Year."
When I came back,
Trent and Mike were reclining on the couch together. Trent had the remote and
was switching stations. Mike had his hand down Trent's pajamas holding his
partner's his fiancιe's dick. It wasn't showy. He was just holding it. I
sat next to Jakob and put my arm around him. He placed his head on my shoulder.
He draped his hand over my leg. My cock became rock hard again. I didn't care
if anyone could see a big bulge from my raging boner. It was just us guys.
As midnight
approached, Mike came in with plastic champagne glasses and sparkling cider. He
poured us a glass with two minutes to go.
Soon the countdown
to the New Year began. At midnight, all four of us screamed, "Happy New Year."
We each kissed our partner in a long passionate kiss.
We sipped on the
faux champagne as we watched confetti fall and people cheer. It wasn't long
before the glasses were empty, and the television coverage had switched to a
performance on the West Coast.
"Well, as incredibly
lovely as this night was, I wish to bring in the New Year making love to this
man," I said.
"Lance!" Jakob admonished.
"I think he's on to
something," Mike said.
"At least with us,
you two don't have to be quiet," Trent noted.
"Like you two will
be."
"It's not a
competition," Jakob scolded me.
"It could be," I mischievously
said.
Trent walked up to
Jakob. "Happy New Year, Jakob. Thanks for being here. I love you." He gave
Jakob a nice kiss on the lips.
He came to me. We
locked eyes. There are times that I love Trent every bit as much as I ever did;
it's just different now. We kissed.
"Happy New Year, buddy," he told me. "I will always have your back, and I will
always love you."
Mike kissed both of
us too with a "Happy New Year" thrown in.
As a light was
turned on in each bedroom, Mike blew out the candles. We shut our doors.
"Do you really want
to have sex here?" Jakob asked.
"Babe, I want you
more than I ever have. Right now. Making love with you is the most perfect way
to begin the first minutes of a new year."
We brushed our teeth
in the hall bathroom and returned to the bedroom, immediately getting
undressed. We slipped into the covers naked. Away from the fireplace, the
bedroom had a chill. We pulled up the blanket and pressed our bodies into each
other to get warm. We wrapped our arms around each other. We were momentarily
shivering.
"It's a whole new
year, baby. And we are spending it together. I can't wait to be a couple every
day with you. I can truly call you my partner. Are you
okay with that?" I asked him.
He pressed his lips
against mine hard. "Absolutely, angel. I love thinking of you as my partner. I
will try my hardest to not let you get sick of me."
"Ha. That's probably
going to be my problem for you." I kissed him again. "But we'll figure it all
out together."
After kissing for a
couple of minutes, our bodies were warmer. I could feel his erection poke into
my navel. I reached down to grope it. He breathed heavily into my ear.
"Suck me, angel," he
whispered.
I moved my head to
his wonderful cock. My tongue went up from its base to the tip on several
sides. He softly cooed at the sensation. I let the entire organ get engulfed in
my mouth, surrounding his stretched skin with its warmth.
"Yeah," he softly
said.
As I worked on
giving him oral service, he ran his fingers through my hair. I moaned as I sucked
on his cock, allowing myself to express my satisfaction in pleasing him. I
could tell he was staying quiet as to not be heard. I continued to swallow and
slurp on my lover's anatomy when we heard groaning from the other room. Mike
and Trent were not holding back. I'm not sure if that comforted Jakob or not,
but he quickly moaned for me.
"Yeah, angel. My
cock feels good. I love how you suck me."
I continued. I loved
everything about Jakob's dick the size was perfect for swallowing; the taste
and scent of his crotch was intoxicating, and the hair was completely
masculine.
"I love your cock
baby," I said, taking my mouth off to get a deep breath.
"Oh, babe, I feel so
good inside you," Mike called out through the wall.
They got loud. It
was clear they were deep into their lovemaking. Mike was pounding Trent's ass.
They didn't care that we could hear. They wanted us to hear.
"I don't want to
come yet, angel," Jakob said. "Come up here."
I moved onto my
knees near his shoulders, placing my hard nine inches to his face. He wriggled
below to lick my balls first.
"Oh, yeah, Jakob."
His tongue stimulated
my sac playfully. While I loved it, hearing Trent and Mike next door made it
even more titillating. He took my balls into his mouth one at a time. I moaned.
He licked them inside his mouth.
"Suck me, baby. Suck
my cock!" I called out.
I groaned in pleasure
as he took my erection into his mouth. I moaned as I was being treated to a
late-night blow job.
"Yes! Yes! Oh God,
Trent! I'm coming," Mike screamed through the wall.
That took me to a
new level. The stimulation in my groin went deep. I was going to come quickly this way. Listening to them was hot. I let
Jakob continue to suck me, trying not to go over the edge.
I could feel him
pumping his own cock while he was sucking mine. He groaned, which reverberated
through my stiffened rod. I was really close but didn't want to come yet. I
pulled my dick from his mouth.
"Not yet, babe. Lick
my balls again."
He did.
Trent was groaning
in pleasure. Even through the walls, I recognized his voice, his moans. I could
tell he was close. I decided I wanted to come with him. I thrust my cock back
into Jakob's face. He momentarily gagged, but quickly recovered and slurped
madly. I took my fingers and made a ring around the base of my shaft as my
partner sucked vigorously. I listened to Trent. I could tell. He was almost there.
His moans were escalating into screams. I let myself do the same. I knew the
sound of Trent coming. He was there. My veins pulsed. There was no return.
"I'm coming, Jakob,"
I called out.
The two of us came
together. Jakob swallowed me, swallowed my cum, swallowed my lustful passion.
The sensations were fierce in the most desirable way. Jakob's mouth continued
to slurp and swallow long after I had stopped shooting inside.
"Fuck yeah," I said
following the intense orgasm.
The bed moved with
Jakob's masturbation of his dick. His rhythm was violent. His breath was
ragged, alternating from panting and groaning. His volume moved up into a
crescendo.
"Yes!!" he screamed,
loudest of all.
His first stream of
cum hit me in the back. It splattered on his chest. He licked the underside of
my penis as he continued to shoot cum everywhere. His growl was consistent. As
he spurted his last bit of liquid, the volume slowly deescalated until it
became heavy breathing.
We heard Mike and
Trent applaud. We laughed. They probably heard that too.
I told Jakob to lie still and I would get a towel from the bathroom. I stepped
into the hall. There was very little light. The microwave in the kitchen
created just enough dim glow to let me stumble and feel for the doorknob. When
I came out of the bathroom, I saw Mike come out of the bedroom. Before I
reached back to turn out the light, I could see him fully naked. God, he was
sexy.
When it went dark,
Mike walked up to me. He leaned to my ear.
"I totally get
taking care of your partner," he whispered. He grabbed my cock. "We understand.
But this could have been fun." He kissed me. "Now, go clean up your boyfriend."
Mike went into the
kitchen to get a bottled water. I closed our door and worked at cleaning the
cum off Jakob's chest, getting playful with the erotic liquid at the same time.
I wrote the New Year on his chest. I could hear him quietly chuckle. Once he
was eventually cleaned off, I leaned over.
"I love you more
this year than last year," I said.
He laughed. We
worked our way back into a close embrace, kissed and then worked at falling
asleep.
"What a wonderful
way to end the year," Jakob said to me.
We hadn't been up
too late. Everyone was probably asleep by 1 a.m. No one seemed eager to get up.
We slept in.
I awoke later. I
grabbed my phone to see the time. 9:07. Jakob was no longer next to me. I
lifted my head up to listen. The door was slightly ajar. I could hear two
voices in the kitchen. Getting out of bed, I looked at clothes on the floor but
left them there. I stepped out to investigate who was up. I didn't care that I
was naked.
"Morning," I
mumbled.
"Angel? Are we
declaring it a no clothes day?" Jakob said.
"Eh. These guys have
seen me naked."
"I think half the
state has," Trent said. Jakob kind of looked exasperated at my actions.
"Funny," I replied
dryly.
I wasn't incorrect.
Trent had seen me naked several times. The showers at practice were routine, he
had fucked me twice and we jacked off other times. Mike was all but manhandling
my dick the day I was introduced to him. We were all different people back
then, but now, things seemed more causal and comfortable. Although, I should
have taken Jakob's feelings into consideration.
Trent and Jakob were
shirtless, but both were wearing pajama bottoms.
"I know you don't do
coffee. We brought juice for you if you'd like some," Trent offered.
"Please."
"Ice
or no?"
"No please."
I was handed the
beverage, and then Trent stood next to Jakob. They both just looked at me.
"What are you
doing?" I asked them.
Trent moved behind
Jakob and wrapped his arms around his waist. Putting his chin on Jakob's
shoulder, the two just smiled.
"We're just enjoying
looking at a very handsome man," he said.
"You guys are so
comfortable together," said Jakob. "It's sweet in an almost jealous kind of
way."
Mike came out, also
nude. The man was undeniably hot. I was so jealous of his chest hair.
Obviously, I hadn't seen him naked since our shower escapade in February. I
could have stared at him all day.
"Did I hear
something about a no clothes day?" he said.
Jakob and Trent
looked at each other. I thought it was hysterical.
"Case in point,
huh?" Trent said to him. "Yeah, we're a comfortable crew."
Trent played with
Jakob's hairy chest a moment. What was he up to?
"Hey, that chest
belongs to me," I defended.
Trent smiled and
went over to Mike to stand behind him. He placed his hands in front of Mike's
crotch to hide it from Jakob and me. "And these are mine," he said.
Mike rolled his
eyes. "Coffee please."
Jakob poured him a
mug and brought it to him. Trent had a goofy grin on his face, still hiding
Mike's dick. Mike crossed his feet and continued to drink his coffee, totally
ignoring Trent's joke.
Jakob returned to me
and stood in front of me, shielding my nudity from the other two. Playing along
with light heartedness, I stuck my hand down Jakob's pajamas.
"You people are
insatiable," he mumbled with a smile.
I kissed him on the
cheek. "Love you, baby," I whispered into his ear.
With Mike naked and
all this talk, Jakob had to feel my cock poke him in the ass as I started to
get hard.
Trent came around to
the front of Mike and kissed him. Then he bent down and kissed his dick. Mike
went over to the table. He seemed completely comfortable being naked around us.
I was not expecting this from him, almost like he was oblivious to not having
any clothes on. Man, he was gorgeous.
However, I worried
all this familiarity might be tough for Jakob.
"I'll go put something
on," I whispered into his ear. I gave him a quick grope and could feel his dick
get rock hard in my hand.
"If you want," he
said.
As I walked away,
Jakob turned his body toward the counter to hide his bulge. He casually sipped
his coffee. I took a leak before heading into the bedroom.
A few minutes later,
I came back out in pajama bottoms and the T-shirt I wore last night. I poured
more juice. Everyone was at the kitchen table. I was the only one with a shirt
on. I was surrounded by lovely chest hair.
"Everyone sleep okay?" I asked.
"Totally," Trent
said. "But Mike and I always do. I remember those first nights last winter. I
was so aware of you next to me," he said, looking at Mike. "Now if you were
gone, it would feel strange."
"Lance and I hold
feet," Jakob said.
The guys looked at
us perplexed.
"Our legs get all
tangled together," I said. "We press our feet together. It's our version of
holding hands, but with our feet. It's weird, I know."
"I think it's cute,"
Trent said.
I got up and opened
the refrigerator. "Do we have thoughts on breakfast?"
"I'll make us
something," Mike said.
"I hope you put
something on," Trent said. "As it is now, it would be all sorts of health code
violations."
"Fine," Mike said.
He stood up. Jakob
got a full look at Mike. He wasn't nearly as endowed as Trent and me. Not bad
when hard though, if I remembered correctly. Jakob and Mike were more in common
in that regard, although Jakob was the smallest dick of the group. And that
didn't faze me in the slightest. I loved it. I thought Mike was a hunk too. For
a moment I felt weird that I had seen all these people's penises.
Mike was walking
past me. I stood in front of him and gave him a peck on the lips. "I like you
just the way you are, Mike."
I fondled his dick
playfully for a second.
"Down, Lance. He isn't
yours to play with," Jakob said sarcastically.
Mike winked at me
and went into the bedroom. I could have imagined him coming out dressed for a
blizzard, just to be a smartass, but he returned with the Pride shirt and
pajamas. I went back to the table.
"It was kind of hot
listening to you guys last night," I said to Trent.
"I thought the
same," he said. "Did you think so, Jakob? Were you okay with it?"
"I suppose. At
first, I thought it was slightly odd. I've always thought sex is supposed to be
personal, private. My experiences with multiple partners have ... not been great.
After a while last night, I just went with it. Knowing you two are in love
you engaged lovebirds you gave it greater meaning to me. When I used to live
with people, I don't know if those dudes even cared about love. It was just
about the sex ... getting off ... then moving on or going to sleep. With the four
of us last night ... I don't know ... I just felt love. Maybe my brain was telling
me you were sharing your love with us. Yeah, it was kind of hot, I guess."
"I believe you came
last," Trent said.
"Right. It was
intense. I was a sticky mess." He paused, thinking about what he had just said.
"But let's talk about something else." Jakob was beginning to be embarrassed by
the conversation.
Trent turned on the
Rose Parade but kept the volume low. None of us really watched it, but we would
glance over every now and then.
I asked Trent how
his role would change when he returned to work on Monday. He explained a few
differences, but it would be similar in many respects. The pay would be better.
What would be odd he said is that he would most likely be training a new
assistant. As much as the promotion was awesome, he would miss some of the
tasks he had done for half a year.
Soon, Mike came to
the table with a platter of four omelets and some grilled hash browns. A minute
later, he brought a bowl of fresh fruit. He admitted the store cut them up, he
just combined them in a bowl.
Jakob hopped up to bring
plates and silverware to the table.
"Delicious, dear,"
Trent said as we started digging in.
Mike had done a good
job. None of us were stuffed. It just seemed to be the right portions. Tasty
too. As we were taking the dishes to the kitchen, Trent looked at the sunshine
outside.
"Hey, guys," he
said. "Before we shower, can we do a run? It looks nice."
Our reactions were
mixed. Jakob probably exercised the least of us, but he seemed game. Before
long, we were dressed warmly. As a run was suggested, most of us didn't want
heavy coats.
I was in the best
shape of anyone. I had continued my regular regimen at the gym. I was fit.
Trent wasn't bad either. We kept a steadier pace. Mike and Jakob were content
to bring up the rear. It wasn't a competition.
By the time we got
back it was almost 11. It was barely 40 degrees outside, but with no wind, we
had jogged up a slight sweat.
"I'm going to get
some firewood," Mike said.
We took off
sweatshirts. We sat down to take off our shoes. Suddenly we heard Mike scream.
"Oh my God," we all
said, rushing to the door.
Mike was lying at
the bottom of the steps, groaning.
"Mike!" Trent
screamed. "Are you okay?"
"I think. I just hit
a step wrong and lost my footing. What a klutz."
"I'll get firewood,"
Jakob said. "You two help him inside."
"I'm fine," Mike
said, as Trent and I lifted him up.
He hobbled inside.
Trent hovered over him to make sure he was okay. Mike was confident nothing was
broken. He took off his shirt. There were no cuts or scrapes, but Mike felt he
would have a bruise or two soon. After limping a bit, he started walking it
off.
"Just rest on the
couch, babe," Trent said.
Once again, Mike
looked incredibly sexy. His hair was slightly messy, and his chest just
destroyed with all that hair. We lifted one of his feet up on the coffee table
to keep it elevated.
Jakob came in with
firewood. He then made a second trip and got the fire going within a few
minutes. Then he came over with us to sit with Mike.
"Seriously guys,
don't fawn over me. I'm fine," Mike said.
We decided to let
Mike relax a bit. Trent stayed nearby.
"I'll hop in the
shower first, babe," I said to Jakob.
I stripped naked in
the bedroom. Jakob and Trent watched me as I walked to the bathroom. My dick
swung as I walked. Jakob rolled his eyes at me.
The warm water felt
glorious. The chill was completely gone. After drying off, I wrapped the towel
around my waist and walked out to the living room.
"How do you feel?
Any bruises showing?"
"No. It just feels
tender. At this point."
"You are staying
with this no dress day, aren't you sweetie?" Jakob said.
"It's just us. I'm
wearing a towel. I'll eventually put something on. If I must."
Everyone chuckled.
"If you are okay,
hon', I will go shower," Trent said.
"I'll do the same,"
Jakob said.
"I'm not sure we can
both fit in our shower," Trent smiled.
Jakob swatted
Trent's butt. "Not what I meant."
Once they were into
the bathrooms, I stood up and removed the towel, lying it on the fireplace
ledge. I faced the flames warming my front side. What a wonderful feeling.
"Turn to me, Lance,"
Mike said.
I did. He smiled.
"That dick. You are
a lucky man."
"It's just a dick,"
I said.
"That's what someone
who doesn't know what it's like to have a smaller dick says."
"Hey, you came out
naked earlier yourself."
"We could all be
naked for all I care. But, if it's not for Jakob, then we don't do it."
"Right. I do have to
say it was fun listening to you guys through the wall last night."
"So hot," he said.
My cock was hard
now. I was standing before Mike fully erect. He motioned me over. He reached up
to gently feel my hard-on.
"Just so you know,
Trent and I would have made good on our promise."
"I know," I said.
"But we're both in committed relationships. Those are the people who are important."
He kissed the end of
my cock. "Right. Now, go get dressed so you don't get yelled at."
Trent and Jakob
prepared lunch. It was simple sandwiches with sliced turkey or roast beef. We
had chips, pasta salad and soup. The soup Trent made himself. It was a corn
chowder and very good. He claimed it was a family recipe.
Mike seemed to be
feeling fine. Nothing seemed to be hurt, but he rested on the couch until about
2:30 after lunch. At that point, he finally got up and showered. As their
bathroom was in the master bedroom, there was no reason for him to come out
naked again. Damn.
Jakob had found a
deck of cards in one of the cabinets along with a few puzzles. We spent the
rest of the afternoon playing cards with football games on in the background.
Mike and I would be interested in the score every now and then. Jakob and Trent
not so much. It wasn't an enthralling day, but it wasn't supposed to be. It was
just a relaxing time with good friends. I hoped the new year would bring about
more opportunities for simple things like this.
We did a good job of
working our way through the chips they brought.
Mike still insisted
on fixing dinner. The sun was shining on the back porch. The three of us left
Mike alone and enjoyed an iced tea outside, looking over the lake. It was
peaceful.
"This summer, Mike
and I had sex in the chair your sitting in, Lance," Trent said.
"This rocking
chair!?" I replied.
"Oh, good. More sex
talk," Jakob quietly said, rolling his eyes.
"We were silly. We
wanted to do it outside, so we waited until dark. Remember, we had just gotten
back together after a few weeks. We were always horny as hell. It was really
hot."
"I'm amazed you
didn't shatter the chair," I said.
"It was tricky, but
we made it work. Great fun."
There was an
occasional boat on the water. Most people had their boats covered for the
winter. I didn't think I would like to be out on the water when it was cold.
Trent asked Jakob
when he had to return to work. Monday was to be the first day back, so he and I
would be working hard at getting boxes put away on Sunday. Since we were
leaving the lake house tomorrow, we could start dabbling with it that evening.
Trent asked if we needed any help.
"I'm sure we'll be
fine," Jakob said. "You probably have a few new things to find places for
anyway. You are kind to offer, Trent. You have no idea how nice it is to have
really good friends like you and Mike."
"Were you never
close to any of the people you lived with?" Trent asked.
"I liked some better
than others. But we were simply roommates. I'm not sure any of them considered
us friends. Certainly not close friends. One was rather nice to me. He'd let me
sleep with him on occasion. Not in a sex way, but just to share a bed. Well, I
had sex with all of them whether I wanted to or not."
"I'm sorry," Trent
said.
"I haven't had a
close friend until now since the family that took me in when I got kicked
out of my home. My best friend and I were really close. We liked each other as
boyfriends. His family was kind and took me in. We were romantic well, high
school stuff for a few months. That sort of went by the wayside, but we still
were close. They moved away after graduation, and I never heard from them
again. That's when I had to fall into whatever situation I could take."
"Have you ever tried
to contact him again?" Trent asked.
"I feel the same," I
added.
"I haven't. Maybe I
should try," Jakob said.
I went in to see if
I could help Mike. Trent and Jakob continued to visit.
Mike said he had
things in hand but asked me to set the table and get glasses ready. Once I
accomplished that, he was wrapping things up with salad ingredients. I gently
hugged him from behind.
"You feeling okay?" I asked.
"Yeah, I'm good. A
tad sore. We'll see what tomorrow is like. It was a simple fall."
I squeezed him
harder, putting my chin on his shoulder.
"Thanks for inviting
us."
"Oh, I'm so glad you
guys came. I love it with the four of us here," he said. "Is Jakob having a
good time?"
"He is. He laughs
that we are all so completely honest and comfortable with each other, but he
likes that deep down. He's never been able to get close with anyone like this
before."
I let go of Mike and
stood next to him with my back against the counter.
"I'm so glad you
found him," Mike said, looking me in the eyes. "You two are so perfect for each
other. He's done a lot for you, but you've changed his world. You two are the
happiest people I know."
"Seriously?" I
asked.
"Lance, I've known
you less than a year," he said, returning to the salad. "But the Lance now
compared to the Lance in college ... you glow, dude. Your life is joy. Please
allow yourself to be happy. Trent and I are very happy for you."
I put my hand on his
cheek to turn it toward me, and we gave each other a peck on the lips.
"That's sweet to
hear from the perfect couple."
"Ha. We're not
perfect. But ... I have to admit, like you, I'm amazingly happy. Trent has made
my world come alive. For months I just knew he was eventually going to get
tired of this `old guy.' Throw in his dad and him just coming out ... it's kind
of a miracle we made it through. When I was with Ethan, we didn't remotely
think about marriage. By Thanksgiving, I knew Trent was the one I wanted to
spend my entire life with."
"Aw."
"I'm so lucky he
walked into my class that day. It was the right person at the right time."
"Fate."
"We were both in a
place to be open to the idea. Had I been seeing someone or if Ethan and I had
just broken up ..."
"Then Trent and I
would be getting married," I joked. We both laughed.
"Possibly."
"You really are
lucky, Mike. Trent's a wonderful man."
"He is."
The guys opened the
back door and came in for dinner. Mike asked if I would light a candle to place
on the table. Jakob checked on the fireplace.
We sat down and Mike
brought the dishes to the table. I could tell by the way he was walking
something hurt a little. Everyone started with salad. Dinner was a skillet dish
with diced potatoes, onions, peppers, chicken and sausage. The last thing to
bring over was some cornbread fresh from the oven.
"It looks great,
hon'," Trent told him.
Trent was right. The
meal carried a sense of solitude, of being on our own. If it had just been
Jakob and me, this setting could have been romantic. But with all four of us,
it was a perfect way to celebrate friends. It was like a miniaturized version
of Trent's Friendsgiving. This place was lovely. I can see why Trent and Mike
wanted to come back. I wished our AA group could be here. Just briefly.
Overall, I liked the hairy, masculine testosterone of my company. I wished
Tyler could have somehow been here.
We put dishes away
and cleaned everything up. Better now than everything at the last minute
tomorrow. It would be sad to leave, but we had a lot of unpacking to do.
Through all this wonderfulness of the lake house, I momentarily forgot ... Jakob
was moving in!! Like a sudden rush of adrenaline, my heart was blanketed in a
flash of warmth.
Jakob added more
firewood and stoked the flames in the fireplace. I sat on the couch and asked
him to lay his head on my lap. I pulled his T-shirt up a little so that my hand
could feel his chest as his head gently rested on my crotch.
I wanted to ask
Trent about how he felt about his father, but I didn't want to ruin the mood. I
would save that until later in the week. Jakob started up conversation about
what Mike and Trent would like their wedding to look like. They admitted they
hadn't thought that far, but Trent was kind of hoping for an outdoor wedding.
Mike got up and said
he wanted to wish his parents Happy New Year and stepped out back to make a
call. Trent simply texted. I went to the bedroom to give Dad a quick call.
"Happy New Year,
Dad!"
"And to you, son. Are
you enjoying this outing with friends? It sounded fun when you described it at Christmas."
"It's awesome. You
know all these guys ... Mike, Trent, Jakob. The lake house is lovely. I've taken
a few pictures. I'll text them. Hey! Mike and Trent got engaged!"
"Well, good for
them. Give them my congratulations. So. Do you have any New Year's resolutions?"
"I hadn't really thought
about it." I paused. "With Jakob moving in, I just want to be the perfect
partner. That's all the matters."
"You make it easy
for me to be proud, son."
"Dad, I wrecked my
car drunk last year. You had to help me get a new one. I'm not a model son."
"You've already paid
back a lot of that. Doesn't Jakob moving in save you a little?"
"I suppose. True. I
should have everything paid back to you by spring."
"See. You're very
responsible. And a great man."
"Whatever. Love you,
Dad. Give my love to Mom."
After I hung up, I
realized I had come to appreciate how it felt when Dad called me a man. Mom is
always happy when her "boys" are home. After years of being introduced as "our
sons" or "our boys," it never dawned on me that when parents called you a man,
it would mean something. Hopefully I'd matured into one. Then I remembered
walking out this morning with my dick swinging in front of me for everyone to
see. Yeah, I have a long way to go. I texted Dad pictures of the lake house.
The sun was almost
down. We sat on the back porch watching it slip beyond the horizon. I asked if
it was too soon for hot chocolate. They all wanted it later.
As we sat, Jakob was
very quiet. He eventually admitted he was going to call his mother. He went
inside.
"He's never done
that before," I noted. "It's always his sister. I think things will be
different for him this year. We didn't mention he was moving in at Christmas.
Something tells me he is telling her right now."
"You two are good
together," Trent said. "I'm glad it worked out with Evan for Jakob to move in."
"Evan's a champ," I
said.
The sun was gone
completely. Twilight had the sky a slight blue-violet.
"Hey, before it is
dark and since Jakob isn't here, show me how you did it in the rocking chair,"
I mentioned.
Trent laughed.
"Are you telling
about our love life again?" Mike chuckled.
The two of them
carefully demonstrated how they positioned themselves in the chair.
"Oh my gosh. That's
so hot. I'm getting hard just picturing you two naked that way."
They returned to
their seats.
"So ... Jakob and sex
... what's up?" Mike calmly asked.
"It's all good. He
and I are awesome. But I try to remember that in the abusive world he was in,
sex was not romantic or tender or loving. It was just the physical act. The
three of us here just talk about it so casually, but there have to be some
emotional scars for him. But trust me, we have great sex. He was afraid at
first that he would not be able to satisfy what I need. He thought his past
would hold him back, or worse, associate it with drinking. But once he opened
up, it's awesome. He sees a new side to it."
"He's in love," said
Trent. "That makes all the difference. Think about the three of us back in
February. In that shower, I was just coming out, you were questioning, and Mike
was trying to bounce back from a breakup. It was physical for us that evening,
but that was what we needed at that point. Look at us now. Love has made it so
much better."
"If it weren't for
Jakob, would you really have fucked me tonight?"
Trent didn't look
comfortable. I got the impression he didn't want to talk about that scenario.
"I'd want some
ground rules for it to work," said Trent. "Plus, Mike was consenting and approving
of it. I would never do anything otherwise. I don't know; I might have gone along with it.
However, I find it kind of risky."
Jakob came out.
"Well, I talked to my whole family."
"Even your dad?" I
asked.
"Yeah. Mom handed
him the phone, so he kind of had to."
We all laughed.
"Did you tell her
you had moved in with me?"
"I did. Not Dad, but
I did her before she handed the phone. Then I gave a call to Teresa and Keaton.
They wish you all a Happy New Year."
"Nice," Trent said.
Jakob went back
inside and returned 30 seconds later with two blankets. Each couple got
underneath one.
"How sweet," Mike
said. "Thank you." He pulled Jakob down to kiss him on the cheek. Jakob
blushed.
We sat in the dark,
huddled under the blankets talking about anything and everything. Childhood hobbies,
family trips, aunts and uncles, foods we hated ... it didn't matter. The four of
us loved being together. One of my cruel demons stabbed me with the doubts that
I didn't deserve this. I wasn't supposed to be this happy. I felt Jakob's leg
next to mine. He brought me back. I moved my hand to his crotch to gently rest
it there. I felt his hand shift. I figured he was going to move mine away, but
instead he rested it on top of mine. He didn't get hard. I did. I loved him. WE
deserved to be happy.
It was completely
dark outside. I enjoyed seeing a few lights around the lake reflect on the
surface of the water. It was still without even a hint of a breeze. The lake
was a mirror. For a moment, we didn't say anything. It was so quiet. We just
looked.
Eventually the chill
dug deep, and we went inside. Mike lit candles again, and Jakob stoked the
fireplace one last time. We all changed into our PJs for the night.
"These were such a
great gift for us. Thank you again, guys," I said.
Nothing of interest
was on television, so we turned it off. Christmas music was out too. I went to
the kitchen to make us hot chocolate again.
I returned with a
tray of mugs minutes later. Trent was laying on top of Mike and they were
kissing in the candlelight.
"Hot chocolate,
gentlemen."
They sat up and
reached for a mug. I could see bulges from both of them in their pajamas. Jakob
had been watching. He had a bulge too. I handed him a mug. As I sat down next
to him, I let my fingers slip inside to grope his stiff cock. We positioned
ourselves to where he had one foot on the floor and one foot on the loveseat; I
moved in between and leaned back into his chest. I could feel his hard-on
pressing into me. I was an inch or two taller than Jakob, but I loved having
his body above mine. Mike and Trent had the whole couch but sat the same as us.
Mike kissed Trent on the back of the neck between sips of cocoa. His free hand
moved up under his T-shirt. The dimly lit room had a mood of arousal.
No one spoke. We
listened to the crackle of the fire.
"That sound will
always remind me of this weekend," I said.
"It has been
wonderful," Jakob added.
Mike and Trent
hummed in agreement. Mike let his hand slip into Trent's pajamas. If the room
became too sexually charged, I would worry that Jakob would not be comfortable.
I liked looking at them. I remembered that silly night at Jason's house last
spring. It was crazy hot being watched by Mike and Trent, but that didn't feel
anything like this. The living room was on fire with our love ... and rising
lust. But what about Jakob? Was he getting freaked out? Seconds later, I felt
fingers move under the waistband of my pajamas. Jakob's free hand had wrapped
its fingers around my dick. My hard dick.
All was good.
I took a sip of
cocoa. Jakob put his mug down. He kissed my neck. A lot. My dick got harder. A
lot. His hand on my erection started stroking it. I lifted my ass and used my
free hand to pull my pajamas down a foot. My cock was out in the open. He
continued to stroke my cock. A lot. Not fast, just slow and steady.
I wasn't sure how
loud I should get. I remained quiet with all four of us in the living room.
Mike looked over to see Jakob pulling my stiff organ. He pulled his shirt off.
As he did so, Trent shifted his weight. He noticed us too. Mike returned his
hand to Trent's crotch, groping his penis through his pajamas from the outside.
Trent got bold and pulled off both his T-shirt and his pajamas. He lay naked
between Mike's legs. It thrilled me to see Trent naked again, but I was worried
that Jakob would think that was too far.
"You want to be
naked, don't you?" Jakob whispered in my ear.
I turned around and
kissed him. "Are you okay with this?" I softly asked.
"So far."
I took my pajamas
off and knelt before Jakob, kissing him deeply. As we kissed, I heard Trent
gently moan, indicating that Mike had begun stroking him again. I groped at
Jakob's crotch. His dick was trying to burst through the cotton.
"Is it our turn,
Jakob?" Mike asked.
"Yeah," my lover
softly offered.
Trent turned his
body to pull the PJs off Mike. They were both nude. Jakob stood and pulled his
off. It was the first time any of them had seen my partner stripped naked. He
seemed fine. When he sat back down, I leaned over his crotch and took his cock
in my mouth. He moaned feeling his flesh enveloped by my warmth.
Mike and Trent were
in a tight embrace. Jakob watched them grinding their hips together, their
cocks rubbing. They began moaning in their kisses.
As I serviced
Jakob's genitals, he ran his fingers through my hair. I let one of my hands tug
on his chest hair.
Trent moved down to
take Mike's dick in his mouth. Mike moaned, "Yeah, babe. Ohhhh, yeah."
I slurped on Jakob's
delightful hard-on. "Ohhh, angel. That feels good," he said.
The oral service
continued on both pieces of furniture. The fire began to lose some of its
height. The dimmer light made the ambience even more suitable for passion.
Jakob began getting
louder. He started calling me by name in his groaning. Then he forcefully
pulled my shoulders from his waist.
"Not yet," he
gasped. "I was too close."
"No?"
"Let's make a night
of it," he whispered to me.
I could hear Mike
writhing. Trent's blowjob was working its magic. "Ohhh, babe. I'm close."
Before Trent was
able to bring Mike off, Jakob addressed them.
"Wasn't there some
deal with Lance this weekend?"
All three of us
whirled toward him.
"What are you
saying, baby?" I asked.
"I'm saying I can
watch."
Trent looked at
Mike. Mike looked at Trent.
"Is everyone okay
with us doing this?" Mike asked. "It's not good to go any further if we aren't
all fine with ... the four of us interacting."
After a moment, we
all nodded in the soft light.
"I have lube in the
bedroom," Trent said.
Trent came back with
a towel and the bottle.
"We cannot
get anything on this furniture," he said.
"We stood in the
shower way back when," I said. "What do you think?"
"The fireplace,"
Mike suggested. Talk about hot, that redefined it.
Jakob and Mike sat
on the furniture while Trent squirted lube on his fingers. He let them probe up
inside my hole as I placed my hands on the mantle. It had been so long since
Trent had touched me like this. If the fire wasn't making the front side of me
warm, Trent's hands on my body in flames. I looked at Jakob while Trent
prepared me. He nodded and smiled.
"Ohhh, buddy. Yeah."
I listened to the
sounds of slickness as he applied more lube to his cock. He wipes his hands on
my ass, which made me gasp. Gently, he entered me. Trent was bigger than Jakob.
It felt different now. I grimaced for a moment. It didn't feel good. I took a
deep breath. With a big exhale I relaxed. It took a moment, but it felt better.
"You okay, buddy?"
he asked me.
"Yeah, Trent. You
can fuck me. Go slow at first. Ohhhh. Yeah. Fuck me, buddy."
Trent began
thrusting his hips. He held mine for balance. We moaned as his cock slid in and
out of my insides. I wrestled with a cyclone of thoughts. Trent was fucking me
again! Jakob was watching. Mike and Jakob jerked their own cocks as they
watched. My eyes met Jakob's. He was smiling, so I knew he was okay. It was a
different view of me he hadn't seen. I suddenly felt like a show. The front of
my body began to perspire as heat from the remaining embers warmed my torso. My
sweaty cock bobbed and swung. I looked down. A trickle of sweat dripped down
the length of my cock and then sizzled as it dripped close to the flames. The
bricks were hot. I moved our bodies back a foot.
After a few minutes,
Trent and I were loud. Jakob got up and looked me in the eyes. He pulled me
from the fireplace. He kissed me as I was being fucked. We kissed for a minute.
His hand roamed over my chest to feel my body's heat and sweat. Trent kept
groaning as he pounded my ass. It was imperceptible, but I whispered, "I love
you." I figured there was no way he heard that. "Me too," was whispered in our
mashed kiss.
Jakob went to sit
next to Mike. He reached over and moved Mike's hand off his dick. Mike complied
and soon they both began jerking the other's flesh. I gave them a huge grin. I
wasn't jealous for a second. Seeing them feel each other aroused me even more.
My cock became fully hard again and bounced as I was being shoved in my rear.
"You know that thing
is just begging for our attention," Mike said to Jakob.
The two of them
moved down to the floor, one on each side of me. I suddenly felt both sets of
lips on each side of my cock. They licked and slurped all eight-plus inches of
my manhood. It felt good. I could feel it straining to reach nine.
"Oh, guys. That's
amazing. My cock feels so good when both of you do that."
Their tongues were
all over the place. My balls were being licked. My head was being sucked. My
shaft was being lubricated with their saliva. I could watch it all from above.
It was so hot. They momentarily stopped when they reached the end of my cock
and began kissing each other. Again, I wasn't jealous. It drove my lust
further. In fact, it was getting me close.
"Lance, I'm almost
there. I'm about to come inside you," Trent said.
"Stop!" I demanded.
Everyone jumped.
"Not yet, guys. I
want to go longer."
"How about the bed?"
Trent suggested. We all looked that direction and quickly moved toward the
bedroom.
Mike carried in one
candle. As we entered, Trent ripped the covers off.
"We can do sheets
tomorrow, but we can't get anything on the blankets."
I came in with the
lube and towel. I stretched out on the bed and reached out for Jakob to lay on
top of me. Mike reclined his body near mine, but suddenly called out "ow!"
We looked at him
with concern.
"I'm fine. I just
twisted wrong. I'm okay."
Trent's body moved on
top of him. We were a couple of feet apart. The four of us kissed like mad. Our
breathing became heavy, turning into groaning. We were all hard again. Trent
and Jakob momentarily looked at each other. They leaned over to kiss. God that
was hot. The two men I've been in love with sucking face it was a total turn
on. Then Trent leaned down to kiss me. A deep kiss. I remembered the night we
made love in college.
"Fuck me some more,"
I told him.
Trent and I got up.
"Jakob? Can I
pleasure you in some way?" Mike offered.
"I don't know how I
feel about that. Lance is the only person I will let fuck me. It's too personal
for me. Only the man I love can be inside me."
"That's sweet," Mike
said.
"But I have an
idea," said Jakob.
He pulled me further
down the bed and let my legs hang off. We slipped the towel under my ass. Jakob
reached for the lube. He slicked up my hole again and
then coated Trent's hard cock. I loved watching Jakob's hands slide around
Trent's dick. The two of them kissed. My heart was pounding from the visual
stimulation.
"Fuck your brains
out guys," Jakob cheered.
I spread my legs and
held them up. Trent's engorged organ found the entrance into my inner warmth
again and thrust inside. We both groaned. He reached down to hold my legs as
his cock sawed into my interior.
Then I was
surprised. Jakob coated my cock with lube. I saw him slick his own hole.
Carefully he straddled me and inched back until he was right above my cock and
just inches in front of Trent. He held my cock straight up and lowered onto it.
I gently entered him. Shortly my entire length had moved up into Jakob's ass. I
was totally inside him. I groaned loudly. The stimulation was everywhere. My
eyes closed and my face twisted in all sorts of sexual ecstasy.
Trent maneuvered my
legs to his shoulders. He then grabbed Jakob from behind and felt his chest as
he was riding my cock. The three of us were connected, moving and gyrating
together. I was sweating again, even without the fireplace. I could see Trent's
fingers grip Jakob's chest and tease his hair.
"This. Is. Hot."
Mike said.
"Mike, you are left
out," I said.
"Oh, I'm enjoying
this."
"Mike, give me your
cock. Let me suck you," I requested.
Mike moved slowly.
He moved his knees next to my shoulders. He lowered his dick down to my mouth.
Looking directly at my partner, Mike began kissing Jakob again. My lust was
going berserk. Electricity was running through my body. I knew Mike's dick was
not in a comfortable position. I gently stroked the base as he bent it to my
mouth. We both maneuvered a couple inches to make it easier to slide into my
mouth. I sucked as efficiently as I could. These men above me continued to kiss
and make love all around me.
Trent was groaning
loudly. His rhythm was steady, but my legs were getting a bit tired. He still
maintained keeping his dick deep in me.
"Fuck me, buddy. You feel good inside me," I said,
momentarily taking Mike's dick from my mouth.
"Oh, yeah, buddy," he returned. "My cock is
throbbing." He gripped Jakob's nipples tight.
Mike pulled his cock from my face and slowly
turned around 180 degrees. He winced and said "ow" again from his accident. He
now straddled me in a more comfortable direction for sucking. He plunged his
hairy dick back into my waiting mouth. Jakob could now wrap his arms around
Mike and the two pressed their bodies together as Jakob continued to slide up
and down my granite tower.
It was too much. These three men had my
hormones in overdrive. Mike's cock took the brunt of my screams. I erupted. My
cock shot cum up into Jakob's passage. He knew I was coming.
"That's it angel. Come for me. Come for us.
Fill me with your love."
I continued to wail in my orgasm. Jakob
groaned and held Mike tight. My orgasm was glorious. I had to have pumped a
two-liter bottle of cum into my partner. I wanted to come forever.
"I'm almost there," Trent yelled. He pounded
my hole.
Jakob moved faster on my pole, working the
stimulation while I was still fully hard. He rode me and the stimulation on my
flesh still felt great. My cock attempted to ejaculate more, but nothing was
available.
"Lance! Jakob! Mike!" my best friend
screamed. "Ohhh, yeah!"
He thrust his cock into me deep, pushing my
body as spurt after spurt of cum shot from his cock deep within me.
"Oh, Lance! I'm coming inside you, buddy."
He pushed and pushed until his cock fully
unloaded.
"Mike, face me," Jakob requested.
Mike maneuvered back around. Both he and
Jakob jerked their stiff erections as they faced each other. Mike's ass was
positioned in front of me. It still smelled of body wash from his afternoon
shower, now mixed with his masculine sweat. I let my tongue travel up the cleft
of his buns. Then I pushed it as far as I could in his hole. I spread his
cheeks and probed deeper. He moaned at the sensation.
Trent let his meat slip from my ass. He
slowly withdrew it. I felt empty. He crawled next to me on the bed. His face
was next to mine.
"Lick it, buddy," he whispered. God, I wanted
to kiss him, but with him cheering me on, I drilled my tongue further into
Mike.
Our lovers above me worked their arms
fiercely. Mike could see Jakob's expression. It was the look of someone about
to come. I knew it well. He grabbed the back of Jakob's head and pulled him
forward. They kissed. I pushed my dick up into my partner's ass even though it
wasn't fully hard. Jakob's cum splattered on my chest. I felt the splash of his
fiery lava. Mike reached down for some and slid it all around his shaft.
"Oh yeah. Oh yeah!" Mike called.
I felt his cum land on me next. Trent lifted
up to see his fiancιe's cock explode on me. Mike was screaming as each wave
shot from him.
For a moment, all of us were panting, either
sitting or lying on the bed. We could hear each other's breathing. It was a
communion of four lustful males regaining their strength.
The three of them surrounded me; all of us
laid our nude bodies on the bed, overwhelming the physical space of the mattress.
One at a time, we tangled our legs together. We pressed together even tighter.
We all but stuck together. My chest was glistening in the candlelight from two
men's cum. Trent sat up and stuck his tongue in it and kissed us all one by
one, then handed me the towel. It seemed surreal. Surely this incredible rage
of passion couldn't have happened. Jakob interlocked his fingers with mine. It
was real.
The room seemed calm. We were silent a
minute.
After the surge of our lust had all subsided,
we all took in what had just happened. "Is everyone okay?" Mike asked. "Jakey
bear? Are you good?"
"Okay! Sorry, I'm putting my foot down," I
said. "I'm vetoing Jakey."
Everyone laughed.
"I'm okay. That was incredible," Jakob said.
"But ... this is just tonight, right?"
"Exactly," said Trent. "I'm in love with
Mike. This was great fun, but ... it was a special moment. Like a once-a-year
thing. I can't let this be a regular thing."
"I think everyone feels that way," Mike said.
"I'm up for a New Year's tradition of sexual Twister every year."
We laughed. All of us thought the night had
been lovingly meaningful, so we agreed.
We moved back out to the living room. It was
10. Too early for bed. None of us put clothes on. We had dried with towels, so
we weren't too worried to be naked on the furniture. Jakob curled up on a
blanket in front of me. I rolled to look down on the man I loved. Then I stared
at my friends.
"I love you gentlemen," I said.
"We love you too," said Mike.
A wave of not feeling worthy of these
emotions overtook me again. I was so incredibly happy. And I felt I didn't
deserve it. A tear ran down my cheek. I reached down to find Jakob's hand. He
held it. He was my rock. No matter what I was feeling, I did feel like the two
of us belonged. I did deserve that. I would never again question whether I
deserved him. He was moving in tomorrow and we would
start our life together.
The fire had little crackle left. We listened
to its last steaming moments.
I woke up at 2:30. I
nudged Jakob to awaken him. Mike and Trent heard us rustling about. We all
moved from the living room and went to sleep in beds.
I kissed Jakob on
the neck. It was a wet, long, sloppy kiss. He giggled as he was being awakened.
"What time is it?"
he mumbled, the words barely recognizable.
"A little after 8."
He rolled over and
held me. He had morning wood. It was pressed into my leg.
"I like this, baby,
but we have to do the sheets and towels before going, so we can't lie here too
long."
"Define too long,"
Jakob said with his eyes closed.
"Okay. Ten more
minutes."
I played with his
dick a moment and then wrapped my arm around him. We were in a snug embrace. He
rolled in my arms so that his back was to my chest. Now it was my penis poking
him. My stiff organ ran along his crevice.
I momentarily
thought about the hot insanity of last night. The only other time I had done
anything with others in the room was back at Jason's house last spring. Good
lord. He became my boss. That night was awkward and not necessarily satisfying.
Last night had been incredible. It was nothing I ever could have imagined. But
I wanted it to be kept special. As deliciously sexy our best friends were,
Jakob and I were in a committed relationship; we were moving in together. The
ground rules set last night should keep us all on track. For the moment, I knew
my purpose on this earth was to make Jakob happy.
I became aware of
the warmth shared between our pressed skin.
We fell back asleep.
I heard people rustling in the kitchen. I jolted to look at the time.
"Fuck! It's almost
9. We need to get up."
We quickly put a
hodge-podge of clothes on. Our pajamas were still piled in the living room.
"Hi. Sorry. I know
we have to do the laundry," I said, emerging from the bedroom.
"No worries. We have
our sheets and towels going," Trent said. "Our sheets were still slightly damp
from all our sweat."
Both of them had
their pajamas on but no shirts. Mike appeared to be making pancakes. I walked
over to look.
"Sweet," I said.
"Smells good."
Mike turned toward
me, and I could see a bruise on his side, just above the hip.
"Oh, man. That's no
fun. How sore?"
"Meh. Sore, but not
horrendous. I'm just careful around it."
Jakob gave him a
gentle hug from behind.
"Is Evan home this
weekend?" Trent asked.
"Oh yeah. He went
home for Christmas, but only a few days. He'll be there when we get home."
"Should we get
Robert something for sharing the lake house with us?" Jakob asked.
"Yes. I actually
brought a card we can all sign," Trent said. "I thought a bottle of champagne
you know, for the New Year and maybe a gift card to a restaurant."
"We'll pitch in," I
said.
Mike's pancakes were
delicious. We thanked him for being the cook. Jakob and I showered quickly so
we could throw our load in when their sheets were out of the washer.
Close to noon, the
second load was about out of the dryer. Mike and Trent had remade their bedroom
and bath. They started loading the cooler with remaining things from the
fridge. We helped put dry items in bags but managed to finish the chips. The
idea was to go out for lunch on the drive back.
Jakob smoothed one
last wrinkle out of the bedspread. It looked proper.
"Think they can tell
someone had sex in here?" I asked.
"It looks fine.
We'll just let them speculate," he smiled. I kissed him.
Once we had made up
the second bedroom, we took one final scan to make sure everything looked clean
and in place. The four of us stood at the door and looked at the room. Then we
looked at each other. It became a group hug.
"Thank you so much
for inviting us," Jakob said. "I loved everything about the weekend."
"Me too," I said.
"It wouldn't have
been nearly as fun with anyone else," Mike said.
"And he's not
talking about the sex," Trent added. "Although that fits too."
Back at the apartment, Jakob and I worked at getting his
things into place. I shared my closet with him. He didn't have a lot, which was
good, because there wasn't an abundance of room. We managed to get everything
to fit. He had acquired a few kitchen items. Those were easy. By 9 o'clock
everything was put away and we had broken down the cardboard boxes and taken
them to the recycling bin.
Lying on the bed, we relaxed a moment. My phone buzzed.
"It's Ophelia," I said. I looked at the message. "Oh man!"
"What is it?" Jakob said.
"She said Tyler's boyfriend came to a meeting tonight!"
* * * *
At the blog, timothylane414stories.blogspot.com, you will find a post: "New Year's Eve." I'd be interested to see your comments there. As always, you can also email me feedback at timothylane414@gmail.com