Date: Fri, 02 Jun 2006 10:46:19 -0400 From: cgard 43 Subject: The Art of Love 13 Comments welcome to Cgard43@hotmail.com Part 23 Darren: After Art's initiation as a bottom in anal sex that afternoon, we both cleaned up and got back on the bed, holding one another and kissing. "So, did you like that?" I asked. "I didn't hurt you, did I?" "Not at all," Art answered. "I actually thought it felt wonderful. I was so sure it was going to hurt, but now I know can enjoy that with you again. Thank you, man." We cuddled together and kissed some more. "I love you, babe," he whispered in my ear as he held me tightly. "And I love you," I answered. "I love you more than I could have ever believed I could. Thank you for this." He chuckled. "My pleasure," he said with a laugh. After a few minutes, I felt Art relax even more and realized that he'd fallen sleep. I didn't want to risk waking him by getting up so I just lay there holding him. "How lucky am I?" I thought to myself. I finally found this wonderful man who wants to share my life with me and I truly love him. What could be more perfect? About ten minutes later, Art rolled over on his other side and away from me. That let me quietly slip from bed. I pulled on a pair of briefs and went out to the kitchen and got a bottle of water from the 'fridge. I sat at the kitchen table, my mind filled with thoughts of just how happy I felt at that moment. It wasn't the sex that made me happy; it was the great guy napping in my bed. I remembered last night's conversation with Joe and Fred and Art saying he'd like for us to live together. That was certainly doable, I thought. My lease ran for about three more months and I figured that would give us plenty of time to make sure we were compatible. I decided to talk to Art about it the next day after tonight's dinner with my parents. As if on cue, Art woke up about four-thirty. That gave us plenty of time to shower and shave - we'd skipped the shaving that morning - and still get to my parents on time. My parents were quite effusive in greeting both of us. We both got a hug from my Dad and kisses from my Mom. I felt very comfortable but I could tell Art wasn't yet fully at ease with them. I was a bit surprised to see the table in the dining room set for five. "Who's coming to dinner?" I asked my mom as my dad and Art made drinks at the bar. "Your sister," Mom answered. "We thought it would be good for her to meet Art as well." I cocked my head and looked at her. "What?" she asked. "You don't think your sister would like to meet the man you're seeing?" "To tell the truth, Mom, I hadn't thought about it." My sister and I are friendly but not especially close. She works in a town about 30 minutes away so we don't see each other that often except for family affairs. She arrived just then. My sister is a lovely, talented young woman whose name is Danielle. We greeted each other with a hug and a cheek-kiss and then I introduced Art to her. She greeted him warmly and I noticed her giving him the 'once over' head to foot! "You're a very handsome man, Art," she said. Art blushed of course. I know my sister well enough to know that she was wondering if he was really gay. She just doesn't understand, but she's tolerant so I don't complain. "Thanks," Art said, "You're very pretty." We all got along great. Mom and Dad kept the conversation flowing smoothly. I told them about the conference in Chicago, leaving out any mention of Neil, and Art told them about the new job he was hoping to get at work. After dinner we took our coffee into the living room. Then turning to Art and me, my Dad got a bit more personal. "I want to know how you two are getting on? Is this getting to be a serious relationship or not?" "Yes, Dad," I answered. "We're both very fond of each other and things are going along just fine." "You're being safe, I trust," my Dad asked. "Of course, Dad," I answered, just slightly embarrassed by his directness. "So where do you go from here?" Mom asked. "Where it goes from here is slowly, Mom. We haven't really talked about this much in detail, but I figure in about three months we might decide to start living together if things continue to go well." Art gave me kind of a surprised look. "Sorry I didn't mention that," I said to him. "That's when my lease is up." He nodded in understanding. "Paul and Mary, can I say something?" Art said to my Dad. Dad nodded of course. "I love your son very much, but I admit that I'm really very new to the whole gay scene," Art said. "I understand what you're saying," my Mom said, "I think you boys are right to move ahead slowly. Give it a few months and see if you still feel that you want to make a long-term commitment." "Now, on a related subject," my father said, looking first at me and then at my sister. "I think it's about time that you and Danielle both think about investing in a house of your own, don't you?" "That's a great idea, Dad," Danielle said, "But I'm not yet ready to make that kind of financial commitment. I've only been working a year, you know." "I know that," my Dad said. "But I've been planning for this for a while. You remember those letters I've had you two sign for the last couple of years?" We both nodded, she probably looking as puzzled as I did. "Well, with each of those I've given you $10,000 each for the last two years and I propose to do the same this year. That will give you each $30,000 for you to invest in a home." My sister and I looked at each other in amazement. "Dad, I didn't know about that?" I said and my sister agreed. "I know," my Dad said, "But we were just preparing the way for you to take the next step into adulthood. That's what parents do. So you two think about it and let me know when you're ready to proceed." I could not have been more surprised. We both expressed our appreciation and gratitude. "Well, guys," Danielle said, "I've got to get going. I'm singing a solo with the church choir tomorrow and so I've got to get home so I can get up early tomorrow. "Okay, dear," my Mom said. She turned to Art and me. "What about you two?" she asked. "Do you want to stay here tonight? Your old room is made up." "Let me think about it a minute," I said. Art had given me a gesture that said it was up to me to decide. I thought since we'd both had a couple of drinks before dinner and wine with the meal, it probably made some sense not to be on the road. Danielle said her good-byes, being especially friendly to Art I noticed. She really was very sweet to him and said she'd be glad to have another brother. My mom and dad walked her out to her car. "So, do you want to stay?" I asked Art. He kind of shrugged so I decided for us. After she left, the four of us sat down again, my Dad made an interesting observation. "Something's happened to you two since you were here last. Tonight you act like two people who are really into one another. You look like a couple now. It's just a feeling I get watching the two of you." "Thanks, Dad," I said. "As we said, we're taking it kind of slow but I can say that we both like each other a lot. I also appreciate how supportive you and Mom are being. That's terrific." "Art," my Dad said, "I must admit that Mary and I were upset when Darren came out to us a while back, but not because we didn't love him or were disappointed in him. We were just worried that it might be a very lonely life for him. But then we began to learn more about gay people. We even went to some PFLAG meetings and met other parents with gay children. We learned that it isn't all about that "Queer as Folk" club scene and all." "Well, Dad," I answered, "There is some of that - the club scene, I mean - but for the most part that's because people, both men and women, are looking for someone special in their lives." "We've not done any of that," Art said. "We went to a restaurant owned by a gay man last night and that was the first time I'd ever been in a place with many gay people." Both my folks looked puzzled. "Here locally?" Mom asked. We explained where the restaurant was. "It's not really a gay place, Mom," I said, "Though if my gaydar is working, there were probably fifteen or so gay people there, counting the wait staff. I felt very comfortable in the place though, didn't you, Art?" "Yes, I did," Art said with a laugh, "The food was good too." I chuckled along with him. "Oh, before I forget," Mom said, "Would you guys like to use the cabin over Labor Day? Can you get away?" "I sure can," I said. "Actually, both Art and I have to take vacation during the annual plant shutdown and that's the last week of August and the first week in September. Going up to the cabin would be fun." I turned to Art and explained further. "The cabin's about two and a half hours away, but there's a lake for boating and swimming, and it's really very nice." "Aren't you guys going up for the long weekend?" I asked my parents. "No, we're going to be in Maine visiting your grandparents." My grandparents had done the unthinkable and retired to the coast of Maine. They lived in a really nice small town and it was beautiful, despite getting an awesome amount of snow in winter. "Well then, let Art and I talk it over and we'll see whether we can work it out or not. Thanks for suggesting it," I said. We stayed at my parent's house that night but we didn't do anything but cuddle. Art was nervous about making noise, although their room is two rooms away, but that was fine with me. I was still well satisfied from the afternoon's fun. "How you doing, big guy?" I said when he climbed into bed with me. "Any residual pain or discomfort from earlier." "None," Art said. "You obviously did a good job and I really enjoyed it." We cuddled together and soon went to sleep. We were both up early the next day and put on the same clothes after showering and shaving. "You boys want to go to church with us?" Mom asked at breakfast. We'd showered and shaved (I still keep that stuff at their house.) "Well, I'm not exactly dressed for church," Art said. We were both wearing khakis and knit shirts. "You're fine," Dad said, "It's church, not a fashion show." So we went to church, and the service was very nice and my sister sang her solo beautifully. I was tempted to go to communion paired with Art, but decided against it. I wasn't going to push my luck with the locals. Part 24 After church we drove home to my place and put on some other clothes. We'd been home about half an hour when the phone rang. I checked the Caller ID and was surprised that it was Neil's number again. I let it go to the machine. "Hello, my name is Carl Foster and I'm Neil's roommate. I've been so angry with him for making those obscene phone calls from my phone, and for all the crap I've taken from the local phone company that I wanted to call personally and apologize. I've told Neil if he ever calls you again I'll kick him out of my house. So, please accept my apology for the harassment he's been causing you." I picked up the phone before he rang off. "Hello, this is Darren," I said. "Oh. Well, I presume you heard my message. I'm really sorry for all the trouble Neil's caused you." "Thank you. I appreciate it. Now, I assume that in other times Neil's a friend of yours. Am I right?" "Yes he is," Carl said. "We're not involved with each other but we've been friends for a long time." "Well," I continued, "I'm really wondering if he doesn't need some professional help? He was truly obnoxious during that conference." "Yes, I know you're right," Carl said. "He's bipolar and is now under a doctor's care. He'll be treated with medications and the doctor thinks he can get it under control in a few weeks." "That's good to hear. When I first met him I thought he was quite pleasant and friendly, but within minutes, he went from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde." "I know what you mean," Carl said. "Hopefully, we'll get him straightened out. I try to be a good friend, but sometimes that's very difficult." We ended the conversation and I explained the parts he hadn't heard to Art. "I'm still worried about him," he said. "Bipolar is serious business. I'm just glad he doesn't know where to find us." "Me too," I admitted. "Very glad." There was also a message on the machine from Dennis wondering where we'd been all weekend. I called him. "Hi Buddy," I said when he answered. "Got your message. We went out to dinner with some friends of Art's on Friday night. Turns out he has a couple of buddies he didn't know were gay." Dennis laughed. "We're everywhere, we're everywhere!" he said. "Then last night we had dinner with my parents again. Art got to meet Danielle as well. We ended up spending the night at their house." "So how's Art getting along with the in-laws?" Dennis asked. "Everybody's getting along fine. My Dad actually said he could see a change in us since the last time we were there." "That's interesting," Dennis said. "I've always thought your Dad was pretty perceptive so that sounds like a good sign." "You guys up for doing something this afternoon?" Dennis asked. I relayed the question to Art. "As long as it doesn't involve any more rich food," he said with a laugh. We decided to go play miniature golf. Our town has an amazing miniature golf course and it's really fun and challenging. We met the guys there and played for a couple of hours. We played against each other in a round-robin. In the second round, Dennis was my partner. "So how's it really going with you guys, Darren?" he asked. "It's incredibly good, Dennis," I said. "He's sweet and smart and, best of all, totally turned on by me. Can you believe it?" "Sure I can," Dennis said. "Don't put yourself down. You're sexy and smart too. You two seem to fit well together." "Well, without going into details, he's also unbelievable in bed." I raised my eyebrows for emphasis. "He may have been a late starter, but he's a quick learner." "Enough said," Dennis said. "I'm really happy for you, man." When we'd finished the golfing, we stopped at restaurant that features burgers and chicken and also has the best onion rings I've ever had. Art and I both opted for the grilled chicken and it was delicious. While we were eating, I told them about the call from Carl Foster. "Sounds like that explains what's going on with Neil," George said. "That's kind of classic bipolar disorder behavior." "Well, I just hope the guy gets the medical help he needs. He kind of scares me," Art said. "Well, just keep checking the Caller ID. You might want to share that call with that guy in Chicago as well," Dennis said. Good point. I made a mental note to call Dave and Hank about the call. After eating, we split up and went home. We put on the TV and watched the news. After a few minutes Art stretched out on the couch with his head in lap. "Wow, this is so nice, just being here with you," he said quietly. "You really think you could stand us living together?" I asked. We hadn't talked about my father's proposal since the prior evening. "Right now, being with you is all I want," he said. I kissed him. He started massaging my dick through my pants and of course I got hard. His was in my grasp and in minutes we both were erect. "I want to see this thing," Art said, sitting up and undoing my pants. He drew my cock out through my shorts then bent down and kissed it. "I can't believe I had this thing in my ass?" he whispered, looking up into my eyes. I unzipped his fly and felt his long cock through his jockeys. "Believe it, Babe," I said. "You had mine and I had yours." "I don't think I'd ever get tired of sex with you," he said. "You just turn me on so much." "What do you like best?" I asked, chuckling. "Hey, that's not a fair question," he said. He thought for a minute or so. "I guess I like oral best right now, but I think that's because we've done that more times. I don't really have to choose just one thing, do I?" He sounded like he was pouting. "Of course not," I countered. "It's fun having variety in sex, isn't it? I couldn't pick just one way to have sex with you now that I know you do everything so well." Well, you know where this conversation was heading. We ended up in bed pretty quickly. We were 69-ing when Art stopped to make an unusual observation. "I love doing this, but sometimes I find it too distracting. Don't take this the wrong way, Darren. I mean I want to make you come, and I don't think I do it as well when you're also sucking me." "Hmm," I said, "Interesting thought. Tell you what, why don't we do this until you start getting close then just pull away from my mouth and work on me alone. I'll understand as long as you've explained how you feel." "Great idea," he said, and that's what happened. He brought me to a stunning orgasm, and I was happy to finish doing him after I'd come. "That was fantastic," Art said when he'd righted himself and lay down next to me. "It really excites me to make you come like that. Then when I shoot it's like a bonus. Besides, I think you come harder when I'm just doing you." "It excites me both ways, but what works best for both of us is what matters." We cuddled and kissed, tasting each other on our tongues, and soon settled into a comfortable sleep.