Date: Sun, 25 Jul 2004 11:26:52 -0700 (PDT) From: Marc McClean Subject: The Right Time, Part 8 This is an erotic story about man-to-man sexual activities. If you are offended by such material, too young to read such, or it is illegal in your community, stop here and find something that won't get you in trouble. Otherwise, please enjoy! If you do, please drop me a note at mj_mclean2001@yahoo.com Thanks! THE RIGHT TIME by M.J. McLean Part 8 Perfect. A little on the hot side, but not enough to cause permanent damage, just to wash away a long day. I stepped into the shower and pulled the curtain. I adjusted the shower head and stood in the steamy spray, closing my eyes as the water poured down my naked body. It was after 2 when I closed the bedroom door to undress, which meant I'd been up for going on 21 hours today. I'd gone into work at 7 so I could check out a little early and make it to the airport in time for Robb's flight. I was nearly late anyway, trying to finsh details on a big project that had to be done this weekend. Robb was standing on the curb when I pulled up. He looked relaxed, very California in a muted Hawaiian shirt, loose khaki shorts and sandals. His thick blond hair looked just unkempt enough that I knew he'd spent way too much time this morning with some sort of product. I got out to open the trunk. We hugged and then hopped in the car and set off for my place. Robb stashed his bags in the guest room, then announced he was ready for the cocktail hour, so we set off for Amsterdam to wait for Mitch and Shane to catch up with us for dinner. I had met Robb for the first time the summer between my junior and senior year of college. We shared a house with two other guys. He was a friend of my friend, who found the apartment. We all had summer jobs of one sort of another; mine was an iternship, while Robb was trying out for a full-time gig, having graduated a few weeks earlier. We both worked long, irregular hours, so we didn't see much of each other. Actually, I saw all of Robb most every morning. He liked to pad around the house naked in the morning, starting the coffeemaker, scanning the newspaper. We razzed him about it, but I secretly hoped he'd never stop. Sadly, secret was the operative word for me. I was just coming out to myself at the time and wasn't ready to tell a houseful of strangers, though my friend was one of the first I told near summer's end. So I tried to ignore Robb, even as I drank in his body every morning, studying the blond hair that covered his muscular chest and stomach, lusting after his strong legs and bubble butt, wishing I could touch his uncut cock, which dangled a good five inches soft and easily eight inches when it was hard. He made no apologies for his morning wood. We hung out now and then, but he was out most weekend nights and didn't say much about where or with whom. At the end of the summer, I lost contact with him. Then about three months ago, I was sent to San Diego for a training seminar. I recognized Robb even before he introduced himself as the instructor for the morning sessions. He was as cute as ever, cuter, perhaps, with a well-maintained tan. I found him at the first break and he seemed delighted to see me. He asked if I had dinner plans that night. We went out to a nearby Chinese buffet and closed the place down talking. We hit it off again immediately, finding more in common than we knew that summer a few years back. It didn't take long to figure out we were both gay, either, which made us both laugh. Robb admitted he wondered about me that summer, mostly because he caught me checking him out in the mornings. He liked that, he said, liked being seen and being watched and he kept it up all summer mostly for me. I laughed at that and told Robb I could relate. He cocked his head and then the light went on: "No way!" he said. "You like showing off too?" I told him about how I'd figure it out the past few months since getting my own place and described several "showings" -- a food delivery guy, the apartment maintenance guy, a UPS delivery man. He told me about some of his and said he also spent time at a popular nude beach in San Diego and some nude resorts in Palm Springs. We at out every night at the seminar, then began e-mailing, IMing and chatting by phone now and then. A wonderful friendship develiped quickly. Robb had a serious boyfriend at the time, one he'd been with about two years now, and I was a couple of months into seeing Mitch, so the thought of hooking up ourselves never really came up. About a week ago, Robb called. It was after midnight and he was upset. He'd been dumped. He told me the story, conceding near the end that he was probably to blame at least partly. I was about to ask him why when he interrupted me. "Listen, Nic, how'd you like a visitor a couple of days?" he said. "I was thinking I need to get away and thought maybe I'd come check out Phoenix, see what you're doing." I agreed immediately and we made plans for the coming weekend. I knew I could get Friday off if I worked hard on my project through the week. When I met Mitch for lunch the next day, I told him about Robb's visit and he seemed pleased. "That'll work out, I guess," he said. "You think he'd like to spend part of the time in Flagstaff?" It turned out Ryan, one of Mitch's friends, had a small time share cabin up north and couldn't use his turn this weekend. He'd offered it to Mitch. It had two bedrooms and a sofabed and was nestled up against the pines. It sounded like a great way to get Robb's mind off his troubles. Later that night, Mitch called and asked if I thought Robb would mind one more person tagging along. "Shane just broke up with Rueben," Mitch said. "He says he's OK, that he wasn't all that into Rueben, but he sounds a little sad and I thought ... " "Tell him to pack a bag," I said. "There's a spare bed and a sofa bed, right? It'll be perfect." Shane was excited about the weekend. We decided to have him meet Robb before we went up and made plans for all of us to have dinner the night arrived. Robb and I had a couple of drinks at Amsterdam, then left to meet Mitch and Shane at Portland's, a quiet restaurant just up the street. Robb and Shane hit it off right away and chattered through dinner. We all decided to go back to Amsterdam for after dinner drinks. The bar was crowded, so Robb and Shane found a couple of chairs on one corner and Mitch and I squeezed another. A while later, we managed to get back together around a table and had one more drink before Mitch begged off and left for home, taking Shane with him. With no reason to get up in the morning, Robb and I stayed a while longer and left when the bar closed. I was jolted from my thoughts by a burst of cold water. Shit! I thought, I'd been in here so long, the hot water was gone. I scrambled to turn the water off, shivering. I'd let Robb go first and I guess the two of us were no match for my hot water heater. Wrapping a towel around my waist, I went out to the kitchen for some water, then stopped at the spare room. I knocked and then cracked the door open. Robb was in bed, reading. "Everything OK?" I asked, standing in the doorway. "Perfect," Robb said. "So what's the plan tomorrow?" "We can hang out, do whatever, until Mitch finishes," I said. "We're going to try to drive up around 4 or 5." I shifted a little against the door frame and caught the towel on an edge. It fell to the floor. I smiled slyly. "Fuck, you little showoff!" Robb said laughing. "So is that one of your moves? Very slick! I'll have to show you a couple later on." He winked. "By the way, not bad." "Thanks," I said, fluffing my cock a little. "Just thought I'd welcome you officially." I picked up the towel. "You know where everything is, so make yourself at home. I'm gonna crash now. G'night." "G'night, you perv," Robb said. I pulled the door shut and padded off to my room. I slid between my sheets and fell asleep right away. A sliver of sunshine piercing the blinds woke me the next morning, though slowly. I tried to focus on the bedside clock and finally decided it was nearly 11. Damn, I'd slept a lot later than I wanted to. I stumbled into the bathroom to pee and without even thinking, I went in search of caffeine, still naked. Still a little groggy, I found my way to the kitchen and dug a diet Coke our of the refrigerator. I popped it open, drank some of it and turned toward the living room. That was when I spotted Robb, grinning broadly. He sat cross-legged on one end of the sofa with his own diet Coke and the morning paper. He was naked too. "I wondered when you'd notice me," he said. "Mornin' sleepyhead. How ya' doing?" "I slept way too late," I said. "You shoulda dragged my ass out of bed when you got up." I plopped down on the other end of the sofa and took another swig from the can. "I only got up about 15 minutes ago," Robb said. He tossed me some of the paper. "I gave one of your neighbors a little show when I got the paper. Some guy across the courtyard?" "That's Barry," I said. "I'm pretty sure he's a big ol' closet case. I think he watches for me because he seems to go for his paper when I get mine. I do it naked every now and then just to give him his little thrill." "You mean to give you a thrill," Robb said. I just smiled. "So Robbo," I said. "How are you doing? You seem a little better since you called last week." Robb's smile faded a little. He hesitated, then started to tell me what happened, about how much he he had loved Quinn, about their nearly two years together. His eyes teared up a little as he told me about Quinn, but he didn't cry. His face clouded a little when he admitted that, in the end, Quinn left because he couldn't handle Robb's interest in nudism, the beaches and resorts, hanging out naked at home. "It made him uncomfortable, almost to an extreme," Robb said softly. "I mean, I'd have quit the games if that was all it was, I didn't care, and I'd even have pulled on a pair of shorts during the day. But he wanted me to give it all up. He even got paranoid about me going to the gym because he thought I spent the whole time parading around the lockeroom in the buff." Robb flexed his muscular arms. "As if this didn't prove otherwise." He drained the soda can and sighed. "I felt really bad at first because I guess I am a little odd when it comes to being naked, but he just got crazy about it. And I didn't want to give it all up. Do you think I was wrong?" "No," I said. "You should be able to be yourself. He could have asked for some boundaries, but you can't just give up something that's so ... you." Robb looked relieved. We talked a while longer and I could see him relaxing. "God, I've gone on so long," Robb said. "Thanks for listening. It means a lot, Nic, it really does. I feel a lot better." He reached across the back of the sofa and took my hand, squeezing it. He looked into my eyes and smiled gently. He finally let go of my hand, but held my eyes a moment longer. I felt an odd charge in the air, but it didn't last. "So enough about me," he said. "I wanna hear more about you. Who else gets to see your little towel routine?" He stretched his leg out to nudge my knee playfully and the paper slid to the floor. I realized this was the first time I was seeing his cock since our days in the old house. I tried not to stare, but it was so nicely set off by his blond bush. I remembered how fascinated I'd been because he was uncut and so big when he was soft. It seemed to be growing a little. "Um ... let's see, I told you about the food delivery guy, the apartment maintence guy -- I got him twice -- the cable guy, the UPS guy -- that one was fun because I could tell he was liking it. I'm pretty sure if I'd asked, he'd've sucked me on the spot. "And the poor guy who was looking for his girlfriend's apartment. That was a total accident. Mitch had called and told me to be naked when he got there, so when I heard the knock, I figured it was him and I threw open the door and said, 'Here I am, naked just for you!' And the poor guy was so shellshocked." I doubled over in laughter as I remembered the scene again. Robb howled. As we regained composure, Robb stretched out one leg against the back of the sofa. His foot brushed my knee. He left his foot there, barely touching me. "What about the one you were teasing me about on the phone, the one you said was your favorite?" I smiled. "The Mormon missionaries." "No shit! Your little perv. You're so going to hell!" Robb said. "I sure am," I said. "And by the looks of him, one of the elders will be there with me." I recounted the Saturday morning almost two weeks ago. I'd been reading the paper with a soda, naked as usual. I heard the knock at the door. I avoided the window and peeked through the spyhole. Missionaries! I almost opened the door right then, but I figured I'd be nice. I found a robe. They started their spiel and I let them talk for a minute before stopping them. I told them I wasn't interested, but thanks anyway. They tried another approach, as I knew they would, and I stopped them again. One of them was persistent, too persistent for me. I was getting irritated. He insisted he felt like I needed to hear the message. That was all it took. I decided they needed to get my message. "So I let the robe fall open," I told Robb. "And I started to talk to them about how I wasn't really interested, but they were welcome to come in and hang out. And then I said, 'maybe you could come back when my boyfriend's here.'" Robb howled again. "So I'm standing there, robe open," I said. "The one guy's face is turning red and he starts to back away, but his companion is totally staring at my dick. I couldn't resist. I kinda fluffed it a little and oh my god, I could've pushed the poor kid over with my pinkie. His mouth was open and he was breathing hard. His companion was so flustered about the boyfriend part, he didn't notice. He just wanted to leave." Robb and I laughed, but the scene had obviously affected us a little. More than a little. We were both starting to get hard. I tried to ignore my growing erection, but I couldn't help watchin Robb's. He saw me look and adjusted it a little, not saying anything. "So tell me," he said softly. "Shane, the guy last night? He was the guy from Sedona? The three-way?" "Yeah, that's him," I said. "God, he's fuckin' hot," Robb said. "I can't believe you got to do him. He's the one you hooked up with before that, just you, right? The one who liked to leave his underwear behind?" I nodded. "You lucky shit. He's a hot little fuck. And a three-way, shit. So he was watching you guys before he came over?" "Yeah," I said, my mouth suddenly dry. I was breathing a little faster. "Mitch and I were fooling around ... well, I was fucking him ... and ... " I took a breath. I could feel my cock growing harder at the memory. "And I heard Shane and turned and there he was, watching. God, I got so hard ... and then he ... he joined in." "Shit, man, wow," Robb said. He reached between his legs. His cock had grown hard as I'd talked and he peeled back the foreskin. He spread his legs and slowly began to stroke his cock. His eyes met mine and then glanced down at his cock, making sure I was watching him. I couldn't take my eyes off him. My own cock was fully erect now and I slowly reached down and began to stroke myself. I stretched out my leg so it was next to Robbs on the sofa. The touch of his leg against mine sent chills through me. This time I found his gaze and directed it to my cock. Neither of us said a word. The air was charged. I knew this was not a good idea, but I couldn't help it. We were both stroking, staring at each other. My cock began to leak precum. I rubbed a little on one nipple and moaned. "Shit, yeah," he said. Then he leaned forward and reached for my hand. He stopped my stroking. "First, you watch me, then I'll watch you, 'k?" "'K," I said. I took my hand away from my cock and leaned back. Robb eased his ass up until he was sitting on the arm of the sofa. He spread his legs and began stroking his cock again. He rubbed his chest and stomach, tracing his fingers through the light covering of blond hair. He closed his eyes and licked his lips and ... the phone rang. "Shit," I whispered, not wanting to break the spell, even though every voice inside me said I should. "Let the voice mail get it." I reached down and squeezed my cock a little as Robb resumed stroking. The phone stopped ringing, then almost as quickly, my cell phone buzzed to life. "Fuck," I said. I knew I better check it. I stood, my hard cock bouncing as I looked for the phone. Double fuck. It was work. "I'm sorry, I better take this," I said to Robb. His face fell a little and he slumped onto the couch, still stroking softly to keep his dick hard. "Hello," I said, my voice cracking a little. It was Kara. "Nic, I'm sorry to bother you on your day off, but we have a crisis here," she said. "The client has asked for some pretty major revisions and we need them done before it can all go to the printer this weekend. We gotta have you in here for a while today. I'm sorry. Laura says you can take Monday off, but she needs you here today." "Wow, that's kinda bad timing, Kara, I have a friend in town for the weekend and ... " I stared at Robb as he spread his legs again, stroking his cock. He licked his lips and smiled. God, I should get out of here, but I felt my own cock twitch and I absently reached down and stroked it. "Laura says this has to be done," Kara said. "It's critical for the project and you're the lead guy. I'm sorry, Nic, I am, but this is serious business." That broke the spell for me. I couldn't risk botching this project. "OK, Kara, I'll be in as quick as I can." I ended the call. "Robb, I don't know what to say, but I have to go in to work. This project ... it's my first as the lead and I can't let it go wrong," I said. "I'm so sorry. I'll make it as quick as I can, I promise. I'm so sorry." Robb's disappointment showed, but he insisted he'd be all right: "Hey, I can't tell you not to go, can I? I helped train you, remember?" He laughed. I had an idea: "You take me to work and then you can use the car until I'm done," I said. "Go shopping or to a movie or something. I'll call you when I'm ready or maybe just get a ride home from someone. Deal?" "Cool," he said. I saw his eyes light up. "Hey, Shane said he didn't have classes this afternoon. I bet he's not doing anything until we head up north. I'll give him a ring, OK? He left me his cell number." Really? I thought. I guess they really did hit it off. "Perfect," I said. "I promise to get this done quickly and we'll be on the road in no time. Thanks for understanding." I paused. "And, um ... Robb ... about ... you know, what was.. um happening ... I, uh ... " He smiled. "Nothing to worry about, Nic, we were just two guys feeling good. Nothing else was gonna happen, OK? I wasn't making a play for you. You're hot, but you're taken. So no worries. It's between us." I relaxed and without thinking, I went in to hug Robb. When I felt our still half-hard cocks meet, I drew back a little, then decided at this point a hug was pretty harmless. Robb hugged tighter and wiggled his hips a little, rubbing our cocks together. I laughed. "OK, I gotta get ready and get outta here," I said. My cock had risen back to full-staff and I smiled as I watched it bounce on the way to the bedroom. I decided to leave it alone, though, as I showered and dressed. Robb dropped me off at work and then took off. When I got to the office, I discovered things were worse than Kara had let on before. We were starting from scratch on some parts. This was not going to be a quick fix, but I dived in, dreading the possibility that we couldn't go to Flag tonight. But that's what happened. A few minutes before six, we were nowhere close to done. I took a break and made the call I didn't want to make. I broke the news to Mitch. Even over the phone, I could tell he was crushed. "Mitch, I don't know what to say except I'm sorry, I'm just so sorry," I said. "If you want, you and Robb and Shane can go up and I can meet you tomorrow." "No, that'd be no fun," he said. "Nic, I understand. Sometimes it happens. We can still drive up in the morning and at least have one night up there. I'm fine, honest." I promised to call when I was done, but I knew he was disappointed. I called Robb next and told him I could be a while longer. He and Shane were at the mall still and he told me not to worry. I insisted I felt awful, but he said they were doing fine. They'd probably grab dinner and head back to my place to watch a movie or something. By the time we finished, it was after midnight. I was exhausted. Kara took me home and apologized again for ruining my day off. "But hey, Nic?" she said as I got out of her car. "This was awesome stuff. Laura's gonna be way impressed with you." I trudged up the stairs and stuck my key in the lock. The lights were on and as I opened the door, I heard odd sounds. A muffled moan, a sign, a sort of grunt ... what ... Shane sat in the middle of the sofa, naked. His eyes were closed and his head was resting on the sofa back. His legs were spread wide and I'm assuming his cock was hard. Assuming because kneeling in front of him was Robb, naked as well, his head buried in Shane's crotch, bobbing up and down. The noises all matched up now. "Oh, god ... god, Robb... that's so ... god, I feel ... " Shane said softly. "Oh, shit, Robb, suck me ... oh ... oh, shit! Nic!" Shane had opened his eyes and saw me in the doorway. He started to squirm, his face panicked. Robb turned around, exposing Shane's slick, hard dick. He grinned when he saw me. "Nic, you're home," he said. "Relax, Shane, it's OK," he said, turning back to Shane, who was obviously embarrassed. "Geez, kiddo, you two have done each other, don't get so uptight!" "Sorry, guys, didn't, um ... expect to find you ... um ... here," I said, trying to cover my shock. "I'll just head on back to bed." I turned to go. "You can stay and watch," Robb said. I stopped. "I bet you want to," he said seductively. "And I'd get off on it. You could just watch. You don't have to join in or anything ... unless you want." I shot a look at Robb. "Kidding, kidding," he said. "But there's a chair right here ..." "I don't think so," I said. "I gotta call Mitch, figure out tomorrow, you know ..." I hurried back to the bedroom. Lord, what next? I stood with my back against the door for a moment, listening to the two of them talking. I tuned it out and undressed for bed. I washed my face and brushed my teeth and dove onto the bed, grabbing the phone. I dialed Mitch and as I did, I could hear moaning and what I assumed were sucking sounds. Mitch answered. "Hey there, stud," I said. "Whatcha wearing?" "Mmmmm," he said. "Just my white gym socks." He knew that would get me hot and he was right. "What are you wearing?" "Oh, baby," I said. "I'm nekkid." I tried to make the word sound dirty, like on TV. He laughed. "So you're done at work?" he asked. "Yeah," I said. "It turned out great. Think it's gonna help me. But I still feel bad about Flag." "Don't," he said. "Tomorrow. Now you said you were naked? That's the way I like you, baby. Now lay back and tell me what you're doing." I leaned back and began stroking my chest. I described it. "I'm imagining you standing in the doorway, naked except for those white socks. You're hard and your cock is sticking up ... mmmm ... I'm getting hard just thinking of it." And I was. I began to stroke my cock lightly. "Yeah, that's it, Nic. I'm coming closer to the bed," Mitch said. "I can see your cock getting hard. I climb up on the bed and kneel over you ... I start to stroke myself ..." "I'm reaching up to touch you," I said, "and ... " I stopped and listened. Robb and Shane were at it again, more loudly this time. I giggled a little. "What?" Mitch asked. "What's funny?" I told him what was going on in my living room. "Are you serious?" Mitch said. "You're letting him have Shane? That's insane, Nic! Shane just broke up with someone. He's vulnerable, he could get hurt, he's ... " "He's horny, Mitch," I said. "He's having some fun. I promise you, Robb isn't making him do anything he doesn't want to do. I saw them when I came in. They really hit it off last night, in case you didn't notice. They spent all afternoon together and they're havin' a little fun. I just hope they don't stain the couch." "Don't joke about it," Mitch said. "I think this is a mistake. Robb is so much older ..." "He's a year older than us, Mitch, just relax," I said. "He's in college, he's supposed to fuck around. I wish I'd ..." I stopped. Not a good thought to finish. "You wish what? That you'd played around?" Mitch was upset. "Is that what you want? To play around?" "You know it isn't, Mitch," I said. "I only meant Shane knows what he's doing and if he doesn't, he'll learn. He's a big boy, Mitch. We're not his parents." There was silence. "I'm sorry, I'm just tired. And maybe a little disappointed about tonight. I'm going to get some sleep. You should too." "But what about ... " I said, staring at my cock, which was still mostly hard. "You know ... " "It's late, Nic," he said. "Good night, sweetie. I'll see you around 11 or so tomorrow." And there I was again, left hard and dry for the second time today. I knew Mitch meant well, but he was over-reacting about Shane. I lay in bed, idly stroking my hard-on, thinking about finishing it off. I listened. I couldn't hear noises. Either they were done or they'd moved into the bedroom. I got up and headed out to get some juice before I went to sleep. Just as I neared the end of the hall, I heard them again. I stayed back in the dark and peeked around the corner. Shane was back on the couch, this time sitting stop a pile of cushions, spread eagle again. Robb was rolling on a condom. He picked up a bottle of lube and squirted some on his cock and then on Shane's ass. His hand dropped down and I figured he was spreading it around, maybe loosening Shane's ass. I was about to back away and go to bed, but I didn't. I froze. My cock was hard again. I watched Robb life Shane's legs up to his shoulders and then move in closer. I could just see his cock enter Shane's ass. Robb began to fuck, thrusting slowly at first. "God, yeah, Robb, fuck my college ass," Shane snarled. "Fuck me good. I need fucking, you stud." "You're gonna get fucked, college boy," Robb said. "I got the cock that's gonna fuck you're ass like it's never been fucked." Guess they were role-playing a little. I might have snickered at the bad dialogue, except I was too turned on. Without thinking I began to stroke my cock, soon matching Robb's rhythm as he fucked Shane. I remembered fucking Shane myself, the feel of his ass around my dick. I watched Robb's muscular body and a part of me -- yeah, that part -- wished the two of us had hooked up years before, when we shared a house. I imagined waking up one morning to find him reading the paper, naked as he usually was, and instead of avoiding him, I would walk into the room naked as well. I'd sit across from him, maybe, ask for part of the paper, idly rubbing my chest and fluffing my cock. I'd keep my legs spread so he could see my dick as it grew. His eyes would meet mine ... Shit. That wasn't fantasy. I must have made a noise in the hall because Robb looked my way and I think he saw me. I didn't care at this point. My cock was leaking precum as I watched Robb fuck Shane. It looked like he was nearing a climax. "Shit, man, my cock has never been harder, dude, just seeing you ..." he growled to Shane, except he was looking my way. "I'm gonna blow soon ... " I realized I was too and I didn't want to leave the evidence in the hall. I backed up, into the spare bathroom, and grabbed a hand towel from a rack, then eased back into the hall until I could see again. Shane was now stroking his own engorged dick and was grunting and moaning louder. Robb seemed to have picked up speed and intensity. "Oh, fuck, man, here it comes," he cried. He thrust his hips one last time against Shane's ass, threw his head back and closed his eyes. "Ohhhhhhhhhh .... ooohhhhhh .... awww.... fuuuucccccckkkkkkk .... oohhhhhhhhhh ...." His hips bucked one last time and then he stopped. He pulled out, holding on to the rubber, and lifted Shane's hips. He took Shane's cock into his mouth, working hard, I could tell, to keep it in my view. I was near the end as well. I stroked faster, watching Robb suck Shane. Finally, I could hold it no more. I leaned against the wall and held the towel out as my cock started to twitch. I bit my tongue so I wouldn't cry out, although I know I made some sound. My cock spilled cum on the towell as the orgasm raced through my body. I felt blood in my mouth and finally let out a small cry. No one else heard it because at the same time, Shane began to come in Robb's mouth. He cried out and his hips jerked. Robb held on and took it all. I slowly backed away and hurried back to my room. I stashed the towel in the hamper and used a washcloth to clean up. I dived into bed. A few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. Robb stuck his head in. "You still awake?" he whispered. I sat up and tried to look groggy, just in case he hadn't seen me. "Yeah, kinda," I said. "Hey, dude, listen, I wanted to apologize for being out there when you got home," he said. "We got a little playful and lost track of time. I'm sorry to surprise you like that." "Forget it," I said. "Doesn't matter to me. I just wasn't expecting it." "So we're still going to try to go up north tomorrow?" he asked. "Mitch is coming by a little after 11 and we'll head up then," I said. "Cool," he said. "We're gonna turn in. It's cool if Shane stays, isn't it?" "Of course," I said. "Thought it would be," he said. "By the way, Nic? You just gave me one of the best orgasms I've had in a long time. Knowing you were there watching, shit, dude, I was harder than I've ever been. Thanks ..." He backed out before I could say a word. I fell back against the pillow, a little torn about what I'd done today. I hadn't cheated, certainly, but it still felt odd. This morning, with Robb, had been hot, full of sexual tension, yet he told me nothing would have happened beyond getting ourselves off, which sounded fine to me. Tonight, watching them, turned me on, yet I felt some guilt about it. I wondered, just for a moment, if Mitch was right: Did I wish I'd had a chance to just mess around, have a little sexual fun, check out what got me hard, play some sort of field? Would I want to do that later? On the other hand, when I thought of losing Mitch, I got bad chills. I fell asleep trying to figure it out. THE CONCLUSION IS NEXT