This Magic Place -- Chapter 8

    I was still laying in Dac's arms when I awoke. I could hear noises coming from the kitchen and looked at my watch thinking it must be later than the 5:15 that the bedside alarm was showing. Surprisingly, my watch and the alarm were correct, after all. Dulce must be getting an early start, I thought, as I managed to drag myself out of bed.

    I got in the shower and stood under the cascade of warm water and gradually got my brain and body in sync and feeling almost human. There were a number of things that I wanted to get done today so I didn't spend as much time luxuriating in the warm water and soap. Besides, Dac wasn't in there to distract me.

    I got dressed and went over and gave Dac a good morning kiss. "C'mon, Babe, time to get up and face the day. I'll see you downstairs."

    He looked up and gave me one of his incredibly sweet smiles, "Good morning. Are you feeling better?"

    "Yeah. Thanks to you I am. Only you," as I leaned down and kissed him again, "Umm, love you."

    "I love you, too. I think. I'm not quite awake yet." He gave me one of his devilish grins, "Check with me later," as he started crawling out of bed.

    "For remarks like that, there will be retribution," as I stood there with my best serious look, wagging my finger at him. "And you will never know when, or be expecting it, but one day it will happen." I shook my head, "And you will be so sorry," and I started out of the room.

    "Oh, I'm all a-quiver," half laughing but keeping a safe distance from me at the same time.

    "I have spoken," in my best ominous voice as I left the room.

    I went next door to the guest room to make sure Kevin was okay. He was curled up on his side, still sound asleep, and from the sound of his breathing and occasional little snores, it would be some time before he woke up. I felt his forehead and was relieved that he didn't have a fever. With all the stress he'd been under and the way he had been treating his body for the last two or three days, it wouldn't have surprised me for him to get sick.

    Tiger was no longer curled up on the bed, apparently having left for the kitchen in hopes that something wonderful and miraculous was about to happen in her bowl.

    I could hear Dulce talking as I got downstairs and headed for the kitchen. Yep, there was Tiger giving one of her most piteous starvation routines, with plaintive meows and even managing to get an expression of suffering on her face. I don't think Dulce believed her for a minute but gave her bowl a good filling.

    She looked up as I came into the kitchen, "Good morning, David. Hope you and Dac are hungry. I've got a good breakfast just about ready."

    "Oh, I'm definitely hungry," as I helped myself to some coffee. "Everything smells so good. What're we having?," eyeing all the different things she had laid out on the work table.

    "Breakfast burritos. Oh," as she glanced up at me. "I hope you both like burritos."

    "Yes, we do. We've had them at Swilars a couple of times."

    "Oh, well, mine are certainly better than Swilars any day of the week. You just wait until you taste them."

    "Believe me, Dulce, I can hardly wait," I said.

    Dac walked into the kitchen with a big smile on his face, "Oh, do I -- good morning -- do I smell burritos? Hope, hope, hope."

    Dulce smiled at him, "Good morning, Dac, and you do. Get yourself some coffee and sit down and these will be ready in just a minute."

    I glanced at the table setting, "Aren't you and Craig going to have breakfast?"

    Dulce glanced up from what she was doing, "No, we'll eat later."

    "Oh, nonsense," I said, "there's more than enough room here at the table for all of us. I know it's a bit unorthodox but I think it'll be a lot more enjoyable if we all got together for meals. Besides, we can keep abreast of what all of us are gong to be doing for the day, problems and so forth," as I got up and got additional place settings out of the cupboard.

    "Well, if you're sure. I agree, though, it would be more enjoyable."

    "Good that's settled," I said.

    "Where's Craig at?," Dac asked.

    "I think he's still at the apartment. I told him I would call him for breakfast," Dulce said.

    "I'll call him," as Dac picked up the phone and punched the appropriate button for Craig's phone.

    "Hey, Craig," when he answered, "we're all eating together, so get your butt over here," and hung up the phone.

    "Wow, an exercise in graciousness," I laughed as Dac sat back down.

    "I know," as Dac smiled at me, "but it's effective, and he'll be here within one minute. Bet you," as Dac looked at his watch.

    Sure enough, Craig practically came bursting through the door, apparently having run all the way across.

    "Sorry to keep you waiting, but I thought --," as he looked questioningly at Dulce who pointed at me.

    "I changed the rules. We'll be eating breakfast and lunch together from now on. I figured it would be more enjoyable if we all got together a couple of times a day. Besides, it's always pleasant to have a nice looking lady at the table," as I smiled at Dulce.

    "Oh," said Dulce, coloring a bit, "you're as bad as Dac at handing out the blarney."

    "Hey, don't drag me into this. I was just sitting here minding my own business and not bothering anybody at all," Dac said.

    "You mean you were just sneaking little bites of that burrito into your mouth and not waiting for anybody else and hoping nobody would notice," Dulce laughed at him as she placed a burrito in front of Craig and sat down at the table.

    Dac just shook his head back and forth. And breakfast began, after grace, with plenty of bantering and laughing going back and forth. Food, laughter, good conversation. What a wonderful way to start the day, I thought.

    Everybody finished. Craig left for the orchard and Dulce started her duties in the kitchen.

    "Dac, come on into the library, there are some figures I need to go over with you," as I headed out of the kitchen.

    Once in the library, I shut the door as Dac came through, and turned around and grabbed him. "The only figure I really wanted to go over was yours," as I placed both hands on his butt. "Give me a kiss goodbye and I'll see you at lunch."

    "Oh, I think I can just about manage that," as his arms went around me. "Umm, yum, you taste like burritos. With green and red chilies and strong coffee. What a combination," he said, breathing in my ear.

   "Wait until we have cherry pie and coffee," I said. I gave him several pats on the butt, "Go. Or you'll never get out of here," as I pushed him away. "You are going to arrange with Owen to take over so we can leave here around noon; aren't you?"

    "Yeah," as he grabbed me and gave me another kiss, his hand sneaking down to my crotch. "Hey, it's hard," laughing, "All right, I'm going," and started for the door. "I love you," as he pulled the door shut. And then it reopened and his head came poking through with a mischievous grin on his face, "And I'm sure of it, too."

    I headed back to the kitchen. Dulce was busy washing dishes and singing to herself. I got another cup of coffee and sat down at the table.

    "Dulce, come sit for a minute. I want to go over some things with you."

    "Sure, just a moment," as she approached the table wiping her hands and sat down.

    "First off, breakfast was excellent. And you're right, your burritos are better than Swilars. I think everybody enjoyed them tremendously, even though they forgot to tell you. I'll remind them that the cook needs love. At any rate, I didn't notice any food left on anybody's plates and I'm sure you noticed, also.

    "Three things I need to go over with you so you will know what to do when the time comes. The first is your hours. If you and Craig could start every morning the way you did this morning and work eight hours and then you're off for the rest of the day. I'll get the evening meal for Dac and I, and you and Craig will be responsible for your evening meals. I don't need an answer immediately, just give it some thought and if you've got some ideas of your own on how to handle this, get back to me on it.

    "The next thing is a piano will be arriving this coming Friday afternoon. It's for Dac and he doesn't know about it yet. A surprise. I'll make it a point that we will both be out of town when all this happens. C'mon, and I'll show you exactly where I want it placed when the guys deliver it."

    We got up and went into the library and I showed her how I wanted the keyboard to face toward the windows so that the sound would go out into the room itself.

    "If Dac wants to change the arrangement, that's up to him, but at least we'll start out from this position," I said.

    Dulce had a puzzled look on her face, then, "Oh, I see. This is a grand piano; isn't it, not an upright?"

    "Right, a very large grand piano, I might add."

    "I didn't even know he played," she said.

    "I think there are going to be a number of very surprised people in this community when they find out just how well he does play," as we headed back to the kitchen.

    "Okay. The last thing -- well, now that I think about it, there are two last things. My brother, Jerry, is coming in at the Santa Fe Airport this afternoon to visit for a while. Dac and I are going to meet him. He'll be arriving around 4:30, so we should get back around 6 or 7, so I'm going to need for you to handle the evening meal. So keep track of the date and time and I'll pay you extra for it.

    "And the last thing is that Kevin Tartaglia is staying with us for several days. He's recently lost someone very close and is having a rather hard time of it and --"

   "I know about it," Dulce said in a matter-of-fact voice.

    I did sort of a double take, "How could you possibly know about this?," I asked.

    "This is about him and Dwayne having an affair?," she asked.

    "Yes," I said.

    "Yes, that's what I thought you were referring to. Dwayne has a sister, Dorothy. She and I were in college together, roommates. I knew about Dwayne being gay then. We've stayed in touch over the years and I talked with her about a month ago. Anyway, she told me that he was involved with someone from here, a realtor. She was really mad at him because he wouldn't give her any more information than that.

    "There are several real estate agencies in town but all the men are older and married with children in middle school and high school, with one exception. It didn't take any guesswork to figure out that the only one left that fit was Kevin. That and the fact that he was out of town a lot this last year. And then his wife up and walked out on him -- what? three days ago -- because she thought he was seeing another woman. If she only knew.

    "There isn't much, David, that goes on in this little town that isn't known. I didn't know about Dwayne, though. What happened to him? He was killed?"

    "Yes," I said, wondering why she didn't have this piece of information. "Yes, he was killed in a train wreck on the way back from a seminar in Denver three or four days ago."

    "Poor Dwayne and poor Kevin. I'll bet Kevin's lived with that secret most of his life. Probably hoped that his marriage would cure the problem -- a lot of gay men do. And then finally met someone he cared for deeply only to have him taken away from him. It's never easy; is it?"

    "No, it's not," I said. "Anyway, he's staying with us for a few days until he gets back on his feet. Food, rest, that sort of thing. And then this afternoon, I want him to talk with Craig -- oh, has Craig talked with you?"

    "Yes, he has. I know all about that, too," she smiled at me.

    "Dulce, is there anything going on in this community that you don't know about?," I said, laughing in exasperation.

    She gave a little laugh, "Well, I don't know the name of your cat, but no, not really. I do like to keep up with what's going on around me. I don't gossip, though, if that's worrying you."

    "The cat isn't mine, she belongs to Dac. And I'm not worrying about you gossiping. Dac told me you weren't a gossip and I've never had reason to doubt his word. Anyway, what I was getting at a minute ago is that I want Kevin to talk to Craig and get to know him, and I told Kevin this last night. I don't expect Kevin to tell Craig anything about what happened, unless he wants to, anymore than I would expect Craig to do the same. But I would like them to meet.

    I hope they can become friends. I think it would do a world of good for both of them if they could. I'm going to suggest to Craig that he puts Kevin to work out there in the orchard, get his mind off his misery and focus on something else. I don't know, maybe it won't work, but it seemed like a good idea at the time."

    Dulce was nodding her head before I finished, "I think it's an excellent idea. They both need to meet someone. And I'll get Kevin well fed. And I'm also going to tell him right up front that I know about him and Dwayne and what happened and how I know about it, so he won't constantly have to be on guard about what he says. Don't worry, I'll take good care of him."

    "Wow, I'm impressed, Dulce," I said.

    "Well," she said, laughing, "you should be."

    I laughed. "Okay, I'm off to talk to Craig. Be back in a while."

    I started walking toward the orchard, thinking about what I wanted to say to Craig and hoping that he would be willing to help.

    I found Craig sitting under one of the apple trees writing in a notebook, presumably making out a list of some sort.

    "Hi," he smiled up at me, as I walked up. "I was just making out a list of things that need to get done and also some supplies and tools I'm going to need."

    I sat down next to him, noting that he looked better and there seemed to be more animation about him than the other night when Dac and I talked with him.

    "You look like you're feeling better," I said.

    "Yes, I am. It really helped talking to you and Dac the other night and then Dulce the next day. Then too, getting this job and living out here is helping already. Dulce kept checking up on me yesterday and last night after we got moved in to see if I was okay. I don't mind, though. Actually, it's pretty nice."

    "Good. I'm glad to hear it. Craig, I need to ask a favor of you, if I may."

    "Sure, anything to help."

    There's a friend of mine -- well, actually the realtor that sold me this place. You may know him. His name's Kevin Tartaglia."

    "Yeah, I know him. Well, actually only to say hello to. We're not close friends or anything."

    "Uh-huh. Well, he'll be staying with us for a few days. He's just lost someone he loved very much and is having a pretty hard time of it and I was wondering if you could sort of take him under your wing and help him along?"

    Craig looked rather surprised, "Well, yeah, I'm willing to give it a shot but frankly, I don't know what good I would be at it, considering I'm in the same boat at the moment."

    "Actually," I said, "I think you'd be very good at it. I think you may have some real abilities there. Also, you're further along than he is and if you could give him a bit of a hand, then you'd be helping each other. You both need a male friend that you can trust and confide in right now. I'm not asking you to tell him anything about yourself, unless you want to or think it's necessary. He already knows that you've lost someone close to you but that's all. You'll meet him at lunch.

    "You know," as I continued, "what I would suggest is that you ask him to give you a hand with something or other here in the orchard. Help him to get his mind off his loss. Just give it some thought, Craig. Okay?"

    "Yeah, I'll give it a try and see how things work out. Who knows?," Craig said, beginning to think about it.

    "Good. Thanks, Craig. I'll be at the house if you need me. Oh," as I turned back, "I almost forgot, the supplies and tools that you need, can they wait until this Saturday?"

    "Oh, yeah, two or three days aren't going to make any difference."

    "Okay, see you at lunch," and I started walking towards the house, thinking about the things I had set in motion and feeling more than a little guilty at playing matchmaker, not to mention manipulation. Well, I thought, at least my intentions are good. Yeah, sure, my little voice said to me, you ever hear the one about the road to hell being paved with those kinds of people? Oh, shut up, I thought. You're never around when I need you.

    I got to thinking about the pickup and what I had just told Craig. Why wait until Friday to get the pickup for Dulce and Craig? They need it now and I have the time. I came in through the kitchen and Dulce was working at the work bench putting something together for lunch while Tiger sat at one end watching every move she made, fascinated and more than a little hopeful.

    "I'll be in the office if you need me," I said as I headed on down the hall. I picked up the local phone directory and looked up car/truck dealerships, noting that there was one for Ford and Toyota listed and both in town. I picked up the phone and dialed the number for the Toyota dealership and asked to speak with the manager. He came on the line and I told him who I was and that I wanted to buy a heavy-duty pickup with four-wheel drive and did he have anything like that in the showroom or out on the lot.

   "Why, yes, we do, as a matter of fact. It has everything on it, automatic, power steering, brakes, air, four-wheel drive. It's not diesel however. Did you want a diesel engine?"

    "No, I don't. What color is it? Pink?," I said sarcastically, and he missed it entirely.

    "No, it's a bottle green. Did you want pink? I can get it for you but I would have to order it. Take about three or four weeks for delivery. I really wouldn't recommend pink, however."

    "Bottle green is fine. I'll take it. Can we do this by credit card?"

    "Yes, but don't you want to take a look at it and drive it, see how it handles?"

    "No, I don't. I won't be here this afternoon and it's not for me anyway. I do need to have it serviced and delivered this afternoon. Can you do that?"

    "Oh, I see. Why, uh, yes, we can. I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be difficult, it's just that you caught me somewhat unprepared. Let me give this order to one of our salesmen and he'll figure the taxes, plates, and final price and call you right back, probably within ten minutes or so. Will that be all right?"

    "That'll be fine. I'll be waiting for your call," and hung up.

    Sure enough, within ten minutes or so, a salesman returned the call and broke out the costs and gave me the final figure. I gave him the credit card numbers and he put me on hold while he ran off to check and see if I was for real then came back on the line and said the truck would be delivered that afternoon. I said thanks, hung up and started toward the kitchen for a cup of coffee, figuring I had probably created difficulties for enough people.

    I stepped out of the office and practically ran into Kevin who was on his way toward me.

    "Hi, David. Could I talk to you for a minute?"

    "Hi, Kevin. Sure. Why don't you go in the library. Let me get a cup of coffee and I'll be right with you." I went on to the kitchen, collected a cup of coffee and one for Kevin, telling Dulce where Kevin and I would be, and headed back to the library.

    "So, Kevin. How are you doing?," I asked, as I handed him his coffee and sat down.

    "Well, better than last night," and smiled. "Talking with you and Dac and the food and rest has helped quite a bit. Then when I got up this morning, I got cleaned up and Dac happened to be upstairs and stuck his head in the door and wanted to know if I wanted to borrow some of his clothes and so I did. And that helps. That and Dulce's breakfast."

    "I thought I'd seen those clothes walking around recently," I said. "I'm glad you're feeling better. We'll be having lunch before long and you'll have a chance to meet this guy I was telling you about. His name is Craig and possibly you can give him a hand in the orchard this afternoon and get acquainted with him."

    Kevin looked rather doubtful. "Well, I don't know how much help I'll be but --" I don't know, David, whether this'll work or not. I don't think I could just up and tell him about the way I feel, much less about Dwayne. I mean, I don't know him that well, other than to say hello to on the street."

    I held up my hand, "Kevin, you don't have to tell him anything. Both of you have lost someone you cared deeply for. That's all he knows. Just try and get to know him and get some work done and make yourself smile occasionally. Sooner or later, the smiles will be real. Just try and listen -- read between the lines if you have to -- and try and understand some of the grief he's having and he'll do the same for you."

    "But what if I . . . well, you know, fall apart like I did last night? It seems like the least little thing and I come unglued."

    "Kevin, it's going to take time to work through all this. There are a lot of ups and downs, brick walls and so forth. But it's not going to happen overnight. You know, if you have someone that you can share this with, someone you can trust, who understands you and what you're going through, then the process is speeded up that much more. Both of you gain."

    "But he doesn't even know I'm gay and when he does, he's going to feel nothing but disgust."

    "No, Kevin, he won't and you're just going to have to trust me on this. I know, it takes a certain amount of courage. Sort of a blind leap of faith, if you will."

    "I don't think I have that kind of courage or faith. Blind or otherwise."

    "Oh, yes, you do. You had the courage to realize that you needed to talk to someone and made the phone call, and then got in the car when you said that you were afraid to even drive and drove all the way out here -- at night -- and then sat on the divan and told me and Dac that you were gay and explained the rest of it. And you had the faith to believe that we would listen and help and we did, and will. It takes courage for any man to admit that he's in trouble and needs help and then to go and ask for it. You got enough courage, Kev, you just don't know it yet.

   "And so what if you do fall apart in front of Craig? Of all the people to fall apart in front of, can you think of anyone better qualified than Craig to handle it? He's in the same boat as you, except further along and knows the ropes. Kevin, believe me, this will work out.

    "I'm hungry. C'mon, let's eat. After lunch, Dac and I will be leaving for Santa Fe to meet my brother. So I won't see you until we get back and we can talk more then. And then I'll want to know how things went with you and Craig," we got up and I gave Kevin a big hug, "it'll work, Kev, okay?," and started towards the kitchen.

    "Okay. I'll try it," he said, as we headed down the hallway.

   Upon entering the kitchen, we heard voices. Dac and Dulce were talking and Craig was already there.

    I introduced Craig and Kevin and they shook hands and Craig looked at Kevin, smiled and then reached over and put his arm around Kevin.

    "I'm really sorry for your loss, Kevin. I know it's tough getting through all this but with a little help from all of us out here, you'll make it.

    "I was thinking that if you'd be willing, I could really use some help. It'd only be for a couple hours or so. Then we could take a break -- I have a thermos of coffee up there -- and get a little better acquainted. That sound okay?"

    Kevin seemed to respond, "Yeah, that'd be fine. Don't know how much help I'll be, but, well, I'll try."

    "C'mon, you two, sit down so we can eat," as Dulce started shooing them toward the table. "Dac and David have to leave as soon as lunch is over," as she finished putting hot dishes on the table.

    Craig and Kevin sat down, side by side, and we said grace and began lunch.

    Dac finished first, excused himself and went upstairs to shower and get changed.

    I excused myself a bit later and headed upstairs. Dac was just finishing getting dressed.

    I walked in the bedroom just as Dac was putting on his shoes. "Too late," he smiled up at me, "you'll have to wait until some other time to see my naked body."

    I looked at him with a glint, "I bet I can do things to you that'll make you want to get naked real fast," as I started toward him.

    "No, no, you stay away from me," he said, backing toward the door. "You know what you do to me and then we'll never get to Santa Fe."

    "Do you know what you do to me?" I asked.

    He laughed, "Yes, and I love it -- love doing it to you, too. Absolutely love it. Now, c'mon, let's go."

    He was waiting for me just outside the door, "Oh, poor, unloved thing, c'mere," and he put his arms around me and gave me this big hug and whispered in my ear, "Wait 'till we get in the car, I've got something special for you."

   "What?"

    "You'll have to wait," he said.

    We stopped by the kitchen on our way out to let Dulce know we were leaving. Kevin and Craig had apparently left for the orchard. Dulce handed me this basket.   "What's in here?," I asked.

    "Just some snackies."

    "Snackies?," Dac looked at her with this expression on his face.

    "Oh, get out of here, you two," as she started laughing and making shooing motions at Dac and I. "Supper will be ready when you get home, and everybody will be waiting for you. So don't go foolin around some place."

    We headed for the Cruiser. "I've always wanted to fool around in the back seat with you," Dac said, as we got in and buckled the seat belts.

    "I bet you fool around real good, too. And I'd like to, but the only way we could do it would be to have Jerry drive on the way back and he'd probably be looking over the seat so much we'd end up in a wreck. Or even worse, offer advice," I said. "But maybe some evening, we could drive up to the end of the orchard and really get hot and heavy. Steam up the windows and everything."

    "Well, I don't want somebody looking over the front seat and certainly not giving advice. Besides, I might get embarrassed and get red in the face," somehow managing to say it with a straight face.

    "Unbelievable," I muttered to myself, as we pulled through the gate and out onto the county road. "Have you checked your eyes lately?"

    "No, why?," he asked.

    "I just figured they must be brown by now."

    "Yeah, yeah. You just don't appreciate my modesty. I like your idea of driving up to the end of the orchard, though. I'll be sure and not wear any underwear."

    "Thinking I'd want to get in your pants, no doubt? Real sure of yourself; aren't you? And besides, you don't wear underwear most of the time, anyway."

    "Of course you want to get in my pants. And I want you to get in my pants, for that matter. And I don't like wearing underwear. It squeezes Fred all up. Besides I figure you appreciate the easy access."

    "Well, I got to admit you may have a point there -- well, actually, not a point. Anyway, what's this special something you were talking about earlier?"

    "You'll just have to wait. The timing has to be just right. I have to be in a certain mood and everything."

    I didn't say anything and kept driving. Every once in a while Dac would look over at me with a sly little grin on his face. Finally my curiosity got the better of me.

    "What?," I asked in exasperation.

    "I have a story for you," he said.

    "I'm driving. You want me to have a wreck or get sick -- maybe all over you or something?"

    "Now, now. You'll love it. I guarantee it. Besides, you know what a connoisseur of fine jokes I am."

    "All right, tell it, tell it. Hopefully I'll have recovered by the time we reach Santa Fe."

    Dac turned in the seat, facing me:

    A blonde goes to the drugstore to pick up a box of condoms.

The clerk rings them up, and asks for $1.06.

The blonde says "I thought they were only a dollar."

The clerk says that the 6 cents is for the tax.

The blonde gets all wide eyed and says, "I thought you just rolled them on!"

    I turned toward the drivers' window, trying to suppress my laughter.

    "Are you secretly laughing?," Dac asked. "You are; aren't you?"

    "No, I'm not, just trying to get some fresh air," as I ran the window down a notch.

    "Look at me and tell me you weren't laughing." Dac said.

    I turned and faced him, "I wasn't laugh--" and started laughing.

    "See, see. I knew you were laughing. You love my stories don't you?"

    "I love everything about you, Dac."

    And I watched his eyes change and grow darker in color and the laughing face changing to sweetness of his smile. "I know. I'm so lucky. I've never been so happy. You make me so happy."

    "I know. It shows in everything you do, the way you act, the way you talk. Not to mention the way you make love."

    "Why shouldn't we mention it?"

    "Because," I said, "we start talking about the way you make love and I'm going to want to park and drag you into the back seat."

    "God, I'm ready. I've had a hard-on since we left the house. And now I'm so hard I'm hurting, David.  Look at this," as he pulled his jeans down and his penis sprung into view, completely hard, the skin drawn so tight it was gleaming, the swollen head completely exposed and shining.

    I looked over, "Oh, it's so beautiful," I reached over and put my hand around the hot thickness of it and his hips arched up and he gasped in pleasure.

    He started rubbing my hand as I was stroking him, "There's a turn-off up ahead. Pull in and park."

    I pulled off and parked behind some trees. My head was in his lap almost before I got the car stopped. I had my hand wrapped in his thick cock hair and the other one moving up and down on him, licking the head and tasting the heavy musk of him. Then started taking him deep and sucking him hard.

    His legs were spread and I was gently squeezing and rubbing his balls, "Oh, suck it, man. Oh, yeah, like that. Oh, that feels so damn good," he was beginning to arch rhythmically, "Oh, God, David, I want to get on top of you and put my peter in you so hot and deep and fuck you and love you."

    I pulled off him, heading for the back seat, "There's lube in the glove box. Get in back. I laid down and practically ripped my clothes off as Dac came over the seat back and straddled me, his cock swollen, sticking straight out, the semen running out of his slit almost in a stream.

    "Hurry," I managed to gasp, as he smeared some lube on. "I want it now, man."

    "You're gonna get it," as he got in position, "and then some."

    I felt the head of his cock pushing against me and then, inside me, big and hot, the explosions of pleasure running in heated waves over my body. I practically blacked out as he violently possessed and engorged me and we began fucking, hot and wild like we had never done before.

    As he lay on top of me and began thrusting deep, his eyes were slitted almost in fury, a rictus of intense pleasure. He began licking my face and then kissing me savagely and whispering in my face, "Oh, man, that's feeling good. You like it when I put my big peter in you? Is it making you all hot and electric inside? God, David, I love fucking you. You like what I'm givin you, big and deep?"

    I was gasping and screaming at the same time, "Oh, God, yes. I can't get enough of it. Oh, man, it's so hot and hard inside me. Oh, Dac, I want you fucking me all the time. Oh, yeah, yeah, like that, deep, man. Oh, Dac, you fill me so full I can hardly stand it. God, you're big. I love it, love it."

    My legs were wrapped tight around his shoulders and my hands were locked around his back and I was holding on for dear life. I was so lost in the depths of pleasure I could only speak in gasping monosyllables,

    "Yes, yes, don't stop. Oh, don't stop."

    His thrusting became erratic and I could feel him swelling inside me, he started slowing down, taking short strokes, going deeper still, his cock hair rubbing against me. "I'm gonna shoot it in you, fill you full of hot cum" he whispered to me, his mouth coming down on mine, "you want me to shoot it in you?"

    "You know it," I managed to croak out. "Yes, yes."

    He became rigid, his arms tightened around me, "Oh, Davvviiiddd, Oh, God, I love you so much," and then one last violent thrust and I cried aloud and Dac practically shouted in my ear, "It's happening," and the strong spasms began deep inside me and his body locked against mine, his face buried in the crook of my neck as his orgasm overtook him and he cried out in cadence to the convulsions that were taking place deep within me and a pocket of warmth inside me grew and flooded me, as his cum shot in me.

    He lifted up, kissed me, and then, still deep inside me, grasped me and the next thing I knew was the greedy hot-wetness of his mouth as he swallowed me. I arched knowing I wouldn't last more than a few seconds. He began sucking me deep into his throat and again, I could feel him beginning to thrust inside me. I was immediately on edge and then, of all things, he hummed. A great huge reverberating bass note that sent vibrations clear up to my armpits. I could feel my orgasm beginning somewhere around my ears and the electric tingles began traveling down my body in hot waves and all I could do was to hold on for all I was worth and suddenly it hit and I was over the edge with colors, stars, fireworks, flames. Surely, the earth moved. I was Phoenix, consumed in fire and then rising from the ashes.

    We lay in each other's arms, kissing, breathing hard into my mouth hard, the sweat of our passion rolling off our bodies and faces.

    And finally, Dac raised up, "I love you," he looked at me, "we gotta go or we're going to be late."

    Jerry could take a bus for all I cared. I wouldn't have given this up with Dac for anything.

    I found a roll of paper towels that for some reason never got taken into the house and we started cleaning up and getting dressed, looking at each other and not saying anything. We both knew that this had been different from all our love making in the past; in what way, I don't think either of us were quite sure yet, but different all the same. Dac had shown me a side of his personality that I didn't know was there. Wild, fire, fury. We were like animals.

    We got in the front seat. I was still shaking inside and I guess it must have shown in my face.

    "You okay?," Dac asked.

    "Yeah," I said, as I looked at Dac and put my hand on his leg. He took my hand and moved it down. He was still hard and swelled.

    "You're gonna get some more of it tonight in bed," he whispered to me.

    I looked at him, "I want it. I don't know whether I can I wait that long. I love you, Dac."

    "I know and I you."

    Somehow, I managed to focus on driving as long as I didn't look at Dac or touch the beautiful part of his body that had just been within me. I pulled out of our parking place and onto the highway. We completed the rest of the trip pretty much in silence, each with our own thoughts and managed to pull into Santa Fe with a few minutes to spare. On looking at the monitor we discovered that Jerry's plane, fortunately, was running about ten minutes late, so we had more than enough time.

    We went on down to his gate and sat down to wait. Dac looked over at me a couple of times with this I-got-a-secret grin on his face.

    "All right, what are you grinning about? You got something up your sleeve?," I asked.

    "More like my pant leg. Just thinking we ought to go to Santa Fe more often."

    "How many other turn-offs are you familiar with?"

    He just looked at me and smiled. I was about ready to make some smart comment when the PA system came on and announced that Jerry's plane would be arriving at gate 5 shortly. We got up and went to the window overlooking the debarking area.

    He leaned over, talking almost into my ear, "I'd like to show 'em all to you. Bet we could have a lot of fun."

    "How come you know about all of them?," I asked.

    "Now you know I can't tell you that. It's classified. There's the plane," neatly changing the subject.

    The flight attendants rolled the ramp up to the side of the airplane and within a few minutes, passengers began coming through the doors into the waiting area. The plane must have been completely filled as the stream of passengers seemed to keep coming and coming.

    "You see him?," Dac asked.

    "No. I know this is the flight number he told me, arriving from Denver at-- oh, there he is."

    Jerry had just come through the doors and was looking around for me. He finally spotted me and his face broke into a huge grin as he came walking rapidly over to me.

    "Oh, I'm so glad to see you," as he wrapped me in a big hug.

    "I know, I could hardly wait for you to get here. How was the flight? How are you? How's the family?"

    "Hey, wait a minute, will you," laughing. "I just got here." He glanced over at Dac. "Where are your manners? Introduce me to your friend."

    I glanced at Dac, "Oh, I'm sorry. Jerry, this is my partner, Dac Tartaglia, and Dac this is my brother, Jerry."

    They both shook hands and Jerry looked at Dac, "I'm really glad to meet you, Dac. Davy has told me quite a bit about you -- well, not really. But just listening to him I could tell how happy he was. And if it's good for the two of you, then I'm really happy for you."

    I could see the tension of meeting some of the family leave Dac's face as he began to relax. Jerry had really scored points with him.

    Dac got this big smile on his face, "Yeah, we're happy together. Of course, I have to smack him every once in a while just to keep him in line, but otherwise. You know?"

    Jerry laughed, "Don't I ever. Man, when he was a kid growing up, such a smart ass you never saw. Had to take him down and sit on him every once in a while just so he would remember that I was the older and smarter brother."

    "Hey," as Dac laughed, "he hasn't changed a bit."

    I put on my best juvenile whine, "Would you two quit picking on me? We're not even out of the terminal yet and you're abusing me."

    "Aaahhh, poor soul," they both said, as they put their arms around my shoulders.

    "Damn," Dac said, "I forgot my violin."

    "You stealing my lines, Bud?," I asked.

    "You bet. And I'll tell you something else. Revenge is absolutely delicious," and Dac leaned over and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek which got some looks from several people in the walkway.

    We got Jerry's luggage and headed for the parking lot. Jerry eyed the Cruiser and then looked at me. You got something you want to tell me, Davy?"

    "Yes, but it'll wait 'till we get home." And we headed for home, talking about the family along the way and finding out that Frank and Robert were doing well money-wise with the business that they had together. I wondered why Jerry wasn't in it with them. Have to ask later, I thought.

    Jerry started talking with Dac, finding out all about him and that he was a general contractor and was doing the upgrades on the house. And Dac was telling him about all the things that were being repaired or replaced and I could practically see the questions boiling around in Jer's head as he glanced over at me several times and gave me this look, finally deciding, I guess, that he would get the whole story out of me when we got home. We drove on in silence for a while.

    Then Jerry started talking about himself and really surprised me when he told me he had started a business of his own in software and computer consulting work and already had two guys working full-time for him.

    "That manufacturing place I was working for. I got so tired of being yanked around. The last time, the boss transferred me to programming. Why, I don't know. But that's where they made their big mistake because I absolutely loved it. My supervisor told me I was a natural and I should take some courses at the local Vo-Tech. So I did and passed them all at the top of the class.

    "Anyway, me and a couple of other guys from work got to talking one night over a couple of six packs and decided we'd had enough of that manufacturing place. They both had pretty extensive backgrounds in computers so we eventually decided to chance it and opened a business of our own. I had more money saved up to put into the business, so I bought the two of them out and ended up as the owner and president on top of that. Those first two months were pretty scary. I think we all lived on PB&J and varieties of lunchmeat during that time trying to get the business off the ground -- I know I did, but we finally did it and work started coming through the door and things picked up.

    "Anyway, we are all getting regular salaries now and the business is thriving. We even got a government contract and contracts in Nebraska and eastern Colorado and we hired a gal last month to do the secretarial work who also does the receptionist and bookkeeper stuff. I've continued taking night courses, especially in systems design and programming so now I'm doing consultant work."

    I put my arm around him, "Wow, I'm impressed. I'm really happy for you, Jer. I know you didn't like working at that manufacturing place. I was even thinking about asking you to move out here with me and maybe finding work here that you'd be happier with. Maybe you could be my butler or something."

    He looked at me with this look on his face, "Oh, ho, ho. You're kidding, of course. I did enough taking care of you when we were growing up. Enough. Besides, you have Dac to look after you and smack you in line when you need it."

    Dac gave me this big grin, "That's a fact."

    I started laughing, "All right, all right. It was just a thought."

    "Stinking thinking, in my opinion," said Jerry.

    "Yeah," said Dac.

    "Oh, by the way," as he continued, "the sisters are getting married. Finally. Theresa is marrying a doctor and Maria managed to snag a lawyer.

    "No shit? I thought they were going to be old maids," I said.

    "Yeah, so did I. Oh, it's a joint wedding, by the way. They said that you had damned well better be at their wedding or they're coming after you."

    "Yeah, and they would, too. Well, what about Frank and Robert, did they ever get married?"

    "Nope, still living together in that same old apartment. And they're making money hand over fist in that business they put together. They could easily afford something better. Boy, those two are tighter than a crab's ass. They're something else."

    "Are they," I began and stopped.

    "I don't think so. I don't know, I never asked," Jerry said. "Anyway, I wasn't all that interested. You ask."

    "I'm not going to ask them. I'm not that close to either one of them," I said.

    "Well, I guess it's going to be one of life's little mysteries, then," Jerry said.

    "I guess so," we had pulled out of town and was nearing the access turn-off. I slowed down for the entrance to the access road.

    "You live in the mountains?," Jerry asked.

    "We're already in the mountains and yes, I do."

    "Oh, neat," he said, as I pulled up to the access gate and pushed the buzzer.

    Dulce's voice came over the intercom, "May I help you?"

    "Hi, Dulce, we're here."

    "Hello, David and Dac. And welcome, Jerry, it's nice to have you here," she said and the gate began to swing open.

    I glanced over at Jerry and he had this what-the-fuck look on his face but managed to keep his mouth shut. We drove the rest of the way and crested the rise into the valley. Dulce had thought to turn on all the outside security lights and the house was a blaze of glory as we drove down and parked in front of the house.

    Jerry looked at Dac and me and we both had smiles on our faces. He started to say something then thought better of it.

    "Jer, I know you have a million questions and I will certainly answer all of them. But right now, Dulce has supper waiting for us and then right after supper I need to talk with a couple of guys that work for me -- you'll meet them at supper -- and then we can all sit down and talk."

    "I hope so. This place -- this place is yours?," he asked as we were unloading the luggage.

    "Yep, bought and paid for," I said, as Craig and Kevin came out the front door to help with the luggage. Introductions were made and we all trooped back into the house and on into the kitchen where I introduced Jerry to Dulce.

    She glanced at Jerry, "Supper will be served in the dining room, so if you need to get washed up, the bathroom is just down the hallway."

    "Oh, thanks. I'll only be a minute," as Jerry headed down the hallway.

    I turned to Dulce, "What're we having, I'm starved?"

    "Yeah, me too," said Dac.

    She gave him a playful pat on the shoulder, "Oh, you, you're always starving," she teased. "We're having Baron of Beef, Asparagus, mashed potatoes and gravy, hot rolls, tossed salad with marinated artichoke hearts and for dessert, a sherbert."

    "Oh, I've died and went to heaven for sure," Dac said. "Dulce, it was really bad when it was just David and me. When he was cooking, all we had were these TV dinners and MacDonalds, and frozen pizzas," as Dac looked over at me with a devilish smile on his face.

    "Oh, just you wait 'till I get you alone," I said.

    Dac looked at me and mouthed the word 'promises, promises' at me and grinned all over the place.

    Jerry walked back in the room and we headed for the dining room.

    Dinner was a great success. Everybody was hungry and the food was excellent. Everybody was so busy eating that what little there was of conversation was mostly in monosyllables. Halfway through the meal, I felt this warm, unclad foot moving up and down my leg. I looked straight across into a smile and a pair of dark blue eyes and got sort of lost again as I began thinking of our interlude on the way to Santa Fe.

    "David!," Dulce said.

    "Huh? What did you say?," I asked, coming back to reality.

    "I asked if you were ready for coffee. Where were you?," Dulce asked.

    "Uh, thinking about something else, I guess. Uh, yeah, let's have coffee," I managed to get out. I'm surprised I didn't drool and have an intelligent moment and say Duh.

    Dac was grinning at me and Jerry looked at me and smiled, not knowing what was going on. Craig had somehow managed to see the whole thing and leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Stomp on his foot. I would."

    Excellent idea. I did and Dac went straight up in his chair. It got rid of his grin, too. He glared across the table at me and I just grinned and Craig was quietly laughing.

    Dulce came back in the room with the coffee service, "Dac, put your shoes on. You're going to annihilate us all."

    No more roving foot.

    We sat and had coffee and cigarettes and did the small talk thing, each of us waiting for the next main event, I guess. Dulce finished her coffee, got up and began clearing the table. Like a message received, everybody got up and went about their business. I turned to Kevin and Craig, "C'mon you two, grab your coffee and let's go to the library."

    We headed down the hall and into the library. Kevin and Craig, I noticed, sat together on the divan.

    "So, Kev," as I smiled at them both, "how did the day go?"

   "Well, pretty good, actually," as he glanced over at Craig and got a smile in return. "I guess I was a little nervous at first but Craig kept talking to me and we were pruning the fruit trees and, I don't know, I started relaxing and we kind of joked back and forth. Craig's real easy to work with, showed me how to do everything. Then showed me again when I screwed it up. Hope I didn't kill any fruit trees. Then he said let's take a break and I kind of tightened up. I really didn't want to start talking about me or Dwayne or anything. I guess Craig noticed. He poured me a cup of coffee and we sat there smoking cigarettes for a bit and then Craig said he understood if I didn't want to talk about anything yet and maybe it would be best if he just told me about some of the things he had been feeling lately and perhaps that would help me.

    "He told me about the peace that he had been feeling since he had moved out here and how much it helped. And then he told me about talking things out with someone and how much that had helped him to accept everything. And well, he told me that the hardest thing for him still was late at night when he couldn't sleep and he felt sad because there was no one to hold him and no one for him to hold and I, well, it just brought it all back. In color. And I just lost it. Again."

    "It's okay, Kev," as Craig put his arm around Kevin's shoulder.

    Craig continued, "He kind of fell apart about the same way I did when I was talking with you that night. I didn't know quite what to do, so I did what you did with me, I put my arms around him and held him while he cried it out. It seemed to work. Kevin started telling me about himself and Dwayne and what all had happened to him up to the present. I decided that if he was going to be that candid with me, I could only do the same. So I told him about Neil and myself. And I think all the talking has helped and we got closer because of it and I think we're going to end up being good friends," as he glanced at Kevin and got a smile and nod in return.

    "I didn't know we both were gay until Craig told me about Neil," Kevin said. "It really helps knowing that he understands exactly where I'm coming from and could have those deep of feelings for another man. I doubt that I would find very many heterosexual men that could understand that or would even make the attempt. And that was what I was mainly afraid of, the not understanding and the judgment that somehow always manages to creep in. Or even if they do partly understand it, they act like it was some sort of platonic thing and they get this attitude like you're overreacting. So," as Kevin begin to wind down, "I'm glad we're going to be friends."

    "This is great," I said. "I'm really happy for both of you. I had hoped that you might see your way clear to being friends, but I didn't know how much you would be able to open up to one another or whether it would be the exact opposite and you'd be snarling at each other by the time I got back. So, what are your plans, Kev? Do you want to continue staying out here and working with Craig for a while?"

    "Yes, I'd like that, if you don't mind," Kevin said. "I'm going to call work tomorrow and take a leave of absence. I don't want to quit entirely -- at least, not until I get back on my feet and know better what I want to do."

    "Sure. I think it's a good idea. And of course, you're welcome as long as you like. Glad we can help."

    "Actually," Craig began, "I've asked Kev to stay with me at night. He can sleep on the divan, it's a hide-a-bed and that way, if he wakes up in the middle of the night with bad dreams and whatnot, I'm right in the next room and we can talk it out or whatever is necessary."

    "Sounds good to me," I said. "Kevin, you're still a guest here, so I'll expect to see you at meals and everything. And the guest room is still available to you should you want it. Also, did they deliver the pickup today?"

    Craig spoke up, "Yeah, they did. I was going to tell you about it and then I forgot with everything else going on. So if you don't mind, I think Kevin and I will take a run into town and pick up supplies for Dulce and myself, maybe tomorrow afternoon."

    "Sounds good," I said. "Whenever you need to, just go. Okay, I'll talk to you later. I better get back and see what my brother is up to."

    As I got back to the kitchen, Dulce was laughing at something Jerry had just told her.

    Dulce looked up, "Jerry has just been telling me all about you growing up on the farm. Really hilarious, David."

    "Yeah," I managed, glumly, "I can just about imagine what he's been telling you."

    "Oh, pretty much everything," Jerry smiled up at me. Times at the swimming hole, the time Dad caught you in the barn and then the best was when Theresa found you in the henhouse. Things like that."

    "Oh, brother. Well, c'mon, before you run off at the mouth any further. Let's go to the library. Where's Dac?," looking at Dulce.

    "Oh, he went upstairs," Dulce smiled up at me. "Said he had some things to do."

    Jerry and I headed for the library. We both sat down. "I'm really glad to see you, Jer. Really missed you, you know?"

    "I've missed you, too, Davy. However, from the looks of things around here, I'd say you managed to keep yourself pretty well entertained," he looked at me with lifted eyebrows.

    I held up my hand. "All right, all right, I'll tell you the whole story, from start to finish. I would have gotten in touch with you sooner but there was just too much going on, as you will see when I finish this story."

    "Well, I certainly want to hear the whole thing. Especially, I want to hear about you and Dac. You know, the specifics, the nitty-gritty? Like when we always used to talk about everything."

    "That is not going to happen. No way. Anyway, to begin with, I bought a lottery ticket," and I finally finished about an hour later.

    Jerry just sat there shaking his head, "You always hear about things like this happening but it's always to someone you don't know. And now it's happened to you. Boy, talk about unbelievable."

    "I know," I said, "I think I sort of vacillated in and out of shock that first week. And then after I made the offer on this place and found out that the owner had accepted my offer, I really went into shock. Then I met Dac and my life totally turned upside down again."

    Jerry looked at me, all serious, "You love him, Davy?"

    "Oh, God, Jer, to distraction. I can't even get the words to describe what I feel for him. I love him so much. And he feels the same way about me. We can't get married in this state but we are going to have a commitment ceremony this coming summer and I damned well want the whole family back here."

    Jerry got up and came over and sat down next to me on the divan and put his arm around me, "I'm really happy for you, Davy. And envious, too, I might add."

    "Nothing on your horizon?," I asked.

    "Shit, in that little burg of a hometown, there ain't even any horizons. There are maybe two or three unattached females in that town and if you ever saw 'em, you'd understand why. God, I've even considered livestock, I'm so desperate. There's absolutely nothing. I thought about going on the internet through one of those dating services, but . . ." and stopped.

    "Well, I never told you this before, but this is a magic place out here. Things happen that are magic. Who knows?"

    "Well, I could sure use some magic right about now. I could also use some sleep, too. It's been a long day. Where do I get to sleep?"

    "Yeah, it is getting late. I'll show you to your room. I think Craig or Kevin has already put your luggage up there," as we headed upstairs.

    I showed Jerry to the guest bedroom, spotting his luggage at the foot of the bed. "Oh, good, Dulce has made up the bed for you. I'll say goodnight, then. Oh, Jer, keep your door closed; otherwise, you'll have a rather huge cat jump up in bed with you in the middle of the night. Her name is Tiger, by the way. C'mere, give me a goodnight and I'll see you in the morning."

    Goodnights said, I headed on down to our room, wondering what Dac and his 'things to do.' was all about.

    I opened the door to a semi-dark room. The bedside lamp on Dac's side was on and he was laying stark naked, a half hard-on, a book across his chest, and smile on his face, sound asleep. I quickly undressed and slipped into bed beside him and started kissing him gently on his face. His eyes opened and he smiled up at me.

    "I thought I was going to have to come down and get you," he said.

    "Dressed like this?," as I glanced down the length of his body.

    "Well, it would have got everybody's attention."

    "That it would. Did you miss me?," as I continued kissing him.

    "I always miss you when you're not around, and if you have any doubts, take a gander at Fred."

    I gandered at Fred who was standing straight up now, swelled up, rock hard and ready for action.

    "Oh, wow," as I smiled at Dac. "Wonder what he's thinking about."

    "He's ready to fuck. And so am I. You interested?"

    "You bet, stud. You pitch and I'll catch. C'mere," as I reached for him.


That's it for this chapter. Let me hear from you and what you think. I get a lot of incentive to write from people who write to me about TMP. DacAndDavid@Hotmail.Com. Don't forget the TMP in the Subject line.